Parallel Maximum Clique Algorithms with Applications to Network Analysis and Storage

We propose a fast, parallel maximum clique algorithm for large sparse graphs that is designed to exploit characteristics of social and information networks. The method exhibits a roughly linear runtime scaling over real-world networks ranging from 1000 to 100 million nodes. In a test on a social network with 1.8 billion edges, the algorithm finds the largest clique in about 20 minutes. Our method employs a branch and bound strategy with novel and aggressive pruning techniques. For instance, we use the core number of a vertex in combination with a good heuristic clique finder to efficiently remove the vast majority of the search space. In addition, we parallelize the exploration of the search tree. During the search, processes immediately communicate changes to upper and lower bounds on the size of maximum clique, which occasionally results in a super-linear speedup because vertices with large search spaces can be pruned by other processes. We apply the algorithm to two problems: to compute temporal strong components and to compress graphs.Comment: 11 page

Recovery of heavy metals from spent etching waste solution of printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing

The process of etching is the most crucial part of the work of manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCB). In the etching process by nitric acid, a spent etching waste solution of composition 250 g/L HNO3, 30-40 g/L Cu, 30-40 g/L Sn, 30-40 g/L Pb and 20-25 g/L Fe is produced. High metal concentrations in the spent etching waste solution make it a viable candidate for the recovery of metals. Recovery of metals from spent etching waste solution is a significant concern as the recent growth in production of printed circuit boards has generated a drastic increase of spent etching waste solution each year. This study concerns itself with the recovery of metals from spent etching waste. In this study a dilution was made in order to increase the pH of the solution as spent etching waste solution has high acidity, and the electrowinning method was performed to recover metals from the spent etching waste solution. Glassy carbon and platinum were used as cathode and anode in order to investigate the electrodeposition of metals and cyclic voltammetry investigation suggests that the deposition of metals on glassy carbon electrodes occurs at four different overpotentials mainly at -0.15 V, -0.35 V, -0.45 V and -0.75 V. Microscopy observation demonstrates that there is a deposition of metals by applying the potentials in a set of current-time transient study for a duration of 60 seconds and the metals recovered formed as aggregates

The illusion of untranslatability: a theoretical perspective with reference to the translation of culture-bound euphemistic expressions in the Qur'an

The present study investigates the notion of untranslatability where the concept of equivalence is reconsidered since the misconceptions, related to the said concept, inevitably lead to the emergence of untranslatability. Identifying equivalence as relative, approximate and necessary identity makes the notion of untranslatability a mere theorization. The objectives of the present study are (1) to investigate the notion of untranslatability in terms of the misconceptions associated with the concept of equivalence (2) to examine the possibility of translatability from Arabic into English focusing on culture-bound euphemistic expressions in the Quran as an area of challenge in translation. Data on the translation of culture-bound euphemistic expressions were purposively selected from the Quran and its four identified English translations. Ten examples were randomly selected and the criterion for their selection is that they are culture-bound and therefore translation-resistant. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the source data by referring to traditional exegetical books to determine the source text intentionality. Additionally, the translated data were analyzed according to the functional equivalence proposed by Nida (1993; 2001).Findings of this study revealed that translatability is always possible and, accordingly, untranslatability is no more valid

Development of laser guided deep-hole measurement system: adjustment to a smaller size hole

Deep holes are bored with the meter, millimeter, and micrometer level diameters in engineering. Examples of such holes with large 100-millimeter-level diameters and meter-level lengths are the rotation shafts of jet engines, generators and cannons. Holes with normal 10-millimeter-level diameters and lengths of several hundred millimeters are used for the main spindles of machines, the small cylinder in plastic injection molding, the tube sheet for heat exchanger, and guns. To measure such components the proposed measurement system consists of a measurement head in order to scan hole wall, a laser interferometer for measuring surface parameters of the hole and an optical device at the backside for detecting attitude of the measurement head. As a result of experimental analysis, it is observed that deephole having small diameter and longlength can be measured automatically by the new developed measurement system

Site Diversity Gain for Earth-to-Satellite Links Using Rain Intensity Measurement

Site diversity technique is effective method to overcome rain attenuation, mostly in the tropics where high precipitation is predominant. The method is analyzed based on measurements in two locations separated by 37.36 Km in Malaysia. From concurrent measured rain intensities of two locations at IIUM and UKM for one year, it was found that only ten concurrent events had occurred containing highest rain intensities of 18 mm/h with outage probability of 0.00154% on two locations out of about 381 events experienced over one year period. These findings will be very useful for Earth-to-satellite link designers to improve reliability by applying site diversity as a rain fade mitigation technique at any frequency

Agritourism, Community Attachment and Their Contributions to Tourism and Community: An Empirical Study

The tourism industry has encountered various sustainable development functionalities, and nations seek to develop tourism while conserving nature and its resources. Agritourism strengthens a region’s competitive, cultural, and transformational resources while helping the rural community, economy, and society thrive sustainably. However, few studies have evaluated community attention toward agritourism in developing countries. This study bridges this gap using community attachment through agritourism-based resident perceptions of the economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism support and its contributions to resident communities. A partial least squares method under structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed using SmartPLS 3.0. Results reveal that community attachment is significantly correlated with economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts, which are also significantly associated with tourism support. These impacts were mainly related to contributions to the community, thus confirming all hypotheses except for the cultural implications, which were found to be insignificant. This study will help marketers, professionals, and decision-makers understand and predict the economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts of agritourism and formulate policies to contribute to its development