Soft real-time systems : Predictability vs. efficiency
Hard real-time systems are very predictable, but not sufficiently flexible to adapt to dynamic situations. They are built under pessimistic assumptions to cope with worst-case scenarios, so they often waste resources. Soft real-time systems are built to reduce resource consumption, tolerate overloads and adapt to system changes. They are also more suited to novel applications of real-time technology, such as multimedia systems, monitoring apparatuses, telecommunication networks, mobile robotics, virtual reality, and interactive computer games. This unique monograph provides concrete methods for building flexible, predictable soft real-time systems, in order to optimize resources and reduce costs. It is an invaluable reference for developers, as well as researchers and students in Computer Science.
Soft Ground Tunnel Design
Teaches the principles of tunnel and underground space design in soft ground. ‘Soft ground’ refers to soil, in contrast to rock. The book focuses on stability, prediction of ground movements, and structural design of the lining. It shows that the choice of excavation and support methods depends on ground stability, limitation of damage to the existing built environment, and health, safety and environmental considerations. Readers will be able to: understand the basis for choosing an underground construction method and/or ground improvement method / calculate heading stability / predict ground movements / understand the complex soil-structure interaction around an advancing tunnel / design tunnel linings in soft ground using a variety of methods / predict the effects of construction on the built environment and assess potential damage
SOFSEM 2005 : Theory and practice of computer science ; 31st Conference on current trends in theory and practice of computer science, Liptovský Ján, Slovakia, January 22-28, 2005, Proceedings
Constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 31st Conference on Current Trends in Theory and Practice of Computer Science, SOFSEM 2005, held in Liptovský Ján, Slovakia in January 2005. The 28 revised full papers and 16 revised short papers presented together with 8 invited contributions were carefully reviewed and selected from 144 submissions. The papers were organized in four topical tracks on foundations of computer science, modeling and searching data in the web area, software engineering, and graph drawing and discrete computational mathematics.
Smart cement : Development, testing, modeling and real-time monitoring
Over three billion metric tons of cement are produced annually worldwide, making concrete the most extensively used construction material. Self-sensing, or smart, cement allows real-time monitoring of performance through the entire service life of a concrete structure, for the detection of changing stresses, contamination, excessive temperature, gas leaks and pre-seismic activity. This is achieved by adding a very small proportion of conductive or semi-conductive fibers, such as carbon fibers to the bulk cement, making it piezoresistive, and enabling changes in the concrete’s electrical resistivity in response to shear stress and strain to be monitored.
Skins, Envelopes, and Enclosures : Concepts for Designing Building Exteriors
Illuminates the theory and techniques of assembling exteriors. Six chapters organized by wall types, from hand-set monolithic walls to digitally fabricated curtain walls, each have a material focus section to help you understand their intrinsic properties so that you can decide which will best keep the weather out of your building. Examples from the ancient world, including the Pyramids and the Great Wall, through a range of renowned modern architects, such as Studio Gang, Sauerbruch Hutton, Herzog and deMeuron, and Rafael Moneo, illustrate how significant works in the history of architecture explored innovative use of materials – stone, brick, concrete, glass, and aluminium. Along the way, principles of construction from masonry and basic framing through ever more sophisticated envelope systems address classic problems presented by gravity, wind, rain, and sun with studies of lateral forces, building movements and materials that bridge the gaps in between them.
Simulating Continuous Fuzzy Systems
The authors use crisp continuous simulation to estimate the trajectories of the support and core of these fuzzy numbers in a variety of twenty applications of fuzzy dynamical systems. The applications range from Bungee jumping to the AIDS epidemic to dynamical models in economics. This book is the companion text to "Simulating Fuzzy Systems" (Springer 2005) which investigated discrete fuzzy systems through crisp discrete simulation.
Simulated Evolution and Learning ; 7th International Conference, SEAL 2008, Melbourne, Australia, December 7-10, 2008. Proceedings
Covers are evolutionary learning; evolutionary optimisation; hybrid learning; adaptive systems; theoretical issues in evolutionary computation; and real-world applications of evolutionary computation techniques.
Simplified Engineering for Architects and Builders
Reference on structural design, giving architects and designers a concise introduction to the structures commonly used for typical buildings. The clear, accessible presentation is designed to give you the essential engineering information you need without getting bogged down in excess math, making this book an ideal reference for busy design professionals. Understand fundamental concepts like forces, loading, and reactions. Learn how to design for wood, steel, or concrete construction. Study structural design standards and develop sound structural systems. Determine the best possible solutions to difficult design challenges
Simplicial Complexes of Graphs
A graph complex is a finite family of graphs closed under deletion of edges. Graph complexes show up naturally in many different areas of mathematics, including commutative algebra, geometry, and knot theory. Identifying each graph with its edge set, one may view a graph complex as a simplicial complex and hence interpret it as a geometric object. This volume examines topological properties of graph complexes, focusing on homotopy type and homology. Many of the proofs are based on Robin Forman's discrete version of Morse theory. As a byproduct, this volume also provides a loosely defined toolbox for attacking problems in topological combinatorics via discrete Morse theory. In terms of simplicity and power, arguably the most efficient tool is Forman's divide and conquer approach via decision trees; it is successfully applied to a large number of graph and digraph complexes.
Signals and Images : Contributions and Contradictions about High Dilution Research
This volume treats the problem of the effects of very low doses and high dilution in in vitro and in vivo experimental models. It is conceivable that this effect, like that of elect- magnetic fields, is none other than an “ultra molecular” effect as shown in yet p- lished results. The effect could be interpreted as a piece of information, i. e. a signal whose transmission and perception remains to be elucidated. According to Madeleine Bastide “everything depends on the nature and quality of the information, signals and images”.
Sets, Logic and Maths for Computing
The tools for developing these skills are in part qualitative – concepts such as set, relation, function, and structures such as trees and well-founded orders. They are also in part quantitative – notably elementary combinatorics and finite probability. Recurring in all of these are instruments of proof, both purely logical ones (such as proof by contradiction) and mathematical (the various forms of induction).
Sequences, Subsequences, and Consequences ; International Workshop, SSC 2007, Los Angeles, CA, USA, May 31 - June 2, 2007, Revised Invited Papers
These are the proceedings of the Workshop on Sequences, Subsequences, and Consequences that was held at the University of Southern California (USC), May 31 - June 2, 2007. There were three one-hour Keynote lectures, 16 invited talks of up to 45 minutes each, and 1 “contributed” paper. The theory of sequences from discrete symbol alphabets has found practical applications in many areas of coded communications and in cryptography, - cluding: signal patterns for use in radar and sonar; spectral spreading sequences for CDMA wireless telephony; key streams for direct sequence stream-cipher cryptography; and a variety of forward-error-correctingcodes.
Sequences and Their Applications - SETA 2008 ; 5th International Conference Lexington, KY, USA, September 14-18, 2008 Proceedings
The book is organized in topical sections on probabilistic methods and randomness properties of sequences; correlation; combinatorial and algebraic foundations; security aspects of sequences; algorithms; correlation of sequences over rings; nonlinear functions over finite fields.
Sequences and their applications - SETA 2004 ; 3rd International Conference, Seoul, Korea, October 24-28, 2004, Revised Selected Papers
This volume contains the refereed proceedings of the 3rd International Conf- ence on Sequences and Their Applications (SETA 2004), held in Seoul, Korea during October 24-28, 2004.
Sensing Issues in Civil Structural Health Monitoring
Civil infrastructure systems are generally the most expensive assets in any country, and these systems are deteriorating at an alarming rate. In addition, these systems have a long service life in comparison to most other commercial products. active research in the design of new highway bridges is focused on a number of specialty areas, including the replacement of steel reinforcing bars in concrete deck slabs by randomly distributed low-modulus fibers, and the replacement of steel prestressing cables for concrete components by tendons comprising super-strong fibers. Research is also being conducted on using FRPs to repair and strengthen existing structures.
Semi-Markov Chains and Hidden Semi-Markov Models toward Applications : Their use in Reliability and DNA Analysis
This book is concerned with the estimation of discrete-time semi-Markov and hidden semi-Markov processes. Semi-Markov processes are much more general and better adapted to applications than the Markov ones because sojourn times in any state can be arbitrarily distributed, as opposed to the geometrically distributed sojourn time in the Markov case. Another unique feature of the book is the use of discrete time, especially useful in some specific applications where the time scale is intrinsically discrete. The models presented in the book are specifically adapted to reliability studies and DNA analysis.
Semi-active Suspension Control : Improved Vehicle Ride and Road Friendliness
Semi-active Suspension Control provides an overview of vehicle ride control employing smart semi-active damping systems A multidisciplinary approach is adopted throughout the book. Sound mathematical modelling is balanced by a large and detailed section on experimental implementation, where a variety of automotive applications are described offering a well-rounded view of the application of such systems. The implementation of control algorithms with regard to real-life engineering constraints is emphasised.The applications described include semi-active suspensions for a saloon car, seat suspensions for vehicles not equipped with a primary suspension, and control of heavy-vehicle dynamic-tyre loads to reduce road damage and improve handling.
Semantics in Data and Knowledge Bases ; 3rd International Workshop, SDKB 2008, Nantes, France, March 29, 2008, Revised Selected Papers
This book presented original contributions demonstrating the use of logic, discrete mathematics, combinatorics, domain theory and other mathematical theories of semantics for database and knowledge bases, computational linguistics and semiotics, and information and knowledge-based systems.
Semantic Service Provisioning
This book introduces advanced concepts in service provisioning and service engineering, including semantic concepts, dynamic discovery and composition, and illustrates them in a concrete business use case scenario. To prove the validity of the concepts and technologies, a semantic service provisioning reference architecture framework as well as a prototypical implementation of its subsystems and a prototypical realization of a proper business scenario are presented. Thus the book goes way beyond current service-based software technologies by providing a coherent and consistent set of technologies and systems functionality that realizes advanced concepts in service provisioning.
Self-Consistent Methods for Composites ; Vol.2 : Wave Propagation in Heterogeneous Materials
The book is dedicated to the application of self-consistent methods to the solution of static and dynamic problems of the mechanics and physics of composite materials. The effective elastic, electric, dielectric, thermo-conductive and other properties of composite materials reinforced by ellipsoidal, spherical multi-layered inclusions, thin hard and soft inclusions, short fibers and unidirected multi-layered fibers are considered. Explicit formulas and efficient computational algorithms for the calculation of the effective properties of the composites are presented and analyzed. The method of the effective medium and the method of the effective field are developed for the calculation of the phase velocities and attenuation of the mean (coherent) wave fields propagating in the composites. The predictions of the methods are compared with experimental data and exact solutions for the composites with periodical microstructures.



















