Editor’s special invited paper: On the efficient score vector in sequential monitoring

The use of the efficient score statistic in sequential monitoring procedures is reviewed and analysed. Various models that arise in applications are considered. The efficient score vector has the same optimality property as the generalized likelihood ratio, but it has a simple-structure requiring fewer estimations, and this is especially important when the data have a complicated structure. Furthermore, with the efficient score vector it is possible to detect which component of the parameter vector is different from the hypothetical or the historical value. The problems we solve here were the subjects of separate publications, but with the new methodology they are easily calculated examples.     

Sentury’s High- automation Tire Production Line Starting Operation at the End of the Year

The 5 million units/year high-automation semi-steel tire production line newly built by Qingdao Sentury Tire Co., Ltd. will be put into operation at the end of the year. The key equipment in the whole production line is high-automatic and introduced from abroad. And the number of employee will be less than 230 persons, which is half of the existing employees in the factory.     

Small Molecule Crystallography in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at ETH Zürich

The development of small-molecule crystallography in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry (LOC) at ETH since its foundation by Jack Dunitz in 1957 is reported. We briefly review the scientific path of Dunitz before coming to ETH and subsequently illustrate research highlights until his retirement in 1990. Together with his doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, Dunitz developed X-ray crystallography as a tool for studying chemical reactivity and reaction mechanisms, stereochemical, and in particular, conformational analysis, and supramolecular interactions. He hosted numerous leaders in the field in Zurich. After retirement, Dunitz remained highly research-active. The crystallography facilities were run in 1991–2013 by his former coworkers Bernd Schweizer and Paul Seiler. In 2013, the Small Molecule Crystallography Center (SMoCC) was founded by merging the X-ray facilities in inorganic and organic chemistry and its research-driven service is illustrated.     

Comparison of the Chemical Compositions of the Cuticle and Dufour’s Gland of Two Solitary Bee Species from Laboratory and Field Conditions

Species-specific biochemistry, morphology, and function of the Dufour’s gland have been investigated for social bees and some non-social bee families. Most of the solitary bees previously examined are ground-nesting bees that use Dufour’s gland secretions to line brood chambers. This study examines the chemistry of the cuticle and Dufour’s gland of cavity-nesting Megachile rotundata and Osmia lignaria, which are species managed for crop pollination. Glandular and cuticular lipid compositions were characterized and compared to each other and according to the nesting experience of adult females. Major lipid classes found were hydrocarbons, free fatty acids, and wax esters. Many components were common to the cuticle and Dufour’s glands of each species, yet not identical in number or relative composition. Wax esters and fatty acids were more prevalent in Dufour’s glands of M. rotundata than on cuticles. Wax esters were more abundant on cuticles of O. lignaria than in Dufour’s glands. In both species, fatty acids were more prevalent in glands of field-collected females compared to any other sample type. Chemical profiles of cuticles and glands were distinct from each other, and, for O. lignaria, profiles of laboratory-maintained bees could be distinguished from those of field-collected bees. Comparison of percentiles of individual components of cuticular and glandular profiles of the same bee showed that the proportions of some cuticular components were predictive of the proportion of the same glandular components, especially for nesting females. Lastly, evidence suggested that Dufour’s gland is the major source of nest-marking substances in M. rotundata, but evidence for this role in O. lignaria was less conclusive.     

Analytical studies of Jacobson’s necessary condition for fed-batch singular control optimization

Jacobson’s necessary condition for optimality guarantees non-negativity of singular second variation, independently of generalized Legendre-Clebsch condition. Fed-batch is a typical singular bioprocess system. However, no reports exist of using Jacobson’s necessary condition in fed-batch optimization problem. This paper suggests its applicability to fed-batch optimization problem by showing its analytical studies for two typical examples: cell mass and metabolite maximization problem.     

Self-tuning control of continuous fluidized bed drying of baker’s yeast pellets

Abstract

Uncertainty in the kinetics of the second drying period represents the major challenge in continuous drying of particulate solids which can be overcome by adaptive feedback control. In this contribution, self-tuning control comprising online-state estimation and adaptive PI-control is considered to guarantee desired product moisture. Advantages of the approach over conventional PI-control are discussed. The performance is shown for fluidized bed drying of baker’s yeast. It is shown that the self-tuning approach is superior to nonadaptive approaches in case of parametric uncertainty even at non-nominal steady-states.     

Ultrasonic measurement of Young’s modulus MgO/C refractories at high temperature

The paper deals with the elastic behavior of MgO/C refractories used in BOF at temperatures up to 1400°C in air or inert atmosphere. Measurements have been made by the way of a high temperature ultrasonic technique. Heating-cooling cycles and long time aging in the range 700–1400°C show strong variations of Young’s modulus which have been interpreted with the aid of XRD analysis, SEM observations and EDS analysis. Carbon oxidation and sintering of MgO particles are found to be responsible of the major parts of the measured evolutions. ©     

An Asymmetric Nanoscale SOI MOSFET by Means of a P-N Structure as Virtual Hole’s Well at the Source Side

Silicon - This paper suggests and investigates a p-n structure, which emulates as a MOSFET. In the proposed structure we utilize an L-shape contact with a proper work function over the source...     

On the exact distribution of Wald’s SPRT for the negative exponential model

In this article, we derive the joint Laplace transform of the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) and the resulting stopped random walk process for the negative exponential model. The Laplace transform is derived by solving a related difference equation. This technique is novel because it only takes advantage of the Markov structure and does not rely on the typical martingale methods used for deriving the Laplace transform of other SPRTs. The joint Laplace transform provides the joint distribution of the SPRT and the associated stopped process, which is a new result. Even the marginal distributions were hitherto unknown.     

Analysis on the Reasons for the Rapid Rise of China’s Newly-Emerged Cosmetic Brands

China’s leading cosmetic brands,such as CHANDO,Proya,Marubi,Herborist,etc.,have mostly been established in the first decade of the 21st century and in development since then.These brands take nearly 20 years to arrive at their current revenue scale.However,the author noticed that in recent years some new prominent brands have successively emerged in China’s domestic cosmetics industry,for example,HFP,Perfect Diary,Florasis,Judydoll,ZEESEA,MEIKING,etc.,whose revenue scales have caught up with the aforementioned leading brands in merely 3 to 4 years.     

Chelating polymeric particles intended for the therapy of Wilson’s disease

Wilson’s disease is a genetic disorder that leads to a high accumulation of copper in multiple organs with subsequent toxic effects. In this paper, a gentle therapy to eliminate harmful copper concentrations in patients with Wilson’s disease is proposed using an oral administration of insoluble polymeric sorbents containing selective chelating groups for copper(II). The sorbents contained triethylenetetramine, N,N-di(2-pyridylmethyl)amine, 8-hydroxyquinoline or 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid chelating groups bound to a methacrylate-based macroporous support. Nearly quantitative copper(II) uptake within minutes was achieved in buffers modeling the pH range present in the gastric environment (pH 2.0 and 4.0). The sorbents demonstrated chelating selectivity for copper(II) against zinc(II) with ratios of up to 1321. The sorbents demonstrated sufficient stability of the copper complexes against rechelation using studies in a model environment for the small intestine (the presence of chelating amino acids, pH 6.8).     

Wilson’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review of the Molecular Mechanisms

Wilson’s disease (WD), also known as hepatolenticular degeneration, is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder resulting from abnormal copper metabolism. Reduced copper excretion causes an excessive deposition of the copper in many organs such as the liver, central nervous system (CNS), cornea, kidney, joints, and cardiac muscle where the physiological functions of the affected organs are impaired. The underlying molecular mechanisms for WD have been extensively studied. It is now believed that a defect in P-type adenosine triphosphatase (ATP7B), the gene encoding the copper transporting P-type ATPase, is responsible for hepatic copper accumulation. Deposited copper in the liver produces toxic effects via modulating several molecular pathways. WD can be a lethal disease if left untreated. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms causing the aberrant copper deposition and organ damage is the key to developing effective management approaches.