Intelligent systems are necessary to handle modern computer-based technologies managing information and knowledge. This book discusses the theories required to help provide solutions to difficult problems in the construction of intelligent systems. Particular attention is paid to situations in which the available information and data may be imprecise, uncertain, incomplete or of a linguistic nature. The main aspects of clustering, classification, summarization, decision making and systems modeling are also addressed. Topics covered in the book include fundamental issues in uncertainty, the rapidly emerging discipline of information aggregation, neural networks, Bayesian networks and other network methods, as well as logic-based systems.

The field of neural information processing has two main objects: investigation into the functioning of biological neural networks and use of artificial neural networks to sol ve real world problems. Even before the reincarnation of the field of artificial neural networks in mid nineteen eighties, researchers have attempted to explore the engineering of human brain function. After the reincarnation, we have seen an emergence of a large number of neural network models and their successful applications to solve real world problems. This volume presents a collection of recent research and developments in the field of neural information processing. The book is organized in three Parts, i.e., (1) architectures, (2) learning algorithms, and (3) applications. Artificial neural networks consist of simple processing elements called neurons, which are connected by weights. The number of neurons and how they are connected to each other defines the architecture of a particular neural network. Part 1 of the book has nine chapters, demonstrating some of recent neural network architectures derived either to mimic aspects of human brain function or applied in some real world problems. Muresan provides a simple neural network model, based on spiking neurons that make use of shunting inhibition, which is capable of resisting small scale changes of stimulus. Hoshino and Zheng simulate a neural network of the auditory cortex to investigate neural basis for encoding and perception of vowel sounds.

As future generation information technology (FGIT) becomes specialized and fr- mented, it is easy to lose sight that many topics in FGIT have common threads and, because of this, advances in one discipline may be transmitted to others. Presentation of recent results obtained in different disciplines encourages this interchange for the advancement of FGIT as a whole. Of particular interest are hybrid solutions that c- bine ideas taken from multiple disciplines in order to achieve something more signi- cant than the sum of the individual parts. Through such hybrid philosophy, a new principle can be discovered, which has the propensity to propagate throughout mul- faceted disciplines. FGIT 2009 was the first mega-conference that attempted to follow the above idea of hybridization in FGIT in a form of multiple events related to particular disciplines of IT, conducted by separate scientific committees, but coordinated in order to expose the most important contributions. It included the following international conferences: Advanced Software Engineering and Its Applications (ASEA), Bio-Science and Bio-Technology (BSBT), Control and Automation (CA), Database Theory and Application (DTA), D- aster Recovery and Business Continuity (DRBC; published independently), Future G- eration Communication and Networking (FGCN) that was combined with Advanced Communication and Networking (ACN), Grid and Distributed Computing (GDC), M- timedia, Computer Graphics and Broadcasting (MulGraB), Security Technology (SecTech), Signal Processing, Image Processing and Pattern Recognition (SIP), and- and e-Service, Science and Technology (UNESST).

This Festschrift volume contains the proceedings of the conference Mathematical Methods in Computer Science, MMICS 2008, held December 2008, in Karlsruhe, Germany, in memory of Thomas Beth. The themes of the conference reflect his many interests.

This book focuses on a specific engineering problem that is and will continue to be important in the forth-coming information age: namely, the need for highly integrated radio systems that can be embedded in wireless devices for various applications, including portable mobile multimedia wireless communications, wireless appliances, digital cellular, and digital cordless. Traditionally, the design of radio IC’s involves a team of engineers trained in a wide range of fields that include networking, communication systems, radio propagation, digital/analog circuits, RF circuits, and process technology. However as radio IC’s become more integrated, the need for a diverse skill set and knowledge becomes essential for professionals as well as students to broaden beyond their trained area of expertise and to become proficient in related areas. The key to designing an optimized, economical solution for radio systems on a chip hinges on the designer’s thorough understanding of the complex trade-offs from communication systems down to circuits. To acquire the insight and understanding of the complex system and circuit trade-offs, a designer must digest volumes of books covering diverse topics, such as communications theory, radio propagation, and digital/analog/RF circuits. While books are available today that cover the individual areas, they tend to be narrowly focused and do not provide the necessary insight in the specific problem of integrating a complete radio system on a chip.