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This paper proposes a new method to improve re performance of intra-field interpolation which is the mos~ important element of deinterlacing method. Traditional edge- based methods were poor at determining accurate edge iirection which decides interpolation performance. The 7roposed method decides the direction and slope of edge based on locally adaptive-thresholded binary image to mprove efficiency and accuracy, and it also increased the ~orizontal size of search window to 15 for better direction ietermination at gentle slope. Compared to traditional edge- based methods, interpolation based on binary image, which is ,`enerated using the proposed method, leads to great erformance improvement. With computer simulations for a ~`ariety of images, this paper shows the new approach is much ~etter than traditional methods.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

A three-phase, two-winding transformer model is presented in this paper. Nonlinear magnetizing curves are piece-wise linearized, while the input winding capacitances are lumped onto the transformer terminals. A stiff system of differential equations in a state space, describing the transformer transient behavior, is solved using the L-stable backward differentiation formulas (BDFs) numerical rule. It has been shown that using the BDF numerical rule has resulted in better stability properties than using the trapezoidal rule. A computer program has been developed for generation of variable-state waveforms. The developed program is suitable for simulations of low-frequency three-phase transformer transients such as inrush currents and ferroresonance. This computer program has proved to be nu- merically stable for the problems investigated in this paper. The results acquired in this way are compared to results obtained using MATLAB/Power System Blockset, as well as to results of laboratory measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the use of a specific combination of discrete and finite element methods for the simulation of systems of deformable bodies in order to reduce the computational cost, when certain assumptions can be made. In particular, the Updated Lagrangian finite element formulation and the central difference time integration method are employed together with certain simplifying assumptions in order to linearize this highly nonlinear contact problem and obtain solutions with realistic computational cost and sufficiently good accuracy. Furthermore, the paper discusses software implementation issues and the advantages that the Java technologies can offer in the development of such engineering applications. [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]

In this paper, we present an accurate numerical method for solving fractional Hodgkin-Huxley model. A non-standard finite difference method (NSFDM) is implemented to study the dynamic behaviors of the proposed model. The Grünwald-Letinkov definition is used to approximate the fractional derivatives. Numerical results are presented graphically reveal that NSFDM is easy to implement, effective and convenient for solving the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper is concerned with a non-autonomous delayed Nicholsonʼs blowflies model. Under proper conditions, we employ a novel argument to establish a criterion on the global exponential stability of positive periodic solutions. This answers an open problem proposed by Berezansky et al. (2010) [2]. We also provide numerical simulations to support the theoretical result. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper develops a theoretical analysis of harmonic balance method, based on the cubic spline wavelet and Daubechies wavelet, for steady state analysis of nonlinear circuits under periodic excitation. The properties of the resulting Jacobian matrix for harmonic balance are analyzed. Numerical experiments illustrate the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the numerical simulation method is used to study spectral properties of sample covariance matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we develop a three-dimensional parallel solver using the fifth order high-resolution weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) finite difference scheme to perform extensive simulation for three-dimensional gaseous detonations. A careful study is conducted for the propagation modes of three-dimensional gaseous detonation wave-front structures in a long square duct. The numerical results indicate that, the instability of detonation, overdrive factor, transverse dimension and initial perturbation are the main factors that influence the appearance of spinning detonation. For unstable detonation with an overdrive factor f =1.0, with the duct width decreasing, the transverse modes tend to be the lower ones. When the duct width is sufficiently small, detonation propagation is coupled to the lowest transverse mode in order to sustain itself. There is a maximum duct width for the appearance of spinning detonation. When the duct width is smaller than this value, the unstable detonation propagates in a spinning mode. When the duct width is larger than this value, spinning detonation disappears. For highly unstable detonation with an overdrive factor f =1.2, the formation of the spinning detonation does not depend on the initial perturbation and it only depends on the high instability of detonation and channel dimension in the transverse directions. Both initial rectangular modes and initial diagonal modes can eventually evolve into spinning modes. For mildly unstable detonation with an overdrive factor f =1.6, it is easier for the initial diagonal mode to trigger the spinning mode than for the initial rectangular mode. The formation of spinning detonation thus not only depends on the high instability of detonation and channel dimension in the transverse directions, but also depends on the initial perturbation. For the stable detonation with an overdrive factor f =1.1, when the initial perturbation is in the transverse cosine mode, the front of the stable detonation has a rectangular structure and slapping waves appear on the walls. When the initial perturbation is in the symmetrical mode along the diagonals of the detonation front, the diagonal detonation is formed and the slapping waves on the walls disappear. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An improved Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) epidemic diffusion model with population migration between two cities is modeled. Global stability conditions for both the disease-free equilibrium and the endemic equilibrium are analyzed and proved. The main contribution of this paper is reflected in epidemic modeling and analysis which considers unequal migration rates, and only susceptible individuals can migrate between the two cities. Numerical simulation shows when the epidemic diffusion system is stable, number of infected individuals in one city can reach zero, while the number of infected individuals in the other city is still positive. On the other hand, decreasing population migration in only one city seems not as effective as improving the recovery rate for controlling the epidemic diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Abstraction is one of the most important strategies for dealing with the state space explosion problem in model checking. In an abstract model, the state space is largely reduced, however, a counterexample found in such a model may not be a real counterexample. Accordingly, the abstract model needs to be further refined where an NP-hard state separation problem is often involved. In this paper, a novel approach is presented, in which extra boolean variables are added to the abstract model for the refinement. With this approach, not only the NP-hard state separation problem can be avoided, but also a smaller refined abstract model can be obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A discrete element code with impact model has been developed and calibrated to simulate the dynamic behavior of rock materials, with special regard to rock fragmentation upon impact during rock-fall analysis. The paper summarizes the discrete element code, the calibration algorithms developed to identify the model microparameters, and the impact model. Experimental work on drop tests is then used to validate the code on modeling impact fragmentation. It has been found that the developed discrete element code and impact model can reasonably simulate rock fragmentation in drop tests. The use of the discrete element code and impact model can provide good reference results in evaluating impact fragmentation in rock-fall analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the asymptotic stability of the trajectories governed by the scalar delay differential inequalities: . Here, the requirements on and are more relaxed than those in previous works. For example, , , and are not necessarily nonnegative. We prove that when is small, the asymptotic stability of can be obtained if the time average of on some fixed length is lower bounded by some positive . And we explicitly give the upper bound of . We also give two applications of the theoretical results. First, we consider self synchronization in Hopfield networks with time varying connections. Then we investigate consensus in networks with time varying topologies and arbitrary coupling weights. In both applications, we extend some of our previous works where time delays are not considered. At last, two numerical examples with simulations are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Moneim and Greenhalgh [I.A. Moneim, D. Greenhalgh, Use of a periodic vaccination strategy to control the spread of epidemics with seasonally varying contact rate, Math. Biosci. Eng. 2 (2005) 591–611] proposed an SEIRS epidemic model with general periodic vaccination strategy and seasonally varying contact rate. Their investigation shows that when , there exists a globally asymptotically stable disease-free periodic state, and when , the disease-free solution is unstable and there is at least one positive periodic solution. But they did not find the threshold condition for uniform persistence and extinction of the disease, and left a conjecture—that is, whether the basic reproduction ratio of the time-averaged system can be the threshold parameter or not. The present paper gives a negative answer to this question and provides a thorough global dynamics for this system. Numerical simulations which show our theoretical results are also given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a new complex-valued recurrent neural network (CVRNN) called complex-valued Zhang neural network (CVZNN) is proposed and simulated to solve the complex-valued time-varying matrix-inversion problems. Such a CVZNN model is designed based on a matrix-valued error function in the complex domain, and utilizes the complex-valued first-order time-derivative information of the complex-valued time-varying matrix for online inversion. Superior to the conventional complex-valued gradient-based neural network (CVGNN) and its related methods, the state matrix of the resultant CVZNN model can globally exponentially converge to the theoretical inverse of the complex-valued time-varying matrix in an error-free manner. Moreover, by exploiting the design parameter , superior convergence can be achieved for the CVZNN model to solve such complex-valued time-varying matrix inversion problems, as compared with the situation without design parameter involved (i.e., the situation with ). Computer-simulation results substantiate the theoretical analysis and further demonstrate the efficacy of such a CVZNN model for online complex-valued time-varying matrix inversion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a competitive Lotka–Volterra system with three delays is investigated. By choosing the sum of three delays as a bifurcation parameter, we show that in the above system, Hopf bifurcation at the positive equilibrium can occur as crosses some critical values. And we obtain the formulae determining direction of Hopf bifurcation and stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions by using the normal form theory and center manifold theorem. Finally, numerical simulations supporting our theoretical results are also included. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Šil'nikov homoclinic theorem provides one analytic criterion for proving the existence of chaos in three-dimensional autonomous nonlinear systems. In applications of the theorem, however, the existence of a homoclinic orbit that usually determines the geometric structure of the chaotic attractor is not easily verified mainly because there are no available efficient methods. In this paper, based on the undetermined coefficient approach we present a framework of how to find homoclinic orbits in two classes of three-dimensional autonomous nonlinear systems of normal forms, including how to set a reasonable form of expanding series of the homoclinic orbit, how to determine all coefficients in the expansion, and how to find a numerical homoclinic orbit. Numerical examples show that the proposed framework in combination with computer simulation is very efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many complex real-world systems can be accurately modeled by simulations. However, high-fidelity simulations may take hours or even days to compute. Because this can be impractical, a surrogate model is often used to approximate the dynamic behavior of the original simulator. This model can then be used as a cheap, drop-in replacement for the simulator. Because simulations can be very expensive, the data points, which are required to build the model, must be chosen as optimally as possible. Sequential design strategies offer a huge advantage over one-shot experimental designs because they can use information gathered from previous data points in order to determine I lie location of new data points. Each sequential design strategy must perform a trade-off between exploration and exploitation, where the former involves selecting data points in unexplored regions of the design space, while the latter suggests adding data points in regions which were previously identified to be interesting (for example, highly nonlinear regions). In this paper, a novel hybrid sequential design strategy is proposed which uses a Monte Carlo-based approximation of a Voronoi tessellation for exploration and local linear approximations of the simulator for exploitation. The advantage of this method over other sequential design methods is that it is independent of the model type, and can therefore be used in heterogeneous modeling environments, where multiple model types are used at the same time. The new method is demonstrated on a number of test problems, showing that it is a robust, competitive, and efficient sequential design strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the numerical simulations for the dynamics of the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) model. The numerical simulations of the MBE models require long time computations, and therefore large time-stepping methods become necessary. In this work, we consider some unconditionally energy stable finite difference schemes, which will be used in the time adaptivity strategies. It is found that the use of the time adaptivity cannot only resolve the steady-state solutions but also the dynamical changes of the solution accurately and efficiently. The adaptive time step is selected based on the energy variation or the change of the roughness of the solution. The numerical experiments demonstrated that the CPU time is significantly saved for long time simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]