Circle Chart for Monitoring of Periodic Measurements

Measurements with a periodicity are common in practice but there have been no specific monitoring control techniques for them. In this paper, we propose a type of control chart that plots measurements around a circle so that information from the same stage of different cycles can be readily compared. Some basic properties of such charts are investigated, and further developments are discussed. The basic circle chart can be applied under various kinds of control chart schemes, and there is potential for further development. Some application examples are also shown in this paper. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Model Accuracy on Residual Control Charts

Residual control charts are acknowledged to be effective tools for statistical process control of multistage processes. In these monitoring procedures, the models on the stage‐wise correlation should be first derived before the control charts are implemented. Therefore, the monitoring performance is inevitably affected by the model fitting scheme. Most of the previous works are under the assumption that the derived models represent the process behavior perfectly. Far less is known about the effects of the model inaccuracy on the monitoring performance. To investigate the effects of the underlying models on the monitoring performance, residual control charts based on two different modeling schemes are compared in this paper. The results indicate that the charting performance is correlated with the model fitting schemes. That is, a more accurate model will significantly increase the detection power and decrease the false alarm rate as well. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating the performance of combining neural networks and genetic algorithms to forecast construction demand: the case of the Singapore residential sector

In recent years, forecasting demand for residential construction in Singapore has become more vital, since it is widely perceived that the next trough of the real estate cycle is approaching. This paper evaluates the use of a combination of neural networks (NNs) and genetic algorithms (GAs) to forecast residential construction demand in Singapore. Successful applications of NNs, especially in solving complex non-linear problems, have since stimulated interest in exploring the capabilities of other biological-based methods such as GAs, and in exploiting the synergy of these two techniques to create more problem-solving power. In the study, a basic NN model is used as a benchmark to gauge the performance of the combined NN-GA model. A relative measure of forecasting accuracy, known as the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), is used for the comparison. The models are checked also for internal validity by allowing each to be trained twice and having a set of forecasts generated after each training. Both models are found to produce accurate forecasts, because their MAPE values consistently fall within the acceptable limit of 10%. However, the combined model out-performs the basis model remarkably by reducing the average MAPE from about 6% to a mere 1%. For each model, the marginal difference in the MAPE values (i.e., 0.5% for the NN model and 0.06% for the NN-GA model) of its two forecasts indicates consistency in performance, hence establishing internal validity as well. The findings reinforce the reliability of using NNs to model construction demand and reveal the benefit of combining NNs and GAs to produce more accurate models.     

Thermal comfort and IAQ characteristics of naturally/mechanically ventilated and air-conditioned bedrooms in a hot and humid climate

The characteristics of thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) in bedrooms, occupants’ perceptions and their impact on sleep quality are not often studied. It becomes even more interesting if climatic conditions allow Naturally/Mechanically Ventilated (NMV) concepts as opposed to Air-conditioning (AC) and this becomes very significant from an energy perspective. This paper reports our findings from such a study conducted in a hot and humid climate. Objective measurements of thermal comfort and IAQ were carried out during sleeping period in 12 NMV and 12 AC bedrooms over a period of 2 months. Questionnaire responses were sought from each subject at the end of the objective measurements to assess their perceptions on thermal comfort and indoor air quality of the bedrooms during sleep and their sleeping conditions. Although the “Historical” and “Immediate” responses for the NMV and AC bedrooms indicate that there was a good level of acceptability for both Thermal Comfort and Perceived Air Quality (PAQ), it was found that NMV bedroom was a better sleeping environment. The subjects’ immediate perception of PAQ and thermal comfort were reasonably correlated with their historical perceptions. The subjects’ perception of PAQ was fairly closely correlated to their perception of Thermal Comfort. There was a considerable increase in the carbon dioxide level in an AC bedroom relative to a NMV bedroom. However, there was no clear evidence to substantiate that sleeping duration decreased with increasing level of carbon dioxide, but the findings do suggest that high level of carbon dioxide may hinder the duration of sleep.     

The latency insertion method for simulations of phase-locked loops

In this paper, we present two methods for the simulations of phase-locked loops (PLL) based on the latency insertion method (LIM). First, we present a novel and simple behavioral model based simulation method that exploits the latency in the PLL formulation and utilizes a leapfrog time stepping discretization scheme to solve for the transient response of the PLL. Next, we apply LIM to the simulation of PLLs at the transistor level. Various PLL dynamic responses such as lock-in, pull-in and pull-out conditions are simulated and comparisons with analytical solutions are depicted when available. Results are also compared to traditional SPICE-based methods. Finally, a bottom-up behavioral simulation approach is illustrated by using LIM to generate individual models for the PLL components which are then used in an overall behavioral level simulation.     

Workpiece roundness profile in the frequency domain: an application in cylindrical plunge grinding

In grinding, most control strategies are based on the spindle power measurement, but recently, acoustic emission has been widely used for wheel wear and gap elimination. This paper explores a potential use of acoustic emission (AE) to detect workpiece lobes. This was achieved by sectioning and analysing the AE signal in the frequency domain. For the first time, the profile of the ground workpiece was predicted mathematically using key frequencies extracted from the AE signals. The results were validated against actual workpiece profile measurements. The relative shift of the wave formed on the surface of the part was expressed using the wheel-workpiece frequency ratio. A comparative study showed that the workpiece roundness profile could be monitored in the frequency domain using the AE signal during grinding.     

DETERMINATION OF BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN CONJUGATED DRUGS BY IMMOBILIZATION AS MICROARRAYS AND OBLIQUE-INCIDENCE REFLECTIVITY DIFFERENCE MICROSCOPY

Human serum is a mixture of various proteins which may interact with drugs. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the binding kinetics of pharmaceuticals with their corresponding antibodies in serum. In this article, microarrays and a label-free biosensor were used to study these interactions. Microarrays provide a high-throughput platform for characterizing biomolecular interactions, and the label-free oblique-incidence reflectivity difference biosensor avoids the drawbacks of fluorescence-based methods. The experimental results show that the binding affinities between most of the drugs and their antibodies were reduced in human serum because the bulky proteins block the access to or reduce the stability of the reaction complexes. Therefore, one should be mindful when in vitro or in vivo testing the efficiency of potential drugs and their antibodies.     

An intercomparison study of the determination of glyphosate, chlormequat and mepiquat residues in wheat

An intercomparison study of the determinations of glyphosate, chlormequat and mepiquat residues in cereals was performed. Four samples comprising one blank, two incurred and one spiked sample were sent to six participating laboratories. For glyphosate, two laboratories reported considerably lower results than the other four. One of the two laboratories with low results also reported low recoveries. The results of a sample spiked with 0.80 mg kg^-1 glyphosate and an incurred sample, ranged from 0.23-0.87 mg kg^-1 and 0.11-0.25 mg kg^-1 respectively. The strong correlation between the two samples (r² = 0.95) indicates a systematic between-laboratory variation. Several different principles were used for the analysis of glyphosate using different clean-up techniques and GC/MS, HPLC-fluorescence or LC/MS for detection. The results of the chlormequat residues showed more consistency. All but one laboratory obtained comparable results. However the correlation between the results for the sample spiked with 0.38 mg kg^-1 (range: 0.26-0.65 mg kg^-1) and the incurred samples (range: 0.19-0.45 and 0.15-0.23 mg kg^-1, respectively) again showed a strong correlation (r² = 0.99 and 0.88) indicating a systematic component. For mepiquat, results above the limit of quantification were only reported for the spiked sample. The results ranged from 0.29-0.92 mg kg^-1 (spiked concentration = 0.38 mg kg^-1). Three laboratories had results that deviated less than 25% from the fortified concentration. Two laboratories reported results 38% and 141% above the fortified concentration, respectively.     

Current issues in dietary acrylamide: formation,mitigation and risk assessment

Acrylamide (AA) is known as a neurotoxin in humans and it is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency of Research on Cancer. AA is produced as by‐product of the Maillard reaction in starchy foods processed at high temperatures (>120 °C). This review includes the investigation of AA precursors, mechanisms of AA formation and AA mitigation technologies in potato, cereal and coffee products. Additionally, most relevant issues of AA risk assessment are discussed. New technologies tested from laboratory to industrial scale face, as a major challenge, the reduction of AA content of browned food, while still maintaining its attractive organoleptic properties. Reducing sugars such as glucose and fructose are the major contributors to AA in potato‐based products. On the other hand, the limiting substrate of AA formation in cereals and coffee is the free amino acid asparagine. For some products the addition of glycine or asparaginase reduces AA formation during baking. Since, for potatoes, the limiting substrate is reducing sugars, increases in sugar content in potatoes during storage then introduce some difficulties and potentially quite large variations in the AA content of the final product. Sugars in potatoes may be reduced by blanching. Levels of AA in different foods show large variations and no general upper limit is easily applicable, since some formation will always occur. Current policy is that practical measures should be taken voluntarily to reduce AA formation in vulnerable foods since AA is considered a health risk at the concentrations found in foods. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry