Big label: categorizing the Web efficiently and accurately

Searching on the Web has never been an easy task. Even if semantic information is successfully inferred from a user query, how can we benefit from it? The most popular remedy today is to categorize the Web in advance. By gathering similar Web resources into a group, the search performance should increase even though search engines still have little idea about the semantics part. To categorize a set of Web resources according to meta-information associated with them, at first, one has to analyze the relationships between meta-information and Web resources. However, the result will be severely affected by the ambiguous nature of the Web. As a result, the goal of this research is to propose a new labeling method to enhance both the efficiency and accuracy of Web resources categorization.     

An experimental model of Chinese textual database

Abstract

A textual database deals with retrieval and manipulation of documents. It allows a user to search on‐line complete documents or parts of documents rather than attributes of documents. Resembling a formatted database which uses a data model as its underlying structure, a textual database has to base its development upon a document model. In this paper, a document model, called the ECHO model, is proposed. The ECHO model provides a document representation, called the ECHO structure, for expressing documents and operations on the representation that serve to express queries and manipulations on documents. It has the ability to provide multiple document structures for a document, a flexible search unit for retrieving textual information, and a subrange search on a textual database. In addition, the ECHO structure is relatively easy to maintain. An architecture of a textual database based on the ECHO model is also proposed. In order to improve the query performance, a refined character inversion method, called ARCIM, is proposed as the text‐access method of the Chinese textual database. The ARCIM can retrieve texts faster than a simple inversion method and requires less space overhead.     

Two MILP models for the N × M SDST flowshop sequencing problem

This paper presents the derivation and evaluation of two new MILP models for the SDST flowshop sequencing problem. The first model, TS1, was derived directly from the assignment-problem-based MILP model for the regular flowshop that Stafford modified from the original Wagner three-machine all-integer model. The second model, TS2, combined the properties of model TS1 with the looser constraints approach of Srikar and Ghosh, as modified by Stafford and Tseng (model SG*). Three experiments were used to compare both new models to the SG* model. Both new models were found to use significantly less computation time than the SG* model, especially for problem sizes of 6 or more jobs and 5 or more machines. The TS1 model used significantly less computation time than the TS2 model, making it the current best MILP model in the SDST flowshop literature.     

Group-Based Authentication and Key Agreement

This paper presents an authentication and key agreement protocol to streamline communication activities for a group of mobile stations (MSs) roaming from the same home network (HN) to a serving network (SN). In such a roaming scenario, conventional schemes require the SN to interact with the HN for authenticating respective MSs, at the cost of repeated message exchanges and communication delay. Instead, in our design, when the first MS of a group visits, the SN performs full authentication with the concerned HN and thereby obtains authentication information for the MS and other members. Thus when any other MS of the same group visits, the SN can authenticate locally without subsequent involvement of the HN, so as to simplify protocol operations. We will show that our scheme does not trade performance for security and robustness to the extent that security requirements are unduly weakened. Both qualitative and quantitative discussions indicate that our proposed scheme lends itself to pragmatic settings.     

Cathodoluminescence and Field-Emission Properties of β-Ga2O3 Nanobelts

β-Ga₂O₃ nanobelts were synthesized using a vapor transport process in a controlled ambient. Structural characterization revealed that the as-synthesized samples consisted of monoclinic β-Ga₂O₃ nanobelts, and the presence of gallium-associated defects was verified using cathodoluminescence (CL). The formation of gallium-associated defects was explained by the insufficiency of the supply of cations, generating gallium vacancies on the (010) facet during growth. Furthermore, field-emission measurements indicated that β-Ga₂O₃ nanobelts exhibited defect-related electron emission. The turn-on fields of β-Ga₂O₃ nanobelts increased significantly with the degree of structural defects. For a sample prepared under 15% ambient oxygen, Fowler–Nordheim (F–N) analysis revealed two distinct field-enhancement factors of 1194 and 276, respectively. A correlation between field emission and structural defects was proposed. The experimental results demonstrate the presence of gallium-associated defects, which behave as electron traps, degrading the electron field-emission properties of β-Ga₂O₃ nanobelts.     

Nanostructured alignment layer for liquid crystals

A new type of nanostructured alignment surface is proposed and demonstrated. As in previous nanostructured alignment surfaces, a large pretilt angle of near 45° can be produced reliably. Moreover, this new structure is fabricated with a mask, and there is no randomness involved. The uniformity and anchoring properties of this new surface have been measured to be of excellent quality.     

Facilitation of consumer loyalty toward branded applications: The dual-route perspective

Although many brands develop mobile applications (apps) to build relationships with consumers, most branded apps fail to retain consumers’ loyalty. This study examines the facilitation of consumer loyalty toward branded apps (continuance intention, in-app purchase intention, and word-of-mouth intention) from the dual-route perspective. One route is the affective (relationship) route, where brand benefits (functional benefits, experiential benefits, symbolic benefits, and monetary benefits) drive parasocial interactions between consumers and the brand, which, in turn, influences branded app loyalty. The other route is the utility route, where system characteristics (system quality and information quality) affect perceived usefulness, which, in turn, facilitates branded app loyalty. An online survey was conducted, and the research model was empirically tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings support the dual-route perspective according to which both affective and utilitarian paths facilitate branded app loyalty. The key theoretical contribution of this study is that it moves beyond the utilitarian path and finds the affective (relationship) path to give a more complete picture of the facilitation of consumer loyalty in the branded app context. A strategy is provided to suggest to practitioners how to design branded apps to facilitate consumer loyalty.     

α-Alumina and spinel react into single-phase high-alumina spinel in <3 seconds during flash sintering

In situ X-ray diffraction measurements at the Advanced Photon Source show that α-Al₂O₃ and MgAl₂O₄ react nearly instantaneously and completely, and nearly completely to form single-phase high-alumina spinel during voltage-to-current type of flash sintering experiments. The initial sample was constituted from powders of α-Al₂O₃, MgAl₂O₄ spinel, and cubic 8 mol% Y₂O₃-stabilized ZrO₂ (8YSZ) mixed in equal volume fractions, the spinel to alumina molar ratio being 1:1.5. Specimen temperature was measured by thermal expansion of the platinum standard. These measurements correlated well with a black-body radiation model, using appropriate values for the emissivity of the constituents. Temperatures of 1600-1736°C were reached during the flash, which promoted the formation of alumina-rich spinel. In a second set of experiments, the flash was induced in a current-rate method where the current flowing through the specimen is controlled and increased at a constant rate. In these experiments, we observed the formation of two different compositions of spinel, MgO•3Al₂O₃ and MgO•1.5Al₂O₃, which evolved into a single composition of MgO•2.5Al₂O₃ as the current continued to increase. In summary, flash sintering is an expedient way to create single-phase, alumina-rich spinel.