A trust-based bio-inspired approach for credit lending decisions

Credit scoring computation essentially involves taking into account various financial factors and the previous behavior of the credit requesting person. There is a strong degree of correlation between the compliance level and the credit score of a given entity. The concept of trust has been widely used and applied in the existing literature to determine the compliance level of an entity. However it has not been studied in the context of credit scoring literature. In order to address this shortcoming, in this paper we propose a six-step bio-inspired methodology for trust-based credit lending decisions by credit institutions. The proposed methodology makes use of an artificial neural network-based model to classify the (potential) customers into various categories. To show the applicability and superiority of the proposed algorithm, it is applied to a credit-card dataset obtained from the UCI repository. Due to the varying spectrum of trust levels, we are able to solve the problem of binary credit lending decisions. A trust-based credit scoring approach allows the financial institutions to grant credit-based on the level of trust in potential customers.     

On simultaneous global external and global internal stabilizationof critically unstable linear systems with saturating actuators

This paper deals with simultaneous global external as well as global internal stabilization of linear systems with saturating actuators. The paper proposes a new family of scheduled low-and-high gain state feedback laws that yields a closed-loop system that is both globally finite gain L_p stable and globally asymptotically stable. Moreover, the controller has an explicit design parameter that can be adjusted to make the L_p gain of the closed-loop system arbitrarily small     

On time-scale designs for networks

We motivate the problem of designing a subset of the edge weights in a graph, to shape the spectrum of an associated linear time-invariant dynamics. We address a canonical design problem of this form by applying time-scale assignment methods, and give graph-theoretic characterisations of the designed dynamics.     

Solution of linear optimal control systems by differential transform method

In this paper, we obtain the approximate solutions for optimal control of linear systems, which have a quadratic performance index. The differential transform method (DTM) is applied for solving the extreme conditions obtained from the Pontryagin’s maximum principle. The differential transform method is one of the approximate methods, which can be easily applied to many linear and nonlinear problems and is capable of reducing the size of computational work. Applying DTM, we construct an optimal feedback control law. The results reveal that the proposed method are very effective and simple. Comparisons are made between the results of the proposed methods, homotopy perturbation method, Adomian decomposition method and exact solutions.     

An integrated Data Envelopment Analysis–Artificial Neural Network–Rough Set Algorithm for assessment of personnel efficiency

Personnel specifications have greatest impact on total efficiency. They can help us to design work environment and enhance total efficiency. Determination of critical personnel attributes is a useful procedure to overcome complication associated with multiple inputs and outputs. The proposed algorithm assesses the impact of personnel efficiency attributes on total efficiency through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Rough Set Theory (RST). DEA has two roles in the proposed integrated algorithm of this study. It provides data ANN and finally it selects the best reduct through ANN result. Reduct is described as a minimum subset of attributes, completely discriminating all objects in a data set. The reduct selection is achieved by RST. ANN has two roles in the integrated algorithm. ANN results are basis for selecting the best reduct and it is also used for forecasting total efficiency. The proposed integrated approach is applied to an actual banking system and its superiorities and advantages are discussed.     

Almost output synchronization for heterogeneous time‐varying networks for a class of non‐introspective,nonlinear agents without exchange of controller states

We consider almost output synchronization for directed heterogeneous time‐varying networks where agents are non‐introspective (i.e., agents have no access to their own states or outputs) in the presence of external disturbances. The nonlinear agents have a triangular structure and are globally Lipschitz continuous. The network can be time‐varying with network switches occurring at arbitrary moments. A purely decentralized time‐invariant protocol based on a low‐gain and high‐gain method is designed for each agent to achieve almost output synchronization while reducing the impact of disturbances on the output synchronization error. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An alternative approach to designing stabilizing compensators for saturating linear time‐invariant plants

We present a new methodology for designing low‐gain linear time‐invariant (LTI) controllers for semi‐global stabilization of an LTI plant with actuator saturation, which is based on the representation of a proper LTI feedback using a pre‐compensator‐plus‐static‐output‐feedback architecture. We also mesh the new design methodology with time‐scale notions to develop lower‐order controllers for some plants. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fe2O3/TiO2/Activated Carbon Nanocomposite with Synergistic Effect of Adsorption and Photocatalysis

Fe₂O₃/TiO₂/activated carbon (FT/AC) nanocomposites supported on silica gel beads were synthesized using a sonochemical method and fully characterized. The response surface method was applied to optimize the removal of Pb(II) ions by nanocomposites under visible light. The experiments were conducted by adjusting three parameters, i.e., initial concentration of Pb(II) ions, dosage of Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ (FT) photocatalyst, and pH. The FT/AC nanocomposite showed higher efficiency for Pb(II) ion removal in comparison with FT due to the synergistic effect of activated carbon combined with Fe₂O₃/TiO₂.     

H2 and H∞ almost output synchronization of heterogeneous continuous‐time multi‐agent systems with passive agents and partial‐state coupling via static protocol

This paper studies H₂ and H_∞ almost output synchronization problems for heterogeneous continuous‐time multiagent systems with passive agents and strongly connected communication graph. For non‐introspective passive agents, a linear static protocol can be designed to achieve almost output synchronization with arbitrarily small H₂ norm. Moreover, we show that the H_∞ almost output synchronization problem via static protocol is not solvable for this class of systems.     

Physical,Barrier, and Antioxidant Properties of Pea Starch-Guar Gum Biocomposite Edible Films by Incorporation of Natural Plant Extracts

Active food packaging based on pea starch and guar gum (PSGG) films containing natural antioxidants (NAs) was developed. Four kinds of NAs (epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), blueberry ash (BBA) fruit extract, macadamia (MAC) peel extract, and banana (BAN) peel extract) were added into the PSGG-based films as antioxidant additive. The effects of these compounds at different amounts on the physical and antioxidant characteristics of the PSGG film were investigated. The antioxidant activity was calculated with three analytical assays: DPPH radical scavenging ability assay, cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), and ferric reducing activity power (FRAP). EGCG-PSGG films showed higher antioxidant activity, followed by BBA-PSGG, MAC-PSGG, and BAN-PSGG films, at all concentrations (0.75–3 mg/mL) and with all procedures tested. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of films showed a concentration dependency. The results revealed that addition of NAs made the PSGG film darker and less transparent. However, the moisture barrier was significantly improved when NAs were incorporated into the film. The FTIR spectra were examined to determine the interactions between polymers and NAs. The results suggested that incorporation of EGCG, BBA, MAC, and BAN into PSGG films have great potential for use as active food packaging for food preservation.