离散数学课程教学改革探索与实践

离散数学是计算机科学的核心基础理论课,该课程不但为学生学好后续课程提供数学理论基础,而且学好该课程有利于培养学生的数学思维。本文结合教学实践,分析了当前离散数学教学中存在的问题,针对该课程的特点,从教学内容、教学手段和教学方法3个方面对离散数学的教学改革进行了探讨,力求使该课程的教学上一个新的台阶。     

机制主义方法与人工智能统一理论——人工智能的新方法与新进展

报导人工智能研究的一项重要进展:由于发现了人工智能研究的"机制主义"模拟方法和"知识的生态学结构",使原来"鼎足三分"的3个主流学说(结构模拟、功能模拟和行为模拟学说)在"机制主义方法"的基础上实现了和谐的统一,形成了统一理论,从而为人工智能的发展提供了新的基础。     

计算机类课程小班教学模式研究

本文阐述了计算机类课程开展小班教学的基本理念,提出小班教学具体实施原则。针对推广小班教学面临的各种障碍,结合国内高校计算机教学实际情况,提出了若干建设性意见与措施方法。     

Seat inventory control for sequential multiple flights with customer choice behavior

This paper considers a seat inventory control problem in which flights depart sequentially and passengers purchase available seats depending on customer choice behavior. Customer choice behavior can lead to either a horizontal shift or a booking loss when a desired fare class is unavailable. This problem is mathematically challenging and intractable via exact mathematical models. As an alternative heuristic approach, this paper develops a simulation-based greedy grid-search algorithm and illustrates simulation experiments using the newly developed algorithm. This paper obtains encouraging numerical results with the approach proposed here, but additional studies are required for accommodating more general assumptions such as booking arrival patterns, booking control mechanisms (e.g., cancellation and overbooking) and strategic customer behavior.     

Metaheuristics for the dynamic stochastic dial-a-ride problem with expected return transports

The problem of transporting patients or elderly people has been widely studied in literature and is usually modeled as a dial-a-ride problem (DARP). In this paper we analyze the corresponding problem arising in the daily operation of the Austrian Red Cross. This nongovernmental organization is the largest organization performing patient transportation in Austria. The aim is to design vehicle routes to serve partially dynamic transportation requests using a fixed vehicle fleet. Each request requires transportation from a patient's home location to a hospital (outbound request) or back home from the hospital (inbound request). Some of these requests are known in advance. Some requests are dynamic in the sense that they appear during the day without any prior information. Finally, some inbound requests are stochastic. More precisely, with a certain probability each outbound request causes a corresponding inbound request on the same day. Some stochastic information about these return transports is available from historical data. The purpose of this study is to investigate, whether using this information in designing the routes has a significant positive effect on the solution quality. The problem is modeled as a dynamic stochastic dial-a-ride problem with expected return transports. We propose four different modifications of metaheuristic solution approaches for this problem. In detail, we test dynamic versions of variable neighborhood search (VNS) and stochastic VNS (S-VNS) as well as modified versions of the multiple plan approach (MPA) and the multiple scenario approach (MSA). Tests are performed using 12 sets of test instances based on a real road network. Various demand scenarios are generated based on the available real data. Results show that using the stochastic information on return transports leads to average improvements of around 15%. Moreover, improvements of up to 41% can be achieved for some test instances.     

Information transmittal, Newton’s law of gravitation, and tensor approach to general relativity

The special relativity considered in [A. Einstein, Zur Elektrodynamik der bewegte Körper. Ann. Physik, 17 (1905) 891-921] is based on the concept of finite speed of information transmittal by the available signals (rays of light). It is demonstrated that the same concept applies to Newton’s law of universal gravitation since the magnitude of distances between attracting masses can be physically defined (carried, accounted in acting forces of gravity) only by signals (physical processes) propagating at finite velocities. It follows that the speed of propagation of gravity is finite. The linear transformations of special relativity are applied to Newton’s law of gravitation to take into account the relativistic effects of information transmittal in a field of central forces of attraction. Relativistic representations of Newton’s law are obtained with respect to the center of gravity exposing illusory effects that appear at high velocities. It is verified that in atomic physics the effect of Newtonian gravitation on the motion of elementary particles at high velocities is negligible also in relativistic consideration. Computational methods are developed to measure the intensity of gravitation at a distant space-time location using a body that travels in space, emitting uniform pulses of light that are received by the observer at a different space-time location. It is demonstrated that the tensor approach to the general relativity and the united theory of space, time and gravitation in which the geometrical properties (metric) of the four-dimensional space-time continuum depend on the distribution of gravitating masses in space and their motion represent a transformed Lorentz invariant with a new type of inertia in the field of forces changing in space and time. Real physical processes evolve according to the forces represented in the tensor form by this invariant which is equivalent to the coordinate-free local invariant of relativistic dynamics that defines the field and the motion of a body whose velocities and accelerations can be measured by relativistic identification methods at a point, time and direction of interest. The results open new avenues for research in the general relativity and can be used for software development, field measurements and experimental studies in application to distant or fast moving systems.     

Ascorbic acid imprinted polymer-modified graphite electrode: A diagnostic sensor for hypovitaminosis C at ultra trace ascorbic acid level

A new kind of molecularly imprinted polymer-modified graphite electrode was fabricated by “grafting-to” approach, incorporating sol–gel technique, for the detection of acute deficiency in serum ascorbic acid level (SAAL), manifesting hypovitaminosis C. The modified electrode exhibited ascorbic acid (AA) oxidation at less positive potential (0.0 V) than the earlier reported methods, resulting in a limit of detection as low as 6.13 ng mL⁻¹ (RSD = 1.2%, S/N = 3). The diffusion coefficient (1.096 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹), rate constant (7.308 s⁻¹), and Gibb's free energy change (−12.59 kJ mol⁻¹) due to analyte adsorption, were also calculated to explore the kinetics of AA oxidation. The proposed sensor was found to enhance sensitivity substantially so as to detect ultra trace level of AA in the presence of other biologically important compounds (dopamine, uric acid, etc.), without any cross interference and matrix complications from biological fluids and pharmaceutical samples.     

Failure mode and effects analysis using a group-based evidential reasoning approach

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a methodology to evaluate a system, design, process or service for possible ways in which failures (problems, errors, risks and concerns) can occur. It is a group decision function and cannot be done on an individual basis. The FMEA team often demonstrates different opinions and knowledge from one team member to another and produces different types of assessment information such as complete and incomplete, precise and imprecise and known and unknown because of its cross-functional and multidisciplinary nature. These different types of information are very difficult to incorporate into the FMEA by the traditional risk priority number (RPN) model and fuzzy rule-based approximate reasoning methodologies. In this paper we present an FMEA using the evidential reasoning (ER) approach, a newly developed methodology for multiple attribute decision analysis. The proposed FMEA is then illustrated with an application to a fishing vessel. As is illustrated by the numerical example, the proposed FMEA can well capture FMEA team members’ diversity opinions and prioritize failure modes under different types of uncertainties.     

The labeled maximum matching problem

Given a graph G where a label is associated with each edge, we address the problem of looking for a maximum matching of G using the minimum number of different labels, namely the labeled maximum matching problem. It is a relatively new problem whose application is related to the timetabling problem. We prove it is NP-complete and present four different mathematical formulations. Moreover, we propose an exact algorithm based on a branch-and-bound approach to solve it. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm on a wide set of instances and compare our computational times with the ones required by CPLEX to solve the proposed mathematical formulations. Test results show the effectiveness of our procedure, that hugely outperforms the solver.