ALBERT

Description: Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the evaporation of water droplets containing either dissolved LiCl, NaCl or KCl salt in a gaseous surrounding (nitrogen) with a constant high temperature of 600 K. The initial droplet has 298 K temperature and contains 1,120 water molecules, 0, 40, 80 or 120 salt molecules. The effects of the salt type and concentration on the evaporation rate are examined. Three stages with different evaporation rates are observed for all cases. In the initial stage of evaporation, the droplet evaporates slowly due to low droplet temperature and high evaporation latent heat for water, and pure water and aqueous solution have almost the same evaporation rates. In the second stage, evaporation rate is increased significantly, and evaporation is somewhat slower for the aqueous salt-containing droplet than the pure water droplet due to the attracted ion-water interaction and hydration effect. The Li+-water has the strongest interaction and hydration effect, so LiCl aqueous droplets evaporate the slowest, then NaCl and KCl. Higher salt concentration also enhances the ion-water interaction and hydration effect, and hence corresponds to a slower evaporation. In the last stage of evaporation, only a small amount of water molecules are left in the droplet, leading to a significant increase in ion-water interactions, so that the evaporation becomes slower compared to that in the second stage.

Description: The Wuhan Ionospheric Oblique Backscattering Sounding System with the addition of an antenna array (WIOBSS-AA) is the newest member of the WIOBSS family. It is a multi-channel radio system using phased-array antenna technology. The transmitting part of this radio system applies an array composed of five log-periodic antennas to form five beams that span an area to the northwest of the radar site. The hardware and the antenna array of the first multi-channel ionosonde in the WIOBSS family are introduced in detail in this paper. An ionospheric detection experiment was carried out in Chongyang, Hubei province, China on 16 March 2015 to examine the performance of WIOBSS-AA. The radio system demonstrated its ability to obtain ionospheric electron density information over a wide area. The observations indicate that during the experiment, the monitored large-area ionospheric F2-layer was calm and electron density increased with decreasing latitude.

Description: In the present study, α-tocopherol succinate (TOS) conjugated dextran (Dex-TOS) was synthesized and characterized by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. Dex-TOS could form nanoscaled micelles in aqueous medium. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) is 0.0034 mg/mL. Doxorubicin (Dox) was selected as a model drug. Dox-loaded Dex-TOS (Dex-TOS/Dox) micelles were prepared by a dialysis method. The size of Dex-TOS/Dox micelles increased from 295 to 325 nm with the Dox-loading content increasing from 4.21% to 8.12%. The Dex-TOS/Dox micelles were almost spherical in shape, as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In vitro release demonstrated that Dox release from the micelles was in a sustained manner for up to 96 h. The cellular uptake of Dex-TOS/Dox micelles in human nasopharyngeal epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells is an endocytic process determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Moreover, Dex-TOS/Dox micelles exhibited comparable cytotoxicity in contrast with doxorubicin hydrochloride. These results suggested that Dex-TOS micelles could be a promising carrier for drug delivery.

Description: n/a

Description: The traditional Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system, in which the information maintained in tags is passive and static, has no intelligent decision-making ability to suit application and environment dynamics. The Second-Generation RFID (2G-RFID) system, referred as 2G-RFID-sys, is an evolution of the traditional RFID system to ensure better quality of service in future networks. Due to the openness of the active mobile codes in the 2G-RFID system, the realization of conveying intelligence brings a critical issue: how can we make sure the backend system will interpret and execute mobile codes in the right way without misuse so as to avoid malicious attacks? To address this issue, this paper expands the concept of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) by introducing context-aware computing, and then designs a secure middleware for backend systems, named Two-Level Security Enhancement Mechanism or 2L-SEM, in order to ensure the usability and validity of the mobile code through contextual authentication and role analysis. According to the given contextual restrictions, 2L-SEM can filtrate the illegal and invalid mobile codes contained in tags. Finally, a reference architecture and its typical application are given to illustrate the implementation of 2L-SEM in a 2G-RFID system, along with the simulation results to evaluate how the proposed mechanism can guarantee secure execution of mobile codes for the system.

Description: To improve crop model performance for regional crop yield estimates, a new four-dimensional variational algorithm (POD4DVar) merging the Monte Carlo and proper orthogonal decomposition techniques was introduced to develop a data assimilation strategy using the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis (CERES)-Wheat model. Two winter wheat yield estimation procedures were conducted on a field plot and regional scale to test the feasibility and potential of the POD4DVar-based strategy. Winter wheat yield forecasts for the field plots showed a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.73, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 319 kg/ha, and a relative error (RE) of 3.49%. An acceptable yield at the regional scale was estimated with an R2 of 0.997, RMSE of 7346 tons, and RE of 3.81%. The POD4DVar-based strategy was more accurate and efficient than the EnKF-based strategy. In addition to crop yield, other critical crop variables such as the biomass, harvest index, evapotranspiration, and soil organic carbon may also be estimated. The present study thus introduces a promising approach for operationally monitoring regional crop growth and predicting yield. Successful application of this assimilation model at regional scales must focus on uncertainties derived from the crop model, model inputs, data assimilation algorithm, and assimilated observations.

Description: IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1171: Trend of Age-Adjusted Rates of Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury in U.S. Emergency Departments from 2006 to 2013 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061171 Authors: Cheng Chen Jin Peng Eric A. Sribnick Motao Zhu Henry Xiang Objective: To use the 2006–2013 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) database to describe trends of age-adjusted rates of pediatric traumatic brain injuries (TBI) treated in U.S. emergency departments. Methods: Time trend analysis was conducted on age-adjusted rates among children ≤17 years in the U.S. The annual percent change (APC) was calculated by fitting a least squares regression to the logarithm of the rates, using the calendar year as an independent variable. Results: In males, motor-vehicle-related trauma (APC −2.5%) and severe TBI (APC −3.6%) decreased over the study time period. Conversely, concussion (APC 5.1%), unspecified head injury (APC 6.6%), fall-related TBI (APC 7.1%), and mild TBI (APC 5.9%) increased. In females, severe TBI (APC −3.3%) decreased over the study time period and concussion (APC 6.5%), unspecified head injury (APC 7.2%), fall-related TBI (APC 7.6%), and mild TBI (APC 6.8%) increased. Conclusion: The overall age-adjusted rates of pediatric TBI-related emergency department (ED) visits increased from 2006 to 2013, which is largely caused by pediatric mild TBIs, especially unspecified injury to the head (ICD-9-CM code 959.01) and concussion. In comparison, age-adjusted rates of pediatric severe TBIs decreased. A major contributing factor might be a reduced number of traffic-related head trauma.

Description: Materials, Vol. 11, Pages 1089: Enhancement on the Surface Hydrophobicity and Oleophobicity of an Organosilicon Film by Conformity Deposition and Surface Fluorination Etching Materials doi: 10.3390/ma11071089 Authors: Zheng-Wen Xu Yu-Kai Zhang Tai-Hong Chen Jin-How Chang Tsung-Hsin Lee Pei-Yu Li Day-Shan Liu In this work, the surface morphology of a hydrophobic organosilicon film was modified as it was deposited onto a silver seed layer with nanoparticles. The surface hydrophobicity evaluated by the water contact angle was significantly increased from 100° to 128° originating from the surface of the organosilicon film becoming roughened, and was deeply relevant to the Ag seed layer conform deposition. In addition, the organosilicon film became surface oleophobic and the surface hydrophobicity was improved due to the formation of the inactive C-F chemical on the surface after the carbon tetrafluoride glow discharge etching. The surface hydrophobicity and oleophobicity of the organosilicon film could be further optimized with water and oleic contact angles of about 138° and 61°, respectively, after an adequate fluorination etching.

Description: This paper presents an intelligent control strategy to overcome nonlinear and time-varying characteristics of a diaphragm-type pneumatic vibration isolator (PVI) system. By combining an adaptive rule with fuzzy and sliding-mode control, the method has online learning ability when it faces the system’s nonlinear and time-varying behaviors during an active vibration control process. Since the proposed scheme has a simple structure, it is easy to implement. To validate the proposed scheme, a composite control which adopts both chamber pressure and payload velocity as feedback signal is implemented. During experimental investigations, sinusoidal excitation at resonance and random-like signal are input on a floor base to simulate ground vibration. Performances obtained from the proposed scheme are compared with those obtained from passive system and PID scheme to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed intelligent control.

Description: (1) Background: Evidence regarding scarlet fever and its relationship with meteorological, including air pollution factors, is not very available. This study aimed to examine the relationship between ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors with scarlet fever occurrence in Beijing, China. (2) Methods: A retrospective ecological study was carried out to distinguish the epidemic characteristics of scarlet fever incidence in Beijing districts from 2013 to 2014. Daily incidence and corresponding air pollutant and meteorological data were used to develop the model. Global Moran’s I statistic and Anselin’s local Moran’s I (LISA) were applied to detect the spatial autocorrelation (spatial dependency) and clusters of scarlet fever incidence. The spatial lag model (SLM) and spatial error model (SEM) including ordinary least squares (OLS) models were then applied to probe the association between scarlet fever incidence and meteorological including air pollution factors. (3) Results: Among the 5491 cases, more than half (62%) were male, and more than one-third (37.8%) were female, with the annual average incidence rate 14.64 per 100,000 population. Spatial autocorrelation analysis exhibited the existence of spatial dependence; therefore, we applied spatial regression models. After comparing the values of R-square, log-likelihood and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) among the three models, the OLS model (R2 = 0.0741, log likelihood = −1819.69, AIC = 3665.38), SLM (R2 = 0.0786, log likelihood = −1819.04, AIC = 3665.08) and SEM (R2 = 0.0743, log likelihood = −1819.67, AIC = 3665.36), identified that the spatial lag model (SLM) was best for model fit for the regression model. There was a positive significant association between nitrogen oxide (p = 0.027), rainfall (p = 0.036) and sunshine hour (p = 0.048), while the relative humidity (p = 0.034) had an adverse association with scarlet fever incidence in SLM. (4) Conclusions: Our findings indicated that meteorological, as well as air pollutant factors may increase the incidence of scarlet fever; these findings may help to guide scarlet fever control programs and targeting the intervention.