Creative clusters in the regeneration of Valletta and the cultural politics of Strait Street

The paper aims to unfold the narrative of development in a creative cluster project for the regeneration of Strait Street in Valletta, Malta. This is approached by first examining the distinctive, historically contentious background of the neighbourhood and, thereafter, unpacking the development narrative of policy documents and the discursive and material constructs about the creative city approach to regeneration strategies in the city. Using a ‘system-wide’ analytical framework, this material is then scrutinized to gain an understanding of the specificities involved and, finally, discuss the crucial features of the key dimensions elucidating the potential strengths and weaknesses of the case     

Location Related Signals with Satellite Image Fusion Method Using Visual Image Integration Method

Investigations were performed on a group utilizing (General Purpose Unit) GPU and executions were evaluated for the utilization of the created parallel usages to process satellite pictures from satellite Landsat7.The usage on a realistic group gives execution change from 2 to 18 times. The nature of the considered techniques was assessed by relative dimensionless global error in synthesis (ERGAS) and Quality Without Reference (QNR) measurements. The outcomes demonstrate execution picks ups and holding of value with the bunch of GPU contrasted with the outcomes and different analysts for a CPU and single GPU. The errand of upgrading the view of a scene by combining data caught from various picture sensors is usually known as multisensor picture combination. This paper displays a territory based picture combination calculation to consolidate SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and optical pictures. The co-enlistment of the two images is first led utilizing the proposed enrollment method prior to picture combination. The paper displays a parallel execution of existing picture combination techniques on a graphical group. Parallel executions of techniques in view of discrete wavelet changes are created. Division into dynamic and motionless regions is then executed on the SAR surface picture for particular injection of the SAR picture into panchromatic (PAN) picture. An integrated image in view of these two pictures is produced by the novel region based combination plot, which forces diverse combination rules for each fragmented region. At long last, this picture is melded into a multispectral(MS) picture through the half breed skillet honing technique proposed in past research. Exploratory outcomes exhibit that the proposed strategy demonstrates preferred execution over different fusion algorithms and can possibly be connected to the multisensory combination of SAR and optical pictures.     

基于GPU加速的锥束CT重建算法研究

锥束计算机断层扫描（Cone-Beam Computed Tomography，CBCT）具有采集速度快和空间分辨率高等特点，被生物医学等领域广泛关注。然而通过CPU串行处理CBCT重建中海量投影数据非常耗时，难以满足实时性的需求。GPU的发展为CBCT重建的并行加速提供了条件。根据三角函数周期性的特点对FDK算法进行了改进，并利用GPU实现了12幅投影数据同时并行计算。实验结果表明，相比于传统基于CPU的重建算法，基于GPU的CBCT重建算法在保证图像质量的前提下，将重建速度提高了超过310倍。     

GPU加速MOC输运计算性能分析研究

特征线方法（MOC）在求解堆芯规模中子输运方程时面临计算时间长的问题，加速和并行算法是目前研究的热点。基于MOC在特征线和能群层面的并行特性，采用统一计算设备构架（CUDA）编程规范，实现了基于图形处理器（GPU）的并行二维MOC算法。测试了菱形差分和步特征线法分别在双精度、混合精度及单精度浮点运算下的计算精度、效率及GPU加速效果。采用性能分析工具对GPU程序性能进行了分析，识别了程序性能瓶颈。结果表明：菱形差分和步特征线法在不同浮点运算精度下均表现出良好的计算精度；相比于CPU单线程计算，GPU加速效果在双精度和单精度情况下分别达到35倍和100倍以上。     

Multi-product continuous plant scheduling: combination of decomposition,genetic algorithm,and constructive heuristic

We propose a polylithic method for medium-term scheduling of a large-scale industrial plant operating in a continuous mode. The method combines a decomposition approach, a genetic algorithm (GA) and a constructive MILP-based heuristic. In the decomposition, decisions are made at two levels, using the rolling horizon approach. At the upper level, a reduced set of products and the time period is chosen to be considered in the lower level. At the lower level, a short-term scheduling MILP-model with event-based representation is used. A heuristic solution to the lower level problem is found using a constructive Moving Window heuristic guided by a genetic algorithm. The GA is applied for finding efficient utilisation of critical units in the lower level problem. For solving the one unit scheduling problem, a parallel dynamic programming algorithm is proposed. Implementation of the dynamic programming algorithm for a graphics processing unit (GPU) is incorporated in the GA for improving its performance. The experimental study of the proposed method on a real case of a large-scale plant shows a significant improvement of the solution quality and the solving time comparing to the pure decomposition algorithm proposed in the earlier study, and confirmed suitability of the proposed approach for the real-life production scheduling. In particular, the reduction of the number of changeovers and their duration in the obtained solution as well as the CPU time of solving the problem was about 60% using the new approach.     

A three-stage graphics processing unit-based finite element analyses matrix generation strategy for unstructured meshes

With the development of parallel computing architectures, larger and more complex finite element analyses (FEA) are being performed with higher accuracy and smaller execution times. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are one of the major contributors of this computational breakthrough. This work presents a three-stage GPU-based FEA matrix generation strategy with the key idea of decoupling the computation of global matrix indices and values by use of a novel data structure referred to as the neighbor matrix. The first stage computes the neighbor matrix on the GPU based on the unstructured mesh. Using this neighbor matrix, the indices and values of the global matrix are computed separately in the second and third stages. The neighbor matrix is computed for three different element types. Two versions for performing numerical integration and assembly in the same or separate kernels are implemented and simulations are run for different mesh sizes having up to three million degrees of freedom on a single GPU. Comparison with GPU-based parallel implementation from the literature reveals speedup ranging from 4× to 6× for the proposed workload division strategy. Furthermore, the same kernel implementation is found to outperform the separate kernel implementation by 70% to 150% for different element types.     

Do African Economies Grow Similarly?

Abstract

This paper examines economic growth in 52 African countries for 1961–2016 and seeks to find if there is common growth. As all African countries have their particular features, concerning climate, harvest, industry, size, politics, and infrastructure, and more, it seems best to rely on a non-parametric method. Dynamic Time Warping is such a convenient method, also as it allows leads and lags across countries to vary over time, and as it can easily be incorporated into a clustering technique. Five clusters are found, two of which concern Equatorial Guinea and Botswana, and the three other clusters have common growth rates of about 0, 2 and 4 over more than five decades.     

The co-location of innovation and production in clusters

ABSTRACT

This paper quantifies the extent of co-location of innovation and production for industry clusters with varying knowledge intensity. If input-output, knowledge, and skill linkages are interdependent and geographically bounded, then we would expect innovation and production to be co-located in regional clusters. However, theory predicts that the degree of agglomeration benefits associated with co-location may vary across economic activities with different knowledge intensity. Using data from the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project, I develop measures of the co-location of innovation and production for 27 industry clusters, examining patterns across regions and over time (1998–2015) in the United States. I find that there is a significant co-location of innovation and production for many clusters, especially for those with higher knowledge intensity. This paper focuses on the Information Technology and Analytical Instruments cluster and the Automotive cluster to illustrate the co-location measures and the micro-geography of innovation and production.     

Preparation of O′-Sialon-based ceramics by two-stage liquid phase sintering and study on the toughening mechanism of ultrafine-grained sintered clusters

Ultrafine-grained O′-Sialon-based ceramics were prepared by two-stage sintering at 1250 °C, with large particle GH4169 superalloy powder and nano Al₂O₃–Y₂O₃ as composite sintering aids. The effects of these aids on the densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of O′-Sialon-based ceramics during two-stage sintering were also studied. Studies have shown that the densification process of O′-Sialon-based ceramics promoted by composite sintering additives, presents with the characteristics of two-stage liquid-phase sintering. In the first stage, GH4169 formed ultrafine-grained sintered clusters in the sintered material through liquid phase diffusion. In the second stage, the uniformly dispersed nano Al₂O₃–Y₂O₃ realized the uniform sintering of the material. In the fracture process, the ultrafine-grained sintered clusters hindered the crack propagation and promoted multiple deflections of the crack around the edge of the clusters, achieving the effect of crack deflection toughening. This effect, dominated by ultrafine-grained sintered clusters, significantly improved the fracture toughness of O′-Sialon-based ceramics up to 8.52 MPa m^1/2.