Decomposition of Sphagnum mosses in Western Siberia bog ecosystems (on the example of Sphagnum fuscum)

On the base of experiments there were recorded the greatest mass losses of Sphagnum fuscum samples flat palsa mires in the first year of experiment, in the following years decay rate decreased significantly (from 24 % to 16 %). On middle taiga bogs there was observed decay rate increasing over the third year while on southern taiga bogs Sphagnum fuscum was decomposed almost evenly over three years. On ridges of ridge-hollow complex of middle taiga and southern taiga mass losses under destruction were greater than those in ryams. The most dynamic decomposition was recorded for forest-steppe ryam with decay mass losses over three years of 56% average.

Cooperative Coevolution with Two-Stage Decomposition for Large-Scale Global Optimization Problems

Cooperative coevolution (CC) is an effective framework for solving large-scale global optimization (LSGO) problems. However, CC with static decomposition method is ineffective for fully nonseparable problems, and CC with dynamic decomposition method to decompose problems is computationally costly. Therefore, a two-stage decomposition (TSD) method is proposed in this paper to decompose LSGO problems using as few computational resources as possible. In the first stage, to decompose problems using low computational resources, a hybrid-pool differential grouping (HPDG) method is proposed, which contains a hybrid-pool-based detection structure (HPDS) and a unit vector-based perturbation (UVP) strategy. In the second stage, to decompose the fully nonseparable problems, a known information-based dynamic decomposition (KIDD) method is proposed. Analytical methods are used to demonstrate that HPDG has lower decomposition complexity compared to state-of-the-art static decomposition methods. Experiments show that CC with TSD is a competitive algorithm for solving LSGO problems.

In Situ Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Studies of Hydrogen-Desorption Properties of 2LiBH4–Mg2FeH6 Composite

Adding a secondary complex metal hydride can either kinetically or thermodynamically facilitate dehydrogenation reactions. Adding Mg2FeH6 to LiBH4 is energetically favoured, since FeB and MgB2 are formed as stable intermediate compounds during dehydrogenation reactions. Such “hydride destabilisation” enhances H2-release thermodynamics from H2-storage materials. Samples of the LiBH4 and Mg2FeH6 with a 2:1 molar ratio were mixed and decomposed under three different conditions (dynamic decomposition under vacuum, dynamic decomposition under a hydrogen atmosphere, and isothermal decomposition). In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction results revealed the influence of decomposition conditions on the selected reaction path. Dynamic decomposition of Mg2FeH6–LiBH4 under vacuum, or isothermal decomposition at low temperatures, was found to induce pure decomposition of LiBH4, whilst mixed decomposition of LiBH4 + Mg and formation of MgB2 were achieved via high-temperature isothermal dehydrogenation.

U.S. REIT INDUSTRY PROFITABILITY: A BENNET DECOMPOSITION OF INDUSTRY DYNAMICS

This paper considers the aggregate profitability performance of the REIT industry. The aggregate performance depends on the underlying microeconomic dynamics within an industry – the growth of individual REITs (the within effect), the reallocation between existing REITs (the between effect), the entry of new REITs (the entry effect), and the exit of the existing REITs (the exit effect). We apply an extended Bennet (1920) dynamic decomposition on the REIT industry’s return on equity (ROE) and study the annual data on U.S. Equity REITs for the 1989 to 2015 period and various REIT industry specific sub-sample periods. Bailey et al.’s (1992) and Haltiwanger’s (1997) dynamic industry performance decompositions are special cases of the Bennet decomposition. The “within” and “between” effects dominate the annual changes in this industry’s ROE. To the extent that our Equity REIT sample proxies for the FTSE NAREIT All Equity Index, our conclusions also relate to this index’s profitability performance between 1989 and 2015.

Simultaneous detection and speciation of mono- and di-valent copper ions with a dual-channel fluorescent nanoprobe

A dual channel fluorescent nanoprobe is developed for simultaneous detection and speciation of mono- and di-valent copper ions. It is demonstrated by exploring the dynamic decomposition/degradation process of copper nanoparticles.