Neural network modeling of hydrological systems: A review of implementation techniques

This paper presents a review of procedural steps and implementation techniques used in the development of artificial intelligence models, generally referred to as artificial neural networks (ANNs), within the water resources domain. It focusses on identifying different areas wherein ANNs have found application thereby elucidating its advantages and disadvantages as well as various challenges encountered in its use. Results from this review provide useful insights into how the performance of ANNs can be improved and potential areas of application that are yet to be explored in hydrological modeling. Recommendations for Resource Managers

• Development of integrated and hybrid artificial intelligent tools is critical to achieving improved forecasts in hydrological modeling studies.

• Further research into comprehending the internal mechanisms of neural networks is required to obtain a practical meaning of each network component deployed to solve real‐world problems.

• More robust optimization techniques and tools like differential evolution, particle swarm optimization and deep neural nets, are yet to be fully explored in the water resources analysis, and should be given more attention to enhance neural networks aptitude for modeling complex and nonlinear hydrological processes.

     

Logging damage and injured tree mortality in tropical forest management

Using insights from the forest ecology literature, we analyze the effect of injured trees on stand composition and carbon stored in above‐ground biomass and the implications for forest management decisions. Results from a Faustmann model with data for a tropical forest on Kalimantan show that up to 50% of the basal area of the stand before harvest can consist of injured trees. Considering injured trees leads to an increase in the amount of carbon in above‐ground biomass of up to 165%. These effects are larger under reduced impact logging than under conventional logging. The effects on land expectation value and cutting cycle are relatively small. The results suggest that considering injured trees in models for tropical forest management is important for the correct assessment of the potential of financial programs to store carbon and conserve forest ecosystem services in managed tropical forests, such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and payment for ecosystem services. Recommendations for Resource Managers

• Considering the role of injured trees is important for managing tropical forests
• These trees can cover up to 50% of basal area and contain more than 50% of the carbon stored in above‐ground biomass
• Reduced impact logging leads to a larger basal area of injured trees and more carbon stored in injured trees than conventional logging
• Injured trees play an important role when assessing the potential for carbon storage in the context of payment for forest ecosystem services.

     

Back to the future: A retrospective assessment of model‐based scenarios for the management of the shrimp fishery in French Guiana facing global change

While the number of models dedicated to predicting the consequences of alternative resource management strategies has increased, instances in which authors look back at past predictions to learn from discrepancies between these and observed developments are scarce. In the past decades, the French Guiana shrimp fishery has experienced shrimp market globalization and decreasing levels of shrimp recruitment due to environmental changes. In 2006, a bio‐economic model of this fishery was developed to simulate its possible responses to economic and environmental scenarios up to 2016. Here, we compare here these predictions to the observed trajectories. While the number of active vessels corresponds to that which was predicted, the estimated shrimp stock does not. Important driving factors had not been anticipated, including a general strike, natural disasters, and the end of the global financial crisis. These results show the importance of participative approaches involving stakeholders in the co‐construction and shared representation of scenarios. Recommendations for resource managers

• Effective fisheries resources management and a fortiori, the capacity of the fisheries to adapt to global change, requires understanding of both ecological and economics dynamics.
• The temporal trajectory of the trawling shrimp fisheries has been well monitored, and the decline of both stock and fleet is understood regarding ecological and economic changes: Changes in the environmental conditions of shrimp recruitment, and oil price increase and selling price decrease.
• However, our bio‐economic modeling work showed that, even with a good understanding of the dynamics explaining past trajectories, unpredictable events (strike, natural disasters…) have acted as other key driving factors altering the capacity of the model to represent possible futures.
• These results led us to recommend a better integration of the expertise of social and political scientists in developing models of bio‐economic systems to increase the quality of scenario predictions, and to argue for more participative approaches involving the stakeholders.

     

An improved generalized predictive control algorithm based on the difference equation CARIMA model for the SISO system with known strong interference

ABSTRACT

The single input single output (SISO) system with known strong interference is widely used in various occasions. Due to its strong interference, the control accuracy is hard to guarantee. To solve this problem, an improved generalized predictive control (IGPC) algorithm is developed. The IGPC firstly builds the difference equation CARIMA (Controlled Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving-Average) model of the SISO system and then treats the system as a two input single output (TISO) system and calculates its predictive vector, then transforms it into a SISO system and uses the TISO system predictive vector to calculate the SISO system control increment. A new parameter called phase coefficient is added to inhibit the control lag. Simulations are performed to make the comparison among the traditional GPC, PID control, velocity synchronization control (VSC), fuzzy adaptive PID control (FAPID), model-based robust PID control (BPID) and the IGPC. Results show that IGPC has best performance compared to the others. Finally, experiments are developed which proved that the IGPC algorithm has a higher accuracy in the SISO system with known strong interference than that of VSC.     

Kinetic modeling of liquid-phase esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol using heterogeneous poly(o-methylene p-toluene sulfonic acid) as catalyst

Liquid-phase esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol to n-butyl acetate is studied in the presence of a polymeric catalyst, that is, poly(o-methylene p-toluene sulfonic acid). The performance of the proposed catalyst is compared with the other commercially available homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in terms of its activity. Experiments are conducted in an isothermal stirred batch reactor to study the effects of speed of agitation, temperature, and catalyst loading on the rate of reaction. A concentration-based pseudo-homogeneous (PH) kinetic model and activity-based kinetic models such as PH, Eley-Rideal (ER), and Langmuir-Hinselwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) models are developed. All the models considered in this study resulted in similar percentage deviation close to 4%. Further, kinetic models are validated through additional experiments, and it is observed that the simple concentration-based PH model is able to predict experimental data with least deviation compared to activity-based PH, ER, and LHHW models. The developed kinetic models are also tested using the Fisher-Snedecor test (F-test) and are found to be acceptable. By incorporating both modeling data and validation data, the overall absolute average deviations of different models are found to be concentration-based PH model 4.354%, activity-based PH model 5.006%, ER I model 5.189%, ER II model 5.403%, ER III model 5.437%, and LHHW model 6.104%, illustrating the superiority of the simple concentration-based PH model.     

基于SVM的固化土无侧限抗压强度模型

为实现较少试验次数下固化土无侧限抗压强度(qu)的准确预测, 提出了基于支持向量机(SVM)的固化土qu的预测模型. 以固化剂各组分掺入比、龄期、初始含水量、固化剂掺量等因素为输入量, 固化土的qu作为输出量, 以径向基为核函数, 采用网格搜索法和交叉验证法进行参数优化, 建立了基于SVM的固化土qu的预测模型. 算例分析表明: 该模型适用于任意条件下固化土qu的精确预测, 且在较小试验成本下实现与响应面法相当的预测精度.     

Exact solution of the two-mode quantum Rabi model

An analytical method is developed to study the two-mode quantum Rabi model. For certain specific parameter conditions, especially for the resonant conditions, we obtain an infinite number of the exact solutions of the eigenfunctions and associated energies. It is shown that there exist new types of the exact energies which do not correspond to the level-crossings. Our analytical method may find applications in some related models.     

基于DID模型的ITS对北京交通拥堵改善的研究:评价期的视角

采用双重差分模型,基于智能交通系统(ITS)效用发挥滞后时间为3年,选择2010年和2014年作为评价时点对ITS实施效果和北京交通拥堵之间的相关性进行分析.DID模型计量分析的最终结果显示,ITS效果的发挥明显改善了北京交通拥堵问题.为了验证评价结果的可信度,通过改变评价时点这一参数对评价结果进行稳健性检验,结果仍显示ITS效应发挥对北京交通拥堵改善有很大的促进作用.     

Estimating Individual Treatment Effect in Observational Data Using Random Forest Methods

Estimation of individual treatment effect in observational data is complicated due to the challenges of confounding and selection bias. A useful inferential framework to address this is the counterfactual (potential outcomes) model, which takes the hypothetical stance of asking what if an individual had received both treatments. Making use of random forests (RF) within the counterfactual framework we estimate individual treatment effects by directly modeling the response. We find that accurate estimation of individual treatment effects is possible even in complex heterogenous settings but that the type of RF approach plays an important role in accuracy. Methods designed to be adaptive to confounding, when used in parallel with out-of-sample estimation, do best. One method found to be especially promising is counterfactual synthetic forests. We illustrate this new methodology by applying it to a large comparative effectiveness trial, Project Aware, to explore the role drug use plays in sexual risk. The analysis reveals important connections between risky behavior, drug usage, and sexual risk. Supplementary material for this article is available online.     

Numerical analysis of stress distribution in the upper arm tissues under an inflatable cuff: Implications for noninvasive blood pressure measurement

An inflatable cuff wrapped around the upper arm is widely used in noninvasive blood pressure measurement. However, the mechanical interaction between cuff and arm tissues, a factor that potentially affects the accuracy of noninvasive blood pressure measurement, remains rarely addressed. In the present study, finite element (FE) mod-els were constructed to quantify intra-arm stresses generated by cuff compression, aiming to provide some theoretical evi-dence for identifying factors of importance for blood pressure measurement or explaining clinical observations. Obtained results showed that the simulated tissue stresses were highly sensitive to the distribution of cuff pressure on the arm sur-face and the contact condition between muscle and bone. In contrast, the magnitude of cuff pressure and small variations in elastic properties of arm soft tissues had little influence on the efficiency of pressure transmission in arm tissues. In par-ticular, it was found that a thickened subcutaneous fat layer in obese subjects significantly reduced the effective pres-sure transmitted to the brachial artery, which may explain why blood pressure overestimation occurs more frequently in obese subjects in noninvasive blood pressure measurement.