Determining of the delay time for a heating ventilating and air-conditioning plant using multi-weights neurons approach

This paper presents an multi weights neurons approach to determine the delay time for a Heating ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) plan to respond to control actions. The multi weights neurons is a fully connected four-layer network. An acceleration technique was used to improve the general delta rule for the learning process. Experimental data for heating and cooling modes were used with both the multi weights neurons and a traditional mathematical method to determine the delay time. The results show that multi weights neurons can be used effectively determining the delay time for HVAC systems.

The investigation of exfoliation process of organic modified montmorillonite in thermoplastic polyurethane with different molecular weights

Cloisite 30B (30B) was melt-mixed with two kinds of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with different molecular weights to discern the roles of molecular diffusion and shear in the exfoliation process. The higher level of exfoliation was achieved in TPU matrix with higher molecular weight due to the appropriate viscosity. In order to have an insight into the mechanism of exfoliation, the degree of dispersion and exfoliation of 30B was characterized by wide angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The layers of 30B were exfoliated via a slippage process, which was also observed in polyamide 12 nanocomposites recently.

On the melting of the nascent state nylon 1010 with different molecular weights

The melting of the nascent state nylon 1010 samples melt condensation polymerized with different M(eta) have been studied by DSC. The relations of melting point, content of higher order crystal with M(eta) are similar, the plots like a peak, at M(eta)=1.48x10(4) have the maximum. The melting heat, melting entropy and crystallinity are decreased gradually with M(eta) increasing.

Organic geochemical studies of sinking particulate material in China sea area(I) - Organic matter fluxes and distributional features of hydrocarbon compounds and fatty acids

Sinking particulate material collected from Nansha Yongshu reef lagoon and the continental shelf of the East China Sea by sediment traps has been analyzed and studied for the first time using organic geochemical method. The results show that about half of the sinking particulate organic matter in the two study areas are consumed before reaching the depth of 5 m to the sea floor and the degree of this consumption in Yongshu reef lagoon is larger than that in the continental shelf of the East China Sea. The distributions of hydrocarbons and fatty acids indicate that the minor difference of biological sources of sinking particulate organic matter exists between Yongshu reel lagoon and the continental shelf of the East China Sea, but they mainly come from marine plankton. Stronger biological and biochemical transformations of sinking particulate organic matter are also observed and the intensity of this transformation in Yongshu reef lagoon is greater than that in the continental shelf of the East China Sea. It is found that the occurrence of C-25 highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) diene may be related to the composition of diatom species.

Improved Analysis Method for Wave-Induced Pipeline Stability on Sandy Seabed

The existing Det Norske Veritas DNV Recommended Practice RP E305 for pipeline on-bottom stability is mainly based on the pipe–soil interaction model reported by Wagner et al. in 1987, and the wake model reported by Lambrakos et al. in 1987, to calculate the soil resistance and the hydrodynamic forces upon pipeline, respectively. Unlike the methods in the DNV Practice, in this paper, an improved analysis method is proposed for the on-bottom stability of a submarine pipeline, which is based on the relationships between Um/ gD 0.5 and Ws / D2 for various restraint conditions obtained by the hydrodynamic loading experiments, taking into account the coupling effects between wave, pipeline, and sandy seabed. The analysis procedure is illustrated with a detailed flow chart. A comparison is made between the submerged weights of pipeline predicted with the DNV Practice and those with the new method. The proposed analysis method may provide a helpful tool for the engineering practice of pipeline on-bottom stability design.

Statistical analysis of synthetic earthquake catalogs generated by models with various levels of fault zone disorder

The stress release model, a stochastic version of the elastic rebound theory, is applied to the large events from four synthetic earthquake catalogs generated by models with various levels of disorder in distribution of fault zone strength (Ben-Zion, 1996) They include models with uniform properties (U), a Parkfield-type asperity (A), fractal brittle properties (F), and multi-size-scale heterogeneities (M). The results show that the degree of regularity or predictability in the assumed fault properties, based on both the Akaike information criterion and simulations, follows the order U, F, A, and M, which is in good agreement with that obtained by pattern recognition techniques applied to the full set of synthetic data. Data simulated from the best fitting stress release models reproduce, both visually and in distributional terms, the main features of the original catalogs. The differences in character and the quality of prediction between the four cases are shown to be dependent on two main aspects: the parameter controlling the sensitivity to departures from the mean stress level and the frequency-magnitude distribution, which differs substantially between the four cases. In particular, it is shown that the predictability of the data is strongly affected by the form of frequency-magnitude distribution, being greatly reduced if a pure Gutenburg-Richter form is assumed to hold out to high magnitudes.

MODIFIED DIRECT TWOS-COMPLEMENT PARALLEL ARRAY MULTIPLICATION ALGORITHM FOR COMPLEX MATRIX OPERATION

A direct twos-complement parallel array multiplication algorithm is introduced and modified for digital optical numerical computation. The modified version overcomes the problems encountered in the conventional optical twos-complement algorithm. In the array, all the summands are generated in parallel, and the relevant summands having the same weights are added simultaneously without carries, resulting in the product expressed in a mixed twos-complement system. In a two-stage array, complex multiplication is possible with using four real subarrays. Furthermore, with a three-stage array architecture, complex matrix operation is straightforwardly accomplished. In the experiment, parallel two-stage array complex multiplication with liquid-crystal panels is demonstrated.

Photorefractive performance of a novel multifunctional inorganic-organic hybridized nanocomposite sensitized by CdS nanoparticles

A novel multifunctional inorganic-organic photorefractive (PR) poly(N-vinyl)-3-[p-nitrophenylazolcarbazolyl-CdS nanocomposites with different molar ratios of US to poly(N-vinyl)-3-[p-nitrophenylazo]carbazolyl (PVNPAK) were synthesized via a postazo-coupling reaction and chemically hybridized approach, respectively. The nanocomposites are highly soluble and could be obtained as film-forming materials with appreciably high molecular weights and low glass transition temperature (T,) due to the flexible spacers. The PVNPAK matrix possesses a highest-occupied molecular orbital value of about -5.36 eV determined from cyclic voltammetry. Second harmonic generation (SHG) could be observed in PVNPAK film without any poling procedure and 4.7 pm/V of effective second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility is obtained. The US particles as photosensitizers had a nanoscale size in PVNPAK adopting transmission electron microscopy. The improvement of interface quality between US and polymer matrix is responsible for efficient photoinduced charge generation efficiency in the nanocomposites. An asymmetric optical energy exchange between two beams on the polymer composites PVNPAK-CdS/ECZ has been found even without an external field in two-beam coupling (TBC) experiment, and the TBC gain and diffraction efficiency of 14.26 cm(-1) and 3.4% for PVNPAK-5-CdS/ECZ, 16.43 cm(-1) and 4.4% for PVNPAK-15-CdS/ECZ were measured at a 647.1 nm wavelength, respectively.

我国严重威胁性外来入侵植物入侵与扩散历史过程重建及其潜在分布区的预测

外来生物入侵已经在世界范围内造成严重的危害，它不仅导致生物多样性的减少和丧失而且威胁着全球的生态环境和经济发展。入侵种在入侵区域的种群扩散是入侵种带来风险的最根本问题，也是其造成危害的重要原因。研究入侵物种的扩散规律可以了解其在入侵地的入侵状况和扩散趋势，这对制定合理的控制措施具有重要意义。本研究选取14种在我国具有较强威胁性的外来入侵植物，通过对其入侵历史动态的分析，判断其在我国的入侵与扩散阶段，进而预测其在我国的潜在分布区。这14种外来植物为紫茎泽兰（Ageratina adenophora）、土荆芥 （Chenopodium ambrosioides.）、喜旱莲子草（Alternanthera philoxeroides）、反枝苋（Amaranthus retroflexus）、刺苋（Amaranthus spinosus）、皱果苋（Amaranthus viridis）、北美独行菜（Lepidium virginicum）、藿香蓟（Ageratum conyzoides）、钻形紫菀（Aster subulatus）、小蓬草（Conyza canadensis）、一年蓬（Erigeron annuus）、牛膝菊（Galinsoga paviflora）、飞机草（Eupatorium odorata）和北美商陆（Phytolacca americana）。 　　紫茎泽兰最早于20世纪40年代入侵我国，经过1940—1960年长达20年的时滞期，紫茎泽兰开始在云南及其临近的省份如四川、贵州和广西迅速扩散。其中，紫茎泽兰在南亚热带和中亚热带气候条件下的扩散速度为20公里/年，而在垂直地带性北亚热带地区的扩散速度为6.8公里/年。紫茎泽兰仍没有入侵到垂直地带性暖温带地区。尽管1990年后，紫茎泽兰在云南基本停止扩散，但其在邻近省（市）的快速传播表明紫茎泽兰在我国仍处在扩散阶段，还没有达到饱和阶段。生态位模型预测结果和紫茎泽兰在已经入侵地区扩散的地理生态式样基本相符。我国南部及中南部地区的气候条件十分适合紫茎泽兰生长。而在华中地区，由于环境条件不太适宜，其扩散速度会相对较慢。我国北部和西北部的气候条件完全不适合紫茎泽兰生存。因此，我国南部和中南部广大未入侵地区将会受到紫茎泽兰入侵和快速扩散的严重威胁，对此应该立即采取紧急措施。 　　自从紫茎泽兰于1978年首次入侵四川省以来，已经在四川、重庆和湖北大面积扩散。紫茎泽兰在此新近入侵区域主要沿河流、公路、铁路扩散。其中沿安宁河、108国道和成昆铁路向北扩散的平均速度为19公里/年，而沿金沙江－长江向东北扩散的平均速度为33公里/年。特别是2000年以后，紫茎泽兰沿金沙江－长江的扩散速度达到了88公里/年。紫茎泽兰得以如此迅速扩散是其本身生物学特性和当地地理生态特点多种因素之间一系列耦合关系共同作用的结果。人类活动和1998年金沙江－长江特大洪水也促进了紫茎泽兰在该地区的扩散。另一方面，紫茎泽兰在新近入侵地区的垂直分布范围说明随海拔高度上升所引起的垂直地带性气候变冷是紫茎泽兰入侵和扩散的自然限制条件。 　　此外，通过对其余13种外来入侵植物入侵历史过程重建发现，除了牛膝菊、反枝苋和皱果苋最早入侵地位于内陆地区以外，其余10种外来入侵植物的最早入侵地都位于我国的东部、南部沿海和西南边境地区。这13种外来植物通常不是通过单一途径传入，而是通过两种或多种途径传入不同的地点。相应地，入侵后也呈现不同的扩散模式。这13种外来植物在我国大体上包括5种入侵和扩散式样即1）从南部沿海和西南边境分别向内陆扩散，如霍香蓟、飞机草，北美商陆;2）从东部沿海向内陆扩散，例如钻形紫菀，小蓬草、北美独行菜和喜旱莲子草;3）从东部沿海、南部沿海和西南边境分别向内陆扩散，如刺苋;4）从南部沿海向内陆扩散，如土荆芥;5）从最早入侵的内陆地区向周边地区扩散，如反枝苋、牛膝菊和皱果苋。分布区动态分析显示当前这13种外来入侵植物在我国都还处在扩散阶段，而且有些外来植物还处在快速扩散阶段，如飞机草。 　　在上述研究基础上，我们对这13种外来入侵植物开展了生态位模型适生区预测和比较分析。并且结合其扩散动态和当前分布现状，我们对其潜在的分布区及扩散趋势进行了系统分析和预测。飞机草、土荆芥、霍香蓟、牛膝菊和北美商陆，这5种外来植物的现有分布区明显小于其在我国的适生区，因此它们在我国的潜在分布区很广，应给予足够的重视。喜旱莲子草、反枝苋、皱果苋、北美独行菜、一年蓬、钻行紫菀和北美商陆在我国的入侵范围与其适生区域之间基本重合，但在其入侵范围内仍存在大面积的未入侵区域。这些未入侵地区通常被已入侵区域所包围，因此也应当给予足够的重视。刺苋和小蓬草在我国的潜在的分布区相对较小，这些植物已经基本上完全入侵了其适生区。因此，这些植物在我国向临近区域继续扩散的可能性不大。 　　

北京地区植被景观的空间分布特征

本文利用地理信息系统(GIS)技术、景观生态学理论和方法、分形理论以及统计分析方法对北京地区植被景观的空间分布特征进行了分析，并对景观格局和景观多样性的分析方法进行了探讨，结果表明： (1)对几乎所有的斑块类型，其斑块大小的分布都不是对称的，而是右偏的。4种概率分布（Г—分布、对数正态分布、Weibull分布和（负）指数分布）都只能刻划部分斑块类型，并且服从对数正态分布的斑块类型最多，服从（负）指数分布的斑块类型最少。 (2)随着斑块面积的增加，边界效应越来越小，而斑块形状越来越不紧凑。 (3)分形分析识别出本地区植被景观中的两个尺度域：一个是斑块面积小于(大约)2.7km2，另一个是斑块面积大于(大约)2.7km2。两个域中的斑块复杂程度有很大差异，后一个域中的斑块明显比前一个域中的斑块复杂，并且随着斑块面积的增加，斑块形状越来越复杂。 (4)用斑块数作为多度指标时，该景观的斑块类型一多度分布服从（截断）对数正态分布和（截断）负二项分布，不服从对数级数分布和几何分布。用斑块面积作为多度指标时，该景观的斑块类型一多度分布服从对数正态分布、Weibull分布和Г—争布，不服从正态分布。从而该景观的斑块类型一多度分布不是对称的，也是右偏的。在4个优势度／多样性模型中，“生态位优先占领”模型和Zipf-Mandelbrot模型可以较好地刻划该景观的斑块类型一多度关系。 (5)样本大小对多样性测度有直接的影响。如果这种影响比较小，就说明测度指标比较稳定。三个丰富度指数中，Ri比R2和R3更稳定;五个多样性性指数中，D和Di最稳定，OD最不稳定，因此，OD是用于景观多样性监测的理想指标;五个均匀度指数中，Jgi最稳定。根据设计的3种计算临界样方数量（即多样性测度指标达到稳定时的样方数量）方法的计算结果，上述几个最稳定的测度指标在通常情况下只需要几个样方(即总抽样面积为数百km2)就达到稳定状态。 (6)斑块类型数目随面积的增加而增加。根据四个评价指标的评价结果，认为双曲线对该景观的斑块类型一面积关系的拟合效果最好。 (7)样本较大（对于一阶刀切估计，大于30个样方;对于二阶刀切估计，大于60个样方）时，刀切法能够给出斑块类型数目(NPT)较好的估计;样本较小（小于30个样方）时，Mingoti和Meeden提出的经验贝叶斯方法能够对NPT给出比刀切法和自助法更好的估计。斑块类型一面积曲线外推虽然也能给出NPT较好的估计，但这种方法需要慎重使用，不能外推得很远。 (8)列联表分析表明，该植被景观中的斑块类型与土壤类型、岩石类型、海拔高度和坡向各因子之间均存在显著的相关性。植被景观多样性与岩石类型多样性和地形多样性之间也均呈显著的正相关关系，即植被景观多样性随岩石类型多样性和地形多样性的增加而增加。但植被景观多样性与土壤类型多样性之间不存在显著的线性相关或秩相关关系，这可能是由于二者的分类体系不吻合。植被景观多样性与总的道路密度和第二类道路密度之间均呈显著的负相关关系，而与第一类和第三类道路密度之间的关系都不显著。这反映出景观样本单元(10kmxlOkm)的尺度对应于第二类道路的影响尺度。而道路密度在一定程度上反映了人类活动的强度，因此，在10kmxlOkm这个尺度上，人类活动愈剧烈，景观多样性就愈小。

Biological activities of skin secretions of the salamander Tylototriton verrucosus

Water-soluble skin secretions of salamander Tylototriton venucosus, first described by Anderson in 1871, were studied for their biological and enzymatic activities. They were found to be toxic to mice with an intraperitoneal LD50 of 11.5 mg/kg. Using Sephadex G-75 gel filtration, it was proven that the toxic components of the secretions are proteins with molecular weights ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 Da. The secretions of T. venucosus display a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities and also contain both proteolytic activity and trypsin inhibitory activity. In contrast, neither hemolytic nor hemorrhagic activities were found. The secretions were determined to have phospholipase A(2) activity; however, no acetylcholine esterase activity was detectable under the assay conditions.

Cloning and characterization of a blood coagulation factor IX-binding protein from the venom of Trimeresurus stejnegeri

A blood coagulation factor IX-binding protein (TSV-FIX-BP) was isolated from the snake venom of Trimeresurus stejnegeri. On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, TSV-FIX-BP showed a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 23,000 under non-reducing conditions. and two distinct bands with apparent molecular weights of 14,800 and 14,000 under reducing conditions. cDNA clones containing the coding sequences of TSV-FIX-BP were isolated and sequenced to determine the structure of the precusors of TSV-FIX-BP subunits. The deduced amino acid sequences of two subunits of TSV-FIX-BP were confirmed by N-terminal protein sequencing and trypsin-digested peptide mass fingerprinting. TSV-FIX-BP was a nonenzymatic C-type lectin-like anti-coagulant. The anti-coagulant activity of TSV-FIX-BP was mainly caused by its dose dependent interaction with blood coagulation factor IX but not with blood coagulation factor X. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.