<Emphasis Type="Italic">FCC/BCC</Emphasis> competition and enhancement of saturation magnetization in nanocrystalline Co-Ni-Fe films

The structure, chemical composition, and magnetic properties of electrochemically deposited nanocrystalline Co-Ni-Fe films were investigated using a number of techniques. A high saturation magnetic induction up to B _s = 21 kG was attained. An enhancement of the saturation magnetization compared to the ideal anticipated one was revealed, which correlated with the nonlinear behavior of the structural phase composition and lattice parameters with the change of the composition. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Forecasting call frequency at a financial services call centre

A forecasting model is developed for the number of daily applications for loans at a financial services telephone call centre. The purpose of the forecasts and the associated prediction intervals is to provide effective staffing policies within the call centre. The model building process is constrained by the availability of only 2 years and 7 months of data. The distinctive feature of the data is that demand is driven in the main by advertising. The analysis given focuses on applications stimulated by press advertising. Unlike previous analyses of broadly similar data, where ARIMA models were used, a model with a dynamic level, multiplicative calendar effects and a multiplicative advertising response is developed and shown to be effective.     

Quadratic data envelopment analysis

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) offers a piece-wise linear approximation of the production frontier. The approximation tends to be poor if the true frontier is not concave, eg in case of economies of scale or of specialisation. To improve the flexibility of the DEA frontier and to gain in empirical fit, we propose to extend DEA towards a more general piece-wise quadratic approximation, called Quadratic Data Envelopment Analysis (QDEA). We show that QDEA gives statistically consistent estimates for all production frontiers with bounded Hessian eigenvalues. Our Monte-Carlo simulations suggest that QDEA can substantially improve efficiency estimation in finite samples relative to standard DEA models.     

A Language for Teaching Discrete-event Simulation

Courses which teach discrete-event simulation are based on many different simulation languages. The requirements for a language to support teaching simulation are discussed. In particular, it is recommended that such languages separate into distinct modules those aspects of simulation which are taught as separate topics. Implementation of the separation is discussed. The SEESIM language, developed as a teaching aid, is described, and examples of its use are given. Straightforward use of SEESIM can be learned quickly, yet the language provides facilities for a staged introduction to advanced concepts of simulation.     

NiTi合金中马氏体相的低频力学谱研究

我们用最近研制成功的LMA型低频力学谱测试系统对NiTi合金马氏体相进行了在很大频率范围内（0．003～1Hz）的低频等温力学谱和温度谱的测量．我们研究的形状记忆合金NiTi（Ni50．2at％）试样长34mm，直径1mm细丝．经一定热处理，分别在333K．343K和353K做了内耗随频率的变化的测量。实验表明：频率越小，内耗越大，也就是内耗随频率减少而增大。同时我们采用阶梯升温的方法在八个温度下每个温度测量三种频率（1Hz，0．1Hz，0．01Hz）的内耗，结果清楚地表明：不同频率下，内耗峰都出现在372K（99℃）。而且频率越低，峰高越高。这是具有相变峰的特点：相变峰的峰温不随测量频率不同而变化，相变峰高度随频率减少而增大。我们还测量了在1Hz与0．5Hz频率下内耗随温度的变化。本文用马氏体相的位错理论初步讨论了上述实验结果。     

A Novel Biomass Supported Na2CO3 System for Flue Gas Desulfurization

The breakthrough and stoichiometric SO2 adsorption efficiencies of a biomass supported Na2CO3 system (80 wt %Na2CO3/straw) have reached 48.9% and 80.6% respectively at a desulfurization temperature of 80℃.     

金属β-二酮化合物用于MOCVD法生长铁电氧化物薄膜

对用于MOCVD法生长铁电氧化物薄膜的金属β－二酮化合物的制备、结构及性质进行了评述，对它们在生长铁电薄膜中的应用现状进行了介绍，并对它们的应用前景作了展望。     

Complete ideals and singularities of space curves

We consider complete ideals supported on finite sequences of infinitely near points, in regular local rings with dimensions greater than two. We study properties of factorizations in Lipman special *-simple complete ideals. We relate it to a type of proximity, linear proximity, of the points, and give conditions in order to have unique factorization. Several examples are presented. Received: 2 February 2000 / in final form: 14 March 2001 / Published online: 18 January 2002