Integrating multivariate engineering process control and multivariate statistical process control

Multivariate engineering process control (MEPC) and multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) are two strategies for quality improvement that have developed independently. MEPC aims to minimize variability by adjusting process variables to keep the process output on target. On the other hand, MSPC aims to reduce variability by monitoring and eliminating assignable causes of variation. In this paper, the use of MEPC alone is compared to using the MEPC coupled with MSPC. We use simulations to evaluate the average run lengths (ARL) and the averages of the performance measure. The simulation results show that the use of both MEPC and MSPC can always outperform the use of either alone. To detect small sustained shifts of the mean vector, combing MEPC with a multivariate generally weighted moving average (MGWMA) chart (MEPC/MGWMA) is more sensitive than the MEPC/multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) chart and MEPC/Hotelling’s χ² chart. An example of the application, based on the proposed method, is also given.     

Generally weighted moving average control chart for monitoring process variability

Most applications of the EWMA control chart for monitoring processes depend on detecting shifts in the process mean. The problem of detecting an increase in process variability, which can also strongly affect the quality of products, is perhaps more important. When a process moves from the pilot phase to the production phase, the mean may not shift but the variation will probably increase because new sources of variation are introduced, including new people and materials. A simulation is performed to evaluate the ARL to false alarm and to monitor the change in the process variability of the EWMA control chart and the GWMA control chart. An extensive comparison reveals that the GWMA control chart is more sensitive than the EWMA control chart in monitoring the variance of a process. The results of this study can be applied to monitor the process variability in automated industries.     

Forecasting the volatility of a combined multi‐country stock index using GWMA algorithms

Globalization has increased the volatility of international financial transactions, particularly those related to international stock markets. An increase in the volatility of one country's stock market spreads throughout the globe, affecting other countries' stock markets. In particular, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plays an extremely important role in the international stock market. This paper uses the generally weighted moving average method and data from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, Japan's Nikkei 225, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index to predict the performance of the Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index. This paper attempts to find the smallest prediction error using the optimal combination of generally weighted moving average model parameters and combinations of various international stock market data and compares the results to that found using the exponentially weighted moving average model to explore differences between the two types of forecasting models.     

Colossal Barocaloric Effect by Large Latent Heat Produced by First-Order Intersite-Charge-Transfer Transition

Materials which show novel thermal properties can be used to make highly efficient and environmentally friendly energy systems for thermal energy storage and refrigeration through caloric effects. An A-site-ordered quadruple perovskite-structure oxide, NdCu₃Fe₄O₁₂, is found to release significant latent heat, 25.5 kJ kg⁻¹ (157 J cc⁻¹), at the intersite-charge-transfer transition temperature near room temperature. The transition is first-order and accompanied by an unusual magnetic ordering and a large negative-thermal-expansion-like volume change, and thus, it causes a large entropy change (84.2 J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹). The observed entropy change is comparable to the largest changes reported in inorganic solid materials, and more importantly, it is utilized through a colossal barocaloric effect. The adiabatic temperature change by applying 5.1 kbar pressure is estimated to reach 13.7 K, which means efficient refrigeration can be realized through this effect.     

An agent‐based workflow scheduling mechanism with deadline constraint on hybrid cloud environment

Summary

With the advances of cloud computing, business and scientific‐oriented jobs with certain workflows are increasingly migrated to and run on a variety of cloud environments. These jobs are often with the property of deadline constraint and have to be completed within limited time. Therefore, to schedule a job with workflow (short for workflow) with deadline constraint is increasingly becoming a crucial research issue. In this paper, we, based on previous work, propose an agent‐based workflow scheduling mechanism to schedule workflows that are with deadline constraint into federated cloud environment.

Design and Methods

We add a workflow agent into the original framework to schedule the deadline‐constraint workflow. The workflow agent can smoothly schedule workflows to the cloud system according to their required resource and automatically monitor their execution. In order to accurately predict the execution time of each task to meet deadline constraint on certain VM with given resource, we inherit the use of rough set theory to estimate execution time of task in our previous work.

Result and Discussion

A heuristic algorithm that is embedded into the workflow agent is also proposed because the problem had been shown to be NP‐complete. The mechanism also adopts dynamic job dispatching method to reduce the usage of VM and to improve the resource utilization. We also conducted experiments to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness.

Conclusion

The experimental results show that the prediction time is very close to the real execution time and can efficiently schedule multiple scientific workflows to meet the deadline constraints simultaneously.     

The associate impact of individual internal experiences and reference groups on buying behavior: A case study of animations,comics, and games consumers

Among the entertainment and media market, it can be observed that animations, comics, and video games (hereinafter abbreviated as ACG) have the highest output value and most market influence. Moreover, ACG also incorporates various industries and creates many derivative products. As the ACG industry emphasizes acousto-optics, imagery, and storylines, personal impressions derived from consumer experiences will influence consumer decisions. In addition, the ACG industry is mainly marketed towards younger age groups, with younger people being the main consumers; as such, these consumers’ decisions are more easily affected by peer behavior.This study aims to analyze the effects of internal cognitions and external influences on buying behavior of ACG consumers by applying the uncomplicated decision tree data mining algorithm. We analyze and develop the target attributes on measures of customer loyalty for ACG industry to set up the decision trees from the collected questionnaire data. The decision tree data mining method is applied to analyze the hidden association rules between the target attributes (i.e., consumer loyalty) and the critical influencing factors of consumer’s internal impressions and external influences for ACG consumers. The results and suggestions of this paper can be used as a reference for enterprises in the ACG industry to help with business policies concerning products’ extensional design, marketing, and CRM, and to further strengthen customer satisfaction and loyalty, thus increasing company profits.     

Side-polished multimode fiber biosensor based on surface plasmon resonance with halogen light

A side-polished multimode fiber sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as the transducing element with a halogen light source is proposed. The SPR fiber sensor is side polished until half the core is closed and coated with a 37 nm gold thin film by dc sputtering. The SPR curve on the optical spectrum is described by an optical spectrum analyzer and can sense a range of widths in wavelengths of SPR effects. The measurement system using the halogen light source is constructed for several real-time detections that are carried out for the measurement of the index liquid detections for the sensitivity analysis. The sensing fiber is demonstrated with a series of refractive index (RI) liquids and set for several experiments, including the stability, repeatability, and resolution calibration. The results for the halogen light source with the resolution of the measurement based on wavelength interrogation were 3 x 10(-6) refractive index units (RIUs). The SPR dip shifted in wavelength is used as a measure of the RI change at a surface, and this RI change varies directly with the number of biomolecules at the surface. The SPR dip shift in wavelength, which was hybridized at 0.1 microM of the target DNA to the probe DNA, was 8.66 nm. The all-fiber multimode SPR sensor, which has the advantages of being low cost, being disposable, having high stability and linearity, being free of labeling, and having potential for real-time detection, permit the sensor and system to be used in biochemical sensing and environmental monitoring.     

Joint synchronization in Eureka 147 DAB system based on abruptphase change detection

We present a joint symbol, frame, and carrier synchronization method for the Eureka 147 DAB signal. Symbol timing is determined first by detecting an abrupt change in the phase angle of the complex product between the last quarter of a useful symbol and its cyclic extension in the guard interval. The detection of this abrupt change is based an the maximal likelihood (hit) principle. Frequency offset of fractional carrier spacing is estimated from the phase angle of the autocorrelation after symbol timing is estimated. Coarse frame synchronization and null symbol detection can also be achieved through this correlation information. Frequency offset of integral carrier spacing is determined from the convolution outputs between a received phase reference symbol and several locally generated but frequency-shifted phase reference symbols. We found the length of a guard interval is the most important parameter for the synchronization algorithm to work. Simulation results show that the performance of this synchronization method approaches to the ideal synchronization case in both an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and a two-path Rayleigh fading channel     

Accurate modeling and parameter extraction for MOS transistorsvalid up to 10 GHz

Accurate modeling and efficient parameter extraction of the small signal equivalent circuit of submicrometer MOS transistors for high-frequency operation are presented. The equivalent circuit is based on a quasi-static approximation which was found to be adequate in the gigahertz range if the extrinsic components are properly modeled. It includes the complete intrinsic quasi-static MOS model, the series resistances of gate, source, and drain, and a substrate coupling network. Direct extraction is performed by Y-parameter analysis on the equivalent circuit in the linear and saturation regions of operation. The extracted results are physically meaningful and can be used to “de-embed” the extrinsic effects such as the substrate coupling within the device. Good agreement has been obtained between the simulation results of the equivalent circuit and measured data up to 10 GHz     

Triflavin potentiates the antiplatelet activity of platelet activating factor receptor antagonist on activated neutrophil-induced platelet aggregation

In this study, specific platelet activating factor (PAF) receptor antagonist ginkgolide B (BN52021) was tested for its antiplatelet activity in zymosan activated polymorphonuclear neutrophil-induced platelet aggregation. Triflavin was also tested for its antiplatelet activity compared with PAF receptor antagonist. Triflavin, an Arg-Gly-Asp-containing disintegrin purified from venom peptide inhibited platelet aggregation by interfering with the interaction of fibrinogen with the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex. Furthermore, we also report an efficient high resolution method for quantitative analysis of PAF using high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE). The supernatant of polymorphonuclear neutrophils after their activation by opsonized zymosan induces the aggregation of washed rabbit platelets. In rabbit platelets, BN52021 (100-1000 microM) only partially inhibited activated polymorphonuclear neutrophil-induced platelet aggregation, and its maximal inhibition was estimated to be about 79%. Triflavin also partially inhibited platelet aggregation about 82% induced by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Furthermore, after treatment with a combination of triflavin (0.26 microM) with various concentrations of BN52021 (4-1000 microM), the inhibitory effect of platelet aggregation was almost completely. This inhibition was greater than that produced by the individual drugs alone. These results indicate that a combination of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex and PAF receptor antagonist could completely inhibit activated polymorphonuclear neutrophil-induced platelet aggregation. In addition, the amount of PAF released from zymosan (6 mg/ml)-activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils was accurately calculated about 11.8+/-1.5 ng/10(6) cells, and did not further increase even at a high concentration of zymosan (10 mg/ml). These results suggest that PAF play a major role in the interaction between platelets and polymorphonuclear neutrophils. This interaction may be important in the pathogenesis of thrombosis and inflammatory diseases. Our present findings support the hypothesis that combination therapy with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex antagonists and PAF receptor antagonists may represent a new approach to the treatment of ischemic disorders.