ExPlanTech: Applying multi-agent systems in production planning

This paper presents work carried out within the 'ExPlanTech' project (IST-1999-20171) funded in part by the European Commission's Information Technologies Programme. The mission of the ExPlanTech technology transfer project is to introduce, customize and exploit the multi-agent production planning technology (ProPlanT multi-agent system research prototype) in two specific industrial enterprises. An agent-driven service negotiations and decision process, based on usagecentred knowledge about task requirements, substitutes the traditional production planning activity. We introduce a methodology for integration of the projectdriven production planning based on agent-based engineering within the existing enterprise resource planning system. This novel production planning technology will facilitate optimization of resource utilization and supplier chain while meeting the customer demands. This paper describes a FIPA-compliant implementation of the ExPlanTech technology at the LIAZ Pattern Shop manufacturing company. We describe the structure of the agent community, types of agents, implementation of the planning strategy and its incorporation within the real production environment.     

Optical properties of Ge40-x Sb x Se60 glasses

The optical properties of Ge_40-x Sb _x Se₆₀ glasses have been studied in the infrared spectral region and also in the short wavelength region. The spectral dependence of the absorption coefficient in the region of multiphonon absorption, optical gap and average gap was discussed in relation to the chemical composition. It is supposed that the structure of these glasses is complicated due to structural units containing mainly Ge-Se, Sb-Se and also Ge-Ge, Ge-Sb and Sb-Sb bonds.     

Recognition of business risks when purchasing goods on the Internet using GIS: experience from Slovakia

For operators of Internet shops and their investors on the one hand, and suppliers on the other hand, knowledge of the consumer market is becoming critical in terms of the risk of non-payment for purchased goods, as most small e-shops maintain their stocks according to current demand. The aim of this paper is to identify customers who come from different districts of Slovakia and display a certain type of consumer behavior regarding the risk connected with willingness to pay for goods purchased via the Internet. To solve this problem we used data from a specialized e-retailer and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a Decision Support System generator for constructing maps of consumers to investigate the operation of an e-shop. In the article, we used data from the years 2012–2015 concerning 489 buyers, including their addresses and other geographical data about the consumers and their purchases, and integrated them into the GIS environment. Subsequently, the data were analyzed and documented by means of GIS and maps of consumers were generated. The result of this study is to show that GIS can play a significant role in the decision-making process of e-shops in support of a manager’s experience. The geographical results were evaluated statistically in order to offer a better information capability.     

Distribution-insensitive cluster analysis in SAS on real-time PCR gene expression data of steadily expressed genes

Cluster analysis is a tool often employed in the micro-array techniques but used less in the real-time PCR. Herein we present core SAS code that instead of the Euclidian distances takes correlation coefficient as a dissimilarity measure. The dissimilarity measure is made robust using a rank-order correlation coefficient rather than a parametric one. There is no need for an overall probability adjustment like in scoring methods based on repeated pair-wise comparisons. The rank-order correlation matrix gives a good base for the clustering procedure of gene expression data obtained by real-time RT-PCR as it disregards the different expression levels. Associated with each cluster is a linear combination of the variables in the cluster, which is the first principal component. Large set of variables can then be replaced by the set of cluster components with little loss of information. In this way, distinct clusters containing unregulated housekeeping genes along with other steadily expressed genes can be disclosed and utilized for standardization purposes. Simulated data in parallel with the data from a biological experiment were taken to validate the SAS macro. For both cases, good intuitive results were obtained.     

Current Problems and Possible Solutions in High-Temperature Lead-Free Soldering

The substitution of lead in the electronics industry is one of the key issues in the current drive towards ecological manufacturing. Legislation has already banned the use of lead in solders for mainstream applications (T _M ≈ 220 °C), but the use of lead in the solders for high-temperature applications (>85% lead, T _M ≈ 250-350 °C) is still exempt in RoHS2. The search for proper substitutes has been ongoing among solder manufacturers only for a decade without finding a viable low cost alternative and is the subject of intensive research. This article tries to map the current situation in the field of high-temperature lead-free soldering, presenting a short review of current legislation, requirements for substitute alloys, and finally it describes some existing solutions both in the field of promising new materials and new technologies. Currently, there is no drop-in replacement for lead-containing solders and therefore both the new materials and the new technologies may be viable solutions for production of reliable lead-free joints for high-temperature applications.     

Coupled electrical-fluid model of pulsed electric field treatment in a model food system

A coupled electrical-fluid model of a pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment is presented. The modeling of PEF food treatment to date has been limited to a separate study of the electric field distribution and the product flow. A model was developed that couples the electric field and fluid dynamics analysis. The main feature of the model is that parameters vital for the process control, i.e. the product flow and heating and the electric field distribution in a PEF chamber, can be determined self-consistently. Comparison between model predictions and experimental measurements were made for a laboratory scale, co-field treatment chamber configuration of a continuous flow-through PEF unit. The predicted product temperatures downstream of the treatment chamber were in good agreement with the observed temperature for a range of conditions considered. This work is a first step towards developing a reliable tool for the optimization of the PEF treatment chamber geometry.     

80 nm spectrally flattened, high power erbium amplified spontaneousemission fibre source

A novel two-stage spectrally flattened, high output power erbium amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) fibre source pumped using a single laser diode pump is reported. The source has a bandwidth of 80 nm with a 1 dB ripple and output power of +13 dBm (20 mW)     

Defense Secretion of Prorhinotermes simplex: Toxicity to Insecticide Susceptible and Resistant House Fly

(E)-1-Nitropentadec-1-ene (NPE), the main component of the defense secretion of Prorhinotermes simplex soldiers, is toxic to both insecticide-susceptible (S) as well as to insecticide-resistant (R) strains of the house fly, Musca domestica. The LD₅₀ is 11.7 g/female fly for the S strain and 9.7 g for the R strain. The same efficacy of NPE on R and S strains indicates a different mechanism of action compared to conventional chlorinated, organophosphorus, and pyrethroid insecticides. Termite nestmates are protected against NPE by a specific detoxification mechanism. 1-Nitropentadecane, the detoxification product of NPE is nearly nontoxic to house flies, and doses up to 160 g/fly caused only very low mortality.