bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Problems of the Twelfth Century BC in the Dodecanese
Authors: MacDonald Colin
Published: September 2013

Three islands of the Dodecanese (Rhodes, Kos, and Kalymnos) have produced a substantial amount of published evidence which sheds light on population fluctuations and external relations during the twelfth century BC. The burial evidence from the Ialysos cemeteries indicates that the population may have increased fivefold after LH IIIB. A corresponding decrease may have occurred in southern Rhodes indicating a synoecism of the island. If this is so, the reasons may be related to the increasing prosperity of the main town, Ialysos. This is a period of regional diversity. Distinctive island pottery styles developed under marked Minoan influence. However, mainland influence was stronger, broader, and more constant. None of these islands appears to have contributed to the development of IIIC styles elsewhere nor actively participated in maritime trade. Rhodes and Kos acquired objects from the east Mediterranean and Europe. At this time, there is evidence for a revival of sea travel within and beyond the Aegean. Rhodes, in particular, benefited from this but may primarily have been a passive recipient. The resulting prosperity could have been one factor which drew people to the area of Ialysos in a process of synoecism.
Funeral Memorials of the First Priestess of Athena Nike
Authors: Rahn Peter J.
Published: September 2013

The Lekythos of Myrrhine (NM 4485) is described and dated to the last decade of the fifth century. It is a specially commissioned memorial, commemorating her religious office; she is demonstrated to have been the first priestess of Athena Nike. The gravestone to Myrrhine found near Zographo is also discussed. It is suggested that the Lethykos is either a public monument, or an attempt by her family to draw public attention to her, while the Zographo stone marked her actual burial place.
Human Bones from A Late Minoan IB House at Knossos
Authors: Wall S. M. , Musgrave J. H. , Warren P. M.
Published: September 2013

The purpose of this paper is to make available the full osteological record of the human bones found in a small room of a late Minoan Ib house at Knossos (Stratigraphical Museum site), of which about a third bear knife marks suggesting that flesh had been cut from them. It presents the physical situation, finds, and their contexts. Part I describes in detail the stratigraphy and distribution of the finds, II sets out the osteological record, III analyses in more detail the skulls and mandibles and their evidence for age, IV summarizes reasons for the treatment of the bodies and bones, and considers the condition of the human individuals at death, and V concludes with some comparative evidence.
A Roundel from Knossos(?) in the Ashmolean Museum
Authors: Weingarten Judith
Published: September 2013

A completely preserved roundel in the Ashmolean Museum is described. It is argued that it probably comes from Evans's 1901–4 excavations in the area of the Temple Repository at Knossos.
‘Monumentality’, functionality, animality: on an unusual prehistoric clay head from central Macedonia, Greece, and its implications
Authors: Marangou Christina , Grammenos Dimitris
Published: September 2013

The paper studies a Neolithic zoomorphic clay head from the Vasilika area, Central Macedonia, in the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum. The figure, apparently a wild animal or a hybrid, is exceptional from several points of view such as its important dimensions, the choice of the represented subject, and the fact that it probably had belonged to a complex structure. Various aspects of the artefact are considered: its size, particular morphological features, iconographic characteristics, potential practical functions, as well as the identification and probability of likely originals. Different approaches for interpretation are also attempted. Possible parallels are examined from the Near East and the Balkans.
Some Additional Data on Dissertations in Political Science, 1960 and 1970–72
Authors: Sackmann Peter J.
Published: September 2013

In the fall '72 issue ofPS, Walfred H. Peterson, Stephen Blank, and William C. Yoels have drawn some interesting data and interpretations from APSA's annual listing of completed political science dissertations. Their focus on data related to Ph.D. output, interest distribution within sub-fields, and “the fate of the Ph.D.” clearly reflect the concern of the advanced scholar who is interested in the general development of the discipline.

However, it may not be astonishing that one type of data, that may be of particular interest to the beginning student of political science or the Ph.D. candidate has been neglected. This is the question of how long it actually takes to earn the desired degree.

Departmental Ph.D. programs indicate generally that an approximate term of four years is suggested as being necessary but also sufficient for the successful completion of the entire Ph.D. program. A tabulation of data derived from our annual listings, however, easily reveal that — at least in practice — such an approximation is far from reality. As indicated intable I, more than twice that time lies actually on an average between graduation and the successful completion of the dissertation.
Who Eats What, When and Where: A Qualitative Analysis of Gastronomic Behavior in Metropolitan New Orleans
Authors: Chubbuck James H. , Renwick Edward F.
Published: September 2013

Huey Long once described himself assui generis. In the galaxy of American cities: New Orleans fits the same description. There is no other place like it — from the mania and madness of Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras, to the unbelievably hot, humid afternoons of late summer dozing on a bene in Jackson Square or watching the sails move in and out of the Lake Ponchartrain haze.

New Orleans is a city for the senses. The sight of a worn-out streetcar still clanking along under the oak trees of St. Charles Avenue. The smell of beer and whiskey and urine being washed down in the French Quarter by the 5 a.m. street cleaner. The moaning sound of a clarinet as it reaches out for “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.” And the taste of some of the best restaurant cooking in the country.

New Orleans also is a citypar excellenceof politics and politicians. Its political intrigues and range of personalities challenge the imagination. Louisiana has been described as the “westernmost of Arab States,” with New Orleans as its capitol. The zest and intensity with which the game of politics is played even overwhelms the natives from time to time.
Don't Vote for Less Democracy. Don't Send Good Money After Bad. Vote No on the Proposed Constitution
Authors: Herzberg Donald G.
Published: September 2013

I was a late appointee to the Constitutional Revision Committee, appointed by President Deutsch. Unfortunately, no meeting of the Committee was arranged at a time when I could attend.

Had I been able to attend meetings of the Committee, I would have vigorously opposed the proposed Constitution for many reasons. I will mention ONLY ONE; the proposed Constitution sharply reduces the opportunity for members of APSA to participate in important decisions. During the last three years, the Ad Hoc Committee has proposed three amendments to the present Constitution providing for broader participation by the whole membership in the governance of the Association. These amendments gave members an opportunity to vote for officers and Council members in contested elections, to vote on constitutional amendments, and to vote on resolutions. All three amendments were adopted by large majorities. I cannot believe that those who voted for these amendments will vote for a new Constitution that greatly curtails their chance to participate in governing the Association.
Participation by Women in Annual Meetings, 1970-78
Authors: Gruberg Martin , Sapiro Virginia
Published: September 2013

In the late sixties, women in the United States became sensitized to their second-class status and organized to raise their consciousness and change their conditions. At the same time women in academia began to organize within their disciplines to address the problems they faced there. Political science was no exception; in 1969, when women constituted 5 percent of the membership of the APSA and 8 percent of all political science faculty teaching in colleges and universities, the APSA Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession and the Women's Caucus for Political Science formed. Numerous reports have revealed a moderate increase in the presence of women in the profession in recent years. As Table 1 shows, the percentage of degrees in political science awarded to women has increased since 1970. By the academic year 1976–77 women constituted 11 percent of full-time faculty and 18 percent of part-time faculty. Twenty-three percent of the students entering Ph.D. programs in 1977 were women, a downturn of 3 percent from the previous year, although an overall rise from the previous decade.
Report on Political Science Grant Support from the National Science Foundation
Authors: Wright Gerald C.
Published: September 2013

The Political Science Program at the National Science Foundation provides support for basic empirical and theoretical research on political institutions and processes. The goal of the program is to facilitate the development of scientific theory and knowledge on political behavior, the operation of political systems, and the actions of governments. The program seeks to meet this goal by supporting research on a very wide range of substantive topics falling under the rubric of politics. As part of its long-range planning, the program attempts to identify areas of intellectual growth for program emphases. In making funding decisions, however, the determining factor is the scientific merit of the proposed work rather than topical or methodological closeness to the major emphases in program plans.

Support for basic political science research has been growing at a faster rate than overall NSF support for the social sciences. From fiscal 1977 to 1979 the Political Science Program allocation grew 35 percent compared to a 17 percent increase in the overall funding for the Division of Social and Economic Science.
The Elections, the Economy and Public Opinion: 1984
Authors: Lipset Seymour Martin
Published: September 2013

Many commentaries on the recent American elections conclude that the United States has taken a long-term move to the right. This shift seemingly began in the late sixties as a reaction to the turmoil occasioned by militant, sometimes violent protest tactics used by the civil rights and antiwar movements, and by the sharp challenge to traditional values encompassed in the changes in family and sex behavior, dress styles, the increased use of drugs, and the like. The Republicans have been victorious in four out of the last five presidential elections, those held from 1968 on. Only one of these, that in 1968, was close, but in that contest a right-wing and racist candidate, George Wallace, received 13 percent. The one election of the five which the Democrats won, that in 1976, was the first one after Richard Nixon's resignation following the Watergate scandal.

Yet the conclusion that America has been in a conservative mood for some time is challenged by the results of the races for Congress and state offices and by the findings of the opinion polls. In 1984, in the same election in which Ronald Reagan received 59 percent of the vote, eight percent more than in 1980, his party lost two seats in the Senate and gained only 14 in the much larger House, leaving it behind the Democrats by 252 to 183. The Democrats still hold 34 of the 50 governorships, down by only one. Judged by which party holds most electoral offices, the Democrats remain the majority party.
On the Knife's Edge: Public Officials and the Life Cycle
Authors: Loomis Burdett
Published: September 2013

LaRuth, at forty, was on the knife's edge. Another two years and he'd be a man of influence, and therefore ineligible for any politics outside the House–or not ineligible, but shopworn, no longer new, no longer fresh. He would be ill-suited, and there were other practical considerations as well, because who wanted to be a servant for twelve or fourteen years and then surrender an opportunity to be master? Not LaRuth. So the time for temporizing was nearly past. If he was going to forsake the House and reach for the Senate (a glamorous possibility), he had to do it soon.

Ward Just,The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert

Ward Just's fictional congressman LaRuth faces two distinct, but related pressures. First, for members of the House, therearefew opportunities for advancement. This truncated “structure of opportunities” forces tough choices upon ambitious politicians. The second pressure is no less profound. Ticking away are the dual clocks of chronological age and congressional seniority. Most members seek higher office early in their congressional career (though this may be changing some), when their ties to the House are least strong and the fires of ambition burn the hottest. Much as the externally imposed structure of opportunities affects career choices, so too do the roughly defined internal mandates of human development.
Phonon transport assisted by inter-tube carbon displacements in carbon nanotube mats
Authors: Aitkaliyeva Assel , Chen Di , Shao Lin
Published: September 2013

Thermal transport in carbon nanotube (CNT) mats, consisting of randomly networked multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), is not as efficient as in an individual CNT because of the constrained tube-to-tube phonon transport. Through experiments and modeling, we discover that phonon transport in CNT mats is significantly improved by ion irradiation, which introduces inter-tube displacements, acting as stable point contacts between neighboring tubes. Inter-tube displacement-mediated phonon transport enhances conductivity, while inter-tube phonon-defect scattering reduces conductivity. At low ion irradiation fluence, inter-tube thermal transport enhancement leads to thermal conductivity increase by factor > 5, while at high ion irradiation fluence point defects within tubes cause a decrease in thermal conductivity. Molecular dynamics simulations support the experimentally obtained results and the proposed mechanisms. Further conductivity enhancement in irradiated mats was obtained by post-irradiation heat treatment that removes majority of the defects within the tubes without affecting thermally stable inter-tube displacements.
Soft forwarding technique for unitary space‐time modulation
Authors: Liu Qianqian , Cao Yewen
Published: September 2013

The authors propose two soft forwarding schemes for unitary space‐time modulation, namely estimate‐and‐forward (EF) and mutual information‐based forwarding (MIF), which are ideally suited for rapid piecewise‐constant fading scenarios with no channel state information both at transmitters and receivers. In the EF scheme, the relay regenerates signal via the conditional expectation of the source unitary space‐time (UST) signal given the received matrix at the relay node instead of hard decisions. The MIF scheme employs the instantaneous mutual information between the source UST signal and received matrix at the relay node as a measurement for maximum‐likelihood detection. The authors provide the relay forwarding functions, the normalisation factors, and the detection methods at the destination firstly. Above all, the generalised signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) at the destination for our unitary space‐time modulated relaying system is analysed and simulated firstly. Simulation results reveal that the proposed EF and MIF schemes can outperform the existing amplify‐and‐forward (AF) and detect‐and‐forward (DF) schemes in terms of bit‐error‐rate performances in most scenarios. For a parallel relay network with two relays, the proposed EF scheme achieves 2 and 3 dB SNR gain over AF and DF schemes, respectively. Moreover, the MIF scheme can further give about 1.5 dB SNR gain.
Multiuser beamforming in multicell downlinks for maximising worst signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio
Authors: Chen Chen , Bai Lin , Li Yingbo , Jin Ye , Choi Jinho
Published: September 2013

In a multicell scenario, two competitive beamforming design schemes are proposed to maximise the worst signal‐to‐interference‐plus‐noise ratio (SINR) in each cell for downlink transmissions. The first design adopts interference control. The authors use different interference control weighting factors to suppress the inter‐cell interference effectively as each cell may experience different level of inter‐cell interference. The other design is based on power control, where the authors can adjust the power of each base station to improve the system performance. Both the two improved designs keep the distributive nature of the competitive design as well as improve the worst SINR of the system. The existence of Nash equilibrium of the proposed designs is proved and the system overhead is analysed for the comparison with other distributive algorithms. Simulation results show that both the proposed competitive designs have improved performances, and the competitive design with power control outperforms that with the interference control as the transmission power increases.
Energy‐efficient power allocation for training‐based multiple‐input multiple‐output system with and without feedback
Authors: Chen Li , Wei Guo
Published: September 2013

In this study, the authors discuss energy‐efficient power allocation for training‐based multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) system with and without feedback. Firstly, they consider the non‐feedback MIMO system, where data power is equally allocated to transmit antennas. With pilot power fixed, the energy efficiency (EE)‐optimal data power is derived based on the pseudo‐concavity of the EE expression. When data power and pilot power are both variable, a convergent alternating optimisation algorithm is proposed to obtain EE‐suboptimal data power and pilot power. Then, they consider the feedback MIMO system where data power is water‐filling allocated to transmit antennas. Although the effective transmit antennas number at this scenario is discrete, they propose an algorithm to calculate it and its corresponding EE‐optimal data power with pilot power fixed. When data power and pilot power are both variable, a similar convergent alternating optimisation algorithm is given. The numerical results demonstrate the EE performance of the training‐based MIMO system with and without feedback. The impacts of multi‐antennas configuration, circuit power and block length are also shown and analysed.
Analysis of two knapsack public key cryptosystems
Authors: Peng Liqiang , Hu Lei , Xu Jun , Xie Yonghong , Zuo Jinyin
Published: September 2013

Two knapsack‐based public key cryptosystems were proposed recently, in which the entries of the secret knapsack sequences are composed of products of random integers and the knapsack problems have nonbinary solutions. These features make the cryptosystems to be secure against low density attacks. In this study, the authors present lattice‐based complete private key recovery attacks on these two schemes. The authors attacks firstly find short vectors related to the public key and with some orthogonality to the secret knapsack sequences and then recover some components of the private key by computing common factors of the entries of the short vectors. Especially, the authors attack can both completely recover the unique key for these two schemes. The attacks are of practical complexities and verified by experiments.
Intelligent environment monitoring system based on Innovative Integration Technology via Programmable System On Chip platform and ZigBee network
Authors: Sung Wen‐Tsai , Hsu Chia‐Cheng
Published: September 2013

This work builds an intelligent environmental monitoring system for industrial production and safety concerns. There are a number of smart monitoring systems developed for smart grids, bridges or machine system management, temperature/humidity monitoring and so on. As information technology advances at a continuous rapid pace, humans have become connected online and this connection has extended into the interactions between things and humans. Employing the FLAG‐PSoC‐1605A development board as the platform, all sensor data are transmitted via a ZigBee wireless module, a TCP/IP network module and a long range wireless communication GPRS/SMS module to a remote end PC for analysis. This constitutes a smart network for connections between humans and objects.
Constrained regional control problem for distributed bilinear systems
Authors: Zerrik El Hassan , Sidi Maawiya Ould
Published: September 2013

In this study, the authors consider the problem of optimal regional controllability of a distributed bilinear system evolving in a spatial domain Ω. The question is to obtain a bounded feedback control with minimum energy that drives such a system from an initial state to a desired one in finite time, only on a subregion ω of Ω. The purpose of this study is to prove that a regional optimal control exists, and characterised as a solution to an optimality system. Numerical approach is given and successfully illustrated by simulations.
Analytical approach to tuning of model predictive control for first‐order plus dead time models
Authors: Bagheri Peyman , Sedigh Ali Khaki
Published: September 2013

Model predictive control (MPC) is an effective control strategy in the presence of system constraints. The successful implementation of MPC in practical applications requires appropriate tuning of the controller parameters. An analytical tuning strategy for MPC of first‐order plus dead time (FOPDT) systems is presented when the constraints are inactive. The available tuning methods are generally based on the user's experience and experimental results. Some tuning methods lead to a complex optimisation problem that provides numerical results for the controller parameters. On the other hand, many industrial plants can be effectively described by FOPDT models, and this model is therefore used to derive analytical results for the MPC tuning in a pole placement framework. Then, the issues of closed‐loop stability and possible achievable performance are addressed. In the case of no active constraints, it is shown that for the FOPDT models, control horizons subsequent to two do not improve the achievable performance and control horizon of two provides the maximum achievable performance. Then, MPC tuning for higher order plants approximated by FOPDT models is considered. Finally, simulation results are employed to show the effectiveness of the proposed tuning formulas.
Coordinated attitude motion control of multiple rigid bodies on manifold SO (3)
Authors: Weng Shengxuan , Yue Dong , Yang Taicheng
Published: September 2013

As a special case of consensus on non‐linear spaces, in this study coordinated attitude motion control for a group of rigid bodies is investigated for second‐order systems on Lie group SO (3). By introducing an auxiliary variable for each rigid body, the distributed controllers are designed so that the left‐invariant coordination is asymptotically achieved and total coordination is at least locally asymptotically achieved. Simulation results for a multi‐agent system consist of four rigid bodies show the effectiveness of the proposed design.
Fault‐tolerant control via sliding‐mode output feedback for uncertain linear systems with quantisation
Authors: Hao Li‐Ying , Yang Guang‐Hong
Published: September 2013

This study studies the robust fault‐tolerant control problem for uncertain linear systems via sliding‐mode output feedback. It is assumed that measured output and compensator state signals are quantised before transmission. By employing the matrix full‐rank factorisation technique with a flexible design parameter, a sufficient condition for the existence of a linear sliding surface and a compensator in the augmented space is given. Then the non‐linear discontinuous vector gain of the sliding‐mode controller is designed based on a static adjustment law of the quantisation parameters. It is shown that the proposed sliding‐mode fault‐tolerant strategy guarantees that the closed‐loop system is asymptotically stable in the presence of quantisation errors and actuator faults including outage. Compared with the existing results, the derived results lead to less conservativeness and much wider scope of applicability. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed design method is illustrated via a B747‐100/200 aircraft model.
Improved appearance updating method in multiple instance learning tracking
Authors: Ning Jifeng , Shi Wuzhen , Yang Shuqin , Yanne Paul
Published: September 2013

Multiple instance learning (MIL) tracker becomes recently very popular because of their great success in complex scenes. Dynamically reflecting the appearance changes of the tracked object, the appearance updating plays an important role on tracking. In the original MIL tracker, the appearance model is assumed to obey normal distribution and its updating rule consists of a simple linearly weighted sum of the original and the current target distributions in the current frame. However, this updating method is not proved theoretically. In this work, the authors deduce a novel appearance updating method by estimating the mean and the variance of the sum of two normal distributions being merged in maximum likelihood estimation. The method can be naturally extended to multivariable distributions, useful to track colour object. Experimental results on some benchmark video sequences show that the method achieve higher precision and reliability than the three state‐of‐art trackers.
Augmented Lagrangian‐based approach for dense three‐dimensional structure and motion estimation from binocular image sequences
Authors: De Cubber Geert , Sahli Hichem
Published: September 2013

In this study, the authors propose a framework for stereo–motion integration for dense depth estimation. They formulate the stereo–motion depth reconstruction problem into a constrained minimisation one. A sequential unconstrained minimisation technique, namely, the augmented Lagrange multiplier (ALM) method has been implemented to address the resulting constrained optimisation problem. ALM has been chosen because of its relative insensitivity to whether the initial design points for a pseudo‐objective function are feasible or not. The development of the method and results from solving the stereo–motion integration problem are presented. Although the authors work is not the only one adopting the ALMs framework in the computer vision context, to thier knowledge the presented algorithm is the first to use this mathematical framework in a context of stereo–motion integration. This study describes how the stereo–motion integration problem was cast in a mathematical context and solved using the presented ALM method. Results on benchmark and real visual input data show the validity of the approach.
Day‐ahead price forecasting of electricity markets based on local informative vector machine
Authors: Elattar Ehab Elsayed
Published: September 2013

In a competitive electricity market, short‐term electricity price forecasting are very important for market participants. Electricity price is a very complex signal as a result of its non‐linearity, non‐stationarity and time‐variant behaviour. This study presents a new approach to short‐term electricity price forecasting. The proposed method is derived by integrating the kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) method with the local informative vector machine (IVM), which can be derived by combining the IVM with the local regression method. IVM is a practical probabilistic alternative to the popular support vector machine. Local prediction makes use of similar historical data patterns in the reconstructed space to train the regression algorithm. In the proposed method, KPCA is used to extract features of the inputs and obtain kernel principal components for constructing the phase space of the time series of the inputs. Then local IVM is employed to solve the price forecasting problem. The proposed method is evaluated using real‐world dataset. The results show that the proposed method can improve the price forecasting accuracy and provides a much better prediction performance in comparison with other 12 recently published approaches.
Damping of low‐inertia machine oscillations using Takagi‐Sugeno fuzzy stabiliser tuned by genetic algorithm optimisation to improve system stability
Authors: Cloughley Martin , Muttaqi Kashem M. , Du Haiping
Published: September 2013

The implementation of distributed generation (DG) in a power network may introduce undesirable transients or network oscillations in power networks due to low or no inertia. These undesirable transients and oscillations may be dampened through the use of power system stabiliser (PSS), if properly designed. In this study, an intelligent PSS comprising of Takagi‐Sugeno (TS) fuzzy‐logic control and genetic algorithm optimisation is proposed to effectively dampen these oscillations. Eigenstudy and participation factor analysis have been carried out to determine critical issues relating to angle instability such that the intelligent PSS can be designed accordingly. The proposed fuzzy‐logic stabiliser is tested on an Australian power network using network data provided by an industry participant. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed fuzzy‐logic PSS, a number of disturbances have been simulated and the response of the interconnected DG units of rotary type is assessed in terms of rotor angle and rotor speed. The results demonstrate that the proposed fuzzy‐logic controller substantially improves the performance of the network transients with DG by effectively damping local oscillations in the machine rotor angle and machine rotor speed.
Time‐frequency transform‐based differential scheme for microgrid protection
Authors: Kar Susmita , Samantaray Subhransu Rajan
Published: September 2013

The study presents a differential scheme for microgrid protection using time‐frequency transform such as S‐transform. Initially, the current at the respective buses are retrieved and processed through S‐transform to generate time‐frequency contours. Spectral energy content of the time‐frequency contours of the fault current signals are calculated and differential energy is computed to register the fault patterns in the microgrid at grid‐connected and islanded mode. The proposed scheme is tested for different shunt faults (symmetrical and unsymmetrical) and high‐impedance faults in the microgrid with radial and loop structure. It is observed that a set threshold on the differential energy can issue the tripping signal for effective protection measure within four cycles from the fault inception. The results based on extensive study indicate that the differential energy‐based protection scheme can reliably protect the microgrid against different fault situations and thus, is a potential candidate for wide area protection.
Capacitor allocations in radial distribution networks using cuckoo search algorithm
Authors: El‐Fergany Attia A. , Abdelaziz Almoataz Y.
Published: September 2013

In the present work, a cuckoo search optimisation‐based approach has been developed to allocate static shunt capacitors along radial distribution networks. The objective function is adopted to minify the system operating cost at different loading conditions and to improve the system voltage profile. In addition to find the optimal location and values of the fixed and switched capacitors in distribution networks with different loading levels using the proposed algorithm. Higher potential buses for capacitor placement are initially identified using power loss index. However, that method has proven less than satisfactory as power loss indices may not always indicate the appropriate placement. At that moment, the proposed approach identifies optimal sizing and placement and takes the final decision for optimum location within the number of buses nominated with minimum number of effective locations and with lesser injected VArs. The overall accuracy and reliability of the approach have been validated and tested on radial distribution systems with differing topologies and of varying sizes and complexities. The results shown by the proposed approach have been found to outperform the results of existing heuristic algorithms found in the literature for the given problem.
Exploiting chrominance planes similarity on listless quadtree coders
Authors: Ngadiran Ruzelita , Boussakta Said , Bouridane Ahmed , Khelifi Fouad
Published: September 2013

This study proposes an efficient algorithm for colour image compression with listless implementation based on set partition block embedded coding (SPECK). The objective of this work is to develop an algorithm that exploits the redundancy in colour spaces, low complexity quadtree partitioning and reduced memory requirements. Colour images are first transformed into luminance chrominance (YCbCr) planes and a wavelet transform is applied. A reduction of the memory requirement is achieved with the introduction of a state marker that matches each colour plane to eliminate the list with dynamic memory in the original colour SPECK coder (CSPECK). The wavelet coefficients are scanned using Z‐order that matches the subband decompositions. The proposed algorithm then encodes the de‐correlated colour plane as one unit and generates a mixed bit stream. The linear indexing and initial state marker are modified to jointly test the chrominance plane together. Composite colour coding enables precise control of the bit rate. The performance of the proposed algorithm is comparable with CSPECK, set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) and JPEG2000 but with less memory requirements. For progressive lossless, a saving of more than 70% than final working memory against CSPECK and SPIHT highlights the benefit of the proposed algorithm.
Object virtual viewing using adaptive tri‐view morphing
Authors: Chatkaewmanee Pin , Dailey Matthew Nelson
Published: September 2013

This study proposes a new technique for generating an arbitrary virtual view of an object of interest given a set of images taken from around that object. The algorithm extends Xiao and Shah's tri‐view morphing scheme to work with wide‐baseline imagery. The authors’ method performs feature detection and feature matching across three views, then blends the real views into a virtual view. Tri‐view morphing by itself is realistic when occlusion across the three views is minimal, but when it is applied to cases of more complex objects and wide baselines, occlusions lead to significant artefacts. The authors propose a new adaptive algorithm to solve these problems by (i) segmenting the views into object and background, (ii) obtaining fine‐grained correspondences across the three views, (iii) constructing, when a border point in one view is occluded in one or two of the other views, a virtual correspondence for that point and (iv) synthesising novel views using barycentric interpolation and automatic elimination of occluded polygons. The result is a system allowing smooth and realistic animation of the virtual object over arbitrary viewing paths.
Mosaic method of side‐scan sonar strip images using corresponding features
Authors: Zhao Jianhu , Wang Aixue , Zhang Hongmei , Wang Xiao
Published: September 2013

The towing operation mode of side‐scan sonar system (SSS) easily results in dislocations and distortions of targets in the SSS strip image, brings difficulty to the mosaic of these strip images by the geocoding method or the tessellation‐line method and affects the recognition and understanding for seabed relief. Therefore this study proposes a new method, namely the segment‐image mosaic method based on corresponding features of the two adjacent SSS strip images. Through SSS image preprocessing, segment match based on corresponding features and image fusion in the common coverage area based on wavelet transformation, this new method overcomes the drawbacks of the traditional methods of image mosaic, fulfils well the mosaic of SSS strip images and finally a whole‐area SSS image is formed. Experiments have verified that the mosaic image formed by the new method can correctly reflect the position, shape and distribution of seabed targets, which is helpful to understand seabed relief.
Effective two‐step method for face hallucination based on sparse compensation on over‐complete patches
Authors: Haju Mohamed Mohamed Naleer , Lu Yao , Lv Feng
Published: September 2013

Sparse representation has been successfully applied to image d using low‐ and high‐resolution training face images based on sparse representation. In this study, the sparse residual compensation is adopted to face hallucination. Firstly, a global face image is constructed by optimal coefficients of the interpolated training images. Secondly, the high‐resolution residual image (local face image) is found by using an over‐complete patch dictionary and the sparse representation. Finally, a hallucinated face image is obtained by combining these two steps. In addition, the more details of the face image in high frequency parts are recovered using a residual compensation strategy. In the authors’ experimental work, it is observed that balance sparsity parameter (λ) has affected the residual compensation. Further, the proposed algorithm can acquire a high‐resolution image even though the number of training image pairs is comparatively smaller. The experiments show that the authors’ method is more effective than the other existing two‐step face hallucination methods.
Surface fitting for individual image thresholding and beyond
Authors: Cai Jinhai , Miklavcic Stan
Published: September 2013

In this study, the authors propose a novel algorithm for background–foreground segmentation. The work is motivated by the need for information about the background that is obscured by objects, in order to achieve accurate segmentation. The algorithm utilises the principle of estimating the occluded background by surface fitting. Edge detection methods are used to detect boundaries between foreground and background, identifying background points as well as foreground points. This categorisation will guarantee that most points used for surface fitting are from the same category and thus the proposed surface fitting with random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm will produce an accurate estimate of the surface. The authors algorithm has been applied to the real‐world applications of segmenting plant images with inhomogeneous but smooth background and measuring the relative temperature of plants. Comparisons with experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is able to reduce significantly background inhomogeneities in infra‐red images for the accurate estimation of temperature differences between background and plants, which provides important clues for fast and cheap genetic screening. The proposed algorithm is also able to overcome the intensity inhomogeneities for accurate image segmentation, particularly for plant root image segmentation with the preservation of lateral plant roots.
Construction method of three‐channel non‐separable symmetric wavelets with arbitrary dilation matrices and its applications in multispectral image fusion
Authors: Liu Bin , Li Kai , Liu Weijie , Liu Fei
Published: September 2013

Image fusion method based on separable discrete wavelet transform has block effect and the spatial resolution is lower in the fusion result images. The design method of filter bank relies on the form of the dilation matrices in the image fusion method based on three‐channel non‐separable wavelet. To resolve these problems, a new construction method of the filter banks based on three‐channel non‐separable symmetric wavelet with arbitrary dilation matrices is presented. A new multispectral image fusion method based on this kind of wavelet filter bank is proposed. An example of the filter bank with those properties is constructed and applied to the fusion of multispectral image and panchromatic image. The experiment results show that this method has good visual effect. The fusion performance of the proposed method is better than that of the other methods in terms of several frequently used and the latest metrics.
On‐line map‐matching framework for floating car data with low sampling rate in urban road networks
Authors: He Zhao‐cheng , Xi‐wei She , Zhuang Li‐jian , Nie Pei‐lin
Published: September 2013

The performance of map matching has a significant effect on obtaining real‐time traffic information. The floating car data (FCD) is of low‐sampling rate, and urban road networks such as multi‐layer roads can be particularly complex. Most of the current low‐sampling‐rate map‐matching approaches use a fixed time interval, which can result in a lack of efficiency and accuracy if the initial point is not correctly matched. Moreover, the issue of handling data relating to multi‐layer road networks remains open. To address these issues, a new on‐line map‐matching framework is proposed, comprising the confidence point and the maximum delay constraint dynamic time window. The framework performs map matching by self‐adaptively choosing the appropriate timing and matching method according to the complexity of the local network to which the positioning point belongs. To distinguish elevated roads from normal roads, vehicle behaviour patterns on elevated roads are taken into account. Comparisons of the proposed algorithm, hidden Markov model algorithm, incremental algorithm and point‐to‐curve algorithm are conducted on two datasets. The empirical results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other algorithms. When the behaviour pattern on elevated roads is considered, the accuracy of these algorithms is also improved.
Regularity analysis on bus networks and route directions by automatic vehicle location raw data
Authors: Barabino Benedetto , Di Francesco Massimo , Mozzoni Sara
Published: September 2013

Bus regularity is a key element for high‐frequency transportation systems: it represents a measure of service quality for both users and transit agencies. Therefore, evaluating the regularity is highly important, but may also be a complex task in medium‐size cities, because of the huge amount of data, which must be collected and processed effectively. Automatic vehicle location (AVL) technologies can address the data collection problem, but they involve several challenges such as correcting anomalies in gathered raw data and processing information efficiently. In this study, the authors propose a methodology to handle AVL raw data in order to measure the level of service of bus regularity in each route direction of a transit network, as well as in every bus stop and time period. The results are represented by easy‐to‐read control dashboards. The authors discuss the experimentation of this methodology to provide a detailed characterisation of bus regularity. The methodology is applied to about 800 000 data records of the bus operator CTM in Cagliari (Italy).
Fast monostatic radar cross‐section computation for perfectly electric conducting targets using low‐rank compression and adaptive integral method
Authors: Lü Zhi‐Qing , An Xiang
Published: September 2013

The adaptive integral method (AIM) in conjunction with the low‐rank compression method is developed to calculate the monostatic radar cross‐section (RCS) of arbitrarily shaped three‐dimensional perfectly electric conducting objects. For backscattering problems, the excitation matrix is usually highly rank‐deficient and can be compressed via low‐rank techniques without explicitly assembling the original matrix beforehand. Therefore, only the matrix equations corresponding to the linearly independent excitation vectors need to be solved, whose number is much less than that of incident angles. As a result, fast monostatic RCS calculation over a widely angular range can be achieved. To facilitate the analysis of electrical large problems, the AIM is applied to accelerate the matrix–vector product and reduce the memory usage. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the method.
Formation of network coding coalitions for cooperative communications
Authors: Li Dapeng , Zhong Wei
Published: September 2013

Recent results have shown that employing NC may have an adverse effect and dimmish the advantage of NC in CC because of the existence of NC noise. The authors propose space network‐ coded cooperation (SNCC) in which sources transmit in turn, and relays overhear and process the data they have received from different sources. Then, they broadcast the coded data to corresponding destinations in a single time instance. In this spirit, NC can be viewed as being performed in the space, and each destination can average the NC noise that comes from different relays. The authors derive a closed‐form expression for the NC noise of SNCC, and show that SNCC has a potential to significantly reduce the NC noise if sessions in the network are well organised into disjoint groups/coalitions to use SNCC. Towards the end, the formation of SNCC coalitions is interpreted as a coalition formation game. Algorithms are proposed to get the solution of the game. Finally, through numerical simulations, the authors demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SNCC scheme and algorithms in achieving a high spectrum efficiency for CC.
Finite‐state Markov modelling for wireless cooperative networks
Authors: Luo Yuanqian , Zhang Ruonan , Cai Lin , Xiang Siyuan
Published: September 2013

Finite‐state Markov chain (FSMC) models can capture the essence of time‐varying fading channels and they are important tools for wireless network protocol design and performance study. How to build FSMC models for multi‐hop and multi‐path wireless systems remains an open issue. In this study, the FSMC models are developed for amplify‐and‐forward (AF) cooperative systems with selection combining (SC) and maximum ratio combining (MRC) techniques, respectively. First, the second‐order statistics, the level‐crossing rate and the average fade duration, are derived based on the statistical properties of each individual path, for the AF cooperative systems with SC and MRC, respectively. The results reveal that, in addition to improving the average received signal‐to‐noise ratio, the diversity combining schemes also improve its second‐order statistical properties. Simulation results are given to verify the accuracy of the developed FSMC models. Finally, the models are used to optimise the configuration for scalable video streaming in an AF cooperative network. Experimental results show the feasibility and advantage of applying the proposed FSMC models for assisting protocol design and optimisation in wireless cooperative networks.
Effects of heterogeneity on the performance of pocket switched networks
Authors: Saha Barun Kumar , Misra Sudip
Published: September 2013

Pocket switched networks (PSNs), which are formed by mobile devices carried by their users, present an interesting communication paradigm especially in the absence of access to global network connectivity. This work explores the effect of nodes’ heterogeneity on the performance of PSNs that use opportunistic communication mechanisms. The focus is on the diversities reflected by the hardware (specifically, buffer size and network interfaces) and software (specifically, routing protocol) of the nodes. Further, the effects of the asymmetric (unidirectional) connections among the devices have also been studied. Although there could be other forms of diversities, for example, different medium access control (MAC) layer protocols, the ones considered here are among the fundamental, and have the potential to render available communication opportunities useless. The work uses time‐varying graphs to represent a PSN with heterogeneous routing protocols and capture its effect. To address the interactions among diverse routing protocols, the use of special nodes, protocol translation units (PTUs), is proposed. Each PTU runs a hybrid routing protocol, which encapsulates the functionality of two or more routing protocols. The results of performance evaluations reflect that deploying PTUs promotes the delivery ratio of the messages by about 15–50%, compared to the levels obtained in, otherwise, homogeneous PSNs.