This study investigated the ecological characteristics of the box jelly, Carybdea rastonii, in the waters off eastern Taiwan from 2007 to 2009. We started from field net sampling and some basic morphometric analysis to study its population dynamics, and continued with gut-content analysis, digestion rate and respiration rate experiments to estimate on the energy budget of C. rastonii, as well as its ecological significance in this region. We found the spots around the margin of pedelium through all samples, suggesting a stable morphological character of this species. Some specific behaviors were also observed, including the vertical movement after feeding and resting behavior (either lying on the bottom or drifting with the flow) during nighttime. Diagonal bell width (DBW) of C. rastonii was used as the size parameter, ranging from 4.17 to 46.39 mm in the collected samples, and was of significant positive-correlation with volume, wet weight, dry weight, and the length of statolith, suggesting DBW as a good indicator in age-determine. Weekly population structures indicated at least two peaks of strobilation occurring during the sampling period in 2008. Further analysis on the potential impact from environmental perturbation, by comparing the values of DBW with the length of the specimens taken immediately before and after typhoon attack, suggested a potential starvation effect on the local population. Results from gut-content analysis indicated a high percentage of empty guts (63.09%) in the checked specimens, having crustacean as the most dominant prey (up to 68.79%), and a diet shift to more larval fish from larger individuals. Based on the results from gut-content analysis and digestion rates on different types of prey, the estimated population carbon intake of C. rastonii (at 28 ind m-3) was about 20.77 mg m-3 d-1. However, results from respiration rate experiments suggested a higher basic metabolic demand of the box jelly (up to 0.126£gmol O2 h-1 mgDW-1, at 27¢J), which is significantly higher than other scyphomedusae of similar temperature range. According to the need of metabolism, the demand of carbon intake was estimated at 39.40 to 47.77 mg C m-3 d-1, an amount that might be under estimated for this voracious predator. Based on the estimated high values from both feeding and physiological demand, compared to the much lower primary production rate of 7.6 mg C m-3 d-1 in the Kuroshio waters, we concluded that C. rastonii as an important predator in this region, especially during its blooming seasons.

The rapid growth of new wireless and mobile devices accessing the internet has led to an increase in the demand for multimedia streaming services. These home-based wireless connections require efficient distribution of shared network resources which is a major concern for the transport of stored video. In our study, a set-top box is the access point between the internet and a home network. Our main goal is to design a set-top box capable of performing network flow control in a home network and capable of quality adaptation of the delivered stream quality to the available bandwidth. To achieve our main goal, estimating the available bandwidth quickly and precisely is the first task in the decision of streaming rates of layered and scalable multimedia services. We present a novel bandwidth estimation method called IdleGap that uses the NAV (Network Allocation Vector) information in the wireless LAN. We will design a new set-top box that will implement IdleGap and perform buffering and quality adaptation to a wireless network based on the IdleGap’s bandwidth estimate. We use a network simulation tool called NS-2 to evaluate IdleGap and our ActiveSTB compared to traditional STBs. We performed several tests simulating network conditions over various ranges of cross traffic with different error rates and observation times. Our simulation results reveal how IdleGap accurately estimates the available bandwidth for all ranges of cross traffic (100Kbps ~ 1Mbps) with a very short observation time (10 seconds). Test results also reveal how our novel ActiveSTB outperforms traditional STBs and provides good QoS to the end-user by reducing latency and excess bandwidth consumption.

Thesis (M.S.)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains viii, 88 p. Includes bibliographical references p. 80-88.

Pretensioned concrete box beams have been used in highway bridges for more than half a century. Due to their geometry, they have often been used as a viable alternative to the classic I-shaped girders. Box beams are highly effective in cases where speed of construction is a priority. However, the detailing and design of box beams are more complicated than that of I-shaped girders. The flow of forces at the beam’s end blocks must be understood in order to detail reinforcement adequately. The following were the objectives of this research study: (i) quantify the demands placed on box beam end blocks upon prestress transfer, (ii) characterize the demands placed on box beam end blocks upon the application of superimposed loads, (iii) evaluate the effects of alternative void geometries at skewed ends of box beams on curing temperatures, (iv) based on the knowledge gained in (i), (ii) and (iii), improve the box beam end blocks, (v) test the improved end block under worst case scenario demands at prestress transfer and under extreme loading conditions, and (vi) validate currently used shear strength design methodologies in their application to pretensioned box beams. In order to achieve these objectives, an experimental program was conducted. The experimental program included the load testing of ten 4B28 and five 5B40 box beams, for a total of twenty nine load tests. The influence of several factors that distinguish box beam behavior from the better-understood I-shaped girder behavior was studied. Additionally, the experimental program included the fabrication, instrumentation and early-age behavior study of five 5B40 box beams. The first three beams were used to vii assess the behavior of box beams fabricated with the current TxDOT standard details (from December 2006). The fourth beam incorporated modifications to the standard reinforcement details based on the observations made through the study of the first three 5B40 box beams. The last specimen corresponded to a new box beam cross section (5XB40) optimized to be used in a spread-box beams configuration. / text

No description available.

Thesis (M.Eng.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1980. / Typescript (photocopy).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2008. / Bibliography: leaves 146-150.

Brandenburgische Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 1999--Cottbus. / Dateiformat: zip, Dateien in unterschiedlichen Formaten.

No description available.

This thesis describes a grey-box model for the dimensionalstability properties (i.e. curl and twist) of the carton boardproduced at AssiDomän Frövi paper mill in Sweden.AssiDomän Frövi AB is one of Sweden major cartonboard manufacturer, and produces some 350000 ton of board peryear. Curl is defined as the departure from a at form, and it mayseriously affect the processing of the paper. For this reason,customers impose quite restrictive limits on the allowedcurvatures of the board. So, it is becoming more and moreimportant to be able to produce a carton board with a curlwithin certain limits. Due to the economic significance of thecurl problem, much research has been performed to find sheetdesign and processing strategies to eliminate or reducecurl. The approach we used to tackle this problem is based ongrey-box modelling. The reasons for such an approach is thatthe physical process is very complex and nonlinear. The inuenceof some inputs is not entirely understood, and besides itdepends on a number of unknown parameters andunmodelled/unmesurable disturbances. One of the main part of the model is based on classicallaminate theory which is used to model the dimensionalstability of multi-ply board. The main assumption is that eachlayer is considered as an homogeneous elastic medium. The model is then complemented with a sub-model forunmodelled/umeasurable disturbances which are described asstates of a dynamical system, and estimated by means of anextended Kalman filter. The simulated curvatures show a general agreement with themeasurements. However, the prediction errors are too large forthe model to be used in an effective way, and a bigger efforthas to be carried out in order to improve the physicalsub-models. A chapter of this thesis discusses the modelling of thewet-end part of the paper machine with Dymola, a modelling toolfor simulation of large systems based on Modelica language. / NR 20140805