Two modifications of the least cost per period heuristic for dynamic lot-sizing

This paper proposes two constructive heuristics for the well-known single-level uncapacitated dynamic lot-sizing problem. The proposed heuristics, called net least period cost (nLPC) and nLPC(i), are developed by modifying the average period cost concept from Silver and Meal's heuristic, commonly known as least period cost (LPC). An improved tie-breaking stopping rule and a locally optimal decision rule are proposed in the second heuristic to enhance performance. We test the effectiveness of the proposed heuristics by using 20 benchmarking test problems frequently used in the literature. Furthermore, we perform a large-scale simulation study involving three factors, 50 experimental conditions, and 100?000 randomly generated problems to evaluate the proposed heuristics against LPC and six other well-known constructive heuristics in the literature. The simulation results show that both nLPC and nLPC(i) produce average holding and setup costs lower than or equal to those of LPC in every one of the 50 experimental conditions. The proposed heuristics also outperform each of the six other heuristics evaluated in all experimental conditions, without an increase in computational requirements. Lastly, considering that both nLPC and nLPC(i) are fairly simple for practitioners to understand and that lot-sizing heuristics have been commonly used in practice, there should be a very good chance for practical applications of the proposed heuristics.     

Efficient computation of natural convection in a concentric annulus between an outer square cylinder and an inner circular cylinder

In this work, the natural convection in a concentric annulus between a cold outer square cylinder and a heated inner circular cylinder is simulated using the differential quadrature (DQ) method. The vorticity‐stream function formulation is used as the governing equation, and the coordinate transformation technique is introduced in the DQ computation. It is shown in this paper that the outer square boundary can be approximated by a super elliptic function. As a result, the coordinate transformation from the physical domain to the computational domain is set up by an analytical expression, and all the geometrical parameters can be computed exactly. Numerical results for Rayleigh numbers range from 104 to 106 and aspect ratios between 1.67 and 5.0 are presented, which are in a good agreement with available data in the literature. It is found that both the aspect ratio and the Rayleigh number are critical to the patterns of flow and thermal fields. The present study suggests that a critical aspect ratio may exist at high Rayleigh number to distinguish the flow and thermal patterns. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Laser induced copper electroless plating on polyimide with Q-switch Nd:YAG laser

The results of laser induced deposition of copper on polyimide substrate from copper electrolyte solution are reported. Unlike most work reported in the literatures where CW Ar⁺ lasers were used, a second harmonic (532 nm wavelength) Q-switch Nd:YAG laser was used for our experiments. The deposition process was conducted by laser-catalyzing of the polyimide surface and subsequent photothermal-accelerated reduction of copper-complex ions in an alkaline reducing environment. The characteristics of the deposited copper line were investigated in terms of laser beam scanning speed, and the number of scans. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the deposited copper were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDX). The optimum processing conditions have been identified. The copper deposit was found to adhere well to the substrate.     

A Modified Quasi-Newton Method for Structured Optimization with Partial Information on the Hessian

This paper develops a modified quasi-Newton method for structured unconstrained optimization with partial information on the Hessian, based on a better approximation to the Hessian in current search direction. The new approximation is decided by both function values and gradients at the last two iterations unlike the original one which only uses the gradients at the last two iterations. The modified method owns local and superlinear convergence. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method is encouraging comparing with the methods proposed in [4] for structured unconstrained optimization Presented at the 6th International Conference on Optimization: Techniques and Applications, Ballarat, Australia, December 9–11, 2004     

Stable all-optical formation of Bose–Einstein condensate using pointing-stabilized optical trapping beams

By stabilizing the beam pointing of optical trapping beams, we have succeeded in stable formation of Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) of ⁸⁷Rb with all-optical method. The thermal effect of acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is usually one of the most serious problems to induce beam-pointing instability, especially for high power CO₂ laser. By passing the beam through AOM twice, we have improved the beam pointing from about 4.8 mrad to less than 0.4 mrad, which has been experimentally confirmed to be small enough to stably form BEC at the crossed region of CO₂ lasers as well as to perform experiments using an optical lattice which might have been affected by beam-pointing instability. PACS 32.80.Pj; 42.79.Jq; 03.75.Mn     

Fuzzy convex sets in median algebras

The fuzzification of convex sets in median algebras is considered, and some of their properties are investigated. A characterization of finite valued fuzzy convex set is given.     

Experimental observation of quantum corrections to electrical resistivity in nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys

X-ray diffraction patterns of nanocrystalline Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B (FINEMET) alloys reveal that bcc α-Fe/α-FeSi crystallites with the average grain size of 20(5) nm are dispersed in amorphous matrix. Enhanced electron—electron interaction (EEI) and quantum interference (QI) effects as well as electron-magnon (and/or electron-spin fluctuation) scattering turn out to be the main mechanisms that govern the temperature dependence of resistivity. Of all the inelastic scattering processes, inelastic electron-phonon scattering is the most effective mechanism to destroy phase coherence of electron wave functions. The diffusion constant, density of states at the Fermi level and the inelastic scattering time have been estimated, for the first time, for the alloys in question Article presented at the International Symposium on Advances in Superconductivity and Magnetism: Materials, Mechanisms and Devices, ASMM2D-2001, 25–28 September 2001, Mangalore, India.     

On additives, morphological evolution and dielectric breakdown in low density polyethylene

A series of low density polyethylene systems has been studied with respect to structural evolution and short-term dielectric breakdown behaviour. All materials were based upon a single polymer, that is commonly used in high voltage applications, but with different additives. In all three of these systems, multiple melting transitions were observed, as a result of molecular fractionation effects during crystallization. In the virgin polymer, a space-filling banded spherulitic morphology was found to develop at low temperatures (102 °C and below) whereas, at higher temperatures, only a few isolated axialites were observed. Inclusion of the antioxidant resulted in greatly increased nucleation densities, such that, at low temperatures, no evidence of spherulitic organisation remained. At higher temperatures, sheaf-like lamellar aggregates developed, which were much smaller and much more numerous than in the case of the virgin polymer. Further addition of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) resulted in the rapid formation of a crosslinked network at 200 °C. Some crosslinking also occurred at 150 °C, but over a much longer timescale. Where extensive crosslinking occurred prior to crystallization, the resulting gel inhibited structural development, such that only a few small, isolated sheaves were able to form at 102 °C. In view of the principal application area of this material, the breakdown strength of each of the above systems was then measured and the whole data set was analysed statistically. When structural factors were considered alongside the statistics, no clear trends emerged to indicate that either the compositional or morphological variations were reflected in the short-term electrical failure processes.     

Effects of sodium salicylate on the febrile response and increased levels of cyclic AMP in cerebrospinal fluid during endogenous pyrogen-induced fever in rabbits

To further evaluate the causality between endogenous pyrogen (EP)-induced fever and cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) level, the effects of sodium salicylate (SS) on the febrile response and increased levels of cyclic AMP in both cerebrospinal fluid (c.s.f.) and plasma during EP-induced fever in rabbits were observed. The results suggest that cyclic AMP is probably involved in the central mediation of EP-induced fever and that increased concentration of cyclic AMP in c.s.f. associated with EP-induced fever is not the result of temperature elevation but appears to be caused by the increased synthesis in the central nervous system. In addition it is confirmed that blood is impossibly a contributory source of increased cyclic AMP in c.s.f. during EP fever, and that SS may act subsequent to the increase in cyclic AMP.