Statistical testing for sufficient control chart performances during monitoring of grouped processes

With ISO 7870-8, a standardized application of charting techniques for short runs and small mixed batches was presented in 2017. Similar to various scientific approaches, it requires that sample values from grouped processes follow nearly identical distributions. In practice, however, there tend to be differences between distribution parameters. Moreover, equal parameters do not ensure that distributions are properly aligned to the center line and control limits of the chart. These facts can lead to undesired control chart performances which can be expressed by average run lengths (ARL) during in-control and out-of-control conditions. In this work, a statistical test for sufficient control chart performances during monitoring of grouped processes based on preliminary samples is proposed. Control chart performances are defined as sufficient when they deviate within acceptable ranges from usual performances during single process monitoring in mass production. The ARL resulting from estimated distributions and planned production sequences is used as test statistic and calculated via the Markov chain approach. Exemplary tests are executed for scenarios with individuals and cumulated sum (CUSUM) charts. A simulative determination of error rates resulting from the ARL-based testing demonstrates its effectiveness in testing for sufficient control chart performances compared to an indirect testing with Levene's test and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).     

Purified Butanol from Lignocellulose – Solvent-Impregnated Resins for an Integrated Selective Removal

In traditional microbial biobutanol production, the solvent must be recovered during fermentation process for a sufficient space-time yield. Thermal separation is not feasible due to the boiling point of n-butanol. As an integrated and selective solid-liquid separation alternative, solvent impregnated resins (SIRs) were applied. Two polymeric resins were evaluated and an extractant screening was conducted. Vacuum application with vapor collection in fixed-bed column as bioreactor bypass was successfully implemented as butanol desorption step. In course of further increasing process economics, fermentation with renewable lignocellulosic substrates was conducted using Clostridium acetobutylicum. Utilization of SIR was shown to be a potential strategy for solvent removal from fermentation broth, while application of a bypass column allows for product removal and recovery at once.     

Prediction of Flooding in Packed Liquid-Liquid and High-Pressure Extraction Columns Using a Gaussian Process

Reliable prediction of flooding conditions is needed for sizing and operating packed extraction columns. Due to the complex interplay of physicochemical properties, operational parameters and the packing-specific properties, it is challenging to develop accurate semi-empirical or rigorous models with a high validity range. State of the art models may therefore fail to predict flooding accurately. To overcome this problem, a data-driven model based on Gaussian processes is developed to predict flooding for packed liquid-liquid and high-pressure extraction columns. The optimized Gaussian process for the liquid-liquid extraction column results in an average absolute relative error (AARE) of 15.23 %, whereas the algorithm for the high-pressure extraction column results in an AARE of 13.68 %. Both algorithms can predict flooding curves for different packing geometries and chemical systems precisely.     

Retrieval during learning facilitates subsequent memory encoding.

In multiple-list learning, retrieval during learning has been suggested to improve recall of the single lists by enhancing list discrimination and, at test, reducing interference. Using electrophysiological, oscillatory measures of brain activity, we examined to what extent retrieval during learning facilitates list encoding. Subjects studied 5 lists of items in anticipation of a final cumulative recall test and did either a retrieval or a no-retrieval task between study of the lists. Retrieval was from episodic memory (recall of the previous list), semantic memory (generation of exemplars from an unrelated category), or short-term memory (2-back task). Behaviorally, all 3 forms of retrieval enhanced recall of both previously and subsequently studied lists. Physiologically, the results showed an increase of alpha power (8–14 Hz) from List 1 to List 5 encoding when no retrieval activities were interpolated but no such increase when any of the 3 retrieval activities occurred. Brain–behavior correlations showed that alpha-power dynamics from List 1 to List 5 encoding predicted subsequent recall performance. The results suggest that, without intermittent retrieval, encoding becomes ineffective across lists. In contrast, with intermittent retrieval, there is a reset of the encoding process for each single list that makes encoding of later lists as effective as encoding of early lists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voltage polarity dependent current paths through polycrystalline ZnO varistors

Due to the scatter of properties of individual grain boundaries, a scatter of the behavior of low-voltage varistor components and asymmetric current–voltage characteristics with respect to the electrical field direction is observed. Using complementary methods (thermography, scanning surface probe microscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction), we investigated the grain boundary behavior of Praseodymium type varistors. Measurements on the relevant grain boundaries revealed a newly observed effect: dependent on the field direction, the main current flows via different spatial paths.     

B and also T lymphocytes migrate via gut lymph to all lymphoid organs and the gut wall, but only IgA+ cells accumulate in the lamina propria of the intestinal mucosa

In pigs the lymphocytes emigrating from the intestinal wall were collected by cannulating the lymphatics, labeled in vitro using a fluorescent dye and retransfused. The injection of 6.6+/-4.2 x 10(8) cells resulted in a labeling index between 1.5% in intestinal lymph, 0.2% in the spleen and lymph nodes, approximately 0.1% in the intestinal lamina propria and 0.003% in intraepithelial lymphocytes. About 25 % of the injected cells were present in the blood and 1 % was recovered in the lymph. T cells were found in similar proportions in the injected and the recovered cells in the organs (70-80%). The proportion of IgA+ cells among the immigrated cells in the intestinal lamina propria ranged from 5 to 8%, which in absolute numbers was up to 60% of the injected IgA+ cells. T and IgM+ cells did not show a higher accumulation in any organ. These experiments in conventional, unrestrained animals revealed that (1) T cells immigrate into the intestinal lamina propria, (2) preferential migration of IgA+ cells from gut lymph to the intestinal lamina propria is obvious under in vivo conditions and (3) the immigrated IgA+ cells represent a very small population which is difficult to detect when analyzed in relative numbers.     

A Novel Trajectory Generation Method for Robot Control

This paper presents a novel trajectory generator based on Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMP). The key ideas from the original DMP formalism are extracted, reformulated and extended from a control theoretical viewpoint. This method can generate smooth trajectories, satisfy position- and velocity boundary conditions at start- and endpoint with high precision, and follow accurately geometrical paths as desired. Paths can be complex and processed as a whole, and smooth transitions can be generated automatically. Performance is analyzed for several cases and a comparison with a spline-based trajectory generation method is provided. Results are comparable and, thus, this novel trajectory generating technology appears to be a viable alternative to the existing solutions not only for service robotics but possibly also in industry.