Analytical evaluation of the plasma dispersion function for a Fermi-Dirac distribution

An efficient method for the analytic evaluation of the plasma dispersion function for the Fermi-Dirac distribution is proposed.The new method has been developed using the binomial expansion theorem and the Gamma functions.The general formulas obtained for the plasma dispersion function are utilized for the evaluation of the response function.The resulting series present better convergence rates.Several acceleration techniques are combined to further improve the efficiency.The obtained results for the plasma dispersion function are in good agreement with the known numerical data.

Stepwise joint inversion of surface wave dispersion,Rayleigh wave ZH ratio,and receiver function data for 1D crustal shear wave velocity structure

Accurate determination of seismic velocity of the crust is important for understanding regional tectonics and crustal evolution of the Earth. We propose a stepwise joint linearized inversion method using surface wave dispersion, Rayleigh wave ZH ratio （i.e., ellipticity）, and receiver function data to better resolve 1D crustal shear wave velocity （Vs） structure. Surface wave dispersion and Rayleigh wave ZH ratio data are more sensitive to absolute variations of shear wave speed at depths, but their sensi- tivity kernels to shear wave speeds are different and complimentary. However, receiver function data are more sensitive to sharp velocity contrast （e.g., due to the existence of crustal interfaces） and Vp/Vs ratios. The stepwise inversion method takes advantages of the complementary sensitivities of each dataset to better constrain the Vs model in the crust. We firstly invert surface wave dispersion and ZH ratio data to obtain a 1D smooth absolute vs model and then incorporate receiver function data in the joint inver- sion to obtain a finer Vs model with better constraints on interface structures. Through synthetic tests, Monte Carlo error analyses, and application to real data, we demonstrate that the proposed joint inversion method can resolve robust crustal Vs structures and with little initial model dependency.

Quasi-Periodic Structures Based on Symmetrical Lucas Function of (2+1)-Dimensional Modified Dispersive Water-Wave System

By introducing the Lucas-Riccati method and a linear variable separation method, new variable separation solutions with arbitrary functions are derived for a （2＋1）-dimensional modified dispersive water-wave system. The main idea of this method is to express the solutions of this system as polynomials in the solution of the Riecati equation that the symmetrical Lucas functions satisfy. From the variable separation sohition and by selecting appropriate functions, some novel Jacobian elliptic wave structure with variable modulus and their interactions with dromions and peakons are investigated.

S-wave velocity structure in Tangshan earthquake region and its adjacent areas from joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion

Using the seismic records of 83 temporary and 17 permanent broadband seismic stations deployed in Tangshan earthquake region and its adjacent areas(39°N–41.5°N,115.5°E–119.5°E),we conducted a nonlinear joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion.We obtained some detailed information about the Tangshan earthquake region and its adjacent areas,including sedimentary thickness,Moho depth,and crustal and upper mantle S-wave velocity.Meanwhile,we also obtained the vP/vS structure along two sections across the Tangshan region.The results show that:(1)the Moho depth ranges from 30 km to 38 km,and it becomes shallower from Yanshan uplift area to North China basin;(2)the thickness of sedimentary layer ranges from 0 km to 3 km,and it thickens from Yanshan uplift region to North China basin;(3)the S-wave velocity structure shows that the velocity distribution of the upper crust has obvious correlation with the surface geological structure,while the velocity characteristics of the middle and lower crust are opposite to that of the upper crust.Compared with the upper crust,the heterogeneity of the middle and lower crust is more obvious;(4)the discontinuity of Moho on the two sides of Tangshan fault suggests that Tangshan fault cut the whole crust,and the low vS and high vP/vS beneath the Tangshan earthquake region may reflect the invasion of mantle thermal material through Tangshan fault.

On Moment Generating Function of Generalized Order Statistics from Erlang-Truncated Exponential Distribution

In this paper explicit expressions and some recurrence relations are derived for marginal and joint moment generating functions of generalized order statistics from Erlang-truncated exponential distribution. The results for k-th record values and order statistics are deduced from the relations derived. Further, a characterizing result of this distribution on using the conditional expectation of function of generalized order statistics is discussed.

Extended Jacobi Elliptic Function Rational Expansion Method and Its Application to （2＋1）-Dimensional Stochastic Dispersive Long Wave System

In this work, by means of a generalized method and symbolic computation, we extend the Jacobi elliptic function rational expansion method to uniformly construct a series of stochastic wave solutions for stochastic evolution equations. To illustrate the effectiveness of our method, we take the （2＋ 1）-dimensional stochastic dispersive long wave system as an example. We not only have obtained some known solutions, but also have constructed some new rational formal stochastic Jacobi elliptic function solutions.

Optimized staggered-grid finite-difference operators using window functions

The staggered-grid finite-difference （SGFD） method has been widely used in seismic forward modeling. The precision of the forward modeling results directly affects the results of the subsequent seismic inversion and migration. Numerical dispersion is one of the problems in this method. The window function method can reduce dispersion by replacing the finite-difference operators with window operators, obtained by truncating the spatial convolution series of the pseudospectral method. Although the window operators have high precision in the low-wavenumber domain, their precision decreases rapidly in the high-wavenumber domain. We develop a least squares optimization method to enhance the precision of operators obtained by the window function method. We transform the SGFD problem into a least squares problem and find the best solution iteratively. The window operator is chosen as the initial value and the optimized domain is set by the error threshold. The conjugate gradient method is also adopted to increase the stability of the solution. Approximation error analysis and numerical simulation results suggest that the proposed method increases the precision of the window function operators and decreases the numerical dispersion.

Platinum catalysts supported on Nafion functionalized carbon black for fuel cell application

We report a high performance supported Pt catalyst, in which a perfluorosulfonic acid （Nation） functionalized carbon black is used as support. The catalyst is characterized by infrared spectroscopy （IR）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The TEM image shows that the active Pt component is in nanoparticles and highly dispersed on the carbon black with an average particle size of 1.9 nm. The catalyst shows improved activity towards the methanol anodic oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction （ORR）, resulting from the high dispersion of active Pt component. It leads to increases in electrochemically accessible surface areas and ion channels, as well as easier charge- transfer at polymer/electrolyte interfaces. The high platinum utilization and high performance of Pt/Nafion-C catalyst make it a promising electrocatalyst for fuel cell application.

Vibration analysis of axisymmetric functionally graded viscothermoelastic spheres

The present study focuses on the analysis of free vibrations of axisymmetric functionally graded hollow spheres. The material is assumed to be graded in radial di- rection with a simple power law. Matrix Frrbenious method of extended power series is employed to derive the analytical solutions for displacement, temperature, and stresses. The dispersion relations for the existence of various types of pos- sible modes of vibrations in the considered hollow sphere are derived in a compact form. In order to explore the character- istics of vibrations, the secular equations are further solved by using fixed point iteration numerical technique with the help of MATLAB software. The numerical results have been presented graphically for polymethyl methecrylate materials in respect of natural frequencies, frequency shift, inverse quality factor, displacement, temperature change, and radial stress.

Bird functional traits affect seed dispersal patterns of China's endangered trees across different disturbed habitats

Background: The most dominant global threat to natural forests and their biodiversity is land-cover change, which has negative impacts on both species persistence and ecosystem functions. Land-cover change could alter animal behaviour and disrupt seed dispersal mutualisms. However, its effects on the role of bird functional traits in seed dispersal are not well studied.Methods: In the present study, we assessed the contributions of bird functional traits(behavioural traits: food habit, foraging pattern, foraging frequency, and habitat specialisation; morphological traits: weight, body length, wing length, and tail length) to both seed removal patterns and seed dispersal distances of an endangered and native tree species, Chinese yew(Taxus chinensis), in farmland, patchy habitat, and natural habitat, of southeast China.Results: We found that the ability of T. chinensis trees to form seed dispersal mutualisms with local birds varied across the different disturbed habitats. As a consequence of these mutualisms, more seeds were removed by birds from the patchy habitat than from the other two habitats. The number of seeds removed increased with bird foraging frequency. Moreover, the dispersal distance from the three habitats differed, and the longest dispersal distances were observed at both the patchy habitat and the farmland site. Seed dispersal distance increased with bird tail and wing length.Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of bird functional traits in the seed dispersal patterns of endangered trees across disturbed forest habitats, which should be considered for tree conservation and management.

Can amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes carry functional nerve growth factor?

Carbon nanotubes can carry protein into cells to induce biological effects. Amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes are soluble and biocompatible, have high reactivity and low toxicity, and can help promote nerve cell growth. In this study, amino-functionalized ethylenediamine-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes were used to prepare carbon nanotubes-nerve growth factor complexes by non-covalent grafting. The physicochemical properties, cytotoxicity to PC12 and chick embryo dorsal root ganglion, and biological activity of the carbon nanotubes-nerve growth factor complexes were investigated. The results showed that amino functionalization improved carbon nanotubes-nerve growth factor complex dispersibility, reduced their toxicity to PC12 cells, and promoted PC 12 cell differentiation and chick embryo dorsal root ganglion.

Improvement of increased cQTd is associated with heart function in patients with ischemic heart failure

Background Chronic heart failure （CHF） is life-threatening without timely or effective intervention. In this study, we investigated the association between QT dispersion corrected for heart rate （cQTd） and heart function in patients with CHF. Methods From January 2013 to December 2015, we continuously enrolled 240 patients categorized as New York Heart Association functional class （NYHA） III-IV with a left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF） 〈 40%. Based on the etiology, the patients were divided into a dilated cardiomyopathy （DCM） group （n = 120） and an ischemic cardiomyopathy （ICM） group （n = 120）. Then, based on the cQTd width, the ICM group was divided into two subgroups： a QS group （cQTd ≤60 ms, n = 70） and a QL group （cQTd 〉 60 ms, n = 50）. All patients were examined by echocardiography and 12-lead electrocardiography （ECG） at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after enrollment. Results After one year of optimized medical treatment, patients in both groups showed significant improvement in LVEF and NYHA classification from baseline. However, the cQTd in the ICM group, especially the QL, was significantly shorter than that in the DCM group at each time point. In addition, the cQTd was negatively correlated with LVEF and 6-min walking test and positively correlated with NYHA class in the ICM group. Conclusions The present findings clearly demonstrate that cQTd is a meaningful parameter for assessing heart function in the follow-up of ICM patients.

Wave propagation analysis of porous functionally graded piezoelectric nanoplates with a visco-Pasternak foundation

This study investigates the size-dependent wave propagation behaviors under the thermoelectric loads of porous functionally graded piezoelectric(FGP) nanoplates deposited in a viscoelastic foundation.It is assumed that(i) the material parameters of the nanoplates obey a power-law variation in thickness and(ii) the uniform porosity exists in the nanoplates.The combined effects of viscoelasticity and shear deformation are considered by using the Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model and the refined higher-order shear deformation theory.The scale effects of the nanoplates are captured by employing nonlocal strain gradient theory(NSGT).The motion equations are calculated in accordance with Hamilton’s principle.Finally,the dispersion characteristics of the nanoplates are numerically determined by using a harmonic solution.The results indicate that the nonlocal parameters(NLPs) and length scale parameters(LSPs) have exactly the opposite effects on the wave frequency.In addition,it is found that the effect of porosity volume fractions(PVFs) on the wave frequency depends on the gradient indices and damping coefficients.When these two values are small,the wave frequency increases with the volume fraction.By contrast,at larger gradient index and damping coefficient values,the wave frequency decreases as the volume fraction increases.

Functional diversity in an Andean subparamo affected by wildfire in Colombia

Recently,the Andean subparamo in Colombia has experienced severe wildfires,but little is known about the functional composition of recovering or not after a wildfire.Therefore,we examined the functional community composition subparamo affected byfire in 2016.We documented how functional traits changed 31 months after the disturbance and compared them with an unburned site.We sampled from one to two years after the fire every four months,then registered all recruits in 1655m plots.New individuals were classified into strategy functional groups based on the traits of persistence and dispersal.The first group was stem type and regeneration mechanism(seedling and resprout),and the second was fruit type and dispersal mode.We investigated the degree to which functional diversity changes plant communities over time(woody and non-woody),and we compared it with an unburned site.The most relevant results showed that resprouts and seed regenerated increased post-fire time and significant differences between sampling periods.The anemochory is the most relevant dispersal mode that indicates the community capacity to colonize the new gaps opened by the fire rapidly.We discuss how wildfire appears to be a triggering factor for persistence and dispersal strategy groups in subparamo burned given their characteristics of tolerance to stress.For this reason,a greater functional divergence between the ecosystems studied post-fire recovery has been related to higher levels of biodiversity at the landscape scale due to the high degree of endemism and significant differences in species composition between paramos.

Wigner functions and tomograms of the even and odd binomial states

Using the coherent state representation of Wigner operator and the technique of integration within an ordered product （IWOP） of operators, the Wigner functions of the even and odd binomial states （EOBSs） are obtained. The physical meaning of the Wigner functions for the EOBSs is given by means of their marginal distributions. Moreover, the tomograms of the EOBSs are calculated by virtue of intermediate coordinate-momentum representation in quantum optics.

New Extended Jacobi Elliptic Function Rational Expansion Method and Its Application

In this paper, an extended Jacobi elliptic function rational expansion method is proposed for constructing new forms of exact Jacobi elliptic function solutions to nonlinear partial differential equations by means of making a more general transformation. For illustration, we apply the method to the （2＋1）-dimensional dispersive long wave equation and successfully obtain many new doubly periodic solutions, which degenerate as soliton solutions when the modulus m approximates 1. The method can also be applied to other nonlinear partial differential equations.

金属掺杂的磷烯对亚甲基蓝的吸附机理:DFT-D研究

随着工业的发展,染料废水对人类和环境的危害愈加显著,其中偶氮类的亚甲基蓝这种染料废水不仅色度大,而且难以降解.因此设计一种高效且灵敏的吸附剂来去除亚甲基蓝对人类和环境的危害是亟须解决的问题.本研究利用基于色散力校正的密度泛函理论(DFT-D)的第一性原理方法探索了本征及掺杂磷烯吸附剂对亚甲基蓝的吸附机理,并详细考察了本征及掺杂Al,Ca,Ti和Fe金属原子后的磷烯对亚甲基蓝吸附的影响.研究结果表明亚甲基蓝初始构型会影响磷烯对其吸附,当亚甲基蓝平躺于磷烯表面时有较大的吸附,且金属原子掺杂显著地影响其对亚甲基蓝的吸附能力,掺杂金属原子均增大了磷烯对亚甲基蓝的吸附.其中吸附能力是Fe掺杂磷烯>Ca掺杂磷烯>Ti掺杂磷烯>Al掺杂磷烯.研究结论对于亚甲基蓝的处理带来了新的指导方向,有望为相关染料废水的检测和去除提供有意义的理论参考.

Distribution of Fe and adsorption of NH_3 in mordenite:a computational study

The distribution of Fe and the adsorption of NH3 in H-[Fe]MOR （mordenite） were investigated using dispersion corrected density functional theory （DFT-D2）.Based on the results,it can be found that the most favorable site for the distribution of Fe is T1O6,followed by T2O5,T4O2 and T3O1,and energy differences for Fe in different T sites are less than 0.09 eV,indicating that Fe atoms may distribute in all kinds of T sites in MOR.In addition,the adsorption energies for NH3 at each crystallographic position of H-[Fe]MOR were also determined.Finally,it can be concluded that the Br（o）nsted acid site at T2O5 is stronger than the other acid sites,and the adsorption of NH3 on Br（o）nsted acid sites is more stable than on Lewis acid sites.

A Two-Parameter Lindley Distribution for Modeling Waiting and Survival Times Data

In this paper, a two-parameter Lindley distribution, of which the one parameter Lindley distribution (LD) is a particular case, for modeling waiting and survival times data has been introduced. Its moments, failure rate function, mean residual life function, and stochastic orderings have been discussed. It is found that the expressions for failure rate function mean residual life function and stochastic orderings of the two-parameter LD shows flexibility over one-parameter LD and exponential distribution. The maximum likelihood method and the method of moments have been discussed for estimating its parameters. The distribution has been fitted to some data-sets relating to waiting times and survival times to test its goodness of fit to which earlier the one parameter LD has been fitted by others and it is found that to almost all these data-sets the two parameter LD distribution provides closer fits than those by the one parameter LD.

New Exact Solutions to Dispersive Long-Wave Equations in （2＋1）-Dimensional Space

New exact solutions expressed by the Jacobi elliptic functions are obtained to the （2＋1）-dimensional dispersive long-wave equations by using the modified F-expansion method. In the limit case, new solitary wave solutions and triangular periodic wave solutions are obtained as well.