Optimal logistics scheduling with dynamic information in emergency response: case studies for humanitarian objectives

The mathematical model of infectious disease is a typical problem in mathematical modeling, and the common infectious disease models include the susceptible-infected (SI) model, the susceptible-infected-recovered model (SIR), the susceptible-infected-recovered-susceptible model (SIRS) and the susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) model. These models can be used to predict the impact of regional return to work after the epidemic. In this paper, we use the SEIR model to solve the dynamic medicine demand information in humanitarian relief phase. A multistage mixed integer programming model for the humanitarian logistics and transport resource is proposed. The objective functions of the model include delay cost and minimum running time in the time-space network. The model describes that how to distribute and deliver medicine resources from supply locations to demand locations with an efficient and lower-cost way through a transportation network. The linear programming problem is solved by the proposed Benders decomposition algorithm. Finally, we use two cases to calculate model and algorithm. The results of the case prove the validity of the model and algorithm

Staggered Currents in the Vortex Core

We study the electronic structure of the vortex core in the cuprates using the U(1) slave-boson mean-field wavefunctions and their Gutzwiller projection. We conclude that there exists local orbital antiferromagnetic order in the core near optimal doping. We compare the results with that of BCS theory and analyze the spatial dependence of the local tunneling density of states.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

First Report of Alternaria Black Spot Disease Caused by Alternaria alternata on the Invasive Weed Solanum rostratum in Xinjiang, China

Solanum rostratum is a noxious weed, native to Mexico and the USA, which has invaded Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Xinjiang and Beijing, China (Eminniya et al., 2013). In August 2015, foliar symptoms of yellowish to black spots were observed on plants of S. rostratum nearby an agricultural plantation in Changji, Xinjiang. The following year, about 17% of the 206 plants surveyed on about 0.2 ha of deserted farmland were infected from July-September (at 19-35°C under 29-97% RH)

Analysis of Nematic Liquid Crystals with Disclination Lines

We investigate the structure of nematic liquid crystal thin films described by the Landau--de Gennes tensor-valued order parameter with Dirichlet boundary conditions of nonzero degree. We prove that as the elasticity constant goes to zero a limiting uniaxial texture forms with disclination lines corresponding to a finite number of defects, all of degree 1/2 or all of degree -1/2. We also state a result on the limiting behavior of minimizers of the Chern-Simons-Higgs model without magnetic field that follows from a similar proof.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figur

Phenotypic Variation in FAM83H- associated Amelogenesis Imperfecta

FAM83H gene mutations are associated with autosomal-dominant hypocalcified amelogenesis imperfecta (ADHCAI), which is typically characterized by enamel having normal thickness and a markedly decreased mineral content. This study tested the hypothesis that there are phenotype and genotype associations in families with FAM83H-associated ADHCAI. Seven families segregating ADHCAI (147 individuals) were evaluated. Phenotyping included clinical, radiographic, histological, and biochemical studies, and genotyping was by mutational analysis. Multiple novel FAM83H mutations were identified, including two 2-bp-deletion mutations, the first non-nonsense mutations identified. Craniofacial deviation from normal was more prevalent in the affected individuals. Affected individuals having truncating FAMH3H mutations of 677 or fewer amino acids presented a generalized ADHCAI phenotype, while those having mutations capable of producing a protein of at least 694 amino acids had a unique and previously unreported phenotype affecting primarily the cervical enamel. This investigation shows that unique phenotypes are associated with specific FAM83H mutations

Chromomagnetic Dipole Moment of the Top Quark Revisited

We study the complete one-loop contributions to the chromagnetic dipole moment $\Delta\kappa$ of the top quark in the Standard Model, two Higgs doublet models, topcolor assited technicolor models (TC2), 331 models and extended models with a single extra dimension. We find that the SM predicts $\Delta\kappa = - 0.056$ and that the predictions of the other models are also consitent with the constraints imposed on $\Delta\kappa$ by low-energy precision measurements.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, Updat

Three-dimensional random Voronoi tessellations: From cubic crystal lattices to Poisson point processes

We perturb the SC, BCC, and FCC crystal structures with a spatial Gaussian noise whose adimensional strength is controlled by the parameter a, and analyze the topological and metrical properties of the resulting Voronoi Tessellations (VT). The topological properties of the VT of the SC and FCC crystals are unstable with respect to the introduction of noise, because the corresponding polyhedra are geometrically degenerate, whereas the tessellation of the BCC crystal is topologically stable even against noise of small but finite intensity. For weak noise, the mean area of the perturbed BCC and FCC crystals VT increases quadratically with a. In the case of perturbed SCC crystals, there is an optimal amount of noise that minimizes the mean area of the cells. Already for a moderate noise (a>0.5), the properties of the three perturbed VT are indistinguishable, and for intense noise (a>2), results converge to the Poisson-VT limit. Notably, 2-parameter gamma distributions are an excellent model for the empirical of of all considered properties. The VT of the perturbed BCC and FCC structures are local maxima for the isoperimetric quotient, which measures the degre of sphericity of the cells, among space filling VT. In the BCC case, this suggests a weaker form of the recentluy disproved Kelvin conjecture. Due to the fluctuations of the shape of the cells, anomalous scalings with exponents >3/2 is observed between the area and the volumes of the cells, and, except for the FCC case, also for a->0. In the Poisson-VT limit, the exponent is about 1.67. As the number of faces is positively correlated with the sphericity of the cells, the anomalous scaling is heavily reduced when we perform powerlaw fits separately on cells with a specific number of faces

Reduction of quartz to silicon monoxide by methane-hydrogen mixtures

The reduction of quartz was studied isothermally in a fluidized bed reactor using continuously flowing methane-hydrogen gas mixture in the temperature range from 1623 K to 1773 K (1350 °C to 1500 °C). The CO content in the off-gas was measured online using an infrared gas analyzer. The main phases of the reduced samples identified by XRD analysis were quartz and cristobalite. Significant weight loss in the reduction process indicated that the reduction products were SiO and CO. Reduction of SiO2 to SiO by methane starts with adsorption and dissociation of CH4 on the silica surface. The high carbon activity in the CH4-H2 gas mixture provided a strongly reducing condition. At 1623 K (1350 °C), the reduction was very slow. The rate and extent of reduction increased with the increasing temperature to 1723 K (1450 °C). A further increase in temperature to 1773 K (1500 °C) resulted in a decrease in the rate and extent of reduction. An increase in the gas flow rate from 0.4 to 0.8 NL/min and an increase in the methane content in the CH4-H2 gas mixture from 0 to 5 vol pct facilitated the reduction. Methane content in the gas mixture should be maintained at less than 5 vol pct in order to suppress methane cracking

Modeling manufacturing processes using a genetic programming-based fuzzy regression with detection of outliers

Fuzzy regression (FR) been demonstrated as a promising technique for modeling manufacturing processes where availability of data is limited. FR can only yield linear type FR models which have a higher degree of fuzziness, but FR ignores higher order or interaction terms and the influence of outliers, all of which usually exist in the manufacturing process data. Genetic programming (GP), on the other hand, can be used to generate models with higher order and interaction terms but it cannot address the fuzziness of the manufacturing process data. In this paper, genetic programming-based fuzzy regression (GP-FR), which combines the advantages of the two approaches to overcome the deficiencies of the commonly used existing modeling methods, is proposed in order to model manufacturing processes. GP-FR uses GP to generate model structures based on tree representation which can represent interaction and higher order terms of models, and it uses an FR generator based on fuzzy regression to determine outliers in experimental data sets. It determines the contribution and fuzziness of each term in the model by using experimental data excluding the outliers. To evaluate the effectiveness of GP-FR in modeling manufacturing processes, it was used to model a non-linear system and an epoxy dispensing process. The results were compared with those based on two commonly used FR methods, Tanka's FR and Peters' FR. The prediction accuracy of the models developed based on GP-FR was shown to be better than that of models based on the other two FR methods

Influence of innovation capability and customer experience on reputation and loyalty

This research employs complexity theory to understand the effect of innovation capability and customer experience on reputation and loyalty. In addition, it aims to investigate the contribution of consumer demographics to such relationships. To this end, this paper recognizes effective and intellectual experiences as key elements of customer experience to propose a conceptual framework with research propositions. To examine the research propositions, this study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) using a sample of 606 consumers of international retail brands. The findings contribute to academic literature on innovation, customer and brand management. It also provides guidelines for managers to create customer value by deploying technical innovation capability (new services, service operations and technology) and non-technical innovation capability (management, sales, and marketing) together in a retail environment. Furthermore, it reflects on the linkage between the consumer shopping experience and firm reputation and loyalty