A multi-verse optimizer approach for feature selection and optimizing SVM parameters based on a robust system architecture

Neural Computing and Applications - Support vector machine (SVM) is a well-regarded machine learning algorithm widely applied to classification tasks and regression problems. SVM was founded based...     

Pedestrian detection using multiple feature channels and contour cues with census transform histogram and random forest classifier

Pattern Analysis and Applications - This paper presents a reliable and real-time method to detect pedestrians in image scenes that can vary greatly in appearance. To achieve greater reliability in...     

A multifractal edge detector

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Significant research has been conducted into image edge detection, usually focusing on gradient and higher order derivative approaches. Recent development in the...     

AutoRWN: automatic construction and training of random weight networks using competitive swarm of agents

Neural Computing and Applications - Random Weight Networks have been extensively used in many applications in the last decade because it has many strong features such as fast learning and good...     

Interfacial electrochemistry and electrodeposition from some ionic liquids: In situ scanning tunneling microscopy, plasma electrochemistry, selenium and macroporous materials

In this paper we report on recent results from our group, namely on the interface ionic liquid/electrode, plasma electrochemistry and electrodeposition of selenium and of macroporous structures. Ionic liquids show an interesting and liquid dependent surface chemistry: in some liquids the long range “herringbone” superstructure of Au(1 1 1) is visible, in others it is not. Glow discharge plasmas can be employed as a contact free electrode to make nanoparticles in solutions, e.g. nanoparticles of germanium. Selenium can be electrodeposited from ionic liquids under environmental conditions in an open cell and both the red and the grey phases of selenium are feasible. With the help of self organized opal structures of polystyrene spheres macroporous materials of Ag, Al and conducting polymers can be made. The prospects and limits of ionic liquids in surface electrochemistry and electrodeposition are shortly discussed.     

Rejection of salt mixtures from high saline by nanofiltration membranes

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes have recently been employed as pretreatment unit operations in seawater desalination processes and as partial demineralization to seawater. The present paper investigates the performance of selected commercial NF membranes to reject salts of high concentrations at salinity levels representative of brackish and sea water. Two commercial nanofiltration membranes (NF90 and NF270) have been investigated in detail to study their performance in filtering aqueous solutions containing different salt mixtures in a cross-flow NF membrane process within the pressure range from 4 to 9 bar. Spiegler-Kedem model (SKM) was used to fit the experimental data of rejection with the permeate flux. The results showed that NF90 membrane was shown to have a distinct ability to reject both monovalent and divalent ions of all investigated mixtures with very reasonable values but with relatively low flux. This will make NF90 more suitable for the application in the pretreatment of desalination processes. On the other hand, NF270 can reject monovalent ions at relatively low values and divalent ions at reasonable values, but at very high permeate flux. The SKM model only fitted well the experimental data of divalent ions in salt mixture. Based on the evaluation of the overall performance of NF90 and NF270 membranes, their distinct ability to reject salts at high salinity from seawater is considered an advantage in the field of pretreatment of seawater feed to desalination units.     

A Broadband Center-Fed Circular Patch-Ring Antenna With a Monopole Like Radiation Pattern

A center-fed circular microstrip patch antenna with a coupled annular ring is presented. This antenna has a low profile configuration with a monopole like radiation pattern. Compared to the center-fed circular patch antenna (CPA), the proposed antenna has a large bandwidth and similar radiation pattern. The proposed antenna is fabricated and tested. It resonates at 5.8 GHz, the corresponding impedance bandwidth and gain are 12.8% and 5.7 dBi, respectively. Very good agreement between the measurement and simulation for the return loss and radiation patterns is achieved.     

A Low-Profile Dual-Band Surface Wave Antenna With a Monopole-Like Pattern

A dual-band surface wave antenna (DBSWA) that realizes a monopole-like radiation pattern with a low-profile configuration is designed and measured. The antenna consists of two parts: a center-fed modified crosspatch to excite surface waves at two frequency bands, and a thin dielectric slab loaded with periodic patches to support the propagation of the surface waves. The surface wave property and radiation mechanism of the DBSWA are described, and parametric studies are performed to understand the dual-band characteristics of the antenna. The proposed antenna with only 3 mm thickness (< 0.05 lambda) is fabricated and tested, which resonates at 4.2 and 4.9 GHz. The corresponding impedance bandwidths and gains are 1.10% and 4.9 dBi for the low frequency band and 3.94% and 5.4 dBi for the high frequency band.     

RISE: A general simulation interoperability middleware container

In recent years, new services on the Internet have enabled global cooperation; in particular, the Web has enabled new distributed simulation technology. Much research has been devoted to develop middleware interoperability methods on the Web. However, most existing methods have constraints in the structural rules that are placed on the design of middleware interoperability methods. For example, such constraints make it difficult to enhance interoperability via decoupling systems implementations and design, which is essential in open computing networks, as in the case of the Web. In order to achieve such objectives we present the RISE (RESTful Interoperability Simulation Environment) middleware. This all-purpose WS-based distributed simulation middleware decouples design and implementation while allowing composition scalability and dynamicity. Furthermore, it supports experiment-oriented frameworks and has the ability to put Web 2.0 services in the simulation loop. RISE is the first existing middleware to achieve such objectives, and the first to employ RESTful Web-services. We present the foundations for meeting the above objectives, and the distinct characteristics of RISE from existing Web-based approaches.