Objective comparison of concentration profiles in solids by means of mathematical statistics

To compare concentration profiles in solids in an objective manner, a multi-dimensional generalization of the comparison of two means by Student'st-test is proposed. The approach is based on piecewise modelling the profiles using rougha priori information, estimating the model parameters and their covariance matrix and comparing the estimated parameters by use of multidimensional test variables. The piecewise modelling is treated in the most important cases in such a way that the partial functions are straight lines or cubic polynoms (splines) with continuity at all knots in each case. It enables us to compare whole profiles as well as the most relevant parts of them. Two ways of estimating the covariance matrix as a generalization of the variance estimation are discussed. The approach is useful for any kind of line profiles if rough information on the profile type is available. As an example SIMS depth-profiles of aluminum obtained from thin-layer systems after different technological heat treatments are considered. These profiles are modeled by three straight lines.     

Fermentation characteristics and the dynamic trend of chemical components during fermentation of Massa Medicata Fermentata

As a representative of traditionally fermented Chinese medicine, Massa Medicata Fermentata (MMF) shows the functions of invigorating the spleen and stomach and promoting digestion, which plays an important role in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The fermentation mechanism and the key factors that affect the quality of MMF have not been revealed yet, which has become an urgent issue that limits its clinical application. This article aims to systematically and comprehensively reveal the transformation of physical properties and the dynamic trend of chemical components including substrate components, volatile components, and lactic acid as anaerobic fermentation product during MMF fermentation. Along with obvious hyphae growth observed for MMF, the weight of MMF decreased, and the moisture and temperature increased. Through the quantified 14 components from substrate, ferulic acid increased from 45.53 ± 6.94 to 141.89 ± 78.40 μg/g, while glycosides and phenolic acids declined except caffeic acid. Also, within the 66 volatile components analyzed, alcohols and acids increased, while aldehydes and ketones decreased. Lactic acid was not detected in the fermentation substrate, but an apparent increase in lactic acid content was observed along with the increased fermentation days, resulting in 2.54 ± 0.15 mg/g on day 8. Based on the tested components, the fermentation process of MMF was discriminated into three distinct stages by principal component analysis, and an optimal fermentation time of four days was proposed. The results of this study will be of great significance to clarify the characteristics of fermentation and conduce to improving quality standards of MMF.     

Regularity of Viscosity Solutions of the Biased Infinity Laplacian Equation

In this paper, we are interested in the regularity estimates of the nonnegative viscosity super solution of the $β$−biased infinity Laplacian equation $$∆^β_∞u = 0,$$ where $β ∈ \mathbb{R}$ is a fixed constant and $∆^β_∞u := ∆^N_∞u + β|Du|,$ which arises from the random game named biased tug-of-war. By studying directly the $β$−biased infinity Laplacian equation, we construct the appropriate exponential cones as barrier functions to establish a key estimate. Based on this estimate, we obtain the Harnack inequality, Hopf boundary point lemma, Lipschitz estimate and the Liouville property etc.     

Partial regularity for certain classes of polyconvex functionals related to nonlinear elasticity

Consider the variational integral where Ω⊂ℝ ⁿ andp≥n≥2. H: (0, ∞)→[0, ∞) is a smooth convex function such that . We approximateJ by a sequence of regularized functionalsJ _δ whose minimizers converge strongly to anJ-minimizing function and prove partial regularity results forJ _δ-minimizers.     

Coulomb pair density matrix I

The Coulomb pair density matrixG (r, r) for attractive and repulsive potentials is not only interesting for determining the two-particle effective potentials, but it is also essential in numerical studies of quantum systems. A high-temperature approximation is obtained for logG (r, r), in the form of simple integrals or series expansions; large-distance expansions are also given.     

Positivity of entropy production in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics

We analyze different mechanisms of entropy production in statistical mechanics, and propose formulas for the entropy production ratee() in a state . When is steady state describing the long term behavior of a system we show thate()0, and sometimes we can provee()>0.     

Wiener's test for space-time random walks and its applications

This paper establishes a criterion for whether a -dimensional random walk on the integer lattice visits a space-time subset infinitely often or not. It is a precise analogue of Wiener's test for regularity of a boundary point with respect to the classical Dirichlet problem. The test obtained is applied to strengthen the harder half of Kolmogorov's test for the random walk.

     

Local partial regularity theorems for suitable weak solutions of a class of degenerate systems

A partial regularity theorem is established for a particular class of weak solutions to the systemu/t– div(K(u)u)=(u)¦¦², div((u))=0 on a bounded domain inR ^N . Under our assumptions, (u) may exhibit exponential decay, and thus the system may be degenerate. Our proof is based upon a blow-up argument.This work was supported in part by NSF Grant DMS9424448.     

Quality assurance and statistical control

In scientific research laboratories it is rarely possible to use quality assurance schemes, developed for large-scale analysis. Instead methods have been developed to control the quality of modest numbers of analytical results by relying on statistical control: Analysis of precision serves to detect analytical errors by comparing thea priori precision of the analytical results with the actual variability observed among replicates or duplicates. The method relies on the chi-square distribution to detect excess variability and is quite sensitive even for 5–10 results. Interference control serves to detect analytical bias by comparing results obtained by two different analytical methods, each relying on a different detection principle and therefore exhibiting different influence from matrix elements; only 5–10 sets of results are required to establish whether a regression line passes through the origo. Calibration control is an essential link in the traceability of results. Only one or two samples of pure solid or aqueous standards with accurately known content need to be analyzed. Verification is carried out by analyzing certified reference materials from BCR, NIST, or others; their limited accuracy of 5–10% make them less suitable for calibration purposes.     

Robust estimates of the theoretical standard deviation to be used in interlaboratory precision experiments

Interlaboratory experiments often contain results that strongly deviate from other results obtained in the same laboratory under repeatability conditions, or laboratory means that strongly deviate from other laboratory means. In ISO 5725-2 [1] and IUPAC [2], the basic standards for the organisation and analysis of interlaboratory experiments for the determination of precision of a measurement method, outlier tests are performed in order to detect such situations and to finally decide whether these values are retained in the analysis or discarded as outliers. This outlier treatment, which always has a subjective aspect, becomes unnecessary by using robust estimates of the repeatability and reproducibility standard deviation. This paper proposes to use Rousseeuw’s Q _n as an extremely robust and efficient estimate of the standard deviation. Two examples show the performance of the new method.