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This paper investigates the Generalized Traveling Salesman Problem (GTSP), which is an extension of the well-known Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), and it searches for an optimal tour in a clustered graph, such that every cluster is visited exactly once. In this paper, we describe a novel Memetic Algorithm (MA) for solving efficiently the GTSP. Our proposed MA has at its core a genetic algorithm (GA), completed by a Chromosome Enhancement Procedure (CEP), which is based on a TSP solver and the Shortest Path (SP) algorithm and for improving the convergence characteristics of the GA, a Local Search (LS) operation is applied for the best chromosomes in each generation. We tested our algorithm on a set of well-known instances from the literature and the achieved results prove that our novel memetic algorithm is highly competitive against the existing solution approaches from the specialized literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain network design (SCND) is the process for designing and modeling the supply chain such that to minimize the costs generated by the location of facilities and the flow of product between the selected facilities. The aim of this paper is to investigate a particular SCND, namely the two-stage supply chain network design problem with risk-pooling and lead times and to provide a novel efficient and effective genetic algorithm (GA) designed to fit the challenges of the considered optimization problem. Extensive computational experiments were performed on two sets of instances and the achieved results prove the performance of our proposed GA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigate a particular two-stage supply chain network design problem with fixed costs. In order to solve this complex optimization problem, we propose an efficient hybrid algorithm, which was obtained by incorporating a linear programming optimization problem within the framework of a genetic algorithm. In addition, we integrated within our proposed algorithm a powerful local search procedure able to perform a fine tuning of the global search. We evaluate our proposed solution approach on a set of large size instances. The achieved computational results prove the efficiency of our hybrid genetic algorithm in providing high-quality solutions within reasonable running-times and its superiority against other existing methods from the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road condition monitoring is a generally complex task, either involving slow and tedious visual surface examination or using expensive specialized equipment operated by qualified personnel. The aim of this paper is to explore a faster and cheaper method of monitoring road condition, by implementing a distributed system that can use existing Android smartphones. The system records sensor data (accelerometer and GPS) locally and allows users to upload the data to the server at their convenience. The web application component offers an easy to use interface for detailed examination of all the uploaded data by displaying entire routes over a diverse selection of map types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steganography is a method of hiding secret information into an innocent looking container. Although a large number of steganography techniques have been proposed, there is a constant need for new variants because they have a relatively short lifespan, being defeated by steganalysis techniques. This article explores the possibilities of eliminating the main drawback of LSB steganography: weakness. The problem is solved by rearranging the image pixels and by applying a compensation technique that preserves their statistical properties. The proposed method contains an encryption block that adds an extra layer of security to the hidden data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The edge detection techniques have to compromise between sensitivity and noise. In order for the main contours to be uninterrupted, the level of sensitivity has to be raised, which however has the negative effect of producing a multitude of insignificant contours (noise). This article proposes a method of removing this noise, which acts directly on the binary representation of the image contours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a steganography method that uses all three components of an image in the RGB color space to store secret data. The order in which the image pixels are processed is not given by their position within the image, but by their visual significance. In order to ensure the greatest possible embedding capacity, the image container is traversed in several passes, each expanding its capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents some experiences with the smart glasses developed by Epson, namely Movrio BT-200, BT-300 and BT-2000. We conclude that they are on the right track, good devices, however, are still in an incipient, before the market stage and need a lot of technical (both hardware and software) improvements to be up to the needs of the real market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]