An Introduction to High Efficiency Video Coding Range Extensions

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is the latest international video coding standard, which can provide the similar quality with about half bandwidth compared with its predecessor, H.264/MPEG?4 AVC. To meet the requirement of higher bit depth coding and more chroma sampling formats, range extensions of HEVC were developed. This paper introduces the coding tools in HEVC range extensions and provides experimental results to compare HEVC range extensions with previous video coding standards. Ex?perimental results show that HEVC range extensions improve coding efficiency much over H.264/MPEG?4 AVC High Predictive profile, especially for 4K sequences.

Gonad traits and age structure of the sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina in central range:a comparison with rangeextenders

The sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina has northern expanded in geographic range to Toga Bay,Oga Peninsula in the Sea of Japan due to the global warming.To demonstrate the gonad traits and age structure of H.crassispina in the central range and compare the difference with those in northern extended range,we collected 100 H.crassispina individuals from a barren off Shitsumi,Fukui(central range),in August 2018.Their growth,gonad traits(size,development and color),and sex ratio were investigated and compared with those in Toga Bay,in August 2014(extended range).The successive 2012–2016 year classes of H.crassispina indicated successive juvenile recruitment in the central range,as found in the extended range.The individuals at three years old in central range were obviously larger than those in the extended range,showing large test diameter and body weight,possibly due to the higher temperature in central range than that in northern extended range.In addition,a balanced sex ratio in the central range was found,in contrast to the female-skewed sex ratio found in the extended range.Gonadal development was sex-and site-dependent.The testicular development in the central range was not only delayed in comparison to ovarian development,but also less delayed than those in the extended range,which possibly attribute to the higher water temperature in the central range.A significantly lower male gonad index and L*(lightness)value was recorded in central ranges compared to that in extended range,possibly due to the releasement of sperm of H.crassispina in central ranges.

Discovery of Japalura chapaensis Bourret, 1937 (Reptilia： Squamata： Agamidae) from Southeast Yunnan Province, China

Due to a paucity of surveys in northern Indochina and lack of international collaborations among neighboring countries, recognized distributional ranges for many amphibian and reptile species end at the political borders for some countries, despite seemingly continuous suitable habitat spanning the region. Combining both morphological and genetic data, we report the first discovery of Japalura chapaensis, a rare agamid lizard believed previously to be endemic to northern Vietnam only, along the border region of southeastern Yunnan Province, China. To facilitate future research on the genus Japalura sensu lato in Indochina, we provide detailed descriptions of additional specimens of this rare species, including the first description of coloration in life and an expanded diagnosis, and discuss the species boundary of J. chapaensis with respect to its congeners.

New Distribution Records for Sphenomorphus tonkinensis(Lacertilia: Scincidae) with Notes on Its Variation and Diagnostic Characters

Sphenomorphus tonkinensis is a recently described new species based on specimens collected from northern Vietnam and Hainan, China. Herein, we report 13 additional specimens of S. tonkinensis from five new localities in Guangxi, Guangdong and Jiangxi, southern China. These specimens were compared with the type specimens of S. tonki- nens＆, which allows us to revise the diagnostic characteristics of this newly described species. Additional information on morphological variation, distribution and reproductive biology are provided, which extends our understanding of the natural history of S. tonkinensis.

Re-description of Opisthotropis laui Yang, Sung and Chan, 2013 (Squamata： Natricidae)

We provide an expanded morphological description of the rarely known Lau＇s stream snake Opisthotropis laui Yang, Sung and Chan, 2013 based on six new specimens from Qixingkeng Natural Reserve, Enping City and Mt. Nianyu, Shangchuan Island, Taishan City, Guangdong Province of China. The diagnostic characters of O. laui are revised accordingly as follows： dorsal scales moderately keeled throughout, in 23（25）：23：21（23） rows; 10 supralabials; 9-11 infralabials; two internasals, longer than wide, not touching with the loreal; one loreal, not touching with the eye; one or two preoculars; two postoculars; one or two posterior temporal scales; 170-176 ventrals in males, 152-159 ventrals in females; 58-61 pairs of subcaudals in males, 53-61 in females; body and tail dark olive above, with light yellow cross bars.

A Preliminary Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary in Northern Cambodia

We present the first herpetological checklist for the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Cambodia, with records of 22 species of amphibians and 33 species of reptiles belonging to 44 genera in 22 families. The checklist includes three species （Ingerophrynus macrotis, Micryletta inornata, Scincella melanosticta） which in Cambodia were formerly only known to occur in the Cardamom Mountains in the southwest of the country. Our findings highlight the importance of countrywide herpetological baseline surveys in lowland habitats.

Flow computations past a triangular boattailed projectile

This paper presents a computational study of the air flow past a triangular boattailed projectile.The study shows that there is a single normal shock wave impinges the projectile at transonic speeds.At supersonic speeds,the formed shock waves are smeared compared to a conical boattailed projectile.Also,there is a reduction of the wake region behind the triangular base and the rear stagnation point is nearer to the projectile base resulting in base drag reduction.Moreover,there is an improvement of the stability of the triangular boattailed projectile since a lower overturning moment is incurred.

On Tectonogeomorphology of China

With the deepening of research in the tectonic evolution and stress fields of China in Meso-Cenozoic, some aspects of the Previous conclusion about the tectonogeomorphology of China are found to be open to question. The author considers that the Sichuanian stage (135-52 Ma ) is the embryonic stage for forming the recent landform in eastern China;the appearance of the mountain ranges and drainage basin areas trending in east-west are the results of the north - south directional extension during the North Sinian stage(52 - 23.3 Ma );the formation of five mega - Step landforms from the Qinghai - Xizang Plateau to Pacific ocean and the seafloor spreading basins in the eastern margin of Asian continent as well as the l- up of drainage systems of both Yangtze and Yellow rivers are related to the northward compression, cast-west trending extension and the isostatic compensation of crust during Himalayan Stage (23.3-0.73 Ma ). Through the above three Stages of tectonic processes, a framework of landform of China finally took shape in the main.

Dynamic spectrum allocation for cell range extension in tiered Macro-Pico heterogeneous networks

Heterogeneous networks are employed in the next generation communication systems to enhance the area spectral efficiency （ASE）, where cell range extension （CRE） is a promising technique to improve the cell edge performance and utilize the low power node （LPN） resources more effectively. In this paper we propose a dynamic spectrum aUocation scheme for Macro-Pico scenario to mitigate both the co-tier and cross-tier interferences. The available system spectrum is divided into different parts by four steps, i.e. user set partition, service request collection, cross-tier occupation and CRE occupation decision, while the service request of each user is taken into consideration. During the process implementation, the reference signal receiving power （RSRP） threshold is derived by mathematical means to judge cell edge macro users when a predefined ratio is given. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme reaches almost the same cell edge performance with the best existing option, meanwhile provides higher overall system throughput and better spectral efficiency. Therefore, much better balance is achieved.

A dynamic range extension scheme applied to a TDI CMOS image sensor

A dynamic range extension scheme applied to a time delay integration （TDI） CMOS image sensor （CIS） is presented. Two types of pixels with higher and lower conversion gain are adopted in the pixel array, which are suitable for capturing images in low and high illumination respectively. By fusing the two kinds of pixels＇ output signals in the process of TDI accumulation, a high dynamic range image can be achieved. Compared with the traditional multiple integration technique, no photoelectrons generated during the exposure time are discarded by the reset operation, and thus a higher level of signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） can be retained. A prototype chip with an 8 × 8 pixel array is implemented in a 0.18 μm CIS process, and the pixel size is 15 × 15 μm2. Test results show that a 76 dB dynamic range can be achieved in 8-stage TDI mode, when the SNR boost can reach 7.26 dB at 90.8 lux.

Metal-free Optical Pressure Sensor with High Sensitivity and Extensive Range

Pressure monitoring of a transformer oil tank can grasp the pressure change process caused by gas production when severe internal defects occur and take timely measures to ensure the safe operation of the transformer.Existing pressure sensors generally use metal encapsulation or have an air cavity structure,threatening the transformer’s insulation if it is directly used inside the transformer.To this end,this paper proposes a method for developing a high-sensitivity,large-range,and metallizationfree optical pressure sensing device with temperature compensation.Fiber grating is encapsulated by fluorosilicone rubber and supplemented by an epoxy resin shielding shell on the outside.At the same time,a double-grating vertical arrangement is adopted to improve pressure measurement sensitivity,further avoiding the influence of temperature rise caused by a defect of the transformer on the measurement result of the sensor.In addition,by optimizing the geometric structure of the internal sensitizing element,pre-stretching length of the fiber grating,gap distance,and other parameters,probe size can be reduced while ensuring the sensor’s performance.Results show the proposed method can meet the requirements of sensor fabrication with different sensitivities and ranges,and to a certain extent,both high sensitivity and extensive ranges can be taken into account.The sensitivity of the fabricated prototype is 15 pm/kPa,and the range is about 0.2 MPa.At the same time,the metal-free feature of the sensor makes it suitable for use in various oil-immersed power equipment.It records oil pressure changes caused by oil discharge breakdown,making it sensitive to small pressure changes in early failures.