Mathematical models for preemptive shop scheduling problems

More than half a century has passed since Bowman and Dantzig (1959) [13] and [14] introduced their models for preemptive shop scheduling problems. A more efficient model seems to be needed to address all the aspects involved in the problem. We introduce a new Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation as a new method for solving the preemptive Job Shop Scheduling Problem (pJSSP). The dimension of the new model, unlike those of the existing ones, depends solely on the number of jobs and machines irrespective of processing times. The proposed model is used as an optimal, two-phase approach. In phase one, the model is solved to obtain the start and completion times of each operation on each machine. In phase two, a simple algorithm in O(mn log n) steps is used to turn these times into a complete and optimal schedule. Different preemptive flow shop problems are studied as special cases of the pJSSP while some related properties are also discussed. Finally, the higher efficiency of the proposed model is verified both theoretically and computationally through its comparison with conventional methods commonly in use.     

Polyaniline grafted chitosan/GO-CNT/Fe3O4 nanocomposite as a superior electrode material for supercapacitor application

Developing appropriate stable electroactive electrode materials for supercapacitor application is the challenging issue, which attracts enormous attention in recent decades. In this regard, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are firstly synthesized on chitosan/graphene oxide-multiwall carbon nanotubes (CS/GM/Fe₃O₄). Then, polyaniline (PANI) is grafted on it via in situ chemical polymerization and named as CS/GM/Fe₃O₄/PANI. The as-prepared nanocomposites are characterized by Field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The capacitive properties of the electrodes are investigated in a three electrode configuration in 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte by various electrochemical techniques. The specific capacitance of CS/GM/Fe₃O₄/PANI electrode is 1513.4 Fg⁻¹ at 4 Ag⁻¹ which is 1.9 times higher than that of CS/GM/Fe₃O₄ (800 Fg⁻¹). Meanwhile, the electrodes exhibit appropriate cycle life along with 99.8% and 93.95% specific capacitance at 100 Ag⁻¹ for chitosan/GO-CNT/Fe₃O₄ and polyaniline grafted chitosan/GO-CNT/Fe₃O₄, respectively.     

Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using anjbar (root of Persicaria bistorta) extract and their cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cell line (MCF‐7)

Biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) using biomass is now one of the best methods for synthesising NPs due to their nontoxic and biocompatibility. Plants are the best choice among all biomass to synthesise large‐scale NPs. The objectives of this study were to synthesise zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) using Anjbar (root of Persicaria bistorta) [An/ZnO‐NPs] and investigate the cytotoxic and anti‐oxidant effects. For this purpose, the An/ZnO‐NPs were synthesised by using Bistort extract and characterised using UV–Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope, x‐ray diffraction and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The cytotoxic effects of the An/ZnO‐NPs on MCF‐7 cells were followed by 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays at 24, 48, and 72 h. Nuclear morphology changed and apoptosis in cells was investigated using acridine orange/propodium iodide (AO/PI) staining and flow cytometry analysis. The pure biosynthesised ZnO‐NPs were spherical in shape and particles sizes ranged from 1 to 50 nm. Treated MCF‐7 cells with different concentrations of ZnO‐NPs inhibited cell viability in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner with IC50 about 32 μg/ml after 48 h of incubation. In flow cytometry analysis the sub‐G1 population, which indicated apoptotic cells, increased from 12.6% at 0 μg/ml (control) to 92.8% at 60 μg/ml, 48 h after exposure. AO/PI staining showed that the treated cells displayed morphologic evidence of apoptosis, compared to untreated groups. Inspec keywords: cancer, cellular biophysics, toxicology, particle size, nanofabrication, X‐ray diffraction, nanomedicine, nanoparticles, ultraviolet spectra, scanning electron microscopy, visible spectra, transmission electron microscopy, patient treatment, field emission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra, drug delivery systemsOther keywords: anjbar, cytotoxic effects, human breast cancer cell line, biomass, transmission electron microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, flow cytometry analysis, ZnO‐NPs inhibited cell viability, antioxidant effects, MCF‐7 cells, biosynthesised ZnO‐NP, biosynthesised ZnO‐NP, acridine orange‐propodium iodide staining, An‐ZnO‐NP, Persicaria bistorta, zinc oxide nanoparticle biosynthesis, 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide     

Computer program for the mass and heat balance calculations for the wet process phosphoric acid (hemi-hydrate) and its applications to Saudi phosphate rock

A computer program is developed for the wet phosphoric acid process using Saudi phosphate ore. The program concentrates on the heart of the process that is the acidulation crystallization step. The key parameters of the program are obtained from micropilot plant continuous experiments performed at our laboratory using different types of Saudi phosphate ores with different chemical, physical and minerological properties. The program is used to correlate the main operating and design parameters with the ore measurable characteristics.     

Phase equilibrium data and liquidus for the system “MnO”-CaO-(Al2O3 + SiO2) at Al2O3/SiO2 = 0.41

Phase-equilibrium data and the liquidus for the system “MnO”-CaO-(Al₂O₃-SiO₂) at a manganese-rich alloy saturation have been determined in the temperature range from 1423 to 1723 K. The results are presented in the form of a pseudoternary section “MnO”-CaO-(Al₂O₃ + SiO₂) with an Al₂O₃/SiO₂ weight ratio of 0.41. The following primary phases are present in the range of conditions investigated: 3Al₂O₃·2SiO₂; SiO₂; MnO·Al₂O₃·2SiO₂; (Mn,Ca)O·SiO₂; 2(Mn,Ca)O·SiO₂; MnO·Al₂O₃; (Mn,Ca)O; α-2CaO·SiO₂; α′-2CaO·SiO₂; 2CaO·Al₂O₃·SiO₂; CaO·SiO₂, and CaO·Al₂O₃·2SiO₂. The presence of alumina in this system is shown to have a significant effect on the liquidus compared to the system “MnO”-CaO-SiO₂, leading to the stabilization of the anorthite and gehlenite phases.     

A compensated PID active queue management controller using an improved queue dynamic model

Beside the major objective of providing congestion control, achieving predictable queuing delay, maximizing link utilization, and robustness are the main objectives of an active queue management (AQM) controller. This paper proposes an improved queue dynamic model while incorporating the packet drop probability as well. By applying the improved model, a new compensated PID AQM controller is developed for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networks. The non‐minimum phase characteristic caused by Padé approximation of the network delay restricts the direct application of control methods because of the unstable internal dynamics. In this paper, a parameter‐varying dynamic compensator, which operates on tracking error and internal dynamics, is proposed to not only capture the unstable internal dynamics but also reduce the effect of uncertainties by unresponsive flows. The proposed dynamic compensator is then used to design a PID AQM controller whose gains are obtained directly from the state‐space representation of the system with no further gain tuning requirements. The packet‐level simulations using network simulator (ns2) show the outperformance of the developed controller for both queuing delay stability and resource utilization. The improved underlying model leads also to the faster response of the controller. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimum temperature profile for noncatalytic reaction to produce polyamide hot melt adhesives

Foaming is a general problem in the manufacturing of fatty polyamides. It is mainly affected by the mixing rate and reaction temperature. The effect of the reaction temperature and rate of mixing on foaming are investigated. Time minimization for the polyamidation reaction to prevent foaming is performed. The process constraints are the rate of temperature increase and the rate of the production of water. It is found that with an increase in the mixing rate, foaming starts at lower temperatures and with a decrease in the mixing rate, foaming only starts at high temperatures. For each mixing rate, with an increase in the temperature, the duration of foaming is shorter because the increase in the rate of foaming ends. Temperature profiles with time for different mixing rates are generated, and it is found that the reaction time decreases with increasing mixing rate. The generated temperature profiles are verified experimentally, and no foaming is observed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1817–1822, 2006     

A branch-and-bound algorithm for minimizing the sum of maximum earliness and tardiness with unequal release times

This article addresses the problem of minimizing the sum of maximum earliness and tardiness on a single machine with unequal release times. It is proven that this problem is NP-hard in the strong sense and a branch-and-bound algorithm is developed as an exact method. In the proposed algorithm, modified dispatching rules based on different release times are proposed as the upper bound, while a procedure considering preemption assumption is used to obtain a good lower bound. Also, dominance rules based on no unforced idle time, adjacent pairwise interchanges in the base problem, and job blocks are used to fathom the nodes. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, 4,860 instances were randomly generated, varying from 7 to 1,000 jobs. It is shown that the branch-and-bound algorithm was capable of optimally solving 94.1% of the instances, showing its efficiency in solving all problem sizes.     

Minimizing the number of tardy jobs and maximum earliness in the single machine scheduling using an artificial immune system

Nowadays, the importance of timely delivery, which is based on the just in time concept, has caused a number of criteria related to scheduling problems to be taken into consideration. One of the most important of these criteria is maximum earliness to control final costs and number of tardy jobs in an attempt to win customer satisfaction. In this paper, the strongly NP-hard problem of the single machine scheduling with two criteria, i.e., maximum earliness and number of tardy jobs, has been considered. For this purpose, artificial immune system which is inspired by the immunology theory in biology has been used. This algorithm is applied to different instances of small to large sizes and the obtained results is compared with those obtained from a heuristic method and a genetic algorithm reported in the literature. Computational results show a significant preference for the algorithm proposed in this paper.     

Polyphenols content and antioxidant activity of Ghure (unripe grape) marc extract: influence of extraction time,temperature and solvent type

The objective of this study was to optimise the temperature (25–50 °C), time (1–24 h) and the solvent ratio (ethanol/water, 0–100%) for the phenolic compounds extraction of Ghure marc (unripe grape) using response surface methodology. The central composite design (CCD) generated satisfactory models for the optimisation of process variables. The results revealed that the ratio (X₃) was the most significant parameter on total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity [% 2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)], and there was a significant correlation between TPC and antioxidant activity. The optimal conditions for temperature and time were 44.93 °C and 19.34 h, respectively, and the ratio of ethanol to water was 70.08, which verified with carrying out confirmatory experiments. Under this condition, TPC and %DPPH were 388.79 mg GAE per 100 g and 91.01, respectively. The results of this study revealed that the Ghure marc can be used as a low‐cost source of natural antioxidant in food.