Some problems in the third generation wave models and a new approach to ocean wave modeling

The incompatibility, uncertainty and other difficulties involved in the computation of source terms in the third generation wave model are discussed. Among the effects of these difficulties, the lack of spectral reliability and the expected slow improvement of the model are emphasized. The newly developed model based on an adopted wind-wave directional spectrum is briefly reviewed. The justification of using a given spectrum to build up a model is discussed in full length. The new model and the third generation model are compared in terms of reliability, performance, feasibility of improvement and convenience of usage. The new model has shown its advantages in the comparison and its potential in practical applications.     

Microdynamics study on reaction of atom H and radical NH (X~3∑)

The dynamics of the H + NH→N + H2 reaction has been investigated by means of the 3-atom model quasiclassical trajectory approach. The LEPS potential energy surface is employed in the study, which is obtained from the ab initio results and has an early saddle point in the minimum energy path. The results indicate that the reaction product H2 is mainly scattered backward, and the reaction is found to occur via a direct channel. The product H2 is in a cold excitation of rotational state, but has a hot vibrational excitation. Based on the potential surface and the trajectory analysis, the reaction mechanism has been explained successfully.     

Genetic mapping of complex discrete human diseases by discriminant analysis

The objective of the present study is to propose and evaluate a novel multivariate approach for genetic mapping of complex categorical diseases. This approach results from an application of standard stepwise discriminant analysis to detect linkage based on the differential marker identity-by-descent (IBD) distributions among the different groups of sib pairs. Two major advantages of this method are that it allows for simultaneously testing all markers, together with other genetic and environmental factors in a single multivariate setting and it avoids explicitly modeling the complex relationship between the affection status of sib pairs and the underlying genetic determinants. The efficiency and properties of the method are demonstrated via simulations. The proposed multivariate approach has successfully located the true position(s) under various genetic scenarios. The more important finding is that using highly densely spaced markers (1～2 cM) leads to only a marginal loss of statistical efficiency of the proposed methods in terms of gene localization and statistical power. These results have well established its utility and advantages as a fine-mapping tool. A unique property of the proposed method is the ability to map multiple linked trait loci to their precise positions due to its sequential nature, as demonstrated via simulations.     

Gd–La codoped TiO_2 nanoparticles as solar photocatalysts

Gd–La codoped Ti O2 nanoparticles with diameter of 10 nm were successfully synthesized via a sol–gel method. The photocatalytic activity of the Gd–La codoped Ti O2 nanoparticles evaluated by photodegrading methyl orange was significantly enhanced compared to that of undoped or Gd or La mono-doped Ti O2. Ti4+tmay substitute for La3+tand Gd3+tin the lattices of rare earth oxides to create abundant oxygen vacancies and surface defects for electron trapping and dye adsorption, accelerating the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and methyl orange photodegradation. It is believed that the formation of an excitation energy level below the conduction band of Ti O2 from the binding of electrons and oxygen vacancies decreases the excitation energy of Gd–La codoped Ti O2, resulting in versatile solar photocatalysts. The results suggest that Gd–La codoped Ti O2 nanoparticles are promising for future solar photocatalysts.     

Raman crystal lasers in the visible and near-infrared

Raman lasers based on potassium gadolinium tungstate and lead tungstate crystals pumped by a≈120 ps Nd: YAG laser at 1.064/μm were developed. High reflection mirrors for the Stokes wavelength have been used to generate near-infrared and eye safe spectral region of 1.15 - 1.32/μm. Second harmonic generation of the generated Raman lasers was observed. Eifficient multiple Stokes and anti-Stokes picosecond generation in 64 crystals have been shown to exhibit stimulated Raman scattering on about 700 lines covering the whole visible and near-infrared spectrum. All stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) wavelengths in the visible and near-infrared spectrum are identified and attributed to the SRS-active vibration modes of these crystals.     

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques for in situ measurement of hydride formation under several gigapascals of hydrogen pressure

The high-pressure technique is a fundamental tool for realizing novel phase transitions, chemical reactions, and other exotic phenomena. Hydrogenation is one example of a high-pressure reaction; at high pressures of several gigapascals, hydrogen becomes chemically active and reacts with metals and alloys to form hydrides. This paper covers a high-pressure study of the hydrogenation process and the synthesis of hydrides using a cubic-type multi-anvil apparatus. The experimental details of a hydrogenation cell assembly, high-temperature and highpressure generation, and an in situ observation technique are presented. These experiments are conducted with the aid of in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction measurements operated in an energy-dispersive mode in the conventional manner for time-resolved measurements and a newly developed angle-dispersive mode for observation of the crystal growth process during formation of metal hydrides. Two successful cases of high-pressure hydrogenation are presented： aluminum hydride, Al H3, and an aluminum-based alloy hydride, Al2 Cu Hx, which are potential candidates for hydrogen storage materials.     

Effects of different aggregation forms of LHC Ⅱ from Bryopsis corticulans on the excited state properties of Chl a

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopies have been used to study the excited state properties of Chl a in different aggregation forms of light-harvesting complex Ⅱ （LHC Ⅱ） from an intertidal green alga, Bryopsis corticulans, i.e. LHC Ⅱ monomer, trimer and oligomer. When either Chl a or Chl b was selectively excited, the observed decrease in Chl a fluorescence in the oligomer is proved to be caused mainly by the fast fluorescence quenching among Chl a molecules, rather than by the decrease in Chl b-to-Chl a singlet excitation transfer efficiency. Analyses of the picosecond time-resolved fluorescence kinetics identified two exponential decay components in all of the three forms of LHC Ⅱ： a longer-lived component （4.1 -4.7 ns） originating from fluorescence emission of Chl a, and a shorter-lived one （135-540 ps） from the rapid equilibration of singlet excitation among Chl a molecules. The time constant of excitation equilibration is 135 ps in oligomer, 520 ps in trimer and 540 ps in monomer. These results imply that LHC Ⅱ in oligomer form is inherently able to quench Chl a excitation, a mechanism which may be related to the photoprotection of PS Ⅱ via changing the degree of LHC Ⅱ aggregation in Bryopsis corticulans.     

Adaptive interactive genetic algorithms with individual interval fitness

It is necessary to enhance the performance of interactive genetic algorithms in order to apply them to complicated optimization problems successfully. An adaptive interactive genetic algorithm with individual interval fitness is proposed in this paper in which an indi-vidual fitness is expressed by an interval. Through analyzing the fitness, information reflecting the distribution of an evolutionary population is picked up, namely, the difference of evaluating superior individuals and the difference of evaluating a population. Based on these, the adaptive probabilities of crossover and mutation operators of an individual are presented. The algorithm proposed in this paper is applied to a fashion evolutionary design system, and the results show that it can find many satisfactory solutions per generation. The achievement of the paper provides a new approach to enhance the t~erformance of interactive genetic algorithms.     

A PSL Ontology-based Shop Floor Dynamical Scheduler Design

Due to the complex, uncertainty and dynamics in the modern manufacturing environment, a flexible and robust shop floor scheduler is essential to achieve the production goals. A design framework of a shop floor dynamical scheduler is presented in this paper. The workflow and function modules of the scheduler are discussed in detail. A multi-step adaptive scheduling strategy and a process specification language, which is an ontology-based representation of process plan, are utilized in the proposed scheduler. The scheduler acquires the dispatching rule from the knowledge base and uses the buildin on-line simulator to evaluate the obtained rule. These technologies enable the scheduler to improve its fine-tune ability and effectively transfer process information into other heterogeneous information systems in a shop floor. The effectiveness of the suggested structure will be demonstrated via its application in the scheduling system of a manufacturing enterprise.     

Contact and hybrid zone hotspots and evolution of birds in the Middle East

The Middle East is an important contact zone for a considerable number of bird taxa from the western and eastern Palearctic and from the great Saharo-Sindian desert belt.Using WORLDMAP software,we analyzed the geographical distribution of secondary contact zones for parapatric species pairs of birds in the Middle East.We identified 56 species(29 species pairs)that make contact in the Middle East.The species pairs belong to three orders,i.e.Falconiformes,Piciformes,and Passeriformes.Almost half(46%)of these species pairs hybridize in their contact zones.Although contact zones occur over a large part of northern Middle East,spatially they were not evenly distributed.Contact zone richness was highest in the mountain ranges south of the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus.The hottest hotspots,where up to nine bird species pairs occur sympatrically,are situated in north-eastern Iran and Azerbaijan.We discuss the relevance of these hotspots for improving our understanding of the biogeography and evolution of the avifauna in the Middle East.     

Tailing wavetrain generation in precursor soliton generation in single-layer flow

A theory of tailing wavetrain generation in the precursor soliton generation in single-layer flow is presented in terms of Whitham s averaged method in the present paper. The group characters of the tailing wavetrain generation are represented by the evolution equations of roots of a cubic algebraic equation resulting from the fKdV equation in the single-layer flow without source term. Based on the evolution equations, the group velocity of the tailing wavetrain is found theoretically, furthermore a theoretical solution of the tailing wavetrain generation is found in terms of the evolution equations. To examine the theoretical results, a numerical calculation of fKdV equation in single-layer flow is carried out in the laboratory frame, at the same time a comparison is also done. The comparison between theoretical and numerical results shows they are in good agreement.     

Harmonic detection an AC excited generation system based on in-phase correlation filtering

The paper reports results of investigation on the harmonic detection technique of a complicated power supply system such as an AC excited generation system, which has a variable fundamental frequency and low order harmonics with rich sub-harmonics whose frequencies are lower than the fundamental one. The in-phase correlation filtering technique, based on the frequency shifting principle, is proposed in this paper.Theoretical analysis and experimental results validate the effectiveness of this technique for the harmonic detections of AC excited generation systems.     

Robust ranking of multi criteria alternatives using value functions compatible with holistic preference information

We present two recent methods, called UTAGMS and GRIP, from the viewpoint of robust ranking of multicriteria alternatives. In these methods, the preference information provided by a single or multiple Decision Makers (DMs) is composed of holistic judgements of some selected alternatives, called reference alternatives. The judgements express pairwise comparisons of some reference alternatives (in UTAGMS), and comparisons of selected pairs of reference alternatives from the viewpoint of intensity of preference (in GRIP). Ordinal regression is used to find additive value functions compatible with this preference information. The whole set of compatible value functions is then used in Linear Programming (LP) to calculate a necessary and possible weak preference relations in the set of all alternatives, and in the set of all pairs of alternatives. While the necessary relation is true for all compatible value functions, the possible relation is true for at least one compatible value function. The necessary relation is a partial preorder and the possible relation is a complete and negatively transitive relation. The necessary relations show consequences of the given preference information which are robust because “always true”. We illustrate this methodology with an example.     

Electromagnetic tomography: an analytical approach to detectability limits and sensitivity maps

An analytical method is applied to the electromagnetic tomographic (EMT) system for a single cylin- drical object in a realistic EMT sensor. The exact expressions of the magnetic field distribution in a two-dimensional object space are derived. Two specific applications are presented. Firstly, the detectability of the EMT technique is described by mathematically defining and plotting the distortion ratio of the object field to the excitation field as a function of the excitation frequency or the relative object diameter. Secondly, direct mathematical expressions for sensitivity are established and sensitivity maps are plotted, which might be useful for future image reconstruction.     

Retrieval of urban slow deformation using the multi-baseline DInSAR technique

The investigation of slow displacement in urban areas using the multi-baseline DInSAR technique has been a hot research topic in the field of DlnSAR. The basic flow of this technique includes several steps such as the combination of interferometric image pairs, generation of differential interferograms, se- lection of high coherent points, generation of the Delaunay triangular network, calculation and integra- tion of increments in network, unwrapping and calibration of the residual phase, and the estimation of both atmospheric and nonlinear displacement phase. Among these steps, the calculation of increments is the key to retrieve linear displacement, while unwrapping and calibration of the residual phase are the keys to retrieve nonlinear displacement. In order to improve the performance of these two steps, this paper proposes a modified model coherence function for increments estimation, and a triangular ＂circle＂ algorithm to deal with phase unwrapping and calibration. Based on the above algorithms, the subsidence of Suzhou City is investigated using 24 ERS scenes from February 1993 to December 2000. The results show that the linear subsidence velocity of the most urban area is about -20 to -30 mm/a during the time, with a yearly decrease in velocity. The displacement seems to be stable after 2000. Leveling data validate our results and demonstrate the reliability of the algorithm.     

Detecting the micro-defects in the GaAs materials by time resolved emissions

The GaAs material is a major semiconductor material, and it has high electron transfer rate and direct transition energy band structure. The devices and inte-grated circuits fabricated on the GaAs substrates have a lot of advantages such as high speed information processing. Small perturbations in the manufacturing of GaAs materi-als can lead to defects. The defects in the GaAs materials can degrade the performance of materials. A new method is presented in this paper for detecting the micro-defects in GaAs materials by using time resolved emissions. In this method, the micro-defects in GaAs materials are detected by making use of the photon emission features of micro- defects. The strength of the emitted photons from the micro-defects is increased by applying the electric current or the periodic pulse signals to GaAs materials. The single-photon detector is used to detect the photon emissions of the micro-defects. The time resolved photon emissions and single-photon detection are used to record and compare the amounts of the emitted photons that come from the given regions of the normal GaAs materials and the defective GaAs materials. A lot of experimental results show that the micro-defects in the GaAs materials can be detected by using the method proposed in this paper.     

Lab experiments on the innovative rapid thick strip casting process

Rapid thick strip casting (RTSC) by Anton Hulek, Inventmetall®, is an innovative concept for the production of hot strips with a final as-cast thickness of about 25 mm before rolling. The innovation of the mechanism consists in a vertical mould performing a caterpillar motion. This moving mould has an unconventional parallelogram-shaped cross-section. The conventional rectangular shape is formed in the shaping machine, which is placed straight below the mould. Further elements of the technology are state-of-the-art. For the investigation of this new casting system theoretical calculations were complemented with practical experiments. The investigation focused mainly on two key aspects:the characteristics of the mould and the shaping process. For the practical analysis a static mould with three pairs of elements in laboratory scale was developed and commissioned by the Dept. of Ferrous Metallurgy @ RWTH Aachen University. The shaping experiments were carried out in model scale with two different materials and in variable boundary conditions. The results of these experiments delivered important mechanical as well as thermal informations about the casting system.     

Test Mismatch in Switched-Current Circuits Using Wavelet Analysis

Errors of mismatch and currents calibration caused by channel geometrical variety in switchedcurrent are investigated in this paper. The relation and computing of mismatch and sensitivity are discussed also, and then a measure method of switched current mismatch using wavelet decomposition is proposed. A selected group of same transconductance is choosing as a cohort firstly, and the sensitivities of cohort in relation to the variation of transconductance are computed. Compared with the nominal deviation and tolerance borderline, the optimization and testing can be performed. As an example, a sixth order chebyshev low-pass filter is simulated and tested. The results have justified the reliability and feasibility of the method.     

High frequency modeling for quantum-well laser diodes

High frequency modeling of quantum-well （QW） laser diodes for optoelectronic integrated circuit （OEIC） design is discussed in this paper, Modeling of the intrinsic device and the extrinsic components is discussed by accounting for important physical effects at both dc and high frequency. The concepts of equivalent circuits representing both intrinsic and extrinsic components in a QW laser diode are analyzed to obtain a physics-based high frequency model, The model is based on the physical rate equations, and is versatile in that it permits both small- and large-signal simulations to be performed, Several procedures of the high frequency model parameter extraction are also discussed. Emphasis here is placed on validating the model via a comparison of simulated results with measured data of the small-signal modulation response, obtained over a wide range of optical output powers.     

Atomic modeling for the initial stage of chromium passivation

The well-known anti-corrosive property of stainless steels is largely attributed to the addition of Cr,which can assist in forming an inert film on the corroding surface.To maximize the corrosion-resistant ability of Cr,a thorough study dealing with the passivation behaviors of this metal,including the structure and composition of the passive film as well as related reaction mechanisms,is required.Here,continuous electrochemical adsorptions of OH-groups of water molecules onto Cr terraces in acid solutions are investigated using DFT methods.Different models with various surface conditions are applied.Passivation is found to begin in the active region,and a fully coated surface mainly with oxide is likely to be the starting point of the passive region.The calculated limiting potentials are in reasonable agreement with passivation potentials observed via experiment.