Method of fabricating artificial rock specimens based on extrusion free forming(EFF)3D printing

Three-dimensional(3D)printing technology has been widely used to create artificial rock samples in rock mechanics.While 3D printing can create complex fractures,the material still lacks sufficient similarity to natural rock.Extrusion free forming(EFF)is a 3D printing technique that uses clay as the printing material and cures the specimens through high-temperature sintering.In this study,we attempted to use the EFF technology to fabricate artificial rock specimens.The results show the physico-mechanical properties of the specimens are significantly affected by the sintering temperature,while the nozzle diameter and layer thickness also have a certain impact.The specimens are primarily composed of SiO_(2),with mineral compositions similar to that of natural rocks.The density,uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),elastic modulus,and tensile strength of the printed specimens fall in the range of 1.65–2.54 g/cm3,16.46–50.49 MPa,2.17–13.35 GPa,and 0.82–17.18 MPa,respectively.It is capable of simulating different types of rocks,especially mudstone,sandstone,limestone,and gneiss.However,the simulation of hard rocks with UCS exceeding 50 MPa still requires validation.

Fingerprint analysis of placenta polypeptide injection by high performance liquid chromatography

Objective: To develop the representative fingerprint for the quality control of placenta polypeptide injection. Methods: The chromatographic separation was performed using a Phenomenex Gemini C18 column (250 mm 4.6 mm, 5 mm) maintained at 30 1C. 0.1% aqueous trifiuoroacetic acid (Solvent A) and acetonitrile contained 0.1% TFA (Solvent B) were used as mobile phase with a gradient elution. Detection wavelength was 280 nm with the sample injection volume of 50 mL; the fiow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The fingerprints of different samples were investigated by similarity analysis. Results: Nine peaks were identified as the characteristic common peaks. The similarities of the fingerprints of the 10 batches of samples were above 0.992. Conclusion: This method showed high precision and good repeatability, and provided the basis for the improvement of the quality control of placenta polypeptide injection.

The Bio-Geographical Regions Division of Global Terrestrial Animal by Multivariate Similarity Clustering Analysis Method

A novel multivariate similarity clustering analysis (MSCA) approach was used to estimate a biogeographical division scheme for the global terrestrial fauna and was compared against other widely used clustering algorithms. The faunal dataset included almost all terrestrial and freshwater fauna, a total of 4631 families, 141,814 genera, and 1,334,834 species. Our findings demonstrated that suitable results were only obtained with the MSCA method, which was associated with distinct hierarchies, reasonable structuring, and furthermore, conformed to biogeographical criteria. A total of seven kingdoms and 20 sub-kingdoms were identified. We discovered that the clustering results for the higher and lower animals did not differ significantly, leading us to consider that the analysis result is convincing as the first zoogeographical division scheme for global all terrestrial animals.

Similarity research of anomalous dynamic response of ship girder subjected to near field underwater explosion

The final anomalous sag distortion of the ship girder subjected to the near field underwater explosion （undex） below the middle ship is studied. The sinking exercise of Spruance class destroyer DD973 sunk by one MK48 torpedo is first presented, and a simulation model is established. The exponential attenuation phase, the reciprocal attenuation phase, the post reciprocal attenuation phase, and the negative pressure phase of the undex load are precisely applied in this model. The fluid-solid interaction, the added water mass, the gravity, and the change of buoyancy are also taken into account. The similarity theory is then used to analyze the dynamic response of the ship girder. Similarity parameters and theory prediction formulae of the dynamic response of the ship girder are presented, The physical meaning and influences of these similarity parameters are analyzed.

Amphibian and reptilian distribution patterns in the transitional zone between the Euro-Siberian and Central Asia Subrealms

There exist some controversies over the larger zoogeographic divisions of the arid areas of Central Asia, whose characteristics include complex ecological environments, complex fauna origins and unique patterns of animal distribution. The aim of this study was to determine, using quantitative analysis, the distribution patterns of amphibians and reptiles in the arid areas of Central Asia, whose various physiographical regions were divided into 17 Operative Geographical Units （OGUs）. Based on the presence or absence of 52 amphibian and reptile genera in the 17 OGUs, and by making use of the Czekanowski Similarity Index, the Baroni-Urbani and Buser＇s Similarity Index, and the strong and weak boundary test, we studied the biotic boundaries within these contested regions. In accordance with our results, the classification dendrogram was divided into two main branches. One branch is composed of the northern OGUs of the Altai Mountains which are a part of the Euro-Siberian Subrealm. The other branch includes all of the OGUs south of the Altai Mountains, which belong to the Central Asia Subrealm. There is a significantly weak biotic boundary （DW〉0, GW〉GS, P〈0.01） between the Euro-Siberian Subrealm and the Central Asia Subrealm that corre- sponded to the transitional zones. The boundary between the two subrealms runs along the Altai Mountains, the Sayan Mountains, the Hangai Mountains and the Mongolian Dagurr Mountains. The boundaries between the main branches in the Central Asia Subrealm are weak, reflecting the widespread existence of transitional zones in the arid areas of Central Asia. The Tianshan Mountains should be elevated to form its own separate region, ＂the Middle Asian Mountain Region＂, which, due to its special fauna and environment, would be classified at the same level as the Mongolia-Xinjiang Region. With the approach of creating a cluster analysis dendogram based upon the genera of amphibians and reptiles, the relationship of these higher level zoogeographical divisions was successfully resolved and the error of long-branch attraction was also avoided. With our clustering dendrogram as the foundation, the in- dependence test was applied to strong and weak boundaries, and this resolved the problem of where to attribute the transition areas and revealed as well the barrier effect that physical, geographic boundaries have upon amphibians and reptiles. The approach of combining genera clustering analysis with a statistical boundary test should be applicable not only to the distribution patterns of other animal groups, but also to delineating large-scale zoogeographical divisions.

The social representation of fintech from the perspective of traditional financial sector professionals:evidence from Brazil

This study aims to reveal the social representation of fintech from the perspective of traditional financial sector professionals in Brazil—herein used as a proxy for emerging markets—to interpret and compare it with the scientific literature on the concept of fintech.To achieve this,we applied the social representations theory associated with the word evocation test,similarity analysis,and descending hierarchical classification.After analyzing the results,we perceived a partial misalignment between the existing literature on the concept of fintech and the perspective of traditional financial sector professionals concerning this construct.In contrast to the literature surveyed,the respondents lack perception regarding the potential of fintech to constitute disruptive technology for the traditional financial sector—radically transforming or even eliminating it.In addition,traditional financial sector professionals have little insight into the potential of fintech to financially include the low-income population,owing to their lower costs and greater ease of use.Finally,traditional financial sector professionals failed to appreciate the need to develop a legal and regulatory framework for the performance of fintech in emerging markets.This is a subject that has also been scantly addressed by academia.

Fish-mediated changes in bacterioplankton community composition: an in situ mesocosm experiment

We characterized variations in bacterioplankton community composition(BCC) in mesocosms subject to three different treatments. Two groups contained fish(group one: Cyprinus carpio; group two: Hypophthalmichthys molitrix); and group three, the untreated mesocosm, was the control. Samples were taken seven times over a 49-d period, and BCC was analyzed by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE) and real-time quantitative PCR(q PCR). Results revealed that introduction of C. carpio and H. molitrix had a remarkable impact on the composition of bacterioplankton communities, and the BCC was significantly diff erent between each treatment. Sequencing of DGGE bands revealed that the bacterioplankton community in the different treatment groups was consistent at a taxonomic level, but differed in its abundance. H. molitrix promoted the richness of Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria, while more bands affiliated to Cyanobacteria were detected in C. carpio mesocosms. The redundancy analysis(RDA) result demonstrated that the BCC was closely related to the bottom-up(total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biomass) and top-down forces(biomass of copepods and cladocera) in C. carpio and control mesocosms, respectively. We found no evidence for top-down regulation of BCC by zooplankton in H. molitrix mesocosms, while grazing by protozoa(heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliates) became the major way to regulate BCC. Total bacterioplankton abundances were significantly higher in C. carpio mesocosms because of high nutrient concentration and suspended solids. Our study provided insights into the relationship between fish and bacterioplankton at species level, leading to a deep understanding of the function of the microbial loop and the aquatic ecosystem.

Evaluation of global navigation satellite system spoofing efficacy

The spoofing capability of Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)represents an important confrontational capability for navigation security,and the success of planned missions may depend on the effective evaluation of spoofing capability.However,current evaluation systems face challenges arising from the irrationality of previous weighting methods,inapplicability of the conventional multi-attribute decision-making method and uncertainty existing in evaluation.To solve these difficulties,considering the validity of the obtained results,an evaluation method based on the game aggregated weight model and a joint approach involving the grey relational analysis and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution(GRA-TOPSIS)are firstly proposed to determine the optimal scheme.Static and dynamic evaluation results under different schemes are then obtained via a fuzzy comprehensive assessment and an improved dynamic game method,to prioritize the deceptive efficacy of the equipment accurately and make pointed improvement for its core performance.The use of judging indicators,including Spearman rank correlation coefficient and so on,combined with obtained evaluation results,demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method and the optimal scheme by the horizontal comparison of different methods and vertical comparison of evaluation results.Finally,the results of field measurements and simulation tests show that the proposed method can better overcome the difficulties of existing methods and realize the effective evaluation.

Metabolomics coupled with similarity analysis advances the elucidation of the cold/hot properties of traditional Chinese medicines

It recently becomes an important and urgent mission for modern scientific research to identify and explain the theory of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), which has been utilized in China for more than four millennia. Since few works have been contributed to understanding the TCM theory, the mechanism of actions of drugs with cold/hot properties remains unclear. In the present study, six kinds of typical herbs with cold or hot properties were orally administered into mice, and serum and liver samples were analyzed using an untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) based metabolomics approach coupled with similarity analysis. This approach was performed to identify and quantify changes in metabolic pathways to elucidate drug actions on the treated mice. Our results showed that those drugs with same property exerted similar effects on the metabolic alterations in mouse serum and liver samples, while drugs with different property showed different effects. The effects of herbal medicines with cold/hot properties were exerted by regulating the pathways linked to glycometabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acids metabolism and other metabolic pathways. The results elucidated the differences and similarities of drugs with cold/hot properties, providing useful information on the explanation of medicinal properties of these TCMs.

Comparative Analysis of Protein-Protein Interactions in Cancer-Associated Genes

Protein-protein interactions （PPIs） have been widely studied to understand the biological processes or molecular functions associated with different disease systems like cancer. While focused studies on individual cancers have generated valuable information, global and comparative analysis of datasets from different cancer types has not been done. In this work, we carried out bioinformatic analysis of PPIs corresponding to differentially expressed genes from microarrays of various tumor tissues （belonging to bladder, colon, kidney and thyroid cancers） and compared their associated biological processes and molecular functions （based on Gene Ontology terms）. We identified a set of processes or functions that are common to all these cancers, as well as those that are specific to only one or partial cancer types. Similarly, protein interaction networks in nucleic acid metabolism were compared to identify the common/specific clusters of proteins across different cancer types. Our results provide a basis for further experimental investigations to study protein interaction networks associated with cancer. The methodology developed in this work can also be applied to study similar disease systems.

SkillSim:voice apps similarity detection

Virtual personal assistants(VPAs),such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant,are software agents designed to perform tasks or provide services to individuals in response to user commands.VPAs extend their functions through third-party voice apps,thereby attracting more users to use VPA-equipped products.Previous studies demonstrate vulnerabilities in the certification,installation,and usage of these third-party voice apps.However,these studies focus on individual apps.To the best of our knowledge,there is no prior research that explores the correlations among voice apps.Voice apps represent a new type of applications that interact with users mainly through a voice user interface instead of a graphical user interface,requiring a distinct approach to analysis.In this study,we present a novel voice app similarity analysis approach to analyze voice apps in the market from a new perspective.Our approach,called SkillSim,detects similarities among voice apps(i.e.skills)based on two dimensions:text similarity and structure similarity.SkillSim measures 30,000 voice apps in the Amazon skill market and reveals that more than 25.9%have at least one other skill with a text similarity greater than 70%.Our analysis identifies several factors that contribute to a high number of similar skills,including the assistant development platforms and their limited templates.Additionally,we observe interesting phenomena,such as developers or platforms creating multiple similar skills with different accounts for purposes such as advertising.Furthermore,we also find that some assistant development platforms develop multiple similar but non-compliant skills,such as requesting user privacy in a non-compliance way,which poses a security risk.Based on the similarity analysis results,we have a deeper understanding of voice apps in the mainstream market.

Isosteric design of friction-reduction and anti-wear lubricant additives with less sulfur content

To reduce harmful sulfur content in lubricant additives, making use of isosterism has been shown to be an effective strategy. When thiobenzothiazole compounds were used as templates, the exchange of sulfur atoms in the thiazole ring with oxygen atoms and NH groups produced twelve isosteres. Similarly, 2-benzothiazole- S-carboxylic acid esters were used as template molecules to produce six isosteres. About 30% of the isosteres exhibited a satisfactory deviation of ±5% relative to the template, ignoring the specific changes in the base oils, the differences in molecular structure, and the friction or wear properties. The template molecules and isosteres in triisodecyl trimellitate exhibited better tribological properties than in trimethylolpropane trioleate or bis(2- ethylhexyl) adipate. Comparative molecular field analysis(CoM FA)- and comparative molecular similarity index analysis(CoMSIA)-quantitative structure tribo-ability relationship(QSTR) models were employed to study the correlation of molecular structures between the base oils and additives. The models indicate that the higher the structural similarities of the base oils and additives are, the more synergetic the molecular force fields of the lubricating system are; the molecular force fields creating synergistic effects will improve tribological performance.

Utilizing Statistical Semantic Similarity Techniques for Ontology Mapping——with Applications to AEC Standard Models

The objective of this paper is to introduce three semi-automated approaches for ontology mapping using relatedness analysis techniques. In the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, there exist a number of ontological standards to describe the semantics of building models. Although the standards share similar scopes of interest, the task of comparing and mapping concepts among standards is challenging due to their differences in terminologies and perspectives. Ontology mapping is therefore necessary to achieve information interoperability, which allows two or more information sources to exchange data and to re-use the data for further purposes. The attribute-based approach, corpus-based approach, and name-based approach presented in this paper adopt the statistical relatedness analysis techniques to discover related concepts from heterogeneous ontologies. A pilot study is conducted on IFC and CIS/2 ontologies to evaluate the approaches. Preliminary results show that the attribute-based approach outperforms the other two approaches in terms of precision and F-measure.

Packet： a privacy-aware access control policy composition method for services composition in cloud environments

Combining different independent cloud services must coordinate their access control policies. Otherwise unauthorized access to composite cloud service can occur when there＇s a conflict among different cloud service providers＇ access control policies, and then it will bring serious data security and privacy issues. In this paper, we propose Packet, a novel access control policy composition method that can detect and resolve policy conflicts in cloud service composition, including those conflicts related to privacyaware purposes and conditions. The Packet method is divided into four steps. First, employing a unified description, heterogeneous policies are transformed into a unified attributebased format. Second, to improve the conflict detection ef- ficiency, policy conflicts on the same resource can be eliminated by adopting cosine similarity-based algorithm. Third, exploiting a hierarchical structure approach, policy conflicts related to different resources or privacy-aware purposes and conditions can be detected. Fourth, different conflict resolution techniques are presented based on the corresponding conflict types. We have successfully implemented the Packet method in Openstack platform. Comprehensive experiments have been conducted, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by the comparison with the existing XACML-based system at conflict detection and resolution performance.

Product Quality Evaluation Method Based on Product Gene Theory

Traditional quality inspection based product quality evaluation method with complex process has high operating cost and requires more professional knowledge. To remove the above limitation, this paper leads product gene theory into product quality evaluation. Methods of quality influencing factors based modeling and encoding are established. Combined with similarity theory and product gene theory, a product gene similarity analysis based quality evaluation method is proposed. The proposed method is low cost, operates easily and requires less specialized knowledge. A case study is conducted to prove the correctness and feasibility of this method.

Measuring Similarity of Academic Articles with Semantic Profile and Joint Word Embedding

Long-document semantic measurement has great significance in many applications such as semantic searchs, plagiarism detection, and automatic technical surveys. However, research efforts have mainly focused on the semantic similarity of short texts. Document-level semantic measurement remains an open issue due to problems such as the omission of background knowledge and topic transition. In this paper, we propose a novel semantic matching method for long documents in the academic domain. To accurately represent the general meaning of an academic article, we construct a semantic profile in which key semantic elements such as the research purpose, methodology, and domain are included and enriched. As such, we can obtain the overall semantic similarity of two papers by computing the distance between their profiles. The distances between the concepts of two different semantic profiles are measured by word vectors. To improve the semantic representation quality of word vectors, we propose a joint word-embedding model for incorporating a domain-specific semantic relation constraint into the traditional context constraint. Our experimental results demonstrate that, in the measurement of document semantic similarity, our approach achieves substantial improvement over state-of-the-art methods, and our joint word-embedding model produces significantly better word representations than traditional word-embedding models.

Descriptors for DNA Sequences Based on Joint Diagonalization of Their Feature Matrices from Dinucleotide Physicochemical Properties

Numerical characterizations of DNA sequence can facilitate analysis of similar sequences. To visualize and compare different DNA sequences in less space, a novel descriptors extraction approach was proposed for numerical characterizations and similarity analysis of sequences. Initially, a transformation method was introduced to represent each DNA sequence with dinucleotide physicochemical property matrix. Then, based on the approximate joint diagonalization theory, an eigenvalue vector was extracted from each DNA sequence,which could be considered as descriptor of the DNA sequence. Moreover, similarity analyses were performed by calculating the pair-wise distances among the obtained eigenvalue vectors. The results show that the proposed approach can capture more sequence information, and can jointly analyze the information contained in all involved multiple sequences, rather than separately, whose effectiveness was demonstrated intuitively by constructing a dendrogram for the 15 beta-globin gene sequences.