Uncertainty measures for probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets in multiple criteria decision making

This contribution reviews critically the existing entropy measures for probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets (PHFSs), and demonstrates that these entropy measures fail to effectively distinguish a variety of different PHFSs in some cases. In the sequel, we develop a new axiomatic framework of entropy measures for probabilistic hesitant fuzzy elements (PHFEs) by considering two facets of uncertainty associated with PHFEs which are known as fuzziness and nonspecificity. Respect to each kind of uncertainty, a number of formulae are derived to permit flexible selection of PHFE entropy measures. Moreover, based on the proposed PHFE entropy measures, we introduce some entropy-based distance measures which are used in the portion of comparative analysis. Eventually, the proposed PHFE entropy measures and PHFE entropy-based distance measures are applied to decision making in the strategy initiatives where their reliability and effectiveness are verified.     

Dielectric Structure with Periodic Strips for Increasing Radiation Power of Photoconductive Antennas: Theoretical Analysis

Low terahertz (THz) radiation power and low efficiency are the well-known drawbacks of photoconductive antennas (PCAs). To increase THz-radiation power of PCAs, a dielectric structure with periodic low-temperature-grown GaAs strips is proposed. Transmitted power of the proposed structure is obtained from a theoretical model, and further confirmed by finite element simulations. Results show that the structure is capable to transmit into the substrate 90 % of the power of transverse magnetic wave with wavelength as wide as from 0.7 to 1.0 μm. Favorability of this property gets amplified when power transmission in a wide range of frequency bandwidth is desired, e.g., for optical pulse with short duration time incident to PCA, which generates carriers in the semiconductor that create THz emission. Furthermore, the proposed dielectric structure with periodic strips, the whole structure placed in between electrodes of PCA is considered, and analyzed by the existing photoconductive antenna equivalent circuit model, to see how power radiation changes. Interestingly, THz-radiation power enhancements of 70 and 20 % are evinced for, respectively, 20 and 150 mW incident optical powers as instances, as compared to PCA without strips in the gap area.     

Calorimetric and spectroscopic investigations of β-lactoglobulin upon interaction with copper ion

The effect of copper(II) ions (Cu(+2)) on the structure of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) was investigated spectroscopically using UV-visible, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) and calorimetrically using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), at different temperatures. Results of the UV-visible studies showed that adding Cu(+2) to β-lg solution caused increasing turbidity, indicative of protein aggregation. It was noticeable that the rate of increasing turbidity was directly proportional to increasing temperature. The far-UV CD studies displayed that the Cu(+2) cannot induce any significant changes in the secondary structures of β-lg at different temperatures. Also, the ITC data indicated that the binding process of Cu(+2) to β-lg is mainly entropically driven. The results highlight that copper ions cause the tertiary structure of β-lg to change and induce a slightly open structure leading to the formation of supramolecular aggregates in β-lg which may result in the reduced allergenicity of β-lg and its increased use in industrial applications.     

Comprehensive review of water management and wastewater treatment in food processing industries in the framework of water-food-environment nexus

Food processing is among the greatest water-consuming industries with a significant role in the implementation of sustainable development goals. Water-consuming industries such as food processing have become a threat to limited freshwater resources, and numerous attempts are being carried out in order to develop and apply novel approaches for water management in these industries. Studies have shown the positive impact of the new methods of process integration (e.g., water pinch, mathematical optimization, etc.) in maximizing water reuse and recycle. Applying these methods in food processing industries not only significantly supported water consumption minimization but also contributed to environmental protection by reducing wastewater generation. The methods can also increase the productivity of these industries and direct them to sustainable production. This interconnection led to a new subcategory in nexus studies known as water-food-environment nexus. The nexus assures sustainable food production with minimum freshwater consumption and minimizes the environmental destructions caused by untreated wastewater discharge. The aim of this study was to provide a thorough review of water-food-environment nexus application in food processing industries and explore the nexus from different aspects. The current study explored the process of food industries in different sectors regarding water consumption and wastewater generation, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The most recent wastewater treatment methods carried out in different food processing sectors were also reviewed. This review provided a comprehensive literature for choosing the optimum scenario of water and wastewater management in food processing industries.     

Computational fluid dynamics on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the conical cap tray

This paper addresses an investigation on the hydrodynamic behavior of a new type of cap trays called conical cap tray (ConCap tray). A 3-D computational fluid dynamics model was developed to predict the hydrodynamics of the ConCap tray which is operated in the spray regime. The model considers two phase flow of gas and liquid in a VOF-like code framework. The homogeneous multiple size group model (MUSIG model) and shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model were implemented. Detailed insights into the hydrodynamic behavior of the inside of the cones were obtained. The relation between velocity, pressure and cross section area of the flow inside the cone also was formulated. The computational fluid dynamic (CFD) results show that the pressure variation in the cones forces the liquid on the tray to be highly turbulent, which leads to deform the interface to break up. Effect of different riser heights was also studied by CFD simulations. The results show that the riser height has a significant role in the hydrodynamics of the tray, especially in uniform gas distribution in the tray and reducing weeping rates.     

Combining accuracy and success-rate to improve the performance of eXtended Classifier System (XCS) for data-mining and control applications

The emergence of eXtended Classifier Systems (XCS) raised the bar for Learning Classifier Systems by incorporating the accuracies of the rules in the LCS's traditional reinforcement mechanism. However, neither XCS nor its extensions take into account the nature of a classifier's experience of attending the action set. We introduce an experience–evaluation mechanism that, once added to the traditional XCS, would assigns to each member of the action set a success rate indicating how effectively the classifier has contributed to the correct responding of the system to the environment's queries. Application of the augmented system (called SRXCS) to several benchmark problems shows that the proposed mechanism enhances XCS' classification capability and its rate of convergence at the same time. Application results indicate that SRXCS performs notably better on both pattern association and pattern recognition tasks. The applicability and efficiency of the proposed mechanism is further demonstrated through solving a fairly complex path planning problem for an autonomous mobile robot in a dynamic environment.     

A hybrid evolutionary algorithm for distribution feeder reconfiguration

Distribution feeder reconfiguration (DFR) is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem which minimizes real power losses, deviation of the node voltages and the number of switching operations and also balances the loads on the feeders. In the proposed method, the distance (λ ₂ norm) between the vector-valued objective function and the worst-case vector-valued objective function in the feasible set is maximized. In the algorithm, the status of tie and sectionalizing switches are considered as the control variables. The proposed DFR problem is a non-differentiable optimization problem. Therefore, a new hybrid evolutionary algorithm based on combination of fuzzy adaptive particle swarm optimization (FAPSO) and ant colony optimization (ACO), called HFAPSO, is proposed to solve it. The performance of HFAPSO is evaluated and compared with other methods such as genetic algorithm (GA), ACO, the original PSO, Hybrid PSO and ACO (HPSO) considering different distribution test systems.     

Preparation and characterization of polyaniline‐DBSNa/Fe2O3 and polyaniline‐DBSNa/CoO nanocomposites using surfactive dopant sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBSNa)

Nanocomposites of polyaniline (PAn) containing nanometer‐size Fe₂O₃ and CoO were synthesized by a chemical method using sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBSNa) as a surfactant. Characteristics of the products such as morphology, particle size, and conductivity were studied. The results indicated that these properties were dependent on the surfactant and the type and content of metallic oxide used. When the concentration of Fe₂O₃ and CoO increased from 1 to 5 g/L in the PAn‐DBSNa/Fe₂O₃ and PAn‐DBSNa/CoO composites, the conductivity decreased from 1.3 × 10^?4 to 5.1 × 10^?5 and from 1.4 × 10^?4 to 5.1 × 10^?5 S/cm, respectively, while the particle size increased from 92 to 103 and from 104 to 117 nm, respectively. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers