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The ruthless suppression of the Tiananmen democracy demonstration has caused the dimming of any hope for peaceful change in China. Three years after this incident, China's economy has greatly improved. However, the deterioration of the human rights situation in China continues. Repression in the inner Mongolian autonomous region, in the Tibet autonomous region and the tightening of control over religious practices have been intensified.

In this paper, the robust control problem of output dynamic observer-based control for a class of uncertain neutral systems with discrete and distributed time delays is considered. Linear matrix inequality (LMI) optimization approach is used to design the new output dynamic observer-based controls. Three classes of observer-based controls are proposed and the maximal perturbed bound is given. Based on the results of this paper, the constraint of matrix equality is not necessary for designing the observer-based controls.

This paper deals with the switching signal design to robust exponential stability for uncertain discrete-time switched systems with interval time-varying delay. The lower and upper bounds of the time-varying delay are assumed to be known. By construction of a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and employing linear matrix inequality, some novel sufficient conditions are proposed to guarantee the global exponential stability for such system with parametric perturbations by using a switching signal. In addition, some nonnegative inequalities are used to provide additional degrees of freedom and reduce the conservativeness of systems. Finally, some numerical examples are given to illustrate performance of the proposed design methods.

Selecting starting pitchers is a strategic issue with a significant effect on the performance of a professional team. Choosing optimal starting pitchers from many alternatives is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. This study develops an evaluation model, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), to help managers and coaches of a professional baseball team make the optimal selection for starting pitchers. The AHP was used to analyze the structure of starting-pitcher selection and determines weights of the criteria, whereas the TOPSIS method makes the final ranking. Empirical analysis illustrates model utilization for selecting starting pitchers. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed model.

In this paper, the switching signal design to robust exponential stability for discrete-time switched systems with interval time-varying delay is considered. LMI-based conditions are proposed to guarantee the global exponential stability for such system with parametric perturbations by using a switching signal. The appropriate Lyapunov functionals are used to reduce the conservativeness of systems. Finally, a numerical example is illustrated to show the main results.

Twelve ultramafic xenoliths in Cenozoic alkali basalts from Jiangsu province, eastern China have been analyzed for major, trace, Sr–Nd isotopic composition and mineral chemical compositions and the origin of these ultramafic xenoliths is discussed based on the geochemical constraints. Based on classification norms, the ultramafic xenoliths in the present study belong to type I xenolith. The Fo-values of the ultramafic xenoliths range from 90.18 to 92.18. The ultramafic xenoliths have higher MgO content, but lower Al2O3, TiO2, CaO and Na2O contents than those of primitive mantle, indicating that they represent residues formed by different degrees of partial melting from the upper mantle. The enrichment of Rb, Ba, U, Nb, K, La, Ce, Sr, P and Zr of ultramafic xenoliths found in Jiangsu province, eastern China may be related to the CO2–H2O-fluids metasomatism. On the basis of Sr–Nd isotopic ratios, we suggest that the lithospheric mantle beneath the study area mostly belongs to depleted-type mantle but with slightly enriched signatures, indicating the heterogeneous characteristics in the mantle source and the influence of different degrees of fluids-metasomatism on the mantle composition. The equilibrium P–T conditions of the spinel lherzolite xenoliths are: T = 913 ~ 1045°C, P = 13 ~ 22 kb corresponding to depths of 45–83 km. The P–T conditions suggest that the geothermal gradient of the upper mantle beneath the study area is approximately similar to oceanic geotherm which may be caused by asthenosphere upwelling. We suggested that lithospheric mantle thinning accompanied by asthenosphere upwelling has occurred and a newly accreted and cooled asthenospheric mantle may exist beneath the study area.

In this paper, the robust exponential stability problem is investigated for a class of neutral systems with interval time-varying delay and nonlinear perturbations. Based on the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals in conjunction with Leibniz-Newton formula, novel LMI-based delay-dependent and delay-independent criteria are proposed to guarantee the robust exponential stability with a convergence rate for our considered systems. Finally, numerical examples are illustrated to show the improved results from using the proposed method.

AbstractMinutiae detection is a crucial process in an automatic fingerprint identification system. Most fingerprint comparison algorithms are based on minutiae matching. However, the local orientation changes very rapidly in the singular point area. It is difficult to locate the singular point precisely. The Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm (ACOA) is extensively used in multi-objective and optimal problems. But the ACOA is still not used in fingerprint image processing. In this paper, we suggest an improved Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm to extract the upper core point of fingerprints. Finally, the proposed algorithms are tested with some fingerprint images and show significant improvement in the experiments.

The new concepts of time-varying stabilizer via dynamic pole assignment and eigenstructure assignment method (E.A. method) are introduced in this paper. The theorem of dynamic pole assignment is obtained by employing the piecewise constant concept. By specifying the final eigenstructure, the parameters of the time-varying stabilizer can be determined via output controller is evaluated, and examples of a one-machine infinite-bussystem and a multimachine system in power system, are given to illustrate the advantages and effectiveness of the proposed technique.

The concept of time-varying state feedback control of a system under the desired closed loop scate transition matrix is introduced. By setting the parameters or the preset state transition matrix, the time-varying state feedback can be designed. The theorem and design method are derived and an example of motor control withany desired performance can be achieved under the design of time-varying state feedback regular. By the optimal reduced order method, any system with desired performance can be designed in the same way.

The paper addresses the design of a system stabilizer using an optimal reduced order model by only the output state variables. System damping can be improved by using eigenvalues assignment and the co-ordination of stabilizers can be achieved through eigenvector assignment by maintaining system mode shape, this is defined as the optimal subeigenstructure assignment(O.S.A) method. The proportional-integral controller is derived via the optimal reduced order model instead of via the whole system model. The effectiveness of this stabilizer is evaluated, and this study reveals that the result of eigenstructure assignment is more stable and much better than in the assignment method based on the whole system model. A system is given as examples to illustrate the advantages and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Results based on the whole system model are included for comparison.

This paper describes the findings from a survey conducted on a sample of 100 Malaysian companies that have gained ISO 9000 certification. The survey mainly focused on whether achieving ISO 9000 status has been perceived as having contributed to the implementation of total quality management in these companies. Beside this, the perceived benefits of seeking certification, both for the different industrial sectors and for individual companies, were observed. Like their counterparts in the developed countries, most companies surveyed agreed that gaining certification did improve the quality process as well as the product quality. However, the study revealed a major difference, in that the reasons for seeking registration for these Malaysian companies are management-driven as opposed to demand from customers in developed countries.