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We analyze the multiauthorship matrix M, defined as the matrix where a cell M (j, κ) denotes the number of times authors with j publications are ranked as the κth author of an article. We prove that if the distribution of the number of authors per paper follows a power law, then the author rank distribution is approximately equal to this power law (more precisely, equal in Landau''s big O sense). We further determine the author rank distribution in the case where authors can be characterized through a seed number; this is the probability of preceding a fixed author in the byline of an article. Such a seed is determined for alphabetical ranking of authors using the standard western alphabet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article uses lightweight J2EE tools based on B/S architecture to design an auto-generated paper management system. This system includes several modules, namely: user management, subject management, classification management, question entry, question management, paper generation, and paper management. The design process performs the analysis and composes the examination paper using an efficient algorithm with a high possibility of success. With this algorithm, the user needs to identify the subject, the question type and the difficulty level. From this input, the examination paper will be generated automatically. On the basis of a study of the JSP and Microsoft Word interface, we find that the system combines with Word very well. Therefore the editing of questions and answers is performed using Word and the final paper may be stored as “.doc” files. The system has characteristics such as easy operation, a good interface, good usability, high security, high stability, and reliability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, the numerical treatment for two nonlinear advance delay differential system is discussed. This system arises during the study of conduction of impulses down myelinated axons, incorporating electrical properties of the myelin. This system consists of two coupled first-order equations, one having a delay term and the other having an advance one. The modified difference scheme is used and then applied to some test problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In recent years, many results on oscillation criteria of second-order nonlinear neutral delay differential equations with distributed deviating argument have been obtained, but some of these criteria are incorrect due to a mistake in a crucial auxiliary result. We give two counterexamples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present paper, a description and mathematical analysis of a simple model of nonlinear pattern formation is given. The model is based on the so-called activator-inhibitor system proposed by Thomas. We introduce time delay into the reaction term and focus on its influence on morphogenesis and pattern formation. Numerical simulations are presented and compared for both cases without and with delay. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we derive some sufficient conditions for local and global asymptotic stability of both continuous-time and discrete-time nonlinear cascade interconnected systems. We prove our results using converse Lyapunov stability theorems and LaSalle''s invariance principle for continuous-time and discrete-time nonlinear systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce viscosity approximation methods based on generalized contraction mappings for finding a set of common fixed points of a countable family of strict pseudo-contraction mappings, the common element of the set solutions of a general system of variational inequalities with Lipschitzian and relaxed cocoercive mappings and the set of solutions of a generalized mixed equilibrium problem. Furthermore, strong convergence theorems of the purposed iterative process are established in the framework of Banach spaces. The results presented in this paper improve and extend many recent important results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze several adaptive and static data models of arithmetic compression. These models are represented by using Upgraded Petri net as our original class of the Petri nets. After the iterative processes of modeling, simulation and analysis, the models are transformed into an application. The models refer to one-pass and two-pass arithmetic coding where a set of symbols refers to bytes or nibbles. The frequency of a symbol is represented as an unsigned 32-bit integer. Original software for modeling and simulations of Upgraded Petri net, PeM (Petri Net Manager) is developed and used for all models described in this paper. All models are observed in the experiments by using a created application over a standard set of files. Experimental results are presented and compared. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper the authors present the idea of a system for cognitive analysis of coronary vascularisation reconstructions acquired by a 128-slice spiral CT apparatus. Unlike previous authors’ solutions this paper presents a multi-stage analysis system, which utilises cognitive analysis for description and recognition of pathological changes in coronary arteries structure. Such systems can be built for various types of data, but the main subject of this paper is a presentation of the cognitive system for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The main idea of such a system consists in gathering information from several stages of analysis, which allows a comprehensive assessment of the analysed image and formulation of the appropriate diagnosis. The proposed methods although they are mainly predestined for medical applications can also provide a base for other solutions, particularly for the acquisition and sophisticated semantic analysis of complex image patterns. Such techniques can be of great significance and find a number of uses in image recognition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In communication networks, a cognitive network (CN) is a new type of data network which is used to solve some of the problems that face current networks. Cognitive radio (CR) is part of a cognitive network and a smart wireless communication system. CR is conscious of its surrounding environment, learns from the environment and adapts its internal states by making corresponding real-time changes in certain operating parameters. In this paper, we propose a Cognitive RBAC scheme which can be applied to Small Heterogeneous Networks (SHNs) with handover function. We propose the Cognitive RBAC model applying with handover function in SHNs by extending from the well-known RBAC model. The required definitions for the model are proposed in this paper. They can increase the ability of the conventional RBAC model to meet new challenges. In our scheme, we assume that Cognitive Server (CS) provides and manages the permissions of services, and also supports a variety of CRs and CNs. For more efficiently managing CR and CN and meeting the SHNs, we let a mobile user actively perceive current network situations to get permissions and access corresponding services under the negotiation made among CSs to get better QoS if handover occurs either by Inter-CS Handover or Intra-CS Handover. In this paper, the cognitive RBAC functions and their definitions are proposed and defined for new applications in a SHN environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In recent years, two primary methods, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) have widely been applied to measure energy utilization efficiency as they both can estimate the energy efficiency appropriately. However, both of the methods have merits as well as drawbacks. In this paper we use the super efficiency of DEA (SEDEA) model and SFA to estimate the energy productive efficiency of 30 administrative regions of mainland China during the period 1998–2009. The comparative study of the two methods shows that despite the estimated values being quite different, the ranks of these two results are very similar. In addition, the results of the two methods suggest that energy efficiency in the eastern region of China possesses an advantage over the western regions. Further analysis indicates that SEDEA not only has the advantages of DEA and SFA, but also has the advantage of evaluation energy efficiency effectively. In addition, this paper decomposes the Malmquist index so as to explore energy efficiency comprehensively and dynamically. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The extraction of individual trees is important in a forest’s information management. The retrieval of tree and forest structural attributes from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data has focused largely on airborne LiDAR data. This paper investigates a new methodology to extract individual trees using a vehicle-borne LiDAR system that can provide different scan views and information compared with airborne systems. The paper describes the working procedure of the tree extraction from vehicle-borne laser points. The procedure includes the following steps: (1) mapping the RGB information of the high-resolution panoramic image onto the point cloud; (2) separation of points into ground classes a non-ground class, with only the non-ground class points used to extract trees; (3) segmentation of the colored point cloud; (4) layering of the laser points based on elevation data; (5) preliminary separation of the trees from other objects using the grid point density for each layer; (6) classifying the individual trees; (7) estimating tree height and crown area using the information of the entity from the segmentation. The laser point cloud data for the study were collected in Guangzhou in southern China. There was a density of nearly one thousand laser points per square meter, and the color images of the point cloud data had a pixel size of 20 cm. The tree position and stem diameter were measured simultaneously. The position and attitude of the camera for each image were used to match the segment-generated entity to the corresponding pixels in the CCD image of the digital camera. The classification results of the laser point cloud indicate that images add useful information for the identification of trees. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper has advanced a new method of maize yield prediction which is based on the spatio-temporal data mining. On the one hand, this method predicts the sequence of the target object itself by adopting statistics principles. On the other hand, the method calculates the influence of the spatial distribution of adjacent-area soil fertility on maize yield by neural network. Finally, the method obtains the integrated forecast outcome by taking linear regression. Taking the method to predict the maize yield of experimental area for six consecutive years is better than taking no account of the spatial influence. The errors are controlled by 5%. This paper provides a new method to solve the spatio-temporal data update of farmland affected on the maize yield. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent advances in artificial intelligence, particularly in the field of multi-agent system theory and techniques, offer great promises in the development of decision support systems. This paper designs an agent-based regional agricultural economy decision support system (RAEDSS) to deal with complex decision problems. It introduces the architecture of the system, including interface agents, management agents, functional agents, model agents, information agents and knowledge agents and their interactions. Since dynamic analysis, evaluation, forecast, optimization and decision of regional agricultural economy are the central task of RAEDSS, this paper gives a detailed discussion on the decision processes and internal mechanisms in the system. Meanwhile, agent-based modeling is introduced to simulate and evaluate policy impact on rural development in different scenarios as an important part in RAEDSS. The simulation result shows that this agent-based agricultural development model is able to perform regeneration and is able to produce likely-to-occur projections of reality. The related issue such as building an agent based on the theory of classifier systems is also surveyed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hardware/software (HW/SW) partitioning and scheduling are essential to embedded systems. In this paper, a hybrid algorithm derived from Tabu Search (TS) and Simulated Annealing (SA) is proposed for solving the HW/SW partitioning problem. The annealing procedure of SA is employed to accelerate the updating of Tabu tables for task scheduling, and the virtual hardware resource is also set to implement the customized TS. The Earliest-Deadline-First (EDF) strategy is introduced to describe the reconfiguration of FPGA. Moreover, an algorithm combining the Breadth-First-Search (BFS) with Depth-First-Search (DFS) is proposed for HW/SW task scheduling to fit the features of reconfigurable systems. Experimental results show that the improvement over the latest efficient combinatorial algorithm is up to 50%. The proposed virtual hardware expanding technique makes the performance increase up to 97.51% on random graphs. The improvement on task scheduling is by 50% in comparison to popular algorithms cited in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Due to rapid progress in the internet and cloud computing technologies, electronic commerce is becoming more and more popular. Many people and businesses deal with their payment transactions via the Internet. The technologies of credit cards, electronic tickets, electronic cash (e-cash), and other advanced payment services have realized the vision of electronic commerce. In this paper, we proposed an off-line e-cash scheme with anonymity, unlinkability, double-spending checking, anonymity control, and fast anonymity revocation on double-spending. In an off-line e-cash scheme, the bank which could be a financial cloud server or the third party (TTP) must be able to revoke the anonymity of a user who doubly spent her/his e-cash(s). In our proposed scheme, the bank can quickly derive the identity of the user who doubly spent her/his e-cash(s) without the participation of TTP. Besides, if some illegal transactions are reported, TTP can also directly revoke the anonymity of the user who spent her/his e-cash(s) in the illegal transactions. Furthermore, we also provide traceability for the police to trace a specific user, and maybe a crime, in some situations. Finally, the security of the proposed features, unlinkability and unforgeability, are formally proved in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Many certificateless schemes have been proposed for different purposes, but as for as their applications in any electronic cash schemes there is still a lot of potential for strengthening the security aspect, and this paper is an attempt towards this. In this paper we propose a new type certificateless scheme which is applied for group oriented signcryption rather than a signature without using bilinear pairing, then a new E-cash system has been presented based on the proposed scheme. The salient feature of the proposed scheme is that any signcrypter of a group can signcrypt a document with the group manager and send it to the verifier. The verifier verifies the authenticity of the signcrypted text by using the group’s public parameters and cannot link a signcrypted text to the corresponding signcrypter. However, even the group manager or any signcrypter of that group alone cannot produce a valid signcrypted text. In case of any legal dispute, such as no repudiation of the signature, the group manager has the ability to reveal the identity of the signcrypter. The proposed scheme is secure against the indistinguishably chosen cipher text attack (IND-CCA). Unlinkability, unforgeability and traceability and its security are based on the two computationally hard problems, the Computational Diffie–Hellman Problem (CDHP) and Discrete Logarithmic Problem (DLP). The new scheme’s security analysis clearly suggests that it is very reliable to be used in security vulnerable applications in real life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: IETF has proposed the use of PMIPv6 in the IP network in order to reduce the latency of intra-domain handover and to enable handover in the Mobile Node (MN). However, since PMIPv6 does not support inter-domain handover, IETF is considering the use of the previously proposed method, MIPv6, for inter-domain handover (Giaretta et al., 2010) [4]. This paper proposes a new method of enabling inter-domain handover with just PMIPv6 by adding a multicast server to it. Adding the multicast server keeps the L4 connection in both intra and inter-domains and supports the handover of MN, which originally is not supported. Also, it enables the IP service to remain connected anywhere without having to modify the previous application. In addition, this method allows lower latency intra-domain handover than MIPv6. To prove the effectiveness of this proposed method, the comparison between the performance of PMIPv6 and MIPv6 for the intra-domain and inter-domain is shown in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Crowdsourcing is becoming more and more important for commercial purposes. With the growth of crowdsourcing platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk or Microworkers, a huge work force and a large knowledge base can be easily accessed and utilized. But due to the anonymity of the workers, they are encouraged to cheat the employers in order to maximize their income. In this paper, we analyze two widely used crowd-based approaches to validate the submitted work. 1 [1] This paper is an extended version of Hirth et al. (2011) [3]. Both approaches are evaluated with regard to their detection quality, their costs and their applicability to different types of typical crowdsourcing tasks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Secured password authentication and update of passwords are two essential requirements for remote login over unreliable networks. In this paper, an elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) based technique has been proposed that not only satisfies the above two requirements, but also provides additional security requirements that are not available in some schemes proposed so far. For instances, the Peyravian and Zunic’s scheme does not provide the protection against the password guessing attack, server spoofing attack and data eavesdropping attack. Although some modifications to remove these attacks have been proposed by Hwang and Yeh, Lee et al., it has been found that some attacks like replay attack, server spoofing attack, data eavesdropping attack, etc. are still possible. Subsequently, Hwang and Yeh’s scheme is further improved by Lin and Hwang, which has been analyzed in this paper and certain security flaws have been identified. We have attempted to remove these security flaws and proposed an ECC-based scheme that in addition to the secured password authentication and password update, it protects several related attacks efficiently. As a proof of our claim, the detailed security analysis of the proposed scheme against the attacks has been given. One advantage of the proposed scheme is that it generates an ECC-based common secret key that can be used for symmetric encryption, which requires lesser processing time than the time required in the public key encryption-based techniques. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we give some new sufficient conditions for the intersection of orbits with the vertical isoclines of a class of Liénard systems. The results of this paper generalize some previous results in the literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present new results related to the approximation of continuous functions by their -Bernstein polynomials in the case . The first part of the paper is devoted to the behavior of the -Bernstein polynomials of piecewise linear functions. This study naturally leads to the notion of truncated -Bernstein polynomials introduced in the paper. The second part deals with the asymptotic estimates for the norms of the -truncated -Bernstein polynomials, in the case where both and vary. The results of the paper are illustrated by numerical examples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We consider the approximation of planar curves by pairs of two-foci lemniscates that are stitched together continuously. Lemniscates are level curves of the absolute value of an univariate complex polynomial. We want to build orthogonal grids on offshore areas, and on elongated regions with changing width using lemniscates with two foci. Such grids have many advantages in the numerical modeling of problems such as contaminant transport in rivers and also in areas of 3D visualization such as terrain modeling. The main application is in the areas of numerical solution of PDEs and computer aided geometric design. We report on the results of numerical experiments performed with MATLAB®using data from the San Andrés island and the Guajira peninsula in Colombia and the Orinoco river. In this paper we compare the exact distance between a point and a lemniscate with the estimate that we have used in this paper and previous work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper uses a multi-agent approach as a quick and easy tool for the interpretation and analysis of the characteristics of Water Supply System (WSS) components when working on a collection of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey files. The multi-agent algorithm proposed in this paper has been developed in Matlab and is based on Game Theory. The input is the result of the GPR radargram survey and the output consists of the agent scores in the game proposed in this paper. Useful information can be gained by interpreting the columns of the output matrix that describe the agents’ movements, together with the associated racing times. In effect, this analysis enables a simple determination of the electromagnetic properties of the underground system and provides an accurate classification of these properties. The results of this agent racing algorithm are promising, since it groups, and consequently, decreases the number of points that make up the initial radargrams; while at the same time preserving its main properties, and enabling clearer views of pipes and a better identification of the components in WSS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to obtain the risk-neutral drift of the state variables directly from market data in a multifactor commodity futures model. Note that the risk-neutral drift is a key factor in the general asset pricing theory but it is not observable. In this paper, we derive some exact results which relate the risk-neutral drifts to the slope of the commodity futures price jointly with the factors. This fact allows us to estimate some of the coefficients of the pricing partial differential equation directly from the futures data available in the markets. Moreover, we do not have to estimate either the physical drift or the market price of risk. Therefore we considerably reduce the number of functions to estimate and, as a consequence, we reduce the computational cost as well as the misspecification error. In order to investigate the finite sample properties of this approach we carry out some numerical experiments. Finally, an application to crude oil and natural gas futures contracts traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is also illustrated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is the evaluation and validation of the Eulerian–Lagrangian Spray Atomization (ELSA) model implemented in a CFD code by Renault. ELSA is an integrated model for capturing the whole spray evolution, in particular including primary break-up and secondary atomization. Two-dimensional simulations have been performed during the study, which is in fact enough to capture some of the main features of the spray, such as the spray penetration and the axial velocity. A mesh independence study has also been carried out in order to characterize the lowest mesh size that can be used to correctly characterize the spray. Furthermore, the two-equation turbulence model has been adjusted by changing some of the parameters of the dissipation rate transport equation in order to accurately characterize the spray. Finally some analyses of the results obtained, in terms of penetration, liquid mass fraction and droplet number and size, are presented in the last section of the paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are special financial institutions of both social and non-profit nature whose performance has been traditionally measured by means of financial ratios. However, performance rankings are usually based on a single criterion, so the performance measure varies according to the criterion used. This paper proposes a multicriterion methodology based on goal programming that simultaneously considers different categories involved in the performance of Microfinance Institutions. The paper is illustrated by a sample of Latin American MFIs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we consider a discrete-time queue with -policy and setup time, where the customers’ input rate varies according to the server’s status: idle, setup and busy states. By using the total probability decomposition technique, we study the transient and equilibrium properties of the queue length from the beginning of the arbitrary initial state, and obtain both the recursion expressions of the -transformation of the transient queue length distribution and the recursion expressions of the steady state queue length distribution at arbitrary time epoch . The results obtained in this paper indicate that the queue length distribution in equilibrium no longer follows the stochastic decomposition discipline. The important relations between the steady state queue length distributions at different time epochs are discovered. Finally, by numerical examples, we discuss the sensitivity of the steady state queue length distribution towards system parameters, and illustrate the application of the expressions for the steady state queue length distribution in the system capacity design. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a model based on Cellular Automata (CAs) for predicting wildfire spreading is presented. The proposed model is inspired by existing fire spread models, but also includes a number of changes and additions, compared to them. Primary goal of the paper is to design and implement a software-based model as well as a corresponding hardware-based one that will sufficiently describe real fires, but will also have less stringent requirements on computational resources and computational power for execution. Therefore, an effort has been made to minimize the complexity of the model and the resulting computational burden aiming at an implementation that will have a practical significance in predicting the evolution of a fire. The proposed model is implemented on an Altera®Stratix IV®FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), designed to execute in a parallel way in order to produce valuable information in real time that can be used to optimize response to a fire crisis. The FPGA design results from the automatically produced synthesizable VHDL code of the CA model and is advantageous in terms of low-cost, high speed and portability. The resulting implementation sufficiently depicts the natural phenomenon of wildfire spreading and provides short calculation times. Finally, the presented FPGA implementation of the proposed CA model offers the possibility a portable system to be designed, connected with GPS as well as GIS and/or wind monitoring systems able to provide real-time information concerning the wildfire propagation on the under test area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the paper “The cut sets, decomposition theorems and representation theorems on intuitionistic fuzzy sets and interval-valued fuzzy sets” [X.H. Yuan, H.X. Li, K.B. Sun, The cut sets, decomposition theorems and representation theorems on intuitionistic fuzzy sets and interval valued fuzzy sets, Science China (Information Sciences), 54(1) (2011) 91–110.], four kinds of cut sets and eight mappings on intuitionistic fuzzy sets are introduced, based on which four decomposition theorems and four representation theorems on intuitionistic fuzzy sets are obtained. This paper first discusses the relations among the four kinds of cut sets and the relations among the eight mappings. Then, the equivalence of the four decomposition theorems based on different cut sets for intuitionistic fuzzy sets is proved, as well as the equivalence of the four representation theorems. In the end, the corresponding conclusions about interval-valued fuzzy sets can be obtained similarly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce the implicit and explicit viscosity iteration schemes for nonexpansive semigroups . Additionally, it proves that the proposed iterative schemes converge strongly to a unique common fixed point of in the framework of reflexive and strictly convex Banach space, which solves some variational inequality. The main results of this paper improve and generalize recent known results in the current literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we investigate an interesting subclass of analytic univalent functions in the open unit disc on the complex plane. This class was introduced by Sokół [J. Sokół, On starlike functions connected with Fibonacci numbers, Folia Scient. Univ. Tech. Resoviensis 175 (1999) 111–116]. The class is strongly related to the class considered earlier by the authors of the present work in their paper [J. Dziok, R. K. Raina, J. Sokół, Certain results for a class of convex functions related to shell-like curve connected with Fibonacci Numbers, Comput. Math. Appl. 61 (2011) 2606–2613]. Apart from furnishing some genuine remarks, we present certain new results for the class of functions, and also mention some relevant cases for this function class. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on two major issues in cellular manufacturing, namely manpower allocation and cell loading. Although significant work has been done in both of these fields, research to minimize the Total Tardiness (TT) within a multi-cell environment has been limited. The methodology adopted in this paper is a two-step one. First, manpower allocation for operations within a cell is determined using mathematical models. This step also includes variations of the mathematical model for sharing of operators between operations and sharing of operators with restrictions. The models with little or no restrictions have found to yield a higher production rate than the model with no operator sharing allowed. The next step involves a mathematical model for cell loading. The performance measure examined in this phase is the total tardiness subject to total Crew Size restriction. The total tardiness is reduced as the total crew size increases. However, it was also found that selection of alternative cell configurations affect the results as well total crew size. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper may be considered as a natural sequel to the paper [M. Milošević, Highly nonlinear neutral stochastic differential equations with time-dependent delay and the Euler–Maruyama method, Mathematical and Computer Modelling 54 (2011) 2235–2251]. In the present paper, global almost sure (a.s.) asymptotic exponential stability of the equilibrium solution for a class of neutral stochastic differential equations with time-dependent delay is considered, under nonlinear growth conditions. Additionally, the moment estimates are established for solutions of equations of this type. Under more restrictive conditions, including the linear growth condition, we show that the appropriate Euler–Maruyama equilibrium solution is globally a.s. asymptotically exponentially stable. As expected, the whole consideration is affected by the presence and properties of the delay function. In that sense, the delayed terms are explicitly treated as arguments of the coefficients of the equation and, particularly, under the derivative of the state variable. Additionally, some requirements related to the rate of change of the delay function are imposed in order to provide the main results of the paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce the concept of -fuzzy frame and study the relationships between the categories of -fuzzy frames and -fuzzy topological spaces. We also introduce separation axioms for -fuzzy frames and study their properties as well as the relationships between them and the separation axioms of -fuzzy topological spaces. At the end of the paper, the concept of the degree of fuzzy compactness is presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Signcryption is a cryptographic primitive that fulfills both the functions of digital signature and public key encryption simultaneously, at a cost significantly lower than that required by the traditional signature-then-encryption approach. In this paper, we address a question of whether it is possible to construct a hybrid signcryption scheme in the certificateless setting. This question seems to have never been addressed in the literature. We answer the question positively in this paper. In particular, we extend the concept of signcryption tag-KEM to the certificateless setting. We show how to construct a certificateless signcryption scheme using certificateless signcryption tag-KEM. We also give an example of certificateless signcryption tag-KEM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ultrasound images are popularly known to contain speckle noise that degrades the quality of the images for good and fast interpretation in many areas of medicine, especially for bone fracture detection. This necessitates the need for robust despeckling techniques for clinical practice. Therefore, a study was carried out to reduce speckle using filtering algorithms such as Wiener, Average, Median, Anisotropic Diffusion and Wavelets. This paper discusses the level of improvement obtained through these filtering algorithms using the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) as a measurement tool. The results of our work presented in this paper suggest that the combination of Daubechies–Wiener which we call as a hybrid technique with Anisotropic Diffusion, gave the best performance, which is a new contribution in this field. This despeckling algorithm can be further developed and evaluated at a larger scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Power loss is one of the most important issues when dealing with distribution networks. Due to the nature of power loss, it can be an inseparable part of these networks. This is while an optimal reconfiguration is a great optimization procedure to power loss reduction in distribution networks. Moreover, to perform optimal dynamic reconfiguration, determining optimal time intervals and detecting the most proper time points greatly affects the total benefit achieved from this process. This benefit includes the cost of reconfiguration and the benefit of power loss reduction. This paper proposes an evolutionary approach for optimal time interval determination. In this paper basic reconfiguration models are discussed to form an optimal time interval model gradually. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to solve the suggested model while the proposed method is implemented on an IEEE-33 Bus network. In order to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method, a comparison is done with other similar procedures. Also, in order to validate the numerical results, further compression is done with a method using a Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (BPSO) algorithm rather than the GA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, operator-based robust nonlinear control design scheme and fault detection technique using robust right coprime factorization approach are considered for a Peltier actuated thermal process. The Peltier actuated thermal process is a typical nonlinear control affine system, where the process temperature depends not only on input current, but also on the square of the input current. In addition, the real system is likely to contain a fault signal owing to various factors. As a result, it is difficult to stabilize the control system and to achieve high accurate control performance, and to detect the fault signal to guarantee the engineering safety when a fault occurs. In this paper, for pursuing robust stability and tracking performance of the nonlinear closed-loop control system, a design scheme of operator-based robust tracking control system is proposed by using robust right coprime factorization approach. Then, for the tracking operator control system, a fault detection design technique based on robust right coprime factorization approach is also investigated. Finally, simulation and experimental results are given to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a novel computer virus propagation model with dual delays and multi-state antivirus measures is considered. Using theories of stability and bifurcation, it is proven that there exists a critical value of delay for the stability of virus prevalence. When the delay exceeds the critical value, the system loses its stability and a Hopf bifurcation occurs. Furthermore, the explicit formulas determining the stability and direction of bifurcating periodic solutions are obtained by applying the center manifold theorem and the normal form theory. Finally, some numerical simulations are performed to verify the theoretical analysis. The conclusions of this paper can contribute to a better theoretical basis for understanding the long-term actions of virus propagation in networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the optimal risk control and dividend distribution problem for a diffusion model with a terminal value. Usually the insurer cedes risk by means of a reinsurance contract, and pays dividends out dynamically from the surplus. Consider that the insurer is trying to balance risk control and dividend payout in terms of reinsurance and dividend distribution policies. Then the objective is set to make a dynamic choice of reinsurance policy and dividend distribution policy, which maximizes the sum of the expected discounted dividends up to ruin time and the expected discounted terminal value. There are two novelties in this paper. Firstly, we formulate the optimal control problem in terms of general reinsurance control policies. Each of the proportional reinsurance, the excess-of-loss reinsurance and combination of the two can be treated as a special case. It is shown that, under an expected premium principle, the dynamic excess-of-loss reinsurance is of optimal type within the general reinsurance contracts. Secondly, considering the excess-of-loss reinsurance policy and terminal value, we obtain the explicit expressions for the value function and optimal control policies by solving the HJB equation method. At the end of this paper numerical calculations are done to illustrate the influence of the terminal value on the value function and optimal policies as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Let be a connected graph and , where and stand for the Wiener and Szeged numbers of , respectively. A well-known result of Klavžar, Rajapakse and Gutman states that and by a result of Dobrynin and Gutman if and only if each block of is complete. In an earlier paper a classification of graphs with is presented. In this paper, we continue our earlier work to classify connected graphs which satisfy or . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to design a neural network based adaptive control scheme for redundant manipulators in the presence of model uncertainties and external disturbances together with multiple self-motion criteria. With reference to the paper (N. Kumar, V. Panwar, N. Sukavanam, S.P. Sharma, J.H. Borm, Neural network based nonlinear tracking control of kinematically redundant robot manipulators, Mathematical and Computer Modelling 53 (2011) 1889–1901), an adaptive mechanism is also developed to estimate the uncertain bound of external disturbances and neural network approximation error etc. without requirement of known bounds. By Lyapunov method asymptotic error convergence can be guaranteed for both task-space and sub-task tracking errors. A comparative simulation study with a robust controller and the proposed controller are included for a 3 link planar robot manipulator. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the existence of the solution for a generalized fractional differential equation with non-autonomous variable order operators. In contrast to constant order fractional calculus, some standard relations including composition and sequential derivative rules do not remain correct under this generalization. Therefore, solving such a generalized fractional differential equation requires a different methodology, essential modifications, and generalizations for the basic concepts such as existence and uniqueness of the solution. The main goal of this paper is the proof of existence for the solution of a variable order fractional differential equation which is achieved by presenting four theorems. It is shown that if Lebesgue measurability, the continuity of the nonlinear term, and the conditions of differintegration operation are satisfied, then a solution for the variable order fractional differential equation exists. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we study a new iterative algorithm by a modified extragradient method for finding a common element of the set of solutions of variational inequalities for two inverse strongly accretive mappings and the set of common fixed points of an infinite family of nonexpansive mappings in a real 2-uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space. We prove some strong convergence theorems under suitable conditions. The results obtained in this paper improve and extend the corresponding results announced by many others. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The boundary element method (BEM) is a popular method of solving linear partial differential equations, and it can be applied in many areas of engineering and science including fluid mechanics, acoustics, electromagnetics. The circular arc element (CAE) method is a scheme to discretize the boundary of problems arising in the BEM. In Dehghan and Hosseinzadeh (2011) the order of the convergence of CAE discretization was obtained for the 2D Laplace equation. The current work extends the formulation developed in Dehghan and Hosseinzadeh (2011) to convert CAE to a robust discretization method. In the present paper the upper bound of the CAE’s discretization error is determined theoretically for the 2D Laplace equation. Also we present a new method based on the complex space to obtain CAE’s boundary integrals without facing singularity and near singularity. Since there is no efficient approach to treat the near singular integrals of CAE in the BEM literature, the new scheme presented in this paper enhances the CAE discretization significantly. Several test problems are given and the numerical simulations are obtained which confirm the theoretical results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This is a continuation of our paper [M. Liu, K. Wang, Asymptotic properties and simulations of a stochastic logistic model under regime switching, Math. Comput. Modelling 54 (2011) 2139–2154]. First, we establish the sufficient conditions for stochastic permanence which are much weaker than those in our previous paper. Then we study some new asymptotic properties of this model. The lower-growth rate and the upper-growth rate of the positive solution are investigated. The superior limit of the average in time of the sample path of the solution is also estimated. Finally, some simulation figures are introduced to illustrate the main results. Some recent investigations are improved and generalized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with device connections in a trust-based ad hoc network. Because a temporary device frequently joins or leaves a network, the authentication and security technology should be prepared for the malicious devices used in third-party attacks. An authentication scheme with the existing certification and ID, and security technology using symmetric and public keys are used. Therefore, in this paper we propose using two devices that have not shared information for mutual generation of authentication ID. The use of an authentication ID can establish mutual trust and provide security and efficiency for communication and generation of a symmetric key. Our analysis results show that an authentication operation reduction of up to 57%, compared to related work, is achieved by our protocol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Detecting unseen illegal codes is always a challenging task. As the main action to deal with this problem, the behavior detection is unsatisfactory in both effectiveness and efficiency. This paper proposes task-based behavior detection (TBBD) which detects new illegal codes based on the user’s task instead of only on the software behavior. First, the paper proposes three prerequisites of TBBD and four judgment rules, i.e., resource abnormal rule, relation abnormal rule, space abnormal rule and time abnormal rule. Then, by analyzing the effectiveness and comparison of the four judgment rules, we present an explicit judgment process of TBBD. Finally, the paper carries on the experiments. The test result verifies the validity and feasibility of TBBD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces new approaches for photography forensic techniques. The first approach is on a referenced 3D photography forensic study. Two controversial photos taken by Alice and Bob are precisely analyzed based on claims from both sides. Using Google Map and these two given photos, we generate a 3D model to figure out whose claim is closer to the truth. Through thorough 3D simulations, one perceptual error made by Alice is corrected. Wrong presumptions based on false perceptual errors are corrected using referenced 3D simulations. Second, an optical aberration problem is analyzed. This paper points out that not all vanishing points can be available by drawing straight lines since distorted photos due to lens aberration can cause curvilinear perspectives which are different from linear perspectives. Third, the possibility of composite photos is also studied. Re-sampling and its technical solution is provided. As a case study, this paper presents two principles for forensic analysis and provides technical solutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]