Observational evidence for expansion in the SSS spectra of novae

For several novae, a bright X‐ray source with a spectrum resembling the class of Super Soft X‐ray Sources (SSS) has been observed a few weeks to months after outburst. Novae are powered by explosive nuclear burning on the surface of a white dwarf, and enough energy is produced to power a radiatively driven wind. Owing to the evolution of the opacity of the ejecta, the observable spectrum gradually shifts from optical to soft X‐rays (SSS phase). It has sometimes been assumed that at the beginning of the SSS phase no more mass loss occurs. However, high‐resolution X‐ray spectra of some novae have shown highly blue‐shifted absorption lines, indicating a significant expansion. In this paper, I show that all novae that have been observed with X‐ray gratings during their SSS phase show significant blue shifts. I argue that all models that attempt to explain the X‐ray bright SSS phase have to accommodate the continued expansion of the ejecta (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Response of water and energy exchange to the environmental variable in a desert‐oasis wetland of Northwest China

A case study on a desert‐oasis wetland ecosystem in the arid region of Northwest China measured the seasonal and interannual variation in energy partitioning and evapotranspiration to analyse the response of water and energy exchange on soil moisture, groundwater, and environmental variables. Energy partitioning showed a clear seasonal and interannual variability, and the process of water and energy exchange differed significantly in the monthly and interannual scales. The net radiation was 7.31 MJ m^?2· day^?1, and sensible heat flux accounted for 50.42% of net radiation in energy fluxes, 40.56% for latent heat flux, and 9.02% for ground heat flux. The parameters in energy fluxes were best described by a unimodal curve, whereas sensible heat flux followed a bimodal curve. Variations in the daily evapotranspiration and crop evapotranspiration also exhibited a single peak curve with annual values of 569.84 and 644.47 mm, respectively. Canopy conductance averaged 20.77 ± 13.75 mm s^?1 and varied from 0.16 to 83.96 mm s^?1 during the two hydrological years. The variation in water and energy exchange reflected environmental conditions and depended primarily on vapour pressure deficit, net radiation, soil moisture, and water depth. Although the effects of precipitation on evapotranspiration showed that the response of this ecosystem to climate changes was not obvious, the variation of air temperatures had a strong influence on evapotranspiration, resulting in a significant increase in evapotranspiration (R = 0.730; P < 0.01). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Total least square method applied to rating curves

The ordinary least square method (OLS) has been the most frequently used least square method in hydrological data analysis. Its computational algorithm is simple, and the error analysis is also simple and clear. However, the primary assumption of the OLS method, which states that the dependent variable is the only error‐contaminated variable and all other variables are error free, is often violated in hydrological data analyses. Recently, a matrix algorithm using the singular value decomposition for the total least square (TLS) method has been developed and used in data analyses as errors‐in‐variables model where several variables could be contaminated with observational errors. In our study, the algorithm of the TLS is introduced in the evaluation of rating curves between the flow discharge and the water level. Then, the TLS algorithm is applied to real data set for rating curves. The evaluated TLS rating curves are compared with the OLS rating curves, and the result indicates that the TLS rating curve and the OLS rating curve are in good agreement. The TLS and OLS rating curves are discussed about their algorithms and error terms in the study. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient reliability method for implicit limit state surface with correlated non‐Gaussian variables

In contrast to the traditional approach that computes the reliability index in the uncorrelated standard normal space (u‐space), the reliability analysis that is simply realized in the original space (x‐space, non‐Gaussian type) would be more efficient for practical use, for example, with the Low and Tang's constrained optimization approach. On the other hand, a variant of Hasofer, Lind, Rackwits and Fiessler algorithm for first‐order reliability method is derived in this paper. Also, the new algorithm is simply formulated in x‐space and requires neither transformation of the random variables nor optimization tools. The algorithm is particularly useful for reliability analysis involving correlated non‐Gaussian random variables subjected to implicit limit state function. The algorithm is first verified using a simple example with closed‐form solution. With the aid of numerical differentiation analysis in x‐space, it is then illustrated for a strut with complex support and for an earth slope with multiple failure modes, both cases involving implicit limit state surfaces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of the Biosorption Characteristics of a Spent Cottonseed Husk Substrate for the Decolorization of Methylene Blue

This study concentrates on the possible application of the spent cottonseed husk substrate (SCHS), an agricultural waste used after the cultivation of white rot fungus Flammulina velutipes, to adsorb methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. Batch studies were carried out with variable initial solution pH, adsorbent amount, reaction time, temperature, and initial MB concentration. MB uptake was favorable at pH ranging from 4.0 to 12.0, and the equilibrium adsorption capacity of 143.5 mg g^?1 can be reached promptly within about 240 min. The combination analysis of FTIR and BET techniques revealed that the massive functional groups on the biosorbent surface, such as hydroxyl and carboxyl, were responsible for the biosorption of MB. It was found that adsorption data matched the pseudo‐second order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. Thermodynamic parameters of free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°), obtained from biosorption MB ranging from 293 to 313 K, showed that the sorption experiment was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The study highlighted a new pathway to develop a new potential utilization of SCHS as a low‐cost sorbent for the removal of MB pollutants from wastewater.     

Stochastic response surface method for reliability analysis of rock slopes involving correlated non-normal variables

This paper proposes a stochastic response surface method for reliability analysis involving correlated non-normal random variables, in which the Nataf transformation is adopted to effectively transform the correlated non-normal variables into independent standard normal variables. Transformations of random variables that are often used in reliability analyses in terms of standard normal variables are summarized. The closed-form expressions for fourth to sixth order Hermite polynomial chaos expansions involving any number of random variables are formulated. The proposed method will substantially extend the application of stochastic response surface method for reliability problems. An example of reliability analysis of rock slope stability with plane failure is presented to demonstrate the validity and capability of the proposed stochastic response surface method. The results indicate that the proposed stochastic response surface method can evaluate the reliability of rock slope stability involving correlated non-normal variables accurately and efficiently. Its accuracy is shown to be higher than that for the first-order reliability method, and it is much more efficient than direct Monte-Carlo simulation. The results also show that the number of collocation points selected should ensure that the Hermite polynomial matrix has a full rank so that different order SRSMs can produce a robust estimation of probability of failure for a specified performance function. Generally, the accuracy of SRSM increases as the order of SRSM increases.     

On the orbital periods of the AM CVn stars HP Librae and V803 Centauri

We analyse high time resolution spectroscopy of the AM CVn stars HP Librae and V803 Centauri, taken with the New Technology Telescope (NTT) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory, Chile.
We present evidence that the literature value for V803 Cen's orbital period is incorrect, based on an observed ' S -wave' in the binary's spectrogram. We measure a spectroscopic period   P _V803 Cen= 1596.4 ± 1.2 s  of the S -wave feature, which is significantly shorter than the 1611-s periods found in previous photometric studies. We conclude that the latter period likely represents a 'superhump'. If one assumes that our S -wave period is the orbital period, V803 Cen's mass ratio can be expected to be much less extreme than previously thought, at   q ∼ 0.07  rather than   q ∼ 0.016  . This relaxes the constraints on the masses of the components considerably: the donor star then does not need to be fully degenerate, and the mass of the accreting white dwarf no longer has to be very close to the Chandrasekhar limit.
For HP Lib, we similarly measure a spectroscopic period   P _HP Lib= 1102.8 ± 0.2 s  . This supports the identification of HP Lib's photometric periods found in the literature, and the constraints upon the masses derived from them.     

Quantitative estimation of climate change effects on potential evapotranspiration in Beijingduring 1951-2010简

℃ Climate change is likely to affect hydrological cycle through precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture etc. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the climate change and the sensitivity of estimated evapotranspiration to each climatic variable for a semi-arid region of Beijing in North China using data set from 1951 to 2010. Penman-Monteith method was used to calculate reference crop evapotranspiration （ETo）. Changes of ETo to each climatic variable was estimated using a sensitivity analysis method proposed in this study. Results show that in the past 60 years, mean temperature and vapor pressure deficit （VPD） were significantly increasing, relative humidity and sunshine hours were significantly decreasing, and wind speed greatly oscillated without a significant trend. Total precipitation was significantly decreasing in corn season （from June to September）, but it was increasing in wheat season （from October to next May）. The change rates of tem- perature, relative humidity, VPD, wind speed, annual total precipitation, sunshine hours and solar radiation were 0.42℃, 1.47%, 0.04 kPa, 0.05 m.s-1, 25.0 mm, 74.0 hours and 90.7 MJ.m-2 per decade, respectively. In the past 60 years, yearly ETo was increasing with a rate of 19.5 mm per decade, and total ETos in wheat and corn seasons were increasing with rates of 13.1 and 5.3 mm per decade, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that mean air temperature was the first key factor for ETo change in the past 60 years, causing an annual total ETo increase of 7.4%, followed by relative humidity （5.5%） and sunshine hours （-3.1%）; the less sensitivity factors were wind speed （0.7%）, minimum temperature （-0.3%） and maximum temperature （-0.2%）. A greater reduction of total ETo （12.3%） in the past 60 years was found in wheat season, mainly because of mean temperature （8.6%） and relative hu- midity （5.4%）, as compared to a reduction of 6.0% in ETo during corn season due to sunshinehours （-6.9%）, relative humidity （4.7%） and temperature （4.5%）. Increasing precipitation in the wheat season will improve crop growth, while decreasing precipitation and increasing ETo in the corn season induces a great pressure for local government and farmers to use water more efficiently by widely adopting water-saving technologies in the future.     

定量分析1951–2010年北京地区气候变化对潜在蒸散量的影响（英文）

Climate change is likely to affect hydrological cycle through precipitation,evapotranspiration,soil moisture etc.In the present study,an attempt has been made to study the climate change and the sensitivity of estimated evapotranspiration to each climatic variable for a semi-arid region of Beijing in North China using data set from 1951 to 2010.Penman-Monteith method was used to calculate reference crop evapotranspiration(ETo).Changes of ETo to each climatic variable was estimated using a sensitivity analysis method proposed in this study.Results show that in the past 60 years,mean temperature and vapor pressure deficit(VPD) were significantly increasing,relative humidity and sunshine hours were significantly decreasing,and wind speed greatly oscillated without a significant trend.Total precipitation was significantly decreasing in corn season(from June to September),but it was increasing in wheat season(from October to next May).The change rates of temperature,relative humidity,VPD,wind speed,annual total precipitation,sunshine hours and solar radiation were 0.42℃,1.47%,0.04 kPa,0.05 m·s–1,25.0 mm,74.0 hours and 90.7 MJ·m–2per decade,respectively.In the past 60 years,yearly ETo was increasing with a rate of 19.5 mm per decade,and total ETos in wheat and corn seasons were increasing with rates of 13.1 and 5.3 mm per decade,respectively.Sensitivity analysis showed that mean air temperature was the first key factor for ETo change in the past 60 years,causing an annual total ETo increase of 7.4%,followed by relative humidity(5.5%) and sunshine hours(–3.1%);the less sensitivity factors were wind speed(0.7%),minimum temperature(–0.3%) and maximum temperature(–0.2%).A greater reduction of total ETo(12.3%) in the past 60 years was found in wheat season,mainly because of mean temperature(8.6%) and relative humidity(5.4%),as compared to a reduction of 6.0% in ETo during corn season due to sunshine hours(–6.9%),relative humidity(4.7%) and temperature(4.5%).Increasing precipitation in the wheat season will improve crop growth,while decreasing precipitation and increasing ETo in the corn season induces a great pressure for local government and farmers to use water more efficiently by widely adopting water-saving technologies in the future.