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This paper presents an improved swarming algorithm that enhances low-illumination images. The algorithm combines a hybrid Harris Eagle algorithm with double gamma (IHHO-BIGA) and incomplete beta (IHHO-NBeta) functions. This paper integrates the concept of symmetry into the improvement steps of the image adaptive enhancement algorithm. The enhanced algorithm integrates chaotic mapping for population initialization, a nonlinear formula for prey energy calculation, spiral motion from the black widow algorithm for global search enhancement, a nonlinear inertia weight factor inspired by particle swarm optimization, and a modified Levy flight strategy to prevent premature convergence to local optima. This paper compares the algorithm's performance with other swarm intelligence algorithms using commonly used test functions. The algorithm's performance is compared against several emerging swarm intelligence algorithms using commonly used test functions, with results demonstrating its superior performance. The improved Harris Eagle algorithm is then applied for image adaptive enhancement, and its effectiveness is evaluated on five low-illumination images from the LOL dataset. The proposed method is compared to three common image enhancement techniques and the IHHO-BIGA and IHHO-NBeta methods. The experimental results reveal that the proposed approach achieves optimal visual perception and enhanced image evaluation metrics, outperforming the existing techniques. Notably, the standard deviation data of the first image show that the IHHO-NBeta method enhances the image by 8.26%, 120.91%, 126.85%, and 164.02% compared with IHHO-BIGA, the single-scale Retinex enhancement method, the homomorphic filtering method, and the limited contrast adaptive histogram equalization method, respectively. The processing time of the improved method is also better than the previous heuristic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the critical realm of modern computer cluster management. It focuses on the effect that the increasing heterogeneity of the clusters has on the workload managers. The proposed schedulers consider node properties instead of job properties to make decisions, which is something not currently done by mainstream scheduling algorithms. In order to increase the knowledge in this topic, this paper proposes two novel algorithms whose main task is to choose the best compute nodes to schedule the incoming jobs. To this effect, they exclusively take into account the properties of the nodes, instead of the common trend of considering the properties of the jobs. The experimental results show that these algorithms outperform well-known heuristic algorithms found in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The besiege and conquer algorithm has shown excellent performance in single-objective optimization problems. However, there is no literature on the research of the BCA algorithm on multi-objective optimization problems. Therefore, this paper proposes a new multi-objective besiege and conquer algorithm to solve multi-objective optimization problems. The grid mechanism, archiving mechanism, and leader selection mechanism are integrated into the BCA to estimate the Pareto optimal solution and approach the Pareto optimal frontier. The proposed algorithm is tested with MOPSO, MOEA/D, and NSGAIII on the benchmark function IMOP and ZDT. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm can obtain competitive results in terms of the accuracy of the Pareto optimal solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving production processes includes not only activities concerning manufacturing itself, but also all the activities that are necessary to achieve the main objectives. One such activity is transport, which, although a source of waste in terms of adding value to the product, is essential to the realization of the production process. Over the years, many methods have been developed to help manage supply and transport in such a way as to reduce it to the necessary minimum. In the paper, the problem of delivering components to a production area using trains and appropriately laid-out carriages was described. It is a milk run stop locations problem (MRSLP), whose proposed solution is based on the use of heuristic algorithms. Intelligent solutions are getting more and more popular in the industry because of the possible advantages they offer, especially those that include the possibility of finding an optimum local solution in a relatively short time and the prevention of human errors. In this paper, the applicability of three algorithms -- tabu search, genetic algorithm, and simulated annealing -- was explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community structure is a very interesting attribute and feature in complex networks, which has attracted scholars' attention and research on community detection. Many single-objective optimization algorithms have been migrated and modified to serve community detection problems. Due to the limitation of resolution, the final algorithm implementation effect is not ideal. In this paper, a multi-objective community detection method based on a pigeon-inspired optimization algorithm, MOPIO-Net, is proposed. Firstly, the PIO algorithm is discretized in terms of the solution space representation, position, and velocity-updating strategies to adapt to discrete community detection scenarios. Secondly, by minimizing the two objective functions of community score and community fitness at the same time, the community structure with a tight interior and sparse exterior is obtained. Finally, for the misclassification caused by boundary nodes, a mutation strategy is added to improve the accuracy of the final community recognition. Experiments on synthetic and real networks verify that the proposed algorithm is more accurate in community recognition compared to 11 benchmark algorithms, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of cloud computing environments is highly popular for carrying out workflow executions due to its ability to provide clients with immediate access to computing resources. Among the various workflow scheduling problems in the cloud, deadline-constrained workflow scheduling has garnered increasing attention in recent years. This paper introduces a hybrid scheduling algorithm known as Partial Critical Path–Ant Colony Optimization (PCP–ACO), which aims to minimize the execution cost of a workflow while ensuring that it meets the user-defined deadline in cloud environments. PCP–ACO is a list scheduling algorithm that combines the PCP heuristic algorithm with the meta-heuristic ACO to achieve faster convergence. The list scheduling algorithm consists of two phases: task ordering and resource selection. In the case of PCP–ACO, the first step involves calculating a topological sort of the workflow tasks to assign priority to each task. Subsequently, the ACO meta-heuristic is employed to allocate the appropriate resource to each task of the workflow, based on their respective sub-deadlines that are computed using the PCP heuristic. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, several experiments were conducted using five real scientific workflows. The results demonstrate that PCP–ACO outperforms the IC-PCP, L-ACO, and HP-GA algorithms in terms of average execution cost, achieving reductions of 19%, 17.3%, and 21.5%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a topology-free specification of distributed control systems by means of a process-oriented programming paradigm. The proposed approach was characterized, on the one hand, by a topologically independent specification of the control algorithm and, on the other hand, by the possibility of using existing formal verification methods by preserving the semantics of a centralized process-oriented program. The paper discusses the advantages of a topologically independent specification of distributed control systems, outlines the features of control software, argues why the use of a process-oriented approach to the development of the automation of cyber-physical systems is suitable for solving these problems, describes a general scheme for implementing a distributed control system according to a process-oriented specification, and proposes a formal heuristic algorithm for partitioning a sequential process-oriented program into independent clusters. We illustrate our algorithm with bottle-filling and sluice case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs), integral components underpinning the infrastructure of the internet of things (IoT), confront escalating threats originating from attempts at malicious jamming. Nevertheless, the limited nature of the hardware resources in distributed, low-cost WSNs, such as those for computing power and storage, poses a challenge when implementing complex and intelligent anti-jamming algorithms like deep reinforcement learning (DRL). Hence, in this paper a rapid anti-jamming method is proposed based on imitation learning in order to address this issue. First, on-network nodes obtain expert anti-jamming trajectories using heuristic algorithms, taking historical experiences into account. Second, an RNN neural network that can be used for anti-jamming decision making is trained by mimicking these expert trajectories. Finally, the late-access network nodes receive anti-jamming network parameters from the existing nodes, allowing them to obtain a policy network directly applicable to anti-jamming decision making and thus avoiding redundant learning. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared with traditional Q-learning and random frequency-hopping (RFH) algorithms, the imitation learning-based algorithm empowers late-access network nodes to swiftly acquire anti-jamming strategies that perform on par with expert strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, in order to reduce the energy consumption and time of data transmission, the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and mobile edge caching technologies are jointly considered in mobile edge computing (MEC) networks. As for the cache-assisted vehicular NOMA–MEC networks, a problem of minimizing the energy consumed by vehicles (mobile devices, MDs) is formulated under time and resource constraints, which jointly optimize the computing resource allocation, subchannel selection, device association, offloading and caching decisions. To solve the formulated problem, we develop an effective joint computation offloading and task-caching algorithm based on the twin-delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) algorithm. Such a TD3-based offloading (TD3O) algorithm includes a designed action transformation (AT) algorithm used for transforming continuous action space into a discrete one. In addition, to solve the formulated problem in a non-iterative manner, an effective heuristic algorithm (HA) is also designed. As for the designed algorithms, we provide some detailed analyses of computation complexity and convergence, and give some meaningful insights through simulation. Simulation results show that the TD3O algorithm could achieve lower local energy consumption than several benchmark algorithms, and HA could achieve lower consumption than the completely offloading algorithm and local execution algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with fuzzy multi-depot bus scheduling (FMDBS) problem in which the objective function and constraints are defined with fuzzy attributes. Credibility relation is used to formulate the problem as an integer multicommodity flow problem. A novel combination of branch-and-price and heuristic algorithms, is proposed to efficiently solve FMDBS problem. In the proposed algorithm, the heuristic algorithm is applied to generate initial columns for the column generation method. Also, a heuristic algorithm is used to improve the generated solutions in each node of the branch-and-price tree. Two sets of benchmark examples are applied to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm for large-scale instances. Also, the algorithm is applied to solve the classical multi-depot bus scheduling problem. The results show that the proposed algorithm decreases integrality gap and computational time in comparison with the state-of-the-art algorithms and normal branch-and-price algorithm. Finally, as a case study, the bus schedules in Tehran BRT network are generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses and compares several computed tomography (CT) algorithms capable of dealing with incomplete data. This type of problem has been proposed for a symmetrical grid and symmetrically distributed transmitters and receivers. The use of symmetry significantly speeds up the process of constructing a system of equations that is the foundation of all CT algebraic algorithms. Classic algebraic approaches are effective in incomplete data scenarios, but suffer from low convergence speed. For this reason, we propose the use of nature-inspired algorithms which are proven to be effective in many practical optimization problems from various domains. The efficacy of nature-inspired algorithms strongly depends on the number of parameters they maintain and reproduce, and this number is usually substantial in the case of CT applications. However, taking into account the specificity of the reconstructed object allows to reduce the number of parameters and effectively use heuristic algorithms in the field of CT. This paper compares the efficacy and suitability of three nature-inspired heuristic algorithms: Artificial BeeColony (ABC), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), and Clonal Selection Algorithm (CSA) in the CT context, showing their advantages and weaknesses. The best algorithm is identified and some ideas of how the remaining methods could be improved so as to better solve CT tasks are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous improvement of the network hardware environment, people turn the demand target to the network application environment and the construction of information resources. How to build a network teaching platform for general undergraduate teaching to ensure the stability of the system and high-quality services during operation especially large-scale concurrent access will inevitably lead to the increase in the business volume of each core part of the network, the number of visits, and data traffic. With the growth of the network, the corresponding processing power and computing intensity also increase rapidly, which causes problems such as overloading of core network equipment, network bottlenecks, and network congestion. Simply pursuing high-performance hardware to solve problems will undoubtedly result in high cost investment; moreover, equipment with excellent performance cannot meet the needs of the current rapidly growing business volume. According to the design goal of the dance online teaching platform, to meet the online teaching load requirements of many people at the same time, the pressure of the web server cluster must be great. Because many people in online at the same time put too much pressure on the web server, this part of the network cannot be processed in time, which leads to the phenomenon that the performance of this part and even the whole network is degraded. In severe cases, it will even cause network communication services to come to a standstill, that is, the so-called deadlock phenomenon. If the protocol software cannot detect congestion and reduce the packet sending rate, the network will be paralyzed due to congestion. This situation will cause the problem of movement delay for online dance teaching, which will seriously affect the quality of teaching. Therefore, the dance online course system should be continuously improved, the quality of online courses should be continuously improved, and the study of the practical application of load balancing technology in the network teaching environment has become an important means to solve the relationship between supply and demand of network teaching. According to the experimental analysis, when the number of Worker' actuators is fixed, the execution time span of MakeSpan increases with the increase of tasks, while the time required by the optimized load balancing algorithm proposed in this paper increases by 1.32 s on average with the increase of tasks, and the time required by heuristic algorithm and bee colony algorithm increases by 3.68 s and 3.45 s on average with the increase of tasks. On the whole, the optimized load balancing algorithm proposed in this paper has obvious advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at mitigating hot-spots during Offline Scheduling in IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) cloud systems. Unlike previous studies, the research focuses on identifying and resolving hot-spots not at servers, but at server racks. A two-phase algorithm for performing power-aware offline scheduling is proposed. The first phase aims at identifying and mitigating hot-spots at racks, while the second phase performs VM consolidation, i.e. minimization of the number of occupied servers while maintaining a feasible VM mapping and low migration costs. The proposed algorithm takes into account the dynamic nature of VM's resource consumption: it does not only resolve detected hot-spots, but also tries to avoid hot-spots in a reasonable future time period. The algorithm was tested with the data from a real IaaS cloud with different sets of algorithm's parameters. Experimental evaluation showed that the statistical estimates of the future VM's resource consumption provide the most reliable mapping, which is a result of minimization of the number of new hot-spot occurrences. • A server rack is a hot-spot if it exceeds the upper bound of power consumption. • Hot-spot identification, mitigation, and avoidance is crucial for IaaS systems. • An algorithm is proposed for rack hot-spot mitigation and consolidation of VMs. • Considering future CPU utilization values is associated with migrating more memory. • Ignoring future CPU utilization values leads to more new hot-spots happening shortly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance growth in processors has been continuing toward increasing the number of processing cores on the chip and scaling the feature size of transistors. However, in the nanoera, side effects of the scaling, such as induced heterogeneities in the performance, power, and soft error rate of identically designed cores, prevent the potential performance from being fully utilized. In this paper, we harness the mentioned side effects in shared-memory multicore processors with unknown workloads by a dynamic heuristic scheduling algorithm called HDSAP. HDSAP aims to maximize performance, i.e., the average response time, under power and reliability constraints in presence of induced heterogeneities. In this regard, we use a mathematical model to quantify task to core assignments based on performance variation. We also consider the variation in power to change selected cores when the power constraint is missed. To meet the reliability constraint, we use N-modular redundancy while being aware of the variation in the soft error rate of cores to prevent under/over reliability estimation. To evaluate HDSAP, we run SPLASH benchmark suite on Sniper and MACPat simulators. As a result, the response time of HDSAP reduces by 6%, 8%, and 25% in comparison with similar algorithms under the same power and reliability constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach for network slicing in 5G backhaul networks, targeting services with low or very low latency requirements. We propose a modified A* algorithm that incorporates network quality of service parameters into a composite metric. The algorithm's efficiency outperforms that of Dijkstra's algorithm using a precalculated heuristic function and a real-time monitoring strategy for congestion management. We integrate the algorithm into an SDN module called a path computation element, which computes the optimal path for the network slices. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces processing time compared to Dijkstra's algorithm, particularly in complex topologies, with an order of magnitude improvement. The algorithm successfully adjusts paths in real-time to meet low latency requirements, preventing packet delay from exceeding the established threshold. The end-to-end measurements using the Speedtest client validate the algorithm's performance in differentiating traffic with and without delay requirements. These results demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in achieving ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) in 5G backhaul networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two-dimension strip packing problem (2DSPP) is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, and it has a wide range of applications. The order in which the rectangles are placed in the strip is the key to solving the 2DSPP. In this paper, the corner increment multi-level scoring strategy and the two-step selection strategy are proposed to make the selection of rectangles more reasonable. The hierarchical construction strategy is used to improve the constructive heuristic algorithm to expand the search space of the rectangle selection. Based on this, this paper proposes a multi-strategy rectangle selection algorithm TSMSA for solving 2DSPP. Comparing experiments with 7 excellent algorithms for solving 2DSPP on 737 instances of the benchmark dataset shows that the instance number of the optimal solution obtained by TSMSA is 1.05~2.9 times that of the other 7 algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an algorithmic framework, message passing is extremely powerful and has wide applications in the context of different disciplines including communications, coding theory, statistics, signal processing, artificial intelligence and combinatorial optimization. In this paper, we investigate the performance of a message-passing algorithm called min-sum belief propagation (BP) for the vertex-disjoint shortest $k$ -path problem ($k$ -VDSP) on weighted directed graphs, and derive the iterative message-passing update rules. As the main result of this paper, we prove that for a weighted directed graph $G$ of order $n$ , BP algorithm converges to the unique optimal solution of $k$ -VDSP on $G$ within $O(n^{2}w_{max})$ iterations, provided that the weight $w_{e}$ is nonnegative integral for each arc $e\in E(G)$ , where $w_{max}=\max \{w_{e}: e\in E(G)\}$. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first instance where BP algorithm is proved correct for NP-hard problems. Additionally, we establish the extensions of $k$ -VDSP to the case of multiple sources or sinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good stacking method can increase the packaging utility rate and reduce production costs. Much research has focused on 2D arrangements for rectangular, circular, or irregular shapes and regularly shaped 3D objects such as rectangular boxes. Genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, and other heuristic algorithms have been proposed. Recent research on the stacking of irregular-shaped 3D stone pieces has focused on balancing one stone piece on top of others to form one or more vertical towers, given the geometry of the stone pieces and the number of stone pieces available for the task. Stacking irregular-shaped 3D objects in a package is common in industry. However, there has been relatively little emphasis on the development of algorithms for stacking irregular-shaped 3D objects in a fixed-size container without prior knowledge of the stone geometries and the number of pieces available, with the goal of packing as many stone pieces as possible while maintaining stability. In this paper, three heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve the problem of nesting irregularly shaped stone pieces in layers within a container. All three algorithms use the following approach: (1) approximate the alignment of irregular shapes to a cluster of straight lines; (2) arrange stones one by one at the approximated angles using a step-by-step process; (3) for stability, consider the weight of the stone pieces based on pixel calculations. An automated real-time stacking system—including sensors, pneumatic suction cups, webcams, conveyor, robot, and programmable logic controller—was developed to evaluate the proposed algorithms using space utilization, stability, and cycle time as measures of performance. The developed algorithms and an existing stacking algorithm (bottom left most, or BLM) were tested using 25 sequences of 30 randomly ordered stone pieces. Results suggest that the developed algorithms effectively solve the stone piece packing problem. All three were significantly better than the BLM algorithm in terms of space utilization and stability, and there was no difference in cycle time. Algorithm 3 was better than Algorithms 1 and 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce logistics scheduling costs and energy consumption, this paper studies the slab allocation and hot-rolling scheduling integrated optimization problem that arises in practical iron and steel enterprises. In this problem, slabs are first allocated to orders and then sent to heating furnaces for heating; then, they are sent to a hot-rolling mill for rolling. A 0–1 integer programming model is established to minimize the attribute difference in the allocation cost between slabs and orders, the switching cost of hot-rolling processing, and waiting times after slabs reach rolling mills. Given the problem's characteristics, an improved differential evolution algorithm using a real-number coding method is designed to solve it. Three different heuristic algorithms are proposed to improve the quality of solutions in the initial population. Multiple parent individuals participate in the mutation operation, which increases the population diversity and prevents the algorithm from falling into the local optimum prematurely. Experiments on 14 sets of real production data from a large domestic iron and steel plant show that our improved differential evolution algorithm generates significantly better solutions in a reasonable amount of time compared with CPLEX, the simulated artificial method, and the classical differential evolution algorithm, and it can be used by practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an optimization model for an irregular train schedule. The aim is to optimize both the maximum train loading rate and the average deviation of departure intervals under time-varying passenger transport demand for an urban rail transit line in consideration of practical train operation constraints, i.e., headway, running time between stations, dwell time, and capacity. A heuristic simulated-annealing algorithm is designed to solve the optimization model, and a case study of an urban rail transit line is performed to assess its efficacy. The results show that, compared with the current regular train schedule, the total train dwell time under the optimized irregular schedule is reduced from 900 s to 848 s, and the reduction ratio for the maximum train loading rate is from 1.2% to 3.6% for different stations. When the average train departure interval is allowed to vary from 120 to 170 s, the optimized irregular schedule decreases the maximum train loading rate of the collinear and noncollinear sections by 3.21%–4.82% and 2.52%–3.64%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis is performed for a nonnegative weight coefficient, average train departure interval, and proportion of full-length and short-turn routings. The proposed approach can be used to support capacity improvement and schedule optimization for urban rail transit lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new stochastic optimization algorithm is introduced, called Driving Training-Based Optimization (DTBO), which mimics the human activity of driving training. The fundamental inspiration behind the DTBO design is the learning process to drive in the driving school and the training of the driving instructor. DTBO is mathematically modeled in three phases: (1) training by the driving instructor, (2) patterning of students from instructor skills, and (3) practice. The performance of DTBO in optimization is evaluated on a set of 53 standard objective functions of unimodal, high-dimensional multimodal, fixed-dimensional multimodal, and IEEE CEC2017 test functions types. The optimization results show that DTBO has been able to provide appropriate solutions to optimization problems by maintaining a proper balance between exploration and exploitation. The performance quality of DTBO is compared with the results of 11 well-known algorithms. The simulation results show that DTBO performs better compared to 11 competitor algorithms and is more efficient in optimization applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the increasing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) has generated excessive amounts of data. It is difficult to manage and control the volume of data used in cloud computing, and since cloud computing has problems with latency, lack of mobility, and location knowledge, it is not suitable for IoT applications such as healthcare or vehicle systems. To overcome these problems, fog computing (FC) has been used; it consists of a set of fog devices (FDs) with heterogeneous and distributed resources that are located between the user layer and the cloud on the edge of the network. An application in FC is divided into several modules. The allocation of processing elements (PEs) to modules is a scheduling problem. In this paper, some heuristic and meta-heuristic algorithms are analyzed, and a Hyper-Heuristic Scheduling (HHS) algorithm is presented to find the best allocation with respect to low latency and energy consumption. HHS allocates PEs to modules by low-level heuristics in the training and testing phases of the input workflow. Based on simulation results and comparison of HHS with traditional, heuristic, and meta-heuristic algorithms, the proposed method has improvements in energy consumption, total execution cost, latency, and total execution time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses an integrated scheduling problem of batch manufacturing and delivery processes with a single batch machine and direct-shipping trucks. In the manufacturing process, some jobs in the same family are simultaneously processed as a production batch in a single machine. The batch production time depends only on the family type assigned to the production batch and it is dynamically adjusted by batch deterioration and rate-modifying activities. Each job after the batch manufacturing is reassigned to delivery batches. In the delivery process, each delivery batch is directly shipped to the corresponding customer. The delivery time of delivery batches is determined by the distance between the manufacturing site and customer location. The total volume of jobs in each production or delivery batch must not exceed the machine or truck capacity. The objective function is to minimize the total tardiness of jobs delivered to customers with different due dates. To solve the problem, a mixed-integer linear programming model to find the optimal solution for small problem instances is formulated and meta-heuristic algorithms to find effective solutions for large problem instances are presented. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to find the effect of problem parameters on the manufacturing and delivery time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many cities and regions, decision makers independently develop Train Operation Plan (TOP) for each line in the rail transit network, resulting in a lack of TOP Synchronization (TOPS). Considering the entire network as a whole, researchers have realized that synchronous optimization is of great significance. In this paper, we formulate two Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) models to optimize demand-driven TOP in the network. The former is an Asynchronous TOP Optimization (ATOPO) model, while the latter is a Synchronous TOP Optimization (STOPO) model. The bi-objective models simultaneously determine train frequency, train timetable, and rolling stock circulation under small-granularity passenger demand to minimize trains' total cost and passengers' total time. Then, we propose the Nondominated Sorting Coevolutionary Memetic Algorithm (NSCMA) to solve the combinatorial optimization problems. The hybrid heuristic algorithm incorporates Coevolutionary Memetic Algorithm (CMA) into Advanced and Adaptive Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (AANSGA-II) to ameliorate the evolution process for elite individuals. On this basis, we study the case of Shenyang Metro to verify the models and the algorithm. The results demonstrate that the STOPO model is better than the ATOPO model in reducing trains' total cost and passengers' total time. In addition, NSCMA is better than AANSGA-II in obtaining elite individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As pairwise ranking becomes broadly employed for elections, sports competitions, recommendation, information retrieval and so on, attackers have strong motivation and incentives to manipulate or disrupt the ranking list. They could inject malicious comparisons into the training data to fool the target ranking algorithm. Such a technique is called “poisoning attack” in regression and classification tasks. In this paper, to the best of our knowledge, we initiate the first systematic investigation of data poisoning attack on the pairwise ranking algorithms, which can be generally formalized as the dynamic and static games between the ranker and the attacker, and can be modeled as certain kinds of integer programming problems mathematically. To break the computational hurdle of the underlying integer programming problems, we reformulate them into the distributionally robust optimization (DRO) problems, which are computational tractable. Based on such DRO formulations, we propose two efficient poisoning attack algorithms and establish the associated theoretical guarantees including the existence of Nash equilibrium and the generalization ability bounds. The effectiveness of the suggested poisoning attack strategies is demonstrated by a series of toy simulations and several real data experiments. These experimental results show that the proposed methods can significantly reduce the performance of the ranker in the sense that the correlation between the true ranking list and the aggregated results with toxic data can be decreased dramatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subgraph queries are routinely used to search for entities in richly attributed graphs e.g., social networks and knowledge graphs. With little knowledge of underlying data, users often need to rewrite queries multiple times to reach desirable answers. Why-questions are studied to clarify missing or unexpected query results. This paper makes a first step to answer Why-questions for entity search in attributed graphs. We consider three common types of Why-questions: Why-not, Why, and Why-rank, which suggest query manipulations that are responsible for user-specified missing, unexpected, and undesirably ranked entities, respectively. (1) We approach a general query rewriting paradigm that suggests to identify desired entities that are specified by Why-questions. We introduce measures that characterize good query rewrites by incorporating both query editing cost and answer closeness. (2) While computing optimal query rewrites is intractable, we develop feasible algorithms, from approximation to fast heuristics, and provide query rewrites with (near) optimality guarantees whenever possible, for Why, Why-not and Why-rank questions. We further show that our results remain intact for Why questions that (1) request a single query rewrite to clarify multiple types of entities, and (2) variants such as Why-empty and Why-so-many, by providing the matching algorithms. Using real-world graphs, we experimentally verify that our algorithms are effective and feasible for large graphs. Our case study also verifies their application in e.g., knowledge exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variety of pricing models offered by cloud service providers and the availability of a wide diversity of computing resources has increased the popularity of this paradigm for scientific applications. Such a scalable platform can be an ideal option for the execution of loosely coupled parallel applications, such as scientific workflows. Scientific workflows are regarded as one of the most important elements in different scientific fields in which a complex application may be divided into several dependent tasks. Given that the cost of leasing multicore VMs on the cloud will rise with an increase in the number of processing cores, an efficient scheduling algorithm focusing on utilizing multicore resources can significantly reduce execution costs. As an extension of its authors' previous research, the current paper proposes a heuristic scheduling algorithm, the Cluster Dividing Algorithm that concentrates on expanding the utilization of multicore resources to reduce execution costs while also meeting the user-defined deadline. To increase resource utilization, the proposed scheduling employs different techniques, such as task clustering, directed graph leveling, and task duplicating. The experimental results reveal that the presented algorithm leads to lower execution costs while complying with the deadline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of the photovoltaic (PV) system under partial shading conditions (PSC) is complicated since the output characteristic of the PV system is profoundly affected by the heterogeneous irradiance of PSC. This paper proposes a dynamic reconfiguration framework to tackle PSC in the PV array. Continuous operation of the dynamic PV array reconfiguration under cloud-induced partial shading is considered by developing an emulator of the moving cloud. In addition, the Particle Swarm Optimization and Rao algorithms are improved to obtain the optimal PV array configuration under PSC. The operation of switching is enhanced by simultaneously considering the total switching times and the operation of highly active switches. The simulation results on the 9 × 9 PV array demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in terms of reducing the number of local maximum power points on the power-voltage characteristic, enhancing power output, and relieving stress on the switching operation of the PV array under different PSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the two-dimensional strip-packing (2DSP) problem of placing a set of rectangular pieces onto a fixed-width rectangular sheet to minimize the total length used. We propose a Block-Based Heuristic Search Algorithm (BBHSA) to solve 2DSP problems with guillotine cut constraints. Initially, it converts the 2DSP problem into a series of 2D rectangular packing problems (2DRP), where the size of the sheet is fixed. In the BBHSA, rectangular pieces are aggregated into blocks, which are partial solutions without residual space. These blocks provide the ingredients for a good layout and are basic components in a tree-based constructive search process. Two basic operations, called placing & splitting and approximate binary search are used in the search process. Furthermore, several block-based placement rules are explored to speed up the search process and improve solution quality. To verify the performance of our proposed algorithm, we conducted extensive experiments using the zero-waste benchmark and non-zero-waste benchmark instances. The results show that BBHSA demonstrates computational effectiveness, particularly in zero-waste cases, achieving optimal solutions for almost all zero-waste benchmark instances reported in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial scheduling problems (ISPs), especially industrial production workshop scheduling problems (IPWSPs) in various sectors like manufacturing, and power require allocating resources to tasks within multiple constraints. Addressing these complex challenges involves computationally solving problems with numerous variables and constraints. Lagrangian relaxation-based algorithms (LRAs) effectively tackle ISPs (particularly IPWSPs) by relaxing constraints through multipliers. While LRAs may violate original constraints, heuristic algorithms rectify this by crafting feasible solutions. LRAs offer efficient problem-solving and yield high-quality results with manageable computational effort. This review presents the cutting-edge LRAs for ISPs, based on 200 papers from the fields of supply chain, manufacture, power, etc. It exemplifies LRAs' principles through practical cases, and provides a classification of problems in detail, along with LRA's problem-solving process. We discuss strengths, weaknesses, and future research prospects, offering comprehensive guidance. Summarizing these findings, the review enhances understanding of LRAs' application potential in solving ISPs for practitioners and researchers. • Propose tutorials & examples for mastering ISP solving with LRAs. • Demonstrate an algorithm framework and diverse solution designs. • List pros & cons of using LRAs and analyze applicable scenarios. • Organize LRA development stages and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the deadlock control and scheduling problem of two-stage assembly permutation flowshop with limited buffers. In such a system, all parts are first processed in a permutation flowshop, then assembled into final products. The objective is to find a feasible schedule, including a manufacturing subschedule and an assembly subschedule, to minimize makespan. Owing to limited buffers, not only may the blocking phenomenon appear in the system operation, but also some manufacturing subschedules may lead to deadlock states, making them unavailable. To obtain a feasible schedule, this work first proposes a deadlock control or an availability detection and amendment (ADA) algorithm to determine whether a manufacturing subschedule is available, and convert unavailable ones to available ones. Then by embedding ADA into a social spider algorithm (SSA), a hybrid social spider algorithm (HSSA) is developed for computing feasible schedules. In HSSA, an improved heuristic search algorithm is proposed to generate a better initial population, and a simplified variable neighborhood search algorithm is designed and incorporated into HSSA to enhance its searching ability. Finally, HSSA is tested on instances, showing its superiority over SSA in performance. The effect of buffer size on the scheduling objective is discussed. • The availability of manufacturing subschedules is determined. • The unavailable subschedules can be transformed into available ones. • A hybrid social spider algorithm is developed for computing feasible schedules. • Using an improved heuristic search algorithm to obtain a better initial population. • The local search ability is enhanced by a simplified variable neighborhood search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the sequence sorting problem of large-scale storage/retrieval (S/R) requests in multiple Input/Output (multi-I/O) depots automated storage/retrieval systems (AS/RS), in which the cargoes can enter/leave the system through multi-I/O depots, the stacker can load only one cargo, and the load travel time of stacker is fixed. The problem is to find an optimal sequence for a certain S/R requests sequence, and it is a special kind of traveling salesman problem. In this paper, a heuristic algorithm based on assignment is proposed. In order to eliminate the subloops emerged in the sorting process, the equivalent merging and minimum cost merging methods of subloops are considered, and the proposed algorithm is modified. Experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To schedule material supply intelligently and meet the production demand, studies concerning the material logistics planning problem are essential. In this paper, we consider the problem based on the scenario that more than one vehicle may visit each station in batches. The primary objective is to satisfy the demands in the time windows, followed by logistics planning with the minimum vehicles and travel time as the optimization objective. We construct a multi-objective mixed-integer programming model for the scenario of discrete material supply in workshops. First, we propose a hybrid heuristic algorithm combining NSGA-II and variable neighborhood search. This proposed algorithm combines the global search capability of NSGA-II and the strong local search capability, which can balance intensification and diversification well. Second, to maintain the diversity of population, we design the population diversity strategy and various neighborhood operators. We verify the effectiveness of the hybrid algorithm by comparing with other algorithms. To test the validity of the proposed problem, we have carried out research and application in a construction machinery enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping optimization of network-on-chips (NoCs) for specific applications has become one of the most important keys of the SoC top-level design. However, the topology of NoC applied is usually regular topology, such as mesh, torus, etc., which may generate a large number of isomorphic solutions during the process of NoC mapping, which may reduce the convergence speed of mapping algorithms. In this paper, we proposed a generic-based hyper-heuristic algorithm named IRC-GHH for NoC mapping. To reduce the influence of isomorphic solutions, we analyzed the symmetry of NoC topology and proposed crossover operators based on the isomorphic solution to optimize the algorithm. We studied the situation of invalid crossovers and eliminated invalid iterations by adopting an isomorphic replacement crossover (IRC) strategy. To prevent the algorithm from falling into evolutionary stagnation in the late iteration, we introduce an adaptive mechanism to increase the usage frequency of the IRC operator automatically. Compared with GHH without IRC, the GHH with IRC can achieve, on average 15.25% communication energy reduction and 7.84% communication delay reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degeneracy is an important concept to measure the sparsity of a graph which has been widely used in many network analysis applications. Many network analysis algorithms, such as clique enumeration and truss decomposition, perform very well in graphs having small degeneracies. In this paper, we propose an I/O-efficient algorithm to compute the degeneracy of the massive graph that cannot be fully kept in the main memory. The proposed algorithm only uses $O(n)$ O (n) memory, where $n$ n denotes the number of nodes of the graph. We also develop an I/O-efficient algorithm to incrementally maintain the degeneracy on dynamic graphs. Extensive experiments show that our algorithms significantly outperform the state-of-the-art degeneracy computation algorithms in terms of both running time and I/O costs. The results also demonstrate high scalability of the proposed algorithms. For example, in a real-world web graph with 930 million nodes and 13.3 billion edges, the proposed algorithm takes only 633 seconds and uses less than 4.5GB memory to compute the degeneracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the following problem. Given a multiset M of non-negative integers, decide whether there exist and, in the positive case, compute two non-trivial multisets whose Minkowski sum is equal to M. The Minkowski sum of two multisets A and B is a multiset containing all possible sums of any element of A and any element of B. This problem was proved to be NP-complete when multisets are replaced by sets. This version of the problem is strictly related to the factorization of boolean polynomials that turns out to be NP-complete as well. When multisets are considered, the problem is equivalent to the factorization of polynomials with non-negative integer coefficients. The computational complexity of both these problems is still unknown. The main contribution of this paper is a heuristic technique for decomposing multisets of non-negative integers. Experimental results show that our heuristic decomposes multisets of hundreds of elements within seconds, independently of the magnitude of numbers belonging to the multisets. Our heuristic can also be used for factoring polynomials in N[x]. We show that, when the degree of the polynomials gets larger, our technique is much faster than the state-of-the-art algorithms implemented in commercial software like Mathematica and MatLab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bat algorithm (BA) is a heuristic algorithm that operates by imitating the echolocation behavior of bats to perform global optimization, which has fast convergence, a simple structure, and strong search ability. One of the issues in the standard bat algorithm is the premature convergence that can occur due to the low exploration ability of the algorithm under some conditions. To overcome this problem, the paper proposes a hybrid approach to improving its local search mechanism. The local search strategy of curve decreasing and speed weight is introduced to the standard bat algorithm to enhance its exploration and exploitation capabilities. The performance of the improved bat algorithm has better global optimization ability and higher convergence accuracy than the standard bat algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For vehicle-to-network communications, handover (HO) management enables vehicles to maintain the connection with the network while transiting through coverage areas of different base stations (BSs). However, the high mobility of vehicles means shorter connection periods with each BS that leads to frequent HOs, hence raises the necessity for optimal HO decision making for high quality infotainment services. Machine learning is capable of capturing underlying pattern via data driven methods to find optimal solutions to complex problems, and much learning-based HO optimization research has been conducted focusing on specific network setups. However, attention still needs to be paid to the actual deployment aspect and standardized datasets or simulation environments for evaluation. This paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning-based HO algorithm using the input parameters that are configurable in the existing measurement report of cellular networks. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using the well-known network simulator ns-3 with its official LTE module. A realistic network setup in the city center of Glasgow (U.K.) is configured with vehicle trajectories generated by the routes mobility model using Google Maps Directions API. Evaluation results reveal that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms the A3 RSRP baseline with an average of 25.72% packet loss reduction per HO, suggesting significant improvement in quality of service of phone call and video streaming, etc. The proposed algorithm also has a small implementation cost compared to some state-of-the-art and should be deployed by a software update to a local BS controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of computation intensive automotive applications poses significant challenges on computation capacity of automotive electronic systems, thus vehicular edge computing (VEC) is introduced as a new computing paradigm into the internet of vehicle (IoV) to improve its data processing capability. However, as the computation capacity is limited in VEC servers, efficient task offloading algorithms need to be proposed. This paper first proposes a multi-task offloading model and gives the related task response time analysis method, and then, both a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP)-based algorithm and a simulated annealing-based heuristic algorithm are proposed to minimize the task response time. By comparing with a baseline algorithm, the MILP-based offloading algorithm can reduce the average task response time by 91.45%, and the heuristic offloading algorithm can reduce the average task response time by 70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new stochastic optimization algorithm is introduced, called Driving Training-Based Optimization (DTBO), which mimics the human activity of driving training. The fundamental inspiration behind the DTBO design is the learning process to drive in the driving school and the training of the driving instructor. DTBO is mathematically modeled in three phases: (1) training by the driving instructor, (2) patterning of students from instructor skills, and (3) practice. The performance of DTBO in optimization is evaluated on a set of 53 standard objective functions of unimodal, high-dimensional multimodal, fixed-dimensional multimodal, and IEEE CEC2017 test functions types. The optimization results show that DTBO has been able to provide appropriate solutions to optimization problems by maintaining a proper balance between exploration and exploitation. The performance quality of DTBO is compared with the results of 11 well-known algorithms. The simulation results show that DTBO performs better compared to 11 competitor algorithms and is more efficient in optimization applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is common for communities in real-world networks to possess hierarchical and overlapping structures, which make community detection even more challenging. In this paper, by investigating consensus process of the classical DeGroot model in opinion dynamics, we propose a novel method based on the cumulative opinion distance (COD) to discover hierarchical and overlapping communities. It is shown that this method is different from those classical algorithms relying on static fitness metrics that depict the inhomogeneous connectivity across the network. The proposed method is validated from two aspects. First, by estimating the eigenvectors of adjacency matrices, we investigate the detectability limit of our algorithms on random networks, which together with the results concerning the convergence speed of consensus guarantees the performance of our method theoretically. Second, experiments on both large scale real-world networks and artificial benchmarks show that our method is very effective and competitive on hierarchical modular graphs. In particular, it outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms on overlapping community detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient shortest path algorithms are of key importance for routing and navigation systems. However, these applications are designed focusing on the requirements of motor vehicles, and therefore, finding paths in pedestrian sections of urban areas is not sufficiently supported. In addition, finding the shortest path is often not adequate for urban sidewalk routes, as users of these applications may also be interested in alternative routes that, although slightly longer, possess other desirable features and properties. According to the literature, the search for alternative routes is carried out mainly using the k-shortest paths (KSP) algorithm which represents an ordered list of all available alternatives. Even though various KSP algorithms have been proposed, to the best of our knowledge, there is no research addressing all issues inherent in a pedestrian navigation system. The purpose of this paper is to present a heuristic algorithm for graph datasets that implements a penalty-based method which, by increasing certain edge weights, effectively searches for the most accessible alternative paths in multi-route cases. To demonstrate how the algorithm works, we present experimental results on finding the most accessible paths in pedestrian sections of the historical center of Thessaloniki city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a heuristic algorithm for solving a generalized Hermitian eigenvalue problem fast. The algorithm searches a subspace for an approximate solution of the problem. If the approximate solution is unacceptable, the subspace is expanded to a larger one, and then, in the expanded subspace a possibly better approximated solution is computed. The algorithm iterates these two steps alternately. Thus, the speed of the convergence of the algorithm depends on how to generate a subspace. In this paper, we derive a Riccati equation whose solution can correct the approximate solution of a generalized Hermitian eigenvalue problem to the exact one. In other words, the solution of the eigenvalue problem can be found if a subspace is expanded by the solution of the Riccati equation. This is a feature the existing algorithms such as the Krylov subspace algorithm implemented in the MATLAB and the Jacobi–Davidson algorithm do not have. However, similar to solving the eigenvalue problem, solving the Riccati equation is time-consuming. We consider solving the Riccati equation with low accuracy and use its approximate solution to expand a subspace. The implementation of this heuristic algorithm is discussed so that the computational cost of the algorithm can be saved. Some experimental results show that the heuristic algorithm converges within fewer iterations and thus requires lesser computational time comparing with the existing algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper establishes an approximate optimal critic learning algorithm based on single neural network (NN) policy iteration (PI) aiming at solving for continuous-time (CT) 2-player zero-sum games (ZSGs). In fact, we have to face the problem that the errors will disturb the dynamics and in turn identifying dynamics will generate errors. In order to prevent the effect of errors, in this paper, a single NN-based online PI algorithm is developed for the CT system, which is disturbed nonlinear ZSG. With plenty of online data, the Hamilton–Jacobi–Isaacs equation can be solved without complete dynamics. Then by the least-squares method, we can obtain the NN weights. Moreover, in the process of dealing with the undisturbed system, we find the way that obtains NN weights in this paper is equal to the way that obtains the optimal solution by the Gauss–Newton method. Based on the convergence of the Gauss–Newton method, we can efficiently obtain the optimal controller for the undisturbed system by utilizing online data. After getting the controller of the undisturbed system, it is time to take disturbance into consideration, so that we design a robust control pair to overcome the disturbance. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this algorithm, we design a set of simulations. The results verify that we can solve the disturbed nonlinear ZSG by this algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel thresholding image segmentation has always been a popular issue and attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years since it has many applications. However, the process of determining the optimal thresholds in the case of multilevel thresholding is time-consuming. To address this problem, in this paper, the optimal thresholds for multilevel thresholding image segmentation are obtained by maximizing the Rényi entropy using the Lévy flight firefly algorithm (FAFA), in which an adaptive parameter strategy based on Lévy flight is used to improve the performance of the standard firefly algorithm (FA). The performance of the proposed algorithm has been evaluated using several benchmark images and has been compared with five different heuristic algorithms. The experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm prevailed over the other five competitive algorithms in terms of the objective function value, image quality measures, and computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space exploration is a hot topic in the application field of mobile robots. Proposed solutions have included the frontier exploration algorithm, heuristic algorithms, and deep reinforcement learning. However, these methods cannot solve space exploration in time in a dynamic environment. This paper models the space exploration problem of mobile robots based on the decision-making process of the cognitive architecture of Soar, and three space exploration heuristic algorithms (HAs) are further proposed based on the model to improve the exploration speed of the robot. Experiments are carried out based on the Easter environment, and the results show that HAs have improved the exploration speed of the Easter robot at least 2.04 times of the original algorithm in Easter, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed robot space exploration strategy and the corresponding HAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an adaptive vehicle clustering algorithm based on fuzzy C-means algorithm, which aims at minimizing power consumption of the vehicles. Specifically, the proposed algorithm firstly dynamically allocates the computing resources of each virtual machine in the vehicle, according to the popularity of different virtualized network functions. The optimal clustering number to minimize the total energy consumption of vehicles is determined using the fuzzy C-means algorithm and the clustering head is selected based on vehicles moving direction, weighted mobility, and entropy. Simulation results are provided to confirm that the proposed algorithm can decrease the power consumption of vehicles while satisfying the vehicle delay requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterministic permutation flow shop scheduling problem with makespan criterion is not solvable in polynomial time. Therefore, researchers have thought about heuristic algorithms. There are many heuristic algorithms for solving it that is a very important combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed for solving the mentioned problem. The presented algorithm chooses the weighted path that starts from the up-left corner and reaches the down-right in the matrix of jobs processing times and calculates the biggest sum of the times in the footprints of this path. The row with the biggest sum permutes among all the rows of the matrix for locating the minimum of makespan. This method was run on Taillards standard benchmark and the solutions were compared with the optimum or the best ones as well as 14 famous heuristics. The validity and effectiveness of the algorithm are shown with tables and statistical evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]