Walsh Operational Matrices for Fractional Calculus and Their Application to Distributed Systems

The Walsh operational matrix for performing integration and solving state equations is generalized to fractional calculus for investigating distributed systems. A new set of orthogonal functions is derived from Walsh functions. By using the new functions, the generalized Walsh operational matrices corresponding to √s, √(s²+ 1), e^-s and e^-√s etc. are established. Several distributed parameter problems are solved by the new approach.     

Cyclic olefin copolymer based microfluidic devices for biochip applications: Ultraviolet surface grafting using 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine

This report studies the surface modification of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) by 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) monomer using photografting technique for the purpose of biointerface applications, which demonstrate resistance to both protein adsorption and cell adhesion in COC-based microfluidic devices. This is essential because the hydrophobic nature of COC can lead to adsorption of specific compounds from biological fluids in the microchannel, which can affect the results during fluidic analysis and cause clogging inside the microchannel. A correlation was found between the irradiation time and hydrophobicity of the modified substrate. Static water contact angle results show that the hydrophilicity property of the MPC-grafted substrate improves with increasing irradiation time. The contact angle of the modified surface decreased to 20 ± 5° from 88 ± 3° for the untreated substrate. The surface characterization of the modified surface was evaluated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR spectroscopy). Attenuated total reflection-FTIR and XPS results show the presence of the phosphate group (P-O) on modified COC substrates, indicating that the hydrophilic MPC monomer has successfully grafted on COC. Finally, it was demonstrated that cell adhesion and protein adsorption on the MPC modified COC specimen has reduced significantly.     

医院数字化药品库房管理应用研究——以江西省某三甲医院为例

本文以建立一个数字化的新型医院药品库房,提高准确率和工作效率为目的。利用二维码技术、移动数据采集技术和无线网络,将传统模式下药品验收、盘点、药品请领等工作环节充分电子化。新模式下药品验收入库、盘点、药品请领完成时间分别减少70%、41%和40%。数字化技术显著提高了录入的效率和准确率,减轻工作人员的工作负荷。     

Robust self-triggered MPC with fast convergence for constrained linear systems

In this paper, a robust self-triggered model predictive control (MPC) scheme is proposed for linear discrete-time systems subject to additive disturbances, state and control constraints. To reduce the amount of computation on controller sides, MPC optimization problems are only solved at certain sampling instants which are determined by a novel self-triggering mechanism. The main idea of the self-triggering mechanism is to choose inter-sampling times by guaranteeing a fast decrease in optimal costs. It implies a fast convergence of system states to a compact set where it is ultimately bounded and a reduction of computation times to stabilize the system. Once the state enters a terminal region, the system can be stabilized to a robust invariant set by a state feedback controller. Robust constraint satisfaction is ensured by utilizing the worst-case set-valued predictions of future states in such a way that recursive feasibility is guaranteed for all possible realisations of disturbances. In the case where a priority is given to reducing communication costs rather than improvement in control performance in a neighborhood of the origin, a feedback control law based on nominal state predictions is designed in the terminal region to avoid frequent feedback. Performances of the closed-loop system are demonstrated by a simulation example.     

The determinants of academic research commercial performance: Towards an organizational ambidexterity perspective

This paper examined the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and research commercialization in universities. The paper develops two types of organizational ambidexterity: structural ambidexterity and contextual ambidexterity that influence research commercialization. Through a dataset of 474 academic patent inventors in Taiwan, the results revealed structural and contextual ambidexterity factors are patenting-, licensing- and start-up-specific. Despite both types of ambidexterity are complementary in patenting and licensing, contextual ambidexterity outperform structural ambidexterity in fostering university start-up equity participation. To promote academic research commercialization, it is necessary to build up a university as a dual structural organization that allows pursuing research excellence and research commercialization at the same time.     

Relationships with supply chain partners affecting internal operation of high-tech manufacturers in Taiwan

The increasing number of interactions between Taiwan and the Mainland may bring in both opportunities and competitions among the companies in the region. Companies are forced to continuously change and develop to advance and to sustain in the competitive environment. It also holds true for the companies in the even more competitive high-tech industries. It is therefore of a value to study what challenges the high-tech firms are facing, how these challenges impact on their performance and how these firms are dealing with issues. Among the multiple challenges, supply chain operation has been a critical issue concerning the high-tech manufacturers.The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the various supply chain operation determinants (relationships with business partners, internal operation) and the impacts of relationships with supply chain partners on the internal operation and the collective efficacy relating to the scheduling issues in high-tech manufacturing firms in Taiwan. A research framework linking internal operation and relationships with supply chain partners (supplier and customer) and individuals (perceived collective efficacy) is applied.     

Bandpass sorting of heterogeneous cells using a single surface acoustic wave transducer pair

Separation and sorting of biological entities (viruses, bacteria, and cells) is a critical step in any microfluidic lab-on-a-chip device. Acoustofluidics platforms have demonstrated their ability to use physical characteristics of cells to perform label-free separation. Bandpass-type sorting methods of medium-sized entities from a mixture have been presented using acoustic techniques; however, they require multiple transducers, lack support for various target populations, can be sensitive to flow variations, or have not been verified for continuous flow sorting of biological cells. To our knowledge, this paper presents the first acoustic bandpass method that overcomes all these limitations and presents an inherently reconfigurable technique with a single transducer pair for stable continuous flow sorting of blood cells. The sorting method is first demonstrated for polystyrene particles of sizes 6, 10, and 14.5 μm in diameter with measured purity and efficiency coefficients above 75 ± 6% and 85 ± 9%, respectively. The sorting strategy was further validated in the separation of red blood cells from white blood cells and 1 μm polystyrene particles with 78 ± 8% efficiency and 74 ± 6% purity, respectively, at a flow rate of at least 1 μl/min, enabling to process finger prick blood samples within minutes.     

Defining'science-based targets'

The 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below 2℃above pre-industrial levels and aim towards limiting warming to 1.5℃marked a wa-tershed in planetar...     

The Role of Students’ Personality Characteristics, Self-Perceived Competence and Learning Conceptions in the Acquisition and Development of Social Communicative Competence: A Longitudinal Study

An important purpose of higher social work education is to guide students to acquire and develop social-communicative competencies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role students’ personality characteristics, self-perceived communicative competence and learning conceptions play in the acquisition and development of social-communicative competencies. We designed and tested a hypothetical model on the student-related variables – self-perceived communicative competence, learning conceptions and reported learning activities regarding communication – in relation to performance scores. We were interested in developmental trends in the above mentioned variables. We also wanted to gain insight into the relationships among the variables. The study was set up according to a longitudinal, within-subjects design in order to study intra-individual changes. One-hundred and twenty-three first-year social-work students participated in this study. Many changes were found in students characteristics, reported deployed learning activities and study results during their first academic year. Except for confidence in “showing sympathy”, which was already relatively high at the beginning of the study, all scores on aspects of students’ self-perceived social-communicative competence increased. Assessment scores on comparable communication tests also increased significantly. Extraversion and emotional stability were the only two personality characteristics, which seemed rather stable. Agreeableness decreased while autonomy increased continuously during the first academic year. It seemed to be possible to set up a model, which may serve as a starting point for further research into the development of social-communicative competence.