Modeling natural gas market volatility using GARCH with different distributions

In this paper, we model natural gas market volatility using GARCH-class models with long memory and fat-tail distributions. First, we forecast price volatilities of spot and futures prices. Our evidence shows that none of the models can consistently outperform others across different criteria of loss functions. We can obtain greater forecasting accuracy by taking the stylized fact of fat-tail distributions into account. Second, we forecast volatility of basis defined as the price differential between spot and futures. Our evidence shows that nonlinear GARCH-class models with asymmetric effects have the greatest forecasting accuracy. Finally, we investigate the source of forecasting loss of models. Our findings based on a detrending moving average indicate that GARCH models cannot capture multifractality in natural gas markets. This may be the plausible explanation for the source of model forecasting losses.     

Magnetic resonance image reconstruction using trained geometric directions in 2D redundant wavelets domain and non-convex optimization

Reducing scanning time is significantly important for MRI. Compressed sensing has shown promising results by undersampling the k-space data to speed up imaging. Sparsity of an image plays an important role in compressed sensing MRI to reduce the image artifacts. Recently, the method of patch-based directional wavelets (PBDW) which trains geometric directions from undersampled data has been proposed. It has better performance in preserving image edges than conventional sparsifying transforms. However, obvious artifacts are presented in the smooth region when the data are highly undersampled. In addition, the original PBDW-based method does not hold obvious improvement for radial and fully 2D random sampling patterns. In this paper, the PBDW-based MRI reconstruction is improved from two aspects: 1) An efficient non-convex minimization algorithm is modified to enhance image quality; 2) PBDW are extended into shift-invariant discrete wavelet domain to enhance the ability of transform on sparsifying piecewise smooth image features. Numerical simulation results on vivo magnetic resonance images demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the original PBDW in terms of removing artifacts and preserving edges.     

Simultaneously Enhancing Mechanical Properties and Melt Flow Ability of Polyamide 6 by Blending with a Hyperbranched Polymer

A series of polyamide 6/hyperbranched polymers (PA6/HBP) blends with different HBP contents was prepared by melt processing using a twin-screw extruder. The HBP was synthesized on the basis of pentaerythritol and dimethyl terephthalate according to a one-step method. The melt flow behavior, crystallization behavior, morphology, and mechanical properties of the PA6/HBP blends were investigated. The results showed that the melt flow index of the blends was greatly improved by a small amount of HBP. The yield strength, tensile modulus, Izod impact strength, and flexural strength of samples were simultaneously enhanced from 54.6 MPa, 0.5 GPa, 3.8 kJ/m², 56.9 MPa for pure PA6 to 61.1 MPa, 0.7 GPa, 5.3 kJ/m², 67.1 MPa for PA6 blends with 2.0 wt% HBP, respectively. The PA6/HBP blends showed the higher content of α-form crystal and a higher degree of crystallinity than those of pure PA6.     

Reactive Compatibilization of Poly(Butylene Terephthalate)/Acrylonitrile-Styrene-Acrylate Blends by Epoxy Resin: Morphology and Mechanical Properties

The effect on the notched Izod impact strength of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) by blending it with acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) was examined. Epoxy resin (ER) was demonstrated to be an efficient compatibilizer for the partially compatible blends of PBT/ASA. It requires only a very small amount of ER to improve the toughness of the PBT/ASA blends drastically. Furthermore, there exists an optimum proportion of ER added to achieve maximum notched Izod impact strength. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation suggests that the ER in the PBT/ASA/ER blends suppressing the tendency of coalescence of ASA, leading to better dispersion of the ASA particles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) shows that ER enhances the phase dispersion and the interfacial adhesion between the PBT and ASA phases, it improves the compatibility between PBT and ASA. The compositions in the interphase was continuous, which results in multiphase composites with a graded interphase. It is suggested that enhanced interphase adhesion was necessary to obtain improved dispersion, fine phase morphology, and better toughness.     

A Novel Pyrene Fluorescent Sensor Based on the π–π Interaction Between Pyrene and Graphene of Graphene–Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dot Nanocomposites

In this article, water-soluble graphene–cadmium telluride quantum dot nanocomposites were fabricated through the synthesis of cadmium telluride quantum dots in the presence of graphene aqueous dispersion. It was found that pyrene could remarkably quench fluorescence of graphene–cadmium telluride quantum dot nanocomposites. On this basis, a novel method for the determination of pyrene was developed. Factors affecting the pyrene detection were investigated, and the optimum conditions were determined. Under the optimum conditions, a linear relationship could be established between the quenching of fluorescence intensity of graphene–cadmium telluride quantum dot nanocomposites and the pyrene concentration in the range of 6.00 × 10^?8–2.00 × 10^?6 mol L^?1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9959. The detection limit was 4.02 × 10^?8 mol L^?1. Furthermore, the nanocomposites were applied to practical determination of pyrene in different water samples with satisfactory results.     

Establishment of an integrated data fusion method between the colorimeter and near-infrared spectroscopy to discriminate the stir-baked Gardenia jasminoides Ellis

Stir-heating is a common method to process Gardenia jasminoides Ellis. The processing of the G. jasminoides Ellis which do not meet the regulated requirements can result in the unqualified products, finally decreasing the efficacy of the drug. To guarantee the quality of the stir-baked G. jasminoides Ellis, a rapid and efficient method to discriminate the qualified stir-baked G. jasminoides Ellis from the unqualified was developed based on the middle level data fusion. 61 batches of qualified and unqualified stir-baked G. jasminoides Ellis were collected and analyzed using colorimeter and near-infrared spectroscopy, separately. L*, A*, and B* were apparent features that quantitatively described the characteristics of samples. The latent variables of partial least squares discriminant analysis model were extracted as the features of near-infrared spectroscopy. The extracted features from colorimeter and near-infrared spectroscopy were fused and a discriminant model was built using partial least squares discriminant analysis method. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were used to evaluate the ability of classification. As a result, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the optimal partial least squares discriminant analysis model based on fused data were all equal to 1. It demonstrated that the developed method can be capable of discriminating the qualified stir-baked G. jasminoides Ellis from the unqualified. Compared with classification model results using color parameters or near infrared data alone, this data fusion strategy greatly improved the accuracy of classification.     

Experimental measurement of the electrical conductivity of pyroxenite at high temperature and high pressure under different oxygen fugacities

Electrical conductivities of pyroxenite were measured between frequencies of 10^?1 and 10⁶ Hz in a multi-anvil pressure apparatus using different solid buffers (Ni+NiO, Fe+Fe₃O₄, Fe+FeO and Mo+MoO₂) to stabilize the partial pressure of oxygen. The temperature ranged from 1073 to 1423 K (800 to 1200 °C) and the pressure from 1.0 to 4.0 GPa. We observe that: (1) the electrical conductivity (σ) of pyroxenite depends on frequency; (2) σ tends to increase with rising temperature (T), and Log σ and 1/T obey a linear Arrhenius relationship; (3) under control of the buffer Fe+Fe₃O₄, σ tends to decrease with rising pressure, nevertheless the activation enthalpy tends to increase. For the first time we have obtained values for the activation energy and activation bulk volume of the main charge carriers, which are (1.60±0.07) eV and (0.05±0.03) cm³/mol, respectively; (4) for a given pressure and temperature, σ tends to rise with increased oxygen fugacity, whereas the activation enthalpy and preexponential factor tend to decrease; and (5) the behaviour of the electrical conductivity at high temperature and high pressure can be reasonably interpreted by assuming that small polarons provide the dominant conduction mechanism in the pyroxenite samples.     

Radiation-induced changes in electrical conductivity and structure of BaPbO3 after γ-irradiation

Several barium plumbate (BaPbO₃) solid samples, made from PbO and BaCO₃ powder by chemistry liquid-phase coprecipitation, were investigated before and after γ-irradiation. The solid samples were irradiated by a ⁶⁰Co γ-irradiation source whose dose rate is about 0.7?kGy per hour. The irradiation times were 0, 72, 144, 216, 288 and 360?h. Then, the four-probe method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to indicate the changes in electrical conductivity and microstructure of BaPbO₃ after γ-irradiation. The XRD results indicated that the content of PbO was reduced as the irradiation dose was increased and eventually vanished from the surface of samples. However, there was no new obvious substance phase found from the XRD atlas. It seems that the PbO transformed into nearly amorphous Pb₅O₈. The conjecture could be proved by the results of annealing experiment and SEM. The XPS results seem to show that the microstructure of BaPbO₃ was slightly changed.     

3-D simulation of soot formation in a direct-injection diesel engine based on a comprehensive chemical mechanism and method of moments

Here, we propose both a comprehensive chemical mechanism and a reduced mechanism for a three-dimensional combustion simulation, describing the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in a direct-injection diesel engine. A soot model based on the reduced mechanism and a method of moments is also presented. The turbulent diffusion flame and PAH formation in the diesel engine were modelled using the reduced mechanism based on the detailed mechanism using a fixed wall temperature as a boundary condition. The spatial distribution of PAH concentrations and the characteristic parameters for soot formation in the engine cylinder were obtained by coupling a detailed chemical kinetic model with the three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model. Comparison of the simulated results with limited experimental data shows that the chemical mechanisms and soot model are realistic and correctly describe the basic physics of diesel combustion but require further development to improve their accuracy.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of continuous Al2O3 fibre reinforced Ni45Al45Cr7.5Ta2.5 alloy (IP75) matrix composites

Single crystalline Al₂O₃ fibres (sapphire), coated with the NiAl alloy IP75 by physical vapour deposition (PVD), were assembled to fabricate composites by means of diffusion bonding. The microstructure and chemistry of both as-coated fibre and as-diffusion bonded composites were investigated by electron microscopy and microanalysis. The interface shear stress for complete debonding was measured by fibre push-out tests at room temperature, and the composite tensile strength was measured at 900°C and 1100°C. An amorphous layer with a thickness of about 400?nm formed between the fibre and the matrix during the PVD process and was maintained during diffusion bonding. A Laves phase precipitated along NiAl grain boundaries in the IP75 matrix. This caused a lower tensile strength of the IP75/Al₂O₃ composite at high temperatures compared to as-cast monolithic IP75 and rendered the composite useless for structural applications.