Developing the Swiss mid-infrared soil spectral library for local estimation and monitoring

Information on soils' composition and physical, chemical and biological properties is paramount to elucidate agroecosystem functioning in space and over time. For this purpose, we developed a national Swiss soil spectral library (SSL; n=4374) in the mid-infrared (mid-IR), calibrating 16 properties from legacy measurements on soils from the Swiss Biodiversity Monitoring program (BDM; n=3778; 1094 sites) and the Swiss long-term Soil Monitoring Network (NABO; n=596; 71 sites). General models were trained with the interpretable rule-based learner CUBIST, testing combinations of {5,10,20,50, and 100} ensembles of rules (committees) and {2, 5, 7, and 9} nearest neighbors used for local averaging with repeated 10-fold cross-validation grouped by location. To evaluate the information in spectra to facilitate long-term soil monitoring at a plot level, we conducted 71 model transfers for the NABO sites to induce locally relevant information from the SSL, using the data-driven sample selection method RS-LOCAL. In total, 10 soil properties were estimated with discrimination capacity suitable for screening (R2≥0.72; ratio of performance to interquartile distance (RPIQ) ≥ 2.0), out of which total carbon (C), organic C (OC), total nitrogen (N), pH and clay showed accuracy eligible for accurate diagnostics (R2>0.8; RPIQ ≥ 3.0). CUBIST and the spectra estimated total C accurately with the root mean square error (RMSE) = 8.4 g kg−1 and the RPIQ = 4.3, while the measured range was 1–583 g kg−1 and OC with RMSE = 9.3 g kg−1 and RPIQ = 3.4 (measured range 0–583 g kg−1). Compared to the general statistical learning approach, the local transfer approach – using two respective training samples – on average reduced the RMSE of total C per site fourfold. We found that the selected SSL subsets were highly dissimilar compared to validation samples, in terms of both their spectral input space and the measured values. This suggests that data-driven selection with RS-LOCAL leverages chemical diversity in composition rather than similarity. Our results suggest that mid-IR soil estimates were sufficiently accurate to support many soil applications that require a large volume of input data, such as precision agriculture, soil C accounting and monitoring and digital soil mapping. This SSL can be updated continuously, for example, with samples from deeper profiles and organic soils, so that the measurement of key soil properties becomes even more accurate and efficient in the near future.

Synthesis and conductive performance about a kind of high-proton conductor, Dawson structure heteropoly acid H6P2W16Mo2O40 ⋅ 29H2O

A heteropoly acid (HPA) with Dawson structure, H6P2W[Formula: see text]Mo2O[Formula: see text]⋅29H2O, is synthesized with characterization and the investigation toward its proton conductive behavior. Actually, at 18[Formula: see text]C with 80% relative humidity (RH), H6P2W[Formula: see text]Mo2O[Formula: see text] ⋅ 29H2O displays the conductivity as 2.30 × 10[Formula: see text] S ⋅ cm[Formula: see text], indicating an excellent protonic conductor. The proton conduction activation energy is 32.19 kJ ⋅ mol[Formula: see text], implying proton migration following vehicle mechanism. During the measured range, higher temperature can boost the conductivity.

Developing the Swiss soil spectral library for local estimation and monitoring

Information on soils' composition and physical, chemical and biological properties is paramount to elucidate agroecosystem functioning in space and over time. For this purposes we developed a national Swiss soil spectral library (SSL; n = 4374) in the mid-infrared (mid-IR), calibrating 17 properties from legacy measurements on soils from the Swiss biodiversity monitoring program (n = 3778; 1094 sites) and the Swiss long-term monitoring network (n = 596; 71 sites). General models were trained with the interpretable rule-based learner CUBIST, testing combinations of {5, 10, 20, 50, 100} committees of rules and {2, 5, 7, 9} neighbors to localize predictions with repeated by location grouped ten-fold cross-validation. To evaluate the information in spectra to facilitate long-term soil monitoring at a plot-level, we conducted 71 model transfers for the NABO sites to induce locally relevant information from the SSL, using the data-driven sample selection method rs-local. Eleven soil properties were estimated with discrimination capacity suitable for screening (R2 > 0.6), out of which total carbon (C), organic C (OC), total N, organic matter content, pH, and clay showed accuracy eligible for accurate diagnostics (R2 > 0.8). Cubist and the spectra estimated total C accurately with RMSE = 0.84 % while the measured range was 0.1–⁠58.3 %, and OC with RMSE = 1.20 % (measured range 0.0–⁠27.3 %). Compared to general estimates of properties from Cubist, local modeling on average reduced the root mean square error of total C per site fourfold. We found that the selected SSL subsets were highly dissimilar in terms of both their spectral input space and the measured values. This suggests that data-driven selection with RS-LOCAL leverages chemical diversity in composition rather than similarity. Our results suggest that mid-IR soil estimates were sufficiently accurate to support many soil applications that require a large volume of input data, such as precision agriculture, soil C accounting and monitoring, and digital soil mapping. This SSL can be updated continuously, for example with samples from deeper profiles and organic soils, so that the measurement of key soil properties becomes even more accurate and efficient in the near future.

Avalanche Ruggedness Characterization of 10 kV 4H-SiC MOSFETs

In this paper, single pulse unclamped inductive switching (UIS) test of Wolfspeed Gen-3 10 kV, 15 A 4H-SiC MOSFETs is performed for four operating conditions at room temperature. The avalanche energy is observed to be around 7.0 J. The measured values are in good agreement with expected behavior, which may be extrapolated beyond the experimentally measured range. Failure analysis was conducted after each device failure to observe the failure locations. Avalanche parameters of SiC MOSFETs with various voltage ratings are compared. The avalanche energy of the Gen-3 10 kV, 15 A 4H-SiC MOSFETs is obtained to be superior to earlier generations of 10 kV SiC MOSFETs.

Factor Graph-Assisted Distributed Cooperative Positioning Algorithm in the GNSS System

The development of smart cities calls for improved accuracy in navigation and positioning services; due to the effects of satellite orbit error, ionospheric error, poor quality of navigation signals and so on, it is difficult for existing navigation technology to achieve further improvements in positioning accuracy. Distributed cooperative positioning technology can further improve the accuracy of navigation and positioning with existing GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) systems. However, the measured range error and the positioning error of the cooperative nodes exhibit larger reductions in positioning accuracy. In response to this question, this paper proposed a factor graph-aided distributed cooperative positioning algorithm. It establishes the confidence function of factor graphs theory with the ranging error and the positioning error of the coordinated nodes and then fuses the positioning information of the coordinated nodes by the confidence function. It can avoid the influence of positioning error and ranging error and improve the positioning accuracy of cooperative nodes. In the simulation part, the proposed algorithm is compared with a mainly coordinated positioning algorithm from four aspects: the measured range error, positioning error, convergence speed, and mutation error. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm leads to a 30–60% improvement in positioning accuracy compared with other algorithms under the same measured range error and positioning error. The convergence rate and mutation error elimination times are only 1 / 5 to 1 / 3 of the other algorithms.

High-Accuracy AM-FM Radar with an Active Reflector

An amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated (AM-FM) radar with an active reflector to produce high-accuracy distance measurements is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. The proposed radar consists of an AM-FM base module and an active reflector. The combination of AM and FM modulations resolves ambiguity of the absolute distance in typical AM radars, while improving range accuracy in typical FM radars with narrow bandwidth. Also, the active reflector, which translates the frequency of the received signal, resolves the problem of phase detection interference due to the direct Tx-to-Rx leakage in AM radars. In this paper, the operating principle, experimental tests, and analysis are presented. The implemented AM-FM radar operates in X-band (Tx: 10.5 GHz, Rx: 8.5 GHz) with the 620 MHz bandwidth. The measured range accuracy of less than ±10 mm at a distance of 70 m is obtained.

Clopyralid Dose Response for Two Black Medic (Medicago lupulina) Growth Stages

Black medic is a troublesome weed in commercial strawberry fields in Florida. It emerges during crop establishment from the planting holes punched in plastic mulches that are installed on raised beds. Clopyralid is registered for posttransplant applications at 140 to 280 g ae ha−1but growers typically report suppression, not control. An outdoor potted experiment was designed to model the black medic dose-response curve and determine the effect of plant size at application on control. Two plant sizes were selected: designated small (0.5- to 1-cm stem length) and large (3- to 6-cm stem length). Dose-response curves were generated using a log-logistic four-parameter model. At 22 d after treatment (DAT), there was a significant interaction between clopyralid rate and black medic growth stage on both epinasty (P = 0.0022) and chlorosis (P = 0.0055). The effective dosage to induce 90% (ED90) epinasty were 249.5 and 398.3 g ha−1for the small and large growth stages, respectively. The ED90 for chlorosis was 748.2 for the small growth stage, whereas the estimated value for the large was outside the measured range. For necrosis there was no significant effect of growth stage, and the ED90 was 1,856.3 g ha−1. The aboveground dry biomass ED90 for the small growth stage was 197.3 g ha−1, and the estimated ED90 value for the large was not within the measured range. Results indicate that clopyralid adequately controls black medic when applied at maximum label rates when stems were 0.5 to 1 cm long but not when plants were larger. Poor efficacy typically observed in commercial fields is likely due to black medic plant size or lack of herbicide coverage via shielding by strawberry plants.

Heavy Ion Range Measurements in SSNTD Materials: A Review

Range of heavy ion is one of the important parameters and understanding of this parameter is highly essential in almost all those experiments where heavy ions are used. The present review deals with the range measurements of different heavy ions through solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) technique. The importance of SSNTD technique as compared to other techniques is highlighted and different methods/models proposed for range measurements are described. An attempt has been made to compile the measured range values for heavy ions from H4to U238in different classes of SSNTD materials viz. polymers, glasses and minerals, from the available literature. An inter-comparison between the measured range values of different laboratories and through different range measurement methods has been made. Further, the reliability and validity of most commonly used theoretical and semi-empirical/empirical range formulations, through comparison with the measured range, are highlighted. Furthermore, the isotropic and anisotropic behaviour in polymers and minerals through range measurements has been described.Contents of Paper

Digital Thermometer Design Based on Single-Chip AT89C2051

Single-chip AT89C2051 as the main-control component of the device, we designed a digital thermometer from the aspects of hardware, it with the aid of temperature sensor DS18B20, the device used single bus technology to detect the ambient temperature (analogue) is converted into digital quantity, it was accepted, processed, judged by single-chip microcomputerand then control and display. The temperature measured range in - 30 °C to + 120 °C, the accuracy class + 0.5 °C, four LED Nixie tube as display mode.