015278   Rathore A;Parsad R;Gupta V K (NO, Indian Agric Statist Res Inst, New Delhi) : Computer aided construction and analysis of augmented designs. J Indian Soc Agric Statist 2004, 57(spl), 320-44.

Investigation develops a β-version of Statistical Package for Augmented Design (SPAD). The package generates randomized layout of augmented designs and performs the analysis of data generated. For given number of test treatments (w), control treatments (u) and number of blocks (b), it computes the replication number of control treatment(s) in each block of the design such that the efficiency per observation of the test treatments vs control treatment(s) comparisons is maximum. The flexibility of choosing the replication number (r) of the control treatment(s) in each block is also provided. The randomized layout of the design is generated once the values of u, w, b are entered and r is chosen by the user. It also analyzes the data generated from the experiments conducted in augmented designs. A null hypothesis on any user-defined contrast can also be tested. The package is also very useful for classroom teaching as well as for the researchers in statistics with interest in experimental designs. The package has been developed using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0.

3 illus

015277   Om Vikas;Ghosh A;Singh A (Dep of Inf Technol, 6 CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi-110 003, Email: omvikas@mit.gov.in) : Internationalization of domain names in Indian languages. IETE J Res 2005, 51(5), 407-29.

The sole objective of the Internationalization of Domain Names (IDN) is to obliterate the language barriers present in Internet today for the holistic progress of the masses. Three different models have been suggested for the issue of IDN to be tackled in the context of Indian scripts, by utilizing the extensive similarities between them, arising from their common origin i.e. from the Brahmi script. This parallelism and striking resemblance between the Indian languages has not been addressed seriously by the current attempts in internationalization. Novel schemes have been proposed for the conversion of multilingual scripts into DNS compatible strings with illustrative examples to elucidate the concepts. The paper also discusses the different issues that are intricately involved with IDN like homographs, homophones, misspellings & language resolution along with suggestive schemes to deal with these issues. It is believed that the ideas presented here will provide insights into related concerns and prove to be useful in guiding some of the designs for the implementation of IDN.

6 tables, 23 ref

014194   Suri P R;Vig R;Vermani S (Dep of Computer Sci and Applics, Kurukshetra Univ, Kurukshetra, Email: s_vermani_s2yahoo.com) : Cryptographic techniques. Panjab Univ Res J Sci 2004, 54, 53-60.

Some of the cryptographic techniques have been studied. Starts with a brief description of the traditional cryptography also known as symmetric key method. The rest takes up public key cryptography first studied by Diffie-Hellman. Other cryptosystems using public key discussed include EIGamal encryption and RSA. Some of the possible attacks on RSA are also discussed. Finally Kerberos method using public key is discussed.

18 ref

014193   Singla R K (Dep of Computer Sci & Applics, Panjab Univ, Chandigarh-160 014) : Managing information security-a growing challenge. Panjab Univ Res J Sci 2004, 54, 37-52.

The immense popularity of the Internet as a business medium, and organizations opening their internal networks to customers and partners, has changed the nature of computing environment significantly. While providing convenience, the systems are more vulnerable to security threats and managing information security is getting night by the day. Attempts to identify the myths about information security and shows a more appropriate management strategy for organizations to follow for enhancing security. A comprehensive analysis should be conducted to identify resources that need to be protected. The resources should be classified according to the sensitivity level of information. A cost-benefit analysis should be performed to determine the level of security precautions that should be taken. Since it is impossible to have perfect security, consideration should be given to contingency planning and recovery. If the security is compromised, the organization should be able to recover quickly to keep the business running and minimize damages. Information security in the light of IT Act 2000 of GOI has also been discussed.

1 illus, 10 ref

014192   Singh I;Bhalla V;Bharadwaj L M (Biomolecular Electron & Nanotechnology Div, Cent Scientific Instruments Organisation, Sector 30C, Chandigarh-160 030, Email: lalitmbharadwaj@hotmail.com) : Musical analysis of DNA sequences. Panjab Univ Res J Sci 2004, 54, 25-6.

DNA and music appear to be two things but poles apart. A unique software provides a tool to reach out between two distinct disciplines of science and music to make a string of DNA sequences look like sound. The goal was to develop a sound, which captures as much as possible the sequence of DNA. It has been developed in order to analyze the DNA sequences in a proper and an efficient manner. It can also play a role in DNA steganography (the art of hiding data in DNA) as described in the text. The software has been developed in C++ language and can be procured on request at lalitmbharadwaj@hotmail.com.

1 illus, 2 ref

014191   George B V;Raghavan R V;Pooja S;Agarwal N K (NO, Def Lab, Jodhpur-342 011) : Distributed computing and its scope in defence applications. Def Sci J 2005, 55(4), 477-85.

Paper deals with the essentials of distributed computing, architecture of DRONA network, and the scope of distributed computing in Defence applications. It also suggests a few possible applications of distributed computing.

^ssc3 illus, 12 ref

014190   Arora K (Dep of Chem, Kamla Raja Govt Girls Post-Graduate Coll, Gwalior-474 001, Email: kishorarora@rediffmail.com) : Computer program for point group analysis. Asian J Chem 2005, 17(3), 1564-70.

Symmetry and point group analysis for various molecules is one of the important parts in understanding the spectroscopic and other related properties of the substance. This is also an important portion of the curricula of the undergraduate as well as postgraduate classes. It is necessary for a student of chemistry to have a knowledge of how to locate the symmetry elements in a particular molecule and to arrive at its right point group. The paper reports a computer program in most interactive BASIC language on Pentium IV compatible PC which can be used as teaching aid material for instructing the students.

1 illus, 3 ref

013134   Bansal P;Singh M P;Pandey D P (NO, , 80 Tagore Nagra, Inside Meera Bagh, Dayal Bagh, Agra) : Encryption of electronic documents in digital libraries: document protection over the network. Ann Libr Inf Stud 2005, 52(3), 86-93.

Digital libraries provide mechanism for the distribution of electronic documents. The tasks of a digital library include and establishing a secure communication channel protection of electronic document after transfer. The solutions proposed are based on the use of cryptographically secured containers. Document protection has been discussed, which is to be wrapped in a secure cryptographic envelope with the help of MD5 and Hash functions as well as Digital Signature Techniques.

31 ref

012013   Karforma S;Mukhopadhyay S (Dep of Computer Sci, Univ of Burdwan, Burdwan-713 104, Email: sunilkarforma@yahoo.com) : Digital certificate for secure transactions in e-banking. Ultra Scient phys Sci 2005, 17(2), 179-82.

Transaction processing in a E-Banking system requires some technique for identification, authentication and non-repudiation of the customer. Digital certificate, using cryptographic technique, implements above three elements of security needed for E-banking. Author has discussed how digital certificate can be used for secure transactions in E-banking.

8 ref

010965   Saxena A;Panda G;Das P K (Dep of Computer Sci, G G Univ, Bilaspur-495 009) : Lossless data compression using neural networks. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(Nov), 65-70.

An efficient two-phase lossless data compression scheme has been developed using artificial neural networks (ANN) with combination of popular coding schemes. In phase-I, predictive coding is applied to the original data, to generate residues, which are passed to ANN based predictors. The small errors generated, due to ANN prediction, along with initial residues, are compressed using a special bit representation scheme. In phase-II, the formatted compressed data is applied to standard compression coding schemes to achieve more compression. With the knowledge of predictor coefficient, and certain other parameters, the compressed file can be recovered losslessly. Extensive simulation study of the proposed scheme on five different data files is carried using single layer, multi layer and generalised radial basis networks. High compression ratios achieved justify the potential of the scheme.

7 illus, 3 tables, 22 ref

010964   Pujeri R V;Sivanandam S N (Dep of Computer Sci and Engng, PSG Coll of Technol Peelamedu, Coimbatore-641 004, Email: sriramu_vp@yahoo.com) : A new design proposal for intelligent routers to avoid congestion in TCP/IP networks. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2005, 12(6), 481-6.

Various methods to detect network congestion and a method to avoid and recover from such congestion are discussed. A proposal to embed intelligence within routers, making enable making to periodically check each of their communication paths for congestion and correspondingly update their router table and heuristic knowledge base. This is done using a new artificial intelligence concept called the software agents. This method provides a level of abstraction thereby minimizing the visible complexity, so that the source and destination can be designed more easily.

4 illus, 2 tables, 25 ref

010963   Pathak K K;Panthi S;Ramakrishnan N (NO, Regional Res Lab, Bhopal-462 026) : Application of neural network in sheet metal bending process. Def Sci J 2005, 55(2), 125-31.

Sheet metal bending is an important form of sheet metal forming process, widely used in various industrial applications like aircraft, automobiles, household items, power industries, etc. Study predicts the responses of the sheet metal bending process using artificial neural network. Based on 44 cases analysed using finite element method, a neural network was trained. Sheet thickness and die radius were the input, and stresses, strains, springback, loads, etc were the output for the neural network. The trained neural network was tested for five new patterns. It was found that most of the results were quite close to the simulation results. Such a technique of response prediction helps in reducing the computational time.

7 illus, 3 tables, 14 ref

010962   Mukhopadhyay D;Mukherjee A;Ghosh S;Biswas S; Chakraborty P (Cellular Automata Res Lab (CARL), Techno India, Kolkata-700 091) : Approach for message hiding using substitution techniques and audio hiding in steganography. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(Nov), 41-4.

Crypto system can be used to encrypt messages sent between two communicating parties so that an eavesdropper who overhears the encrypted messages will not be able to decode them. Mainly concentrates on the method in which the substitution technique of steganography can been used to hide data in a 24-bit bitmap file. Popular audio hiding techniques based on methods of steganography is also discussed.

4 illus, 4 ref

010961   Mukhopadhyay D;Banerjee S (NO, Cellular Automata Res Lab (CARL), Techno India, Kolkata-700 091) : A survey on current development of recording techniques in the field of data storage technology. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(Nov), 50-9.

In the present scenario of information explosion nobody can demur that data is unquestionably the most indispensable thing in the modem world. Without this data, the whole technological development would come to a standstill. Data can be defined as string of meaningful and valuable information. This data should be assembled and stored properly in a media so that it can be accessed anytime, anywhere. The media first opted was paper. But paper has an unfortunate propensity to damage and updation and correction of data was too onerous. This exhorted the need for an alternative. Computer in this case has been a real bliss. Data is now stored digitally in an enormous amount at a less expense, efficiently and impeccably. The extraordinary ultra high density storage technologies that are emerging today have excessive and indubitable contribution to the future of distributed information networks.

5 illus, 12 ref

010960   Kanmani S;Sankaranarayanan V;Thambidurai P (Dep of Computer Sci and Engng and Inf Technol, Pondicherry Engng Coll, Ponicherry-605 014) : Evaluation of object oriented metrics. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(Nov), 60-4.

Analyses the results arrived at evaluating the metrics for object oriented environments. This evaluation is earned out on a small set of most well known and commonly applied metrics for the object oriented features: inheritance, coupling and cohesion. These metrics are evaluated using nine functions (meta metrics) which are proposed, based on a comparative study on the characteristics of these measures. These results can be used by the quality engineers in selecting the proper set of metrics for their software projects development.

7 illus, 3 tables, 15 ref

009876   Krishna A V N;Pandit S N N (NO, Indur Inst of Engng and Technol, Siddipet, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh) : A new algorithm in network security for data transmission. Acharya Nagarjuna Int J Math Inf Technol 2004, 1(2), 97-108.

One of the recent development in telecommunication industry is the introduction of communications through internet. The advantage of this approach is its application in different and diverse fields like e-learning, e-commerce, e-mail and so on. As popularity of electronic mail increases, the problem of privacy and security to the data transmitted also increases. As there are several techniques that provide security to the data transmitted, the most powerfull technique is data encryption. There are several algorithms for encryption. An algorithm that generates a Sequence has been discussed. The algorithm considers a matrix key and executes a sequence of steps which generates the sequence. Each character in the plain text is replaced by a corresponding numerical value added by a value from the genrated sequence. Thus the cipher text obtained becomes impossible to break with out knowing the key.

7 ref

009875   David M W;Mitra J;Sakurai K (Cubic Corporation, , 51 Goldhill Plaza, # 07-05 Singapore 308900, Email: mike.david@cubic.com) : Intrusion prevention : Modelling and simulation for fast detection of DDoS attacks. J Indian Statist Ass 2004, 42(2), 145-57.

A statistical approach towards countering the Cyber Attacker (CA) advantage of surprise has been proposed. The proposal is a new scheme based on statistical techniques to increase router intelligence so that it will be possible to forecast an attack, with a reasonable degree of accuracy in its early stage.

8 ref

009874   Abhishek (Math Dep, Indian Inst of Technol, Kharagpur-721 302, Email: rajaram@serc.iisc.ernet.in) : Computer aided shorthand expander. IETE Tech Rev 2005, 22(4), 267-72.

Describes a method of automatically expanding a contracted text input using the keyboard of a PC. It saves keystrokes in inputting and would be useful in many applications such as reporting in courts, assemblies etc. It will also be useful for persons with physical handicaps such as difficulty in efficiently using fingers. The method of contraction is intuitive and does not require memorizing complex rules. The accuracy of expansion is 99% with 35% reduction in keystrokes.

1 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

008699   Sheik S S;Aggarwal S K;Poddar A;Sathiyabhama B;Balakrishnan N;Sekar K (Bioinformatics Cent, Indian Inst of Sci, Bangalore 560 012) : Analysis of string-searching algorithms on biological sequence databases. Curr Sci 2005, 89(2), 368-74.

String-searching algorithms are used to find the occurrences of a search string in a given text. The advent of digital computers has stimulated the development of string-searching algorithms for various applications. Here, authors has reported the performance of all string-searching algorithms on widely used biological sequence databases containing the building blocks of nucleotides (in the case of nucleic acid sequence database) and amino acids (in the case of protein sequence database). The biological sequence databases used in the study are Protein Information Resource (PIR), SWISS-PROT, and amino acid and nucleotide sequences of all genomes available in the genome database. The average time taken for different search-string lengths considered for study has been taken as an indicator of performance for comparison between various methods.

5 tables, 32 ref

007669   Sinha S K (Dep Civ Envir Engng Dep Computer Sci Engng, Pennsylvania State University Park, PA, 16802) : Automated condition assessment of buried pipeline using computer vision techniques. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2004, 85 (November), 38-43.

Closed Circuit Television (GCTV) surveys are used widely in North America to assess the structural integrity of underground pipes. The video images are examined visually and classified into grades according to degrees of damage. The human eye is extremely effective at recognition and classification, but it is not suitable for assessing pipe defects in thousand of miles of pipeline images due to fatigue, subjectivity, and cost. Presents ongoing research into the automatic assessment of the structural condition of underground pipes for the purpose of preventive maintenance by municipalities. A simple, robust and efficient image-processing algorithm for the automated analysis of underground pipe scanned images is presented. The algorithm consists of gray-scale conversion followed by a sequence of morphological operations to accurately extract pipe joints and laterals (where a smaller pipe is connecting to the main). The extraction of joints and laterals is a crucial step in the detection of surface cracks in pipes, which can be analysed by subsequent filtering operation. The proposed approach can be completely automated and has been tested on over one hundred scanned images of underground pipes from major cities in North America.

10 illus, 2 tables, 14 ref

007668   Pal S;Nandy S K;Mukherjee A;Das N; (Dep Computer Sci Technol, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Howrah-711 103) : CMDTL1: Combining multiple classifiers into a cost-sensitive decision tree. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2004, 85 (November), 55-61.

For many real-life applications, such as medical diagnosis, cost of a decision is an important practical criterion which can not be ignored. The state-of-the-art C4.5 algorithm for inductive learning was not developed with this criterion in mind. However, some well-developed approaches exist that induce decision tree, giving importance to the cost criterion. Presents a general framework, CMDTL1 (Cost-sensitive Multi-method Decision Tree Learning 1), that combines multiple classifiers into a cost-effective decision tree. Empirical evaluation of CMDTL l combining Tan & Schlimmer's and Nunez's algorithms shows that it outperforms significantly its predecessors with respect to cost of decision, accuracy and accuracy/cost ratio. Thus it is shown that a significant synergy can be obtained by combining multiple cost-sensitive classifiers.

7 tables, 21 ref

007667   Karmakar N C;Vardhan H;Rao Y V (Dep Min Engng, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826 004) : Noise exposure of operators at different operating conditions of heavy earth moving machinery. J Instn Engrs-Pt MN 2004, 85(February), 30-2.

Reports the detailed noise analysis carried out at the operators' point for dumpers and dozers at various operating conditions. The study has been carried out on 16 dumpers of 85-t capacity (680-hp) and 4 dumpers of 410-hp. In case of dumpers, high noise level for the operating condition of the machine is observed beyond 600Hz frequency and for the dozers the same is observed beyond 10OHz frequency. Since high noise level in the frequency range of 1000Hz - 4000Hz affects the human ear the most, it is suggested to reduce the operators' exposure to such level of noise. In case of dumpers, it is suggested to reduce the operators' exposure to high frequency noise by proper design of cab (leak proof). The cab effectiveness can be found out by comparing its noise spectrum to that of a new machine at operators' position. For machines, which are not equipped with operators' cab as in the case of dozers, it has been suggested to provide suitable ear plug/ear muffs so as to protect the possible hearing damage, which may occur when exposed constantly to such noise levels.

2 illus, 5 ref

006517   Yang C N;Chu S H;Lu B L (Dep Computer Sci Inf Engng, Natn Dong Hwa Univ 1 Sec. 2 Da Hsueh Rd. Shou-Feng, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China, Email: cnyang@mail.ndhu.edu.tw) : Failure of Kak quantum key distribution protocol. Pramana J Phys 2005, 64(1), 1-4.

Kak's quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol provides not only the dis-tribution but also the integrity of secret key simultaneously in quantum channel. Conse quently the additional exchange of information, used to check whether an eavesdropper exists, is unnecessary. In the comment, author will point out the failure of Kak's protocol and show that Kak's protocol does not have the joint distribution and integration that the author declares.

1 illus, 1 table, 4 ref

006516   Bhatnagar S P;Ganguly S;Paul P;Pandey P (Dept Pharm Sci, Birla Inst of Technol, Ranchi-835 215) : Development of a database for identification of crude drugs. Indian J Pharm Educ 2005, 39(1), 38-41.

Reports the design of a computer database in Oracle 8i for storing of all relevant information regarding the medicinal plants. The current B. Pharm. syllabus of the University has been used as a model for collecting all information regarding the diagnostic characters of all medicinal plants. Programmes have been written in Oracle 8i for each class of drugs so that on providing the name of the specific herbal drug the computer is able to provide us with the detail diagnostic characters of the same drug in a columnar form. This database will serve as an important teaching aid for UG and PG students.

7 ref

005409   Sumathi S;Sivanandam S N (Dep of Electl and Electron Engng, PSG Coll of Technol, Coimbatore-641 004) : Design of soft computing neuro models for data mining applications. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(May), 32-40.

The use of advanced database technology and efficient storage of large data has led to store rich data but with poor knowledge. The database technology has been used with great success in traditional business data processing. There is an increasing desire to use this technology in new application domains. One such application domain that is likely to acquire considerable significance in the near future is data base mining. An increasing amount of organisations are creating ultra databases of business data, such as consumer data, transaction histories, sales records etc. Such data forms a potential gold mine of valuable business information. The discovery of knowledge from databases help in identifying valid, novel, potentially useful patterns from the data sets. The discovery of knowledge involves finding rules. These rules help in classifying the datasets into different classes or groups. Usually the classification process is implemented using decision approach. The paper implements the connectionist approach for classification. The methods proposed are : adaptive back propagation neural network (ABPN), fast conversing back propagation neural network (FCBPN) and simplified fuzzy artmap (SFAM). This work aims at removing the various hindrances posed with the use of neural network, like (i) very high neural network training time which is compensated by using fast BPN method that decreases the training time, (it) efficient pruning algorithm is used to make the network size compact, and (Hi) with the use of second connectionist approach (SEAM), and incremental training, the rules extracted can be improved along with the change of database contents. The connectionist approach has three major phases (i) Training, (it) Pruning and (Hi) Rule extraction. The first phase trains the network with training patterns and the parameters like learning rate, momentum factor for the different training methods that are optimised using genetic algorithm and results in fast convergence over the conventional approach. Second phase helps in removing the redundant network connections and the third phase extracts the rules from the pruned network. Finally the rules extracted from the network are tested for generalization. These rules can be safely applied on various test patterns. The extracted rules lead to knowledge discovery from the databases. The proposed methods are tested on various illustrative examples.

14 tables, 15 ref

005408   Sivanandam S N;Shanmugam A;Sumathi S (Dep of Computer Sci and Engng, PSG Coll of Technol, Coimbatore-641 004) : Development of soft computing models for data mining. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(May), 22-31.

Although modern technologies enable storage of large stream of data, but do not have a technology to help to understand, analyze and visualize the hidden information in the data. Data mining also called as data or knowledge discovery, is the process of analysing data from different perspectives and summarising it into useful information. Pattern classification is one particular category of data mining, which enables the discovery of knowledge from very large databases (VLDB). In the paper, two important mining tools i.e. artificial neural networks (ANN) and genetic algorithms (GA) have been used for mining the database through pattern classification. The soft computing models used for data mining are structurally adaptive intelligent neural tree (SAINT), competitive neural tree (CNeT), hierarchical overlapped self-orgmiqngmaps (HOSOM). The SAINT is a tree structured neural network, which is particularly suitable for large set pattern classification. The CNeT is also a tree network, in that there are well defined search techniques for spanning the tree. HOSOM utility the overlapping of data elements in the higher layers of the net for improved pattern classification. Genetic algorithm based pattern classification in an N-dimensionai data space which consists of generating decision boundaries that can successfully distinguish the various classes in the feature space. The classification rules have been extracted from all these models in the form ofIf-Then rules. Finally the extracted rules have been validated for their correctness. The proposed methods have been tested on two applications, letter image recognition data and land sat imagery data.

2 illus, 28 tables, 17 ref

005407   Singh C P;Roy S (Dep of Phys, Dayalbagh Educ Inst (Deemed University), Dayalbagh, Agra-282 005) : Design on bio molecular photonic logic gates with protein molecules. J Instn Engrs-Pt ET 2005, 86(July), 32-6.

All-optical logic gates with bacteriorhodopsin (bR) protein molecules have been demonstrated based on all-optical switching due to non-linear intensity-induced excited-state absorption. A cw probe laser beam at 410 nm corresponding to the peak absorption of M state in the bR photocycle is switched by multiple pulsed pump laser beams at 570 nm corresponding to the maximum initial B state absorption, at relatively low powers. The switching characteristics have been analysed using the rate equation approach and all the six states in the bR photocycle. The results have been used to design all-optical NOT, AND, OR and the universal NOR and NAND logic gates for optical computing.

4 illus, 1 table, 20 ref

005406   Rama Chandra Murthy A;Palani G S;Iyer N R (Structural Engng Res Cent, , Taramani, Chennai-600 113, Email: Murthyarc@sercm.csir.res.in) : Fracture mechanics based remaining life prediction software. Trans Indian Inst Metals 2005, 58(2-3), 405-12.

Presents the details of the software, which can be used for remaining life prediction of cracked structural components. The computation of Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) and remaining life prediction is based on Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) principles. The remaining life is estimated either by incremental crack growth approach or cycle-by-cycle approach. This software is Graphical User Interface (GUI) based and user-friendly, which is developed under windows environment using VC++ for front end and MS-Access for the back end. This software maintains database of SIF for standard cracked structural components including tubular joints with the facility for linear interpolation of SIF values. Various crack growth models such as Paris, Ratwani, Erdogan- Ratwani, Forman, etc., are available in the software for remaining life prediction. There is facility for graphical plot of crack growth history (crack length vs. SIF and crack length vs. No. of cycles) and report generation. Studies have been conducted to validate the software using the values reported in the literature. The remaining life obtained using the software is found to be in good agreement with the experimental values.

10 illus, 10 ref

005405   Jain R;Verma D;Farr J V (NO, Stevens Inst of Technol, Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ07030) : A taxonomy and holistic approach to risk assessment of network-centric systems. Opsearch 2005, 42(2), 83-97.

The need for information superiority and the capability to immediately and appropriately respond when necessary has been driving the military and commercial market domains towards more sustainable, interoperable, and pervasive collections of network-centric systems. Essential aspects of a network centric system (NCS) have been reviewed and a risk taxonomy applicable during the opertaional phase of an NCS has been proposed. The taxonomy proposed herein can be used as a framework for modeling, analysis, and assessment of operational risks associated with network centric systems.

8 illus, 18 ref

005404   Bhaskar P;Parvathi C S;Shrimanth Sudheer L; Kulkarni A B (Dep of Instrumentation Technol, P G Cent, Yaragera, Raichur-584 133) : Computer based DC micromotor speed control system. J Instrum Soc India 2005, 35(3), 257-65.

Computer based DC micromotor speed control system has been designed and fabricated. In the study, a Data Acquisition Card has been designed for the measurement and control of DC micromotor (Minimotor 2230U 015S - 8400 rpm - Faulhaber DC motors, Switzerland). The comparative study of two controllers (PID & Improved PID) have been discussed for step response and load variations (magnetic brake). It is observed that the improved PID controller has better time response in terms of shorter rise time, settling time, no overshoots, undershoots and zero steady state errors than simple PID controller.

6 illus, 12 ref

005403   Anbumani K;Srinivasan K P (Sch of Computer Sci and Technol, Karunya Inst of Technol and Sci (Deemed University), Coimbatore-641 114) : Set of object oriented design metrics. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2005, 86(May), 1-9.

The paper proposes a set of metrics for evaluating the design of object oriented software. These metrics have been arrived at by selecting the most significant metrics from the different metrics suites currently available and redefining most of them suitably. The proposed metrics are theoretically validated.

3 illus, 11 tables, 12 ref

003252   Viswanathan S;Anandalingam G (Decision and Information Technologies Department, Robert H Smith Schoo, University of Maryland, College Park, MD-20742, USA, Email: {sviswana,ganand}@rhsmith.umd.edu) : Pricing strategies for information goods. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 257-74.

Digital or information goods are becoming the norm across a wide variety of industries including books, music, entertainment, gaming and education. Due to the fact that the marginal cost of producing or reproducing information goods is very low, it is much easier to customise and personalise them for individual users. Furthermore, sellers of these information goods are increasingly using bundling and versioning strategies to appropriate a greater share of the surplus. The paper examines recent research on pricing of information goods with particular focus on customisation, bundling and versioning strategies adopted by information goods providers. The paper highlights both game-theoretic as well as optimisation models that not only provide different perspectives, but also examine issues of information goods pricing at different levels of abstraction and complexity.

2 illus, 4 tables, 30 ref

003251   Viswanadham N;Luthra P (The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific, School of Computing, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent Singapore-199 260, Email: mpenv@nus.edu.sg) : Models for measuring and predicting shareholder value: a study of third party software service providers. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 475-98.

In the study, Authors use the strategic profit model (SPM) and the economic value-added (EVA to measure shareholder value). SPM measures the return on net worth (RONW) which is defined as the return on assets (ROA) multiplied by the financial leverage. EVA is defined as the firm's net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) minus the capital charge. Both, RONW and EVA provide an indication of how much shareholder value a firm creates for its shareholders, year on year. With the increasing focus on creation of shareholder value and core competencies, many companies are outsourcing their information technology (IT) related activities to third party software companies. Indian software companies have become leaders in providing these services. Companies from several other countries are also competing for the top slot. Authors use the SPM and EVA models to analyse the four listed players of the software industry using the publicly available published data. Authors compare the financial data obtained from the models, and use peer average data to provide customized recommendations for each company to improve their shareholder value. Assuming that the companies follow these rules, also predicted future RONW and EVA for the companies for the financial year 2005. Finally, Authors make several recommendations to software providers for effectively competing in the global arena.

7 illus, 11 tables, 16 ref

003250   Velumani G;Raghavan K S (Information Sci Dep, University of Madras, Chennai-600 005, Email: g_velumani@yahoo.com) : Automatic extraction of keywords from web resources. Inf Stud 2005, 11(3), 185-94.

An experiment for the automatic identification and extraction of keywords from web resources, specifically HTML document has been described. A natural language parser capable of extracting keywords from HTML texts in a domain would be useful in analyzing document content to support and facilitate information retrieval. A computer program - AutoIndex - was developed to process and extract keywords from HTML texts. Evaluation shows that AutoIndex works fairly well in terms of identification, recall and accuracy. The processing speed of the software is also at acceptable level.

6 ref

003249   Sivasamy K;Raghavan K S (Information Science Dep, Madras Univ, Chennai-600 005, Email: mksiva@yahoo.com) : Automatic extraction of personal names from structured web texts. Inf Stud 2005, 11(3), 171-84.

A method for automatic identification and extraction of personal names from structured web texts has been described. A set of rules were defined, using which a mechanism was developed and implemented to extract names of persons from a corpus of electronic texts. The results and the problems identified are presented.

1 illus, 15 ref

003248   Sengupta A;Mazumdar C;Barik M S (Centre for Distributed Computing, Department of Computer Science and E, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700 032, Email: sg_anirban@yahoo.co.in) : e-Commerce security- a life cycle approach. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 119-40.

The rapid evolution of computing and communication technologies and their standardizations have made the boom in e-commerce possible. Lowering of the cost of operation, increase in the speed of transactions, and easy global reach to customers and vendors have been the reasons for the overwhelming popularity of this new way of commerce. The article examines the issues related to the security of the assets and transactions in the e-commerce components and activities. Since large public money is involved in the transactions, the role of information security and privacy is not exaggerated in this kind of business. After examining the technologies used in e-commerce, the article goes on to identify the security requirement of e-commerce systems from perceived threats and vulnerabilities. Then e-commerce security is viewed as an engineering management problem and a life cycle approach is put forward. How the e-commerce systems can be made secure using the life cycle approach is outlined. The relevant standards and laws are also discussed in the perspective of e-commerce. The article closes with some future research directions and conclusions.

1 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

003247   Ravikumar K;Saroop A;Narahari H K;Dayama P (General Motors India Science Laboratory, International Technology Park, Bangalore-560 066, Email: ravikumar.karumanchi@gm.com) : Demand sensing in e-business. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 311-45.

Paper identify various models from the optimization and econometrics literature that can potentially help sense customer demand in the e-business era. While modelling reality is a difficult task, many of these models come close to modelling the customer's decision-making process. Authors provide a brief overview of these techniques, interspersing the discussion occasionally with a tutorial introduction of the underlying concepts.

5 illus, 47 ref

003246   Rajaraman V (Supercomputer Education & Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560 012, Email: rajaram@serc.iisc.ernet.in) : Building blocks of e-commerce. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 89-117.

The article examines the architecture of e-commerce as a set of layers, each supporting the one above it. The layers have clean interfaces, that is, they can be designed independently. Authors present an architecture with six layers. The lowest layer consists of a physical communication network such as local area network or public switched telephone networks. The next higher layer is the logical layer which describes the protocol used to interconnect communication systems to create internet, intranet and extranet. The services provided over the internet infrastructure, namely, e-mail, world wide web etc., are described in what is called network services layer. It is essential to ensure security of messages, documents etc., which are transmitted using network services. The messaging layer is thus concerned with encryption methods, both private and public key encryption and their applications. Authors call the layer above this the middleman service, which is concerned with value-added services offered by intermediaries to enable payment for services received, certify digital signatures, safely transmit documents and provide information on behalf of companies. The topmost layer is the application layer which users see. The major applications are customer-to-business (C2B) e-commerce, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, customer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce etc. Authors briefly explain these modes.

4 illus, 3 tables, 26 ref

003245   Raghavan N R S (Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560 012, Email: raghavan@mgmt.iisc.ernet.in) : Data mining in e-commerce. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 275-89.

Data mining has matured as a field of basic and applied research in computer science in general and e-commerce in particular. In this paper, authors survey some of the recent approaches and architectures where data mining has been applied in the fields of e-commerce and e-business. Our intent is not to survey the plethora of algorithms in data mining; instead, our current focus being e-commerce, authors limit discussion to data mining in the context of e-commerce. Authors also mention a few directions for further work in this domain, based on the survey.

^iia33 ref

003244   Patil V;Shyamasundar R K (School of Technology and Computer Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai-400 005, Email: {vtp,shyam}@tifr.res.in) : Trust management for e-transactions. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 141-58.

There has been enormous increase in transactions and cooperative-computing services on the internet. This is both a technical and a social phenomenon. Transactions and services over the internet have global reach and users, known or unknown to the service provider, might be interested in availing access or participating in the cooperative transaction in a distributed manner. Thus, it is very important for service providers to identify and establish trustworthiness of potential collaborators, which they do by writing contracts (e.g. access control, security policies; the words contract and policy are used interchangeably) without, violating the privacy and confidentiality laws that prevail across geographical boundaries. But as the system becomes complex and dynamic, contractual incompleteness arises since it becomes cumbersome to mention potentially large set of outcomes of the user's choice of action. Trust plays a crucial role in the design of optimal contracts; not all the relevant, valuable information on the user's choice of action is incorporated in the equilibrium contract. It may also be noted in that traditional transactions, the notion of seeing is believing plays a vital role. However, in e-transactions, this is not the case. The challenge is to see how in such a scenario trust can indeed be generated. Note that the presence of trust facilitates cooperative behaviour and allows for exchange to occur in situations where its absence would preclude trade. In the paper, Authors shall present a comparative analysis of various approaches of trust management in practice that integrates technology with other factors. Authors shall also bring out the relative deficiencies and how these issues are tackled in our ongoing work that facilitates execution of optimal contracts.

3 illus, 2 tables, 26 ref

003243   Natarajan R;Shekar B (IT & Systems Group, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIML), Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow-226 013, Email: rajeshn@iiml.ac.in) : Interestingness of association rules in data mining: Issues relevant to e commerce. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 291-309.

The ubiquitous low-cost connectivity synonymous with the internet has changed the competitive business environment by dissolving traditional sources of competitive advantage based on size, location and the like. In this level playing field, firms are forced to compete on the basis of knowledge. Data mining tools and techniques provide e-commerce applications with novel and significant knowledge. This knowledge can be leveraged to gain competitive advantage. However, the automated nature of data mining algorithms may result in a glut of patterns - the sheer numbers of which contribute to incomprehensibility. Importance of automated methods that address this immensity problem, particularly with respect to practical application of data mining results, cannot be overstated. Authors first examine different approaches to address this problem citing their applicability to e-commerce whenever appropriate. Authors then provide a detailed survey of one important approach, namely interestingness measure, and discuss its relevance in e-commerce applications such as personalization in recommender systems. Study of current literature brings out important issues that reveal many promising avenues for future research. Authors Concluded by reiterating the importance of post-processing methods in data min ing for effective and efficient deployment of e-commerce solutions.

2 illus, 66 ref

003242   Narahari Y;Raju C V L;Ravikumar K;Shah S (Computer Science & Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Banglore-560 012, Email: hari@csa.iisc.ernet.in) : Dynamic pricing models for electronic business. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 231-56.

Dynamic pricing is the dynamic adjustment of prices to consumers depending upon the value these customers attribute to a product or service. Today's digital economy is ready for dynamic pricing; however recent research has shown that the prices will have to be adjusted in fairly sophisticated ways, based on sound mathematical models, to derive the benefits of dynamic pricing. This article attempts to survey different models that have been used in dynamic pricing. Authors first motivate dynamic pricing and present underlying concepts, with several examples, and explain conditions under which dynamic pricing is likely to succeed. Authors then bring out the role of models in computing dynamic prices. The models surveyed include inventory-based models, data-driven models, auctions, and machine learning. A detailed example of an e-business market to show the use of reinforcement learning in dynamic pricing.

2 illus, 4 tables, 86 ref

003241   Narahari Y;Dayama P (Electronic Enterprises Lab, Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560 012, Email: hari@csa.iisc.ernet.in) : Combinatorial auctions for electronic business. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 179-211.

Combinatorial auctions (CAs) have recently generated significant interest as an automated mechanism for buying and selling bundles of goods. They are proving to be extremely useful in numerous e-business applications such as e-selling, e-procurement, e-logistics, and B2B exchanges. In the article, authors introduce combinatorial auctions and bring out important issues in the design of combinatorial auctions. Authors also highlight important contributions in current research in this area. This survey emphasizes combinatorial auctions as applied to electronic business situations.

8 illus, 137 ref

003240   Mallick S;Sharma A;Kumar B V;Subrahmanya S V (e-Commerce Research Lab, E&R, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Bangalore-560 100, Email: {sudeepm, anuj_sharma, Kumar_bv, subrahmanyasv}@infosys.com) : Web services in the retail industry. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 159-77.

It is a well-known fact that the retail industry always works on razor-thin margins and the key to survival lies in optimization of resources both in space and time dimensions as well as maximization of customer satisfaction. Access to timely and even real-time information to a wide variety of channel and trading partners, sales personnel, line managers, store managers etc. is the key to achieving this. Web services technology holds out a lot of promise for the retail industry in this respect. It is a platform-neutral, easy to deploy set of standards for achieving business data and process integration, without going for proprietary point to point connections. It promises to connect the information providers and information consumers across a wide variety of platforms, devices and on an on-demand basis. Being based on service-oriented architecture (SOA) principles it can also form the enabling service interface layer for other emerging technologies like BAM, BPM, mobile and RFID. In the paper authors attempt to understand information-flow needs in the retail industry and also suggest a roadmap approach by which the retail enterprise could exploit the potential of web services at minimal risk.

8 illus, 52 ref

003239   Jain V;Wadhwa S;Deshmukh S G (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, Email: deshmukh@mech.iitd.ernet.in) : e-Commerce and supply chains: Modelling of dynamics through fuzzy enhanced high level petri net. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 403-29.

Although information plays a major role in effective functioning of supply chain networks (SCNs), studies that deal specifically with the dynamics of supply chains are few. This problem is relatively new since fast communications and the means to employ it for effective management of supply chains did not exist till recently. In order to provide a vehicle for dynamic modelling and analysis of supply chain operations in vague and uncertain environments, authors propose a fuzzy enhanced high level petri net (FEHLPN) model. The proposed model captures the capability of petri nets for graphical and analytical representation of dynamic SCNs with the management of uncertain information provided by fuzzy logic. The dynamics associated with two production planning and control policies are modelled, viz. make-to-stock and assemble-to-order in vague and ambiguous situations in electronic commerce environment. A fuzzy set and fuzzy truth-values are attached to an uncertain fuzzy token to model imprecision and uncertainty. The proposed FEHLPN incorporates essential aspects of rule-based systems, such as conservation of facts, refraction, and closed-world assumption.

8 illus, 2 tables, 35 ref

003238   Gaonkar R;Viswanadham N (The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore-119 260, Email: tlirsg@nus.edu.sg) : Integrated planning in supply chains with buy side and sell side marketplaces. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 387-402.

In the paper authors develop a quadratic programming model for partner selection and planning in integrated supply chain networks embedded with both sell-side and buy-side electronic marketplaces. Such a scenario arises in several practical applications. In particular, Authors consider a contract manufacturer who procures components from suppliers through a component marketplace and sells its manufactured sub-assemblies to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), through a sub-assembly marketplace. In these web-enabled supply chains embedded with upstream and downstream electronic marketplaces, authors need methods for online supply-chain partner selection based on pricing and delivery schedules. In the paper, authors develop and present such a model that selects partners, synchronizes supply chain activities and optimizes the profit through optimal revenue pricing and cost minimization.

3 illus, 4 tables, 15 ref

003237   Dulluri S;Raghavan N R S (Decision Sciences Laboratory, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Email: {sandeeppd, raghavan}@mgmt.iisc.ernet.in) : Allocation of advertising space by a web service provider using combinatorial auctions. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 213-30.

Advertising is a critical process for promoting both products and services in global trade. Internet has emerged as a powerful medium for trade and commerce. Online advertising over the internet has increased more than hundred- fold since 2001. In the work, authors address problems faced by online advertisement service providers. In the paper, authors propose a multi-slot and multi-site combinatorial auction for allocating scarce advertisement slots available on multi ple sites. Authors observe that combinatorial auctions serve as effective mechanisms form allocating advertising slots over the internet. Authors resort to "ant" systems (ant-social insect/intelligent agent) to solve the above N P-hard combinatorial optimization problem which involves winner-determination in multi-item and multi-unit combinatorial auctions.

5 tables, 34 ref

003236   Bolia N;Juneja S (School of Technology and Computer Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai-400 005, Email: juneja@tifr.res.in) : Monte carlo methods for pricing financial options. Sadhana 2005, 30(2-3), 347-85.

Pricing financial options is amongst the most important and challenging problems in the modern financial industry. Except in the simplest cases, the prices of options do not have a simple closed form solution and efficient computational methods are needed to determine them. Monte Carlo methods have increasingly become a popular computational tool to price complex financial options, especially when the underlying space of assets has a large dimensionality, as the performance of other numerical methods typically suffer from the curse of dimensionality'. However, even Monte-Carlo techniques can be quite slow as the problem-size increases, motivating research in variance reduction techniques to increase the efficiency of the simulations. In the paper, Authors review some of the popular variance reduction techniques and their application to pricing options, Authors particularly focus on the recent Monte-Carlo techniques proposed to tackle the difficult problem of pricing American options. These include: regression-based methods, random tree methods and stochastic mesh methods. Further, authors show how importance sampling, a popular variance reduction technique, may be combined with these methods to enhance their effectiveness. Authors also briefly review the evolving options market in India.

3 illus, 2 tables, 42 ref

002155   Ray S K (Computer Sci and Engng Dep, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032, Email: skray@ieee.org) : A CDMA-based Switched LAN with bus architecture. IETE J Res 2005, 51(1), 75-81.

A CDMA-based switched LAN technology with a bus architecture has been described. Each CDMA station has a simple send/receive interface pair while the CDMA SWITCH has such a pair for each station. The SWITCH dynamically allocates chip sequences to the station at the beginning of their sessions, provides the synchronization clock to them and store-forwards their frames. A novel continuous averaging circuit, employing the concept of attenuated analog multiplexing has been employed in the design of the CDMA receive interface. The LAN has two very important advantages. First, it provides to the station a dedicated channel access which implies no access delay, whatsoever, no collisions, and hence no need for priority access. Second, it provides high security of data at a low level because of coded bit communication and sessionwise dynamic allocation of codes by the SWITCH. Work on the laboratory implementation of a small 4-port LAN using discrete components is in progress.

4 illus, 7 ref

002154   Dondeti S;Kannan K;Manavalan R (Dep of Pharmacy, Annamalai Univ, Annamalainagar, Tamil Nadu-608 002) : Insights into artificial neural networks and its implications for pharmacy. Indian J Pharm Educ 2005, 39(3), 117-24.

Several miscellaneous aspects required for working with neural networks such as data processing; performance evaluation; generalization and overtraining; some basics in the data structures used in neural networks, namely, vectors and matrix; neural network simulation software; books and internet resources on artificial neural networks are presented though briefly keeping in view the overall purpose of this tutorial review.

^iia5 illus, 1 table, 8 ref