A Study of Electromagnetic Radiation of Corona Discharge Near 500-Kv Electric Installations

Data on the spectral composition and intensity of electromagnetic radiation of corona discharge are obtained in an experimental study performed on the outdoor switchgear of the Shagol 500-kV substation of the Chelyabinsk Enterprise of Trunk Transmission Grids and under a 500-kV Shagol – Kozyrevo overhead transmission line. The electromagnetic environment on the territory of the 500-kV outdoor switchgear is shown to be determined by narrow-band radiations (harmonics of the frequency of electric supply) and wide-band radiations due to corona discharges of high-voltage sources. This means that the personnel experience the action of a commercial-frequency electric field and electromagnetic radiation of a quite wide range, which is not allowed for by the existing guidelines. It is recommended to continue the study in cooperation with medical institutions in order to create guidelines that would allow for the joint action of commercial-frequency electric field and electromagnetic radiation and for the voltage in the line, the current load, the meteorological situation, and other factors.     

Preliminary Study of the Effects of Contaminants from Sediments on Algal Membranes

Fluorescence depolarization is used to examine the effects of contaminants on the microviscosity of cell membranes of Ankistrodesmus sp. cells. One mg/L additions of Hg and Cd to the alga caused a change in the measured “index of viscosity” of the Ankistrodesmus cells in comparison to the index obtained by the addition of Zn and Pb. Elutriates from contaminated Niagara River sediment samples also caused an increase in the “index of viscosity,” whereas elutriate from uncontaminated sediments from the mid-lake station of Lake Ontario had no effect. This method has the potential for application in the assessment of the effects of contaminants on algal populations.     

Forecasting accuracy evaluation of tourist arrivals

This paper evaluates the use of several parametric and nonparametric forecasting techniques for predicting tourism demand in selected European countries. We find that no single model can provide the best forecasts for any of the countries in the short-, medium- and long-run. The results, which are tested for statistical significance, enable forecasters to choose the most suitable model (from those evaluated here) based on the country and horizon for forecasting tourism demand. Should a single model be of interest, then, across all selected countries and horizons the Recurrent Singular Spectrum Analysis model is found to be the most efficient based on lowest overall forecasting error. Neural Networks and ARFIMA are found to be the worst performing models.     

干涉自相关与光谱联合测量超短脉冲啁啾

提出了联合测量超短激光脉冲混合啁啾量值的方法,这种方法是基于干涉自相关包络宽度及超短激光脉冲光谱宽度随啁啾量值的变化而变化.通过对干涉自相关信号包络宽度及超短激光脉冲光谱宽度的理论分析,得到干涉自相关包络宽度及超短激光脉冲光谱宽度与啁啾量值之间的对应关系,获得联合测量混合啁啾量值的方法.采用干涉自相关二次谐波检测系统对加浓染料激光器输出的脉冲进行测量,利用该方法测量出被测超短激光脉冲的线性啁啾值及平方啁啾值.根据干涉自相关包络信号及超短激光脉冲光谱,分别独立测量超短激光脉冲混合啁啾值,从而实现了对超短激光脉冲啁啾值的确定性测量.     

A neuro-fuzzy combination model based on singular spectrum analysis for air transport demand forecasting

Air transport demand forecasting is receiving increasing attention, especially because of intrinsic difficulties and practical applications. Total passengers are used as a proxy for air transport demand. However, the air passenger time series usually has a complex behavior due to their irregularity, high volatility and seasonality. This paper proposes a new hybrid approach, combining singular spectrum analysis (SSA), adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO), for short-term air passenger traffic prediction. The SSA is used for identifying and extracting the trend and seasonality of air transport demand and the artificial intelligence technologies, including ANFIS and IPSO, are utilized to deal with the irregularity and volatility of the demand. The HK air passenger data are collected to establish and validate the forecasting model. Empirical results clearly points to the enormous potential that the proposed approach possesses in air transport demand forecasting and can be considered as a viable alternative.     

Riding the US wave: spectrum auctions in the digital age

Given its significant technological advantages compared to analog broadcasting, digital television (DTV) will be the television system of the future. However, it requires a full replacement of analog television sets by digital receivers, as DTV can only be watched with special equipment. In order to make this transition happen smoothly without losing the analog television audience, both signals have to be simulcasted until a substantial coverage with DTV broadcasting has been achieved. Australia and the US meanwhile have established a regulatory framework to lead this transition towards the end of analog broadcasting, the so-called analog switch-off. Part of the US regime is the FCC's obligation to reassign analog frequencies after the switch-off has taken place by means of auction. Spectrum auctions, however, originate not from the US but from New Zealand, where they have been used since the end of 1989 and ever since been subject to legal and political criticism. The article outlines the principles of both the DTV and spectrum auctions regulation and shows the links between both areas of telecommunications regulation. It concludes by suggesting that the analog switch-off is a unique opportunity to reconsider current spectrum policies, as it frees large amounts of the radio spectrum that are today occupied by analog broadcasting and will soon be subject to one of the biggest frequency reassignment processes in the history of telecommunications regulation.     

Brexit: Tracking and disentangling the sentiment towards leaving the EU

On 23 June, 2016, the UK held a referendum to decide whether to stay in the European Union or leave. The uncertainty surrounding the outcome of this referendum had major consequences for public policy, investment decisions, and currency markets. We discuss some of the subtleties involved in smoothing and disentangling poll data in light of the problem of tracking the dynamics of the intention to Brexit, and propose a multivariate singular spectrum analysis method that produces trendlines on the unit simplex. The trendline yield via multivariate singular spectrum analysis is shown to resemble that of local polynomial smoothing, and singular spectrum analysis presents the nice feature of disentangling the dynamics directly into components that can be interpreted as changes in public opinion or sampling error. The merits and disadvantages of some different approaches for obtaining smooth trendlines on the unit simplex are contrasted, in terms of both local polynomial smoothing and multivariate singular spectrum analysis.     

利用秩和检验的多天线协作频谱感知

高效稳定的频谱感知是认知无线电系统的关键环节。传统的能量检测算法受噪声不确定性影响,而协方差矩阵类算法在天线相关性低时性能较差。针对上述缺陷,利用秩来衡量由信道衰落导致的同一感知时刻不同天线上的信号功率差异,提出通过构建秩和统计量来实现频谱感知的算法。另外,推导了所提算法判决门限的理论表达式,结果显示其不受采样点数影响,因此当采样点数变化时无需重新设置门限。理论分析和仿真表明所提算法不受噪声不确定度的影响,并且在低天线相关性时可以保持良好的性能。     

LAT模型中基于次用户权值优化的频谱感知

全双工认知无线电LAT（Listen-and-Talk）模型因自干扰消除不完全而使得频谱感知能力下降。为提升频谱感知性能,提出了LAT模型下基于次用户加权的协作式频谱感知方法,分别研究了决策融合和数据融合下次用户最优权值的算法。求解最优权值时利用了凸优化方法,在处理非凸问题时利用了序列规划的方法,得到了较好的优化结果。仿真实验表明,在加权融合机制下的LAT模型得到了趋近于传统LBT（Listen-before-Talk）模型的频谱感知能力。     

一种基于DS-FFH/MSK调制的数据链抗干扰性能分析

提出了DS-FFH/MSK调制方式的一种实现方案,并在多种干扰环境下,从信源误比特率的角度对基于该实现方案的Link16战术数据链的抗干扰性能进行了系统分析,推导了几种不同干扰条件下数据链的误比特率表达式,并给出了计算机仿真结果.