Application of System Dynamics in Analyzing the Cultivated Land-Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Bijie Prefecture, China

The cultivated land-water resources carrying capacity(CL-WRCC)with the method of system dynamics(SD)were analyzed.Bijie prefecture of Guizhou province served as a case in this study.Bijie prefecture is one of the least-developed areas in China.In Bijie,the physical and chemical characteristics of karst as well as the rapid economic development lead to the scarcities of cultivated land-water resources(CL-WR).On the basis of analysis on the subsystems of Bijie CL-WRCC system,the fundamental feedback structure of CL-WRCC was presented by causal loop diagram.Considering the three aims("poverty alleviation and development,ecological construction,and population control")of Bijie as the major goals,Bijie CL-WRCC SD model was developed.Three scenarios,resource-saving and environment-friendly development-oriented scenario(Scenario 1),fast economic development-oriented scenario(Scenario 2),and coordinated development-oriented scenario(Scenario 3),were investigated.Simulation results indicate that Scenario 3 which takes social economic development,environment protection,and cultivated landwater resources utilization into account,is the best alternative scenario.It can promote the coordination development of society,economy,cultivated land,water resources,and environment.In this study,the technological support and the decision-making for the rational use of CL-WR are provided not only in Bijie,but also in other similar regions of China.     

Comparison of Parallelization Strategies for Min-Sum Decoding of Irregular LDPC Codes

Low-Density Parity-Check （LDPC） codes are powerful error correcting codes. LDPC decoders have been implemented as efficient error correction codes on dedicated VLSI hardware architectures in recent years. This paper describes two strategies to parallelize min-sum decoding of irregular LDPC codes. The first implements min-sum LDPC decoders on multicore platforms using OpenMP, while the other uses the Compute Unified Device Architecture （CUDA） to parallelize LDPC decoding on Graphics Processing Units （GPUs）. Empirical studies on data with various scales show that the performance of these decoding processes is improved by these parallel strategies and the GPUs provide more efficient, fast implementation decoder.     

Influence of Rare Earth Elements on Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of Cu-15Ni Alloy

In order to improve the mechanical property and Cl-+S2-corrosion resistance of B15 copper-nickel alloy,Cu-15Ni-xRE(x:0-0.1%by weight)alloy was prepared by adding rare earth(RE)in melted Cu-15Ni alloy using metal mould casting method.Optical microscopy(OM),electronic tensile testing machine,X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM),and electrochemical testing system were used to analyze mechanical property,corrosion resistance property,and surface microstructure of different treatment samples.The results of OM and tensile testing show that the RE addition can effectively deoxidize the alloy melt and the microstructure of the alloy changes from coarse dendrite to small equiaxed grain.By addition of 0.05%RE,the tensile strength and elongation of Cu-15Ni alloys are improved from 294 MPa to 340MPa,and 8%to 33.5%respectively.The results of electrochemical testing show that the corrosion resistance of Cu-15Ni alloy is greatly improved by adding proper amount of RE,whereas excess addition of RE worsens the corrosion resistance.The optimum RE content was about 0.05%by weight.In comparison with the alloy without RE,the corrosion potential and corrosion current density of Cu-15Ni alloy containing proper RE decreased by about-0.28 V and 70A/cm2,respectively.     

Enhancing Phosphorous Recovery in a Novel Biofilter System

Developing new techniques to remove and recover phosphorous simultaneously from wastewaters is very important for sustainable utilization of phosphorous resource and prevention of eutrophication. The feasibility of phosphorus bioaccumulation in a novel continuous alternating anaerobic /aerobic biofilter and benefits of such accumulation for its further recovery as magnesium ammonia phosphate （MAP） were studied. The system was operated for seven months and employed the atomic absorption spectrophotometer （AAS） method to analyze the distribution change of magnesium and calcium with phosphate in the biofilter during that period. The benefits of utilizing the biofilter system to accumulate phosphorous ＆ magnesium and suppress calcium simultaneously to phosphorous recovery as MAP were explained with the aid of chemical equilibrium models. The improved phosphorus recovery from 42% to 82% was approved in the recovery experiments and the recovery products mainly as MAP were evidenced and characterized with scanning electron microscopy （SEM） . The study provides references for designing and operating the novel alternating anaerobic /aerobic biofilter for phosphorus bioaccumulation and recovery.     

A method to compress vibration signals using wavelet packet transformation combined with sub-band vector quantization

A novel compression method for mechanical vibrating signals,binding with sub-band vector quantization （SVQ） by wavelet packet transformation （WPT） and discrete cosine transformation （DCT） is proposed.Firstly,the vibrating signal is decomposed into sub-bands by WPT.Then DCT and adaptive bit allocation are done per sub-band and SVQ is performed in each sub-band.It is noted that,after DCT,we only need to code the first components whose numbers are determined by the bits allocated to that sub-band.Through an actual signal,our algorithm is proven to improve the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） of the reconstructed signal effectively,especially in the situation of lowrate transmission.     

Market Share Model of Price and Advertising Combined Game in Duopoly

The marketing share model of price and advertising in a duopoly market was studied in this paper. Market response curves of price and advertising were presented to calculate the reasonable range based on the market forecast results. The interaction effect of price and advertising was considered,and the game theory was applied to a two-stage price and advertising competition which involved the market share model. A marketing decision support system (MDSS) was developed and simulation data was provided to give the solutions. The operation results show that the leading enterprise makes higher price,spends more on advertising,and earns more profit,while the small-scale enterprise has to lower the price,spend less on advertising,and has slightly higher profit rate. The system is shown to be adaptable to a wide variety of realistic situations.     

Novel Approach for Fault Detection and Diagnosis of Sensors in Air Handling Units Using Wavelet Energy Entropy

A novel fault diagnosis method for sensors in air handling unit(AHU)using wavelet energy entropy was presented.Instead of directly comparing the numerous data under noise conditions,the wavelet energy entropy residual was compared in the proposed method.Three-level wavelet analysis was used to decompose the measurement data under both fault-free and faulty operation conditions.The concept of Shannon entropy was referred to define wavelet energy entropy of the wavelet coefficients.The sensor faults were diagnosed by comparing the deviation of the wavelet energy entropy of the measured signal and the estimated one with the preset threshold.Testing results showed that the wavelet energy entropy was sensitive to diagnose the biased faults.The wavelet energy entropy residuals exceed the threshold significantly when faults occur.In addition,the severer the faults were,the larger the residuals would be.The results prove that the proposed method is feasible and effective for the fault detection and diagnosis of the sensors.     

A Buffer Management Scheme for Packet Queues in MANET

We introduce a new scheme of buffer management to handle packet queues in Mobile Ad hoc Networks （MANETs） for fixed and mobile nodes. In this scheme, we try to achieve efficient queuing in the buffer of a centrally communicating MANET node through an active queue management strategy by assigning dynamic buffer space to all neighboring nodes in proportion to the number of packets received from neighbors and hence controlling packet drop probabilities. Our simulation study reveals that the proposed scheme is a way to improve the buffer management for packet queues in MANET nodes in terms of packet loss ratio, transmission efficiency, and some other important system parameters.     

Cross-layer resource allocation based on potential game theory in multi-cell OFDMA networks

A cross-layer resource allocation scheme based on potential game （CLRA _ PG） is proposed for the downlink multi-cell orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access （OFDMA） system with universal frequency reuse.As a method to mitigate inter-cell interference （ICI）,base station coordination has been considered.In the process of the objective function modeling,this paper adopts a pricing mechanism which not only maximizes the individual utility but also considers the interference to other users.Based on the potential game theory,the objective problem is converted to a potential function which can be easily solved.The Karush-Kuhn-Tucker （KKT） conditions and the iterative water-filling algorithm are employed to solve the constraint objective optimization problem.Moreover,extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate how the pricing factors affect the algorithm.At the same time,comparing with the traditional policy,our simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the performance of the system.     

Control for Modified University of Cape Town Process Using Oxidation-Reduction Potential in the Second Anoxic Zone

The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of applying the technology of oxidation-reduction potential(ORP)control on the municipal wastewater treatment system for nitrogen and phosphorus removal.Meanwhile the relation between the optimal ORP(ORP opt)and influent C/N ratio was evaluated,in which the influent chemical oxygen demand(COD)concentration was stabilized at(290±10)mg/L,the influent total phosphorus(TP)concentration was stabilized at(7.0±0.5)mg/L.The results indicated that:(1)the ORP in the second anoxic zone had effect on nitrogen and phosphorus removal capability,and the average percentages of phosphorus uptake in ANO2zone(ηa)increased with increasing ORP,i.e.,increasing from 12.0%at-143 mV to22.0%,30.0%,37.0%,and 45.0%at-123,-111,-105 and-95 mV,respectively;(2)the ORP opt as function of influent C/N ratio could be calculated by the equation:y=252.73e(-x/3.39)-131.01;the maximum percentage of phosphorus uptake in ANO2as function of the ORP opt could be calculated by the equation:y=-0.49 e(x/15.58)+1.51.The ORP opt was the important process control parameter that must be optimized for operation of enhanced biological phosphorus removal(EBPR)system.Moreover,ORP sensor is very simple,and the industrial applications of this strategy is practical.     

Design Criterion for Fixture Layout Based on the State Space Model in Multistation Assembly Processes

The fixture layout is crucial to assure the product quality in a multistation assembly process （MAP）. A well-designed fixture layout will make the final product＇s variability be insensitive to the fixture variation inputs. As the basis of the fixture layout design, the design criterion plays an important role in the effectiveness of a solution and the optimization efficiency. In this paper, an effective and efficient design criterion is proposed for the fixture layout with a fixed reference point （FRP） in an MAP. First of all, a state space model for the individual port＇s variation propagation and accumulation is developed, which is the mathematical foundation of the proposed criterion. Then, based on this model, a novel design criterion used to evaluate the performance of the fixture layout is proposed for the fixture layout with an FRP. Finally, a method extracted from the proposed design criterion is developed for quick fixture layout design. A four-station assembly process is used to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed models and methods.     

Measuring Absolute Delay of RNSS Signal Channel Using Digital Envelope Detection

The absolute delay caused by equipment of radio navigation satellite service （RNSS） signal channel must be calibrated in the application of positioning. The measurement accuracy of absolute delay will affect the positioning precision of RNSS user. An absolute delay measurement technique using digital envelope detection was developed for RNSS signal transmission channel. The RNSS transmission signal of navigation satellite and the one pulse per second （1PPS）generated by satellite time keeping system were sampled synchronously. With sampling data of 1PPS,the reference point of the absolute delay can be decided at first,and then sampling data of RNSS transmission signal were truncated. The truncated data were processed using digital envelop detection algorithm to search the phase converting points of RNSS signal. Finally,the absolute delay of RNSS signal transmitting channel was calculated. Uncertainty of measurement with proposed technique is lower than 0. 2 ns as the sampling frequency is 10 GHz.     

Freight Vehicle Routing Optimization for Sporadic Orders Using Floating Car Data

The increasing popularity of e-commerce brings large volumes of sporadic orders from different customers,which have to be handled by freight trucks and distribution centers. To improve the level of service and reduce the total shipping cost as well as traffic congestions in urban area, flexible methods and optimal vehicle routing strategies should be adopted to improve the efficiency of distribution effort. An optimization solution for vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time window for sporadic orders （VRPTW- S） was provided based on time-dependent travel time extracted from floating car data （FCD） with ArcGIS platform. A VRPTW-S model derived from the traditional vehicle routing problem was proposed, in which uncertainty of customer orders and travel time were considered. Based on this model, an advanced vehicle routing algorithm was designed to solve the problem. A case study of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, was conducted to demonstrate the vehicle operation flow,in which process of FCD and efficiency of delivery systems under different situations were discussed. The final results demonstrated a good performance of application of time-dependent travel time information using FCD in solving vehicle routing problems.     

Impact of public name resolving services on Akamai

To enhance user perceived performance,Akamai＇ s content distribution network （CDN） utilizes the domain name system （DNS） effectively to redirect users to close-by content replicas over short time scale.The use of DNS redirection has brought a significant advantage to Akamai＇ s CDN.However,the reliance on DNS also poses a fundamental threat to Akamai＇ s content distribution model.In particular,systematic evaluation and quantification illustrates the impact of recent emerging public DNS resolving services on Akamai＇ s CDN,including the degradation of corresponding user perceived performance and the benefit damnification of collaborating internet services providers （ISPs） that host Akamai＇ s edge servers.The measurement demonstrates that a considerable penetration of public DNS resolving services （e.g.,OpenDNS and GoogleDNS） effectively corrupts the Akamai＇ s serving model,namely the large-scale server distribution and quick DNS redirection.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Poly[ 2, 2- （m-phenylene） -5, 5-bibenzimidazole ] in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium Chloride

Poly[2,2-(m-phenylene)-5,5-bibenzimidazole](mPBI)were synthesized by mixing 3,3’,4,4’-tetraaminobiphenyl and isophthalic acid in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride([BMIM]Cl).Intrinsic viscosity of mPBI polymers was 0.67 dL/g which was measured in 96%sulfuric acid.The polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),nuclear magnetic resonance(1H-NMR),and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).The effects of polymerization conditions on the intrinsic viscosity of mPBI were investigated.It showed that the molecular weight of polymer mainly depended on pre-reaction time and reaction temperature.Comparison of structure and properties of mPBI synthesized in ionic liquids(ILs)and polyphosphoric acid was also reported.It indicates that the ionic liquids are a kind of good solvents in synthesis process of mPBI and ionic liquids mainly affect molecular weight of mPBI.     

An adaptive pipelining scheme for H.264/AVC CABAC decoder

An adaptive pipelining scheme for H.264/AVC context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding （CABAC） decoder for high definition （HD） applications is proposed to solve data hazard problems coming from the data dependencies in CABAC decoding process.An efficiency model of CABAC decoding pipeline is derived according to the analysis of a common pipeline.Based on that,several adaptive strategies are provided.The pipelining scheme with these strategies can be adaptive to different types of syntax elements （SEs） and the pipeline will not stall during decoding process when these strategies are adopted.In addition,the decoder proposed can fully support H.264/AVC high 4 ∶ 2 ∶ 2 profile and the experimental results show that the efficiency of decoder is much higher than other architectures with one engine.Taking both performance and cost into consideration,our design makes a good tradeoff compared with other work and it is sufficient for HD real-time decoding.     

Acquiring synonymous attribute phrases for named entities via online encyclopedia

In this work,an approach is proposed to acquire synonymous attribute phrases of named entities （NEs） from an online encyclopedia.Synonymous attribute phrases are the phrases that express the same attribute with different surface forms for a class of NEs.Specifically,the proposed approach is composed of three stages.Firstly,the entries related to a given NE class are automatically selected from an online encyclopedia.Secondly,attribute phrases are extracted based on the statistics of phrase frequency.Thirdly,synonymous attributes are identified in a pairwise manner through a classification framework combining multiple features.The proposed approach is applied on Baidu Baike,a Chinese online encyclopedia,for four different NE classes.Experimental results show that the approach obtains an average precision of 74％ and an average F-value of 65％ for the four NE classes.In particular,thousands of synonymous attribute phrase pairs are acquired for each class,which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Exploration on ecological regulation of the reservoirs

Reservoir regulation process in the Yangtze River basin is mainly divided into two types of flood regulation and initiating benefit regulation. The present reservoir management system and operation mode are mainly for dealing with or coordinating of flood control and benefit initiation as well as benefit distribution among various beneficial functions. From the view point of river ecosystem protection, the current regulation mode has two kinds of problems ： firstly, most of the reservoir regulation plans do not consider ecosystem protection at downstream of dams and needs of environment protection in reservoir areas; secondly, integrated regulation or management of water resources is ignored. It is very necessary to improve reservoir regulation mode, bearing problems faced by regulation of the Three Gorges reservoir and issues related to cascade development and regulation in Tuojiang and Minjiang River basins in mind. In accordance with the concept of scientific development, and the philosophy of ＂ensuring a healthy Yangtze River and promoting the harmony between human and water＂, taking flood control, benefit initiation and eco-system as a whole, this paper put forward the basic consideration to improve reservoir regulation as follows ： on the basis of requirements of ecosystem protection at downstream of dams and needs of environment protection in reservoir areas, we should bring the functions of reservoir such as flood control and benefit initiation into full play, control the negative influence to the ecosystem at downstream of dams and the environment in reservoir areas in an endurable scope, and restore the ecosystem and the environment step by step. This paper put forward the relevant regulation process aiming at the idiographic problems such as protection of ecosystem at downstream of dams and environment in reservoir areas, protection of aquatic wildlife species and fish species, regulation of sediment and protection of wetland.     

Optimization of Culture Components for Laccase Activity from Pleurotus Ostreatus P40 Using Response Surface Methodology

High enzymatic activity is required for laccase applications.Central composite design （CCD）-based response surface methodology （RSM） can effectively increase the enzymatic activity of Pleurotus ostreatus P40 in liquid substrate fermentation.Initial screening of the nutritional components was performed using a Plackett-Burman design.The variables,namely,bran,bagasse,Tween 80,and yeast extract,were found to have statistically significant effects on laccase activity.These variables were further optimized using CCD-based RSM.Optimal concentrations for the maximum laccase activity were 8.144 2 g/L bran,50 g/L bagasse,0.424 1 mL/L Tween 80,and 2.832 5 g/L yeast extract.Under optimized conditions,the maximum measured laccase activity reached 96 480 U/L,which was close to the predicted value （104 830 U/L） by RSM.Therefore,RSM can be used to optimize culture components for laccase activity from Pieurotus ostreatus P40.     

Simulated change in the near-surface soil freeze/thaw cycle on the Tibetan Plateau from 1981 to 2010

The near-surface freeze/thaw cycle in cold regions plays a major role in the surface energy budget,hydrological activity,and terrestrial ecosystems.In this study,the Community Land Model,Version 4 and a suite of high-resolution atmospheric data were used to investigate the changes in the near-surface soil freeze/thaw cycle in response to the warming on the Tibetan Plateau from1981 to 2010.The in situ observations-based validation showed that,considering the cause of scale mismatch in the comparison,the simulated soil temperature,freeze start and end dates,and freeze duration at the near-surface were reasonable.In response to the warming of the Tibetan Plateau at a rate of approximately 0.44°C decade-1,the freeze start-date became delayed at an area-mean rate of1.7 days decade-1,while the freeze end-date became advanced at an area-mean rate of 4.7 days decade-1.The delaying of the freeze start-date,which was combined with the advancing of the freeze end-date,resulted in a statistically significant shortening trend with respect to the freeze duration,at an area-mean rate of 6.4 days decade-1.Such changes would strongly affect the surface energy flux,hydrological processes,and vegetation dynamics.We also found that the rate of freeze-duration shortening at the near-surface soil layer was approximately 3.0 days decade-1lower than that at a depth of 1 m.This implied that the changes in soil freeze/thaw cycles at the near surface cannot be assumed to reflect the situation in deeper soil layers.The significant correlations between freeze duration and air temperature indicated that the shortening of the near-surface freeze duration was caused by the rise in air temperature,which occurred especially in spring,followed by autumn.These results can be used to reveal the laws governing the response of the near-surface freeze/thaw cycle to climate change and indicate related changes in permafrost.