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Flexible process planning (FPP) involves selecting and sequencing the requisite operations according to technological requirements, and meanwhile allocating a right machine, a right tool and a right access direction to each selected operation by a given criterion. In this article, the FPP problem is exactly and concisely formulated as linear integer programming models based on the topology of the AND/OR-network under two criteria: production cost minimisation and completion time minimisation. Distinctively, more flexible manufacturing elements and process plan evaluation criteria are considered; more complicated tool and access direction changeover identifications are linearly expressed without the big-M parameter. Compared with the latest mathematical programming models for process planning, the proposed models have lower complexity and better performance. The results from numerous comparative experiments indicate that (i) the number of decision variables of the proposed models reduces approximately by 68% and the number of constraints of the proposed models dramatically reduces by 99%; (ii) within the same running time, the proposed models can exactly solve more benchmark cases than the latest models; and (iii) the solutions obtained by the proposed models are also better than the best ones founded by some state-of-the-art meta-heuristic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of people's living standard, the fast-increase demand for agricultural products with high quality is endless. Therefore, developing accurate and rapid detection methods for agricultural products quality analyses is of great importance and strongly required. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology, as a rapid and non-destructive method, has earned wide concern. In this review, the applications of HSI for agricultural products quality analyses have been proposed to prove the feasibility of this technology for disease detection, grading, classification, detection of chemical attributes and other aspects. The application status of HSI in quality analyses for each category of agricultural products was summarized in several different aspects, including the quality properties, the used pattern, the modeling methods and the detection accuracy. Finally, based on the above summary, the advantages and disadvantages of HSI have been discussed and some viewpoints on current research situation and research directions of future have also been given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) as a widely used chemical is harmful to human health. Highly active free radicals-based advanced oxidation technology (AOT) has been successfully applied to degrade DNP in wastewater. This work aims to systematically and comprehensively analyse the oxidative degradation of DNP caused by eleven different oxygen-containing free radicals (HO·, SO4−· , H2PO4·, NO3·, HPO 4 − · , CO 3 − · , BrO·, ClO·, HO2·, PO 4 2 − · , and O 2 − · ) involved in wastewater treatment. The quantum chemical methods are used to clarify thermodynamic feasibility, favourable site, and characteristics of reactions between different oxygen-containing free radicals and DNP based on three reaction mechanisms of free radical addition, hydrogen atom abstraction, and single electron transfer. The DNP degradation initiated by H2PO4·/NO3·/HO· is relatively easy to proceed. The kinetic data of the above reactions assist the thermodynamic analysis results. Particularly, the reaction pathways of complete degradation process of HO· and DNP are proposed. The production paths of main intermediates/products detected in the experiments are determined. The total rate constant of HO· and DNP is calculated to be 1.23×108 M-1s-1. The ecotoxicity evaluation suggests most intermediates/products is decreased during degradation, and a small part of by-products are still toxic. In addition, some insights into the AOT treatment of wastewater containing DNP are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rule of law presents a new path for understanding and handling religious affairs in contemporary China. The field of religious education is no exception and current legislation has to be improved so that China's religious education can be further promoted. This research examines the legislation and legislative regulations governing China's diversified and dynamic religious education, which includes professional religious studies, religious education embedded in ethnic education, missionary religious education, religious education included in general education, and education on religious policies and regulations. It argues that how to understand and implement the principle of separation of education and religion stands out as the core issue, as China requires a more dialectical and pluralistic religious education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of surface integrity is a vital consideration in the machining of components subjected to fatigue loading, for example, critical components of aerospace engines. In this research, three important aspects of surface integrity of a machined part—surface roughness, micro-hardness, and residual stresses—were analyzed for their variations with the cutting parameters. Finish milling of super alloy GH4169/Inconel 718 was carried out using coated cemented carbide and whisker-reinforced coated ceramic inserts. All of the three machining parameters—cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut—were found to have a substantial effect on the surface integrity of the finished part. Although different cutting parameters gave different effects for the two types of cutting inserts, overall better surface integrity was obtained at minimum cutting feed and medium cutting speed and depth of cut value. Moreover, carbide inserts produced better surface integrity of the finished part, whereas ceramic inserts generated very high surface tensile stresses and poor surface finish due to back striking of the adhered metal chips. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Examining Chinese publicly traded firms from 2002 to 2005, we find managerial overconfidence to be positively correlated with the rate of firm expansion. In particular, overconfident managers tend to internally expand firms in an aggressive manner. We also find a negative, though not statistically significant, relationship between managerial overconfidence and M&A activity. Lastly, we examine the relationship between managerial overconfidence and firm performance, finding that managerial overconfidence decreases firm profitability due to overinvestment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]