Global optimization for power dispatch problems based on theory of moments

Non-convex of an optimal power dispatch problem makes it difficult to guarantee the global optimum. This paper presents a convex relaxation approach, called the Moment Semidefinite Programming (MSDP) method, to facilitate the search for deterministic global optimal solutions. The method employs a sequence of moments, which can linearize polynomial functions and construct positive semidefinite moment matrices, to form an SDP convex relaxation for power dispatch problems. In particular, the rank of the moment matrix is used as a sufficient condition to ensure the global optimality. The same condition can also be leveraged to estimate the number of global optimal solution(s). This method is effectively applied to {0,1}-economic dispatch (ED) problems and optimal power flow (OPF) problems. Simulation results showed that the MSDP method is capable of solving {0,1}-ED problems with integer values directly, and is able to identify if more than one global optimal solutions exist. In additional, the method can obtain rank-1 moment matrices for OPF’s counterexamples of existing SDP method, this ensures the global solution and overcomes the problem that existing SDP method cannot meet the rank-1 condition sometimes.     

Fluoride-mediately solvothermal synthesis and tunable photocatalytic selectivity of urchin-like ZrO2 hollow microspheres

Photocatalysts often show excellent performances on the basis of their surface state of exposed faces with high reactivity, but unfortunately surfaces of this type are usually concealed into the interior of crystals for their high surface energy. We report here a possibility that for fluorine-terminated surfaces of monoclinic ZrO₂, these higher-energy surfaces could be retained and exposed. Urchin-like ZrO₂ hollow microspheres (UZHS) composed of nanoribbons with exposed (010) facets are obtained through a fluoride mediately solvothermal method. We prove the stabilization effect of fluorine adsorption on (010) facets by density functional theory calculations. More interestingly, UZHS exhibit tunable photocatalytic selectivity in dye degradation. The fluorinated UZHS exhibit good performances both on decomposing Congo red (CR) and methylene blue, while the surface-modified UZHS by calcination only favor decomposition of CR.     

Why do small business butcher shops fail to fully implement HACCP?

This study aims to assess the degree of HACCP implementation in small business butcher shops and understand which factors most influence butchers' intention to fully implement it, through the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. One hundred and one butchers managing or owning small butcher's responded to the interview regarding their Attitudes, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural Control, Personal Norm, and Knowledge with regard to their Intention to fully implement a HACCP system in their shops. Before the interviews, a certified veterinarian visited all the shops. Visits included an inspection of the establishments using the Official Portuguese Control Plan checklist for meat retailers. Conformance level measured past performance regarding food safety practices. Based on past performance, butchers were divided into “high performers” and “low performers”. “High performers” yielded high values of Attitude and Intention towards the Behaviour. For these, Attitude and Personal Norm emerge as predictors of the Intention to fully implement a HACCP system. For “low performers”, Personal Norm was the strongest predictor of Intention, with results pointing to the need for an intervention from the authorities to promote increased conformance to food safety practices. For both groups, neither Social Norm nor Perceived Behavioural Control acted as significant predictors of Intention.     

基于素性检验思想的不可约多项式判断

论文将Fermat素性检验的思想运用于不可约多项式的判断,给出了一个对于不可约判断问题的Monte Carlo 算法,分析了该算法的计算复杂度问题,并且给出了次数在200以内的检验结果。     

顶封封隔管柱的研制与应用

中原油田近年来注水压力不断升高，井况恶化严重，为此开发了顶封封隔管柱，主要阐述了管柱工况受力特点、结构、工作原理及现场使用效果。经现场较大面积的应用证明，各项性能、技术指标达到了现场要求。     

A simplified expression for the hard-sphere dimer fluid radial distribution function

Recently, in our laboratory a closed form expression for the correlation function of the hard-sphere dimer fluid obtained from Wertheims multidensity Ornstein-Zernike integral equation theory with Percus-Yevick approximation was presented by Kim et al. [2001]. However, it is difficult to apply its expression to perturbation theory and vapor-liquid equilibria calculations, since it is of very complex form. In this work, we present a simplified expression for the first shell of the radial distribution function (RDF) of the hard-sphere dimer fluid using a series expansion of the analytical expression. The expansion is carried out in terms of both the packing fraction and the radial distance. Expressions are also obtained for the coordination number and its first and second derivatives as functions of radial distance and packing fraction. These expressions, which are useful in perturbation theory, are simpler to use than those obtained from the starting equation, while giving good agreement with the original expression results. Then we present an simplified equation of state for the square-well dimer fluid of variable well width (λ) based on Barker-Henderson perturbation theory using its expression for the radial distribution function of the hard-sphere dimer fluid, and test its expression with NVT and Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulation data [Kim et al., 2001].     

Revising threshold functions

A revision algorithm is a learning algorithm that identifies the target concept, starting from an initial concept. Such an algorithm is considered efficient if its complexity (in terms of the resource one is interested in) is polynomial in the syntactic distance between the initial and the target concept, but only polylogarithmic in the number of variables in the universe. We give an efficient revision algorithm in the model of learning with equivalence and membership queries for threshold functions, and some negative results showing, for instance, that threshold functions cannot be revised efficiently from either type of query alone. The algorithms work in a general revision model where both deletion and addition type revision operators are allowed.     

On regular drawn symbolic picture languages

Drawn symbolic pictures are an extension of drawn pictures obtained by associating a symbol from an alphabet to each point of the picture. In the paper we will address some new interesting issues derived from the introduction of the symbols and we will identify the conditions, which ensure the preservation of properties holding for drawn pictures in the setting of the proposed extension.     

Shift-or string matching with super-alphabets

Given a text T[1…n] and a pattern P[1…m] over some alphabet Σ of size σ, we want to find all the (exact) occurrences of P in T. The well-known shift-or algorithm solves this problem in time O(n⌈m/w⌉), where w is the number of bits in machine word, using bit-parallelism. We show how to extend the bit-parallelism in another direction, using super-alphabets. This gives a speed-up by a factor s, where s is the number of characters processed simultaneously. The algorithm is implemented, and we show that it works well in practice too. The result is the fastest known algorithm for exact string matching for short patterns and small alphabets.     

Generation and selection of likely interpretations during plan recognition in task-oriented consultation systems

This paper presents a mechanism which infers a user's plans from his/her utterances by directing the inference process towards the more likely interpretations of a speaker's statements among many possible interpretations. Our mechanism uses Bayesian theory of probability to assess the likelihood of an interpretation, and it complements this assessment by taking into consideration two aspects of an interpretation: its coherence and its information content. The coherence of an interpretation is determined by the relationships between the different statements in the discourse. The information content of an interpretation is a measure of how well defined the interpretation is in terms of the actions to be performed on the basis of this interpretation. This measure is used to guide the inference process towards interpretations with higher information content. The information content of an interpretation depends on the specificity and the certainty of the inferences in it, where the certainty of an inference depends on the knowledge on which the inference is based. Our mechanism has been developed for use in task-oriented consultation systems. The particular domain that we have chosen for exploration is that of travel booking.