An improved modal pushover analysis procedure for estimating seismic demands of structures

The pushover analysis （POA） procedure is difficult to apply to high-rise buildings, as it cannot account for the contributions of higher modes. To overcome this limitation, a modal pushover analysis （MPA） procedure was proposed by Chopra et al. （2001）. However, invariable lateral force distributions are still adopted in the MPA. In this paper, an improved MPA procedure is presented to estimate the seismic demands of structures, considering the redistribution of inertia forces after the structure yields. This improved procedure is verified with numerical examples of 5-, 9- and 22-story buildings. It is concluded that the improved MPA procedure is more accurate than either the POA procedure or MPA procedure. In addition, the proposed procedure avoids a large computational effort by adopting a two-phase lateral force distribution..

Polarimetric Meteorological Satellite Data Processing Software Classification Based on Principal Component Analysis and Improved K-Means Algorithm

With the increasing variety of application software of meteorological satellite ground system, how to provide reasonable hardware resources and improve the efficiency of software is paid more and more attention. In this paper, a set of software classification method based on software operating characteristics is proposed. The method uses software run-time resource consumption to describe the software running characteristics. Firstly, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimension of software running feature data and to interpret software characteristic information. Then the modified K-means algorithm was used to classify the meteorological data processing software. Finally, it combined with the results of principal component analysis to explain the significance of various types of integrated software operating characteristics. And it is used as the basis for optimizing the allocation of software hardware resources and improving the efficiency of software operation.

A Gender Analysis on the Participation and Choice of Improved and Local Haricot Bean (<i>Phaseolus vulgaris L</i>.) by Farmers in Cameroon

Men and women farmer participation and choice of variety could guide breeding and drive the adoption of different haricot bean varieties. Thus, understanding how gender influences participation and choice of bean cultivation and marketing is fundamental. The study sought to analyse how socio-cultural norms determine women and men, participation and choice of variety for cultivation and sale in Cameroon’s West region. A mixed-method was used in collecting data from men and women farmers in six subdivisions in the West region of Cameroon in 2019. Result reveals that women provide most of the labour on haricot bean production than men, who are more involved in selling to national and regional markets. Participation and role were driven by socio-cultural norms of what is expected of men and women in a society where women provide food and men income for household upkeep. Women preferred varieties that were less labour intensive and food taste for household consumption while men went for labour intensive as long as they were market-oriented and high yielding. Thus, breeders should develop varieties that are mostly preferred by women, which meet the market and household demand.

Stability analysis of wireless network with improved fluid model

Wireless communication is easily disturbed by unfortunate factors which drive the wireless environment unstable and complicated. Therefore, it is essential to consider these factors in stability analysis of the wireless network. However, wireless channel characteristics and packets collisions are neglected in the classical fluid model. A wireless TCP fluid model （WTFM） for stability analysis of wireless network is proposed based on cross layers, which not only makes the congestion control based on random early detection （RED） available for wireless network, but also provides a more accurate model to analyze the stability of wireless system theoretically. In the proposed model, active queue management, abnormality of wireless channels and packets collisions are taken into consideration. The comparisons between evaluating results from the WTFM and the practical performance from NS2 simulations validate the accuracy of the proposed WTFM in the perspectives of delay, dropping probability, throughput, sliding window size and queue length. A set of comparisons among the proposed WTFM, the classical fluid model and the convex optimization model are conducted. The results demonstrate that the proposed WTFM model performs better than other schemes in comprehensive aspects on capturing the characteristic of the wireless network and computing complexity.

Francis Turbine and Governor Improved Models Considering Step Closing Law of Guide Vanes for Power System Stability Analysis

The Francis turbine governing system models in PSD-BPA can’t precisely reflect the actual characteristics. Endeavor was done in this paper to solve the problem. An improved model of actuating mechanism was developed, which could reflect the step closing characteristic of hydro guide vanes. The effect of the inflection point value of actuating mechanism on load rejection was analyzed based on simulation. The non-linear Francis turbine model with power versus gate position module was researched in this paper. Based on field test, comparisons of simulation results with measured data were presented. The analysis demonstrates that the improved models of Francis turbine and governor proposed in this paper are more realistic than the models of BPA, and can be applied in power system simulation analysis better.

Ex-ante Adoption Analysis for Improved Sorghum Varieties in the Lake Zone Tanzania

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of production and consumption characteristics of improved sorghum varieties on farmers＇ adoption decisions. Thirty-four farmers and 231 consumers evaluated five sorghum varieties to determine their preferences. The perceptions of the farmers and consumers were summarized and presented to 100 sorghum farmers to help them choose the best varieties, based on results obtained earlier. Ordered probit models were used to predict their adoption decisions. Results indicated that when adoption is predicted on production characteristics alone the adoption rate was lower than when prediction incorporated both production and consumption characteristics of the sorghum varieties. Therefore, when disseminating new technologies farmers need to be informed about the production as well as the consumption characteristics of the new technologies. The outcomes of this study imply that involving producers and consumers in the generation of new agricultural technologies would potentially increase their adoption rates when they are disseminated. Thus a subsector analytical approach is recommended.

Difficulty Analysis of HVAC Construction and Key Analysis of Improved Technology

This paper expounds the concept of HVAC construction,specifically analyzes the current situation of HVAC construction in construction engineering,and focuses on the key and difficult points in HVAC construction.In order to provide an effective reference for improving the quality of HVAC construction in the current construction engineering,some suggestions are put forward for improvement of relevant technologies involved in key and difficult points.

IGIgram:An Improved Gini Index-Based Envelope Analysis for Rolling Bearing Fault Diagnosis

The transient impulse features caused by rolling bearing faults are often present in the resonance frequency band which is closely related to the dynamic characteristics of the machine structure.Informative frequency band identification is a crucial prerequisite for envelope analysis and thereby accurate fault diagnosis of rolling bearings.In this paper,based on the ratio of quasi-arithmetic means and Gini index,improved Gini indices(IGIs)are proposed to quantify the transient impulse features of a signal,and their effectiveness and advantages in sparse quantification are confirmed by simulation analysis and comparisons with traditional sparsity measures.Furthermore,an IGI-based envelope analysis method named IGIgram is developed for fault diagnosis of rolling bearings.In the new method,an IGI-based indicator is constructed to evaluate the impulsiveness and cyclostationarity of the narrow-band filtered signal simultaneously,and then a frequency band with abundant fault information is adaptively determined for extracting bearing fault features.The performance of the IGIgram method is verified on the simulation signal and railway bearing experimental signals and compared with typical sparsity measures-based envelope analysis methods and log-cycligram.The results demonstrate that the proposed IGIs are efficient in quantifying bearing fault-induced transient features and the IGIgram method with appropriate power exponent can effectively achieve the diagnostics of different axle-box bearing faults.

Statistical Analysis of Process Monitoring Data for Software Process Improvement and Its Application

Software projects influenced by many human factors generate various risks. In order to develop highly quality software, it is important to respond to these risks reasonably and promptly. In addition, it is not easy for project managers to deal with these risks completely. Therefore, it is essential to manage the process quality by promoting activities of process monitoring and design quality assessment. In this paper, we discuss statistical data analysis for actual project management activities in process monitoring and design quality assessment, and analyze the effects for these software process improvement quantitatively by applying the methods of multivariate analysis. Then, we show how process factors affect the management measures of QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) by applying the multiple regression analyses to observed process monitoring data. Further, we quantitatively evaluate the effect by performing design quality assessment based on the principal component analysis and the factor analysis. As a result of analysis, we show that the design quality assessment activities are so effective for software process improvement. Further, based on the result of quantitative project assessment, we discuss the usefulness of process monitoring progress assessment by using a software reliability growth model. This result may enable us to give a useful quantitative measure of product release determination.

Water Environmental Impact Assessment and Analysis of Foshan Brewery Project

In recent years, the beer industry is a biological food industry that consumes a lot of water, and it has developed rapidly in China. The sewage discharged from the mass production of beer poses a huge threat to the environment. In order to evaluate and better solve the possible environmental impacts of beer treatment engineering projects, a brewery project in Foshan City is taken as an example to investigate the water pollution generation links of the engineering process including surface water and groundwater. According to the relevant technical methods and standards, water pollution factors are screened, and concentration and discharge are monitored. Through comprehensive analysis, predictive evaluation is obtained. It is confirmed that the project meets the requirements of national laws and regulations and environmental protection standards.

Interspecific Chromosome Substitution Lines as Genetic Resources for Improvement,Trait Analysis and Genomic Inference

The genetic base that cotton breeders commonly use to improve Upland cultivars is very narrow.The AD-genome species Gossypium barbadense,G.tomentosum,and G.mustelinum are part of

Integrating artificial intelligence and high-throughput phenotyping for crop improvement

Crop improvement is crucial for addressing the global challenges of food security and sustainable agriculture.Recent advancements in high-throughput phenotyping(HTP)technologies and artificial intelligence(AI)have revolutionized the field,enabling rapid and accurate assessment of crop traits on a large scale.The integration of AI and machine learning algorithms with HTP data has unlocked new opportunities for crop improvement.AI algorithms can analyze and interpret large datasets,and extract meaningful patterns and correlations between phenotypic traits and genetic factors.These technologies have the potential to revolutionize plant breeding programs by providing breeders with efficient and accurate tools for trait selection,thereby reducing the time and cost required for variety development.However,further research and collaboration are needed to overcome the existing challenges and fully unlock the power of HTP and AI in crop improvement.By leveraging AI algorithms,researchers can efficiently analyze phenotypic data,uncover complex patterns,and establish predictive models that enable precise trait selection and crop breeding.The aim of this review is to explore the transformative potential of integrating HTP and AI in crop improvement.This review will encompass an in-depth analysis of recent advances and applications,highlighting the numerous benefits and challenges associated with HTP and AI.

Comparative Analysis and Performance Improvement of Production Lines in Champion Breweries Plc and Nigerian Bottling Company

In this study,a comparative analysis of the production lines of Champion Breweries PLC and Nigerian Bottling Company was performed in order to determine ways of improving the productivity growth in Champion Breweries Plc.To achieve this aim,a bottling line model was developed and validated;studies were also carried out to ascertain the bottling line technical practices that are presently being adopted in the brewery plant.The problems affecting the smooth operation of the bottling lines were unraveled and methods of solving them have been recommended.Also,the overall equipment effectiveness(OEE)model was developed and used in the analysis in addition to other performance measurement techniques,to measure the production losses and to identify areas of process improvements.Results showed that the OEE in the existing production lines of Champion Lager Beer and Nigerian Bottling Company(Coca-Cola)is 61.5% and 62.0% respectively.Theoretical validation technique was used to validate these production lines and as a result,the validated model shows an improvement in the OEE score.The validated OEE models are 63.1% and 63.0% respectively.The adoption of the results in these validated models will definitely lead to improved productivity of both production lines.

A Study of the Effect of Soil Improvement Based on the Numerical Site Response Analysis of Natural Ground in Babol City

A series of numerical calculations have been performed to investigate the effect of soil improvement on seismic site response. Seismic site response analyses were also performed using data collected from a study area in Babol city. The improved site is a composite ground and has more or less different mechanical properties than the natural ground. In this research, the influence of the elastic modulus of the pile, the pile distance ratio, ground motion input, distance to fault rupture, and PGA of the earthquakes on seismic response characteristics are especially investigated. The results reveal that the values of the PGA and amplification factor on the surface of the natural and improved grounds depend strongly on the fundamental period of the site, the predominant period, and the intensity of the ground motion input. The acceleration response spectra also are affected by the characteristics of ground motion input and soil layers. Changing the pile distance ratio doesn’t have a significant effect on the seismic response of the site.

Approach for improving precision of regression analysis of single-replication fertilization experiments in rice

The field experiment designs with single replication were frequently used for factorial experiments in which the numbers of field plots were limited, but the experimental error was difficult to be estimated. To study a new statistical method for improving precision of regression analysis of such experiments in rice, 84 fertilizer experiments were conducted in 15 provinces of China, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Sichuan, Heilongjiang, etc. Three factors with 14 treatments (N: 0—225kg/ha, P: 0 —112. 5kg/ha, K: 0—150kg/ha) and two replications were employed using approaching optimun design. There were 2352 (84×14×2=2352) Yield deviations (d) between the individual treatment yields and its arithmetic mean. The results indicated that:

Ranking approach of cross-efficiency based on improved TOPSIS technique

The cross-efficiency evaluation method is reviewed which is developed as a data envelopment analysis （DEA） extensive tool. The cross-efficiency evaluation method is utilized to identify the decision making unit （DMU） with the best practice and to rank the DMUs by their respective cross-efficiency scores. The main drawbacks of the cross-efficiency evaluation method when the ultimate average cross-efficiency scores are used to evalu- ate and rank the DMUs are also pointed out. With the research gap, an improved technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution （TOPSIS） is introduced to rank the crossfficiency by eliminating the average assumption. Finally, an empirical example is illustrated to examine the validity of the proposed method.

Evaluation on Urban Land Ecological Security Based on the PSR Model and Matter-Element Analysis: A Case Study of Zhuhai, Guangdong, China

As one of the Special Economic Zones since the reform and opening up, Zhuhai has developed during the past 30 years. Its economic development, industrial structure and ecological environment have undergone great changes. Research on changes in Zhuhai’s land ecological security is of great significance. Using relevant data from 2007-2012, this study established a land ecological security assessment system based on the PSR conceptual framework model. The system contained 18 indicators from 3 aspects according to the concrete features of Zhuhai. Then we used the matterelement analysis and the improved entropy weight to analyze and evaluate the land ecological security of Zhuhai. The results showed that: from 2007 to 2012, the levels of the land ecological security of Zhuhai were “secure”, and the value increased year by year;as the land ecological security response value increased, Zhuhai was capable of solving land ecosystem problems. However, it should be noted that the structure of land ecosystem in Zhuhai has not formed and that rapid expansion of construction land has caused the shortage of cultivated land and other issues. Measures should be taken to control the construction area, improve land intensive utilization and improve the land ecological security.

Improved frequency modeling and solution for parallel liquid-filled pipes considering both fluid-structure interaction and structural coupling

The dynamic characteristics of a single liquid-filled pipe have been broadly studied in the previous literature.The parallel liquid-filled pipe(PLFP)system is also widely used in engineering,and its structure is more complex than that of a single pipe.However,there are few reports about the dynamic characteristics of the PLFPs.Therefore,this paper proposes improved frequency modeling and solution for the PLFPs,involving the logical alignment principle and coupled matrix processing.The established model incorporates both the fluid-structure interaction(FSI)and the structural coupling of the PLFPs.The validity of the established model is verified by modal experiments.The effects of some unique parameters on the dynamic characteristics of the PLFPs are discussed.This work provides a feasible method for solving the FSI of multiple pipes in parallel and potential theoretical guidance for the dynamic analysis of the PLFPs in engineering.

A NEW RETROFIT APPROACH FOR HEAT EXCHANGER NETWORKS—IMPROVED GENETIC ALGORITHM

Inspired by genetic algorithm(GA),an improved genetic algorithm(IGA)is proposed.It inherits the main idea of evolutionary computing,avoids the process of coding and decoding inorder to probe the solution in the state space directly and has distributed computing version.Soit is faster and gives higher precision.Aided by IGA,a new optimization strategy for theflexibility analysis and retrofitting of existing heat exchanger networks is presented.A case studyshows that IGA has the ability of finding the global optimum with higher speed and better preci-sion.