Isocube: Exploiting the cubernap hardware This paper proposes a novel six-face spherical map, isocube, that fully utilizes the cubemap hardware built in most GPUs. Unlike the cubemap, the proposed isocube uniformly samples the unit sphere (uniformly distributed), and all samples span the same solid angle (equally important). Its mapping computation contains only a small overhead. By feeding the cubemap hardware with the six-face isocube map, the isocube can exploit all built-in texturing operators tailored for the cubemap and achieve a very high frame rate. In addition, we develop an anisotropic filtering that compensates aliasing artifacts due to texture magnification. This filtering technique extends the existing hardware anisotropic filtering and can be applied not only to the proposed isocube, but also to other texture mapping applications.

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


Fuzzy-Zoning-Based Classification for Handwritten Characters In zoning-based classification, a membership function defines the way a feature influences the different zones of the zoning method. This paper presents a new class of membership functions, which are called fuzzy-membership functions (FMFs), for zoning-based classification. These FMFs can be easily adapted to the specific characteristics of a classification problem in order to maximize classification performance. In this research, a real-coded genetic algorithm is presented to find, in a single optimization procedure, the optimal FMF, together with the optimal zoning described by Voronoi tessellation. The experimental results, which are carried out in the field of handwritten digit and character recognition, indicate that optimal FMF performs better than other membership functions based on abstract-level, ranked-level, and measurement-level weighting models, which can be found in the literature.

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

genetic algorithm
voronoi tessellation
zoning method

fuzzy-membership function (fmf)
handwritten character recognition


Design and analysis of simple irregular LDPC codes with finite-lengths and their application in CDMA systems In this paper, we design and optimize simple irregular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes for finite-length applications where the asymptotic noise threshold of the channel cannot play as a dominant optimization factor. Our design procedure is based on some observations resulted from analytical study of these codes. Although we present our design procedure for some specified rates but it can generally be used for any rate. Specifically, we design a simple irregular LDPC code for IS-95 and compare its performance with the other reported codes [1-3] for this application. Our results show a 3.7-fold increase in the capacity at bit error rate (BER) equal to 10(-5) compared to the low-rate orthogonal convolutional codes and 1.2 times increase compared to a high performance LDPC code of Reference [3]. Copyright (c) 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

cdma capacity
code optimization
finite length codes
girth control


EETBR: Energy efficient token-based routing for wireless sensor networks The most significant drawback of wireless sensor networks is energy scarcity. As there is an increasing need for operating these networks for relatively long times, energy saving becomes the key challenge in the design of the architectures and protocols for sensor networks. Therefore, several research studies have been performed for making contributions to the analysis of this energy shortage problem. Most of these research activities have been focused on finding solutions for the energy consumption of the communication unit, which is the dominant energy dissipating component of the sensor nodes. In this paper, a novel, token-based routing protocol adapted with a multitier cluster-based architecture is presented. Most of the other cluster-based schemes mainly focus on intracluster organization and communication. However, it should be mentioned that a considerable amount of energy is dissipated during the intercluster communication when compared with intracluster communication. The architecture proposed here not only deals with intracluster communication, but also considers data aggregation, multihop data transmission, and best-effort next hop selection according to a cost factor that is described for the first time in this paper. The simulation results indicate that this token-based next hop selection method together with the multitier cluster-based architecture achieves a significant amount of energy savings, which inherently yields the prolongation of the network lifetime.

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


Cryptanalysis for RC4 and Breaking WEP/WPA-TKIP In recent years, wireless LAN systems are widely used in campuses, offices, homes and so on. It is important to discuss the security aspect of wireless LAN networks in order to protect data confidentiality and integrity. The IEEE Standards Association formulated some security protocols, for example, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (WPA-TKIP). However. these protocols have vulnerability for secure communication. In 2008. we proposed an efffective key recovery attack against WEP and it is called the TeAM-OK attack. In this paper, first, we present a different interpretation and the relation between other attacks and the TeAM-OK attack against WEP. Second, we present some existing attacks against WPA-TKIP and these attacks are not executable in a realistic environment. Then we propose an attack that is executable in a realistic environment against WPA-TKIP. This attack exploits the vulnerability implementation in the QoS packet processing feature of IEEE 802.11e. The receiver receives a falsification packet constructed as part of attack regardless of the setting of IEEE 802.11e. This vulnerability removes the attacker's condition that access points support IEEE 802.11e. We confirm that almost all wireless LAN implementations have this vulnerability. Therefore, almost all WPA-TKIP implementations cannot protect a system against the falsification attack in a realistic environment.

O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 lan network
wpa-tkip
cryptoanalysis


Multi-layer survivable routing mechanism in GMPLS based optical networks The structure of IP/MPLS over optical networks has become the trend for new generation backbone transport networks since the technology of general multi-protocol label switching (GMPLS) can realize the seamless converage between IP and optical networks. At the same time, due to the high-speed transmission rate of each wavelength in optical networks, survivability is a very important issue and has been studied all through these years. Therefore, in new generation GMPLS based networks, it is very necessary to investigate the multi-layer survivable algorithms. In this paper, we comprehensively review the existing survivable algorithms in multi-layer networks and analyze the shortages of current researches. Based on previous studies, we prospect challenges and propose new solutions of designing efficient survivable algorithms to well guide the future work of researchers in multi-layer networks.

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

survivable routing algorithms
multi-layer networks
auxiliary graph
waveband switching
general multi-protocol label switching


On the role of shared entanglement Despite the apparent similarity between shared randomness and shared entanglement in the context of Communication Complexity, our understanding of the latter is not as good as of the former. In particular, there is no known "entanglement analogue" for the famous theorem by Newman, saying that the number of shared random bits required for solving any communication problem can be at, most logarithmic in the input length (i.e., using more than O(log n) shared random bits would not reduce the complexity of an optimal solution). In this paper we prove that the same is not true for entanglement. We establish a wide range of tight (up to a polylogarithmic factor) entanglement vs. communication trade-offs for relational problems. The low end is: for any t > 2, reducing shared entanglement from log(t)n to o(log(t-2)n) qubits can increase the communication required for solving a problem almost exponentially, from O(log(t)n) to Omega(root n). The high end is: for any epsilon > 0, reducing shared entanglement from n(1-epsilon) log n to o(n(1-epsilon) / log n) can increase the required communication from O(n(1-epsilon) log n) to Omega(n(1-epsilon/2) / logn). The upper bounds are demonstrated via protocols which are exact and work in the simultaneous message passing model, while the lower bounds hold for bounded-error protocols, even in the more powerful model of 1-way communication. Our protocols use shared EPR pairs while the lower bounds apply to any sort of prior entanglement. We base the lower bounds on a strong direct product theorem for communication complexity of a certain class of relational problems. We believe that the theorem might have applications outside the scope of this work.

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

communication complexity
shared entanglement


Towards Controllable Distributed Real-Time Systems with Feasible Utilization Control Feed back control techniques have recently been applied to a variety of real-time systems. However, a fundamental issue that was left out is guaranteeing system controllability and the feasibility of applying feedback control to such systems. No control algorithms can effectively control a system which itself is uncontrollable or infeasible. In this paper, we use the multiprocessor utilization control problem as a representative example to study the controllability and feasibility of distributed real-time systems. We prove that controllability and feasibility of a system depend crucially on end-to-end task allocations. We then present algorithms for deploying end-to-end tasks to ensure that the system is controllable and utilization control is feasible for the system. Furthermore, we develop runtime algorithms to maintain controllability and feasibility by reallocating tasks dynamically in response to workload variations, such as task terminations and migrations caused by processor failures. We implement our algorithms in a robust real-time middleware system and report empirical results on an experimental test-bed. We also evaluate the performance of our approach in large systems using numerical experiments. Our results demonstrate that the proposed task allocation algorithms improve the robustness of feedback control in distributed real-time systems.

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

feedback control
utilization control
controllability
feasibility

real-time and embedded systems
distributed systems


Orthogonal spline collocation method for the two-dimensional fractional sub-diffusion equation ? The aim of this paper is to develop a novel numerical techniques for the solution of the two-dimensional fractional sub-diffusion equation. The proposed technique is based on orthogonal spline collocation (OSC) method in space and a finite difference method (FDM) in time. Stability and convergence of the proposed method are rigorously discussed and theoretically proven. We present the results of numerical experiments in one and two space variables, which confirm the predicted convergence rates and exhibit optimal accuracy in various norms.

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

orthogonal spline collocation method
finite difference method
stability

fractional sub-diffusion equation
optimal convergence rates


RB (Reduced basis) for RB (RayleighBnard) The reduced basis approximation is a discretization method that can be implemented for solving parameter-dependent problems in cases of many queries. In this work it is applied to a two dimensional Rayleigh-Bnard problem that depends on the Rayleigh number, which measures buoyancy. For each fixed aspect ratio, multiple steady solutions can be found for different Rayleigh numbers and stable solutions coexist at the same values of external physical parameters. The reduced basis method permits to speed up the computations of these solutions at any value of the Rayleigh number chosen in a fixed interval associated with a single bifurcation branch while maintaining accuracy.

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

reduced basis approximation
bifurcation
rayleighbnard

kolmogorov width
flow problem
model reduction


Path resolution for nested recursive modules The ML module system facilitates the modular development of large programs, through decomposition, abstraction and reuse. To increase its flexibility, a lot of work has been devoted to extending it with recursion, which is currently prohibited. The introduction of recursion adds expressivity to the module system. However it also creates problems that a non-recursive module system does not have.

O O O O B I 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

ground term rewriting
decidability
termination


Learning in Gibbsian fields: How accurate and how fast can it be? Gibbsian fields or Markov random fields are widely used in Bayesian image analysis, but learning Gibbs models is computationally expensive. The computational complexity is pronounced by the recent minimax entropy (FRAME) models which use large neighborhoods and hundreds of parameters [22]. In this paper, we present a common framework for learning Gibbs models. We identify two key factors that determine the accuracy and speed of learning Gibbs models: The efficiency of likelihood functions and the variance in approximating partition functions using Monte Carlo integration. We propose three new algorithms. In particular, we are interested in a maximum satellite likelihood estimator, which makes use of a set of precomputed Gibbs models called "satellites" to approximate likelihood functions. This algorithm can approximately estimate the minimax entropy model for textures in seconds in a HP workstation. The performances of various learning algorithms are compared in our experiments.

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

minimax entropy learning
texture modeling
markov chain monte carlo
maximum-likelihood estimate
importance sampling


Solutions of 2D and 3D Stokes laws using multiquadrics method In this paper, velocityvorticity formulation and the multiquadrics method (MQ) with iterative scheme are used to solve two (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) steady-state incompressible Stokes cavity flows. The method involves solving of Laplace type vorticity equations and Poisson type velocity equations. The solenoidal velocity and vorticity components are obtained by iterative procedures through coupling of velocity and vorticity fields. Both the Poisson type velocity equations and the Laplace type vorticity equations are solved using the MQ, which renders a meshless (or meshfree) solution. Here, the results of 2D Stokes flow problems in a typical square cavity and a circular cavity are presented and compared with other model results. Besides utilizing the MQ to solve the 3D Stokes cubic cavity flow problem, we are also obtaining promising results for the accuracy of the velocity and vorticity. The MQ model has been found to be very simple and powerful for analyzing the 2D and 3D internal Stokes flow problems.

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

velocityvorticity formulation
stokes flow
meshless
multiquadrics method
square cavity
circular cavity
cubic cavity

iterative solution
two-dimensional
three-dimensional


using randomized projection techniques to aid in detecting high-dimensional malicious applications This work is part of an on-going effort in using randomized projection as a feature extraction and reduction method to improve a cosine similarity, information retrieval technique to enhance the detection of known malicious applications and their variations. We follow a standard information retrieval methodology that allows software to be regarded as documents in the corpus. This provides the ability to search the corpus with a query, malicious software, and retrieve/identify potentially malicious software and other instances of the same type of vulnerability. In our experiments, we compare Gaussian-distributed random matrix randomized projection to two alternative methods of randomized projection, sparse matrix randomized projection and Linial-London-Rabinovich random set randomized projection, and assess their performance when applied to features of malicious applications extracted via the information retrieval technique of n -gram analysis. In our results, the Gaussian distributed random matrix approach outperformed the other methods with generally higher values for each observed performance metric, however, each algorithm showed promise in selected scenarios. These results support the hypothesis that applying the technique of random matrix projection as a dimensionality reduction method for the cosine similarity metric has merit in determining if an application may contain a malicious application.

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

malicious software detection
n-gram analysis
randomized projections


estimating cloth simulation parameters from video Cloth simulations are notoriously difficult to tune due to the many parameters that must be adjusted to achieve the look of a particular fabric. In this paper, we present an algorithm for estimating the parameters of a cloth simulation from video data of real fabric. A perceptually motivated metric based on matching between folds is used to compare video of real cloth with simulation. This metric compares two video sequences of cloth and returns a number that measures the differences in their folds. Simulated annealing is used to minimize the frame by frame error between the metric for a given simulation and the real-world footage. To estimate all the cloth parameters, we identify simple static and dynamic calibration experiments that use small swatches of the fabric. To demonstrate the power of this approach, we use our algorithm to find the parameters for four different fabrics. We show the match between the video footage and simulated motion on the calibration experiments, on new video sequences for the swatches, and on a simulation of a full skirt.

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

video
use
simulation
dynamic
matching
data
demonstrate
simulated annealing
power
paper
algorithm
motion
cloth

measurement estimates metrication calibre experience errors sequence


An enhanced method and its application for fuzzy multi-criteria decision making based on vague sets Ye [Ye Jun. Improved method of multicriteria fuzzy decision making based on vague sets. Computer-Aid Design 2007;39:164-9] presented an improved method to handle multi-criteria fuzzy decision-making problems based on vague set theory. He/She provided some functions to measure the degree of suitability of each alternative with respect to a set of criteria presented by vague values. However, in some cases, these functions do not give sufficient information about alternatives. Therefore, in this paper, an enhanced method is provided to measure the accuracy membership of each alternative so as to give additional information for the decision maker. In addition, to making Computing and ranking results easier and to increase the recruiting productivity, a computer-based decision-support system is also developed, which may help to make a decision more efficiently. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 sets
fuzzy multi-criteria decision making
truth membership
false membership


how to print floating-point numbers accurately We present algorithms for accurately converting floating-point numbers to decimal representation. The key idea is to carry along with the computation an explicit representation of the required rounding accuracy. We begin with the simpler problem of converting fixed-point fractions. A modification of the well-known algorithm for radix-conversion of fixed-point fractions by multiplication explicitly determines when to terminate the conversion process; a variable number of digits are produced. The algorithm has these properties: No information is lost; the original fraction can be recovered from the output by rounding. No garbage digits are produced. The output is correctly rounded. It is never necessary to propagate carries on rounding. We then derive two algorithms for free-formal output of floating-point numbers. The first simply scales the given floating-point number to an appropriate fractional range and then applies the algorithm for fractions. This is quite fast and simple to code but has inaccuracies stemming from round-off errors and oversimplification. The second algorithm guarantees mathematical accuracy by using multiple-precision integer arithmetic and handling special cases. Both algorithms produce no more digits than necessary (intuitively, the 1.3 prints as 1.2999999 problem does not occur). Finally, we modify the free-format conversion algorithm for use in fixed-format applications. Information may be lost if the fixed format provides too few digit positions, but the output is always correctly rounded. On the other hand, no garbage digits are ever produced, even if the fixed format specifies too many digit positions (intuitively, the 4/3 prints as 1.333333328366279602 problem does not occur).

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

applications use accuracy code computation algorithm representation errors

precise
printing
variability
stem
floating point
fixed-points
informal
conversation


Attitude based teams in a hostile dynamic world In this paper, we propose a teamwork model based on the concept of a mental attribute called attitude. Our team model presents team as a collective abstract attitude, in which is embedded a novel way of solving problems and conflicts in our domain. We argue that this collective attitude is further decomposed into the individual attitudes of the agents towards various team attributes. We then evaluate the team problem solving behaviours of the agents in a simulated fire world using teams with and without different types of attitudes. The application and implementation of this model to a virtual fire world has revealed a promising prospect in developing team agents.

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


Political anticipation: observing and understanding global socio-economic trends with a view to guide the decision-making processes Political anticipation (PA), as practiced by Laboratoire Europeen d'Anticipation Politique, is a method for improving the capacity to understand trends and forecast events with the aim of influencing events on a large or small scale. Our operational definition of anticipation is 'To foresee in order to act.' Intended to be efficient and of immediate use, PA is conceived as a decision-making tool for all types of decision-makers: politicians, economists, administrators, business leaders, private investors, educators, as well as heads of households. Everyone, in a professional or private role, makes important decisions (for employees, for business operations and commerce, for family, for investments, for jurisdictions, and for the country and economic zone, among other areas in which the polis is involved). Given the dynamics of reality in our times, every decision appears as a wager on the future. It is also related to the wish or desire to obtain the best outcome for risk assumed (which a wager entails) and the effort expended.

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

decision-making
socio-economic trends
trend-breaks


Formulating disjunctive coupling queries in a web warehouse We describe how to formulate a coupling query to glean relevant Web data in the context of our web warehousing system called Whoweda (Warehouse Of Web Data). Coupling query may be used for querying both HTML and XML documents. One of the important feature of our query mechanism is the ability to express conjunctive as well as disjunctive query conditions compactly. We describe how to formulate a coupling query in text form as well as pictorially using the coupling text and the coupling graph respectively. We explore the limitations of coupling graph with respect to the coupling text. We found out that AND-, OR- and AND/OR-coupling graphs are less expressive than their textual counterparts. To address this shortcoming we introduce the notion of hybrid graph which is a special type of p-connected coupling graph. Finally, we discuss the implementation of a GUI-based system called VISCOUS (VISual COupling QUery System) for formulating such queries.

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

web warehouse
coupling query
coupling graph
viscous


Funding acknowledgement analysis: an enhanced tool to investigate research sponsorship impacts: the case of nanotechnology There is increasing interest in assessing how sponsored research funding influences the development and trajectory of science and technology. Traditionally, linkages between research funding and subsequent results are hard to track, often requiring access to separate funding or performance reports released by researchers or sponsors. Tracing research sponsorship and output linkages is even more challenging when researchers receive multiple funding awards and collaborate with a variety of differentially-sponsored research colleagues. This article presents a novel bibliometric approach to undertaking funding acknowledgement analysis which links research outputs with their funding sources. Using this approach in the context of nanotechnology research, the article probes the funding patterns of leading countries and agencies including patterns of cross-border research sponsorship. We identify more than 91,500 nanotechnology articles published worldwide during a 12-month period in 20082009. About 67% of these publications include funding acknowledgements information. We compare articles reporting funding with those that do not (for reasons that may include reliance on internal core-funding rather than external awards as well as omissions in reporting). While we find some country and field differences, we judge that the level of reporting of funding sources is sufficiently high to provide a basis for analysis. The funding acknowledgement data is used to compare nanotechnology funding policies and programs in selected countries and to examine their impacts on scientific output. We also examine the internationalization of research funding through the interplay of various funding sources at national and organizational levels. We find that while most nanotechnology funding is nationally-oriented, internationalization and knowledge exchange does occur as researchers collaborate across borders. Our method offers a new approach not only in identifying the funding sources of publications but also in feasibly undertaking large-scale analyses across scientific fields, institutions and countries.

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

funding acknowledgement analysis
research funding
research sponsorship
nanotechnology
research outputs
publications


Small signal modeling of GaAsPIN diodes aided by electromagnetic analysis A systematic procedure is described for determination of GaAs PIN diode equivalent circuit models from measured S-parameter data combined with an electromagnetic analysis of the feed structure. A new parasitic and intrinsic model topology is proposed, and found to be better suited than prior models for the particular GaAs PIN structures considered in this work. Models were developed for forward bias currents ranging from 0.01 to 100 mA, and example measured and modeled results are included to validate the approach. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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

microwave characterization
diode modeling
pin diodes
microwave cad


A Semantic-Oriented Approach for Organizing and Developing Annotation for E-Learning This paper presents a solution to extend the IEEE LOM standard with ontology-based semantic annotations for efficient use of learning objects outside Learning Management Systems. The data model corresponding to this approach is first presented. The proposed indexing technique for this model development in order to acquire a better annotation of learning resources is further presented. This technique extends and combines two consecrated alternative methods for structure-based indexing of textual resources: the mathematical approach of the latent semantic indexing and the linguistic-oriented WordNet-based text processing. Thus, the reason behind the good results provided by the first method becomes more transparent due to the linguistic controlled choices proposed by the second method. The paper results are important in the context of adopting semantic web technologies in the e-learning field, but also as a progress in the area of ontology-based indexing of textual resources.

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

computer-managed instruction
ontology
semantic annotation
indexing methods


Automatically performing weak mutation with the aid of symbolic execution, concolic testing and search-based testing Automating software testing activities can increase the quality and drastically decrease the cost of software development. Toward this direction, various automated test data generation tools have been developed. The majority of existing tools aim at structural testing, while a quite limited number aim at a higher level of testing thoroughness such as mutation. In this paper, an attempt toward automating the generation of mutation-based test cases by utilizing existing automated tools is proposed. This is achieved by reducing the killing mutants problem into a covering branches one. To this extent, this paper is motivated by the use of state of the art techniques and tools suitable for covering program branches when performing mutation. Tools and techniques such as symbolic execution, concolic execution, and evolutionary testing can be easily adopted toward automating the test input generation activity for the weak mutation testing criterion by simply utilizing a special form of the mutant schemata technique. The propositions made in this paper integrate three automated tools in order to illustrate and examine the methods feasibility and effectiveness. The obtained results, based on a set of Java program units, indicate the applicability and effectiveness of the suggested technique. The results advocate that the proposed approach is able to guide existing automating tools in producing test cases according to the weak mutation testing criterion. Additionally, experimental results with the proposed mutation testing regime show that weak mutation is able to speedup the mutant execution time by at least 4.79 times when compared with strong mutation.

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

mutation testing
weak mutation
mutant schemata
symbolic execution
concolic execution

automated test case generation
search-based testing


Advanced leaf image retrieval via Multidimensional Embedding Sequence Similarity (MESS) method A novel method for shape analysis and similarity measurement is introduced based on a time series matching approach. It applies to shapes represented through one-dimensional signals and has as objectives to utilize efficiently the provided information and to optimize the shape matching process. The new technique is tested on boundaries from leaf images, after their conversion into 1D sequences using either the Centroid Contour Distance (CCD) or the Angle code (AC) measurements. In the core of the new method lies the time delay-based transformation of a given 1D sequence to an ensemble of vectors embedded in a multivariate phase space. The resulting point set is considered as representative of the leaf identity. Inter-leaf comparisons are carried out in a pairwise fashion by employing the multidimensional, WaldWolfowitz, statistical test for the two-sample problem, which implicitly performs shape matching and similarity quantification. The comparative experimentation shows that the complexity of our method is moderate, while the leaf retrieval performance, compared to that achieved by standard matching procedures usually employed with the CCD and AC representations, is greatly improved.

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


An incentive mechanism for message relaying in unstructured peer-to-peer systems Distributed message relaying is an important function of a peer-to-peer system to discover service providers. Existing search protocols in unstructured peer-to-peer systems create huge burden on communications, cause long response time, or result in unreliable performance. Moreover, with self-interested peers, these systems are vulnerable to the free-riding problem. In this paper we present an incentive mechanism that not only mitigates the free-riding problem, but also achieves good system efficiency in message relaying for peer discovery. In this mechanism promised rewards are passed along the message propagation process. A peer is rewarded if a service provider is found via a relaying path that includes this peer. The mechanism allows peers to rationally trade-off communication efficiency and reliability while maintaining information locality. We provide some analytic insights to the symmetric Nash equilibrium strategies of this game, and an approximate approach to calculate this equilibrium. Experiments show that this incentive mechanism brings a system utility generally higher than breadth-first search and random walks, based on both the estimated utility from our approximate equilibrium and the utility generated from learning in the incentive mechanism. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

peer-to-peer systems
incentive mechanisms
multi-level marketing models
reinforcement learning


building high accuracy bloom filters using partitioned hashing The growing importance of operations such as packet-content inspection, packet classification based on non-IP headers, maintaining flow-state, etc. has led to increased interest in the networking applications of Bloom filters. This is because Bloom filters provide a relatively easy method for hardware implementation of set-membership queries. However, the tradeoff is that Bloom filters only provide a probabilistic test and membership queries can result in false positives. Ideally, we would like this false positive probability to be very low. The main contribution of this paper is a method for significantly reducing this false positive probability in comparison to existing schemes. This is done by developing a partitioned hashing method which results in a choice of hash functions that set far fewer bits in the Bloom filter bit vector than would be the case otherwise. This lower fill factor of the bit vector translates to a much lower false positive probability. We show experimentally that this improved choice can result in as much as a ten-fold increase in accuracy over standard Bloom filters. We also show that the scheme performs much better than other proposed schemes for improving Bloom filters.

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


A new technique for the extraction of equivalent-circuit parameters from 3D monoblock filters A new technique is presented for the extraction of accurate equivalent circuits from 3D structures using a commercial finite-element software package. The technique is based on first electromagnetic principles; it exploits the post-processing capabilities of the software and is suitable for analysing structures of arbitrary geometry and materials. Application of this technique reduces a three-pole monoblock ceramic GSM filter to its equivalent circuit. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

hfss
post-processing
elctromagnetics
equivalent-circuit extraction
time-average fields


Adaptive fairing of digitized point data with discrete curvature An algorithm for fairing two-dimensional (2D) shape formed by digitised data points is described. The application aims to derive a fair curve from a set of dense and error-filled data points digitised from a complex surface, such that the basic shape information recorded in the original point data is relatively unaffected. The algorithm is an adaptive process in which each cycle consists of several steps. Given a 2D point set, the bad points are identified by analysing the property of their discrete curvatures (D-curvatures) and first-order difference of D-curvatures, in two consecutive fairing stages. The point set is then segmented into single bad point (SBP) segments and multiple bad point (MBP) segments. For each MBP segment, a specially designed energy function is used to identify the bad point to be modified in the current cycle. Each segment is then faired by directly adjusting the geometric position of the worst point. The amount of adjustment in each cycle is kept less than a given shape tolerance. This algorithm is particularly effective in terms of shape preservation when dealing with MBP segments. Case studies are presented that illustrate the efficacy of the developed technique.

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


Enabling interoperation between Shibboleth and Information Card systems Whilst the growing number of identity management systems have the potential to reduce the threat of identity attacks, major deployment problems remain because of the lack of interoperability between such systems. In this paper, we propose a scheme to provide interoperability between two widely discussed identity systems, namely Shibboleth and Information Card systems such as CardSpace or Higgins. When using this scheme, Information Card users are able to obtain an assertion token from a Shibboleth-enabled identity provider that can be processed by an Information Card-enabled relying party. The scheme is based on a browser extension and operates with both the CardSpace and the Higgins identity selectors without any modification. We specify the operation of the scheme and also describe an implementation of a proof-of-concept prototype. Additionally, security and operational analyses are provided. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

identity management
cardspace
shibboleth
interoperation
browser extension


Plasmode simulation for the evaluation of pharmacoepidemiologic methods in complex healthcare databases Longitudinal healthcare claim databases are frequently used for studying the comparative safety and effectiveness of medications, but results from these studies may be biased due to residual confounding. It is unclear whether methods for confounding adjustment that have been shown to perform well in small, simple nonrandomized studies are applicable to the large, complex pharmacoepidemiologic studies created from secondary healthcare data. Ordinary simulation approaches for evaluating the performance of statistical methods do not capture important features of healthcare claims. A statistical framework for creating replicated simulation datasets from an empirical cohort study in electronic healthcare claims data is developed and validated. The approach relies on resampling from the observed covariate and exposure data without modification in all simulated datasets to preserve the associations among these variables. Repeated outcomes are simulated using a true treatment effect of the investigators choice and the baseline hazard function estimated from the empirical data. As an example, this framework is applied to a study of high versus low-intensity statin use and cardiovascular outcomes. Simulated data is based on real data drawn from Medicare Parts A and B linked with a prescription drug insurance claims database maintained by Caremark. Properties of the data simulated using this framework are compared with the empirical data on which the simulations were based. In addition, the simulated datasets are used to compare variable selection strategies for confounder adjustment via the propensity score, including high-dimensional approaches that could not be evaluated with ordinary simulation methods. The simulated datasets are found to closely resemble the observed complex data structure but have the advantage of an investigator-specified exposure effect.

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

simulation
propensity score
variable selection


Using soft computing to build real world intelligent decision support systems in uncertain domains Whilst the builders of traditional decision support systems have regularly used game theory and operations research, they have rarely used statistical techniques to build intelligent support systems for fields that have weak domain models. Further, the principle tools in the artificial intelligence arsenal were centred on symbol manipulation and predicate logic, while the use of numerical techniques were looked upon with disfavour. We claim that soft computing techniques (such as fuzzy reasoning and neural networks) can be integrated with symbolic techniques to provide for efficient decision making in knowledge-based systems. We illustrate our claim through the discussion of two decision support systems that have been constructed using soft computing techniques. Split-Up uses rules and neural networks to advise on property distribution following divorce in Australia, whilst IFDSSEA uses fuzzy reasoning to assists teachers in New York State to grade essays. We focus on how both systems reason and how they have been evaluated.

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

soft computing
fuzzy reasoning
neural networks

knowledge discovery
evaluation of decision support systems


From mobile phones to responsible devices Mobile phones have evolved from simple voice terminals into highly-capable, general-purpose computing platforms. While people are becoming increasingly more dependent on such devices to perform sensitive operations, protect secret data, and be available for emergency use, it is clear that phone operating systems are not ready to become mission-critical systems. Through a pair of vulnerabilities and a simulated attack on a cellular network, we demonstrate that there are a myriad of unmanaged mechanisms on mobile phones, and that control of these mechanisms is vital to achieving reliable use. Through such vectors, mobile phones introduce a variety of new threats to their own applications and the telecommunications infrastructure itself. In this paper, we examine the requirements for providing effective mediation and access control for mobile phones. We then discuss the convergence of cellular networks with the Internet and its impact on effective resource management and quality of service. Based on these results, we argue for user devices that enable predictable behavior in a network-where their trusted computing bases can protect key applications and create predictable network impact. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

cellular security
vulnerability analysis


On a connection between the Pascal, Stirling and Vandermonde matrices In this paper, we are going to study some additional relations between the Stirling matrix Sn S n and the Pascal matrix Pn P n . Also the representation for the matrix Tn T n and T n - 1 in terms of sn s n and Sn S n will be considered. Consequently, this will give an answer to an open problem proposed by EI-Mikkawy [On a connection between the Pascal, Vandermonde and Stirling matricesII, Appl. Math. Comput. 146 (2003) 759769].

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


the augmented reality ocular In this paper we present the Augmented Reality Ocular, an extension of the traditional coin-operated binocular with augmented reality capabilities. The Augmented Reality Ocular enables a real implementation of the augmented reality paradigm and makes the technology available to a large public. After a review of the state of the art and a presentation of current related projects, we describe our approach of implementation. Finally different concept and purpose of applications are described in order to demonstrate the wide field of application of this new augmented reality device.

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


Mobile network-aware social computing applications: a framework, architecture, and analysis Advanced socio-technical systems especially handheld and mobile devices are no longer esoteric; rather they are a part of daily life for billions of people worldwide endowing a sense of every time connectedness that helps in realizing the ideology behind social computing applications (such as, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, SecondLife, etc.), i.e., sharing whatever-whenever. With larger bandwidths (3G/4G/WiMax capabilities), powerful processing capabilities, better displays, and user friendly and even haptic interfaces, mobile platforms have shown a promising future for social computing applications. However, advances in web technologies (such as HTML5, AJAX, etc.) have led to the development of complex set of applications with rich user-interfaces that demands a nimble and robust architecture for social computing applications that is adaptive to the network constraints and bottleneck issues. This has resulted in a favorable playground for mobile-aware social computing applications offering practitioners and researchers key architectural challenges with numerous fledgling opportunities. In this article, we elaborate upon the challenges and provide a framework for incorporating cross-layer interaction between social network applications and wireless network capabilities. Specifically, we address the problem of delivering social network content to mobile devices with the required QoS. We propose a generic framework that addresses this issue. We also discuss some suitable wireless network protocols that could be utilized to provide QoS for the delivery of content generated by social computing applications and for reliable interactions between mobile users and social computing applications followed by possible future research directions.

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

social networks
web 2.0 applications
social web services
ip packet exchange
ip multimedia subsystems
mobility models
qoe
rsvp
mpls
diffserv


A real-time 2-D vector Doppler system for clinical experimentation A real-time hardware software 2-D vector Doppler system has been realized by means of the FEMMINA platform. The system operates by performing two independent 1-D Doppler estimations on the scan plane of a linear array probe along different directions; the probe is connected to a commercial scanner. The reconstructed velocity is presented in real-time as superposition on the conventional B-mode images. Two different scanning techniques have been implemented, in order to carry out the 2-D Doppler investigation in the area of interest. These techniques allow to use the system both in vivo and in vivo. An extensive set of simulations has been performed in order to establish a gold standard regarding vector Doppler 2-D techniques, and to be able to assess the performance of the 2-D Doppler system by comparing simulated and experimental results. The whole real-time 2-D vector Doppler system is fully certified as hospital equipment, and thus it can be employed to carry out an experimental characterization of the 2-D Doppler technique in the clinical environment.

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 B I O O O 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

doppler measurements
real-time systems
two-dimensional (2-d)


Variational Bayesian least squares: An application to brainmachine interface data ? An increasing number of projects in neuroscience require statistical analysis of high-dimensional data, as, for instance, in the prediction of behavior from neural firing or in the operation of artificial devices from brain recordings in brainmachine interfaces. Although prevalent, classical linear analysis techniques are often numerically fragile in high dimensions due to irrelevant, redundant, and noisy information. We developed a robust Bayesian linear regression algorithm that automatically detects relevant features and excludes irrelevant ones, all in a computationally efficient manner. In comparison with standard linear methods, the new Bayesian method regularizes against overfitting, is computationally efficient (unlike previously proposed variational linear regression methods, is suitable for data sets with large numbers of samples and a very high number of input dimensions) and is easy to use, thus demonstrating its potential as a drop-in replacement for other linear regression techniques. We evaluate our technique on synthetic data sets and on several neurophysiological data sets. For these neurophysiological data sets we address the question of whether EMG data collected from arm movements of monkeys can be faithfully reconstructed from neural activity in motor cortices. Results demonstrate the success of our newly developed method, in comparison with other approaches in the literature, and, from the neurophysiological point of view, confirms recent findings on the organization of the motor cortex. Finally, an incremental, real-time version of our algorithm demonstrates the suitability of our approach for real-time interfaces between brains and machines.

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

high-dimensional regression
variational bayesian methods
linear models
dimensionality reduction
feature selection
emg prediction
statistical learning


evaluation of adaptive hypermedia systems' conversion Conversion between different adaptive hypermedia systems has barely been proposed, yet alone tested in realistic settings. This paper presents the evaluation of the interoperability of two adaptive (educational) hypermedia systems, MOT and WHURLE. The evaluation is performed with the help of a class of thirty-one students enrolled in the fourth year of the "Politehnica" University of Bucharest, who were taking a one-week intensive course on Adaptive Hypermedia. This paper describes and interprets our first experiments of the "write once, deliver many" paradigm of adaptive hypermedia creation.

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

interoperability
evaluation
adaptive hypermedia


STRPLAN: A distributed planner for object-centred application domains This paper deals with the problem of constructing valid planning models as well as efficient planning techniques for multi-agent domain applications. For these purposes, we first introduce an object-oriented formalism that allows for a fully-structured description of all the elements of a planning theory. This formalism is intended to facilitate the acquisition, maintenance and re-use of the domain knowledge. The proposed formalism also serves as the basis for identifying useful structural domain properties. Afterwards, we introduce a new efficient multi-agent distributed planner, STRPLAN, specially suited for these models. STRPLAN relies on the concept of domain region, which takes into consideration the structural domain properties as well as the interference of actions. As a result, global plans can be decomposed into local linear plans as a function of these regions. Preliminary empirical results have shown that the presented approach is very efficient for highly-structured multi-agent domains. In this way, the proposed methodology provides a practical framework to treat large multi-agent domain applications.

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

knowledge modelling and object orientation


Heat exchanger network design using geometric mean temperature difference The work presents a model which solves the heat exchanger network (HEN) synthesis problem using geometric mean temperature difference (GMTD) in place of the logarithmic mean temperature difference (LMTD). With the aid of logarithmic transformation and piecewise linearization, the problem is stated in a linear form and thus global optimality can be assured for the model. The accuracy of the approximation is discussed and the results obtained for three known case problems show that the usage of GMTD instead of LMTD can be justified. The GMTD-based model produces designs that are sufficiently accurate and comparable with the ones obtained using the LMTD. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

synthesis of heat exchanger networks
mixed integer programming


A unified system identification approach for a class of pneumatically-driven soft actuators A unified system identification approach is proposed. The approach is used to identify the nonlinear pressureshape dynamic relation. The used auxiliary kinematic setting can be implemented by gyroscopic sensors.

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

continuum robot
soft actuator
orthonormal basis function


Cybernetically sound organizational structures I: de Sitter's design theory Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to use de Sitter's design theory to show how organizational structures can be designed so as to attenuate organizational disturbances and amplify regulatory potential. It is argued that organizational structures with low values on so-called design-parameters are themselves no source of disturbances and have the required built-in regulatory potential. Design/methodology/approach - Key concepts from de Sitter's design theory are introduced and used to show how structures, can attenuate disturbances and amplify regulatory potential. Findings - The analysis in this paper deepens our understanding of the role of organizational structures for dealing with organizational complexity, and of the design parameters that should be manipulated to achieve structural attenuation and amplification. Practical implications - Having a structure permitting organizations to attenuate and amplify is a crucial condition for organizational viability. This paper provides guidelines for the design of such structures. Originality/value - This is one of a limited number of studies that makes apparent how general insights from (management) cybernetic (e.g. viability, attenuation and amplification) may be realized in organizations by their structural design.

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


Upper bounds for quantization errors in digital subtraction angiography Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) is a technique used for enhancement of small details in angiogram imaging systems. In this approach, X-ray images of a subject, after injection, are subtracted from a reference X-ray image, taken from the same subject before injection. Due to the exponential absorption property of X-rays; effects of small details at different depth appear differently on X-ray images. Consequently, image subtraction cannot be employed on the original images without any adjustment or modification. Proper modification, in this case, is to use some form of logarithmic operation on images before subtraction. In medical imaging systems, the system designer has a choice to implement this logarithmic operation in the analog domain, before digitization of the video signal, or in the digital domain after analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) of the original video signal. In this paper, the difference between these two approaches is studied and upper bounds for quantization error in both cases are calculated. Based on this study, the best approach for utilization of the logarithmic function is proposed. The overall effects of these two approaches on the inherent signal noise are also addressed.

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

digital subtraction angiography
quantization error


Comparative study of the bimanual and collaborative modes for closely coupled manipulations ? Pair of participants are more performant than a bimanual symmetric configuration on molecular deformation. The more the task is complex, the more pairs are better than a symmetric bimanual interaction. Pair of participants are learning faster than single participants.

O O O 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


Novel technique for estimating metal semiconductor field effect transitor parasitics A novel technique is developed for extracting the gate resistance, parasitic inductances, and pad capacitances for metal semiconductor field effect transistor devices. The parameters are extracted from two sets of S-parameter measurements: cold measurements and pinch-off measurements. The proposed technique gives rise to reliable results and it is insensitive to the unavoidable measurement errors over any frequency range. The technique is tested on hypothetical data and applied to S-parameter measurements of a few metal semiconductor field effect transistor devices on the same wafer to provide a unique solution. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

mes field effect transistor
modeling
characterization
extrinsic parasitics
optimization


A note on fuzzy integral equations In this paper existence theorems for certain Volterra integral equations and Fredholm integral equation for the fuzzy set valued mappings are obtained. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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


geometrical insights into the dendritic cell algorithm This work examines the dendritic cell algorithm (DCA) from a mathematical perspective. By representing the signal processing phase of the algorithm using the dot product it is shown that the signal processing element of the DCA is actually a collection of linear classifiers. It is further shown that the decision boundaries of these classifiers have the potentially serious drawback of being parallel, severely limiting the applications for which the existing algorithm can be potentially used on. These ideas are further explored using artificially generated data and a novel visualisation technique that allows an entire population of dendritic cells to be inspected as a single classifier. The paper concludes that the applicability of the DCA to more complex problems is highly limited.

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


Pattern-based translation of BPMN process models to BPEL web services The business process modeling notation (BPMN) is a graph-oriented language primarily targeted at domain analysts and supported by many modeling tools. The business process execution language for Web services (BPEL) on the other hand is a mainly block-structured language targeted at software developers and supported by several execution platforms. Translating BPMN models into BPEL code is a necessary step towards standards-based business process development environments. This translation is challenging since BPMN and BPEL represent two fundamentally different classes of languages. Existing BPMN-to-BPEL translations rely on the identification of block-structured patterns in BPMN models that are mapped onto structured BPEL constructs. This article advances the state of the art in BPMN-to-BPEL translation by defining methods for identifying not only perfectly block-structured fragments in BPMN models, but quasi-structured fragments that can be turned into perfectly structured ones and flow-based acyclic fragments that can be mapped onto a combination of structured constructs and control links. Beyond its direct relevance in the context of BPMN and BPEL, this article addresses issues that arise generally when translating between graph-oriented and block-structured flow definition languages.

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

bpmn
bpel
business process modeling
web services


Generation of languages by rewriting systems that resemble automata This paper introduces and discusses #-rewriting systems, which represent language-generating devices that resemble automata by using finitely many states without any nonterminals. It demonstrates that these systems characterize the well-known infinite hierarchy of language families resulting from programmed grammars of finite index in a very natural way. In its conclusion, this paper suggests some variants of #-rewriting systems.

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

programmed grammars
infinite hierarchy
finite index


Identification of parameters in the 2-D IHCP We present a numerical marching scheme, based on mollification and the general cross validation methods, to determine the diffusivity coefficient, as well as the temperature and heat flux histories, in the two-dimensional inverse heat conduction problem when noisy data at the active boundary and the initial measured temperature distribution are given. No information about the quality and/or quantity of the noise is assumed. A proof of stability and convergence of the algorithm, together with several numerical examples, are provided. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

identification of parameters
mollification


Gene interaction enrichment and network analysis to identify dysregulated pathways and their interactions in complex diseases The molecular behavior of biological systems can be described in terms of three fundamental components: (i) the physical entities, (ii) the interactions among these entities, and (iii) the dynamics of these entities and interactions. The mechanisms that drive complex disease can be productively viewed in the context of the perturbations of these components. One challenge in this regard is to identify the pathways altered in specific diseases. To address this challenge, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and others have been developed, which focus on alterations of individual properties of the entities (such as gene expression). However, the dynamics of the interactions with respect to disease have been less well studied (i.e., properties of components ii and iii).

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

dysregulated pathways
enrichment analysis


Helical polynomial curves and double Pythagorean hodographs I. Quaternion and Hopf map representations For regular polynomial curves r(t) in R-3, relations between the helicity condition, existence of rational Frenet frames, and a certain "double" Pythagorean-hodograph (PH) structure are elucidated in terms of the quaternion and Hopf map representations of spatial PH Curves. After reviewing the definitions and properties of these representations, and conversions between them, linear and planar PH Curves are identified as degenerate spatial PH curves by certain linear dependencies among the coefficients. Linear and planar Curves are trivially helical, and all proper helical polynomial curves are PH Curves. All spatial PH cubics are helical, but not all PH quintics. The two possible types of helical PH quintic (monotone and general) are identified as subsets of the PH quintics by constraints on their quaternion coefficients. The existence of a rational Frenet frame and Curvature on polynomial space curves is equivalent to a certain "double" PH form, first identified by Beltran and Monterde, in which vertical bar r'(t)vertical bar and vertical bar r'(t) x r ''(t)vertical bar are both polynomials in I. All helical PH curves are double PH curves, which encompass all PH cubics and all helical PH quintics, although non-helical double PH Curves of higher order exist. The "double" PH condition is thoroughly analyzed in terms of the quaternion and Hopf map forms, and their connections. A companion paper presents a complete characterization of all helical and non-helical double PH Curves tip to degree 7. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

pythagorean-hodograph curves
helical curves
quaternions
double pythagorean hodograph
torsion


Polite web-based intelligent tutors: Can they improve learning in classrooms? Should an intelligent software tutor be polite, in an effort to motivate and cajole students to learn, or should it use more direct language? If it should be polite, under what conditions? In a series of studies in different contexts (e.g., lab versus classroom) with a variety of students (e.g., low prior knowledge versus high prior knowledge), the politeness effect was investigated in the context of web-based intelligent tutoring systems, software that runs on the Internet and employs artificial intelligence and learning science techniques to help students learn. The goal was to pinpoint the appropriate conditions for having the web-based tutors provide polite feedback and hints (e.g., "Let's convert the units of the first item") versus direct feedback and hints (e.g., "Convert the units of the first item now"). In the study presented in this paper, 132 high school students in a classroom setting, grouped as low and high prior knowledge learners according to a pre-intervention knowledge questionnaire, did not benefit more from polite feedback and hints than direct feedback and hints on either an immediate or delayed posttest, both of which contained near transfer and conceptual test items. Of particular interest and contrary to an earlier lab study, low prior knowledge students did not benefit more from using the polite version of a tutor. On the other hand, a politeness effect was observed for the students who made the most errors during the intervention, a different proxy for low prior knowledge, hinting that even in a classroom setting, politeness may be beneficial for more needy students. This article presents and discusses these results, as well as discussing the politeness effect more generally, its theoretical underpinnings, and future directions. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

interactive learning environments
media in education
pedagogical issues


Web-based intervention support system for health promotion The Web has attracted considerable attention as an avenue to improve healthcare delivery. This paper describes the development of a Web-based intervention support system (WISS) that helps provide tailored interventions to enhance health-related behavior change. The tailoring strategy is based on the transtheoretical model (TTM). The performance of WISS was assessed by a pilot study, a controlled randomized longitudinal experiment involving 366 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Results suggest that WISS can reduce MS patients' medication discontinuation rate and move more patients to a stage where dropout is least likely to occur.

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

web-based decision support systems
tailored intervention
health behavior change


Numerical modelling and validation of Marangoni and surface tension phenomena using the finite volume method Surface tension induced flow is implemented into a numerical modelling framework and validated for a number of test cases. Finite volume unstructured mesh techniques are used to discretize the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations in three dimensions. An explicit approach is used to include the effect of surface tension forces on the flow profile and final shape of a liquid domain. Validation of this approach is made against both analytical and experimental data. Finally, the method is used to model the wetting balance test for solder alloy material, where model predictions are used to gain a greater insight into this process. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

B I O O O O 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 O O O O 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


Compiler algorithms for optimizing locality and parallelism on shared and distributed-memory machines Distributed-memory message-passing machines deliver scalable performance but are difficult to program. Shared-memory machines, on the other hand, are easier to program but obtaining scalable performance with. large number of processors is difficult. Recently, scalable machines based on logically shared physically distributed memory have been designed and implemented. While some of the performance issues like parallelism and locality are common to different parallel architectures, issues such as data distribution are unique to specific architectures. One of the most important challenges compiler writers face is the design of compilation techniques that can work well on a variety of architectures. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that can be employed by optimizing compilers for different types of parallel architectures. Our optimization algorithm does the following: (1) transforms loop nests such that, where possible, the iterations of the outer-most loops can be run in parallel across processors; (2) optimizes memory locality by carefully distributing each array across processors; (3) optimizes interprocessor communication using message vectorization whenever possible; and (4) optimizes cache locality by assigning appropriate storage layout for each array and by transforming the iteration space. Depending on the machine architecture, some or all of these steps can he applied in a unified framework. We report empirical results on an SGI Origin 2000 distributed-shared-memory multiprocessor and an IBM SP-2 distributed-memory message-passing machine to validate the effectiveness of our approach. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

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

data reuse
locality optimizations
temporal locality
spatial locality
memory performance
array restructuring
loop transformations


Adaptation of the Mode Group Diversity Multiplexing Technique for Radio Signal Transmission Over Multimode Fiber The large bandwidth of multimode fiber (MMF) makes it a very attractive medium for multiservice transmission in building networks at low cost. The mode group diversity multiplexing (MGDM) technique in graded-index multimode fiber (GI-MMF) has been shown to be less expensive with simpler transmitters and receivers, keeping the same information capacity. However, the classic transmission in MGDM complicates the integration of radio-over-fiber (RoF) services. In this paper, we propose a wired and a RoF model dedicated to broadband indoor applications. This model is based on a modified MGDM where we employ a variation of the transmission power technique and a selection algorithm for the optimal transmitter. To evaluate our system, the bit error rate and symbol error rate have been computed.

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

optical mgdm
multiservice interference (msi)
mixed services


New results on high-order risk changes The signs of derivatives of the utility function of different orders are related. Agent preferences in case of different high-order risk changes are related. Saving choices in case of different high-order risk changes are related.

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 B O O O

utility theory
nth-order risk change
nth-order derivatives


A parallel implementation of a mixed-hybrid finite element method for anisotropic plate bending problems The paper deals with a parallel implementation of a mixed-hybrid finite element method for anisotropic plate bending problems with different boundary conditions. The mixed-hybrid method gives a simultaneous approximation to bending/twisting moments and deflection fields in the interior of each triangle and traces of displacement field and its normal derivative on sides of each triangle. Efficient parallel implementation procedures have been developed and the results of numerical experiments with time, speed-up comparisons on some aniso-/ortho-/isotropic plates of practical and research interest 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 O O O O O O O O O O

mixed-hybrid fem
plate bending problem
parallel computation
cholesky method
preconditioned cg method
efficient matrix assembly procedure


Practical Anisotropic Geodesy The computation of intrinsic, geodesic distances and geodesic paths on surfaces is a fundamental low-level building block in countless Computer Graphics and Geometry Processing applications. This demand led to the development of numerous algorithms - some for the exact, others for the approximative computation, some focussing on speed, others providing strict guarantees. Most of these methods are designed for computing distances according to the standard Riemannian metric induced by the surface's embedding in Euclidean space. Generalization to other, especially anisotropic, metrics - which more recently gained interest in several application areas - is not rarely hampered by fundamental problems. We explore and discuss possibilities for the generalization and extension of well-known methods to the anisotropic case, evaluate their relative performance in terms of accuracy and speed, and propose a novel algorithm, the Short-Term Vector Dijkstra. This algorithm is strikingly simple to implement and proves to provide practical accuracy at a higher speed than generalized previous methods.

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

5 [computer graphics]: computational geometry and object modeling


Ranks of graphs: The size of acyclic orientcation cover for deadlock-free packet routing Given a graph G, the problem is to determine an acyclic orientation of G which minimizes the maximal number of changes of orientation along any shortest path in G. The corresponding value is called the rank of the graph G. The motivation for this graph theoretical problem comes from the design of deadlock-free packet routing protocols [G Tel, Deadlock-free packet switching networks, in: Introduction to Distributed Algorithms, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1994 (Chapter 5)]. This acyclic orientation covering problem on the shortest path systems has been. studied in [J.-C. Bermond, M. Di Ianni, M. Flammini, S. Perennes, Acyclic orientations for deadlock prevention in interconnection networks, in: 23rd International Workshop on Graph-Theoretic Concepts in Computer Science (WG), in: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 1335, SpringerVerlag, 1997, pp. 52-64] where it was shown that the general problem of determining the rank is NP-complete and some upper and lower bounds on the rank were presented for particular topologies, such as grids, tori and hypercubes. The main unresolved problem stated in [J.-C. Bermond, M. Di Ianni, M. Flammini, S. Perennes, Acyclic orientations for deadlock prevention in interconnection networks, in: 23rd International Workshop on Graph-Theoretic Concepts in Computer Science (WG), in: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 1335, Springer-Verlag, 1997, pp. 52-64] was to determine the rank values for other well-known interconnection networks and also for more general classes of graphs. In this paper we give a general lower bound argument for the rank problem and apply it to the class of involution-generated Cayley graphs which among others include hypercubes, star graphs, pancake graphs and transposition-tree based graphs [S.B. Akers, B. Krishnamurthy, A group-theoretic model for symmetric interconnection networks, MEE Transactions on Computers 38 (4) (1989) 555-565]. We also present a large class LCP(T,SP) of graphs with constant rank. This class of graphs is defined as the layered cross product [S. Even, A. Litman, Layered cross product-A technique to construct interconnection networks, Networks 29 (1997) 219-223] of layered trees and series-parallel graphs and includes among others butterflies, Bene, networks, fat-trees and meshes of trees. For some special topologies, improved lower bounds on the rank are alsc presented. We consider some of the modified versions of the rank problem as well. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

communication networks
acyclic orientation cover


Stochastic finite-time state estimation for discrete time-delay neural networks with Markovian jumps This paper investigates the problem of stochastic finite-time state estimation for a class of uncertain discrete-time Markovian jump neural networks with time-varying delays. A state estimator is designed to estimate the network states through available output measurements such that the resulted error dynamics is stochastically finite-time stable. By stochastic LyapunovKrasovskii functional approach, sufficient conditions are derived for the error dynamics to be stochastic finite-time stable. The desired state estimator is designed via linear matrix inequality technique. Simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.

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

markovian jump systems
stochastic finite-time state estimation


Thresholding based on variance and intensity contrast A new thresholding criterion is formulated for segmenting small objects by exploring the knowledge about intensity contrast. It is the weighted sum of within-class variance and intensity contrast between the object and background. Theoretical bounds of the weight are given for the uniformly distributed background and object, followed by the procedure to estimate the weight from prior knowledge. Tests against two real and two synthetic images show that small objects can be extracted successfully irrespective of the complexity of background and difference in class sizes.

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

thresholding
intensity contrast
prior knowledge


A 5 GHz 90-nm CMOS all digital phase-locked loop An all digital phase-locked loop (ADPLL) has been implemented in a 90-nm CMOS process. It uses a phase-frequency detector (PFD) connected to two time-to-digital converters (TDC). To save power the TDCs use delay line cells with uneven delay time. During frequency acquisition an automatic tuning bank controller selects active bank of the digitally controlled oscillator (DCO), which features three separate tuning banks for both high resolution and wide frequency tuning range. To further increase the resolution a high-speed delta-sigma modulator is also used, modulating the DCO fine tuning word. The PLL achieves a measured phase noise of -125 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset from a divided-by-2 carrier frequency of 2.58 GHz. The core area is 0.33 mm(2) and the current consumption is 30 mA from a 1.2 V supply.

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

all digital phase-locked loop (adpll)
time-to-digital converter (tdc)
phase locked loop (pll)
digitally controlled oscillator (dco)
rf


The finite element method for computing the stationary distribution of an SRBM in a hypercube with applications to finite buffer queueing networks This paper proposes an algorithm, referred to as BNAfm (Brownian network analyzer with finite element method), for computing the stationary distribution of a semimartingale reflecting Brownian motion (SRBM) in a hypercube. The SRBM serves as an approximate model of queueing networks with finite buffers. Our BNAfm algorithm is based on the finite element method and an extension of a generic algorithm developed by Dai and Harrison [14]. It uses piecewise polynomials to form an approximate subspace of an infinite-dimensional functional space. The BNAfm algorithm is shown to produce good estimates for stationary probabilities, in addition to stationary moments. This is in contrast to the BNAsm algorithm (Brownian network analyzer with spectral method) of Dai and Harrison [14], which uses global polynomials to form the approximate subspace and which sometimes fails to produce meaningful estimates of these stationary probabilities. Extensive computational experiences from our implementation are reported, which may be useful for future numerical research on SRBMs. A three-station tandem network with finite buffers is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the Brownian approximation model and our BNAfm algorithm.

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

semimartingale reflecting brownian motion

heavy traffic
performance analysis
basic adjoint relationship
numerical algorithm


Simulated annealing technique for fast learning of SOM networks The Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is a popular unsupervised neural network able to provide effective clustering and data visualization for multidimensional input datasets. In this paper, we present an application of the simulated annealing procedure to the SOM learning algorithm with the aim to obtain a fast learning and better performances in terms of quantization error. The proposed learning algorithm is called Fast Learning Self-Organized Map, and it does not affect the easiness of the basic learning algorithm of the standard SOM. The proposed learning algorithm also improves the quality of resulting maps by providing better clustering quality and topology preservation of input multi-dimensional data. Several experiments are used to compare the proposed approach with the original algorithm and some of its modification and speed-up techniques.

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

som
simulated annealing
clustering
fast learning