PLS-based EWMA fault detection strategy for process monitoring

Fault detection (FD) and diagnosis in industrial processes is essential to ensure process safety and maintain product quality. Partial least squares (PLS) has been used successfully in process monitoring because it can effectively deal with highly correlated process variables. However, the conventional PLS-based detection metrics, such as the Hotelling's T² and the Q statistics are ill suited to detect small faults because they only use information from the most recent observations. Other univariate statistical monitoring methods, such as the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control scheme, has shown better abilities to detect small faults. However, EWMA can only be used to monitor single variables. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to combine the advantages of the univariate EWMA and PLS methods to enhance their performances and widen their applicability in practice. The performance of the proposed PLS-based EWMA FD method was compared with that of the conventional PLS FD method through two simulated examples, one using synthetic data and the other using simulated distillation column data. The simulation results clearly show the effectiveness of the proposed method over the conventional PLS, especially in the presence of faults with small magnitudes.     

Ecological and Economic Services Provided by Birds on Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Farms

Abstract: Coffee farms can support significant biodiversity, yet intensification of farming practices is degrading agricultural habitats and compromising ecosystem services such as biological pest control. The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the world's primary coffee pest. Researchers have demonstrated that birds reduce insect abundance on coffee farms but have not documented avian control of the berry borer or quantified avian benefits to crop yield or farm income. We conducted a bird‐exclosure experiment on coffee farms in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica, to measure avian pest control of berry borers, identify potential predator species, associate predator abundance and borer reductions with vegetation complexity, and quantify resulting increases in coffee yield. Coffee plants excluded from foraging birds had significantly higher borer infestation, more borer broods, and greater berry damage than control plants. We identified 17 potential predator species (73% were wintering Neotropical migrants), and 3 primary species composed 67% of migrant detections. Average relative bird abundance and diversity and relative resident predator abundance increased with greater shade‐tree cover. Although migrant predators overall did not respond to vegetation complexity variables, the 3 primary species increased with proximity to noncoffee habitat patches. Lower infestation on control plants was correlated with higher total bird abundance, but not with predator abundance or vegetation complexity. Infestation of fruit was 1–14% lower on control plants, resulting in a greater quantity of saleable fruits that had a market value of US$44–$105/ha in 2005/2006. Landscape heterogeneity in this region may allow mobile predators to provide pest control broadly, despite localized farming intensities. These results provide the first evidence that birds control coffee berry borers and thus increase coffee yield and farm income, a potentially important conservation incentive for producers.     

Epidemiologic Analysis of Factors Associated with Local Disappearances of Native Ranid Frogs in Arizona

Abstract:  We examined factors that may independently or synergistically contribute to amphibian population declines. We used epidemiologic case–control methodology to sample and analyze a large database developed and maintained by the Arizona Game and Fish Department that describes historical and currently known ranid frog localities in Arizona, U.S.A. Sites with historical documentation of target ranid species ( n = 324) were evaluated to identify locations where frogs had disappeared during the study period (case sites) and locations where frog populations persisted (control sites). Between 1986 and 2003, 117 (36%) of the 324 sites became case sites, of which 105 were used in the analyses. An equal number of control sites were sampled to control for the effects of time. Risk factors, or predictor variables, were defined from environmental data summarized during site surveys and geographic information system data layers. We evaluated risk factors with univariate and multifactorial logistic-regression analyses to derive odds ratios (OR). Odds for local population disappearance were significantly related to 4 factors in the multifactorial model. Disappearance of frog populations increased with increasing elevation (OR = 2.7 for every 500 m, p < 0.01). Sites where disappearances occurred were 4.3 times more likely to have other nearby sites that also experienced disappearances (OR = 4.3, p < 0.01), whereas the odds of disappearance were 6.7 times less (OR = 0.15, p < 0.01) when there was a source population nearby. Sites with disappearances were 2.6 times more likely to have introduced crayfish than were control sites (OR = 2.6, p = 0.04). The identification of factors associated with frog disappearances increases understanding of declines occurring in natural populations and aids in conservation efforts to reestablish and protect native ranids by identifying and prioritizing implicated threats.     

氨法脱硫在热电厂中应用

随着二氧化硫对环境的污染越来越严重，国家环保局对燃煤电厂二氧化硫排放进行严格控制，电厂加装脱硫装置是迟早的事。阐述了氨法脱硫的工艺流程和自动控制．同时结合工程调试中出现的问题进行分析，为今后的脱硫工程提供一些借鉴。     

平衡调温调湿方式中变流量冷冻水系统设计

通过对变流量冷冻水系统的分析指出，在运用平衡调温调湿方式的空调系统中，应用变流量冷冻水系统可以较大地节约能源和投资；并提出了实现这种应用的方法。     

二氧化硫排放总量控制若干问题的思考

根据国家《“十一五”规划纲要》对削减二氧化硫排放总量的要求，在对电力行业脱硫现状及前景的具体阐述中指出实现这个目标的可能性，并从多方面对二氧化硫总量控制的关键问题进行了详尽的论述与分析。     

Modelling nitrogen fluxes at the landscape scale

The distribution and impacts of different nitrogen pollutants are inextricably linked. To understand the problem fully, the interactions between the different pollutants need to be taken into account. This is particularly important when it comes to abatement techniques, since measures to reduce emissions of one nitrogen pollutant can often lead to an increase in another. This project represents a step towards greater understanding of these issues by linking together new and existing nitrogen flux models into a larger framework. The modelling framework has been constructed and some of the nitrogen flows between fields, farms and the atmosphere have been modelled for a UK study area for typical farm management scenarios.     

土著致病菌及其胞外物在生物防治斑马贝中的作用

无脊椎动物斑马贝(Dreissena polymorpha) 的生物污损造成了巨大的经济损失,而应用从斑马贝体内分离出的土著菌株及其体外代谢产物对它进行生物防治是一种经济效益显著且对环境友好的方法.本文主要报导从斑马贝体内分离的土著菌株中筛选出致病菌并研究该细菌及其代谢产物对它的控制作用.在三十多种土著菌株中,中间气单胞菌( Aeromonas media),维罗纳气单胞菌(A. veronii),杀鲑气单胞菌杀鲑亚种(A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida)和腐败希瓦氏菌(Shewanella putrefaciens)是幼体斑马贝的致命致病菌.当接种量为每只斑马贝107 个细菌时,接种中间气单胞菌、杀鲑气单胞菌杀鲑亚种和腐败希瓦氏菌的5 d 死亡率为100%,而维罗纳气单胞菌为65%.通过扫描电镜(SEM)发现,垂死的斑马贝肌肉组织被破坏并含有大量的细菌.4种细菌代谢产物的不同组分表现出对斑马贝不同的致死效果,在所研究的3种不同Mr组分中(Mr<5×103,5×103～10×103及>10×103),>10 ×103组分具有最高致死率.这些结果为控制贝类无脊椎动物的生物污损提供了新方法. 图4 参24     

专家系统在废水生物处理操作和控制中的应用

本文介绍了国外近二十年来专家系统在废水生物处理工艺控制领域的应用及开发的典型系统,分析了废水生物处理工艺难于控制的原因、各类系统的结构和特点及目前废水处理专家系统的不足,探讨了废水生物处理专家系统今后应深入研究的问题及方向     

生物过滤技术在大气污染控制中的应用

生物过滤是控制大气污染的经济有效技术,具有较好的发展前景。本文介绍了生物过滤技术处理废气的研究,应用历史,现状,和生物过滤理论,分析了工艺的使用范围,设计及运行控制要点,列举了应用的范例。