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From the facts that numerous regions with initially similar economic conditions end up with different levels of entrepreneurial agglomeration, this paper constructs a model assuming that the sequential entrants make their career choices based on existing entrepreneurial ratio and describing the dynamics of entrepreneurial agglomeration formation. After mathematical analysis and numerical simulation using NetLogo, it is found that under social selection, a nonlinear Polya process with self-reinforcing and path-dependency characters will emerge, and the repeated entrants' career choices will lead to the agglomeration of entrepreneurship; the agent's risk compensation value, the initial population of agents, the number of role models in the early stage and the initial entrepreneurial ratio are determinants to the formation of entrepreneurial agglomeration. The findings confirm that entrepreneurship has "memory" and the entrepreneurial history could have influence on the future. In order to forge the entrepreneurial agglomeration, our suggestions include exerting influence on the determinants from an early age, and improving the individual's risk-taking abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with a reaction–diffusion–advection chemostat model with two species growing and competing for a single-limited resource. By taking the growth rates of the two species as variable parameters, we study the effect of growth rates on the dynamics of this system. It is found that there exist several critical curves, which may classify the dynamics of this system into three scenarios: (1) extinction of both species; (2) competitive exclusion; (3) coexistence. Moreover, we take numerical approaches to further understand the potential behaviors of the above critical curves and observe that the bistable phenomenon can occur, besides competitive exclusion and coexistence. To further study the effect of advection and diffusion on the dynamics of this system, we present the bifurcation diagrams of positive equilibrium solutions of the single species model and the two-species model with the advection rates and the diffusion rates increasing, respectively. These numerical results indicate that advection and diffusion play a key role in determining the dynamics of two species competing in a flow reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is the numerical analysis of a class of mathematical models that describe the contact between a thermo-piezoelectric body and a conductive foundation. Under the assumption of a static process, the material's behavior is modeled with a linear thermo-electro-elastic constitutive law and the frictional contact with Signorini's and Tresca's laws. A variational problem is derived and the existence of a unique weak solution is proved by combining arguments from the theory of variational inequalities with linear strongly monotone Lipschitz continuous operators. A successive iteration technique to linearize the problem by transforming it into an incremental recursive form is proposed, and its convergence is established. An Augmented Lagrangian variant, known as the Alternating Direction Multiplier Method (ADMM), is employed to split the original problem into two subproblems, resolve them sequentially, as well as update the dual variables at each iteration. To illustrate the performance of the proposed approach, several numerical simulations on two-dimensional test problems are carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A coupling mechanism model of an FSDB unit is developed and verified. • Mathematical analysis is explored to reveal the coupling mechanism of an FSDB system. • Rigid and elastic motions of disk and cyclic blades induce diagonal and cross-coupling terms. • The motion patterns of cyclic blades are classified and clarified. • Effects of motion patterns of cyclic blades on NFs and CSs are applied to interpret and validate the dynamic coupling. This paper focuses on the influence mechanism of cyclic blades on the dynamic coupling of a flexible shaft-disk-blade (FSDB) system through mathematical analysis and numerical simulation. Firstly, a coupling mechanism model of an FSDB unit is developed through a Lagrange method and the assumed mode method (AMM), after considering the coupling behavior among shaft bending, shaft torsion, disk vibration, and blade bending. The modal comparison results between the proposed model and FEM affirm the validity of the model. Then the analytical interpretation is explored by decomposing and discussing the diagonal coupling and cross-coupling matrices of the FSDB system. The mechanism discussion reveals that the coupling matrices originate from the rigid and elastic motions of flexible disk and cyclic blades, indicating that the motions of cyclic blades play an important role in dynamic coupling. Therefore, the motions of cyclic blades are classified and analyzed, and their effects on natural frequencies (NFs) and critical speeds (CSs) are applied to further interpret and validate the dynamic coupling through numerical simulation. The numerical results indicate that motions of cyclic blades can increase, decrease, and eliminate the magnitude of dynamic coupling significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have considered a deterministic mathematical model to analyze effective interventions for meningitis and pneumonia coinfection as well as to make a rational recommendation to public healthy, policy or decision makers and programs implementers. We have introduced the epidemiology of infectious diseases, the epidemiology of meningitis, the epidemiology of pneumonia, and the epidemiology of infection of meningitis and pneumonia. The positivity and boundedness of the sated model was shown. Our model elucidate that, the disease free equilibrium points of each model are locally asymptotically stable if the corresponding reproduction numbers are less than one and globally asymptotically stable if the corresponding reproduction numbers are greater than one. Additionally, we have analyzed the existence and uniqueness of the endemic equilibrium point of each sub models, local stability and global stability of the endemic equilibrium points for each model. By using standard values of parameters we have obtained from different studies, we found that the effective reproduction numbers of meningitis R e f f (m) = 9 and effective reproduction numbers of pneumonia R e f f (p) = 11 that lead us to the effective reproduction number of the meningitis and pneumonia co-infected model is m a x R e f f m , R e f f (p) = 9 . Applying sensitivity analysis, we identified the most influential parameters that can change the behavior of the solution of the meningitis pneumonia coinfection dynamical system are α 1 , α 2 and π . Biologically, decrease in α 1 and increasing in π is a possible intervention strategy to reduce the infectious from communities. Finally, our numerical simulation has shown that vaccination against those diseases, reducing contact with infectious persons and treatment have the great effect on reduction of these silent killer diseases from the communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, we have considered a nonlinear compartmental mathematical model that assesses the effect of treatment on the dynamics of HIV/AIDS and pneumonia coinfection in a human population at different infection stages. Our model revealed that the disease-free equilibrium points of the HIV/AIDS and pneumonia submodels are both locally and globally asymptotically stable whenever the associated basic reproduction numbers ( R H and R P ) are less than unity. Both the submodel endemic equilibrium points are locally and globally asymptotically stable whenever the associated basic reproduction numbers ( R P and R H ) are greater than unity. The full HIV/AIDS-pneumonia coinfection model has both locally and globally asymptotically stable disease-free equilibrium points whenever the basic reproduction number of the coinfection model R H P is less than unity. Using standard values of parameters collected from different kinds of literature, we found that the numerical values of the basic reproduction numbers of the HIV/AIDS-only submodel and pneumonia-only submodel are 17 and 7, respectively, and the basic reproduction number of the HIV/AIDS-pneumonia coinfection model is max 7 , 17 = 17. Applying sensitive analysis, we identified the most influential parameters to change the behavior of the solution of the considered coinfection dynamical system are the HIV/AIDS and pneumonia transmission rates β 1 and β 2 , respectively. The coinfection model was numerically simulated to investigate the stability of the coinfection endemic equilibrium point, the impacts of transmission rates, and treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS-only, pneumonia-only, and HIV/AIDS-pneumonia coinfected individuals. Finally, we observed that numerical simulations indicate that treatment against infection at every stage lowers the rate of infection or disease prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, our aim is mathematical analysis and numerical simulation of a prey-predator model to describe the effect of predation between prey and predator with nonlinear functional response. First, we develop results concerning the boundedness, the existence and uniqueness of the solution. Furthermore, the Lyapunov principle and the Routh–Hurwitz criterion are applied to study respectively the local and global stability results. We also establish the Hopf-bifurcation to show the existence of a branch of nontrivial periodic solutions. Finally, numerical simulations have been accomplished to validate our analytical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, our aim is mathematical analysis and numerical simulation of a prey-predator model to describe the effect of predation between prey and predator with nonlinear functional response. First, we develop results concerning the boundedness, the existence and uniqueness of the solution. Furthermore, the Lyapunov principle and the Routh–Hurwitz criterion are applied to study respectively the local and global stability results. We also establish the Hopf-bifurcation to show the existence of a branch of nontrivial periodic solutions. Finally, numerical simulations have been accomplished to validate our analytical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When experimental resources are significantly constrained, resolution V fractional factorial designs are often prohibitively large for experiments with 6 or more factors. Resolution IV designs may also be cost prohibitive, as additional experimentation may be required to de-alias active 2-factor interactions (2FI). This paper introduces 20-run no-confounding screening designs for 6 to 12 factors as alternatives to resolution IV designs. No-confounding designs have orthogonal main effects, and since no 2FI is completely confounded with another main effects or 2FI, the experimental results can be analyzed without follow-on experimentation. The paper concludes with the results of a Monte Carlo simulation used to assess the model-fitting accuracy of the recommended designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we provide a new method for constructing chaotic Hopfield neural networks. Our approach is based on structuring the domain to form a special set through the discrete evolution of the network state variables. In the chaotic regime, the formed set is invariant under the system governing the dynamics of the neural network. The approach can be viewed as an extension of the unimodality technique for one-dimensional map, thereby generating chaos from higher-dimensional systems. We show that the discrete Hopfield neural network considered is chaotic in the sense of Devaney, Li–Yorke, and Poincaré. Mathematical analysis and numerical simulation are provided to confirm the presence of chaos in the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microgrid can operate in both grid-connected and islanded modes. Islanding can be scheduled or unscheduled. In the event of unscheduled islanding, the microgrid should be able to maintain its sustainability. Therefore, it is necessary to determine and supply the amount of required spinning reserve for stable islanding. In this paper, a two-stage strategy for optimal scheduling of the microgrid is proposed while uncertainties of renewable generations and demand are considered. In the first stage, co-optimization of power and reserve is carried out with the presence of distributed generations and batteries. Therefore, in the second stage, the demand is also used as reserve to provide required reserve for stable islanding. In order to determine the optimal amount of reserve of demand, a novel objective function is proposed. The objective function minimizes the sum of the standby reserve cost, expected cost of called reserve, and expected cost of emergency curtailment. One of the salient features of the proposed model is its modularity. That is, it can be added easily to any scheduling model in which the demand is not considered as reserve. Mathematical analysis and numerical simulations show the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A joint stiffening element is proposed to simulate lattice structures fabricated by additive manufacturing. • The influence of the joint on the stiffness of the lattice structure can be considered in the proposed model. • A parametric study is conducted to quantify the influence of the joint on a certain lattice structure and to find the optimal parameters of the joint stiffening element. • Three-point bend testing is conducted, and it shows that the accuracy is significantly improved by the proposed model for bending dominant lattice structures. • The computational cost of the proposed model is much lower than the tetrahedral element model. Abstract In this paper, a concept called joint stiffening element is proposed to represent the influence of the joint on the stiffness of lattice structures fabricated by additive manufacturing. Four parameters are defined in the proposed element to quantify the increment of the stiffness caused by the lattice joint. Then, three-point-bend testing is used to validate the proposed model. The lattice structures with Cubic-center and Vintiles topologies are designed and fabricated for the experiment. As-fabricated material properties are obtained by tensile specimens to eliminate the influence caused by the manufacturing process and to isolate the joint stiffening effect. The result shows that models with the solid element and the proposed element are both accurate, but the proposed model has a significantly less computational cost than the solid element model. Furthermore, compared to the beam element model, the proposed model can more accurately estimate the stiffness of lattice structures, especially for the Vintiles topology. It is also found that the joint stiffening effect is more significant on the bending dominant topology than the stretching dominant topology. Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a discriminant problem of location-scale family in case of prediction from type II censored samples. Three model selection approaches and two types of predictors are, respectively, proposed to predict the future order statistics from censored data when the best underlying distribution is not clear with several candidates. Two members in the location-scale family, the normal distribution and smallest extreme value distribution, are used as candidates to illustrate the best model competition for the underlying distribution via using the proposed prediction methods. The performance of correct and incorrect selections under correct specification and misspecification is evaluated via using Monte Carlo simulations. Simulation results show that model misspecification has impact on the prediction precision and the proposed three model selection approaches perform well when more than one candidate distributions are competing for the best underlying distribution. Finally, the proposed approaches are applied to three data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the application of range-free localization technology for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), an improved localization algorithm based on iterative centroid estimation is proposed in this paper. With this methodology, the centroid coordinate of the space enclosed by connected anchor nodes and the received signal strength indication (RSSI) between the unknown node and the centroid are calculated. Then, the centroid is used as a virtual anchor node. It is proven that there is at least one connected anchor node whose distance from the unknown node must be farther than the virtual anchor node. Hence, in order to reduce the space enclosed by connected anchor nodes and improve the location precision, the anchor node with the weakest RSSI is replaced by this virtual anchor node. By applying this procedure repeatedly, the localization algorithm can achieve a good accuracy. Observing from the simulation results, the proposed algorithm has strong robustness and can achieve an ideal performance of localization precision and coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider near-optimal operation for a class of unconstrained batch processes using the self-optimizing control (SOC) methodology. The existing static SOC approach is extended to the dynamic case by means of a static reformulation of the dynamic optimization problem. However, the dynamic SOC problem is posed as a structure-constrained controlled variable (CV) selection problem, which is different from the static cases. A lower-block triangular structure is specified for the combination matrix, H , to allow for optimal operation whilst respecting causality. A new result is that the structure-constrained SOC problem still results in a convex formulation, which has an analytic solution where the optimal CVs associated with discrete time instants are solved separately. In addition, the inputs are directly determined based on current CV functions for on-line utilization. A fed-batch reactor and a batch distillation column are used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we develop new governing equations for thermo‐gradient‐dependent theory of plasticity. They include the coupled effects of thermal elastic‐plastic theory, including balance and constitutive equations. To demonstrate the salient feature of the gradient‐dependent model of plasticity, particular attention is addressed to isotropic hardening with second sound effects to eliminate the paradox of infinite speed of thermal signals. The resulting system of partial differential equations formally describes the coupled thermomechanical behavior of the gradient‐dependent elasto‐plastic system. Then, we develop an appropriate state‐space form and, by using the semigroup theory, we prove the well‐posedness and the exponential stability of the thermo‐gradient‐dependent elasto‐plastic one‐dimensional problem. Finally, we perform numerical simulations to validate the proposed model and to show its capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical schemes provably preserving the positivity of density and pressure are highly desirable for ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), but the rigorous positivity-preserving (PP) analysis remains challenging. The difficulties mainly arise from the intrinsic complexity of the MHD equations as well as the indeterminate relation between the PP property and the divergence-free condition on the magnetic field. This paper presents the first rigorous PP analysis of conservative schemes with the Lax--Friedrichs (LF) flux for 1D and multidimensional ideal MHD. The significant innovation is the discovery of the theoretical connection between the PP property and a discrete divergence-free (DDF) condition. This connection is established through the generalized LF splitting properties, which are alternatives to the usually expected LF splitting property that does not hold for ideal MHD. The generalized LF splitting properties involve a number of admissible states strongly coupled by the DDF condition, making their derivation very difficult. We derive these properties via a novel equivalent form of the admissible state set and an important inequality, which is skillfully constructed by technical estimates. Rigorous PP analysis is then presented for finite volume and discontinuous Galerkin schemes with the LF flux on uniform Cartesian meshes. In the 1D case, the PP property is proved for the first-order scheme with proper numerical viscosity, and also for arbitrarily high-order schemes under conditions accessible by a PP limiter. In the 2D case, we show that the DDF condition is necessary and crucial for achieving the PP property. It is observed that even slightly violating the proposed DDF condition may cause failure to preserve the positivity of pressure. We prove that the 2D LF type scheme with proper numerical viscosity preserves both the positivity and the DDF condition. Sufficient conditions are derived for 2D PP high-order schemes, and extension to 3D is discussed. Numerical examples provided in the supplementary material further confirm the theoretical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The block inverse iteration and block Newton’s methods proposed by the authors of this paper for computing invariant pairs of regular linear matrix pencils are generalized to the case of regular nonlinear matrix pencils. Numerical properties of the proposed methods are demonstrated with a typical quadratic eigenproblem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of exponential stability and stabilization for a class of delayed distributed parameter systems, which is modeled by partial integro-differential equations (PIDEs). By employing the vector-valued Wirtinger's inequality, the sufficient condition of exponential stability of the PIDE system with a given decay rate is investigated. The condition is presented by linear matrix inequality (LMIs). After that, we develop a spatial proportional-integral-derivative state-feedback controller that ensures the exponential stabilization of the PIDE system in terms of LMIs. Finally, numerical examples are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports the results of theoretical and experimental tests of a forming process for producing ball studs which are widely used in the automotive industry. It is proposed that semi-finished ball studs are produced by cross wedge rolling in a double configuration. The theoretical analysis was performed by numerical techniques based on the finite element method. Numerical computations were made using the simulation software DEFORM v 11.0. During the simulations, the accuracy of the adopted tool design was verified, and optimal parameters of the process along with the effect of selected parameters of the process and the quality of produced parts were determined. The proposed rolling process was verified under laboratory conditions using a flat-wedge forging machine available at the Lublin University of Technology. The experimental findings show a high agreement with the numerical results, in terms of both quality and quantity. The results confirm that ball studs can be produced by the proposed cross wedge rolling technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previously developed Dielectrophoresis activated cell sorters (DACSes) have achieved high separation efficiency, limitations still exist with respect to the low throughput. In this paper, therefore, a numerical analysis is presented for a novel DACS to achieve not only high efficiency but also high throughput. Additionally, experimental validation is performed based on the results of a numerical simulation. First, streamlines in the channel are investigated according to various flow rate ratios in each outlet. After cells are deflected by a sufficient amount of dielectrophoretic force, they arrive at the tip of the last electrode pair. Their movement is then determined by hydrodynamic force. Therefore, it is important to confirm whether or not the streamline at the tip of the last electrode pair connects to the target area. Based on the streamline analysis results, the particle trajectory under various AC electric fields is investigated using a three-dimensional analysis. Accordingly, an input voltage condition (7 Vp-p at 10 kHz) is selected to confirm the influence of dielectrophoretic force. Conclusively, optimal flow rates under the determined input voltage condition are selected as 10 μl/min and 20 μl/min in outlet A (target area) and outlet B (non-target area), respectively. In order to validate the feasibility of the selected flow rates, a separation test is performed employing a K562 cell-bone marrow cancer cell-as a target cell. In the experiment, the proposed DACS achieves a high throughput of 45000 cells/min as well as a separation efficiency of 96.5% and recovery rate of 47.25%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a unified cubic flux-controlled memristor is proposed, and how to choose its parameters to obtain an appropriate memristor is investigated. The relevant frequency band of the exciting source that enables the memristor to keep its characteristics (call it mem-frequency band) is analyzed, and the matter of high mem-frequency is also clinched. Based on the trend of their i-v curves versus time, the memristors are divided into two types: P and N. The design, simulations and experiments of the circuits for the presented memristor model are given to describe its dynamical behaviors. The results from simulations and experiments are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis, which are of special guidance for designing such device to satisfy the requirements in practical engineering. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]