Integrated aquaculture systems (IAS) are a type of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) where the wastewater is treated and returned to the fish tanks. The important difference between the two is that in an IAS, wastes from the aquaculture component are recovered as fertilizer to produce an agricultural product whereas in an RAS, waste organics, nutrients and solids are treated and discharged. A pilot marine IAS at Mote Aquaculture Research Park in Sarasota, FL was studied for this project. Water quality monitoring, measurements of fish health and growth rates of fish and plants were performed over a two-year period to determine the effectiveness of the system in producing fish and plant products and removing pollutants. The goal of this portion of the project was to develop, calibrate and evaluate a model of the system, to understand the nitrogen transformations within the Mote IAS and to investigate other potential configurations of the Mote IAS. The model was divided into the various compartments to simulate each stage of the system, which included fish tanks, a drum filter for solids removal, and moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) for nitrification and disinfection. A solids tank after the drum filter was used to store the drum filter effluent slurry, which was then divided between three treatment processes: a geotube, a sand filter followed by a plant bed, and a plant bed alone. Nitrogen species modeled were particulate organic nitrogen (PON), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), ammonium and nitrate. Of the physical components of the IAS, models of the MBBR and the two plant raceways included physical, chemical and biological nitrogen transformation processes. The sand filter, solids tank and geotube models were simple mass balances, incorporating factional removals of each species based on the observed data. Other variables modeled included temperature, dissolved oxygen, volatile suspended solids and chemical oxygen demand concentrations. The model was built in a computer program, STELLATM, to simulate the Mote IAS. The model calibration involved experimental, literature and calibrated parameters. Parameters were adjusted until the model's output was a best fit to the observed data by minimizing the sum of the squared residuals. During the sensitivity analysis, two model parameters caused large variations in the model output. The denitrifier constant caused the most variation to the model's output followed by the denitrifier fraction of volatile suspended solids. Of the removal processes, denitrification was the largest nitrogen removal mechanism from the model, accounting for 59% and 55% of the nitrogen removed from the south and north plant raceways respectively. Plant and soil uptake represented only 0.2% of the overall nitrogen removal processes followed by 0.1% by sedimentation. Finally, the model was used to investigate other treatment designs if the Mote IAS was redesigned. The first option involved a geotube and one plant raceway in series to treat the solid waste while the second option did not have a geotube, but two plant raceways. The first option was the most effective at removing nitrogen while the second was as effective as the original system and would cost less.

Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) chromatography is a separation process where the components are separated due to their varying affinity towards the stationary phase. Over the past decade, many modifications have been proposed in SMB chromatography in order to effectively separate a binary mixture. However, the separation of multi-component mixtures using SMB is still one of the major challenges. Although many different strategies have been proposed, previous studies have rarely performed comprehensive investigations for finding the best ternary separation strategy from various possible alternatives. Furthermore, the concept of combining reaction with SMB has been proposed in the past for driving the equilibrium limited reactions to completion by separating the products from the reaction zone. However, the design of such systems is still challenging due to the complex dynamics of simultaneous reaction and adsorption. The first objective of the study is to find the best ternary separation strategy among various alternatives design of SMB. The performance of several ternary SMB operating schemes, that are proposed in the literature, are compared in terms of the optimal productivity obtained and the amount of solvent consumed. A multi- objective optimization problem is formulated which maximizes the SMB productivity and purity of intermediate eluting component at the same time. Furthermore, the concept of optimizing a superstructure formulation is proposed, where numerous SMB operating schemes can be incorporated into a single formulation. This superstructure approach has a potential to find more advantageous operating scheme compared to existing operating schemes in the literature. The second objective of the study is to demonstrate the Generalized Full Cycle (GFC) operation experimentally for the first time, and compare its performance to the JO process. A Semba OctaveTM chromatography system is used as an experimental SMB unit to implement the optimal operating schemes. In addition, a simultaneous optimization and model correction (SOMC) scheme is used to resolve the model mismatch in a systematic way. We also show a systematic comparison of both JO and GFC operations by presenting a Pareto plot of the productivity achieved against the desired purity of the intermediate eluting component experimentally. The third objective of the study is to develop an simulated moving bed reactor (SMBR) process for an industrial-scale application, and demonstrate the potential of the ModiCon operation for improving the performance of the SMBR compared to the conventional operating strategy. A novel industrial application involving the esterification of acetic acid and 1-methoxy-2-propanol is considered to produce propylene glycol methyl ether (PMA) as the product. A multi-objective optimization study is presented to find the best reactive separation strategy for the production of the PMA product. We also present a Pareto plot that compares the ModiCon operation, which allows periodical change of the feed composition and the conventional operating strategy for the optimal production rate of PMA that can be achieved against the desired conversion of acetic acid.

Two active flow control methods are investigated numerically to understand the mechanism by which they control aerodynamics in the presence of severe flow separation on an airfoil. In particular, synthetic jets are applied to separated flows generated by additional surface feature (the actuators) near the trailing edge to obtain Coanda-like effects, and an impulse jet is used to control a stalled flow over an airfoil. A moving-grid scheme is developed, verified and validated to support simulations of external flow over moving bodies. Turbulent flow is modeled using detached eddy simulation (DES) turbulence models in the CFD code CDP (34) developed by Lopez (54). Synthetic jet actuation enhances turbulent mixing in flow separation regions, reduces the size of the separation, deflects stream lines closer to the surface and changes pressure distributions on the surface, all of which lead to bi-directional changes in the aerodynamic lift and moment. The external flow responds to actuation within about one convective time, which is significantly faster than for conventional control surfaces. Simulation of pitching airfoils shows that high-frequency synthetic jet affects the flow independently of the baseline frequencies associated with vortex shedding and airfoil dynamics. These unique features of synthetic jets are studied on a dynamically maneuvering airfoil with a closed-loop control system, which represents the response of the airfoil in wind-tunnel experiments and examines the controller for a rapidly maneuvering free-flight airfoil. An impulse jet, which is applied upstream of a nominal flow separation point, generates vortices that convect downstream, interact with the separating shear layer, dismantle the layer and allow following vortices to propagate along the surface in the separation region. These following vortices delay the separation point reattaching the boundary layer, which returns slowly to its initial stall condition, as observed in wind-tunnel experiments. A simple model of the impulse jet actuator used herein is found to be sufficient to represent the global effects of the jet on the stalled flow because it correctly represents the momentum injected into the flow. / text

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an imaging technique based on the radio reflectivity of the target being imaged. SAR instruments offer many advantages over optical imaging due to the ability to form coherent images in inclement weather, at night, and through ground cover. High resolution is achieved in azimuth through a synthesized aperture much larger than the physical antenna of the imaging device. Consequently, proper focusing requires accurate information about the relative motion between the antenna phase center and the scene. Any unknown target velocity, acceleration, rotation, or vibration will introduce errors in the image. This work addresses a novel method of focusing a moving target in a SAR image through the estimation of various motion parameters. The target azimuth position is determined through monopulse radar, at which point range velocity and acceleration are estimated across a series of overlapping sub-apertures. Cross-range velocity is then estimated through a search to optimize an image quality metric such as entropy or contrast. A final focused image is then generated based on this velocity vector. Methods of extending this work for a single phase center system are considered. This technique is demonstrated with real radar data from an experimental system, and the performance of this technique is compared both subjectively and with a variety of image metrics to the MITRE keystone technique. Finally, extensions to this current line of research are considered. / text

Sweden, together with Norway, Finland and Denmark, have created a multi-national electricity market called NordPool. In this market, producers and retailers of electricity can buy and sell electricity, and the retailers then offers this electricity to end consumers such as households and industries. Previous studies have shown that pricing at the NordPool market is functioning quite well, but no other study has to my knowledge studied if pricing in the retail market to consumers in Sweden is well functioning. If the market is well functioning, with competition and low transaction costs when changing electricity retailer, we would expect that a homogeneous good such as electricity would be sold at the approximately same price, and that price changes would be highly correlated, in this market. Thus, the aim of this study is to test whether the price of Vattenfall, the largest energy firm in the Swedish market, is highly correlated to the price of other firms in the Swedish retail market for electricity. Descriptive statistics indicate that the price offered by Vattenfall is quite similar to the price of other firms in the market. In addition, regression analysis show that the correlation between the price of Vattenfall and other firms is as high as 0.98.

This paper describes various network monitoring technologies and anomaly detection methods. NetFlow were chosen for anomaly detection system being developed. Anomalies are detected using a deviation value. After evaluating quality of developed system, new enhancements were suggested and implemented. Flow data distribution was suggested, to achieve more precise NetFlow data representation, enabling a more precise network monitoring information usage for anomaly detection. Arithmetic average calculations were replaced with more flexible Exponential Weighted Moving Average algorithm. Deviation weight was introduced to reduce false alarms. Results from experiment with real life data showed that proposed changes increased precision of NetFlow based anomaly detection system.

Since the introduction of CUSUM statistic by E.S. Page (1951), detection of change or a structural break in time series has gained significant interest as its applications span across various disciplines including economics, industrial applications, and environmental data sets. However, many of the early suggested statistics, such as CUSUM or MOSUM, lose their effectiveness when applied to time series data. Either the size or power of the test statistic gets distorted, especially for higher order autoregressive moving average processes. We use the test statistic from Gombay and Serban (2009) for detecting change in the mean of an autoregressive process and show how the application of sieve bootstrap to the time series data can improve the performance of our test to detect change. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by applying it to economic data sets.

No description available.

Moving images and sounds are processed creatively after they have been recorded or computer generated. These processes consists of design activities carried out by workers that hold ‘agency’ through the crafts they exercise, because these crafts are defined by the Moving Image Industry and are employed in practically the same way regardless of company. This thesis explores what material constraints there are for such creativity in contemporary Swedish professional moving image postproduction. The central aspects concern digital material, workflow and design work as distributed activities. These aspects are coupled to production quality and efficiency at the postproduction companies where production takes place. The central concept developed in this thesis is ‘creative space’ which links quality and efficiency in moving image production to time for creativity, capacity of computer tools, user skills and constitution of digital moving image material. Creative spaces are inhabited by design agents, and might expand or shrink due to material factors. Those changes are coupled to parallel changes in quality and efficiency. / Audiovisuella Medier

Krepšininkų atletinį parengtumą objektyviai nustatyti ir įvertinti galima tik išmatavus visus pagrindinius judamuosius gebėjimus: jėgą, vikrumą, ištvermę, greitumą, lankstumą, ir riebalų masę (NBA Power Conditioning, 1997; Stonkus, 2003). Tokia visapusiška atletinio parengtumo įvertinimo programa taikoma NBA (Nacionalinės krepšinio asociacijos) krepšininkams (NBA Power Conditioning, 1997). Tyrimo objektas: Kauno “Žalgiris – SM(Sabonio mokykla)” ir Žalgiris-2 komandų atletinis parengtumas. Tyrimo tikslas: nustatyti ir įvertinti jaunimo komandų (Kauno “Žalgiris – SM” ir Žalgiris-2) atletinį parengtumą pagal NBA krepšininkams sudarytas rangines skales. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti ir įvertinti jaunimo krepšinio komandų (Kauno “Žalgirio – SM”,ir „Žalgirio-2“) lokomocinio greitumo ir vikrumo, jėgos, greitumo jėgos, anaerobinės ir jėgos ištvermės, jėgos ištvermės, lankstumo judamųjų gebėjimų ir kūno riebalų masės rodiklius pagal NBA pateiktas rangines skales. 2. Nustatyti jaunimo krepšinio komandų (Kauno “Žalgirio – SM” ir „Žalgirio-2“) aletinį pagengtumą remiantis NBA vertinimo kriterijais. Tirtų krepšininkų pagrindinių judamųjų gebėjimų išugdymas nebuvo tolygus: lankstumo, anaerobinės ištvermės testavimo rodikliai atitiko vidutinius, jėgos ištvermė (sestis ir gultis testas), lokomocinio greitumo ir riebalų masė (proc.) – labai gerus parengtumo rodiklius, greitumo jėga ir jėgos ištvermė (prisitraukimų testas) prasčiau nei vidutinė, jėgos ištvermė (atsispaudimų testas)... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Basketballers‘ atchletic readiness can be objectively identified and evaluated only after measurement of all movable basic skills is done: strength, ability, endurance, speed, flexibility and body fat mass (NBA Power Conditioning, 1997; Stonkus, 2003). Such comprehensive assessment of athletic fitness program applies to the basketballers of NBA (National Basketball Association) (NBA Power Conditioning, 1997). The object of research: Kaunas “Žalgiris – SS (Sabonis School)” and „Žalgiris-2“ the athletic readiness of two teams. The aim of research: to identify and evaluate the athletics readiness of the youth teams (Kaunas “Žalgiris – SS” and „Žalgiris-2“) by NBA basketball players made original scales. The objectives of the study: 1. To identify and assess the Lithuanian youth basketball teams‘ (Kaunas “Žalgiris – SS” and „Žalgiris-2“) locomotive speed and agility, strength, speed strength, anaerobic endurance and strength, strength endurance, the flexibility moving abilities and body fat indicators within the NBA ordinal scales. 2. To identify the athletics readiness of the youth basketball teams (Kaunas “Žalgiris – SS” and „Žalgiris-2“) based on the evaluation criteria of the NBA. Major moving abilities of the examined basketballers were not equal: flexibility, anaerobic test parameters met in the line of the average, strength endurance (sit and lie down), locomotive speed and fat mass (percent.) – very good fitness indicators, speed power and strength endurance (pull-up... [to full text]