On cubic 2-independent Hamiltonian connected graphs A graph G=(V,E) is Hamiltonian connected if there exists a Hamiltonian path between any two vertices in G. Let P-1=(u(1),u(2),..., u(vertical bar V vertical bar)) and P-2=(v(1),v(2),...,v(vertical bar V vertical bar)) be any two Hamiltonian paths of G. We say that P-1 and P-2 are independent if u (1)=v(1),u(vertical bar V vertical bar)=v(vertical bar V vertical bar), and u(i) not equal v(i) for 1 < i <vertical bar V vertical bar. A cubic graph G is 2-independent Hamiltonian connected if there are two independent Hamiltonian paths between any two different vertices of G. A graph G is 1-Hamiltonian if G-F is Hamiltonian for any F superset of V boolean OR E with vertical bar F vertical bar=1. A graph G is super 3(*)-connected if there exist i internal disjoint paths spanning G for i=1,2,3. It is proved that every super 3(*-)connected graph is 1-Hamiltonian. In this paper, we prove that every cubic 2-independent Hamiltonian connected graph is also 1-Hamiltonian. We present some cubic 2-independent Hamiltonian connected graphs that are super 3(*-)connected, some cubic 2-independent Hamiltonian connected graphs that are not super 3(*)-connected, some super 3(*)-connected graphs that are not 2-independent Hamiltonian connected, and some cubic 1-Hamiltonian graphs that are Hamiltonian connected but neither 2-independent Hamiltonian connected nor super 3(*-)connected.

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


awesim: asymptotic waveform evaluation for timing analysis Most timing analyzers rely upon a linear approximate interconnect model, typically an RC tree, to estimate efficiently the propagation delays for digital MOS integrated circuits. RC tree methods are adequate to analyze a large class of MOS circuits, but are not sufficient in general for high speed, dynamic and precharge MOS circuits. In addition bipolar logic and board level digital systems can have interconnect models which may not be compatible with RC tree topologies. In this paper we describe AWEsim, a variable refinement waveform estimator for generalized linear RLC approximate interconnect models.

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

tree systems dynamic topologies interconnect logic general timing paper model evaluation class circuits propagation

digitize
variability
time analysis
estimates
method
approximation
delay
integrated circuit
refine


A GRAPH MODEL FOR IMPERATIVE COMPUTATION Scott's graph model is a lambda-algebra based on the observation that continuous endofunctions on the lattice of sets of natural numbers can be represented via their graphs. A graph is a relation mapping finite sets of input values to output values. We consider a similar model based on relations whose input values are finite sequences rather than sets. This alteration means that we are taking into account the order in which observations are made. This new notion of graph gives rise to a model of affine lambda-calculus that admits an interpretation of imperative constructs including variable assignment, dereferencing and allocation. Extending this untyped model, we construct a category that provides a model of typed higher-order imperative computation with an affine type system. An appropriate language of this kind is Reynolds's Syntactic Control of Interference. Our model turns out to be fully abstract for this language. At a concrete level, it is the same as Reddy's object spaces model, which was the first "state-free" model of a higher-order imperative programming language and an important precursor of games models. The graph model can therefore be seen as a universal domain for Reddy's model.

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

semantics of programming languages
denotational semantics
local state


A Semi-Automatic Approach for Extracting Software Product Lines The extraction of nontrivial software product lines (SPL) from a legacy application is a time-consuming task. First, developers must identify the components responsible for the implementation of each program feature. Next, they must locate the lines of code that reference the components discovered in the previous step. Finally, they must extract those lines to independent modules or annotate them in some way. To speed up product line extraction, this paper describes a semi-automatic approach to annotate the code of optional features in SPLs. The proposed approach is based on an existing tool for product line development, called CIDE, that enhances standard IDEs with the ability to associate background colors with the lines of code that implement a feature. We have evaluated and successfully applied our approach to the extraction of optional features from three nontrivial systems: Prevayler (an in-memory database system), JFreeChart (a chart library), and ArgoUML (a UML modeling tool).

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

virtual separation of concerns
refactoring tools
annotations


Dynamic threshold policy for delaying and breaking commitments in transportation auctions In this paper we consider a transportation procurement auction consisting of shippers and carriers. Shippers offer time sensitive pickup and delivery jobs and carriers bid on these jobs. We focus on revenue maximizing strategies for the shippers in sequential auctions. For this purpose we propose two strategies, namely delaying and breaking commitments. The idea of delaying commitments is that a shipper will not agree with the best bid whenever it is above a certain reserve price. The idea of breaking commitments is that the shipper allows the carriers to break commitments against certain penalties. We evaluate the benefits of both strategies with simulation. In addition, we provide insight into the distribution of the lowest bid which is estimated by the shippers.

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 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

freight transportation
electronic markets
leveled commitment


Fast Detection of Robust Features by Reducing the Number of Box Filtering in SURF Speeded up robust features (SURF) can detect scale- and rotation-invariant features at high speed by relying on integral images for image convolutions. However, since the number of image convolutions greatly increases in proportion to the image size, another method for reducing the time for detecting features is required. In this letter, we propose a method, called ordinal convolution, of reducing the number of image convolutions for fast feature detection in SURF and compare it with a previous method based on sparse sampling.

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

ordinal convolution
fast feature detection
surf


Anatomically and experimentally based neural networks modeling force coordination in static multi-finger tasks The goal of the study was to construct and test a neural network model that incorporates available knowledge about the finger functioning. The fingers are served by the multi-digit muscles that provide the tendons to the four fingers and the uni-digit muscles that serve individual fingers. Such an anatomical arrangement results in the interdependence of the fingers. The network accounts for (1) existence of multi-digit extrinsic and single-digit intrinsic muscles; (2) the force sharing pattern; (3) the ceiling effect (force deficit) and (4) the force enslaving. Human subjects were instructed to voluntarily exert static force with various fingers while relaxing the remaining fingers. Three-layer feedforward neural networks were constructed and tested. The networks were composed of divergent/convergent connections between the layers modeling the multi-digit muscles and one-to-one shortcut connections from the neurons in the input layer to the neurons in the output layer that model the uni-digit muscles. To validate the networks, 19 task subsets were employed for network training and testing. The predicted finger forces closely matched the experimental data lending support to the assumptions on which the network was based. The current paper demonstrates how available anatomical and physiological facts can be utilized to help build networks so as to enhance our understanding of control mechanisms of the neuromotor system.

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 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

backpropagation
finger force
motor control


Optimization of Passive Microwave Devices Through Geometrical Parameterization-Application to the Design of a Cylindrical Dual-Mode Cavity Filter A new algorithm, based on geometrical parameterization and finite element method is presented for the optimization of microwave devices. Using, geometrical parameterization. the field quantities are expressed as a polynomial in design parameters. Automatic differentiation is used for calculation of higher order derivatives. To ensure continuous gradients, an integrated mesh deformation algorithm is deployed to morph initial finite elements mesh into the perturbed geometry. The resulting parametric model is deployed through quadratic surface reconstruction to find local minimum at each stage. The convergence of the optimization through the reconstructed surfaces is discussed. As an example, a 5-pole dual-mode cavity filter is designed and optimized using the presented algorithm. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 19: 141-152. 2009.

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

automatic differentiation
geometrical parameterization
optimization

mesh parameterization
microwave filters
fem


The iDUDE Framework for Grayscale Image Denoising We present an extension of the discrete universal denoiser DUDE, specialized for the denoising of grayscale images. The original DUDE is a low-complexity algorithm aimed at recovering discrete sequences corrupted by discrete memoryless noise of known statistical characteristics. It is universal, in the sense of asymptotically achieving, without access to any information on the statistics of the clean sequence, the same performance as the best denoiser that does have access to such information. The DUDE, however, is not effective on grayscale images of practical size. The difficulty lies in the fact that one of the DUDE's key components is the determination of conditional empirical probability distributions of image samples, given the sample values in their neighborhood. When the alphabet is relatively large (as is the case with grayscale images), even for a small-sized neighborhood, the required distributions would be estimated from a large collection of sparse statistics, resulting in poor estimates that would not enable effective denoising. The present work enhances the basic DUDE scheme by incorporating statistical modeling tools that have proven successful in addressing similar issues in lossless image compression. Instantiations of the enhanced framework, which is referred to as iDUDE, are described for examples of additive and nonadditive noise. The resulting denoisers significantly surpass the state of the art in the case of salt and pepper (S& P) and M-ary symmetric noise, and perform well for Gaussian noise.

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 B I

discrete universal denoiser (dude) algorithm


Analysis of target configurations under dead loads for cable-supported bridges This paper presents a rigorous approach for analyzing the target configurations of cable-supported structures under dead loads by the NewtonRaphson method. A linearized equilibrium equation of a cable element, which includes the nodal coordinates and the unstrained element length as unknowns, is formulated using the analytical solution of an elastic catenary cable. An incremental equilibrium equation for a single cable is formed with the proposed equilibrium matrices of cable elements. The geometry of the target configuration of a cable-supported structure under dead loads is utilized to solve the incremental equilibrium equation. Detailed procedures to analyze the target configurations of suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges are presented. The efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed method are demonstrated through numerical examples.

O O O O O 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 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

elastic catenary cable
newtonraphson method

target configuration under dead loads
cable-supported structures
suspension bridge
cable-stayed bridge


A simulation-optimization framework for addressing combinatorial and stochastic aspects of an R&D pipeline management problem The R&D pipeline management problem has far-reaching economic implications for new-product-development driven industries, such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agrochemical industries. Effective decision-making is required with respect to portfolio selection and project task scheduling in the face of significant uncertainty and an ever-constrained resource pool. In this paper, the here-and-now stochastic optimization problem inherent to the management of an R&D pipeline is described in its most general form. Subsequently, a computing architecture, Sim-Opt, is presented that combines mathematical programming and discrete event system simulation to assess the uncertainty and control the risk present in the pipeline. The concept of timelines, that studies multiple unique realizations of the controlled evolution of the discrete-event pipeline system, is introduced. Three different implementations of the decision-making module in Sim-Opt have been described and studied through an example case study. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science 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 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 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Salicides: materials, scaling and manufacturability issues for future integrated circuits (invited) In this paper we present an overview of the development of advanced salicide processes at Texas Instruments, addressing both Ti and Co salicides. Scaling issues, such as sheet resistance of deep sub-micron structures for Ti salicide and diode leakage on shallow junctions for Co salicide, are discussed, as well as processes developed to overcome these issues. The key material aspects controlling these variables are reviewed, such as Ti silicide phase formation and transformations and mechanisms of direct formation of C54 TiSi2, which control sheet resistance, and silicidesilicon interface characteristics for Co salicide, impacting diode leakage. Implementation and manufacturability aspects are also discussed. We present advanced Ti and Co salicide processes with manufacturing and high yield capability demonstrated for sub-0.25 ?m CMOS technologies. Process modifications that extend the applicability of these salicides to 0.1 ?m CMOS are also presented.

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

salicides
scaling
diode leakage
sheet resistance


A new fuzzy concept approach for Kano's model In recent years, two-dimensional quality model addressed by Dr. Kano is proven to be effective. It meets the need of analyzing the requirement of customer. However, the questionnaires and classification evaluation table conducted by Kano in his model are criticized by certain experts. Therefore, this study will apply an approach of fuzzy questionnaires to modify Kano's two-dimensional questionnaires which considered as subjective. Furthermore, this study will also develop a mathematical calculation performance according to the quality classification of Kano's two-dimensional fuzzy mode. In the end, the service quality of a theme amusement park will be studied as an example. (c) 2008 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 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 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


Parallel computation for Boltzmann equation simulation with Dynamic Discrete Ordinate Method (DDOM) In this paper, a hybrid programming (OpenMP, MPI and CUDA) approach is used to study the performance of a parallelized Dynamic Discrete Ordinate Method (DDOM) solver [1]. The parallel computation performances were compared under different scenarios. A hybrid parallelism of MPI and OpenMP performs well in terms of parallel efficiency (>90%) on a 64 core CPU cluster without using any load-balancing technique. This hybrid parallelism model is extended to a GPU cluster. By using massive multicore GPUs, the CUDA-accelerated code achieves a speed 250 times faster with a single CPU and over 780 times faster with a Quad-GPU cluster versus the identical process running on a single thread of CPU. Our results demonstrate that DDOM solver provides good scalability on CPU and CPU clusters. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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


Functional Completeness of Weak Logics with the Strict Negation We Study weak logics with strict negation or globalization which turn out to be discriminator algebras. These logics are characterized by a certain weak equivalence operation.

B I O O O O O B 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

weak logic
weak implication
the globalization
ternary discriminator


Position based syllabification and objective spectral analysis in Marathi text to speech for naturalness Developing a text to speech (TTS) system, commonly referred as TTS, that sounds similar to human natural speech is being attempted over the years, but still not achieved by even the best of presently available TTS algorithms. Most of these still sound robotic, unless human speech itself is present in them. However, such human speech necessitates creation of a large database of each and every word of that language which is quite an onerous task. This research article illustrates a new approach and methodology that helps to reduce database size by using syllabic based concatenative speech synthesis. In this method, new words are created using existing words and syllables from the database. The naturalness of these created words in speech are further improved by position based syllabification and objective spectral noise reduction. A combination of neural and classification network and non-neural methods are used for syllabification. After new words are created, the spectral distortion present at joints is reduced with objective spectral estimation and reduction methods in time and frequency domains. These approaches result in improved naturalness for proposed MarathiTTS.

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 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

objective spectral analysis
spectral distortion


Analysis of QRS-T subtraction in unipolar atrial fibrillation electrograms This paper presents a QRS-T subtraction approach for atrial fibrillation (AF) intracardiac atrial electrograms (AEG). It also presents a comparison between the proposed method and two alternative ventricular subtraction techniques: average beat subtraction (ABS) using a fixed length window and an approach based on flat interpolation for QRS cancellation. Areas of the atrium close to the mitral valve showed stronger ventricular influence on the AEGs when compared with the remaining atrial regions. Ventricular influence affects the spectral power distribution of the AEG and can also affect the estimation of the dominant frequency unless the whole ventricular activity influence (QRS-T) is removed. The average power after QRS-T subtraction is significantly reduced for frequencies above 10Hz (mostly associated with QRS complexes), as well as for frequencies between 3 and 5.5Hz, (mostly related to T waves). The results indicate that the proposed approach removes ventricular influence on the AF AEGs better than the QRS cancellation method. Spectral analysis showed that both the ABS and the proposed method do well and no method should be preferred to the other. In the time domain, the proposed approach is matched to the lengths and timings of onset and offset for individual QRS-T segments while the ABS approach uses an arbitrary length around the QRS for the pattern used for QRS-T removal.

O O O O O O B I 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 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

intracardiac electrograms
qrs-t subtraction
noncontact mapping


Traffic control for air quality management and congestion mitigation in complex urban vehicular tunnels Traffic control can be a useful approach for air quality management and congestion mitigation. Models for optimal traffic control considering both traffic and air quality improvement goals. Steady-state traffic flow, aerodynamics, and pollutant dispersion models are established by tunnel segment. An optimal ramp traffic metering and mainline inlet traffic control model is proposed using nonlinear programming (NP).

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

tunnel traffic control
ramp metering
multiple emission targets


KERNEL-BASED 2D FISHER DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS WITH PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION FOR FACE RECOGNITION As is known, kernel methods are developed to handle nonlinear classification. However, we have found that based on vector representation of face images, it is not easy to improve the performance of LDA-based methods by incorporating the kernel trick. Actually, in the case that the dimensionality of face images in vector form is far greater than the number of samples, linear classifiers are adequate and it is illogical to increase dimensions of vectors using kernel methods. In order to give full play to the strong point of the kernel technique for manipulating the nonlinearity of pattern distribution, we propose a new image feature extraction method for face recognition, called kernel-based two-dimensional Fisher discriminant analysis (K2DFDA), which deals with a face image directly as a matrix, instead of a stacked vector from rows or columns of the image. Moreover, we present a kernel parameter optimization scheme for K2DFDA, based on the maximum margin criterion and the damped Newton's method. Experimental results show the effectiveness of K2DFDA and its parameter optimization scheme.

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

kernel
fisher discriminant analysis
parameter optimization


Universal design, inclusive design, accessible design, design for all: different conceptsone goal? On the concept of accessibilityhistorical, methodological and philosophical aspects Accessibility and equal opportunities for all in the digital age have become increasingly important over the last decade. In one form or another, the concept of accessibility is being considered to a greater or smaller extent in most projects that develop interactive systems. However, the concept varies among different professions, cultures and interest groups. Design for all, universal access and inclusive design are all different names of approaches that largely focus on increasing the accessibility of the interactive system for the widest possible range of use. But, in what way do all these concepts differ and what is the underlying philosophy in all of these concepts? This paper aims at investigating the various concepts used for accessibility, its methodological and historical development and some philosophical aspects of the concept. It can be concluded that there is little or no consensus regarding the definition and use of the concept, and consequently, there is a risk of bringing less accessibility to the target audience. Particularly in international standardization the lack of consensus is striking. Based on this discussion, the authors argue for a much more thorough definition of the concept and discuss what effects it may have on measurability, conformance with standards and the overall usability for the widest possible range of target users.

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

accessibility
usability
design for all
universal access
inclusive design


Somatic Hypermutation and B Cell Receptor Selection in Normal and Transformed Human B Cells From the beginning to the end, the life of B cells is dominated by selection of the cells for expression of an appropriate antigen receptor. However, recent studies revealed that there are several diseases in the human where B cells lost their dependence on a B cell receptor (BCR). In classic Hodgkin's lymphoma, the lymphoma cells presumably derive from crippled germinal center (GC) B cells that acquired unfavorable somatic Ig gene mutations, which often render originally functional immunoglobulin (Ig) genes nonfunctional. A peculiar situation is observed among Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells in angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinaemia (AILD)-type T cell lymphoma, where somatic hypermutation uncoupled from any selection for functionality of the BCR is observed in expanding clones. Clones of EBV-harboring B cells that show ongoing hypermutation during proliferation and are Ig-deficient in at least a fraction of cases were recently also identified in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders. Hence, transformed B cells may, in particular settings, escape the normal selectional forces to express a BCR, and EBV may cause dramatic changes in B cell differentiation programs. Somatic hypermutation may be involved in lymphomagenesis by several means. Some chromosomal translocations into Ig loci likely involve DNA-strand breaks associated with hypermutation. Moreover, by aberrant targeting of the CD95 gene, GC B cells and lymphomas developing from them may become resistant to elimination by CD95 ligand-expressing T cells. Finally, aberrant hypermutation of multiple proto-oncogenes appears to be a major factor in diffuse large cell lymphoma pathogenesis.

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 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 B I 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 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

angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy
germinal center
somatic hypermutation


A case-based customer classification approach for direct marketing Case-based reasoning (CBR) shows significant promise for improving the effectiveness of complex and unstructured decision making. CBR is both a paradigm for computer-based problem-solvers and a model of human cognition. However the design of appropriate case retrieval mechanisms is still challenging. This paper presents a genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach to enhance the case-matching process. A prototype GACBR system used to predict customer purchasing behavior is developed and tested with real cases provided by one worldwide insurance direct marketing company, Taiwan branch. The results demonstrate better prediction accuracy over the results from the regression-based CBR system. Also an optimization mechanism is integrated into the classification system to reveal those customers most likely and most unlikely customers to purchase insurance.

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 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

direct marketing
customer classification


A framework for realistic and systematic multicast performance evaluation Previous multicast research often makes commonly accepted but unverified assumptions on network topologies and group member distribution in simulation studies. In this paper, we propose a framework to systematically evaluate multicast performance for different protocols. We identify a series of metrics, and carry out extensive simulation studies on these metrics with different topological models and group member distributions for three case studies. Our simulation results indicate that realistic topology and group membership models are crucial to accurate multicast performance evaluation. These results can provide guidance for multicast researchers to perform realistic simulations, and facilitate the design and development of multicast protocols. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

multicast
performance evaluation
group membership models


cooperative middleware specialization for service oriented architectures Service-oriented architectures (SOA) will provide the basis of thenext generation of distributed software systems, and have already gained enormous traction in the industry through an XML--based instantiation, Web services. A central aspect of SOAs is the looser coupling between applications (services) that is achieved when services publish their functional and non-functional behavioral characteristics in a standardized, machine readable format. In this paper we argue that in the basic SOA model access to metadata is too static and results in inflexible interactions between requesters and providers. We propose specific extensions to the SOA model to allow service providers and requestors to dynamically expose and negotiate their public behavior, resulting in the ability to specialize and optimize the middleware supporting an interaction. We introduce a middleware architecture supporting this extended SOA functionality, and describe a conformant implementation based on standard Web services middleware. Finally, we demonstrate the advantages of this approach with a detailed real world scenario.

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

metadata exchange
middleware reconfiguration
service-oriented architecture


A high flexibility design for clock distribution network in system on chip The idea of combining high-speed digital cores, memory arrays, analog blocks, and communication circuitry onto a single chip has led to a whole new design era of System on Chips (SoCs). The clock distribution network is one of the important issues in SoCs that consumes a significant portion of the total performance. In this paper, a flexible capacitance is used to make the clock distribution network more flexible for designing the clock distribution network. Therefore, if some IP (intellectual property) cores are changed in the system, we do not need to redesign the overall clock distribution network. This new approach facilitates the clock timing and synchronization of IPs so that IPs can be inserted or removed from the distribution network without affecting the whole performance of a SoC. This design uses efficiently the available resources and maintains clock signal integrity. The experimental results confirm the efficiency of the proposed design.

O O O O O O B 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 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 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 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


DNA motif representation with nucleotide dependency The problem of discovering novel motifs of binding sites is important to the understanding of gene regulatory networks. Motifs are generally represented by matrices (position weight matrix (PWM) or position specific scoring matrix (PSSM)) or strings. However, these representations cannot model biological binding sites well because they fail to capture nucleotide interdependence. It has been pointed out by many researchers that the nucleotides of the DNA binding site cannot be treated independently, for example, the binding sites of zinc finger in proteins. In this paper, a new representation called Scored Position Specific Pattern (SPSP), which is a generalization of the matrix and string representations, is introduced, which takes into consideration the dependent occurrences of neighboring nucleotides. Even though the problem of discovering the optimal motif in SPSP representation is proved to be NP-hard, we introduce a heuristic algorithm called SPSP Finder, which can effectively find optimal motifs in most simulated cases and some real cases for which existing popular motif-finding software, such as Weeder, MEME, and AlignACE, fail.

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

computing methodologies
pattern recognition
design methodology
pattern analysis


Performance test and analysis for an adaptive load balancing mechanism on distributed server cluster systems As the next generation of Internet services requires more highly scalable and available server systems, the cost-effective cluster of a large number of distributed computers becomes a popular solution. In this paper, we investigate to design and develop a server load balancing mechanism on cluster architecture, called the ALBM cluster. In order to construct the more scalable and reliable Internet service system, the ALBM cluster system consists of independent but co-operable components. The ALBM cluster system supports adaptive load balancing among servers via its adaptive load balancer (ALB) component in Layer 4 level and Layer 7 level. The Management Station (M-Station) and the Administrator Console are in charge of cluster management, system configuration management, and performance counter management. The Node Service is a system-level agent that is deployed into a server node. The node management and cluster management are the major tasks of the agent. Beside, the ALBM cluster is a flexible open system whose features of functionality can change or be easily expanded without affecting the rest of the system. In this paper, we also present a set of our experimental results to compare the performance of the ALBM cluster with that of LVS scheduling cluster system. We compare performance results of the ALBM with RR, LC, and WLC scheduling algorithms of a LVS cluster in both of homogeneous and heterogeneous system environments.

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 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 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

cluster computing
lvs (linux virtual server)
scalability
availability


A new learning strategy for stereo matching derived from a fuzzy clustering method This paper presents an approach to the local stereo correspondence problem. The primitives or features used are groups of collinear connected edge points called segments. Each segment has several associated attributes or properties. We have verified that the differences of the attributes for the true matches cluster in a cloud around a center. Then for each current pair of primitives we compute a distance between the difference of its attributes and the cluster center. The correspondence is established in the basis of the minimum distance criterion (similarity constraint). We have designed an image understanding system to learn the best representative cluster center. For such purpose a new learning method is derived from the Fuzzy c-Means (FcM) algorithm where the dispersion of the true samples in the cluster is taken into account through the Mahalanobis distance. This is the main contribution of this paper. A better performance of the proposed local stereo-matching learning method is illustrated with a comparative analysis between classical local methods without learning. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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

learning
stereo matching
similarity
mahalanobis distance

cluster analysis
decision making
pattern recognition


Lower bounds on the loading of multiple bus networks for binary tree algorithms A Multiple Bus Network (MBN) connects a set of processors via a set of buses. Two important parameters of an MBN are its loading (largest number of connections on a bus) and its degree (largest number of connections to a processor). These parameters determine the cost, speed, and implementability of the MBN. The smallest degree that any useful MBN can have is 2. In this paper, we study the relationship between running time, degree, and loading of degree-2 MBNs running a fundamental class of algorithms called binary tree algorithms. (A binary tree algorithm reduces 2(n) inputs at the leaves of a balanced binary tree to a single result at the root of the tree.) Specifically, we establish a nontrivial Omega(n/log n) loading lower bound for any degree-2 MBN running a 2(n) input binary tree algorithm optimally in n steps. We show that this bound does not hold if the restriction on the degree or the running time is relaxed. That is, optimal-time, degree-3, constant loading MBNs and suboptimal-time, degree-2, constant loading MBNs exist for binary tree algorithms. We also derive a lower bound on the additional time (beyond the optimal) needed to run binary tree algorithms on a degree-2, loading-L MBN, for any L greater than or equal to 3.

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

multiple bus networks
binary tree algorithms
lower bounds


Targeting customers via discovery knowledge for the insurance industry In this paper, the knowledge discovery in databases and data mining (KDD/DM), one of the data-based decision support technologies, is applied to help in targeting customers for the insurance industry. In most KDD/DM application cases, major tasks are required, including data preparation, data preprocessing, data mining, interpretation, application and evaluation. A case study is presented that KDD/DM is utilized to explore decision rules for a leading insurance company. The decision rules can be used to investigate the potential customers for an existing or new insurance product. The research firstly constructed the application framework, then defined and conducted each task required, and finally obtained feedback from the case company. Discussions and implications with respect to this research are presented also.

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

knowledge discovery in databases
data mining
insurance
decision support


feasible database querying using a visual end-user approach Querying databases is a common daily task carried out by a great deal of end-users who do not have specific skills in SQL language. Today, most of the database interaction is achieved by means of query interfaces provided by the database environment. However, most of these interfaces suffer from expressive limitations, since they are mostly based on metaphors that drastically restrict the expressiveness of the SQL language that is generated and executed in the background. In this paper, we present a visual interaction language and tool focused on easily querying databases by end-users. We make no assumption on the level of the user's experience with query languages, as our visual metaphor is intended for querying databases by unskilled end-users and also leveraging the restriction on the expressiveness of the queries created by them. We also report on some late braking results obtained by an experiment carried out with real users.

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

end-user development (eud)
usability
data warehouse
visual interfaces
web-based interaction


ON THE HARDNESS OF GAME EQUIVALENCE UNDER LOCAL ISOMORPHISM We introduce a type of isomorphism among strategic games that we call local isomorphism. Local isomorphisms is a weaker version of the notions of strong and weak game isomorphism introduced in [J. Gabarro, A. Garcia and M. Serna, Theor. Comput. Sci. 412 (2011) 6675-6695]. In a local isomorphism it is required to preserve, for any player, the player's preferences on the sets of strategy profiles that differ only in the action selected by this player. We show that the game isomorphism problem for local isomorphism is equivalent to the same problem for strong or weak isomorphism for strategic games given in: general, extensive and formula general form. As a consequence of the results in [J. Gabarro, A. Garcia and M. Serna, Theor. Comput. Sci. 412 (2011) 6675-6695] this implies that local isomorphism problem for strategic games is equivalent to (a) the circuit isomorphism problem for games given in general form, (b) the boolean formula isomorphism problem for formula games in general form, and (c) the graph isomorphism problem for games given in explicit form.

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

game isomorphism
strategic games
formula games
circuit isomorphism
boolean formula isomorphism
graph isomorphism

succinct representations
computational complexity


Simultaneous MINLP synthesis of heat exchanger networks comprising different exchanger types This paper describes the simultaneous MINLP synthesis of heat integrated heat exchanger networks comprising different heat exchanger types. The stage-wise superstructure of heat exchanger networks (HEN) by Yee and Grossmann (Comput. Chem. Eng. 14 (1990) p. 1165) is extended to alternative exchanger types. The selection of the types is modeled by disjunctions based on operating limitations and the required heat transfer area. Since different types of heat exchangers involve different design geometries, which influences the inlet and outlet temperatures of heat exchangers, additional constraints are specified to provide a feasible temperature distribution in HEN. The consideration of different exchanger types drastically increases the combinatories, size and computation effort needed to solve the problem. The integer-infeasible path MINLP approach has been applied to perform an efficient initialization scheme and to halve CPU times for solving MILP master problem of the modified OA/ER algorithm. A special multilevel MINLP procedure in reduced integer space has been proposed to solve medium size HEN problems (20 streams) comprising 10(3) and more binary variables. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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


A Sketching Interface for Sitting Pose Design in the Virtual Environment Character pose design is one of the most fundamental processes in computer graphics authoring. Although there are many research efforts in this field, most existing design tools consider only character body structure, rather than its interaction with the environment. This paper presents an intuitive sketching interface that allows the user to interactively place a 3D human character in a sitting position on a chair. Within our framework, the user sketches the target pose as a 2D stick figure and attaches the selected joints to the environment (e. g., the feet on the ground) with a pin tool. As reconstructing the 3D pose from a 2D stick figure is an ill-posed problem due to many possible solutions, the key idea in our paper is to reduce solution space by considering the interaction between the character and environment and adding physics constraints, such as balance and collision. Further, we formulated this reconstruction into a nonlinear optimization problem and solved it via the genetic algorithm (GA) and the quasi-Newton solver. With the GPU implementation, our system is able to generate the physically correct and visually pleasing pose at an interactive speed. The promising experimental results and user study demonstrates the efficacy of our method.

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

sketching interface
sitting pose design
virtual environment
genetic algorithm
gpu


A symbolic framework for multi-faceted security protocol analysis Verification of software systems, and security protocol analysis as a particular case, requires frameworks that are expressive, so as to properly capture the relevant aspects of the system and its properties, formal, so as to be provably correct, and with a computational counterpart, so as to support the (semi-) automated certification of properties. Additionally, security protocols also present hidden assumptions about the context, specific subtleties due to the nature of the problem and sources of complexity that tend to make verification incomplete. We introduce a verification framework that is expressive enough to capture a few relevant aspects of the problem, like symmetric and asymmetric cryptography and multi-session analysis, and to make assumptions explicit, e.g., the hypotheses about the initial sharing of secret keys among honest (and malicious) participants. It features a clear separation between the modeling of the protocol functioning and the properties it is expected to enforce, the former in terms of a calculus, the latter in terms of a logic. This framework is grounded on a formal theory that allows us to prove the correctness of the verification carried out within the fully fledged model. It overcomes incompleteness by performing the analysis at a symbolic level of abstraction, which, moreover, transforms into executable verification tools.

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

formal verification
symbolic model checking
automated verification tools


The NIH Public Access Policy and Federally Funded Research: An Analysis of Problem Recognition and Agenda Setting This interpretive and descriptive study examines the development of the U.S. National Institute of Health's (NIH) public access policy which requires NIH funded research to be made publicly available through an open access depository, the PubMed Central database. Using elements of Kingdon's (2003) multiple streams framework, Stone's (2012) challenges to the theory of free market efficiency, and her rhetorical characterization of good weak interests vs. bad strong interests, this work explores the rationale behind the development of the NIH open access policy . Based upon this rationale and the current structure of the scholarly publishing system, future implications for other federally or publicly funded research are proposed.

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

open access
pubmed central
multiple streams framework

information policy
national institute of health
public policy


Theoretical and experimental studies of vibrational spectra and thermodynamical analysis of 3'-bromopropiophenone and 4'-bromo-3-chloropropiophenone Quantum chemical calculations of molecular geometries, vibrational wavenumbers and thermodynamical properties of 3'-bromopropiophenone and 4'-bromo-3-chloropropiophenone were carried out using Hartree-Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) using hybrid functional B3LYP with 6-31 G (d,p) as basis set. The optimized geometrical parameters obtained by HF and DFT calculations are in good agreement with the experimental FTIR and FT Raman spectral datas. The observed and the calculated frequencies are found to be in good agreement. The experimental spectra also coincide satisfactorily with those of theoretically constructed simulated spectrograms.

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

3 '-bromopropiophenone and 4 '-bromo-3-chloropropiophenone


DIFFERENTIAL INFLUENCE OF BLOGS ACROSS DIFFERENT STAGES OF DECISION MAKING: THE CASE OF VENTURE CAPITALISTS In this paper, we study the differential influence of online user-generated content (UGC), specifically blogs, across the multiple stages of decision making of venture capitalists: screening stage, choice stage, and contract stage. We conjecture that, first, blogs are influential at the screening stage; second, after the screening stage, blogs are noninfluential since decision makers evaluate entities closely at later stages; third, blogs increase the interest from multiple decision makers which in turn increases the cost of the deal for a decision maker. This empirical investigation provides support for the hypotheses, which we tested for funding decisions by venture capitalists in information technology ventures. In particular, this study indicates that blogs can help managers in getting their products/services selected at the screening stage, but, beyond that, blogs do not help directly. However, since more decision makers screen products/services that receive blog coverage, the competition among decision makers helps managers in negotiating better contract terms. We advance the boundary of existing studies on the influence of UGC from single stage process to multiple stages.

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

ugc
blogs
screening stage
choice stage
contract stage

wom
it ventures
vc funding
venture capital
econometric analysis
multistage decision making


RTECA: Real time episode correlation algorithm for multi-step attack scenarios detection Today, from information security perspective, prevention methods are not enough solely. Early Warning Systems (EWSs) are in the category of reactive methods. These systems are complementing Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) where their main goals include early detection of potential malicious behavior in large scale environments such as national level. An important process in EWSs is the analysis and correlation of alerts aggregated from the installed sensors (e.g., IDSs, IP telescopes, and botnet detection systems). In this paper, an efficient framework for alert correlation in EWSs is proposed. The framework includes a correlation scheme based on a combination of statistical and stream mining techniques. The method works real-time by extracting critical episodes from sequences of alerts, which could be part of multi-step attack scenarios. A Causal Correlation Matrix (CCM) is used for encoding correlation strength between the alert types in attack scenarios. Experimental results show that the framework is efficient enough in detecting known attack scenarios and new attack strategies. The results also show that the system is able to predict the next steps of running attack scenaris up to 95% of accuracy under special circumstances.

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

network security
early warning system
multi-step attacks


Image similarity: from syntax to weak semantics Measuring image similarity is an important task for various multimedia applications. Similarity can be defined at two levels: at the syntactic (lower, context-free) level and at the semantic (higher, contextual) level. As long as one deals with the syntactic level, defining and measuring similarity is a relatively straightforward task, but as soon as one starts dealing with the semantic similarity, the task becomes very difficult. We examine the use of simple readily available syntactic image features combined with other multimodal features to derive a similarity measure that captures the weak semantics of an image. The weak semantics can be seen as an intermediate step between low level image understanding and full semantic image understanding. We investigate the use of single modalities alone and see how the combination of modalities affect the similarity measures. We also test the measure on multimedia retrieval task on a tv series data, even though the motivation is in understanding how different modalities relate to each other.

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

image similarity
weak semantics
multimedia retrieval


Design of a linearly assisted switcher for a supply modulated RF transmitter A broadband modulated power supply for envelope tracking or polar RF transmitters has been built. To study the design constraints, an efficient state-based simulation tool was developed. Based on the simulations, a prototype supply was built. It can deliver up to 1 W (6 V, 150 mA) to a resistive load of 30 ohms with spectral purity of ca. -45 dBc. The power efficiency using a QAM-signal is 49%.

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 O

linearly assisted switcher
power efficiency


Experimental and Numerical Visualizations of Condensation Process in a Supersonic Ejector The present study deals with the Visualization of the droplet condensation phenomenon that can occur in ejectors powered by moist air. The condensation process is, visualized through a numerical model of non-equilibrium condensation in high speed flows implemented by the present authors in a CFD code, The evolution of the region of condensation in the ejector with the primary stagnation pressure is examined both in the case without secondary flows and in the case with free entrainment of induced air. Laser tomography visualization is used to validate the computational results. The effects of some parameters such as the primary stagnation pressure and the humidity ratio in the primary and secondary air flows are also examined. Limitations of the present numerical model are discussed.

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

ejector
condensation
moist air
cfd
laser tomography


automatic recognition of induction variables and recurrence relations by abstract interpretation The recognition of recurrence relations is important in several ways to the compilation of programs. Induction variables, the simplest form of recurrence, are pivotal in loop optimizations and dependence testing. Many recurrence relations, although expressed sequentially by the programmer, lend themselves to efficient vector or parallel computation. Despite the importance of recurrences, vectorizing and parallelizing compilers to date have recognized them only in an ad-hoc fashion. In this paper we put forth a systematic method for recognizing recurrence relations automatically. Our method has two parts. First, abstract interpretation [CC77, CC79] is used to construct a map that associates each variable assigned in a loop with a symbolic form (expression) of its value. Second, the elements of this map are matched with patterns that describe recurrence relations. The scheme is easily extensible by the addition of templates, and is able to recognize nested recurrences by the propagation of the closed forms of recurrences from inner loops. We present some applications of this method and a proof of its correctness.

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

value
applications
paper
propagation
method
recognition
interpretation
correctness
compilation
parallel computation
programmer
scheme

efficiency
association
express
extensibility
pattern
program
variability
dependencies
vectorization
abstraction
optimality
test
parallel compiler
template
inductance
ad-hoc


Key successful factors of knowledge management for university students using e-portfolios: Approach of Fuzzy Delphi and Fuzzy AHP The key successful factors (KSFs) of knowledge management for university students using e-portfolio were established in the present study based on the Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP). According to experts, the KSFs of KM using e-portfolio included knowledge sharing, innovation, acquisition, application, and accumulation. Detailed sub-KSFs were developed based on the activities of the e-portfolios including reflection, work revision, self-assessment on works, arrangement of learning content, teacher feedback, modeling, communication, and discussion. Each KSF and sub-KSF was weighted and ranked and had an acceptable reliability and validity. Among these sub-KSFs, reflection had the highest weight, followed by work revision, implying that reflection had the greatest impact on knowledge management. 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput. Appl. Eng. Educ. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:673681, 2015; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21640

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

fuzzy delphi
fuzzy ahp
knowledge management


Adaptive semi-blind immune algorithm for image enhancement The principle and steps of semi-blind immune algorithm are studied, and in adaptive image enhancement method using semi-blind immune algorithm is proposed. The non-linear transform of gray level is an efficient way of image enhancement. In classical image enhancement methods, the specific transform function is determined according to the gray level distribution in the processed image. Tubbs proposed a normalized incomplete Beta function to represent the four kinds of non-linear transform functions most commonly used. But how to adaptively define the coefficients of the Beta function is still a problem. We adopt an adaptive semi-blind immune algorithm that explicitly searches the optimal or suboptimal coefficients more quickly. Compared with the common image adjustment approach, our method is more efficient and powerful.

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 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

semi-blind immune algorithm
clonal selection principle
adaptive mutation


Modeling human behavior in user-adaptive systems: Recent advances using soft computing techniques Adaptive Hypermedia systems are becoming more important in our everyday activities and users are expecting more intelligent services from them. The key element of a generic adaptive hypermedia system is the user model. Traditional machine learning techniques used to create user models are usually too rigid to capture the inherent uncertainty of human behavior. In this context, soft computing techniques can be used to handle and process human uncertainty and to simulate human decision-making. This paper examines how soft computing techniques, including fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms, fuzzy clustering and neuro-fuzzy systems, have been used, alone or in combination with other machine learning techniques, for user modeling from 1999 to 2004. For each technique, its main applications, limitations and future directions for user modeling are presented. The paper also presents guidelines that show which soft computing techniques should be used according to the task implemented by the application.

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

user modeling
adaptive hypermedia
soft computing
machine learning


On the construction of prefix-free and fix-free codes with specified codeword compositions We investigate the construction of prefix-free and fix-free codes with specified codeword compositions. We present a polynomial time algorithm which constructs a fix-free code with the same codeword compositions as a given code for a special class of codes called distinct codes. We consider the construction of optimal fix-free codes which minimize the average codeword cost for general letter costs with uniform distribution of the codewords and present an approximation algorithm to find a near optimal fix-free code with a given constant cost.

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

approximation algorithm
prefix-free code
fix-free code


Dynamic allocation in a self-scaling cluster database Database systems have been vital for all forms of data processing for a long time. In recent years, the amount of processed data has been growing dramatically, even in small projects. Nevertheless, database management systems tend to be static in terms of size and performance, which makes scaling a difficult and an expensive task. This is especially an acute problem in dynamic environments such as grid systems. On the basis of the C-JDBC project, we developed a cluster database that supports automatic scaling in the number of nodes used. To ensure good load balancing, we distribute the tablespace according to a statistical analysis of the query history. In this paper, we will focus on the allocation algorithm. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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 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


exact distributed voronoi cell computation in sensor networks Distributed computation of Voronoi cells in sensor networks, i.e. computing the locus of points in a sensor field closest to a given sensor, is a key building block that supports a number of applications in both the data and control planes. For example, knowledge of Voronoi cells facilitates efficient methods for computing the piece-wise approximation of a field, whereby each sensor acts as a representative for the set of points in its Voronoi cell; awareness of Voronoi boundaries and Voronoi neighbors is also useful in load balancing and energy conservation. The methods currently advocated for distributed Voronoi computation in sensor networks are heuristic approximations that can introduce significant inaccuracies that are difficult to rigorously quantify; we demonstrate that these methods may err by a factor of 5 or more in some circumstances. We present and prove an exact method which eliminates these inaccuracies, at the cost of increased messaging overhead, but without necessitating contact with the entire network. To our knowledge, this is the first distributed algorithm that computes accurate Voronoi cells without requiring all-to-all communication. We implement it as a TinyOS module and quantitatively analyze its performance.

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

voronoi diagrams
in-network processing and aggregation


On infinite words generated by polynomial D0L systems ? We study infinite words generated by polynomially bounded D0L systems and the relations between equivalent and ?-equivalent D0L systems. As the main result we show that if two polynomially bounded D0L systems Gi=(X,hi,w), i=1,2, are ?-equivalent, then there exist an integer t?0 and t-tuples such that the systems H1=(X,h1hi1hit,w) and H2=(X,h2hj1hjt,w) are nearly equivalent in the sense that they generate the same word sequences if certain suffixes of restricted lengths are disregarded.

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


Antepartum cardiotocography: A study of fetal reactivity in frequency domain Cardiotocography (CTG) is the most widely used diagnostic technique in clinical practice to monitor fetal health. Cardiotocographic recording also permits to assess maturation of the fetal autonomous nervous system (ANS): fetal heart rate (FHR) modifications may reveal ANS reactions to stimuli. To assess fetal reactivity, physicians evaluate specific clinical CTG parameters, generally, by means of visual inspection, thus depending on observer's expertise, with lack of reproducibility. Still nowadays, there is a very high intra- and inter-observer variation in the assessment of FHR patterns. More objective methods for CTG interpretation are of crucial importance. For adults, frequency analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive and powerful method to investigate ANS activity. This frequency analysis can also be a valid support for a better knowledge of fetal ANS functional state and reactions. Indeed, fetal HRV is a good indicator of fetal well-being in non-stress conditions. Fetal reactivity is a very important CTG characteristic used to diagnose fetal distress, but its interpretation is still uncertain. The aim of this study is to characterise fetal reactivity proposing new fetal HRV frequency parameters to support a more exhaustive CTG analysis.

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

computerised spectral analysis
fetal heart rate variability


a compiled accelerator for biological cell signaling simulations The simulation of large systems of biochemical reactions is a key part of research into molecular signaling and information processing in biological cells. However, it can be impractical because many relevant reactions are modeled as stochastic, discrete event processes, and the complexity of the computing task scales with the number of discrete events in a simulation. Traditionally, such simulations are computed on general purpose CPUs, and sometimes in networks of such processors. We show that an alternative algorithm to the conventional approaches based on the Gillespie algorithm reveals a fine-grained parallel structure that is amenable to realization in FPGA hardware. A method is shown for compiling biochemical reaction systems into corresponding Verilog descriptions of simulators that employ this alternative algorithm. We describe a preliminary implementation of such a compiled accelerator that demonstrates the performance of this approach, achieving an initial performance that is 20 times faster than a competing general purpose CPU.

O O O O O B O O O B 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 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


user evaluation of the nasa technical report server recommendation service We present the user evaluation of two recommendation server methodologies implemented for the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS). One methodology for generating recommendations uses log analysis to identify co-retrieval events on full-text documents. For comparison, we used the Vector Space Model (VSM) as the second methodology. We calculated cosine similarities and used the top 10 most similar documents (based on metadata) as "recommendations". We then ran an experiment with NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) staff members to gather their feedback on which method produced the most "quality" recommendations. We found that in most cases VSM outperformed log analysis of co-retrievals. However, analyzing the data revealed the evaluations might have been structurally biased in favor of the VSM generated recommendations. We explore some possible methods for combining log analysis and VSM generated recommendations and suggest areas of future work.

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

metadata
vector space model
quality
evaluation
recommendation
research
method
methodology
log analysis
data
feedback
future
server

event
digital libraries
experience
bias
comparisons
combinational
exploration
recommendation servers
text
retrieval
user evaluation
documentation


multiple password interference in text passwords and click-based graphical passwords The underlying issues relating to the usability and security of multiple passwords are largely unexplored. However, we know that people generally have difficulty remembering multiple passwords. This reduces security since users reuse the same password for different systems or reveal other passwords as they try to log in. We report on a laboratory study comparing recall of multiple text passwords with recall of multiple click-based graphical passwords. In a one-hour session (short-term), we found that participants in the graphical password condition coped significantly better than those in the text password condition. In particular, they made fewer errors when recalling their passwords, did not resort to creating passwords directly related to account names, and did not use similar passwords across multiple accounts. After two weeks, participants in the two conditions had recall success rates that were not statistically different from each other, but those with text passwords made more recall errors than participants with graphical passwords. In our study, click-based graphical passwords were significantly less susceptible to multiple password interference in the short-term, while having comparable usability to text passwords in most other respects.

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

multiple password interference
graphical passwords


Automatic change detection of buildings in urban environment from very high spatial resolution images using existing geodatabase and prior knowledge The updating of geodatabases (GDB) in urban environments is a difficult and expensive task. It may be facilitated by an automatic change detection method. Several methods have been developed for medium and low spatial resolution images. This study proposes a new method for change detection of buildings in urban environments from very high spatial resolution images (VHSR) and using existing digital cartographic data. The proposed methodology is composed of several stages. The existing knowledge on the buildings and the other urban objects are first modelled and saved in a knowledge base. Some change detection rules are defined at this stage. Then, the image is segmented. The parameters of segmentation are computed thanks to the integration between the image and the geodatabase. Thereafter, the segmented image is analyzed using the knowledge base to localize the segments where the change of building is likely to occur. The change detection rules are then applied on these segments to identify the segments that represent the changes of buildings. These changes represent the updates of buildings to be added to the geodatabase. The data used in this research concern the city of Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada) and the city of Rabat (Morocco). For Sherbrooke, we used an Ikonos image acquired in October 2006 and a GDB at the scale of 1:20,000. For Rabat, a QuickBird image acquired in August 2006 has been used with a GDB at the scale of 1:10,000. The rate of good detection is 90%. The proposed method presents some limitations on the detection of the exact contours of the buildings. It could be improved by including a shape post-analysis of detected buildings. The proposed method could be integrated into a cartographic update process or as a method for the quality assessment of a geodatabase. It could be also be used to identify illegal building work or to monitor urban growth.

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 B 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 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 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 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 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 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 B O

change detection
urban
quickbird
ikonos
knowledge base


Using social information to guide action: Infants' locomotion over slippery slopes In uncertain situations such as descending challenging slopes, social signals from caregivers can provide infants with important information for guiding action. Previous work showed that 18-month-old walking infants use social information selectively, only when risk of falling is uncertain. Experiment 1 was designed to alter infants' region of uncertainty for walking down slopes. Slippery Teflon-soled shoes drastically impaired 18-month-olds' ability to walk down slopes compared with walking barefoot or in standard crepe-soled shoes, shifting the region of uncertainty to a shallower range of slopes. In Experiment 2, infants wore Teflon-soled shoes while walking down slopes as their mothers encouraged and discouraged them from walking. Infants relied on social information on shallow slopes, even at 0 degrees, where the probability of walking successfully was uncertain in the Teflon-soled shoes. Findings indicate that infants' use of social information is dynamically attuned to situational factors and the state of their current abilities. (C) 2010 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 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 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 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 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

infant locomotion
social cognition
perceptual exploration
communication


Optical properties of p-type InGaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structures Be-doped InGaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) structures with different concentrations in the well material are characterized by photoluminescence (PL) technique. Two significant luminescence peaks were observed from the device structures and they both showed a red shift and broading in line width as doping concentration increases. Strong intersubband absorption originated from intersubband transitions of heavy holes between the ground state Ehh1 and the excited state Ehh2 was also observed and the maximum absorption wavelength was found to shift from 8.35 ?m to 8.00 ?m as the Be concentration increased from 1017 cm?3 to 21019 cm?3. These observations are in very good agreement with the theoretical estimation after taking the doping-induced changes in barrier height into account. Temperature dependence of the luminescence from the doped MQW structures indicates that the PL intensity can be described by an exponential relationship and the energy variation of the two PL peaks with temperature follow well with the Varshnis equation.

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

intersubband absorption
quantum well
luminescence
temperature dependence


Resistive switching of in situ polymerized polystyrene matrix copolymerized with alkanedienyl passivated Si nanoparticles Si NPs were prepared by oxidation and etching then alkyl passivated with 1,9-decadiene. Alkanedienyl passivated Si NPs were in situ copolymerized in resistive switch layer. Resistive switching with ITO/PS-Si NPs/Al device was characterized by IV hysteresis. Writereaderaseread operations were repeatedly demonstrated by cyclic sweep.

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

si nanoparticles
resistive switching
polystyrene


optimizing multi-method dispatch using compressed dispatch tables Optimizing method dispatch is a central issue in object-oriented language implementation. The dispatch table scheme, used for example by C++, is the only implementation of method dispatch that offers constant time performance. This property is the main asset of dispatch tables and a major requirement for some languages. However, the major drawback of dispatch tables is the space they require. Reducing the size of dispatch tables has been studied in the case of mono-methods with techniques such as coloring . In the case of multi-methods, dispatch tables are practically unusable as they grow as a power of the number of arguments. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to compress the dispatch tables of multi-methods by analyzing their signatures.

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

method space language size performance implementation tables power case algorithm paper scheme

requirements
examples
optimality
signature
compression
argument
object oriented language


Modelling multi-output stochastic frontiers using copulas The aim is to introduce a new econometric methodology for multi-output production frontiers. In the context of a system of frontier equations, a flexible multivariate distribution for the inefficiency error term is used. This multivariate distribution is constructed through a copula function which allows for separate modelling of the marginal inefficiency distributions and the dependence. Specific attention to the elicitation of a sensible (improper) prior is paid and simple sufficient conditions for posterior propriety are provided. Inference is conducted through a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler. Bayes factors are used to compare various copula specifications in the empirical context of Dutch dairy farm data, with two outputs.

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

bayes factor
dairy farms
efficiency
existence of posterior
prior elicitation


Self-consistent inclusion of classical large-angle Coulomb collisions in plasma Monte Carlo simulations Large-angle Coulomb collisions allow for the exchange of a significant proportion of the energy of a particle in a single collision, but are not included in models of plasmas based on fluids, the VlasovFokkerPlanck equation, or currently available plasma Monte Carlo techniques. Their unique effects include the creation of fast knock-on ions, which may be more likely to undergo certain reactions, and distortions to ion distribution functions relative to what is predicted by small-angle collision only theories. We present a computational method which uses Monte Carlo techniques to include the effects of large-angle Coulomb collisions in plasmas and which self-consistently evolves distribution functions according to the creation of knock-on ions of any generation. The method is used to demonstrate ion distribution function distortions in an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) relevant scenario of the slowing of fusion products.

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

monte carlo
inertial confinement fusion
plasma

large-angle collisions
knock-ons
reaction-in-flight


Stacking for multivariate time series classification This work presents a novel approach to multivariate time series classification. The method exploits the multivariate structure of the time series and the possibilities of the stacking ensemble method. The basics of the method may be described in three steps: first, decomposing the multivariate time series on its constituent univariate time series; second, inducing a classifier for each univariate time series plus and additional multivariate classifier for the whole time series; third, creating the final multivariate time series classifier stacking the previous classifiers. The ensemble obtained has the potential to improve the accuracy of the single multivariate time series classifier. Several configurations of the stacking method have been tested on seven multivariate time series data sets. In five out of seven data sets, the proposed method obtains the smallest error rate. Moreover, in two out of seven data sets, stacking only the univariate time series classifiers provides the best results. The experimental results show that when a multivariate time series method does not produce an accurate classifier, stacking it with univariate time series classifiers is an alternative worthy of consideration.

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

multivariate time series classification
stacking

support vector machines
dynamic time warping


A dynamic model for a FCCUOP stacked converter unit Based on the full range of published data in fluidized-bed catalytic cracking (FCC) performance and kinetic rates, and adapted to the industrial unit of the PETROBRAS' Alberto Pasqualini Refinery (REFAP), an integrated dynamic model for the UOP stacked FCC is developed. The model is capable to capture the major dynamics effects that occur in this system. It shows a comparison between regenerator dense phase modeling like continuous stirred lank reactor (CSTR) and emulsion-bubble bed. The model represented by a nan-linear system of differential-algebraic equations, was written in language C and implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK. The results are compared with the data obtained in the REFAP industrial plant. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

fluidized-bed catalytic cracking
ten lumps kinetic model


Factors affecting user performance in haptic assembly Current computer-aided assembly systems provide engineers with a variety of spatial snapping and alignment techniques for interactively defining the positions and attachments of components. With the advent of haptics and its integration into virtual assembly systems, users now have the potential advantage of tactile information. This paper reports research that aims to quantify how the provision of haptic feedback in an assembly system can affect user performance. To investigate humancomputer interaction processes in assembly modeling, performance of a peg-in-hole manipulation was studied to determine the extent to which haptics and stereovision may impact on task completion time. The results support two important conclusions: first, it is apparent that small (i.e. visually insignificant) assembly features (e.g. chamfers) affect the overall task completion at times only when haptic feedback is provided; and second, that the difference is approximately similar to the values reported for equivalent real world peg-in-hole assembly tasks.

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 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

haptic assembly
humancomputer interaction

human factors
design for assembly
peg-in-hole metrics
virtual reality


Case

study

of

a

TeaM

challenge

gamee-PBL

revisited

Todays

societies

place

challenging

demands

on

individuals,

who

are

confronted

with

complexity

in

many

parts

of

their

lives.

What

do

these

demands

imply

for

key

competencies

that

individuals

need

to

acquire?

Defining

such

competencies

can

improve

assessments

of

how

well

prepared

young

people

and

adults

are

for

lifes

challenges,

as

well

as

identify

overarching

goals

for

education

systems

and

lifelong

learning.

Why

are

competencies

so

important

today?

The

PISA

results

underline

the

importance

of

student

engagement.

PISA

found

strong

relationships

between

students

attitudes,

learning

strategies

and

performance.

In

addition

to

skills

related

to

specific

parts

of

the

school

curriculum,

students

need

to

be

equipped

with

some

general

competencies

to

solve

lifes

challenges.

As

they

progress

to

adulthood,

they

need

to

learn

to

be

able

to

complete

not

just

pre-rehearsed

exercises,

but

must

also

be

able

to

solve

problems

set

in

unfamiliar

situations

by

thinking

flexibly

and

pragmatically.

PISA

therefore

made

a

first-time

assessment

of

students

problem-solving

skills.

Findings

revealed

that

just

under

one

in

five

in

OECD

countries

are

reflective,

communicative

problem

solvers

able

to

tackle

difficult

tasks

and

also

just

under

one

in

five

students

have

problem-solving

skills

that

cannot

even

be

classified

as

basic

problem

solvers.

What

could

be

the

basic

problem

and

what

resolution

can

be

sought

for?

There

are

several

examples

in

learning

theory

that

suggests

promises

which

need

to

be

revisited.

Barr

and

Tagg

[From

teaching

to

learning.

Change.

November/December

pp.

Retrieved

June

from

defined

the

differences

of

paradigms

in

terms

of

learning

theory

comparing

the

notions

of

teaching

and

that

of

learning,

obviously

expressing

preferences

to

the

later

for

its

more

in-depth

effect

on

the

learner.

One

of

the

main

learner-centric

approaches

providing

adequate

positive

results

is

problem

based

learning

(PBL).

This

paper

revisits

the

pedagogic

theory

behind

PBL

and

examines

it

through

a

practical

case

study

of

a

TeaM

challenge

game

[TeaM

challenge

games:

with

respect

to

its

value

in

teacher

education.

It

will

concentrate

on

issues

centred

around:

Traces

of

use

of

higher

order

thinking

skillsaccording

to

Blooms

taxonomy.

Pedagogic

pre-assumptions

(designers

side):

requirements

for

design

and

supposed

impact

of

students

and

teachers.

Assignment

within

teacher

training

(training

side):

as

the

task

of

setting

up

such

game

is

performed

within

Informatics

teacher

training

at

ELTE

University

and

games

were

launched

into

public

education.

Pedagogic

realities

(facilitators

side):

how

the

teachers

at

a

specific

participant

school

viewed

their

role,

the

game,

its

impact

and

pedagogic

value,

its

role

in

fulfilling

the

National

Curriculum

and

its

benefit

for

students.

Indirect

impact

(staffs

side):

how

the

game

has

affected

the

whole

staff

at

school

and

what

impact

it

had

of

the

attitude

of

teachers.

Results

(evaluators

side):

how

the

game

was

evaluated

in

several

ways

and

what

new

methods

it

has

introduced

into

public

education.

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

problem based learning (pbl)
cross-thematic curriculum framework
primary school
lower secondary school