Adaptability and Stability Analysis of Soybean Genotypes Using Toler and Centroid Methods

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) adaptation to new environments has been hard to predict based on maturity group. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of 14 soybean genotypes, from the Soybean Breeding Program of the Federal University of Uberlandia, in their adaptive capacity and seed yield stability at 3 locations and 2 growing seasons. For the adaptability and stability analysis the Toler and Centroid methods were used;5 genotypic groups were identified in the first whereas 4 groups were identified in the latter. By the Toler method group A was composed by 4 genotypes, UFU-001, UFU-003, UFU-0010, and UFU-001. They showed a convex pattern of adaptability and stability. In contrast, the genotypes UFU-008 and UFU-0013 were classified in Group E with a concave pattern of adaptability and stability. Regarding results from the Centroid method, the Genotype UFU-002, with higher seed yield than average, was the only genotype in Ideotype VI with moderate adaptability to favorable environments. In contrast, 10 genotypes were included in the Ideotype V, of medium general adaptability. The genotypes UFU-001, UFU-002, UFU-006, UFU-0010, and UFU-0011 were recommended for use in the Brazilian Cerrado growing region. These genotypes had high seed yield potential in high quality environments.

Kinetics of thermal decomposition of lanthanum oxalate hydrate

Lanthanum oxalate hydrate La2（C2O4）3·10H2O,the precursor of La2O3 ultrafine powders,was prepared by impinging stream reactor method with PEG 20000 as surfactant.Thermal decomposition of La2（C2O4）3·10H2O from room temperature to 900 °C was investigated and intermediates and final solid products were characterized by FTIR and DSC-TG.Results show that the thermal decomposition process consists of five consecutive stage reactions.Flynn-Wall-Ozawa（FWO） and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose（KAS） methods were implemented for the calculation of energy of activation（E）,and the results show that E depends on α,demonstrating that the decomposition reaction process of the lanthanum oxalate is of a complex kinetic mechanism.The most probable mechanistic function,G（α）=[1-（1＋α）1/3]2,and the kinetic parameters were obtained by multivariate non-linear regression analysis method.The average E-value that is compatible with the kinetic model is close to value which was obtained by FWO and KAS methods.The fitting curve matches the original TG curve very well.

A novel stress-based formulation of finite element analysis

This paper demonstrates a novel formulation of structural analysis.A novel stress-based formulation of structural analysis for material nonlinear problems was proposed in earlier work.In this paper,this methodology is further extended for 3 D finite element analysis.The approach avoids use of elastic moduli as the material input in the analysis procedure.It utilizes the whole stress-strain curve of the material.It can be shown that this analysis procedure solved the nonlinear or plasticity problem with relative ease.This paper solves a uniaxial bar,in which the results are compared with the solutions of Green-Lagrange strain and Piola-Kirchhoff stresses.The uniaxial bar is also solved by a regression model in the‘scikit-learn’module in Python.The second problem solved is of a beam in pure bending for which the energy release rate is measured.For the beam in pure bending,the bending moment carrying capacity of the beam section is evaluated by this methodology as the crack propagates through the depth of the beam.It can be shown that the methodology is very simple,accurate,and clear in its physical steps.

Temperature change along elevation and its effect on the alpine timberline tree growth in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau

Smith fir （Abies georgei var. smithii）, which is the timberline constructive tree species in the cool slope of Mt. Sygera in the southeast ofTibet, plays a very important role in maintaining the timberline completeness and indicating global climate change. This study uses theinstrumental recorded meteorological data along the altitude from 3600 to 4400 m at every 200 m in the growing season, investigates the smithfir growth biomass from 2006 to 2010 in the same timberline ecotone, and makes a non-linear regression analysis to determine the relationshipbetween the alpine tree growth biomass and its in-situ environment condition. The results showed that the cool and warm slope share different airtemperature lapse rates, which were
0.48 C （100 m）
1 in the warm slope and
0.54 C （100 m）
1 in the cool slope, respectively. However, thedominant timberline tree species in the warm slope was Sabina saltuaria, and it can reach as high as 4570 m, which is approximately 170 mhigher than that in the cool slope. Moreover, the smith fir in the cool slope was only distributed in the range of elevation from approximately3600 to 4400 m. The altitude of approximately 3800 m was the appropriate altitude for the growing smith fir, where the mean air temperature inthe growing season was about 9.0 C, and the young smith fir tree can form more biomass. The results suggested that alpine forest chose asuitable environment where trees can grow more in the prolonged succession, but not in the warmer or cooler condition, it could be seen as abiological evidence for climate change.

Mathematical model for abrasive suspension jet cutting based on orthogonal test design

This paper describes the application of orthogonal test design coupled with non-linear regression analysis to optimize abrasive suspension jet （AS J） cutting process and construct its cutting model. Orthogonal test design is applied to cutting stainless steel. Through range analysis on experiment results, the optimal process conditions for the cutting depth and the kerr ratio of the bottom width to the top width can be determined. In addition, the analysis of ranges and variances are all employed to identify various factors： traverse rate, working pressure, nozzle diameter, standoff distance which denote the importance order of the cutting parameters affecting cutting depth and the kerf ratio of the bottom width to the top width. ~rthermore, non-linear regression analysis is used to establish the mathematical models of the cutting parameters based on the cutting depth and the kerr ratio. Finally, the verification experiments of cutting parameters＇ effect on cutting performance, which show that optimized cutting parameters and cutting model can significantly improve the prediction of the cutting ability and quality of ASJ.

Kinetic, Isotherm and Thermodynamic Studies of the Adsorption of Thymol Blue onto Powdered Activated Carbons from <i>Garcinia cola Nut</i>Shells Impregnated with H₃PO₄and KOH: Non-Linear Regression Analysis

In this work, activated carbons (ACs) prepared by chemical activation of garcinia cola nut shell impregnated with H3PO4 (CBH2/1) and KOH (CBK1/1) were used to study the kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamics of the adsorption of thymol blue from aqueous solution. The characterization of ACs showed the BET measurements gave surface area and total pore volume respectively of 328.407 m2·g-1 and 0.1032 cm3·g-1 for CBH2/1 and 25.962 m2·g-1 and 0.03 cm3·g-1for CBK1/1;elemental analysis showed a high percentage of carbon in both ACs. Influence of parameters such as initial pH, contact time, adsorbent mass, initial concentration, ionic strength and the effect of temperature on the removal of thymol blue from aqueous solution were studied in batch mode. The studies showed that equilibrium adsorption was attained after 60 minutes for the two ACs, adsorption capacity increased with increasing concentration of thymol blue, and maximum adsorption capacity was obtained at an acidic environment with pH 2. Avrami’s non-linear kinetic expression was the best suited for describing the adsorption kinetics of thymol blue onto ACs, while equilibrium data showed that the three-parameter isotherms better described the adsorption process since R2 > 0.96, and the error functions were lowest for all of them. Maximum adsorption capacity values obtained using the three-parameter Fritz-Schlunder equation were 32.147 mg·g-1 for CBH2/1 and 67.494 mg·g-1 for CBK1/1. The values of the model parameters g and mFS respectively, obtained using the Redlich-Peterson and Fritz-Schlunder III isotherms below 1, showed that the adsorption of thymol blue by the ACs occurred on heterogeneous surfaces. Thermodynamic analyses of the data of the adsorption of thymol blue onto ACs revealed that the adsorption process was temperature dependent, endothermic and spontaneous.

Temporal variability of visibility and its parameterizations in Ningbo,China

Simultaneous and continuous measurements of visibility, meteorological parameters and air pollutants were carried out at a suburban site in Ningbo from June 1, 2013 to May 31,2015. The characteristics of visibility and their relationships with air pollutants and meteorological factors were investigated using multiple statistical methods. Daily visibility ranged from 0.6 to 34.1 km, with a mean value of 11.8 km. During the 2-year experiment,43.4% of daily visibility was found to be less than 10.0 km and only 9.2% was greater than 20.0 km. Visibility was lower in winter with a frequency of 53.4% in the range of 0.0–5.0 km.Annual visibility had an obvious diurnal variation, with the lowest and highest visibility being 7.5 km at approximately 06:00 local time and 15.6 km at approximately 14:00 local time, respectively. Multiple correspondence analysis(MCA) indicated that the different ranges of visibility were significantly affected by different levels of pollutants and meteorological conditions. Based on the analyses, visibility was found to be an exponential function of PM_(2.5) concentrations within a certain range of relative humidity. Thus, nonlinear models combining multiple linear regressions with exponential regression were subsequently developed using the data collected from June 2014 to May 2015, and the data from June 2013 to May 2014 was used to evaluate the performance of the model. It was demonstrated that the derived models can quantitatively describe the relationships between visibility, air quality and meteorological parameters in Ningbo.