Fuzzy theory in analytical chemistry

The concept of fuzzy theory is described in order to provide the analyst with the means for dealing with vague statements, uncertain observations or the fuzziness of human perception and interpretation, in general. In a theoretical part, basic notions of fuzzy theory are given, such as types of membership functions, operations with fuzzy sets, definitions of fuzzy numbers, points, functions, and relations, and the use of linguistic variables. The difference between fuzziness and probability is outlined. The applications section demonstrates advantages of fuzzy theory methods compared to common mathematical methods with respect to data handling for calibration of analytical methods, to classification of Chromatographie and spectroscopic patterns, to component identification and multicomponent analysis, and to designing fuzzy expert systems for selection of analytical procedures.     

Rheological properties of multisticker associative polyelectrolytes in semidilute aqueous solutions

Multisticker associative polyelectrolytes of acrylamide (≈86 mol %) and sodium 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonate (≈12 mol %), hydrophobically modified with N,N‐dihexylacrylamide groups (≈2 mol %), were prepared with a micellar radical polymerization technique. This process led to multiblock polymers in which the length of the hydrophobic blocks could be controlled through variations in the surfactant‐to‐hydrophobe molar ratio, that is, the number of hydrophobes per micelle (N_H). The rheological behavior of aqueous solutions of polymers with the same molecular weight and the same composition but with two different hydrophobic block lengths (N_H = 7 or 3 monomer units per block) was investigated as a function of the polymer concentration with steady‐flow, creep, and oscillatory experiments. The critical concentration at the onset of the viscosity enhancement decreased as the length of the hydrophobic segments in the polymers increased. Also, an increase in the N_H value significantly enhanced the thickening ability of the polymers and affected the structure of the transient network. In the semidilute unentangled regime, the behavior of the polymer with long hydrophobic segments (N_H = 7) was studied in detail. The results were well explained by the sticky Rouse theory of associative polymer dynamics. Finally, the viscosity decreased with an increase in the temperature, mainly because of a lowering of the sample relaxation time. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1640–1655, 2004     

The use of ATR-IR to identify the components separated by paper chromatography

Summary A modified procedure for the identification of separated components in paper chromatography using attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy is described. This combined method, though inferior in sensitivity and resolution to the modern separation systems interfaced with sophisticated analytical instruments, is simple, relatively less expensive and suitable for routine analysis of components like polymer additives.     

鲨鱼软骨质量的聚类分析法

用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法（ＩＣＰ－ＡＥＳ）测定了１８个鲨鱼软骨真品中１３个元素含量，对测定结果进行分析和变量聚类分析，抽提５个特征指标，并以谱系数聚类建立了鉴别鲨鱼软骨真伪的数学模式，用３个假冒产品和一个鲨鱼软骨胶囊对其进行检验，结果表明，用无机元素所建立的数学模式不仅能鉴别鲨鱼软骨的真伪，还能区分鲨鱼软骨的部分及不同部位的混合物。     

Real-time onboard wind and windshear determination,part 2: Detection

This paper is concerned with windshear detection in connection with real-time wind identification (Ref. 1). It presents a comparative evaluation of two techniques, one based on the shear/downdraft factor and one based on the wind difference index. The comparison is done with reference to a particular microburst, that which caused the 1985 crash of Flight Delta 191 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.The shear/downdraft factor has the merit of combining the effects of the shear and the downdraft into a single entity. However, its effectiveness is hampered by the fact that, in a real situation, the windshear is accompanied by free-stream turbulence, which tends to blur the resulting signal. In turn, this results in undesirable nuisance warnings if the magnitude of the shear factor due to free-stream turbulence is temporarily larger than that due to true windshear. Therefore, proper filtering is necessary prior to using the shear/downdraft factor in detection and guidance. One effective way for achieving this goal is to average the shear/downdraft factor over a specified time interval . The effect of on the average shear/downdraft factor is studied.     

Real-time onboard wind and windshear determination,part 1: Identification

Standard wind identification techniques employed in the analysis of aircraft accidents are post-facto techniques; they are processed after the event has taken place and are based on the complete time histories of the DFDR/ATCR data along the entire trajectory. By contrast, real-time wind identification techniques are processed while the event is taking place; they are based solely on the knowledge of the preceding time histories of the DFDR/ATCR data.In this paper, a real-time wind identification technique is developed. First, a 3D-kinematic approach is employed in connection with the DFDR/ATCR data covering the time interval preceding the present time instant. The aircraft position, inertial velocity, and accelerometer bias are determined by matching the flight trajectory computed from the DFDR data with the flight trajectory available from the ATCR data. This leads to a least-square problem, which is solved analytically every seconds, with / small.With the inertial velocity and accelerometer bias known, an extrapolation process takes place so as to predict the inertial velocity profile over the subsequent -subinterval. At the end of this subinterval, the extrapolated inertial velocity and the newly identified inertial velocity are statistically reconciled and smoothed. Then, the process of identification, extrapolation, reconciliation, and smoothing is repeated. Subsequently, the wind is computed as the difference between the inertial velocity and the airspeed, which is available from the DFDR data. With the wind identified, windshear detection can take place (Ref. 1).As an example, the real-time wind identification technique is applied to Flight Delta 191, which crashed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on August 2, 1985. The numerical results show that the wind obtained via real-time identification is qualitatively and quantitatively close to the wind obtained via standard identification. This being the case, it is felt that real-time wind identification can be useful in windhsear detection and guidance, above all if the shear/downdraft factor signal is replaced by the wind difference signal (Ref. 1).This paper and its companion (Ref. 1) are based on Refs. 2–4.This research was supported by the Aviation Research and Education Foundation and by Texas Advanced Technology Program, Grant No. TATP-003604020.     

Fastiterative methods for least squares estimations

Least squares estimations have been used extensively in many applications, e.g. system identification and signal prediction. When the stochastic process is stationary, the least squares estimators can be found by solving a Toeplitz or near-Toeplitz matrix system depending on the knowledge of the data statistics. In this paper, we employ the preconditioned conjugate gradient method with circulant preconditioners to solve such systems. Our proposed circulant preconditioners are derived from the spectral property of the given stationary process. In the case where the spectral density functions() of the process is known, we prove that ifs() is a positive continuous function, then the spectrum of the preconditioned system will be clustered around 1 and the method converges superlinearly. However, if the statistics of the process is unknown, then we prove that with probability 1, the spectrum of the preconditioned system is still clustered around 1 provided that large data samples are taken. For finite impulse response (FIR) system identification problems, our numerical results show that annth order least squares estimator can usually be obtained inO(n logn) operations whenO(n) data samples are used. Finally, we remark that our algorithm can be modified to suit the applications of recursive least squares computations with the proper use of sliding window method arising in signal processing applications.Research supported in part by HKRGC grant no. 221600070, ONR contract no. N00014-90-J-1695 and DOE grant no. DE-FG03-87ER25037.     

Preparation and characterization of Fully stoichiometric SrCoO3 by electrochemical oxidation

A nearly stoichiometric SrCoO₃ phase had been prepared up to now only using high oxygen pressure. A new method for preparing fully stoichiometric SrCoO₃ has been proposed using electrochemical oxidation. Brownmillerite-type SrCoO_2.50 is oxidized into a completely stoichiometric perovskite at a potential of 500 mV for 180 hours at room temperature in alkaline media (1 M KOH). The oxidized phase has a cubic unit cell (a=383.5 pm). It is metallic and, at temperatures below T=280 K, it shows ferromagnetic behavior. The magnetic moment at 0 K is 2.1 μ_B. The physical properties of SrCoO_3.00 have been explained in terms of partial occupancy of a σ*e band.     

Quantitative weight of evidence method for combining predictions of quantitative structure-activity relationship models

ABSTRACT

A method for combining statistical-based QSAR predictions of two or more binary classification models is presented. It was assumed that all models were independent. This facilitated the combination of positive and negative predictions using a quantitative weight of evidence (qWoE) procedure based on Bayesian statistics and the additivity of the logarithms of the likelihood ratios. Previous studies combined more than one prediction but used arbitrary strengths for positive and negative predictions. In our approach, the combined models were validated by determining the sensitivity and specificity values, which are performance metrics that are a point of departure for obtaining values that measure the weight of evidence of positive and negative predictions. The developed method was experimentally applied in the prediction of Ames mutagenicity. The method achieved a similar accuracy to that of the experimental Ames test for this endpoint when the overall prediction was determined using a combination of the individual predictions of more than one model. Calculating the qWoE value would reduce the requirement for expert knowledge and decrease the subjectivity of the prediction. This method could be applied to other endpoints such as developmental toxicity and skin sensitisation with binary classification models.     

Computer interactive identification system for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in reversed-phase microcolumn liquid chromatography

Summary A computer interactive identification system is proposed which is based on the relationship between retention and molecular properties such as the size and shape of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This system offers an automatic analytical process for liquid chromatography, providing a reliable identification of the separated components. The identification can be further enhanced by the use of multiple detectors such as a multichannel UV detector. The system can be used for optimization procedures, resulting in a highly automatic complex analytical system.