A reusable iterative optimization software library to solve combinatorial problems with approximate reasoning

Real world combinatorial optimization problems such as scheduling are typically too complex to solve with exact methods. Additionally, the problems often have to observe vaguely specified constraints of different importance, the available data may be uncertain, and compromises between antagonistic criteria may be necessary. We present a combination of approximate reasoning based constraints and iterative optimization based heuristics that help to model and solve such problems in a framework of C++ software libraries called StarFLIP++. While initially developed to schedule continuous caster units in steel plants, we present in this paper results from reusing the library components in a shift scheduling system for the workforce of an industrial production plant.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures; for a project overview see http://www.dbai.tuwien.ac.at/proj/StarFLIP

Aportes de soft computing en las energías renovables eólicas

La Soft Computing es un conjunto de metodologías que fundamentalmente sirve para resolver problemas provenientes de situaciones inciertas, imprecisas, y otras situaciones en las que con las metodologías clásicas no se pueden abordar, por su dificultad en su representación y modelación así como por su complejidad. En la generación de la energía eólica se presentan diversas situaciones complejas de naturaleza incierta e imprecisa, que han necesitado y necesitan el uso de la soft computing. En este ensayo se hace la recopilación de los artículos publicados en los que se resuelve los problemas asociados con las energías eólicas utlizando las metodologías soft computing. Se ha encontrado gran número de trabajos que utilizan las metodologías fuzzy, redes neuronales artificiales y algoritmos genéticos; escasos trabajos que utilizan los métodos híbridos y ningunos los recientes métodos de búsqueda y relajación.    Palabras clave: Soft computing,  energía eólica

Ordering based decision making: a survey

Decision making is the crucial step in many real applications such as organization management, financial planning, products evaluation and recommendation. Rational decision making is to select an alternative from a set of different ones which has the best utility (i.e., maximally satisfies given criteria, objectives, or preferences). In many cases, decision making is to order alternatives and select one or a few among the top of the ranking. Orderings provide a natural and effective way for representing indeterminate situations which are pervasive in commonsense reasoning. Ordering based decision making is then to find the suitable method for evaluating candidates or ranking alternatives based on provided ordinal information and criteria, and this in many cases is to rank alternatives based on qualitative ordering information. In this paper, we discuss the importance and research aspects of ordering based decision making, and review the existing ordering based decision making theories and methods along with some future research directions

Soft Computing Techiniques for the Protein Folding Problem on High Performance Computing Architectures

The protein-folding problem has been extensively studied during the last fifty years. The understanding of the dynamics of global shape of a protein and the influence on its biological function can help us to discover new and more effective drugs to deal with diseases of pharmacological relevance. Different computational approaches have been developed by different researchers in order to foresee the threedimensional arrangement of atoms of proteins from their sequences. However, the computational complexity of this problem makes mandatory the search for new models, novel algorithmic strategies and hardware platforms that provide solutions in a reasonable time frame. We present in this revision work the past and last tendencies regarding protein folding simulations from both perspectives; hardware and software. Of particular interest to us are both the use of inexact solutions to this computationally hard problem as well as which hardware platforms have been used for running this kind of Soft Computing techniques.This work is jointly supported by the FundaciónSéneca (Agencia Regional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Región de Murcia) under grants 15290/PI/2010 and 18946/JLI/13, by the Spanish MEC and European Commission FEDER under grant with reference TEC2012-37945-C02-02 and TIN2012-31345, by the Nils Coordinated Mobility under grant 012-ABEL-CM-2014A, in part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). We also thank NVIDIA for hardware donation within UCAM GPU educational and research centers.Ingeniería, Industria y Construcció

Drainage of Land Overlying an Artesian Aquifer: Logan-Cache Airport

Drainage problem Logan-Cache Airport is situated approximately 4 miles northwest of Logan, Utah, in sections 8, 9, 16, and 17, Township 12 north, Range 1 east, of Salt Lake Base and Meridian. The area of approximately 200 acres is a part of what is known as cache County Drainage District No.2. This district in itself contains more than 8,400 acres of waterlogged lands. Drainage of the se lands has, for many years, been a baffling and unsolved problem, complicated by 3 factors: (a) The whole of the valley in this area is underlain by an artesian ground-water reservoir. (b) The artesian aquifer is overlain by a layer of heavy clay of very lo~ permeability, ranging in depth from 40 to 70 feet. (c) Human relations with farmers within the area , who consider that drainage will deprive them of their plentiful groundwater Supply