Data-based robust multiobjective optimization of interconnected processes: Energy efficiency case study in papermaking

Reducing energy consumption is a major challenge for energy-intensive industries such as papermaking. A commercially viable energy saving solution is to employ data-based optimization techniques to obtain a set of optimized operational settings that satisfy certain performance indices. The difficulties of this are: 1) the problems of this type are inherently multicriteria in the sense that improving one performance index might result in compromising the other important measures; 2) practical systems often exhibit unknown complex dynamics and several interconnections which make the modeling task difficult; and 3) as the models are acquired from the existing historical data, they are valid only locally and extrapolations incorporate risk of increasing process variability. To overcome these difficulties, this paper presents a new decision support system for robust multiobjective optimization of interconnected processes. The plant is first divided into serially connected units to model the process, product quality, energy consumption, and corresponding uncertainty measures. Then multiobjective gradient descent algorithm is used to solve the problem in line with user's preference information. Finally, the optimization results are visualized for analysis and decision making. In practice, if further iterations of the optimization algorithm are considered, validity of the local models must be checked prior to proceeding to further iterations. The method is implemented by a MATLAB-based interactive tool DataExplorer supporting a range of data analysis, modeling, and multiobjective optimization techniques. The proposed approach was tested in two U.K.-based commercial paper mills where the aim was reducing steam consumption and increasing productivity while maintaining the product quality by optimization of vacuum pressures in forming and press sections. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. © 2006 IEEE.

Effect of dietary supplementation of vitamins A, D-3, E, and C on yearling rice field eel, Monopterus albus: Serum indices, gonad development, and metabolism of calcium and phosphorus

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary vitamins A, D-3, E, and C on the gonad development, lipid peroxidation, and immune response of yearling rice field eel, Monopterus albus. A 6-wk feeding trial was designed according to an L-16(4(5)) orthogonal design, in which four vitamins, each at four supplementation levels, were arranged. Sixteen diets were mixed with the different vitamin levels and randomly assigned to 16 groups of fish. Increasing dietary vitamin E supplementation level significantly (P <= 0.05) increased the gonadosomatic index and lowered the serum content of malondialdehyde of rice field eel. Increasing dietary vitamin A and C levels also showed similar effect, but the differences were not statistically significant. Serum immunoglobulin M content increased significantly (P <= 0.01) as dietary vitamin C supplementation levels increased. The concentrations of calcium in bones showed significant (P <= 0.05) trend with vitamin D-3 and A supplementation levels, but the bone phosphorus content was not affected by the dietary vitamin levels.

Considerable effects of diversity indices and spatial scales on conclusions relating to ecological diversity

The relationships between ecological diversity and ecosystem functions such as stability and productivity have long been debated and have no final conclusion until now. It is ignored that the debate should be firstly based on the same diversity index, which should be theoretically complete, and on same observation scale. For the issue on the scale of ecotope observation, ecosystems should be distinguished according to intensity of human disturbance. For the issue on the scale of species observation, either number diversity or biomass diversity should be identified. This paper takes grassland ecosystems located within the Bayin Xile grassland of Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as an example to analyze effects of different diversity indices and spatial scales on the conclusions of ecological diversity and its relationships with ecosystem functions. The analysis results both on the scale of ecotope observation and on the scale of species observation show that different diversity indices might give different conclusions and spatial resolution has a great effect on the relative conclusions. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extended topological indices and prediction of activities of chiral compounds

The activities/properties of two molecules with identical formula but different configuration states of the asymmetric atoms are different. Thus, usually the common topological indices are not suitable. In this study, the chiral topological indices were obtained by extending A(mi) indices suggested by our laboratory and molecular connectivity indices. The modified topologial indices have been used for the studies on D2 for dopamine receptor and a receptor activities of fourteen N-alkylated 3-(3-hydroxypyenyl)-piperidines. It has been observed that selected variables possess low correlations. The results obtained by using multiple regression analysis and artificial neural networks are satisfactory.

Correlation analysis of the structures and gas-liquid chromatographic retention indices of amines

Quantitative structure-retention relationship(QSRR) was studied for amines to gas-liquid chromatography on three stationary phases of different polarities with the topological indices A(m) (A(m1), A(m2), A(m3)) and gravitational index GI. The algorithm of "Leaps and Bounds" was performed for selection of the variables. And the multi-regression and the quasi-Newton neural networks were employed for the calculation with better results.

Study on relationship between partition coefficient of compounds and topological indices

In this work, the A(m) indices and the molecular connectivity indices of fifty aromatic compounds have been calculated, and applied for studying on relationship between partition coefficient and structure of aromatic compounds. The results demonstrate that the property of compounds can be described better with revisionary A(m) indices.

Study on structure-property relationships between color reagents and sensitivity of color reactions with yttrium by topological indices

In this paper, three topological indices, Am-1, Am-2, and Am-3, multivariate analysis in structure-property studies. The topological indices of twenty asymmetrical phosphosphono bisazo derivatives of chromotropic acid have been calculated. The structure-property relationships between color reagents and molar absorptivity of color reactions with yttrium have been studied by A(m) indices and structure selective factors. Good results have been obtained by using correlation equation to predict the molar absorptivity of new color reagents.

Studies on structure-property relationship between color reagents and contrast of their color reactions with cerium by topological indices

In this paper, three topological indices A(m1), A(m2) and A(m3) have been applied to multivariate analysis in structure property relationship studies. The topological indices oi fourty-three asymmetrical phosphono bisazo derivatives of chromotropic acid have been calculated, The structure-property relationship between color reagents and contrast of color reactions with cerium has been studied by A, indices and structure selective factors, Good results have been obtained.

A new method of predicting of gas chromatographic retention indices for polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)

A new method has been developed to describe the quantitative relationship between molecular structures of PCDFs and their gas chromatographic retention indices on a 30-m fused silica column coated with DB-5 stationary phase. The regression equation is derived with a multiple correlation coefficient greater than 0.9995. The highest residual is 20 index units. The standard deviation is less than 7 index units. Using this regression equation, the retention indices of PCDFs for which data is not available have also been predicted. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

大学生现实自我与理想自我差异的特点、产生机制和效应

The arguments on self discrepancy can be traced back to the old ages, but the systematic investigations were started by Higgins et al. at 1985.Compared to the large number of foreign studies, only a few ones have been conducted in our own country. Numerous characteristics of undergruaduate’s actual-ideal discrepancy and a great many determinative factors have been found as well as many of its negative effects—especially the greater the actual-ideal discrepancy, the more negative on the mind and behavior. Nevertheless, there are still many issues to be solved, such as the extend of the undergruaduate’s actual-ideal discrepancy level in own country. On the other hand, although there are a great many internal and external determinative factors of actual-ideal discrepancy, how they overally influence the discrepancy of the same individual is still unknown; to what extent does actual-ideal discrepancy influence the human mind and behavior and whether the influence is positive or negtive? This research collected a sample consisting of 4 undergraduate grades and 5 majors from a middle-ranked university. We adopted questionnaires in the study, and analyzed the data using correlation analysis, regression analysis, variances analysis, and path analysis. Our aim focused on the general characteristics of the undergruaduate’s actual-ideal discrepancy in own country, the overall working mechanism of the determinative factors including environmental and personal factors on the actual-ideal discrepancy of the same individual, and the effects of the actual-ideal discrepancy on psychological adaption, motivation, and behavior. The main results are as following: (1)The improved measurement instrument possesses good validity and reliability, and can be used in future research. (2) The actual-ideal discrepancy level among undergraduates is slightly bellow medium. The proportion of undergraduates who have a higher actual-ideal discrepancy level is small. There is significant gender difference in actual-ideal discrepancy level, but no significant difference across different majors and grades. (3)This research probed the overall working mechanism of the parenting style(environmental factors) and the personality factors(personal factors) including stability, flexibility, cleverness, and esteem on the undergruaduate’s actual-ideal discrepancy. The results shows that the parenting style of warmth and understanding, stability, flexibility, and esteem influence the actual-ideal discrepancy. Esteem entirely moderate the relationship between the parenting style of warmth and understanding and actual-ideal discrepancy, partially moderate the relationship between the flexibility, stability and actual-ideal discrepancy. Furthermore, the above factors can be order as stability, flexibility, and parenting style of warmth and understanding in terms of decreasing impact on the actual-ideal discrepancy. No significant effect of cleverness and other parenting style was found. The parenting style of warmth and understanding, stability, and flexibility interactively influence the actual-ideal discrepancy in the following manner: the stability and flexibility, both of which have independent influence on the actual-ideal discrepancy, entirely moderate the relationship between the parenting style of warmth and understanding and actual-ideal discrepancy. (4) Actual-ideal discrepancy plays a negative role in adaption indices, including self-efficacy, self-identity, self-actualization. Actual-ideal discrepancy also has negative effects on the 9 symptoms measured by SCL-90, vitality, approach motivation, avoidance motivation, and performance goals. No significant influence on mastering goals was found. Actual-ideal discrepancy uniquely correlates with depression symptom. The above results contribute from the point of self-discrepancy to the understanding of self-identity of undergraduates, and they enrich the knowledge of the development of self and contribute to the understanding of the development of human personality.This research advances on the two key problems of the developmental mechanism of actual-ideal discrepancy and that promotes the knowledge of the developmental mechanism of actual-ideal discrepancy. The research probed the relationship between the actual-ideal discrepancy and motivation which is an important phenomenon and this enlarges the domain of the actual-ideal discrepancy research. The results make sure that actual-ideal discrepancy is one of the important factors influencing undergruaduate’s mind and behavior. The conclusions can provide reference and guidance in the diagnosis and intervension strategies for mental health education and counseling practice in university.

学习不良少年的污名效应研究

Stigma is defined as a sign of disgrace or discredit that sets a person apart from others. Stigmatized individuals had been significantly influenced by their group-based stigma. Through the methods of laboratory experiment and questionnaire surveys, the current study started with examining the attitudes of middle school students to the students with learning disabilities (LD), systemly explored the characteristics of perceived stigma and self-stigma of LD students, the mechanism that the influences of stigma on students with LD, and the mental control required to cope with the stigma. The results of the present studies had significant implications for the understanding of the LD phenomenon and the intervention of LD adolescents. The results indicate that: 1. Generally, middle school students had negative implicit attitude and negative explicit attitudes towards the LD students. The effect size of the phenomenon of this study is large. The LD students showed a more positive attitude than others on the explicit attitude measure; all students consistently had negative attitudes toward LD students on the implicit attitude indices, in addition, no group differences and gender differences were observed in the implicit attitude. 2. Eight hundred and seventy two students were surveyed to test the reliability and validity of the new developed perceived stigma scale and self-stigma scale. Both questionnaires showed sufficient content validity, construct validity, criterion-related validity and adequate internal consistency reliability. Then, both questionnaires were administered to student with high academic achievement (high achiever), students with middle academic achievement (middle achiever), and LD students. Results revealed that the LD students mildly stigmatized by the social culture. The LD students had more stigma perception and self-stigma than the middle achievers and high achievers. The results also indicated that there were more stigma perception and self-stigma for LD students in grade two than that of LD students in grade one and grade three; meanwhile, male LDstudent hade more stigma perception and self-stigma than female LD students in all grades. 3. A latent variable path analysis was conducted to investigate how the stigma affect the academic goals using the data collected from 186 LD students. The results suggested that the LD-related stigma did not have direct influence on academic goals. The LD-related stigma indirectly influenced the academic goals through mediating effects of self-stigma and academic efficacy. 4. Stereotype threat could have some influences on the relationship between the task feedback and self-esteem. The results of study using eighty-four LD students showed that: when the negative stereotype was not primed, the self-esteem of the LD students was significantly influenced by the feedback of the task: an enhance self-esteem following a positive feedback and a lower self-esteem following a negative feedback. When the negative stereotype was primed, there was no significantly difference between the positive feedback group and negative feedback group. All the results showed that priming the negative stereotype could weaken the influence of feedback to the self-esteem of LD students. 5. There was more cognitive and behavioral control when LD students tried to cope with the stigma by concealing negative academic achievement during an individual interview with an unfamilar expert. The LD students whose academic achievements could be concealed had more thought suppression and thought intrusion and reported more self-monitoring behavior than the participants in the other experimental conditions.

Construct and content validity of the Greek version of the birth satisfaction scale (G-BSS).

Background: ‘Birth Satisfaction’ is a term that encompasses a woman’s evaluation of her birth experience. The term includes factors such as her appraisal of the quality of care she received, a personal assessment of how she coped, and her reconstructions of what happened on that particular day. Her accounts may be accurate or skewed, yet correspond with her reality of how events unfolded. Objective: To evaluate properties of an instrument designed to measure birth satisfaction in a Greek population of postnatal women. Study design: We assessed factor structure, internal consistency, divergent validity and known-groups discriminant validity of the 30-item Greek Birth Satisfaction Scale – Long Form (30-item G-BSS-LF) and its revised version the 10-item Greek-BSS-Revised (10-item-G-BSS-R), using survey data collected in Athens. Participants: A convenience sample of healthy Greek postnatal women (n = 162) aged 22–46 years who had delivered between 34 and 42 weeks’ gestation. Results: The 30-item-G-BSS-LF performed poorly in terms of factor structure. The short-form 10-item-G-BSS-R performed well in terms of measurement replication of the English equivalent version as a multidimensional instrument. The short-form 10-item-G-BSS-R comprises three subscales which measure distinct but correlated domains of: (1) quality of care provision (4 items), (2) women’s personal attributes (2 items), and (3) stress experienced during labour (4 items). Key conclusions: The 10-item-G-BSS-R is a valid and reliable multidimensional psychometric instrument for measuring birth satisfaction in Greek postnatal women.

The validity of ultrasound estimation of muscle volumes

Infantolino, B., Gales, D., Winter, S., Challis, J., The validity of ultrasound estimation of muscle volumes, Journal of applied biomechanics, ISSN 1065-8483, Vol. 23, N?. 3, 2007 , pags. 213-217 RAE2008