Sparse Convex Clustering

Convex clustering, a convex relaxation of k-means clustering and hierarchical clustering, has drawn recent attentions since it nicely addresses the instability issue of traditional nonconvex clustering methods. Although its computational and statistical properties have been recently studied, the performance of convex clustering has not yet been investigated in the high-dimensional clustering scenario, where the data contains a large number of features and many of them carry no information about the clustering structure. In this article, we demonstrate that the performance of convex clustering could be distorted when the uninformative features are included in the clustering. To overcome it, we introduce a new clustering method, referred to as Sparse Convex Clustering, to simultaneously cluster observations and conduct feature selection. The key idea is to formulate convex clustering in a form of regularization, with an adaptive group-lasso penalty term on cluster centers. To optimally balance the trade-off between the cluster fitting and sparsity, a tuning criterion based on clustering stability is developed. Theoretically, we obtain a finite sample error bound for our estimator and further establish its variable selection consistency. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined through a variety of numerical experiments and a real data application. Supplementary material for this article is available online.     

On active redundancy allocation for coherent systems—from the viewpoint of minimal cut decomposition

This paper deals with coherent systems with one active redundancy. For systems with the subclass of minimal cuts associated with one component covering that of another, assigning the redundancy to the former component is proved to bring forth a more reliable redundant system. As for symmetric systems with lower tail permutation decreasing component lifetimes, allocating the redundancy to the less reliable component results in a longer system lifetime. Several numerical examples are also presented to illustrate the new findings.     

ZnO薄膜近带边紫外发光的研究

用ZnO陶瓷靶,采用脉冲激光沉积(PLD)技术在c-Al₂O₃衬底上制备了ZnO薄膜。通过不同温度下光致发光(PL)光谱的测量,对样品的紫外发光机理进行研究。 在较低温度(10 K)下的PL光谱中,观测到一个位于3.354 eV处的束缚激子(D⁰X)发射,随着温度的升高(~50 K),在D⁰X的高能侧观测到了自由激子的发射峰。在10 K温度下,3.309 eV处出现了一个较强的发光带A,此发光带强度随着温度升高先增大然后减小,并且一直延续到室温。重点讨论了此发光带的起源,并认为A带可归属于自由电子-受主之间的复合发射。     

Stilbene 420激光染料的光谱特性分析

配制了Stilbene 420染料溶液。测量了其吸收光谱。以调Q倍频Nd∶YAG激光为抽运源,实现了对Stilbene 420染料的激光光谱和荧光光谱的分析。激光光谱在425 nm处获得最强峰值,半峰高宽(FWHM)为1 nm,光谱范围为420～440 nm。荧光光谱峰值在428.5 nm,与激光最强峰值相差3.5 nm。最高染料转换效率为9.26%。     

Preparation of non-oriented silicon steel with high magnetic induction using columnar grains

Columnar grains can lead to detrimental surface ridging and an inhomogeneous microstructure, although their {1 0 0}〈0 v w〉 texture is considered desirable due to their good magnetic properties in non-oriented silicon steel. Based on the hereditary tendency of {1 0 0}〈0 v w〉 texture, the effects of lubrication and heating rate on texture and on final magnetic properties were investigated using a cast slab containing 100% columnar grains. Hot rolling with lubrication, normalization at low heating rate, two-stage cold rolling, and final annealing at 1000 °C helped achieve high performance. As a result, a new non-oriented silicon steel with high magnetic induction (B₅₀=1.82 T) and low core loss (P_1.5=2.35 W/kg) was prepared. The possibility of further performance optimization was also discussed.     

Nonlinear vibration analysis of double-walled carbon nanotubes based on nonlocal elasticity theory

The nonlinear free vibration of double-walled carbon nanotubes based on the nonlocal elasticity theory is studied in this paper. The nonlinear equations of motion of the double-walled carbon nanotubes are derived by using Euler beam theory and Hamilton principle, with considering the von Kármán type geometric nonlinearity and the nonlinear van der Waals forces. The surrounding elastic medium is formulated as the Winkler model. The harmonic balance method and Davidon–Fletcher–Powell method are utilized for the analysis and simulation of the nonlinear vibration. The simulation results show that the nonlocal parameter, aspect ratio and surrounding elastic medium play more important roles in the nonlinear noncoaxial vibration than those in the coaxial vibration of the double-walled carbon nanotubes. The noncoaxial vibration amplitudes of only considering nonlinear van der Waals forces are larger than those of considering both geometric nonlinearity and nonlinear van der Waals forces.     

Toughening effect of ferroelectric ceramics induced by domain switching and dislocations

The multi-scale analysis of fracture toughness of ferroelectric ceramics under complicate mechanical–electrical coupling effect is carried out in this paper. The generalized stress intensity factor (SIF) arising from spontaneous strains and polarization transformation in switching domain zones is accurately obtained by using an extended Eshelby theory. Taking BaTiO₃ ferroelectric ceramic for example, it is discovered that the crack propagation can be induced by domain switching arising from negative electrical field when the crack surface is parallel to the isotropic plane, and the obtained critical electric displacement intensity factor (EDIF) approximates closely to that obtained by the Green’s function method. Additionally, as pinning dislocations and slip dislocations can strongly influence properties of ferroelectric devices and induce the property degradation, it is necessary to investigate the dislocation toughening effects on fatigue and fracture mechanisms. The results show that the dislocation shielding and anti-shielding effects on mode II SIF, mode I SIF and EDIF are obviously different when a dislocation locates at a position near the crack tip. Through the calculation of the critical applied EDIF for crack propagation by using mechanical energy release rate (MERR) theory, it is discovered that the slip angles obviously influence fracture toughness, and the mode II SIF arising from dislocation has little influence on fracture toughness, however, the mode I SIF and EDIF arising from dislocation have great influences on fracture toughness.     

Pricing policies for substitutable products in a supply chain with Internet and traditional channels

This study considers pricing policies in a supply chain with one manufacturer, who sells a product to an independent retailer and directly to consumers through an Internet channel. In addition to the manufacturer’s product, the retailer sells a substitute product produced by another manufacturer. Given the wholesale prices of the two substitute products, the manufacturer decides the retail price of the Internet channel, and the retailer decides the retail prices of the two substitute products. Both the manufacturer and the retailer choose their own decision variables to maximize their respective profits. This work formulates the price competition, using the settings of Nash and Stackelberg games, and derives the corresponding existence and uniqueness conditions for equilibrium solutions. A sensitivity analysis of an equilibrium solution is then conducted for the model parameters, and the profits are compared for two game settings. The findings show that improving brand loyalty is profitable for both of the manufacturer and retailer, and that an increased service value may alleviate the threat of the Internet channel for the retailer and increase the manufacturer’s profit. The study also derives some conditions under which the manufacturer and the retailer mutually prefer the Stackelberg game. Based on these results, this study proposes an appropriate cooperation strategy for the manufacturer and retailer.     

Zinc-ion implanted and deposited titanium surfaces reduce adhesion of Streptococccus mutans

While titanium (Ti) is a commonly used dental implant material with advantageous biocompatible and mechanical properties, native Ti surfaces do not have the ability to prevent bacterial colonization. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and bacterial adhesive properties of zinc (Zn) ion implanted and deposited Ti surfaces (Zn-PIIID-Ti) as potential dental implant materials. Surfaces of pure Ti (cp-Ti) were modified with increasing concentrations of Zn using plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID), and elemental surface compositions were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). To evaluate bacterial responses, Streptococcus mutans were seeded onto the modifiedTi surfaces for 48 h and subsequently observed by scanning electron microscopy. Relative numbers of bacteria on each surface were assessed by collecting the adhered bacteria, reculturing and counting colony forming units after 48 h on bacterial grade plates. Ti, oxygen and carbon elements were detected on all surfaces by XPS. Increased Zn signals were detected on Zn-PIIID-Ti surfaces, correlating with an increase of Zn-deposition time. Substantial numbers of S. mutans adhered to cp-Ti samples, whereas bacterial adhesion on Zn-PIIID-Ti surfaces signficantly decreased as the Zn concentration increased (p < 0.01). In conclusion, PIIID can successfully introduce Zn onto a Ti surface, forming a modified surface layer bearing Zn ions that consequently deter adhesion of S. mutans, a common bacterium in the oral environment.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of SrFe12O19 hexaferrites

Ultra-fine and homogeneous SrFe₁₂O₁₉ hexaferrites were synthesized by a microwave-assisted calcination route. The calcined precursors were prepared by a sol-gel auto-combustion method using Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, Sr(NO₃)₂ and citric acid as starting materials. The structures, powder morphology and magnetic properties of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and vibrating sample magnetometer. The results showed that microwaves are helpful to reduce the calcination temperature and shorten the calcination time. The ferrites with saturation magnetization, remanence and intrinsic coercivity of 54.80 emu/g, 29.52 emu/g and 5261 Oe, respectively, were obtained in samples calcined at 800 °C for 80 min.