An agent model of urban economics: Digging into emergence We present an agent-based monocentric model of the emergence of urban form. Key conditions for spatial equilibrium are two cost types: distance and proximity. A distributed market is used; this is more suitable to spatial market problems. A density cost is used to show the role of externalities and proximity cost. Emergence should be demoted from end-goal or explanation of agent models to a tool.

O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

spatial economics
agent-based modelling
geographical economics


STEERABILITY OF HERMITE KERNEL Steerability is a useful and important property of "kernel" functions. It enables certain complicated operations involving orientation manipulation on images to be executed with high efficiency. Thus, we focus our attention on the steerability of Hermite polynomials and their versions modulated by the Gaussian function with different powers, defined as the Hermite kernel. Certain special cases of such kernel, Hermite polynomials, Hermite functions and Gaussian derivatives are discussed in detail. Correspondingly, these cases demonstrate that the Hermite kernel is a powerful and effective tool for image processing. Furthermore, the steerability of the Hermite kernel is proved with the help of a property of Hermite polynomials revealing the rule concerning the product of two Hermite polynomials after coordination rotation. Consequently, any order of the Hermite kernel inherits steerability. Moreover, a couple sets of an explicit interpolation function and basis function can be directly obtained. We provide some examples to verify steerability of the Hermite kernel. Experimental results show the effectiveness of steerability and its potential applications in the fields of image processing and computer vision.

B O B I B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O

hermite polynomials
hermite kernel
steerability


FROM REGULAR TO STRICTLY LOCALLY TESTABLE LANGUAGES A classical result (often credited to Y. Medvedev) states that every language recognized by a finite automaton is the homomorphic image of a local language, over a much larger so-called local alphabet, namely the alphabet of the edges of the transition graph. Local languages are characterized by the value k = 2 of the sliding window width in the Mc Naughton and Papert's infinite hierarchy of strictly locally testable languages (k-slt). We generalize Medvedev's result in a new direction, studying the relationship between the width and the alphabetic ratio telling how much larger the local alphabet is. We prove that every regular language is the image of a k-slt language on an alphabet of doubled size, where the width logarithmically depends on the automaton size, and we exhibit regular languages for which any smaller alphabetic ratio is insufficient. More generally, we express the trade-off between alphabetic ratio and width as a mathematical relation derived from a careful encoding of the states. At last we mention directions for theoretical development and application.

O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

regular languages
strictly locally testable languages

homomorphic characterization
medvedev theorem
factor decodability


A boundary integral equation method for the two-dimensional diffusion equation subject to a non-local condition A boundary integral equation method is proposed for the numerical solution of the two-dimensional diffusion equation subject to a non-local condition. The non-local condition is in the form of a double integral giving the specification of mass in a region which is a subset of the solution domain. A specific test problem is solved using the method.

O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

boundary element method
laplace transform
non-local condition


Regularization learning, early stopping and biased estimator In this article, we present a unified statistical interpretation of regularization learning and early stopping for linear networks in the context of statistical regression; i.e. linear regression model. Firstly, those concepts are shown to be equivalent with the use of a biased estimator under the purpose of constructing the network with lower generalization error than the least-squares estimator. It is also found that the biased estimator is a shrinkage estimator. Secondly, we showed that the optimal regularization parameter or the optimal stopping time according to the generalization error are obtained by solving the bias/variance dilemma. Lastly, we gave the estimates of the optimal regularization parameter and the optimal stopping time based on the training data. Simple numerical simulations showed that those estimates are possible to improve the generalization error compared with the least-squares estimator. Additionally, we discussed the relationship between the Bayesian interpretation of the regularization parameter and the optimal regularization parameter which minimizes the generalization error.

B I B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

regularization learning
early stopping
biased estimator
shrinkage estimator


cooperative learning to support the lacks of pbl In this paper, we describe the use of some cooperative learning methodology sessions in a Project Based Learning course, in order to cover those topics uncovered by the project.

B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O

cooperative learning
project based learning


Non-linear correlation of content and metadata information extracted from biomedical article datasets Biomedical literature databases constitute valuable repositories of up to date scientific knowledge. The development of efficient machine learning methods in order to facilitate the organization of these databases and the extraction of novel biomedical knowledge is becoming increasingly important. Several of these methods require the representation of the documents as vectors of variables forming large multivariate datasets. Since the amount of information contained in different datasets is voluminous, an open issue is to combine information gained from various sources to a concise new dataset, which will efficiently represent the corpus of documents. This paper investigates the use of the multivariate statistical approach, called Non-Linear Canonical Correlation Analysis (NLCCA), for exploiting the correlation among the variables of different document representations and describing the documents with only one new dataset. Experiments with document datasets represented by text words, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and Gene Ontology (GO) terms showed the effectiveness of NLCCA.

O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O

biomedical literature
mesh
gene ontology

non-linear canonical correlation
data reduction
visualization
pubmed


A comparison of fractal dimension estimators based on multiple surface generation algorithms Fractal geometry has been actively researched in a variety of disciplines. The essential concept of fractal analysis is fractal dimension. It is easy to compute the fractal dimension of truly self-similar objects. Difficulties arise, however, when we try to compute the fractal dimension of surfaces that are not strictly self-similar. A number of fractal surface dimension estimators have been developed. However, different estimators lead to different results. In this paper, we compared five fractal surface dimension estimators (triangular prism, isarithm, variogram, probability, and variation) using surfaces generated from three surface generation algorithms (shear displacement, Fourier filtering, and midpoint displacement). We found that in terms of the standard deviations and the root mean square errors, the triangular prism and isarithm estimators perform the best among the five methods studied.

O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

fractal dimension estimator
fractal brownian motion


Nonlinear and adaptive undecimated hierarchical multiresolution analysis for real valued discrete time signals via empirical mode decomposition approach Hierarchical multiresolution analysis is an important tool for the analysis of signals. Since this multiresolution representation provides a pyramid like framework for representing signals, it can extract signal information effectively via levels by levels. On the other hand, a signal can be nonlinearly and adaptively represented as a sum of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) via the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm. Nevertheless, as the IMFs are obtained only when the EMD algorithm converges, no further iterative sifting process will be performed directly when the EMD algorithm is applied to an IMF. As a result, the same IMF will be resulted and further level decompositions of the IMFs cannot be obtained directly by the EMD algorithm. In other words, the hierarchical multiresolution analysis cannot be performed via the EMD algorithm directly. This paper is to address this issue by performing a nonlinear and adaptive hierarchical multiresolution analysis based on the EMD algorithm via a frequency domain approach. In the beginning, an IMF is expressed in the frequency domain by applying discrete Fourier transform (DFT) to it. Next, zeros are inserted to the DFT sequence and a conjugate symmetric zero padded DFT sequence is obtained. Then, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) is applied to the zero padded DFT sequence and a new signal expressed in the time domain is obtained. Actually, the next level IMFs can be obtained by applying the EMD algorithm to this signal. However, the lengths of these next level IMFs are increased. To reduce these lengths, first DFT is applied to each next level IMF. Second, the DFT coefficients of each next level IMF at the positions where the zeros are inserted before are removed. Finally, by applying IDFT to the shorten DFT sequence of each next level IMF, the final set of next level IMFs are obtained. It is shown in this paper that the original IMF can be perfectly reconstructed. Moreover, computer numerical simulation results show that our proposed method can reach a component with less number of levels of decomposition compared to that of the conventional linear and nonadaptive wavelets and filter bank approaches. Also, as no filter is involved in our proposed method, there is no spectral leakage in various levels of decomposition introduced by our proposed method. Whereas there could be some significant leakage components in the various levels of decomposition introduced by the wavelets and filter bank approaches.

O O O O B I I O O O O O O O B I I O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

empirical mode decomposition
hierarchical multiresolution analysis
frequency domain


Quantitative evaluation of model consistency evolution in compositional service-oriented simulation using a connected hyper-digraph Appropriate maintenance technologies that facilitate model consistency in distributed simulation systems are relevant but generally unavailable. To resolve this problem, we analyze the main factors that cause model inconsistency. The analysis methods used for traditional distributed simulations are mostly empirical and qualitative, and disregard the dynamic characteristics of factor evolution in model operational running. Furthermore, distributed simulation applications (DSAs) are rapidly evolving in terms of large-scale, distributed, service-oriented, compositional, and dynamic features. Such developments present difficulty in the use of traditional analysis methods in DSAs, for the analysis of factorial effects on simulation models. To solve these problems, we construct a dynamic evolution mechanism of model consistency, called the connected model hyper-digraph (CMH). CMH is developed using formal methods that accurately specify the evolutional processes and activities of models (i.e., self-evolution, interoperability, compositionality, and authenticity). We also develop an algorithm of model consistency evolution (AMCE) based on CMH to quantitatively and dynamically evaluate influencing factors. Experimental results demonstrate that non-combination (33.7% on average) is the most influential factor, non-single-directed understanding (26.6%) is the second most influential, and non-double-directed understanding (5.0%) is the least influential. Unlike previous analysis methods, AMCE provides good feasibility and effectiveness. This research can serve as guidance for designers of consistency maintenance technologies toward achieving a high level of consistency in future DSAs.

O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

model consistency evolution
formal methods


The multi-disciplinary design of a large-scale civil aircraft wing taking account of manufacturing costs This paper presents results from a major research programme funded by the European Union and involving 14 partners from across the Union. It shows how a complex tool set was assembled which was able to optimise a large civil airliner wing for weight, drag and cost. A multi-level MDO process was constructed and implemented through a hierarchical system in which cost comprised the top level. Conventional structural sizing parameters were employed to optimise structural weight but the upper-level optimisation used 6 overall design variables representing major design parameters. The paper concludes by presenting results from a case study which included all the components of the total design system.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

multidisciplinary design and optimisation


Determining structural identifiability of parameter learning machines This paper reports an extension of our previous study on determining structural identifiability of the generalized constraint (GC) models, which are considered to be parameter learning machines. Identifiability defines a uniqueness property to the model parameters. This property is particularly important for those physically interpretable parameters in GC models. We derive identifiability criteria according to the types of models. First, by taking the models as a family of deterministic nonlinear transformations from input space to output space, we provide a criterion for examining identifiability of the Multiple-input Multiple-output (MIMO) models. This result therefore generalizes the previous one for Single-input Single-output (SISO) and Multiple-input Single-output (MISO) models. Second, if considering the models as the mean functions of input-dependent conditional distributions within stochastic framework, we derive an identifiability criterion by means of the KullbackLeibler divergence (KLD) and regular summary. Third, time-variant models are studied based on the exhaustive summary method. The new identifiability criterion is valid for a range of differential/difference equation models whenever their exhaustive summaries can be obtained. Several model examples from the literature are presented to examine their identifiability property.

O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O

identifiability
exhaustive summary
kullbackleibler divergence

parameter learning machine
parameter redundancy


correctness and equivalence of straight line microprograms This paper is concerned with developing automatic methods for the testing of correctness and equivalence of straight line segments of microcode. A model, which accounts for a composite of features common to a large variety of contemporary machines is first presented. Correctness and equivalence of straight line microprograms are then defined. The testing techniques are then developed.

B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

segmentation account method feature test compositing


ALTERNATING TURING MACHINES FOR INDUCTIVE LANGUAGES We show that alternating Turing machines, with a novel and natural definition of acceptance, accept precisely the inductive (pi(1)(1)) languages. Total alternating machines, that either accept or reject each input, accept precisely the hyper-elementary (Delta(1)(1)) languages. Moreover, bounding the permissible number of alternations yields a characterization of the levels of the arithmetical hierarchy. Notably, these results use simple finite computing devices, with finitary and discrete operational semantics, and neither the results nor their proofs make any use of transfinite ordinals. Our characterizations elucidate the analogy between the polynomial-time hierarchy and the arithmetical hierarchy, as well as between their respective limits, namely polynomial-space and pi(1)(1).

B I I O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O

alternating turing machines
arithmetical hierarchy

inductive and hyper-elementary languages


Process Simulation in a Mechatronic Bioreactor Device with Speed-Regulated Motors for Growing of Three-Dimensional Cell Cultures Tissue engineering is a new scientific research field that allows the establishment of tissue equivalents rising from isolated cells in combination with biocompatible materials and cultivation in more or less sophisticated bioreactor systems. Such systems gave the unique opportunity to perform in vitro investigations of transcription and translation, cell growth, biochemistry and mechanics of healthy normal organs as well as those affected by malignant tumors, infections, and immune deficiency under controlled conditions. In rotating vessel bioreactors under microgravity and defined medium content, cells proliferate, stay abundant to each other, and form three-dimensional structures, assigned as spheroids. Such spheroids might be grown on microcarriers. A wide spectrum of different cell culture experiments involving normal and transformed human cells indicates tha

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

rotating wall vessel bioreactors
miniperm
dynamical model
virtual simulation
three dimensional cell culture


Agent alliance formation using ART-networks as agent belief models In today's hyper-competitive business environments virtual organisations are becoming highly dynamic and unpredictable. Individuals may want to work together across organisation boundaries but do not have much prior knowledge about potential partners. The semantic web and its associated new standards appear very promising as candidates to support a new generation of virtual organisations. Whilst knowledge can be represented in a machine interpretable way, social-like behaviours can be expected in a virtual organisation. In this paper ontology definition techniques from the semantic web are applied to define a virtual state space of a virtual organisation. Actors involved in an organisation, from high level strategy making members to low level physical devices, advertise their skills and local knowledge in a community. A task initiator, with a virtual sensor to perceive the advertised skills and with an adaptive belief model about the community, seeks for the best matched partners for cooperation. The belief model is a fuzzy neural network based on Adaptive Resonance Theory which takes the advertisements of actors as its initial belief and learns actors' actual capabilities through interaction experience. Dynamic alliances can then take place in an automated/semi-automated way that exhibit adaptive ability, self-organisation, unsupervised learning and competition ability. The alliances thus exhibit the inherent characteristics of realistic enterprises or human societies.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Linear Gaussian affine term structure models with unobservable factors: Calibration and yield forecasting This paper provides a significant numerical evidence for out-of-sample forecasting ability of linear Gaussian interest rate models with unobservable underlying factors. We calibrate one, two and three factor linear Gaussian models using the Kalman filter on two different bond yield data sets and compare their out-of-sample forecasting performance. One-step ahead as well as four-step ahead out-of-sample forecasts are analyzed based on the weekly data. When evaluating the one-step ahead forecasts, it is shown that a one factor model may be adequate when only the short-dated or only the long-dated yields are considered, but two and three factor models performs significantly better when the entire yield spectrum is considered. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the predictive ability of multi-factor models remains intact far ahead out-of-sample, with accurate predictions available up to one year after the last calibration for one data set and up to three months after the last calibration for the second, more volatile data set. The experimental data denotes two different periods with different yield volatilities, and the stability of model parameters after calibration in both the cases is deemed to be both significant and practically useful. When it comes to four-step ahead predictions, the quality of forecasts deteriorates for all models, as can be expected, but the advantage of using a multi-factor model as compared to a one factor model is still significant. In addition to the empirical study above, we also suggest a non-linear filter based on linear programming for improving the term structure matching at a given point in time. This method, when used in place of a Kalman filter update, improves the term structure fit significantly with a minimal added computational overhead. The improvement achieved with the proposed method is illustrated for out-of-sample data for both the data sets. This method can be used to model a parameterized yield curve consistently with the underlying short rate dynamics.

O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


hardware/software partitioning using integer programming One of the key problems in hardware/software codesign is hardware/software partitioning. This paper describes a new approach to hardware/software partitioning using integer programming (IP). The advantage of using IP is that optimal results are calculated respective to the chosen objective function. The partitioning approach works fully automatic and supports multi-processor systems, interfacing and hardware sharing. In contrast to other approaches where special estimators are used, we use compilation and synthesis tools for cost estimation. The increased time for calculating the cost metrics is compensated by an improved quality of the estimations compared to the results of estimators. Therefore, fewer iteration steps of partitioning will be needed. The paper will show that using integer programming to solve the hardware/software partitioning problem is feasible and leads to promising results.

O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O B B O B B O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O

sharing
quality
use
systems
integer programming
compilation
synthesis
hardware
paper
cost
tools

processor
partition
software
cost estimates
optimality
functional
metrication
object
interfaces
timing
hardware/software codesign
iter
hardware/software partitioning


Wireless QoS-aware resource management for CDMA packet multimedia cellular radio The emerging multimedia applications for future mobile communication systems typically require highly diversified Quality of Service (QoS). However, due to the time and location dependent fluctuating nature of radio resources in the radio link, it is very difficult to maintain a constant level of QoS with the current end-to-end QoS control only. Therefore, wireless-aware QoS is the key issue for achieving better end-end QoS. In this paper, a new wireless QoS scheme for a joint CDMA/NC-PRMA cellular system are proposed considering QoS prioritization mechanism, users' diversified requirements and the harmonization with IP-QoS. Two wireless QoS-aware resource allocation algorithms are proposed to support QoS prioritization while achieving high radio resource utilization. By introducing a set of new QoS resource request parameters (minimum, average and maximum requirements), the algorithms can assign radio resource in a more flexible way than the conventional fixed resource allocation. Computer simulations indicate that the proposed QoS algorithms exhibit superior performance with respect to packet dropping probability for realtime application users, and improve transmission rate for non-realtime application users, which evince the effectiveness of the proposed wireless QoS algorithms.

O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O

quality of service
wireless qos
cdma packet

radio resource management
max/min requirements


Delay tolerant (delto) distributed TAST codes for cooperative wireless networks In a distributed cooperative communication system, as the distances between different relay nodes and the receiving nodes may be different, so the performances of distributed space time codes at receiving nodes may badly be degraded if timing synchronization is not assured. In this article, extending the work of Damen et al. we introduce the design of distributed threaded algebraic space-time (TAST) codes offering resistance to timing delay off-set. We present some new and useful techniques of constructing delay tolerant TAST code for distributed cooperative networks, which, like their brethren codes, are delay tolerant for any delay profile and achieve full diversity for arbitrary number of relays, transmit/receive antennas, and input alphabet size. Our proposed codes with minimum lengths achieve better performances than the existing codes retaining full rate and full diversity with or without use of guard bands. Simulations results confirm our claim of obtaining better performances.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

threaded algebraic space-time (tast) code


Computing the topology of a real algebraic plane curve whose defining equations are available only by values ? The topology of the curve is obtained directly from Lagrange interpolation data. Roots of polynomial matrix determinants are obtained as generalized eigenvalues. The algorithm is very useful when the explicit polynomial expressions are huge.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O

computations in the lagrange basis
algebraic curve topology
parametric curve topology


STRATEGIC DATA PLANNING - LESSONS FROM THE FIELD In spite of strong conceptual arguments for the value of strategic data planning as a means to increase data integration in large organizations, empirical research has found more evidence of problems than of success. In this paper, four detailed case studies of SDP efforts, along with summaries of five previously reported efforts, are analyzed. Fifteen specific propositions are offered, with two overall conclusions. The first conclusion is that SDP, though conceived of as a generally appropriate method, may not be the best planning approach in all situations. The second conclusion is that the SDP method of analyzing business functions and their data requirements may not be the best way to develop a "data architecture," given the required level of commitment of talented individuals, the cost, the potential errors, and the high level of abstraction of the result. These lessons can aid practioners in deciding when to use SDP and guide them as they begin the process of rethinking and modifying the SDP to be more effective.

B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

strategic data planning
data integration


Evaluation of health information applications - Challenges ahead of us Objectives. The aim of the paper is to review the challenges for evaluation in the light of characteristics of the healthcare sector, present as well as future. Methods. The approach is a synthesis based on highlights from the literature. Results. The review addresses the following issues: 1) the role of evaluation activities within a systems development or implementation context; 2) suggestions on the nature of success and failure characteristics; and 3) evaluation aspects viewed in the perspective of different types of systems. Constructive evaluation, evaluation being the act of bringing about a decision-making basis, is perceived as the means to minimize failure and maximize success from the very beginning of the development or implementation. Based on these discussions, the challenges that evaluation and evaluators are facing are debated. Conclusion: The ultimate challenge ahead is first to fill the gap of presently needed evaluation methods. This need is in particular related to evaluation of cognitive and work process-oriented aspects of IT-based solutions. Finally, the challenge is to provide constructive evaluation methods and methodologies for dealing with the full complexity and dynamics of the target domain, for application within the entire life-cycle of the IT-based systems and solutions.

B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

information systems
success and failure criteria
obstacles and barriers


A longitudinal evaluation of hands-free speech-based navigation during dictation Despite a reported recognition accuracy rate of 98%, speech recognition technologies have yet to be widely adopted by computer users. When considering hands-free use of speech-based solutions, as is the case for individuals with physical impairments that interfere with the use of traditional solutions such as a mouse, the considerable time required to complete basic navigation tasks presents a significant barrier to adoption. Several solutions were proposed to improve navigation efficiency based on the results of a previous study. In the current study, a longitudinal experiment was conducted to investigate the process by which users learn to use hands-free speech-based navigation in the context of large vocabulary, continuous dictation tasks as well the efficacy of the proposed solutions. Due to the influence initial interactions have on the adoption of speech-based solutions, the current study focused on these critical, initial, interactions of individuals with no prior experience using speech-based dictation solutions. Our results confirm the efficacy of the solutions proposed earlier while providing valuable insights into the strategies users employ when using speech-based navigation commands as well as design decisions that can influence these patterns.

O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O


An integrated approach for implementing imprecise computations The imprecise computation model is one of the flexible computation models used to construct real-time systems. It is especially useful when the worst case execution times are difficult to estimate or the execution times vary widely. Although there are several ways to implement this model, they have not attained much attentions of real-world application programmers to date due to their unrealistic assumptions and high dependency on the execution environment. In this paper, we present an integrated approach for implementing the imprecise computation model. In particular, our research covers three aspects. First, we present a new imprecise computation model which consists of a mandatory part, an optional part, and another mandatory part called wind-up part. This wind-up part allows application programmers to explicitly incorporate into their programs the exact operations needed for safe degradation of performance when there is a shortage in resources. Second, we describe a scheduling algorithm called Mandatory-First with Wind-up Part (M-FWP) which is based on the Earliest Deadline First strategy. This algorithm, unlike scheduling algorithms developed for the classical imprecise computation model, is capable of scheduling a mandatory portion after an optional portion. Third, we present a dynamic priority server method for an efficient implementation of the M-FWP algorithm. We also show that the number of the proposed server at most needed per node is one. In order to estimate the performance of the proposed approach, we have implemented a real-time operating system called RT-Frontier. The experimental analyses have proven its ability to implement tasks based on the imprecise computation model without requiring any knowledge on the execution time of the optional part. Moreover, it also showed performance gain over the traditional checkpointing technique.

O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

imprecise computation model
scheduling algorithms


quantum logic synthesis by symbolic reachability analysis Reversible quantum logic plays an important role in quantum computing. In this paper, we propose an approach to optimally synthesize quantum circuits by symbolic reachability analysis where the primary inputs are purely binary. we use symbolic reachability analysis, a technique most commonly used in model checking (a way of formal verification), to synthesize the optimum quantum circuits. We present an exact synthesis method with optimal quantum cost and a speedup method with non-optimal quantum cost. Both our methods guarantee the synthesizeability of all reversible circuits. Unlike previous works which use permutative reversible gates, we use a lower level library which includes non-permutative quantum gates. For the first time, problems in quantum logic synthesis have been reduced to those of multiple-valued logic synthesis thus reducing the search space and algorithm complexity. We synthesized quantum circuits for gate, half-adder, full-adder, etc. with the smallest cost.. Our approach obtains the minimum cost quantum circuits for Miller's gate, half-adder, and full-adder, which are better than previous results. In addition, we prove the minimum quantum cost (using our elementary quantum gates) for Fredkin, Peres, and Toffoli gates. Our work constitutes the first successful experience of applying satisfiability with formal methods to quantum logic synthesis.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O

quantum computing
formal verification
satisfiability
model checking


does word sense disambiguation improve information retrieval? A basic form of semantic annotation is to label a word in a document with its correct sense based on the context in which the word occurs, thus providing the disambiguated sense of the word. Performing this task automatically is known as word sense disambiguation, which has been extensively studied in the natural language processing literature. Will semantic annotation of word senses improve information retrieval? This paper provides some thoughts on this question, which lies at the intersection of natural language processing and information retrieval.

O B I I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I

information retrieval
word sense disambiguation


Selected ideas of the theory of non-linear electrical circuits In this paper an outline of the development of methods for the analysis of non-linear circuits is presented Non-inert and inert elements have been discerned and an inertia measure has been proposed. For this purpose, an exponential function with time constant T equal to T-R, T-L, or T-C is formulated for an element of type R, L, or C, respectively. In circuits with the imposed cause, which varies sinusoidally in time with period T-e, the following situations are distinguished and considered T-e much greater than T; T-e much less than T; and T-e approximate to T. In the first case, the effect changes in time according to the nan-linear characteristic of the element. In the second case, the respective circuit is referred to as the "quasi-linear", because for the sinusoidal cause the effect is also sinusoidal. In the third case, the hysteresis occurs and the effect is a two-valued function. The hysteresis effect occurs also in resistive elements.

O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


H-infinity decentralized fuzzy model reference tracking control design for nonlinear interconnected systems In general, due to the interactions among subsystems, it is difficult to design an H-infinity decentralized controller for nonlinear Interconnected systems. In this study, the model reference tracking control problem of nonlinear Interconnected systems is studied via H-infinity decentralized fuzzy control method. First, the nonlinear interconnected system is represented by an equivalent Takagi-Sugeno type fuzzy model. A state feedback decentralized fuzzy control scheme is developed to override the external disturbances such that the H-infinity model reference tracking performance is achieved. Furthermore, the stability of the nonlinear Interconnected systems is also guaranteed. If states are not all available, a decentralized fuzzy observer is proposed to estimate the states of each subsystem for decentralized control. Consequently, a fuzzy observer-based state feedback decentralized fuzzy controller is proposed to solve the H-infinity tracking control design problem for nonlinear interconnected systems. The problem of H-infinity decentralized fuzzy tracking control design for nonlinear interconnected systems is characterized in terms of solving an eigenvalue problem (EVP). The EVP can be solved very efficiently using convex optimization techniques. Finally, simulation examples are given to illustrate the tracking performance of the proposed methods.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

h-infinity decentralized fuzzy tracking control

linear matrix inequality problem (lmip) and eigenvalue problem (evp)


EXACT DISTRIBUTION UNDER INDEPENDENCE OF THE DIAGONAL SECTION OF THE EMPIRICAL COPULA In this paper we analyze some properties of the empirical diagonal and we obtain its exact distribution under independence for the two and three-dimensional cases, but the ideas proposed in this paper can be carried out to higher dimensions. The results obtained axe useful in designing a nonparametric test for independence, and therefore giving solution to an open problem proposed by Alsina, Rank and Schweizer [2].

O O O B O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Inverse analysis using particle swarm optimization for detecting corrosion profile of rebar in concrete structure In this paper, inverse analysis with the use of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is developed for detecting the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete from a relatively small number of potential data measured on the concrete surface. PSO is a promising optimization method due to its simplicity of programming and comparable accuracy. In this proposed inverse analysis using PSO, corrosion profiles represent the location and size of reinforcing steel corrosion. In this method, candidate solution is modeled as a swarm of particles. The objective function, which is proportional to the cost function, is evaluated for the swarm of particles. This function is the difference between the calculated and measured potentials on the concrete surface. The calculated potentials on the surface of the concrete are obtained by solving the Laplace's equation by using the Boundary Element Method (BEM). The corroded and non-corroded parts of the reinforcing steel are represented by each polarization curve. Inverse analysis is carried out by minimizing the cost function using PSO. Examples of the numerical simulation were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. It shows that proposed inverse analysis had promising capability in detecting the corrosion profile of reinforcing steel in concrete.

B I O B I I O O B O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I I O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B O O O O O O

inverse analysis
boundary element method
particle swarm optimization
corrosion


Product platform design to improve commonality in custom products Many companies find it difficult to maintain commonality and economies of scale in products with strict customer design requirements that may vary greatly from contract-to-contract or piece-to-piece. These strict and varied requirements typically result in highly customized products that are costly to manufacture, involve small production runs, and require long delivery times. In this paper, we discuss how the strategic incorporation of product platforms into the design process can leverage the design effort of individually customized products. The example involves the design of cross-sections for yokes used to mount valve actuators in the nuclear power industry. Through this example we demonstrate the process of creating a market segmentation grid, choosing a targeted segment, creating a product platform for the yoke cross-section, and subsequently defining the yoke product family using the product platform concept exploration method. The end result is a platform-based product family that will improve response to customer requests, reduce design and manufacturing costs, and improve time to market for companies that make small production runs of highly customized products.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


A code for direct numerical simulation of turbulent boundary layers at high Reynolds numbers in BG/P supercomputers A new high-resolution code for the direct numerical simulation of a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers over a flat plate has been developed. Its purpose is to simulate a wide range of Reynolds numbers from Re-theta = 300 to 6800 while showing a linear weak scaling up to 32,768 cores in the BG/P architecture. Special attention has been paid to the generation of proper inflow boundary conditions. The results are in good agreement with existing numerical and experimental data sets. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

dns
boundary layer
turbulence
mpi
openmp


Trajectory learning and reproduction for differential drive mobile robots based on GMM/HMM and dynamic time warping using learning from demonstration framework In this paper, we present new Learning from Demonstration-based algorithm that generalizes and extracts relevant features of desired motion trajectories for differential drive mobile robots. The algorithm is tested through series of simulations and real world experiments in which desired task is demonstrated by the human teacher while teleoperating the mobile robot in the working environment. In the first step of the developed method, Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) is built for incremental motions of the mobile robot between two consecutive poses. After this, the hidden Markov model is used to capture transitions between states (temporal variations of the data between clusters) which are missing from static GMM representation. Generalization of the motion is achieved by using the concept of keyframes, defined as points in which significant changes between GMM/HMM states occur. In the second step, the resulting GMM/HMM representation is used to generate optimal state sequences for each demonstration and to temporally align them, using 1D dynamic time warping, with respect to the one most consistent with the GMM/HMM model. This phase implies extraction of keyframes along all state sequences and projecting them into control space, in which controls are aligned in time as well. Finally, the generalized controls are obtained by averaging over all controls at the keyframes; simple piecewise cubic spline method is used for interpolation between generated control values. The main advantage of the developed algorithm is its ability to learn and generalize from all demonstrated examples which results in high quality reproductions of the motion. The proposed approach is verified both in simulated environment and using real mobile robot.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

gaussian mixture model
hidden markov model

learning from demonstrations
generalized motion
differential drive mobile robot


Chemokine Receptors: Attractive Targets for Drug Discovery Abstract: Studies of two antibodies, efalizumab and natalizumab, have recently demonstrated that the blockade of leukocyte migration is of therapeutic benefit for the treatment of diseases such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis. The role of chemokines in the control of cell traffic led to their receptors being considered one of the most promising family of targets aimed at disrupting cell recruitment in chronic inflammatory processes. Choosing the appropriate chemokine receptor for each disease was not easy, and the interpretation of target validation studies proved to be extremely difficult. Despite an intense effort in the search for chemokine receptor antagonists in the last decade, no compounds in advanced clinical trials exist as such. The inherent complexity of the family, the differences between the chemokine system in mice and men, and the species selectivity of small-molecule compounds could account for this fact. Pharmaceutical companies still believe in chemokine receptors as therapeutic targets, as demonstrated by the number of compounds reported to be in development. In the next years, the developmental progression of these compounds will reveal which target within the chemokine family is of real therapeutic value.

O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

chemokines
drug discovery
target validation

leukocyte recruitment
g protein-coupled receptors
chronic inflammation
autoimmune diseases


Optimal treatments in cost-effectiveness analysis in the presence of covariates: Improving patient subgroup definition In the presence of covariates, the cost-effectiveness analysis of medical treatments shows that the optimal treatment varies across the patient population subgroups, and hence to accurately define the subgroups is a crucial step in the analysis. A patient subgroup definition using only influential covariates within the potential set of patients covariates established by the expert has recently been proposed, and the influential covariates were chosen from the univariate distributions of the effectiveness and the cost, conditional on the effectiveness. In this paper, we argue that the Bayesian variable selection procedure should be developed using the bivariate distribution of the cost and the effectiveness, which is not the usual practice. This new approach, provides results with wider applicability and more understandable without a significative increase in the complexity of the procedure. For real and simulated data sets, optimal treatments for subgroups are found, and compared with that from previous methods.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

cost-effectiveness analysis
bivariate regression model
intrinsic priors
subgroup analysis
utility function


A New Modified Reachability Tree Approach and Its Applications to Unbounded Petri Nets This paper proposes a new modified reachability tree (NMRT) approach for a class of unbounded generalized Petri nets called omega-independent nets. The NMRT of an omega-independent net consists of all and only reachable markings from its initial marking. Moreover, the applications of the NMRT to deadlock analysis for omega-independent nets are developed. The proposed method has a larger application scope than all the existing methods. Several examples are provided to show its superiority over them.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Function-based shape modelling extension of the Virtual Reality Modelling Language In this paper we propose a new approach to web visualisation with VRML based on a function-based shape modelling, which unifies different types of mathematical functions in order to enrich the existing web visualisation techniques for modelling. In our method, parametric, implicit and explicit functions can be used concurrently for defining geometry, colour, texture, and other properties of shapes. Geometric shapes and their properties are defined by functions in their respective domains and then merged into function-defined objects. The proposed framework allows for its extending with any function-based model. To illustrate our method and to prove its feasibility, we implemented it for web visualisation as the Function-based Extension of Virtual Reality Modelling Language. In this implementation, parametric implicit and explicit analytical formulae are used for defining geometry and appearance of three-dimensional (3D) shapes. The function-based extension of VRML is used for collaborative shape modelling as well as for building shared virtual worlds.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

explicit functions function representation


A

Maxwell-Schrodinger

solver

for

quantum

optical

few-level

systems

The

msprop

program

presented

in

this

work

is

capable

of

solving

the

Maxwell-Schrodinger

equations

for

one

or

several

laser

fields

propagating

through

a

medium

of

quantum

optical

few-level

systems

in

one

spatial

dimension

and

in

time.

In

particular,

it

allows

to

numerically

treat

systems

in

which

a

laser

field

interacts

with

the

medium

with

both

its

electric

and

magnetic

component

at

the

same

time.

The

internal

dynamics

of

the

few-level

system

is

modeled

by

a

quantum

optical

master

equation

which

includes

coherent

processes

due

to

optical

transitions

driven

by

the

laser

fields

as

well

as

incoherent

processes

due

to

decay

and

dephasing.

The

propagation

dynamics

of

the

laser

fields

is

treated

in

slowly

varying

envelope

approximation

resulting

in

a

first

order

wave

equation

for

each

laser

field

envelope

function.

The

program

employs

an

Adams

predictor

formula

second

order

in

time

to

integrate

the

quantum

optical

master

equation

and

a

Lax-Wendroff

scheme

second

order

in

space

and

time

to

evolve

the

wave

equations

for

the

fields.

The

source

function

in

the

Lax-Wendroff

scheme

is

specifically

adapted

to

allow

taking

into

account

the

simultaneous

coupling

of

a

laser

field

to

the

polarization

and

the

magnetization

of

the

medium.

To

reduce

execution

time,

a

customized

data

structure

is

implemented

and

explained.

In

three

examples

the

features

of

the

program

are

demonstrated

and

the

treatment

of

a

system

with

a

phase-dependent

cross

coupling

of

the

electric

and

magnetic

field

component

of

a

laser

field

is

shown.

Program

summary

Program

title:

msprop

Catalogue

identifier:

Program

summary

URL:

Program

obtainable

from:

CPC

Program

Library,

Queen's

University,

Belfast,

N.

Ireland

Licensing

provisions:

Standard

CPC

licence,

No.

of

lines

in

distributed

program,

including

test

data,

etc.:

No.

of

bytes

in

distributed

program,

including

test

data,

etc.:

Distribution

format:

tar.gz

Programming

language:

C

standard),

Mathematica,

bash

script,

gnuplot

script

Computer:

Tested

on

architecture

Operating

system:

Unix/Linux

environment

RAM:

Less

than

MB

Classification:

External

routines:

Standard

C

math

library,

accompanying

bash

script

uses

gnuplot,

bc

(basic

calculator),

and

convert

(ImageMagick)

Nature

of

problem:

We

consider

a

system

of

quantum

optical

few-level

atoms

exposed

to

several

near-resonant

continuous-wave

or

pulsed

laser

fields.

The

complexity

of

the

problem

arises

from

the

combination

of

the

coherent

and

incoherent

time

evolution

of

the

atoms

and

its

dependence

on

the

spatially

varying

fields.

In

systems

with

a

coupling

to

the

electric

and

magnetic

field

component

the

simultaneous

treatment

of

both

field

components

poses

an

additional

challenge.

Studying

the

system

dynamics

requires

solving

the

quantum

optical

master

equation

coupled

to

the

wave

equations

governing

the

spatio-temporal

dynamics

of

the

fields

Solution

method:

We

numerically

integrate

the

equations

of

motion

using

a

second

order

Adams

predictor

method

for

the

time

evolution

of

the

atomic

density

matrix

and

a

second

order

Lax-Wendroff

scheme

for

iterating

the

fields

in

space

For

the

Lax-Wendroff

scheme,

the

source

function

is

adapted

such

that

a

simultaneous

coupling

to

the

polarization

and

the

magnetization

of

the

medium

can

be

taken

into

account.

Restrictions:

The

evolution

of

the

fields

is

treated

in

slowly

varying

envelope

approximation

such

that

variations

of

the

fields

in

space

and

time

must

be

on

a

scale

larger

than

the

wavelength

and

the

optical

cycle.

Propagation

is

restricted

to

the

forward

direction

and

to

one

dimension.

Concerning

the

description

of

the

atomic

system,

only

a

finite

number

of

basis

states

can

be

treated

and

the

laser-driven

transitions

have

to

be

near-resonant

such

that

the

rotating-wave

approximation

can

be

applied

Unusual

features:

The

program

allows

the

dipole

interaction

of

both

the

electric

and

the

magnetic

component

of

a

laser

field

to

be

taken

into

account

at

the

same

time.

Thus,

a

system

with

a

phase-dependent

cross

coupling

of

electric

and

magnetic

field

component

can

be

treated

(see

Section

and

Concerning

the

implementation

of

the

data

structure,

it

has

been

optimized

for

faster

memory

access.

Compared

to

using

standard

memory

allocation

methods,

shorter

run

times

are

achieved

(see

Section

Additional

comments:

Three

examples

are

given.

They

each

include

a

readme

file,

a

Mathematica

notebook

to

generate

the

C-code

form

of

the

quantum

optical

master

equation,

a

parameter

file,

a

bash

script

which

runs

the

program

and

converts

the

numerical

data

into

a

movie,

two

gnuplot

scripts,

and

all

files

that

are

produced

by

running

the

bash

script.

Running

time:

For

the

first

two

examples

the

running

time

is

less

than

a

minute,

the

third

example

takes

about

minutes.

On

a

Pentium

GHz)

system,

a

rough

estimate

can

be

made

with

a

value

of

second

per

million

grid

points

and

per

field

variable.

References:

Z.

Ficek,

S.

Swain,

Quantum

Interference

and

Coherence:

Theory

and

Experiments,

Springer,

Berlin,

M.O.

Scully,

M.S.

Zubairy,

Quantum

Optics,

Cambridge

University

Press,

Cambridge,

W.H.

Press,

B.P.

Flannery,

S.A.

Teukolsky,

W.T.

Vetterling,

Numerical

Recipes,

Cambridge

University

Press,

Cambridge,

R.

Fleischhaker,

J.

Evers,

Phys.

Rev.

A

(C)

Elsevier

B.V.

All

rights

reserved.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

magnetic field component
adams predictor

maxwell-schrodinger equation
quantum optical few-level system
cross-coupling
second order lax-wendroff algorithm


LASSO-ligand activity by surface similarity order: a new tool for ligand based virtual screening Virtual Ligand Screening (VLS) has become an integral part of the drug discovery process for many pharmaceutical companies. Ligand similarity searches provide a very powerful method of screening large databases of ligands to identify possible hits. If these hits belong to new chemotypes the method is deemed even more successful. eHiTS LASSO uses a new interacting surface point types (ISPT) molecular descriptor that is generated from the 3D structure of the ligand, but unlike most 3D descriptors it is conformation independent. Combined with a neural network machine learning technique, LASSO screens molecular databases at an ultra fast speed of 1 million structures in under 1 min on a standard PC. The results obtained from eHiTS LASSO trained on relatively small training sets of just 2, 4 or 8 actives are presented using the diverse directory of useful decoys (DUD) dataset. It is shown that over a wide range of receptor families, eHiTS LASSO is consistently able to enrich screened databases and provides scaffold hopping ability.

O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O

conformation independent qsar descriptor


Measuring the knowledge-based economy of China in terms of synergy among technological, organizational, and geographic attributes of firms Using the possible synergy among geographic, size, and technological distributions of firms in the Orbis database, we find the greatest reduction of uncertainty at the level of the 31 provinces of China, and an additional 18.0% at the national level. Some of the coastal provinces stand out as expected, but the metropolitan areas of Beijing and Shanghai are (with Tianjin and Chongqing) most pronounced at the next-lower administrative level of (339) prefectures, since these four municipalities are administratively defined at both levels. Focusing on high- and medium-tech manufacturing, a shift toward Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin (near Beijing) is indicated, but the synergy is on average not enhanced. High- and medium-tech manufacturing is less embedded in China than in Western Europe. Knowledge-intensive services uncouple the knowledge base from the regional economies mostly in Chongqing and Beijing. Unfortunately, the Orbis data is incomplete since it was collected for commercial and not for administrative or governmental purposes. However, we provide a methodology that can be used by others who may have access to higher-quality statistical data for the measurement.

O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Lark: Coordinating Co-located Collaboration with Information Visualization Large multi-touch displays are expanding the possibilities of multiple-coordinated views by allowing multiple people to interact with data in concert or independently. We present Lark, a system that facilitates the coordination of interactions with information visualizations on shared digital workspaces. We focus on supporting this coordination according to four main criteria: scoped interaction, temporal flexibility, spatial flexibility, and changing collaboration styles. These are achieved by integrating a representation of the information visualization pipeline into the shared workspace, thus explicitly indicating coordination points on data, representation, presentation, and view levels. This integrated meta-visualization supports both the awareness of how views are linked and the freedom to work in concert or independently. Lark incorporates these four main criteria into a coherent visualization collaboration interaction environment by providing direct visual and algorithmic support for the coordination of data analysis actions over shared large displays.

O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O

information visualization
collaboration
coordination

meta-visualization
co-located work
workspace awareness


visual processing-inspired fern-audio features for noise-robust speaker verification In this paper, we consider the problem of speaker verification as a two-class object detection problem in computer vision, where the object instances are 1-D short-time spectral vectors obtained from the speech signal. More precisely, we investigate the general problem of speaker verification in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise, which we consider as analogous to visual object detection under varying illumination conditions. Inspired by their recent success in illumination-robust object detection, we apply a certain class of binary-valued pixel-pair based features called Ferns for noise-robust speaker verification. Intensive experiments on a benchmark database according to a standard evaluation protocol have shown the advantage of the proposed features in the presence of moderate to extremely high amounts of additive noise.

O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

additive white gaussian noise
object detection
speaker verification

local binary patterns
noise robustness
binary features


Reporting All Segment Intersections Using an Arbitrary Sized Work Space This paper presents an efficient algorithm for reporting all intersections among n given segments in the plane using work space of arbitrarily given size. More exactly, given a parameter s which is between Omega(1) and O(n) specifying the size of work space, the algorithm reports all the segment intersections in roughly O(n(2) / root s + K) time using O(s) words of O(log n) bits, where K is the total number of intersecting pairs. The time complexity can be improved to O((n(2) / s) log s + K) when input segments have only some number of different slopes.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

segment intersection detection and reporting


Oxygenation of the phenylhalocarbenes. Are they spin-allowed or spin-forbidden reactions? Oxygenation mechanisms of phenylhalocarbenes in vacuum are investigated through the use of density functional theory and CASSCF-PT2 approaches. Reactions with both substituted and unsubstituted phenylhalocarbenes are strongly exothermic. The reactions with nitrosubstituted halocarbenes are predicted to be spin allowed due to the practical degeneracy of the singlet and triplet carbene states. Conversely, for the unsubstituted compounds, the equilibrium between the triplet carbene and O-3(2) requires a previous singlet-triplet state crossing. The large spin-orbit coupling at this crossing suggests a rather efficient tunneling rate. This would help to explain why the rate constant in solution in these cases is only one order of magnitude smaller than those involving a spin-allowed process. Moreover, the action of the solvent as a third body appears to play a fundamental role in prompting relatively smooth rates.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

halocarbene reactivity
dft
spin-philicity index
singlet-triplet reaction
casscf-pt2


Spatiotemporal reconstruction of list-mode PET data We describe a method for computing a continuous time estimate of tracer density using list-mode positron emission tomography data. The rate function in each voxel is modeled as an inhomogeneous Poisson process whose rate function can be represented using a cubic B-spline basis. The rate functions are estimated by maximizing the likelihood of the arrival times of detected photon pairs over the control vertices of the spline, modified by quadratic spatial and temporal smoothness penalties and a penalty term to enforce nonnegativity. Randoms rate functions are estimated by assuming independence between the spatial and temporal randoms distributions. Similarly, scatter rate functions are estimated by assuming spatiotemporal independence and that the temporal distribution of the scatter is proportional to the temporal distribution of the trues. A quantitative evaluation was performed using simulated data and the method is also demonstrated in a human study using C-11-raclopride.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

calibration
conjugate gradient methods
estimation
poisson processes
smoothing methods
spline functions


Biomechanics of thoracolumbar junction vertebral fractures from various kinematic conditions Thoracolumbar spine fracture classifications are mainly based on a post-traumatic observation of fracture patterns, which is not sufficient to provide a full understanding of spinal fracture mechanisms. This study aimed to biomechanically analyze known fracture patterns and to study how they relate to fracture mechanisms. The instigation of each fracture type was computationally simulated to assess the fracture process. A refined finite element model of three vertebrae and intervertebral connective tissues was subjected to 51 different dynamic loading conditions divided into four categories: compression, shear, distraction and torsion. Fracture initiation and propagation were analyzed, and time and energy at fracture initiation were computed. To each fracture pattern described in the clinical literature were associated one or several of the simulated fracture patterns and corresponding loading conditions. When compared to each other, torsion resulted in low-energy fractures, compression and shear resulted in medium energy fractures, and distraction resulted in high-energy fractures. Increased velocity resulted in higher-energy fracture for similar loadings. The use of a finite element model provided quantitative characterization of fracture patterns occurrence complementary to clinical and experimental studies, allowing to fully understand spinal fracture biomechanics.

O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

thoracolumbar spine
finite element model
fracture pattern

vertebral fracture
traumatic loading
ao classification
injury mechanisms


An Analysis of Craniocentric and Oculocentric Coding Stages in a Neural Network Model of the Saccadic System We have shown earlier in a neural network study of the saccadic system, how retinal error an efference copy signal of eye position may give rise to distributed coding of target position in craniocentric coordinates at one level, and of motor error in oculocentric coordinates at another stage. In the present paper, the coding properties of units in the model's two hidden layers were investigated, in order to understand at a more abstract level, how they handle their inputs and how the two different target representations at subsequent stages emerge. In particular, we hoped to understand better how craniocentric and oculocentric target representations can be constructed by merging a retino-topically coded visual signal and recruitment-coded eye position information. In the first hidden layer, we found that inputs from both visual and oculomotor signals were nicely matched in showing similar directional selectivity. Computationally, the net input of each hidden unit can be represented by the dot product between a fixed sensitivity vector, embodied by the unit's input weights, and the two-dimensional input signal encoded by the population activity. Scaling of the resulting total net input signal through a sigmoidal nonlinearity then yields the activity of the hidden unit. The fact that the sensitivity vectors for retinal and oculomotor signals in the first hidden layer were roughly aligned and matched in amplitude is the basic underlying principle for a rough craniocentric coding at this level. Units in the second hidden layer represent motor error. This can similarly be understood on the basis of the previously mentioned dot product characterization of the hidden unit's connectivity. The combined process of tuned projection and compression by the unit's sigmoidal nonlinearity also captures the gain-field properties of units in the first hidden layer. Our study suggests that the approach underlying the present analysis of an artificial network may be a useful tool to describe real networks and to allow a direct comparison of simulated and neurophysiological data. Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

neural network eye movements superior colliculus craniocentric coding motor error gain fields


GPGPU implementation of growing neural gas: Application to 3D scene reconstruction Self-organising neural models have the ability to provide a good representation of the input space. In particular the Growing Neural Gas (GNG) is a suitable model because of its flexibility, rapid adaptation and excellent quality of representation. However, this type of learning is time-consuming, especially for high-dimensional input data. Since real applications often work under time constraints, it is necessary to adapt the learning process in order to complete it in a predefined time. This paper proposes a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) parallel implementation of the GNG with Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). In contrast to existing algorithms, the proposed GPU implementation allows the acceleration of the learning process keeping a good quality of representation. Comparative experiments using iterative, parallel and hybrid implementations are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of CUDA implementation. The results show that GNG learning with the proposed implementation achieves a speed-up of 6 6 compared with the single-threaded CPU implementation. GPU implementation has also been applied to a real application with time constraints: acceleration of 3D scene reconstruction for egomotion, in order to validate the proposal.

O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O

parallel computing
multicore
3d reconstruction


Estimating Number of People Using Calibrated Monocular Camera Based on Geometrical Analysis of Surface Area We propose a novel technique for estimating the number of people in a video sequence; it has the advantages of being stable even in crowded situations and needing no ground-truth data. By analyzing the geometrical relationships between image pixels and their intersection volumes in the real world quantitatively, a foreground image directly indicates the number of people. Because foreground detection is possible even in crowded situations, the proposed method can be applied in such situations. Moreover, it can estimate the number of people in an a priori manner, so it needs no ground-truth data unlike existing feature-based estimation techniques. Experiments show the validity of the proposed method.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

people number counting
crowd level estimation
image processing
camera calibration


Fabrication of micro/nano fluidic system combining hybrid mask-mould lithography with thermal bonding Polymer-based micro/nano fluidic system is becoming indispensable for biological applications as well as physical chemistry research. In this article, we demonstrate a novel fabrication process for nano fluidic system based on hybrid mask-mould (HMM) lithography and thermal bonding using SU-8. With the HMM lithography, the protrusions of channels and reservoir patterns can be replicated in one step. Bonding process conditions are flexible and easily controllable with the use of PET substrate and the thin adhesive layer. Surface textures were found to be essential to the bonding strength and channel profile control. The fabricated fluidic system was characterized using spontaneous capillary filling with dyed water, demonstrating good quality of sealing.

O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

micro/nano fluidic system
hybrid mask-mould lithography
su-8


The Choquet integral representability of comonotonically additive functionals in locally compact spaces We give an alternative and direct approach to the Choquet integral representability of a comonotonically additive, bounded, monotone functional I defined on the space of all continuous, real-valued functions on a locally compact space X with compact support and on the space of all continuous, real-valued functions on X vanishing at infinity. To this end, we introduce the notion of the asymptotic translatability of the functional land show that this simple notion is equivalent to the Choquet integral representability of I with respect to a monotone measure on X with appropriate regularity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O

monotone measure
choquet integral
asymptotic translatability

comonotonic additivity
greco theorem
choquet integral representability


An Inexact Modified Subgradient Algorithm for Primal-Dual Problems via Augmented Lagrangians We consider a primal optimization problem in a reflexive Banach space and a duality scheme via generalized augmented Lagrangians. For solving the dual problem (in a Hilbert space), we introduce and analyze a new parameterized Inexact Modified Subgradient (IMSg) algorithm. The IMSg generates a primal-dual sequence, and we focus on two simple new choices of the stepsize. We prove that every weak accumulation point of the primal sequence is a primal solution and the dual sequence converges weakly to a dual solution, as long as the dual optimal set is nonempty. Moreover, we establish primal convergence even when the dual optimal set is empty. Our second choice of the stepsize gives rise to avariant of IMSg which has finite termination.

O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

duality scheme
inexact modified subgradient algorithm

banach spaces
nonsmooth optimization
nonconvex optimization
augmented lagrangian


Running as fast as it can: How spiking dynamics form object groupings in the laminar circuits of visual cortex How spiking neurons cooperate to control behavioral processes is a fundamental problem in computational neuroscience. Such cooperative dynamics are required during visual perception when spatially distributed image fragments are grouped into emergent boundary contours. Perceptual grouping is a challenge for spiking cells because its properties of collinear facilitation and analog sensitivity occur in response to binary spikes with irregular timing across many interacting cells. Some models have demonstrated spiking dynamics in recurrent laminar neocortical circuits, but not how perceptual grouping occurs. Other models have analyzed the fast speed of certain percepts in terms of a single feedforward sweep of activity, but cannot explain other percepts, such as illusory contours, wherein perceptual ambiguity can take hundreds of milliseconds to resolve by integrating multiple spikes over time. The current model reconciles fast feedforward with slower feedback processing, and binary spikes with analog network-level properties, in a laminar cortical network of spiking cells whose emergent properties quantitatively simulate parametric data from neurophysiological experiments, including the formation of illusory contours; the structure of non-classical visual receptive fields; and self-synchronizing gamma oscillations. These laminar dynamics shed new light on how the brain resolves local informational ambiguities through the use of properly designed nonlinear feedback spiking networks which run as fast as they can, given the amount of uncertainty in the data that they process.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

perceptual grouping
visual cortex
gamma oscillations

laminar cortical circuit
spiking neuron
illusory contour
bipole cell


An efficient tree cache coherence protocol for distributed shared memory multiprocessors Directory schemes have long been used to solve the cache coherence problem for large scale shared memory multiprocessors. In addition, tree-based protocols have been employed to reduce the directory size and the invalidation latency for a large degree of data sharing in the system. However, the existing tree-based protocols involve a very high communication overhead for maintaining a balanced tree, especially when the degree of data sharing is low. This paper presents a new tree-based cache coherence protocol which is a hybrid of the limited directory and the linked list schemes. By utilizing a limited number of pointers in the directory, the proposed protocol connects the nodes caching a shared block in a tree fashion without incurring any communication overhead. In addition to the low communication overhead. the proposed scheme also possesses the advantages of the existing bit-map and tree-based linked list protocols, namely, scalable memory requirement and logarithmic invalidation latency. We evaluate the performance of our protocol by running four applications on the Proteus execution-driven simulator. Our simulation results show that the performance of the proposed protocol is very close to that of the full-map protocol.

O O O B I O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

tree-based directory protocols
large scale multiprocessors
execution-driven simulation


TMR voting in the presence of crosstalk faults at the voter inputs In high reliability systems, the effectiveness of fault tolerant techniques, such as Triple-Modular-Redundancy (TMR), must be validated with respect to the faults that are likely in the current technology. In todays' Integrated Circuits (IC), this is the case of crosstalks, whose importance is growing because of device & interconnect scaling. This paper analyzes the problem of crosstalk faults at the inputs of voters in TMR systems. In particular, possible problems are illustrated, and it is shown that such crosstalk may invalidate the reliability of both voting, and diagnosing operations. The problem is analyzed from a probabilistic point of view. Its occurrence is estimated by using a set of TMR systems obtained with combinational benchmarks as functional modules. The possible problems of such operations are discussed in the presence of crosstalk faults. It is shown that crosstalk may invalidate the reliability of both voting, and diagnosis operations. A probabilistic model of the voting & diagnosis operations in the presence of crosstalk has been developed. Finally, such a model has been used to estimate the probability of voting & diagnosis failures in a set of TMR systems obtained by using combinational benchmarks as functional modules. We have shown that the presence of crosstalk faults at voter inputs may impair both the voting, and the diagnosis mechanisms. This problem has been quantified by applying a probabilistic model of crosstalk fault effects on voting and diagnosis to a set of benchmark circuits. Results show that crosstalk may create a reliability problem for TMR systems. Such a problem can be solved by using on-line testing or design for testability providing additional controllability & observability to the replicated functional units.

O B O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Haar wavelet-based technique for sharp jumps classification A wavelet-based technique is proposed for analysing localized significant changes in observed data, in the presence of noise. The main tasks of the proposed technique are (a) denoising the observed data without removing localized significant changes, (b) classifying the detected sharp jumps (spikes), and (c) obtaining a smooth trend (deterministic function) to represent the time-series evolution. By using the Haar discrete wavelet transform, the sequence of data is transformed into a sequence of wavelet coefficients. The Haar wavelet coefficients together with their rate of change, represent local changes and local correlation of data, therefore, their analysis gives rise to multi-dimensional thresholds and constraints which allow both the denoising and the sorting of data in a suitable space. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

B O O O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


balancing histogram optimality and practicality for query result size estimation Many current database systems use histograms to approximate the frequency distribution of values in the attributes of relations and based on them estimate query result sizes and access plan costs. In choosing among the various histograms, one has to balance between two conflicting goals: optimality, so that generated estimates have the least error, and practicality, so that histograms can be constructed and maintained efficiently. In this paper, we present both theoretical and experimental results on several issues related to this trade-off. Our overall conclusion is that the most effective approach is to focus on the class of histograms that accurately maintain the frequencies of a few attribute values and assume the uniform distribution for the rest, and choose for each relation the histogram in that class that is optimal for a self-join query.

O B B O O O B O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O B O O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O B O O O O O O B

histogram estimates use values optimality plan goals size relation attributes paper access class query

experimentation
database system
maintainability
approximation
distributed
effect
errors


System modeling and identification in indicator dilution method for assessment of Ejection Fraction and Pulmonary Blood Volume Clinically relevant cardiovascular parameters, such as pulmonary blood volume (PBV) and ejection fraction (EF), can be assessed through indicator dilution techniques. Among these techniques, which are typically invasive due to the need for central catheterization, contrast ultrasonography provides a new emerging minimally invasive option. PBV and EF are then measured by a dilution system identification algorithm after detection of multiple dilution curves by an ultrasound scanner. In this paper, dilution systems are represented by parametric models. Since the measured indicator dilution curves (IDCs) are corrupted by measurement artifacts and outliers, the use of conventional least square error (LSE) estimator for estimating system parameters is not optimal. Different estimators are therefore proposed for estimating the system parameters. Comparison of these estimators with the LSE estimator in assessing EF and PBV is performed on simulated, in vitro and patient data. The results show that the proposed total least absolute deviation estimator (TLAD) outperforms other estimators. The measured IDCs are highly corrupted by noise, which affect the estimation of EF and PBV. Therefore, a two stage denoising method capable of removing outliers is also proposed for removing noise in IDCs.

O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

least absolute deviation
indicator dilution method

parameter estimation
least squares
robust regression