Automatic reconstruction of 3D human face from CT and color photographs This paper proposes an automatic method for reconstructing a realistic 3D facial image from CT (computer tomography) and three color photographs: front, left and right views, which can be linked easily with the underlying bone and soft tissue models. This work is the first part of our final goal, "the prediction of patient's facial appearance after cancer surgery" such as removal of a part of bone or soft, tissues. The 3D facial surface derived from CT by the marching cubes algorithm is obviously colorless. Our task is to add the color texture of the same patient actually taken with a digital camera to the colorless 3D surface. To do this it needs an accurate registration between the 3D facial image and the color photograph. Our approach is to set up a virtual camera around the 3D facial surface to register the virtual camera images with the corresponding color photographs by automatically adjusting seven parameters of the virtual camera. The camera parameters consists of three rotations, three translations and one scale factor. The registration algorithm has been developed based upon Besl and McKay's iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm.

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

3d face
image registration
medical visualization
color mapping


Designs in product association schemes A number of important families of association schemes-such as the Hamming and Johnson schemes-enjoy the property that, in each member of the family, Delsarte t-designs can be characterised combinatorially as designs in a certain partially ordered set attached to the scheme. In this paper, we extend this characterisation to designs in a product association scheme each of whose components admits a characterisation of the above type. As a consequence of our main result, we immediately obtain linear programming bounds for a wide variety of combinatorial objects as well as bounds on the size and degree of such designs analogous to Delsarte's bounds for t-designs in Q-polynomial association schemes.

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

association scheme
partially ordered set
linear programming


A Bayesian mixture of lasso regressions with t t -errors The following article considers a mixture of regressions with variable selection problem. In many real-data scenarios, one is faced with data which possess outliers, skewness and, simultaneously, one would like to be able to construct clusters with specific predictors that are fairly sparse. A Bayesian mixture of lasso regressions with t t -errors to reflect these specific demands is developed. The resulting model is necessarily complex and to fit the model to real data, a state-of-the-art Particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) algorithm based upon sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods is developed. The model and algorithm are investigated on both simulated and real data.

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

mixture of regressions
variable selection
particle markov chain monte carlo


PAWS: Personal Action Wireless Sensor This paper describes a concept for a product called the Personal Action Wireless Sensor (PAWS), a system that estimates human action within a home environment. In this system, a watch-like motion sensor worn by user communicates wirelessly via a network of locator devices, which determine user location to a host computer. The host software combines the inputs of motion, angular position, location, and time to recognize user action.

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

accelerometer
home control
gestural control


Testing satisfiability of CNF formulas by computing a stable set of points We show that a conjunctive normal form (CNF) formula F is unsatisfiable if and only if there is a set of points of the Boolean space that is stable with respect to F. So testing the satisfiability of a CNF formula reduces to looking for a stable set of points (SSP). We give some properties of SSPs and describe a simple algorithm for constructing an SSP for a CNF formula. Building an SSP can be viewed as a "natural" way of search space traversal. This naturalness of search space examination allows one to make use of the regularity of CNF formulas to be checked for satisfiability. We illustrate this point by showing that if a CNF F formula is symmetric with respect to a group of permutations, it is very easy to make use of this symmetry when constructing an SSP. As an example, we show that the unsatisfiability of pigeon-hole CNF formulas can be proven by examining only a set of points whose size is quadratic in the number of holes. Finally, we introduce the notion of an SSP with excluded directions and sketch a procedure of satisfiability testing based on the construction of such SSPs.

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

satisfiability problem
symmetric cnf formulas


Clustering mesh-like wireless sensor networks with an energy-efficient scheme We study the problem of appropriately clustering mesh-like Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). That is, to impose a hierarchical structure on a WSN of mesh-topology, how many clusterhead nodes we should assign, and how to geographically allocate these clusterheads. Since a clustering method that optimises all factors is impossible to achieve, we will focus on the crucial issue of energy efficiency of the WSN. Because it is mostly true that the nodes of WSN are powered by batteries, power saving is an especially important consideration in WSN architecture design. Based on analytical results, a clustering scheme is proposed for WSN towards the end of saving energy of both sensor nodes and clusterhead nodes.

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

energy efficiency
wsns
wireless sensor networks

hierarchical structures
mesh
network architecture


Generation of sub wavelength super long dark channel using azimuthally polarized annular multi-Gaussian beam We investigate the interesting focal properties of phase modulation azimuthally polarized annular multi Gaussian beam employing a high numerical aperture (NA) lens on the basis of vector diffraction theory. We observe that our proposed system generates a sub wavelength focal hole of \(0.43 \uplambda \) having large uniform focal depth of \(84 \uplambda \). This kind of nondiffracting focal hole is called dark channel, which may have applications in atom optical experiments, such as with atomic lenses, atom traps, and atom switches.

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

focus shaping
optical manipulation
annular multi gaussian beams
complex phase filter


Logistics network design for product recovery in fuzzy environment The design of product recovery network is one of the important and challenging problems in the field of reverse logistics. Some models have been formatted by researchers under deterministic environment. However, uncertainty is inherent during the process of the practical product recovery. In order to deal with uncertainty, this paper employs a fuzzy programming tool to design the product recovery network. Based on different criteria, three types of optimization models are proposed and some properties of them are investigated. To solve the proposed models, we design a hybrid intelligent algorithm which integrates fuzzy simulation and genetic algorithm. Finally, several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed models and algorithm.

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

product recovery
reverse logistics
fuzzy programming
genetic algorithm
fuzzy simulation


An Evaluation of a Web-Based Diabetes Education Program Designed to Enhance Self-management Among Patients Living With Diabetes Diabetes is a global public health problem. Maintaining optimal glycemic control is critical for minimizing associated long-term complications and achieving better quality of life. Effective diabetes self-management education is one key component to enhance diabetes clients' self-management capabilities. The research team established a "Caring for Yourself-Managing Your Diabetes" Web site, which contained 35 video clips about diabetes management. The aim of this study was to evaluate user satisfaction with the Web-based diabetes self-management education program. A convenience sample of 100 diabetes clients (mean age, 61.5 [SD, 10.7] years) was invited to view one of the video clips via a laptop computer. A modified version of the Computer-Aided Learning Evaluation Questionnaire and the End-User Computing Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' satisfaction with the program. The results indicate that participants were satisfied with the format, content, and accuracy of the Web-based diabetes education program. Some participants suggested adding different types of exercises that are specific to the needs of client groups and more explanation of diabetes medications. The results of this study support the use of computer-assisted learning as a promising method for delivering diabetes self-management education, which is satisfactory to diabetes clients.

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

chinese
computer-assisted learning
nursing
nursing informatics
public health informatics
self-efficacy
self-management


WF2Q-M: Worst-case fair weighted fair queueing with maximum rate control While existing weighted fair scheduling schemes guarantee minimum bandwidths/resources for the classes/processes of a shared channel, the maximum rate control, which is critical to service providers, carriers, and network managers for resource management and business strategies in many applications, is generally enforced by employing traffic policing mechanisms. These approaches use either a concatenation of the rate controller and scheduler, or a policer in front of the scheduler. The concatenation method uses two sets of queues and a management apparatus that incurs overhead. The latter method may allow bursty traffic to pass through the controller, which violates the maximum rate constraint, or results in packet loss. In this paper, we present a new weighted fair scheduling scheme, WF2Q-M, which can simultaneously support maximum rate control and minimum service rate guarantees. WF2Q-M uses the virtual clock adjustment method to enforce maximum rate control and distribute the excess bandwidths of saturated sessions to other sessions without recalculating the virtual starting and finishing times of sessions. In terms of performance, we prove that WF2Q-M is theoretically bounded by a corresponding fluid reference model. A procedural scheduling implementation of WF2Q-M is proposed, and a proof of correctness is given. Finally, we present the results of extensive experiments to show that the performance of WF2Q-M is just as claimed.

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


Layered modeling and generation of Pollocks drip style In this paper, we propose a layered approach to model Jackson Pollocks dripping style of paintings. Having analyzed fractal-based algorithms and observed the details of Pollocks paintings, we designed a layered modeling approach that divides Pollocks artwork into four layers: from bottom up are background layer, irregular shape layer, line layer and water drop layer. The layers are drawn sequentially and independent, forming the desired Pollock style. We have developed a program using Processing to generate artworks of the dripping style. The parameters of our program can be randomly generated or tuned by the user, supporting high flexibility and effectiveness. Experimental results show that our layered modeling approach can systematically generate images resembling Pollocks dripping style.

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

jackson pollock
abstract painting
generative art


Understanding the Effect of Process Variations on the Delay of Static and Domino Logic In this paper, the effect of process variations on delay is analyzed in depth for both static and dynamic CMOS logic styles. Analysis allows for gaining an insight into the delay dependence on fan-in, fan-out, and sizing in sub-100-nm technologies. Simple but reasonably accurate models are derived to capture the basic dependences. The effect of process variations in transistor stacks is analytically modeled and analyzed in detail. The impact of both interdie and intradie variations is evaluated and discussed. Interestingly, the input capacitance of static and dynamic logic is shown to be rather insensitive to variations. The delay variability was also shown to be a weak function of the input rise/fall time and load. Analysis shows that domino logic circuits suffer from a doubled variability as compared to the static CMOS logic style. The positive feedback associated with the keeper transistor is shown to be responsible for the variability increase, which, in turn, limits the speed performance. This adds to the well-known speed degradation due to the current contention associated with the keeper transistor. Monte Carlo simulations on a 90-nm technology, including layout parasitics, are performed to validate the results.

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 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 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 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

intradie variations
process variations
variability

interdie variations
modeling
timing
vlsi


efficient solution of systems of boolean equations This paper describes an algorithm for the efficient solution of large systems of Boolean equations. The algorithm exploits the fact that, in some cases, the composition operation of Boolean functions represented by BDD's can be performed in a very efficient manner. Thus, the algorithm tries to eliminate as many variables and equations as possible through function composition. When the system can no longer be reduced in this way, the elimination process is continued through the use of Shannon decomposition. Numerical results show that the performance of this algorithm is significantly superior to that of a previous algorithm proposed by the authors.

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

boolean equations solution
gate-level logic simulation


model-guided autotuning of high-productivity languages for petascale computing addresses the enormous complexity of mapping applications to current and future highly parallel platforms - including scalable architectures consisting of tens of thousands of nodes, many-core devices with tens to hundreds of cores, and hierarchical systems providing multi-level parallelism. At systems of these scales, for many important algorithms, performance is dominated by the time required to move data across the levels of the memory hierarchy. As a consequence, locality awareness of algorithms and the efficient management of communication are essential requirements for obtaining scalable parallel performance, and are of particular concern for applications characterized by irregular memory access patterns. We describe the design of a programming system that focuses on productivity of application programmers in expressing locality-aware algorithms for high-end architectures, which are then automatically tuned for performance. The approach combines the successes of two novel concepts for managing locality: high-level specification of user-defined data distributions and model-guided autotuning for data locality. The resulting combined system provides a powerful general mechanism for the specification of data distributions, which can express domain-specific knowledge, and facilitates automatic tuning of a distribution to access patterns in algorithms and its application to different levels of a memory hierarchy. Because there is a clean separation between the specification of a data distribution and the algorithms in which it is used, these can be written separately and composed together to quickly develop new applications that can be tuned in the context of their data set and execution environment. We address key issues for a range of codes that include LU Decomposition, Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiply and Knowledge Discovery. The knowledge discovery algorithms, in particular, stress the proposed language and compiler technology and provide a forcing function for developing tools that address inherent challenges of irregular applications.}

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

model-guided autotuning
peta-scale computing
high-productivity languages


Economic versus technical approaches to frequency management While telecom markets have been liberalized, the institutional framework for spectrum management has largely remained unchanged. In particular, the process of allocation of the spectrum to different applications is still based on technical rather than economic criteria. This paper contrasts economic and technical approaches to frequency management, with an examination of spectrum management challenges and the current regulatory framework as the starting point. The benefits and limitations of the free market approach are discussed, and an economic evaluation of the Danish spectrum is used to demonstrate how regulators could incorporate an economic dimension into frequency allocation. The paper concludes that a free market approach is still not possible for some parts of the frequency management process; in the short term, regulators must therefore continue to prioritize between applications.

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

frequency management
spectrum
allocation


A novel approach for distortion correction for X-ray image intensifiers Applications of X-ray image intensifiers in medical imaging, include the use of fluoroscopic projection images to generate three-dimensional tomographic reconstructions. Unfortunately, the inherent distortions on the acquired projections deteriorate the quality of the reconstructed tomograms. Distortion correction can be performed using algorithms that can be classified as global or local according to the method used, both having specific advantages and disadvantages. In this work, a novel approach for distortion correction is proposed which, by combining both global and local correction methods allows good image quality in relatively acceptable time. Correction parameters were obtained using a calibration phantom specially designed for this purpose.

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 O O O O O O O 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

x-ray image intensifier
three-dimensional reconstruction
digital tomosynthesis


Collision avoidance using a model of the locust LGMD neuron The lobula giant movement detector (LGMD) system in the locust responds selectively to objects approaching the animal on a collision course. In earlier work we have presented a neural network model based on the LGMD system which shared this preference for approaching objects. We have extended this model in order to evaluate its responses in a real-world environment using a miniature mobile robot. This extended model shows reliable obstacle detection over an eight-fold range of speeds, and raises interesting questions about basic properties of the biological system.

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

mobile robot
obstacle detection
collision avoidance

insect vision
lobula giant movement detector (lgmd)


Convergence analysis of an incremental approach to online inverse reinforcement learning Interest in inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) has recently increased, that is, interest in the problem of recovering the reward function underlying a Markov decision process (MDP) given the dynamics of the system and the behavior of an expert. This paper deals with an incremental approach to online IRL. First, the convergence property of the incremental method for the IRL problem was investigated, and the bounds of both the mistake number during the learning process and regret were provided by using a detailed proof. Then an online algorithm based on incremental error correcting was derived to deal with the I R L problem. The key idea is to add an increment to the current reward estimate each time an action mismatch occurs. This leads to an estimate that approaches a target optimal value. The proposed method was tested in a driving simulation experiment and found to be able to efficiently recover an adequate reward function.

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

incremental approach
inverse reinforcement learning
markov decision process


A hybrid evolutionary algorithm for attribute selection in data mining Real life data sets are often interspersed with noise, making the subsequent data mining process difficult. The task of the classifier could be simplified by eliminating attributes that are deemed to be redundant for classification, as the retention of only pertinent attributes would reduce the size of the dataset and subsequently allow more comprehensible analysis of the extracted patterns or rules. In this article, a new hybrid approach comprising of two conventional machine learning algorithms has been proposed to carry out attribute selection. Genetic algorithms (GAs) and support vector machines (SVMs) are integrated effectively based on a wrapper approach. Specifically, the GA component searches for the best attribute set by applying the principles of an evolutionary process. The SVM then classifies the patterns in the reduced datasets. corresponding to the attribute subsets represented by the GA chromosomes. The proposed GA-SVM hybrid is subsequently validated using datasets obtained from the UCI machine learning repository. Simulation results demonstrate that the GA-SVM hybrid produces good classification accuracy and a higher level of consistency that is comparable to other established algorithms. In addition, improvements are made to the hybrid by using a correlation measure between attributes as a fitness measure to replace the weaker members in the population with newly formed chromosomes. This injects greater diversity and increases the overall fitness of the population. Similarly, the improved mechanism is also validated on the same data sets used in the first stage. The results justify the improvements in the classification accuracy and demonstrate its potential to be a good classifier for future data mining purposes. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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

support vector machines
data mining
attribute selection

evolutionary algorithms
pattern classification


Spread Spectrum Image Watermarking Based on Perceptual Quality Metric Efficient image watermarking calls for full exploitation of the perceptual distortion constraint. Second-order statistics of visual stimuli are regarded as critical features for perception. This paper proposes a second-order statistics (SOS)-based image quality metric, which considers the texture masking effect and the contrast sensitivity in Karhunen-Loeve transform domain. Compared with the state-of-the-art metrics, the quality prediction by SOS better correlates with several subjectively rated image databases, in which the images are impaired by the typical coding and watermarking artifacts. With the explicit metric definition, spread spectrum watermarking is posed as an optimization problem: we search for a watermark to minimize the distortion of the watermarked image and to maximize the correlation between the watermark pattern and the spread spectrum carrier. The simple metric guarantees the optimal watermark a closed-form solution and a fast implementation. The experiments show that the proposed watermarking scheme can take full advantage of the distortion constraint and improve the robustness in return.

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

perceptual watermark
subjectively rated database


Operator functional state classification using least-square support vector machine based recursive feature elimination technique This paper proposed two psychophysiological-data-driven classification frameworks for operator functional states (OFS) assessment in safety-critical human-machine systems with stable generalization ability. The recursive feature elimination (RFE) and least square support vector machine (LSSVM) are combined and used for binary and multiclass feature selection. Besides typical binary LSSVM classifiers for two-class OFS assessment, two multiclass classifiers based on multiclass LSSVM-RFE and decision directed acyclic graph (DDAG) scheme are developed, one used for recognizing the high mental workload and fatigued state while the other for differentiating overloaded and base-line states from the normal states. Feature selection results have revealed that different dimensions of OFS can be characterized by specific set of psychophysiological features. Performance comparison studies show that reasonable high and stable classification accuracy of both classification frameworks can be achieved if the RFE procedure is properly implemented and utilized.

B I I 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 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 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

operator functional state
mental workload
recursive feature elimination
support vector machine


measuring the capacity of a streaming media server in a utility data center environment Abstract In order to design a "utility-aware" streaming media service which automatically requests the necessary resources from Utility Data Center infrastructure, several classic performance questions should be answered: how to measure the basic capacity of a streaming media server? what is the set of basic benchmarks exposing the performance limits and main bottlenecks of a media server? In this paper, we propose a set of benchmarks for measuring the basic capacities of streaming media systems for different expected workloads, and demonstrate the results using an experimental testbed.

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

media server capacity
media system benchmarks
utility data centers
enterprise media servers
measurements


Information and knowledge society (SIC) development and structure in Chile in relation to the Latin American Digital Gap This paper proposes a theoretical framework to define the concept of information society and knowledge (SIC): (For its abbreviation in Spanish; Sociedad de la Informacin y Conocimiento: SIC.). At the same time, it examines how strategies and international indicators progress in integrating the so-called information society to a knowledge society in the USA, Europe and Latin America, particularly in Chile, according to the characteristics of Information and Communication Technologies. The new approach has been implemented in the field of economic and is creating significant changes in the development of economies worldwide as countries generate and acquire these changes. The specific case of Chile is examined through the perspective of several theoretical approaches so as to complete a practical analysis of the current situation and progress toward the pursuit of inclusion and integration in Latin America.

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

information society
chile
knowledge society
latin american


The Laplace transform method for Burgers' equation The Laplace transform method (LTM) is introduced to solve Burgers' equation. Because of the nonlinear term in Burgers' equation, one cannot directly apply the LTM. Increment linearization technique is introduced to deal with the situation. This is a key idea in this paper. The increment linearization technique is the following: In time level t, we divide the solution u(x, t) into two parts: u(x, t(k)) and w(x, t), t(k) <= t <= t(k+1), and obtain a time-dependent linear partial differential equation (PDE) for w(x, t). For this PDE, the LTM is applied to eliminate time dependency. The subsequent boundary value problem is solved by rational collocation method on transformed Chebyshev points. To face the well-known computational challenge represented by the numerical inversion of the Laplace transform, Talbot's method is applied, consisting of numerically integrating the Bromwich integral on a special contour by means of trapezoidal or midpoint rules. Numerical experiments illustrate that the present method is effective and competitive. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

increment linearization technique
rational collocation method
the laplace transform

burgers' equation
talbot's method and numerical inversion


Deconvolving Poissonian images by a novel hybrid variational model In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid variational model for deconvolving Poissonian images by describing the original image as two parts a cartoon part characterized by total variation, and a detailed part which has sparse representation over the wavelet basis. Fast and efficient iterative algorithms based on the split Bregman method are then employed. Under some conditions we prove the convergence properties of the iterative algorithms. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed hybrid model efficiently removes the noise and avoids the staircase effect simultaneously, which leads to a visually pleasant deconvolution result.

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

total variation
split bregman method
hybrid model

frame coefficients
douglasrachford splitting
poisson noise
maximum a posteriori estimator
image deconvolution


Investigation of routing reliability of vehicular ad hoc networks In intelligent transportation systems, the cooperation between vehicles and the road side units is essential to bring these systems to fruition. Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are a promising technology to enable the communications among vehicles on one hand and between vehicles and road side units on the other hand. However, it is a challenging task to develop a reliable routing algorithm for VANETs due to the high mobility and the frequent changes of the network topology. Communication links are highly vulnerable to disconnection in VANETs; hence, the routing reliability of these ever-changing networks needs to be paid special attention. In this paper, we propose a new vehicular reliability model to facilitate the reliable routing in VANETs. The link reliability is defined as the probability that a direct communication link between two vehicles will stay continuously available over a specified time period. Furthermore, the link reliability value is accurately calculated using the location, direction and velocity information of vehicles along the road. We extend the well-known ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol to propose our reliable routing protocol AODV-R. Simulation results demonstrate that AODV-R outperforms significantly the AODV routing protocol in terms of better delivery ratio and less link failures while maintaining a reasonable routing control overhead.

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 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 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 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

aodv
link reliability
routing reliability


Joint Modeling of Anatomical and Functional Connectivity for Population Studies We propose a novel probabilistic framework to merge information from diffusion weighted imaging tractography and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging correlations to identify connectivity patterns in the brain. In particular, we model the interaction between latent anatomical and functional connectivity and present an intuitive extension to population studies. We employ the EM algorithm to estimate the model parameters by maximizing the data likelihood. The method simultaneously infers the templates of latent connectivity for each population and the differences in connectivity between the groups. We demonstrate our method on a schizophrenia study. Our model identifies significant increases in functional connectivity between the parietal/posterior cingulate region and the frontal lobe and reduced functional connectivity between the parietal/posterior cingulate region and the temporal lobe in schizophrenia. We further establish that our model learns predictive differences between the control and clinical populations, and that combining the two modalities yields better results than considering each one in isolation.

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

biomedical imaging
brain modeling
magnetic resonance imaging (mri)
population analysis


Pattern matching in pseudo real-time It has recently been shown how to construct online, non-amortised approximate pattern matching algorithms for a class of problems whose distance functions can be classified as being local. Informally, a distance function is said to be local if for a pattern P of length m and any substring T[i,i+m?1] T [ i , i + m ? 1 ] of a text T, the distance between P and T[i,i+m?1] T [ i , i + m ? 1 ] can be expressed as ?j?(P[j],T[i+j]) ? j ? ( P [ j ] , T [ i + j ] ) , where ? is any distance function between individual characters. We show in this work how to tackle online approximate matching when the distance function is non-local. We give new solutions which are applicable to a wide variety of matching problems including function and parameterised matching, swap matching, swap-mismatch, k-difference, k -difference with transpositions, overlap matching, edit distance/LCS and L1 L 1 and L2 L 2 rearrangement distances. The resulting online algorithms bound the worst case running time per input character to within a log factor of their comparable offline counterpart.

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

approximate pattern matching
distance function


On Lyapunov-type inequalities for nonlinear dynamic systems on time scales In this paper, by using elementary analysis, we establish several new Lyapunov type inequalities for the following nonlinear dynamic system on an arbitrary time scale T {x(Delta)(t) = alpha(t)x(sigma(t)) + beta(t)|y(t)|(p-2)y(t), y(Delta)(t) = - gamma(t)|x(sigma(t))|(q-2)x(sigma(t)) - alpha(t)y(t), when the end-points are not necessarily usual zeros, but rather, generalized zeros, which generalize and improve all related existing ones including the continuous and discrete cases. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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 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


Hexahedral and tetrahedral mesh untangling We investigate a well-motivated mesh untangling objective function whose optimization automatically produces non-inverted elements when possible. Examples show the proceedure is highly effective on tetrahedral meshes and on many hexahedral meshes constructed via mapping or sweeping algorithms.

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

hexahedral meshing
mesh optimization
whisker weaving


A three-domain fuzzy wavelet network filter using fuzzy PSO for robotic assisted minimally invasive surgery A three-domain fuzzy wavelet network filter (3DFWNF) is proposed to filter the physiological tremor in robotic assisted microsurgical procedures, which bases on the three-domain fuzzy wavelet neural network (3DFWN) for estimating the modulated signals with multiple frequency components. The fuzzy domain is added in the 3DFWN to handle the fuzzy uncertainties of the tremor signals. The adaptive parameters of the network are adjusted by using a novel particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm in the training process, namely fuzzy PSO (FPSO). FPSO adopts fuzzy sets described by Gaussian membership function to define the position and velocity of particles, thus all arithmetic operators in the position and velocity updating rules used in the original PSO are replaced by the operators and procedures defined on fuzzy sets. Without the necessity for gradients, the FPSO coordinates the exploration and exploitation capabilities of particles, ensures quick convergence and a preferable global search. The proposed filter is compared with the existing RBF neural network and fuzzy wavelet neural networks. Experiments are carried in different situations, experimental results show superiority on tremor suppression of the newly filter. The effectiveness and accuracy of the FPSO algorithm are also verified.

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


An empirical study of automatic event reconstruction systems ? Reconstructing the sequence of computer events that led to a particular event is an essential part of the digital investigation process. The ability to quantify the accuracy of automatic event reconstruction systems is an essential step in standardizing the digital investigation process thereby making it resilient to tactics such as the Trojan horse defense. In this paper, we present findings from an empirical study to measure and compare the accuracy and effectiveness of a suite of such event reconstruction techniques. We quantify (as applicable) the rates of false positives and false negatives, and scalability in terms of both computational burden and memory-usage. Some of our findings are quite surprising in the sense of not matching a priori expectations, and whereas other findings qualitatively match the a priori expectations they were never before quantitatively put to the test to determine the boundaries of their applicability. For example, our results show that automatic event reconstruction systems proposed in literature have very high false-positive rates (up to 96%).

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

intrusion analysis
digital forensics
incident response


Image multi-thresholding by combining the lattice Boltzmann model and a localized level set algorithm During the last decades, the development of high dimensional large-scale imaging devices increases the need of fast, accurate and parallelizable segmentation methods. Due to its intrinsic advantages such as its ability to handle complex shapes, the level set method (LSM) has been widely used. Nevertheless, the method is computational expensive in image segmentation, which limits its use in real-time systems and volume images segmentation. In this paper we propose an adaptive image multi-thresholding method which uses a localized level set method to detect automatically the best thresholds values from some initial given values. Instead to solve the level set equation (LSE) by using the traditional methods based on some finite difference or finite volume, we use the highly parallelizable lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). All the more, the method is faster since it is solved in histogram domain rather than the pixel domain. The time complexity is therefore considerably reduced since the number of gray levels is generally much smaller than the size of the image. The method is efficient, highly parallelizable and faster than those based on the LSM. Experiments on synthetic, real-world, medical and man-made object images demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.

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

level set method
lattice boltzmann model
image segmentation


Feature extraction using unit-linking pulse coupled neural network and its applications In this paper, we use Unit-linking PCNN (Pulse Coupled Neural Network), the simplified model of PCNN consisting of spiking neurons, to code a 2-dimensional image into a 1-dimensional time sequence called global Unit-linking PCNN image icon or time signature, including features of the original image and having the translation, rotation, and scale invariance. Dividing an image into multiple parts can obtain local Unit-linking PCNN image icons corresponding to the image's local regions, which can reflect the local changes of the image. In the meantime, the global and the local Unit-linking PCNN image icons are used in navigation, object detection, and image authentication. In navigation, global Unit-linking PCNN image icon shows qualified performance especially in non-stationary-video navigation. Object detection using global Unit-linking PCNN image icon, is independent of variances of translation, rotation, and scale, and object segmentation is avoided. In image authentication, using local Unit-linking PCNN image icon can authenticate correctly some juggled images failed to authenticate by using local histogram or local mean intensity, and can locate the juggled positions in the juggled images with some accuracy.

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

applications of unit-linking pcnn image icon


Interpolation with cubic spirals Numerical techniques are used to study parametric Bezier cubics of monotonic curvature, and tools are presented for design applications. Values are computed to aid in the selection of control points for building interpolatory cubic spirals, and a table is developed which helps in adjusting the endpoint curvatures. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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


To publish or not to publish? On the aggregation and drivers of research performance This paper presents a methodology to aggregate multidimensional research output. Using a tailored version of the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis model, we account for the large heterogeneity in research output and the individual researcher preferences by endogenously weighting the various output dimensions. The approach offers three important advantages compared to the traditional approaches: (1) flexibility in the aggregation of different research outputs into an overall evaluation score; (2) a reduction of the impact of measurement errors and a-typical observations; and (3) a correction for the influences of a wide variety of factors outside the evaluated researchers control. As a result, research evaluations are more effective representations of actual research performance. The methodology is illustrated on a data set of all faculty members at a large polytechnic university in Belgium. The sample includes questionnaire items on the motivation and perception of the researcher. This allows us to explore whether motivation and background characteristics (such as age, gender, retention, etc.,) of the researchers explain variations in measured research performance.

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 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 O O O O O O O O O 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

research performance
data envelopment analysis


Fixed-parameter algorithms for scaffold filling ? The new sequencing technologies, called next-generation sequencing, provide a huge amount of data that can be used to reconstruct genomes. However, the methods applied to reconstruct genomes often are not able to reconstruct a complete genome and provide only an incomplete information. Here we consider two combinatorial problems that aim to reconstruct complete genomes by inserting a collection of missing genes. The first problem we consider, called One-sided scaffold filling, given an incomplete genome B and a complete genome A, asks for the insertion of missing genes into an incomplete genome B with the goal of maximizing the common adjacencies between genomes B? B ? (resulting from the insertion of missing genes in B) and A. The second problem, called Two-sided scaffold filling, given two incomplete genomes A, B , asks for the insertion of missing genes into both genomes so that the resulting genomes A? A ? and B? B ? have the same multiset of genes and the number of common adjacencies between A? A ? and B? B ? is maximized. Both problems were proved to be NP-hard, while their parameterized complexity, when the parameter is the number of common adjacencies of the resulting genomes, was left as an open problem. In this paper, we settle this open problem by presenting fixed-parameter algorithms for One-sided scaffold filling and Two-sided scaffold filling.

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

genome comparison
computational biology
fixed-parameter algorithms


e-approximations with minimum packing constraint violation (extended abstract) We present efficient new randomized and deterministic methods for transforming optimal solutions for a type of relaxed integer linear program into provably good solutions for the corresponding NP -hard discrete optimization problem. Without any constraint violation, the &egr;-approximation problem for many problems of this type is itself NP -hard. Our methods provide polynomial-time &egr;-approximations while attempting to minimize the packing constraint violation. Our methods lead to the first known approximation algorithms with provable performance guarantees for the s-median problem , the tree prunning problem , and the generalized assignment problem . These important problems have numerous applications to data compression, vector quantization, memory-based learning, computer graphics, image processing, clustering, regression, network location, scheduling, and communication. We provide evidence via reductions that our approximation algorithms are nearly optimal in terms of the packing constraint violation. We also discuss some recent applications of our techniques to scheduling problems.

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

communication
network
scheduling
applications
approximation algorithms
vector quantization
performance
evidence
constraint
image processing
computer graphics
regression
data compression
assignment
learning
integer linear program

efficiency polynomial approximation reduction timing randomization method abstraction locatability optimality memorialized cluster


XOR-based hash functions Bank conflicts can severely reduce the bandwidth of an interleaved multibank memory and conflict misses increase the miss rate of a cache or a predictor. Both occurrences are manifestations of the same problem: Objects which should be mapped to different indices are accidentally mapped to the same index. Suitable chosen hash functions can avoid conflicts in each of these situations by mapping the most frequently occurring patterns conflict-free. A particularly interesting class of hash functions are the XOR-based hash functions, which compute each set index bit as the exclusive-or of a subset of the address bits. When implementing an XOR-based hash function, it is extremely important to understand what patterns are mapped conflict-free and how a hash function can be constructed to map the most frequently occurring patterns without conflicts. Hereto, this paper presents two ways to reason about hash functions: by their null space and by their column space. The null space helps to quickly determine whether a pattern is mapped conflict-free. The column space is more useful for other purposes, e. g., to reduce the fan-in of the XOR-gates without introducing conflicts or to evaluate interbank dispersion in skewed-associative caches. Examples illustrate how these ideas can be applied to construct conflict-free hash functions.

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

null space
column space
interbank dispersion

xor-based hash function
conflict-free mapping
skewed-associative cache


A characterization of idempotent nullnorms Nullnorms are generalization of triangular norms and conorms with a zero element anywhere in the unit interval. Nullnorms are built up from triangular norms and triangular conorms. If nullnorm is idempotent, then it is composed of a minimum and a maximum. The idea of this paper is to find minimal assumptions on an operation in order to get an idempotent nullnorm. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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 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

fuzzy connectives
binary operations
increasing operation
idempotent operation


Video motion stitching using trajectory and position similarities Stitching motions in multiple videos into a single video scene is a challenging task in current video fusion and mosaicing research and film production. In this paper, we present a novel method of video motion stitching based on the similarities of trajectory and position of foreground objects. First, multiple video sequences are registered in a common reference frame, whereby we estimate the static and dynamic backgrounds, with the former responsible for distinguishing the foreground from the background and the static region from the dynamic region, and the latter functioning in mosaicing the warped input video sequences into a panoramic video. Accordingly, the motion similarity is calculated by reference to trajectory and position similarity, whereby the corresponding motion parts are extracted from multiple video sequences. Finally, using the corresponding motion parts, the foregrounds of different videos and dynamic backgrounds are fused into a single video scene through Poisson editing, with the motions involved being stitched together. Our major contributions are a framework of multiple video mosaicing based on motion similarity and a method of calculating motion similarity from the trajectory similarity and the position similarity. Experiments on everyday videos show that the agreement of trajectory and position similarities with the real motion similarity plays a decisive role in determining whether two motions can be stitched. We acquire satisfactory results for motion stitching and video mosaicing.

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 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 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 I O B I

video fusion
video mosaicing
motion stitching

video registration
background estimation


A stochastic model for the interconnection topology of digital circuits Rent's rule has been successfully applied to a priori estimation of wire length distributions. However, this approach is very restrictive: the circuits are assumed to be homogeneous. In this paper, recursive clustering is described as a more advanced model for the partitioning behavior of digital circuits. It is applied to predict the variance of the terminal count distribution. First, the Impact of the block degree distribution is analyzed with a simple model. A more refined model incorporates the effect of stochastic self similarity. Finally, the model is further extended to describe the effects of heterogeneity. This model is a promising candidate for more accurate a priori estimation tools.

O B I O O B I 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 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 I O

a priori estimation
interconnection topology
recursive clustering
stochastic model


Remodeling the network for microgroup detection on microblog In this paper, we focus on the problem of community detection on Sina weibo, the most popular microblogging system in China. By characterizing the structure and content of microgroup (community) on Sina weibo in detail, we observe that different from ordinary social networks, the degree assortativity coefficients are negative on most microgroups. In addition, we find that users from the same microgroup tend to share some common attributes (e.g., followers, tags) and interests extracted from their published posts. Inspired by these new findings, we propose a united method to remodel the network for microgroup detection while maintaining the information of link structure and user content. Firstly, the link direction is concerned by assigning greater weight values to more surprising links, while the content similarity is measured by the Jaccard coefficient of common features and interest similarity based on Latent Dirichlet Allocation model. Then, both link direction and content similarity between two users are uniformly converted to the edge weight of a new remodeled network, which is undirected and weighted. Finally, multiple frequently used community detection algorithms that support weighted networks could be employed. Extensive experiments on real-world social networks show that both link structure and user content play almost equally important roles in microgroup detection on Sina weibo. Our method outperforms the traditional methods with average accuracy improvement up to 39%, and the number of unrecognized users decreased by about 75%.

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

microblogging
community detection
link structure
user content
united method


Scalable Privacy-Preserving t-Repetition Protocol with Distributed Medical Data Finding rare cases with medical data is important when hospitals or research institutes want to identify rare diseases. To extract meaningful information from a large amount of sensitive medical data, privacy-preserving data mining techniques can be used. A privacy-preserving t-repetition protocol can be used to find rare cases with distributed medical data. A privacy-preserving t-repetition protocol is to find elements which exactly t parties out of n parties have in common in their datasets without revealing their private datasets. A privacy-preserving t-repetition protocol can be used to find not only common cases with a high t but also rare cases with a low t. In 2011, Chun et al. suggested the generic set operation protocol which can be used to find t-repeated elements. In the paper, we first show that the Chun et al's protocol becomes infeasible for calculating t-repeated elements if the number of users is getting bigger. That is, the computational and communicational complexities of the Chun et al.'s protocol in calculating t-repeated elements grow exponentially as the number of users grows. Then, we suggest a polynomial-time protocol with respect to the number of users, which calculates t-repeated elements between users.

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 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 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


What do faculty and students really think about e-books? Purpose - The purpose of this article is to report on a large-scale survey that was carried Out to assess academic users' awareness, perceptions and existing levels of use of e-books. The survey also seeks to find out about the purposes to which electronic books were put, and to obtain an understanding of the most effective library marketing and communication channels. Design/methodology/approach - An e-mail invitation to participate in the survey was distributed to all UCL staff and students (approximately 27,000) in November 2006, and 1,818 completions were received, an effective response rate of at least 6.7 per cent. Statistical analyses were carried out on the data using Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings - The survey findings point to various ways in which user uptake and acceptance of e-books may be encouraged. Book discovery behaviour, a key issue for publishers and librarians in both print and electronic environments, emerges as a critical focus for service delivery and enhancement. Originality/value - The survey is part of an action research project, CIBER's SuperBook, that will further investigate the issues raised in this initial benchmarking survey using deep log analysis and qualitative methods. The paper partly fills the gap in the literature on e-books which has mainly focused on usage and not the users.

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 I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 New Subclass of Integer Linear Programming Problems and Its Applications In this paper, we define a new subclass of integer linear programming problems called the composition problem. We shall propose efficient algorithms for solving this problem and its variants. Moreover, as an application of the composition problem, those algorithms are applied to solve the P-constrained secure set problem, which is a variation of the secure set problem introduced in [5], on trees. A P-constrained secure set problem is to find a minimum secure set containing a set of vertical bar P vertical bar predetermined vertices.

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

constrained optimization
dynamic programming
graph algorithms
secure sets


A hybrid analytical model for the transverse vibration response of a micro-end mill As a result of its detrimental effect on tool life and product quality, vibration analyses are crucial if the full potential of micro-milling operation is to be attained. In this paper, a hybrid analytical model (HAM) developed for estimating the transverse response of a micro-end mill is presented. The HAM is a combination of discrete and distributed structural elements. The discrete elements account for the stiffness and damping coefficients of the machining system, while the distributed elements idealize the geometrical representation of the micro-end mill with a novel model of the micro-flute. A number of slot micro-end milling operations, carefully designed with the Taguchi method of design of experiments, are carried out to examine the accuracy of the HAM. The comparison of the response profile from the experiment and the developed model shows reasonably close similarity. The influence of the helix angle is found to be far greater on the response of the micro-end mill than the other geometric variables. By making use of the root mean square of the response, it is further observed that the representation of the micro-flute of the micro-end mill with a less accurate model deteriorates the prediction of the HAM.

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

tool response
micro-milling
high-speed dynamics


Optimal PET Protection for Streaming Scalably Compressed Video Streams With Limited Retransmission Based on Incomplete Feedback For streaming scalably compressed video streams over unreliable networks, Limited-Retransmission Priority Encoding Transmission (LR-PET) outperforms PET remarkably since the opportunity to retransmit is fully exploited by hypothesizing the possible future retransmission behavior before the retransmission really occurs. For the retransmission to be efficient in such a scheme, it is critical to get adequate acknowledgment from a previous transmission before deciding what data to retransmit. However, in many scenarios, the presence of a stochastic packet delay process results in frequent late acknowledgments, while imperfect feedback channels can impare the server's knowledge of what the client has received. This paper proposes an extended LR-PET scheme, which optimizes PET-protection of transmissed bitstreams, recognizing that the received feedback information is likely to be incomplete. Similar to the original LR-PET, the behavior of future retransmissions is hypothesized in the optimization objective of each transmission opportunity. As the key contribution, we develop a method to efficiently derive the effective recovery probability versus redundancy rate characteristic for the extended LR-PET communication process. This significantly simplifies the ultimate protection assignment procedure. This paper also demonstrates the advantage of the proposed strategy over several alternative strategies.

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

error protection
hybrid-arq
priority encoding transmission (pet)
scalable video


a case study of post-deployment user feedback triage Many software requirements are identified only after a product is deployed, once users have had a chance to try the software and provide feedback. Unfortunately, addressing such feedback is not always straightforward, even when a team is fully invested in user-centered design. To investigate what constrains a teams evolution decisions, we performed a 6-month field study of a team employing iterative user-centered design methods to the design, deployment and evolution of a web application for a university community. Across interviews with the team, analyses of their bug reports, and further interviews with both users and non-adopters of the application, we found most of the constraints on addressing user feedback emerged from conflicts between users heterogeneous use of information and inflexible assumptions in the team's software architecture derived from earlier user research. These findings highlight the need for new approaches to expressing and validating assumptions from user research as software evolves.

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


Quantum-mechanical computations on the electronic structure of trans-resveratrol and trans-piceatannol: a theoretical study of the stacking interactions in trans-resveratrol dimers Accurate quantum-chemical calculations based on the second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation method (MP2) and density functional theory (DFT) were performed for the first time to investigate the electronic structures of trans-resveratrol and trans-piceatannol, as well as to study the stacking interaction between trans-resveratrol molecules. Ab initio MP2 calculations performed with using standard split-valence Pople basis sets led us to conclude that these compounds have structures that deviate strongly from planarity, whereas the DFT computations for the same basis sets revealed that the equilibrium geometries of these bioactive polyphenols are planar. Furthermore, the results obtained at the MP2(full)/aug-cc-pVTZ and B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ levels indicated that the geometries of trans-resveratrol and trans-piceatannol are practically planar at their absolute energy minima. The relative energies of the equilibrium geometries of trans-resveratrol on its potential energy surface were computed at the MP2(full)/aug-cc-pVTZ level. According to the results obtained, a T-shaped (edge-to-phase) conformer of trans-resveratrol dimer is the most stable in vacuum. This T-shaped conformer is mainly stabilized by strong hydrogen bonding and weak C-HaEuro broken vertical bar pi interactions. Stacked structures with parallel-displaced trans-stilbene skeletons were also found to be energetically stable. The vertical separation and twist angle dependencies of the stacking energy were investigated at the MP2(full)/aug-cc-pVTZ, B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ, and HF/aug-cc-pVTZ levels. The standard B3LYP functional and the Hartree-Fock method neglect long-range attractive dispersion interactions. The MP2 computations revealed that the London dispersion energy cannot be neglected at long or short distances. The stacked model considered here may be useful for predicting the quantum nature of the interactions in pi-stacked systems of other naturally occurring stilbenoids, and can help to enhance our understanding of the antioxidant and anticancer activities of trans-resveratrol.

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

trans-resveratrol
trans-piceatannol
mp2 method
ab initio study
dft method


teaching strategies to millenial students Millenial students are very technology-aware and see technology as a necessity in most aspects of their life including learning. Traditional learning methods, in which the instructor largely controls the learning process, are not well adapted to such a clientele. Conversely, serious gaming environments offer complex and diversified approaches to active learning, which millenial students greatly appreciate. In this paper, we report on how one such environment, namely Second Life, was used to create a teaching center for a university course on business strategies.

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


Squares and primitivity in partial words ? Recently, Tittmann etal. introduced the subgraph component polynomial and showed that its power for distinguishing graphs is quite different from the power of other graph polynomials that appear in the literature such as the matching polynomial, the Tutte polynomial, the characteristic polynomial, the chromatic polynomial, etc. The subgraph component polynomial enumerates vertex-induced subgraphs in a given undirected graph with respect to the number of components. We show the use of the subgraph component polynomial to count the number of primitive partial words of a given length over an alphabet of a fixed size, which leads to a method for enumerating such partial words. We also give a tight bound for the maximum number of holes a primitive partial word can have. Doing so allows us to establish some tight upper and lower bounds on the maximum number of occurrences of primitively-rooted squares, i.e.,adjacent occurrences of two compatible substrings with primitive root, in a given partial word with a fixed number of holes over a fixed alphabet size.

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

partial words
subgraph component polynomial

combinatorics on words
primitive partial words
primitively-rooted squares


Making a square fit into a circle: Researchers experiences reusing qualitative data Although researchers have shown their skepticism of qualitative data reuse due to the epistemological issues, interest in qualitative data reuse has continuously grown. Discussions regarding qualitative data sharing and reuse have also been very active, especially in Europe and Australia. Compared with efforts in other countries, the discussions do not seem to be as prominent in the United States, in spite of a long history of data-depositing and -curating practices and researchers reusing qualitative data in some disciplines. This research aims to explore qualitative researchers experiences reusing data in the field of social science in US, which have not been empirically addressed yet. The preliminary results from the in-depth interviews with qualitative researchers who have used secondary data are presented, along with the barriers or hindrances to reusing qualitative data and the keys to successful data reuse.

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


3D posture estimation using geodesic distance maps This paper presents a novel technique for three-dimensional (3D) human motion capture using a set of two non-calibrated cameras. The user's five extremities (head, hands and feet) are extracted, labeled and tracked after silhouette segmentation. As they are the minimal number of points that can be used in order to enable whole body gestural interaction, we will henceforth refer to these features as crucial points. Features are subsequently labelled using 3D triangulation and inter-image tracking. The crucial point candidates are defined as the local maxima of the geodesic distance with respect to the center of gravity of the actor region that lie on the silhouette boundary. Due to its low computational complexity, the system can run at real-time paces on standard personal computers, with an average error rate range between 4% and 9% in realistic situations, depending on the context and segmentation quality.

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 O 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


A weakly stable method for linear integral equations of the first kind Studies a new method of a weak approximation for a stable solution of some first kind integral equations integral K-b(a)(x, y)u(x)dx = f(y) with continuous kernel. It is well known that the problem of resolution of these equations is ill-posed in the sense of the methods that use the strong norms such as the one of uniform convergence. The method developed here is based on a weak formulation of the problem enabling us to weakly approach the solution and guarantee some weak stability with respect to the topology of simple convergence. An application to the inverse Laplace transform is treated at the end of this paper.

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


pushdown flow analysis of first-class control Pushdown models are better than control-flow graphs for higher-order flow analysis. They faithfully model the call/return structure of a program, which results in fewer spurious flows and increased precision. However, pushdown models require that calls and returns in the analyzed program nest properly. As a result, they cannot be used to analyze language constructs that break call/return nesting such as generators, coroutines, call/cc, etc . In this paper, we extend the CFA2 flow analysis to create the first pushdown flow analysis for languages with first-class control. We modify the abstract semantics of CFA2 to allow continuations to escape to, and be restored from, the heap. We then present a summarization algorithm that handles escaping continuations via a new kind of summary edge. We prove that the algorithm is sound with respect to the abstract semantics.

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 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 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

first-class continuations
higher-order functional language
restricted continuation-passing style


On the existence of common Lyapunov functions for consensus algorithms based on averaging This paper addresses distributed deterministic consensus algorithms based on averaging. We relate the conditions for achieving consensus to the existence of a common norm for a set of row-stochastic matrices associated with the original set of averaging matrices. For a system to achieve consensus, it is shown that this associated set of matrices should have a Common Lyapunov Function, even if the original set might not have one.

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

synchronization
scrambling matrix
switched systems


Schwarz meets Schwann: Design and fabrication of biomorphic and durataxic tissue engineering scaffolds Tissue engineering is a discipline at the leading edge of the field of computer assisted intervention. This multidisciplinary engineering science attempts to meet the reparative and regenerative needs of tissues and organs based on the notion of design and fabrication of scaffolds- porous, three-dimensional trellis-like biomimetic structures that, on implantation, provide a viable environment to recuperate and regenerate damaged cells. Existing scaffold fabrication strategies produce sub-optimal porous labyrinths with contra-naturam straight edges. The biomorphic geometry that mimics the secundam-naturam substrate would be one that is continuous through all space, partitioned into two not-necessarily-equal sub-spaces by a non-intersecting, two-sided surface. Minimal surface geometry is not only ideal to describe such a space but is also the preferentially assumed geometry in natural and pathological or manipulated cells. We present results on the premier attempt in computer-controlled fabrication, modulation, and mechanical characterization of tissue engineering scaffolds based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS). We also present novel strategies to realize coterminous seeding-feeding networks thereby guaranteeing blood/nutrient supply to the proliferating cells at close proximity. This initiative of linking Schwanns 1838 cell theory with Schwarzs 1865 discovery of TPMS is a significant step to fabricate the previously elusive optimal biomorphic tissue analogs.

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

tissue engineering
scaffolds
biomorphic
durataxic
minimal surfaces

solid freeform fabrication
triply periodic minimal surfaces


Tight bounds for the first order Marcum Q-function In this paper, we develop new bounds for the first order Marcum Q-function, which are extremely tight and tighter than any of the existing bounds to the best of our knowledge. The key idea of our approach is to derive refined approximations for the 0th order modified Bessel function in the integration region of the Marcum Q-function. The new bounds are very tight and can serve as an effective means in bit error rate (BER) performance analysis for non-coherent demodulation in digital communication. Copyright (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

the first order modified bessel function of the first kind


A note on RobinsonUrsescu and LyusternikGraves theorem The aim of this note is twofold. First, we prove an analogue of the well-known RobinsonUrsescu Theorem on the relative openness with a linear rate (restrictive metric regularity) of a multivalued mapping. Second, we prove a generalization of Graves Open Mapping Theorem for a class of mappings which can be approximated at a reference point by a bunch of linear mappings. The approximated non-linear mapping is restricted to a closed convex subset of a Banach space.

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 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

open mapping
restrictive metric regularity
robinsonursescu theorem


Optimization of composite structures subject to local stress constraints An extension of current methodologies is introduced for optimization of graded microstructure subject to local stress criteria. The method is based on new multiscale stress criteria given by macrostress modulation functions. The modulation functions quantify the intensity of local stress fluctuations at the scale of the microstructure due to the imposed macroscopic stress. The methodology is illustrated for long cylindrical shafts reinforced with stiff cylindrical elastic fibers with generators parallel to the shaft. Examples are presented for shaft cross sections that possess reentrant corners typically seen in lap joints and junctions of struts. It is shown that the computational methodology delivers graded fiber microgeometries that provide overall structural rigidity while at the same time tempering the influence of stress concentrations near reentrant corners.

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


Data architectures for an organizational memory information system A framework is developed that supports the theoretical design of an organizational memory information system (OMIS). The framework provides guidance for managing the processing capabilities of an organization by matching knowledge location, flexibility, and processing requirements with data architecture. This framework is tested using three different sets of data attributes and data architectures from 147 business professionals that have experience in IS development. We find that trade-offs exist between the amount of knowledge embedded in the data architecture and the flexibility of data architectures. This trade-off is contingent on the characteristics of the set of tasks that the data architecture is being designed to support. Further, the match is important to consider in the design of OMIS database architecture.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 modeling
information resources management
database management


Finite element simulation for design optimisation of shape memory alloy spring actuators Purpose - The purpose of this paper is the optimisation of shape memory alloy (SMA) spring actuators. The purpose of these actuators is to control active endoscopes. The objective for such endoscopes is to minimize one patient pain during operation. Design/methodology/approach - A range of recently published (1990-2002) works, which aim to provide models for SMA actuators, do not focus on the simulation and on the design of such actuators. SMAs have two main characteristics, namely the phase change and non-linear behaviour in each phase. The proposed model is based on a mixed approach combining an Euler-Bernoulli beam model and a bi-dimensional finite element model. It allows the modelling of plastic behaviour and drives the phase evolution in the beam cross-section. Findings - The physical properties of SMAs are described and modelled. A new beam model and a numerical algorithm are proposed. Preliminary results demonstrate the performance of our method on two problems and lead to determine the actuator capability. The resulting actuator model is then integrated into an optimisation process based on genetic algorithms. The overall approach provides a design tool for SMA spring actuator subjected to design constraints. Research limitations/implications - The proposed method is only validated for our practical purposes. However, we believe that the optimisation methodology may have other implications in structure design. Originality/value - This paper provides an optimisation approach that is valuable for scientists and engineers in engineering computations.

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

finite element analysis
structures
mechanical behaviour of materials


Fuzzy valued probability ? In this paper the main result is introduction of fuzzy valued probability restricted with respect to probability selectors. In order to treat a highly imprecise probability system, the fuzzy valued probability is defined over the measurable space as a fuzzy valued set function which is not additive in classical sense but it is additive with respect to restricted arithmetics. Some properties and the connection with fuzzy valued measure are discussed. Also, an application in Markov decision process with imprecise information is presented.

B I I 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 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 B I I O O O O O

fuzzy valued probability
fuzzy valued measure
markov decision process


Probing the h-core: an investigation of the tailcore ratio for rank distributions The set of citations received by a set of publications consists of citations received by articles in the h-core and citations received by articles in the h-tail. Denoting the cardinalities of these fours sets as C, P, C H and C T we introduce the tail-core ratio (C T/C H) and show that in practical cases this ratio tends to increase. Introducing further the k-index, defined as k = (C/P)/(C T/C H), we show that this index decreases in most practical cases. A power law model is in accordance with these practical observations.

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 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


Graph partition into small cliques ? Let s s and k k be two integers with 0?s?k 0 ? s ? k and let G G be a simple graph of order n n . This paper investigates clique partition problems. It is proved that if n?3s+4(k?s) n ? 3 s + 4 ( k ? s ) and d(u)+d(v)?3(n?s)/2+k?1 d ( u ) + d ( v ) ? 3 ( n ? s ) / 2 + k ? 1 for any pair of non-adjacent vertices u,v u , v of G G , then G G contains s s vertex-disjoint K3 K 3 s and k?s k ? s vertex-disjoint K4 K 4 s such that all of them are vertex-disjoint. Moreover, the degree condition is sharp.

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 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 I O O


Optimal independent spanning trees on hypercubes Two spanning trees rooted at some vertex r in a graph G are said to be independent if for each vertex v of G, v not equal r, the paths from r to v in two trees are vertex-disjoint. A set of spanning trees of G is said to be independent if they are pairwise independent. A set of independent spanning trees is optimal if the average path length of the trees is the minimum. Any k-dimensional hypercube has k independent spanning trees rooted at an arbitrary vertex. In this paper, an O(kn) time algorithm is proposed to construct k optimal independent spanning trees on a k-dimensional hypercube, where n = 2(k) is the number of vertices in a hypercube.

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

internally disjoint paths
fault-tolerant broadcasting
recursive algorithm


SOC HW/SW co-verification based debugging technique Purpose - Increasingly complex and sophisticated VLSI design, coupled with shrinking design cycles, requires shorter verification time and efficient debug method. Logic simulation provides SoC verification with full controllability and observability, but it suffers from very slow simulation speed for complex design. Using hardware emulation such as FPGA can have higher simulation speed. However, it is very hard to debug due to its poor visibility. SOC HW/SW co-verification technique seems to draw a balance, but Design Under Test (DUT) still resides in FPGA and remains hard for debugging. The purpose of this paper is to study a run-time RTL debugging methodology for a FPGA-based co-verification system. Design/methodology/approach - The debugging tools are embedded in HDL simulator using Verilog VPI callback, so signals of testbench and internal nodes of DUT can be observed in a single waveform and updated as simulation runs, making debugging more efficient. The proposed debugging method connects internal nodes directly to a PCI-extended bus, instead of inserting extra scan-chain logic, so the overhead for area is reduced. Findings - This method provides internal nodes probing on an event-driven co-verification platform and achieves full observability for DUT. The experiment shows that, compared with a similar method, the area overhead for debug logic is reduced by 30-50 per cent and compile time is shortened by 40-70 per cent. Originality/value - The proposed debugging technique achieves 100 per cent observability and can be applied to both RTL and gate-level verification. The debugging tool is embedded into HDL simulator using Verilog VPI callback, so DUT signals are displayed together with testbench signals in the same waveform viewer. New value of DUT signal is read from FPGA whenever it changes, which allows run-time debug.

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

computer hardware
computer software
co-verification


Visualizing preferences on spheres for group decisions based on multiplicative preference relations Decision makers choices are often influenced by visual background information. One of the difficulties in group decision is that decision makers may bias their judgment in order to increase the possibility of a preferred result. Hence, the method used to provide visual aids in helping decision making teams both to observe the background context and to perceive outliers is an important issue to consider. This study proposes an extended Decision Ball model to visualize a groups decisions. By observing the Decision Balls, each decision maker can: see individual ranking as well as similarities between alternatives, identify the differences between individual judgments and the groups collective opinion, observe the clusters of alternatives as well as clusters of decision makers, and discover outliers. Thus, this method can help decision makers make a more objective judgment.

O O O O O B I 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 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

group decisions
decision balls
multiplicative preference relations

visual interactive modeling
decision support systems