A coupling model for terrestrial processes in arid areas and its application

In this paper, the importance of investigation on terrestrical processes in arid areas for mankind's living environment protection and local economy development as well as its present state of the art are elucidated. A coupling model, which evaluates heat, mass, momentum and radiative fluxes in the SPAC system, is developed for simulating microclimate over plant and bare soil. Especially, it is focussed on the details of turbulence transfer. For illustration, numerical simulation of the water-heat exchange processes at Shapotou Observatory, GAS, Ninxia Province are conducted, and the computational results show that the laws of land-surface processes are rather typical in the arid areas.

First-passage failure and its feedback minimization of quasi-partially integrable Hamiltonian systems

An n degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian system with r (1¡r¡n) independent 0rst integrals which are in involution is calledpartially integrable Hamiltonian system. A partially integrable Hamiltonian system subject to light dampings andweak stochastic excitations is called quasi-partially integrable Hamiltonian system. In the present paper, the procedures for studying the 0rst-passage failure and its feedback minimization of quasi-partially integrable Hamiltonian systems are proposed. First, the stochastic averaging methodfor quasi-partially integrable Hamiltonian systems is brie4y reviewed. Then, basedon the averagedIt ˆo equations, a backwardKolmogorov equation governing the conditional reliability function, a set of generalized Pontryagin equations governing the conditional moments of 0rst-passage time and their boundary and initial conditions are established. After that, the dynamical programming equations and their associated boundary and 0nal time conditions for the control problems of maximization of reliability andof maximization of mean 0rst-passage time are formulated. The relationship between the backwardKolmogorov equation andthe dynamical programming equation for reliability maximization, andthat between the Pontryagin equation andthe dynamical programming equation for maximization of mean 0rst-passage time are discussed. Finally, an example is worked out to illustrate the proposed procedures and the e9ectiveness of feedback control in reducing 0rst-passage failure.

A novel oblique detonation structure and its stability

Oblique detonation structures induced by the wedge in the supersonic combustible gas mixtures are simulated numerically. The results show that the stationary oblique detonation structures are influenced by the gas flow Mach number, and a novel critical oblique detonation structure, which is characterized by a more complicated wave system, appears in the low Mach number cases. By introducing the inflow disturbance, its nonstationary evolution process is illustrated and its stability is verified.

Objective speckle method using stick-on foil and its applications

Objective speckle from a stick-on foil is a new approach to applying the objective white light speckle method to in-plane displacement measurements. By a relatively easy technique a thin aluminum foil is mounted onto the specimen surface and a random grating is scratched onto it, yielding high reflectance and fine optical details. After double exposure by a direct recording system without using a lens, the resulting holographic film possesses a broad spatial spectrum and displacement information. Full-field contour maps of equal displacement can be obtained that are of good contrast and high sensitivity and that have a large adjustable measurement range. The method can be applied to practical engineering problems for both plane and developable curved surfaces.

On the non-linear stability theory of spinning solid bodies with liquid-filled cavities and its application to the columbus problem

In this paper, we first present a system of differential-integral equations for the largedisturbance to the general case that any arbitrarily shaped solid body with a cavity contain-ing viscous liquid rotates uniformly around the principal axis of inertia, and then develop aweakly non-linear stability theory by the Lyapunov direct approach. Applying this theoryto the Columbus problem, we have proved the consistency between the theory and Kelvin'sexperiments.

Spatial and Temporal Variation of LURR and Its Implication for the Tendency of Earthquake Occurrence in Southern California

Based on the theory of LURR and its recent development, spatial and temporal variation of Y/Y-c (value of LURR/critical value of LURR) in the Southern California region during the period from 1980 through March, 2001 was studied. According to the previous study on the fault system and stress field in Southern California, we zoned the Southern California region into 11 parts in each of which the stress field is almost uniform. With the time window of one year, time moving step of three months, space window of a circle region with a radius of 100 km and space moving step of 0.25 degree in latitude and longitude direction, the evolution of Y/Y-c were snapshot. The scanning results show that obvious Y/Y-c anomalies occurred before 5/6 of strong earthquakes considered with a magnitude of 6.5 or greater. The critical regions of Y/Y-c are near the epicenters of the strong earthquakes and the Y/Y-c anomalies occur months to years prior to the earthquakes. The tendency of earthquake occurrence in the California region is briefly discussed on the basis of the examination of Y/Y-c.

Two-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit addition-subtraction algorithm and its optoelectronic implementation

A novel, to our knowledge, two-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit (MSD) addition-subtraction algorithm is proposed. With the introduction of the reference digits, the operand words are mapped into an intermediate carry word with all digits restricted to the set {(1) over bar, 0} and an intermediate sum word with all digits restricted to the set {0, 1}, which can be summed to form the final result without carry generation. The operation can be performed in parallel by use of binary logic. An optical system that utilizes an electron-trapping device is suggested for accomplishing the required binary logic operations. By programming of the illumination of data arrays, any complex logic operations of multiple variables can be realized without additional temporal latency of the intermediate results. This technique has a high space-bandwidth product and signal-to-noise ratio. The main structure can be stacked to construct a compact optoelectronic MSD adder-subtracter. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.

Fragmentation effects on diversity of wasp community and its impact on fig/fig wasp interaction in Ficus racemosa L.

Habitat fragmentation usually results in alteration of species composition or biological communities. However, little is known about the effect of habitat fragmentation on the fig/fig wasp system. In this study, we compared the structure of a fig wasp community and the interaction between figs and fig wasps of Ficus racemosa L. in a primary forest, a locally fragmented forest and a highly fragmented forest. Our results show that, in the highly fragmented forest, the proportion of pollinator wasps is lower and the proportion of non-pollinator wasps is higher compared with the primary forest and locally fragmented forest. The proportion of fruits without pollinator wasps in mature fruits is also greatly increased in the highly fragmented forest. The proportion of galls in all female flowers increases in the highly fragmented forest, whereas the proportion of viable seeds does not change considerably. The disruption of groups of fig trees results in a decrease in pollinator wasps and even might result in the extinction of pollinator wasps in some extreme cases, which may transform the reciprocal interaction between figs and fig wasps into a parasite/host system. Such an effect may lead to the local extinction of this keystone plant resource of rain forests in the process of evolution, and thereby, may change the structure and function of the tropical rain forest.

A novel chemiluminescent immunoassay for microcystin (MC) detection based on gold nanoparticles label and its application to MC analysis in aquatic environmental samples

A novel chemiluminescent immunoassay method based on gold nanoparticles was developed for the detection of microcystins (MCs). The immunoassay included three main steps: indirect competitive immunoreaction, oxidative dissolution of gold nanoparticles, and indirect determination for MCs with Au3+-catalysed luminol chemiluminesent system. The method has a wide working range (0.05-10 mu g L-1, r(2) = 0.9914), the limit of detection was determined to be 0.024 mu g L-1, which is much lower than the World Health Organization's proposed guidelines (1 mu g L-1) for drinking-water. The proposed method was applied to MC analysis in natural water and fish tissue samples, and most results in the proposed method were in agreement with the conventional indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method, which indicated that the new chemiluminescent immunoassay was sensitive, reliable, and suitable for MC analysis in natural water and fish tissue samples.

Double synaptic weight neuron theory and its application

In this paper, a novel mathematical model of neuron-Double Synaptic Weight Neuron (DSWN)(l) is presented. The DSWN can simulate many kinds of neuron architectures, including Radial-Basis-Function (RBF), Hyper Sausage and Hyper Ellipsoid models, etc. Moreover, this new model has been implemented in the new CASSANN-II neurocomputer that can be used to form various types of neural networks with multiple mathematical models of neurons. The flexibility of the DSWN has also been described in constructing neural networks. Based on the theory of Biomimetic Pattern Recognition (BPR) and high-dimensional space covering, a recognition system of omni directionally oriented rigid objects on the horizontal surface and a face recognition system had been implemented on CASSANN-II neurocomputer. In these two special cases, the result showed DSWN neural network had great potential in pattern recognition.

Optical investigation on the annealing effect and its mechanism of GaInAs/GaNAs quantum wells

Thermal annealing of GaInAs/GaNAs quantum wells (QWs) as well as other nitrogen- and indium-contained QW structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy and its effect on optical properties are investigated. The photoluminescence (PL) and photovoltaic (PV) spectra of annealed GaInAs/GaNAs QWs show that the luminescence properties become degraded due to the N diffusion from the GaNAs barrier layers to the GaInAs well layer. Meantime, the annealing-induced blueshift of the PL peak in this QW system is mainly induced by the change of In distribution, suggesting that the In reorganization is greatly assisted by the N-induced defects. The elucidation of annealing effect in GaInAs/GaNAs QW samples is helpful for a better understanding to the annealing effect in the GaInNAs/GaAs QWs. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Homoepitaxial growth of 4H-SiC multi-epilayers and its application to UV detection

Homoepitaxial growth of 4H-SiC p(+)/pi/n(-) multi-epilayer on n(+) substrate and in-situ doping of p(+) and pi-epilayer have been achieved in the LPCVD system with SiH4+C2H4+H-2. The surface morphologies, homogeneities and doping concentrations of the n(-)-single-epilayers and the p(+)/pi/n(-) multi-epilayers were investigated by Nomarski, AFM, Raman and SIMS, respectively. AFM and Raman investigation showed that both single- and,multi-epilayers have good surface morphologies and homogeneities, and the SIMS analyses indicated the boron concentration in p+ layer was at least 100 times higher than that in pi layer. The UV photodetectors fabricated on 4H-SiC p(+)/pi/n(-) multi-epilayers showed low dark current and high detectivity in the UV range.

Large depth-of-view portable three-dimensional laser scanner and its segmental calibration for robot vision

A portable 3D laser scanning system has been designed and built for robot vision. By tilting the charge coupled device (CCD) plane of portable 3D scanning system according to the Scheimpflug condition, the depth-of-view is successfully extended from less than 40 to 100 mm. Based on the tilted camera model, the traditional two-step camera calibration method is modified by introducing the angle factor. Meanwhile, a novel segmental calibration approach, i.e., dividing the whole work range into two parts and calibrating, respectively, with corresponding system parameters, is proposed to effectively improve the measurement accuracy of the large depth-of-view 3D laser scanner. In the process of 3D reconstruction, different calibration parameters are used to transform the 2D coordinates into 3D coordinates according to the different positions of the image in the CCD plane, and the measurement accuracy of 60 mu m is obtained experimentally. Finally, the experiment of scanning a lamina by the large depth-of-view portable 3D laser scanner used by an industrial robot IRB 4400 is also employed to demonstrate the effectiveness and high measurement accuracy of our scanning system. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A transition layer model and its application to resonant tunneling in heterostructures

A transition layer model is proposed and used to calculate resonant tunneling in a double-barrier quantum well system. Compared with the ideal step of the potential at the interface, the studied system has transition layers that are composed by many thin rectangular barriers with a random height. It is found that these transition layers can improve the peak-to-valley ratio of the tunneling current and change the negative differential conductance.

Study of an electroosmotic pump for liquid delivery and its application in capillary column liquid chromatography

A packed-bed electroosmotic pump (EOP) was constructed and evaluated. The EOP consisted of three capillary columns packed in parallel, a gas-releasing device, Pt electrodes and a high-voltage power supply. The EOP could generate output pressure above 5.0 MPa and constant flow rate in the range of nl/min to a few mul/min for pure water, pure methanol, 2 mM potassium dihydrogenphosphate buffer, the buffer-methanol mixture and the pure water-methanol mixture at applied potentials less than 20 W The composition of solvent before/after pumping was quantitatively determined by using a gas chromatograph equipped with both flame ionization detector and thermal conductivity detector. It was found that there were no apparent changes in composition and relative concentrations after pumping process for a methanol-ethanol-acetonitrile mixture and a methanol-water mixture. Theoretical aspect of the EOP was discussed in detail. An capillary HPLC system consisting of the EOP, an injection valve, a 15 cm x 320 mum i.d., 5 mum Spherigel C(18) stainless steel analytical column, and an on-column UV detector was connected to evaluate the performance of the EOP. A comparative study was also carried out with a mechanical capillary HPLC pump on the same system. The results demonstrated that the reproducibility of flow rate and the pulsation-free flow property of the EOP are superior to that of mechanical pump in capillary HPLC application. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.