Verifying very large industrial circuits using 100 processes and beyond Recent advances in scheduling and networking have paved the way for efficient exploitation of large scale distributed computing platforms such as computational grids and huge clusters. Such infrastructures hold great promise for the highly resource demanding task of verifying and checking large models, given that model checkers would be designed with a high degree of scalability and flexibility in mind. In this paper we focus on the mechanisms required to execute a high performance distributed symbolic model checker on top of a large scale distributed environment. We develop a hybrid algorithm for slicing the state space and dynamically distribute the work among the worker processes. We show that the new approach is faster, more effective and thus much more scalable than previous slicing algorithms. We then present a checkpoint restart module that has very low overhead. This module can be used to combat failures the likelihood of which increases with the size of the computing plat form However, checkpoint restart is even more handy for the scheduling system it can be used te avoid reserving large numbers of workers thus making the distributed computation work efficient. Finally we discuss for the fist time the effect of reorder on the distributed model checker and show how the distributed system performs more efficient reordering than the sequential one. We implemented our contributions on a network of 200 processors using a distributed scaIabIe scheme that employs a high performance industrial model checker from Intel. Our results show that the system was able to verify real life models much larger than was previously possible.

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


Metrics for shot boundary detection in digital video sequences The detection of shot boundaries in video sequences is an important task for generating indexed video databases. This paper provides a comprehensive quantitative comparison of the metrics that have been applied to shot boundary detection. In addition, several standardized statistical tests that have not been applied to this problem, as well as three new metrics, are considered. A mathematical framework for quantitatively comparing metrics is supplied. Experimental results based on a video database containing 39,000 frames are included.

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 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


Constrained test generation for embedded synchronous sequential circuits with serial-input access We describe a constrained test-generation procedure for synchronous sequential circuits embedded in a large design where scan is used to provide access to the inputs of the individual circuits. The constrained test-generation procedure generates test sequences, where each vector is obtained from the previous one by shifting the scan chain a limited number of positions. Such constrained sequences can be applied through a scan chain with minimal test-application time overhead due to scan. When a shift by a single position is used to obtain each vector from the previous one, the constrained test sequences can allow functional (at-speed) testing of the circuit. Although constrained test sequences cannot achieve complete fault coverage, they reduce the overall test-application time required to achieve complete fault coverage when used together with unconstrained test sequences. We demonstrate these features through experimental results.

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

embedded circuits
scan design
test application


The measurement of English and Welsh police force efficiency: A comparison of distance function models Since the Labour government came to power in 1997, it has introduced a regime whereby public services are accountable in respect of best value performance indicators (BVPIs). A recent Public Services Productivity Panel (PSPP) (2000) report has developed a set of criteria whereby the economic analysis of police force efficiency by the Home Office is to be made standard. In this paper we utilise an innovative distance function strategy in contrast to the standard efficiency techniques (data envelopment analysis, DEA and stochastic cost frontier analysis) advocated in PSPP (2000). We present results from four different distance function models: DEA; free disposal hull (FDH); super-efficiency; and stochastic frontier analysis; in order to assess police force efficiency during the sample period 19961999.

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

parametric distance functions
technical efficiency
english and welsh police forces


A re-conceptualization of the interpretive flexibility of information technologies: redressing the balance between the social and the technical Interpretive flexibility - the capacity of a specific technology to sustain divergent opinions - has long been recognized as playing an important role in explaining how technical artefacts are socially constructed. What is less clear is how a system's technical characteristics might limit its ability to be interpreted flexibly. This gap in the literature has largely arisen because recent contributions to this debate have tended to be rather one-sided, focussing almost solely upon the role of the human agent in shaping the technical artefact, and in so doing either downplaying or ignoring the artefact's shaping potential. The broad aim of this study was to reappraise the nature and role of interpretive flexibility but giving as much consideration to how an information system's technical characteristics might limit its ability to be interpreted flexibly, as we do to its potential for social construction. In this paper, we use the results of two in-depth case studies, in order to propose a reconceptualization of the role of interpretive flexibility. In short, this model helps explain how the initial interpretations of stakeholders are significantly influenced by the scope and adaptability of the system's functionality. Stakeholder interpretations will then, in turn, influence how the system's functionality is appropriated and exploited by users, to allow divergent interpretations to be realized and sustained.

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

empowerment
control
systems development
nhs
community trusts
united kingdom


Analogue integrated circuit sizing with several optimization runs using heuristics for setting initial points Circuit sizing (i.e., determining MOSFET channel widths and lengths which result in the most appropriate and robust circuit) is an optimization process. When it is completed, there always remains a dilemma; namely, whether a better solution exists. With different starting points one can arrive at different local minima. A heuristic process, consisting of many optimization runs starting from different initial points, is proposed. It tries to find another local minimum of the cost function in every run and thus reveals some additional information about the circuit. The mathematical background of the algorithm used is described. Finally, the heuristic algorithm is tested on some real integrated operating amplifier designs. The results show that from the cost-function point of view surprisingly many equivalent solutions exist.

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

computer-aided design
integrated circuits
optimization algorithms


Derivative Estimation with Local Polynomial Fitting We present a fully automated framework to estimate derivatives nonparametrically without estimating the regression function. Derivative estimation plays an important role in the exploration of structures in curves (jump detection and discontinuities), comparison of regression curves, analysis of human growth data, etc. Hence, the study of estimating derivatives is equally important as regression estimation itself. Via empirical derivatives we approximate the qth order derivative and create a new data set which can be smoothed by any nonparametric regression estimator. We derive L-1 and L-2 rates and establish consistency of the estimator. The new data sets created by this technique are no longer independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables anymore. As a consequence, automated model selection criteria (data-driven procedures) break down. Therefore, we propose a simple factor method, based on bimodal kernels, to effectively deal with correlated data in the local polynomial regression framework.

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

nonparametric derivative estimation
empirical derivative
factor rule


an online bookstore using jsp technology The 'Pandora's World' online bookstore follows the first principle for large software systems and utilizes the Model View Controller (MVC) model and diagram for its design and the newest JavaServer Pages technologies for its implementation. It is much more unique than those implemented in the old version of JSP.

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


Queuing analyses and statistically bounded delay control for two-hop green wireless relay transmissions Although the wireless relay transmission has been recognized as one of the effective approaches in extending the coverage area and improving the network capacity, the delay control over the two-hop wireless channels toward end users' QoS satisfaction is still challenging in green wireless network designs. In this paper, we propose the QoS-driven delay control schemes over two-hop wireless relay links to statistically upper bound the total queuing delay for the decode-and-forward relay transmissions. Specifically, we first conduct asymptotic queuing-delay analyses for the relay transmissions. Then, we show that an efficient approach for statistical delay guarantees is to make the exponentially decaying speed of the complementary cumulative distribution functions of the queueing delay at both hops identical. We further derive that this target needs to be attained through asymmetric resource allocations over the two hops. Motivated by this fact, we formulate two optimization problems aiming at satisfying the specified delay-bound violation probability for the relay transmission, while minimizing the power consumption toward green wireless networking. One framework is for the frequency-division duplex relay mode and the other is for time-division duplex relay mode. In the frequency-division duplex relay mode, the source and relay nodes use a different transmit power. For the time-division duplex relay mode, the source and relay nodes use time-slots with different length but with the same instantaneous power. We solve for the optimal solutions for both of the aforementioned frameworks. Also conducted is a set of simulation results to show the impact of the QoS requirements, traffic load, and position of the relay node on the resource allocation over wireless relay links. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

effective capacity
effective bandwidth
delay-bound violation probability
wireless fading channels


Designing inclusive products for everyday environments: the effects of everyday cold temperatures on older adults dexterity This paper focuses on the effect that an everyday cold temperature (5C) can have on older adults (+65years) dexterous capabilities and the implications for design. Fine finger capability, power and pinch grip were measured using objective performance measures. Ability to perform tasks using a mobile phone, stylus, touch screen and garden secateurs were also measured. All measures were performed in a climatic cold chamber regulated at 5C and in a thermo-neutral environment regulated between 19C and 24C. Participants were exposed to the cold for a maximum of 40min. Results from the study showed that older adults fine finger dexterity, ability to pick up and place objects and ability to use a mobile phone were significantly (p<0.05) affected by an everyday cold temperature of 5C when compared to performance in the thermo-neutral environment. However, power and pinch grip strength and ability to use the gardening secateurs were not significantly affected by the cold. Based on these findings, the following guidance is offered to designers developing products that are likely to be used outside in an everyday cold environment: (1) minimise the number of product interactions that require precise fine finger movements; (2) try to avoid small controls that have to be pressed in a sequence; (3) maximise the number of product interactions that can be operated through either exerting a gripping action (power or pinch grip) or by gross hand and arm movements.

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

dexterity
cold temperatures
older adults


algorithms for recognizing coordinates in two variables over ufd's We give an easy and efficient algorithm to check whether a given polynomial f in K [ x,y ] is a coordinate, where K be a commutative field of characteristic zero, and if so to compute a coordinate's mate of f . Then we treat the same problem replacing the ground field K by a unique factorization domain A of characteristic zero. A notable feature of our method is that it always produces a mate of minimum degree.

O O O O O O O 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


Comparison of organs' shapes with geometric and Zernike 3D moments The morphological similarity of organs is studied with feature vectors based on geometric and Zernike 3D moments. It is particularly investigated if outliers and average models can be identified. For this purpose, the relative proximity to the mean feature vector is defined, principal coordinate and clustering analyses are also performed. To study the consistency and usefulness of this approach, 17 livers and 76 hearts voxel models from several sources are considered. In the liver case, models with similar morphological feature are identified. For the limited amount of studied cases, the liver of the ICRP male voxel model is identified as a better surrogate than the female one. For hearts, the clustering analysis shows that three heart shapes represent about 80% of the morphological variations. The relative proximity and clustering analysis rather consistently identify outliers and average models. For the two cases, identification of outliers and surrogate of average models is rather robust. However, deeper classification of morphological feature is subject to caution and can only be performed after cross analysis of at least two kinds of feature vectors. Finally, the Zernike moments contain all the information needed to re-construct the studied objects and thus appear as a promising tool to derive statistical organ shapes. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

zernike moments
morphological similarity
voxel model


Formalizing knowledge on international environmental regimes: Afirst step towards integrating political science in integrated assessments of global environmental change ? International environmental regimes are considered key factors in dealing with global environmental change problems. It is important to understand if and how regimes are effective in tackling these problems, which requires knowledge on their potential impact on these problems as well as on their political feasibility. Integrated assessments of global environmental change, which are mainly bio-physical and technology-economic oriented, barely address knowledge on environmental regimes, due to problems in drawing general and policy relevant lessons on regime effectiveness and inherent difficulties in modelling human and social dimensions. This paper presents an innovative approach to formalize knowledge on the effectiveness of environmental regimes, so that scientists from both the political science and integrated assessment domain can understand it, discuss it and contribute to it. We constructed a conceptual framework for the systematic analysis of conditions that influence regime effectiveness and implemented it in a computer model using fuzzy logic methodology. We evaluated the fuzzy model in an ex post case study on four existing international environmental regimes. The model can be used as an aid in analysing the effectiveness of existing or future regimes, highlighting which determinants contribute to success or failure, and it enables systematic and meaningful comparisons between regimes and policy measures. We discovered that formalizing knowledge on environmental regimes in a framework and model enhanced its transparency and deductive power as it forced us to be explicit about our choices and assumptions. Developing and using the framework and model also revealed the lacunae in knowledge in environmental regime theory which may inform regime researchers to further structure and increase their knowledge. By making knowledge on environmental regimes explicit and understandable we have taken an important step towards a better integration of political science in integrated assessments. We believe, however, that this integration is still in its early days and requires further attention in the future.

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

regimes
integrated assessment
fuzzy logic

knowledge formalization
governance
interdisciplinary


Using the original and 'symmetrical face' training samples to perform representation based two-step face recognition A limited number of available training samples have become one bottleneck of face recognition. In real-world applications, the face image might have various changes owing to varying illumination, facial expression and poses. However, non-sufficient training samples cannot comprehensively convey these possible changes, so it is hard to improve the accuracy of face recognition. In this paper, we propose to exploit the symmetry of the face to generate new samples and devise a representation based method to perform face recognition. The new training samples really reflect some possible appearance of the face. The devised representation based method simultaneously uses the original and new training samples to perform a two-step classification, which ultimately uses a small number of classes that are 'near' to the test sample to represent and classify it and has a similar advantage as the sparse representation method. This method also takes advantages of the score level fusion, which has proven to be very competent and usually performs better than the decision level and feature level fusion. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art face recognition methods including the sparse representation classification (SRC), linear regression classification (LRC), collaborative representation (CR) and two-phase test sample sparse representation (TPTSSR). (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

face recognition
sparse representation method


Theoretical

investigation

of

the

structure

and

acid-base

properties

of

potential

tautomeric

forms

using

the

semiempirical

method

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relative

stabilities

of

potential

tautomers,

in

both

gas

and

aqueous

phases,

have

been

calculated

taking

into

account

the

entropy

effects

over

the

tautomeric

equilibria,

in

order

to

determine

the

structure

and

acid-base

properties

of

the

most

stable

tautomers

of

in

different

pH

conditions.

In

each

medium,

the

tautomer

with

the

lowest

energy

must

be

the

most

representative

form

at

the

corresponding

pH.

Knowledge

of

the

effect

of

the

medium

in

the

tautomerization

energies

allows

us

to

evaluate

the

possible

effect

of

the

medium

on

the

molecular

stability.

Clearly,

the

results

show

that

in

the

gas

phase

the

basicity

of

the

potential

donor

atoms

is

and

in

the

aqueous

phase

with

the

higher

basicity

of

and

being

common

to

the

two

phases.

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the

aqueous

phase,

the

sulfur

atom

is

usually

found

in

the

thiol

form,

whereas

the

oxygen

atom

is

in

the

keto

form

only

in

the

most

stable

species.

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the

acid-base

character

of

in

aqueous

solution

has

been

evaluated

from

the

corresponding

thermodynamic

parameters.

The

results

agree

well

with

the

experimental

data.

Electronic

supplementary

material

to

this

paper

can

be

obtained

by

using

the

Springer

Link

server

located

at

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

lumazine
semiempirical methods
tautomerism


Development and evaluation of an enhanced surrogate safety assessment framework Driver warnings and the evasive maneuver were implemented with the communications delay and the GPS/INU errors. A V2V/V2I communication simulator and a GPS/INU simulator were developed to consider the safety impact of these technologies. Vehicle trajectories produced from the new-integrated safety simulator was post-processed by the vehicle dynamics model (i.e., CarSim). Traffic simulator, driver warning, GPS/INU, V2V/V2I, vehicle dynamics, and SSAM were integrated as the surrogate safety simulation test-bed.

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

surrogate safety assessment
driver warnings

vehicle-to-vehicle (v2v) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (v2i).


Optimisation and experimental verification of a dust-removal beater for the electrodes of electrostatic precipitators The results of research into changes in vibrations of collecting electrodes are presented in the paper. The changes come from the optimisation of geometric and dynamic parameters of the shaking down system inelectrostatic precipitators (ESP). The computational verification was carried out using the finite element method on the MSC NASTRAN package. Vibrations and accelerations of the collecting electrodes were measured. The results were used in the comparative analysis and the analysis of spectral density of acceleration power. The paper shows how calculating methods completed by measurements allow us to solve important and sophisticated practical problem.

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


VSim: Simulating Multi-Server Setups at Near Native Hardware Speed Simulating contemporary computer systems is a challenging endeavor, especially when it comes to simulating high-end setups involving multiple servers. The simulation environment needs to run complete software stacks, including operating systems, middleware, and application software, and it needs to simulate network and disk activity next to CPU performance. In addition, it needs the ability to scale out to a large number of server nodes while attaining good accuracy and reasonable simulation speeds. This paper presents VSim, a novel simulation methodology for multi-server systems. VSim leverages virtualization technology for simulating a target system on a host system. VSim controls CPU, network and disk performance on the host, and it gives the illusion to the software stack to run on a target system through time dilation. VSim can simulate multiple targets per host, and it employs a distributed simulation scheme across multiple hosts for simulations at scale. Our experimental results demonstrate VSim's accuracy: typical errors are below 6% for CPU, disk, and network performance. Real-life workloads involving the Lucene search engine and the Olio Web 2.0 benchmark illustrate VSim's utility and accuracy (average error of 3.2%). Our current setup can simulate up to five target servers per host, and we provide a Hadoop workload case study in which we simulate 25 servers. These simulation results are obtained at a simulation slowdown of one order of magnitude compared to native hardware execution.

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

performance
virtualization
time dilation

design
experimentation
measurement
architectural simulation


Cascaded warped-FIR and FIR filter structure for loudspeaker equalization with low computational cost requirements ? This paper proposes an improved filter structure and methodology for the equalization of loudspeakers and other audio systems. It employs a cascaded structure of a finite impulse response (FIR) filter and a warped-FIR filter in order to obtain the best performance of both types of filters. In the task of loudspeaker equalization, FIR filters achieve excellent resolution and equalization at high frequencies, but at low frequencies the resolution obtained is too poor when evaluated in a logarithmic frequency axis, that could only be improved using high order filters. To solve this lack of resolution at low frequencies, warped-FIR filters have been employed, but at the expense of decreasing the resolution of the filter at high frequencies and increasing the complexity of the filter structure and its computational cost. The proposed combination of both types of filters, combined with the correct selection of their orders, and the ? value for the warped-FIR filter, allows the FIR filter to maintain its good resolution at high frequencies and achieve enough resolution at low frequencies with the warped-FIR filter. In this way, lower order filters with lower computational cost could be obtained than when using FIR or warped-FIR only. This approximation attains a more uniform resolution of the filter when evaluated in octaves, behaving much more like human hearing, than the linear frequency resolution obtained when employing only FIR filters.

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

loudspeaker equalization
fir filters
low computational cost


Adaptive optimization of IEEE 802.11 DCF based on Bayesian estimation of the number of competing terminals The performance of the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) of the IEEE 802.11 protocol has been shown to heavily depend on the number of terminals accessing the distributed medium. The DCF uses a carrier sense multiple access scheme with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), where the backoff parameters are fixed and determined by the standard. While those parameters were chosen to provide a good protocol performance, they fail to provide an optimum utilization of the channel in many scenarios. In particular, under heavy load scenarios, the utilization of the medium can drop tenfold. Most of the optimization mechanisms proposed in the literature are based on adapting the DCF backoff parameters to the estimate of the number of competing terminals in the network. However, existing estimation algorithms are either inaccurate or too complex. In this paper, we propose an enhanced version of the IEEE 802.11 DCF that employs an adaptive estimator of the number of competing terminals based on sequential Monte Carlo methods. The algorithm uses a Bayesian approach, optimizing the backoff parameters of the DCF based on the predictive distribution of the number of competing terminals. We show that our algorithm is simple yet highly accurate even at small time scales. We implement our proposed new DCF in the ns-2 simulator and show that it outperforms existing methods. We also show that its accuracy can be used to improve the results of the protocol even when the terminals are not in saturation mode. Moreover, we show that there exists a Nash equilibrium strategy that prevents rogue terminals from changing their parameters for their own benefit, making the algorithm safely applicable in a complete distributed fashion.

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

distributed coordination function
sequential monte carlo
nash equilibrium

ieee 802.11 wireless networks
game theory


BlinkFS: A distributed file system for intermittent power We design, implement and evaluate BlinkFS, a DFS for intermittent power. Highlight its advantages over existing energy-proportional DFSs for variable power. Advantages include low overhead, always-accessible data, and no capacity limitations. Discuss techniques to minimize latency and maximize performance at all power levels. BlinkFS performs better than prior energy-efficient DFSs at low & oscillating power.

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

distributed file system
intermittent power


Global analysis of combined reaction distillation processes Polyhedral relaxation is a powerful tool for determining global bounds on optimal solutions in chemical process synthesis. Combined reaction distillation processes are considered as a challenging application example. To reduce complexity of the resulting mixed integer linear optimization problems, model reduction by means of wave functions is proposed, and polyhedral relaxations of sigmoidal wave functions in two variables are derived. It is shown that these relaxations provide better approximation quality than approximating the composed functions individually. Further, the concave envelope of such functions is characterized and (nonlinear) convex underestimators are derived. The approximation results are employed in the computation of lower bounds on the vapor flow of a combined reaction distillation process with a metathesis reaction 2B reversible arrow A + C. We restrict computations to a domain around a known local optimum, trading computation time for some of the globality. This still proves a bound on the vapor flow, but for restricted operating conditions of the column. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

reaction
distillation
polyhedral relaxation

reactive distillation
side reactor
global optimization
minlp
milp


Exploiting Mobility for Efficient Data Dissemination in Wireless Sensor Networks In this paper, we introduce a novel mobility model for mobile sinks in which the sinks move towards randomly distributed destinations, where each destination is associated with a mission. The novel mobility model is termed the random mobility with destinations. There have been many studies on mobile sinks; however, they merely support two extreme cases of sink mobility. The first case features the most common and general mobility, with the sinks moving randomly, unpredictably, and inartificially. The other case takes into account mobility only along predefined or determined paths such that the sinks can gather data from sensor nodes with minimum overhead. Unfortunately, these studies for the common mobility and predefined path mobility might not suit for supporting the random mobility with destinations. In order to support random mobility with destination, we propose a new protocol, in which the source nodes send their data to the next movement path of a mobile sink. To implement the proposed protocol, we first present a mechanism for predicting the next movement path of a mobile sink based on its previous movement path. With the information about predicted movement path included in a query packet, we further present a mechanism that source nodes send energy-efficiently their data along the next movement path before arriving of the mobile sink. Last, we present mechanisms for compensating the difference between the predicted movement path and the real movement path and for relaying the delayed data after arriving of the mobile sink on the next movement path, respectively. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol achieves better performance than the existing protocols.

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

mobile sink
random mobility with destinations
wireless sensor networks

data collection place
next movement prediction


Motion doodles: An interface for sketching character motion In this paper we present a novel system for sketching the motion of a character. The process begins by sketching a character to be animated. An animated motion is then created for the character by drawing a continuous sequence of lines, arcs, and loops. These are parsed and mapped to a parameterized set of output motions that further reflect the location and timing of the input sketch. The current system supports a repertoire of 18 different types of motions in 2D and a subset of these in 3D. The system is unique in its use of a cursive motion specification, its ability to allow for fast experimentation, and its ease of use for non-experts.

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

animation
gestural interfaces
computer puppetry


Inference of segmented color and texture description by tensor voting A robust synthesis method is proposed to automatically infer missing color and texture information from a damaged 2D image by ND tensor voting (N > 3). The same approach is generalized to range and 3D data in the presence of occlusion, missing data and noise. Our method translates texture information into an adaptive ND tensor, followed by a voting process that infers noniteratively the optimal color values in the ND texture space. A two-step method is proposed. First, we perform segmentation based on insufficient geometry, color, and texture information in the input, and extrapolate partitioning boundaries by either 2D or 3D tensor voting to generate a complete segmentation for the input. Missing colors are synthesized using ND tensor voting in each segment. Different feature scales in the input are automatically adapted by our tensor scale analysis. Results on a variety of difficult inputs demonstrate the effectiveness of our tensor voting approach.

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

segmentation
color
texture
tensor voting


A hybrid genetic algorithm for mixed model assembly line balancing problem with parallel workstations and zoning constraints In this paper, we propose a hybrid genetic algorithm to solve mixed model assembly line balancing problem of type I (MMALBP-I). There are three objectives to be achieved: to minimize the number of workstations, maximize the workload smoothness between workstations, and maximize the workload smoothness within workstations. The proposed approach is able to address some particular features of the problem such as parallel workstations and zoning constraints. The genetic algorithm may lack the capability of exploring the solution space effectively. We aim to improve its exploring capability by sequentially hybridizing the three well known heuristics, Kilbridge & Wester Heuristic, Phase-I of Moodie & Young Method, and Ranked Positional Weight Technique, with genetic algorithm. The proposed hybrid genetic algorithm is tested on 20 representatives MMALBP-I and the results are compared with those of other algorithms.

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

genetic algorithm
hybrid
zoning constraints

mixed-model assembly line balancing problem


Who is NOT likely to access the Internet for health information? Findings from first-time mothers in southwest Sydney, Australia This study aimed to explore inequities in access to online health information and its relation to socioeconomic status, and to inform the development of the use of the Internet for health promotion. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline survey data for 664 first-time mothers from the Healthy Beginnings Trial conducted in Southwest Sydney, Australia during 20072010. First-time mothers reports of their computer ownership, sources of health information including Internet access and self-rated health as well as demographic data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Multivariate analysis was performed using log-binomial regression. We found that 37% of first-time mothers reported not using the Internet for health information. Maternal education level, household income level and having a computer at home were significant factors associated with the use of the Internet for health information after adjusting for other factors. Mothers who only had school certificate or lower were 1.5 times more likely not to use the Internet for health information than those with university/tertiary education [adjusted risk ratio (ARR) 1.50, 95% CI 1.062.12, P=0.03]. Mothers with a household income of less than $40,000 per year were 1.7 times more likely not to use the Internet for health information than those with a household income over $80,000 per year (ARR 1.66, 95% CI 1.242.12, P=0.001). These findings have important implications for using the Internet for health promotion among young women. A substantial number of first-time mothers do not access the Internet for health information, in particular among those with lower levels of education, lower household income and without a computer at home.

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


An integrated approach for structural damage identification using wavelet neuro-fuzzy model The structural response signal processing method identifies damage time and location. Wavelet real-time filtering algorithm processes response signals with noise up to 30%. ANFIS is trained with structural inputoutput signal data and used to model structural behavior. Interval modeling technique is used to quantify structural system uncertainty with dominant uncertainty coordinate. The damage identification accuracy is up to 0.05% under 10% noise.

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

structural damage identification
interval modeling technique

signal processing approach
wavelet real-time filtering algorithm
adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system


A new current-mode receiver for high-speed electrical/optical link In this work we propose high-speed, low-noise current-mode receiver, called current-conveyor transimpedance amplifier (CCTIA) for low-current differential signaling (LCDS). Proposed receiver is suitable for both optical and electrical chip-to-chip interconnect applications. This low-noise and high speed receiver enables LCDS signaling. The other unique feature of the proposed current-mode receiver is, it provides very low tunable differential input impedance of few ohms. This very low-input impedance is suitable for optical chip-to-chip interconnection applications. Also the input impedance of the receiver can be made equal to 100-? ? differential over wide frequency range for matching the characteristic impedance of electrical chip-to-chip interconnect. The input-referred noise current of CCTIA is smaller than that of a Common-Gate TIA (CG-TIA). The proposed receiver is implemented in 1.8-V, 0.18-?m ? m digital CMOS technology. The input-referred noise current and 3-dB bandwidth of the receiver are 1.23-?A ? A and 8.3-GHz, respectively. For the targeted bit-error rate (BER) of 10?12, data transfer rate of 6-Gb/s is achieved, while transmitting the data over FR4 PCB trace of length 20-cm. As an optical receiver, the CCTIA supports 10-Gb/s data transmission. The power dissipated in the CCTIA is 4.2-mW.

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

current-mode receiver
high-speed circuits
low-input impedance
electrical link
optical link


Understanding the implemented access control policy of Android system services with slicing and extended static checking Android is one of the major smartphone platforms today. One reason for this success is that many interesting applications are made available through Google Play. The increasing functionality, however, entails new risks. To defend against attacks, Android provides a sophisticated security architecture based on permissions which must be granted to applications at installation time. Since the Android source code is publicly available, the security community has the chance to assess the security mechanisms of Android. Due to its large code body, a completely manual code review is tedious, and hence, tool support for this task is desirable. As a first step in this direction, we propose to extract the implemented access control policy from the code for Android system services with the help of program slicing. After this abstraction phase, we analyze the extracted policy against the documentation. For this purpose, we use the Java Modeling Language in conjunction with extended static checking. We applied this approach to core system services of Android4.0.3 and identified some inconsistencies between the documentation and the implementation.

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

android
slicing
java modeling language
extended static checking


Compositional pattern producing networks: A novel abstraction of development Natural DNA can encode complexity on an enormous scale. Researchers are attempting to achieve the same representational efficiency in computers by implementing developmental encodings, i.e. encodings that map the genotype to the phenotype through a process of growth from a small starting point to a mature form. A major challenge in in this effort is to find the right level of abstraction of biological development to capture its essential properties without introducing unnecessary inefficiencies. In this paper, a novel abstraction of natural development, called Compositional Pattern Producing Networks (CPPNs), is proposed. Unlike currently accepted abstractions such as iterative rewrite systems and cellular growth simulations, CPPNs map to the phenotype without local interaction, that is, each individual component of the phenotype is determined independently of every other component. Results produced with CPPNs through interactive evolution of two-dimensional images show that such an encoding can nevertheless produce structural motifs often attributed to more conventional developmental abstractions, suggesting that local interaction may not be essential to the desirable properties of natural encoding in the way that is usually assumed.

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

evolutionary computation
representation
developmental encoding
indirect encoding
artificial embryogeny
generative systems


Developing design expertise through the construction of video stories Theories about experiential learning and expert performance place reflection as a vital mechanism which operates at different levels according to whether we are responding to a situation as it unfolds or critically reviewing past events to make sense of what occurred. We describe work carried out with small teams of industrial design students on the point of entering professional practice in which the potential of video story-making for supporting critical reflection about design experience was explored. We conclude that the process of story construction presents rich opportunities for making sense of both design education and design practice.

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

design education
industrial design
design expertise


Sequential hashing: A flexible approach for unveiling significant patterns in high speed networks Identification of significant patterns in network traffic, such as IPs or flows that contribute large volume (heavy hitters) or those that introduce large changes of volume (heavy changers), has many applications in accounting and network anomaly detection. As network speed and the number of flows grow rapidly, identifying heavy hitters/changers by tracking per-IP or per-flow statistics becomes infeasible due to both the computational overhead and memory requirements. In this paper, we propose SeqHash, a novel sequential hashing scheme that supports fast and accurate recovery of heavy hitters/changers, while requiring memory just slightly higher than the theoretical lower bound. SeqHash monitors data traffic using a sketch data structure that can flexibly trade-off between the memory usage and the computational overhead in a large range that can be utilized by different computer architectures for optimizing the overall performance. In addition, we propose statistically efficient algorithms for estimating the values of heavy hitters/changers. Using both mathematical analysis and experimental studies of Internet traces, we demonstrate that SeqHash can achieve the same accuracy as the existing methods do but using much less memory and computational overhead.

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

heavy hitter/changer detection
network monitoring


Biomedical informatics research and education at the EuroMISE center Objectives. in the paper we described the partial achievement reached by the EuroMISE Center in research and higher education, supporting better healthcare in future information society Methods: Through the research cooperation, the EuroMISE Centre suggests publicly available tools and methods that allow the application of new technologies for various healthcare organizations and citizens, with a special focus on the national environment of the Czech Republic. It provides a platform for a greater level of research cooperation with the usage of the most up-to-date information and communication technologies and a wide spectrum of clinical and genetic data and knowledge. Results: Results of research and higher education of the EuroMISE Center the field of Biomedical Informatics are described in outputs of national and European projects. Further results have been published and/or presented at national and international meetings and incorporated in education and healthcare practice. Conclusions: The long-term effect of postgraduate doctoral education in the field of biomedical informatics consists in the rapid increase of scientists that are needed in the Czech Republic to reach the goals of information society in health care. The multidisciplinary research at the EuroMISE Center moves towards direct usage in the informational support of diagnostics and therapy, mining of the medical databases, and in the customization of healthcare based on the clinical and genetic profile of a patient.

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

biomedical informatics
research
education
healthcare
information society


Optimized bucketing for NMR spectra: Three case studies The use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data coupled to chemometric methods has become increasingly popular in the last decade. However, a serious drawback of these approaches is the common misalignments of H-1 NMR spectra. To overcome this problem, bucketing or binning techniques have been used. In this work, an algorithm is proposed to perform an optimized bucketing that yields better results than the conventional bucketing implemented in some commercial software. The improvement proposed here for optimized bucketing deals with the bucket boundaries, which are defined by local minima from average NMR spectrum over all samples. Applicability of the new algorithm, named OBA (optimized bucketing algorithm), is demonstrated for real data sets in comparison to other alignment approaches and conventional bucketing. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

spectral alignment
wine
biodiesel
brain tumor


Completeness by Forcing The completeness of the infinitary language L(omega 1,omega) was proved by Carol Karp in 1964. We express and prove the completeness of infinitary first-order logics in the institution-independent setting by using forcing, a powerful method for constructing models. As a consequence of this abstraction, the completeness theorem becomes available for the infinitary versions of many 'first order' logical systems that appear in the area of logic or computer science.

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

proof theory
institutional model theory
first-order completeness


MCgrid:

Projecting

cross

section

calculations

on

grids

MCgrid

is

a

software

package

that

provides

access

to

the

APPLgrid

interpolation

tool

for

Monte

Carlo

event

generator

codes,

allowing

for

fast

and

flexible

variations

of

scales,

coupling

parameters

and

PDFs

in

cutting

edge

leading-

and

next-to-leading-order

QCD

calculations.

This

is

achieved

by

providing

additional

tools

to

the

Rivet

analysis

system

for

the

construction

of

MCgrid

enhanced

Rivet

analyses.

The

interface

is

based

around

a

one-to-one

correspondence

between

a

Rivet

histogram

class

and

a

wrapper

for

an

APPLgrid

interpolation

grid.

The

Rivet

system

provides

all

of

the

analysis

tools

required

to

project

a

Monte

Carlo

weight

upon

an

observable

bin,

and

the

MCgrid

package

provides

the

correct

conversion

of

the

event

weight

to

an

APPLgrid

fill

call.

MCgrid

has

been

tested

and

designed

for

use

with

the

SHERPA

event

generator,

however

as

with

Rivet

the

package

is

suitable

for

use

with

any

code

which

can

produce

events

in

the

HepMC

event

record

format.

Program

title:

MCgrid

Catalogue

identifier:

Program

summary

Program

obtainable

from:

CPC

Program

Library,

Queens

University,

Belfast,

N.

Ireland

Licensing

provisions:

Standard

CPC

licence,

No.

of

lines

in

distributed

program,

including

test

data,

etc.:

No.

of

bytes

in

distributed

program,

including

test

data,

etc.:

Distribution

format:

tar.gz

Programming

language:

C++,

shell,

Python.

Computer:

PC

running

Linux,

Mac.

Operating

system:

Linux,

Mac

OS.

RAM:

Varying

Classification:

External

routines:

HepMC

Rivet

APPLgrid

A

Sherpa

installation

is

also

required.

Nature

of

problem:

Efficient

filling

of

cross

section

grid

files

from

fully

exclusive

parton-level

Monte

Carlo

events.

Solution

method:

Analyse

Monte

Carlo

events

via

the

Rivet

program,

which

projects

events

on

discretised

cross

section

tables

from

APPLgrid.

Running

time:

Approximately

minutes

per

million

DrellYan

events

from

Sherpa.

This

includes

both

the

event

generation

and

the

mcgrid

computations.

The

times

can

vary

quite

dramatically.

The

process

used

in

the

test

case

(which

is

a

relatively

fast

one)

takes

about

minutes

seconds

for

the

initial

(phase-space

fill)

run

and

about

minutes

for

the

second

and

final

run.

This

is

for

million

events

on

a

ivy

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


efficient unit test case minimization Randomized unit test cases can be very effective in detecting defects. In practice, however, failing test cases often comprise long sequences of method calls that are tiresome to reproduce and debug. We present a combination of static slicing and delta debugging that automatically minimizes the sequence of failure-inducing method calls. In a case study on the EiffelBase library, the strategy minimizes failing unit test cases on average by 96\%. This approach improves on the state of the art by being far more efficient: in contrast to the approach of Lei and Andrews, who use delta debugging alone, our case study found slicing to be 50 times faster, while providing comparable results. The combination of slicing and delta debugging gives the best results and is 11 times faster.

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


An integrated model based on statistical process control and maintenance The close relationship between quality and maintenance of manufacturing systems has contributed to the development of integrated models, which use the concept of statistical process control (SPC) and maintenance. Such models not only help to improve quality of products but also lead to lower maintenance cost. In this paper, an integrated model is presented which considers complete failure and planned maintenance simultaneously. This model leads to six different scenarios. A new procedure for calculating average cost per time unit is also presented. Finally, a numerical example is used to evaluate sensitivity of the model parameters and compare performance of the developed model to a planned maintenance model. Results indicate satisfactory performance for the developed model. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

integrated model
statistical process control
maintenance


MBR-PSOLA - TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYNTHESIS BASED ON AN MBE RE-SYNTHESIS OF THE SEGMENTS DATABASE The use of the Time-Domain Pitch Synchronous OverLap-Add (TD-PSOLA) algorithm in a Text-To-Speech synthesizer is reviewed. Its drawbacks are underlined and three conditions on the speech database are examined. In order to satisfy them, a previously described high quality resynthesis process is developed and enhanced, which makes use of the well-known Multi-Band Excited (MBE) model. An important by product of this operation is that optimal Pitch Marking turns out to be automatic. A temporal interpolation block is finally added. The resulting Multi-Band Resynthesis Pitch Synchronous OverLap Add (MBR-PSOLA) synthesis algorithm supports spectral interpolation between voiced parts of segments, with virtually no increase in complexity. It provides the basis of a high-quality Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesizer.

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

speech synthesis
text-to-speech systems
segments database re-synthesis


Some observations on LR-like parsing with delayed reduction We discuss a bottom-up parsing technique based on delayed reductions, and investigate its capabilities and limitations. Some non LR(k) grammars, for any k, are handled deterministically by this method. Surprisingly, and counter-intuitively from the viewpoint of LR(k), increase of delay may lead to decrease of determinism. We also present a variant that uses both delay and lookahead. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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


Influence of different abstractions on the performance analysis of distributed hard real-time systems System level performance analysis plays a fundamental role in the design process of hard real-time embedded systems. Several different approaches have been presented so far to address the problem of accurate performance analysis of distributed embedded systems in early design stages. The existing formal analysis methods are based on essentially different concepts of abstraction. However, the influence of these different models on the accuracy of the system analysis is widely unknown, as a direct comparison of performance analysis methods has not been considered so far. We define a set of benchmarks aimed at the evaluation of performance analysis techniques for distributed systems. We apply different analysis methods to the benchmarks and compare the results obtained in terms of accuracy and analysis times, highlighting the specific effects of the various abstractions. We also point out several pitfalls for the analysis accuracy of single approaches and investigate the reasons for pessimistic performance predictions.

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


A new provably secure authentication and key agreement mechanism for SIP using certificateless public-key cryptography The session initiation protocol (SIP) is considered as the dominant signaling protocol for calls over the Internet. However, SIP authentication typically uses HTTP digest authentication, which is vulnerable to many forms of known attacks. This paper proposes a new secure authentication and key agreement mechanism based on certificateless public-key cryptography (CL-PKC), named as SAKA, between two previously unknown parties, which provides stronger security assurances for SIP authentication and media stream, and is provably secure in the CK security model. Due to using CL-PKC, SAKA effectively avoids the requirement of a large Public Key Infrastructure and conquers the key escrow problem in previous schemes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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


Partition-distance methods for assessing spatial segmentations of images and videos The primary goal of the research on image segmentation is to produce better segmentation algorithms. In spite of almost 50 years of research and development in this field, the general problem of splitting an image into meaningful regions remains unsolved. New and emerging techniques are constantly being applied with reduced success. The design of each of these new segmentation algorithms requires spending careful attention judging the effectiveness of the technique. This paper demonstrates how the proposed methodology is well suited to perform a quantitative comparison between image segmentation algorithms using a ground-truth segmentation. It consists of a general framework already partially proposed in the literature, but dispersed over several works. The framework is based on the principle of eliminating the minimum number of elements such that a specified condition is met. This rule translates directly into a global optimization procedure and the intersection-graph between two partitions emerges as the natural tool to solve it. The objective of this paper is to summarize, aggregate and extend the dispersed work. The principle is clarified, presented striped of unnecessary supports and extended to sequences of images. Our study shows that the proposed framework for segmentation performance evaluation is simple, general and mathematically sound.

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 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 B I O O O O O O

image segmentation
performance evaluation

video segmentation
partition-distance
intersection-graph
mutual refinement


ON CORESETS FOR k-MEDIAN AND k-MEANS CLUSTERING IN METRIC AND EUCLIDEAN SPACES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS We present new approximation algorithms for the k-median and k-means clustering problems. To this end, we obtain small coresets for k-median and k-means clustering in general metric spaces and in Euclidean spaces. In R(d), these coresets are of size with polynomial dependency on the dimension d. This leads to (1 + epsilon)-approximation algorithms to the optimal k-median and k-means clustering in Rd, with running time O(ndk + 2((k/epsilon)O(1)) d(2) log(k+2) n), where n is the number of points. This improves over previous results. We use those coresets to maintain a (1 + epsilon)-approximate k-median and k-means clustering of a stream of points in R(d), using O(d(2)k(2)epsilon(-2) log(8) n) space. These are the first streaming algorithms, for those problems, that have space complexity with polynomial dependency on the dimension.

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

k-median clustering
k-means clustering
coreset
random sampling
high dimensions


The grounding of motivation in artificial animals: Indices of motivational behavior ? The grounding issue in AI research is concerned with how best to integrate an artificial creature, such as a robot, with the environment in which it functions. In many investigations these interactions are defined and imposed on the agent by an external source, e.g. the designer of the robot. In the debate on the grounding issue little or no attention has been paid to the motivational aspects of grounding. The subject area of motivation is central to understanding how an organism is capable of autonomous functioning, i.e. deciding what is important to its continued existence and determining the means of achieving the relevant goals. This paper sets out to examine this aspect of the grounding debate and identifies some of the features which characterize authentic motivational structures in animals and discuss the possibility of implementing similar structures in artificial creatures. It will be argued that an appreciation of the interactive nature of motivation may be the key to understanding motivational grounding.

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

artificial motivation
motivational indices
incentive learning
value
evolutionary robotics


Influence of the condensate and inverse cascade on the direct cascade in wave turbulence During direct numerical simulation of the isotropic turbulence of surface gravity waves in the framework of Hamiltonian equations formation of the long wave background or condensate was observed. Exponents of the direct cascade spectra at the different levels of an artificial condensate suppression show a tendency to become closer to the prediction of the wave turbulence theory at lower levels of condensate. A simple qualitative explanation of the mechanism of this phenomenon is proposed. (C) 2010 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

wave turbulence
condensate
direct cascade


Exploiting sparsity in linear and nonlinear matrix inequalities via positive semidefinite matrix completion A basic framework for exploiting sparsity via positive semidefinite matrix completion is presented for an optimization problem with linear and nonlinear matrix inequalities. The sparsity, characterized with a chordal graph structure, can be detected in the variable matrix or in a linear or nonlinear matrix-inequality constraint of the problem. We classify the sparsity in two types, the domain-space sparsity (d-space sparsity) for the symmetric matrix variable in the objective and/or constraint functions of the problem, which is required to be positive semidefinite, and the range-space sparsity (r-space sparsity) for a linear or nonlinear matrix-inequality constraint of the problem. Four conversion methods are proposed in this framework: two for exploiting the d-space sparsity and the other two for exploiting the r-space sparsity. When applied to a polynomial semidefinite program (SDP), these conversion methods enhance the structured sparsity of the problem called the correlative sparsity. As a result, the resulting polynomial SDP can be solved more effectively by applying the sparse SDP relaxation. Preliminary numerical results on the conversion methods indicate their potential for improving the efficiency of solving various problems.

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

semidefinite program
matrix inequalities
positive semidefinite matrix completion
sparsity
chordal graph


Effects of on- and off-ramps in cellular automata models for traffic flow We present results on the modeling of on- and off-ramps in cellular automata for traffic flow, especially the Nagel-Schreckenberg model. We study two different types of on-ramps that cause qualitatively the same effects. In a certain density regime rho(low) < rho < rho(high) one observes plateau formation in the fundamental diagram. The plateau value depends on the input-rate of cars at the on-ramp. The on-ramp acts as a local perturbation that separates the system into two regimes: A regime of free flow and another one where only jammed states exist. This phase separation is the reason for the plateau formation and implies a behavior analogous to that of stationary defects. This analogy allows to perform very fast simulations of complex traffic networks with a large number of on- and off-ramps because one can parametrise on-ramps in an exceedingly easy way.

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

traffic networks
phase separation
defects
fundamental diagram


Assessing financial risk tolerance of portfolio investors using Data Envelopment Analysis For some investors their own personal investment counsellors address their investment strategy; for others automated means are used. To protect investors, the Canadian Government has enacted the "Know Your Client" Act requiring that all investment dealers and vendors of securities must know their clients and advise them on the appropriate investment strategy. This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in a novel manner by applying it to a large data set of answers to a number of psychological questions. A Slacks Based Model was used to estimate investor risk tolerance. The model analyses the risk profile of the investor and can be used as a guide to match the risk rating of the investment vehicles for the client. Statistical comparisons were also carried out to show how risk tolerance relates to various demographic variables. Finally, the DEA results were validated through comparisons with the commercial system already in use.

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 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 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

financial risk tolerance
data envelopment analysis
know your client


Towards the development of a simulator for investigating the impact of people management practices on retail performance Models to understand the impact of management practices on retail performance are often simplistic and assume low levels of noise and linearity. Of course, in real life, retail operations are dynamic, nonlinear and complex. To overcome these limitations, we investigate discrete-event and agent-based modelling and simulation approaches. The joint application of both approaches allows us to develop simulation models that are heterogeneous and more life-like, though poses a new research question: When developing such simulation models one still has to abstract from the real world, however, ideally in such a way that the 'essence' of the system is still captured. The question is how much detail is needed to capture this essence, as simulation models can be developed at different levels of abstraction. In the literature the appropriate level of abstraction for a particular case study is often more of an art than a science. In this paper, we aim to study this question more systematically by using a retail branch simulation model to investigate which level of model accuracy obtains meaningful results for practitioners. Our results show the effects of adding different levels of detail and we conclude that this type of study is very valuable to gain insight into what is really important in a model.

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

discrete-event simulation
agent-based simulation
retail productivity
shopping behaviour
customer satisfaction


Effective fault treatment for improving the dependability of COTS and legacy-based applications This paper proposes a novel methodology and an architectural framework for handling multiple classes of faults (namely, hardware-induced software errors in the application, process and/or host crashes or hangs, and errors in the persistent system stable storage) in a COTS and Legacy-based application. The basic idea is to use an evidence-accruing fault tolerance manager to choose and carry out one of multiple fault recovery strategies, depending upon the perceived severity of the fault. The methodology and the framework have been applied to a case study system consisting of a Legacy system, which makes use of a COTS DBMS for persistent storage facilities. A thorough performability analysis has also been conducted via combined use of direct measurements and analytical modeling. experimental results demonstrate that effective fault treatment, consisting of careful diagnosis and damage assessment, plays a key role in leveraging the dependability of COTS and Legacy-based applications.

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

legacy systems and cots components
fault diagnosis and treatment
fault injection
modeling and evaluation


Using video game play to improve education-majors mathematical performance: An experimental study We examined relationship between enhanced attentional capabilities and math performance. Action video games were used to enhance attentional and working memory capabilities. Education-majors participated in two studies. Videogame play improved mental rotation, working memory, and geometry performance. Expert AVGers had higher working memory, spatial, and geometry skills than non-gamers.

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

mathematics learning
spatial abilities
mathematics anxiety


THE VALUE OF IT-ENABLED RETAILER LEARNING: PERSONALIZED PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS AND CUSTOMER STORE LOYALTY IN ELECTRONIC MARKETS Recent research has acknowledged the key role of information technology in helping build stronger and more enduring customer relationships. Personalized product recommendations (PPRs) adapted to individual customers' preferences and tastes are one IT-enabled strategy that has been widely adopted by online retailers to enhance customers' shopping experience. Although many online retailers have implemented PPRs on their electronic storefronts to improve customer retention, empirical evidence for the effects of PPRs on retention is sparse, and the limited anecdotal evidence is contradictory. We draw upon the household production function model in the consumer economics literature to develop a theoretical framework that explains the mechanisms through which PPRs influence customer store loyalty in electronic markets. We suggest that retailer learning that occurs as a result of customer knowledge obtained to enable personalization influences the efficiency of the online product brokering activity. Data collected from a two-phase lab experiment with 253 student subjects where the quality of PPRs was manipulated are used to empirically test the predictions of the theoretical model. Empirical analyses of the data indicate that retailer learning reflected in higher quality PPRs is associated with lower product screening cost, but higher product evaluation cost. We further find that higher quality PPRs are associated with greater value derived by consumers from the online product brokering activity in terms of higher decision making quality, which is positively associated with repurchase intention. The paper presents the implications, limitations, and contributions of this study along with areas for future research.

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

personalized product recommendations
household production function
retailer learning
online product brokering

recommender systems
laboratory experiment


A process-oriented multi-agent system development approach to support the cooperation-activities of concurrent new product development In the recent decade, concurrent new product development (CNPD) has been recognized as an effective approach for eliminating the long and costly product development cycle. CNPD needs multi-disciplinary workgroups to communicate and cooperate in a computer network environment, particularly a multiagent system (MAS) environment. Recently, several MAS development approaches for CNPD cooperation have been proposed. These approaches constitute on a goal basis and this will confine the application of developed MAS to the pre-defined goals. However, in a complete CNPD process, different cooperation requirements take place at different stages and need different workgroups to be involved. Consequently, the goal-driven MAS development approaches can only provide a partial solution to the overall cooperation requirements of a CNPD process. This research has proposed a process-oriented approach to develop MAS for all CNPD cooperation requirements. This approach is acting on two phases: the process-oriented cooperation requirements analysis phase and the MAS specification design phase. The process-oriented cooperation requirements analysis phase first defines the desired CNPD process and cooperation workflow based on the company-specific organizational structure and practice. Next, the MAS specification design phase derives the MAS specification, including the agent classes, their conversations and system configuration, from the defined CNPD process and cooperation workflow. Besides, an empirical case is used to explain the proposed approach and to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach on the Java Agent Development Framework (JADE). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

design chain operations reference model (dcor)


Parallel implementing OpenGL on PVM A 3D polygon rendering system conforming to the specification of OpenGL is implemented on a PVM (parallel virtual machine). The system is targeted to a low speed network of low cost serial computers. In our parallel rendering algorithm, image space is decomposed to exactly the number of regions equal to the number of processors which reduces the volume of communication and the polygons needed to be rendered more than once on separate renderers. We also propose a transmission scheme that distributes the passing of data throughout the whole process of rendering. Taking advantage of frame-to-frame coherence, load balancing is achieved by decomposing the image space unequally so that the workloads in each space region are proportional to the processing power of the corresponding renders. Distribution of workload and processing power that is volatile during rendering are obtained with linear prediction from statistics of previous frames. The system is practical and scalable for moderate number of processors. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

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

opengl
parallel virtual machine
load balancing


Facial Expression Recognition via Sparse Representation A facial components based facial expression recognition algorithm with sparse representation classifier is proposed. Sparse representation classifier is based on sparse representation and computed by L1-norm minimization problem on facial components. The features of "important" training samples are selected to represent test sample. Furthermore, fuzzy integral is utilized to fuse individual classifiers for facial components. Experiments for frontal views and partially occluded facial images show that this method is efficient and robust to partial occlusion on facial images.

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

sparse representation
fuzzy integral
facial expression recognition


A high-order fuzzy time series forecasting model for internet stock trading A novel high-order fuzzy time series model is applied to predict stock prices. The paper uses entropy-based partitioning to define the linguistic intervals. The paper applies an artificial neural network to compute the complicated FLRs. The paper uses adaptive expectation model to adjust the defuzzification procedure. The empirical results outperform the hybrid fuzzy time series models.

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

fuzzy time series
internet stock trading

entropy-based partitioning
adaptive expectation theory


analyzing content-level properties of the web adversphere Advertising has become an integral and inseparable part of the World Wide Web. However, neither public auditing nor monitoring mechanisms still exist in this emerging area. In this paper, we present our initial efforts on building a content-level auditing service for web-based ad networks. Our content-level measurements - understanding the ad distribution mechanisms and evaluating location-based and behavioral targeting approaches - bring useful auditing information to all entities involved in the online advertising business. We extensively evaluate Google's, AOL's, and Adblade's ad networks and demonstrate how their different design philosophies dominantly affect their performance at the content level.

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

web-based ad network
location-based advertising


An algorithm for solving the general variational inclusion involving A-monotone operators In this paper, the Resolvent-Projection algorithm for solving the variational inclusion 0 is an element of M(x) involving an A-monotone set-valued operator M is constructed in Hilbert spaces. The convergence of the iterative sequence generated by the algorithm is proved also. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

resolvent-projection algorithm
a-monotone operator
hilbert space


a dynamic clustering technique for physical database design In this study, a technique of performing multiple attribute clustering in dynamic databases has been investigated. We have transformed the problem of performing multiple attribute clustering into a problem of dynamically partitioning the attribute space. The optimal number of partitioning of the attribute space in a dynamic database environment has been analyzed, the partitioning direction is controlled by a discriminator sequence. The design of the discriminator sequence to obtain the optimal partitioning is presented. The selection of the directory attributes has also been discussed. Using the extended K-d tree to direct the partitioning, we have presented the extended K-d tree method. Empirical results have justified the improvement of the performance using the extended K-d tree method, when compared with that using the single attribute clustering or using inverted file method without any clustering index.

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

tree
method
database design
space
dynamic
performance
design
direct
physical
attributes
database
sequence
inverted file

select indexing partition environments optimality cluster


Knowledge dilemmas within organizations: Resolutions from game theory The knowledge management literature suggests that an organizations knowledge ecosystem is comprised of strategic situations in which the individual behaviors of its knowledge workers show potential conflicts with what would be optimal for the organization. This paper aims to explore how such behaviors in terms of knowledge flows may be modeled and analyzed using a game theoretic approach. While prior research has investigated some use of game theory in knowledge management, a comprehensive understanding of the organizational eco-system remains unexplored. Hence, a qualitative inductive approach was adopted in order to pursue the exploratory nature of the research question. Critical reviews of key literature in both knowledge management and organization theory identified four organizational knowledge dilemmas silos of knowledge, tragedy of the knowledge commons, knowledge friction and knowledge toxicity. These dilemmas were used in various combinations to generate five commonly occurring scenarios in organizations. A game theoretic analysis of these scenarios using the PARTS framework provided a useful understanding of knowledge flows within organizational eco-systems. More specifically, the analysis led to key insights and prescriptive guiding principles in formulating knowledge strategies and policies to combat the major knowledge dilemmas that inhibit effective knowledge flows within organizations.

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

knowledge flows
knowledge strategies
knowledge dilemmas

knowledge sharing and absorption
organizational performance


Cost considerations in network on chip Systems on Chip (SoCs) require efficient inter-module interconnection providing for the required communications at a low cost. We analyze the generic cost in area and power of Networks on Chip (NoCs) and alternative interconnect architectures: a shared bus, a segmented bus and a point-to-point interconnect. For each architecture we derive analytical expressions for area, power dissipation and operating frequency as well as asymptotic limits of these functions. The analysis quantifies the intuitive NoC scalability advantages. Next we turn to NoC cost optimization. We explore cost tradeoffs between the number of buffers and the link speed. We use a reference architecture, termed QNoC (Quality-of-Service NoC), which is based on a grid of wormhole switches, shortest path routing and multiple QoS classes. Two traffic scenarios are considered, one dominated by short packets sensitive to queuing delays and the other dominated by large block-transfers. Our simulations show that network cost can be minimized while maintaining quality of service, by trading off buffers with links in the first scenario but not in the second.

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

scalable interconnect
wormhole buffering
cost minimization


Asymmetric k-center with minimum coverage In this paper we give approximation algorithms and inapproximability, results for various asymmetric k-center with minimum coverage problems. In the k-center with minimum coverage problem, each center is required to serve a minimum number of clients. These problems have been studied by Lim et al. [A. Lim, B. Rodrigues, F. Wang, Z. Xu, k-center problems with minimum coverage, Theoret. Comput. Sci. 332 (1-3) (2005) 1-17] in the symmetric setting. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

design of algorithms
clustering
asymmetry