Solving large-scale mixed-integer programs with fixed charge variables

The time-consuming process of solving large-scale Mixed Integer Programming problems using the branch-and-bound technique can be speeded up by introducing a degree of parallelism into the basic algorithm. This paper describes the development and implementation of a parallel branch-and-bound algorithm created by adapting a commercial MIP solver. Inherent in the design of this software are certain ad hoc methods, the use of which are necessary in the effective solution of real problems. The extent to which these ad hoc methods can successfully be transferred to a parallel environment, in this case an array of at most nine transputers, is discussed. Computational results on a variety of real integer programming problems are reported.

The time-consuming process of solving large-scale Mixed Integer Programming problems using the branch-and-bound technique can be speeded up by introducing a degree of parallelism into the basic algorithm. This paper describes the development and implementation of a parallel branch-and-bound algorithm created by adapting a commercial MIP solver. Inherent in the design of this software are certain ad hoc methods, the use of which are necessary in the effective solution of real problems. The extent to which these ad hoc methods can successfully be transferred to a parallel environment, in this case an array of at most nine transputers, is discussed. Computational results on a variety of real integer programming problems are reported.

The Bangladesh grain model

Large scale exploitation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and their sustainable integration in the power system are important and challenging goals for transmission system operators because of the unpredictability of most of these sources. The aim of this paper is to highlight the advantages, in terms of enhanced RES exploitation and improved system flexibility, deriving from the coordinated management of wind power generation and energy storage systems: in particular, a Residual Unit Commitment procedure is proposed in order to provide the generation resources required to satisfy reserve and transmission network constraints. The resulting model consists in a large scale mixed-integer programming problem which is solved by the CPLEX optimization package. Tests on the IEEE 24 bus system will be presented.

Constraints on renewable energy production and CO(in2} emissions are being imposed to generation companies (GENCOs) by growing environmental concern and compelling regulatory directives. These constraints impact on the economy of generation acting as a bias towards the adoption of novel generation technologies, mostly in the field of renewable energy generation. In the present work, the mathematical model of generation planning is presented aiming at the maximization of the net present value of the investment made in generation expansion. A general model is developed to find the present and the future generation mix of a given GENCO and the Lagrangian relaxation method is used to solve the ensuing large scale mixed integer programming problem. Although this problem is interesting in its own right, its results cannot be really useful to define a generation planning strategy unless the uncertainties in costs, prices, construction times are considered. For this reason a Monte Carlo simulation procedure is set up including an expansion planning computation at each step of the procedure. Results are presented with reference to an hypothetical GENCO, by employing reasonable data.

The paper examined the problem of modeling and design of software computer systems. The article briefly describes the content aspects of the various stages of the implementation of software complexes and systems. The methodology of research and analysis of systems, which uses the method of computer simulation modeling, is given. The aim of the work is to create a new universal approach to the design and implementation of software systems of various levels of complexity. During the study, the following general scientific methods were used: system analysis, synthesis, formalization, modeling, decomposition, structuring, description, comparison. The materials used in the study were: computers and software development tools. As a result of the study proposed a universal agent-module approach to the design and implementation of software systems based on simulation agent-based modeling. The study presents the processes of modeling and designing software systems, their stages, and the possibility of their integration within the described approach. Examples of formal model and structure of the software system under design based on the agent-module approach are presented. The proposed approach can be used in the process of software development at the initial stages related to modeling and designing of software systems. Integration of modeling and design stages in the proposed approach will significantly reduce software development time and simplify the design process by making it clearer and more formalized. Materials of the article are of scientific and practical value for a wide range of specialists interested in system analysis, modeling, design and implementation of software systems.

Data centers consume a phenomenal amount of energy, which can be significantly reduced by appropriately allocating resources using technologies such as virtualization, speed scaling, and powering off servers. This article proposes a unified methodology that combines these technologies under a single framework to efficiently operate data centers. In particular, a large-scale Mixed Integer Program (MIP) is formulated that prescribes optimal allocation of resources while incorporating inherent variability and uncertainty of workload experienced by the data center. However, only for small to medium-sized clients it is possible to solve the MIP using commercial optimization software packages in a reasonable time. Thus, for large-sized clients a heuristic method is developed that is effective and fast. An extensive set of numerical experiments is performed to illustrate the methodology, obtain insights on the allocation policies, evaluate the quality of the proposed heuristic, and test the validity of the assumptions made in the literature. The results show that gains of up to 40% can be obtained by using the integrated approach rather than the traditional approach where virtualization, dynamic voltage/frequency scaling, and powering off servers are done separately.

In shrimp farming, commercial feed represents 60% of the production cost, with this research we tried to obtain an alternative to reduce production costs with the application of a nutritional supplement based on a diet ration of 80% commercial feed and 20% commercial feed. combination of semolina and molasses. This research aims to determine the growth of Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp in the juvenile stage in two commercial and experimental feeding systems. This study was carried out at the facilities of the Marine and Aquaculture Research Laboratory (LIMA) of UNAN–LEON. In the experiment, 6 plastic containers were used, we planted 12 organisms (in one repetition) applying the commercial diet and in the other battery with the same number of organisms the experimental diet was given. With respect to physical-chemical factors, temperature and pH remained at their optimal values, growth in the experimental system was 9.33 g and in the commercial system 7.45 g, obtaining a value of p>0.05 , which indicates that there is a significant difference between both treatments, with a survival of 100% in both systems. The productive yield in the experimental system was 4,600 Lb/ha and the commercial system was 3,600 Lb/ha.

Estimation of harvested fruit weight using volume measurements with distance sensors: A case study with olives in a big box

The management of software development for single and dual processor system designs is making progress towards becoming a mature discipline. A good part of the progress can be attributed to the development and use of standard system and software engineering methods and design principles.However, new computer system designs (networking, distributed systems, embedded systems, multi- and coprocessors, fault tolerant systems, etc.) will create new challenges for managers of software development. The reason for this effect on management is that some of the system and software engineering methods and design principles developed for single and dual processor system designs are not valid for these newer designs.Some of the issues that software development project managers will need to cope with are:1. Life cycle model adjustments2. Rapid prototyping activities3. Different hardware and software phasing4. Increased tool development5. New trade-offs and hybrid developments of off-the-shelf software and newly developed software6. Development of concurrent design principles7. New software design principles to support fault tolerance and the use of new memory technologiesThe above items are just now being recognized as problems, and solutions for them either do not exist, or are not widely known.These problems create a series of new challenges that managers must deal with for software development based on the new architectures and requirements. The purposes of this paper are to discuss these issues and to identify some solutions that can serve in the interim as the technology changes to meet these new challenges.

Efficient optimization of a large-scale biorefinery system using a novel decomposition based approach

Welcome to the DATE 08 Conference Proceedings. DATE combines the world's favourite electronic systems design conference and Europe's leading international exhibition for electronic design, automation and test, from system level hardware and software implementation right down to integrated circuit design. The DATE 08 event features a technical program with 77 sessions covering the latest developments in system design and embedded software, IC design/test methodologies and EDA tools, together with an exhibition with the leading EDA, silicon and IP providers showing their new products and services. Challenges that you all face or soon will face in your daily practice are the increasing design complexity of highly integrated systems, the introduction of reconfigurability and embedded software, and the control of power and variability in nanometer IC designs. All these issues will be addressed in this year's DATE event. For the 11th successive year DATE has prepared an exciting technical programme, with the help of the more than 400 members of the Technical Programme Committee, who dedicated their time to thoroughly review the 839 submissions in 37 topics, ranging from system level down to circuit design and covering all the most relevant application domains. The submissions are organised in 4 major areas: D --- Design Methods, Tools, Algorithms and Languages A --- Application Design T --- Test Methods, Tools and Innovative Experiences E --- Embedded Software After a thorough review and selection process (with an average of 5 reviews per paper), finally 198 regular papers were selected for presentation at the conference. Additionally, there are 46 Interactive Presentations that are organised in 5 IP sessions. Together with the invited special sessions (panels, embedded tutorials and hot topic sessions), this has resulted in a high-quality technical program. The technical program provides a wide but high-quality coverage of design, design automation and test topics, from the system level to the integrated circuit level. Compared with previous years, submissions in the Embedded Software track has increased by 50%, showing a clear trend towards a comprehensive system design focus with integrated hardware and software solutions. DATE has established itself firmly as a true Electronic System Design Conference. This year the conference is held in Germany, at the ICM in Munich and spans an entire working week from Monday March 10 to Friday March 14. On Monday, eleven pre-conference tutorials will be given. The three-full day tutorials cover topics of great interest for system design. The first tutorial deals with techniques to automatically realising embedded system from high-level functional models. The second tutorial addresses the different issues related to communication based design and architectures in automotive electronic systems. The third tutorial discusses several key concepts on system-level design and application mapping for wireless and multimedia MPSoC architectures. Furthermore, eight half-day tutorials are also given, which cover a wide spectrum of topics on specification, modelling, design and test. The main conference opens on Tuesday March 11, with two very interesting and complementary keynote speeches. Dominique Vernay, Chief Technical Officer for Thales, will talk about the challenges of embedded systems design, and Giovanni de Micheli, Professor at EPFL, will present his views on designing micro/nano systems for a safer and healthier tomorrow. On the same day, the Executive Track offers a series of business panels with executives discussing hot topics in design: the perils of 45 nanometers, the changes in EDA strategies from IDM, to fablite to fabless, and embedded systems level design strategies. DATE 08 will again offer two specific days related to special themes. On Wednesday March 12, a special full-day track is devoted to Automotive Electronics---Software and Architecture. This special-day track will focus on the challenges faced by the automotive supply chain with particular attention to system and software architecture design. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of automotive architectures, including ECUs, sensors and communication standards and discusses how new methods, tools and standards for interoperability and component-based design can deal with the increasing complexity of software systems and their need for reliability and guaranteed timely behaviour. In addition, it addresses to what degree existing standards, including AUTOSAR and FLEXRAY and model-based development, can support the development of safety and time-critical software. On Thursday March 13, a second special full-day track focuses on Dependable Embedded Systems. This track will address both conceptual and applied issues for design, analysis and validation of dependable embedded systems. The utility of embedded systems and services is based, in large part, on our depending on their sustained functionality in spite of the encountered operational or malicious disruptions. As the number of transient and also permanent disruptions (given the decreasing device geometries, higher device density, lower voltage latching, faster clocks etc) is expected to increase substantially, this will not only be a key issue for the hardware community but also the systems community in general. Solutions using a combination of hardware and software might be more effective than hardware-only or software-only solutions. This track focuses on both conceptual and applied issues for design, analysis and validation of dependable embedded systems. Besides these special tracks, the main conference is organized in six parallel tracks of sessions, three devoted to design methods, tools, algorithms and languages, one to application design, one to test methods, tools and innovative experiences, and finally one to embedded software. The presentations of the selected regular papers in these parallel tracks are complemented by nine Special Sessions and two Invited Industrial Sessions. The special sessions are organized in the form of panels, hot topics, and embedded tutorials. The topics to be covered include quantitative evaluation for embedded systems design, design and manufacturing at 32 and 22nm, software for wireless networked embedded systems, test challenges for low power devices, quantitative productivity measurement in IC design, and 3D Integration. The two invited industrial sessions deal with industrial system designs in transportation and information technologies. To emphasise that DATE is the major event for the designers, DATE 08 features also invited sessions where Europe's famous consumer industry presents their best designs and design practices. Friday March 14 is the day for the DATE workshops. DATE 08 offers workshops on current and emerging important issues in design, test, EDA and software to complement the regular conference. They provide a unique opportunity for the various research and design communities to spend a day discussing the latest and the best, sharing their experiences and visions. This year's workshop program includes eight workshop themes. Four workshops are related to software engineering, ranging from dependable software to modelling, analysis and development tools. Four other workshop themes cover a variety of topics such as the impact of process variations on design and test, the merging world of Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems, new directions in high level synthesis, and heterogeneous reconfigurable hardware. Each workshop features presentations, invited or submitted, from highly distinguished academic and industrial researchers. Finally, throughout the conference days, DATE offers a comprehensive overview of commercial design and verification tools in its large exhibition hall. Exhibitors include EDA vendors, silicon, FPGA and IP providers showing their new products and services. In addition, there is an Exhibition Theatre featuring talks from engineering managers of the leading electronic manufacturers on first-hand design experiences of commercial EDA tools. New this year is the European projects village where different European and large government funded projects will be able to show their ongoing research and results to the design community and have the opportunity for internal meetings and discussions. The DATE week will be also an opportunity for students and universities to show their research work, through the PhD Forum on Monday evening and the University Booth where hardware and software demonstrations will be shown by different universities on a rotation schedule. The DATE 08 event's program will be particularly attractive to industrial designers, at analog, IC, FPGA and embedded system level, as well as software designers, to researchers and academics as well as to design managers, and an increasing attendance is expected. We therefore invite you to take full advantage of the many opportunities offered to you by DATE 08, to extend your knowledge and/or business in electronic system's design and to exploit the abundant networking possibilities offered to socialise with colleagues, including fringe meetings and a memorable social party with bands and dancing. We hope that you will all enjoy the DATE 08 Conference and Exhibition.

International professionals such as Spanish wine and olive oil experts need to write technical texts in English to participate in the international market. To achieve it, many L2 English professionals resort to language technologies to help them obtain domain-specific texts in English. However, available tools are often prone to linguistic and/or domain-specific mistakes. Not only that, but this problem is also aggravated for users of linguistically low-resource language varieties, who have few reliable tools at hand: when the available bilingual data is scarce or defective, it is not easy to develop a language- and domain-compliant writing tool. Such added limitation is also exacerbated by current neural systems’ need of big datasets to achieve SOTA performance. This dissertation proposes a data-centric Corpus Linguistics-informed intervention focused on terminology injection as a domain adaptation strategy for neural bilingual production of low-resource language varieties. On the one hand, a language model based on small comparable domain-specific monolingual corpora is used to select the most similar data that had been automatically downloaded from domain-specific, selected sources. On the other hand, a full-form Spanish-English glossary is employed as a terminological reference to filter or curate big corpora so that language- and domain-adequate equivalences are learned by the system. Additionally, a backtranslation approach is used to augment the datasets used to train the system. To assess the proposed domain adaptation protocol, a set of experimental Neural MT systems were evaluated and compared among them and with commercial system Google Translate from three perspectives: automated metrics, human judgement, and comparison to the gold-standard terminological reference. Results of the automated evaluation of the experimental and commercial systems suggest the domain-adapted systems outperform Google Translate in the translation of wine and olive oil tasting notes. Nevertheless, according to human judgment, the best-scoring experimental system is outperformed by Google Translate in terms of general performance and amount and severity of terminological errors. Most importantly, the findings show an improvement in the terminological performance of the experimental systems after the training using the domain-specific curated data. These results are in line with or surpass previous experimental systems trained on different data-centric domain adaptation strategies based on terminology injection which are usually more computationally demanding and less efficient than the techniques here proposed. However, diversity in evaluation frameworks, language pairs, and lack of detailed results often hinder comparability with previous literature. In sum, and in spite of the many limitations of the study, this dissertation shows the potential of Corpus Linguistics for the development of domain-adapted neural language production tools aimed at aiding Spanish professionals of linguistically low-resource fields successfully engage in international professional communication.

Globally convergent exact and inexact parametric algorithms for solving large-scale mixed-integer fractional programs and applications in process systems engineering

The multi-visit drone-assisted pickup and delivery problem with time windows