On cross-validated estimation of skew normal model

Skew normal model suffers from inferential drawbacks, namely singular Fisher information in the vicinity of symmetry and diverging of maximum likelihood estimation. To address the above drawbacks, Azzalini and Arellano-Valle (2013) introduced maximum penalised likelihood estimation (MPLE) by subtracting a penalty function from the log-likelihood function with a pre-specified penalty coefficient. Here, we propose a cross-validated MPLE to improve its performance when the underlying model is close to symmetry. We develop a theory for MPLE, where an asymptotic rate for the cross-validated penalty coefficient is derived. We further show that the proposed cross-validated MPLE is asymptotically efficient under certain conditions. In simulation studies and a real data application, we demonstrate that the proposed estimator can outperform the conventional MPLE when the model is close to symmetry

Dirac operators with torsion, spectral Einstein functionals and the noncommutative residue

Recently Dabrowski etc. \cite{DL} obtained the metric and Einstein functionals by two vector fields and Laplace-type operators over vector bundles, giving an interesting example of the spinor connection and square of the Dirac operator. Pf$\ddot{a}$ffle and Stephan \cite{PS1} considered orthogonal connections with arbitrary torsion on compact Riemannian manifolds and computed the spectral action. Motivated by the spectral functionals and Dirac operators with torsion, we give some new spectral functionals which is the extension of spectral functionals to the noncommutative realm with torsion, and we relate them to the noncommutative residue for manifolds with boundary. Our method of producing these spectral functionals is the noncommutative residue and Dirac operators with torsion.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1303.3713. text overlap with arXiv:2307.15921. text overlap with arXiv:2308.0000

Using chitosan as a thickener for electrospinning dilute PVA solutions to improve fibre uniformity

Chitosan was added to PVA aqueous solutions as a thickener to improve the electrospinning process. The presence of a small amount of chitosan considerably improved the uniformity of as-spun nanofibres. This improvement is attributed to its significant effect on the solution viscosity and conductivity, with only a slight impact on the surface tension. The concentration of the PVA required to produce bead-free and uniform nanofibres was reduced with the increase in chitosan concentration. The chitosan thickener suppressed the jet break-up and facilitated the jet stretching so that fine and uniform fibres could be electrospun even from a dilute PVA solution.<br /

Functional applications of electrospun nanofibers

With the rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology over the last two decades, great progress has been made not only in preparation and characterization of nanomaterials, but also in their functional applications. As an important one-dimensional nanomaterial, nanofibers have extremely high specific surface area because of their small diameters, and nanofiber membranes are highly porous with excellent pore interconnectivity. These unique characteristics plus the functionalities from the polymers themselves impart nanofibers with many desirable properties for advanced applications

Nanofibrous p-n junction and its rectifying characteristics

Randomly oriented tin oxide (SnO2) nanofibers and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PEDOT:PSS/PVP) nanofibers were prepared by a two-step electrospinning technique to form a layered fibrous mat. The current-voltagemeasurement revealed that the fibrousmat had an obvious diode-rectifying characteristic. The thickness of the nanofiber layers was found to have a considerable influence on the device resistance and rectifying performance. Such an interesting rectifying property was attributed to the formation of a ??-?? junction between the fibrous SnO2 and PEDOT:PSS/PVP layers. This is the first report that a rectifying junction can be formed between two layers of electrospun nanofiber mats, and the resulting nanofibrous diode rectifier may find applications in sensors, energy harvest, and electronic textiles

Superhydrophobic nanofibre membranes : effects of particulate coating on hydrophobicity and surface properties

Superhydrophobic electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibre membranes have been prepared by surface coating of silica nanoparticles and fluorinated alkyl silane. The coated membranes were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle, thermogravimetry analysis, Brunauer&ndash;Emmett&ndash;Teller, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was shown that the loading of nanoparticle on the nanofibre membrane was controlled by the particle concentration in the coating solution, which played a critical role in the formation of superhydrophobic surface. Increased particle loading led to higher surface roughness and WCA. The nanoparticle coating had little influence on the porosity of the nanofibre membranes. However, overloading of the particles would affect the specific surface area of the nanofibre membrane