Comparisons of Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation and Model Output Statistics in Improving Atmospheric Chemistry Forecasts

Atmospheric chemistry models usually perform badly in forecasting wintertime air pollution because of their uncertainties. Generally, such uncertainties can be decreased effectively by techniques such as data assimilation（DA） and model output statistics（MOS）. However, the relative importance and combined effects of the two techniques have not been clarified. Here,a one-month air quality forecast with the Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry（WRF-Chem） model was carried out in a virtually operational setup focusing on Hebei Province, China. Meanwhile, three-dimensional variational（3 DVar） DA and MOS based on one-dimensional Kalman filtering were implemented separately and simultaneously to investigate their performance in improving the model forecast. Comparison with observations shows that the chemistry forecast with MOS outperforms that with 3 DVar DA, which could be seen in all the species tested over the whole 72 forecast hours. Combined use of both techniques does not guarantee a better forecast than MOS only, with the improvements and degradations being small and appearing rather randomly. Results indicate that the implementation of MOS is more suitable than 3 DVar DA in improving the operational forecasting ability of WRF-Chem.

Soil erosion susceptibility mapping of Hangu Region,Kohat Plateau of Pakistan using GIS and RS-based models

Soil erosion is a crucial geo-environmental hazard worldwide that affects water quality and agriculture,decreases reservoir storage capacity due to sedimentation,and increases the danger of flooding and landslides.Thus,this study uses geospatial modeling to produce soil erosion susceptibility maps(SESM)for the Hangu region,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KPK),Pakistan.The Hangu region,located in the Kohat Plateau of KPK,Pakistan,is particularly susceptible to soil erosion due to its unique geomorphological and climatic characteristics.Moreover,the Hangu region is characterized by a combination of steep slopes,variable rainfall patterns,diverse land use,and distinct soil types,all of which contribute to the complexity and severity of soil erosion processes.These factors necessitate a detailed and region-specific study to develop effective soil conservation strategies.In this research,we detected and mapped 1013 soil erosion points and prepared 12 predisposing factors(elevation,aspect,slope,Normalized Differentiate Vegetation Index(NDVI),drainage network,curvature,Land Use Land Cover(LULC),rainfall,lithology,contour,soil texture,and road network)of soil erosion using GIS platform.Additionally,GIS-based statistical models like the weight of evidence(WOE)and frequency ratio(FR)were applied to produce the SESM for the study area.The SESM was reclassified into four classes,i.e.,low,medium,high,and very high zone.The results of WOE for SESM show that 16.39%,33.02%,29.27%,and 21.30%of areas are covered by low,medium,high,and very high zones,respectively.In contrast,the FR results revealed that 16.50%,24.33%,35.55%,and 23.59%of the areas are occupied by low,medium,high,and very high classes.Furthermore,the reliability of applied models was evaluated using the Area Under Curve(AUC)technique.The validation results utilizing the area under curve showed that the success rate curve(SRC)and predicted rate curve(PRC)for WOE are 82%and 86%,respectively,while SRC and PRC for FR are 85%and 96%,respectively.The validation results revealed that the FR model performance is better and more reliable than the WOE.

A thermo-mechanical damage constitutive model for deep rock considering brittleness-ductility transition characteristics

This paper developed a statistical damage constitutive model for deep rock by considering the effects of external load and thermal treatment temperature based on the distortion energy.The model parameters were determined through the extremum features of stress−strain curve.Subsequently,the model predictions were compared with experimental results of marble samples.It is found that when the treatment temperature rises,the coupling damage evolution curve shows an S-shape and the slope of ascending branch gradually decreases during the coupling damage evolution process.At a constant temperature,confining pressure can suppress the expansion of micro-fractures.As the confining pressure increases the rock exhibits ductility characteristics,and the shape of coupling damage curve changes from an S-shape into a quasi-parabolic shape.This model can well characterize the influence of high temperature on the mechanical properties of deep rock and its brittleness-ductility transition characteristics under confining pressure.Also,it is suitable for sandstone and granite,especially in predicting the pre-peak stage and peak stress of stress−strain curve under the coupling action of confining pressure and high temperature.The relevant results can provide a reference for further research on the constitutive relationship of rock-like materials and their engineering applications.

Enhancing Air Quality Forecasts over Catalonia(Spain)Using Model Output Statistics

Model Output Statistics (MOS) is a well-known technique that allows improving outputs from numerical atmospheric models. In this contribution, we present the development of a MOS algorithm to improve air quality forecasts in Catalonia, a region in the northeast of Spain. These forecasts are obtained from an Eulerian coupled air quality modelling system developed by Meteosim. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Particulate Matter (PM10) and Ozone (03) have been the pollutants considered and the methodology has been applied on statistical values of these pollutants according to regulatory levels. Four MOS algorithms have been developed, characterized by different approaches in relation with seasonal stratification and stratification according to the measurement stations considered. Algorithms have been compared among them in order to obtain a MOS that reduces the forecast uncertainties. Results obtained show that the best MOS designed increases the accuracy of NO2 maximum 1&#45h daily value forecast from 71% to 75%, from 68% to 81% in the case of daily values of PM10, and finally, the accuracy of O3 maximum 1-h daily value from 79% to 87%.

Challenges in predictive modelling of chronic kidney disease:A narrative review

The exponential rise in the burden of chronic kidney disease(CKD)worldwide has put enormous pressure on the economy.Predictive modeling of CKD can ease this burden by predicting the future disease occurrence ahead of its onset.There are various regression methods for predictive modeling based on the distribution of the outcome variable.However,the accuracy of the predictive model depends on how well the model is developed by taking into account the goodness of fit,choice of covariates,handling of covariates measured on a continuous scale,handling of categorical covariates,and number of outcome events per predictor parameter or sample size.Optimal performance of a predictive model on an independent cohort is desired.However,there are several challenges in the predictive modeling of CKD.Disease-specific methodological challenges hinder the development of a predictive model that is cost-effective and universally applicable to predict CKD onset.In this review,we discuss the advantages and challenges of various regression models available for predictive modeling and highlight those best for future CKD prediction.

Evaluation of Serum Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) Values for 28,016 Bulgarian Women: Prognostic Statistical Model of Age Specific AMH Declining

The present study aims to establish a relationship between serum AMH levels and age in a large group of women living in Bulgaria, as well as to establish reference age-specific AMH levels in women that would serve as an initial estimate of ovarian age. A total of 28,016 women on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria were tested for serum AMH levels with a median age of 37.0 years (interquartile range 32.0 to 41.0). For women aged 20 - 29 years, the Bulgarian population has relatively high median levels of AMH, similar to women of Asian origin. For women aged 30 - 34 years, our results are comparable to those of women living in Western Europe. For women aged 35 - 39 years, our results are comparable to those of women living in the territory of India and Kenya. For women aged 40 - 44 years, our results were lower than those for women from the Western European and Chinese populations, close to the Indian and higher than Korean and Kenya populations, respectively. Our results for women of Bulgarian origin are also comparable to US Latina women at age 30, 35 and 40 ages. On the base on constructed a statistical model to predicting the decline in AMH levels at different ages, we found non-linear structure of AMH decline for the low AMH 3.5) the dependence of the decline of AMH on age was confirmed as linear. In conclusion, we evaluated the serum level of AMH in Bulgarian women and established age-specific AMH percentile reference values based on a large representative sample. We have developed a prognostic statistical model that can facilitate the application of AMH in clinical practice and the prediction of reproductive capacity and population health.

Comparative Analysis of Statistical Thickness Models for the Determination of the External Specific Surface and the Surface of the Micropores of Materials: The Case of a Clay Concrete Stabilized Using Sugar Cane Molasses

In this work, four empirical models of statistical thickness, namely the models of Harkins and Jura, Hasley, Carbon Black and Jaroniec, were compared in order to determine the textural properties (external surface and surface of micropores) of a clay concrete without molasses and clay concretes stabilized with 8%, 12% and 16% molasses. The results obtained show that Hasley’s model can be used to obtain the external surfaces. However, it does not allow the surface of the micropores to be obtained, and is not suitable for the case of simple clay concrete (without molasses) and for clay concretes stabilized with molasses. The Carbon Black, Jaroniec and Harkins and Jura models can be used for clay concrete and stabilized clay concrete. However, the Carbon Black model is the most relevant for clay concrete and the Harkins and Jura model is for molasses-stabilized clay concrete. These last two models augur well for future research.

Application of neural network merging model in dam deformation analysis

In order to improve the prediction accuracy and test the generalization ability of the dam deformation analysis model, the back-propagation（BP） neural network model for dam deformation analysis is studied, and the merging model is built based on the neural network BP algorithm and the traditional statistical model. The three models mentioned above are calculated and analyzed according to the long-term deformation observation data in Chencun Dam. The analytical results show that the average prediction accuracies of the statistical model and the BP neural network model are ~ 0.477 and ＋- 0.390 mm, respectively, while the prediction accuracy of the merging model is ~0. 318 mm, which is improved by 33% and 18% compared to the other two models, respectively. And the merging model has a better generalization ability and broad applicability.

Damage statistical mechanics model of top coal in steep top caving coal

Damage statistical mechanics model of horizontal section height in the top caving was constructed in the paper. The influence factors including supporting pressure, dip angle and characteristic of coal on horizontal section height were analyzed as well. By terms of the practice project analysis, the horizontal section height increases with the increase of dip angle β and thickness of coal seam M. Dip angle of coal seam β has tremendous impact on horizontal section height, while thickness of coal seam M has slight impact. When thickness of coal seam is below 10m, horizontal section height increases sharply. While thickness exceeds 15m, it is not major factor influencing on horizontal section height any long.

New perspective in statistical modeling of wall-bounded turbulence

Despite dedicated effort for many decades,statistical description of highly technologically important wall turbulence remains a great challenge.Current models are unfortunately incomplete,or empirical,or qualitative.After a review of the existing theories of wall turbulence,we present a new framework,called the structure ensemble dynamics （SED）,which aims at integrating the turbulence dynamics into a quantitative description of the mean flow.The SED theory naturally evolves from a statistical physics understanding of non-equilibrium open systems,such as fluid turbulence, for which mean quantities are intimately coupled with the fluctuation dynamics.Starting from the ensemble-averaged Navier-Stokes（EANS） equations,the theory postulates the existence of a finite number of statistical states yielding a multi-layer picture for wall turbulence.Then,it uses order functions（ratios of terms in the mean momentum as well as energy equations） to characterize the states and transitions between states.Application of the SED analysis to an incompressible channel flow and a compressible turbulent boundary layer shows that the order functions successfully reveal the multi-layer structure for wall-bounded turbulence, which arises as a quantitative extension of the traditional view in terms of sub-layer,buffer layer,log layer and wake. Furthermore,an idea of using a set of hyperbolic functions for modeling transitions between layers is proposed for a quantitative model of order functions across the entire flow domain.We conclude that the SED provides a theoretical framework for expressing the yet-unknown effects of fluctuation structures on the mean quantities,and offers new methods to analyze experimental and simulation data.Combined with asymptotic analysis,it also offers a way to evaluate convergence of simulations.The SED approach successfully describes the dynamics at both momentum and energy levels, in contrast with all prevalent approaches describing the mean velocity profile only.Moreover,the SED theoretical framework is general,independent of the flow system to study, while the actual functional form of the order functions may vary from flow to flow.We assert that as the knowledge of order functions is accumulated and as more flows are analyzed, new principles（such as hierarchy,symmetry,group invariance,etc.） governing the role of turbulent structures in the mean flow properties will be clarified and a viable theory of turbulence might emerge.

Human induced dryland degradation in Ordos Plateau,China,revealed by multilevel statistical modeling of normalized difference vegetation index and rainfall time-series

Land degradation causes serious environmental problems in many regions of the world, and although it can be effectively assessed and monitored using a time series of rainfall and a normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） from remotely-sensed imagery, dividing human-induced land degradation from vegetation dynamics due to climate change is not a trivial task. This paper presented a multilevel statistical modeling of the NDVI-rainfall relationship to detect human-induced land degradation at local and landscape scales in the Ordos Plateau of Inner Mongolia, China, and recognized that anthropogenic activities result in either positive （land restoration and re-vegetation） or negative （degradation） trends. Linear regressions were used to assess the accuracy of the multi- level statistical model. The results show that： （1） land restoration was the dominant process in the Ordos Plateau between 1998 and 2012; （2） the effect of the statistical removal of precipitation revealed areas of human-induced land degradation and improvement, the latter reflecting successful restoration projects and changes in land man- agement in many parts of the Ordos; （3） compared to a simple linear regression, multilevel statistical modeling could be used to analyze the relationship between the NDVI and rainfall and improve the accuracy of detecting the effect of human activities. Additional factors should be included when analyzing the NDVI-rainfall relationship and detecting human-induced loss of vegetation cover in drylands to improve the accuracy of the approach and elimi- nate some observed non-significant residual trends.

Application of a biochemical and clinical model to predict individual survival in patients with end-stage liver disease

AIM:To investigate the capability of a biochemical and clinical model,BioCliM,in predicting the survival of cirrhotic patients.METHODS:We prospectively evaluated the survival of 172 cirrhotic patients.The model was constructed using clinical(ascites,encephalopathy and variceal bleeding) and biochemical(serum creatinine and serum total bilirubin) variables that were selected from a Cox proportional hazards model.It was applied to estimate 12-,52-and 104-wk survival.The model's calibration using the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic was computed at 104 wk in a validation dataset.Finally,the model's validity was tested among an independent set of 85 patients who were stratified into 2 risk groups(low risk≤8 and high risk>8).RESULTS:In the validation cohort,all measures of fi t,discrimination and calibration were improved when the biochemical and clinical model was used.The proposed model had better predictive values(c-statistic:0.90,0.91,0.91) than the Model for End-stage Liver Disease(MELD) and Child-Pugh(CP) scores for 12-,52-and 104-wk mortality,respectively.In addition,the Hosmer-Lemeshow(H-L) statistic revealed that the biochemical and clinical model(H-L,4.69) is better calibrated than MELD(H-L,17.06) and CP(H-L,14.23).There were no significant differences between the observed and expected survival curves in the stratified risk groups(low risk,P=0.61;high risk,P=0.77).CONCLUSION:Our data suggest that the proposed model is able to accurately predict survival in cirrhotic patients.

Adaptive Maneuvering Frequency Method of Current Statistical Model

Current statistical model(CSM) has a good performance in maneuvering target tracking. However, the fixed maneuvering frequency will deteriorate the tracking results, such as a serious dynamic delay, a slowly converging speedy and a limited precision when using Kalman filter(KF) algorithm. In this study, a new current statistical model and a new Kalman filter are proposed to improve the performance of maneuvering target tracking. The new model which employs innovation dominated subjection function to adaptively adjust maneuvering frequency has a better performance in step maneuvering target tracking, while a fluctuant phenomenon appears. As far as this problem is concerned, a new adaptive fading Kalman filter is proposed as well. In the new Kalman filter, the prediction values are amended in time by setting judgment and amendment rules,so that tracking precision and fluctuant phenomenon of the new current statistical model are improved. The results of simulation indicate the effectiveness of the new algorithm and the practical guiding significance.

UWB channel modeling for indoor line-of-sight environment

SV/IEEE 802.15.3a model has been the standard model for Ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) indoor non-line-of-sight (NLOS) wireless propagation,but for line-of-sight (LOS) case,it is not well defined. In this paper,a new statistical distribution model exclusively used for LOS environment is proposed based on investigation of the experimental data. By reducing the number of the visible random arriving clusters,the model itself and the parameters estimating of the corresponding model are simplified in comparison with SV/IEEE 802.15.3a model. The simulation result indicates that the proposed model is more accurate in modeling small-scale LOS environment than SV/IEEE 802.15.3a model when considering cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) for the three key channel impulse response (CIR) statistics.

Species abundance distribution models of Toona ciliata communities in Hubei Province,China

The study of plant species abundance distribution(SAD)in natural communities is of considerable importance to understand the processes and ecological rules of community assembly.With the distribution of tree,shrub and herb layers of eight natural communities of Toona ciliata as research targets,three diff erent ecological niche models were used:broken stick model,overlapping niche model and niche preemption model,as well as three statistical models:log-series distribution model,log-normal distribution model and Weibull distribution model,to fi t SAD of the diff erent vegetation layers based on data collected.Goodness-of-fi t was compared with Chi square test,Kolmogorov–Smirnov(K–S)test and Akaike Information Criterion(AIC).The results show:(1)based on the criteria of the lowest AIC value,Chi square value and K–S value with no signifi cant diff erence(p>0.05)between theoretic and observed SADs.The suitability and goodness-of-fi t of the broken stick model was the best of three ecological niche models.The log-series distribution model did not accept the fi tted results of most vegetation layers and had the lowest goodness-of-fi t.The Weibull distribution model had the best goodness-of-fi t for SADs.Overall,the statistical SADs performed better than the ecological ones.(2)T.ciliata was the dominant species in all the communities;species richness and diversity of herbs were the highest of the vegetation layers,while the diversities of the tree layers were slightly higher than the shrub layers;there were fewer common species and more rare species in the eight communities.The herb layers had the highest community evenness,followed by the shrub and the tree layers.Due to the complexity and habitat diversity of the diff erent T.ciliata communities,comprehensive analyses of a variety of SADs and tests for optimal models together with management,are practical steps to enhance understanding of ecological processes and mechanisms of T.ciliata communities,to detect disturbances,and to facilitate biodiversity and species conservation.

Hierarchical interacting multiple model algorithm based on improved current model

Interacting multiple models is the hotspot in the research of maneuvering target models at present. A hierarchical idea is introduced into IMM algorithm. The method is that the whole models are organized as two levels to co-work, and each cell model is an improved ＂current＂ statistical model. In the improved model, a kind of nonlinear fuzzy membership function is presented to get over the limitation of original model, which can not track weak maneuvering target precisely. At last, simulation experiments prove the efficient of the novel algorithm compared to interacting multiple model and hierarchical interacting multiple model based original ＂current＂ statistical model in tracking precision.

Time-Series Modeling and Prediction of Global Monthly Absolute Temperature for Environmental Decision Making

A generalized, structural, time series modeling framework was developed to analyze the monthly records of absolute surface temperature, one of the most important environmental parameters, using a deterministicstochastic combined （DSC） approach. Although the development of the framework was based on the characterization of the variation patterns of a global dataset, the methodology could be applied to any monthly absolute temperature record. Deterministic processes were used to characterize the variation patterns of the global trend and the cyclic oscillations of the temperature signal, involving polynomial functions and the Fourier method, respectively, while stochastic processes were employed to account for any remaining patterns in the temperature signal, involving seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average （SARIMA） models. A prediction of the monthly global surface temperature during the second decade of the 21st century using the DSC model shows that the global temperature will likely continue to rise at twice the average rate of the past 150 years. The evaluation of prediction accuracy shows that DSC models perform systematically well against selected models of other authors, suggesting that DSC models, when coupled with other ecoenvironmental models, can be used as a supplemental tool for short-term （10-year） environmental planning and decision making.

Modeling susceptibility to deforestation of remaining ecosystems in North Central Mexico with logistic regression

Determining underlying factors that foster deforestation and delineating forest areas by levels of susceptibility are of the main challenges when defining policies for forest management and planning at regional scale. The susceptibility to deforestation of remaining forest ecosystems （shrubland, temperate forest and rainforest） was conducted in the state of San Luis Potosi, located in north central Mexico. Spatial analysis techniques were used to detect the deforested areas in the study area during 1993-2007. Logistic regression was used to relate explana- tory variables （such as social, investment, forest production, biophysical and proximity factors） with susceptibility to deforestation to construct predictive models with two focuses： general and by biogeographical zone In all models, deforestation has positive correlation with distance to rainfed agriculture, and negative correlation with slope, distance to roads and distance to towns. Other variables were significant in some cases, but in others they had dual relationships, which varied in each biogeographi- cal zone. The results show that the remaining rainforest of Huasteca region is highly susceptible to deforestation. Both approaches show that more than 70% of the current rainforest area has high and very high levels of susceptibility to deforestation. The values represent a serious concern with global warming whether tree carbon is released to atmos- phere. However, after some considerations, encouraging forest environ- mental services appears to be the best alternative to achieve sustainableforest management.

Comparison of Statistical Models for Regional Crop Trial Analysis

Based on the review and comparison of main statistical analysis models for estimating variety-environment cell means in regional crop trials, a new statistical model, LR-PCA composite model was proposed, and the predictive precision of these models were compared by cross validation of an example data. Results showed that the order of model precision was LR-PCA model > AMMI model > PCA model > Treatment Means (TM) model > Linear Regression (LR) model > Additive Main Effects ANOVA model. The precision gain factor of LR-PCA model was 1.55, increasing by 8.4% compared with AMMI.

A Statistical Model for Investigating Climatic Trend Turning Points

A two-phase trend model is presented to investigate the turning-point signals of evolution trend in long-term series of a climatic element. Based on nonlinear fitting, the revised model brings out more evident improvement of the linear model proposed by Solow et al. (1987). Both theoretical deduction and case calculation show that our version can search the turning point and period accurately and objectively. In particular it is fit for computer exploring the turning points in long-range records from stations covering a large area, thus avoiding subjective judgement by a usual drawing method.