Optimized Thermoelectric Properties of AgSbTe2 through Adjustment of Fabrication Parameters

Jian Zhang,Xiaoying Qin,Di Li,송천준,Yongfei Liu,Hongxing Xin,Tianhua Zou,Yuanyue Li 대한금속·재료학회 2015 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.11 No.1

AgSbTe2 bulk sample is obtained by hot-pressing under different fabricationparameters, and their thermoelectric properties are investigated in thetemperature range of 300 - 550 K. The highest ZT = 0.86 is achieved at475 K for the sample hot-pressed at 423 K and 500MPa due to the lowerthermal conductivity and higher power factor. The results indicate that theoptimized thermoelectric properties can be obtained for AgSbTe2 compoundat the sintering temperature of 423 K under the pressure of 500 MPa.

Necessary and Sufficient Condition of Optimal Control for Networked Control Systems with Markovian Packet Dropouts

Xiao Lu,Yuanyu Cai,Guilin Zhang,Hongxia Wang,Haixia Wang,Xiao Liang 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2023 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.21 No.5

This paper considers optimal control problem for networked control systems (NCSs) with Markovian packet dropouts. Since previous literatures generally consider the one-way Markovian packet dropouts, i.e., from the sensor to the estimator or from the controller to the actuator. To make a further study of this issue, we aim to give the complete solution to the control problem of the two-way Markovian packet dropouts, i.e., from the sensor to the estimator and from the controller to the actuator. Firstly, by applying the Pontryagin’s maximum principle and mathematical induction method, a solution to the forward and backward stochastic difference equations (FBSDEs) is derived. Secondly, in virtue of the solution to the FBSDEs, we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal control problem. Thirdly, the optimal controller is given based on the complete square method. Finally, numerical examples are proposed to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

THE IMPACT OF COMPARATIVE PRICE ON CONSUMER TOLERANCE FOR SERVICE FAILURE

Hailong Yang,Yuanyu Zhang,Liangjing Che 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

This research was conducted in order to examine the effect of comparative price on consumers’ reactions to service failure in the loyalty program. The current study finds that under condition of lower level of persuasion knowledge, compared to single retail price, comparative price would mitigate consumers’ negative emotion in the context of service failure, which in turn improves customers’ tolerance. The authors test this prediction in two experiments. Experiment 1 aimed to provide an initial exploration of hypothesis by employing a between-subjects design. This experiment recruited undergraduate students at Suzhou University to complete an online survey. After reading the scenario of service failure, participants were asked to answer a series of questions about their intension of spreading negative word of mouth (NWOM). A one-way ANOVA on intention of spreading NWOM suggested that the NWOM activity was significantly lower in the group of comparative prices than in the group of single retail price. In experiment 2, the authors measured angry and intension to complain when participants finished reading the scenario of service failure. Furthermore, one week later the authors measured price tactic persuasion knowledge of participants. The bootstrap method (number of bootstrap samples = 5000, level of confidence = .95) was used. The results showed that customers’ angry level mediated the effect of comparative price on intension of complaint. The authors further conducted a mediated moderation analysis with the participants in the high- and low-persuasive-knowledge conditions. The results indicated the indirect effect of the comparative price on intention to complain was mediated by customers’ angry when they have low persuasive knowledge, whereas the mediation effect of customer’s angry level was no longer significant in the higher persuasive-knowledge condition. To summarize, this research suggested that comparative price would exert a marked impact on the tolerance of members of loyalty program in the context of service failure. The present paper adds to the existing comparative price literatures by confirming its impact on consumers’ judgment in the context of service failure even if they are all members of loyalty program and informed with information of discounted size in advance. Given the special meaning of NWOM and complaint, current paper provides implications for marketing practices.

Characterization of the bacterial microbiota across the different intestinal segments of the Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Wang Xungang,Hu Linyong,Liu Hongjin,Xu Tianwei,Zhao Na,Zhang Xiaoling,Geng Yuanyue,Kang Shengping,Xu Shixiao 아세아·태평양축산학회 2021 Animal Bioscience Vol.34 No.12

Objective: The intestinal microbiota enhances nutrient absorption in the host and thus promotes heath. Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep is an important livestock raised in the Qinghai- Tibetan Plateau; however, little is known about the bacterial microbiota of its intestinal tract. The aim of this study was to detect the microbial characterization in the intestinal tract of the Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Methods: The bacterial profiles of the six different intestinal segments (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and rectum) of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep were studied using 16S rRNA V3-V4 hypervariable amplicon sequencing. Results: A total of 2,623,323 effective sequences were obtained, and 441 OTUs shared all six intestinal segments. The bacterial diversity was significantly different among the different intestinal segments, and the large intestine exhibited higher bacterial diversity than the small intestine. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Patescibacteria were the dominant phyla in these bacterial communities. Additionally, at the genus level, Prevotella_1, Candidatus_ Saccharimonas, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 were the most predominant genus in duodenal segment, jejunal and ileal segments, and cecal, colonic, and rectal segments, respectively. We predicted that the microbial functions and the relative abundance of the genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism were overrepresented in the intestinal segments of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Conclusion: The bacterial communities and functions differed among different intestinal segments. Our study is the first to provide insights into the composition and biological functions of the intestinal microbiota of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Our results also provide useful information for the nutritional regulation and production development in Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Objective: The intestinal microbiota enhances nutrient absorption in the host and thus promotes heath. Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep is an important livestock raised in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; however, little is known about the bacterial microbiota of its intestinal tract. The aim of this study was to detect the microbial characterization in the intestinal tract of the Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep.Methods: The bacterial profiles of the six different intestinal segments (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and rectum) of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep were studied using 16S rRNA V3-V4 hypervariable amplicon sequencing.Results: A total of 2,623,323 effective sequences were obtained, and 441 OTUs shared all six intestinal segments. The bacterial diversity was significantly different among the different intestinal segments, and the large intestine exhibited higher bacterial diversity than the small intestine. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Patescibacteria were the dominant phyla in these bacterial communities. Additionally, at the genus level, Prevotella_1, Candidatus_ Saccharimonas, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 were the most predominant genus in duodenal segment, jejunal and ileal segments, and cecal, colonic, and rectal segments, respectively. We predicted that the microbial functions and the relative abundance of the genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism were overrepresented in the intestinal segments of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep.Conclusion: The bacterial communities and functions differed among different intestinal segments. Our study is the first to provide insights into the composition and biological functions of the intestinal microbiota of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Our results also provide useful information for the nutritional regulation and production development in Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep.