Infrared Spectroscopy of Organoclays Synthesized with the Surfactant Octadecyltrimethylammonium Bormide

Infrared spectroscopy using a smart endurance single bounce diamond ATR cell has been used to study the changes in the spectra of the surfactant octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide upon intercalation into a sodium montmorillonite. The wavenumbers of bands attributed to CH stretching and bending vibrations in general decrease as the concentration of the surfactant measured in terms of the cation exchange capacity (CEC) up to 1.0 CEC. After this point the bands increase approaching a value the same as that of the surfactant. Significant changes occur in the HCH deformation modes of the methyl groups of the surfactant. These changes are attributed to the methyl groups locking into the siloxane surface of the montmorillonite. Such a concept is supported by changes in the SiO stretching bands of the montmorillonite siloxane surfac

Power consumption optimization and delay based on ant colony algorithm in network-on-chip

With a further increase of the number of on-chip devices, the bus structure has not met the requirements. In order to make better communication between each part, the chip designers need to explore a new NoC structure to solve the interconnection of an on-chip device. For the purpose of improving the performance of a network-on-chip without a significant increase in power consumption, the paper proposes a network-on-chip that selects NoC (Network-On-Chip) platform with 2-dimension mesh as the carrier and incorporates communication power consumption and delay into a unified cost function. The paper uses ant colony optimization for the realization of NoC map facing power consumption and delay potential. The experiment indicates that in comparison with a random map, single objective optimization can separately account for (30%~47%) and (20%~39%) of communication power consumption and execution time, and joint objective optimization can further excavate the potential of time dimension in a mapping scheme dominated by the power

TEM, XRD, and Thermal Stability of Adsorbed Paranitrophenol on DDOAB Organoclay

Water purification is of extreme importance to modern society. Organoclays through adsorption of recalcitrant organics provides one mechanism for the removal of these molecules. The organoclay was synthesised through ion exchange with dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide labeled as DDOAB of formula (CH3(CH2)17)2NBr(CH3)2. Paranitrophenol was adsorbed on the organoclay at a range of concentrations according to the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the host montmorillonite. The paranitrophenol in solution was analysed by a UV-260 spectrophotometer at 317nm, with detection limits being 0.05mg/L. The expansion of the montmorillonite was studied by a combination of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Upon adsorption of the paranitrophenol the basal spacing decreased. The thermal stability of the organoclay was determined by a combination of thermogravimetry and infrared emission spectroscopy. The surfactant molecule DDOAB combusts at 166, 244 and 304 degrees Celsius and upon intercalation into Na-montmorillonite is retained up to 389 degrees Celsius thus showing the organoclay is stable to significantly high temperatures well above the combustion/decomposition temperature of the organoclay

A Review on COVID-19 Related Research in Leading Information Systems Journals

To identify the key challenges, issues and opportunities affecting individuals, organizations, and society on coping with COVID-19, we reviewed extant research related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the leading information systems journals. Six major research themes and representative literature for each theme are identified by content analysis. The six major research themes include digital transformation, data visualization and artificial intelligence, infodemic and cybersecurity, IT governance, digital divide, and IS research direction in the post-pandemic period. Moreover, we discussed the challenges, current research, and opportunities related to each of the themes. The review provides a snapshot of IS literature on the COVID-19 pandemic and can enable scholars to evaluate possible opportunities for conducting research and development activities related to the pandemic

Power consumption optimization and delay based on ant colony algorithm in network-on-chip

With a further increase of the number of on-chip devices, the bus structure has not met the requirements. In order to make better communication between each part, the chip designers need to explore a new NoC structure to solve the interconnection of an on-chip device. For the purpose of improving the performance of a network-on-chip without a significant increase in power consumption, the paper proposes a network-on-chip that selects NoC (Network-On-Chip) platform with 2-dimension mesh as the carrier and incorporates communication power consumption and delay into a unified cost function. The paper uses ant colony optimization for the realization of NoC map facing power consumption and delay potential. The experiment indicates that in comparison with a random map, single objective optimization can separately account for (30%~47%) and (20%~39%) of communication power consumption and execution time, and joint objective optimization can further excavate the potential of time dimension in a mapping scheme dominated by the power

Effects of tree trunks on estimation of clumping index and LAI from HemiView and terrestrial LiDAR

Estimating clumping indices is important for determining the leaf area index (LAI) of forest canopies. The spatial distribution of the clumping index is vital for LAI estimation. However, the neglect of woody tissue can result in biased clumping index estimates when indirectly deriving them from the gap probability and LAI observations. It is difficult to effectively and automatically extract woody tissue from digital hemispherical photos. In this study, a method for the automatic detection of trunks from Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) data was used. Between-crown and within-crown gaps from TLS data were separated to calculate the clumping index. Subsequently, we analyzed the gap probability, clumping index, and LAI estimates based on TLS and HemiView data in consideration of woody tissue (trunks). Although the clumping index estimated from TLS had better agreement (R-2 = 0.761) than that from HemiView, the change of angular distribution of the clumping index affected by the trunks from TLS data was more obvious than with the HemiView data. Finally, the exclusion of the trunks led to a reduction in the average LAI by similar to 19.6% and 8.9%, respectively, for the two methods. These results also showed that the detection of woody tissue was more helpful for the estimation of clumping index distribution. Moreover, the angular distribution of the clumping index is more important for the LAI estimate than the average clumping index value. We concluded that woody tissue should be detected for the clumping index estimate from TLS data, and 3D information could be used for estimating the angular distribution of the clumping index, which is essential for highly accurate LAI field measurements

Climate Variability Rather Than Livestock Grazing Dominates Changes in Alpine Grassland Productivity Across Tibet

Alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau, being vulnerable to environmental and anthropogenic changes, have experienced dramatic climate change and intensive livestock grazing during the last half-century. Climate change, coupled with grazing activities, has profoundly altered alpine grassland function and structure and resulted in vast grassland degradation. To restore degraded grasslands, the Central Government of China has implemented the Ecological Security Barrier Protection and Construction Project since 2008 across the Tibetan Autonomous Region. However, the relative effect of climate change and grazing activities on the variation in alpine grassland productivity is still under debate. In this study, we quantified how aboveground net primary production (ANPP) varied before (2000-2008) and after (2009-2017) starting the project across different alpine grasslands and how much variance in ANPP could be attributed to climate change and grazing disturbance, in terms of temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and grazing intensity. Our results revealed that Tibet's climate got warmer and wetter, and grazing intensity decreased after starting the project. Mean ANPP increased at approximately 81% of the sites, on average from 27.0 g C m(-2) during 2000-2008 to 28.4 g C m(-2) during 2009-2017. The ANPP positively correlated with annual temperature and precipitation, but negatively with grazing intensity for both periods. Random forest modeling indicated that grazing intensity (14.5%) had a much lower influence in controlling the dynamics of grassland ANPP than precipitation (29.0%), suggesting that precipitation variability was the key factor for alpine grassland ANPP increase across Tibet