SPECTRAL DENSITY ESTIMATION FROM NONLINEARLY OBSERVED DATA

Abstract. The estimation of the spectral density function of a stationary Gaussian process at the input of an instantaneous nonlinearity is considered when the nonlinearity is known and a finite set of observations of the output process is given. A class of spectral estimates is considered and their quadratic-mean consistency is established; precise asymptotic expressions for their bias and covariance are derived and their asymptotic normality is obtained.     

Kinetic analysis of the crystallization of poly(p-phenylene sulphide)

Growth rates of spherulites were measured in poly(p-phenylene sulphide) crystallized from the melt and the quenched glass over the temperature range 100°C–280°C, possibly the most extensive overall range yet reported for any polymer and, as such, most propitious for study of régime III crystallization. For a medium M.wt. polymer, a régime II → III transition was obtained at 208°C using values of transport parameters common to many polymers ($\text{U1 = 1400}\text{cal mol}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$, T_∞ ? T_g = 30°C) together with experimentally determined values of T⁰_m(315°C) and T_g(92°C). Under these conditions, the régime III/II slope ratio was found to be 2.07 (i.e. only 3.5% higher than predicted by régime theory), and reasonable estimates of surface free energies and of the work of chain folding were obtained. Other choices of the transport terms, including WLF and zero values, did not allow successful kinetic analyses. Although a régime I → II transition is predicted to occur at the high-temperature end of our growth-rate data, we found no experimental evidence for it. For a low M.wt. polymer, our analysis showed that régime III kinetics is obeyed at low temperatures, while at higher ones there is a continuous departure from that behaviour without, however, full attainment of régime II kinetics.     

Turnover rates for heptane reforming over Pt/L zeolites with different alkali cations

A series of 0.6 wt% Pt/BaL catalysts with different alkali cations have been tested for heptane reforming at 440 ° C, 0.16 atm heptane, 0.95 atm H₂, 6.7 atm He, 3 to 5 h of reaction, and conversions between 2 and 10%. As the cations in the zeolite are progressively changed from lithium to cesium, the turnover rates for hydrogenolysis and dehydrocyclization increase by about 5–10 times, while the turnover rate for isomerization remains unchanged. Since the turnover rates for hydrogenolysis and dehydrocyclization are similarly affected, exchanging lighter alkali cations for heavier ones increases the aromatics selectivity by a small amount, from 72 to 82%. These results indicate that metal-support interactions have a moderate effect on the heptane reforming activity, but only a weak effect on the selectivity.     

Ammonia losses from ammonium-containing and -forming fertilizers after surface application at different rates on alkaline soils

The objective of this investigation was to compare the susceptibility of different ammonium containing and forming fertilizers to NH₃ losses and to determine the effect of application rates on NH₃ volatilization. Losses of NH₃ from five fertilizers, namely (NH₄)₂SO₄, CAN, urea, MAP and DAP were determined. The fertilizers were surface-applied to a sandy clay loam Arniston soil and a clayey Gelykvlakte soil of which the pH values were respectively 9.0 and 8.9. The application levels were equivalent to 0, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 kg N ha^–1. After a contact period of 3 days NH₃ losses were determined. Ammonia was lost from both soils under all treatments. More NH₃ was lost from the clayey Gelykvlakte soil compared with the sandy clay loam Arniston soil. Loss of NH₃ from the various fertilizers was ranked as follows: Urea > DAP > (NH₄)₂SO₄ > MAP > CAN. Ammonia losses increased with increasing application rates, but the proportion of N lost, decreased. Losses of NH₃ may be reduced by selective choice of fertilizer type and application rate.     

Performance of iterative tomographic algorithms applied to non-destructive evaluation with limited data

Iterative tomographic algorithms have been applied to the reconstruction of a two-dimensional object with internal defects from its projections. Nine distinct algorithms with varying numbers of projections and projection angles have been considered. Each projection of the solid object is interpreted as a path integral of the light-sensitive property of the object in the appropriate direction. The integrals are evaluated numerically and are assumed to represent exact data. Errors in reconstruction are defined as the statistics of difference between original and reconstructed objects and are used to compare one algorithm with respect to another. The algorithms used in this work can be classified broadly into three groups, namely the additive algebraic reconstruction technique (ART), the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) and the maximization reconstruction technique (MRT). Additive ART shows a systematic convergence with respect to the number of projections and the value of the relaxation parameter. MART algorithms produce less error at convergence compared to additive ART but converge only at small values of the relaxation parameter. The MRT algorithm shows an intermediate performance when compared to ART and MART. An increasing noise level in the projection data increases the error in the reconstructed field. The maximum and RMS errors are highest in ART and lowest in MART for given projection data. Increasing noise levels in the projection data decrease the convergence rates. For all algorithms, a 20% noise level is seen as an upper limit, beyond which the reconstructed field is barely recognizable.     

Evaporation of solvents by infrared radiation treatment

The first stages of infrared drying of waterborne coating systems are controlled by the evaporation of their volatile components. In order to analyse the kinetics of drying during IR radiation, the evaporation behaviour of water and other solvents of waterborne coatings are investigated using a combined gravimetric and photoionization technique. The resulting specific evaporation rates under IR radiation are compared with those obtained by thermal annealing. It is shown that in the case of IR radiation heating of water, the mass transfer coefficients are much higher than by thermal annealing at the same driving potential. The dependence of the water absorption rates and the mass losses of different solvents on the humidity of the air was also determined.     

喷雾降温蒸发冷却技术在西安世界园艺博览会应用的可行性分析

通过介绍喷雾降温蒸发冷却技术,指出国内首次将喷雾降温蒸发冷却技术大量应用在室外无建筑为依托的广场,实施了对室外空气进行等焓、降温、加湿处理;对比分析了西安和上海的典型气象年逐时参数,提出喷雾降温蒸发冷却技术在中等湿度地区、干燥地区会比高等湿度地区有较大应用前景和价值。     

Effects of gage length, loading rates, and damage on the strength of PPTA fibers

Axial tension and transverse compression experiments on single fibers were performed to investigate the mechanical behavior of three high-performance fibers (Kevlar^®, Kevlar^® 129, and Twaron^®) with diameters in the order of 9-12 μm. The single fibers were manufactured from 1998 through 2008. A miniaturized tensile Kolsky bar was used to determine the tensile response of PPTA single fibers at a high strain rate. Gage length and strain rate were found to have minimum effects on the tensile strength of PPTA single fibers. Manufacturing time over a decade was found to have negligible effects on the tensile strength of the fibers. Initial transverse compression on the fibers reduces their ultimate tensile strengths. A high resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) was also used to examine the fracture modes of transversely deformed fibers. Different types of fracture morphology were observed.     

基于眼动感知信息的彩色图像感兴趣区域提取算法

提出了一种由眼动感知信息引导区域生长的彩色图像感兴趣区域提取算法.在对被试眼动感知数据分析的基础上,算法首先提取感兴趣位置点,然后以这些点的邻域信息作为种子点,在特定的颜色空间中采用颜色同质准则提取出一系列初始感兴趣区域,最后将这些区域按照被试的"关注度"进行排序得到最终的感兴趣区域.算法在RGB、HSV、L*a*b等...     

Inhibitory Effect of Monoterpenes on Response of Pityogenes bidentatus to Aggregation Pheromone Released by Piezoelectric Sprayer for Precision Release of Semiochemicals

A piezoelectric sprayer for dispensing semiochemicals was developed and used for a field test of bark beetle semiochemicals. The sprayer consists of a geared pump that pushes a syringe slowly to dispense semiochemicals in solvents through a microtube to a glass micropipet fixed to a piezoelectric high-frequency vibrator. The frequency is adjusted via a function generator to about 120 kHz until the harmonic properties of the glass micropipet, drawn by an electrophysiological pipet puller, cause vibrations that atomize the solvent from the micropipet tip. The sprayer, syringe, pump, function generator, and power supply were hung on one arm of a rotating trap pair (traps 6 m apart) that was slowly rotated at 2 revolutions per hour (rph) to even out the position effects on trap catches. The aggregation pheromone components of Pityogenes bidentatus, grandisol and cis-verbenol, were released by standard tube dispensers in one trap and compared to the release of similar amounts by the sprayer in the other trap. No significant differences in catch were observed. No effect of the solvent hexane on aggregation could be observed. The trap pair also caught approximately equal numbers of bark beetles when the baits were identical. The release of (+)and (–)--pinene, (+)-3-carene, and terpinolene, monoterpenes of host Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris, at increasing rates from 0.01 to 10 log-equivalents in decadic steps (each at 0.1–100 g/min) resulted in decreasing responses to aggregation pheromone (only 9% at highest rate). Inhibition by the individual monoterpenes tested at the 100 g/min rate was significant for (+)and (–)--pinene and terpinolene (12, 13, and 15% of control, respectively). The inhibition by the host Scotch pine monoterpenes may allow P. bidentatus to avoid resistant trees that release large amounts of toxic monoterpenes in their resin and instead colonize dying and diseased limbs or slash, the usual host substrate. The piezoelectric sprayer should prove generally useful to dispense precise amounts of semiochemicals in field and laboratory experiments.