A survey of pest (Dermestes maculatus) infestation of dried preserved Clarias gariepinus: its effect on nutrient quantity and quality

Studies on the nutrient composition of smoked-dried Clarias gariepinus were carried out, to assess the effects of pest infestation on the dried catfish from two different market (Abakpa and Kpirikpiri market) area in Abakaliki Metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Fish samples from the two markets where kept for pest to infest it and it were taken to Biochemistry Laboratory of Food Science and Technology in Ebonyi State University to assess the damage of pest on dried catfish using standard methods. There was a significant different among the mean weight of fish from the two markets (Abakpa and kpirikpiri; 19.13kg and 18.98kg respectively) compared with the mean weight of the control 20.09kg. There was a variation in the proximate composition of the fishes from the two markets compared with the control, the decreases of the proximate composition are: crude protein from 60.07% to 40.27%; fat from 8.35% to 5.90%; moisture content from 11.67% to 10.67; fiber from 12.93 to 11.93; ash from 4.02% to 3.54% and carbohydrate 12.67% to 5.89%. The longer the storage periods of the infested smoked fish the more the tissue was degraded. Proper handling and storage of dried catfish are required to prolong the shelf life and nutrient content of dried catfish.

Multiple object tracking using evolutionary MCMC-based particle algorithms

Algorithms are presented for detection and tracking of multiple clusters of co-ordinated targets. Based on a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling mechanization, the new algorithms maintain a discrete approximation of the filtering density of the clusters' state. The filters' tracking efficiency is enhanced by incorporating various sampling improvement strategies into the basic Metropolis-Hastings scheme. Thus, an evolutionary stage consisting of two primary steps is introduced: 1) producing a population of different chain realizations, and 2) exchanging genetic material between samples in this population. The performance of the resulting evolutionary filtering algorithms is demonstrated in two different settings. In the first, both group and target properties are estimated whereas in the second, which consists of a very large number of targets, only the clustering structure is maintained. © 2009 IFAC.

On the diffraction of acoustic waves by a quarter-plane

This paper follows the work of A.V. Shanin on diffraction by an ideal quarter-plane. Shanin's theory, based on embedding formulae, the acoustic uniqueness theorem and spherical edge Green's functions, leads to three modified Smyshlyaev formulae, which partially solve the far-field problem of scattering of an incident plane wave by a quarter-plane in the Dirichlet case. In this paper, we present similar formulae in the Neumann case, and describe a numerical method allowing a fast computation of the diffraction coefficient using Shanin's third modified Smyshlyaev formula. The method requires knowledge of the eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on the unit sphere with a cut, and we also describe a way of computing these eigenvalues. Numerical results are given for different directions of incident plane wave in the Dirichlet and the Neumann cases, emphasising the superiority of the third modified Smyshlyaev formula over the other two. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Copula-based Kernel Dependency Measures

The paper presents a new copula based method for measuring dependence between random variables. Our approach extends the Maximum Mean Discrepancy to the copula of the joint distribution. We prove that this approach has several advantageous properties. Similarly to Shannon mutual information, the proposed dependence measure is invariant to any strictly increasing transformation of the marginal variables. This is important in many applications, for example in feature selection. The estimator is consistent, robust to outliers, and uses rank statistics only. We derive upper bounds on the convergence rate and propose independence tests too. We illustrate the theoretical contributions through a series of experiments in feature selection and low-dimensional embedding of distributions.

State estimation over a communication network: Measurement or estimate communication?

In this paper we consider the problem of state estimation over a communication network. Using estimation quality as a metric, two communication schemes are studied and compared. In scheme one, each sensor node communicates its measurement data to the remote estimator, while in scheme two, each sensor node communicates its local state estimate to the remote estimator. We show that with perfect communication link, if the sensor has unlimited computation capability, the two schemes produce the same estimate at the estimator, and if the sensor has limited computation capability, scheme one is always better than scheme two. On the other hand, when data packet drops occur over the communication link, we show that if the sensor has unlimited computation capability, scheme two always outperforms scheme one, and if the sensor has limited computation capability, we show that in general there exists a critical packet arrival rate, above which scheme one outperforms scheme two. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the two schemes under various circumstances. © South China University of Technology and Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, CAS and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.

How can online schedules improve communication and estimation tradeoff?

We consider remote state estimation and investigate the tradeoff between the sensor-to-estimator communication rate and the remote estimation quality. It is well known that if the communication rate is one, e.g., the sensor communicates with the remote estimator at each time, then the remote estimation quality is the best. It degrades when the communication rate drops. We present one optimal offline schedule and two online schedules and show that the two online schedules provide better tradeoff between the communication rate and the estimation quality than the optimal offline schedule. Simulation examples demonstrate that significant communication savings can be achieved under the two online schedules which only introduce small increment of the estimation errors. © 1991-2012 IEEE.

Elemental estimators for the Generalized Extreme Value tail

In a companion paper (McRobie(2013) arxiv:1304.3918), a simple set of `elemental' estimators was presented for the Generalized Pareto tail parameter. Each elemental estimator: involves only three log-spacings; is absolutely unbiased for all values of the tail parameter; is location- and scale-invariant; and is valid for all sample sizes $N$, even as small as $N= 3$. It was suggested that linear combinations of such elementals could then be used to construct efficient unbiased estimators. In this paper, the analogous mathematical approach is taken to the Generalised Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The resulting elemental estimators, although not absolutely unbiased, are found to have very small bias, and may thus provide a useful basis for the construction of efficient estimators.

Estimation of soil properties and deformations in staged constructions based on mcmc method

This paper presents a Bayesian probabilistic framework to assess soil properties and model uncertainty to better predict excavation-induced deformations using field deformation data. The potential correlations between deformations at different depths are accounted for in the likelihood function needed in the Bayesian approach. The proposed approach also accounts for inclinometer measurement errors. The posterior statistics of the unknown soil properties and the model parameters are computed using the Delayed Rejection (DR) method and the Adaptive Metropolis (AM) method. As an application, the proposed framework is used to assess the unknown soil properties of multiple soil layers using deformation data at different locations and for incremental excavation stages. The developed approach can be used for the design of optimal revisions for supported excavation systems. © 2010 ASCE.

Stabilization of collective motion in three dimensions: A consensus approach

This paper proposes a methodology to stabilize relative equilibria in a model of identical, steered particles moving in three-dimensional Euclidean space. Exploiting the Lie group structure of the resulting dynamical system, the stabilization problem is reduced to a consensus problem. We first derive the stabilizing control laws in the presence of all-to-all communication. Providing each agent with a consensus estimator, we then extend the results to a general setting that allows for unidirectional and time-varying communication topologies. © 2007 IEEE.

Rhythmic stabilization of periodic orbits in a wedge

The paper addresses the rhythmic stabilization of periodic orbits in a wedge billiard with actuated edges. The output feedback strategy, based on the sole measurement of impact times, results from the combination of a stabilizing state feedback control law and a nonlinear deadbeat state estimator. It is shown that the robustness of both the control law and the observer leads to a simple rhythmic controller achieving a large basin of attraction. Copyright © 2005 IFAC.

Efficient parametric uncertainty analysis within the hybrid Finite Element/Statistical Energy Analysis method

This paper is concerned with the development of efficient algorithms for propagating parametric uncertainty within the context of the hybrid Finite Element/Statistical Energy Analysis (FE/SEA) approach to the analysis of complex vibro-acoustic systems. This approach models the system as a combination of SEA subsystems and FE components; it is assumed that the FE components have fully deterministic properties, while the SEA subsystems have a high degree of randomness. The method has been recently generalised by allowing the FE components to possess parametric uncertainty, leading to two ensembles of uncertainty: a non-parametric one (SEA subsystems) and a parametric one (FE components). The SEA subsystems ensemble is dealt with analytically, while the effect of the additional FE components ensemble can be dealt with by Monte Carlo Simulations. However, this approach can be computationally intensive when applied to complex engineering systems having many uncertain parameters. Two different strategies are proposed: (i) the combination of the hybrid FE/SEA method with the First Order Reliability Method which allows the probability of the non-parametric ensemble average of a response variable exceeding a barrier to be calculated and (ii) the combination of the hybrid FE/SEA method with Laplace's method which allows the evaluation of the probability of a response variable exceeding a limit value. The proposed approaches are illustrated using two built-up plate systems with uncertain properties and the results are validated against direct integration, Monte Carlo simulations of the FE and of the hybrid FE/SEA models. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

AN EFFICIENT ITERATIVE DFT-BASED CHANNEL ESTIMATION FOR MIMO-OFDM SYSTEMS ON MULTIPATH CHANNELS

In this paper, an efficient iterative discrete Fourier transform (DFT) -based channel estimator with good performance for multiple-input and multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems such as IEEE 802.11n which retain some sub-carriers as null sub-carriers (or virtual carriers) is proposed. In order to eliminate the mean-square error (MSE) floor effect existed in conventional DFT-based channel estimators, we proposed a low-complexity method to detect the significant channel impulse response (CIR) taps, which neither need any statistical channel information nor a predetermined threshold value. Analysis and simulation results show that the proposed method has much better performance than conventional DFT-based channel estimators and without MSE floor effect.

PH值、氯离子浓度和监酸浓度对于铁的腐蚀电化学行为的影响

本文研究了Armco铁在盐酸溶液中的腐蚀电化学行为，探讨了ψ~-离子和PH值对铁的阳极溶解过程的影响，并进而讨论了ψ~-离子浓度和PH值对铁的腐蚀电化学行为的影响之间是否存在交互效应。在本工作中，作者提出了两个新的研究方法：(a) 从单支弱极化曲线测定腐蚀电流和阴、阳极反应的Tafep斜率；(b)根据交流方波电流扰动的响应函数方程测定极化电阻Rp和界面电容C。设I_c、I_(2c)、I_(3c)及I_(4c)分别为对应于弱极化区内极化电位为ΔE、2ΔE、3ΔE和4ΔE的极化电流，且令a = I_(2c)/I_c, b = I_(3c)/I_c, c = I_(4c)/I_(2c), 而(4b-3a~2)~(1/2)、(3c-2b)~(1/2)、(2c-a~2)~(1/2)则以S_j表示之，则可得到：I_(corr) = I_c/S_j b_c = ΔE/lg((a+s_j)/2) b_a = -ΔE/lg((a-s_j)/2)为了方便，准确地求出动力学参数，可选用一系列的ΔE值，得出相应的极化电流I_λ，求出S_λ，应用统计方法处理数据，可得：I_(corr) = ∑ from i=1 to n I_λ/∑ from i=1 ton S_λ b_c = ∑ form λ to n ΔE_λ/∑ form i=1 to n lg ((a_λ+S_λ)/2) b_a = ∑ form i=1 ton ΔE_λ/∑ form i=1 to n lg ((a_λ-S_λ)/2)在线性极化区间内向腐蚀金属电极体系施加一交流方波电流扰动讯号时，通过Laplace变换分析，得到相应的响应函数方程为：E_1(t) = λ_o(R_s+R_p) - 2λ_oR_p (e~(-(τ-λ)/RpC))/(1+e~(λ/RpC)) (o<τ<λ) E_2(t) = -λ_o(R_s+R_p) + 2λ_oR_p (e~(-(τ-λ)/RpC))/(1+e~(λ/RpC)) (λ<τ<2λ)由此方程可知，它们在E～λ坐标系统中的轨迹为对称兴致勃勃原点的两条直线。由此方程可进一步得到:ΔE = 2λ_oR_p (e~(λ/RpC)-1)/(e~(λ/RpC)+1) = 2λ_oR_p t_(anh)(λ/(2RpC)) Δh = 2λ_o Rs式中ΔE为单支响应直线的长度，Δh则为两条直线最高点之间的距离。上述公式可进一步简化为：Rp =(ΔE)/(2λ_o) λ>>RpC (λ_o)/(ΔE) = C/λ + 1/(2Rp) λ<

脊形结构LiNbO3光波导调制器的扩展点匹配法分析

将点匹配法扩展应用于脊形结构LiNbO3光波导调制器电极的准静态分析中.将调制器各区域的势函数表示为该区域中满足Laplace方程的一系列基函数的级数,匹配边界上有限个点的边界条件以确定出级数项的系数.通过势函数得到脊形结构LiNbO3光波导调制器结构中电场分布的解析表达式,利用求得的电场可以得到调制器特性阻抗及有效折射率.所得的特性阻抗和有效折射率与采用有限元法得到的结果十分吻合.这一分析方法简便快捷,精度高,能够处理电极有一定厚度的多层光波导调制器结构.