ON-LINE PROBLEMS OF MINIMIZING MAKESPAN ON A SINGLE BATCH PROCESSING MACHINE WITH NONIDENTICAL JOB SIZES

The on-line problem of scheduling on a batch processing machine with nonidentical job sizes to minimize makespan is considered. The batch processing machine can process a number of jobs simultaneously as long as the total size of these jobs being processed does not exceed the machine capacity. The processing time of a batch is given by the longest processing time of any job in the batch. Each job becomes available at its arrival time, which is unknown in advance, and its processing time becomes known upon its arrival. The paper deals with two variants： the case only with two distinct arrival times and the general case. For the first case, an on-line algorithm with competitive ratio 119/44 is given. For the latter one, a simple algorithm with competitive ratio 3 is given. For both variants the better ratios can be obtained if the problem satisfies proportional assumption.

STRONGLY CONVERGENT INERTIAL FORWARD-BACKWARD-FORWARD ALGORITHM WITHOUT ON-LINE RULE FOR VARIATIONAL INEQUALITIES

This paper studies a strongly convergent inertial forward-backward-forward algorithm for the variational inequality problem in Hilbert spaces.In our convergence analysis,we do not assume the on-line rule of the inertial parameters and the iterates,which have been assumed by several authors whenever a strongly convergent algorithm with an inertial extrapolation step is proposed for a variational inequality problem.Consequently,our proof arguments are different from what is obtainable in the relevant literature.Finally,we give numerical tests to confirm the theoretical analysis and show that our proposed algorithm is superior to related ones in the literature.

One-step Eco-friendly Fabrication of Antibacterial Polyester Via On-line Amination Reaction by Melt Coextrusion

The work is dedicated to develop a one-step eco-friendly method to prepare antibacterial polyethylene terephthalate(PET).We report a one-step eco-friendly method to manufacture antibacterial PET via on-line amination reaction by melt coextrusion.Beside evenly mixing of poly(hexamethylene guanidine)(PHMG)and PET in the melt coextrusion procedure,the amination reaction also occurred between PHMG and PET under high temperature(230-270℃).The antibacterial ability of composite PET showed obvious PHMG concentration dependence,and antibacterial activity reached more than 99%when PHMG content was 2.5 wt%.Moreover,LIVE/DEAD fluorescence test further confirmed that the composite PET could kill bacteria quickly and efiectively(within 30 min);while negligible cytotoxicity was observed to HSF and HUVEC cells.Onestep eco-friendly fabrication of composite antibacterial PET was accomplished by on-line melt coextrusion.The composite antibacterial PET has potential use in multiple fields to combat with pathogenic including textiles,packaging materials,decoration materials and biomedical devices,etc.

Association of preschool children behavior and emotional problems with the parenting behavior of both parents

BACKGROUND Parental behaviors are key in shaping children’s psychological and behavioral development,crucial for early identification and prevention of mental health issues,reducing psychological trauma in childhood.AIM To investigate the relationship between parenting behaviors and behavioral and emotional issues in preschool children.METHODS From October 2017 to May 2018,7 kindergartens in Ma’anshan City were selected to conduct a parent self-filled questionnaire-Health Development Survey of Preschool Children.Children’s Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire(Parent Version)was applied to measures the children’s behavioral and emotional performance.Parenting behavior was evaluated using the Parental Behavior Inventory.Binomial logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between the detection rate of preschool children’s behavior and emotional problems and their parenting behaviors.RESULTS High level of parental support/participation was negatively correlated with conduct problems,abnormal hyperactivity,abnormal total difficulty scores and abnormal prosocial behavior problems.High level of maternal support/participation was negatively correlated with abnormal emotional symptoms and abnormal peer interaction in children.High level of parental hostility/coercion was positively correlated with abnormal emotional symptoms,abnormal conduct problems,abnormal hyperactivity,abnormal peer interaction,and abnormal total difficulty scores in children(all P<0.05).Moreover,paternal parenting behaviors had similarly effects on behavior and emotional problems of preschool children compared with maternal parenting behaviors(all P>0.05),after calculating ratio of odds ratio values.CONCLUSION Our study found that parenting behaviors are associated with behavioral and emotional issues in preschool children.Overall,the more supportive or involved the parents are,the fewer behavioral and emotional problems the children experience;conversely,the more hostile or controlling the parents are,the more behavioral and emotional problems the children face.Moreover,the impact of fathers’parenting behaviors on preschool children’s behavior and emotions is no less significant than that of mothers’parenting behaviors.

Semi On-line Scheduling Problem for Maximizing the Minimum Machine Completion Time on mIdentical Machines

In this paper, a semi on-line version on m ide ntical machines M 1, M 2, …,M m(m≥3) was considered, where th e processing time of the largest job is known in advance. Our goal is to maximiz e the minimum machine load, an NPLS algorithm was presented and its worst-case ratio was proved to be equal to m-1 which is the best possible value. It is concluded that if the total processing time of jobs is also known to be greater than (2m-1)p max where p max is the largest job' s processing time, then the worst-case ratio is 2-1/m.

Enhancing Critical Path Problem in Neutrosophic Environment Using Python

In the real world,one of the most common problems in project management is the unpredictability of resources and timelines.An efficient way to resolve uncertainty problems and overcome such obstacles is through an extended fuzzy approach,often known as neutrosophic logic.Our rigorous proposed model has led to the creation of an advanced technique for computing the triangular single-valued neutrosophic number.This innovative approach evaluates the inherent uncertainty in project durations of the planning phase,which enhances the potential significance of the decision-making process in the project.Our proposed method,for the first time in the neutrosophic set literature,not only solves existing problems but also introduces a new set of problems not yet explored in previous research.A comparative study using Python programming was conducted to examine the effectiveness of responsive and adaptive planning,as well as their differences from other existing models such as the classical critical path problem and the fuzzy critical path problem.The study highlights the use of neutrosophic logic in handling complex projects by illustrating an innovative dynamic programming framework that is robust and flexible,according to the derived results,and sets the stage for future discussions on its scalability and application across different industries.

A Comparative Study of Metaheuristic Optimization Algorithms for Solving Real-World Engineering Design Problems

Real-world engineering design problems with complex objective functions under some constraints are relatively difficult problems to solve.Such design problems are widely experienced in many engineering fields,such as industry,automotive,construction,machinery,and interdisciplinary research.However,there are established optimization techniques that have shown effectiveness in addressing these types of issues.This research paper gives a comparative study of the implementation of seventeen new metaheuristic methods in order to optimize twelve distinct engineering design issues.The algorithms used in the study are listed as:transient search optimization(TSO),equilibrium optimizer(EO),grey wolf optimizer(GWO),moth-flame optimization(MFO),whale optimization algorithm(WOA),slimemould algorithm(SMA),harris hawks optimization(HHO),chimp optimization algorithm(COA),coot optimization algorithm(COOT),multi-verse optimization(MVO),arithmetic optimization algorithm(AOA),aquila optimizer(AO),sine cosine algorithm(SCA),smell agent optimization(SAO),and seagull optimization algorithm(SOA),pelican optimization algorithm(POA),and coati optimization algorithm(CA).As far as we know,there is no comparative analysis of recent and popular methods against the concrete conditions of real-world engineering problems.Hence,a remarkable research guideline is presented in the study for researchersworking in the fields of engineering and artificial intelligence,especiallywhen applying the optimization methods that have emerged recently.Future research can rely on this work for a literature search on comparisons of metaheuristic optimization methods in real-world problems under similar conditions.

Discrete Differential Evolution for Mixed Discrete Non-Linear Problems

Differential evolution （DE） is a global optimizer for continuous design variables. To enhance DE, it is necessary to handle discrete design variables. In this paper, a discrete differential evolution （DDE） algorithm is proposed to handle discrete design variables The proposed DDE is based on the DE/l/rand/bin method. In the proposed DDE, the mutation ratio is regarded as the exchange probability, and thus, no modifications of DE/l/rand/bin are required. In addition, in order to maintain diversity through the search process, we initialize all search points. By introducing the initialization of all search points, global or quasi-optimum solution can be found. We validate the proposed DDE by applying it to several benchmark problems.

An Effective Meshless Approach for Inverse Cauchy Problems in 2D and 3D Electroelastic Piezoelectric Structures

In the past decade,notable progress has been achieved in the development of the generalized finite difference method(GFDM).The underlying principle of GFDM involves dividing the domain into multiple sub-domains.Within each sub-domain,explicit formulas for the necessary partial derivatives of the partial differential equations(PDEs)can be obtained through the application of Taylor series expansion and moving-least square approximation methods.Consequently,the method generates a sparse coefficient matrix,exhibiting a banded structure,making it highly advantageous for large-scale engineering computations.In this study,we present the application of the GFDM to numerically solve inverse Cauchy problems in two-and three-dimensional piezoelectric structures.Through our preliminary numerical experiments,we demonstrate that the proposed GFDMapproach shows great promise for accurately simulating coupled electroelastic equations in inverse problems,even with 3%errors added to the input data.

Highly Accurate Golden Section Search Algorithms and Fictitious Time Integration Method for Solving Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems

This study sets up two new merit functions,which are minimized for the detection of real eigenvalue and complex eigenvalue to address nonlinear eigenvalue problems.For each eigen-parameter the vector variable is solved from a nonhomogeneous linear system obtained by reducing the number of eigen-equation one less,where one of the nonzero components of the eigenvector is normalized to the unit and moves the column containing that component to the right-hand side as a nonzero input vector.1D and 2D golden section search algorithms are employed to minimize the merit functions to locate real and complex eigenvalues.Simultaneously,the real and complex eigenvectors can be computed very accurately.A simpler approach to the nonlinear eigenvalue problems is proposed,which implements a normalization condition for the uniqueness of the eigenvector into the eigenequation directly.The real eigenvalues can be computed by the fictitious time integration method(FTIM),which saves computational costs compared to the one-dimensional golden section search algorithm(1D GSSA).The simpler method is also combined with the Newton iterationmethod,which is convergent very fast.All the proposed methods are easily programmed to compute the eigenvalue and eigenvector with high accuracy and efficiency.

Optimal Shape Factor and Fictitious Radius in the MQ-RBF:Solving Ill-Posed Laplacian Problems

To solve the Laplacian problems,we adopt a meshless method with the multiquadric radial basis function(MQRBF)as a basis whose center is distributed inside a circle with a fictitious radius.A maximal projection technique is developed to identify the optimal shape factor and fictitious radius by minimizing a merit function.A sample function is interpolated by theMQ-RBF to provide a trial coefficient vector to compute the merit function.We can quickly determine the optimal values of the parameters within a preferred rage using the golden section search algorithm.The novel method provides the optimal values of parameters and,hence,an optimal MQ-RBF;the performance of the method is validated in numerical examples.Moreover,nonharmonic problems are transformed to the Poisson equation endowed with a homogeneous boundary condition;this can overcome the problem of these problems being ill-posed.The optimal MQ-RBF is extremely accurate.We further propose a novel optimal polynomial method to solve the nonharmonic problems,which achieves high precision up to an order of 10^(−11).

Identifying multidisciplinary problems from scientific publications based on a text generation method

Purpose:A text generation based multidisciplinary problem identification method is proposed,which does not rely on a large amount of data annotation.Design/methodology/approach:The proposed method first identifies the research objective types and disciplinary labels of papers using a text classification technique;second,it generates abstractive titles for each paper based on abstract and research objective types using a generative pre-trained language model;third,it extracts problem phrases from generated titles according to regular expression rules;fourth,it creates problem relation networks and identifies the same problems by exploiting a weighted community detection algorithm;finally,it identifies multidisciplinary problems based on the disciplinary labels of papers.Findings:Experiments in the“Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality”field show that the proposed method can effectively identify multidisciplinary research problems.The disciplinary distribution of the identified problems is consistent with our understanding of multidisciplinary collaboration in the field.Research limitations:It is necessary to use the proposed method in other multidisciplinary fields to validate its effectiveness.Practical implications:Multidisciplinary problem identification helps to gather multidisciplinary forces to solve complex real-world problems for the governments,fund valuable multidisciplinary problems for research management authorities,and borrow ideas from other disciplines for researchers.Originality/value:This approach proposes a novel multidisciplinary problem identification method based on text generation,which identifies multidisciplinary problems based on generative abstractive titles of papers without data annotation required by standard sequence labeling techniques.

Oscillation properties of eigenfunctions for Sturm-Liouville problems with interface conditions via Prufer transformation

A class of Sturm-Liouville problems with discontinuity is studied in this paper.The oscillation properties of eigenfunctions for Sturm-Liouville problems with interface conditions are obtained.The main method used in this paper is based on Prufer transformation,which is different from the classical ones.Moreover,we give two examples to verify our main results.

ON THE CAUCHY PROBLEM FOR THE GENERALIZED BOUSSINESQ EQUATION WITH A DAMPED TERM

This paper is devoted to the Cauchy problem for the generalized damped Boussinesq equation with a nonlinear source term in the natural energy space.With the help of linear time-space estimates,we establish the local existence and uniqueness of solutions by means of the contraction mapping principle.The global existence and blow-up of the solutions at both subcritical and critical initial energy levels are obtained.Moreover,we construct the sufficient conditions of finite time blow-up of the solutions with arbitrary positive initial energy.

Problematic Use of Video Games in Schools in Northern Benin (2023)

Objective: To study the problematic use of video games among secondary school students in the city of Parakou in 2023. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the commune of Parakou from December 2022 to July 2023. The study population consisted of students regularly enrolled in public and private secondary schools in the city of Parakou for the 2022-2023 academic year. A two-stage non-proportional stratified sampling technique combined with simple random sampling was adopted. The Problem Video Game Playing (PVP) scale was used to assess problem gambling in the study population, while anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: A total of 1030 students were included. The mean age of the pupils surveyed was 15.06 ± 2.68 years, with extremes of 10 and 28 years. The [13 - 18] age group was the most represented, with a proportion of 59.6% (614) in the general population. Females predominated, at 52.8% (544), with a sex ratio of 0.89. The prevalence of problematic video game use was 24.9%, measured using the Video Game Playing scale. Associated factors were male gender (p = 0.005), pocket money under 10,000 cfa (p = 0.001) and between 20,000 - 90,000 cfa (p = 0.030), addictive family behavior (p < 0.001), monogamous family (p = 0.023), good relationship with father (p = 0.020), organization of video game competitions (p = 0.001) and definite anxiety (p Conclusion: Substance-free addiction is struggling to attract the attention it deserves, as it did in its infancy everywhere else. This study complements existing data and serves as a reminder of the need to focus on this group of addictions, whose problematic use of video games remains the most frequent due to its accessibility and social tolerance. Preventive action combined with curative measures remains the most effective means of combating the problem at national level.

Quafu-Qcover:Explore combinatorial optimization problems on cloud-based quantum computers

We introduce Quafu-Qcover,an open-source cloud-based software package developed for solving combinatorial optimization problems using quantum simulators and hardware backends.Quafu-Qcover provides a standardized and comprehensive workflow that utilizes the quantum approximate optimization algorithm(QAOA).It facilitates the automatic conversion of the original problem into a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization(QUBO)model and its corresponding Ising model,which can be subsequently transformed into a weight graph.The core of Qcover relies on a graph decomposition-based classical algorithm,which efficiently derives the optimal parameters for the shallow QAOA circuit.Quafu-Qcover incorporates a dedicated compiler capable of translating QAOA circuits into physical quantum circuits that can be executed on Quafu cloud quantum computers.Compared to a general-purpose compiler,our compiler demonstrates the ability to generate shorter circuit depths,while also exhibiting superior speed performance.Additionally,the Qcover compiler has the capability to dynamically create a library of qubits coupling substructures in real-time,utilizing the most recent calibration data from the superconducting quantum devices.This ensures that computational tasks can be assigned to connected physical qubits with the highest fidelity.The Quafu-Qcover allows us to retrieve quantum computing sampling results using a task ID at any time,enabling asynchronous processing.Moreover,it incorporates modules for results preprocessing and visualization,facilitating an intuitive display of solutions for combinatorial optimization problems.We hope that Quafu-Qcover can serve as an instructive illustration for how to explore application problems on the Quafu cloud quantum computers.

GLOBAL CONVERGENCE OF A CAUTIOUS PROJECTION BFGS ALGORITHM FOR NONCONVEX PROBLEMS WITHOUT GRADIENT LIPSCHITZ CONTINUITY

A cautious projection BFGS method is proposed for solving nonconvex unconstrained optimization problems.The global convergence of this method as well as a stronger general convergence result can be proven without a gradient Lipschitz continuity assumption,which is more in line with the actual problems than the existing modified BFGS methods and the traditional BFGS method.Under some additional conditions,the method presented has a superlinear convergence rate,which can be regarded as an extension and supplement of BFGS-type methods with the projection technique.Finally,the effectiveness and application prospects of the proposed method are verified by numerical experiments.

A Multi-Baseline PolInSAR Forest Height Inversion Method Taking into Account the Model Ill-posed Problem

Affected by the insufficient information of single baseline observation data,the three-stage method assumes the Ground-to-Volume Ratio(GVR)to be zero so as to invert the vegetation height.However,this assumption introduces much biases into the parameter estimates which greatly limits the accuracy of the vegetation height inversion.Multi-baseline observation can provide redundant information and is helpful for the inversion of GVR.Nevertheless,the similar model parameter values in a multi-baseline model often lead to ill-posed problems and reduce the inversion accuracy of conventional algorithm.To this end,we propose a new step-by-step inversion method applied to the multi-baseline observations.Firstly,an adjustment inversion model is constructed by using multi-baseline volume scattering dominant polarization data,and the regularized estimates of model parameters are obtained by regularization method.Then,the reliable estimates of GVR are determined by the MSE(mean square error)analysis of each regularized parameter estimation.Secondly,the estimated GVR is used to extracts the pure volume coherence,and then the vegetation height parameter is inverted from the pure volume coherence by least squares estimation.The experimental results show that the new method can improve the vegetation height inversion result effectively.The inversion accuracy is improved by 26%with respect to the three-stage method and the conventional solution of multi-baseline.All of these have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the new method.

An Immune-Inspired Approach with Interval Allocation in Solving Multimodal Multi-Objective Optimization Problems with Local Pareto Sets

In practical engineering,multi-objective optimization often encounters situations where multiple Pareto sets(PS)in the decision space correspond to the same Pareto front(PF)in the objective space,known as Multi-Modal Multi-Objective Optimization Problems(MMOP).Locating multiple equivalent global PSs poses a significant challenge in real-world applications,especially considering the existence of local PSs.Effectively identifying and locating both global and local PSs is a major challenge.To tackle this issue,we introduce an immune-inspired reproduction strategy designed to produce more offspring in less crowded,promising regions and regulate the number of offspring in areas that have been thoroughly explored.This approach achieves a balanced trade-off between exploration and exploitation.Furthermore,we present an interval allocation strategy that adaptively assigns fitness levels to each antibody.This strategy ensures a broader survival margin for solutions in their initial stages and progressively amplifies the differences in individual fitness values as the population matures,thus fostering better population convergence.Additionally,we incorporate a multi-population mechanism that precisely manages each subpopulation through the interval allocation strategy,ensuring the preservation of both global and local PSs.Experimental results on 21 test problems,encompassing both global and local PSs,are compared with eight state-of-the-art multimodal multi-objective optimization algorithms.The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm in simultaneously identifying global Pareto sets and locally high-quality PSs.

Dirac method for nonlinear and non-homogenous boundary value problems of plates

The boundary value problem plays a crucial role in the analytical investigation of continuum dynamics. In this paper, an analytical method based on the Dirac operator to solve the nonlinear and non-homogeneous boundary value problem of rectangular plates is proposed. The key concept behind this method is to transform the nonlinear or non-homogeneous part on the boundary into a lateral force within the governing function by the Dirac operator, which linearizes and homogenizes the original boundary, allowing one to employ the modal superposition method for obtaining solutions to reconstructive governing equations. Once projected into the modal space, the harmonic balance method(HBM) is utilized to solve coupled ordinary differential equations(ODEs)of truncated systems with nonlinearity. To validate the convergence and accuracy of the proposed Dirac method, the results of typical examples, involving nonlinearly restricted boundaries, moment excitation, and displacement excitation, are compared with those of the differential quadrature element method(DQEM). The results demonstrate that when dealing with nonlinear boundaries, the Dirac method exhibits more excellent accuracy and convergence compared with the DQEM. However, when facing displacement excitation, there exist some discrepancies between the proposed approach and simulations;nevertheless, the proposed method still accurately predicts resonant frequencies while being uniquely capable of handling nonuniform displacement excitations. Overall, this methodology offers a convenient way for addressing nonlinear and non-homogenous plate boundaries.