An effective and efficient Web content extractor for optimizing the crawling process

Classical Web crawlers make use of only hyperlink information in the crawling process. However, focused crawlers are intended to download only Web pages that are relevant to a given topic by utilizing word information before downloading the Web page. But, Web pages contain additional information that can be useful for the crawling process. We have developed a crawler, iCrawler (intelligent crawler), the backbone of which is a Web content extractor that automatically pulls content out of seven different blocks: menus, links, main texts, headlines, summaries, additional necessaries, and unnecessary texts from Web pages. The extraction process consists of two steps, which invoke each other to obtain information from the blocks. The first step learns which HTML tags refer to which blocks using the decision tree learning algorithm. Being guided by numerous sources of information, the crawler becomes considerably effective. It achieved a relatively high accuracy of 96.37% in our experiments of block extraction. In the second step, the crawler extracts content from the blocks using string matching functions. These functions along with the mapping between tags and blocks learned in the first step provide iCrawler with considerable time and storage efficiency. More specifically, iCrawler performs 14 times faster in the second step than in the first step. Furthermore, iCrawler significantly decreases storage costs by 57.10% when compared with the texts obtained through classical HTML stripping. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soft topology

The concept of soft sets is introduced as a general mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainty. In this work, we define the soft topology on a soft set, and present its related properties. We then present the foundations of the theory of soft topological spaces.     

Shared-per-wavelength asynchronous optical packet switching: A comparative analysis

This paper compares four different architectures for sharing wavelength converters in asynchronous optical packet switches with variable-length packets. The first two architectures are the well-known shared-per-node (SPN) and shared-per-link (SPL) architectures, while the other two are the shared-per-input-wavelength (SPIW) architecture, recently proposed as an optical switch architecture in synchronous context only, which is extended here to the asynchronous scenario, and an original scheme called shared-per-output-wavelength (SPOW) architecture that we propose in the current article. We introduce novel analytical models to evaluate packet loss probabilities for SPIW and SPOW architectures in asynchronous context based on Markov chains and fixed-point iterations for the particular scenario of Poisson input traffic and exponentially distributed packet lengths. The models also account for unbalanced traffic whose impact is thoroughly studied. These models are validated by comparison with simulations which demonstrate that they are remarkably accurate. In terms of performance, the SPOW scheme provides blocking performance very close to the SPN scheme while maintaining almost the same complexity of the space switch, and employing less expensive wavelength converters. On the other hand, the SPIW scheme allows less complexity in terms of number of optical gates required, while it substantially outperforms the widely accepted SPL scheme. The authors therefore believe that the SPIW and SPOW schemes are promising alternatives to the conventional SPN and SPL schemes for the implementation of next-generation optical packet switching systems.     

Modeling and solving assembly line design problems by considering human factors with a real‐life application

Ergonomics has been playing an important role in assembly system design (ASD) that contains not only the main assembly line balancing problem but also the subassembly line balancing and assembly layout problem. The ergonomics in ASD has an impact both on productivity and on workers’ health, especially when frequent changes in the product mix occur. In this study, we propose a systematic approach in order to handle ASD, which consists of three subproblems, while considering ergonomic risk factors. The first two subproblems are solved simultaneously using the proposed rule‐based constructive search algorithm, where ergonomic risks are evaluated by OCRA method. Later, layout problem is solved under transportation constraints using local search methods with various neighborhood structures. To provide the applicability and evaluate the performance of the proposed systematic approach, a real‐life case study in a harness manufacturing company is solved and prototype productions are performed.     

The parameter extraction of the thermally annealed Schottky barrier diode using the modified artificial bee colony

In this paper, a new method based on the modified artificial bee colony (MABC) algorithm to determine the main characteristic parameters of the Schottky barrier diode such as barrier height, ideality factor and series resistance. For this model, the Ni/n-GaAs/In Schottky barrier diode was produced and annealed at different temperature in a laboratory. The performance of the modified ABC method was compared to that of the basic artificial bee colony (ABC), particle swarm optimization (PSO), differential evolution (DE), genetic algorithm (GA) and simulated annealing (SA). From the results, it is concluded that the modified ABC algorithm is more flexible and effective for the parameter determination than the other algorithms.     

Direct Electrical Neurostimulation with Organic Pigment Photocapacitors

An efficient nanoscale semiconducting optoelectronic system is reported, which is optimized for neuronal stimulation: the organic electrolytic photocapacitor. The devices comprise a thin (80 nm) trilayer of metal and p–n semiconducting organic nanocrystals. When illuminated in physiological solution, these metal–semiconductor devices charge up, transducing light pulses into localized displacement currents that are strong enough to electrically stimulate neurons with safe light intensities. The devices are freestanding, requiring no wiring or external bias, and are stable in physiological conditions. The semiconductor layers are made using ubiquitous and nontoxic commercial pigments via simple and scalable deposition techniques. It is described how, in physiological media, photovoltage and charging behavior depend on device geometry. To test cell viability and capability of neural stimulation, photostimulation of primary neurons cultured for three weeks on photocapacitor films is shown. Finally, the efficacy of the device is demonstrated by achieving direct optoelectronic stimulation of light‐insensitive retinas, proving the potential of this device platform for retinal implant technologies and for stimulation of electrogenic tissues in general. These results substantiate the conclusion that these devices are the first non‐Si optoelectronic platform capable of sufficiently large photovoltages and displacement currents to enable true capacitive stimulation of excitable cells.     

Secrecy outage probability of inter‐vehicular cognitive radio networks

Herein, we consider an underlay cognitive radio network (CRN) where mobile secondary user wishes to transmit a confidential information to the secondary destination in the presence of an illegitimate eavesdropper which is trying to steal the classified message signal. The proposed scenario can be viable for a secondary safety task force working with a primary regiment, which wishes to transmit the confidential information to the commander while an eavesdropper is trying to intercept the classified information. In the analysis, two novel power allocation methods are considered by assuming perfect and limited feedback channels of the primary network, and for both methods, exact and asymptotic expressions of secrecy outage probability (SOP) are derived for N*Nakagami‐m fading channels which are used to model fading channels such as mobile‐to‐mobile/vehicle‐to‐vehicle communication systems where the nodes are moving into a rich scattering environment. We further verified our analytic results through Monte‐Carlo simulations. It is shown from the numerical results that the cascading degree of the channels has a worsening effect on the secrecy outage performance of the CRN systems.     

Radionuclides and heavy metals concentrations in Turkish market tea

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world. The Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey is one of the main tea producers in Turkey and the fifth in the world. Thus, the chemical components in tea have received great interest because they are related to health. Since this region was contaminated by the Chernobyl accident in 1986, a comprehensive study was planned and carried out to determine the radioactivity level in the tea growing region. The activity concentrations of ²³²Th, ²³⁸U, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs were measured in 29 black tea and one green tea samples from local Turkish markets using gamma spectrometry with an HpGe detector. The average activity concentration of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs were found 3.2 ± 0.6 Bq/kg, 6.4 ± 0.7 Bq/kg, 445.6 ± 17.8 Bq/kg and 42.0 ± 1.4 Bq/kg in tea samples, respectively.In addition, the concentration of five heavy metals including Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Pb were determined by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP/OES) on tea samples. Among the investigated metals, Mn was the highest levels. The levels of manganese were in the range of 1850.75–292.65 μg/g (mean: 1286.35 ± 0.58 μg/g). Levels of Pb in the tea samples analyzed were below the detection limits. The concentrations of all elements for daily intake are below safety levels for human consumptions.