Fraud detection in registered electricity time series

This paper analyses time series without the seasonal component of consumers’ power consumption at low voltage in order to detect fraud and illogical consumption by customers. Statistical process control is used, where the process represents the process of using electricity. XMR charts are used to indicate major changes (decrease) in registered customers’ consumption. Verification of this method was tested on time series of a set of customers who were caught stealing during a time series. It shows that symptoms of non-random factors in time series of customers are revealed in a high percentage, which indirectly confirms the method’s ability to successfully detect electricity fraud.     

商业综合体的个性化设计--以南京扇骨营项目为例

文章以扇骨营项目为例,针对商业综合体个性化设计进行探讨,提出现代商业综合体建筑设计应重视不可复制性,综合体也应在城市中起到一定功能作用。     

Hidden potentialities

The search for “complexity signatures” in natural laws is a main concern for researchers working in many different fields, going from physics to biology. Very simple laws are able to produce unforeseen behaviors, and from their “simplicity” sometimes it is not possible to predict anything about the potential complexities they are able to produce when applied to random initial conditions. Here elementary cellular automata (ECA) are used to illustrate this idea. In fact, using a recently developed approach to establish a correspondence between ECA rules and logical functions that constitute their structure (logical spectra) we analyzed ECA groups represented by automata 120 and 164. The automaton governed by rule 120 generates complex patterns under certain random initial conditions, whereas the one corresponding to rule 164 is known as a simple law when it is evaluated at random initial conditions. However, slight changes in the initial conditions of both ECA produce dramatic “simplicity–complexity transitions”, as it is shown here. These examples show that complexity, even in very simple formal systems, results from a subtle interplay between the structure of the laws and the initial conditions. Moreover, they draw attention to the importance of investigating if analogous comportments hold in large-scale natural phenomena as the yet enigmatic genotype–phenotype mapping.     

Learning fuzzy controllers in mobile robotics with embedded preprocessing

The automatic design of controllers for mobile robots usually requires two stages. In the first stage, sensorial data are preprocessed or transformed into high level and meaningful values of variables which are usually defined from expert knowledge. In the second stage, a machine learning technique is applied to obtain a controller that maps these high level variables to the control commands that are actually sent to the robot. This paper describes an algorithm that is able to embed the preprocessing stage into the learning stage in order to get controllers directly starting from sensorial raw data with no expert knowledge involved. Due to the high dimensionality of the sensorial data, this approach uses Quantified Fuzzy Rules (QFRs), that are able to transform low-level input variables into high-level input variables, reducing the dimensionality through summarization. The proposed learning algorithm, called Iterative Quantified Fuzzy Rule Learning (IQFRL), is based on genetic programming. IQFRL is able to learn rules with different structures, and can manage linguistic variables with multiple granularities. The algorithm has been tested with the implementation of the wall-following behavior both in several realistic simulated environments with different complexity and on a Pioneer 3-AT robot in two real environments. Results have been compared with several well-known learning algorithms combined with different data preprocessing techniques, showing that IQFRL exhibits a better and statistically significant performance. Moreover, three real world applications for which IQFRL plays a central role are also presented: path and object tracking with static and moving obstacles avoidance.     

At the cutting edge: conflict avoidance and resolution in the US construction industry

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has undertaken a number of reforms to the dispute resolution process, engendered by the ‘quiet revolution’ of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and its impact upon traditional arbitration mechanisms. This paper appraises the procedural changes which relate to the three distinct schemes: Fast Track Rules, Regular Track Rules, and Large Complex Case Rules; it also looks at parallel progress in mediation and partnering. The author concludes that the US construction industry has undergone, and continues to undergo, a transition from private adjudication, such as arbitration, through the ‘settlement-oriented interventions’ of ADR to more comprehensive approaches, as exemplified by partnering.     

浅谈高校计算机房的管理与维护

计算机课是高级技校学生的必修课,平均每天400多人次上机,如何管理维护好计算机房是一项繁重的工作。在实践中可以采取以下措施保持设备的正常运行:一是制定完善的管理制度;二是采取相应的技术手段保证软件系统的正常运行。具体的做法有三点:(1)学生只能用student用户登录;(2)所有机房的电脑都安装极域电子教室软件;(3)所有机房的电脑都通过ccproxy代理服务器上网,每台电脑都安装Serv-U软件。     

神经网络规则提取及其在转子故障诊断中的应用研究

利用神经网络进行智能诊断所获取的诊断知识难于解释和理解，因此限制了其在智能诊断中的进一步应用，基于此，本文研究了一种新的基于功能性观点的神经网络规则提取方法，介绍了连续属性离散、训练样本产生、神经网络训练、示例样本产生及规则提取等关键算法。并与其他方法进行了比较分析。最后，将方法应用于转子故障诊断，通过多功能转子故障模拟实验台获取故障实验样本，利用本文神经网络规则提取方法从故障样本中提取了诊断知识规则，并对其进行了解释，结果表明了方法的正确有效性。     

Risk-based rules for crane safety systems

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has recommended a method called formal safety assessment (FSA) for future development of rules and regulations. The FSA method has been applied in a pilot research project for development of risk-based rules and functional requirements for systems and components for offshore crane systems. This paper reports some developments in the project. A method for estimating target reliability for the risk-control options (safety functions) by means of the cost/benefit decision criterion has been developed in the project and is presented in this paper. Finally, a structure for risk-based rules is proposed and presented.     

"Shouldn't we consider...?": Jury discussions of forbidden topics and effects on damage awards.

The Federal Rules of Evidence prohibit disclosure to civil jurors of information that is arguably related to their decision-making (e.g., that either party is insured). The basis for so-called "blindfolding" is that a jury might be biased by this information to alter its appraisal of the evidence to reach a desired verdict. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which mock juries in an automobile negligence case discuss several "silent factors" during deliberation (viz., insurance carried by the parties, the payment of attorneys' fees, and previous settlements between the plaintiff and other defendants) and the effects of such discussion on their compensatory damage award. We presented summaries of the evidence that varied in the severity of the plaintiff's injuries and the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct. These variables influenced judgments of liability and damage awards. Analysis of the content of jury deliberations regarding damages showed that, although nearly all juries talked about silent factors, the size of their damage awards was unrelated to the frequency of these discussions and that such discussion accounted for only a very small portion of the variance in awards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resolution Enhancement Technology:Integrated Process Solutions using OPC

DUV lithography, using the 248 nm wavelength, is a viable manufacturing option for devices with features at 130 nm and less. Given the low kl value of the lithography, integrated process development is a necessary method for achieving acceptable process latitude. The application of assist features for rule based OPC requires the simultaneous optimization of the mask, illumination optics and the resist.Described in this paper are the details involved in optimizing each of these aspects for line and space imaging.A reference pitch is first chosen to determine how the optics will be set. The ideal sigma setting is determined by a simple geometrically derived expression. The inner and outer machine settings are determined, in turn,with the simulation of a figure of merit. The maximum value of the response surface of this FOM occurs at the optimal sigma settings. Experimental confirmation of this is shown in the paper.Assist features are used to modify the aerial image of the more isolated images on the mask. The effect that the diffraction of the scattering bars (SBs) has on the image intensity distribution is explained. Rules for determining the size and placement of SBs are also given.Resist is optimized for use with off-axis illumination and assist features. A general explanation of the material' s effect is discussed along with the affect on the through-pitch bias. The paper culminates with the showing of the lithographic results from the fully optimized system.