As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

Growth mechanism and gas-sensing characteristics of organic-additive-free zinc oxide of various shapes

Zinc oxide is widely used in gas sensors, solar cells, and photocatalysts because of its wide bandgap and exciton binding energy of 60 meV in various metal oxides. To use ZnO as a gas sensor, it is necessary to synthesize it with surface defects and a large specific surface area. In this study, hydrothermal synthesis without surfactants was employed to obtain organic-additive-free ZnO. For morphology control, we varied the ratio of the hydroxide ion concentration to the zinc ion concentration. To confirm the growth mechanism of ZnO, we performed X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analyses. Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements were performed to analyze the surface properties. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method and probe stations were used to measure the specific surface area and sensitivity of the gas sensor, respectively. The results confirmed that flower-shaped ZnO is the most suitable gas-sensing material.     

瞬变电磁井间勘探的全空间几何因子

井间是剩余油的主要分布区域,为探测井间剩余油,提高采收率,提出了基于全空间几何因子的瞬变电磁井间勘探方法。在本井使用线圈发射、邻井使用线圈接收,根据瞬变电磁场理论,在阶跃信号的激励下发射线圈在地层中激发出沿圆周方向的闭合瞬变电场,该电场在导电地层中产生与地层电导率呈正比的涡流。由Doll地层环模型可知,地层中的涡流在空间任意点激发得到与地层电导率成正比的二次场响应信号(有用信号),并可表示为空间各点电导率的加权平均值,其权重即为井间瞬变电磁勘探的全空间几何因子;全空间几何因子集中分布在发射线圈和接收线圈附近,其它区域分布较少,在发射线圈和接收线圈两侧呈现不同的极性;对瞬变电磁响应与地层电导率、井间距和源距的变化规律研究可知,瞬变电磁井间勘探有用信号随着地层电导率的增大而增大,随着井间距的增加单调减小,在发射线圈和接收线圈处于同一深度时该响应信号幅度最大。     

Adaptive Discretization for Computerized Tomography

Two adaptive discretization frameworks are tested for computerized tomography (CT) data reconstruction. Removal of inactive pixels is primary motivation. Efficient and user independent entropy optimized masking is employed for spatial filtering purposes. Density of nodes at high gradient of reconstructed physical property is used as adaptation criterion. An alternative option, independent from noisy projection data and nature of the physical properties, is also discussed. Sensitivity analysis between the uniform and nonuniform (evolved via adaptive route) reconstruction grid reveals the utility of nonuniform grids. Iterative and transform based reconstruction techniques are used. Outcomes are tested successfully on three real world projection data from two different compact CT setups and one commercial high-resolution micro-CT scanner.     

Perception‐aware autonomous mast motion planning for planetary exploration rovers

Highly accurate real‐time localization is of fundamental importance for the safety and efficiency of planetary rovers exploring the surface of Mars. Mars rover operations rely on vision‐based systems to avoid hazards as well as plan safe routes. However, vision‐based systems operate on the assumption that sufficient visual texture is visible in the scene. This poses a challenge for vision‐based navigation on Mars where regions lacking visual texture are prevalent. To overcome this, we make use of the ability of the rover to actively steer the visual sensor to improve fault tolerance and maximize the perception performance. This paper answers the question of where and when to look by presenting a method for predicting the sensor trajectory that maximizes the localization performance of the rover. This is accomplished by an online assessment of possible trajectories using synthetic, future camera views created from previous observations of the scene. The proposed trajectories are quantified and chosen based on the expected localization performance. In this study, we validate the proposed method in field experiments at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mars Yard. Furthermore, multiple performance metrics are identified and evaluated for reducing the overall runtime of the algorithm. We show how actively steering the perception system increases the localization accuracy compared with traditional fixed‐sensor configurations.     

基于多元神经网络融合的分布式资源空间文本分类研究

针对实体产业对科技资源的服务需求,以服务效应作为资源文本分类标准,提出一种基于多元神经网络融合的分布式资源空间文本分类模型。设计了包含词嵌入层、卷积层、双向门控循环单元层、注意力机制层和softmax层的多元神经网络通路;在此基础上采用基于需求—效应—资源分类策略,完成了从定性科技资源需求到定量资源服务效应求解,再到定性科技资源输出的映射变换,重点解决了分布式科技资源局部和全局语义特征形式多样、文本长距离依赖特征显著、重要资源信息难以准确识别的问题,进而从分布式科技资源空间中快速准确地获取效应知识,提升实体产业产品研发效率和创新能力;通过万方专利科技资源数据集验证了所提方法的可行性和有效性,为更加全面地挖掘资源文本特征和按需服务实体产业提供了一种新的思路和手段。     

临近空间载人舱舱门密封特性研究

为研究临近空间载人舱舱门密封特性,对临近空间载人舱舱门P形橡胶密封圈进行有限元压缩行为仿真分析,分析P形橡胶密封圈主副密封面密封接触宽度和接触应力随舱门间隙与舱门行程变化的规律,并根据该规律给出舱门压缩行程和舱门密封间隙的设计推荐值。基于ROTH泄漏模型推导出P形橡胶密封圈的总漏率模型,并计算该泄漏模型的稳态漏率值。通过舱门密封试验,对P形橡胶密封圈的总漏率进行验证。P形橡胶密封圈总漏率计算值与试验结果基本吻合,验证了P形橡胶密封圈总漏率模型的有效性。     

风速时间序列混沌判定方法比较研究

混沌识别是对非线性时间序列进行混沌预测的前提。针对时间序列风速确定性与随机性相结合的复杂非线性特征,研究了不同的混沌识别方法,并对风速时间序列进行混沌特征识别。应用随机噪声、周期运动及经典混沌系统的时间序列对所选方法进行可靠性验证。对美国国家风能研究中心M2测风塔实测时间序列风速数据进行非线性混沌特征识别。结果表明:风速时间序列具有明显的混沌特征;各风速时间序列表现出不同程度的混沌特征;各混沌识别方法对风速时间序列混沌特征的表达形式不同,互为补充,相互验证。     

山西省地质灾害特点和时空分布研究

山西地处黄土高原东部，地形高差大，地质条件复杂，水土流失严重，极易形成崩塌、滑坡、泥石流等地质灾害。在综合前人研究的基础上，对山西省地质灾害的特点时空分布进行研究，发现山西省地质灾害具有以下特点:崩塌、地面塌陷、滑坡是山西的三大地质灾害；次生地质灾害是山西省地质灾害的主要形式，人类活动是山西地质灾害频发的一个重要诱因；3月—4月、6月—9月和10月是全省地质灾害的高发期；吕梁、临汾、忻州、长治、太原等市是全省地质灾害高发地区；东部褶皱山区和晋西黄土地貌区是全省地质灾害最易发的地区；黄土地地貌区是崩塌和泥石流的重点易发区；地面沉降和地裂缝主要发生在城市。该研究对山西省地质灾害的防治具有一定的指导意义。     

浮法玻璃熔窑火焰空间石油焦部分替代重油燃烧的数值模拟

针对浮法玻璃熔窑火焰空间建立模型并进行了数值模拟，在保证热值相同的前提下，对比研究了重油燃烧及将石油焦部分替代重油燃烧时的流场分布特征。结果表明，石油焦部分代替重油燃烧后，两种燃料可很好地混合燃烧，窑炉内温度制度基本不受影响；石油焦着火时间比重油长，两种燃料混合燃烧时平均着火点滞后于仅使用重油时，且燃烧路径更长，燃烧时产生了大量CO，整个火焰空间及烟气出口处NOx的平均排放量与仅使用重油相比降低了30.02%，NOx减排效果明显。