Vulnerability analysis of interdependent infrastructure systems: A methodological framework

Infrastructure systems such as power and water supplies make up the cornerstone of modern society which is essential for the functioning of a society and its economy. They become more and more interconnected and interdependent with the development of scientific technology and social economy. Risk and vulnerability analysis of interdependent infrastructures for security considerations has become an important subject, and some achievements have been made in this area. Since different infrastructure systems have different structural and functional properties, there is no universal all-encompassing ‘silver bullet solution’ to the problem of analyzing the vulnerability associated with interdependent infrastructure systems. So a framework of analysis is required. This paper takes the power and water systems of a major city in China as an example and develops a framework for the analysis of the vulnerability of interdependent infrastructure systems. Four interface design strategies based on distance, betweenness, degree, and clustering coefficient are constructed. Then two types of vulnerability (long-term vulnerability and focused vulnerability) are illustrated and analyzed. Finally, a method for ranking critical components in interdependent infrastructures is given for protection purposes. It is concluded that the framework proposed here is useful for vulnerability analysis of interdependent systems and it will be helpful for the system owners to make better decisions on infrastructure design and protection.     

Two new terpenes from Tripterygium wilfordii

<正>Two new terpenes,wilfornine H(1) and triptobenzene Q(2) were isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii,as well as 11 terpenes. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.Compounds 5,9-13 showed significant immunosuppressive activities.     

A Comparative Study of Electron Heat Transport in a Stochastic and a Non‐Stochastic Magnetic Field

We studied the electron heat transport across a non‐local stochastic magnetic field and a non‐local non‐stochastic magnetic field in tokamak plasmas. Analytical results and numerical simulation results were compared with conditions of a stochastic and a non‐stochastic magnetic field respectively in this article. Parameter of stochasticity in perturbed magnetic field was found not tobe a key factor in influencing effective radial heat conductivity in radial direction of tokomak when Chirikov parameter is close to one (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Green synthesis of palladium nanoparticles using broth of Cinnamomum camphora leaf

The development of dependable, environmentally benign processes for the synthesis of nanoscale materials is an important aspect of nanotechnology. In the present study, we report one-pot biogenic fabrication of palladium nanoparticles by a simple procedure using broth of Cinnamomum camphora leaf without extra surfactant, capping agent, and/or template. The mean size of palladium nanoparticles, ranging from 3.2 to 6.0 nm, could be facilely controlled by merely varying the initial concentration of the palladium ions. The polyols components and the heterocyclic components were believed to be responsible for the reduction of palladium ions and the stabilization of palladium nanoparticles, respectively.     

Residual determination and risk assessment of buprofezin in plum (Prunus domestica) grown in open‐field conditions following the application of three different formulations

This study was conducted to characterize the residual level and perform a risk assessment on buprofezin formulated as an emulsifiable concentrate, wettable powder, and suspension concentrate over various treatment schedules in plum (Prunus domestica). The samples were extracted with an AOAC quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe, ‘QuEChERS’, method after major modifications. As intrinsic interferences were observed in blank plum samples following dispersive‐solid phase extraction (consisting of primary secondary amine and C₁₈ sorbents), amino cartridges were used for solid‐phase extraction. Analysis was carried out using liquid chromatography with diode array detection and confirmed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The method showed excellent linearity with determination coefficient (R² = 1) and satisfactory recoveries (at two spiking levels, 0.5 and 2.5 mg/kg) between 90.98 and 94.74% with relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤8%. The limit of quantification (0.05 mg/kg) was considerably lower than the maximum residue limit (2 mg/kg) set by the Codex Alimentarius. Absolute residue levels for emulsifiable concentrates were highest, perhaps owing to the dilution rate and adjuvant. Notably, all formulation residues were lower than the maximum residue limit, and safety data proved that the fruits are safe for consumers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Further results on stabilization of neural-network-based systems using sampled-data control

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper investigates the problem of stabilization for sampled-data neural-network-based systems under variable sampling. A novel Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF)...     

Solution properties,unperturbed dimensions,and chain flexibility of poly(1‐adamantyl acrylate)

Poly(1‐adamantyl acrylate) (PAdA) exhibits much higher glass transition and degradation temperatures than other polyacrylates. However, the quantitative evaluation of the stiffness of this polymer chain has not been reported previously. In this study, the dilute solution properties and conformational characteristics of PAdA were evaluated using viscometry and scattering techniques. The unperturbed dimensions of this polymer were evaluated using the Burchard–Stockmayer–Fixman extrapolation and the touched‐bead wormlike chain model. The PAdA chain has a comparable persistence length, diameter per bead and characteristic ratio to poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene. All these results indicate that PAdA is less flexible than common polyacrylates. In addition, the second virial coefficients (A₂) of PAdA in different solvents obtained by static light scattering were compared. Among the solvents investigated, tetrahydrofuran is a moderate solvent. Radius of gyration of a polymer sample in the various solvents ranged from 16.8 to 30.3 nm. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1526–1531