An adapted version of the element-wise weighted total least squares method for applications in chemometrics

The Maximum Likelihood PCA (MLPCA) method has been devised in chemometrics as a generalization of the well-known PCA method in order to derive consistent estimators in the presence of errors with known error distribution. For similar reasons, the Total Least Squares (TLS) method has been generalized in the field of computational mathematics and engineering to maintain consistency of the parameter estimates in linear models with measurement errors of known distribution. In a previous paper [M. Schuermans, I. Markovsky, P.D. Wentzell, S. Van Huffel, On the equivalance between total least squares and maximum likelihood PCA, Anal. Chim. Acta, 544 (2005), 254–267], the tight equivalences between MLPCA and Element-wise Weighted TLS (EW-TLS) have been explored. The purpose of this paper is to adapt the EW-TLS method in order to make it useful for problems in chemometrics. We will present a computationally efficient algorithm and compare this algorithm with the standard EW-TLS algorithm and the MLPCA algorithm in computation time and convergence behaviour on chemical data

Biceps femoris and semitendinosus: teammates or competitors? : new insights into hamstring injury mechanisms in male football players : a muscle functional MRI study

Background: The hamstring injury mechanism was assessed by investigating the exercise-related metabolic activity characteristics of the hamstring muscles using a muscle functional MRI (mfMRI) protocol. Methods: 27 healthy male football players and 27 football players with a history of hamstring injuries (recovered and playing fully) underwent standardised mfMR Imaging. The mfMRI protocol consisted of a resting scan, a strenuous bilateral eccentric hamstring exercise and a postexercise scan. The exercise-related T2 increase or the signal intensity shift between both scans was used to detect differences in metabolic activation characteristics (1) between the different hamstring muscle bellies and (2) between the injury group and the control group. Results: A more symmetrical muscle recruitment pattern corresponding to a less economic hamstring muscle activation was demonstrated in the formerly injured group (p<0.05). The injured group also demonstrated a significantly lower strength endurance capacity during the eccentric hamstring exercise. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the vulnerability of the hamstring muscles to football-related injury is related to the complexity and close coherence in the synergistic muscle recruitment of the biceps femoris and the semitendinosus. Discrete differences in neuromuscular coordination and activity distribution, with the biceps femoris partly having to compensate for the lack of endurance capacity of the semitendinosus, probably increase the hamstring injury risk

State space description of national economies: the V4 countries

We present a new approach to description of national economies. For this we use the state space viewpoint, which is used mostly in the theory of dynamical systems and in the control theory. Gross domestic product, inflation, and unemployment rates are taken as state variables. We demonstrate that for the considered period of time the phase trajectory of each of the V4 countries (Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) lies approximately in one plane, so that the economic development of each country can be assocated with a corresponding plane in the state space. The suggested approach opens a way to a new set of economic indicators (for example, normal vectors of national economies, various plane slopes, 2D angles between the planes corresponding to different economies, etc.). The tool used for computations is orthogonal regression (alias orthogonal distance regression, alias total least squares method), and we also give general arguments for using orthogonal regression instead of the classical regression based on the least squares method. A MATLAB routine for fitting 3D data to lines and planes in 3D is provided.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figure

Value and risk reporting practice among listed companies in Belgium.

In this report we describe the general practices, among Belgian public firms, re voluntary disclosure. We provide an overall score, a subtotal for each of ten information categories, and individual scores. We find that only two subtotals, Management & Performance and Organization & Strategy, fare rather well almost across the board. The value drivers, in contrast, tend to come in among the lowest-ranked items, as does Risk Management. For two value drivers, Brands and Customers, around half of the companies even remain utterly silent. Across firms, there often is a pronounced right-skewness among the rankings for one subcategory. On more than half the items that could logically help determine value, more than half of the firms provide no information whatsoever.The top-performing companies are doing spectacularly better on Risk Management, and (relatively) worse on macro information. Manufacturing firms do best, both in terms of total rating as well as on most subcategories, followed by retail/distribution/media (RDM) and then Technology.Optimal; Value; Risk; Reporting; Companies; Firms; Disclosure; Information; Management; Performance; Strategy; Risk management; Brands; Manufacturing;

Modeling and control of thermoacoustic instabilities

This work deals with modeling and control of thermoacoustic combustion instabilities in lean premixed combustion systems. Because of the complex interactions present in thermoacoustic systems, a network modeling approach is used. The model of each network element or subsystem is obtained analytically, numerically, or by making use of experimental techniques. The dynamics of a network system are determined experimentally by making use of a transfer matrix measurement technique. The transfer functions of a premixed flame have been determined experimentally on an atmospheric combustion test facility with a full-scale gas turbine burner, for a wide variety of operating conditions. An analytical model of the dynamic behavior of the reaction zone was made. In this model, the heat release fluctuations are assumed to be caused by fluctuations of the mass fraction of fuel and by fluctuations in the burning velocity. The model proved to be in good agreement with experimental results. Wave propagation in complex three-dimensional geometries is modeled by making use of a modal expansion technique. The modes used for the modal expansion can be obtained analytically for relatively simple geometries, or numerically (finite element method) for geometries of any complexity. By representing the modal expansion in state-space, a very numerically efficient and robust model is obtained. The thermoacoustic network model combines the state-space representations of the sub-systems in one system. The system can be analyzed in the time domain or in the frequency domain. The stability analysis is straightforward and does not require a numerical search. Non linear elements can easily be incorporated in the time domain simulation. This novel method has been validated by comparison with analytic solutions of simple thermoacoustic systems found in literature, by comparison with Finite Element codes, and by comparison with experimental results. An excellent agreement was found for all comparisons. When including non-linear elements in an annular system, a rotating acoustic field is predicted, which corresponds to experimental observations. This result has been verified analytically. Based on network models, a model based controller has been obtained using H&#x221E; optimization. This controller has been tested in simulation and experiment on a single burner rig and proved to suppress acoustic levels by more than 25dB. An adaptive controller, based on a genetic algorithm, has been developed that does not require any knowledge about the system. This controller has been tested and proved to have similar performance as the model-based controllers. An active control system for multi-burner configurations has been developed and proved to perform well in simulations