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In theoretical physics and theoretical neuroscience, increased intelligence is associated with increased entropy, which entails potential access to an increased number of states that could facilitate adaptive behavior. Potential to access a larger number of states is a latent entropy as it refers to the number of states that could possibly be accessed, and it is also recognized that functioning needs to be efficient through minimization of manifest entropy. For example, in theoretical physics, the importance of efficiency is recognized through the observation that nature is thrifty in all its actions and through the principle of least action. In this paper, system intelligence is explained as capability to maintain internal stability while adapting to changing environments by minimizing manifest task entropy while maximizing latent system entropy. In addition, it is explained how automated negotiation relates to balancing adaptability and stability; and a mathematical negotiation model is presented that enables balancing of latent system entropy and manifest task entropy in intelligent systems. Furthermore, this first principles analysis of system intelligence is related to everyday challenges in production systems through multiple simulations of the negotiation model. The results indicate that manifest task entropy is minimized when maximization of latent system entropy is used as the criterion for task allocation in the simulated production scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the modeling of the spread of information through a complex, multi-layered network, where the information is transferred from an initial transmitter to a final receiver. The mathematical model is deduced within the framework of operatorial methods, according to the formal mathematical apparatus typical of quantum mechanics. Two different approaches are considered: one based on the ( H , ρ )-induced dynamics and one on the Gorini–Kossakowski–Sudarshan–Lindblad (GKSL) equation. For each method, numerical results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the system size expansion of a stochastic model for radiation-induced DNA damage kinetics and repair. In particular, we characterize both the macroscopic deterministic limit and the fluctuation around it. We further show that such fluctuations are Gaussian-distributed. In deriving such results, we provide further insights into the relationship between stochastic and deterministic mathematical models for radiation-induced DNA damage repair. Specifically, we demonstrate how the governing deterministic equations commonly employed in the field arise naturally within the stochastic framework as a macroscopic limit. Additionally, by examining the fluctuations around this macroscopic limit, we uncover deviations from a Poissonian behavior driven by interactions and clustering among DNA damages. Although such behaviors have been empirically observed, our derived results represent the first rigorous derivation that incorporates these deviations from a Poissonian distribution within a mathematical model, eliminating the need for specific ad hoc corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stochastic modeling of biochemical processes at the cellular level has been the subject of intense research in recent years. The Chemical Master Equation is a broadly utilized stochastic discrete model of such processes. Numerous important biochemical systems consist of many species subject to many reactions. As a result, their mathematical models depend on many parameters. In applications, some of the model parameters may be unknown, so their values need to be estimated from the experimental data. However, the problem of parameter value inference can be quite challenging, especially in the stochastic setting. To estimate accurately the values of a subset of parameters, the system should be sensitive with respect to variations in each of these parameters and they should not be correlated. In this paper, we propose a technique for detecting collinearity among models' parameters and we apply this method for selecting subsets of parameters that can be estimated from the available data. The analysis relies on finite-difference sensitivity estimations and the singular value decomposition of the sensitivity matrix. We illustrated the advantages of the proposed method by successfully testing it on several models of biochemical systems of practical interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most plant viral infections are vector-borne. There is a latent period of disease inside the vector after obtaining the virus from the infected plant. Thus, after interacting with an infected vector, the plant demonstrates an incubation time before becoming diseased. This paper analyzes a mathematical model for persistent vector-borne viral plant disease dynamics. The backpropagated neural network based on the Levenberg—Marquardt algorithm (NN-BLMA) is used to study approximate solutions for fluctuations in natural plant mortality and vector mortality rates. A state-of-the-art numerical technique is utilized to generate reference data for obtaining surrogate solutions for multiple cases through NN-BLMA. Curve fitting, regression analysis, error histograms, and convergence analysis are used to assess accuracy of the calculated solutions. It is evident from our simulations that NN-BLMA is accurate and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper is devoted to a brief overview of results and models concerning flows in networks and channels of networks. First of all, we conduct a survey of the literature in several areas of research connected to these flows. Then, we mention certain basic mathematical models of flows in networks that are based on differential equations. We give special attention to several models for flows of substances in channels of networks. For stationary cases of these flows, we present probability distributions connected to the substance in the nodes of the channel for two basic models: the model of a channel with many arms modeled by differential equations and the model of a simple channel with flows of substances modeled by difference equations. The probability distributions obtained contain as specific cases any probability distribution of a discrete random variable that takes values of 0 , 1 , ... . We also mention applications of the considered models, such as applications for modeling migration flows. Special attention is given to the connection of the theory of stationary flows in channels of networks and the theory of the growth of random networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finite-time synchronization (FNTS) problem for a class of delayed fractional-order fully complex-valued dynamic networks (FFCDNs) with internal delay and non-delayed and delayed couplings is studied by directly constructing Lyapunov functions instead of decomposing the original complex-valued networks into two real-valued networks. Firstly, a mixed delay fractional-order mathematical model is established for the first time as fully complex-valued, where the outer coupling matrices of the model are not restricted to be identical, symmetric, or irreducible. Secondly, to overcome the limitation of the use range of a single controller, two delay-dependent controllers are designed based on the complex-valued quadratic norm and the norm composed of its real and imaginary parts' absolute values, respectively, to improve the synchronization control efficiency. Besides, the relationships between the fractional order of the system, the fractional-order power law, and the settling time (ST) are analyzed. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the control method designed in this paper are verified by numerical simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In theoretical biology, robustness refers to the ability of a biological system to function properly even under perturbation of basic parameters (e.g., temperature or pH), which in mathematical models is reflected in not needing to fine-tune basic parameter constants; flexibility refers to the ability of a system to switch functions or behaviors easily and effortlessly. While there are extensive explorations of the concept of robustness and what it requires mathematically, understanding flexibility has proven more elusive, as well as also elucidating the apparent opposition between what is required mathematically for models to implement either. In this paper we address a number of arguments in theoretical neuroscience showing that both robustness and flexibility can be attained by systems that poise themselves at the onset of a large number of dynamical bifurcations, or dynamical criticality, and how such poising can have a profound influence on integration of information processing and function. Finally, we examine critical map lattices, which are coupled map lattices where the coupling is dynamically critical in the sense of having purely imaginary eigenvalues. We show that these map lattices provide an explicit connection between dynamical criticality in the sense we have used and "edge of chaos" criticality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrations of defective gearboxes show great complexities. Therefore, dynamics and noise levels of vibrations of gearboxes vary with operation of gearboxes. As a result, nonlinearity and determinism of data can serve to describe running conditions of gearboxes. However, measuring of nonlinearity and determinism of data is challenging. This paper defines a two-dimensional measure for simultaneously quantifying nonlinearity and determinism of data by comparing generalized Hurst exponents of original, shuffle and surrogate data. Afterwards, this paper proposes a novel method for fault diagnosis of gearboxes using the two-dimensional measure. Robustness of the proposed method was validated numerically by analyzing simulative signals with different noise levels. Moreover, the performance of the proposed method was benchmarked against Approximate Entropy, Sample Entropy, Permutation Entropy and Delay Vector Variance by conducting two independent gearbox experiments. The results show that the proposed method achieves superiority over the others in fault diagnosis of gearboxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an improved system to efficiently utilize the low-temperature waste heat from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants is proposed based on heat cascade theory. The essence of the proposed system is that the waste heat of exhausted flue gas is not only used to preheat air for assisting coal combustion as usual but also to heat up feedwater and for low-pressure steam extraction. Air preheating is performed by both the exhaust flue gas in the boiler island and the low-pressure steam extraction in the turbine island; thereby part of the flue gas heat originally exchanged in the air preheater can be saved and introduced to heat the feedwater and the high-temperature condensed water. Consequently, part of the high-pressure steam is saved for further expansion in the steam turbine, which results in additional net power output. Based on the design data of a typical 1000 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in China, an in-depth analysis of the energy-saving characteristics of the improved waste heat utilization system (WHUS) and the conventional WHUS is conducted. When the improved WHUS is adopted in a typical 1000 MW unit, net power output increases by 19.51 MW, exergy efficiency improves to 45.46%, and net annual revenue reaches USD 4.741 million while for the conventional WHUS, these performance parameters are 5.83 MW, 44.80% and USD 1.244 million, respectively. The research described in this paper provides a feasible energy-saving option for coal-fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iterative QR-based soft feedback segment interference cancellation (QRSFSIC) detection and decoder algorithm for a Reed-Muller (RM) space-time turbo system is proposed in this paper. It forms the sufficient statistic for the minimum-mean-square error (MMSE) estimate according to QR decomposition-based soft feedback successive interference cancellation, stemmed from the a priori log-likelihood ratio (LLR) of encoded bits. Then, the signal originating from the symbols of the reliable segment, the symbol reliability metric, in terms of an a posteriori LLR of encoded bits which is larger than a certain threshold, is iteratively cancelled with the QRSFSIC in order to further obtain the residual signal for evaluating the symbols in the unreliable segment. This is done until the unreliable segment is empty, resulting in the extrinsic information for a RM turbo-coded bit with the greatest likelihood. Bridged by de-multiplexing and multiplexing, an iterative QRSFSIC detection is concatenated with an iterative trellis-based maximum a posteriori probability RM turbo decoder as if a principal Turbo detection and decoder is embedded with an iterative subordinate QRSFSIC detection and a RM turbo decoder, exchanging each other's detection and decoding soft-decision information iteratively. These three stages let the proposed algorithm approach the upper bound of the diversity. The simulation results also show that the proposed scheme outperforms the other suboptimum detectors considered in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling of a time-varying dynamical system provides insights into the functions of biological neural networks and contributes to the development of next-generation neural prostheses. In this paper, we have formulated a novel sparse multiwavelet-based generalized Laguerre-Volterra (sMGLV) modeling framework to identify the time-varying neural dynamics from multiple spike train data. First, the significant inputs are selected by using a group least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, which can capture the sparsity within the neural system. Second, the multiwavelet-based basis function expansion scheme with an efficient forward orthogonal regression (FOR) algorithm aided by mutual information is utilized to rapidly capture the time-varying characteristics from the sparse model. Quantitative simulation results demonstrate that the proposed sMGLV model in this paper outperforms the initial full model and the state-of-the-art modeling methods in tracking performance for various time-varying kernels. Analyses of experimental data show that the proposed sMGLV model can capture the timing of transient changes accurately. The proposed framework will be useful to the study of how, when, and where information transmission processes across brain regions evolve in behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, a Quality Systems Theory is presented. Certifiable Quality Systems are treated and interpreted in accordance with a Thermodynamics-based approach. Analysis is also conducted on the relationship between Quality Management Systems (QMSs) and systems theories. A measure of entropy is proposed for QMSs, including a virtual document entropy and an entropy linked to processes and organisation. QMSs are also interpreted in light of Cybernetics, and interrelations between Information Theory and quality are also highlighted. A measure for the information content of quality documents is proposed. Such parameters can be used as adequacy indices for QMSs. From the discussed approach, suggestions for organising QMSs are also derived. Further interpretive thermodynamic-based criteria for QMSs are also proposed. The work represents the first attempt to treat quality organisational systems according to a thermodynamics-related approach. At this stage, no data are available to compare statements in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relations between estimation and information measures have received considerable attention from the information theory community. One of the most notable such relationships is the I-MMSE identity of Guo, Shamai and Verdú that connects the mutual information and the minimum mean square error (MMSE). This paper reviews several applications of the I-MMSE relationship to information theoretic problems arising in connection with multi-user channel coding. The goal of this paper is to review the different techniques used on such problems, as well as to emphasize the added-value obtained from the information-estimation point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a relatively well-known fact that in problems of Bayesian model selection, improper priors should, in general, be avoided. In this paper we will derive and discuss a collection of four proper uniform priors which lie on an ascending scale of informativeness. It will turn out that these priors lead us to evidences that are closely associated with the implied evidence of the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). All the discussed evidences are then used in two small Monte Carlo studies, wherein for different sample sizes and noise levels the evidences are used to select between competing C-spline regression models. Also, there is given, for illustrative purposes, an outline on how to construct simple trivariate C-spline regression models. In regards to the length of this paper, only one half of this paper consists of theory and derivations, the other half consists of graphs and outputs of the two Monte Carlo studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a nonlinear dynamic method for complexity measurement of time series, multiscale entropy (MSE) has been successfully applied to fault diagnosis of rolling bearings. However, the MSE algorithm is sensitive to the predetermined parameters and depends heavily on the length of the time series and MSE may yield an inaccurate estimation of entropy or undefined entropy when the length of time series is too short. To improve the robustness of complexity measurement for short time series, a novel nonlinear parameter named multiscale distribution entropy (MDE) was proposed and employed to extract the nonlinear complexity features from vibration signals of rolling bearing in this paper. Combining with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) for feature dimension reduction and Kriging-variable predictive models based class discrimination (KVPMCD) for automatic identification, a new intelligent fault diagnosis method for rolling bearings was proposed. Finally, the proposed approach was applied to analyze the experimental data of rolling bearings and the results indicated that the proposed method could distinguish the different fault categories of rolling bearings effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method for the beta pricing model under the consideration of non-Gaussian returns by means of a generalization of the mean-variance model and the use of principal curves to define a divergence model for the optimization of the pricing model. We rely on the q-exponential model so consider the properties of the divergences which are used to describe the statistical model and fully characterize the behavior of the assets. We derive the minimum divergence portfolio, which generalizes the Markowitz's (mean-divergence) approach and relying on the information geometrical aspects of the distributions the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is then derived under the geometrical characterization of the distributions which model the data, all by the consideration of principal curves approach. We discuss the possibility of integration of our model into an adaptive procedure that can be used for the search of optimum points on finance applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand of oil products in China, the energy consumption of pipeline operation will continue to rise greatly, as well as the cost of oil transportation. In the field of practical engineering, saving energy, reducing energy consumption and adapting to the international oil situation are the development trends and represent difficult problems. Based on the basic principle of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, this paper derives the field equilibrium equations of non-equilibrium thermodynamic process for pipeline transportation. To seek the bilinear form of "force" and "flow" in the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of entropy generation rate, the oil pipeline exergy balance equation and the exergy transfer pipeline dynamic equation of the irreversibility were established. The exergy balance equation was applied to energy balance evaluation system, which makes the system more perfect. The exergy flow transfer law of the waxy oil pipeline were explored deeply from the directions of dynamic exergy, pressure exergy, thermal exergy and diffusion exergy. Taking an oil pipeline as an example, the influence factors of exergy transfer coefficient and exergy flow density were analyzed separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We considermaterial bodies exhibiting a response function for free energy, which depends on both the strain and its gradient. Toupin-Mindlin's gradient elasticity is characterized by Cauchy stress tensors, which are given by space-like Euler-Lagrange derivative of the free energy with respect to the strain. The present paper aims at developing a first version of gradient elasticity of non-Toupin-Mindlin's type, i.e., a theory employing Cauchy stress tensors, which are not necessarily expressed as Euler-Lagrange derivatives. This is accomplished in the framework of non-conventional thermodynamics. A one-dimensional boundary value problem is solved in detail in order to illustrate the differences of the present theory with Toupin-Mindlin's gradient elasticity theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the matrix completion problems when the entries are contaminated by non-Gaussian noise or outliers. The proposed approach employs a nonconvex loss function induced by the maximum correntropy criterion. With the help of this loss function, we develop a rank constrained, as well as a nuclear norm regularized model, which is resistant to non-Gaussian noise and outliers. However, its non-convexity also leads to certain difficulties. To tackle this problem, we use the simple iterative soft and hard thresholding strategies. We show that when extending to the general affine rank minimization problems, under proper conditions, certain recoverability results can be obtained for the proposed algorithms. Numerical experiments indicate the improved performance of our proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this part of the paper, the theory of nonlinear dynamics of flexible Euler-Bernoulli beams (the kinematic model of the first-order approximation) under transverse harmonic load and colored noise has been proposed. It has been shown that the introduced concept of phase transition allows for further generalization of the problem. The concept has been extended to a so-called noise-induced transition, which is a novel transition type exhibited by nonequilibrium systems embedded in a stochastic fluctuated medium, the properties of which depend on time and are influenced by external noise. Colored noise excitation of a structural system treated as a system with an infinite number of degrees of freedom has been studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data or signal separation is one of the critical areas of data analysis. In this work, the problem of non-negative data separation is considered. The problem can be briefly described as follows: given X ∈ Rm×N, find A ∈ Rm×n and S ∈ R+n×N such that X = AS. Specifically, the problem with sparse locally dominant sources is addressed in this work. Although the problem is well studied in the literature, a test to validate the locally dominant assumption is not yet available. In addition to that, the typical approaches available in the literature sequentially extract the elements of the mixing matrix. In this work, a mathematical modeling-based approach is presented that can simultaneously validate the assumption, and separate the given mixture data. In addition to that, a correntropy-based measure is proposed to reduce the model size. The approach presented in this paper is suitable for big data separation. Numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the performance and validity of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shannon entropy, and related quantities such as mutual information, can be used to quantify uncertainty and relevance. However, in practice, it can be difficult to compute these quantities for arbitrary probability distributions, particularly if the probability mass functions or densities cannot be evaluated. This paper introduces a computational approach, based on Nested Sampling, to evaluate entropies of probability distributions that can only be sampled. I demonstrate the method on three examples: a simple Gaussian example where the key quantities are available analytically; (ii) an experimental design example about scheduling observations in order to measure the period of an oscillating signal; and (iii) predicting the future from the past in a heavy-tailed scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The periodical transient impulses caused by localized faults are sensitive and important characteristic information for rotating machinery fault diagnosis. However, it is very difficult to accurately extract transient impulses at the incipient fault stage because the fault impulse features are rather weak and always corrupted by heavy background noise. In this paper, a new transient impulse extraction methodology is proposed based on impulse-step dictionary and re-weighted minimizing nonconvex penalty Lq regular (R-WMNPLq, q = 0.5) for the incipient fault diagnosis of rolling bearings. Prior to the sparse representation, the original vibration signal is preprocessed by the variational mode decomposition (VMD) technique. Due to the physical mechanism of periodic double impacts, including step-like and impulse-like impacts, an impulse-step impact dictionary atom could be designed to match the natural waveform structure of vibration signals. On the other hand, the traditional sparse reconstruction approaches such as orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), L1-norm regularization treat all vibration signal values equally and thus ignore the fact that the vibration peak value may have more useful information about periodical transient impulses and should be preserved at a larger weight value. Therefore, penalty and smoothing parameters are introduced on the reconstructed model to guarantee the reasonable distribution consistence of peak vibration values. Lastly, the proposed technique is applied to accelerated lifetime testing of rolling bearings, where it achieves a more noticeable and higher diagnostic accuracy compared with OMP, L1-norm regularization and traditional spectral Kurtogram (SK) method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-rank matrix factorizations such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) are a large class of methods for pursuing the low-rank approximation of a given data matrix. The conventional factorization models are based on the assumption that the data matrices are contaminated stochastically by some type of noise. Thus the point estimations of low-rank components can be obtained by Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation or Maximum a posteriori (MAP). In the past decade, a variety of probabilistic models of low-rank matrix factorizations have emerged. The most significant difference between low-rank matrix factorizations and their corresponding probabilistic models is that the latter treat the low-rank components as random variables. This paper makes a survey of the probabilistic models of low-rank matrix factorizations. Firstly, we review some probability distributions commonly-used in probabilistic models of low-rank matrix factorizations and introduce the conjugate priors of some probability distributions to simplify the Bayesian inference. Then we provide two main inference methods for probabilistic low-rank matrix factorizations, i.e., Gibbs sampling and variational Bayesian inference. Next, we classify roughly the important probabilistic models of low-rank matrix factorizations into several categories and review them respectively. The categories are performed via different matrix factorizations formulations, which mainly include PCA, matrix factorizations, robust PCA, NMF and tensor factorizations. Finally, we discuss the research issues needed to be studied in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a theoretical investigation of a combined Power and Cooling Cycle that employs an Ammonia-Water mixture. The cycle combines a Rankine and an absorption refrigeration cycle. The Goswami cycle can be used in a wide range of applications including recovering waste heat as a bottoming cycle or generating power from non-conventional sources like solar radiation or geothermal energy. A thermodynamic study of power and cooling co-generation is presented for heat source temperatures between 100 to 350 °C. A comprehensive analysis of the effect of several operation and configuration parameters, including the number of turbine stages and different superheating configurations, on the power output and the thermal and exergy efficiencies was conducted. Results showed the Goswami cycle can operate at an effective exergy efficiency of 60-80% with thermal efficiencies between 25 to 31%. The investigation also showed that multiple stage turbines had a better performance than single stage turbines when heat source temperatures remain above 200 °C in terms of power, thermal and exergy efficiencies. However, the effect of turbine stages is almost the same when heat source temperatures were below 175 °C. For multiple turbine stages, the use of partial superheating with Single or Double Reheat stream showed a better performance in terms of efficiency. It also showed an increase in exergy destruction when heat source temperature was increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One main interest of information geometry is to study the properties of statistical models that do not depend on the coordinate systems or model parametrization; thus, it may serve as an analytic tool for intrinsic inference in statistics. In this paper, under the framework of Riemannian geometry and dual geometry, we revisit two commonly-used intrinsic losses which are respectively given by the squared Rao distance and the symmetrized Kullback-Leibler divergence (or Jeffreys divergence). For an exponential family endowed with the Fisher metric and α-connections, the two loss functions are uniformly described as the energy difference along an α-geodesic path, for some α ϵ {-1, 0, 1}. Subsequently, the two intrinsic losses are utilized to develop Bayesian analyses of covariance matrix estimation and range-spread target detection. We provide an intrinsically unbiased covariance estimator, which is verified to be asymptotically efficient in terms of the intrinsic mean square error. The decision rules deduced by the intrinsic Bayesian criterion provide a geometrical justification for the constant false alarm rate detector based on generalized likelihood ratio principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a two-input, two-output (TITO) fractional order mathematical model of a laboratory prototype of a hydraulic canal is proposed. This canal is made up of two pools that have a strong interaction between them. The inputs of the TITO model are the pump flow and the opening of an intermediate gate, and the two outputs are the water levels in the two pools. Based on the experiments developed in a laboratory prototype the parameters of the mathematical models have been identified. Then, considering the TITO model, a first control loop of the pump is closed to reproduce real-world conditions in which the water level of the first pool is not dependent on the opening of the upstream gate, thus leading to an equivalent single input, single output (SISO) system. The comparison of the resulting system with the classical first order systems typically utilized to model hydraulic canals shows that the proposed model has significantly lower error: about 50%, and, therefore, higher accuracy in capturing the canal dynamics. This model has also been utilized to optimize the design of the controller of the pump of the canal, thus achieving a faster response to step commands and thus minimizing the interaction between the two pools of the experimental platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most supply chains (SCs), transaction relationships between suppliers and customers are commonly considered to be an extrapolation from a linear perspective. However, this traditional linear concept of an SC is egotistic and oversimplified and does not sufficiently reflect the complex and cyclical structure of supplier-customer relationships in current economic and industrial situations. The interactional relationships and topological characteristics between suppliers and customers should be analyzed using supply networks (SNs) rather than traditional linear SCs. Therefore, this paper reconceptualizes SCs as SNs in complex adaptive systems (CAS), and presents three main contributions. First, we propose an integrated framework of CAS network by synthesizing multi-level network analysis from the network-, community- and vertex-perspective. The CAS perspective enables us to understand the advances of SN properties. Second, in order to emphasize the CAS properties of SNs, we conducted a real-world SN based on the Japanese industry and describe an advanced investigation of SN theory. The CAS properties help in enriching the SN theory, which can benefit SN management, community economics and industrial resilience. Third, we propose a quantitative metric of entropy to measure the complexity and robustness of SNs. The results not only support a specific understanding of the structural outcomes relevant to SNs, but also deliver efficient and effective support to the management and design of SNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in neuroscience have been closely linked to mathematical modeling beginning with the integrate-and-fire model of Lapicque and proceeding through the modeling of the action potential by Hodgkin and Huxley to the current era. The fundamental building block of the central nervous system, the neuron, may be thought of as a dynamic element that is "excitable", and can generate a pulse or spike whenever the electrochemical potential across the cell membrane of the neuron exceeds a threshold. A key application of nonlinear dynamical systems theory to the neurosciences is to study phenomena of the central nervous system that exhibit nearly discontinuous transitions between macroscopic states. A very challenging and clinically important problem exhibiting this phenomenon is the induction of general anesthesia. In any specific patient, the transition from consciousness to unconsciousness as the concentration of anesthetic drugs increases is very sharp, resembling a thermodynamic phase transition. This paper focuses on multistability theory for continuous and discontinuous dynamical systems having a set of multiple isolated equilibria and/or a continuum of equilibria. Multistability is the property whereby the solutions of a dynamical system can alternate between two or more mutually exclusive Lyapunov stable and convergent equilibrium states under asymptotically slowly changing inputs or system parameters. In this paper, we extend the theory of multistability to continuous, discontinuous, and stochastic nonlinear dynamical systems. In particular, Lyapunov-based tests for multistability and synchronization of dynamical systems with continuously differentiable and absolutely continuous flows are established. The results are then applied to excitatory and inhibitory biological neuronal networks to explain the underlying mechanism of action for anesthesia and consciousness from a multistable dynamical system perspective, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for general anesthesia using the network properties of the brain. Finally, we present some key emergent properties from the fields of thermodynamics and electromagnetic field theory to qualitatively explain the underlying neuronal mechanisms of action for anesthesia and consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elaborates on the Random Network Model (RNM) as a mathematical framework for modelling and analyzing the generation of complex networks. Such framework allows the analysis of the relationship between several network characterizing features (link density, clustering coefficient, degree distribution, connectivity, etc.) and entropy-based complexity measures, providing new insight on the generation and characterization of random networks. Some theoretical and computational results illustrate the utility of the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space plasmas are frequently described by kappa distributions. Non-extensive statistical mechanics involves the maximization of the Tsallis entropic form under the constraints of canonical ensemble, considering also a dyadic formalism between the ordinary and escort probability distributions. This paper addresses the statistical origin of kappa distributions, and shows that they can be connected with non-extensive statistical mechanics without considering the dyadic formalism of ordinary/escort distributions. While this concept does significantly simplify the usage of the theory, it costs the definition of a dyadic entropic formulation, in order to preserve the consistency between statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. Therefore, the simplification of the theory by means of avoiding dyadic formalism is impossible within the framework of non-extensive statistical mechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measures of predictability in physiological signals using entropy measures have been widely applied in many areas of research. Multiscale entropy expresses different levels of either approximate entropy or sample entropy by means of multiple factors for generating multiple time series, enabling the capture of more useful information than using a scalar value produced by the two entropy methods. This paper presents the use of different time shifts on various intervals of time series to discover different entropy patterns of the time series. Examples and experimental results using white noise, 1/ f noise, photoplethysmography, and electromyography signals suggest the validity and better performance of the proposed time-shift multiscale entropy analysis of physiological signals than the multiscale entropy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an exercise of quantitative dynamic analysis applied to bilateral relationships among partners within two monetary union case studies: the Portuguese escudo zone monetary union (EZMU) and the European euro zone monetary union (EMU). Real world data are tackled and measures that are usual in complex system analysis, such as entropy, mutual information, Canberra distance, and Jensen–Shannon divergence, are adopted. The emerging relationships are visualized by means of the multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering computational techniques. Results bring evidence on long-run stochastic dynamics that lead to asymmetric indebtedness mechanisms among the partners of a monetary union and sustainability difficulties. The consequences of unsustainability and disruption of monetary unions have high importance for the discussion on optimal currency areas from a geopolitical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the grey coupled prediction problem of traffic data with panel data characteristics. Traffic flow data collected continuously at the same site typically has panel data characteristics. The longitudinal data (daily flow) is time-series data, which show an obvious intra-day trend and can be predicted using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. The cross-sectional data is composed of observations at the same time intervals on different days and shows weekly seasonality and limited data characteristics; this data can be predicted using the rolling seasonal grey model (RSDGM(1,1)). The length of the rolling sequence is determined using matrix perturbation analysis. Then, a coupled model is established based on the ARIMA and RSDGM(1,1) models; the coupled prediction is achieved at the intersection of the time-series data and cross-sectional data, and the weights are determined using grey relational analysis. Finally, numerical experiments on 16 groups of cross-sectional data show that the RSDGM(1,1) model has good adaptability and stability and can effectively predict changes in traffic flow. The performance of the coupled model is also better than that of the benchmark model, the coupled model with equal weights and the Bayesian combination model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamics problems for the single-phase-lagging (SPL) model have not been much studied. In this paper, the violation of the second law of thermodynamics by the SPL model is studied from two perspectives, which are the negative entropy production rate and breaking equilibrium spontaneously. The methods for the SPL model to avoid the negative entropy production rate are proposed, which are extended irreversible thermodynamics and the thermal relaxation time. Modifying the entropy production rate positive or zero is not enough to avoid the violation of the second law of thermodynamics for the SPL model, because the SPL model could cause breaking equilibrium spontaneously in some special circumstances. As comparison, it is shown that Fourier's law and the CV model cannot break equilibrium spontaneously by analyzing mathematical energy integral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Krawtchouk polynomials (KPs) and their moments are promising techniques for applications of information theory, coding theory, and signal processing. This is due to the special capabilities of KPs in feature extraction and classification processes. The main challenge in existing KPs recurrence algorithms is that of numerical errors, which occur during the computation of the coefficients in large polynomial sizes, particularly when the KP parameter (p) values deviate away from 0.5 to 0 and 1. To this end, this paper proposes a new recurrence relation in order to compute the coefficients of KPs in high orders. In particular, this paper discusses the development of a new algorithm and presents a new mathematical model for computing the initial value of the KP parameter. In addition, a new diagonal recurrence relation is introduced and used in the proposed algorithm. The diagonal recurrence algorithm was derived from the existing n direction and x direction recurrence algorithms. The diagonal and existing recurrence algorithms were subsequently exploited to compute the KP coefficients. First, the KP coefficients were computed for one partition after dividing the KP plane into four. To compute the KP coefficients in the other partitions, the symmetry relations were exploited. The performance evaluation of the proposed recurrence algorithm was determined through different comparisons which were carried out in state-of-the-art works in terms of reconstruction error, polynomial size, and computation cost. The obtained results indicate that the proposed algorithm is reliable and computes lesser coefficients when compared to the existing algorithms across wide ranges of parameter values of p and polynomial sizes N. The results also show that the improvement ratio of the computed coefficients ranges from 18.64% to 81.55% in comparison to the existing algorithms. Besides this, the proposed algorithm can generate polynomials of an order ∼8.5 times larger than those generated using state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data clustering is useful in a wide range of application areas. The Animal Migration Optimization (AMO) algorithm is one of the recently introduced swarm-based algorithms, which has demonstrated good performances for solving numeric optimization problems. In this paper, we presented a modified AMO algorithm with an entropy-based heuristic strategy for data clustering. The main contribution is that we calculate the information entropy of each attribute for a given data set and propose an adaptive strategy that can automatically balance convergence speed and global search efforts according to its entropy in both migration and updating steps. A series of well-known benchmark clustering problems are employed to evaluate the performance of our approach. We compare experimental results with k-means, Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), AMO, and the state-of-the-art algorithms for clustering and show that the proposed AMO algorithm generally performs better than the compared algorithms on the considered clustering problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent work, Baez, Fong and the author introduced a framework for describing Markov processes equipped with a detailed balanced equilibrium as open systems of a certain type. These "open Markov processes" serve as the building blocks for more complicated processes. In this paper, we describe the potential application of this framework in the modeling of biological systems as open systems maintained away from equilibrium. We show that non-equilibrium steady states emerge in open systems of this type, even when the rates of the underlying process are such that a detailed balanced equilibrium is permitted. It is shown that these non-equilibrium steady states minimize a quadratic form which we call "dissipation". In some circumstances, the dissipation is approximately equal to the rate of change of relative entropy plus a correction term. On the other hand, Prigogine's principle of minimum entropy production generally fails for non-equilibrium steady states. We use a simple model of membrane transport to illustrate these concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes mathematical models for functional differentiations that are viewed as self-organization with external constraints. From the viewpoint of system development, the present study investigates how system components emerge under the presence of constraints that act on a whole system. Cell differentiation in embryos and functional differentiation in cortical modules are typical examples of this phenomenon. In this paper, as case studies, we deal with three mathematical models that yielded components via such global constraints: the genesis of neuronal elements, the genesis of functional modules, and the genesis of neuronal interactions. The overall development of a system may follow a certain variational principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper we define three kinds of entropy of a fuzzy dynamical system using different entropies of fuzzy partitions. It is shown that different definitions of the entropy of fuzzy partitions lead to different notions of entropies of fuzzy dynamical systems. The relationships between these entropies are studied and connections with the classical case are mentioned as well. Finally, an analogy of the Kolmogorov-Sinai Theorem on generators is proved for fuzzy dynamical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdependencies of stochastically interacting units are usually quantified by the Kullback-Leibler divergence of a stationary joint probability distribution on the set of all configurations from the corresponding factorized distribution. This is a spatial approach which does not describe the intrinsically temporal aspects of interaction. In the present paper, the setting is extended to a dynamical version where temporal interdependencies are also captured by using information geometry of Markov chain manifolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Bayesianism says that the strengths of one's beliefs ought to be probabilities, calibrated to physical probabilities insofar as one has evidence of them, and otherwise sufficiently equivocal. These norms of belief are often explicated using the maximum entropy principle. In this paper we investigate the extent to which one can provide a unified justification of the objective Bayesian norms in the case in which the background language is a first-order predicate language, with a view to applying the resulting formalism to inductive logic. We show that the maximum entropy principle can be motivated largely in terms of minimising worst-case expected loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the general lack of multi-level hospital management collaboration performance effectiveness research, this paper proposes a multi-level hospital management Synergy Entropy-House of Quality (HoQ) Measurement Model by innovatively combining the House of Quality (HoQ) measure model with a Synergy Entropy computing principle. Triangular fuzzy functions are used to determine the importance degree parameter of each hospital management element which combined with the results from the Synergy Entropy evaluation of the hospital management elements, arrive at a comprehensive collaborative computation result for the various elements, ensuring results objectivity. Finally, the analysis of the collaborative research on multi-level hospital management demonstrated the scientific effectiveness of the hospital management Synergy Entropy-House of Quality (HoQ) Measurement Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a non-parametric method for evaluating the efficiency of Decision Making Units (DMUs) with multiple inputs and outputs. In the traditional DEA models, the DMU is allowed to use its most favorable multiplier weights to maximize its efficiency. There is usually more than one efficient DMU which cannot be further discriminated. Evaluating DMUs with different multiplier weights would also be somewhat irrational in practice. The common weights DEA model is an effective method for solving these problems. In this paper, we propose a methodology combining the common weights DEA with Shannon's entropy. In our methodology, we propose a modified weight restricted DEA model for calculating non-zero optimal weights. Then these non-zero optimal weights would be aggregated to be the common weights using Shannon's entropy. Compared with the traditional models, our proposed method is more powerful in discriminating DMUs, especially when the inputs and outputs are numerous. Our proposed method also keeps in accordance with the basic DEA method considering the evaluation of the most efficient and inefficient DMUs. Numerical examples are provided to examine the validity and effectiveness of our proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the effects of spontaneous random activity on information transmission in an auditory brain stem neuron model. In computer simulations, the supra-threshold synaptic current stimuli ascending from auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) were modeled by a filtered inhomogeneous Poisson process modulated by sinusoidal functions at a frequency of 220-3520 Hz with regard to the human speech spectrum. The stochastic sodium and stochastic high- and low-threshold potassium channels were incorporated into a single compartment model of the soma in spherical bushy neurons, so as to realize threshold fluctuations or a variation of spike firing times. The results show that the information rates estimated from the entropy of inter-spike intervals of spike trains tend toward a convex function of the spontaneous rates when the intensity of sinusoidal functions decreases. Furthermore, the results show that a convex function of the spontaneous rates tends to disappear as the frequency of the sinusoidal function increases, such that the phase-locked response can be unobserved. It is concluded that this sort of stochastic resonance (SR) phenomenon, which depends on the spontaneous rates with supra-threshold stimuli, can better enhance information transmission in a smaller intensity of sinusoidal functions within the human speech spectrum, like the situation in which the regular SR can enhance weak signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

System identification, in practice, is carried out by perturbing processes or plants under operation. That is why in many industrial applications a plant-friendly input signal would be preferred for system identification. The goal of the study is to design the optimal input signal which is then employed in the identification experiment and to examine the relationships between the index of friendliness of this input signal and the accuracy of parameter estimation when the measured output signal is significantly affected by noise. In this case, the objective function was formulated through maximisation of the Fisher information matrix determinant (D-optimality) expressed in conventional Bolza form. As setting such conditions of the identification experiment we can only talk about the D-suboptimality, we quantify the plant trajectories using the D-efficiency measure. An additional constraint, imposed on D-efficiency of the solution, should allow one to attain the most adequate information content from the plant which operating point is perturbed in the least invasive (most friendly) way. A simple numerical example, which clearly demonstrates the idea presented in the paper, is included and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our goal is to explore the relationship between two traditionally unrelated concepts, fractal structure and entropy production, evaluating both within the central nervous system (CNS). Fractals are temporal or spatial structures with self-similarity across scales of measurement; whereas entropy production represents the necessary exportation of entropy to our environment that comes with metabolism and life. Fractals may be measured by their fractal dimension; and human entropy production may be estimated by oxygen and glucose metabolism. In this paper, we observe fractal structures ubiquitously present in the CNS, and explore a hypothetical and unexplored link between fractal structure and entropy production, as measured by oxygen and glucose metabolism. Rapid increase in both fractal structures and metabolism occur with childhood and adolescent growth, followed by slow decrease during aging. Concomitant increases and decreases in fractal structure and metabolism occur with cancer vs. Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis, respectively. In addition to fractals being related to entropy production, we hypothesize that the emergence of fractal structures spontaneously occurs because a fractal is more efficient at dissipating energy gradients, thus maximizing entropy production. Experimental evaluation and further understanding of limitations and necessary conditions are indicated to address broad scientific and clinical implications of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a stochastic route choice model for transit networks that explicitly addresses route correlation due to overlapping alternatives. The model is based on a multi-objective mathematical programming problem, the optimality conditions of which generate an extension to the Multinomial Logit models. The proposed model considers a fixed point problem for treating correlations between routes, which can be solved iteratively. We estimated the new model on the Santiago (Chile) Metro network and compared the results with other route choice models that can be found in the literature. The new model has better explanatory and predictive power that many other alternative models, correctly capturing the correlation factor. Our methodology can be extended to private transport networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have analyzed the mathematical model of various nonlinear oscillators arising in different fields of engineering. Further, approximate solutions for different variations in oscillators are studied by using feedforward neural networks (NNs) based on the backpropagated Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm (BLMA). A data set for different problem scenarios for the supervised learning of BLMA has been generated by the Runge–Kutta method of order 4 (RK-4) with the "NDSolve" package in Mathematica. The worth of the approximate solution by NN-BLMA is attained by employing the processing of testing, training, and validation of the reference data set. For each model, convergence analysis, error histograms, regression analysis, and curve fitting are considered to study the robustness and accuracy of the design scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]