Global Configuration Research Articles

Integrated decisions for global supply chain network configuration: a dynamic multi-modal perspective

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a mathematical model to optimally design a multi-modal global production and logistics network consisting of multiple plants, warehouses, and marketplaces. The proposed model is a mixed integer linear program (MILP), which optimally selects different facilities and warehouses required to be active in each time period to fulfil the demand of various marketplaces. The objective function is cost minimization pertaining to setup, production, inventory holding, and transportation. Along with this, the model also decides the optimal quantities to be transported among the plants, warehouses, and marketplaces. The model also optimally selects the transportation mode to be deployed. The paper then expands the proposed model to include a time-cost trade off by imposing a penalty cost for delays and compares and critiques the results of the two scenarios. The proposed MILP has been validated on a randomly generated data set consisting of 4 plants, 6 warehouses, 4 marketplaces, and 3 time periods (4P-6W-4 M-3T) using LINGO 10 optimization package. The illustration considers three modes of transportation namely, road, rail, and air. Last, the paper concludes with discussing managerial implications of the work along with suggesting some research directions for future.

In the Eyes of the Beholders: The Legitimacy of Global Governance Institutions under Multipolarity

Abstract Multipolarity has ambiguous implications for the legitimacy of global governance institutions (GGIs). Rising powers’ capacity to contest established powers’ agendas prima facie increases the GGIs’ legitimacy by reducing power asymmetries between the North and South. However, according to some, the rise of new powers has contributed to the GGIs’ poor performance and inadequate representativeness. We investigate how global publics evaluate the legitimacy of two GGIs—the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Group of Twenty (G20)—and multipolarity’s role in those evaluations. Drawing on an original dataset of 3,584 newspaper articles sampled from rising and established powers, mid-ranking developing, and least developed countries between 2008 and 2019, our qualitative content analysis found an intensification of legitimacy deficits over time. Regularly accredited to a new global power configuration, the inability to find consensus severely harmed both institutions’ legitimacy. We also see the resilience of GGIs’ legitimacy in the face of gridlocks and institutional fragmentation. Replacing inclusive multilateral agreements with bilateral or inter-regional ones was widely seen as an undesired outcome of major power tensions. Finally, our data revealed a deep-seated mistrust of great power politics and nostalgia for meaningful multilateral institutions as a potential antidote.

Universal origin of glassy relaxation as recognized by configuration pattern matching.

Relaxation processes are crucial for understanding the structural rearrangements of liquids and amorphous materials. However, the overarching principle that governs these processes across vastly different materials remains an open question. Substantial analysis has been carried out based on the motions of individual particles. Here, as an alternative, we propose viewing the global configuration as a single entity. We introduce a global order parameter, namely the inherent structure minimal displacement (IS Dmin), to quantify the variability of configurations by a pattern-matching technique. Through atomic simulations of seven model glass-forming liquids, we unify the influences of temperature, pressure and perturbation time on the relaxation dissipation, via a scaling law between the mechanical damping factor and IS Dmin. Fundamentally, this scaling reflects the curvature of the local potential energy landscape. Our findings uncover a universal origin of glassy relaxation and offer an alternative approach to studying disordered systems.

Process structure-based fully connected neural network for the modelling of chemical processes: A comparison between global and modular configurations

BackgroundChemical process modeling is essential for the optimization, precise control and prediction of processes performance. As the modeling based on the first principles is time-consuming and labor-intensive, utilizing neural networks for the process modeling was proposed. However, the poor interpretability of the neural network models is may a problem in the modelling of chemical processes where the accuracy and reliability of the model are highly required. MethodInspired by the functional partitioning of neural networks in human brain, in this paper, global fully connected neural network (GFNN) and modular fully connected neural network (MFNN) models are constructed for the production process of ethylbenzene and that of isopropanol with cycle process, respectively. For the chemical processes with complex cycle processes, the quality of the product can be easily affected by small feed changes due to the highly nonlinear model which is called snowball effect. To avoid snowball effect, the cycle-avoidance MFNN is constructed, and it shows better modelling performance than GFNN. Significant findingsMFNN model has more advantages than GFNN model in the modelling of large-scale chemical processes without cycle processes. In addition, it is clear that MFNN model has a partial interpretability which means the local physical meaning for different parts of the whole process.

A Global Coupled Atmosphere-Wave Model System Based on C-Coupler2. Part I: Model Description

This study presents a global coupled atmosphere-wave model system (MPAS-NWW3) and its verification. The Community Coupler2 (C-Coupler2), a developed coupler, is used to couple the global wave configuration of the NWW3 (WAVEWATHCH III) with the global atmosphere configuration of the MPAS-Atmosphere model. Surface wind at 10 meters above sea level, temperature and specific humidity at 2 meters above sea level are the coupled variables for atmospheric component model, and significant wave height, average wave length and peak frequency are for wave component model. Some codes are added to the surface layer scheme and the effect of momentum flux induced by sea waves is taken into consideration in this paper. All the coupled variables, input or output the coupler are demonstrated their consistency in the MPAS-NWW3 coupled model.

Localized General Vertical Coordinates for Quasi‐Eulerian Ocean Models: The Nordic Overflows Test‐Case

AbstractA generalized methodology to deploy different types of vertical coordinate system in arbitrarily defined time‐invariant local areas of quasi‐Eulerian numerical ocean models is presented. After detailing its characteristics, we show how the general localization method can be used to improve the representation of the Nordic Seas overflows in the UK Met Office NEMO‐based eddy‐permitting global ocean configuration. Three z*‐levels with partial steps configurations localizing different types of hybrid geopotential/terrain‐following vertical coordinates in the proximity of the Greenland‐Scotland ridge are implemented and compared against a control configuration. Experiments include a series of idealized and realistic numerical simulations where the skill of the models in computing pressure forces, reducing spurious diapycnal mixing and reproducing observed properties of the Nordic Seas overflows are assessed. Numerical results prove that the localization approach proposed here can be successfully used to embed terrain‐following levels in a global geopotential levels‐based configuration, provided that the localized vertical coordinate chosen is flexible enough to allow a smooth transition between the two. In addition, our experiments show that deploying localized terrain‐following levels via the multi‐envelope method allows the crucial reduction of spurious cross‐isopycnal mixing when modeling bottom intensified buoyancy driven currents, significantly improving the realism of the Nordic Seas overflows simulations in comparison to the other configurations. Important hydrographic biases are found to similarly affect all the realistic experiments and a discussion on how their interaction with the type of localized vertical coordinate affects the realism of the simulated overflows is provided.

The use of idealised experiments in testing a new convective parametrization: Performance of CoMorph‐A

AbstractCoMorph is a new mass‐flux convection parametrization under development at the Met Office designed for use within the Unified Model and its successor model, LFRic. Use of a three‐dimensional idealised model enables controlled tests of the performance of the scheme across different regimes. This includes the interaction between the physical parametrizations and the resolved dynamics, allowing study of the emergent organisation of convection on the resolved scale. A selection of well‐known cases is revisited here, with the purpose of documenting the extent to which CoMorph captures a range of important, but challenging, behaviour such as the diurnal cycle and sensitivity to tropospheric moisture. Simulations using CoMorph‐A, a new physics package, that has been demonstrated to perform well at numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate scales, are compared against the current global atmosphere configuration and high‐resolution results. In addition to an entirely new convection scheme, the package of changes includes significant changes to the cloud, microphysics, and boundary‐layer parametrizations. Recognising that CoMorph‐A is the first version of a scheme that will continue to be substantially developed and to obtain good performance, compromises in tuning have had to be made. These idealised tests therefore show what works well in this configuration, and what areas will require further work. As such, it is quite a demanding testbed and could be viewed as some of the equipment required for a “convective playground”.

Behavior of spin-0 scalar particles in Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld gravity global monopole with harmonic oscillator potential

In this paper, we investigate the behavior of a scalar bosonic field within the backdrop of Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld gravity with a global monopole configuration. Additionally, we consider the presence of both scalar and vector potentials. To introduce the scalar potential, we perform a transformation on the mass term, replacing [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]. For the vector potential, we apply a minimal coupling scheme, transforming [Formula: see text] within the relativistic Klein–Gordon equation. We opt for a harmonic oscillator scenario where the scalar and vector potentials are equal, i.e. [Formula: see text]. Through this setup, we analytically solve the wave equation using the confluent Heun equation form. Subsequently, we delve into the quantum system in the absence of any potential, determining the permissible values for bound-state relativistic energy levels and the scalar field’s wave function. Our analysis reveals that the energy levels and wave function are influenced by various parameters present in the eigenvalue expression.

A Reconfigurable Near-Sensor Processor for Anomaly Detection in Limb Prostheses.

This paper presents a reconfigurable near-sensor anomaly detection processor to real-time monitor the potential anomalous behaviors of amputees with limb prostheses. The processor is low-power, low-latency, and suitable for equipment on the prostheses and comprises a reconfigurable Variational Autoencoder (VAE), a scalable Self-Organizing Map (SOM) Array, and a window-size-adjustable Markov Chain, which can implement an integrated miniaturized anomaly detection system. With the reconfigurable VAE, the proposed processor can support up to 64 sensor sampling channels programmable by global configuration, which can meet the anomaly detection requirements in different scenarios. A scalable SOM array allows for the selection of different sizes based on the complexity of the data. Unlike traditional time accumulation-based anomaly detection methods, the Markov Chain is utilized to detect time-series-based anomalous data. The processor is designed and fabricated in a UMC 40-nm LP technology with a core area of 1.49 mm 2 and a power consumption of 1.81 mW. It achieves real-time detection performance with 0.933 average F1 Score for the FSP dataset within 24.22 μs, and 0.956 average F1 Score for the SFDLA-12 dataset within 30.48 μs. The energy dissipation of detection for each input feature is 43.84 nJ with the FSP dataset, and 55.17 nJ with the SFDLA-12 dataset. Compared with ARM Cortex-M4 and ARM Cortex-M33 microcontrollers, the processor achieves energy and area efficiency improvements ranging from 257 ×, 193 × and 11 ×, 8 ×, respectively.

An aerodynamic optimization method based on virtual Nash equilibrium for global and local parameter decoupling

The parameterization of aerodynamic shape in the aircraft design optimization usually includes both global and local configuration features. The global parameters determine the wing span, aspect ratio, angle of attack, twist angle, and sweep angle. Meanwhile, the local parameters define the geometric shape of the wing section, including thickness and camber, etc. The changes in different types of parameters during the optimization process will lead to perturbations in the corresponding wavelength of the geometric shape, which in turn will cause different spatial frequency responses in the flow field. Generally, local parameter changes will generate high-frequency perturbations in the flow field and propagate only near the disturbance source; While global parameter changes will cause low-frequency perturbations in the flow field and propagate throughout the entire flow field. If these two different types of parameters are optimized at all once, it will lead to significant mutual interference, thereby reducing optimization efficiency. Therefore, this paper proposes an efficient optimization algorithm NashGL based on the concept of virtual Nash equilibrium. It decouples global and local variables and optimizes them simultaneously on different populations, effectively isolating interference between these two types of design variables. On the other hand, due to the small number of global variables, their rapid convergence can guide local variables towards the optimal solution. Through two aerodynamic optimization cases of NACA0012 airfoil and wing body aircraft, it is shown that compared with the method of simultaneously optimizing global and local parameters, the NashGL algorithm in this paper has the highest optimization efficiency, with an improvement of about 30% and 60%, respectively.

Design and implementation of a 7-DOF cable-driven serial spray-painting robot with motion-decoupling mechanisms

This paper presents the design and implementation of a 7-DOF cable-driven serial spray-painting robot (CDSSR) featuring motion-decoupling mechanisms and introduces an improved non-singular inverse kinematics method for redundant serial robots. In the study, first, the motion-coupling characteristics of cable-driven joints and motion-decoupling methods based on translational and rotational compensation were examined. Next, the mechanical structure of the CDSSR was designed, including motion-decoupling mechanisms, cable-driven differential wrists, and tension-amplification mechanisms. In addition, an improved non-singular inverse kinematics approach incorporating dual-arm angles and configuration control parameters was developed. Finally, an experimentally scaled prototype of the proposed robot was constructed, and motion decoupling and spray trajectory planning experiments were conducted. The experimental and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the non-singular inverse kinematics method in achieving efficient inverse kinematics solutions under global configuration control. Furthermore, the motion decoupling mechanisms designed for the serial robot successfully accomplished motion decoupling.

Southern Ocean warming and Antarctic ice shelf melting in conditions plausible by late 23rd century in a high-end scenario

Abstract. How much Antarctic ice shelf basal melt rates can increase in response to global warming remains an open question. Here we describe the response of the Southern Ocean and ice shelf cavities to an abrupt change to high-end atmospheric conditions plausible by the late 23rd century under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. To achieve this objective, we first present and evaluate a new 0.25∘ global configuration of the NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean NEMO System Team, 2019) ocean and sea ice model. Our present-day simulations demonstrate good agreement with observational data for key variables such as temperature, salinity, and ice shelf melt rates, despite the remaining difficulties to simulate the interannual variability in the Amundsen Sea. The ocean response to the high-end atmospheric perturbation includes a strengthening and extension of the Ross and Weddell gyres and a quasi-disappearance of sea ice, with a subsequent decrease in production of High Salinity Shelf Water and increased intrusion of warmer water onto the continental shelves favoured by changes in baroclinic currents at the shelf break. We propose to classify the perturbed continental shelf as a “warm–fresh shelf”. This induces a substantial increase in ice shelf basal melt rates, particularly in the coldest seas, with a total basal mass loss rising from 1180 to 15 700 Gt yr−1 and an Antarctica averaged melt rate increasing from 0.8 to 10.6 m yr−1. In the perturbed simulation, most ice shelves around Antarctica experience conditions that are currently found in the Amundsen Sea, while the Amundsen Sea warms by 2 ∘C. These idealised projections can be used as a base to calibrate basal melt parameterisations used in long-term ice sheet projections.

Design and Optimization of Heat Sinks for the Liquid Cooling of Electronics with Multiple Heat Sources: A Literature Review

This paper presents a detailed literature review on the thermal management issue faced by electronic devices, particularly concerning uneven heating and overheating problems. Special focus is given to the design and structural optimization of heat sinks for efficient single-phase liquid cooling. Firstly, the paper highlights the common presence and detrimental consequences of electronics overheating resulting from multiple heat sources, supported by various illustrative examples. Subsequently, the emphasis is placed on single-phase liquid cooling as one of the effective thermal management technologies for power electronics, as well as on the enhancement of heat transfer in micro/mini channel heat sinks. Various studies on the design and structural optimization of heat sinks are then analyzed and categorized into five main areas: (1) optimization of channel cross-section shape, (2) optimization of channel flow passage, (3) flow distribution optimization for parallel straight channel heat sinks, (4) optimization of pin-fin shape and arrangement, and (5) topology optimization of global flow configuration. After presenting a broad and complete overview of the state of the art, the paper concludes with a critical analysis of the methods and results from the literature and highlights the research perspectives and challenges in the field. It is shown that the issue of uneven and overheating caused by multiple heat sources, which is commonly observed in modern electronics, has received less attention in the literature compared to uniform or single-peak heating. While several design and structural optimization techniques have been implemented to enhance the cooling performance of heat sinks, topology optimization has experienced significant advancements in recent years and appears to be the most promising technology due to its highest degree of freedom to treat the uneven heating problem. This paper can serve as an essential reference contributing to the development of liquid-cooling heat sinks for efficient thermal management of electronics.

The future(s) of global governance: A scenarios exercise

AbstractPervasive uncertainty has stretched the fabric of global governance to its limit. The shape and form of future global governance is far from clear – yet we need to explore how it may play out, so that we can not only prepare for it but also overcome possible pernicious trajectories. Scenario thinking can be used to rigorously explore different possible outcomes. In this article, we present an exercise applying scenario thinking to global governance. These scenarios should help policymakers to understand which policies may or may not work in the diverse possible futures. They may also help policymakers to consider how their organisation, state, or institution could be affected if the global governance of a specific issue evolves in one direction or another. Civil society members or private companies may want to probe how robust their strategies would be in different global governance configurations. The article synthetically presents key contextual premises and uncertainties which are given as follows: four broad scenarios for the world in 2035; four corresponding scenarios for global governance; and scenarios for the global governance of four macro‐sectors: trade, security, climate change, and finance.

Reliability evaluation of distribution network for educational purpose: An analytical approach to results analysis

Despite the decade-long development in distribution networks, they are still unable to fulfil society's increasing need for reliable power supply. Investment is necessary for reliability enhancement, which will increase the consumer supply costs. This paper presents a new strategy to enhance the reliability of the network based on network restructuring. This study offers the cost-worth reliability indices, followed by an associated mathematical model with the objective function to reduce the well-known reliability indices Expected Interruption Cost (ECOST) and Energy Not Served (ENS). A Modified Greedy Search Algorithm (MGSA) is introduced to the network optimization for global optimal configuration. Furthermore, to make the model more efficient and realistic, the suggested approach incorporates the effects of fuse failure probability. The impact of the system's islanded operation on the reliability indices is also evaluated. The simulation results show 3.33 % reduction in System Average Frequency Index (SAIFI) as compared with the Fast Adequacy Analysis Method. The results shows that the value of ENS using the proposed MGSA compared to SA and GA improved by 100 %. The application of the proposed strategy on the distribution network connected at BUS-2 of Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS), shows the accuracy and computational effectiveness of the proposed model compared to the state-of-the-art conventional simulation-based topology-variable-based approaches.

Exploring watercolor illusion spreading between dissected stimulus parts.

The watercolor illusion (WCI) occurs when an achromatic region is surrounded by an outer contour and inner chromatic fringe, resulting in an apparent pale tint of the same hue as the fringe. The WCI both fills in and spreads out, with the previous literature suggesting it always spreads out in the absence of an enclosing border. We examined how global stimulus configuration affects this illusion by dissecting various WCI-inducing stimuli into parts. Specifically, would color spread out of the unenclosed ends of the disconnected parts? Participants provided WCI illusion magnitude ratings and shading data indicating perceived locations of color spreading for a variety of stimulus configurations. Instead of the WCI spreading modally into the spaces between the disconnected parts, we found a global reorganization of the stimuli occurred. The dissected WCI stimuli were perceived as either amodally completed behind a white illusory surface perceptually different than the physically identical background or, as empty space between separate objects depending in part on the distance between dissected parts. This study demonstrates the WCI does not always spread outside of unenclosed borders when the global interpretation interferes with spreading. These findings highlight the importance of global configuration and perceptual organization in the WCI.

Spatial cognition in glaucoma: Constricted field of view weakens the perception of global configurations

ABSTRACT We tested whether the global precedence effect shifts towards local precedence when the visual field is reduced by glaucoma. Fifteen patients, 15 age-matched and 15 young controls were presented with compound letters and asked to recognize a target letter occurring randomly at the global (target-large) or at the local (target-small) level. Small stimuli elicited a global precedence effect in all three groups with shorter response times for target-large than for target-small but accuracy was at chance for target-small in patients. Large stimuli produced a shift towards a local precedence effect with shorter response times for target-small than for target-large in all three groups but accuracy was at chance for target-large in patients. The results suggest that glaucoma impairs perception at different spatial scales. The recognition of small letters in the fovea is affected by crowding. The recognition of global configurations is impaired by reduced sensitivity in the peripheral visual field.

Cluster-MLP: An Active Learning Genetic Algorithm Framework for Accelerated Discovery of Global Minimum Configurations of Pure and Alloyed Nanoclusters.

Structural characterization of nanoclusters is one of the major challenges in nanocluster modeling owing to the multitude of possible configurations of arrangement of cluster atoms. The genetic algorithm (GA), a class of evolutionary algorithms based on the principles of natural evolution, is a commonly employed search method for locating the global minimum configuration of nanoclusters. Although a GA search at the DFT level is required for the accurate description of a potential energy surface to arrive at the correct global minimum configuration of nanoclusters, computationally expensive DFT evaluation of the significantly larger number of cluster geometries limits its practicability. Recently, machine learning potentials (MLP) that are learned from DFT calculations gained significant attention as computationally cheap alternative options that provide DFT level accuracy. As the accuracy of the MLP predictions is dependent on the quality and quantity of the training DFT data, active learning (AL) strategies have gained significant momentum to bypass the need of large and representative training data. In this application note, we present Cluster-MLP, an on-the-fly active learning genetic algorithm framework that employs the Flare++ machine learning potential (MLP) for accelerating the GA search for global minima of pure and alloyed nanoclusters. We have used a modified version the Birmingham parallel genetic algorithm (BPGA) for the nanocluster GA search which is then incorporated into distributed evolutionary algorithms in Python (DEAP), an evolutionary computational framework for fast prototyping or technical experiments. We have shown that the incorporation of the AL framework in the BPGA significantly reduced the computationally expensive DFT calculations. Moreover, we have shown that both the AL-GA and DFT-GA predict the same global minima for all the clusters we tested.

Real-time imaging of vocal tract configuration in Australian english vowel production

Dynamic phonetic properties of Australian English vowels have been well described in acoustic (Cox, 2006; Elvin et al., 2016) and articulographic studies (Ratko et al., 2023), but the global configuration of the vocal tract during Australian English vowel production has not previously been examined. Midsagittal configuration of the upper airway during production of Australian English vowels was tracked using real-time magnetic resonance imaging (Kennerley et al., 2022) on a 3T scanner (Siemens Magnetom Prisma) using a 64-channel head/neck receiver array coil. Speech audio was simultaneously recorded in-scanner at 16 kHz using a ceramic noise-canceling microphone (Opto-acoustics FOMRI-III). 3D configuration of the vocal tract during sustained productions of the same monophthongs was captured using volumetric imaging of the upper airway at a resolution of 2mm × 2 mm × 2 mm. These data offer new details on configuration of the entire vocal tract and the relationship between articulatory and acoustic targets during production of Australian English vowels.

Climate extremes likely to drive land mammal extinction during next supercontinent assembly

Mammals have dominated Earth for approximately 55 Myr thanks to their adaptations and resilience to warming and cooling during the Cenozoic. All life will eventually perish in a runaway greenhouse once absorbed solar radiation exceeds the emission of thermal radiation in several billions of years. However, conditions rendering the Earth naturally inhospitable to mammals may develop sooner because of long-term processes linked to plate tectonics (short-term perturbations are not considered here). In ~250 Myr, all continents will converge to form Earth’s next supercontinent, Pangea Ultima. A natural consequence of the creation and decay of Pangea Ultima will be extremes in p_{mathrm{CO}_2} due to changes in volcanic rifting and outgassing. Here we show that increased p_{mathrm{CO}_2}, solar energy (F⨀; approximately +2.5% W m−2 greater than today) and continentality (larger range in temperatures away from the ocean) lead to increasing warming hostile to mammalian life. We assess their impact on mammalian physiological limits (dry bulb, wet bulb and Humidex heat stress indicators) as well as a planetary habitability index. Given mammals’ continued survival, predicted background p_{mathrm{CO}_2} levels of 410–816 ppm combined with increased F⨀ will probably lead to a climate tipping point and their mass extinction. The results also highlight how global landmass configuration, p_{mathrm{CO}_2} and F⨀ play a critical role in planetary habitability.