Multi-Order Modeling of Linear Magnetic Motor System

Numerical simulations have been proven to be a powerful tool for predicting, testing, and validating the capabilities of new designs. However, given the high demand for simulating extremely complicated geometries and nonlinear physical phenomena, simulations can often be significantly time consuming. Consequently, the development of high-precision reduced-order models becomes indispensable to reduce computational time. In this study, we simplified and characterized an industrial motion system based on linear magnetic motor technology using accurate full 3-D numerical model. The system behavior was explored through various scenarios, including extreme conditions, to gain a deeper understanding of its thermal behavior during operation. The simulation results were then compared with experimental measurements. To achieve model order reduction, the initial and boundary conditions, along with temperature distributions derived from the simulation results, were translated into excitations and outputs for constructing robust reduced-order models. Subsequently, the reduced order model was thoroughly tested and validated against new scenarios derived from the 3-D simulation results

Building a Value Model of CRM System through Value-Focused Thinking and QFD

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is increasingly important since the emerging of electronic commerce in the past years. However, most of the current researches that deal with the decision-making problems of CRM system investments are from the perspective of the information technology adoption and organizational innovation. It is still very difficult for enterprises to measure the value of CRM systems and the subsequence decision-making on adoption priority of various CRM functions. Based on the Value-focused thinking and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) process, this paper developed a multi-layered transformation matrix, and proposed a measurement process that can be driven to a quantified value model. In order to verify the effectives and feasibility of the model, twelve CRM experts were interviewed including senior managers in leading management consulting companies, CRM system providers, and market researchers. Following the on-site interview, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 1000 firms in the list of the Common Wealth top 2000 firms of Taiwan. The analysis result based on 188 valid replies indicates that the outcome of the proposed value measure model has significant correlation with the investment intension of CRM systems

A QoS aware services mashup model for cloud computing applications

Purpose: With the popularity of cloud computing, cloud services have become to be application programming platform where users can create new applications mashup(composing) the functionality offered byothers.By composing of distributed, cloud services dynamicallyto provide more complex tasks, services mashup provides an attractive way for building large-scale Internet applications.One of the challenging issues of cloud services mashup is how to find service paths to route the service instances provider through whilemeeting the applications’ resource requirements so that the QoS constraints are satisfied. However, QoS aware service routing problem istypically NP-hard.The purpose of this paper is to propose a QoS Aware Services Mashup(QASM) model to solve this problem more effectively. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, we focus on the QoS aware services selection problem in cloud services mashup, for example, given the user service composition requirements and their QoS constraint descriptions, how to select the required serviceinstances and route the data flows through these instances so that the QoS requirements are satisfied. We design a heuristic algorithm to find service paths to route the data flows through whilemeeting the applications’ resource requirements and specific QoS constraints. Findings: This study propose a QoS Aware Services Mashup(QASM) model to solve this problem more effectively. Simulations show that QASM can achieve desired QoS assurances as well as load balancing in cloud services environment. Originality/value: This paper present a QASM model for providing high performance distributed applications in the cloud computingPeer Reviewe

Bacterial infection in association with snakebite: A 10-year experience in a northern Taiwan medical center

BackgroundMicrobiological data of secondary wound infections following snakebites is rarely reported in Taiwan. The objective of this study was to assess the secondary wound infection after venomous snakebites.MethodsWe conducted a 10-year retrospective survey on patients admitted for venomous snakebites and microbiological data of wound cultures at a medical center in northern Taiwan.ResultsBetween April 2001 and April 2010, 231 patients who experienced snakebites were included. Male predominated, accounting for 62.3% (144). The age range of patients was 4–95 years. Ninety-five (41.1%) people were bitten by Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus, followed by Tstejnegeri, and cobra. A total of 61 pathogens were obtained from 21 patients. Thirty-nine (63.9%) isolates were gram-negative bacteria, 14 (23%) gram-positive pathogens, and 8 (13.1%) anaerobic pathogens. There were 17 patients bitten by cobra in these 21 patients. Morganella morganii and Enterococcus species were the most common pathogens identified in the wound cultures.ConclusionCobra bite causes more severe bacterial infection than other kinds of snakebites. Oral amoxicillin/clavulanate plus ciprofloxacin or parenteral piperacillin/tazobactam alone can be the choices for empirical or definitive treatment, and surgical intervention should be considered for established invasive soft tissue infections

PRICING AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN A SUPPLY CHAIN

This study addresses the problem of the pricing and investment strategy for smart technology under a supply chain with one manufacturer and one retailer. The models are constructed to investigate the strategic choices of supply chain members for investing in digital/smart technology under three scenarios: the M–system, wherein only the manufacturer fully pays for the investment cost; the S–system, wherein the manufacturer and retailer share the investment cost; and the R–system, wherein the retailer fully pays for the investment cost. We formulate analytical models to determine the optimal wholesale price, retail price and investment strategy in a Stackelberg game setting. Our findings show that the S–system is the most appropriate choice for both the manufacturer and retailer. We also suggest the appropriate investment sharing ratio to achieve Pareto improvement under such an arrangement

Interest Rate Rules, Target Policies, and Endogenous Economic Growth in an Open Economy

This paper sets up an endogenous growth model of an open economy in which the monetary authority implements a gradualist interest-rate rule with targets for inflation and economic growth. We show that, under a passive rule, a monetary equilibrium exists and is unique; moreover, the equilibrium is locally determinate. Under an active rule, the open economy either generates multiple equilibria or does not have any equilibrium. If equilibria exist, the high-growth equilibrium is locally determinate while the low-growth equilibrium is a source. Besides these, the stabilization and growth effects of alternative target policies are also explored in this study.Nominal interest rate rules, gradualism, endogenous economic growth

A Comparative Study for 2D and 3D Computer-aided Diagnosis Methods for Solitary Pulmonary Nodules

Many computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) methods, including 2D and 3D approaches, have been proposed for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). However, the detection and diagnosis of SPNs remain challenging in many clinical circumstances. One goal of this work is to investigate the relative diagnostic accuracy of 2D and 3D methods. An additional goal is to develop a two-stage approach that combines the simplicity of 2D and the accuracy of 3D methods. The experimental results show statistically significant differences between the diagnostic accuracy of 2D and 3D methods. The results also show that with a very minor drop in diagnostic performance the two-stage approach can significantly reduce the number of nodules needed to be processed by the 3D method, streamlining the computational demand