Instance of hidden instability traps in intermittent transition of moving masses along a flexible beam

The problem of an elastic beam under the periodic loading of successive moving masses is investigated as a pragmatic case for studying dynamic stability of linear time-varying systems. This model serves to highlight the odds of multi-solutions coexistence, a form of hidden instability which reveals dangerous as it may be precipitated by the slightest disturbance or variation in the model. Since no engineering model perfectly represents a physical system, such situations for which Floquet theory naively predicts stability are potentially inevitable. The harmonic balancing method is used in order to thoroughly explore the stability diagrams for detecting these instability gaps. Although this phenomenon has also been described in other physical systems, it has not been addressed for beam–moving mass systems. This result may find particular importance in applications involving self-induced vibrations of elastic structures and hence also appears of practical relevance.     

Biosynthesis of SeNPs by Mycobacterium bovis and their enhancing effect on the immune response against HBs antigens: an in vivo study

Conventional hepatitis B vaccine contains alum but is less effective to induce Th1 response. Selenium nanoparticles and Bacillus Calmette–Guerin were reported as immune modulators. In this study, SeNPs were extracted from Mycobacterium bovis and characterised. SeNPs were mixed with HBs‐Ag and administered to the mice to investigate he immune response pattern. With an addition of Se ions at a sub‐inhibitory concentration to the Sauton medium broth after 24 h, SeNPs were extracted from M. bovis and characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, atomic forcemicroscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectrum, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Furthermore, female inbred BALB/c mice were injected subcutaneously on the first, 14th, 28th day with 100 and 200 µg doses of that SeNPs supplemented with HBs‐Ag vaccine. Later, the total antibody, isotypes of Immunoglobulin G1, Interlukin 4, and interferon‐γ were measured by enzye‐linked immunosorbent assay. The size of the SeNPs was <150 nm. Level of total antibody and immunoglobulin G2a increased significantly in the group that received 200 µg/ml nano selenium extracted from M. bovis. SeNPs in dose of 200 µg coated with organic materials of M. bovis could induce an influential immune response in relation to the conventional HBs‐Ag vaccine.Inspec keywords: selenium, nanoparticles, nanofabrication, microorganisms, Fourier transform spectra, infrared spectra, light scattering, atomic force microscopy, X‐ray chemical analysis, transmission electron microscopy, thermal analysis, nanomedicineOther keywords: biosynthesis, selenium nanoparticles, Mycobacterium bovis, enhnced immune response, HBs antigens, Bacillus Calmette‐Guerin, immune modulators, biogenic SeNPs, immune response pattern, Sauton medium broth, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectrum, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, female inbred BALB/c mice, antibody, IgG1 isotype, IgG2a isotype, IL₄ isotype, interferon‐γ, enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, bacterium, time 24 h, time 14 day, time 28 day, Se     

A compact split-step finite difference method for solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equations with constant and variable coefficients

We propose a compact split-step finite difference method to solve the nonlinear Schrödinger equations with constant and variable coefficients. This method improves the accuracy of split-step finite difference method by introducing a compact scheme for discretization of space variable while this improvement does not reduce the stability range and does not increase the computational cost. This method also preserves some conservation laws. Numerical tests are presented to confirm the theoretical results for the new numerical method by using the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with constant and variable coefficients and Gross-Pitaevskii equation.     

Waveguide filter with improved stopband response using transversal slots

In this article, the design and realization of waveguide filter with improved stop‐band response is presented. By inserting transversal slots at the proper position of cavities, without disturbing the field distribution of the dominant mode, the second longitudinal resonant modes are radiated out. This caused the out‐of‐band frequency response of the filter to be improved. The validity of the proposed technique is confirmed by comparison between measurement values and simulation results from the finite element method through the commercial software (high frequency structure simulator). Also, to assure electromagnetic compatibility the slot surfaces are covered by absorbing material. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2011.     

Dynamic routing of real-time jobs among parallel EDF queues: A performance study

This paper introduces an analytical method for approximating the performance of a firm real-time system consisting of a number of parallel infinite-capacity single-server queues. The service discipline for the individual queues is earliest-deadline-first (EDF). Real-time jobs with exponentially distributed relative deadlines arrive according to a Poisson process. Jobs either all have deadlines until the beginning of service or deadlines until the end of service. Upon arrival, a job joins a queue according to a state-dependent stationary policy, where the state of the system is the number of jobs in each queue. Migration among the queues is not allowed. An important performance measure to consider is the overall loss probability of the system. The system is approximated by a Markovian model in the long run. The resulting model can then be solved analytically using standard Markovian solution techniques. Comparing numerical and simulation results for at least three different stationary policies, we find that the existing errors are relatively small.     

Joint quality control and preventive maintenance strategy for imperfect production processes

In this paper, we develop a joint quality control and preventive maintenance policy for a production system producing conforming and nonconforming units. The considered system consists of one machine which must supply another production line operating on a just-in-time basis. Each lot produced by the machine is subject to a quality control. According to the proportion l of nonconforming units observed and compared to a threshold value l _m , one decides to undertake or not maintenance actions on the system. In order to palliate perturbations caused by the stopping of the machine for preventive and corrective maintenance actions of random durations, a buffer stock h is built up to ensure the continuous supply of the subsequent production line. The proposed strategy is modelled using simulation and experimental design. This approach allows to generate a second order response surface allowing to easily determine the optimal rate, l_m^*{l_{m}^*}, of nonconforming units on the basis of which preventive maintenance actions should be performed, and the optimal size, h*, of the buffer stock to be built. These values minimize the total cost per time unit which includes the costs related to maintenance, quality and inventory.     

The multi-agent programming contest from 2005–2010

The Multi-Agent Programming Contest is an annual international event on programming multi-agent systems: Teams of agents participate in a simulated cooperative scenario. It started in 2005 and is organised in 2010 for the sixth time. The contest is an attempt to stimulate research in the area of multi-agent system development and programming by (i) identifying key problems in the field and (ii) collecting suitable benchmarks that can serve as milestones for testing multi-agent programming languages, platforms and tools. This article provides a short history of the contest since it started and reports in more detail on the cows and cowboys scenario implemented for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 contest editions. We briefly discuss the underlying technological background and conclude with a critical discussion of the experiences and lessons learned.     

The voting analytic hierarchy process method for discriminating among efficient decision making units in data envelopment analysis

Making optimal use of available resources has always been of interest to humankind, and different approaches have been used in an attempt to make maximum use of existing resources. Limitations of capital, manpower, energy, etc., have led managers to seek ways for optimally using such resources. In fact, being informed of the performance of the units under the supervision of a manager is the most important task with regard to making sensible decisions for managing them. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) suggests an appropriate method for evaluating the efficiency of homogeneous units with multiple inputs and multiple outputs. DEA models classify decision making units (DMUs) into efficient and inefficient ones. However, in most cases, managers and researchers are interested in ranking the units and selecting the best DMU. Various scientific models have been proposed by researchers for ranking DMUs. Each of these models has some weakness(es), which makes it difficult to select the appropriate ranking model. This paper presents a method for ranking efficient DMUs by the voting analytic hierarchy process (VAHP). The paper reviews some ranking models in DEA and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. Then, we provide the method for ranking efficient DMUs by VAHP. Finally we give an example to illustrate our approach and then the new method is employed to rank efficient units in a real world problem.