Trajectory association across multiple airborne cameras A camera mounted on an aerial vehicle provides an excellent means to monitor large areas of a scene. Utilizing several such cameras on different aerial vehicles allows further flexibility in terms of increased visual scope and in the pursuit of multiple targets. In this paper, we address the problem of associating trajectories across multiple moving airborne cameras. We exploit geometric constraints on the relationship between the motion of each object across cameras without assuming any prior calibration information. Since multiple cameras exist, ensuring coherency in association is an essential requirement, e. g., that transitive closure is maintained between more than two cameras. To ensure such coherency, we pose the problem of maximizing the likelihood function as a k-dimensional matching and use an approximation to find the optimal assignment of association. Using the proposed error function, canonical trajectories of each object and optimal estimates of intercamera transformations ( in a maximum likelihood sense) are computed. Finally, we show that, as a result of associating trajectories across the cameras, under special conditions, trajectories interrupted due to occlusion or missing detections can be repaired. Results are shown on a number of real and controlled scenarios with multiple objects observed by multiple cameras, validating our qualitative models, and, through simulation, quantitative performance is also reported.

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

applications
scene analysis
sensor fusion
registration


A unique property of single-link distance and its application in data clustering We prove a unique property of single-link distance, based on which an algorithm is designed for data clustering. The property states that a single-link cluster is a subset with inter-subset distance greater than intra-subset distance, and vice versa. Among the major linkages (single, complete, average, centroid, median, and Ward's), only single-link distance has this property. Based on this property we introduce monotonic sequences of iclusters (i.e., single-link clusters) to model the phenomenon that a natural cluster has a dense kernel and the density decreases as we move from the kernel to the boundary. A monotonic sequence of iclusters is a sequence of nested iclusters such that an icluster in the sequence is a dominant child (in terms of size) of the icluster before it. Our data clustering algorithm is monotonic sequence based. We classify a dataset of one monotonic sequence into to two classes by splitting the sequence into two parts: the kernel part and the surrounding part. For a data set of multiple monotonic sequences, each leaf monotonic sequence represents the kernel of a class, which then grows by absorbing nearby non-kernel points. This algorithm, proved by experiments, compares favorable in effectiveness to other clustering algorithms.

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

hierarchical clustering
single-link cluster
isolation compactness


Autonomous mission management for UAVs using soar intelligent agents State-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are typically able to autonomously execute a pre-planned mission. However, UAVs usually fly in a very dynamic environment which requires dynamic changes to the flight plan; this mission management activity is usually tasked to human supervision. Within this article, a software system that autonomously accomplishes the mission management task for a UAV will be proposed. The system is based on a set of theoretical concepts which allow the description of a flight plan and implemented using a combination of Soar intelligent agents and traditional control techniques. The system is capable of automatically generating and then executing an entire flight plan after being assigned a set of objectives. This article thoroughly describes all system components and then presents the results of tests that were executed using a realistic simulation environment.

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 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


Optimal allocation of multi-sensor passive localization To improve multi-sensor passive localization precision, the optimal allocation form of multi-sensor bearing-only localization is analyzed from the perspective of the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the least squares (LS) algorithm. This paper indicates that whether the target lies inside the closed region formed by the sensors or not, the optimal allocation is when each adjacent cut angle between a sensor pair is identical, and all sensors are located on the border of the circle that has the target (which is also the origin of the coordinate system) as its center. When there is no restriction on the adjacent cut angle in the above allocation, the optimal estimate of the LS algorithm in the sense of minimum variance can be acquired. When the LS algorithm achieves the optimal estimate and the sensors present the optimal allocation, the respective consistencies are analyzed. Simulation results verify the analysis of the optimal allocation form above, which can be used in multi-sensor passive localization algorithms based on sensor management.

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

optimal allocation
geometric dilution of precision
cut angle
optimal estimate

multi-sensor passive localization
consistency


The dynamics of robbery and violence hot spots This paper examines how hot spots shift by hour of day and day of week. Hot spot analysis is more likely to have a substantial impact on crime patterns if spatiotemporal shifts are incorporated into the crime analysis process. Even in some of the highest crime neighborhoods in Bronx County (NY), not all micro-level geographies (e.g. street segments and property lots) contain substantial (if any) amounts of crime over the 5-year study period. Moreover, while there are 168h in a week, even the hottest hot spots do not contain crime 24h a day, 7days a week, and 52weeks a year. Hot spots shift by both space and time and it is important to illustrate these dual shifts when researching and analyzing different levels of geographies and/or hot spots. Spatiotemporal crime analyses are appearing much more frequently in our academic literature in recent years and have become a principal contributor to the progression of routine activities, crime pattern theory, place-management and situational crime prevention. In addition, spatiotemporal hot spots provide important subject and opportunity context and can help answer some of the questions about what specific types of crime opportunities are available inside of hot spots based on land-use and peoples movement patterns. When studying geographical hot spots, it becomes important to measure and illustrate the interrelated temporal shifts within each of the specific hot spots (i.e. not all hot spots are the same) that are generated. Similarly, when studying temporal hot spots, it is important to measure and illustrate the interrelated spatial shifts within each of the temporal frame(s) that are examined. Examples of spacetime and timespace hot spot analysis are provided using violent crime data from the New York City Police Department. Key findings of this research include significant shifting of hot spots from weekday to weekend and afternoon to evening, as well as decisive spatiotemporal pattern variations between school-day robberies vs. non-school day robberies.

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

robbery
violence
crime analysis
spatiotemporal
routine activities
hot spots


Assessing the importance of industry in the adoption and assimilation of IT: Evidence from Italian enterprises We analysed the role of industry in determining the diffusion and business value created by IT. Data was collected for this purpose by surveying 192 large enterprises in Italy. Our research revealed three findings. First, in the material services and non-hi-tech manufacturing industries, firms had a relatively limited adoption of IT, resulting in little business impact. Second, firms IT spending behaviour depended on their industry type and not on their IT capabilities. However their capabilities were more important than industry in explaining why firms achieved benefits from IT adoption that depended on the previous accumulation of IT resources and other capabilities. Third, industry type determined the degree to which IT affected profitability and its effectiveness in helping firms to defend their competitive advantage. Specifically, the slower the adoption of IT in an industry, the greater its impact on the firm's profitability.The implications of these findings for managers and policy-makers are discussed.

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

it assimilation
it business value
industry effects


In silico binding characteristics between human histamine H-1 receptor and antagonists It is widely acknowledged that the H-1 receptor antagonists have important therapeutic significance in the treatment of various allergic disorders, but little was known about the binding mode between the receptor and antagonists since the crystal structure of G-protein coupling receptors (GPCRs) were hard to obtain. In this paper, a theoretical three-dimensional model of human histamine H-1 receptor (HHR1) was developed on the basis of recently reported high resolution structures of human A(2A) adenosine receptor, human beta(2)-adrenoceptor and turkey beta(1)-adrenoceptor. Furthermore, three representative H-1 receptor antagonists were chosen for docking studies. Subsequently, a qualitative pharmacophore model was developed by Hiphop algorithm based on the docking conformations of these three antagonists. In this paper, active environment, certain key residues, and the corresponding pharmacophore features of H-1 receptor were identified by such combinations of receptor-based and ligand-based approaches, which would give sufficient guidance for the rational design of novel antihistamine agents.

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

h-1 receptor
homology modeling
molecular dynamics
pharmacophore modeling


An empirical study of the relationships among employee's perceptions of HR practice, human capital, and department performance: A case of AT & T Subordinate telecoms company in Taiwan The telecom industry in Taiwan began to enter a vigorous development stage after Taiwan's Legislative Yuan enacted the three major telecommunications laws in 1996. After 2003, the number of mobile phone subscribers began to shrink after reaching a climax penetration rate of 111%. The problems which were ignored during the high growth period began to appear. This research discusses which human practices are effective in developing human capital and whether they will influence the performance of the telecom industry. Human capital is used as a mediate variable between human resources and department performance. Through a questionnaire survey, an analysis by mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation is performed. A causal multivariable analysis by structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the causal relationship among these factors. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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


visual interfaces to the social and semantic web (vissw 2010) Recent innovations in the Social and Semantic Web fields have resulted in large amounts of data created, published and consumed by users of the Web. This vast amount of data exists in a variety of formats, from the traditional ones such as text, image, video to the more recent additions such as streams of status information from Twitter and Facebook. The ability to easily integrate such vast amounts of data raises significant and exciting research challenges, not least of which how to provide effective access to and navigation across heterogeneous data sources on different platforms (e.g. computers, mobile devices, set-top boxes). Building on the success of the VISSW2009 workshop, the IUI2010 workshop on Visual Interfaces to the Social and Semantic Web aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from different fields to discuss the latest research results and challenges in designing, implementing, and evaluating intelligent interfaces supporting access, navigation and publishing of different types of contents on the Social and Semantic Web. This paper outlines the context of the workshop and provides an overview of the research to be presented at the event.

B I O O B I I I 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 B I 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 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

visual interfaces
social and semantic web


An efficient SuperGrid protocol for high availability and load balancing Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in quorum-based methods for maintaining consistency of a group of replicated servers as a way to achieve load balancing in addition to high availability. We describe a SuperGrid protocol that performs well for small number of items (less than 100) and evaluate its performance analytically and through simulation experiments. Although it has been shown that it is possible to construct quorum systems where the load is O(1/rootN) and the availability is exp(-Omega>(*) over bar *(rootN)), these asymptotic results do not perform very well when the number of items is relatively small. In such cases, our results show that the Supergrid protocol outperforms the recent Crumbling Walls protocol and the Paths system. It is also simple and easy to implement.

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

availability
load balancing
crumbling walls protocol
paths system

server replication
quorum system
grid protocol


Movement similarity assessment using symbolic representation of trajectories This article describes a novel approach for finding similar trajectories, using trajectory segmentation based on movement parameters (MPs) such as speed, acceleration, or direction. First, a segmentation technique is applied to decompose trajectories into a set of segments with homogeneous characteristics with respect to a particular MP. Each segment is assigned to a movement parameter class (MPC), representing the behavior of the MP. Accordingly, the segmentation procedure transforms a trajectory to a sequence of class labels, that is, a symbolic representation. A modified version of edit distance called normalized weighted edit distance (NWED) is introduced as a similarity measure between different sequences. As an application, we demonstrate how the method can be employed to cluster trajectories. The performance of the approach is assessed in two case studies using real movement datasets from two different application domains, namely, North Atlantic Hurricane trajectories and GPS tracks of couriers in London. Three different experiments have been conducted that respond to different facets of the proposed techniques and that compare our NWED measure to a related method.

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

movement similarity
trajectory segmentation
movement parameter


Semi-rigid columnbase connections in pultruded GRP frame structures A review of momentrotation tests on bolted connections between pultruded Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) Wide Flange (WF) sections highlights the lack of test data on columnbase connections. Details of five bolted web and web and flange cleat connections and the test rig used to determine their momentrotation characteristics are given. Momentrotation responses are then presented for each connection. Simple models are described for predicting their initial rotational stiffness, ultimate moment and momentrotation response. The models predict the response of bolted web and flange cleat columnbase connections reasonably well and may be useful for design.

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

composites modelling pultrusions testing


joint latent topic models for text and citations In this work, we address the problem of joint modeling of text and citations in the topic modeling framework. We present two different models called the Pairwise-Link-LDA and the Link-PLSA-LDA models. The Pairwise-Link-LDA model combines the ideas of LDA [4] and Mixed Membership Block Stochastic Models [1] and allows modeling arbitrary link structure. However, the model is computationally expensive, since it involves modeling the presence or absence of a citation (link) between every pair of documents. The second model solves this problem by assuming that the link structure is a bipartite graph. As the name indicates, Link-PLSA-LDA model combines the LDA and PLSA models into a single graphical model. Our experiments on a subset of Citeseer data show that both these models are able to predict unseen data better than the baseline model of Erosheva and Lafferty [8], by capturing the notion of topical similarity between the contents of the cited and citing documents. Our experiments on two different data sets on the link prediction task show that the Link-PLSA-LDA model performs the best on the citation prediction task, while also remaining highly scalable. In addition, we also present some interesting visualizations generated by each of the models.

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

variational inference
influence
hyperlinks


A revisit to the common mean problem: Comparing the maximum likelihood estimator with the GraybillDeal estimator For estimating the common mean of two normal populations with unknown and possibly unequal variances the well-known GraybillDeal estimator (GDE) has been a motivating factor for research over the last five decades. Surprisingly the literature does not have much to show when it comes to the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and its properties compared to those of the GDE. The purpose of this note is to shed some light on the structure of the MLE, and compare it with the GDE. While studying the asymptotic variance of the GDE, we provide an upgraded set of bounds for its variance. A massive simulation study has been carried out with very high level of accuracy to compare the variances of the above two estimators results of which are quite interesting.

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


Closed-Loop System Identification with Modifications of the Instrumental Variable Method Least-squares method is the most popular method for parameter estimation. It is easy applicable, but it has considerable drawback. Under well-known conditions in the presence of noise, the LS method produces asymptotically biased and inconsistent estimates. One way to overcome this drawback is the implementation of the instrumental variable method. In this paper several modifications of this method for closed-loop system identification are considered and investigated. The covariance matrix of the instrumental variable estimates is discussed. A simulation is carried out in order to illustrate the obtained results.

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

instrumental variable method
parameter estimation

closed-loop system identification
prediction error
observations


Fusion of supervised and unsupervised learning for improved classification of hyperspectral images In this paper, we introduce a novel framework for improved classification of hyperspectral images based on the combination of supervised and unsupervised learning paradigms. In particular, we propose to fuse the capabilities of the support vector machine classifier and the fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm. While the former is used to generate a spectral-based classification map, the latter is adopted to provide an ensemble of clustering maps. To reduce the computation complexity, the most representative spectral channels identified by the Markov Fisher Selector algorithm are used during the clustering process. Then, these maps are successively labeled via a pairwise relabeling procedure with respect to the pixel-based classification map using voting rules. To generate the final classification result, we propose to aggregate the obtained set of spectro-spatial maps through different fusion methods based on voting rules and Markov Random Field theory. Experimental results obtained on two hyperspectral images acquired by the reflective optics system imaging spectrometer and the airborne visible/infrared imaging spectrometer, respectively; confirm the promising capabilities of the proposed framework.

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

hyperspectral images
support vector machine
markov fisher selector
voting rules
markov random field


Engineering Energy Efficient Visual Sensor Network Applications Using Skeletons Visual sensor networks (VSNs) perform complex scene analysis algorithms that require significant computations and communications. Under this respect, the use of skeletons contributes to reduce the complexity of VSN programming and may ensure an easier and better optimization of the code. In this context, we propose INS, a stencil based skeleton targeted for wireless/visual sensor networks (W/VSNs) and give a preliminary analysis of its benefits using tracking as a case study. INS abstracts a distributed approximation schema in which the estimation of a given metric is organized in a sequence of steps. Each step includes collecting estimates from some neighbor nodes and local computation of a new approximation. In particular, INS takes inspiration from some stencil based skeletons proposed for parallel computation and merges it with the classical event driven model typical of sensor programming. As a result, the execution of each step is triggered by the detection of a relevant event in the environment. Tracking consists in periodically predicting position and velocity of one or more mobile targets. We discuss how INS can be instantiated to a distributed version of Kalman filtering. As energy efficiency is central in W/VSNs, we derive analytic models for energy dissipation of the INS skeleton depending on different concepts of neighborhood for the data exchanged at each step. Then, these models are used to guide the deployment of our tracking application on a real scenario.

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


An FSM reengineering approach to sequential circuit synthesis by state splitting This paper presents a finite-state machine (FSM) reengineering method that enhances the FSM synthesis by reconstructing a functionally equivalent but topologically different FSM based on the optimization objective. This method enables the FSM synthesis algorithms to explore a set of functionally equivalent FSMs and obtain better solutions than those in the original FSM. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we apply it to popular power- and area-driven FSM synthesis algorithms, respectively. Our method achieves an average of 5.5% power reduction and 2.7% area reduction, respectively, on 25 Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) FSM benchmarks, where the proposed method is applicable. This is a significant performance improvement for the power- and area-driven FSM synthesis algorithms being used. Our method has a negligible run-time overhead, and it maintains the quality of the synthesis solutions.

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

finite-state machine (fsm) encoding
power minimization
sequential logic synthesis


An adaptive PNN-DS approach to classification using multi-sensor information fusion In this paper, an adaptive neural network approach to classification which combines modified probabilistic neural network and D-S evidence theory (PNN-DS) is proposed. It attempts to deal with the drawbacks of information uncertainty and imprecision using single classification algorithm. This PNN-DS approach firstly adopts a modified PNN to obtain posteriori probabilities and make a primary classification decision in feature-level fusion. Then posteriori probabilities are transformed to masses noting the evidence of the D-S evidential theory. Finally advanced D-S evidential theory is utilized to gain more accurate classification results in the last decision-level fusion. In order to implement PNN-DS, covariance matrices are firstly employed in the modified PNN module to replace the singular smoothing factor in the PNNs kernel function, and linear function is utilized in the pattern of summation layer. Secondly, the whole scheme of the proposed approach is explained in depth. Thirdly, three classification experiments are carried out on the proposed approach and a large amount of comparable analyses are done to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach. Experiments reveal that the PNN-DS outperforms BPNN-DS, which provides encouraging results in terms of classification accuracy and the speed of learning convergence.

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

multi-sensor information fusion
target classification
d-s evidence theory


Computational aspects of algorithms for variable selection in the context of principal components Variable selection consists in identifying a k-subset of a set of original variables that is optimal for a given criterion of adequate approximation to the whole data set. Several algorithms for the optimization problems resulting from three different criteria in the context of principal components analysis are considered, and computational results are presented.

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

combinatorial optimization
heuristics
principal variables


Building an IT service catalog in a small company as the main input for the IT financial management A metamodel related to IT service catalog and IT service financial Management The metamodel has been experienced in a small company. The solution includes a standard model and a specific model tailored to SME. These models are the base for implementing the IT financial management process.

O O B I I 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 B I I O

it service catalog
it financial management

very small
small and medium companies
process asset library
it service management


Towards a virtual university We discuss a possible framework or virtualizing the delivery of university courses. With the advent of new technological innovations like high speed computer networks and multimedia computers, there is an increasing awareness that direct ace to ace teaching is not the only possible mode of teaching in a university system. There is a demand or preparing high quality multimedia course materials across all disciplines which can be used by learners who either cannot attend live lectures or prefer to study in an off-line mode. Our group at the University of Freiburg has developed a robust tool called Authoring on the Fly (AOF) or recording live classroom sessions as multimedia documents and the synchronous playback of the different media streams in such a document in an off-line setting. In this paper we discuss the facilities this tool provides for virtualizing university courses as well as improving the offering of courses in a traditional university setting. We discuss the progress we have made in high quality delivery of lectures through multimedia documents and its implications for both off-line and classroom teaching. Further, we discuss our current attempts in virtualizing the assignment submission and correction process as a follow up of the virtual delivery of courses. We also discuss the possible implications of virtual delivery of courses and creation of a virtual university from the point of view of university students, professors and administrators.

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

virtual delivery of courses
multimedia course materials
virtual university

computers in education
mixed mode teaching


Synthesis of max-plus quasi-interpretations Quasi-interpretations are a tool to bound the size of the values computed by a first-order functional program (or a term rewriting system) and thus a mean to extract bounds on its computational complexity. We study the synthesis of quasi-interpretations selected in the space of polynomials over the max-plus algebra. We prove that the synthesis problem is NP-hard under various conditions and in NP for the particular case of multi-linear quasi-interpretations when programs are specified by rules of bounded size. We provide it polynomial time algorithm to synthesize homogeneous quasi-interpretations of bounded degree and show how to extend the algorithm to synthesize (general) quasi-interpretations. The resulting algorithm generalizes certain syntactic and type theoretic conditions proposed in the literature to control time and space complexity.

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

function algebras and implicit computational complexity

polynomial interpretations and max-plus algebras


"I Shall Love You Until Death" (Marie-Antoinette to Axel von Fersen) In this article, we explain the encryption algorithm used by the Queen of France Marie-Antoinette to send letters to Axel von Fersen during the French Revolution. We give the complete deciphering of some letters in which we found differences with the deciphered texts given in historical books. We also provide the deciphering of one letter that seems to be unknown so far. Our results provide new proof of Marie-Antoinette's deep affection for Fersen. Finally, we mention some open questions about Marie-Antoinette's correspondence with Axel von Fersen.

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

marie-antoinette encrypted letters
polyalphabetic system
porta ciphers


Two-Flow Capacity Region of the COPE Principle for Wireless Butterfly Networks With Broadcast Erasure Channels This paper characterizes the full capacity region of the COPE principle for 2-flow wireless butterfly networks with broadcast packet erasure channels (PECs). The capacity results in this paper allow for random overhearing with arbitrary overhearing probabilities, arbitrary scheduling policies, network-wide channel state information (CSI) feedback after each transmission, and potential use of nonlinear network codes. An information-theoretic outer bound is derived that takes into account the delayed CSI feedback of the underlying broadcast packet erasure channels. For the achievability, this paper proposes a new class of linear network codes, named as the space-based linear network coding (SBLNC), that achieves the capacity outer bound. Further, the proposed outer and inner bounds are later generalized for the setting in which a transmission may be heard by its 2-hop neighbor(s), the so-called opportunistic routing scenario. When allowing the possibility of opportunistic routing, the proposed inner and outer bounds do not always meet. Numerical experiments, however, show that the relative gap of the two bounds is less than 0.08% in average. The proposed bounds thus tightly bracket the capacity region even when combining the COPE principle with opportunistic routing.

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


an efficient real-time routing with presence of concave voids in wireless sensor networks To bypass voids in sensor networks, most existing geographic routing protocols tend to route packets along the boundary nodes. Generally, a packet will be either forwarded along a void boundary by the right-hand rule or pushed back to find another route when it encounters the void. The two techniques consume more energy of boundary nodes, drop many packets and may incur data collisions if multiple communication sessions share the same boundary nodes. We propose in this paper an alternative and efficient void avoidance scheme. The proposed on-demand scheme consists of void discovery, void announce and packet rerouting steps. After discovering a void, a sender node inside the void's announce-area reroutes all data packets to get around the void in advance by selecting one appropriate forwarding side. The double objective of our scheme is to prevent data packets from traveling along the boundaries of voids and to avoid them the concave zones of voids. By achieving this objective we can reduce the energy consumption of boundary nodes and data collisions in these nodes. We can also reduce the packets rerouting overhead and the number of packets dropped by nodes on the boundaries of voids. Simulation showed the efficiency of our scheme.

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


Optimal routing in a small-world network Substantial research has been devoted to the modelling of the small-world phenomenon that arises in nature as well as human society. Earlier work has focused on the static properties of various small-world models. To examine the routing aspects, Kleinberg proposes a model based on a d-dimensional toroidal lattice with long-range links chosen at random according to the d-harmonic distribution. Kleinberg shows that, by using only local information, the greedy routing algorithm performs in O(lg(2) n) expected number of hops. We extend Kleinberg's small-world model by allowing each node x to have two more random links to nodes chosen uniformly and randomly within (lg n)(2/d) Manhattan distance from x. Based on this extended model, we then propose an oblivious algorithm that can route messages between any two nodes in O(lg n) expected number of hops. Our routing algorithm keeps only O((lg n)(beta+1)) bits of information on each node, where 1 < beta < 2, thus being scalable w.r.t. the network size. To our knowledge, our result is the first to achieve the optimal routing complexity while still keeping a poly-logarithmic number of bits of information stored on each node in the small-world networks.

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

small-world model
augmented local awareness
decentralized routing
analysis of algorithms
distributed systems


extracting a website's content structure from its link structure Hierarchical models are commonly used to organize a Website's content. A Website's content structure can be represented by a topic hierarchy, a directed tree rooted at a Website's homepage in which the vertices and edges correspond to Web pages and hyperlinks. In this work, we propose an algorithm for extracting a Website's topic hierarchy from its link structure. The proposed algorithm consists of a construction stage and a refining stage, in which we analyze the semantic relationships between web pages based on link structure, web page content and directory structure. We've done extensive experiments using different Websites and obtained very promising results.

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 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 O O


Cache coherence in intelligent memory system The Active Pages model of intelligent memory can speed up data-intensive applications by up to two to three orders of magnitude over conventional systems. A fundamental problem with intelligent memory, however, arises when data cached by the processor is modified by tic in the merry. The Active Page model inherently limits sharing, keeping coherence tractable, but exacerbates saturation problems. we first present a hybrid snoopy/directory protocol for use in Active Pages. Limited sharing allows for a tow-latency, tow-bandwidth hybrid protocol. A transparent remapping mechanism is added for efficient caching. On smaller data sizes, explicit flushing and hardware coherence exhibit similar performance, but hardware coherence is easier to program and uses less bandwidth. Finally, we examine SMP multiprocessor systems to mitigate saturation effects. As the number of threads increases, the bandwidth needs increase, making hardware coherence even more attractive.

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


Hardware-software partitioning at the knowledge level Hardware-software co-design addresses the development of complex heterogeneous systems looking for the best tradeoffs among the different solutions. The basic idea is to combine the hardware and software design cycles. This article shows how knowledge-based techniques can be used to solve the hardware-software partitioning problem, the co-design task that makes the decision on the best implementation of the different components of a digital system. In particular, a fuzzy-logic-based expert system, SHAPES, has been developed based on the CommonKADS methodology. This tool takes advantage of two important artificial intelligence bases: the use of an expert's knowledge in the decision-making process and the possibility of dealing with imprecise and usually uncertain values by the definition of fuzzy magnitudes. Expert system construction has adopted a knowledge modeling approach, following the knowledge level and knowledge separation principles. This expertise model is the center of the knowledge-based system development. It is based in the problem-solving method Propose and Revise with a previous heuristic classification.

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

hardware-software co-design
system partitioning
knowledge based systems
propose and revise psm


similarity-aware indexing for real-time entity resolution Entity resolution, also known as data matching or record linkage, is the task of identifying and matching records from several databases that refer to the same entities. Traditionally, entity resolution has been applied in batch-mode and on static databases. However, many organisations are increasingly faced with the challenge of having large databases containing entities that need to be matched in real-time with a stream of query records also containing entities, such that the best matching records are retrieved. Example applications include online law enforcement and national security databases, public health surveillance and emergency response systems, financial verification systems, online retail stores, eGovernment services, and digital libraries. A novel inverted index based approach for real-time entity resolution is presented in this paper. At build time, similarities between attribute values are computed and stored to support the fast matching of records at query time. The presented approach differs from other approaches to approximate query matching in that it allows any similarity comparison function, and any 'blocking' (encoding) function, both possibly domain specific, to be incorporated. Experimental results on a real-world database indicate that the total size of all data structures of this novel index approach grows sub-linearly with the size of the database, and that it allows matching of query records in sub-second time, more than two orders of magnitude faster than a traditional entity resolution index approach. The interested reader is referred to the longer version of this paper [5].

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

phonetic encoding
inverted indexing
approximate string matching
similarity query
scalability


Harnessing the expertise of 70,000 human editors: Knowledge-based feature generation for text categorization Most existing methods for text categorization employ induction algorithms that use the words appearing in the training documents as features. While they perform well in many categorization tasks, these methods are inherently limited when faced with more complicated tasks where external knowledge is essential. Recently, there have been efforts to augment these basic features with external knowledge, including semi-supervised learning and transfer learning. In this work, we present a new framework for automatic acquisition of world knowledge and methods for incorporating it into the text categorization process. Our approach enhances machine learning algorithms with features generated from domain-specific and common-sense knowledge. This knowledge is represented by ontologies that contain hundreds of thousands of concepts, further enriched through controlled Web crawling. Prior to text categorization, a feature generator analyzes the documents and maps them onto appropriate ontology concepts that augment the bag of words used in simple supervised learning. Feature generation is accomplished through contextual analysis of document text, thus implicitly performing word sense disambiguation. Coupled with the ability to generalize concepts using the ontology, this approach addresses two significant problems in natural language processing-synonymy and polysemy. Categorizing documents with the aid of knowledge-based features leverages information that cannot be deduced from the training documents alone. We applied our methodology using the Open Directory Project, the largest existing Web directory built by over 70,000 human editors. Experimental results over a range of data sets confirm improved performance compared to the bag of words document representation.

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 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

text classification
background knowledge


reasoning about knowledge and probability We provide a model for reasoning about knowledge and probability together. We allow explicit mention of probabilities in formulas, so that our language has formulas that essentially say "according to agent i , formula ? holds with probability at least ?." The language is powerful enough to allow reasoning about higher-order probabilities, as well as allowing explicit comparisons of the probabilities an agent places on distinct events. We present a general framework for interpreting such formulas, and consider various properties that might hold of the interrelationship between agents' subjective probability spaces at different states. We provide a complete axiomatization for reasoning about knowledge and probability, prove a small model property, and obtain decision procedures. We then consider the effects of adding common knowledge and a probabilistic variant of common knowledge to the language.

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

probabilistic knowledge
probabilistic common knowledge
possible words
nondeterminism vs. probability
modal logic


The HEXACO model of personality and video game preferences ? Emotionality was negatively associated with daredevil preference. Extraversion was positively associated with daredevil and socializer preferences. Conscientiousness was positively associated with the achiever preference.

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


What is a good digital library? A quality model for digital libraries In this article, we elaborate on the meaning of quality in digital libraries (DLs) by proposing a model that is deeply grounded in a formal framework for digital libraries: 5S (Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, and Societies). For each major DL concept in the framework we formally define a number of dimensions of quality and propose a set of numerical indicators for those quality dimensions. In particular, we consider key concepts of a minimal DL: catalog, collection, digital object, metadata specification, repository, and services. Regarding quality dimensions, we consider: accessibility, accuracy, completeness, composability, conformance, consistency, effectiveness, efficiency, extensibility, pertinence, preservability, relevance, reliability, reusability, significance, similarity, and timeliness. Regarding measurement, we consider characteristics like: response time (with regard to efficiency), cost of migration (with respect to preservability), and number of service failures (to assess reliability). For some key DL concepts, the (quality dimension, numerical indicator) pairs are illustrated through their application to a number of real-world digital libraries. We also discuss connections between the proposed dimensions of DL quality and an expanded version of a workshops consensus view of the life cycle of information in digital libraries. Such connections can be used to determine when and where quality issues can be measured, assessed, and improved as well as how possible quality problems can be prevented, detected, and eliminated.

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

evaluation
theory
information life cycle


Performance Analysis of A Busy Cognitive Multi-Channel MAC Protocol With rapid development of wireless technology, the fixed resource allocation strategics that are utilized in wireless networks to guarantee the Quality of Service lead to the shortage of radio resources. The cognitive radio (CR) technology has been introduced to address this problem, but this technique might increase the interference to primary users. In this paper, we consider the distributed CR network scenarios, analyze the performance of a Cognitive MAC Protocol where CR nodes sense channel that is in idle state to send cooperative information, and propose an alternative Cognitive Mac Protocol based on CR nodes send cooperative information when they sense the channel that is in busy state. Comparing the performance between previous protocol and our proposed protocol, we find that the latter can reduce the interference since misjudge obviously with more CR nodes, and eliminates the phenomenon of false detection completely to make full use of spectral efficiency without the influence of white noise.

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

idle cognitive multi-channels mac model
busy cognitive multi-channels mac model


Automatic network clustering via density-constrained optimization with grouping operator The network clustering is formulated as the density-constrained optimization and an evolutionary algorithm is provided. The proposed clustering algorithm can be free from the resolution limit problem. The performance of the algorithm does not sensitively depend on the parameter. The detection accuracy is also obviously improved by the density constraint.

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

density-based technique
community detection
graph partitioning
constrained optimization


Query-expanded collaborative representation based classification with class-specific prototypes for object recognition We propose a novel LinearRC for object recognition with less constraints. We expand the single query image into a query set for robust representation. We learn the class-specific prototypes by maximizing canonical correlation. A multivariate CRC using minimal normalized residual is to identify the query. We validate the effectiveness of our method with extensive experiments.

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

linear representation based classifier
prototype generation
query expansion


VCNI Applying value theory to contextual needs identification in proactive elderly care This paper presents a novel needs-identification system (named VCNI) that is a context-aware and value-perspective for proactive elderly care (that considers certain quality elements as consumer participation, caregiver involvement, and continuous quality improvement). We apply the value theories and principles and devise a novel method (conflict resolution algorithm) aiming for allocating an agent team with the least value conflict fashion so as to discover the contextualized mission that could fulfill the needs of the elderly. With the context information reported by pervasive components, this system can proactively provide the directions of the individualized assistance required for the elderly in maintaining an independent lifestyle and reduce possible health-care costs. To show the feasibility of the methodology proposed in the paper, a prototype system has been implemented for justifying the capability of the systems needs identification from the macro and micro perspectives. Moreover, our system also exemplifies a future way of service provision on electronic care.

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

needs identification
value theory
value conflict


ON NONBINARY QUANTUM CONVOLUTIONAL BCH CODES Several new families of nonbinary quantum convolutional Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) codes are constructed in this paper. These code constructions are performed algebraically and not by computation search. The quantum convolutional codes constructed here have parameters better than the ones available in the literature and they have non-catastrophic encoders and encoder inverses. These new families consist of unit-memory as well as multi-memory convolutional stabilizer codes.

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


Posterior Regularization for Structured Latent Variable Models We present posterior regularization, a probabilistic framework for structured, weakly supervised learning. Our framework efficiently incorporates indirect supervision via constraints on posterior distributions of probabilistic models with latent variables. Posterior regularization separates model complexity from the complexity of structural constraints it is desired to satisfy. By directly imposing decomposable regularization on the posterior moments of latent variables during learning, we retain the computational efficiency of the unconstrained model while ensuring desired constraints hold in expectation. We present an efficient algorithm for learning with posterior regularization and illustrate its versatility on a diverse set of structural constraints such as bijectivity, symmetry and group sparsity in several large scale experiments, including multi-view learning, cross-lingual dependency grammar induction, unsupervised part-of-speech induction, and bitext word alignment.(1)

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

posterior regularization framework
unsupervised learning
latent variables models
prior knowledge
natural language processing


A fuzzy control system with application to production planning problems A considerable part of the literature on fuzzy sets is devoted to the field of fuzzy control system. In this paper, an alternative control system is introduced to describe a dynamic system with fuzzy white noise. In order to find optimal ways to control such a system, fuzzy optimal control theory is further developed. Specifically, a linear quadratic model is formulated and solved as a fuzzy optimal control problem. The formulation and solution of this model provide an economic interpretation of a production planning model both in the finite horizon and in the infinite horizon.

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

production planning
optimal control
fuzzy control system


Implicit depot assignments and rotations in vehicle routing heuristics We consider several VRP variants with vehicle type and depot-assignment choices. Compound neighborhoods with rotations, service & vehicle reassignments are searched. Exploring these neighborhoods does not lead to any computational-complexity increase. Efficient ILS and hybrid GA metaheuristics are built upon these procedures. Experiments demonstrate the valuable contribution of the new neighborhoods.

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

dynamic programming
local search
multi-depot
fleet mix
unlimited fleet


Time representations and mathematical models for process scheduling problems During the last 15 years, many mathematical models have been developed in order to solve process operation scheduling problems, using discrete or continuous-time representations. In this paper, we present a unified representation and modeling approach for process scheduling problems. Four different time representations are presented with corresponding strengthened formulations that rely on exploiting the non-overlapping graph structure of these problems through maximum cliques and bicliques. These formulations are compared, and applied to single-stage and multi-stage batch scheduling problems, as well as crude-oil operations scheduling problems. We introduce three solution methods that can be used to achieve global optimality or obtain near-optimal solutions depending on the stopping criterion used. Computational results show that the multi-operation sequencing time representation is superior to the others as it allows efficient symmetry-breaking and requires fewer priority-slots, thus leading to smaller model sizes. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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 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

crude-oil scheduling
mixed-integer linear programming


Activation dynamics in the optimization of targeted movements Human movements, and their underlying muscular recruitment strategies, can be studied in several ways. In order to increase the understanding of human movement planning strategies, the movement problem is here seen as a boundary value problem for a mechanism with prescribed initial and final configurations. The time variations of a set of control actuator forces are supposed to fulfil some optimality criterion while creating this motion. The boundary value problem is discretized by temporal finite element interpolation, where the discrete variables are seen in an optimization context. The present work focusses on the introduction of the activation dynamics of the actuators, introducing a delay in the force production from the stimulation variables. The choice of interpolations of the variables is discussed in the light of the optimization setting. Examples show aspects of the results obtained for different assumptions. It is concluded that the formulation gives a good basis for further improvement of muscular force production models in an optimal movement setting.

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

mechanisms
optimal control
finite elements
arm movement
load sharing


Modeling interaction strategies using POS: An application to soccer robots As seen earlier POS is a general agent conversation protocol engineering formalism that has proved efficient when used in communities of software information agents. The aim of this paper is to show how much POS is simple, easy to use, and very appropriate for implementing interaction protocols in a collaborative agent setting. In order to exemplify our approach we focus on an application domain with real time constraints such as soccer robots and show how an inherently symbolic abstract system like POS can be neatly integrated with agents whose internal architecture is reactive and relies on bottom-up behavior-based techniques. First, we shortly discuss aspects of heterogeneity with respect to soccer robots and present the RoboCup experimental setting. Then we sketch the difficulties that arise when trying to coordinate an heterogeneous team with conventional methods. In response, we introduce some elements of the POS (Protocol Operational Semantics) model. The following sections examine several basic behaviors of the JavaSoccer simulation environment as it is later used along with TeamBots to highlight POS' capabilities, demonstrate how POS is a suited theoretical tool and leads to extremely compact and modular code due to its high expressive power, and discuss the obtained results. Finally we conclude the article with a comparison to related works as well as some perspectives about the engineering of interaction protocols.

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

distributed problem solving
soccer-robot
agent conversation protocols


Analysis of the potential for spatial redistribution of freight using mathematical programming In recent years, research has identified the spatial spreading of freight distribution patterns as one of the largest drivers of the rapid growth in freight transport ton-miles, and of related growth in overall energy use and other forms of environmental impact. In this paper, prospects for long-term redistribution of freight flows are explored using origindestination (OD) flow data from the 1993 US Commodity Flow Survey and a minimum-error technique for estimating disaggregate commodity flows. A prototype analysis of the pulp and paper sector was carried out. The analysis found that matching demand for paper products with geographically optimal production centers and producing an optimal mix of outputs in each center could lead to substantial reductions in total ton-miles (on the order of 1738%) compared to the 1993 base case. A conceptual example of the implementation of the methodology and an analysis of potential energy savings from spatial redistribution are also presented.

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

freight distribution
mathematical programming

transportation
environment
minimum-error estimation


"Remain Faithful to the Earth!": Reporting Experiences of Artifact-Centered Design in Healthcare In this paper we report about two design experiences in the domain of healthcare information technology that shed light on the advantages of getting rid of complex and abstract representations of hospital work and of concentrating on the artifacts that practitioners habitually use in their daily practice. We ground our approach in the recent literature on the often unintended shortcomings exhibited by healthcare information systems and propose a lightweight method to support the phases of requirement elicitation and functional design. We then discuss the main requirements expressed in our recent research activity and provide examples of how to address them in terms of modular and reusable design solutions.

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

requirement elicitation
healthcare
hospital work

artifact-centered design
domain analysis
system analysis
healthcare information technology


Achieving Long-Term Fairness and Optimum Multiuser Diversity Gain in Time-Varying Broadcast Channels In this paper, a downlink system in which a single-antenna base station communicates with single antenna users over a time-correlated fading channel is considered. It is assumed that each receiver knows its own channel state, while the rate of the channel variation for all users and the corresponding initial fading gains are known to the base station. The average (per channel use) throughput of the system is studied by applying various adaptive signaling schemes. Assuming a large number of users in the system, it is shown that using a scheduling scheme in which the base station transmits to the user with the maximum initial fading gain, while using a fixed codeword length for all users, achieves the order of the maximum throughput. Moreover, an alternative scheduling scheme is proposed (by accounting for users' delays) and shown to achieve the optimum long-term fairness, while preserving the order of the maximum throughput.

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 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 O O O O O O O O

broadcast channel
time-varying channel
variable code rate


please smile Nowadays, with reductions in manufacturing costs and a transition toward lifestyles of convenience, robots are becoming pervasive in our homes, museums, and hospitals. In addition to increased demands for robots in these domains, recently more artistic robots that interact with audiences on a personal instead of a practical level are now being exhibited in art exhibition. This paper explains how people interpret artistic robots as more than mere machines in the theory of intentionality and introduces the implementation of the artistic robot, Please Smile , which consists of five robotic skeleton arms that gesture in response to a viewer's facial expressions. The paper also explores how individuals can use experimental designs to create artistic robots that can express various ideas that traditional, practical robots can often not convey.

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


First-Order Logic on Higher-Order Nested Pushdown Trees We introduce a new hierarchy of higher-order nested pushdown trees generalising Alur et al.'s concept of nested pushdown trees. Nested pushdown trees are useful representations of control flows in the verification of programs with recursive calls of first-order functions. Higher-order nested pushdown trees are expansions of unfoldings of graphs generated by higher-order pushdown systems. Moreover, the class of nested pushdown trees of level n is uniformly first-order interpretable in the class of collapsible pushdown graphs of level n + 1. The relationship between the class of higher-order pushdown graphs and the class of collapsible higher-order pushdown graphs is not very well understood. We hope that the further study of the nested pushdown tree hierarchy leads to a better understanding of these two hierarchies. In this article, we are concerned with the first-order model checking problem on higher-order nested pushdown trees. We show that the first-order model checking on the first two levels of this hierarchy is decidable. Moreover, we obtain an alternating 2-EXPTIME algorithm for the class of nested pushdown trees of level 1. The proof technique involves a pseudo-local analysis of strategies in the Ehrenfeucht-Fraisse games on two identical copies of a nested pushdown tree. Ordinary locality arguments in the spirit of Gaifman's lemma do not apply here because nested pushdown trees tend to have small diameters. We introduce the notion of relevant ancestors which provide a sufficient description of the FOk-type of each element in a higher-order nested pushdown tree. The local analysis of these ancestors allows us to prove the existence of restricted winning strategies in the Ehrenfeucht-Fraisse game. These strategies are then used to create a first-order model checking 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 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 I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I 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

theory
higher-order pushdown graph
higher-order pushdown system
first-order logic
fo
decidability
pumping lemma
ehrenfeucht-fraisse game
first-oder model checking


TCOM, an innovative data structure for mining association rules among infrequent items Association rule mining is one of the most important areas in data mining, which has received a great deal of attention. The purpose of association rule mining is the discovery of association relationships or correlations among a set of items. In this paper, we present an efficient way to find the valid association rules among the infrequent items, which is seldom mentioned and whose importance often get ignored by other researchers. We design a new data structure, called Transactional Co-Occurrence Matrix, in short TCOM, by two passing of the original transactional database. Then the occurrence count of the itemsets and valid association rules will be mined based on TCOM, which combines the advantages of both transactional oriented (horizontal) layout and item oriented (vertical) layout of the database. It turns out that any itemsets could be randomly accessed and counted without full scan of either the original database or the TCOM, which significantly improves the efficiency of the mining processes.

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

tcom
association rule mining
data mining


Segmentation of 4D cardiac MRI: Automated method based on spatio-temporal watershed cuts Based on discrete mathematical morphology, we introduce in this paper a new watershed framework which allows for segmenting spatio-temporal images, that we apply to medical image analysis. Specifically, we propose a new automated and fast procedure to segment the left ventricular myocardium in 4D (3D+t) cine-MRI sequences. Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation are provided. Thanks to the comparison with manual segmentation performed by two cardiologists, we demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method. The relevance of the ejection fraction and myocardium mass measured from segmentations is also assessed. Furthermore, we show that the proposed 4D procedure allows to keep the temporal coherency between the successive 3D segmentations obtained along the time sequence. In an effort to promote open science, both the data and the software are available on-line.

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

cardiac imagery
4d-cine-mri
4d watershed cut


implementation of federation management services over federation community networks A federation community is a group of federations workingtogether to achieve a common goal. With a federationcommunity, a large-scale simulation can be built using existingsimulation federations. The federation communitynetwork can also be constructed so that certain informationwill be shared only within a group of federates in thecommunity. To build a federation community, interoperabilityamongst federations and RTIs needs to be supported.Various RTI services also need to be implemented acrossthe federation community. This paper addresses the problemsin implementing federation services over the federationcommunity network. Solutions on eliminating circularmessages in the federation community network and achievingconsensus amongst all the user federations in the communityare described in the paper. Details of federation synchronizationand federation save protocols are also given.

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

consensus problems
federation synchronizationand save
interoperability and reusability
hla
distributed simulation


A Multi-Orientation Analysis Approach to Retinal Vessel Tracking This paper presents a method for retinal vasculature extraction based on biologically inspired multi-orientation analysis. We apply multi-orientation analysis via so-called invertible orientation scores, modeling the cortical columns in the visual system of higher mammals. This allows us to generically deal with many hitherto complex problems inherent to vessel tracking, such as crossings, bifurcations, parallel vessels, vessels of varying widths and vessels with high curvature. Our approach applies tracking in invertible orientation scores via a novel geometrical principle for curve optimization in the Euclidean motion group SE(2). The method runs fully automatically and provides a detailed model of the retinal vasculature, which is crucial as a sound basis for further quantitative analysis of the retina, especially in screening applications.

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

orientation scores
vessel tracking
retina
retinal vasculature


Personalized routing for multitudes in smart cities Human mobility in a city represents a fascinating complex system that combines social interactions, daily constraints and random explorations. New collections of data that capture human mobility not only help us to understand their underlying patterns but also to design intelligent systems. Bringing us the opportunity to reduce traffic and to develop other applications that make cities more adaptable to human needs. In this paper, we propose an adaptive routing strategy which accounts for individual constraints to recommend personalized routes and, at the same time, for constraints imposed by the collectivity as a whole. Using big data sets recently released during the Telecom Italia Big Data Challenge, we show that our algorithm allows us to reduce the overall traffic in a smart city thanks to synergetic effects, with the participation of individuals in the system, playing a crucial role.

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

personalized routing
smart city
big data

collective behavior
potential energy landscape


Two-layer dual gait generative models for human motion estimation from a single camera This paper presents a two-layer gait representation framework for video-based human motion estimation that extends our recent dual gait generative models, visual gait generative model (VGGM) and kinematic gait generative model (KGGM), with a new capability of part-whole gait modeling. Specifically, the idea of gait manifold learning is revisited to capture the gait variability among different individuals at both whole and part levels. A key issue is the selection of an appropriate distance metric to evaluate the dissimilarity between two gaits (either at whole or part levels) that determines an optimal manifold topology. Several metrics are studied and compared in terms of their effectiveness for gait manifold learning at both whole and part levels. This work involves one whole-based and two part-level gait manifolds by which three pairs of KGGM and VGGM can be learned and integrated for part-whole gait modeling. Moreover, a two-stage Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) inference algorithm is developed for video-based part-whole motion estimation. The proposed algorithm is tested on the HumanEva data and reaches state-of-art results. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

human motion estimation
manifold learning
manifold topology
generative models


MKBoost: A Framework of Multiple Kernel Boosting Multiple kernel learning (MKL) is a promising family of machine learning algorithms using multiple kernel functions for various challenging data mining tasks. Conventional MKL methods often formulate the problem as an optimization task of learning the optimal combinations of both kernels and classifiers, which usually results in some forms of challenging optimization tasks that are often difficult to be solved. Different from the existing MKL methods, in this paper, we investigate a boosting framework of MKL for classification tasks, i.e., we adopt boosting to solve a variant of MKL problem, which avoids solving the complicated optimization tasks. Specifically, we present a novel framework of Multiple kernel boosting (MKBoost), which applies the idea of boosting techniques to learn kernel-based classifiers with multiple kernels for classification problems. Based on the proposed framework, we propose several variants of MKBoost algorithms and extensively examine their empirical performance on a number of benchmark data sets in comparisons to various state-of-the-art MKL algorithms on classification tasks. Experimental results show that the proposed method is more effective and efficient than the existing MKL techniques.

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

multiple kernel learning
boosting
classification


Real-time color image segmentation based on mean shift algorithm using an FPGA Image segmentation is one of the most important tasks in the image processing, and mean shift algorithm is often used for color image segmentation because of its high quality. The computational cost of the mean shift algorithm, however, is high, and it is difficult to realize its real time processing on microprocessors, though many techniques for reducing the cost have been researched. In this paper, we describe an FPGA system for the image segmentation based on the mean shift algorithm. In the image segmentation based on the mean shift algorithm, the image is once over-segmented, and then the small regions are merged considering the similarity between the over-segmented regions to obtain better segmentation. In our system, the mean shift filter is accelerated using a cache memory which can access to all pixels in a w sw s pixel window at arbitrary position. This cache memory allows us to process w sw s pixels in parallel every clock cycle. The region merging is also accelerated by not strictly managing the list structures used for the merging. This loose management causes the redundant and out-of-date data into the list structures, but it makes the pointer dereferences unnecessary, and the overhead by those data can be hidden by pipeline processing. The performance for 768512 pixel images is fast enough for real-time applications.

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


Spectrum redistribution for cognitive radios using discriminatory spectrum double auction With the reformation of spectrum policy and the development of cognitive radio, secondary users will be allowed to access spectrums licensed to primary users. Spectrum auctions can facilitate this secondary spectrum access in a market-driven way. To design an efficient auction framework, we first study the supply and demand pressures and the competitive equilibrium of the secondary spectrum market, considering the spectrum reusability. In well-designed auctions, competition among participants should lead to the competitive equilibrium according to the traditional economic point of view. Then, a discriminatory price spectrum double auction framework is proposed for this market. In this framework, rational participants compete with each other by using bidding prices, and their profits are guaranteed to be non-negative. A near-optimal heuristic algorithm is also proposed to solve the auction clearing problem of the proposed framework efficiently. Experimental results verify the efficiency of the proposed auction clearing algorithm and demonstrate that competition among secondary users and primary users can lead to the competitive equilibrium during auction iterations using the proposed auction framework. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

discriminatory double auction
dynamic spectrum allocation
spectrum auction


A geometry-dependent model for void closure in hot metal forming During production of large metal workpieces, an internal presence of voids is usually observed. Such internal defects are generally closed up using hot metal forming processes, such as hot forging or hot rolling. Prediction models for void closure, associated with process simulation, are extremely powerful tools and might significantly support process design. However, there is at present a lack of accurate models being able to predict void closure according to industrial conditions, particularly in terms of void geometries. In this paper, an original model for void closure is presented, accounting for the void?s geometry and orientation, as well as the mechanical state during deformation. The model is build and calibrated based on a wide campaign of finite element simulations at the scale of a representative volume element. Various void geometries are defined and several mechanical states are prescribed on a range that is representative of industrial loadings. The model?s accuracy is verified using industrial data and was compared to several models from literature. Great advantages are obtained for non-spherical voids in terms of void volume evolution.

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


Electromagnetic imaging for shape and variable conductivity We consider the inverse problem of determining both the shape and the conductivity of a two-dimensional (2D) conducting scatterer from the knowledge of the far-field pattern of TM waves by solving the ill-posed nonlinear equation. Based on the boundary condition and measured scattered field, a set of nonlinear integral equations is derived and the imaging problem is reformulated into an optimization problem. Satisfactory reconstructions are achieved by the genetic algorithm. Numerical results demonstrate that, even when the initial guess is far away from the exact one, good reconstruction can be obtained. In addition, the effect of Gaussian noise on the reconstruction results is investigated. The numerical results show that multiple incident directions permit good reconstruction of shape and, to a lesser extent, conductivity in the presence of noise in measured data. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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


Speeding-up Hirschberg and Hunt-Szymanski LCS algorithms Two algorithms are presented that solve the problem of recovering the longest common subsequence of two strings. The first algorithm is an improvement of Hirschberg's divide-and-conquer algorithm. The second algorithm is an improvement of Hunt-Szymanski algorithm based on an efficient computation of all dominant match points. These two algorithms use bit-vector operations and are shown to work very efficiently in practice.

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


Peptides quantitative structure-function relationships: An automated mutation strategy to design peptides and pseudopeptides from substitution matrices The process by which analogs in peptide chemistry are currently designed does not include any quantitative basis for amino acid substitutions from pharmacological leads. Here, we show that substitution matrices such as PAM 250 can provide quantitative constraints compatible with biological activity. This article describes its use in a strategy of rational amino acid substitution in peptides and proteins: we have computed a chemically derived matrix equivalent to the well-known PAM 250 matrix, reflecting the natural mutability rates of amino acids in protein evolutions but that can be extended to all the noncoded amino acids. Some of these noncoded amino acids are widely used to mimic secondary structure, to constrain backbone conformation, or to evade protease degradation. An automated sequence mutation (ASM) strategy has been defined to generate mutations within constraints. Application of such a substitution matrix to quantitative structure-function relationship studies will be of use in the design of proteins and peptides destined to become pharmaceutical drugs. In particular, issues such as which functionally conserved substitutions are able to satisfy conformational restrictions, oral bioavailability, or formulation demands can be quantitatively addressed. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Science Ltd.

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Characterization of double domination subdivision number of trees In a graph G, a vertex dominates itself and its neighbors. A subset S?V(G) S ? V ( G ) is a double dominating set of G if S dominates every vertex of G at least twice. The double domination number dd(G) dd ( G ) is the minimum cardinality of a double dominating set of G. The double domination subdivision number sddd(G) sd dd ( G ) is the minimum number of edges that must be subdivided (each edge in G can be subdivided at most once) in order to increase the double domination number. In this paper first we establish upper bounds on the double domination subdivision number for arbitrary graphs in terms of vertex degree. Then we present several different conditions on G which are sufficient to imply that sddd(G)?3 sd dd ( G ) ? 3 . We also prove that 1?sddd(T)?2 1 ? sd dd ( T ) ? 2 for every tree T, and characterize the trees T for which sddd(T)=2 sd dd ( T ) = 2 .

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Optimal selection of robots by using distance based approach method A deterministic quantitative model based on Distance Based Approach (DBA) method has been developed for evaluation, selection and ranking of robots, which is a concept hitherto not employed in selection problem of this kind. As a significant development over and above past approaches to robot selection, it recognizes the need for, and processes the information about, relative importance of attributes for a given application, without which inter-se-attribute comparison could not be accomplished. It successfully presents the results of this information processing in terms of a merit value which is used to rank the robots. In order to demonstrate the aptness of using DBA method as a decision aid, the results so obtained have been compared with other techniques and methods available in the open literature. Sensitivity analysis test have been performed to analyze the critical and non-critical performance attributes for a robot. The model developed using DBA method is explained and illustrated with an example problem.

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Chronobiology applied to the development of human behavior computational models This paper proposes CHROMUBE. It is a methodology for the creation of computational models of human behavior. That kind of simulated model has a number of applications in the smart environments and ubiquitous computing domains. For example, an interesting application is using these models for testing services and applications in smart environments (e.g. a fall detection service for elders living independently in their own house, based on sensors deployed at home). The methodology uses techniques from Chronobiology (i.e. actograms, plexograms and cyrcadian rhythms detection) to analyze real data about the target subject's behavior. The analysis is intended to create a simulation model of the human starting from the result of such analysis. The effectiveness of the procedure is demonstrated with a running example: a real system that monitors elderly people at home. The application of CHROMUBE in such context had an influence on the pilot experience used to test the system. Thanks to CHROMUBE, its duration was reduced and the pilot more focused on the typical reliability and dependability aspects of a system that must work 24 x 7.

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computational models for human behavior
testing intelligent environments