Preface to Special Issue on Towards High Performance Ga_(2)O_(3) Electronics: Epitaxial Growth and Power Devices(Ⅰ)

There is currently great optimism within the electronics community that gallium oxide(Ga_(2)O_(3)) ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors have unprecedented prospects for eventually revolutionizing a rich variety of power electronic applications. Specially, benefiting from its ultra-high bandgap of around 4.8 eV, it is expected that the emerging Ga_(2)O_(3) technology would offer an exciting platform to deliver massively enhanced device performance for power electronics and even completely new applications.

Frame property of unequal storey height with specially shaped columns under cyclic loading

A 1/3-scale reinfored concrete(RC) frame of unequal storey height with specially shaped columns was tested under low frequency cyclic loading.The damage characteristic,bearing capacity,deformation capacity and ductility were analyzed.The restoring force model of the frame was obtained based on the study of the hysteresis curve measured in experiment,and the stiffness degeneration characteristics of every storey of the frame were analyzed.Finally the accumulated damage was analyzed with the damage assessment model.It is shown that the seismic behavior of this frame of unequal storey height with specially shaped columns is generally good,but the bottom of first floor column is a weak part,which should be paid more attention in design,and the restoring force model derived from this experiment can be seen as a valuable guide for design and non-linear finite element analysis for this kind of structure.

Guest Editorial for Special Issue on Human-centered Intelligent Robots:Issues and Challenges

The special issue aims to address a broad spectrum of topics ranging from human-centered intelligent robots acting as a servant,secretary,or companion to intelligent robotic functions.The special issue publishes original papers of innovative ideas and concepts,new discoveries,and novel applications and business models relevant to the field of human-centered intelligent robots.In this special issue,modeling,intelligent control,

JOS OUR LATEST SPECIAL ISSUES

Semiconductor Materials Genome Initiative J.Semicond.2018,VoL39,Issue 7 Guest Edited by Suhuai Wei(Beijing Computational Science Research Center,Beijing,China)Junwei Luo(Institute of Semiconductors,CAS,Beijing,China)Bing Huang(Beijing Computational Science Research Center,Beijing,China)Advancedsem iconductingmaterialshavemanyapplications in information technology and clean energy,thus they are critical to sustained economic and environmental development.In recent years.

OUR LATEST SPECIAL ISSUES

Semiconductor Materials Genome Initiative J.Semicond.2018,Vol.39,Issue 7 Guest Edited by Suhuai Wei(Beijing Computational Science Research Center,Beijing,China)Junwei Luo(Institute of Semiconductors,CAS,Beijing,China)Bing Huang(Beijing Computational Science Research Center,Beijing,China)Advanced semiconducting materials have many applications in information technology and clean energy.

Call for Papers for Two Special Issues of Advances in Polar Science

Dear Colleagues, We invite you to submit a article, a review, a letter, or a trend to a special issue on＂The rapid change of Arctic sea ice and its possible effects on high- and mid-latitude weather and climate＂, or another special issue on ＂The current status on the ecosystem of Antarctic Peninsula＂ of the Journal Advances in Polar Science （APS）.

Call for Paper for Two Special Issues in 2018

Dear Colleagues,Advances in Polar Science （APS） is an international, peer-reviewed and open-access journal jointly sponsored by the Polar Research Institute of China （PRIC） and the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration. It is a quarterly journal published in March, June, September and December, and circulated internationally （ISSN 1674-9928, CN 31-2050/P）.

The impact of special issues

With support from many authors from many different scientific fields,Zoological Research（ZR）successfully released eight special issues from 2011 to 2014 on various topics,including Animal Ecology and Resources,Animal Genetic Diversity,Development and Evolution,Fish Diversity and Primates and Animal Models of Human Diseases.These special issues strongly align with our aims and scope,

The leaderette for two special columns

The special column of ＂Invasive Species and Global Change＂ is the outcome of the International Symposium on Invasive Plants and Global Change in Urumqi, China in 2012. Invasive species, being responsible for half to two-thirds of global species extinctions, pose a significant threat to ecosystems. Furthermore, climate change is exacerbating this problem, and thus promotes the introduction, establishment, and spread of invasive species. Aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the sustainable management of arid ecosystems, this column, which is to cover two issues, devotes a considerable number of pages to the discussion on species invasion mechanisms and comparative studies on large regional scales. Special thanks are due to our guest editor Professor Robert S NOWAK （University of Nevada, Reno of the USA） for his supportive organizational and editorial efforts. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography organized the Symposium and provided finan- cial support that made the Symposium and this special column possible.

Experimental Study on Seismic Behavior of Exterior Joints of Special-shaped Columns with Different Lengths of Limbs

Four exterior joints with special-shaped columns which have different lengths of limbs are tested under low cyclic loading. Speeial-shaped columns adopted are L- and T-shaped in section. It can be concluded that crack pattern, failure mode and shear strength of joints are affected by the length of limb, and that shear strength and ductility increase with the length of limb; the joints with the flexural failure of the beam have better seismic behavior than those with the shear failure of the joint core.

Special Issue on Machine Fault Diagnostics and Prognostics

Machine components and systems, such as gears, bearings, pipes, cutting tools and turbines, may experience various types of faults, such as breakage, crack, pitting, wear, corrosion. If not being properly monitored and treated, such faults can propagate and lead to machinery perfor- mance degradation, malfunction, or even severe compo- nent/system failure. It is significant to reliably detect machinery defects, evaluate their severity, predict the fault propagation trends, and schedule optimized maintenance and inspection activities to prevent unexpected failures. Advances in these areas will support ensuring equipment and production reliability, safety, quality and productivity.

Preface to the Special Issue on the “Observation,Prediction and Analysis of severe Convection of China”(OPACC) National “973” Project

China is a country that is frequently affected by severe convective weather. Here, severe convective weather mainly refers to intense local heavy precipitation, thunderstorm-induced gale-force winds including those from tornadoes and downbursts, and hail and lightning. These types of severe weather are usually small in spatial scale and rapid in their development, and are therefore difficult to capture by observational networks and are poorly resolved in typical operational numerical weather prediction （NWP） models. Furthermore, many of the important dynamic and physical processes involved are not well understood. Within China, the impacts of severe convective weather rank only after those of landfalling typhoons and widespread heavy precipitation and flooding. Studies （e.g., Zhang and Zhai, 2011） have shown tendencies for an increased frequency in short-duration extreme precipitation during the past several decades over most of eastern China, where the population is most dense. An in-depth understanding of severe convective weather in China, as well as being able to accurately predict it, is clearly of great importance.

Special Issue on Future Digital Design and Manufacturing:Embracing Industry 4.0 and Beyond

Industry 4.0 as referred to the fourth industrial revolution has endorsed in several national manufacturing initiatives or development plans such as in Germany, the UK, USA and China. A set of important pervasive and secondary technologies for future manufacturing activities have been identified such as additive manufacturing, sensor technology,

Preface to the Special Issue on 2D-Materials-Related Physical Properties and Optoelectronic Devices

Recent advances in two-dimensional (2D) materials following the successful fabrication of graphene in 2004 by Novoselov and Geim is expected to grow into the new silicon, offering a lifeline for Moore’s law. With the rapid development of the synthesis methods, more and more 2D materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs, MX2), black phosphorus (BP) and InSe with a finite gap are reported to be more promising for achieving this dream since they often offer alternative solutions to compensate for the gapless graphene’s weaknesses.

Seismic Behavior of Specially Shaped Column Joints with X-Shaped Reinforcement

To investigate the seismic behavior of specially shaped column joints with X-shaped reinforcement,two groups of specimens with or without X-shaped reinforcement in joint core region were tested under constant axial compression load and low reversed cyclic loading,which imitated low to moderate earthquake force.The seismic behavior of specially shaped column joints with X-shaped reinforcement in terms of bearing capacity,displacement,ductility,hysteretic curve,stiffness degradation and energy dissipation was studied and compared to that without Xshaped reinforcement in joint core region.With the damage estimation model,the accumulated damage was analyzed.The shearing capacity formula of specially shaped column joints reinforced by X-shaped reinforcement was proposed with a simple form.The test results show that X-shaped reinforcement is an effective measure for improving the seismic behavior of specially shaped column joints including deformation behavior,ductility and hysteretic characteristic.All specimens were damaged with gradual stiffness degeneration.In addition,X-shaped reinforcement in the joint core region is an effective way to lighten the degree of cumulated damage.The good seismic performance obtained from the specially shaped column joint with X-shaped reinforcement can be used in engineering applications.The test value is higher than the calculated value,which indicates that the formula is safe for the design of specially shaped column joints.

Special issue on land reclamation in ecological fragile areas

Coal is the most important energy in China, accounting for about 60% of energy consumption, which is about half of the total coal output in the world. With the excavation of coal resources, a lot of land was damaged and serious environmental problems were produced.

Special Issue on "Recent Advances in Power System Control" for International Journal of Control,Automation,and Systems

Today the high quality power supply is of essential in the economic development in a country. With the development of modem power systems and increasing demand for power supply, the electric power industry is facing a great challenge in meeting the increased load demand with highest reliability and security with minimum transmission expenditure. Power system stability analysis and control is one of the most important issues in power systems. The problem becomes more and more serious in power systems with the development of modem power systems. The ability of a power system

Preface to the Special Issue:Aerosols,Clouds,Radiation,Precipitation,and Their Interactions

The treatment of aerosols, clouds, radiation, and precipitation in climate models, in addition to their interactions and as- sociated feedbacks, has long been one of the largest sources of uncertainty in predicting any potential future climate changes. Although many improvements have been made in CMIP5, aerosols, clouds, radiation, and their feedbacks are still a problem in climate models, as concluded in IPCC AR5 and published papers. Many studies have shown that modeled aerosols, clouds, radiation, and precipitation agree with observations within a certain range on a global scale; however, large biases occur at the regional scale. Characterizing the effects of aerosols and clouds on energy and the hydrological cycle and understanding the interactions among aerosols, clouds, radiation, and precipitation, are critical for weather forecasting and climate models. Significant improvements are needed, which require advanced observations and modeling at a range of spatial and temporal scales.

Preface to the Special Issue on Active Source Research

The seismic waveforms may present subtle changes related to the external loadings such as earthquakes(Pei Shunping et al.,2019)and landslides(Larose E.et al.,2015).Monitoring subtle changes provides a complementary tool for studying the dynamic processes(e.g.,Niu Fenglin et al.,2008),which has long been a major subject in seismology.The subsurface can be monitored by using natural repetitive events including repeated earthquakes(e.g.,Song Xiaodong et al.,1996)and ambient seismic noises(e.g.,Mao Shujuan et al.,2019).