Estimating time-based instantaneous total mortality rate based on the age-structured abundance index

The instantaneous total mortality rate(Z) of a fish population is one of the important parameters in fisheries stock assessment. The estimation of Z is crucial to fish population dynamics analysis,abundance and catch forecast,and fisheries management. A catch curve-based method for estimating time-based Z and its change trend from catch per unit effort(CPUE) data of multiple cohorts is developed. Unlike the traditional catch-curve method,the method developed here does not need the assumption of constant Z throughout the time,but the Z values in n continuous years are assumed constant,and then the Z values in different n continuous years are estimated using the age-based CPUE data within these years. The results of the simulation analyses show that the trends of the estimated time-based Z are consistent with the trends of the true Z,and the estimated rates of change from this approach are close to the true change rates(the relative differences between the change rates of the estimated Z and the true Z are smaller than 10%). Variations of both Z and recruitment can affect the estimates of Z value and the trend of Z. The most appropriate value of n can be different given the effects of different factors. Therefore,the appropriate value of n for different fisheries should be determined through a simulation analysis as we demonstrated in this study. Further analyses suggested that selectivity and age estimation are also two factors that can affect the estimated Z values if there is error in either of them,but the estimated change rates of Z are still close to the true change rates. We also applied this approach to the Atlantic cod(G adus morhua) fishery of eastern Newfoundland and Labrador from 1983 to 1997,and obtained reasonable estimates of time-based Z.

Prediction of roadheaders' performance using artificial neural network approaches (MLP and KOSFM)

A pplication o f m echanical excavators is one o f th e m o st com m only used excavation m eth o d s because itcan bring th e p ro ject m ore productivity, accuracy and safety. A m ong th e m echanical excavators, roadhead ers are m echanical m iners w h ich have b een extensively u se d in tu n n elin g , m ining an d civil indu stries. Perform ance pred ictio n is an im p o rta n t issue for successful ro a d h e a d e r application andgenerally deals w ith m achine selection, p ro d u ctio n rate an d b it consu m p tio n . The m ain aim o f thisresearch is to investigate th e c u ttin g p erfo rm an ce （in stan tan eo u s c u ttin g rates （ICRs）） o f m ed iu m -d u tyro ad h ead ers by using artificial neural n etw o rk （ANN） approach. T here are d ifferent categories forANNs, b u t based o n train in g alg o rith m th e re are tw o m ain k in d s： supervised and u n su p erv ised . Them u lti-lay er p ercep tro n （MLP） an d K ohonen self-organizing feature m ap （KSOFM） are th e m o st w idelyused neu ral netw o rk s for supervised an d u n su p erv ised ones, respectively. For gaining this goal, ad atab ase w as prim arily provided from ro ad h e a d e rs＇ p erfo rm an ce an d geom echanical characteristics o frock form ations in tu n n els and d rift galleries in Tabas coal m ine, th e larg est an d th e only fullymech an ized coal m ine in Iran. T hen th e datab ase w as analyzed in o rd e r to yield th e m ost im p o rtan tfactor for ICR by using relatively im p o rta n t factor in w hich G arson eq u atio n w as utilized. The MLPn etw o rk w as train ed by 3 in p u t p ara m e te rs including rock m ass pro p erties, rock quality d esignation（RQD）, in tact rock p ro p erties such as uniaxial com pressive stre n g th （UCS） an d Brazilian ten sile stren g th（BTS）, and o n e o u tp u t p a ra m e te r （ICR）. In o rd e r to have m ore v alidation o n MLP o u tp u ts, KSOFM visualizationw as applied. The m ean square e rro r （MSE） an d regression coefficient （R ） o f MLP w e re found tobe 5.49 an d 0.97, respectively. M oreover, KSOFM n etw o rk has a m ap size o f 8 x 5 and final qu an tizatio nan d topographic erro rs w e re 0.383 an d 0.032, respectively. The results show th a t MLP neural n etw orkshave a strong capability to p red ict an d ev alu ate th e perfo rm an ce o f m ed iu m -d u ty ro ad h ead ers in coalm easu re rocks. Furtherm ore, it is concluded th a t KSOFM neural n etw o rk is an efficient w ay for u n d e rstand in g system beh av io r an d know ledge extraction. Finally, it is indicated th a t UCS has m ore influenceo n ICR b y applying th e b e st train ed MLP n etw o rk w eig h ts in G arson eq u atio n w h ich is also confirm ed byKSOFM.

Flow characteristics of variable hydraulic transformer

A new kind of hydraulic transformer, called variable hydraulic transformer(VHT), is proposed to control its load flow rate. The hydraulic transformer evolves from a pressure transducer to a power transducer. The flow characteristics of VHT, such as its instantaneous flow rates, average flow rates, and flow pulsations in the ports, are investigated. Matlab software is used to simulate and calculate. There are five controlled angles of the port plate that can help to define the flow characteristics of VHT. The relationships between the flow characteristics and the structure in VHT are shown. Also, the plus-minus change of the average flow rates and the continuity of the instantaneous flow rates in the ports are presented. The results demonstrate the performance laws of VHT when the controlled angles of the port plate and of the swash plate change. The results also reveal that the special principle of the flow pulsation in the ports and the jump points of the instantaneous curves are the two basic causes of its loud noise, and that the control angles of the port plate and the swash plate and the pressures in the ports are the three key factors of the noise.

Explicit diagnosis of the local ozone production rate and the ozone-NOx-VOC sensitivities

In the troposphere, ozone is a harmful gas compound to both human health and vegetation. Ozone is produced from the reaction of NO_x(@NO + NO_2) and VOCs(volatile organic compounds) with light. Due to the highly nonlinear relationships between ozone and its precursors, proper ozone mitigation relies on the knowledge of chemical mechanisms. In this study, an observation-based method is used to simulate ozone formation and elucidate its controlling factors for a rural site on the North China Plain. The instantaneous ozone production rate is calculated utilizing a box model using the dataset obtained from the Wangdu campaign. First, the model was operated in a time-dependent mode to calculate the ozone production rate at each time stamp. The calculated ozone formation rate showed a diurnal average maximum value of 17 ppbv/h(1-h diurnal averaged). The contribution of individual peroxy radicals to ozone production was analyzed. In addition, the functional dependence of calculated P(O_3) reveals that ozone production was in a NO_x-limited regime during the campaign. Furthermore, the missing peroxy radical source will further extend NO_x-limited conditions to earlier in the day, making NO_xlimitation dominate more of a day than the current chemical model predicts. Finally, a multiple scenarios mode,also known as EKMA(empirical kinetic modeling approach), was used to simulate the response of P(O_3) to the imaginary change in precursor concentrations. We found that ozone production was in the NO_x-limited region. However, the use of NO_2 measured by the molybdenum converter and/or the absence of a peroxy radical source in the current chemical model could over-emphasize the VOC-limited effect on ozone production.