Upregulated Expression of Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase in Ocular Adnexal Marginal Zone Lymphoma with IgG4-Positive Cells

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic disorder characterized by tissue fibrosis and intense lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, causing progressive organ dysfunction. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), a deaminase normally expressed in activated B-cells in germinal centers, edits ribonucleotides to induce somatic hypermutation and class switching of immunoglobulin. While AID expression is strictly controlled under physiological conditions, chronic inflammation has been noted to induce its upregulation to propel oncogenesis. We examined AID expression in IgG4-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD; n = 16), marginal zone lymphoma with IgG4-positive cells (IgG4+ MZL; n = 11), and marginal zone lymphoma without IgG4-positive cells (IgG4- MZL; n = 12) of ocular adnexa using immunohistochemical staining. Immunohistochemistry revealed significantly higher AID-intensity index in IgG4-ROD and IgG4+ MZL than IgG4- MZL (p < 0.001 and = 0.001, respectively). The present results suggest that IgG4-RD has several specific causes of AID up-regulation in addition to inflammation, and AID may be a driver of oncogenesis in IgG4-ROD to IgG4+ MZL.     

Full AC analysis of value of DER to the grid and optimal DER scheduling

This paper presents part of the work ComEd and Quanta Technology have performed to quantify the locational and temporal value of DER to avoid distribution grid upgrade investments. It focuses on the formulation of a robust and efficient algorithm for DER optimal dispatch on a distribution feeder to mitigate the violation of current and voltage limits using the allocated cost of capacity and locational marginal value of real and reactive DER injection/withdrawal.     

Refurbishment or quality recovery: joint quality and pricing decisions for new product development

Refurbishment and quality recovery, as two important strategies of reverse logistics, have been widely used for consumer durables, especially consumer electronics. This trend is driven by manufacturers’ profit-seeking behaviours and the increasing environmental concerns of society. This study investigates and compares the optimal emergence of these two strategies when product quality is endogenous. Model analyses provide several notable insights. First, we find that the refurbishment strategy dominates the quality recovery strategy when the fraction of the recoverable quality-inducing components in the defective product is low enough. Moreover, when the refurbishment strategy emerges as the optimum, the quality and price of the new product as well as the total realised sales of both new and refurbished products are consistently higher than those with the quality recovery strategy. In addition, when either the refurbishment or quality recovery strategy emerges as the optimum, the overall consumer surplus is also enhanced. Finally, in the model generalisation, we show that a synthetic strategy with which some of the returned defective products are refurbished and others are remanufactured through quality recovery can certainly increase the manufacturers’ profit compared to either one of them when the fraction of the recoverable quality-inducing components in the defective product is moderate.     

The Marginal Density of a TMA(1) Process

This note reconsiders the marginal density of a threshold moving average process and proposes a simple yet effective numerical algorithm to implement that by solving an associated integral equation. This algorithm can also be applied to calculate stationary probability density or distribution functions of a few other types of nonlinear stationary stochastic processes numerically.     

基于双边市场理论的云制造平台定价策略

基于双边市场理论,分析了垄断的云制造平台在收取会员费和交易费模式下的最优定价策略,并利用数值仿真分析了两种收费模式下平台最优利润的差异。结果表明:两种模式下的单边最优定价均与缴费方的自网络外部性系数和免费方的交叉网络外部性系数负相关,与免费方用户数量正相关,双边最优定价受各参数影响方向取决于供需方各参数的相对大小;单边定价对象为用户数量相对较多一方,平台两边用户数量相对平衡时,单边最优定价等于双边最优定价,双边定价时的平台最优利润高于单边定价;最优定价策略由平台内交易次数决定,交易次数较多时双边收取交易费模式更优,交易次数较少时双边收取会员费更优,交易次数临界值取决于平台内网络效应和用户数量。     

基于顾客退货的风险规避型双渠道供应链最优策略

在随机市场需求条件下,考虑风险规避型双渠道供应链中存在顾客退货时的最优决策问题,决策变量为两个渠道的商品售价和制造商批发价。以集中决策时的最优决策作为比较标杆,重点利用均值—方差方法分析了分散决策时风险规避型制造商和零售商的最优决策。结合灵敏度分析和数值试验,讨论了分散决策下的风险规避度,以及市场需求波动和顾客退货率对最优决策的影响。结果表明,高退货率不利于零售商、制造商及整个供应链的收益;风险规避度对收益的影响不是一成不变的,与需求波动大小有关;分散决策虽然引起了双边际效应,但制造商风险规避度的增加将降低双边际效应的负面影响。     

基于MED和边际谱的自动倾斜器轴承故障诊断

针对直升机自动倾斜器轴承早期微弱故障特征易被强烈背景噪声淹没的问题，提出了一种基于最小熵反褶积（Minimum Entropy Deconvolution，MED）和边际谱的自动倾斜器轴承故障诊断方法。采用MED对采集的振动信号进行滤波降噪，提高了信号的信噪比，突出了轴承早期微弱故障特征；通过Hilbert变换和经验模态分解（Empirical Mode Decomposition，EMD）获取去噪包络信号的本征模态函数（Intrinsic Mode Functions，IMF）集，并引入峭度筛选准则选取合理IMF集计算局部Hilbert边际谱，有效地提取了故障特征频率，能够通过故障特征频率进行故障类型判别。通过某型直升机自动倾斜器故障诊断试验系统验证了该诊断方法的合理性和可行性。     

A simplified method for optimal design of solar water heating systems based on life-cycle energy analysis

Significant energy mismatch exists in solar water heating systems as the time and amount of solar energy supply are usually different from that of hot water demand. Using a hot water storage tank can reduce or eliminate such mismatch in short term while it is difficult to avoid this mismatch in long term. In many optimal design and life-cycle analysis methods, the energy mismatch is ignored which causes the system performance to be overestimated and also misleads the optimal design of the system. This paper presents a simplified method for optimizing the key parameters of solar water heating systems based on life-cycle energy analysis. This optimal method considering the energy mismatch phenomenon can be implemented through two steps. In the first step, a simplified energy model based hourly energy matching different components of the system, is developed for determining the operating performance of system with different solar collector areas and water storage volumes. In the second step, the law of diminishing marginal utility is employed to determine the optimum size of the system. The optimum size is identified when the maximal life-cycle net energy saving is achieved. A case study on the application of the proposed method in a building is presented as well.     

Malaysia’s electricity market structure in transition

The Malaysian electricity industry evolved from a vertically integrated utility into a single-buyer model, which considered a precursor to deregulation and a competitive market. This study considers electricity sector reform in Malaysia and proposes a market structure for the industry. We focus on the single-buyer model and the pool model for the analysis with the recommendation on reform stages required to ensure a smooth and successful market transition. A smooth transition from regulated market into deregulated market will ensure market stability and sustainability of the energy market. It will also provide enough time for the market participants to adapt and transit from regulated to deregulated energy market.