Investigation and Hazard Assessment of Invasive Alien Plants on the Campus of Tongren University

[Objectives]The paper was to investigate and assess the species,distribution and hazard status of invasive alien plants on the campus of Tongren University.[Methods]A survey was conducted using line survey method,and the risk assessment index system of invasive alien plants was established by analytic hierarchy process(AHP).[Results]There were 11 species of invasive alien plants on the campus of Tongren University,belonging to 8 genera and 5 families.There were 6 species of invasive alien plants belonging to Asteraceae,accounting for 54.55%of the total.In terms of the origin of invasive plants,most of them were native to North America and Europe,accounting for 27.27%of the total.In terms of harmful level,there were no high-risk invasive plants on the campus of Tongren University,but Alternanthera philoxeroides had the highest score and was the most harmful.[Conclusions]The present situation of alien plant invasion on the campus of Tongren University is closely related to the ecological environment of the campus.It is suggested to strengthen the management of campus plants,focus on the prevention and control of A.philoxeroides,and carry out regular investigation of invasive alien plants on campus to ensure the ecological safety of the campus.

2D DOA Estimation of Coherent Signals with a Separated Linear Acoustic Vector-Sensor Array

In this paper, a two-dimensional(2D) DOA estimation algorithm of coherent signals with a separated linear acoustic vector-sensor(AVS) array consisting of two sparse AVS arrays is proposed. Firstly,the partitioned spatial smoothing(PSS) technique is used to construct a block covariance matrix, so as to decorrelate the coherency of signals. Then a signal subspace can be obtained by singular value decomposition(SVD) of the covariance matrix. Using the signal subspace, two extended signal subspaces are constructed to compensate aperture loss caused by PSS.The elevation angles can be estimated by estimation of signal parameter via rotational invariance techniques(ESPRIT) algorithm. At last, the estimated elevation angles can be used to estimate automatically paired azimuth angles. Compared with some other ESPRIT algorithms, the proposed algorithm shows higher estimation accuracy, which can be proved through the simulation results.

Progress on two-dimensional ferrovalley materials

The electron's charge and spin degrees of freedom are at the core of modern electronic devices. With the in-depth investigation of two-dimensional materials, another degree of freedom, valley, has also attracted tremendous research interest. The intrinsic spontaneous valley polarization in two-dimensional magnetic systems, ferrovalley material, provides convenience for detecting and modulating the valley. In this review, we first introduce the development of valleytronics.Then, the valley polarization forms by the p-, d-, and f-orbit that are discussed. Following, we discuss the investigation progress of modulating the valley polarization of two-dimensional ferrovalley materials by multiple physical fields, such as electric, stacking mode, strain, and interface. Finally, we look forward to the future developments of valleytronics.

Absorptive root-multidimension strategy links air temperature and species distribution in a montane forest

Background: Air temperature affects absorptive root traits, which are closely related to species distribution.However, it is still unclear how air temperature regulates species distribution through changes in absorptive root traits. Seven functional traits of the absorptive roots of 240 individuals of 52 species, soil properties and air temperature were measured along an elevational gradient on Mt. Fanjingshan, Tongren City, Guizhou, and then the direct and indirect effects of these controls on species distribution were detected.Results: Absorptive roots adapted to air temperature with two strategies. The first strategy was positively associated with the specific root area(SRA) and specific root length(SRL) and was negatively associated with the root tissue density(RTD), representing the classic root economics spectrum(RES). The second strategy was represented by the trade-off between root diameter, mycorrhizal fungi colonization(MF) and SRL, representing the collaboration gradient with “do it yourself” resource uptake ranging from “outsourcing” to mycorrhizal resource uptake. Air temperature regulated species distribution in six ways: directly reducing species importance value;indirectly increasing the species importance value by reducing soil nitrogen content or increasing soil pH by reducing soil moisture inducing absorptive roots to change from “do it yourself” resource absorption to “outsourcing” resource absorption;indirectly decreasing the species importance value by decreasing soil moisture to change from“outsourcing”resource absorption to “do it yourself” resource absorption;indirectly increasing the species importance value with increasing soil pH by reducing soil moisture resulting in absorptive root traits turning into nutrient foraging traits;and indirectly decreasing the species importance value by promoting absorptive root traits to nutrient conservation traits.Conclusions: Absorptive root traits play a crucial role in the regulation of species distribution through multiapproaches of air temperature.

Scale Breeding and Reproduction Technique of Ficus tikoua Bur.Container Seedlings

Based on the principle of asexual reproduction,a kind of scale breeding and reproduction technique of Ficus tikoua Bur.container seedlings was explored by using the characteristics of strong adaptability to the environment and fast growth and reproduction.Using non-woven bag as a breeding container for seedlings,the scale breeding and reproduction technique of F.tikoua container seedlings was summarized through the important links of seedling bed construction,seedling collection,soil configuration,container selection,cutting cultivation,field management,and disease and pest control.This technique can achieve differential,massive and sustainable efficient breeding and reproduction of F.tikoua seedlings in a short time.

A step‐growth strategy to grow vertical porous aromatic framework nanosheets on graphene oxide:Hybrid material‐confined Co for ammonia borane methanolysis

The rational synthesis of a two-dimensional(2D)porous aromatic framework(PAF)with a controllable growth direction remains a challenge to overcome the limitation of traditional stacked 2D materials.Herein,a step-growth strategy is developed to fabricate a vertically oriented nitrogen-rich porous aromatic framework on graphene oxide(V-PAF-GO)using monolayer benzidine-functionalized GO(BZ-GO)as a molecular pillar.Then,the confined Co nanoparticle(NP)catalysts are synthesized by encapsulating ultra-small Co into the slit pores of V-PAF-GO.Due to the high nitrogen content,large specific surface area,and adequate slit pores,the optimized vertical nanocomposites V-PAF-GO provide abundant anchoring sites for metal NPs,leading to ultrafine Co NPs(1.4 nm).The resultant Co/V-PAF-GO catalyst shows an extraordinary catalytic activity for ammonia borane(AB)methanolysis,yielding a turnover frequency value of 47.6 min−1 at 25°C,comparable to the most effective non-noble-metal catalysts ever reported for AB methanolysis.Experimental and density functional theory studies demonstrate that the electron-donating effect of N species of PAF positively corresponds to the low barrier in methanol molecule activation,and the cleavage of the O–H bond in CH3OH has been proven to be the rate-determining step for AB methanolysis.This work presents a versatile step-growth strategy to prepare a vertically oriented PAF on GO to solve the stacking problem of 2D materials,which will be used to fabricate other novel 2D or 2D–2D materials with controllable orientation for various applications.

A high H_2 evolution rate under visible light of a CdS/TiO_2@Ni S catalyst due to a directional electron transfer between the phases

The photocatalytic activity of CdS can be greatly improved by co-modification of NiS and TiO_2 materials; furthermore the order of connection affects much. A directional electron transfer route via CdS → TiO_2→ NiS is found crucial to the enhancement of ternary catalyst, where TiO_2 acts as an electron reservoir and Ni S works as an effective cocatalyst. Cd S/TiO_2@Ni S with Ni S loaded on TiO_2 has an activity of H_2 evolution 2.5 times higher than NiS@Cd S/TiO_2 with Ni S pre-loaded on Cd S. Faster e-/h+separation rates is obtained of Cd S/TiO_2@Ni S under visible light than under extra UV light irradiation, which in turn demonstrates the importance of directional electron transfer route.

Elevation gradient distribution of indices of tree population in a montane forest:The role of leaf traits and the environment

Background:To disentangle the controls on species distribution in the context of climate change is a central element in proposed strategies to maintain species diversity.However,previous studies have focused mainly on the roles of abiotic factors(e.g.,climate and soil properties),with much less attention given to the roles of biotic factors such as functional traits.Here,we measured eight leaf traits for 240 individual trees of 53 species and analyzed the variation in traits and population composition indices and their relationships with soil properties,climate factors,and leaf traits.Results:The tree density,frequency and species importance values of the overall species and saplings significantly increased with increasing elevation,while the same indices(except for species frequency)of adults did not significantly change.The largest percentage of variation of species importance value(greater than 50%)was explained by climate,but leaf traits played a critical role in driving elevation distribution patterns of both saplings and adults;the abundance of saplings significantly increased with elevation,with increased leaf carbon contents,while the abundance of adults did not change in accordance with a nutrient conservation strategy associated with the leaf economic spectrum.Conclusions:Our results suggest that the elevation gradient distribution of woody plant species is dependent on tree size and that local atmospheric humidity and leaf traits cause considerable variation in species distribution along subtropical mountain elevations.We provide evidence of which leaf traits play a key role in the elevation gradient distribution of different sizes of woody tree species.

2D DOA Estimation Algorithm with Increased Degrees of Freedom for Two Parallel Linear Arrays

In this paper,a two-dimensional(2 D)direction-of-arrival(DOA)estimation algorithm with increased degrees of freedom for two parallel linear arrays is presented.Being different from the conventional two-parallel linear array,the proposed two-parallel linear array consists of two uniform linear arrays with non-equal inter-element spacing.Propagator method(PM)is used to obtain a special matrix which can be utilized to increase the virtual elements of one of uniform linear arrays.Then,the PM algorithm is used again to obtain automatically paired elevation and azimuth angles.The simulation results and complexity analysis show that the proposed method can increase the number of distinguishable signals and improve the estimation precision without increasing the computational complexity.

Characterization of Aroma-Active Components and Antioxidant Activity Analysis of E-jiao(Colla CoriiAsini)from Different Geographical Origins

E-jiao(Colla Corii Asini,CCA)has been widely used as a healthy food and Chinese medicine.Although authentic CCA is characterized by its typical sweet and neutral fragrance,its aroma components have been rarely investigated.This work investigated the aroma-active components and antioxidant activity of 19 CCAs from different geographical origins.CCA extracts obtained by simultaneous distillation and extraction were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS),gas chromatography-olfactometry(GC-O)and sensory analysis.The antioxidant activity of CCAs was determined by ABTS and DPPH assays.A total of 65 volatile compounds were identified and quantified by GC-MS and 23 aroma-active compounds were identified by GC-O and aroma extract dilution analysis.The most powerful aroma-active compounds were identified based on the flavor dilution factor and their contents were compared among the 19 CCAs.Principal component analysis of the 23 aroma-active components showed 3 significant clusters.Canonical correlation analysis between antioxidant assays and the 23 aroma-active compounds indicates strong correlation(r=0.9776,p=0.0281).Analysis of aroma-active components shows potential for quality evaluation and discrimination of CCAs from different geographical origins.

Steady-state linear optical properties and Kerr nonlinear optical response of a four-level quantum dot with phonon-assisted transition

The linear optical properties and Kerr nonlinear optical response in a four-level loop configuration GaAs/A1GaAs semiconductor quantum dot are analytically studied with the phonon-assisted transition （PAT）. It is shown that the changes among a single electromagnetically induced transparency （EIT） window, a double EIT window and the amplification of the probe field in the absorption curves can be controlled by varying the strength of PAT to. Meanwhile, double switching from the anomalous dispersion regime to the normal dispersion regime can likely be achieved by increasing the Rabi energy of the external optical control field. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the group velocity of the probe field can be practically regulated by varying the PAT and the intensity of the optical control field. In the nonlinear case, it is shown that the large SPM and XPM can be achieved as linear absorption vanishes simultaneously, and the PAT can suppress both third-order self-Kerr and the cross-Kerr nonlinear effect of the QD. Our study is much more practical than its atomic counterpart due to its flexible design and the controllable interference strength, and may provide some new possibilities for technological applications.

Sinogram denoising via attention residual dense convolutional neural network for low-dose computed tomography

The widespread use of computed tomography(CT)in clinical practice has made the public focus on the cumulative radiation dose delivered to patients.Low-dose CT(LDCT)reduces the X-ray radiation dose,yet compromises quality and decreases diagnostic performance.Researchers have made great efforts to develop various algorithms for LDCT and introduced deep-learning techniques,which have achieved impressive results.However,most of these methods are directly performed on reconstructed LDCT images,in which some subtle structures and details are readily lost during the reconstruction procedure,and convolutional neural network(CNN)-based methods for raw LDCT projection data are rarely reported.To address this problem,we adopted an attention residual dense CNN,referred to as AttRDN,for LDCT sinogram denoising.First,it was aided by the attention mechanism,in which the advantages of both feature fusion and global residual learning were used to extract noise from the contaminated LDCT sinograms.Then,the denoised sinogram was restored by subtracting the noise obtained from the input noisy sinogram.Finally,the CT image was reconstructed using filtered back-projection.The experimental results qualitatively and quantitatively demonstrate that the proposed AttRDN can achieve a better performance than state-of-the-art methods.Importantly,it can prevent the loss of detailed information and has the potential for clinical application.

Different effect of NiMnCo or FeNiCo on the growth of type-Ⅱa large diamonds with Ti/Cu as nitrogen getter

In order to synthesize high-quality type-Ⅱa large diamond, the selection of catalyst is very important, in addition to the nitrogen getter. In this paper, type-IIa large diamonds are grown under high pressure and high temperature（HPHT） by using the temperature gradient method（TGM）, with adopting Ti/Cu as the nitrogen getter in Ni70Mn25Co5（abbreviated as NiMnCo） or Fe（55）Ni（29）Co（16）（abbreviated FeNiCo） catalyst. The values of nitrogen concentration（Nc） in both synthesized high-quality diamonds are less than 1 ppm, when Ti/Cu（1.6 wt%） is added in the FeNiCo or Ti/Cu（1.8 wt%） is added in the NiMnCo. The difference in solubility of nitrogen between both catalysts at HPHT is the basic reason for the different effect of Ti/Cu on eliminating nitrogen. The nitrogen-removal efficiency of Ti/Cu in the NiMnCo catalyst is less than in the FeNiCo catalyst. Additionally, a high-quality type-Ⅱa large diamond size of 5.0 mm is obtained by reducing the growth rate and keeping the nitrogen concentration of the diamond to be less than 1 ppm, when Ti/Cu（1.6 wt%） is added in the FeNiCo catalyst.

Dependence of nitrogen vacancy color centers on nitrogen concentration in synthetic diamond

Crystallization of diamond with different nitrogen concentrations was carried out with a FeNiCo-C system at pressure of 6.5 GPa.As the nitrogen concentration in diamond increased,the color of the synthesized diamond crystals changed from colorless to yellow and finally to atrovirens(a dark green).All the Raman peaks for the obtained crystals were located at about 1330 cm^(-1)and contained only the sp^(3)hybrid diamond phase.Based on Fourier transform infrared results,the nitrogen concentration of the colorless diamond was<1 ppm and absorption peaks corresponding to nitrogen impurities were not detected.However,the C-center nitrogen concentration of the atrovirens diamond reached 1030 ppm and the value of A-center nitrogen was approximately 180 ppm with a characteristic absorption peak at 1282 cm^(-1).Furthermore,neither the NV^(0)nor the NV^(-)optical color center existed in diamond crystal with nitrogen impurities of less than 1 ppm by photoluminescence measurement.However,Ni-related centers located at 695 nm and 793.6 nm were observed in colorless diamond.The NE8 color center at 793.6 nm has more potential for application than the common NV centers.NV^(0)and NV^(-)optical color centers coexist in diamond without any additives in the synthesis system.Importantly,only the NV^(-)color center was noticed in diamond with a higher nitrogen concentration,which maximized optimization of the NV^(-)/NV^(0)ratio in the diamond structure.This study has provided a new way to prepare diamond containing only NV^(-)optical color centers.

B-C Bond in Diamond Single Crystal Synthesized with h-BN Additive at High Pressure and High Temperature

The synthesis of diamond single crystal in the Fe64Ni36-C system with h-BN additive is investigated at pressure 6.5 GPa and temperature range of 1300-1400℃. The color of the obtained diamond crystals translates from yellow to dark green with increasing the h-BN addition. Fourier-transform infrared （FTIR） results indicate that sp2 hybridization B-N-B and B-N structures generate when the additive content reaches a certain value in the system. The two peaks are located at 745 and 1425cm-1, respectively. Fhrthermore, the FTIR characteristic peak resulting from nitrogen pairs is noticed and it tends to vanish when the h-BN addition reaches 1.1 wt%. Furthermore, Raman peak of the synthesized diamond shifts down to a lower wavenumber with increasing the h-BN ~ddition content in the synthesis system.

Effects of catalyst height on diamond crystal morphology under high pressure and high temperature

The effect of the catalyst height on the morphology of diamond crystal is investigated by means of temperature gradient growth （TGG） under high pressure and high temperature （HPHT） conditions with using a Ni-based catalyst in this article. The experimental results show that the morphology of diamond changes from an octahedral shape to a cub- octahedral shape as the catalyst height rises. Moreover, the finite element method （FEM） is used to simulate the temperature field of the melted catalyst/solvent. The results show that the temperature at the location of the seed diamond continues to decrease with the increase of catalyst height, which is conducive to changing the morphology of diamond. This work provides a new way to change the diamond crystal morphology.

Synthesis of N-type semiconductor diamonds with sulfur,boron co-doping in FeNiMnCo-C system at high pressure and high temperature

A series of diamonds with boron and sulfur co-doping were synthesized in the Fe Ni Mn Co-C system by temperature gradient growth（TGG） under high pressure and high temperature（HPHT）. Because of differences in additives, the resulting diamond crystals were colorless, blue-black, or yellow. Their morphologies were slab, tower, or minaret-like. Analysis of the x-ray photoelectron spectra（XPS） of these diamonds shows the presence of B, S, and N in samples from which N was not eliminated. But only the B dopant was assuredly incorporated in the samples from which N was eliminated. Resistivity and Hall mobility were 8.510 Ω·cm and 760.870 cm^2/V·s, respectively, for a P-type diamond sample from which nitrogen was eliminated. Correspondingly, resistivity and Hall mobility were 4.211×10^5 Ω·cm and 76.300 cmΩ2/V·s for an N-type diamond sample from which nitrogen was not eliminated. Large N-type diamonds of type Ib with B–S doping were acquired.

Potential Barrier Behavior of BaTiO3-(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 Positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity Ceramic

High-Curie-temperature （Tc） lead-free Y-doped 90 mol%BaTiO3-1O mol%（Bi0.5Na0.5 ） TiO3 ceramic with positive temperature coefficient of resistivity （PTCR） is prepared by the conventional solid state reaction in nitrogen atmosphere. The PTCR ceramic exhibits a room-temperature resistivity （p25） of ~500Ω.cm and a high PTCR effect （maximum resistivity （ρmax）/minimum resistivity （ρmin）） of ~4.5 orders of magnitude. A capacitance- voltage approach is first employed to calculate the potential barrier （ Ф ） of the grain boundary of PTCR ceramic above Tc. It is found that the potential barrier changes from 0.17 to 0.77eV as the temperature increases from 180 to 220℃, which is very close to the predictions of the Heywang-Jonker model, suggesting that the capacitance-voltage method is valid to estimate the potential barrier of PTCR thermistor ceramics.

Generalized Array Architecture with Multiple Sub-Arrays and Hole-Repair Algorithm for DOA Estimation

Arranging multiple identical sub-arrays in a special way can enhance degrees of freedom(DOFs)and obtain a hole-free difference co-array(DCA).In this paper,by adjusting the interval of adjacent sub-arrays,a kind of generalized array architecture with larger aperture is proposed.Although some holes may exist in the DCA of the proposed array,they are distributed uniformly.Utilizing the partial continuity of the DCA,an extended covariance matrix can be constructed.Singular value decomposition(SVD)is used to obtain an extended signal sub-space,by which the direction-of-arrival(DOA)estimation algorithm for quasi-stationary signals is given.In order to eliminating angle ambiguity caused by the holes of DCA,the estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques(ESPRIT)is used to construct a matrix that includes all angle information.Utilizing this matrix,a secondary extended signal sub-space can be obtained.This signal sub-space is corresponding to a hole-free DCA.Then,dealing with the further extended signal sub-space by multiple signal classification(MUSIC)algorithm,the unambiguous DOAs of all incident signals can be estimated.Some simulation results are shown to prove the improved performance of proposed generalized array architecture in DOA estimation and the effectiveness of corresponding hole-repair algorithm in eliminating angle ambiguity.

Sampled-data synchronization of coupled harmonic oscillators with controller failure and communication delays

In this letter, a distributed protocol for sampled-data synchronization of coupled harmonic oscillators with controller failure and communication delays is proposed, and a brief procedure of convergence analysis for such algorithm over undirected connected graphs is provided. Furthermore, a simple yet generic criterion is also presented to guarantee synchronized oscillatory motions in coupled harmonic oscillators. Subsequently, the simulation results are worked out to demonstrate the efficiency and feasibility of the theoretical results.