Search

Canopy temperature (Tc) measurements with infrared thermometry have been widely used to assess plant water status. Here, we evaluated Tc and its controlling factors in a primary tropical rainforest (TRF), subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest (STF) and valley savanna forest (SAF) in southwestern China. We found differences between Tc and air temperature (Ta) of as much as 2.2 °C between the dry and wet seasons in the TRF. However, the canopy-to-air temperature difference (Tc-Ta) was only 0.3 °C between the dry and wet seasons in the STF. Solar radiation (SR) was the dominant factor in Tc-Ta variations during the dry and wet seasons at the three sites. The increased heating in the canopy leaves was likely the result of low stomatal conductance leading to low transpiration cooling. Changes in Tc-Ta in the TRF were highly sensitive to the degree of stomatal closure. The change in Tc-Ta was controlled by the climate, but inherent plant traits, such as stomatal conductance, also played an important controlling role.

In order to improve the management and control level of bridge construction and understand the real-time dynamics of bridge construction in real time, a set of cloud 3D visualization information management and control system is created based on the Internet platform. In view of the characteristics of high precision and great difficulty in the construction control of corrugated steel webs bridge, a set of construction control and control software based on B/S (browser/server) architecture is developed to help managers know the site structure state more intuitionistic and improve the efficiency of construction control and control. The system deeply integrates the two-dimensional plane information with the three-dimensional entity, and realizes the three-dimensional display of information flow by highly restoring the real bridge construction state in the three-dimensional scene. The results show that the system can assist the management personnel to carry out construction management and improve the engineering efficiency through linear prediction. The system can realize the dynamic demonstration of the long span CSW-PC continuous rigid frame bridge 3D model and the graphical display of the construction measurement and control data and progress information.

In order to explore the control effect of arch assisted system on long-term deflection of long-span PC continuous girder bridge, an evaluation framework of long-term deflection control effect is proposed. Firstly, the functional relationship between long-term deflection and structural parameters is fitted based on the measured data, and the deflection prediction model is established; Secondly, based on the calculation method of bending stiffness of inversion theory, the evaluation framework of long-term deflection control effect based on the analogy stiffness method is proposed; Finally, based on the engineering example, under the premise of equal load sharing ratio, the above frame is applied to carry out parameter analysis. The results show that the deflection prediction model based on the measured data has good correlation, and the established evaluation framework can quantitatively evaluate the control effect of arch auxiliary system on long-term deflection.

Background: This qualitative study explores decision-making regarding sterilisation for women with intellectual disabilities (ID) living with their families, including how such decisions are made and who is involved in the decision-making. Methods: Eleven families including sterilised women with ID participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with family members and four of the women with ID; the interviews took place at the family homes during March 2009. The interview schedule sought information regarding decision-making on sterilisation including the reasons for the sterilisation, the identities of those involved in the decision-making, attitudes towards the sexuality of women with ID and the role of women with ID in decision-making about their own sterilisation. Additionally, women with ID were asked about their experiences of sterilisation. Results: The data showed that most of the women who underwent tubal ligation were married and had mild ID; the decision to perform tubal ligation was mostly made by the husband or parents-in-law, and was made after the women had given birth. The reasons given by the families of these women for deciding on sterilisation included: the woman was unable to care for the children, the family could not afford to raise many children, the concern that the ID might be hereditary, or a perceived risk of pregnancy from rape. The two women who underwent hysterectomy were unmarried and had more severe ID than the married women with ID who received tubal ligation. In these two cases, the decisions were primarily made by the mothers of the women based on concerns about managing their menstruation. Almost none of the women with ID were involved in the decision-making process, and some were not even informed of the nature of the surgery. Health professionals and service workers contacted by the families were also influential in the decision-making. The autonomy of the women to engage in decision-making regarding sterilisation thus was constrained by their families and professionals, without considering either sterilisation or hysterectomy a violation of the essential human rights of the women involved. Conclusion: The results suggest that with respect to sexuality and body images among women with ID, concern should exist among society in general and among professionals in particular, regarding human rights; furthermore, more information and better educational programmes must be provided to relevant professionals, as well as to women with ID and their families. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure and 9 footnotes.)

Analysis of a random population of oxygen vacancies in several amorphous Si[O.sub.2] structures, using first-principles calculations, shows that a distribution of defect states exists due to different local structure. The results also reveal a new structure of an [E'.sub.[gamma]5], a five-fold coordinated puckered Si atom, which assists in explaining reverse-bias switching behavior, and the subsequent reduction of [E'.sub.[gamma]] defects. The distribution of energy levels in the amorphous Si[O.sub.2] energy gap is consistent with experimental data on both shallow and deep hole traps. The relative frequency of the occurrence for the different hole traps is determined by examining the local geometries of all the possible oxygen vacancy sites in the amorphous structures. Most oxygen vacancies in amorphous Si[O.sub.2] are found to form dimer defects upon hole capture, with the remainder almost evenly divided between 'puckered' defects that allow dipole formation upon electron capture ([E'.sub.[gamma]4]) and those that do not ([E'.sub.[gamma]5]). Index Terms--Defects, density functional theory, E' center, oxide, oxygen vacancies, radiation.

Capture cross-section data from the literature and recent density-functional theory (DFT) calculations strongly suggest that the 1/f noise of MOS devices is caused by the thermally activated capture and emission of carriers at O vacancy centers near the Si-Si[O.sub.2] interface. At least two kinds of defects can contribute to the noise of unirradiated and irradiated devices. The first is a 'dimer' vacancy associated with the [E'.sub.[delta]] center, which is shown by DFT to be a metastable electron trap when the Si-Si spacing is stretched beyond its equilibrium value, as likely can occur in strained Si[O.sub.2] near the Si-Si[O.sub.2] interface. The second is a neutral or positively charged [E'.sub.[gamma] center, which has two configurations. One is puckered (one of the Si atoms relaxes through its local bonding plane) and forms a dipole after electron capture ([E'.sub.[gamma]4]). The other is shown via DFT to be a different kind of puckered configuration, including a fivefold coordinated Si ([E'.sub.[gamma]5]); this does not form a dipole. These results strongly suggest a common model of charge exchange with O vacancies can account for much of the oxide-trap charge and 1/f noise in MOS devices. Applying this model to thermally stimulated current (TSC) experiments suggests hole emission in TSC may well be due to the thermal relaxation of a puckered [E'.sub.[gamma]] into a dimer [E'.sub.[delta]]. This can explain literature discrepancies between optical and thermal estimates of trapped-hole energies. Index Terms--Noise, oxide traps, radiation effects, thermally stimulated current.

A reproducible, quasi-stationary edge localized mode (ELM)-suppressed scenario was obtained over a wide range of plasma parameters by continuous injection of boron (B) powder into an upper-single null discharge in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak [Sun et al., Nucl. Fusion 61, 014002 (2021)]. This powder-induced ELM-absent regime is associated with an edge harmonic mode (EHM) that provides continuous particle exhaust to maintain constant density without confinement degradation and impurity accumulation, the latter of which is often observed in ELM-free regimes. A flow rate threshold of B powder injection, leading to a threshold intensity of the EHM, is necessary for full ELM suppression. The fundamental harmonic of the EHM exhibits a toroidal mode number n = 1. The mode is observable in the entire poloidal cross section with a peak near the upper X-point in an upper-single null configuration. The EHM spans radially across the pedestal and scrape-off layer, peaking inside the separatrix. The EHM appears to be insensitive to q95, heating power, plasma toroidal rotation, and pedestal collisionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]