Search

Background: Despite its obvious relevance to computer science, computational thinking (CT) is transdisciplinary with the potential of impacting one's analytical ability. Although countless efforts have been invested across K‐12 education, there is a paucity of research at the postsecondary level about the extent to which CT can contribute to sustainable learning outcomes. Objectives: The current study examines how a series of Arduino‐based robotics learning activities capture the fuller essence of concepts related to CT. Methods: College students (n = 50) completed a series of six robotics learning activities. Think‐alouds, student reflections and performance scores were used to assess students' CT through a robotics challenge in virtual and physical learning environments. Results and Conclusions: Students verbalized CT concepts related to algorithmic thinking much more than abstraction, problem decomposition and testing and debugging. Students exposed to active learning performed better in a virtual robotics challenge compared to their peers in a traditional‐oriented classroom. Students' scores on the physical robotics challenge increased as a function of the number of references they made to CT concepts during the think‐alouds. It is possible to design pedagogical experiences that tap into various dimensions of CT at incremental levels of complexity through a series of Arduino‐based robotics activities. With the integration of an online simulation, students can visualize and transfer their CT skills between a virtual and physical learning environment, thus leading to more sustainable learning outcomes. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Computational thinking (CT) is the conceptual foundation for problem‐solving.CT shifted from unplugged to plugged activities.CT concepts can be fostered through educational robotics. What this paper adds: A multi‐dimensional approach to assessing CT.Applications of CT provide insights into skill transfer.An integrative theoretical approach to study the 'how' and the 'what' of CT. Implications for practice: Educational robotics activities can cater to a fuller range of CT skills.Virtual simulations with constructive feedback are beneficial for students in traditional settings.Mixed learning environments contribute to making links between lectures and labs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that accurate estimation of the loop delay between the input and output feedback signals is the key to behavioral modeling and digital predistortion of power amplifier. Nevertheless, most of the traditional loop‐delay compensation algorithms have the disadvantage of high computational complexity. For the purpose of solving this problem, a loop‐delay estimation algorithm based on sliding window has been proposed in this paper, where the first derivative characteristic of the signal is employed to evaluate the correlation between the input and output feedback signals. The simulation and experiment are carried out with different bandwidth signals in this paper. The results show that the proposed algorithm and the traditional cross‐correlation‐based method could align the input and output feedback signals successfully. But in terms of resource consumption, the proposed algorithm could reduce the multiplier nearly by 100% and the adder by approximately 93.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: With the promotion and application of IPv6 in the world, there is a growing demand for IPv6 alias resolution. How to resolve IPv6 alias efficiently and accurately becomes an urgent problem to be solved. After analyzing the features of IPv6 addresses, this paper proposes a large‐scale adaptive IPv6 alias resolution method based on fingerprint information by combining Too‐Big Trick, UAv6, APD, and other alias resolution algorithms. It sends ICMPv6 probe packets to different types of IPv6 addresses to get the fingerprint information of target hosts. After filtering the classified addresses, our proposed alias resolution method is adaptively selected to resolve alias addresses. In the experiment, we use multi‐thread method to resolve the aliases of large‐scale IPv6 addresses, which greatly improves the efficiency of detection. Meanwhile, we use IPv6 datasets collected from the organizations RIPE and CAIDA. By comparing with Speedtrap and Too‐Big Trick, we confirm the accuracy of this method and obtain more alias pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the incremental subgradient algorithm employing dynamic step sizes for minimizing the sum of a large number of component convex functions. The dynamic step size rule was firstly introduced by Goffin and Kiwiel [Math. Program., 1999, 85(1): 207‐211] for the subgradient algorithm, soon later, for the incremental subgradient algorithm by Nedic and Bertsekas in [SIAM J. Optim., 2001, 12(1): 109‐138]. It was observed experimentally that the incremental approach has been very successful in solving large separable optimizations and that the dynamic step sizes generally have better computational performance than others in the literature. In the present paper, we propose two modified dynamic step size rules for the incremental subgradient algorithm and analyse the convergence and complexity properties of them. At last, the assignment problem is considered and the incremental subgradient algorithms employing different kinds of dynamic step sizes are applied to solve the problem. The computational experiments show that the two modified ones converges dramatically faster and more stable than the corresponding one in [SIAM J. Optim., 2001, 12(1): 109‐138]. Particularly, for solving large separable convex optimizations, we strongly recommend the second one (see Algorithm 3.3 in the paper) since it has interesting computational performance and is the simplest one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we apply the Anderson acceleration technique to the existing relaxation fixed‐point iteration for solving the multilinear PageRank. In order to reduce computational cost, we further consider the periodical version of the Anderson acceleration. The convergence of the proposed algorithms is discussed. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real‐world datasets are performed to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed algorithms over the relaxation fixed‐point iteration and the extrapolated shifted fixed‐point method. In particular, we give a strategy for choosing the quasi‐optimal parameters of the associated algorithms when they are applied to solve the test problems with different sizes but the same structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideal gas molecular movement (IGMM) as a metaheuristic optimization method is a prominent option for solving optimization problems. However, in some complex cases, IGMM may possess premature convergence or get trapped in local optima. Therefore, to tackle these issues, this paper indicates a new modified IGMM algorithm named opposition‐based IGMM, which has been incorporated with opposition based learning (OBL), Cauchy mutation (CM), velocity clamping (VC), and mirror operator (MO) to enhance its performance. OBL, VC, and MO improve the convergence of IGMM, whereas CM assists IGMM to escape local optima. The effect of each strategy, OBL, CM, VC, and MO, on IGMM, is confirmed through 30 low and high‐dimensional benchmarks, including 23 well‐known mathematical problems and CEC2017 as complex test functions and three engineering problems. Analysis results represent that integration IGMM with OBL, CM, VC, and MO has the best performance among other IGMM variants and eventually improved IGMM in exploration, exploitation, accelerating convergence, and local optima avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Readability metrics provide us with an objective and efficient way to assess the quality of educational texts. We can use the readability measures for finding assessment items that are difficult to read for a given grade level. Hard‐to‐read math word problems can put some students at a disadvantage if they are behind in their literacy learning. Despite their math abilities, these students can perform poorly on difficult‐to‐read word problems because of their poor reading skills. Less readable math tests can create equity issues for students who are relatively new to the language of assessment. Less readable test items can also affect the assessment's construct validity by partially measuring reading comprehension. Objectives: This study shows how large language models help us improve the readability of math assessment items. Methods: We analysed 250 test items from grades 3 to 5 of EngageNY, an open‐source curriculum. We used the GPT‐3 AI system to simplify the text of these math word problems. We used text prompts and the few‐shot learning method for the simplification task. Results and Conclusions: On average, GPT‐3 AI produced output passages that showed improvements in readability metrics, but the outputs had a large amount of noise and were often unrelated to the input. We used thresholds over text similarity metrics and changes in readability measures to filter out the noise. We found meaningful simplifications that can be given to item authors as suggestions for improvement. Takeaways: GPT‐3 AI is capable of simplifying hard‐to‐read math word problems. The model generates noisy simplifications using text prompts or few‐shot learning methods. The noise can be filtered using text similarity and readability measures. The meaningful simplifications AI produces are sound but not ready to be used as a direct replacement for the original items. To improve test quality, simplifications can be suggested to item authors at the time of digital question authoring. Lay Description: What is Known About the Subject: Difficult to read math assessment items cause measurement and equity issuesReadability of math word problems negatively correlated with outcomes What Our Paper Adds: GPT‐3 AI system is capable to simplify math word problemsPrompt‐based and few‐shot learning‐based approaches are able to create meaningful simplifications, but with a very low accuracy rateText similarity and readability measures can be used to filter out noisy outputs and discover interesting simplifications What are the Implications for Practitioners: GPT‐3 AI is capable of generating relevant math world problem simplificationsSimplified text can be used as suggestions to question authors during the digital item authoring process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the useful knowledge representation tools, which can describe the joint probability distribution between some random variables with a graphical model and can be trained by a dataset, is the Bayesian network (BN). A BN is composed of a network structure and a conditional probability distribution table for each node. Discovering an optimal BN structure is an NP‐hard optimization problem that various meta‐heuristic algorithms are applied to solve this problem by researchers. The genetic algorithms, ant colony optimization, evolutionary programming, artificial bee colony, and bacterial foraging optimization are some of the meta‐heuristic methods to solve this problem using a dataset. Most of these methods are applying a scoring metric to generate the best network structure from a set of candidates. A Fixed Structure Learning Automata‐Based (FSLA‐B) algorithm is presented in this paper to solve the structure learning problem of BNs. There is a fixed structure learning automaton for each pair of vertices in the BN's graph structure in the proposed algorithm. The action of this automaton determines the presence and direction of an edge between the vertices. The proposed algorithm performs a guided search procedure using the FSLA and escapes from local optimums. Several datasets are utilised in this paper to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. By performing various experiments, multiple meta‐heuristic algorithms are compared with the introduced new one. The obtained results represented that the proposed algorithm could produce competitive results and find the near‐optimal solution for the BN structure learning problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The idea of computational thinking is underpinned by the belief that anyone can learn and use the underlying concepts of computer science to solve everyday problems. However, most studies on the topic have investigated the development of computational thinking through programming activities, which are cognitively demanding. There is a dearth of evidence on how computational thinking augments everyday problem solving when it is decontextualized from programming. Objectives: In this study, we examined how computational thinking, when untangled from the haze of programming, is demonstrated in everyday problem solving, and investigated the features of such solvable problems. Methods: Using a multiple case study approach, we tracked how seven university students used computational thinking to solve the everyday problem of a route planning task as part of an 8‐week‐long Python programming course. Results and Conclusions: Computational thinking practices are latent in everyday problems, and intentionally structuring everyday problems is valuable for discovering the applicability of computational thinking. Decomposition and abstraction are prominent computational thinking components used to simplify everyday problem solving. Implications: It is important to strike a balance between the correctness of algorithms and simplification of the process of everyday problem solving. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Computational thinking is a problem solving skill.Computational thinking is different from programming.There is dearth of evidence on how computational thinking augments everyday problem solving. What this paper adds: Computational thinking practices are latent in everyday problem solving.Intentional restructuring of problems is required to uncover how computational thinking applies in solving them. Implications for practices: Decomposition and abstraction are critical in solving everyday problems.Computational thinking should be taught explicitly through everyday problems.Finding balance between the correctness of algorithm and simplification of the problem solving process is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with how to implement perturbations in the computational simulations of chemical dissolution‐front instability (CDFI) problems in fluid‐saturated porous media. On the basis of theoretical analysis, it is found that the application of a perturbation to the chemical dissolution front is equivalent to the application of an alternative perturbation to the dimensionless pore‐fluid normal velocity (relative to the planar chemical dissolution front) in the chemical dissolution zone, where the chemical dissolution front is located. This avoids the difficulty to find the spatial coordinates of the chemical dissolution front locations in the computational simulations of CDFI problems. Based on this new finding, a novel algorithm for implementing perturbations in the computational simulations of CDFI problems is proposed. The key point of the proposed algorithm is that the perturbed pore‐fluid normal velocity (relative to the planar chemical dissolution front) is used to directly replace the original pore‐fluid normal velocity (relative to the planar chemical dissolution front) in the related mathematical governing equations (MGEs), so that the proposed algorithm works for the porosity‐velocity‐concentration scheme when it is used to solve CDFI problems in fluid‐saturated porous media. In addition, the related theoretical analysis in this study has answered the previous unanswered question why the application of a perturbation to porosity works in the porosity‐pressure‐concentration scheme but does not work in the porosity‐velocity‐concentration scheme for solving the same CDFI problems in fluid‐saturated porous media. Through solving two illustrative examples with two different distributions of initial porosity, in which one is homogeneous and another is heterogeneous in the chemical dissolution system, the validity and usefulness of the proposed algorithm for implementing perturbations in the computational simulations of CDFI problems have been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parameter extraction of photovoltaic (PV) models based on measured current–voltage data plays an important role in the control, simulation, and optimization of PV systems. Despite the fact that various parameter extraction strategies have been dedicated to solving this problem, they may have certain drawbacks. In this paper, an effective hybrid optimization method based on adaptive rat swarm optimization (ARSO) and pattern search (PS) is presented for effectively and consistently extracting PV parameters. The proposed method employs the global search ability of ARSO and the local search ability of PS. The performance of the new algorithm is investigated using a set of benchmark test functions, and the results are compared with those of the standard RSO and some other methods from the literature. The extraction of parameters from several PV models, such as single‐diode, double‐diode, and PV modules, confirms the performance of the suggested method. Simulation results show that the proposed method surpasses other state‐of‐the‐art procedures in terms of accuracy, reliability, and convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem that the local contrast algorithm is easily influenced by the heavy clutter background or strong noise and does not fully consider the spatial neighbourhood characteristics of the small target, a spatial dissimilarity weighted local contrast‐based method (SDWLCM) for infrared small target detection is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the two‐dimensional difference of the Gaussian filter with central excitation and lateral suppression characteristics is chosen to preprocess the original infrared image for removing the flat background and improving the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of the small target. Secondly, the spatial dissimilarity between the target and its surrounding backgrounds is designed for local contrast weighting to generate the contrast saliency map so that the heavy clutter background is greatly suppressed and the small target is further highlighted. Thirdly, the saliency map is segmented by the adaptive threshold to get the real targets. Experimental results show that, compared with other methods, the SDWLCM, which owns not only a higher SNR gain and a larger background suppression factor but also a higher detection rate and a lower false alarm rate, is confirmed to be an effective method to detect the small targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple external representations (MERs) play an important role in the learning field of mathematics. Whereas the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and the integrative text and picture comprehension model assume that the heterogeneous combination of symbolic and analogous representations fosters learning; the design, functions, and tasks framework holds that learning benefits depend on the specific functions of MERs. The current paper describes a conceptual replication study of one of the few studies comparing single representations, heterogeneous, and homogeneous MERs in the context of mathematics learning. In a balanced incomplete block design, the participants were provided single representations (a graphic, text, or formula) or a heterogeneous (e.g., text + graphic) or homogeneous (text + formula) combination of these to solve linear system of equations problems. In accordance with previous research, performance was superior in conditions providing MERs compared to single‐representation conditions. Moreover, heterogeneous MERs led to time savings over homogeneous MERs which triggered an increase in cognitive load. Contrary to previous research, text was the least fixated representation whereas the graphical representation proved to be most beneficial. With regard to practical implications, experts should be fostered through more challenging homogeneous MERs whereas novices should be supported through the accessible graphic contained in heterogeneous MERs. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Providing multiple instead of single representations can foster mathematics learning.However, some combinations of representations hamper the performance of novice learners.The classical multimedia view explains the positive effect of combining text with picture.Recent research suggests the combination of multiple symbolic representations (text and formula). What this paper adds: The study replicated the effect of multiple symbolic representations for equation solving.In contrast to former research, each representation (text, formula, and graphic) was functionally equivalent.Tasks with differently coded representations were solved faster and with less mental effort.Gaze behavior indicated that students mostly used the graphical representation. Implications for practice and/or policy: Beginners should be supported with a graphic when solving equations.Experts should be challenged with a combination of symbolic representations to benefit the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual inspection of photovoltaic modules using electroluminescence (EL) images is a common method of quality inspection. Because human inspection requires a lot of time, object detection algorithm to replace human inspection is a popular research direction in recent years. To solve the problem of low accuracy and slow speed in EL image detection, we propose a YOLO‐based object detection algorithm YOLO‐PV, which achieves 94.55% of AP (average precision) on the photovoltaic module EL image data set, and the interference speed exceeds 35 fps. The improvement of speed and accuracy benefits from the targeted design of the network architecture according to the characteristics of EL image. First, we weaken the backbone's ability to extract deep‐level information so that it can focus on extracting the low‐level defect information. Second, the PAN network is used for feature fusion in the Neck part. But, only the single‐size feature map output is retained, which significantly reduces the amount of calculation. Also, we analyze the impact of data enhancement methods on model overfitting and performance. Finally, we give effective data enhancement methods. The results show that the object detection algorithm in this paper can meet the requirements for high‐precision and real‐time processing on the PV module production line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stochastic block model (SBM) is widely employed as a canonical model for network community detection. Recovering community labels under SBM is not a trivial task, since its theoretical optimization problem is NP‐hard. To solve this problem, numerous statistical methods have been developed in the literature, most of which are, however, not applicable to large‐scale networks. To overcome this limitation, in this paper, we propose a split likelihood (SL) framework, under which we provide a fast converging algorithm, named the SL algorithm, with significant advantages in terms of both community detection accuracy and computational efficiency. Moreover, to deal with networks with hub nodes or those with substantial degrees of variation within communities, we develop a variant of the SL algorithm, named the conditional SL (CSL) algorithm. We present the computational and statistical properties of the proposed algorithm. Then, we demonstrate the superiority of the proposed methods through a large amount of numerical experiments as well as two empirical analyses on real‐world networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Shared transportation is a new way of traveling generated by the rapid development of the "Internet +" and the sharing economy. Due to the limited energy carried by shared e‐bikes, the energy problem becomes the primary obstacle restricting its development. At present, one way to solve the energy problem is to use mobile charging vehicles (MCVs). However, how to schedule MCVs to achieve fast response, reduce energy consumption, and improve charging efficiency is crucial. In this paper, we propose a Charging Scheduling scheme based on Dynamic Characteristic of shared e‐bike in Obstacle Space (CSDC‐OS). Firstly, we design two MCV departure mechanisms to solve the problems of low utilization of MCVs and long waiting time for shared e‐bikes. Then, we design the schedulability conditions based on the A‐star algorithm and the dynamic change of e‐bikes to ensure that MCVs can return to the service station in time. Finally, we propose a charging sequence algorithm based on linear skyline query and a selective insertion algorithm to improve the charging efficiency of MCVs. Simulation results show that the CSDC‐OS can improve the response time, mobile consumption, and charging efficiency by more than 8% on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new image dehazing algorithm based on adaptive sky region is proposed in this paper, which shows good fidelity in sky region and satisfying visual effect in non‐sky region. For robust sky segmentation, we propose a rough‐to‐fine method that can make a balance between efficiency and accuracy. Considering distribution of haze is inconsistent, we divide the input image into three parts and calculate their atmospheric lights respectively. To solve the problem of invalid dark channel prior, we make an improvement for the transmission estimation. Finally, image fusion is taken as a post processing that can solve the problem of partial darkness and ensure a visual pleasing result. The experimental results for both synthetic and natural hazy images demonstrate that our algorithm performs comparable or even better results than the state‐of‐the‐art methods in terms of various measurement indexes, such as the PSNR, SSIM, and so forth. Besides, the proposed algorithm can be also applied in FPGA platform due to the optimized performance. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new approach for the formation of four‐member collaborative learning groups is presented. Group formation is presented by the mathematical optimization problem. Based on the proposed approach and the variable neighbourhood search (VNS) algorithm, the application that solves the presented problem and provides the appropriate division into groups is created. The proposed approach considers the scores of a pretest, interpersonal relationships, and prosocial behaviour/openness skill of students. In order to validate our approach, an experiment was designed with 108 first‐year university students of Belgrade Business School—Higher Educational Institution for Applied Studies. Experimental and control groups were divided into four‐member groups. The experimental group was divided by using the proposed method and the control group by student selection and random selection. Multilevel analysis is used to determine whether there is a significant difference in learning outcomes between the two groups. The experimental results showed that students from the experimental group achieved significantly higher success than the students from the control group. In addition, computational results obtained with the proposed VNS algorithms are compared and verified with the results obtained by random (Monte Carlo) method. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter of this paper: Group formation have great influence on the success of collaborative learning.Consideration of multiple variables for group formation can be very demanding.Previous computer‐based methods for group formation do not use VNS. What this paper adds: In this paper, new metaheuristic approach for group formation is proposed.The proposed approach considers the scores of a pretest.The proposed approach considers interpersonal relationships.The proposed approach considers prosocial behaviour/openness skill of students. The implications of study findings for practitioners: The proposed approach have positive impact on students' academic performance.This approach can divide a large number of students into smaller groups based on multiple variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY In 1907, Erhard Schmidt published a paper in which he introduced an orthogonalization algorithm that has since become known as the classical Gram-Schmidt process. Schmidt claimed that his procedure was essentially the same as an earlier one published by J. P. Gram in 1883. The Schmidt version was the first to become popular and widely used. An algorithm related to a modified version of the process appeared in an 1820 treatise by P. S. Laplace. Although related algorithms have been around for almost 200 years, it is the Schmidt paper that led to the popularization of orthogonalization techniques. The year 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of that paper. In celebration of that anniversary, we present a comprehensive survey of the research on Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization and its related QR factorization. Its application for solving least squares problems and in Krylov subspace methods are also reviewed. Software and implementation aspects are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our work is devoted to an inverse problem for three-dimensional parabolic partial differential equations. When the surface temperature data are given, the problem of reconstructing the heat flux and the source term is investigated. There are two main contributions of this paper. First, an adjoint problem approach is used for analysis of the Fréchet gradient of the cost functional. Second, an improved conjugate gradient method is proposed to solve this problem. Based on Lipschitz continuity of the gradient, the convergence analysis of the conjugate gradient algorithm is studied. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies bipartite consensus problems for continuous-time multi-agent system over signed directed graphs. We consider general linear agents and design both state feedback and dynamic output feedback control laws for the agents to achieve bipartite consensus. Via establishing an equivalence between bipartite consensus problems and the conventional consensus problems under both state feedback and output feedback control approaches, we make direct application of existing state feedback and output feedback consensus algorithms to solve bipartite consensus problems. Moreover, we propose a systematical approach to design bipartite consensus control laws. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the problem of finding a compact representation of the diagnoses within a model-based approach to diagnosis. To this end, we introduce the notion ofscenario, a special kind of CNF formula over the component variables, which can be used to encode a large number of diagnoses using the same amount of space needed for encoding just a single diagnosis. We show how the solutions to a diagnostic problem can be computed as sets of scenarios by presenting first an exhaustive algorithm and then an efficient algorithm, which exploits probabilistic information to restrict the result set to preferred scenarios. Finally, we discuss the issue of how to efficiently extract preferred diagnoses from sets of scenarios and characterize a class of system models for which our techniques perform particularly well. Concepts and algorithms introduced in the paper have been tested within the prototype of the diagnostic agent of a space robotic arm; resulting statistics are reported and critically discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helmholtz equations with variable coefficients are known to be hard to solve both analytically and numerically. In this paper, we introduce a numerical multigrid solver for one-dimensional Helmholtz eigenvalue problems with periodic potentials and solutions. The solvers employ wave–ray methodology suggested by Brandt, Livshits for Helmholtz equations with constant coefficients. The paper concludes with numerical experiments and the discussion of future efforts for solving two-dimensional problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum cardinality subset selection problem requires finding the largest possible subset from a set of objects, such that one or more conditions are satisfied. An important extension of this problem is to extract multiple subsets, where the addition of one more object to a larger subset would always be preferred to increases in the size of one or more smaller subsets. We refer to this as the multiple subset maximum cardinality selection problem ( MSMCSP). A recently published branch-and-bound algorithm solves the MSMCSP as a partitioning problem. Unfortunately, the computational requirement associated with the algorithm is often enormous, thus rendering the method infeasible from a practical standpoint. In this paper, we present an alternative approach that successively solves a series of binary integer linear programs to obtain a globally optimal solution to the MSMCSP. Computational comparisons of the methods using published similarity data for 45 food items reveal that the proposed sequential method is computationally far more efficient than the branch-and-bound approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fourth-order hybrid implicit and explicit finite-difference time-domain Method has been presented in this paper. This new method investigates the use of a second-order accurate in time and a fourth-order accurate in space. The 2D formulation of the method is presented and the time stability condition of the method is certified. The maximum time step size in this method is only determined by one spatial discretization. The numerical dispersion is discussed. Numerical examples demonstrate that when this method is used to solve electromagnetic problems, higher computational efficiency and less dispersion error can be obtained by comparing with the traditional finite-difference time-domain algorithm. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the solution of linear systems of saddle point type by correcting the Uzawa algorithm, which has been proposed in [K. Arrow, L. Hurwicz, H. Uzawa, Studies in nonlinear programming, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 1958]. We call this method as corrected Uzawa (CU) method. The convergence of the CU method is analyzed for solving nonsingular saddle point problem as well as the semi-convergence for the singular case. First, the corrected model for the Uzawa algorithm is established, and the CU algorithm is presented. Then we study the geometric meaning of the CU model. Moreover, we introduce the overall reduction coefficient α to measure the effect of the CU process. It is shown that the CU method converges faster than the Uzawa method and several other methods if the overall reduction coefficient α satisfies certain conditions. Numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the theoretical results and examine the numerical effectiveness of the CU method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY In this paper, we formulate and solve the selfish allocation problem by using game theory, which is different from the previously studied researches in three ways that make it more accurately reflective of real world peer-to-peer (P2P) allocation: (i) we treat the nodes as strategic agents and treat the replica allocation as a deliberate auction where node is incentivized to give his true quality of service for obtaining the replica; (ii) our mechanism computes node utility for all possible replica destination and payments for those destination nodes, and the best appropriate node can be selected as the final placement destination; and (iii) we show how to carry out our scheme with a distributed algorithm that is a straightforward extension to P2P allocation method and causes an overhead in convergence time. Our design and analysis of a strategy proof, feasible, Vickrey-Clarke-Groves-based auction scheme provides a new, promising direction in distributed algorithmic mechanism design, which has heretofore been focused mainly on P2P application. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Green wireless local area network (WLAN) is an emerging technology to achieve both the purposes of power conservation and high-speed accessing to the Internet because of the working on-demand strategy adoption and high density access points (APs) deployment. Although it is good news to data traffic service, Green WLAN brings severe challenges to the indoor localization service based on fingerprint algorithm. Redundant APs will greatly enlarge the radio map and introduce a much heavier computation burden to the terminal for localization in the online phase. In addition, APs in Green WLAN are powered on and off to make balances between data traffic service demand and energy saving goals so that the received signal strength (RSS) sampled online and recorded in the radio map offline are rarely matched in the same detected AP number, which leads to asymmetric matching problem occurring in the fingerprint algorithm. In this paper, we propose to make a nonlinear dimensionality reduction on the RSS by local discriminant embedding algorithm to realize both the computation burden decreasing and asymmetric matching problem resolving for the fingerprint algorithm in Green WLAN. The simulation results show that our proposed methods could effectively reduce the computation burden in the online phase and make the fingerprint algorithm operate more robustly when the RSS is reduced to the intrinsic dimensionality in Green WLAN. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Novel memory-efficient Arnoldi algorithms for solving matrix polynomial eigenvalue problems are presented. More specifically, we consider the case of matrix polynomials expressed in the Chebyshev basis, which is often numerically more appropriate than the standard monomial basis for a larger degree d. The standard way of solving polynomial eigenvalue problems proceeds by linearization, which increases the problem size by a factor d. Consequently, the memory requirements of Krylov subspace methods applied to the linearization grow by this factor. In this paper, we develop two variants of the Arnoldi method that build the Krylov subspace basis implicitly, in a way that only vectors of length equal to the size of the original problem need to be stored. The proposed variants are generalizations of the so-called quadratic Arnoldi method and two-level orthogonal Arnoldi procedure methods, which have been developed for the monomial case. We also show how the typical ingredients of a full implementation of the Arnoldi method, including shift-and-invert and restarting, can be incorporated. Numerical experiments are presented for matrix polynomials up to degree 30 arising from the interpolation of nonlinear eigenvalue problems, which stem from boundary element discretizations of PDE eigenvalue problems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a classification framework based on simple classifiers organized in a tree-like structure. It is observed that simple classifiers, even though they have high error rate, find similarities among classes in the problem domain. The authors propose to trade on this property by recognizing classes that are mistaken and constructing overlapping subproblems. The subproblems are then solved by other classifiers, which can be very simple, giving as a result a hierarchical classifier (HC). It is shown that HC, together with the proposed training algorithm and evaluation methods, performs well as a classification framework. It is also proven that such constructs give better accuracy than the root classifier it is built upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain formation is the process by which a set of producers within a network determine the subset of these producers able to form a chain to supply goods to one or more consumers at the lowest cost. This problem has been tackled in a number of ways, including auctions, negotiations, and argumentation-based approaches. In this paper we show how this problem can be cast as an optimization of a pairwise cost function. Optimizing this class of energy functions is NP-hard but efficient approximations to the global minimum can be obtained using loopy belief propagation (LBP). Here we detail a max-sum LBP-based approach to the supply chain formation problem, involving decentralized message-passing between supply chain participants. Our approach is evaluated against a well-known decentralized double-auction method and an optimal centralized technique, showing several improvements on the auction method: it obtains better solutions for most network instances which allow for competitive equilibrium (Competitive equilibrium in Walsh and Wellman is a set of producer costs which permits a Pareto optimal state in which agents in the allocation receive non-negative surplus and agents not in the allocation would acquire non-positive surplus by participating in the supply chain) while also optimally solving problems where no competitive equilibrium exists, for which the double-auction method frequently produces inefficient solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY The aim of the nuclear norm minimization problem is to find a matrix that minimizes the sum of its singular values and satisfies some constraints simultaneously. Such a problem has received more attention largely because it is closely related to the affine rank minimization problem, which appears in many control applications including controller design, realization theory, and model reduction. In this paper, we first propose an exact version alternating direction method for solving the nuclear norm minimization problem with linear equality constraints. At each iteration, the method involves a singular value thresholding and linear matrix equations which are solved exactly. Convergence of the proposed algorithm is followed directly. To broaden the capacity of solving larger problems, we solve approximately the subproblem by an iterative method with the Barzilai-Borwein steplength. Some extensions to the noisy problems and nuclear norm regularized least-square problems are also discussed. Numerical experiments and comparisons with the state-of-the-art method FPCA show that the proposed method is effective and promising. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Although there have been significant advances in robust algebraic multigrid (AMG) methods in recent years, numerical studies and emerging hardware architectures continue to favor structured-grid approaches. Specifically, implementations of logically structured robust variational multigrid algorithms, such as the black box multigrid (BoxMG) solver, have been shown to be 10 times faster than AMG for three-dimensional heterogeneous diffusion problems on structured grids. BoxMG offers important features such as operator-induced interpolation for robustness, while taking advantage of direct data access and bounded complexity in the Galerkin coarse-grid operator. Moreover, because BoxMG uses a variational framework, it can be used to explore advances of modern adaptive AMG approaches in a structured setting. In this paper, we show how to extend the adaptive multigrid methodology to the BoxMG setting. This extension not only retains the favorable properties of the adaptive framework but also sheds light on the relationship between BoxMG and AMG. In particular, we show how classical BoxMG can be viewed as a special case of classical AMG and how this viewpoint leads to a richer family of adaptive BoxMG approaches. We present numerical results that explore this family of adaptive methods and compare its robustness and efficiency to the classical BoxMG solver.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the quadratic model updating problems by using symmetric low-rank correcting, which incorporates the measured model data into the analytical quadratic model to produce an adjusted model that matches the experimental model data, and minimizes the distance between the analytical and updated models. We give a necessary and sufficient condition on the existence of solutions to the symmetric low-rank correcting problems under some mild conditions, and propose two algorithms for finding approximate solutions to the corresponding optimization problems. The good performance of the two algorithms is illustrated by numerical examples. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates decision-theoretic planning in sophisticated autonomous agents operating in environments of real-world complexity. An example might be a planetary rover exploring a largely unknown planet. It is argued that existing algorithms for decision-theoretic planning are based on a logically incorrect theory of rational decision making. Plans cannot be evaluated directly in terms of their expected values, because plans can be of different scopes, and they can interact with other previously adopted plans. Furthermore, in the real world, the search for optimal plans is completely intractable. An alternative theory of rational decision making is proposed, called “locally global planning.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a general framework for applying algebraic multigrid techniques to constrained systems of linear algebraic equations that arise in applications with discretized PDEs. We discuss constraint coarsening strategies for constructing multigrid coarse grid spaces and several classes of multigrid smoothers for these systems. The potential of these methods is investigated with their application to contact problems in solid mechanics. Published in 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with multiobjective 0–1 programming problems having block angular structure. We propose an interactive fuzzy rule-satisfying method in order to obtain satisfactory solutions that take into account objective functions expressed by the decision maker in fuzzy form. In the proposed method, a membership function corresponding to each fuzzy object of the decision maker is specified by interaction with the decision maker. Subsequently, the Parato optimum solution, closest in the minimax sense to a reference point set by the decision maker in the membership function space, is derived by using a genetic algorithm. If satisfaction is not reached, the reference point is updated interactively so that the solution eventually derived is satisfactory to the solution maker. Since the minimax problem solved in this interactive process is a single-object 0–1 programming problem with block angular structure, a genetic algorithm is employed that contains a decomposition process for solving the problem by means of a special configuration. By means of simple numerical experiments, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 81(8): 10–17, 1998 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we consider the problem of resizing figures in a digitized XY coordinate plane. The figures are regions closed by line segment parallel to the X or Y axis or line segments at 45° angles to the axes. By resizing we mean that, given the closed regions and a change width, we expand or contract the input regions by the change width. After first proving some theorems on resizing, we response an algorithm solving the problem in running time 0 (n log n), where n is the number of vertices in the regions. For particular applications we consider examples using the algorithms for verifying compliance with design rules for the smallest feature size and spacing in a mask pattern, and also the compensation for characteristic machine error in pattern generators, apertures, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a new numerical calculation algorithm for the nonlinear quadratic optimal problem with nonlinear terminal constraint. Synthetic Riccati transformation proposed earlier by the authors is utilized to solve the fore mentioned problem. The state differential equation is changed into two differential equations with respect to the two substates vector selected from the state vector. Then, based on the maximum principle and Kronecker's product, two differential equations with respect to the adjoint variables can be derived. To solve the fore mentioned differential equations, synthetic Riccati transformation is introduced to obtain a Riccati differential equation and an accessory differential equation. Thus, we can calculate the initial values of the adjoint variables by solving Riccati equations backward in time. The convergence condition about this algorithm also is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic algorithms (GA) have been widely used to solve planning problems. However, they require one to determine the optimal values of many genetic parameters, such as population sizes, crossover probability, mutation probability, and so on. To make matters worse, the most suitable combination of parameters for one problem is not always optimal for others. Therefore, these parameters should be tuned whenever the problem changes. In this paper, we propose an adaptable GA mechanism that has autonomic parameter tuning for the composition of generic operators. This mechanism raises questions concerning the probability of genetic operators that acted effectively, that is, the probability that one operator created better individuals than the other operators. It also successively adjusts the combinations of genetic parameters suitable for the target problem. We applied the adaptable GA mechanism to a project scheduling model (PSM) and evaluated it with manual tuning methods. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 124(2): 36–42, 1998 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]