Plant diversity, population structure, and regeneration status in disturbed tropical forests in Assam, northeast India

We investigated the plant population structure and the phy- tosociological and regeneration status in two disturbed tropical forests in Assam Province, the Hojai Reserve Forest and Kumorakata Reserve Forest. A total of 166 species （80 trees, 20 shrubs and 66 herbs） of 136 genera and 63 families were recorded in both study sites. The disturbance index at the two sites, Kumorakata Reserve Forest and Hojai Reserve Forest, were recorded at 11.4% and 3.70% respectively. Reverse J-shaped population curve and exploitation of tree species in higher girth classes were recorded at both study sites. In the girth classes （10-30 cm, 30-60 cm, 60-90 cm and 90-120 cm in size） the percentage of cut stump density was higher than the percentage of individual living trees. The 18% （Kumorakata Reserve Forest） and 7% （Hojai Reserve Forest） spe- cies were recorded as not regenerating. Illegal felling and over-exploitation of forest resources may lead to species-specific changes in the population structure and can alter the future structure and composi- tion of the forests.

Crystal Structure and Magnetic Property of 2-（Imidazo[1,2-α]pyri-din-2-yl）- 2-oxoacetic Acid and Its Perchlorate

We herein report two crystals based on 2-（imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl）-2-oxoacetic acid rad- ical and its perchlorate, and investigate the relationship between magnetic properties and crystal stacking structures or supramolecular interactions. 2-（imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl）- 2-oxoaeetic acid radical in two crystals mainly exist as diamagnetic dimer formed via short atomic contacts or supramolecular interactions （hydrogen bonds, anion-Tr or lone- pair-~r interactions）, leading to low magnetic susceptibilities. 2-（imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl）- 2-oxoaeetic acid radical crystal exhibits quasi-one-dimensional columnar stacking chain and weak antiferromagnetism. However, its perchlorate crystal possesses one-dimensional double- stranded chain structure assembled through double hydrogen bonds and anion-To interactions, and reveals weak ferromagnetism.

Local Geometric Proof of Riemann Conjecture

Riemann hypothesis (RH) is a difficult problem. So far one doesn’t know how to go about it. Studying ζ and using analysis method likely are two incor-rect guides. Actually, a unique hope may study Riemann function , , by geometric analysis, which has the symmetry: v=0 if β=0, and basic expression . We show that |u| is single peak in each root-interval of u for fixed β ∈(0,1/2]. Using the slope ut, we prove that v has opposite signs at two end-points of Ij. There surely exists an inner point such that , so {|u|,|v|/β} form a local peak-valley structure, and have positive lower bound in Ij. Because each t must lie in some Ij, then ||ξ|| > 0 is valid for any t (i.e. RH is true). Using the positivity of Lagarias (1999), we show the strict monotone for β > β0 ≥ 0 , and the peak-valley structure is equiva-lent to RH, which may be the geometric model expected by Bombieri (2000). This research follows Liuhui’s methodology: “Computing can detect the un-known and method”.

Analysing the structure of the optical path length of a supersonic mixing layer by using wavelet methods

The nano-particle-based planar laser scattering （NPLS） technique is used to measure the density distribution in the supersonic mixing layer of the convective Mach number 0.12, and the optical path difference （OPL）, which is quite crucial for the study of aero-optics, is obtained by post processing. Based on the high spatiotemporal resolutions of the NPLS, the structure of the OPL is ana]ysed using wavelet methods. The coherent structures of the OPL are extracted using three methods, including the methods of thresholding the coefficients of the orthogonal wavelet transform and the wavelet packet transform, and preserving a number of wavelet packet coefficients with the largest amplitudes determined by the entropy dimension. Their performances are compared, and the method using the wavelet packet is the best. Based on the viewpoint of multifractals, we study the OPL by the wavelet transform maxima method （WTMM）, and the result indicates that its scaling behaviour is evident.

Improved strength and ductility of high alloy containing Al–12Zn–3Mg–2.5Cu alloy by combining non-isothermal step rolling and cold rolling

Al-12Zn-3Mg-2.5Cu alloy was prepared using a liquid metallurgy route under the optimized conditions. A sample cut from the ingot was rolled non-isothermally from 400℃ to 100℃ in 100℃ steps, with 15% reduction in thickness; it was then cold rolled isothermally at room temperature for 85% reduction. The cold-rolled alloys were characterized by electron microscopy, hardness test, and tensile test to elucidate their structural evolution and evaluate their mechanical behavior. In the results, the cast alloy consists of a-aluminum and various intermetallic compounds. These compounds are segregated along the grain boundaries, which makes the alloy difficult to roll at room tem- perature. The combined effect of non-isothermal step rolling and cold rolling results in the nano/microsized compounds distributed uniformly in the matrix. The hardness is substantially increased after rolling. This increase in hardness is attributed to the ultra-fine grain size, fine-scale intermetallic compounds, and structural defects （e.g., dislocations, stacking faults, and sub-grains）. The ultimate tensile strength of the rolled alloy is approximately 628 MPa with 7% ductility.

Design, Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Photophysical Properties of New Oxadiazole Extended Viologen Fluorophore

Viologens (N,N'-dimethyl-4,4-bipyridinium) are advanced functional materials, found important applications in electrochromic devices, molecular machines, organic batteries, and carbohydrate oxidation catalysts in alkaline fuel. In this article, we investigated the design, synthesis and photophysical properties of N,N'-dimethyl-2,5-Bis(pyridinium)oxadiazole 4 and its precursor 2,5- Bis(pyridine)oxadiazole 2. The crystal structure and photophysical properties of viologen 4 and precursor 2 have been determined. The viologen molecule 4 crystallized in monoclinic form, space group P21/n with four molecules in unit cell. Precursor molecule 2 also crystalized in monoclinic form, space group C2/c with four molecules in unit cell. From X-rd data, we found three cations in the molecular structure of viologen molecule 4, which is unusual in viologens. In the three-dimensional molecular packing diagram of molecule 4, the three cations and iodate anions are stabilized by C···C, C···I, N···I, N···H, H···I, N—H···I and C—H···I. The dihedral angle between planes having oxadiazole and two benzene rings are 5°and 8°, suggesting the molecule 4 is a slightly strained one. The molecular structure of precursor molecule 2 stabilized by C···C and N···H short contacts between the molecules. The molecule 4 displayed strong absorbance at 315 nm and emissions between 390 - 410 nm.

Spectroscopy and carrier dynamics of one-dimensional nanostructures

In recent years,one-dimensional(1D)nanomaterials have raised researcher's interest because of their unique structur-al characteristic to generate and confine the optical signal and their promising prospects in photonic applications.In this re-view,we summarized the recent research advances on the spectroscopy and carrier dynamics of 1D nanostructures.First,the condensation and propagation of exciton-polaritons in nanowires(NWs)are introduced.Second,we discussed the properties of 1D photonic crystal(PC)and applications in photonic-plasmonic structures.Third,the observation of topological edge states in 1D topological structures is introduced.Finally,the perspective on the potential opportunities and remaining chal-lenges of 1D nanomaterials is proposed.

A Review of Studies of Polymeric Membranes by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

A review is presented of studies of polymeric membranes by applying positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy （PALS）. PALS has been used to study subnanometer-sized holes, to determine their size distribution and free-volume fractions, and to probe molecular-sized vacancies in glassy polymers. At present, PALS is believed to be a highly effective physical method for the examination of polymeric membranes.

Evaluating the Competitive Position of Port of Douala in Central Africa Regional Ports Market Conduct Using the SSA

This paper aims to analyze the competitive position of Port of Douala in Central African ports market structure. In other words, it consists of measuring port market level and competitiveness through an assessment of their growth rate and market share. The purpose of the paper is to provide us with information on periodical changing status of ports competing with each other. It also provides us with an effective managerial tool to port operators in the assessment of ports market share and position. For doing so, the measurement technique as Shift-Share Analysis was applied in the study by using a panel dataset of the 7 selected ports of Central Africa sub-region from 2008 to 2018. The paper used the recent dynamics and characteristics of port market in terms of port throughputs to compare the yearly trend and market share. By conducting the study of the market growth rate model, the findings showed that the Port of Douala was the top leader of the market in 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2018. The findings also revealed the competitive positions of these ports under study have changed over the period of study due to the significant change of their market share with average growth rates. The final results showed that several determinant factors have affected the present hierarchy of competitiveness level in the selected ports market especially with small and medium size ports that are strengthening their positions vis-a-vis larger ones. However, the results could be used for analyzing the relative efficiency and overall performance of the Central African Sub-regional seaports including the Cameroonian ports.

The MuItilayer Fabric Structures for Conveyer Belts

The fabric structures for both the base structures and thecover of multilayer conveyer belts are introduced in thispaper.It is also of general significances to use these fab-rics in composite materials.

Formation of Hybrid Ring Structure of Cyanurate/Isocyanurate in the Reaction be-tween 2,4,6-Tris(4-Phenyl-Phenoxy)-1, 3,5-Triazine and Phenyl Glycidyl Ether

Reaction products of 2,4,6-tris(4-phenyl-phenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine derived from 4-phenylphenol cyanate ester and phenyl glycidyl ether were analyzed. In addition to an isocyanurate compound and an oxazolidone compound which were well known as reaction products of cyanate esters and epoxy resins, compounds with hybrid ring structure of cyanurate/isocyanurate were determined. Gibbs free energies of the compound having hybrid ring structure of cyanurate/isocyanurate with two isocyanurate moiety were found to be lower than that of the compound with cyanurate ring structure through calculations. Calculation data supported the existence of hybrid ring structure of cy-anurate/isocyanurate. It was revealed that isomerization from cyanurate to isocyanurate occurs via hybrid ring structure of cyanurate/isocyanurate in the reaction of aryl cyanurate and epoxy.

Large-scale data-driven and physics-based models offer insights into the relationships among the structures,dynamics,and functions of chromosomes

The organized three-dimensional chromosome architecture in the cell nucleus provides scaffolding for precise regulation of gene expression.When the cell changes its identity in the cell-fate decision-making process,extensive rearrangements of chromo-some structures occur accompanied by large-scale adaptations of gene expression,underscoring the importance of chromosome dynamics in shaping genome function.Over the last two decades,rapid development of experimental methods has provided unprecedented data to characterize the hierarchical structures and dynamic properties of chromosomes.In parallel,these enormous data offer valuable opportunities for developing quantitative computational models.Here,we review a variety of large-scale polymer models developed to investigate the structures and dynamics of chromosomes.Different from the underlying modeling strategies,these approaches can be classified into data-driven(‘top-down’)and physics-based(‘bottom-up’)categories.We discuss their contributions to offering valuable insights into the relationships among the structures,dynamics,and functions of chromosomes and propose the perspective of developing data integration approaches from different experimental technologies and multidisciplinary theoretical/simulation methods combined with different modeling strategies.

Crystal structure of the ubiquitin-like domain of human TBK1

TANK-binding kinase 1(TBK1)is an important enzyme in the regulation of cellular antiviral effects.TBK1 regulates the activity of the interferon regulatory factors IRF3 and IRF7,thereby playing a key role in type I interferon(IFN)signaling pathways.The structure of TBK1 consists of an N-terminal kinase domain,a middle ubiquitin-like domain(ULD),and a C-terminal elongated helical domain.It has been reported that the ULD of TBK1 regulates kinase activity,playing an important role in signaling and mediating interactions with other molecules in the IFN pathway.In this study,we present the crystal structure of the ULD of human TBK1 and identify several con-served residues by multiple sequence alignment.We found that a hydrophobic patch in TBK1,containing residues Leu316,Ile353,and Val382,corresponding to the“Ile44 hydrophobic patch”observed in ubiquitin,was conserved in TBK1,IκB kinase epsilon(IKKε/IKKi),IκB kinase alpha(IKKα),and IκB kinase beta(IKKβ).In com-parison with the structure of the IKKβULD domain of Xenopus laevis,we speculate that the Ile44 hydrophobic patch of TBK1 is present in an intramolecular binding surface between ULD and the C-terminal elongated heli-ces.The varying surface charge distributions in the ULD domains of IKK and IKK-related kinases may be relevant to their specificity for specific partners.

Depletion of phosphatidyl-glycerol head-group induces changes in oxygen evolution and protein secondary structures of photosystem Ⅱ

The techniques of oxygen electrode polarogra-phy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to explore the roles of polar head-group of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) molecules in the functional and structural aspects of photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ) through enzymatic approach. It was shown that the depletion of PG by treatment of phospholipase C (PLC) on PS Ⅱ particles caused the inhibition of oxygen evolving activity in PS Ⅱ. This effect also gave rise to changes in the protein secondary structures of PS Ⅱ, that is, an increase in a-helical conformation which is compensated by the loss of p-strand structures. It revealed that the head-group of PG molecules plays an important structural role in the maintenance of normal structure of PS Ⅱ proteins, which is required to maintain the appropriate physiological activity of the PS Ⅱ complex such as the oxygen evolving activity. It is suggested that there most probably exist hydrogen-bonding interactions between PG molecules and PS Ⅱ proteins.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Thermal Behavior of GZTO·H2O

Guanidimium-4,4-azo-l-hydro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one （GZTO·H2O） was synthesized from 4-amino-1,2,4-triazol- 5-one as a starting material by two-step including oxidation coupling using acid KMnO4 and reaction with （NH2）2C=NHoHNO3 （GN） in KOH solution. The single crystal of the title compound was obtained by slow evapo- ration method at room temperature, and its structure was firstly determined with X-ray single-crystal diffractometer. It is a orthorhombic crystal, space group Pbca with cell dimensions of a = 1.0459（2） nm, b =- 1.3584（3） nm, c= 1.6103（3） nm, a= 90.00（10）°, β=90.00（11）°,γ=90.00（11）°, V=2.2878（8） nm3, Z=8, De= 1.587 gocm-3, F（000） = 1136,/l = 0.132 mm- 1, R1 = 0.0455, wR2 = 0. 1397. The thermal behavior of GZTO·H2O was studied under a non-isothermal condition by DSC-TGA method, and its thermal decomposition process can be divided into three stages, and the first stage is an intense exothermic decomposition process. The second stage and the third stage are slow exothermic decomposition processes. The critical temperature of thermal explosion is 237.74℃.

Digital simulation of 3D turbulence wind field of Sutong Bridge based on measured wind spectra

Time domain analysis is an essential implement to study the buffeting behavior of long-span bridges for it can consider the non-linear effect which is significant in long-span bridges. The prerequisite of time domain analysis is the accurate description of 3D turbulence winds. In this paper, some hypotheses for simplifying the 3D turbulence simulation of long-span cable-stayed bridges are conducted, considering the structural characteristics. The turbulence wind which is a 3D multivariate stochastic vector process is converted into four independent 1D univariate stochastic processes. Based on recorded wind data from structural health monitoring system (SHMS) of the Sutong Bridge, China, the measured spectra expressions are then presented using the nonlinear least-squares fitting method. Turbulence winds at the Sutong Bridge site are simulated based on the spectral representation method and the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique, and the relevant results derived from target spectra including measured spectra and recommended spectra are compared. The reliability and accuracy of the presented turbulence simulation method are validated through comparisons between simulated and target spectra (measured and recommended spectra). The obtained turbulence si-mulations can not only serve further analysis of the buffeting behavior of the Sutong Bridge, but references for structural anti-wind design in adjacent regions.

LEARNING CAUSAL GRAPHS OF NONLINEAR STRUCTURAL VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIVE MODEL USING INFORMATION THEORY CRITERIA

Detection and clarification of cause-effect relationships among variables is an important problem in time series analysis. Traditional causality inference methods have a salient limitation that the model must be linear and with Gaussian noise. Although additive model regression can effectively infer the nonlinear causal relationships of additive nonlinear time series, it suffers from the limitation that contemporaneous causal relationships of variables must be linear and not always valid to test conditional independence relations. This paper provides a nonparametric method that employs both mutual information and conditional mutual information to identify causal structure of a class of nonlinear time series models, which extends the additive nonlinear times series to nonlinear structural vector autoregressive models. An algorithm is developed to learn the contemporaneous and the lagged causal relationships of variables. Simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the nroosed method.

Ownership, structure, and performance of architectural firms

With architectural firms, owners are often managers whose characteristics may influence the firm structure. This study investigated the relationships between ownership characteristics, organizational structure, and performance of architectural firms. Utilizing a sample of architectural firms from Nigeria, a questionnaire survey of 92 architectural firms was carried out. Data were analyzed using multiple analysis of variance （MANOVA） and resression analyses. A generally low level of specialization of duties was observed even though professional service firms were defined as highly specialized firms. For most of the firms, level of formalization was moderate or high, while level of centralization was mostly low. Results revealed a direct significant relationship between legal ownership form and formalization dimension of structure. In addition, the centralization dimension of structure influenced firm performance. However, no direct relationship between ownership characteristics and performance was noted, although different fits of ownership characteristics and structural variables were observed. The results suggest that principals of architectural firms should match their characteristics with the firm structure to enhance performance in relation to profit.

Structural design and performance analysis of China’s Local Government Financing Vehicles

In this paper,we investigate the reasons for the establishment and operation models of China’s Local Government Financing Vehicles(LGFVs).We also outline the current literature on the structural arrangement and the developments of LGFVs.Moreover,we employ the empirical analysis to examine the driv-ing factors of the financial performance of LGFVs.Using 1,042 LGFVs that issued debt securities during the period 2011–2016,we find that the financial performance of LGFVs is positively asso-ciated with local tax revenues,local education levels,local saving deposits,and firm size but negatively associated with local gov-ernment spending and firm leverage ratios.Based on our empir-ical findings,we finally propose policy recommendations for the establishment of relevant investment and financing platforms.

Statistical Structures on Metric Path Spaces

The authors extend the notion of statistical structure from Riemannian geometry to the general framework of path spaces endowed with a nonlinear connection and a generalized metric.Two particular cases of statistical data are defined.The existence and uniqueness of a nonlinear connection corresponding to these classes is proved.Two Koszul tensors are introduced in accordance with the Riemannian approach.As applications,the authors treat the Finslerian (α,β)-metrics and the Beil metrics used in relativity and field theories while the support Riemannian metric is the Fisher-Rao metric of a statistical model.