Observability by using viability kernels

The aim of this paper is to propose a new way to deal with observability of systems governed by ODEs, in a more general setting than the standard output equation.The primary finding is that observability over a time horizon reduces to single-valuedness of the vertical section of a set we name the observability kernel.The latter consists of the viability kernel of the output domain under the augmented system.The approach may be used either for global or local observability,to which available results on single-valuedness of multifunctions shall be applied in order to get necessary and/or sufficient characterizing conditions.Several examples are provided in order to illustrate the method.     

Energy inefficiency diagnosis in industrial process through one-class machine learning techniques

In the era of Industry 4.0, the ease of access to precise measurements in real-time and the existence of machine-learning (ML) techniques will play a vital role in building practical tools to isolate inefficiencies in energy-intensive processes. This paper aims at developing an abnormal event diagnosis (AED) tool based on ML techniques for monitoring the operation of industrial processes. This tool makes it easier for operators to accomplish their tasks and to make quick and accurate decisions to ensure highly efficient processes. One of the most popular ML techniques for AED is the multivariate statistical control (MSC) method; it only requires the dataset of the normal operating conditions (NOC) to detect and identify the variables that contribute to abnormal events (AEs). Despite the popularity of MSC, it is challenging to select the appropriate method for detecting and isolating all possible abnormalities a complex industrial process can experience. To address this limitation and improve efficiency, we have developed a generic methodology that integrates different ML techniques into a unified multiagent based approach, the selected ML techniques are supposed to be built using only the normal operating condition. For the sake of demonstration, we chose a combination of two ML methods: principal component analysis and k-nearest neighbors (k-NN). The k-NN was integrated into the proposed multiagent to take into account the nonlinearity and multimodality that frequently occur in industrial processes. In addition, we modified a k-NN method proposed in the literature to reduce computation time during real-time detection and isolation. Finally, the proposed methodology was successfully validated to monitor the energy efficiency of a reboiler located in a thermomechanical pulp mill.

     

Intrinsic nonlinear multiscale image decomposition: A 2D empirical mode decomposition-like tool

Many works have been achieved for analyzing images with a multiscale approach. In this paper, an intrinsic and nonlinear multiscale image decomposition is proposed, based on partial differential equations (PDEs) and the image frequency contents. Our model is inspired from the 2D empirical mode decomposition (EMD) for which a theoretical study is quite nonexistent, mainly because the algorithm is based on heuristic and ad hoc elements making its mathematical study hard. This work has three main advantages. Firstly, we prove that the 2D sifting process iterations are consistent with the resolution of a nonlinear PDE, by considering continuous morphological operators to build local upper and lower envelopes of the image extrema. In addition to the fact that now differential calculus can be performed on envelopes, the introduction of such morphological filters eliminates the interpolation dependency that also terribly suffers the method. Also, contrary to former 2D empirical modes, precise mathematical definition for a class of functions are now introduced thanks to the nonlinear PDE derived from the consistency result, and their characterization on the basis of Meyer spaces. Secondly, an intrinsic multiscale image decomposition is introduced based on the image frequency contents; the proposed approach almost captures the essence and philosophy of the 2D EMD and is linked to the well known Absolutely Minimizing Lipschitz Extension model. Lastly, the proposed multiscale decomposition allows a reconstruction of images. The filterbank capability of the new multiscale decomposition algorithm is shown both on synthetic and real images, and results show that our proposed approach improves a lot on the 2D EMD. Moreover, the complexity of the proposed multiscale decomposition is very reduced compared to the 2D EMD by avoiding the surface interpolation approach, which is the core of all 2D EMD algorithms and is very time consuming. For that purpose also, our work will then be a great benefit; especially, in higher dimension spaces.     

RFID-based interactive multimedia system for the children

In this paper, we present an interactive edutainment system for the children that leverages multimedia and RFID technologies in a seamless manner. The proposed system allows children to learn about new objects/entities by tapping on physical objects through a specially designed RFID-Bluetooth based Tangible User Interface (TUI) tool. The output of the system is delivered as a set of appropriate multimedia representations related to the objects being tapped. The TUI uses RFID technology for object identification and Bluetooth communication to transmit data to the computer where the system??s software is running. We incorporated our system in three games that allow children of different ages to benefit from the system??s functionalities and encourage them to interact with it.     

Autonomous mapping of HL7 RIM and relational database schema

Healthcare systems need to share information within and across the boundaries in order to provide better care to the patients. For this purpose, they take advantage of the full potential of current state of the art in healthcare standards providing interoperable solutions. HL7 V3 specification is an international message exchange and interoperability standard. HL7 V3 messages exchanged between healthcare applications are ultimately recorded into local healthcare databases, mostly in relational databases. In order to bring these relational databases in compliance with HL7, mappings between HL7 RIM (Reference Information Model) and relational database schema are required. Currently, RIM and database mapping is largely performed manually, therefore it is tedious, time consuming, error prone and expensive process. It is a challenging task to determine all correspondences between RIM and schema automatically because of extreme heterogeneity issues in healthcare databases. To reduce the amount of manual efforts as much as possible, autonomous mapping approaches are required. This paper proposes a technique that addresses the aforementioned mapping issue and aligns healthcare databases to HL7 V3 RIM specifications. Furthermore, the proposed technique has been implemented as a working application and tested on real world healthcare systems. The application loads the target healthcare schema and then identifies the most appropriate match for tables and the associated fields in the schema by using domain knowledge and the matching rules defined in the Mapping Knowledge Repository. These rules are designed to handle the complexity of semantics found in healthcare databases. The GUI allows users to view and edit/re-map the correspondences. Once all the mappings are defined, the application generates Mapping Specification, which contains all the mapping information i.e. database tables and fields with associated RIM classes and attributes. In order to enable the transactions, the application is facilitated with the autonomous code generation from the Mapping Specification. The Code Generator component focuses primarily on generating custom classes and hibernate mapping files against the runtime system to retrieve and parse the data from the data source—thus allows bi-directional HL7 to database communication, with minimum programming required. Our experimental results show 35–65% accuracy on real laboratory systems, thus demonstrating the promise of the approach. The proposed scheme is an effective step in bringing the clinical databases in compliance with RIM, providing ease and flexibility.     

Determining trust in media-rich websites using semantic similarity

Significant growth of multimedia content on the World Wide Web (or simply ??Web??) has made it an essential part of peoples lives. The web provides enormous amount of information, however, it is very important for the users to be able to gauge the trustworthiness of web information. Users normally access content from the first few links provided to them by search engines such as Google or Yahoo!. This is assuming that these search engines provide factual information, which may be popular due to criteria such as page rank but may not always be trustworthy from the factual aspects. This paper presents a mechanism to determine trust of websites based on the semantic similarity of their multimedia content with already established and trusted websites. The proposed method allows for dynamic computation of the trust level of websites of different domains and hence overcomes the dependency on traditional user feedback methods for determining trust. In fact, our method attempts to emulate the evolving process of trust that takes place in a user??s mind. The experimental results have been provided to demonstrate the utility and practicality of the proposed method.     

Quantum walks: a comprehensive review

Quantum walks, the quantum mechanical counterpart of classical random walks, is an advanced tool for building quantum algorithms that has been recently shown to constitute a universal model of quantum computation. Quantum walks is now a solid field of research of quantum computation full of exciting open problems for physicists, computer scientists and engineers. In this paper we review theoretical advances on the foundations of both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks, together with the role that randomness plays in quantum walks, the connections between the mathematical models of coined discrete quantum walks and continuous quantum walks, the quantumness of quantum walks, a summary of papers published on discrete quantum walks and entanglement as well as a succinct review of experimental proposals and realizations of discrete-time quantum walks. Furthermore, we have reviewed several algorithms based on both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks as well as a most important result: the computational universality of both continuous- and discrete-time quantum walks.     

X-ray and electron microscopical studies of thin films of (Cd1−xZnx)S solid solution

A series of (Cd_1–x Zn _x )S powders phosphors and thin layers prepared by thermal evaporation of solid solution were studied. The phosphors used were 41% ZnS: 59% CdS with a cobalt concentration from 0 to 0.325%. The analysis of the structure of films of different thicknesses using X-ray diffraction technique confirms that the calculated relative intensities of the planes show considerable differences from the experimental results. For film thicknesses 70 nm thea axis is normal to the substrate, while at greater thicknesses (273 nm) thec axis is practically normal to the substrate. The effect of the electron beam on the solid solution indicates that layers decomposed leaving the grain boundaries decorated by metallic cadmium and zinc particles.     

AES and XPS study on the tarnishing of silver in alkaline sulphide solutions

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to follow the changes that occur on the surfaces of silver sheets when reacting with sulphide solutions of pH 12. The results obtained enabled conclusions to be drawn about the nature of the Ag₂S films. Immersion in dilute sulphide solutions ( 3 × 10^–4 M) resulted in highly irregular films that were interrupted by shallow depressions (cavities). Inside these cavities AES analysis proved the existence of massive carbon species, the presence of which delayed healing of the cavities by the formation of Ag₂S film, thus allowing the silver metal interface to continue in contact with the solution oxygen. This explains why silver electrodes maintain the Ag/Ag₂O potential while immersed in dilute sulphide solutions. Equilibration of silver with more concentrated sulphide solutions (5 × 10^–4 to 5 × 10^–3 M) effected healing of the cavities through the formation of a continuous Ag₂S film. Once this continuous film is formed, the metal interface is no longer accessible to the solution oxygen. At this point the transition of potential from Ag/Ag₂O to Ag/Ag₂S occurs.     

Synthesis of telechelic monodispersed diols

Summary The synthesis of telechelic monodispersed diols produced from the radical telomerization of an excess of undecylenol with commercialy available , -dithiols HSC₂H₄XC₂H₄SH (X=0, S or CH₂) initiated by peroxides is presented. In each case, the diols were obtained selectively and quantitatively and they were characterized by both ¹H and ¹³C NMR. Their physical characteristics (Tg, T_m and decomposition temperatures) were determined. Such compounds are thermally more stable than polydispersed telechelic commercially available diols.