Magnetic porous nano-carbon catalysts supported silver nanoparticles derived from chitin and their application in catalytic reduction reactions

The exploitation of recycled carbonaceous catalysts from renewable biomass resources such as chitin is a crucial issue for the development of the sustainable society. In this article, the chitin-based N and O doped carbon microspheres (ChC) were fabricated by a simple dissolution, sol–gel transformation, and the carbonization methods. Subsequently, the novel magnetic Ag-Fe₃O₄@chitin-based carbon microspheres catalyst (MChC) was successfully constructed through the in situ redox reaction. The as-prepared MChC possessed rich micropores with high-surface area, and a narrow size distribution (50–120 μm). The Ag-Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were immobilized through the interaction with C, N, and O atoms in the pores of MChC. The reduction of 4-nitrophenol was applied to evaluate the catalytic activity of MChC. 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) could be fully reduced to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in 5 min with the catalyst MChC-45. Moreover, MChC could be collected in solution with an external magnet in 8 s and remained relatively high-catalytic activity after 10 cycle times. This work provided novel ideas for the fabrication of doped carbon material from biomass and promoted its utilization in nanocatalytic applications.     

Predicting Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) populations and associated grain damage in smallholder farmers’ maize stores: A machine learning approach

Prostephanus truncatus is a notorious pest of stored-maize grain and its spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa has led to increased levels of grain storage losses. The current study developed models to predict the level of P. truncatus infestation and associated damage of maize grain in smallholder farmer stores. Data were gathered from grain storage trials conducted in Hwedza and Mbire districts of Zimbabwe and correlated with weather data for each site. Insect counts of P. truncatus and other common stored grain insect pests had a strong correlation with time of year with highest recorded numbers from January to May. Correlation analysis showed insect-generated grain dust from boring and feeding activity to be the best indicator of P. truncatus presence in stores (r = 0.70), while a moderate correlation (r = 0.48) was found between P. truncatus numbers and storage insect parasitic wasps, and grain damage levels significantly correlated with the presence of Tribolium castaneum (r = 0.60). Models were developed for predicting P. truncatus infestation and grain damage using parameter selection algorithms and decision-tree machine learning algorithms with 10-fold cross-validation. The P. truncatus population size prediction model performance was weak (r = 0.43) due to the complicated sampling and detection of the pest and eight-week long period between sampling events. The grain damage prediction model had a stronger correlation coefficient (r = 0.93) and is a good estimator for in situ stored grain insect damage. The models were developed for use under southern African climatic conditions and can be improved with more input data to create more precise models for building decision-support tools for smallholder maize-based production systems.     

An adaptive image steganographic scheme based on Noise Visibility Function and an optimal chaotic based encryption method

Steganography is the science of hiding secret message in an appropriate digital multimedia in such a way that the existence of the embedded message should be invisible to anyone apart from the sender or the intended recipient. This paper presents an irreversible scheme for hiding a secret image in the cover image that is able to improve both the visual quality and the security of the stego-image while still providing a large embedding capacity. This is achieved by a hybrid steganography scheme incorporates Noise Visibility Function (NVF) and an optimal chaotic based encryption scheme. In the embedding process, first to reduce the image distortion and to increase the embedding capacity, the payload of each region of the cover image is determined dynamically according to NVF. NVF analyzes the local image properties to identify the complex areas where more secret bits should be embedded. This ensures to maintain a high visual quality of the stego-image as well as a large embedding capacity. Second, the security of the secret image is brought about by an optimal chaotic based encryption scheme to transform the secret image into an encrypted image. Third, the optimal chaotic based encryption scheme is achieved by using a hybrid optimization of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) which is allowing us to find an optimal secret key. The optimal secret key is able to encrypt the secret image so as the rate of changes after embedding process be decreased which results in increasing the quality of the stego-image. In the extracting process, the secret image can be extracted from the stego-image losslessly without referring to the original cover image. The experimental results confirm that the proposed scheme not only has the ability to achieve a good trade-off between the payload and the stego-image quality, but also can resist against the statistics and image processing attacks.     

A Stronger Complexity Result for the Single Machine Multi-Operation Jobs Scheduling Problem to Minimize the Number of Tardy Jobs

We consider the single machine multi-operation jobs scheduling problem to minimize the number of tardy jobs. Each job consists of several operations that belong to different families. In a schedule, each family of job operations may be processed in batches with each batch incurring a setup time. A job completes when all of its operations have been processed. The objective is to minimize the number of tardy jobs. In the literature, this problem has been proved to be strongly NP-hard for arbitrary due-dates. We show in this paper that the problem remains strongly NP-hard even when the due-dates are common and all jobs have the same processing time.     

Investigation of oil palm harvesting tools design and technique on work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper body

The oil palm industry is one of the important sectors in Malaysia. The growth and development of this industry shows that Malaysia is the world second-largest oil palm producers. However, in the fresh fruit bunch (FFB) harvesting process, the harvesters are exposed to many types of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The FFB harvesters tend to develop WMSDs especially the shoulders and trunk. Hence, it is important to identify the exposure levels, awkward postures and the reaction forces of muscle activity based on the posture and movement of the harvesters when using pole, chisel and loading spike during the harvesting process. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the design of oil palm FFB harvesting tools on WMSDs of the upper body. Rapid Upper Limb Analysis (RULA) was used to investigate and assess the exposure level on the harvester body during the harvesting process. The assessment showed that the shoulders and trunk have high exposure level and undergo awkward posture. Human Musculoskeletal Model Analysis (HMMA) was used to identify the reaction force exerted on the muscle during the FFB harvesting process. In this study, 4 muscles were analysed including Triceps, Biceps, Erector Spinae and Psoas Major. The highest reaction force of 16.36 N was found on the left triceps when handling a loading spike. In conclusion, it is important to address the risks by reviewing all possible aspects that contribute to the WMSDs and interventions on the tool design, task and working shifts may be required.     

基于广告制作流程探讨平面广告设计课程的教学

文章主要是从平面广告的制作流程以及图形图像设计软件的特点出发,针对当前平面广告教学中遇到的问题。对平面广告的教学方法进行实践探讨。首先依据平面广告制作流程的不同模块让学生确立个人的学习目标和小组共同愿景,课程教学以完成相关参赛作品为最后目标,实施过程是课上课下相互结合,课上的案例针对课下的小组协作学习遇到的问题提供指导。课程的关键是要进行小组成果的展示与总结。     

中国铝用炭素50年的技术创新模式分析

简要叙述了技术创新的概念和技术创新的主要模式,对我国铝用炭素50年来的若干主要技术创新点的技术创新模式进行分析,并分析了我国铝用炭素技术创新的诱导因素和技术创新体系,提出一些不足和努力方向。     

粮食吸湿及湿空气在粮堆中的扩散特性研究

研究了粮食的吸湿特性和湿空气在粮堆中的扩散特性.结果表明:粮食在湿空气中吸湿速度较快,安全水分小麦直接暴露于RH80%条件下,4 d左右水分即可达到基本平衡.但如果没有外部力量推动,湿空气在粮堆中扩散速度很慢,维持小麦、玉米和稻谷的初始相对湿度与环境相对湿度差值超过10%的条件,30 d、0.5 m粮层的相对湿度升高值均小于4%.温差对湿空气在粮堆中的扩散有较强的推动作用,在温差20℃和RH85%的条件下,对局部粮食的增湿速度,湿空气影响粮堆的深度和粮食的增湿量均显著大于无温差条件的结果.     

物流包装租赁系统配送库存路径模型与算法

发展物流包装租赁共享系统是解决落后的一次性包装使用方式的有效手段。为优化物流包装租赁系统中的空包装配送与库存控制这一频繁决策问题,将租赁客户点的需求和物流包装租赁系统的服务中心的库存能力、库存费用、车辆容量、单位运费等因素引入模型,建立了总成本费用最小的物流包装租赁共享系统的空包装配送库存路径集成优化模型。针对稍小和稍大规模算例,对利用CPLEX优化软件和带精英保留的改进遗传算法进行了求解比较分析,结果表明：改进遗传算法对稍大规模算例求解的结果虽然稍差,但求解时间大大缩短,这说明了启发式算法对大规模的实际问题是有效的。该模型和算法可为物流包装租赁企业的空包装配送和库存控制的集成优化决策提供参考。     

外商直接投资与河南省产业结构调整

河南省利用外商直接投资的规模迅速扩大,从区域上看,主要集中在中原城市群隆起地带。从产业结构上看,主要集中在第二产业,尤其是食品加工、服装鞋帽等劳动密集型和低技术密集型的制造业。河南省吸收外资应该优先考虑新兴产业,同时加强本土企业和外资企业的合作,以实现河南省产业结构的全面优化,建设好中原经济区。