Compensation and Weights for Trade-offs in Engineering Design: Beyond the Weighted Sum

Multicriteria decision support methods are common in engineering design. These methods typically rely on a summation of weighted attributes to accomplish trade-offs among competing objectives. It has long been known that a weighted sum, when used for multicriteria optimization, may fail to locate all points on a nonconvex Pareto frontier. More recent results from the optimization literature relate the curvature of an objective function to its ability to capture Pareto points, but do not consider the significance of the objective function parameters in choosing one Pareto point over another. A parametrized family of aggregations appropriate for engineering design is shown to model decisions capturing all possible trade-offs, and therefore can direct the solution to any Pareto optimum. This paper gives a mathematical and theoretical interpretation of the parameters of this family of aggregations as defining a degree of compensation among criteria as well as a measure of their relative importance. The inability to reach all Pareto optima is shown to be surmounted by this consideration of degree of compensation as an additional parameter of the decision. Additionally, the direct specification of importance weights is common to many decision methods. The choice of a single point from a Pareto frontier by specifying importance weights alone is shown to depend on the degree of compensation implicit in the aggregation. Thus both the degree of compensation and weights must be considered to capture all potentially acceptable decisions. A simple truss design example is used here to illustrate the concepts

Characterization of quantum well structures using a photocathode electron microscope

Present day integrated circuits pose a challenge to conventional electronic and mechanical test methods. Feature sizes in the submicron and nanometric regime require radical approaches in order to facilitate electrical contact to circuits and devices being tested. In addition, microwave operating frequencies require careful attention to distributed effects when considering the electrical signal paths within and external to the device under test. An alternative testing approach which combines the best of electrical and optical time domain testing is presented, namely photocathode electron microscope quantitative voltage contrast (PEMQVC)

Start-Up Costs in American Research Universities

Our report briefly summarizes findings from the 2002 Cornell Higher Education Research Institute survey of start-up costs at the over 220 universities classified as Research and Doctoral universities by the Carnegie Foundation in 1994. It reports the mean start-up cost packages across institutions for new assistant professors and senior faculty, broken down by institutional type (public/private), Carnegie classification and field (biology, chemistry, engineering, physics and astronomy) and also discuses the sources of funding for start-up costs

Forming the Dusty Ring in HR 4796A

We describe planetesimal accretion calculations for the dusty ring observed in the nearby A0 star HR 4796A. Models with initial masses of 10-20 times the minimum mass solar nebula produce a ring of width 7-15 AU and height 0.3-0.6 AU at 70 AU in roughly 10 Myr. The ring has a radial optical depth of 1. These results agree with limits derived from infrared images and from the excess infrared luminosity.Comment: 6 pages, including 2 figures and 1 table; ApJ Letters, in pres

LIFO-Backpressure Achieves Near Optimal Utility-Delay Tradeoff

There has been considerable recent work developing a new stochastic network utility maximization framework using Backpressure algorithms, also known as MaxWeight. A key open problem has been the development of utility-optimal algorithms that are also delay efficient. In this paper, we show that the Backpressure algorithm, when combined with the LIFO queueing discipline (called LIFO-Backpressure), is able to achieve a utility that is within $O(1/V)$ of the optimal value, while maintaining an average delay of $O([\log(V)]^2)$ for all but a tiny fraction of the network traffic. This result holds for general stochastic network optimization problems and general Markovian dynamics. Remarkably, the performance of LIFO-Backpressure can be achieved by simply changing the queueing discipline; it requires no other modifications of the original Backpressure algorithm. We validate the results through empirical measurements from a sensor network testbed, which show good match between theory and practice

A Brief Overview of the Life and Work of Lyon Henry Appleby, M.D. (1895-1970).

The life and work of Dr. Lyon Henry Appleby, M.D., portrays the essence of a devoted clinician committed to scholarly excellence. Born in Deseronto, Ontario, in 1895 and passing in 1970, Dr. Appleby influenced all areas of general surgery, most notably popularizing a procedure that bears his name today. After a tour in World War I, he quickly proved himself to be a dedicated clinician with roots in academia, which translated into excellence within the Department of Surgery at St. Paul\u27s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. He served in various leadership roles including Chair of the Department of Surgery, President of the International College of Surgeons, and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Appleby procedure, or en bloc removal of the celiac axis, at the time of gastrectomy, is the technical focus of this paper, although reference is made to Appleby\u27s extensive contributions to historical medicine

B\'{e}zier Bˉ\bar{B} Projection

In this paper we demonstrate the use of B\'{e}zier projection to alleviate locking phenomena in structural mechanics applications of isogeometric analysis. Interpreting the well-known $\bar{B}$ projection in two different ways we develop two formulations for locking problems in beams and nearly incompressible elastic solids. One formulation leads to a sparse symmetric symmetric system and the other leads to a sparse non-symmetric system. To demonstrate the utility of B\'{e}zier projection for both geometry and material locking phenomena we focus on transverse shear locking in Timoshenko beams and volumetric locking in nearly compressible linear elasticity although the approach can be applied generally to other types of locking phenemona as well. B\'{e}zier projection is a local projection technique with optimal approximation properties, which in many cases produces solutions that are comparable to global $L^2$ projection. In the context of $\bar{B}$ methods, the use of B\'ezier projection produces sparse stiffness matrices with only a slight increase in bandwidth when compared to standard displacement-based methods. Of particular importance is that the approach is applicable to any spline representation that can be written in B\'ezier form like NURBS, T-splines, LR-splines, etc. We discuss in detail how to integrate this approach into an existing finite element framework with minimal disruption through the use of B\'ezier extraction operators and a newly introduced dual basis for the B\'{e}zierprojection operator. We then demonstrate the behavior of the two proposed formulations through several challenging benchmark problems.Comment: 26 page

Regional requirements for Dishevelled signaling during Xenopus gastrulation: separable effects on blastopore closure, mesendoderm internalization and archenteron formation

During amphibian gastrulation, the embryo is transformed by the combined actions of several different tissues. Paradoxically, many of these morphogenetic processes can occur autonomously in tissue explants, yet the tissues in intact embryos must interact and be coordinated with one another in order to accomplish the major goals of gastrulation: closure of the blastopore to bring the endoderm and mesoderm fully inside the ectoderm, and generation of the archenteron. Here, we present high-resolution 3D digital datasets of frog gastrulae, and morphometrics that allow simultaneous assessment of the progress of convergent extension, blastopore closure and archenteron formation in a single embryo. To examine how the diverse morphogenetic engines work together to accomplish gastrulation, we combined these tools with time-lapse analysis of gastrulation, and examined both wild-type embryos and embryos in which gastrulation was disrupted by the manipulation of Dishevelled (Xdsh) signaling. Remarkably, although inhibition of Xdsh signaling disrupted both convergent extension and blastopore closure, mesendoderm internalization proceeded very effectively in these embryos. In addition, much of archenteron elongation was found to be independent of Xdsh signaling, especially during the second half of gastrulation. Finally, even in normal embryos, we found a surprising degree of dissociability between the various morphogenetic processes that occur during gastrulation. Together, these data highlight the central role of PCP signaling in governing distinct events of Xenopus gastrulation, and suggest that the loose relationship between morphogenetic processes may have facilitated the evolution of the wide variety of gastrulation mechanisms seen in different amphibian species

2014 National Winter Canola Variety Trial

The objectives of the National Winter Canola Variety Trial (NWCVT) are to evaluate the performance of released and experimental varieties, determine where these varieties are best adapted, and increase the visibility of winter canola across the United States. Breeders, marketers, and producers use data collected from the trials to make informed variety selections. The NWCVT is planted at locations in the Great Plains, Midwest, northern U.S., and Southeast. Senior Authors Michael Stamm, Dept. of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan Scott Dooley, Dept. of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan Other Contributors Sangu Angadi and Sultan Begna, New Mexico State University, Clovis Brian Baldwin, Mississippi State University, Starkville Abdel Berrada, Colorado State University, Yellow Jacket Harbans Bhardwaj, Virginia State University, Petersburg Indi Braden, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau Joshua Bushong, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Brian Caldbeck, Caldbeck Consulting, Philpot, Kentucky Claire Caldbeck, Rubisco Seeds, Philpot, Kentucky Ernst Cebert, Alabama A&M University, Normal Jeff Chandler, North Carolina State University, Mills River Gary Cramer, Kansas State University, Wichita John Damicone and Tyler Pierson, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Heather Darby, University of Vermont, St. Albans Jeffery Davidson, Mike Bartolo, and Kevin Tanabe, Colorado State University, Rocky Ford Jim Davis and Megan Wingerson, University of Idaho, Moscow Dennis Delaney, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama Paul DeLaune, Texas AgriLife Research Service, Vernon Eric Eriksmoen, North Dakota State University, Minot John Garner and Adam Heitman, North Carolina State University, Wallace John Gassett, Mitch Gilmer, H. Jordan, and Gary Ware, University of Georgia, Griffin Nicholas George, University of California-Davis Brent Gruenbacher and Mike Patry, Andale, Kansas Todd Higgins, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri Johnathon Holman, Kansas State University, Garden City Burton Johnson, North Dakota State University, Fargo Jerry Johnson, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins Rick Kochenower, Oklahoma State University, Goodwell Kevin Larson, Colorado State University, Walsh David Lee and Melvin Henninger, Rutgers University, Woodstown, New Jersey Charles Mansfield, Vincennes University, Vincennes Lloyd Murdock and John James, University of Kentucky, Lexington Jerry Nachtman, University of Wyoming, Lingle Clark Neely and Daniel Hathcoat, Texas A&M University, College Station Mick O’Neill and Curtis Owen, New Mexico State University, Farmington Calvin Pearson, Colorado State University, Fruita Charlie Rife, High Plains Crop Development, Torrington, Wyoming Dipak Santra, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Scottsbluff Robert Schrock, Kiowa, Kansas Peter Sexton, South Dakota State University, Brookings Tyler Thomas, Fly Over States Ag Research, Troy, Kansas Wade Thomason and Steve Gulick, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg Calvin Trostle and Jonathan Shockey, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Lubbock Dennis West, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Amber Williams, USDA-ARS, Temple, Texa