“WaterMan”: an on-farm water management game with heuristic capabilities

A modern computer-based simulation tool (WaterMan) in the form of a game for on-farm water management was developed for application in training events for farmers, students, and irrigators. The WaterMan game utilizes an interactive framework, thereby allowing the user to develop scenarios and test alternatives in a convenient, risk-free environment. It includes a comprehensive soil water and salt balance calculation algorithm. It also employs heuristic capabilities for modeling all of the important aspects of on-farm water management, and to provide quantitative performance evaluations and practical water management advice to the trainees. Random events (both favorable and unfavorable) and different strategic decisions are included in the game for more realism and to provide an appropriate level of challenge according to player performance. Thus, the ability to anticipate the player skill level, and to reply with random events appropriate to the anticipated level, is provided by the heuristic capabilities used in the software. These heuristic features were developed based on a combination of two artificial intelligence approaches: (1) a pattern recognition approach and (2) reinforcement learning based on a Markov decision processes approach, specifically the Q-learning method. These two approaches were combined in a new way to account for the difference in the effect of actions taken by the player and action taken by the system in the game world. The reward function for the Q-learning method was modified to reflect the suggested classification of the WaterMan game as what is referred to as a partially competitive and partially cooperative game.     

湖北省赤眼蜂(Trichogramma)的寄主记录

本文在已知湖北省9种赤眼蜂的基础上,对其寄主进行了考查,现已查明的寄主有101种,其中有57种为我国新记录,即松毛虫赤眼蜂新寄主有3种,拟澳洲赤眼蜂有三种,稻螟赤眼蜂有10种,玉米螟赤眼蜂有6种,粘虫赤眼蜂有9种,舟蛾赤眼蜂有7种,广赤眼     

温度对微小花蝽实验种群增长的影响

实验室饲养观察结果表明，在15－35℃温度范围内，随温度升高，微小花蝽的发育速率加快，成虫寿命缩短，在25℃下的世代存活率最高。根据实验数据计算出该虫的卵期发育起点温度为13．6℃，有效积温为1＝55．15日．度；若虫期发育起点温度为8．0℃，有效积温为270．1日．度。组建了25℃和30℃两种温度下的该虫的实验种群生命表。     

Effects of silver nanoparticle size, concentration and coating on soil quality as indicated by arylsulfatase and sulfite oxidase activities

Recently, the nanotechnology industry has seen a growing interest in integrating silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) into agricultural products, which increases soil exposure to these particles. This demands an investigation into the effect of AgNPs on soil health. Changes in soil enzyme activities upon exposure to AgNPs can serve as early indicators of any adverse effects that these particles may have on soil quality. This study aimed to determine the effects of AgNP size, concentration, coating, and e...     

寒潮天气表冷器-风机集放热系统对连栋大棚热湿环境的影响

连栋塑料大棚棚内环境易受寒潮侵扰,为调节棚内热湿环境,将表冷器-风机集放系统应用于连栋塑料大棚中,在白天适宜条件下运行系统,将棚内空气盈余的热量收集并储存在蓄热水箱中,夜间气温较低时,再将储存的热量释放出来用以加温。对表冷器-风机集放热系统的运行效果进行试验,通过集热量、放热量和性能系数等评价集放热性能,并且将水气温差作为主要影响因素对系统运行阶段分别进行热流量分析和分析。结果表明,在寒潮下系统可以保证棚内气温比棚外高5.2～7.8 ℃。集热量达到了390.6～693 MJ,放热量为361.2～609 MJ,系统性能系数达到了4.4～7.2,节能效果较为显著。系统在运行过程中水气温差每增长1 ℃,集热流量增加0.82 kW,放热流量增加0.58 kW,单位时间内换热量较大;此外系统在集热阶段析湿系数约为1.70,表冷器-风机进出口空气含湿量差最高可达1.3×10-3 kg/kg,说明在集热阶段系统具有冷凝除湿的效果;同时在冷凝除湿过程中系统效率随着水气温差的增加而增加,最高可达到82.8%,能量利用率较高。该研究对保证连栋塑料大棚安全越冬生产具有重要意义。     

采用K均值聚类和环形结构的狭叶锦鸡儿木质部提取算法

针对木质部交互统计误差大、效率低、重现性差、劳动强度高和传统图像处理算法精度不理想等问题,该文以狭叶锦鸡儿木质部切片图像为研究对象,根据木质部特点提出基于K均值聚类算法和环形结构提取算法相结合,实现木质部准确提取的方法。首先通过动态巴特沃斯同态滤波法对30幅供试图像进行光照不均校正,然后采用K均值聚类法对光照补偿后图像初分割,最后采用环形结构提取算法实现木质部提取计数。试验结果表明:采用K均值聚类算法对光照补偿后的木质部图像初分割分割误差R(section error, R)、过分割误差OR(over-segmentation error, OR)和欠分割误差UR(under-segmentation error, UR)均值分别为5.15%、1.48%和6.46%,优于未光照补偿和3R-G-B算法;该文提出的环形结构提取算法对初分割后木质部图像检测的平均相对误差为2.26%,比分水岭法低11.69个百分点,比凹点匹配法低4.93个百分点。从速度上看,该算法平均耗时3.17 s,比分水岭法快1.40 s,比凹点匹配法快4.88 s。该算法检测的均方根误差RMSE(root mean squared error, RMSE)为0.52%,约相当于分水岭法的1/3,约相当于凹点匹配法的1/2,该算法优于其他2种分割算法;在图像结构复杂、光照不均匀、内部分布不均等缺陷条件下,该文算法也能很好地实现木质部的分割和提取。该方法不仅能对狭叶锦鸡儿木质部自动分割和提取,也可为其他植物木质部分割提取提供参考。     

PCB removal,soil enzyme activities,and microbial community structures during the phytoremediation by alfalfa in field soils

Purpose  

An in situ phytoremediation trial was developed in order to investigate the function of alfalfa during a 2-year bioremediation of an agricultural soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The study was conducted with the aim to better understand the application potential of PCB phytoremediation at field scale.     

鄱阳湖区棉田不同种植模式的截流保肥效果

通过不同棉花栽培方式的田间试验,分析了不同的栽培措施对棉田径流拦截和肥料保持的效果。结果表明,棉花间种蔬菜、棉田翻耕覆盖及棉田免耕覆盖技术均可以有效地减少棉田的水土和肥料流失,且以免耕覆盖的泥沙流失量和翻耕覆盖的径流量、养分流失量最小,分别较常规栽培减少52.99%和50%、10.71%。     

Enzymatically catalyzed synthesis of low-calorie structured lipid in a solvent-free system: optimization by response surface methodology

A kind of low-calorie structured lipid (LCSL) was obtained by interesterification of tributyrin (TB) and methyl stearate (St-ME), catalyzed by a commercially immobilized 1,3-specific lipase, Lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei . The condition optimization of the process was conducted by using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions for highest conversion of St-ME and lowest content LLL-TAG (SSS and SSP; S, stearic acid; P, palmitic acid) were determined to be a reaction time 6.52 h, a substrate molar ratio (St-ME:TB) of 1.77:1, and an enzyme amount of 10.34% at a reaction temperature of 65 °C; under these conditions, the actually measured conversion of St-ME and content of LLL-TAG were 78.47 and 4.89% respectively, in good agreement with predicted values. The target product under optimal conditions after short-range molecular distillation showed solid fat content (SFC) values similar to those of cocoa butter substitutes (CBS), cocoa butter equivalent (CBE), and cocoa butters (CB), indicating its application for inclusion with other fats as cocoa butter substitutes.