360 degrees Fourier Transform Profilometry in Surface Reconstruction for Fluorescence Molecular Tomography Fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) is an emerging tool in the observation of diseases. A fast and accurate surface reconstruction of the experimental object is needed as a boundary constraint for FMT reconstruction. In this paper, an automatic, noncontact, and 3-D surface reconstruction method named 360 degrees Fourier transform profilometry (FTP) is proposed to reconstruct 3-D surface profiles for FMT system. This method can reconstruct 360 degrees integrated surface profiles utilizing the single-frame FTP at different angles. Results show that the relative mean error of the surface reconstruction of this method is less than 1.4% in phantom experiments, and is no more than 2.9% in mouse experiments in vivo. Compared with the Radon transform method, the proposed method reduces the computation time by more than 90% with a minimal error increase. At last, a combined 360 degrees FTP/FMT experiment is conducted on a nude mouse. Not only can the 360 degrees FTP system operate with the FMT system simultaneously, but it can also help to monitor the status of animals. Moreover, the 360 degrees FTP system is independent of FMT system and can be performed to reconstruct the surface by itself.

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

fluorescence molecular tomography (fmt)
fourier transform profilometry (ftp)
3-d surface reconstruction


application-aware handover with minimal power consumption for multimedia streaming service in wireless lan It is a challenging task to provide handover with guaranteed QoS for real-time multimedia service such as VoIP, video/audio streaming, and video conferencing in wireless LAN. This paper is aimed at presenting efficient layer 2 handover mechanism in wireless LAN, which can provide fast handover with guaranteed QoS for real-time multimedia service. In order to meet the above objective, the scanning period and the number of channels per scanning for handover are dynamically adapted to the types of applications and wireless networking environment, so that both the degradation of application service quality and signaling overhead are minimized simultaneously. We simulate proposed mechanism to verify the performance. The simulation results show that the proposed mechanism avoid service quality degradation and provide session connectivity.

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

fast handover in wlan
application-aware handover
energy-efficient handover


On decomposable semigroups and applications In this work we develop a framework to decrease the time complexity of well-known algorithms to compute the generator sets of a semigroup ideal by using the Hermite normal form. We introduce idea of decomposable semigroups, which fulfills that the computation of its ideal can be achieved by separately calculating over smaller semigroups, products of the decomposition. Our approach does not only decrease the time complexity of the problem, but also allows using parallel computational techniques. A combinatorial characterization of these semigroups is obtained and the concept of decomposable variety is introduced. Finally, some applications and practical results are provided.

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

algebraic statistics
decomposable semigroup
hnf-decomposition
lattice ideal
markov bases
simplicial complex


Non-standard cut classification of fuzzy sets Several important non-standard cut sets of lattice-valued fuzzy sets are investigated. These are strong cuts, not less and neither less nor equal cuts. In each case it is proved that collection of all cuts of any lattice-valued fuzzy set form a complete lattice under inclusion. Decomposition theorem (representation by cuts) is proved for neither less nor equal cuts. Necessary and sufficient conditions under which two lattice-valued fuzzy sets with the same domain have equal families of corresponding cut sets are given.

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


Multistability of memristive CohenGrossberg neural networks with non-monotonic piecewise linear activation functions and time-varying delays The problem of coexistence and dynamical behaviors of multiple equilibrium points is addressed for a class of memristive CohenGrossberg neural networks with non-monotonic piecewise linear activation functions and time-varying delays. By virtue of the fixed point theorem, nonsmooth analysis theory and other analytical tools, some sufficient conditions are established to guarantee that such n n -dimensional memristive CohenGrossberg neural networks can have 5n 5 n equilibrium points, among which 3n 3 n equilibrium points are locally exponentially stable. It is shown that greater storage capacity can be achieved by neural networks with the non-monotonic activation functions introduced herein than the ones with Mexican-hat-type activation function. In addition, unlike most existing multistability results of neural networks with monotonic activation functions, those obtained 3n 3 n locally stable equilibrium points are located both in saturated regions and unsaturated regions. The theoretical findings are verified by an illustrative example with computer simulations.

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

memristive cohengrossberg neural networks


Route Maintenance in IEEE 802.11 wireless mesh networks In this paper, we propose a novel Route Maintenance scheme for IEEE 802.11 wireless mesh networks. Despite lack of mobility and energy constraints, reactive routing protocols such as AODV and DSR suffer from frequent route breakages in 802.11 based infrastructure wireless mesh networks. In these networks, if any intermediate node fails to successfully transmit a packet to the next hop node after a certain number of retransmissions, the link layer reports a transmission problem to the network layer. Reactive routing protocols systematically consider this as a link breakage (and therefore a route breakage). Transmission failures can be caused by a number of factors e.g. interference or noise and can be transient in nature. Frequent route breakages result in significant performance degradation. The proposed mechanism considers multiple factors to differentiate between links with transient transmission problems from those links which have permanent transmission problems and takes a coherent decision on link breakage. The proposed mechanism is implemented in AODV for single-radio single-channel mesh network and an extension is incorporated in multi-radio multi-channel scenarios. Simulation results show substantial performance improvement compared to classical AODV and local route repair schemes. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

wireless mesh networks
reactive routing protocols
route breakage
route maintenance


towards support for collaborative navigation in complex indoor environments In this paper we present first results of an observation study on indoor navigation behaviour of visitors at a large public fair. As an outcome we present a number of requirements for mobile indoor navigation systems that support collaborative destination and path finding tasks.

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


Characterization of polycrystalline 3CSiC thin film diodes for extreme environment applications This paper describes the fabrication and characteristics of polycrystalline (poly) 3CSiC thin film diodes for extreme environment applications, in which the poly 3CSiC thin film was deposited onto oxidized Si wafers by APCVD using HMDS as a precursor. In this work, the optimized growth temperature and HMDS flow rate were 1100C and 8sccm, respectively. A Schottky diode with a Au, Al/poly 3CSiC/SiO2/Si(n-type) structure was fabricated and its threshold voltage (Vd), breakdown voltage, thickness of depletion layer, and doping concentration (ND) values were measured as 0.84V, over 140V, 61nm, and 2.71019cm3, respectively. To produce good ohmic contact, Al/3CSiC were annealed at 300, 400, and 500C for 30min under a vacuum of 5.010?6Torr. The obtained pn junction diode fabricated by poly 3CSiC had similar characteristics to a single 3CSiC pn junction diode.

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

polycrystalline 3csic
apcvd
schottky
ohmic
pn junction


Numerical simulations of particle migration in a viscoelastic fluid subjected to Poiseuille flow In this work we present 2D numerical simulations on the migration of a particle suspended in a viscoelastic fluid under Poiseuille flow. A Giesekus model is chosen as constitutive equation of the suspending liquid. In order to study the sole effect of the fluid viscoelasticity, both fluid and particle inertia are neglected. The governing equations are solved through the finite element method with proper stabilization techniques to get convergent solutions at relatively large flow rates. An Arbitrary lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation is adopted to manage the particle motion. The mesh grid is moved along the flow so as to limit particle motion only in the gradient direction to substantially reduce mesh distortion and remeshing. Viscoelasticity of the suspending fluid induces particle cross-streamline migration. Both large Deborah number and shear thinning speed up the migration velocity. When the particle is small compared to the gap (small confinement), the particle migrates towards the channel centerline or the wall depending on its initial position. Above a critical confinement (large particles), the channel centerline is no longer attracting, and the particle is predicted to migrate towards the closest wall when its initial position is not on the channel centerline. As the particle approaches the wall, the translational velocity in the flow direction is found to become equal to the linear velocity corresponding to the rolling motion over the wall without slip. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

particle migration
viscoelasticity
poiseuille flow
numerical simulations

arbitrary lagrangian eulerian formulation


peer-to-peer autonomic location based services In this paper, we describe a new approach towards creating location-based services with autonomic characteristics. Location based services is gaining acceptance in many applications that require the geographical context of the user. Examples of these include mobile advertisements, events announcements, news feeds, and information guides. Peer-to-peer systems are suited to dynamic mobile systems because the loose association between the mobile clients fits naturally with the P2P network; and additionally P2P architecture allows each service client machine to act also as a service provider. However, most present P2P systems had been designed with a fixed infrastructure rather than a wireless or mobile infrastructure. This paper proposes an intelligent location context-aware peer-to-peer multiagent system that could be used to address the dynamic requirements of a mobile infrastructure and hence provide reliable autonomic location-based services environment.

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


An eight experiment sequence to determine reading equality An eight experiment sequence was conducted to compare the speed and retention resulting from reading material. The text was justified in each of four different ways: ragged-right (unjustified); fill justified; equal-fill justified; and micro-fill justified. Retention was measured by recall and by recognition tests. For reading time, only one significant difference was found among the eight experiments. For retention, no statistically significant differences were found. Although our results are in direct contrast to those of other researchers, the consistency of our results make suspect any claim for reading time (or retention) superiority of ragged-right text. These eight experiments demonstrate that all forms of justification read equally well (discounting that micro-fill justification did have an edge in one of the five experiments in which it competed).

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


Improved variant of Pisarenko harmonic decomposition for single sinusoidal frequency estimation It is well known that Pisarenko's frequency estimate for a single real tone can be computed easily using the sample covariance with lags 1 and 2. In this Letter, we propose to use alternative covariance expressions, which are inspired from the modified covariance (MC) frequency estimator, in Pisarenko's algorithm. Computer simulations are included to corroborate the theoretical development of the variant and to demonstrate its superiority over the MC and Pisarenko's methods.

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

frequency estimation
pisarenko harmonic decomposition


The iSLIP scheduling algorithm for input-queued switches An increasing number of high performance internetworking protocol routers, LAN and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches use a switched backplane based on a crossbar switch. Most often, these systems use input queues to hold packets waiting to traverse the switching fabric. It is well known that if simple first in first out (FIFO) input queues are used to hold packets then, el en under benign conditions, head-of-line (HOL) blocking limits the achievable bandwidth to approximately 58.6% of the maximum. HOL blocking can be overcome by the use of virtual output queueing, which is described in this paper. A scheduling algorithm is used to configure the crossbar switch, deciding the order in which packets will be served. Recent results have shown that with a suitable scheduling algorithm, 100% throughput can be achieved. In this paper, we present a scheduling algorithm called iSLIP, An iterative, round-robin algorithm, iSLIP can achieve 100% throughput for uniform traffic, yet is simple to implement in hardware, Iterative and noniterative versions of the algorithms are presented, along with modified versions for prioritized traffic. Simulation results are presented to indicate the performance of iSLIP under benign and bursty traffic conditions. Prototype and commercial implementations of iSLIP exist in systems with aggregate bandwidths ranging from 50 to 500 Gb/s, When the traffic is nonuniform, iSLIP quickly adapts to a fair scheduling policy that is guaranteed never to starve an input queue. Finally, we describe the implementation complexity of iSLIP, Based on a two-dimensional (2-D) array of priority encoders, single-chip schedulers have been built supporting up to 32 ports, and making approximately 100 million scheduling decisions per second.

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


a hybrid sensor network for cane-toad monitoring This demonstration shows a wireless, acoustic sensor network application--- monitoring amphibian populations in the monsoonal woodlands of northern Australia. Our system uses automatic recognition of animal vocalizations to census the populations of native frogs and the invasive introduced species, the Cane Toad (see Fig. 1). This is a challenging application because it requires high frequency acoustic sampling, complex signal processing and wide area sensing coverage [2]. Our prototype consists of a hybrid mixture of Stargates and inexpensive, resource-poor Mica motes operating in concert. The Mica motes are used to collect acoustic samples, and expand the sensor network coverage. The Stargates are used for resource-intensive tasks.

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


Remembering the basics: Administrative technology and nursing care in a hospital emergency department This article discusses findings from qualitative research conducted with nurses in a hospital Emergency Department. It explores nurses attitudes towards a patient care information system (PCIS) installed by hospital management in an effort to improve patient care through more effective data sharing. Nurses definitions of care are examined vis--vis their perceptions of administrative tasks and technologies like the PCIS. Efforts are made to link the system with wider patterns of administrative technology acquisition in health care and users everyday/night experiences of using these technologies. The article also presents key themes from a literature review of recent case studies about information technology implementation in nursing. Results show that nurses choose to define care in a way that highlights relationship building and physical/emotional connectedness between nurse and patient. The article contends that nurses refusal to incorporate technology-enabled data sharing into their definitions of care is indicative of efforts to make visible their caring work, often rendered invisible by the feminization of care. The article concludes by reaffirming the importance of remembering the basics, i.e., patient care is rooted in the skilled practice of individual caregivers, not in data sharing.

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

hospital information systems
emergency medical services


Statistical asymptotic error on modal parameters in combined deterministicstochastic identification algorithm This paper deals with the estimation of the statistical dispersion of the modal parameters of a structure, frequencies and damping ratios obtained from subspace identification. The main objective is to apply, after some useful modifications, the theory of the covariance estimates of the poles to simulation and experimental cases and evaluate its performances in a real situation. A formulation of the asymptotic distribution of the dynamic matrix estimates given in literature is slightly modified to be directly interpretable in terms of accelerations. The method is extended to the modal parameters of a structure, which are non-linear functions of these estimates. The accuracy of the method is first analysed in simulation on the case of a springmassdamper system. Finally, the theory is applied to a real test case consisting of a reduced model of a two-floor building submitted to random excitation.

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

modal analysis
subspace methods
statistics
confidence interval


Passive Sensor Based Multiple Objects Tracking and Association Method in Wireless Sensor Networks This article presents a method for dynamic data association in wireless sensor networks and addresses the issue of multiple objects tracking. The sensor node used in this article incorporates RFID reader and an acoustic sensor so that two different signals are cooperating for tracking and associating multiple objects. The RFID tag is used for object identification and an acoustic sensor is used for estimating object movements. In the heterogeneous sensor networks, our proposed association method is analyzed with association success, failure, and recovery cases. In addition, 2-dimensional (2D) particle filtering is used for estimating a objects state such as position and velocity. The performance is compared between a single sensor node and multiple sensor nodes in our proposed algorithm. In addition, the association performance with multiple sensor nodes is evaluated as a function of sampling time and object movement behavior. Finally, the effect of the two heterogeneous sensors range difference is analyzed and discussed.

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

object association
acoustic sensors
object tracking


The groundwater modeling tool for GRASS (GMTG): Open source groundwater flow modeling ? Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to store, manipulate and visualize both spatial and non-spatial data. Because of their data manipulating capabilities, GIS have been linked to different simulation models in different research areas and are commonly used for both surface and ground water modeling. Unfortunately this has been done mainly with proprietary GIS which are expensive and which do not provide access to their source code thus making them hard to customize. In order to overcome these problems, a module was created in the Open Source Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) GIS to integrate it with the finite difference groundwater flow model MODFLOW, to take full advantage of the GIS capabilities. The results obtained with this module, when compared to those obtained with an existing MODFLOW pre and post-processor show that it can be used to develop groundwater flow models using uniform grid spacing on the horizontal plane. This module provides a tool for groundwater flow modeling to those users who cannot afford the commercially available processors and/or to those who wish to develop their models within a GIS.

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

modflow
grass
geographic information systems
groundwater modeling


Two new upwind difference schemes for a coupled system of convection-diffusion equations arising from the steady MHD duct flow problems In this paper, we develop two new upwind difference schemes for solving a coupled system of convection-diffusion equations arising from the steady incompressible MHD duct flow problem with a transverse magnetic field at high Hartmann numbers. Such an MHD duct flow is convection-dominated and its solution may exhibit localized phenomena such as boundary layers, namely, narrow boundary regions where the solution changes rapidly. Most conventional numerical schemes cannot efficiently solve the layer problems because they are lacking in either stability or accuracy. In contrast, the newly proposed upwind difference schemes can achieve a reasonable accuracy with a high stability, and they are capable of resolving high gradients near the layer regions without refining the grid. The accuracy of the first new upwind scheme is O(h + k) and the second one improves the accuracy to O(epsilon(2)(h + k) + epsilon(h(2) + k(2)) + (h(3) + k(3))), where 0 < epsilon := 1/M << 1 and M is the high Hartmann number. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the performance of the newly proposed upwind difference schemes. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

hartmann numbers
boundary layers
upwind difference schemes

magnetohydrodynamic equations
duct flows
convection-diffusion equations


Splatterplots: Overcoming Overdraw in Scatter Plots We introduce Splatterplots, a novel presentation of scattered data that enables visualizations that scale beyond standard scatter plots. Traditional scatter plots suffer from overdraw (overlapping glyphs) as the number of points per unit area increases. Overdraw obscures outliers, hides data distributions, and makes the relationship among subgroups of the data difficult to discern. To address these issues, Splatterplots abstract away information such that the density of data shown in any unit of screen space is bounded, while allowing continuous zoom to reveal abstracted details. Abstraction automatically groups dense data points into contours and samples remaining points. We combine techniques for abstraction with perceptually based color blending to reveal the relationship between data subgroups. The resulting visualizations represent the dense regions of each subgroup of the data set as smooth closed shapes and show representative outliers explicitly. We present techniques that leverage the GPU for Splatterplot computation and rendering, enabling interaction with massive data sets. We show how Splatterplots can be an effective alternative to traditional methods of displaying scatter data communicating data trends, outliers, and data set relationships much like traditional scatter plots, but scaling to data sets of higher density and up to millions of points on the screen.

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

scalability issues
visual design
perception theory
statistical graphics


Phase reset affects auditory-visual simultaneity judgment We continuously receive the external information from multiple sensors simultaneously. The brain must judge a source event of these sensory informations and integrate them. It is thought that judging the simultaneity of such multisensory stimuli is an important cue when we discriminate whether the stimuli are derived from one event or not. Although previous studies have investigated the correspondence between an auditory-visual (AV) simultaneity perceptions and the neural responses, there are still few studies of this. Electrophysiological studies have reported that ongoing oscillations in human cortex affect perception. Especially, the phase resetting of ongoing oscillations has been examined as it plays an important role in multisensory integration. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of phase resetting for the judgment of AV simultaneity judgement tasks. The subjects were successively presented with auditory and visual stimuli with intervals that were controlled as \(\mathrm{SOA_{50\%}}\) and they were asked to report whether they perceived them simultaneously or not. We investigated the effects of the phase of ongoing oscillations on simultaneity judgments with AV stimuli with SOAs in which the detection rate of asynchrony was 50%. It was found that phase resetting at the beta frequency band in the brain area that related to the modality of the following stimulus occurred after preceding stimulus onset only when the subjects perceived AV stimuli as simultaneous. This result suggested that beta phase resetting occurred in areas that are related to the subsequent stimulus, supporting perception multisensory stimuli as simultaneous.

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

simultanity judgement
electroencephalograpy
intertrial coherence


Improving the scaling normalization for high-density oligonucleotide GeneChip expression microarrays Normalization is an important step for microarray data analysis to minimize biological and technical variations. Choosing a suitable approach can be critical. The default method in GeneChip expression microarray uses a constant factor, the scaling factor (SF), for every gene on an array. The SF is obtained from a trimmed average signal of the array after excluding the 2% of the probe sets with the highest and the lowest values.

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

microarray normalization oligonucleotide genechip scaling


Integrating design synthesis and assembly of structured objects in a visual design language Computer Aided Design systems provide tools for building and manipulating models of solid objects. Some also provide access to programming languages so that parametrised designs can be expressed. There is a sharp distinction, therefore, between building models, a concrete graphical editing activity, and programming, an abstract, textual, algorithm-construction activity. The recently proposed Language for Structured Design (LSD) was motivated by a desire to combine the design and programming activities in one language. LSD achieves this by extending a visual logic programming language to incorporate the notions of solids and operations on solids. Here we investigate another aspect of the LSD approach, namely, that by using visual logic programming as the engine to drive the parametrised assembly of objects, we also gain the powerful symbolic problem-solving capability that is the forte of logic programming languages. This allows the designer/ programmer to work at a higher level, giving declarative specifications of a design in order to obtain the design descriptions. Hence LSD integrates problem solving, design synthesis, and prototype assembly in a single homogeneous programming/design environment. We demonstrate this specification-to-final-assembly capability using the masterkeying problem for designing systems of locks and keys.

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

design language
design synthesis
assembly
logic programming


Efficient location aware intrusion detection to protect mobile devices This paper addresses the problem of efficient intrusion detection for mobile devices via correlating the users location and time data. We developed two statistical profiling approaches for modeling the normal spatiotemporal behavior of the users: one based on an empirical cumulative probability measure and the other based on the Markov properties of trajectories. An anomaly is detected when the probability of a particular (location, time) evolution matching the normal behavior of a given user becomes lower than a certain threshold, determined by controlling the recall rate of the model of the normal users behavior. We used compression techniques to reduce processing overhead while maintaining high accuracy. Our evaluation based on the Reality Mining and Geolife data sets shows that the proposed system is capable of detecting a potential intrusion within 15min and with 94% accuracy.

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

mobile security
trajectory analysis
data reduction


Localization Dynamics in a Binary Two-dimensional Cellular Automaton: the Diffusion Rule We study a two-dimensional cellular automaton (CA), called Diffusion Rule (DR), which exhibits diffusion-like dynamics of propagating patterns. In computational experiments we discover a wide range of mobile and stationary localizations (gliders, oscillators, glider guns, puffer trains, etc), analyze spatio-temporal dynamics of collisions between localizations, and discuss possible applications in unconventional computing.

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

cellular automata
semi-totalistic rules
particle collisions
mean field theory
reaction-diffusion


An Improved Harmony Search Algorithm with Differential Mutation Operator Harmony Search (HS) is a recently developed stochastic algorithm which imitates the music improvisation process. In this process, the musicians improvise their instrument pitches searching for the perfect state of harmony. Practical experiences, however, suggest that the algorithm suffers from the problems of slow and/or premature convergence over multimodal and rough fitness landscapes. This paper presents an attempt to improve the search performance of HS by hybridizing it with Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm. The performance of the resulting hybrid algorithm has been compared with classical HS, the global best HS, and a very popular variant of DE over a test-suite of six well known benchmark functions and one interesting practical optimization problem. The comparison is based on the following performance indices - (i) accuracy of final result, (ii) computational speed, and (iii) frequency of hitting the optima.

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

global optimization
meta-heuristics
explorative power
population variance


Track maintenance train operators attitudes to job, organisation and management, and their correlation with accident/incident rate The present paper reports the results of a questionnaire-based survey of night train operators attitudes toward management, operating procedures, and other organisational issues that potentially impact on safety. Responses were collected from all of the operators of track maintenance trains servicing the Japanese high-speed railway (Shinkansen). Two versions of the questionnaire, the TMAQ (Train Management Attitudes Questionnaire), were developed based on Helmreichs FMAQ (Flight MAQ) and its derivative, the SMAQ (Ship MAQ). The TMAQ and its progenitor seek to elicit respondents views of, and attitudes to, a range of safety related factors including morale, motivation, leadership and human relations in their organisation.

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


Topological maps and robust hierarchical Euclidean skeletons in cubical complexes Skeletons are notoriously sensitive to contour noise, and an effective filtering scheme is needed in any practical situation, where skeletons are involved. In this article, we introduce a new discrete framework that allows us to define and compute families of filtered Euclidean skeletons, in 2D as well as in 3D or higher dimensions. We prove several properties of our skeletonization scheme, in particular the preservation of topological characteristics and the stability with respect to parameter changes.

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

skeleton
medial axis
pruning
euclidean distance
topology preservation
topological map
cubical complex
collapse


Predicting hydration free energies of polychlorinated aromatic compounds from the SAMPL-3 data set with FiSH and LIE models Next-generation solvation models are devised to mimic the accuracy and generality of explicit solvation models at the speed of current popular implicit solvation models. One such method is the first-shell of hydration (FiSH) continuum model that was trained on hydration energetics from LIE calculations and molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent. Here we tested prospectively the FiSH model on the SAMPL-3 hydration data set that zooms in the effect of chlorination on solvation. We compare these FiSH predictions with those from retrospective LIE calculations. We find that neither FiSH nor LIE can reproduce well the absolute values and the trend of hydration free energies in the biphenyl and dioxin aromatic chlorination series. Some of the hypotheses behind this performance are discussed and tested. The LIE explicit-solvent model shows some improvement relative to the FiSH continuum model, and we correct a systematic deviation in the continuum van der Waals term of FiSH associated with aromatic Cl atom type.

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

continuum solvation
first hydration shell
linear interaction energy
prospective study


New software developments for quality mesh generation and optimization from biomedical imaging data In this paper we present a new software toolkit for generating and optimizing surface and volumetric meshes from three-dimensional (3D) biomedical imaging data, targeted at image-based finite element analysis of some biomedical activities in a single material domain. Our toolkit includes a series of geometric processing algorithms including surface re-meshing and quality-guaranteed tetrahedral mesh generation and optimization. All methods described have been encapsulated into a user-friendly graphical interface for easy manipulation and informative visualization of biomedical images and mesh models. Numerous examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the described methods and toolkit.

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

tetrahedral mesh generation
biomedical images

geometric modeling
tetrahedral mesh smoothing
surface re-meshing


semi-supervised dimensionality reduction in image feature space Image feature space is typically complex due to the high dimensionality of data. Effective handling of this space has prompted many research efforts in the study of dimensionality reduction in the image domain. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised reduction method that leverages relevance feedback information in the retrieval process to learn suitable linear and orthogonal embeddings. In the reduced space constructed by the proposed embedding, relevant images are kept close to each other, while irrelevant ones are dispersed far apart. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our method.

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

semi-supervised learning
orthogonal projection
pairwise constraints


Relative INS/GNSS aerial control in integrated sensor orientation: Models and performance In this paper we present the models and discuss the performance of relative position and attitude INS/GNSS aerial control observations in integrated sensor orientation. In relative aerial control, we use the relative position and attitude of the IMU at the exposure times of successive images instead of the usual absolute position and attitude for each image. With relative aerial control, the GNSS shift correction parameters and the IMU-to-camera boresight matrix vanish from the functional models and so does the problem of their selection. The presented models are formulated with the usual original INS/GNSS attitude parameterisation (heading, pitch and roll) to avoid unnecessary and error-prone intermediate re-parameterisation steps. Furthermore, we present a rigorous model formulation, for both aerial control and photogrammetric observations, in local mapping coordinate systems that eliminate the need of the so-called height and azimuth corrections and that guarantee geodetic correctness and consistency. The overall resulting modelling scheme allows for a direct incorporation of INS/GNSS aerial control observations into the integrated sensor orientation processing chain in a simple and robust way. The performance of the new models is evaluated with three independent data sets and the results show a comparable to better performance.

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

gnss
relative
integrated sensor orientation


Traffic distribution for end-to-end QoS routing with multicast multichannel services With the development of multimedia group applications and multicasting demands, the construction of multicast routing tree satisfying Quality of Service (QoS) is more important. A multicast tree, which is constructed by existing multicast algorithms, suffers three major weaknesses: (1) it cannot be constructed by multichannel routing, transmitting a message using all available links, thus the data traffic cannot be preferably distributed; (2) it does not formulate duplication capacity; consequently, duplication capacity in each node cannot be optimally distributed; (3) it cannot change the number of links and nodes used optimally. In fact, it cannot employ and cover unused backup multichannel paths optimally. To overcome these weaknesses, this paper presents a polynomial time algorithm for distributed optimal multicast routing and Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees in networks with multichannel paths which is called Distributed Optimal Multicast Multichannel Routing Algorithm (DOMMR). The aim of this algorithm is: (1) to minimize End-to-End delay across the multichannel paths, (2) to minimize consumption of bandwidth by using all available links, and (3) to maximize data rate by formulating network resources. DOMMR is based on the Linear Programming Formulation (LPF) and presents an iterative optimal solution to obtain the best distributed routes for traffic demands between all edge nodes. Computational experiments and numerical simulation results will show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient than the existing methods. The simulation results are obtained by applying network simulation tools such as QSB, OpNet and MATLB to some samples of network. We then introduce a generalized problem, called the delay-constrained multicast multichannel routing problem, and show that this generalized problem can be solved in polynomial time.

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

multicasting
traffic distribution
linear programming

multichannel path
optimized routing
quality of services


Inference and risk measurement with the pari-mutuel model We explore generalizations of the pari-mutuel model (PMM), a formalization of an intuitive way of assessing an upper probability from a precise one. We discuss a naive extension of the PMM considered in insurance, compare the PMM with a related model, the Total Variation Model, and generalize the natural extension of the PMM introduced by P. Walley and other pertained formulae. The results are subsequently given a risk measurement interpretation: in particular it is shown that a known risk measure, Tail Value at Risk (TVaR), is derived from the PMM, and a coherent risk measure more general than TVaR from its imprecise version. We analyze further the conditions for coherence of a related risk measure, Conditional Tail Expectation. Conditioning with the PMM is investigated too, computing its natural extension, characterising its dilation and studying the weaker concept of imprecision increase. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. 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 B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 B I O O O O O O O

natural extension
dilation
imprecision increase

pari-mutuel model
risk measures
2-monotonicity


Evaluation of techniques for increasing recall in a dictionary approach to gene and protein name identification Gene and protein name identification in text requires a dictionary approach to relate synonyms to the same gene or protein, and to link names to external databases. However, existing dictionaries are incomplete. We investigate two complementary methods for automatic generation of a comprehensive dictionary: combination of information from existing gene and protein databases and rule-based generation of spelling variations. Both methods have been reported in literature before, but have hitherto not been combined and evaluated systematically. We combined gene and protein names from several existing databases of four different organisms. The combined dictionaries showed a substantial increase in recall on three different test sets, as compared to any single database. Application of 23 spelling variation rules to the combined dictionaries further increased recall. However, many rules appeared to have no effect and some appear to have a detrimental effect on precision.

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

gene name identification
information extraction
thesaurus


Optimal experimental design for training of a fault diagnosis algorithm This paper focuses on optimal experimental design (OED) to train a projection pursuit regression (PPR) model, used for fault diagnosis. Two new experimental design methods, referred to as the Gaussian probability design and the fuzzy boundary design, are proposed and compared with a conventional factorial design. The Gaussian probability design is based on an assessment of the probability that the experimental data near a class boundary belongs to a specific class. The fuzzy boundary design is based on the identification of fuzzy class boundaries by a group of PPR models, which are developed from subsets of an initial training data set using a bootstrapping approach. Both the Gaussian probability design and the fuzzy boundary design methods automatically search for regions, where training data are sparse, and add pairs of training data on both sides of a class boundary where the data density is the lowest. The proposed design methods outperform the factorial design by reducing the fault misclassifications with the same amount of training data. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

optimal experimental design
fault diagnosis
projection pursuit regression


A spot pricing mechanism for voltage stability Payment for reactive power services is a part of generator revenue in most established electricity markets today. However, such payments do not have a sound technical basis taking into account the critical role dynamic sources of reactive power play in maintaining voltage stability of the power system. It is also expected that the reactive power will eventually be traded under a spot market arrangement as the markets mature. This paper proposes a spot pricing mechanism for reactive power that takes into account the contributions made by generators both by providing reactive power to meet the current demand and also holding reactive power reserve to maintain the system voltage stability in the face of a potential contingency. An OPF based dispatch/pricing model is proposed that optimally allocates real and dynamic reactive reserve among the generators to meet a pre-specified voltage stability margin. Nodal MW and MVAr spot prices are affected by the desired stability margin because an increase in MVAr and/or MW demand has the cascading effect of increasing the dynamic MVAr/MW reserve requirement. Simplistic illustrative examples are presented to develop insights on the theoretical premise. Experiments conducted for a reduced New Zealand North Island power system reveal some interesting impacts of the voltage stability constraint on real and reactive power prices.

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


protecting electronic commerce from distributed denial-of-service attacks It is widely recognized that distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks can disrupt electronic commerce and cause large revenue losses. However, effective defenses continue to be mostly unavailable. We describe and evaluate VIPnet, a novel value-added network service for protecting e-commerce and other transaction-based sites from DDoS attacks. In VIPnet, e-merchants pay Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to carry the packets of the e-merchants' best clients (called VIPs) in a privileged class of service (CoS), protected from congestion, whether malicious or not, in the regular CoS. VIPnet rewards VIPs with not only better quality of service, but also greater availability. Because VIP rights are client- and server-specific, cannot be forged, are usage-limited, and are only replenished after successful client transactions (e.g., purchases), it is impractical for attackers to mount and sustain DDoS attacks against an e-merchant's VIPs. VIPnet can be deployed incrementally and does not require universal adoption. Experiments demonstrate VIPnet's benefits.

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


Word-Level Equivalence Checking in Bit-Level Accuracy by Synthesizing Designs onto Identical Datapath Equivalence checking is one of the most important issues in VLSI design to guarantee that bugs do not enter designs during optimization steps or synthesis steps. In this paper, we propose a new word-level equivalence checking method between two models before and after high-level synthesis or behavioral optimization. Our method converts two given designs into RTL models which have same datapaths so that behaviors by identical control signals become the same in the two designs. Also, functional units become common to the two designs. Then word-level equivalence checking techniques can be applied in bit-level accuracy. In addition, we propose a rule-based equivalence checking method which can verify designs which have complicated control structures faster than existing symbolic simulation based methods. Experimental results with realistic examples show that our method can verify such designs in practical periods.

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

high-level synthesis
behavioral synthesis
formal verification


Generating and managing metadata for Web-based information systems As metadata become of increasing importance to the Web, we will need to start managing such metadata. We argue that there is a strong need for metadata management. We introduce the Spectacle Workbench for verifying semi-structured information and show how it can be used to validate, aggregate and visualize the metadata of an existing information system. We conclude that the possibility to verify and aggregate metadata is an added value with respect to contents-based access to information and that it is possible to generate it on the basis of Web contents.

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


An illumination-independent edge detection and fuzzy enhancement algorithm based on wavelet transform for non-uniform weak illumination images An illumination-independent edge detection and fuzzy enhancement algorithm based on wavelet transform is proposed to extract edges out of the non-uniform weak illumination image. Firstly, to work out the illumination-independent edge detection method based on wavelet transform, the illumination-reflection image formation model and CCD camera imaging formula are introduced. In succession, the pixels wavelet module coefficients in the local edge area of the image are analyzed and compared, and the illumination-independent edge detection formula insensitive to illumination variation is presented. Then, for increasing the difference between edges, background and noise, the fuzzy enhancement operator which takes not only the wavelet module magnitude into account, but also the wavelet gradient direction is designed. Finally, single pixel edges are taken out of images according to edge pixels characteristic after wavelet transform. Through synthetic and real images experiments, this edge detection methods performance for the non-uniform weak illumination images is analyzed and compared with other two edge detection methods quantitatively and qualitatively. The experiment result proves the edge detection method works well for the uneven gray and low contrast images.

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

edge detection
wavelet transform
fuzzy enhancement


An exploration of marketing tactics for turbulent environments Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose that the choice of marketing tactics is influenced by the company's external environment. It aims to illustrate the marketing tactics suggested for a complex, turbulent environment, when marketing and the environment are viewed through a complexity lens. Design/methodology/approach - A marketing mix model, derived from complexity literature, was assessed via a multiple case study to identify the type of marketing mix suggested for a complex, turbulent environment. The study was exploratory, using in-depth interviews with two companies in the IT industry. Findings - The results tentatively confirmed that the more successful company used a destabilizing marketing mix, and suggest that using complexity theory to develop marketing tactics could be helpful in turbulent environments. Research limitations/implications - The findings are limited by the study's exploratory, qualitative nature and the small sample. Generalizing should be done with care and therefore further research with larger samples and in different environments is recommended. Practical implications - The paper will benefit marketers by emphasizing a new way to consider future marketing activities of their companies. The model can assist marketers to identify the tactics to use, dependent on the nature of their environment. Originality/value - Most work on complexity in marketing has concentrated on strategy, with little emphasis on tactics and the marketing mix. Therefore, the paper is an important contribution to the understanding of marketing mix choices, of interest to both practising marketers and marketing academics.

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


Deriving data mining and regression based water-salinity production functions for spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) A new type of water production function, data mining-based, was introduced for predicting spring wheat yield. The concurrent effect of deficit irrigation and salinity was considered on the yield reduction. Four well-known regression-based water production function were calibrated and tested. The neural network-based water production function worked better than the other functions. The irrigation water salinity was a useful input predictor.

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

classification and regression trees
multilayer perceptron
response surface


The complexity of solving equations over finite groups We study the computational complexity of solving systems of equations over a finite group. An equation over a group G is an expression of the form w(1)(.)w(2)(.)...(.)w(k) = 1(G), where each wi is either a variable, an inverted variable, or a group constant and 1G is the identity element of G. A solution to such an equation is an assignment of the variables (to values in G) which realizes the equality. A system of equations is a collection of such equations; a solution is then an assignment which simultaneously realizes each equation. We show that the problem of determining if a (single) equation has a solution is NP-complete for all nonsolvable groups G. For nilpotent groups, this same problem is shown to be in P. The analogous problem for systems of such equations is shown to be NP-complete if G is non-Abelian, and in P otherwise. Finally, we observe some connections between these problems and the theory of nonuniform automata. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

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

computational complexity
automata
equations
groups


VE-LLI-VO: Vessel Enhancement Using Local Line Integrals and Variational Optimization Vessel enhancement is a primary preprocessing step for vessel segmentation and visualization of vasculatures. In this paper, a new vessel enhancement technique is proposed in order to produce accurate vesselness measures and vessel direction estimations that are less subject to local intensity abnormalities. The proposed method is called vessel enhancement using local line integrals and variational optimization (VE - LLI - VO) First, vessel enhancement using local line integrals (VE - LLI) is introduced in which a vessel model is embedded by regarding a vessel segment as a straight line based upon the second order information of the local line integrals. Useful quantities similar to the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the Hessian matrix are produced. Moreover, based upon the local line integrals, junctions can be detected and handled effectively. This can help deal with the bifurcation suppression problem which exists in the Hessian-based enhancement methods. Then a more generic curve model is embedded to model vessels and a variational optimization framework is introduced to generate optimized vesselness measures. Experiments have been conducted on both synthetic images and retinal images. It is experimentally demonstrated that VE - LLI - VO produces improved performance as compared with the widely used techniques in terms of both vesselness measurement and vessel direction estimation.

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


Efficient Recursive IDFT Scheme for Complex-valued Signals in Tap-selective Maximum-likelihood Channel Estimation This paper presents several efficient, recursive inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) schemes for complex-valued input data in tap-selective maximum-likelihood channel estimation; the results of their implementation are also presented. The proposed schemes employ only real-valued arithmetic, which reduces the number of required real multiplication operations in comparison with conventional IDFT approaches; however, the number of real additions increases significantly due to the sliding window scheme. The results show that the schemes can reduce the computational complexity and enhance flexibility when only several subsets of the IDFT output bins are required.

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

efficient complex multiplication
complex valued arithmetic
sliding dft


Hukuhara derivative of the fuzzy expected value In this paper we establish sufficient conditions to guarantee the exchange of the fuzzy expected value for a fuzzy random variable depending on certain parameter and its Hukuhara derivative with respect to the parameter. Main results are obtained for two different sets of general conditions, one of them requiring measurability conditions with respect to the product space the fuzzy random variable is defined from, and the second one just requiring conditions over the projections of the fuzzy random variables. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

fuzzy expected value
fuzzy random variable
hukuhara derivative


Analysis and identification of Wiener-Hammerstein system in frequency domain using two-tone measurements for nonlinear RF transmitters This paper presents analysis and identification method of Wiener-Hammerstein system to characterize a nonlinear RF transmitter in fundamental frequency zone. A two-tone signal is used to analyze and identify a Wiener-Hammerstein model. A RF signal is converted to baseband-equivalent complex signal, and Wiener-Hammerstein model is considered to have a baseband-equivalent complex polynomial and linear filters. For a two-tone input signal, closed form descriptions of the output signal in the time domain and frequency domain are developed using a newly suggested nonlinearly modulated two-tone phasois (NMTP). The relationship between frequency terms of input and output signals in RF transmitters are represented with linear matrix-vector equation based on NMTP analysis. An advantage of the proposed method is its simplicity using closed form analysis and linear approximation. In addition, we can model a wideband system with relatively narrowband measurements by sweeping two-tone signal. The prediction of spectral regrowth and the predistortion performance for WiBro 1FA signal demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach in identifying the nonlinear RF transmitters.

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

memory effects
nonlinear rf power amplifier
two-tone
wiener-hammerstein


A hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization and Bacterial Foraging for optimal Power System Stabilizers design A novel hybrid approach involving Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm (BFOA) called Bacterial Swarm Optimization (BSO) is illustrated for optimal Power System Stabilizers (PSSs) design in a multimachine power system. In BSO, the search directions of tumble behavior for each bacterium are oriented by the individuals best location and the global best location of PSO. The proposed hybrid algorithm has been extensively compared with the original BFOA algorithm and the PSO algorithm. Simulation results have shown the validity of the proposed BSO in tuning PSSs compared with BFOA and PSO. Moreover, the results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller to improve the power system stability over a wide range of loading conditions and various disturbances.

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

psss
multimachine power system
particle swarm optimization
bacterial foraging
hybrid algorithm


Symmetry-driven shape description for image retrieval ? We use rotation and reflection symmetries for structural shape description. The posterior shape similarity enhances the shape matching performance. Test results on public dataset show increased retrieval accuracy. Any other previous or future shape representation can be combined with our method.

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


A logic of nonmonotone inductive definitions Well-known principles of induction include monotone induction and different sorts of nonmonotone induction such as inflationary induction, induction over well-founded sets and iterated induction. In this work, we define a logic formalizing induction over well-founded sets and monotone and iterated induction. Just as the principle of positive induction has been formalized in FO(LFP), and the principle of inflationary induction has been formalized in FO(IFP), this article formalizes the principle of iterated induction in a new logic for Nonmonotone Inductive Definitions (ID-logic). The semantics of the logic is strongly influenced by the well-founded semantics of logic programming. This article discusses the formalisation of different forms of (non-)monotone induction by the well-founded semantics and illustrates the use of the logic for formalizing mathematical and common-sense knowledge. To model different types of induction found in mathematics, we define several subclasses of definitions, and show that they are correctly formalized by the well-founded semantics. We also present translations into classical first or second order logic. We develop modularity and totality results and demonstrate their use to analyze and simplify complex definitions. We illustrate the use of the logic for temporal reasoning. The logic formally extends Logic Programming, Abductive Logic Programming and Datalog, and thus formalizes the view on these formalisms as logics of (generalized) inductive definitions.

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


modeling the relationship between software effort and size using deming regression Background: The relation between software effort and size has been modeled in literature as exponential, in the sense that the natural logarithm of effort is expressed as a linear function of the logarithm of size. The common approach to estimate the parameters of the linear model is ordinary least squares regression which has been extensively applied to various datasets. The least squares estimation takes into account only the error arising from the dependent variable (effort), while the measurement of independent variable (size) is considered free of errors. Aims: The basis of the study is that in practice the assumption of measuring the size without error is hardly true, since the size of a software project depends on the precision of the tool of measurement and often by the subjectivity of the rater. Moreover, the sizes of projects comprising a dataset have been measured by different measurement tools and this adds another source of variability in the independent variable. Method: In this paper, we consider a regression technique, known as Deming regression, which takes into account the error in measurement of the independent variable, the size. Deming regression is applied to four publically available datasets in order to model the linear relationship between effort and size and to compare it with ordinary least squares. Results: Accuracy measures of fitting (MAE, MdAE, MMRE, MdMRE, pred25) are improved by the Deming regression. Comparison of Absolute Errors (AE) by the Wilcoxon test shows significant difference at <0.001 level of significance. Conclusions: Deming regression is appropriate for datasets where the size is subject to measurement error. However some assumptions on the variances of the measurement errors are arbitrary and need to be studied. Further work is needed for using the Deming regression for effort prediction.

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

deming regression
ordinary least squares regression

software cost estimation
error-in-variables model


The integration of accident databases with computer tools in the chemical industry The chemical industry as a whole does not learn from past accidents. Although the individuals concerned and, to some extent, their companies will learn the lessons, the information may not be widely disseminated throughout the industry. Efforts to change this situation have been made over the recent years. Most notably, the reporting of accidents, sometimes anonymously, in various publications. This in turn has led to the creation of computer databases so that appropriate information can be retrieved quickly. This paper identifies the main indexing and retrieval problems with conventional databases. The use of a domain model, in the form of classification hierarchies, is used to improve the process of indexing, identifying and ranking information. Existing databases are on the whole provided as stand alone computer programs and the user must seek out information about accidents by specifying and submitting a query. This paper considers the novel approach of integrating accident databases with computer tools used by chemical plant designers, operators and maintenance engineers, such as CAD systems and digital control systems, so that appropriate accident reports can be automatically retrieved and filtered in response to the context in which the user is working. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

accident database
classification hierarchy
automatic data retrieval


Measuring Squareness and Orientation of Shapes In this paper we propose a measure which defines the degree to which a shape differs from a square. The new measure is easy to compute and being area based, is robust-e.g., with respect to noise or narrow intrusions. Also, it satisfies the following desirable properties: it ranges over (0,1] and gives the measured squareness equal to 1 if and only if the measured shape is a square; it is invariant with respect to translations, rotations and scaling. In addition, we propose a generalisation of the new measure so that shape squareness can be computed while controlling the impact of the relative position of points inside the shape. Such a generalisation enables a tuning of the behaviour of the squareness measure and makes it applicable to a range of applications. A second generalisation produces a measure, parameterised by delta, that ranges in the interval (0,1] and equals 1 if and only if the measured shape is a rhombus whose diagonals are in the proportion 1:delta. The new measures (the initial measure and the generalised ones) are naturally defined and theoretically well founded-consequently, their behaviour can be well understood. As a by-product of the approach we obtain a new method for the orienting of shapes, which is demonstrated to be superior with respect to the standard method in several situations. The usefulness of the methods described in the manuscript is illustrated on three large shape databases: diatoms (ADIAC), MPEG-7 CE-1, and trademarks.

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


Fixed cycles and adaptive bandwidth allocation can coexist in Bluetooth A novel polling scheme for intra-piconet scheduling in Bluetooth piconets is described. The scheme allocates time to each slave according to its current traffic, while trying to limit the maximum piconet cycle time. This approach makes scheduling of mixed asynchronous and constant-bit-rate (CBR) traffic much easier than do other known schemes. In this manner, the scheme is able to provide low delay and high throughput for asynchronous data traffic, guaranteed delay for CBR traffic, and inherent fairness among slaves with asymmetric traffic; in addition it has low complexity. A detailed queueing model of this policy is presented and simulations are conducted to confirm the analytical results. Simulations confirm that the new scheme performs as well as, or in some cases even better than, other common polling schemes.

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


On detecting nonlinear patterns in discriminant problems We propose a two-stage model for detecting nonlinear patterns in discriminant problems and for solving the problem. The model deploys a Linear Programming Based Discriminator (LPBD) in stage one for treating linear patterns and a Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) in stage two for handling nonlinear patterns. The LPBD in stage one divides the decision space into a clear zone where observations are (almost) linearly separable and a gray zone where nonlinear patterns are more likely to occur. The PNN in stage two analyzes the gray zone and determines whether a significant nonlinear patterns exist in the observations. Our goal is to avoid using a nonlinear model unless the PNN strongly suggests so to maintain good interpretability and avoid overfitting. Our computational study demonstrates the effectiveness of the two-stage model in both classification accuracy and computational efficiency.

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

linear programming
discriminant problems


A proof markup language for Semantic Web services The Semantic Web is being designed to enable automated reasoners to be used as core components in a wide variety of Web applications and services. In order for a client to accept and trust a result produced by perhaps an unfamiliar Web service, the result needs to be accompanied by a justification that is understandable and usable by the client. In this paper, we describe the proof markup language (PML), an interlingua representation for justifications of results produced by Semantic Web services. We also introduce our Inference Web infrastructure that uses PML as the foundation for providing explanations of Web services to end users. We additionally show how PML is critical for and provides the foundation for hybrid reasoning where results are produced cooperatively by multiple reasoners. Our contributions in this paper focus on technological foundations for capturing formal representations of term meaning and justification descriptions thereby facilitating trust and reuse of answers from web agents.

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


Node adaptation for global collocation with radial basis functions using direct multisearch for multiobjective optimization Meshless methods are used for their capability of producing excellent solutions without requiring a mesh, avoiding mesh related problems encountered in other numerical methods, such as finite elements. However, node placement is still an open question, specially in strong form collocation meshless methods. The number of used nodes can have a big influence on matrix size and therefore produce ill-conditioned matrices. In order to optimize node position and number, a direct multisearch technique for multiobjective optimization is used to optimize node distribution in the global collocation method using radial basis functions. The optimization method is applied to the bending of isotropic simply supported plates. Using as a starting condition a uniformly distributed grid, results show that the method is capable of reducing the number of nodes in the grid without compromising the accuracy of the solution.

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

radial basis functions
multiobjective optimization

meshless method
direct-search methods
pareto dominance


Electronic properties of defects in polycrystalline dielectric materials Grain boundaries have been implicated in current leakage and dielectric breakdown of CMOS devices. We calculate the electronic properties of oxygen vacancy defects near grain boundaries in the dielectric insulators MgO and HfO2 using first principles methods. In both materials we find that oxygen vacancies favourably segregate to grain boundaries, in various charge states. Their electronic properties are different from their counterparts in the bulk. At increased concentrations, such defects at grain boundaries may play a key role in processes such as electron tunneling, charge trapping and dielectric breakdown in electronic devices.

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

grain boundaries
defects
electronic properties


Web Caching Replacement Algorithm Based on Web Usage Data Web caching is one of the fundamental techniques for reducing bandwidth usage and download time while browsing the World Wide Web. In this research, we provide an improvement in web caching by combining the result of web usage mining with traditional web caching techniques. Web cache replacement policy is used to select which object should be removed from the cache when the cache is full and which new object should be put into the cache. There are several attributes used for selecting the object to be removed, such as the size of the object, the number of times the object was used, and the time when the object was added into the cache. However, the flaw in these previous approaches is that each object is treated separately without considering the relation among those objects. We have developed a system that can record users' browsing behavior at the resources level. By using information gathered from this system, we can improve web cache replacement policy so that the number of cache hits will increase, resulting in a faster web browsing experience and less data bandwidth, especially at lower cache storage environments such as on smart phones.

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

web caching replacement algorithm
web usage mining
web browsing


A new approach to multi-criteria sorting based on fuzzy outranking relations: The THESEUS method In this paper, we propose the THESEUS method, a new approach based on fuzzy outranking relations to multi-criteria sorting problems. Compared with other outranking-based methods, THESEUS is inspired by another view of multi-criteria classification problems. It utilizes a new way of evaluating the assignment of an object to an element of the set of ordered categories that were previously defined. This way is based on comparing every possible assignment with the information from various preference relations that are derived from a fuzzy outranking relation defined on the universe of objects. The appropriate assignment is determined by solving a simple selection problem. The capacity of a reference set for making appropriate assignments is related to a good characterization of the categories. A single reference action characterizing a category may be insufficient to achieve well-determined assignments. In this paper, the reference set capacity to perform appropriate assignments is characterized by some new concepts. This capacity may be increased when more objects are added to the reference set. THESEUS is a method for handling the preference information contained in such larger reference sets.

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

multiple criteria analysis
outranking methods


A novel customer scoring model to encourage the use of mobile value added services Following deregulation and liberalization of the mobile telecommunications sector, the mobile telecommunication market is becoming increasingly saturated. Mobile operators are confronted with a sluggish user growth rate and a fall in the average revenue per user (ARPU). Mobile value-added services (VAS) are expected to form mobile operators' strategy to compensate dwindling revenues. However, not only is it difficult to analyze which types of customers are willing to use VAS, but it is equally difficult to understand the diversified customer preferences on VAS. This study proposes an integrated scoring model that includes multiple classification models. It analyzes and distinguishes the potential prospects of VAS. We applied our model to the case of a mobile operator in Korea to validate its usefulness. We explored the prospects for melody bells for that company. We found that our proposed scoring model produces better results than other comparative models. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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 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


Nanoimprint lithography fabrication of waveguide-integrated optical gratings with inexpensive stamps We demonstrate that a replica grating can be effectively used as an inexpensive stamp for nanoimprint lithography to pattern diffractive optical couplers integrated with planar optical waveguides. Imprinted grating patterns were integrated with silicon oxynitride waveguide films to be used as an evanescent wave sensor in the input grating-coupler configuration. An anti-adhesion layer using an inexpensive, two-step chemical functionalization was developed for the stamps. The stamps were able to withstand imprint temperatures ranging from 140 to 190C and high fidelity imprints were obtained. The groove pattern was integrated in waveguide films by etch transfer and light-coupling properties of gratings with 1.2?m pitch were tested using a ?=1.55?m laser. Compared to etched silicon masters, replica optical gratings provide uniform pattern density over their entire surface with no unstructured regions, are inexpensive, and readily available for R&D use.

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 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

thermal nanoimprint lithography
anti-adhesive layer
optical waveguide


Parametric structural optimization with respect to the multiaxial high-cycle fatigue criterion Investigations on optimization of structures working in high-cycle load conditions were carried out and are presented in this paper. The development of a simple in application optimization algorithm for such structures was the main object of the authors. The work was concentrated on three principle areas: fatigue of material (with special regard to multiaxial criteria of high-cycle fatigue), parametric optimization of structures, and application of the finite element method. The investigations and numerical implementation of several high-cycle criteria were made and the most convenient one for optimization was selected. The main process of fatigue optimization was preceded by the testing of methods of structural optimization and the preparing the tools for improving the efficiency of the optimization algorithm. This stage includes preparation of software tools based on evolutionary algorithms. In addition, the decision variables were preselected through an investigation of the sensitivity of the objective function on small increments of these variables. The work was illustrated by examples of optimization of mechanical structures working in high-cycle load conditions. As observed in the computational examples, the proposed methodology of optimization allowed effectively lowering the mass of the studied structure while maintaining its durability on an established level. The tools and fatigue optimization methodology presented in this paper have universal character and can be applied to any case of a structure subjected to high-cycle loads.

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

structural optimization
finite element method

high-cycle fatigue
multiaxial fatigue criterion


Evaluating the boundary conditions of the technology acceptance model: An exploratory investigation The technology acceptance model (TAM) is very widely used for studying technology acceptance. The model states that an individual's behavioral intention (BI) to use an information system is determined by his perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of it. While many studies have applied the TAM, none has examined the model's behavior over its entire value range. We conducted two surveys to examine the values of BI over the two-dimensional boundary space formed by PU and PEOU. Contrary to current understanding, we find that the effects of PU and PEOU vary over the boundary space.

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

perceived usefulness
perceived ease of use
behavioral intention
technology acceptance model


Amino Acid Content of Cell Cultures Infected with Cowdria ruminantium Propagated in a Protein-free Medium The in vitro culture of Cowdria ruminantium, the causative agent of heartwater in domestic ruminants, was first achieved in 1985. Culture media were usually supplemented with serum and tryptose phosphate broth, both undefined components, contributing to great variability. Recently, we reported about the propagation of stocks of C. ruminantium in a protein-free culture medium referred to as SFMC-23, which is chemically fully defined. To clarify whether the amino acid composition in SFMC-23 is adequate for the in vitro propagation of Cowdria, the Welgevonden stock was propagated in SFMC-23 medium. After a 3-day culture period, samples were taken from uninfected and infected bovine endothelial cell cultures. They were analyzed for free amino acids by the Pico Taq reversed-phase HPLC precolumn derivatization method. Eighteen different amino acids were examined. A considerable decrease in concentration was observed with proline (29%) and glutamine (62%). Further dramatic changes were observed with amino acids which accumulated in the culture medium

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

amino acid utilization of c. ruminantium


Modelling load-displacement response of driven piles in cohesionless soils under tensile loading A new methodology for deriving the uplift load-displacement response of long driven piles in cohesionless soils is proposed. This method accounts for the effects of the friction fatigue processes during pile driving and the existence of locked-in residual stresses at the end of pile driving before commencing the pile load test. A hyperbolic formulation is utilized to simulate the nonlinear load transfer curves (the so-called t-z curves). The utility of this technique is demonstrated for a field pullout load test on a driven pile in sand. Predicted and measured load-displacement curves showed good agreement, indicating that this approach yields reasonable results as long as representative input parameters are employed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

driven pile
residual stresses
friction fatigue
load transfer