bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Non-obstructive authentication in AAL environments
Authors: Almeidaa António  , Costaa Ricardo  , Limaa Luis  , Novaisc Paulo
Published: February 2025

Ambient Assisted Living environments projects arise as technological responses of the scientific community to problems associated with the populationageing phenomenon. In theory, these environments should allow de-localization of healthcare services delivery and management to the home, thus containing the economic and social costs associated with old age. The VirtualECare project is one of those environments, enhanced with proactive techniques for a better user experience, focused on elderly chronic patients, through the ability of constant learning and adaption based in user interaction and its contexts. This learning and, consequently, adaption needs, however, unequivocally user identification, especially in multi-user environments. Traditional identification techniques and methodologies are not suitable for these scenario since, usually, require user interaction and wireless identification technique (e.g. RFID, Bluetooth) are very exposed to personification. In order to obtain the expected results we needed a more advanced technology. One possible, appropriate and already fairly developed technique is Facial Recognition. In this paper we present the VirtualECare project approach to Facial Recognition authentication techniques its advantages, disadvantages and possible implementations paths.
The Usability of Psychological Tests in Completing Personas
Authors: Olševičová Kamila  , Rohrová Hana
Published: February 2025

The objective of our research was to complete the profile of the Czech elderly as potential users of the cognitive training applications delivered by the interactive digital television broadcasting. The characteristics of users were captured using the personas' approach, a method that reflects empirical data and that can be taken into account in the process of ambient intelligence and smart home applications development. Personas were built on questionnaires' data and structured interviews. In the later phase of the project, several psychological tests were used for the verification and evaluation of the prototypes of cognitive training applications. Therefore we were interested how results of these tests correspond with personas' descriptions. In the paper we present the overview of personas' approach and of standardized psychological tests used in the scope of our project and we discuss the possibility of reusing data from these tests in the process of completing personas, i.e. for better understanding of needs, requirements and expectations of future customers of software products and services.
Deployment-Related Brain Injuries: Neurobiology and Clinical Management
Authors: Taber Katherine H.  , Hurley Robin A.
Published: February 2025

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a common occurrence of modern warfare. It can be accompanied by multiple co-morbidities including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain. Most brain injuries are mild with complete recovery. However, residual symptoms may remain in some cases, making post-injury adjustment challenging. A thorough understanding of the physics of injury mechanisms, knowledge of neuroanatomy and pathways, and available assessment tools is necessary for optimal clinical management of a brain-injured patient. Clinical treatment guidelines and consensus findings are now available to assist the clinician in caring for these complex patients.
High Performance Computing as a Service
Authors: Baun Christian  , Kunze Marcel  , Kurze Tobias  , Mauch Viktor
Published: February 2025

Using cloud technologies, it is possible to provision HPC services on-demand. Customers of the service are able to provision virtual HPC systems in a self-service portal and deploy and execute their specific application without operator intervention. The business model foresees to only charge the amount of resources actually used. There remain open questions in the area of performance optimization, advanced resource management, and fault tolerance. The Open Cirrus cloud computing testbed offers an environment in which we can treat these problems.
Towards the Scalability of Real-Time Online Interactive Applications on Multiple Servers and Clouds
Authors: Ploss A.  , Meiländer D.  , Glinka F.  , Gorlatch S.
Published: February 2025

Real-Time Online Interactive Applications (ROIA), such as massively multi-player online games, e-Learning applications and high-performance real-time simulations, establish a rapidly growing commercial market and may potentially become a killer application class for future parallel and distributed systems including Clouds. ROIA pose several specific challenges as compared to typical (e.g., numerical) high-performance applications: a) huge numbers of users participating in a single application session (up to 104), b) low response times in order to deliver a real-time user experience (from 100 ms for fast-paced action games to 1.5s for role-playing games), and c) high update rate of the global application state (up to 50Hz).
Choosing an appropriate computer access assistive technology for users with muscular and neuromuscular diseases
Authors: Jenko Mojca  , Vidmar Gaj  , Matjacic Zlatko  , Zupan Anton
Published: February 2025

Objective. In clinical rehabilitation practice, assistive technology (AT) is chosen for each individual efficiently by a skilled multidisciplinary team. Due to demographic and societal changes in the developed world, these professionals are overloaded, so the selection more and more often has to be performed within an unskilled team. The process of selection can be time and resource consuming, as – among other issues – it is not clear what is the learning period required for use of a given AT. Hence, the article presents a study of a new approach to test and select appropriate computer access AT (CAT) for people with motor impairments based on the learning process.
Design of Affect-aware Systems for the Study of Well-Being
Authors: Leon Enrique  , Dorronsoro Iñigo  , Barralon Pierre
Published: February 2025

Current demographic evidence indicates that contemporary Europeans live longer than ever before. This does not necessarily mean they live healthier and in fact there is a direct relationship between aging and disability, such that as the population gets older, the number of people with disability increases. This means that the elderly will represent the largest group of people with disabilities in the coming years. Thus, perhaps just as important as life expectancy is the quality of life of elderly people since it is this element that most affects individuals as well as their families and friends. In this paper we propose the combination of smart environments and affective wearables to support physical and mental well-being. We show experimental results that demonstrate that it is possible to perform assessment similar to the one provided by the Daily Reconstruction Method (DRM), a popular questionnaire-based instrument to estimate well-being, without the need of repeated human intervention.
Multi-modal interaction in AAL systems
Authors: Bianchi Valentina  , Grossi Ferdinando  , de Munari Ilaria  , Ciampolini Paolo
Published: February 2025

Objective Ambient Assisted Living is regarded as a promising tool to support independent life at home. CARDEA [1] is an environmental monitoring and control system suitable for implementing AAL services, aimed at low cost and fostering device interoperability. The adoption of standardized and massively diffused communication protocols, together with the implementation of hardware abstraction strategies, enhances CARDEA versatility and makes it open to “plug-in” modules for implementing additional features. In this abstract, CARDEA extensions are presented, aimed at making home control functionalities accessible to people with severe motion and communication impairment. In particular, voice- and brain-control modules were added to CARDEA.
Field-based Development of an Information Support Robot for Persons with Dementia
Authors: Inoue Takenobu  , Nihei Misato  , Narita Takuya  , Onoda Minoru  , Ishiwata Rina  , Mamiya Ikuko  , Shino Motoki  , Kojima Hiroaki  , Ohnaka Shinichi  , Fujita Yoshihiro  , Kamata Minoru
Published: February 2025

Robots have a huge potential to support persons with dementia. However, it is difficult to develop really useful system for them because of the difficulty in clarify their needs and opinions. The field-based method is effective for the development of these kinds of systems. In this study, we developed a prototype of an information support robot for persons with dementia using field-based methodology. A communication robot system produced by NEC Corporation, called “PaPeRo,” was chosen as the platform for this system. To achieve the goal of keeping persons with dementia informed of their daily schedule and prompting them into action, interactive verbal communication algorithms were programmed into the robot system. The results of experiments on five dementia sufferers showed that the information acquisition rate was over 90% using this robot system. In addition, these results suggested the possibility of using this robot to support independent living by persons with dementia.
Human Computer Interface based on Eye Movement (EOG) Signals
Authors: Steinhausen Natasha  , Prance Helen  , Prance Robert
Published: February 2025

Objective To demonstrate the feasibility of an affordable, wearable and unobtrusive Human Computer Interface based on electrocular signals providing mouse functionality for seriously motor impaired individuals.
Functional demands on intelligence in prosthetics
Authors: Otten E.  , Koopman H.F.J.M.
Published: February 2025

Prostheses can be given a certain amount of intelligence. In the past, this was not possible and all solutions were mechanical, both in leg- and arm prostheses. Advantages are that delays are short or absent and that there always is some sensory information of forces that are generated. Presently, micro-processors can be programmed, actuators can be made electronic and batteries can be relatively lightweight. However, as soon as prostheses are equipped with intelligence, two intelligent systems are coupled: the human brain and the micro processor. They are interlinked mechanically by the stump socket and so when response times of both systems are in each others neighborhood, problems are to be expected on the basis of control theory. This is especially true since the human brain is part of a control system that constantly changes its properties. Humans are notorious for changing their interpretation of the task at hand, for instance in the way they handle an obstacle while walking. So in order to successfully design intelligent prostheses, these human properties should be taken into account. We outline several approaches in design and give boundary conditions to make them successful.
Social Environment, Individual Characteristics, Religion, and Radicalization: The Case of Turkish Hizbullah
Authors: Demir Oguzhan Omer  , Basibuyuk Oguzhan  , Karakus Onder
Published: February 2025

Based on quantitative data obtained from 467 handwritten background reports prepared by members of Turkish Hizbullah, this study examines the relationship between some individual and social characteristics of the militants and radicalization process in this terrorist organization. There are basically three basic categories into which the members of the organization can be placed: 1) low level; members who only joined the lectures of the organization, 2) middle level; members who have any kind of responsibility in the organization, and 3) high level; members who are in military wing. In order to legitimize its activities, the organization abuses the religious concepts ideologically. The findings regarding the level of religiosity of the members, however, are quite surprising. That is, before-joining religiosity level of the military wing members is the lowest when before-joining religiosity levels of the members in all three categories are concerned. The results concerning the level of practicing religious practices among members are also consistent with previous findings.
Community Networks for Information Sharing
Authors: Ji Chuanyi  , Li Sumin  , Leytchipayia Daniel  , Barford Paul
Published: February 2025

Network monitoring and protection often involve large-scale networks and many organizations. Data on observing and inferring large-scale events, however, may be collected locally by monitors. Organizations who own monitors and thus data are often reluctant to share information due to security and privacy concerns. Communities form where voluntary organizations join with a good will and contribute data to share. Questions arise: Under a given privacy constraint, what types of shared information would be effective for network monitoring and protection? How to quantify such information from large community-based data repositories? This work describes a large-scale community network, and the corresponding data sets. Metrics from information theory, i.e., Renyi Information Entropy is then introduced to measure the effectiveness of shared information under a common privacy constraint. In particular, two types of shared information are studied, one for centralized and the other for decentralized sharing. Real data from DShield is used as an example to show how effective the shared information is for inference through a large-scale community network.
Neural Network Rule Extraction and Decision Tables for Software Fault Prediction
Authors: Baesens Bart  , Setiono Rudy  , Mues Christophe  , Van Gestel Tony
Published: February 2025

In software fault prediction, models are estimated to predict the likelihood of software modules containing errors or defects based on a set of characteristics. Many classification methods have been suggested to accomplish this task. However, the majority of studies focuses on developing high performing and predictive classification models, often without paying attention to the comprehensibility or transparency of the models estimated. In this paper, we present an approach using both neural network rule extraction and decision tables, which will allow us to develop white-box and transparent classification models for software fault prediction.
Monitoring Patterns of Inactivity in the Home with Domotics Networks
Authors: Floeck Martin  , Litz Lothar  , Spellerberg Annette
Published: February 2025

This chapter describes a state of the art AAL project in Kaiserslautern, Germany, which aims at monitoring inactivity patterns under real-world-conditions. Twenty flats have been inhabited by approximately 26 individuals since the end of 2007. The flats are equipped with several home automation sensors and actuators, thus allowing the collection of extensive data sets representing the typical user behaviour over long periods of time. Inactivity is the focus of the presented approach since it is assumed that inactivity and not activity is indicative of potential emergencies. The ultimate goal of the system is supporting senior citizens with modern home automation technology and thus helping them to maintain their independence and self-determination. In addition, illnesses and medical emergencies are to be detected by analysing and interpreting the captured sensor data. Based on this automated reasoning, appropriate help is administered to the persons affected. It is important to note that the development procedure of the Kaiserslautern AAL environment had been implemented from the onset as an evolutionary, user-centred design process to ensure user feedback and to allow easy identification of potential shortcomings or flaws of the developed solutions. Choosing such a user-centred design process facilitated meeting one of the paramount objectives of the AAL project, viz., that the AAL technology satisfies the users' needs and wants.
Housing, Gerontology and AAL: New Services Development
Authors: Yanguas Javier  , Urdaneta Elena
Published: February 2025

The technological challenge to provide systems for senior citizens that could foster the different facets of life quality perception demand system architectures for applications and new services that overcome the isolated applications of the past. The new system would integrate customary sociosanitary care, with new devices to provide new services. Four categories of AAL Services are addressed: a) Social Integration; b) Daily Life Support; c) Feel safe and protected; and d) Mobility. The idea was to identify common functional components, and to offer new services integrated with new technologies to care older persons. The needs that the older person could satisfy with the Ambient Assisted Living System are four-fold. The users will determine who, when and for which purpose this information is shared with others. The knowledge about their functional status could be used by the elderly to increase or adapt the amount and type of care. This chapter has two aims: on one hand, the reflection about older person needs and requirements; on the other hand the reflection about new AAL Services on the top of a universal platform. Some platform components that manage basic information gathered from sensors and other information sources, such as clinical history and agenda of the user, and create a representation of the context of the person. Any software component in the platform can subscribe to context events in order to use this information to provide a better user experience and offer personalized services to the user in a proactive way. Finally, the open and distributed nature of the services should lead to more applied services that integrate all the care but also improved alternatives for different parts of the existing system, both at the level of application and the platform itself.
Connecting Communities: The Role of Design Ethnography in Developing Social Care Technologies for Isolated Older Adults
Authors: Prendergast David  , Somerville Claire  , Wherton Joe
Published: February 2025

Social isolation and loneliness in old age can be caused by a variety of factors, including decline in physical and mental health, as well as changes in social environment. The Building Bridges projects explored how communication technology could be developed to reduce risks of loneliness and isolation among older adults. This paper provides an overview of the TRIL Building bridges system and a description of the design ethnography process involved. This paper illustrates the need to include potential users at different stages of the design process. It also demonstrates the benefits of using different methods for eliciting participation in a created social network.
Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism
Authors: Charvat Julian
Published: February 2025

This paper discusses the possible intentions of terrorist groups to use WMD and the possibilities they may have for obtaining them. It also discusses NATO's response to the WMD threat and the capabilities it has to prevent and deal with any such action.
Characterization of pulsed eddy current NDE in metallic materials through in-situ monitoring of tensile testing
Authors: Balasubramaniam Krishnan  , Thiyagarajan Kathirvel  , Prakash Raghu V.
Published: February 2025

Tensile test experiments were in-situ monitored using Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) NDE technique for metallic materials. Materials such as Manganese Stainless steel (Mn-SS), SS304, Copper and Aluminum were employed in this study. Experiments were carried out to characterize the changes in PEC response due to the effect of loading pattern either continuous or interrupted loading or due to the effect of loading rate. Plastic deformation induced in the material increases the PEC signal response for all materials studied. Mn-SS material provided the best PEC response due to its property of phase transformation from austenitic (paramagnetic) to martensitic (ferromagnetic) phase as the plastic deformation increases. The effect of loading rate does not appear to influence the PEC response of materials, when the data was analyzed as a percentage of fracture strain. The effect of prior cold work could be identified using the PEC technique by characterizing the slope of PEC signal response in the elastic region when the material was subjected to an interrupted loading/unloading pattern. Offline PEC Measurements were taken along the length of the failed and the plastically deformed specimens. It was observed that from the PEC measurements, the impending failure location could be ascertained. These results suggest that PEC technique could be used as a NDE technique for material characterization and failure location identification.
Eddy current imaging enhancement using electromagnetic evanescent waves
Authors: Grimberg Raimond  , Savin Adriana  , Steigmann Rozina  , Grum Janez
Published: February 2025

Metallic strip gratings have the most diverse applications, starting from printed circuit boards to filters in the microwave domains. When such structures are under the influence of an electromagnetic field, in the region between the traces - evanescent waves modes appear, their utilization leading to the development of new methods of electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation of metallic strip grating. In order to take advantage on the information provided by evanescent waves, a new transducer having the reception coils shielded by a conductive screen with a circular aperture has been developed and described herein. In this case, the image obtained is similar to the inspected object. The second method involves metamaterials (conical Swiss roll type), allowing the propagation of evanescent waves. In this case the resulted image is magnified.
Pipe Wall Thickness Measurements on Flow Accelerated Corrosion by Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducer
Authors: Kosaka Daigo  , Kojima Fumio  , Umetani Kosuke
Published: February 2025

This paper is concerned with a quantitative nondestructive evaluation of pipe wall thinning using an Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT). Measurements using EMAT is applied to the downstream of orifice with Flow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC). First, using mock FAC pipes, the feasibility and applicability of the proposed method are investigated. Test pipes are fabricated to simulate a growth of wall thinning or scale appearance of inside surface. Second, sizing accuracy for a test pipe with natural FAC was examined. The experimental results showed good agreement with detection results of ultrasonic testing (UT).
Parallel MGS-QR Sparsification for Fast Eddy Current NDT Simulation
Authors: Calvano Flavio  , Rubinacci Guglielmo  , Tamburrino Antonello  , Vasilescu George-Marian  , Ventre Salvatore
Published: February 2025

In this work we discuss a numerical model of the forward problem in NDE. The model is based on a volume integral formulation. To treat 3D geometries and complex constitutive relationships, the fully populated matrix arising after discretization has been efficiently compressed, using also parallel algorithms. The method utilizes an effective low-rank approximation of the submatrices representing “far” interactions, obtained through a modified Gram-Schmidt - QR factorization method. Some numerical examples show the advantages of the proposed approach
Enhancement of Microwave Probe for Filled Defects Non-destructive Evaluation with Metamaterials Structures
Authors: Faktorová Dagmar
Published: February 2025

A novel microwave nondestructive evaluation (NDE) sensor created from open waveguide with metamaterial structure was developed in an attempt to increase the sensitivity of the microwave NDE method for detection of empty defect and defect with the dielectric filling in metal sample. In the paper we describe the approach with implementation of metamaterial structure (MMS) with negative permeability and permittivity over the open waveguide sensor We have shown the increasing of the gain and improvement of optimal radiation pattern of designed waveguide sensor with metamaterial structure in microwave X-band.
Evaluation of Subsurface Shape of Fatigue Crack by Eddy Current Testing
Authors: Oshima Kenichi  , Kojima Fumio
Published: February 2025

This paper is concerned with evaluation of subsurface shape of fatigue crack (FC) by eddy current testing (ECT). Since FC often remains tightly closed, it is difficult to identify deep-lying profiles by visual inspection. Our study is aimed at developing a practical method for detecting and characterizing the direction of crack growth from surface image obtained by scanning transmitter-receiver (TR) probe. A various type of fatigue cracks are made from compact tension (CT) specimen of aluminum alloy samples. The validity and feasibility of the proposed method are demonstrated by collecting data in our laboratory experiments.
Countering Terrorism through Education of Populations: The Case of African Countries
Authors: Lelo Simon M.
Published: February 2025

Terrorism has become a major concern of current governments. Significant energies and resources are being devoted to counter terrorism. Various techniques and strategies are used to detect and destroy terrorist plans. On the other side, terrorists have sophisticated their means of operation. The process has become complex and costly. African countries are also involved in counter terrorism but, due to several internal security and development problems, their effective participation in the combat against terrorism is very limited. They need capacity and skills in order to participate actively in countering terrorism. Education is one of the most appropriate ways for preparing African countries to prevent terrorism. Education provides not only knowledge but also capacity to make informed decisions, strategies and policies. International community should help African countries to strengthen their education through specialized and general training programs. Populations should be educated ways and means of fighting terrorism. The contribution of the entire population is needed in order to succeed in countering terrorism at national and international level.
Policing the Modern City: Local Counterterrorism in the USA
Authors: Deflem Mathieu
Published: February 2025

Since the events of 9/11, police organizations across the world have refocused and strengthened their efforts against terrorism. Besides federal/national and international policing practices, reorganizations have also affected local police. This paper focuses on the local police response to terrorism in the United States and suggests important aspects of counterterrorism, in which local communities that are increasingly marked by a high degree of cultural diversity, need to be taken into account.
Leadership in Terrorist Organizations: An Analysis of Left Wing Terrorist Organizations in Turkey
Authors: Sevinc Bilal  , Halicioglu Mustafa Bulent  , Guclu Idris
Published: February 2025

One of the least studied topics in the terrorism literature is leadership in terrorist organizations. Available information in the literature on leaders of terrorist organizations is mostly about top leaders. That is, the information on leaders is usually limited with life stories and some demographic characteristics of the top leader(s). With this fact in mind, the main purpose of this study is to describe background characteristics of Turkish left wing terrorists, identify similarities and differences in the background characteristics of terrorist leaders and other terrorists, and analyze factors that are significant in terms of becoming leaders in the terrorist organizations. This study is based on secondary data analysis of records from members of Turkish left wing terrorist groups. Data utilized in this study were collected through interviews conducted with terrorist prisoners and their court files. The sample size was 1,077 records, out of which fifty subjects identified themselves as leaders. Findings revealed statistically significant differences between leaders and other terrorists in Turkish left wing terrorist organizations. In addition, the logistic regression analysis revealed several factors discriminating between leaders and other terrorists.
Comparing Distraction/Relaxation Modalities with Chronic Pain Patients
Authors: Stetz M.C.  , Brown K.S.  , Folen R.A.  , Nelson K.L.  , Wiederhold B.K.
Published: February 2025

Estimated costs of healthcare and lost work productivity are in excess of $100 billion per year. Nearly one-third of U.S. adults suffer from chronic pain (pain lasting more than three months). A recent study on this subject showed that low back pain alone has associated costs estimated to near $90 billion dollars. At the present time, most providers treat chronic pain patients with a combination of analgesics and non-drug approaches. That said, many of these professionals are also starting to incorporate the use of technology (e.g., Virtual Reality and biofeedback) into their practice. The purpose of this study was to compare standard chronic pain treatment (i.e., assisted relaxation with a clinician) with technology-assisted relaxation without a clinician. Results suggest that there was a greater reduction in self-rated pain when participating in the relaxation imagery session enhanced with technology.
Roundtable Discussion “The Role and Contribution of Stakeholders in Enhancing Nuclear Security: Industry, Licensees, Nongovernmental Organizations, Media and the Public”
Authors: Sokova Elena  , Gordon Amy  , Howsley Roger  , Hayward Mary-Alice  , Oelrich Ivan  , Squassoni Sharon  , Khripunov Igor
Published: February 2025

Key questions regarding nuclear security culture are put forth to a panel of experts through a round table discussion. The conversation begins with Igor Khripunov's inquiry of the definition of the public and its role in nuclear security culture. Each participant then responds to specific aspects, often related to their field or the perspective of the organization they represent. Roger Howsley stresses the need for improved cooperation among the public, industry and government regulators. Mary Alice Hayward, representing AREVA, expresses that not only does the nuclear industry have a large stake in the interest of nuclear security, but that the education of those stakeholders is critical. Sharon Squassoni addresses the role of the media and its influence on the Public, as well as a concern for transparency in nuclear industry with consideration to how competition could hinder information sharing.
Supplement to Using OpenCL: Programming Massively Parallel Computers
Authors: Kowalik Janusz  , Puźniakowski Tadeusz
Published: February 2025

These supplements contain examples of code and basic projects for Visual Studio, MinGW, and GCC. This supplementary material will assist the reader in getting a quick start on OpenCL projects.
Live CBRN Agent Training for Responders as a Key Role in a Safe Crisis Recovery
Authors: Stolar Alexander
Published: February 2025

Responders on CBRN incidents have a difficult task because they must tackle incidents effectively to avert a disaster. A malfunction of these teams can easily cause them to waver and can precipitate a full intervention. In order to prevent this, the staff goes through large-scale training which covers a wide variety of practice scenarios. Although the physical demands can be practiced in training very well, the mental aspects are often neglected. It is possible to use simulations or films and past experiences in the training, or to build at least a stress situation even if it will not come close enough to reality. In order to make the training experiences as realistic as possible, there are training suits from protective clothing manufacturers and measurement devices which can simulate an agent. But where is the stress? There is no problem if the protective suit breaks. Going on is the motto! Unfortunately, these types of training carry one evident problem, namely that there is no real CBRN danger and, therefore, they create less stress. When it is time for the real incident, everything looks a lot different. For this reason a new trend in international education is to work with real hazardous materials. The already well established “hot-education” of fire-fighters wearing SCBA for training purposes in a safe but real burning environment, is getting more accepted in the training of CBRN intervention-forces. Real PPE, the use of real measurement instruments which are showing “dangerous conditions” and the knowledge that a harmful substance is present, are coupled with confidence in equipment, a safety analysis and an emergency planning, which are preventing accidentally threatening situations.
Monte Carlo Option Pricing With Graphics Processing Units
Authors: Nord Fredrik  , Laure Erwin
Published: February 2025

Monte Carlo is a common method in financial engineering for a wide variety of problems, one being option pricing. Growing volumes and complexity of work that needs to be performed as well as strict requirements for fast responses makes for a pressing demand for high performance computing.
Speeding-up the discrete wavelet transform computation with multicore and GPU-based algorithms
Authors: Galiano V.  , López O.  , Malumbres M.P.  , Migallón H.
Published: February 2025

In this work we propose several parallel algorithms to compute the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform (2D-DWT), exploiting the available hardware resources. In particular, we will explore OpenMP optimized versions of 2D-DWT over a multicore platform and we will also develop CUDA-based 2D-DWT algorithms which are able to run on GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit). The proposed algorithms are based on several 2D-DWT computation approaches as (1) filter-bank convolution, (2) lifting transform and (3) matrix convolution, so we can determine which of them better adapts to our parallel versions. All proposed algorithms are based on the Daubechies 9/7 filter which is widely used in image/video compression.
GPU-Based Image Processing Use Cases: A High-Level Approach
Authors: Wieser Volkmar  , Grelck Clemens  , Schöner Holger  , Haslinger Peter  , Bosa Karoly  , Moser Bernhard
Published: February 2025

This paper addresses the gap between envisioned hardware-virtualized techniques for GPU programming and a conventional approach from the point of view of an application engineer taking software engineering aspects like maintainability, understandability and productivity, and resulting achieved gain in performance and scalability into account. This gap is discussed on the basis of use cases from the field of image processing, and illustrated by means of performance benchmarks as well as evaluations regarding software engineering productivity.
Program Execution Models for Massively Parallel Computing
Authors: Dennis Jack B.
Published: February 2025

A program execution model (PXM) is a precise specification of the features of a computer system that application programs use to meet goals for users of the system. Program execution models have been studied since the late 1960s.
Processing with a million cores
Authors: Brown Andrew  , Reeve Jeffrey  , Furber Stephen  , Lester David
Published: February 2025

Traditionally, the performance-limiting attributes of a multi-processor machine are memory bandwidth, the need to maintain state coherence, and simple synchronisation issues, or some combination of these. As the system size increases, so too does the relative cost overhead of solving these problems. The SpiNNaker engine is a million core system with over eight terabytes of distributed memory whose fundamental design axioms neatly sidestep these problems: the processors are not synchronised, the memory is not coherent, and the inter-processor communication is non-deterministic. How, then, can we perform meaningful computations with this architecture?
The Fresh Breeze Program Execution Model
Authors: Dennis Jack B.  , Gao Guang R.  , Meng Xiao X.  , Lucas Brian  , Slocum Joshua
Published: February 2025

Two major challenges face system designers wishing to achieve progress toward efficient and programmable massively parallel computer systems: the ability to spread a work load over huge numbers of processing cores and a memory model that facilitates seamless data access over the entire memory hierarchy.
Using Fast and Accurate Simulation to Explore Hardware/Software Trade-offs in the Multi-Core Era
Authors: Heirman Wim  , Carlson Trevor E.  , Sarkar Souradip  , Ghysels Pieter  , Vanroose Wim  , Eeckhout Lieven
Published: February 2025

Writing well-performing parallel programs is challenging in the multi-core processor era. In addition to achieving good per-thread performance, which in itself is a balancing act between instruction-level parallelism, pipeline effects and good memory performance, multi-threaded programs complicate matters even further. These programs require synchronization, and are affected by the interactions between threads through sharing of both processor resources and the cache hierarchy.
Accelerating Grid Kernels for Virtual Screening on Graphics Processing Units
Authors: Sánchez-Linares Irene  , Pérez-Sánchez Horacio  , García José Manuel
Published: February 2025

The discovery of new drugs can be drastically accelerated with the use of Virtual Screening (VS) methods, ongoing trend in medical research. VS methods need to screen chemical compound databases with millions of ligands but they are completely constrained by the access to computational resources. In order to solve this problem we worked on the adaptation of their main bottlenecks to GPUs using a grid approach with different interpolation methods. In our first studies for medium size proteins, our CUDA implementation runs around 30 times faster than the sequential counterpart.
JuBE-based Automatic Testing and Performance Measurement System for Fusion Codes
Authors: Galonska A.  , Frings W.  , Gibbon P.  , Borodin D.  , Kirschner A.
Published: February 2025

Numerical HPC modeling is an important technique to understand and predict various aspects of nuclear fusion experiments. The corresponding code development in this field inevitably involves time-consuming benchmarking and optimization of code performance. The present paper introduces the Automatic Testing and Performance Measurement System (ATPMS) – based on JuBE (Jülich Benchmarking Environment) [1] – which provides a solution for both tasks: Automatic Testing of new code versions and Time Benchmarking. The configuration of the system was demonstrated using the example of the ERO code [2], however, it can also be applied and extended to other fusion codes.
Experience Using Lazy Task Creation in OpenMP Task for the UTS Benchmark
Authors: Adnan  , Sato Mitsuhisa
Published: February 2025

In parallel programming, the problems of overhead and load imbalance are two problems that we need to consider. In order to solve the overhead problem, specifically the task creation overhead, lazy task creation is well known as the most efficient technique. In this paper, the experiences applying lazy task creation to the OpenMP task that uses the StackThreads/MP fine-grain-thread library is presented. StackThreads/MP, enhanced with lazy task creation and two extended work-stealing strategies, is evaluated using two binomial trees of UTS benchmark. Comparing the results of evaluations using StackThreads/MP, Cilk, Intel OpenMP, and GCC OpenMP, it is shown that the proposed enhancement improve the original StackThreads/MP implementation so that its performance is more scalable compared with previous version.
Parallel remeshing in tree codes for vortex particle methods
Authors: Speck Robert  , Krause Rolf  , Gibbon Paul
Published: February 2025

Parallel vortex particle methods are an efficient technique for massively parallel simulations of turbulent fluid flows. One of their big advantages is the intrinsic adaptivity of vortex particles, since computational elements exist only where the vorticity field is non-zero. To overcome O(N2)-complexity of the corresponding N-body problem, multipole-based fast summation methods can be used. However, the convergence condition of vortex particle methods is only satisfied for very short times, prohibiting long-term simulations. To circumvent this, many recent codes use the concept of remeshing with an underlying mesh structure. In this paper, we demonstrate that the classical remeshing technique can be implemented directly and efficiently into a mesh-free parallel Barnes-Hut tree code. Using a dynamic 3D numerical example, we analyze the scaling behavior of this algorithm from 512 to 16,384 cores on an IBM Blue Gene/P system.
Symmetric Rank-k Update on Clusters of Multicore Processors with SMPSs
Authors: Badia Rosa M.  , Labarta Jesus  , Marjanovic Vladimir  , Martín Alberto F.  , Mayo Rafael  , Quintana-Ortí Enrique S.  , Reyes Ruymán
Published: February 2025

We investigate the use of the SMPSs programming model to leverage task parallelism in the execution of a message-passing implementation of the symmetric rank-k update on clusters equipped with multicore processors. Our experience shows that the major difficulties to adapt the code to the MPI/SMPSs instance of this programming model are due to the usage of the conventional column-major layout of matrices in numerical libraries. On the other hand, the experimental results show a considerable increase in the performance and scalability of our solution when compared with the standard options based on the use of a pure MPI approach or a hybrid one that combines MPI/multi-threaded BLAS.
Terrorism Today and Tomorrow: An Analysis and Projection Study
Authors: Çitlioğlu Ercan
Published: February 2025

Terrorism, as a dominating threat in today's security environment and an important agenda of current world politics, has been transforming into an instrument of state security functions through proxy wars and asymmetric threats. Thus this phenomenon is becoming a tactical choice rather than ideology or anarchic violence activities. This is thought to be the most dangerous aspect of terrorism threat, as it may provide a “beneficial” option for states’ security measures. Consequently, motivations and roots of paramilitary activity, called terrorism, should be investigated.
CONTEST II – The United Kingdom's Counter Terrorism Strategy
Authors: Sivagnanam Maya  , Charvat J.P.I.A.G.
Published: February 2025

The United Kingdom faces a threat from international and home-grown terrorism and extremism. After the events of the Al Qa'ida attacks in America, Spain, and London, the United Kingdom drew up a strategy to counter terrorism and extremism from both home and abroad. The strategy centers around four main work streams and aims to defeat the terrorist threat while ensuring that vulnerable communities or individuals feel included in society and do not radicalize towards violent extremism.
Embedding Agents within Ambient Intelligent Applications
Authors: O'Hare Gregory M.P.  , Collier Rem  , Dragone Mauro  , O'Grady Michael J.  , Muldoon Conor  , de J. Montoya Alcides
Published: February 2025

This chapter reflects upon the challenges that confront the deployment of Ambient Intelligence (AmI) applications. Ambient Intelligence demands that everyday artefacts be imbued with intelligent reasoning capabilities together with the capacity for collaborative intelligent behaviour. Traditional ambient devices do not provide the requisite computational platform to support such requirements. With the ongoing developments of ubiquitous devices, however, the situation is changing. This chapter discusses a software stack, which supports the needs of ambient applications that incorporate embedded intelligence.
Screening of Proteins in Cells and Tissues by Vibrational Spectroscopy
Authors: Adigüzel Yekbun  , Haris Parvez I.  , Severcan Feride
Published: February 2025

Discovering effective solutions to cope with the problems associated with human health issues necessitates the use of state of the art techniques in the fields of medicinal, industrial, and service-providing applications. Proteins are undoubtedly the work-horse of biological systems and play vital roles in a wide variety of important processes. Thus monitoring of proteins in cells and tissues using vibrational spectroscopy can be valuable for diagnosis and screening. Vibrational spectroscopy is particularly attractive as it can be used to probe proteins in complex systems including cells, tissues, biofluids and even whole organisms without the need for potentially perturbing probe molecules. Thanks to developments in instrumentation and data processing tools, it provides the researchers and laboratory technicians with relative ease to overcome the hurdles associated with the biological specimen preparations for protein research and handling of the data that is collected from a large number of samples and a huge variety of sources. In this chapter, besides experimental techniques and methods used in protein screening, applications of vibrational spectroscopy to different biological systems will be discussed.
The InterReality Portal: A Mixed Reality Co-creative Intelligent Learning Environment
Authors: Peña-Rios Anasol  , Callaghan Vic  , Gardner Michael  , Alhaddad Mohammed J.
Published: February 2025

Technology has become an inseparable part of everyday life, as we use it at home, at work, in school etc. For education, technology is frequently used as a tool to support classroom-based learning. However, an emerging challenge is the application of technology, beyond the traditional classroom, to a diverse mix of pedagogical techniques. Traditional education is based on the process of transmitting knowledge; however, it is necessary for education to encourage the formation and strengthening of skills such as creativity, innovation, analysis, communication and other capabilities that are important aspects of professional life. This paper extends our previous work towards developing an InterReality Portal learning environment. The InterReality Portal applies Problem-based Learning (PBL) pedagogy and co-creative learning to the realization of mixed-reality laboratory activities for learning computing. To reach this goal we propose a series of structured lab activities created using IMS Learning Design, with a combination of Cross-Reality (xReality) and Virtual objects, to produce Internet-of-Things-based computer projects using collaborative interaction between geographically dispersed students.
Maritime Security and Defence against Terrorism
Authors: Ronzitti Natalino
Published: February 2025

The paper analyzes the phenomenon of international terrorism from a legal point of view. It assesses the legality of grounds to take action according to customary and conventional international law. The maritime antiterrorism conventions are also taken into account. The paper argues that better coordination is needed and that multilateral action is preferable to unilateral action. In this connection, the role of the UNSC is paramount.
Terrorism and Commercial Transportation: Use of Ships, Cargoes, Containers to Transport Terrorists and Materials
Authors: McNicholas Michael
Published: February 2025

There is a plethora of case studies, incidents, and open-source reporting substantiating the wide-spread usage of commercial maritime conveyances – large ocean-going vessels, cruise ships, and coastal freighters – by terrorist groups to transport personnel from one country to another. While ships are being used as unwitting hosts, the preponderance of reporting of such incidents suggests that in the majority of the cases, either the ship owner or crew are knowledgeable of or participate in these transport operations. The transport of large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and explosives to terrorists groups generally is via maritime containers. The existence of a ‘business alliance’ between terrorists and a vast network of profit-oriented transnational criminal organizations greatly enhances the operational control, complexity, and likely success of these activities; in the Western Hemisphere, this alliance is the primary driver directing the transport of terrorists and materials via commercial maritime transport. These terror transport operations present a formidable challenge to the security programs of unsuspecting seaports and ships; however, the terrorists' usage of innocent ships, cargoes and containers can be mitigated, in part, through the design, implementation, and management of a well-planned seaport/ship security strategy.