MULTIVARIATE RESPONSE SURFACE MODELLING BY PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS

Analysis of multivariate response data by modelling the principal components of the response has beenapplied to two sets of data. In both cases principal components analysis revealed the relationships amongthe response variables and exploited them to simplify the problem of modelling and optimizing themultivariate response. The models and optima obtained from the principal components comparedfavourably with the individual models and simultaneous optima.     

Assessment of present and future nitrogen loads, water quality, and seagrass (Thalassia testudinum) depth distribution in Lemon Bay, Florida

Nitrogen loads into Lemon Bay, Florida were modeled to have increased ca. 59% between pre-development (i.e., 1850) estimates (5.3 kg TN ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. and estimates for the year 1995 (8.4 kg TN ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹). By the year 2010, nitrogen loads are predicted to increase an additional 45% or 58%, depending upon progress being made toward replacing older septic tank systems with centralized sewerage (nitrogen loads of 12.2 and 13.3 kg TN ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively). Using 1995 estimates, nonpoint sources (stormwater runoff) are throught to be responsible for ca. 76% of the annual nitrogen load, followed by septic tank systems (14%), rainfall (10%), and an insignificant load from baseflow. Based on an empirically-derived nitrogen load:chlorophylla relationship developed for a portion of nearby Tampa Bay, a 45% increase in nitrogen loads into Lemon Bay could result in a 29% increase in annual average chlorophylla concentrations. Using the estimate of a 29% increase in future chlorophylla concentrations, an empirically-derived optical model for Lemon Bay suggests that light attenuation coefficients in the bay would increase ca. 9%, and the average depth limit ofThalassia testudinum in Lemon Bay would decrease by ca. 24%.     

DISCRIMINANT PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS

When the number of variables exceeds the number of samples, one method of multivariate discriminationis to use principal components analysis to reduce the dimensionality and then to perform canonicalvariates analysis (PC-CVA). This paper proposes an alternative approach in which discriminant analysisis carried out by a weighted principal component analysis of the group means (DPCA). This method doesnot require prior data reduction and produces discriminant factors that are orthogonal in the original dataspace. The theory and performance of the two methods are compared. Although the individual factors ofDPCA are found to be less discriminating than PC-CVA, the overall discrimination, calculated bymultivariate analysis of variance, and the predictive value, estimated by the leaving-one-out error rate,are broadly comparable.     

A comparative study of boron isotopes and trace elements of the marine foraminifers during the last glacial maximum and Holocene

Boron isotopic compositions in marine planktonic foraminifers can record changes in seawater pH and hence provide a new tool to reconstruct the changes of paleo-atmospheric PCO2.Here a comparative study was done on boron isotopes and trace element abundances of planktonic foraminifers,Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globigerinoides ruber from three tropical ODP sites,Site 806B,Site 664C and Site 999A.It is demonstrated here that G.ruber is a better species to be used for downcore boron isotope analyses on gl...     

Dextral-Slip Thrust Faulting and Seismic Events of the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake,Longmenshan Mountains,Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Dextral-slip thrust movement of the Songpan-Garze terrain over the Sichuan block caused the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 and offset the Central Longmenshan Fault (CLF) along a distance of-250 km. Displacement along the CLF changes from Yingxiu to Qingchuan. The total oblique slip of up to 7.6 m in Yingxiu near the epicenter of the earthquake, decreases northeastward to 5.3 m, 6.6 m, 4.4 m, 2.5 m and 1.1 m in Hongkou, Beichuan, Pingtong, Nanba and Qingchuan, respectively. This offset apparently occurred during a sequence of four reported seismic events, EQ1-EQ4, which were identified by seismic inversion of the source mechanism. These events occurred in rapid succession as the fault break propagated northeastward during the earthquake. Variations in the plunge of slickensides along the CLF appear to match these events. The Mw 7.5 EQ1 event occurred during the first 0-10 s along the Yingxiu-Hongkou section of the CLF and is characterized by 1.7 m vertical slip and vertical slickensides. The Mw 8.0 EQ2 event, which occurred during the next 10-42 s along the Yingxiu-Yanziyan section of the CLF, is marked by major dextral-slip with minor thrust and slickensides plunging 25°-35° southwestward. The Mw 7.5 EQ3 event occurred during the following 42-60 s and resulted in dextral-slip and slickensides plunging 10° southwestward in Beichuan and plunging 73° southwestward in Hongkou. The Mw 7.7 EQ4 event, which occurred during the final 60-95 s along the Beichuan-Qingchuan section of the CLF, is characterized by nearly equal values of dextral and vertical slips with slickensides plunging 45°-50° southwestward. These seismic events match and evidently controlled the concentrations of landslide dams caused by the Wenchuan earthquake in Longmenshan Mountains.     

USE OF REPLICATION AND SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIOS IN THE IDENTIFICATION AND ESTIMATION OF THE COMPOSITION OF LUBRICANT BASESTOCK MIXTURES USING ~(13)C NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY AND PROJECTION INTO PRINCIPAL COMPONENT/CANONICAL VARIATES SPACE

The theory of experimental error in analysis of mixture experiments by abstract factor analysis or targettransformation factor analysis is considered. The theoretical implications of using signal-to-noise ratios(as weights) or canonical variates analysis to reduce the level of imbedded error in the factor model areexamined. The approach is illustrated by application to ~(13)C NMR spectra of lubricant basestockmixtures.     

TESTING FOR REDUNDANCY IN PRODUCT QUALITY CONTROL TEST CRITERIA:AN APPLICATION TO AVIATION TURBINE FUEL

Given a set of test criteria that determine a quality specification,the question often arises whether anyof the tests are redundant because of intercorrelations.Simple selection of tests on the basis of partialcorrelations with the other tests is rejected on the basis that the random error in the data may be causingspurious correlations.One method is to use cross-validation to define the systematic principal components and examine thecorrelation structure in this reduced space.It is shown that the presence of principal componentsdominated by individual tests(‘variable specific’PCs),which are indicated by cross-validation as beingnon-systematic,must be taken into account.Having defined the dimensionality,a variable reductionmethod based on Procrustes rotation selects subsets of tests that preserve the structure of the samples inmultivariate space.This is an attractive proposition in the context of maintaining a quality controlspecification.It is also shown that the variable reduction technique can be used to aid the identificationof the true dimensionality of the data space.This approach is applied to a number of routine tests carriedout on aviation turbine fuel.     

The Girls' Home, Bangkok, Thailand: Developing Thoughts on Democracy

This paper describes an exercise with children in the implementation of housing rights. Based on the argued opinion that housing rights cannot be exercised without participation and that participation without knowledge is pretence, a Kids and Architecture programme was initiated with a group of 40 children — displaced from homes in the Klong Toey slum in Bangkok — at a girls' home run by the Human Development Foundation (HDF). The programme, developed in two phases and involving students from the King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), School of Architecture, set about to teach these children some of the elements of architecture so that they could participate in the design of their own housing. From this experiment a number of conclusions are drawn about the implementation of housing rights and about the teaching of architecture, both to children and architecture students.     

Miocene Tectonic Evolution from Dextral-Slip Thrusting to Extension in the Nyainqentanglha Region of the Tibetan Plateau

Dextral-slip in the Nyainqentangiha region of Tibet resulted in oblique underthrusting and granite generation in the Early to Middle Miocene, but by the end of the epoch uplift and extensional faulting dominated. The east-west dextral-slip Gangdise fault system merges eastward into the northeast-trending, southeast-dipping Nyainqentangiha thrust system that swings eastward farther north into the dextral-slip North Damxung shear zone and Jiali faults. These faults were took shape by the Early Miocene, and the large Nyainqentangiha granitic batholith formed along the thrust system in 18.3-11.0 Ma as the western block drove under the eastern one. The dextral-slip movement ended at -11 Ma and the batholith rose, as marked by gravitational shearing at 8.6-8.3 Ma, and a new fault system developed. Northwest-trending dextral-slip faults formed to the northwest of the raisen batholith, whereas the northeast-trending South Damxung thrust faults with some sinistral-slip formed to the southeast. The latter are replaced farther to the east by the west-northwest-trending Lhunzhub thrust faults with dextral-slip. This relatively local uplift that left adjacent Eocene and Miocene deposits preserved was followed by a regional uplift and the initiation of a system of generally north-south grabens in the Late Miocene at -6.5 Ma. The regional uplift of the southern Tibetan Plateau thus appears to have occurred between 8.3 Ma and 6.5 Ma. The Gulu, Damxung-Yangbajain and Angan graben systems that pass east of the Nyainqentangiha Mountains are locally controlled by the earlier northeast-trending faults. These grabens dominate the subsequent tectonic movement and are still very active as northwest-trending dextral-slip faults northwest of the mountains. The Miocene is a time of great tectonic change that ushered in the modern tectonic regime.