Level forecasting in the Ebro River during flood episodes using adaptive predictive expert models

In order to minimize the catastrophic effects of floods, it is essential to have good forecasts of the flood dynamics. To carry out these forecasts, commercial computing tools use hydraulic models based on the Saint-Venant equations. Instead of these hydraulic models, this paper proposes the use of input-output adaptive predictive expert (APE) models with properly adjusted parameters. For the initial parameter setting of the APE models used in this paper, four flood episodes occurred in the Ebro river in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2008 were analysed. In a second stage, the flood episode occurred in February 2009 was forecasted with these adjusted models, and the results were compared to the ones made with the commercial forecasting model MIKE11.Postprint (published version

NSF/ESF Workshop on Smart Structures and Advanced Sensors, Santorini Island, Greece, June 26-28, 2005: Structural Actuation and Adaptation Working Group

This document is a result of discussions that took place during the workshop. It describes current state of research and development (R&D) in the areas of structural actuation and adaptation in the context of smart structures and advanced sensors (SS&AS), and provides an outlook to guide future R&D efforts to develop technologies needed to build SS&AS. The discussions took place among the members of the Structural Actuation and Adaptation Working Group, as well as in general sessions including all four working groups. Participants included members of academia, industry, and government from the US and Europe, and representatives from China, Japan, and Korea

The genetic ancestry of American Creole cattle inferred from uniparental and autosomal genetic markers

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years. We analyzed uniparental genetic markers and autosomal microsatellites in DNA samples from 114 cattle breeds distributed worldwide, including 40 Creole breeds representing the whole American continent, and samples from the Iberian Peninsula, British islands, Continental Europe, Africa and American zebu. We show that Creole breeds differ considerably from each other, and most have their own identity or group with others from neighboring regions. Results with mtDNA indicate that T1c-lineages are rare in Iberia but common in Africa and are well represented in Creoles from Brazil and Colombia, lending support to a direct African influence on Creoles. This is reinforced by the sharing of a unique Y-haplotype between cattle from Mozambique and Creoles from Argentina. Autosomal microsatellites indicate that Creoles occupy an intermediate position between African and European breeds, and some Creoles show a clear Iberian signature. Our results confirm the mixed ancestry of American Creole cattle and the role that African cattle have played in their development

The genetic ancestry of american creole cattle inferred from uniparental and autosomal genetic markers.

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years. We analyzed uniparental genetic markers and autosomal microsatellites in DNA samples from 114 cattle breeds distributed worldwide, including 40 Creole breeds representing the whole American continent, and samples from the Iberian Peninsula, British islands, Continental Europe, Africa and American zebu. We show that Creole breeds differ considerably from each other, and most have their own identity or group with others from neighboring regions. Results with mtDNA indicate that T1c-lineages are rare in Iberia but common in Africa and are well represented in Creoles from Brazil and Colombia, lending support to a direct African influence on Creoles. This is reinforced by the sharing of a unique Y-haplotype between cattle from Mozambique and Creoles from Argentina. Autosomal microsatellites indicate that Creoles occupy an intermediate position between African and European breeds, and some Creoles show a clear Iberian signature. Our results confirm the mixed ancestry of American Creole cattle and the role that African cattle have played in their development

Adaptive predictive control: from concepts to plant optimization/ Sanchez

xx, 340 hal.: ill.; 23 cm

Adaptive predictive control: from concepts to plant optimization/ Sanchez

xx, 340 hal.: ill.; 23 cm

Considering temperature effect on robust principal component analysis orthogonal distance as a damage detector

In previous works, the authors have shown the feasibility of using classical and robust principal component analysis for damage detection on structures when ultrasonic guided waves are used. It has also been demonstrated that robust principal component analysis presents a higher probability of detection accuracy when data are corrupted. In the present work, a robust principal component analysis orthogonal distance is proposed as a new feature for damage detection strategy based on ultrasonic guided waves on structures subjected to uniform temperature changes. The effect of this temperature fluctuation on the signal propagation and also in the new feature is analyzed. Temperature compensation is applied to mitigate the effect of temperature changes on the reliability of the damage detection methodology. The proposed feature and damage detection strategy that considers these effects are tested on two structures: a laboratory scale composite plate and a large-scale complex composite that is representative of a component from an aerospace application. The promising result proves the ability of the new feature as a damage detection tool

Fuzzy Similarity Classifier as Damage Index: Temperature Effect and Compensation

International audienceThe effects of ambient operational temperature variability on the measured dynamics response of structures have been addressed in several studies. It is intuitive that temperature variation may change the material/geometric properties or boundary conditions of a structure and therefore may affect the damage detection performance. Then we consider the ability of a Fuzzy similarity classifier as a feature when the temperature is changing, it will be shown that temperature change might have more significant effect rather than the simulated damage on this feature, which leads to false positive decisions. Therefore, it is vital to compensate the effect of temperature to achieve a desirable result. To do this, the temperature effect is compensated and it is shown the compensation increases the performance of damage detection using the Fuzzy similarity index. To support claims mentioned above, this work involves experiments with composite plate equipped with PZT transducers. To simulate the effect of temperature the specimen is subjected to temperature change between -25C and 60C