On properties of probability-based multivariate process capability indices

Multivariate process capability indices (MPCIs) have been proposed to measure multivariate process capability in real-world application over the past three decades. For the practitioner's point of view, the intention of this paper is to examine the performances and distributional properties of probability-based MPCIs. Considering issues of construction of capability indices in multivariate setup and computation with performance, we found that probability-based MPCIs are a proper generalization of univariate basic process capability indices (PCIs). In the beginning of this decade, computation of probability-based indices was a difficult and time-consuming task, but in the computer age statistics, computation of probability-based MPCIs is simple and quick. Recent work on the performance of MPCI NMC_pm and distributional properties of its estimator reasonably recommended this index, for use in practical situations. To study distributional properties of natural estimators of probability-based MPCIs and recommended index estimator, we conducted simulation study. Though natural estimators of probability-based indices are negatively biased, they are better with respect to mean, relative bias, mean square error. Probability-based MPCI MC_pm is better as compared with NMC_pm with respect to performance and as its estimator quality. Hence, in real-world practice, we recommend probability-based MPCIs as a multivariate analogue of basic PCIs.     

Evidence of Decoupling Protein Structure from Spidroin Expression in Spider Dragline Silks

The exceptional strength and extensibility of spider dragline silk have been thought to be facilitated by two spidroins, major ampullate spidroin 1 (MaSp1) and major ampullate spidroin 2 (MaSp2), under the assumption that protein secondary structures are coupled with the expressed spidroins. We tested this assumption for the dragline silk of three co-existing Australian spiders, Argiope keyserlingi, Latrodectus hasselti and Nephila plumipes. We found that silk amino acid compositions did not differ among spiders collected in May. We extended these analyses temporally and found the amino acid compositions of A. keyserlingi silks to differ when collected in May compared to November, while those of L. hasselti did not. To ascertain whether their secondary structures were decoupled from spidroin expression, we performed solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) analysis on the silks of all spiders collected in May. We found the distribution of alanine toward β-sheet and _3,10helix/random coil conformations differed between species, as did their relative crystallinities, with A. keyserlingi having the greatest _3,10helix/random coil composition and N. plumipes the greatest crystallinity. The protein secondary structures correlated with the mechanical properties for each of the silks better than the amino acid compositions. Our findings suggested that a differential distribution of alanine during spinning could decouple secondary structures from spidroin expression ensuring that silks of desirable mechanical properties are consistently produced. Alternative explanations include the possibility that other spidroins were incorporated into some silks.     

Relationship of a Landsat cumulative disturbance index to canopy nitrogen and forest structure

Spatially-explicit knowledge of the timing, frequency, and intensity of forest disturbances is essential for forest management, yet little is known about how disturbances such as forest harvests and insect outbreaks might accumulate in their effects over time. Capturing the many forest harvest and insect defoliation events occurring over twenty-five years, we transformed a series of Landsat images into cumulative disturbance maps covering Green Ridge State Forest (GRSF) and Savage River State Forest (SRSF) in western Maryland. These maps summed yearly ΔDI images, which were defined as the change in a yearly tasseled cap disturbance index (DI), relative to a synthetic reference condition map created by finding the minimum DI value for all years. Intensive field-plot surveys and AVIRIS imagery collected during the summer of 2009 provided measurements of forest structure and canopy nitrogen. With these data, we found that while the most recent year's ΔDI had little relation, increases in the cumulative DI were related to decreased field-measured current canopy cover (R² = 0.66 at GRSF, 0.67 at SRSF and 0.34 combined) and watershed-averaged AVIRIS canopy N (R² = 0.40 at GRSF, 0.57 at SRSF and 0.54 combined). The latter relationship was obscured at the field-plot level of analysis, suggesting that fine scale studies will also need to account for other drivers (e.g. species composition) of variability in canopy N. Nevertheless, our study demonstrates that Landsat time series data can be synthesized into cumulative metrics incorporating multiple disturbance types, which help explain important cumulative disturbance-mediated changes in ecosystem functioning.     

Cloud federation in a layered service model

We show how a layered Cloud service model of software (SaaS), platform (PaaS), and infrastructure (IaaS) leverages multiple independent Clouds by creating a federation among the providers. The layered architecture leads naturally to a design in which inter-Cloud federation takes place at each service layer, mediated by a broker specific to the concerns of the parties at that layer. Federation increases consumer value for and facilitates providing IT services as a commodity. This business model for the Cloud is consistent with broker mediated supply and service delivery chains in other commodity sectors such as finance and manufacturing. Concreteness is added to the federated Cloud model by considering how it works in delivering the Weather Research and Forecasting service (WRF) as SaaS using PaaS and IaaS support. WRF is used to illustrate the concepts of delegation and federation, the translation of service requirements between service layers, and inter-Cloud broker functions needed to achieve federation.     

Threshold conditions for arbitrary cascade models on arbitrary networks

Given a network of who-contacts-whom or who-links-to-whom, will a contagious virus/product/meme spread and ‘take over’ (cause an epidemic) or die out quickly? What will change if nodes have partial, temporary or permanent immunity? The epidemic threshold is the minimum level of virulence to prevent a viral contagion from dying out quickly and determining it is a fundamental question in epidemiology and related areas. Most earlier work focuses either on special types of graphs or on specific epidemiological/cascade models. We are the first to show the G2-threshold (twice generalized) theorem, which nicely de-couples the effect of the topology and the virus model. Our result unifies and includes as special case older results and shows that the threshold depends on the first eigenvalue of the connectivity matrix, (a) for any graph and (b) for all propagation models in standard literature (more than 25, including H.I.V.). Our discovery has broad implications for the vulnerability of real, complex networks and numerous applications, including viral marketing, blog dynamics, influence propagation, easy answers to ‘what-if’ questions, and simplified design and evaluation of immunization policies. We also demonstrate our result using extensive simulations on real networks, including on one of the biggest available social-contact graphs containing more than 31?million interactions among more than 1?million people representing the city of Portland, Oregon, USA.     

Enhanced structural,dielectric, ferroelectric,and piezoelectric properties of (1−x)Ba0.9Sr0.1TiO3–(x)Ba0.7Ca0.3TiO3 ceramics derived using mechano‐chemical activation technique

The effect of Ba_0.7Ca_0.3TiO₃ (BCT) substitution on the structural, dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of mechano‐chemically synthesized lead‐free (1?x)Ba_0.9Sr_0.1TiO₃‐(x)Ba_0.7Ca_0.3TiO₃ (x=0.0, 0.10, 0.20, 0.35, and 0.50) ceramics have been investigated. XRD patterns confirms the formation of tetragonal phase with P4mm space group. The results indicate a strong influence of BCT substitution on the structural and electrical properties of Ba_0.9Sr_0.1TiO₃ (BST) ceramic. BST–BCT ceramic for x=0.35 have shown high dielectric constant ε_m~21 800, high remnant polarization P_r~10.16 μC/cm², large piezoelectric charge constant D₃₃~293 pC/N, large piezoelectric voltage constant g₃₃~5.80 mV·m/N, and highest dielectric breakdown strength E_bd~224 kV/cm among the five synthesized samples. The correlation between structural, dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of the BST ceramic with increasing BCT content have been systematically described on the basis of domain wall motion and grain size effect.     

Topological controls on the dissolution kinetics of glassy aluminosilicates

Fly ash which encompasses a mixture of glassy and crystalline aluminosilicates is an abundant supplementary cementitious material (SCM), valuable for replacing ordinary portland cement (OPC) in the binder fraction in concrete. Because higher OPC replacement levels are desired, it is critically important to better understand and quantify fly ash reactivity. By combining molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and vertical scanning interferometry (VSI), this study establishes that the reactivity of the glassy fractions in a fly ash with water (i.e., their aqueous dissolution rate) is controlled by the number of constraints placed on atoms within the disordered aluminosilicate network. More precisely, an Arrhenius‐like dependence of dissolution rates on the atomic network topology is observed. Such topological controls on fly ash reactivity are highlighted for a range of U.S. commercial fly ashes spanning CaO‐enriched and SiO₂‐enriched compositions. The structure‐property relationships reported herein establish an improved framework to control and estimate fly ash‐cement interactions in concrete.     

Tailored synthesis of macroporous Pt/WO3 photocatalyst with nanoaggregates via flame assisted spray pyrolysis

High‐surface‐area macroporous WO₃ particles with deposited Pt (Pt/WO₃) were successfully synthesized for the first time, using flame‐assisted spray pyrolysis. Nanoparticle aggregates‐like structures (nanoaggregates) were formed, although a salt precursor was used for the synthesis. The macroporous structure was tailored by changing the mass ratio of the polystyrene template to ammonium tungstate pentahydrate. The cavities between the nanoaggregates formed mesopores, which increased the surface area. The presence of meso‐ and macro‐pores in the synthesized Pt/WO₃ particles improved their photocatalytic activities in visible‐light‐induced photodegradation of rhodamine B. The combination of a high surface area and the presence of an in situ‐deposited Pt cocatalyst gave a high photodecomposition rate, approximately 9.6 times higher than that achieved with dense WO₃ particles. This research provides a promising strategy for synthesizing submicron particles with high surface areas at a high production rate, and is suitable for industrial applications. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3864–3873, 2016