Courtship in fast water currents by a male stream goby ( Rhinogobius brunneus) communicates the parental quality honestly

The stream goby Rhinogobius sp. DA (dark color type) shows exclusive paternal care of the eggs. Males court females in the stream current and previous field observations suggest that females favor males that perform their courtship display in faster water currents, and that such males may have high parental ability because of good physical condition. To validate these observations we examined female choice under controlled laboratory conditions. Mate choice experiments indicated clearly that females preferred males that courted in the faster currents, whereas neither sexually different morphological traits, such as body size, nor the water current alone were important. The experiments with food supply treatments indicated that only males of high physical condition are able to court in the fast currents. Furthermore, males that courted in the fast currents achieved good egg survival, whereas males that were unable to court in the currents did not, due to cannibalism of their egg clutch. Thus, the maximum speed of the water current in which a male courts should be indicative of his quality and of the subsequent survival of eggs under his care. We conclude that Rhinogobius sp. DA females utilize the male courtship display in the water current as an honest indicator of parental quality.Communicated by K. LindströmAn erratum to this article can be found at     

Different policing rates of eggs laid by queenright and queenless anarchistic honey-bee workers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis> L.)

Worker-reproduction is rare in queenright honey-bee colonies. When workers do lay eggs, their eggs are normally eaten by other workers presumably because they lack the queen's egg-marking signal. Workers use the absence of this queen signal to enforce the queen's reproductive monopoly by policing any worker-laid eggs. In contrast, in anarchistic colonies, the majority of the males arise from worker-laid eggs. Anarchistic worker-laid eggs escape policing because workers perceive anarchistic eggs as queen-laid. However, in this study, we show that eggs laid by queenless anarchistic workers do not escape policing and have very similar removal rates to worker-laid eggs from queenless wild-type (i.e. non-anarchistic) colonies. This suggests that, under queenless conditions, eggs laid by anarchistic workers lose their chemical protection and are therefore no longer perceived as queen-laid. Hence, the egg-marking signal seems to be only applied to eggs when queen and brood are present. This suggests that in the absence of queen and brood, the biosynthetic pathway that produces the egg-marking signal is switched off.Communicated by L. Keller     

Pursuit-deterrent communication between prey animals and timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus): the response of snakes to harassment displays

A thorough understanding of communication requires an evaluation of both the signaler and receiver. Most analyses of prey–predator communication are incomplete because they examine only the behavior of the prey. Predators in these systems may be understudied because they are perceived as less tractable research subjects, due to their more cryptic hunting behaviors and secretive lifestyles. For example, research on interactions between rodents and rattlesnakes has focused on the behavior of rodent signalers, while responses of snakes have been virtually unexamined. Rattlesnakes are ambush predators, and capture rodents by waiting at foraging sites for long periods of time. In this study, I take advantage of the sedentary nature of this foraging strategy and use fixed videography to record natural encounters between timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) and their prey. Three different prey species were found to exhibit conspicuous visual displays to snakes, both when snakes were actively foraging, and when they were basking. After receiving displays, foraging snakes left their ambush sites and moved long distances before locating subsequent ambush sites, indicating that they responded to displays by abandoning attempts to ambush prey in the vicinity of signalers. This study represents the first quantitative analysis of the response of free-ranging snakes to signals from their prey, and elucidates a technique by which such quantitative data can be more easily obtained.     

基于VMD时频分析方法的颤振试飞应用研究

目的 针对颤振信号信噪比低、模态密集、非平稳的特点,发展一种能更好地应用于实际颤振试飞信号的时频分析方法。方法 采用近年来新发展的变分模态分解(Variational Mode Decomposition, VMD)方法把复杂信号分解为单一组分的本征模函数(Intrinsic Mode Function, IMF),再对其进行希尔伯特变换,求得每一阶本征模函数的瞬时幅值和瞬时频率,从而进行信号的时频分析。结果 仿真算例验证了基于VMD的时频分析方法在展现非平稳信号时频特征方面的有效性。将该方法应用于实际颤振试飞的异常振动数据,可得到准确清晰的时频图,很好地展示出外挂物的极限坏振荡过程。结论 该方法可作为颤振试飞信号时频分析的有力工具,有助于分析异常数据,确定故障来源,为后续问题解决提供支撑。     

Effects of multitasking on operator performance using computational and auditory tasks

This study investigated the effects of multiple cognitive tasks on human performance. Twenty-four students at North Carolina A&;T State University participated in the study. The primary task was auditory signal change perception and the secondary task was a computational task. Results showed that participants' performance in a single task was statistically significantly different from their performance in combined tasks: (a) algebra problems (algebra problem primary and auditory perception secondary); (b) auditory perception tasks (auditory perception primary and algebra problems secondary); and (c) mean false-alarm score in auditory perception (auditory detection primary and algebra problems secondary). Using signal detection theory (SDT), participants' performance measured in terms of sensitivity was calculated as ?0.54 for combined tasks (algebra problems the primary task) and ?0.53 auditory perceptions the primary task. During auditory perception tasks alone, SDT was found to be 2.51. Performance was 83% in a single task compared to 17% when combined tasks.     

Research on a small-noise reduction method based on EMD and its application in pipeline leakage detection

The noise included in pipeline pressure signal is a small noise whose energy takes a small proportion of pressure signal and is concentrated on high frequency components. However, it will influence pipeline leakage identification and even cause false alarms. Thus, a small-noise reduction method based on EMD (SNR-EMD) is proposed to remove small noise from pressure signal. EMD is applied for extracting the mean envelope of the signal. Then, small fluctuations around the mean envelope are considered to be small noises. Meanwhile, end effect of SNR-EMD is restrained by extrema mirror extension (EME). The results of simulation studies with SNR-EMD show that the larger the noisy signal's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is, the better noise reduction effect becomes. And SNR-EMD considered as a low-pass filter removes or reduces the high frequency components. Furthermore, superiorities of SNR-EMD are verified by comparison studies with wavelet packet transform (WPT) and singular value decomposition (SVD). Finally, a case study of leakage identification shows that SNR-EMD can improve the performance of leakage identification and reduce the possibility of false alarms, which makes much easier and further effective to distinguish the leakage mode from other modes after removing noise from pressure signal.     

基于信号流循环的振动试验控制回路分析研究

目的总结分析振动试验信号循环全过程的数学模型及传递关系。方法根据信号传递过程中的作用,将振动设备划分为五类关键设备,并且将信号流在信号转换、信号可测及运动可控等方面的传递关系进行分析汇总,最后给出以控制仪为回路节点的两类开环故障的影响分析。结果通过对信号流循环过程的分析研究,总结了闭环反馈控制过程各环节中的信号传递关系,分析了各关键设备性能对振动试验信号传递的影响,以便于试验人员更好地开展振动试验。结论信号流循环的正常运转是振动试验顺利开展的基础,深入了解信号传递关系和影响因素,可以高质量地开展振动试验。     

Fault diagnosis of pipeline and pump unit systems using status coupling analysis

Earlier studies on fault diagnosis of the pipeline and pump unit systems (PPU) relied mainly on independent equipment analyses, which usually lead to false alarms because of the loss of information fusion. The aim of this study is to utilize the status coupling relationship to improve fault detection sensitivity and reduce false alarm rate. A real-time status identification of related equipment step is added between capturing abnormal signals and listing out diagnosis results. For example, when the pipeline pressure fluctuation is found abnormal, a status analysis of pump units is performed immediately, if the pump units are proven to be operational normally, then the pipeline leak alarm is acknowledged valid. The logical reasoning algorithm is used to capture abnormal conditions of pipeline pressures. The pump unit faults are captured by combining information from multiple sources. Field applications show that the proposed method significantly improves the PPU fault detection capability on fault detection sensitive and accuracy.     

附生假单胞菌信号分子对铜绿微囊藻磷代谢的影响

通过在不同的磷浓度和细胞浓度的铜绿微囊藻培养液中添加附生假单胞菌信号分子,研究了附生假单胞菌信号分子对铜绿微囊藻生长及磷代谢的影响．结果表明,与对照相比,附生假单胞菌信号分子能抑制高浓度铜绿微囊藻的生长,促使低浓度铜绿微囊藻衰亡,并可以促进在衰亡期藻细胞内磷的积累．附生假单胞菌的信号分子可以在附生假单胞菌-铜绿微囊藻种间起作用,影响铜绿微囊藻的生长和磷代谢。     

Signal Recognition and Hearing Protectors With Normal and Impaired Hearing

Recognition of acoustic signals when perception is subject to interference from noise has already been extensively studied. In this study the influence of hearing protectors (HP) (plugs, muffs) and hearing loss on signal recognition is examined. Different spectrums and levels of the noise are also included. The test results are shown as the masked threshold for the signals heard and identified. In the case of normally hearing subjects a frequency-independent HP (plug) improves hearing performance, while frequency-dependent HP (muffs) tends to worsen it, especially with low-frequency noise. Hearing losses even worsen hearing performance when plugs are worn. Design suggestions are made to optimise signal recognition. Minimum signal-to-noise ratio and the use of HP are discussed.