On the demand pooling anomaly in inventory theory

The demand pooling anomaly of inventory theory of type F amounts to a kind of restricted order relation between the individual demands (assumed to be independent) and their average. In this paper, we present some sufficient conditions for the type F anomaly not to occur for two i.i.d. demands; furthermore we provide an asymptotic result showing whether this anomaly occurs for large n for a class of distributions containing all distributions with finite mean.     

Improvement of the analysis of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of Mediterranean seawater by seeding control

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a useful parameter for assessing the biodegradability of dissolved organic matter in water. At the same time, this parameter is used to evaluate the efficiency with which certain processes remove biodegradable natural organic matter (NOM). However, the values of BOD in seawater are very low (around 2 mg O₂ L⁻¹) and the methods used for its analysis are poorly developed. The increasing attention given to seawater desalination in the Mediterranean environment, and related phenomena such as reverse osmosis membrane biofouling, have stimulated interest in seawater BOD close to the Spanish coast. In this study the BOD analysis protocol was refined by introduction of a new step in which a critical quantity of autochthonous microorganisms, measured as adenosine triphosphate, is added. For the samples analyzed, this improvement allowed us to obtain reliable and replicable BOD measurements, standardized with solutions of glucose-glutamic acid and acetate. After 7 days of analysis duration, more than 80% of ultimate BOD is achieved, which in the case of easily biodegradable compounds represents nearly a 60% of the theoretical oxygen demand. BOD₇ obtained from the Mediterranean Sea found to be 2.0 ± 0.3 mg O₂ L⁻¹ but this value decreased with seawater storage time due to the rapid consumption of labile compounds. No significant differences were found between two samples points located on the Spanish coast, since their organic matter content was similar. Finally, the determination of seawater BOD without the use of inoculum may lead to an underestimation of BOD.     

A comparison of two sourcing tactics for a new component

We compare two sourcing tactics for a manufacturer to purchase a new component to be used in a one-time production run of a new product with uncertain and price-elastic demand. One alternative is to issue a request-for-quote (RFQ), which is where the manufacturer requests a price-quantity schedule from suppliers. The manufacturer uses this information to determine a production quantity and the number of components to purchase from each supplier. The other alternative is to post a bid specifying how the manufacturer’s purchase quantity will depend on the supplier’s component price. The suppliers use this information to compete on quantity.We find that relative to RFQ, which is more challenging for the manufacturer to characterize the supplier response due to the possibility of supplier interaction, the benefit to the manufacturer from posting a bid increases with the number of suppliers due to increased intensity of competition. If the new component is from an emerging industry where there is little mutual awareness among candidate suppliers, then regardless of number of suppliers, expected manufacturer profit is higher under RFQ. Posting a bid is more likely to benefit the manufacturer when the new component is from a more established industry with a high degree of awareness among candidate suppliers.     

Joint management of capacity and inventory in make-to-stock production systems with multi-class demand

We evaluate the benefits of coordinating capacity and inventory decisions in a make-to-stock production environment. We consider a firm that faces multi-class demand and has additional capacity options that are temporary and randomly available. We formulate the model as a Markov decision process (MDP) and prove that a solution to the optimal joint control problem exists. For several special cases we characterize the structure of the optimal policy. For the general case, however, we show that the optimal policy is state-dependent, and in many instances non-monotone and difficult to implement. Therefore, we consider three pragmatic heuristic policies and assess their performance. We show that the majority of the savings originate from the ability to dynamically adjust capacity, and that a simple heuristic that can adjust production capacity (based on workload fluctuation) but uses a static production/rationing policy can result in significant savings.     

A comprehensive extension of optimal ordering policy for stock-dependent demand under progressive payment scheme

In a recent paper, Soni and Shah (2008) presented an inventory model with a stock-dependent demand under progressive payment scheme, assuming zero ending-inventory and adopting a cost-minimization objective. However, with a stock-dependent demand a non-zero ending stock may increase profits resulting from the increased demand. This work is motivated by Soni and Shah’s (2008) paper extending their model to allow for: (1) a non-zero ending-inventory, (2) a profit-maximization objective, (3) a limited inventory capacity and (4) deteriorating items with a constant deterioration rate. For the resulted model sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the optimal solution are provided. Finally, several economic interpretations of the theoretical results are also given.     

我国未来能源投资需求预测及特点分析

持续的能源投资是经济持续发展的必要保障.鉴于我国能源投资的复杂性,基于系统动力学和成本预测方法,预测了我国2006-2050年期间的能源投资需求,分析了各能源品种的投资需求特点及不确定性因素.结果发现,我国能源投资将保持持续增长态势,但能源投资占GDP的比重不断下挫.而且,电力投资将一直占据我国能源投资的主导地位.     

基于双对数线性模型的北京市入境旅游需求影响因素分析

将北京市入境旅游需求作为研究对象,通过列举北京市旅游的内部条件和外部条件,从国际旅游需求趋势、季节影响、旅游价格趋势三方面对北京入境旅游进行描述性分析,进而进行常规模型分析.选取7个客源国1996—2008年十三年的数据建立北京旅游需求双对数线性模型(其中解释变量PR_u包括两个选择变量,即PR,1和PR2).采用Eveiws 6.0对模型进行估计,从中选去包括PR_1变量的方程作为北京入境旅游需求模型,并得出各客源国的国内生产总值平均增长率和相对价格(中国入境旅游外汇收入指数和各客源国居民消费指数的比率)是影响北京旅游需求的重要因素,其中各客源国的国内生产总值平均增长率的影响程度最为显著;2003年的全球性非典型肺炎的扩散也是影响北京入境旅游需求的因素之一;排除了1997年亚洲金融危机,2001年美国9.11事件和2008年北京奥运会这三个虚拟变量的影响.     

带折扣因子的单机干扰管理研究

针对可预见的干扰管理问题,考虑单机环境下,加权折扣最短加工时间优先(WDSPT)序为原目标的最优加工次序,研究了如何对初始加工时间表进行修改。在干扰事件影响下,初始加工时间表将不再是最优,甚至不再可行。和大多数重排序研究不同,构建了同时考虑原目标和由干扰事件造成的扰动目标的重排序模型,并基于理想点法提出一种动态规划算法来求解所建模型中的双目标排序问题。最后通过一个数值算例来说明该重调度模型对于求解带折扣因子的单机干扰管理问题是有效的。     

灰色-马尔柯夫链预测优化模型——以江苏省物流需求预测为例

讨论了现有灰色-马尔柯夫链预测方法的基本思路,针对该思路的不足之处提出了合理刻画预测模型精度特征的两个精度指标——均值指标和稳定性指标,并据此建立了灰色-马尔柯夫链预测优化模型,最终以江苏省物流需求为例,对该模型进行了实例验证和应用.     

Ultrasound for microalgal cell disruption and product extraction: A review

Microalgae are a promising feedstock for the production of biofuels, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, due to their superior capability of converting solar energy and CO₂ into lipids, proteins, and other valuable bioactive compounds. To facilitate the release of these important biomolecules from microalgae, effective cell disruption is usually necessary, where the use of ultrasound has gained tremendous interests as an alternative to traditional methods. This review not only summarizes the mechanisms of and operation parameters affecting cell disruption, but also takes an insight into measuring techniques, synergistic integration with other disruption methods, and challenges of ultrasonication for microalgal biorefining. Optimal conditions including ultrasonic frequency, intensity, and duration, and liquid viscosity and sonochemical reactor are the key factors for maximizing the disruption and extraction efficiency. A combination of ultrasound with other disruption methods such as ozonation, microwave, homogenization, enzymatic lysis, and solvents facilitates cell disruption and release of target compounds, thus provides powerful solutions to commercial scale-up of ultrasound extraction for microalgal biorefining. It is concluded that ultrasonication is a sustainable “green” process, but more research and work are needed to upscale this process without sacrificing performance or consuming more energy.