Sharif Digital Repository

Threshold selection for text segmentation is an essential preprocessing step in most document processing algorithms. Although there are a number of sophisticatedly well-trained methods for text extraction, many researchers still prefer a fast and simple threshold selection algorithm for preprocessing. In this paper, a new global threshold selection method is proposed based on fuzzy expert systems (FESs). It initially enhances image contrast by using a FES. Then, the range of the threshold value is adjusted by using another FES and a pixel-counting algorithm. Finally, the threshold value is obtained as the middle value of the above range. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm,... 

A core process in investment banks is evaluation of loan requests. In this paper we have presented the development of a rule based expert system for evaluation of loan request. The purpose of system is to evaluate the loan request and do some sensitivity analyses on the evaluation result to find the critical criteria. To achieve this purpose, Inference engine works both forward (evaluation) and backward chaining (sensitivity analysis). This system is designed for the Iranian bank of Industry and Mine. © 2007 IEEE  

Time management can be effective in a project when the project schedule is based on comprehensive time scheduling. In the industries with complicated processes, many uncertainties and risks affect the timing of projects. Considering the very low reliability of the project planning in certainty-based approach, using more secure models for control and interact with uncertainty should be placed on the agenda. Iranian Gas Company has been using risk management to manage probable uncertainties in construction projects but in the field of possible uncertainties, actions are very scarce. This article aims to propose an optimum model based on the integrated risk management and fuzzy expert systems... 

In this paper we develop a fuzzy system to obtain the demand based on input variables of price, warranty length and lead time of order delivery. We use linguistic terms to illustrate the situation of input and output variables and construct a fuzzy rule base. The fuzzy rule base is integrated with a genetic algorithm to construct a hybrid solution method. The best value of price, warranty length and lead time are obtained by maximizing the manufacturer profit. Finally a numerical example is presented to show the performance of proposed approach  

Neural Networks (FFNNs) that are trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt back-propagation algorithm were used. Models were evaluated using mean squared error (MSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) as statistical performance parameters. In traffic noise modelling, the noise level at a receptor position due to the source of traffic emission is modelled as a function of the traffic conditions, road gradient, road dimensions, speed and height of buildings around the road. The curse of dimensionality problems is caused by the large number of input variables in the ANN model. The Hybrid Genetic Algorithm-Gamma Test (GA-GT) as a data pre-processing method for determining adequate model inputs was... 

One of the requirements for the operation and planning activities of an electrical utility is the prediction of load for the next hour to several days out, known as short term load forecasting (STLF). This paper presents the STLF of the Iranian national power system (INPS) using artificial neural networks (ANN) and fuzzy expert systems (FES). The ANN is trained with the load patterns corresponding to the forecasting hours and the forecasted load is obtained. The FES modifies the initial forecasted load for the special holidays and also in the case sudden changes in temperature. A data analyser and a temperature forecaster are also included in the NRI STLF (NSTLF) package. The program has... 

This paper is focused on the representation and treatment of knowledge and data uncertainty within the context of an important industrial challenge, i.e., new product pricing. The most well known participating factor in pricing process is cost meanwhile the other factors like customer value and firm's strategy should be considered in the pricing process, as well. Besides, there are other important factors like the risks that consumer bear in purchasing new product which must be carefully analyzed and considered. Nonetheless, many of these factors are blended with uncertainty. In recent decades, fuzzy logic was well developed and implemented in many applications to treat vagueness in... 

Conventional features for speech recognition have not been evaluated in terms of importance in human speech recognition. In this paper a method for extracting important features in an interactive process has been introduced. This method can be used as an aid for experts in an ASR expert system. It has also been shown, as an application of our method, how an expert might find out the distinguishing features between "m" and "n". As another use, it has been illustrated that how our method could be used to check the sufficiency of information in the quantized filter-bank for speech recognition  

This work presents a novel approach to redefine a "Safe Aircraft" based on systems engineering fundamentals. We aim todemonstrate the possibility as well as suitability of the "Functional-Aircraft" instead of currently employed concept of "Physically-defined-Safe-Aircraft". The current work is consistent with ever-increasing number of flights; as it suggests that any aircraft that can complete its mission should not declare emergencies due to any physical malfunction. With proper simulations, wedemonstrate the feasibility of "Functionally Safe" concept as oppose to the "Physically Safe" aircraft. The process revolves around standard and well-known documents such as FTA and FMEA; which are... 

Here, an approach for finding an optimal path in a flexible jobshop manufacturing system considering two criteria of time and cost is proposed. A network is configured in which the nodes are considered to be the shops with arcs representing the paths among the shops. An automated guided vehicle functions as a material handling device through the manufacturing network. To account for uncertainty, time is considered to be a triangular fuzzy number and apply an expert system to infer the cost. The expert system based on fuzzy rule backpropagation network to configure the rules for estimating the cost under uncertainty is proposed. A multiple linear regression model is applied to analyze the... 

Chemical fertilizers are widely applied in agriculture to achieve high yield, enhance produce quality and build resistance to diseases; in our case the plant being tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. var. Royal). However, the acidity, size and taste of tomato fruits could change with excess nitrogen (N) application. The present study aims at the early detection of nitrogen-rich tomato leaves using hyperspectral imaging techniques in the visible and near infrared (Vis-NIR) spectrum, in order to improve plant nutrition composition at an early growth stage. A 30% over-dose of nitrogen was applied to half of the tomato pots. Five leaves were randomly collected from each pot for 3 days (classes D0,... 

In strong water drive gas reservoirs (WDGRs), the water encroachment in the gas zone has adverse effects on the gas mobility and causes considerable volume of gas to be trapped behind water front; therefore estimation of residual gas saturation after water influx is an important parameter in estimation of gas reservoirs with strong aquifer support. It is difficult to achieve a thorough and exact understanding of water drive gas reservoirs. It depends on several parameters of petrophysical and operational features. In majority of the previous studies about residual gas saturation, the correlations were depended on petrophysical properties such as porosity, permeability, and initial gas... 

The main goal of environmental education program developers is to train resourceful experts to work, study and solve environmental issues. Thus, it is essential to conform educational knowledge and skills according to countries needs along with scientific and technological progress. The present study aimed to assess needs of educational programs by considering climate change issues in Iranian Universities. Therefore, needs of higher education sector have been identified and some recommendations were given in line with objectives of training programs. The study applied random selection method to determine a number of environmental professionals to answer the designed questioner. Delphi method... 

We propose a novel hybrid learning approach to gain situation awareness in smart environments by introducing a new situation identifier that combines an expert system and a machine learning approach. Traditionally, expert systems and machine learning approaches have been widely used independently to detect ongoing situations as the main functionality in smart environments in various domains. Expert systems lack the functionality to adapt the system to each user and are expensive to design based on each setting. On the other hand, machine learning approaches fail in the challenge of cold start and making explainable decisions. Using both of these approaches enables the system to use user's... 

In recent years, community Q&A websites have attracted many users and have become reliable sources among experts from various fields. These platforms have specific rules to maintain their content quality in addition to general user agreements. Due to the vast expanse of these systems in terms of the number of users and posts, manual checking and verification of new contents by the administrators and official moderators are not feasible, and these systems require scalable solutions. In major Q&A networks, the current strategy is to use crowdsourcing with reliance on reporting systems. This strategy has serious problems, including the slow handling of violations, the loss of new and... 

As benign tumors, warts are made through the mediation of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and may grow on all parts of body, especially hands and feet. There are several treatment methods for this illness. However, none of them can heal all patients. Consequently, physicians are looking for more effective and customized treatments for each patient. They are endeavoring to discover which treatments have better impacts on a particular patient. The aim of this study is to identify the appropriate treatment for two common types of warts (plantar and common) and to predict the responses of two of the best methods (immunotherapy and cryotherapy) to the treatment. As an original work, the study was...