Assessing adaptability of the water resource system to social-ecological systems in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region:Based on the DPSIR-TOPSIS framework

To optimize the overall layout of water resource allocation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,the adaptabil‐ity of the water resource system to the regional social-ecological systems has to be enhanced.Based on the driver-pressure-state-impact-response(DPSIR)framework,this study constructs an evaluation index system to analyze the adaptability mechanisms of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei’s water resource system according to the three major constituent social-ecological systems(i.e.,economic,social,and ecological systems).Moreover,it adopts the technique of order preference similarity to the ideal solution(TOPSIS)to comprehensively evaluate the adaptability of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei’s water resource system based on three constituent social-ecological systems(i.e.,economic,social,and ecological systems)and identifies the spatiotemporal differentiation char‐acteristics of the region.Our results showed that,①from 2000 to 2020,the adaptability of Beijing-Tianjin Hebei’s water resource system,as a whole,significantly improved.In terms of stages,from 2000 to 2007,the adaptability of the water resource social system was significantly higher than that of economic and ecological systems in the region.From 2008 to 2015,by accelerating the transformation and upgrading of industrial structures,improving the efficiency of economic water utilization,and strengthening the governance of the water ecosystem,the adaptability of water resource economic and ecological systems rapidly improved;how‐ever,that of the water resource ecological system was still the lowest.Additionally,the adaptability of the wa‐ter resource economic system exceeded that of the social system.From 2016 to 2020,the gap in adaptability of the water resource system to all three major constituent systems gradually narrowed.By 2020,the three sys‐tems entered a relatively balanced development stage,with the adaptability of the entire water resource system and the three major constituent systems maintaining a high level.②The economic system was significantly af‐fected by per capita GDP,per capita water resources,and the efficiency of economic water utilization.Addition‐ally,the social system was significantly affected by water consumption per unit of irrigation area.Meanwhile,the ecological system was significantly influenced by precipitation,water pollution discharge performance indi‐cators,and the structure optimization indicators of water supply.According to the evaluation results,we pro‐pose countermeasures and provide recommendations to optimize the overall layout of water resource alloca‐tion and promote the coordinated management of water resources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

The vulnerability evolution and simulation of social-ecological systems in a semi-arid area: A case study of Yulin City, China

Taking the semi-arid area of Yulin City as an example, this study improves the vulnerability assessment methods and techniques at the county scale using the VSD(Vulnerability Scoping Diagram) assessment framework, integrates the VSD framework and the SERV(Spatially Explicit Resilience-Vulnerability) model, and decomposes the system vulnerability into three dimensions, i.e., exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Firstly, with the full understanding of the background and exposure risk source of the research area, the vulnerability indexes were screened by the SERV model, and the index system was constructed to assess the characteristics of the local eco-environment. Secondly, with the aid of RS and GIS, this study measured the spatial differentiation and evolution of the social-ecological systems in Yulin City during 2000–2015 and explored intrinsic reasons for the spatial-temporal evolution of vulnerability. The results are as follows:(1) The spatial pattern of Yulin City's SESs vulnerability is "high in northwest and southeast and low along the Great Wall". Although the degree of system vulnerability decreased significantly during the study period and the system development trend improved, there is a sharp spatial difference between the system vulnerability and exposure risk.(2) The evolution of system vulnerability is influenced by the risk factors of exposure, and the regional vulnerability and the spatial heterogeneity of exposure risk are affected by the social sensitivity, economic adaptive capacity and other factors. Finally, according to the uncertainty of decision makers, the future scenarios of regional vulnerability are simulated under different decision risks by taking advantage of the OWA multi-criteria algorithm, and the vulnerability of the regional system under different development directions was predicted based on the decision makers' rational risk interval.

Dynamic Interaction Analysis of Coupled Axial-Torsional-Lateral Mechanical Vibrations in Rotary Drilling Systems

Maintaining the integrity and longevity of structures is essential in many industries,such as aerospace,nuclear,and petroleum.To achieve the cost-effectiveness of large-scale systems in petroleum drilling,a strong emphasis on structural durability and monitoring is required.This study focuses on the mechanical vibrations that occur in rotary drilling systems,which have a substantial impact on the structural integrity of drilling equipment.The study specifically investigates axial,torsional,and lateral vibrations,which might lead to negative consequences such as bit-bounce,chaotic whirling,and high-frequency stick-slip.These events not only hinder the efficiency of drilling but also lead to exhaustion and harm to the system’s components since they are difficult to be detected and controlled in real time.The study investigates the dynamic interactions of these vibrations,specifically in their high-frequency modes,usingfield data obtained from measurement while drilling.Thefindings have demonstrated the effect of strong coupling between the high-frequency modes of these vibrations on drilling sys-tem performance.The obtained results highlight the importance of considering the interconnected impacts of these vibrations when designing and implementing robust control systems.Therefore,integrating these compo-nents can increase the durability of drill bits and drill strings,as well as improve the ability to monitor and detect damage.Moreover,by exploiting thesefindings,the assessment of structural resilience in rotary drilling systems can be enhanced.Furthermore,the study demonstrates the capacity of structural health monitoring to improve the quality,dependability,and efficiency of rotary drilling systems in the petroleum industry.

Towards Quantitatively Understanding the Complexity of Social-Ecological Systems——From Connection to Consilience

The complexity of social-ecological systems(SES) is rooted in the outcomes of node activities connected by network topology. Thus far, in network dynamics research, the connectivity degree(CND), indicating how many nodes are connected to a given node, has been the dominant concept. However, connectivity focuses only on network topology, neglecting the crucial relation to node activities, and thereby leaving system outcomes largely unexplained. Inspired by the phenomenon of ‘‘consensus of wills and coordination of activities' ' often observed in disaster risk management, we propose a new concept of network characteristic, the consilience degree(CSD),aiming to measure the way in which network topology and node activities together contribute to system outcomes. The CSD captures the fact that nodes may assume different states that make their activities more or less compatible.Connecting two nodes with in/compatible states will lead to outcomes that are un/desirable from the perspective of the SES in question. We mathematically prove that the CSD is a generalized CND, and the CND is a special case of CSD. As a general, fundamental concept, the CSD can facilitate the development of a new framework of network properties, models, and theories that allows us to understand patterns of network behavior that cannot be explained in terms of connectivity alone. We further demonstrate that a co-evolutionary mechanism can naturally improve the CSD. Given the generality of co-evolution in SES, we argue that the CSD is an inherent attribute rather than an artificial concept, which underpins the fundamental importance of the CSD to the study of SES.

Rural social-ecological systems navigating institutional transitions: case study from Transylvania (Romania)

Traditional rural social-ecological systems(SES)share many features which are crucial for sus-tainable development.Eastern European countries such as Romania,are still rich in traditional cultural landscapes.However,these landscapes are increasingly under internal(e.g.,people’s aspirations toward western socioeconomic ideals)and external(institutional changes,globalization of the commodity market,connectivity with other cultures)pressures.Therefore,understanding the ways how traditional SES navi-gated past and more recent changes is of crucial importance in getting insights about the future trajectory of these systems.Here,we present the rural SES from the Saxon region of Transylvania through the lens of institutional transitions which happened in the past century in this region.We show that the rural SES went through episodic collapses and renewals,their cyclic dynamic being related to the episodic chang-es of the higher level formal institutions.These episodic collapses and renewals created a social-ecolog-ical momentum for the sustainability of these SES.While we recognize that policy effectiveness depends on institutional stability(and institutions are unstable and prone to collapses),maintaining those social-ecological system properties which can assure navigation of societies through the challenges imposed by global changes should be in the heart of every governance system.Such properties includes wide extent of native vegetation,fertile soils,wide range of provisioning ecosystem services,genuine links between people and landscapes and knowledge about the social-ecological systems.These features could provide important capitals and memory elements for the(re)emergence of social-ecological systems(old or new).

Conventional Geothermal Systems and Unconventional Geothermal Developments: An Overview

This paper provides an overview of conventional geothermal systems and unconventional geothermal developments as a common reference is needed for discussions between energy professionals. Conventional geothermal systems have the heat, permeability and fluid, requiring only drilling down to °C, normal heat flow or decaying radiogenic granite as heat sources, and used in district heating. Medium-temperature (MT) 100°C - 190°C, and high-temperature (HT) 190°C - 374°C resources are mostly at plate boundaries, with volcanic intrusive heat source, used mostly for electricity generation. Single well capacities are °C - 500°C) and a range of depths (1 m to 20 Km), but lack permeability or fluid, thus requiring stimulations for heat extraction by conduction. HVAC is 1 - 2 m deep and shallow geothermal down to 500 m in wells, both capturing °C, with °C are either advanced by geothermal developers at <7 Km depth (Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), drilling below brittle-ductile transition zones and under geothermal fields), or by the Oil & Gas industry (Advanced Geothermal Systems, heat recovery from hydrocarbon wells or reservoirs, Superhot Rock Geothermal, and millimeter-wave drilling down to 20 Km). Their primary aim is electricity generation, relying on closed-loops, but EGS uses fractures for heat exchange with earthquake risks during fracking. Unconventional approaches could be everywhere, with shallow geothermal already functional. The deeper and hotter unconventional alternatives are still experimental, overcoming costs and technological challenges to become fully commercial. Meanwhile, the conventional geothermal resources remain the most proven opportunities for investments and development.

Systems Theory-Driven Framework for AI Integration into the Holistic Material Basis Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine

This paper introduces a systems theory-driven framework to integration artificial intelligence(AI)into traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)research,enhancing the understanding of TCM’s holistic material basis while adhering to evidence-based principles.Utilizing the System Function Decoding Model(SFDM),the research progresses through define,quantify,infer,and validate phases to systematically explore TCM’s material basis.It employs a dual analytical approach that combines top-down,systems theory-guided perspectives with bottom-up,elements-structure-function methodologies,provides comprehensive insights into TCM’s holistic material basis.Moreover,the research examines AI’s role in quantitative assessment and predictive analysis of TCM’s material components,proposing two specific AIdriven technical applications.This interdisciplinary effort underscores AI’s potential to enhance our understanding of TCM’s holistic material basis and establishes a foundation for future research at the intersection of traditional wisdom and modern technology.

Computational Experiments for Complex Social Systems:Experiment Design and Generative Explanation

Powered by advanced information technology,more and more complex systems are exhibiting characteristics of the cyber-physical-social systems(CPSS).In this context,computational experiments method has emerged as a novel approach for the design,analysis,management,control,and integration of CPSS,which can realize the causal analysis of complex systems by means of“algorithmization”of“counterfactuals”.However,because CPSS involve human and social factors(e.g.,autonomy,initiative,and sociality),it is difficult for traditional design of experiment(DOE)methods to achieve the generative explanation of system emergence.To address this challenge,this paper proposes an integrated approach to the design of computational experiments,incorporating three key modules:1)Descriptive module:Determining the influencing factors and response variables of the system by means of the modeling of an artificial society;2)Interpretative module:Selecting factorial experimental design solution to identify the relationship between influencing factors and macro phenomena;3)Predictive module:Building a meta-model that is equivalent to artificial society to explore its operating laws.Finally,a case study of crowd-sourcing platforms is presented to illustrate the application process and effectiveness of the proposed approach,which can reveal the social impact of algorithmic behavior on“rider race”.

Prescribed Performance Tracking Control of Time-Delay Nonlinear Systems With Output Constraints

The problem of prescribed performance tracking control for unknown time-delay nonlinear systems subject to output constraints is dealt with in this paper. In contrast with related works, only the most fundamental requirements, i.e., boundedness and the local Lipschitz condition, are assumed for the allowable time delays. Moreover, we focus on the case where the reference is unknown beforehand, which renders the standard prescribed performance control designs under output constraints infeasible. To conquer these challenges, a novel robust prescribed performance control approach is put forward in this paper.Herein, a reverse tuning function is skillfully constructed and automatically generates a performance envelop for the tracking error. In addition, a unified performance analysis framework based on proof by contradiction and the barrier function is established to reveal the inherent robustness of the control system against the time delays. It turns out that the system output tracks the reference with a preassigned settling time and good accuracy,without constraint violations. A comparative simulation on a two-stage chemical reactor is carried out to illustrate the above theoretical findings.

Finite-time Prescribed Performance Time-Varying Formation Control for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems With Non-Strict Feedback Based on a Neural Network Observer

This paper studies the problem of time-varying formation control with finite-time prescribed performance for nonstrict feedback second-order multi-agent systems with unmeasured states and unknown nonlinearities.To eliminate nonlinearities,neural networks are applied to approximate the inherent dynamics of the system.In addition,due to the limitations of the actual working conditions,each follower agent can only obtain the locally measurable partial state information of the leader agent.To address this problem,a neural network state observer based on the leader state information is designed.Then,a finite-time prescribed performance adaptive output feedback control strategy is proposed by restricting the sliding mode surface to a prescribed region,which ensures that the closed-loop system has practical finite-time stability and that formation errors of the multi-agent systems converge to the prescribed performance bound in finite time.Finally,a numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the developed algorithm.

Robust adaptive leaderless consensus of unknown non-minimum phase linear multi-agent systems subject to disturbances and/or unmodeled dynamics

This article investigates the problem of robust adaptive leaderless consensus for heterogeneous uncertain nonminimumphase linear multi-agent systems over directed communication graphs. Each agent is assumed tobe of unknown nominal dynamics and also subject to external disturbances and/or unmodeled dynamics. Anovel distributed robust adaptive control strategy is proposed. It is shown that the robust adaptive leaderlessconsensus problem is solved with the proposed control strategy under some sufficient conditions. Two examplesare provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control strategy.

Attribute Reduction of Hybrid Decision Information Systems Based on Fuzzy Conditional Information Entropy

The presence of numerous uncertainties in hybrid decision information systems(HDISs)renders attribute reduction a formidable task.Currently available attribute reduction algorithms,including those based on Pawlak attribute importance,Skowron discernibility matrix,and information entropy,struggle to effectively manages multiple uncertainties simultaneously in HDISs like the precise measurement of disparities between nominal attribute values,and attributes with fuzzy boundaries and abnormal values.In order to address the aforementioned issues,this paper delves into the study of attribute reduction withinHDISs.First of all,a novel metric based on the decision attribute is introduced to solve the problem of accurately measuring the differences between nominal attribute values.The newly introduced distance metric has been christened the supervised distance that can effectively quantify the differences between the nominal attribute values.Then,based on the newly developed metric,a novel fuzzy relationship is defined from the perspective of“feedback on parity of attribute values to attribute sets”.This new fuzzy relationship serves as a valuable tool in addressing the challenges posed by abnormal attribute values.Furthermore,leveraging the newly introduced fuzzy relationship,the fuzzy conditional information entropy is defined as a solution to the challenges posed by fuzzy attributes.It effectively quantifies the uncertainty associated with fuzzy attribute values,thereby providing a robust framework for handling fuzzy information in hybrid information systems.Finally,an algorithm for attribute reduction utilizing the fuzzy conditional information entropy is presented.The experimental results on 12 datasets show that the average reduction rate of our algorithm reaches 84.04%,and the classification accuracy is improved by 3.91%compared to the original dataset,and by an average of 11.25%compared to the other 9 state-of-the-art reduction algorithms.The comprehensive analysis of these research results clearly indicates that our algorithm is highly effective in managing the intricate uncertainties inherent in hybrid data.

Computation Tree Logic Model Checking of Multi-Agent Systems Based on Fuzzy Epistemic Interpreted Systems

Model checking is an automated formal verification method to verify whether epistemic multi-agent systems adhere to property specifications.Although there is an extensive literature on qualitative properties such as safety and liveness,there is still a lack of quantitative and uncertain property verifications for these systems.In uncertain environments,agents must make judicious decisions based on subjective epistemic.To verify epistemic and measurable properties in multi-agent systems,this paper extends fuzzy computation tree logic by introducing epistemic modalities and proposing a new Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic of Knowledge(FCTLK).We represent fuzzy multi-agent systems as distributed knowledge bases with fuzzy epistemic interpreted systems.In addition,we provide a transformation algorithm from fuzzy epistemic interpreted systems to fuzzy Kripke structures,as well as transformation rules from FCTLK formulas to Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic(FCTL)formulas.Accordingly,we transform the FCTLK model checking problem into the FCTL model checking.This enables the verification of FCTLK formulas by using the fuzzy model checking algorithm of FCTL without additional computational overheads.Finally,we present correctness proofs and complexity analyses of the proposed algorithms.Additionally,we further illustrate the practical application of our approach through an example of a train control system.

Optimal Multi-Timescale Scheduling of Integrated Energy Systems with Hybrid Energy Storage System Based on Lyapunov Optimization

The economic operation of integrated energy system(IES)faces new challenges such as multi-timescale characteristics of heterogeneous energy sources,and cooperative operation of hybrid energy storage system(HESS).To this end,this paper investigates the multi-timescale rolling opti-mization problem for IES integrated with HESS.Firstly,the architecture of IES with HESS is established,a comparative analysis is conducted to evaluate the advantages of the HESS over a single energy storage system(SESS)in stabilizing power fluctuations.Secondly,the dayahead and real-time scheduling cost functions of IES are established,the day-ahead scheduling mainly depends on operation costs of the components in IES,the real-time optimal scheduling adopts the Lya-punov optimization method to schedule the battery and hydrogen energy storage in each time slot,so as to minimize the real-time average scheduling operation cost,and the problem of day-ahead and real-time scheduling error,which caused by the uncertainty of the energy storage is solved by online optimization.Finally,the proposed model is verified to reduce the scheduling operation cost and the dispatching error by performing an arithmetic example analysis of the IES in Shanghai,which provides a reference for the safe and stable operation of the IES.

Anomalous time-reversal symmetric non-Hermitian systems

The conditions for the emergence of the non-Hermitian skin effect, as a unique physical response of non-Hermitian systems, have now become one of the hot research topics. In this paper, we study the novel physical responses of nonHermitian systems with anomalous time-reversal symmetry, in both one dimension and two dimensions. Specifically, we focus on whether the systems will exhibit a non-Hermitian skin effect. We employ the theory of generalized Brillouin zone and also numerical methods to show that the anomalous time-reversal symmetry can prevent the skin effect in onedimensional non-Hermitian systems, but is unable to exert the same effectiveness in two-dimensional cases.

Numerical simulation for the initial state of avalanche in polydisperse particle systems

Numerical simulation is employed to investigate the initial state of avalanche in polydisperse particle systems.Nucleation and propagation processes are illustrated for pentadisperse and triadisperse particle systems,respectively.In these processes,particles involved in the avalanche grow slowly in the early stage and explosively in the later stage,which is clearly different from the continuous and steady growth trend in the monodisperse system.By examining the avalanche propagation,the number growth of particles involved in the avalanche and the slope of the number growth,the initial state can be divided into three stages:T1(nucleation stage),T2(propagation stage),T3(overall avalanche stage).We focus on the characteristics of the avalanche in the T2 stage,and find that propagation distances increase almost linearly in both axial and radial directions in polydisperse systems.We also consider the distribution characteristics of the average coordination number and average velocity for the moving particles.The results support that the polydisperse particle systems are more stable in the T2 stage.

Quantum discord and its dynamics for multipartite systems

Quantum discord, one of the famous quantum correlations, has been recently generalized to multipartite systems by Radhakrishnan et al. Here we give analytical solutions of the quantum discord for a family of N-qubit quantum states. For the bipartite system, we derive a zero quantum discord which will remain unchanged under the phase damping channel. For multiparitite systems, it is found that the quantum discord can be classified into three categories and the quantum discord for odd-partite systems can exhibit freezing under the phase damping channel, while the freezing does not exist in the even-partite systems.

Bipartite consensus problems of Lurie multi-agent systems over signed graphs: A contraction approach

This paper examines the bipartite consensus problems for the nonlinear multi-agent systems in Lurie dynamics form with cooperative and competitive communication between different agents. Based on the contraction theory, some new conditions for the nonlinear Lurie multi-agent systems reaching bipartite leaderless consensus and bipartite tracking consensus are presented. Compared with the traditional methods, this approach degrades the dimensions of the conditions, eliminates some restrictions of the system matrix, and extends the range of the nonlinear function. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the efficiency of our results.

Enhancing Security and Privacy in Distributed Face Recognition Systems through Blockchain and GAN Technologies

The use of privacy-enhanced facial recognition has increased in response to growing concerns about data securityand privacy in the digital age. This trend is spurred by rising demand for face recognition technology in a varietyof industries, including access control, law enforcement, surveillance, and internet communication. However,the growing usage of face recognition technology has created serious concerns about data monitoring and userprivacy preferences, especially in context-aware systems. In response to these problems, this study provides a novelframework that integrates sophisticated approaches such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Blockchain,and distributed computing to solve privacy concerns while maintaining exact face recognition. The framework’spainstaking design and execution strive to strike a compromise between precise face recognition and protectingpersonal data integrity in an increasingly interconnected environment. Using cutting-edge tools like Dlib for faceanalysis,Ray Cluster for distributed computing, and Blockchain for decentralized identity verification, the proposedsystem provides scalable and secure facial analysis while protecting user privacy. The study’s contributions includethe creation of a sustainable and scalable solution for privacy-aware face recognition, the implementation of flexibleprivacy computing approaches based on Blockchain networks, and the demonstration of higher performanceover previous methods. Specifically, the proposed StyleGAN model has an outstanding accuracy rate of 93.84%while processing high-resolution images from the CelebA-HQ dataset, beating other evaluated models such asProgressive GAN 90.27%, CycleGAN 89.80%, and MGAN 80.80%. With improvements in accuracy, speed, andprivacy protection, the framework has great promise for practical use in a variety of fields that need face recognitiontechnology. This study paves the way for future research in privacy-enhanced face recognition systems, emphasizingthe significance of using cutting-edge technology to meet rising privacy issues in digital identity.

Analysis and Design of Time-Delay Impulsive Systems Subject to Actuator Saturation

This paper investigates the exponential stability and performance analysis of nonlinear time-delay impulsive systems subject to actuator saturation. When continuous dynamics is unstable, under some conditions, it is shown that the system can be stabilized by a class of saturated delayed-impulses regardless of the length of input delays. Conversely, when the system is originally stable, it is shown that under some conditions, the system is robust with respect to sufficient small delayed-impulses. Moreover, the design problem of the controller with the goal of obtaining a maximized estimate of the domain of attraction is formulated via a convex optimization problem. Three examples are provided to demonstrate the validity of the main results.