Abstract: Field mapping activity for an active volcano mainly in
the Torrid Zone is usually hampered by several problems such as steep
terrain and bad atmosphere conditions. In this paper we present a
simple solution for such problem by a combination Synthetic Aperture
Radar (SAR) and geostatistical methods. By this combination, we
could reduce the speckle effect from the SAR data and then estimate
roughness distribution of the pyroclastic flow deposits. The main
purpose of this study is to detect spatial distribution of new pyroclastic
flow deposits termed as P-zone accurately using the β°data from two
RADARSAT-1 SAR level-0 data. Single scene of Hyperion data and
field observation were used for cross-validation of the SAR results.
Mt. Merapi in central Java, Indonesia, was chosen as a study site and
the eruptions in May-June 2006 were examined. The P-zones were
found in the western and southern flanks. The area size and the longest
flow distance were calculated as 2.3 km2 and 6.8 km, respectively. The
grain size variation of the P-zone was mapped in detail from fine to
coarse deposits regarding the C-band wavelength of 5.6 cm.
Abstract: A comparison between the performance of Latin and
Arabic handwritten digits recognition problems is presented. The
performance of ten different classifiers is tested on two similar
Arabic and Latin handwritten digits databases. The analysis shows
that Arabic handwritten digits recognition problem is easier than that
of Latin digits. This is because the interclass difference in case of
Latin digits is smaller than in Arabic digits and variances in writing
Latin digits are larger. Consequently, weaker yet fast classifiers are
expected to play more prominent role in Arabic handwritten digits
recognition.
Abstract: One of the main environmental problems which affect extensive areas in the world is soil salinity. Traditional data collection methods are neither enough for considering this important environmental problem nor accurate for soil studies. Remote sensing data could overcome most of these problems. Although satellite images are commonly used for these studies, however there are still needs to find the best calibration between the data and real situations in each specified area. Neyshaboor area, North East of Iran was selected as a field study of this research. Landsat satellite images for this area were used in order to prepare suitable learning samples for processing and classifying the images. 300 locations were selected randomly in the area to collect soil samples and finally 273 locations were reselected for further laboratory works and image processing analysis. Electrical conductivity of all samples was measured. Six reflective bands of ETM+ satellite images taken from the study area in 2002 were used for soil salinity classification. The classification was carried out using common algorithms based on the best composition bands. The results showed that the reflective bands 7, 3, 4 and 1 are the best band composition for preparing the color composite images. We also found out, that hybrid classification is a suitable method for identifying and delineation of different salinity classes in the area.
Abstract: Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a recent class of statistical classification and regression techniques playing an increasing role in applications to detection problems in various engineering problems, notably in statistical signal processing, pattern recognition, image analysis, and communication systems. In this paper, SVM is applied to an infrared (IR) binary communication system with different types of channel models including Ricean multipath fading and partially developed scattering channel with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) at the receiver. The structure and performance of SVM in terms of the bit error rate (BER) metric is derived and simulated for these channel stochastic models and the computational complexity of the implementation, in terms of average computational time per bit, is also presented. The performance of SVM is then compared to classical binary signal maximum likelihood detection using a matched filter driven by On-Off keying (OOK) modulation. We found that the performance of SVM is superior to that of the traditional optimal detection schemes used in statistical communication, especially for very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ranges. For large SNR, the performance of the SVM is similar to that of the classical detectors. The implication of these results is that SVM can prove very beneficial to IR communication systems that notoriously suffer from low SNR at the cost of increased computational complexity.
Abstract: In this paper we analyze the core issues affecting
software architecture in enterprise projects where a large number of
people at different backgrounds are involved and complex business,
management and technical problems exist. We first give general
features of typical enterprise projects and then present foundations of
software architectures. The detailed analysis of core issues affecting
software architecture in software development phases is given. We
focus on three main areas in each development phase: people,
process, and management related issues, structural (product) issues,
and technology related issues. After we point out core issues and
problems in these main areas, we give recommendations for
designing good architecture. We observed these core issues and the
importance of following the best software development practices and
also developed some novel practices in many big enterprise
commercial and military projects in about 10 years of experience.
Abstract: This study analyzed environmental health risks and
people-s perceptions of risks related to waste management in poor
settlements of Abidjan, to develop integrated solutions for health and
well-being improvement. The trans-disciplinary approach used relied
on remote sensing, a geographic information system (GIS),
qualitative and quantitative methods such as interviews and a
household survey (n=1800). Mitigating strategies were then
developed using an integrated participatory stakeholder workshop.
Waste management deficiencies resulting in lack of drainage and
uncontrolled solid and liquid waste disposal in the poor settlements
lead to severe environmental health risks. Health problems were
caused by direct handling of waste, as well as through broader
exposure of the population. People in poor settlements had little
awareness of health risks related to waste management in their
community and a general lack of knowledge pertaining to sanitation
systems. This unfortunate combination was the key determinant
affecting the health and vulnerability. For example, an increased
prevalence of malaria (47.1%) and diarrhoea (19.2%) was observed
in the rainy season when compared to the dry season (32.3% and
14.3%). Concerted and adapted solutions that suited all the
stakeholders concerned were developed in a participatory workshop
to allow for improvement of health and well-being.
Abstract: The growing influence of service industries has
prompted greater attention being paid to service operations
management. However, service managers often have difficulty
articulating the veritable effects of their service innovation. Especially,
the performance evaluation process of service innovation problems
generally involves uncertain and imprecise data. This paper presents a
2-tuple fuzzy linguistic computing approach to dealing with
heterogeneous information and information loss problems while the
processes of subjective evaluation integration. The proposed method
based on group decision-making scenario to assist business managers
in measuring performance of service innovation manipulates the
heterogeneity integration processes and avoids the information loss
effectively.
Abstract: Multi-agent system approach has proven to be an effective and appropriate abstraction level to construct whole models of a diversity of biological problems, integrating aspects which can be found both in "micro" and "macro" approaches when modeling this type of phenomena. Taking into account these considerations, this paper presents the important computational characteristics to be gathered into a novel bioinformatics framework built upon a multiagent architecture. The version of the tool presented herein allows studying and exploring complex problems belonging principally to structural biology, such as protein folding. The bioinformatics framework is used as a virtual laboratory to explore a minimalist model of protein folding as a test case. In order to show the laboratory concept of the platform as well as its flexibility and adaptability, we studied the folding of two particular sequences, one of 45-mer and another of 64-mer, both described by an HP model (only hydrophobic and polar residues) and coarse grained 2D-square lattice. According to the discussion section of this piece of work, these two sequences were chosen as breaking points towards the platform, in order to determine the tools to be created or improved in such a way to overcome the needs of a particular computation and analysis of a given tough sequence. The backwards philosophy herein is that the continuous studying of sequences provides itself important points to be added into the platform, to any time improve its efficiency, as is demonstrated herein.
Abstract: Investment in a constructed facility represents a cost in
the short term that returns benefits only over the long term use of the
facility. Thus, the costs occur earlier than the benefits, and the owners
of facilities must obtain the capital resources to finance the costs of
construction. A project cannot proceed without an adequate
financing, and the cost of providing an adequate financing can be
quite large. For these reasons, the attention to the project finance is an
important aspect of project management. Finance is also a concern to
the other organizations involved in a project such as the general
contractor and material suppliers. Unless an owner immediately and
completely covers the costs incurred by each participant, these
organizations face financing problems of their own. At a more
general level, the project finance is the only one aspect of the general
problem of corporate finance. If numerous projects are considered
and financed together, then the net cash flow requirements constitute
the corporate financing problem for capital investment. Whether
project finance is performed at the project or at the corporate level
does not alter the basic financing problem .In this paper, we will first
consider facility financing from the owner's perspective, with due
consideration for its interaction with other organizations involved in a
project. Later, we discuss the problems of construction financing
which are crucial to the profitability and solvency of construction
contractors. The objective of this paper is to present the steps utilized
to determine the best combination of minimum project financing.
The proposed model considers financing; schedule and maximum net
area .The proposed model is called Project Financing and Schedule
Integration using Genetic Algorithms "PFSIGA". This model
intended to determine more steps (maximum net area) for any project
with a subproject. An illustrative example will demonstrate the
feature of this technique. The model verification and testing are put
into consideration.
Abstract: Perspective of food security in 21 century showed
shortage of food that production is faced to vital problem. Food
security strategy is applied longtime method to assess required food.
Meanwhile, nanotechnology revolution changes the world face.
Nanotechnology is adequate method utilize of its characteristics to
decrease environmental problems and possible further access to food
for small farmers. This article will show impact of production and
adoption of nanocrops on food security. Population is researchers of
agricultural research center of Esfahan province. The results of study
show that there was a relationship between uses, conversion,
distribution, and production of nanocrops, operative human
resources, operative circumstance, and constrains of usage of
nanocrops and food security. Multivariate regression analysis by
enter model shows that operative circumstance, use, production and
constrains of usage of nanocrops had positive impact on food security
and they determine in four steps 20 percent of it.
Abstract: This paper describes the two actual tendencies in the
software development process usage: 'Scrum' and 'work in home
office'. It-s exposed the four main challenges to adopt Scrum
framework for distributed teams in this cited kind of work. The
challenges are mainly based on the communication problems due
distances since the Scrum encourages the team to work together in
the same room, and this is not possible when people work distributed
in their homes.
Abstract: This paper presents two simplified models to
determine nodal voltages in power distribution networks. These
models allow estimating the impact of the installation of reactive
power compensations equipments like fixed or switched capacitor
banks. The procedure used to develop the models is similar to the
procedure used to develop linear power flow models of transmission
lines, which have been widely used in optimization problems of
operation planning and system expansion. The steady state non-linear
load flow equations are approximated by linear equations relating the
voltage amplitude and currents. The approximations of the linear
equations are based on the high relationship between line resistance
and line reactance (ratio R/X), which is valid for power distribution
networks. The performance and accuracy of the models are evaluated
through comparisons with the exact results obtained from the
solution of the load flow using two test networks: a hypothetical
network with 23 nodes and a real network with 217 nodes.
Abstract: Arms detection is one of the fundamental problems in
human motion analysis application. The arms are considered as the
most challenging body part to be detected since its pose and speed
varies in image sequences. Moreover, the arms are usually occluded
with other body parts such as the head and torso. In this paper,
histogram-based skin colour segmentation is proposed to detect the
arms in image sequences. Six different colour spaces namely RGB,
rgb, HSI, TSL, SCT and CIELAB are evaluated to determine the best
colour space for this segmentation procedure. The evaluation is
divided into three categories, which are single colour component,
colour without luminance and colour with luminance. The
performance is measured using True Positive (TP) and True Negative
(TN) on 250 images with manual ground truth. The best colour is
selected based on the highest TN value followed by the highest TP
value.
Abstract: In-core memory requirement is a bottleneck in solving
large three dimensional Navier-Stokes finite element problem
formulations using sparse direct solvers. Out-of-core solution
strategy is a viable alternative to reduce the in-core memory
requirements while solving large scale problems. This study
evaluates the performance of various out-of-core sequential solvers
based on multifrontal or supernodal techniques in the context of
finite element formulations for three dimensional problems on a
Windows platform. Here three different solvers, HSL_MA78,
MUMPS and PARDISO are compared. The performance of these
solvers is evaluated on a 64-bit machine with 16GB RAM for finite
element formulation of flow through a rectangular channel. It is
observed that using out-of-core PARDISO solver, relatively large
problems can be solved. The implementation of Newton and
modified Newton's iteration is also discussed.
Abstract: The research objective of the project and article
“European Ecological Network Natura 2000 – opportunities and
threats” Natura 2000 sites constitute a form of environmental
protection, several legal problems are likely to result. Most
controversially, certain sites will be subject to two regimes of
protection: as national parks and as Natura 2000 sites. This dualism
of the legal regulation makes it difficult to perform certain legal
obligations related to the regimes envisaged under each form of
environmental protection. Which regime and which obligations
resulting from the particular form of environmental protection have
priority and should prevail? What should be done if these obligations
are contradictory? Furthermore, an institutional problem consists in
that no public administration authority has the power to resolve legal
conflicts concerning the application of a particular regime on a given
site. There are also no criteria to decide priority and superiority of
one form of environmental protection over the other. Which
regulations are more important, those that pertain to national parks or
to Natura 2000 sites? In the light of the current regulations, it is
impossible to give a decisive answer to these questions. The internal
hierarchy of forms of environmental protection has not been
determined, and all such forms should be treated equally.
Abstract: By introducing the concept of Oracle we propose an approach for improving the performance of genetic algorithms for large-scale asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problems. The results have shown that the proposed approach allows overcoming some traditional problems for creating efficient genetic algorithms.
Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to show a possibility, how to solve numerically elliptic boundary value problems arising in 2D linear elasticity by using the fictitious domain method (FDM) and the Total-FETI domain decomposition method. We briefly mention the theoretical background of these methods and demonstrate their performance on a benchmark.
Abstract: Due to the ever growing amount of publications about
protein-protein interactions, information extraction from text is
increasingly recognized as one of crucial technologies in
bioinformatics. This paper presents a Protein Interaction Extraction
System using a Link Grammar Parser from biomedical abstracts
(PIELG). PIELG uses linkage given by the Link Grammar Parser to
start a case based analysis of contents of various syntactic roles as
well as their linguistically significant and meaningful combinations.
The system uses phrasal-prepositional verbs patterns to overcome
preposition combinations problems. The recall and precision are
74.4% and 62.65%, respectively. Experimental evaluations with two
other state-of-the-art extraction systems indicate that PIELG system
achieves better performance. For further evaluation, the system is
augmented with a graphical package (Cytoscape) for extracting
protein interaction information from sequence databases. The result
shows that the performance is remarkably promising.
Abstract: This paper presents a mathematical model and a
methodology to analyze the losses in transmission expansion
planning (TEP) under uncertainty in demand. The methodology is
based on discrete particle swarm optimization (DPSO). DPSO is a
useful and powerful stochastic evolutionary algorithm to solve the
large-scale, discrete and nonlinear optimization problems like TEP.
The effectiveness of the proposed idea is tested on an actual
transmission network of the Azerbaijan regional electric company,
Iran. The simulation results show that considering the losses even for
transmission expansion planning of a network with low load growth
is caused that operational costs decreases considerably and the
network satisfies the requirement of delivering electric power more
reliable to load centers.
Abstract: Using neural network we try to model the unknown function f for given input-output data pairs. The connection strength of each neuron is updated through learning. Repeated simulations of crisp neural network produce different values of weight factors that are directly affected by the change of different parameters. We propose the idea that for each neuron in the network, we can obtain quasi-fuzzy weight sets (QFWS) using repeated simulation of the crisp neural network. Such type of fuzzy weight functions may be applied where we have multivariate crisp input that needs to be adjusted after iterative learning, like claim amount distribution analysis. As real data is subjected to noise and uncertainty, therefore, QFWS may be helpful in the simplification of such complex problems. Secondly, these QFWS provide good initial solution for training of fuzzy neural networks with reduced computational complexity.