Order Selection of the Linear Mixing Model for Complex-Valued FMRI Data Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data are originally acquired as complex-valued images, which motivates the use of complex-valued data analysis methods. Due to the high dimension and high noise level of fMRI data, order selection and dimension reduction are important procedures for multivariate analysis methods such as independent component analysis (ICA). In this work, we develop a complex-valued order selection method to estimate the dimension of signal subspace using information-theoretic criteria. To correct the effect of sample dependence to information-theoretic criteria, we develop a general entropy rate measure for complex Gaussian random process to calibrate the independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) sampling scheme in the complex domain. We show the effectiveness of the approach for order selection on both simulated and actual fMRI data. A comparison between the results of order selection and ICA on real-valued and complex-valued fMRI data demonstrates that a fully complex analysis extracts more meaningful components about brain activation.

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

order selection
linear mixing model
entropy rate


Optimal approximation of elliptic problems by linear and nonlinear mappings III: Frames We study the optimal approximation of the solution of an operator equation A(u) = f by certain n-term approximations with respect to specific classes of frames. We consider worst case errors, where f is an element of the unit ball of a Sobolev or Besov space B-q(1)(L-p(Omega)) and Omega subset of R-d is abounded Lipschitz domain; the error is always measured in the H-s-norm. We study the order of convergence of the corresponding nonlinear frame widths and compare it with several other approximation schemes. Our main result is that the approximation order is the same as for the nonlinear widths associated with Riesz bases, the Gelfand widths, and the manifold widths. This order is better than the order of the linear widths iff p < 2. The main advantage of frames compared to Riesz bases, which were studied in our earlier papers, is the fact that we can now handle arbitrary bounded Lipschitz domains-also for the upper bounds. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

elliptic operator equation
worst case error
nonlinear approximation methods
best n-term approximation
manifold width
besov spaces on lipschitz domains


A hybrid heuristicgenetic algorithm for task scheduling in heterogeneous processor networks Efficient task scheduling on heterogeneous distributed computing systems (HeDCSs) requires the consideration of the heterogeneity of processors and the inter-processor communication. This paper presents a two-phase algorithm, called H2GS, for task scheduling on HeDCSs. The first phase implements a heuristic list-based algorithm, called LDCP, to generate a high quality schedule. In the second phase, the LDCP-generated schedule is injected into the initial population of a customized genetic algorithm, called GAS, which proceeds to evolve shorter schedules. GAS employs a simple genome composed of a two-dimensional chromosome. A mapping procedure is developed which maps every possible genome to a valid schedule. Moreover, GAS uses customized operators that are designed for the scheduling problem to enable an efficient stochastic search. The performance of each phase of H2GS is compared to two leading scheduling algorithms, and H2GS outperforms both algorithms. The improvement in performance obtained by H2GS increases as the inter-task communication cost increases.

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 B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 algorithms
list-based scheduling heuristics
directed acyclic graph
parallel and distributed processing
heterogeneous systems


A color image retrieval method based on color moment and color variance of adjacent pixels This paper first introduces three simple and effective image features - the color moment (CM), the color variance of adjacent pixels (CVAP) and CM-CVAP. The CM feature delineates the color-spatial information of images, and the CVAP feature describes the color variance of pixels in an image. However, these two features can only characterize the content of images in different ways. This paper hence provides another feature CM-CVAP, which combines both, to raise the quality of similarity measure. The experimental results show that the image retrieval method based on the CM-CVAP feature gives quite an impressive performance.

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

color-based image retrieval
color histogram
mass moment preserving


Designing and optimizing a healthcare kiosk for the community We outline the development of an interactive self-service healthcare kiosk. We apply a formal methodology to guarantee the measurement accuracy. The formal, generalizable and rigorous approach shows its practical efficiency. We know of no other studies that apply such methods in designing interaction. There is globally an increasing need for the health technologies outlined herein.

O O O O O 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

self-service healthcare kiosk
parameter identification


Hypergraph regularized autoencoder for image-based 3D human pose recovery Pose recovery with autoencoder is imposed locality reservation with Laplacian matrix. The construction of Laplacian matrix is improved by using hypergraph optimization.

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 B O

deep learning
manifold regularization
patch alignment framework


Watermarking for HDR Image Robust to Tone Mapping High Dynamic Range (HDR) images have been widely applied in daily applications. However, HDR image is a special format, which needs to be pre-processed known as tone mapping operators for display. Since the visual quality of HDR images is very sensitive to luminance value variations, conventional watermarking methods for low dynamic range (LDR) images are not suitable and may even cause catastrophic visible distortion. Currently, few methods for HDR image watermarking are proposed. In this paper, two watermarking schemes targeting HDR images are proposed, which are based on p-Law and bilateral filtering, respectively. Both of the subjective and objective qualities of watermarked images are greatly improved by the two methods. What's more, these proposed methods also show higher robustness against tone mapping operations.

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

hdr image
watermarking
tone mapping
bilateral filtering


A GRA-based intuitionistic fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making method for personnel selection ? Due to the increasing competition of globalization, selection of the most appropriate personnel is one of the key factors for an organizations success.The importance and complexity of the personnel selection problem call for the method combining both subjective and objective assessments rather than just subjective decisions. The aim of this paper is to develop a new method for solving the decision making process. An intuitionistic fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making method with grey relational analysis (GRA) is proposed. Intuitionistic fuzzy weighted averaging (IFWA) operator is utilized to aggregate individual opinions of decision makers into a group opinion. Intuitionistic fuzzy entropy is used to obtain the entropy weights of the criteria. GRA is applied to the ranking and selection of alternatives. A numerical example for personnel selection is given to illustrate the proposed method finally.

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

grey relational analysis (gra)
multi-criteria group decision making
intuitionistic fuzzy set (ifs)


Design of a PC-based multimedia telemedicine system for brain function teleconsultation During time-critical brain surgery, the detection of developing cerebral ischemia is particularly important because early therapeutic intervention may reduce the mortality of the patient. The purpose of this system is to provide an efficient means of remote teleconsultation for the early detection of ischemia, particularly when subspecialists are unavailable. The hardware and software design architecture for the multimedia brain function teleconsultation system including the dedicated brain function monitoring system is described. In order to comprehensively support remote teleconsultation, multi-media resources needed for ischemia interpretation were included: EEG signals, CSA, CD-CSA, radiological images, surgical microscope video images and video conferencing. PC-based system integration with standard interfaces and the operability over the Ethernet meet the cost-effectiveness while the modular software was customized with a diverse range of data manipulations and control functions necessary for shared workspace and standard interfaces.

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

brain function monitoring
teleconsultation
multimedia


Thermal characterization of LDMOS transistors for accelerating stress testing The time to market is a major concern in the high-technology industry and when designing new products, the development cycle time becomes critical. Indeed, when a delay occurs in the development schedule, the potential market share of the designed product can be drastically decreased. In this context, developing accelerated stress testing (AST) in order to assess quickly the long-term behavior of a semiconductor becomes extremely useful. In this paper we show an example of how thermal characterization including simulation can be used to define a consistent AST for power ICs.

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

semiconductor industry
multi-pulse testing
energy pulse characterization


Steady flow and heat transfer of a magnetohydrodynamic Sisko fluid through porous medium in annular pipe In this paper, the steady flow and heat transfer of a magnetohydrodynamic fluid is studied. The fluid is assumed to be electrically conducting in the presence of a uniform magnetic field and occupies the porous space in annular pipe. The governing nonlinear equations are modeled by introducing the modified Darcy's law obeying the Sisko model. The system is solved using the homotopy analysis method (HAM), which yields analytical solutions in the form of a rapidly convergent infinite series. Also, HAM is used to obtain analytical solutions of the problem for noninteger values of the power index. The resulting problem for velocity field is then numerically solved using an iterative method to show the accuracy of the analytic solutions. The obtained solutions for the velocity and temperature fields are graphically sketched and the salient features of these solutions are discussed for various values of the power index parameter. We also present a comparison between Sisko and Newtonian fluids. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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


identifying table boundaries in digital documents via sparse line detection Most prior work on information extraction has focused on extracting information from text in digital documents. However, often, the most important information being reported in an article is presented in tabular form in a digital document. If the data reported in tables can be extracted and stored in a database, the data can be queried and joined with other data using database management systems. In order to prepare the data source for table search, accurately detecting the table boundary plays a crucial role for the later table structure decomposition. Table boundary detection and content extraction is a challenging problem because tabular formats are not standardized across all documents. In this paper, we propose a simple but effective preprocessing method to improve the table boundary detection performance by considering the sparse-line property of table rows. Our method easily simplifies the table boundary detection problem into the sparse line analysis problem with much less noise. We design eight line label types and apply two machine learning techniques, Conditional Random Field (CRF) and Support Vector Machines (SVM), on the table boundary detection field. The experimental results not only compare the performances between the machine learning methods and the heuristics-based method, but also demonstrate the effectiveness of the sparse line analysis in the table boundary detection.

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

table boundary detection
conditional random field

sparse line property
support vector machine
table data collection
table labeling


An efficient document classification model using an improved back propagation neural network and singular value decomposition This paper proposed a new improved method for back propagation neural network, and used an efficient method to reduce the dimension and improve the performance. The traditional back propagation neural network (BPNN) has the drawbacks of slow learning and is easy to trap into a local minimum, and it will lead to a poor performance and efficiency. In this paper, we propose the learning phase evaluation back propagation neural network (LPEBP) to improve the traditional BPNN. We adopt a singular value decomposition (SVD) technique to reduce the dimension and construct the latent semantics between terms. Experimental results show that the LPEBP is much faster than the traditional BPNN. It also enhances the performance of the traditional BPNN. The SVD technique cannot only greatly reduce the high dimensionality but also enhance the performance. So SVD is to further improve the document classification systems precisely and efficiently.

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

document classification
singular value decomposition
bpnn
lpebp


browsing in a digital library collecting linearly arranged documents A method of assisting a user in finding the required documents effectively is proposed. A user being informed which documents are worth examining can browse in a digital library (DL) in a linear fashion. Computational evaluations were carried out, and a DL and its navigator are designed and constructed.

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

learning
relevant information
browsing assistant


a framework for building haptic interactions for teleoperation systems From the nano/micro-manipulation domain to the intervention in the nuclear field, haptics has become essential in actual teleoperation systems. The active property of this modality makes gestures more reliable and accurate. Nowadays, there is much research concerning the integration of haptic modality. The proposed solutions give, according to the adopted approaches, various efficiency levels. However, this work doesn't integrate generally and systematically psychophysics studies and ergonomics considerations. These elements are very important if we want to include effectively the human operator in any teleoperation system. Otherwise, various new applications present to the human operator several unfamiliar phenomena (e.g., nano-environments, underwater environments and the outer space environments). It's thus necessary in this type of application to transform virtually the remote environment to present to the operator nature-like haptic interactions. In this paper, we present a framework for building haptic interactions for teleoperation systems. This framework integrates the psychophysics studies and ergonomics elements, and presents a method to project the remote environment in the intuitive perception space.

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


Convex normal functions revisited The lattice L of upper semicontinuous convex normal functions with convolution ordering arises in studies of type-2 fuzzy sets. In 2002, Kawaguchi and Miyakoshi [Extended t-norms as logical connectives of fuzzy truth values, Multiple-Valued Logic 8(1) (2002) 53-69] showed that this lattice is a complete Heyting algebra. Later. Harding et al. [Lattices of convex, normal functions, Fuzzy Sets and Systems 159 (2008) 1061-1071] gave an improved description of this lattice and showed it was a continuous lattice in the sense of Gierz et al. [A Compendium of Continuous Lattices, Springer, Berlin, 1980]. In this note we show the lattice L(u) is isomorphic to the lattice of decreasing functions from the real unit interval [0, 1] to the interval [0,2] under pointwise ordering, modulo equivalence almost everywhere. This allows development of further properties of L(u). It is shown that L(u) is completely distributive, is a compact Hausdorff topological lattice whose topology is induced by a metric, and is self-dual via a period two antiautomorphism. We also show the lattice L(u) has another realization of natural interest in studies of type-2 fuzzy sets. It is isomorphic to a quotient of the lattice L of all convex normal functions under the convolution ordering. This quotient identifies two convex normal functions if they agree almost everywhere and their intervals of increase and decrease agree almost everywhere. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

type-2 fuzzy set
uniquely complemented lattice
complete lattice
metric topology


On detecting spatial outliers The ever-increasing volume of spatial data has greatly challenged our ability to extract useful but implicit knowledge from them. As an important branch of spatial data mining, spatial outlier detection aims to discover the objects whose non-spatial attribute values are significantly different from the values of their spatial neighbors. These objects, called spatial outliers, may reveal important phenomena in a number of applications including traffic control, satellite image analysis, weather forecast, and medical diagnosis. Most of the existing spatial outlier detection algorithms mainly focus on identifying single attribute outliers and could potentially misclassify normal objects as outliers when their neighborhoods contain real spatial outliers with very large or small attribute values. In addition, many spatial applications contain multiple non-spatial attributes which should be processed altogether to identify outliers. To address these two issues, we formulate the spatial outlier detection problem in a general way, design two robust detection algorithms, one for single attribute and the other for multiple attributes, and analyze their computational complexities. Experiments were conducted on a real-world data set, West Nile virus data, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

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


From blurry numbers to clear preferences: A mechanism to extract reputation in social networks ? We explore the problems derived from aggregating quantitative opinions in reputation. We propose a mechanism that aggregates opinions based on pairwise comparisons. We show the suitability of the mechanism with an evaluation on real data sets.

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


On the correlation distribution of the Coulter-Matthews decimation The distribution of the cross correlation between the ternary m-sequence {s(t)} of period n = 3(m) - 1 and the decimated sequences {s(dt)} and {s(dt+1)} ofperiod (3(m) - 1)/2, where d = (2)/(3k+1) with k odd and gcd (k, m) = 1 is determined. The method to find this distribution is related to the result by Coulter and Matthews that f(x) = x(d) is a planar function over GF(3(m)).

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

cross-correlation function
m-sequences
planar functions


A Graphical Technique and Penalized Likelihood Method for Identifying and Estimating Infant Failures Field failure data often exhibit extra heterogeneity as early failure data may have quite different distribution characteristics from later failure data. These infant failures may come from a defective subpopulation instead of the normal product population. Many exiting methods for field failure analyses focus only on the estimation for a hypothesized mixture model, while the model identification is ignored. This paper aims to develop efficient, accurate methods for both detecting data heterogeneity, and estimating mixture model parameters. Mixture distribution detection is achieved by applying a mixture detection plot (MDP) on field failure observations. The penalized likelihood method, and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm are then used for estimating the components in the mixture model. Two field datasets are employed to demonstrate and validate the proposed approach.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

mixture detection plot
mixture distribution

expectation maximization
infant mortality


Distributed multimedia service composition with statistical QoS assurances Service composition allows multimedia services to be automatically composed from atomic service components based on dynamic service requirements. Previous work falls short for distributed multimedia service composition in terms of scalability, flexibility and quality-of-service (QoS) management. In this paper, we present a fully decentralized service composition framework, called SpiderNet, to address the challenges. SpiderNet provides statistical multiconstrained QoS assurances and load balancing for service composition. Moreover, SpiderNet supports directed acyclic graph composition topologies and exchangeable composition orders. We have implemented a prototype of SpiderNet and conducted experiments on both wide-area networks and a simulation testbed. Our experimental results show the feasibility and efficiency of the SpiderNet service composition framework.

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

middleware
quality-of-service (qos)
service overlay network


A classifier learning system using a coevolution method for deflection yoke misconvergence pattern classification problem Deflection yoke (DY) is one of the core components of a cathode ray tube (CRT) in a computer monitor or a television that determines the image quality. Once a DY anomaly is found from beam patterns on a display in the production line of CRTs, the remedy process should be performed through three steps: identifying misconvergence types from the anomalous display pattern, adjusting manufacturing process parameters, and fine tuning. This study focuses on discovering a classifier for the identification of DY misconvergence patterns by applying a coevolutionary classification method. The DY misconvergence classification problems may be decomposed into two subproblems, which are feature selection and classifier adaptation. A coevolutionary classification method is designed by coordinating the two subproblems, whose performances are affected by each other. The proposed method establishes a group of partial sub-regions, defined by regional feature set, and then fits a finite number of classifiers to the data pattern by using a genetic algorithm in every sub-region. A cycle of the cooperation loop is completed by evolving the sub-regions based on the evaluation results of the fitted classifiers located in the corresponding sub-regions. The classifier system has been tested with real-field data acquired from the production line of a computer monitor manufacturer in Korea, showing superior performance to other methods such as k-nearest neighbors, decision trees, and neural networks.

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

deflection yoke
pattern classification
feature selection


Design of an energy function based fuzzy tuning controller for HVDC links The paper introduces an energy function based fuzzy tuning method for the controller parameters of an HVDC transmission link. The test system, a point to point DC link, was subjected to various small and large disturbances to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method. The DC current error and its derivative are taken as the two principal signals to generate the change in the proportional and the integral gains of the rectifier current regulator according to a fuzzy rule base. Computer simulation results confirm the superiority of the proposed adaptive fuzzy controllers over the conventional fixed gain controllers in damping out the transient oscillations in HVDC links connected to weak AC systems.

O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O 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 tuning controller
computer simulation


Influence of the Anx7 (+/?) Knockout Mutation and Fasting Stress on the Genomics of the Mouse Adrenal Gland The Anx7 gene codes for a Ca2+/GTPase with calcium channel and membrane fusion properties that has been proposed to regulate exocytotic secretion in chromaffin and other cell types. We have previously reported that the homozygous Anx7 (+/?) knockout mouse has an embryonically lethal phenotype. However, the viable heterozygous Anx7 (+/?) mouse displays a complex phenotype that includes adrenal gland hypertrophy, chromaffin cell hyperplasia, and defective IP3 receptor (IP3R) expression. To search for a molecular basis for this phenotype, we have used cDNA microarray technology and have challenged control and mutant mice with fed or fasting conditions. We report that in the absence of the Anx7/IP3R signaling system, the cells in the adrenal gland are unable to discriminate between the fed and fasted states, in vivo. In control chromaffin cells, fasting is accompanied by an increased expression of structural genes for chromaffin cell contents, including chromogranin A and B, and D?H. There are also genes whose expression is specifically reduced. However, the Anx7 (+/?) mutation results in sustained expression of these nutritionally sensitive genes. We hypothesize that the calcium signaling defect due to the missing IP3R may be responsible for the global effects of the mutation on nutritionally sensitive genes. We further hypothesize that the tonically elevated expression of chromogranin A, a reportedly master control switch for dense core granule formation, may contribute to the process driving glandular hypertrophy and chromaffin cell hyperplasia in the Anx7 (+/?) mutant mouse.

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

annexin 7
synexin
adrenal medulla
nutriomics


pruning long documents for distributed information retrieval Query-based sampling is a method of discovering the contents of a text database by submitting queries to a search engine and observing the documents returned. In prior research sampled documents were used to build resource descriptions for automatic database selection, and to build a centralized sample database for query expansion and result merging. An unstated assumption was that the associated storage costs were acceptable.When sampled documents are long, storage costs can be large. This paper investigates methods of pruning long documents to reduce storage costs. The experimental results demonstrate that building resource descriptions and centralized sample databases from the pruned contents of sampled documents can reduce storage costs by 54-93\% while causing only minor losses in the accuracy of distributed information retrieval.

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

distributed information retrieval
merging
paper
sampling
research
method
accuracy
search engine
storage
text
demonstrate
queries
database
resource
query

association
centrality
document pruning
prune
select
contention
experimentation
query-expansion
distributed
documentation
information retrieval


predictive thread-to-core assignment on a heterogeneous multi-core processor As multi-core processors are becoming common, vendors are starting to explore trade offs between the die size and the number of cores on a die, leading to heterogeneity among cores on a single chip. For efficient utilization of these processors, application threads must be assigned to cores such that the resource needs of a thread closely matches resource availability at the assigned core. Current methods of thread-to-core assignment often require an application's execution trace to determine its runtime properties. These traces are obtained by running the application on some representative input. A problem is that developing these representative input sets is time consuming, and requires expertise that the user of a general-purpose processor may not have. We propose an approach for automatic thread-to-core assignment for heterogeneous multicore processors to address this problem. The key insight behind our approach is simple - if two phases of a program are similar, then the data obtained by dynamic monitoring of one phase can be used to make scheduling decisions about other similar phases. The technical underpinnings of our approach include: a preliminary static analysis-based approach for determining similarity among program sections, and a thread-to-core assignment algorithm that utilizes the statically generated information as well as execution information obtained from monitoring a small fraction of the program to make scheduling decisions.

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

thread-to-core assignment
static program analysis
heterogeneous multi-core processors
phase behavior


Fitting very large sparse Gaussian graphical models In this paper we consider some methods for the maximum likelihood estimation of sparse Gaussian graphical (covariance selection) models when the number of variables is very large (tens of thousands or more). We present a procedure for determining the pattern of zeros in the model and we discuss the use of limited memory quasi-Newton algorithms and truncated Newton algorithms to fit the model by maximum likelihood. We present efficient ways of computing the gradients and likelihood function values for such models suitable for a desktop computer. For the truncated Newton method we also present an efficient way of computing the action of the Hessian matrix on an arbitrary vector which does not require the computation and storage of the Hessian matrix. The methods are illustrated and compared on simulated data and applied to a real microarray data set. The limited memory quasi-Newton method is recommended for practical use.

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

gene networks
high dimensional
large scale optimisation
limited memory quasi-newton


Segmentation of tiny objects in very poor-quality angiogenesis images This paper deals with a straightforward and effective solution that isolates tiny objects from very poor-quality angiogenesis images. The objects of interest consist of the cross-section of blood vessels present in histological cuts of malign tumors that grow in soft parts of the human body through a natural process known as angiogenesis. The proposed strategy applies a conditional morphological closing operator using a structuring element based on criteria resulting from local statistical properties. This approach gives in all cases a lower percent of false target count (FTC) and false non-target count (FNTC) errors, with respect to the error equally calculated for two other strategies discussed briefly in this paper, when the results are compared with images segmented manually by pathologists.

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

blood vessel segmentation
conditional closing
noise filtering
morphology


Varieties of Properties The traditional distinction between primary (observation independent) and secondary (observation dependent) qualities is not based on a difference that can be sustained in the full light of contemporary scientific understanding. An alternative division of physical and chemical properties is proposed. Like the traditional division of qualities, the alternative system has two main categories. Properties of compound particulars that result from simple combination (e.g., addition) of the properties of their component parts constitute the first class

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

mereology
primary qualities
chemical combination
mixis
cooperative interactions
autocatalysis
dissipative structures
mixed valence
ivct


lower bound for scalable byzantine agreement We consider the problem of computing Byzantine Agreement in a synchronous network with n processors each with a private random string, where each pair of processors is connected by a private communication line. The adversary is malicious and non-adaptive, i.e., it must choose the processors to corrupt at the start of the algorithm. Byzantine Agreement is known to be computable in this model in an expected constant number of rounds.We consider a scalable model where in each round each uncorrupted processor can send to any set of log n other processors and listen to any set of log n processors. We define the loss of a computation to be the number of uncorrupted processors whose output does not agree with the output of the majority of uncorrupted processors. We show that if there are t corrupted processors, then any protocol which has probability at least 1/2 +1/log n of loss less than t 2/3 32 fn 1/3 log 5/3 n requires at least f rounds.

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

probabilistic
malicious adversary
non-adaptive adversary
randomized
distributed computing
lower bounds


A variable compliance, soft gripper Autonomous grasping is an important but challenging task and has therefore been intensively addressed by the robotics community. One of the important issues is the ability of the grasping device to accommodate varying object shapes in order to form a stable, multi-point grasp. Particularly in the human environment, where robots are faced with a vast set of objects varying in shape and size, a versatile grasping device is highly desirable. Solutions to this problem have often involved discrete continuum structures that typically comprise of compliant sections interconnected with mechanically rigid parts. Such devices require a more complex control and planning of the grasping action than intrinsically compliant structures which passively adapt to complex shapes objects. In this paper, we present a low-cost, soft cable-driven gripper, featuring no stiff sections, which is able to adapt to a wide range of objects due to its entirely soft structure. Its versatility is demonstrated in several experiments. In addition, we also show how its compliance can be passively varied to ensure a compliant but also stable and safe grasp.

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

soft robotics
continuum robot
shape invariant grasping


Extended Overview Techniques for Outdoor Augmented Reality In this paper, we explore techniques that aim to improve site understanding for outdoor Augmented Reality (AR) applications. While the first person perspective in AR is a direct way of filtering and zooming on a portion of the data set, it severely narrows overview of the situation, particularly over large areas. We present two interactive techniques to overcome this problem: multi-view AR and variable perspective view. We describe in details the conceptual, visualization and interaction aspects of these techniques and their evaluation through a comparative user study. The results we have obtained strengthen the validity of our approach and the applicability of our methods to a large range of application domains.

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

information interfaces and presentation
mobile augmented reality
multi-perspective views
situation awareness
navigation


Influence of transition metals on halogen-bonded complexes of MCCBr center dot center dot center dot NCH and HCCBra center dot center dot center dot NCM ' (M, M ' = Cu, Ag, and Au) We have performed quantum chemical calculations for the MCCBra (TM) a (TM) a (TM) NCH and HCCBra (TM) a (TM) a (TM) NCM' (M, M' = Cu, Ag, and Au) halogen-bonded complexes at the MP2 level. The results showed that the transition metals have different influences on the halogen bond donor and the electron donor. The transition metal atom in the former makes the halogen bond weaker, and that in the latter causes it to enhance. Molecular electrostatic potential and natural bond orbital analysis were carried out to reveal the nature of the substitution.

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

electron donor
halogen bond donor
molecular electrostatic potential
transition metal


Cost, Power Consumption and Performance Evaluation of Metro Networks We provide models for evaluating the performance, cost and power consumption of different architectures suitable for a metropolitan area network (MAN). We then apply these models to compare today's synchronous optical network/synchronous digital hierarchy metro rings with different alternatives envisaged for next-generation MAN: an Ethernet carrier grade ring, an optical hub-based architecture and an optical time-slotted wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) ring. Our results indicate that the optical architectures are likely to decrease power consumption by up to 75% when compared with present day MANs. Moreover, by allowing the capacity of each wavelength to be dynamically shared among all nodes, a transparent slotted WDM yields throughput performance that is practically equivalent to that of today's electronic architectures, for equal capacity.

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

power consumption
performance evaluation

metropolitan area networks
optical networks


Equity in access to fortified maize flour and corn meal Mass fortification of maize flour and corn meal with a single or multiple micronutrients is a public health intervention that aims to improve vitamin and mineral intake, micronutrient nutritional status, health, and development of the general population. Micronutrient malnutrition is unevenly distributed among population groups and is importantly determined by social factors, such as living conditions, socioeconomic position, gender, cultural norms, health systems, and the socioeconomic and political context in which people access food. Efforts trying to make fortified foods accessible to the population groups that most need them require acknowledgment of the role of these determinants. Using a perspective of social determinants of health, this article presents a conceptual framework to approach equity in access to fortified maize flour and corn meal, and provides nonexhaustive examples that illustrate the different levels included in the framework. Key monitoring areas and issues to consider in order to expand and guarantee a more equitable access to maize flour and corn meal are described.

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

fortified maize flour
social determinants of health
equity


Design of a printed MIMO/diversity monopole antenna for future generation handheld devices This article presents a printed crescent-shaped monopole MIMO diversity antenna for wireless communications. The port-to-port isolation is increased by introducing an I-shaped conductor symmetrically between the two antenna elements and shaping the ground plane. Both the computed and experimental results confirm that the antenna possesses a wide impedance bandwidth of 54.5% across 1.62.8 GHz, with a reflection coefficient and mutual coupling better than ?10 and ?14 dB, respectively. By further validating the simulated and the measured radiation and MIMO characteristics including far-field, gain, envelope correlation and channel capacity loss, the results show that the antenna can offer effective MIMO/diversity operation to alleviate multipath environments. 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:348359, 2014.

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

monopole antenna
reflection coefficient
mutual coupling
mimo


a rich traceability model for social interactions In 1993, Goguen published a research note addressing the social issues in Requirements Engineering. He identified in the requirements process three major social groups: the client organization; the requirements team; and the development team. However, nowadays there is a lack of technological support that traces requirements to social issues on the requirements team or development team. From early published traceability metamodels to current requirements traceability literature, the client organization and the stakeholders are first-class citizens, but the software engineers and the interactions between these groups are not. In this paper we present a partially formalized RichPicture traceability model to fill this gap. ITrace is a flexible model to weave together the social network graph, the information sources graph, the social interactions graph, and the Requirements Engineering artifacts evolution graph. We empirically developed our traceability model tracking a Transparency catalogue evolution. We also compare our model structure to Contribution Structures.

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

rich picture
software evolution
graph-based traceability


Neuro-fuzzy closed-loop control of depth of anaesthesia The utility of the auditory evoked potential (AEP) is under investigation as a feedback signal for the automatic closed-loop control of general anaesthesia using neural networks and fuzzy logic. The AEP is a signal derived from the electroencephalogram (EEG) in response to auditory stimulation, which may be useful as an index of the depth of anaesthesia. A simple back-propagation neural network can learn the AEP and provides a satisfactory input to a fuzzy logic infusion controller for the administration of anaesthetic drugs, but the problem remains that of reliable signal acquisition.

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

anaesthesia
auditory evoked potential
neural network


Computability and realizability for interactive computations This paper deals with computability of interactive computations. It aims at the characterization and analysis of a general concept of interactive computation as a basis for the extension and generalization of the notion of computability to interactive computations. We extend the notion of computability to interactive computations. Instead of partial functions on natural numbers or on finite strings we work with functions and relations on infinite input and output streams. As part of the computability of such functions and relations on streams we treat the following aspects of interactive computations: causality between input and output streams realizability of single output streams for given input streams the role of non-realizable output relating non-realizable behaviors to state machines the concept of interactive computation and computability for interactive systems the role of time in computability.

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


Probability density of the differential phase difference in applications to passive wireless surface acoustic wave sensing ? The probability density function (pdf) is discussed of the differential phase difference (DPD) in the radio frequency (RF) pulse-burst perturbed by Gaussian noise at the coherent receiver. Statistical properties of the DPD are of importance for error estimation in coherent systems such as remote passive wireless surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensing with multiple differential phase measurement. The rigorous probability density of the DPD is derived and its particular functions, all having no closed forms, are given for different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in the RF pulses. Employing the von Mises/Tikhonov distribution, an efficient approximation is proposed via the modified Bessel functions of the first kind and zeroth order. Engineering features and small errors of the approximation are demonstrated. Applications are given for the phase difference drift rate and error probability for the drift rate to exceed a threshold.

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

differential phase difference
probability density
drift rate
error probability


An improved algorithm for the distance constrained p-center location problem with mutual communication on tree networks In a recent article Averbakh and Berman present an O(p(3)root(log log p)(log p) + n(2)) serial algorithm to solve the distance constrained p-center location problem with mutual communication on a tree network with n nodes. In this note we suggest two simple modifications leading to the improved (subquadratic in n), O(p(3)root(log log p)(log p) + p(n + p)log(2)(n + p)) complexity bound. We also present a new O(p(2)n log n log(n + p)) algorithm for the discrete version of this problem. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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


CADRE: The CArma Data REduction pipeline The Combined Array for Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) data reduction pipeline (CADRE) has been developed to give investigators a first look at a fully reduced set of their data. It runs automatically on all data produced by the telescope as they arrive in the CARMA data archive. CADRE is written in Python and uses Python wrappers for MIRIAD subroutines for direct access to the data. It goes through the typical reduction procedures for radio telescope array data and produces a set of continuum and spectral line maps in both MIRIAD and FITS format. CADRE has been in production for nearly two years and this paper presents the current capabilities and planned development.

O O O B I I O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 novel IP3 boosting technique using feedforward distortion cancellation method for 5 GHz CMOS LNA Low noise amplifier (LNA) in many wireless and wireline communication systems must have low noise, sufficient gain and high linearity performance. This paper presents a novel IP3 boosting technique using Feedforward Distortion Cancellation (FDC) method, that is, use an additional path to generate distortion and then cancel with the original LNA's distortion at its output. Through this technique, the IIP3 of LNA can be boosted from about 0 dBm, which is reported in most public literature to date, to +21 dBm, which is firstly reported to this day, with negligible noise degradation.

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


ISSDC DIGRAM CODING BASED LOSSLESS DATA COMPRESSION ALGORITHM In this paper, a new lossless data compression method that is based on digram coding is introduced This data compression method uses semi-static dictionaries All of the used characters and most frequently used two character blocks (digrams) in the source are found and inserted into a dictionary in the first pass, compression is performed in the second pass This two-pass structure is repeated several times and in every iteration particular number of elements is inserted in the dictionary until the dictionary is filled This algorithm (ISSDC Iterative Semi-Static Digram Coding) also includes some mechanisms that can decide about total number of iterations and dictionary size whenever these values are not given by the user Our experiments show that ISSDC is better than LZW/GIF and BPE in compression ratio It is worse than DEFLATE in compression of text and binary data, but better than PNG (which uses DEFLATE compression) in lossless compression of simple images

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

dictionary-based compression
semi-static dictionary


An embedded system course using JavaME and android This paper describes the objectives and contents of a cost-effective curriculum for embedded system course in our university. The main aim of the course is learning to solve a real problem by developing a real system. The students learn skills to adapt this system to new scenarios. The system consists of a wireless module, a microcontroller and an application for smartphones to control lights by wireless communications. In order to motivate students, JavaME and Android, the important technologies for today's smartphones were chosen. As a result of the course, following the Bologna guidelines, the students worked cooperatively, like in a real scenario. Each group member worked in a complementary manner by analyzing the division of tasks for each student. We followed project-based methodology has provided an incremental learning to students. According to results, students responded to the course survey that they are knowledgeable on how embedded systems work after taking the course. 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:294303, 2015; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21599

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

engineering education
project-based learning
educational innovation
education technology
radio communication


Positive solutions of a focal problem for one-dimensional p-Laplacian equations This paper mainly deals with the existence and multiplicity of positive solutions for the focal problem involving both the p-Laplacian and the first order derivative: {((u')(p-1))' + f (t, u, u') = 0, t is an element of(0, 1), u(0) = u'(1) = 0. The main tool in the proofs is the fixed point index theory, based on a priori estimates achieved by using Jensen's inequality and a new inequality. Finally the main results are applied to establish the existence of positive symmetric solutions to the Dirichlet problem: {(|u'|(p-2)u')' + f (u, u') = 0, t is an element of (-1, 0) boolean OR (0, 1), u(-1) = u(1) = 0. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

focal problem
fixed point index
dirichlet problem

p-laplacian equation
positive solution
jensen's inequality


A gas-kinetic BGK scheme for gaswater flow A new one-dimensional gas-kinetic BGK scheme for gaswater flow is developed with the inclusion of the stiffened equation of state for water. The mixture model is considered, where the gas and water inside a computational cell achieve the equilibrium state, with equal pressure, velocity and temperature, within a time step. The splitting method is adopted to calculate the flux of each component at a cell interface individually. The preliminary application of the present newly developed method in different types of shock tube problems, including gasgas shock tube and gaswater shock tube problems, validates its good performance for gaswater flow.

O O O O O O O O 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

gas-kinetic scheme
gaswater two-phase flow


Simulations of spacing of localized zones in reinforced concrete beams using elasto-plasticity and damage mechanics with non-local softening The paper presents quasi-static plane strain FE-simulations of strain localization in reinforced concrete beams without stirrups. The material was modeled with two different isotropic continuum crack models: an elasto-plastic and a damage one. In case of elasto-plasticity, linear Drucker-Prager criterion with a non-associated flow rule was defined in the compressive regime and a Rankine criterion with an associated flow rule was adopted in the tensile regime. In the case of a damage model, the degradation of the material due to micro-cracking was described with a single scalar damage parameter. To ensure the mesh-independence and to capture size effects, both criteria were enhanced in a softening regime by non-local terms. Thus, a characteristic length of micro-structure was included. The effect of a characteristic length, reinforcement ratio, bond-slip stiffness, fracture energy and beam size on strain localization was investigated. The numerical results with reinforced concrete beams were quantitatively compared with corresponding laboratory tests by Walraven (1978).

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

concrete
characteristic length
damage mechanics
reinforcement
strain localization

bond-slip
elasto-plasticity
nonlocal theory


a lab implementation of syn flood attack and defense A "denial-of-service" attack is characterized by an explicit attempt by attackers to prevent legitimate users of a service from using that service. SYN flood attack is one of the most common types of DoS. In this lab, we model and simulate a real world network, and we launch a SYN attack against our web server. Through this, we study the nature of the attack and investigate the effectiveness of several approaches in defending against SYN attack. This lab will allow students to anatomize the SYN flooding attack and defense in the lab environment and obtain data and parameters of DoS resilience capability.

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


Student-Project Allocation with preferences over Projects ? We study the problem of allocating students to projects, where both students and lecturers have preferences over projects, and both projects and lecturers have capacities. In this context we seek a stable matching of students to projects, which respects these preference and capacity constraints. Here, the stability definition generalises the corresponding notion in the context of the classical Hospitals/Residents problem. We show that stable matchings can have different sizes, which motivates max-spa-p, the problem of finding maximum cardinality stable matching. We prove that max-spa-p is NP-hard and not approximable within ? , for some ?>1 ? > 1 , unless P=NP P = NP . On the other hand, we give an approximation algorithm with a performance guarantee of 2 for max-spa-p.

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

matching problem
np-hardness
approximation hardness


A novel SIP based procedure for congestion aware handover in heterogeneous networks One of the next steps in the current rapid evolution of wireless technologies will be that operators will need to enable users to use communication' services independently of access technologies, so they will have to support seamless handovers in heterogeneous networks. In this paper we present a novel SIP based procedure for congestion aware handover in heterogeneous networks. With newly defined SIP messages the handover decision is based not only on signal strength, but also on target network status. Using the SIP protocol, this approach is completely independent of access technology and the underlying protocol used, and thus can be easily deployed in operator's environments. The proposed procedure was evaluated with a purpose-built simulation model. The results show that, using the proposed procedure, the QoE of VoIP users can be maintained during session by eliminating handovers to target network, which could cause degradation of service in the target network and by triggering handovers to another network, when there could come to degradation of service in the current network. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

seamless handover
performance evaluation
congestion awareness


use of active rfid and environment-embedded sensors for indoor object location estimation This paper describes a method for localizing objects in an actual living environment. We have developed this method by using a complementary combination of 1) received signal strength indicators (RSSIs) and vibration data acquired from active RFID tags, and 2) human behavior detected from various types of sensors embedded in the environment. Regarding the former, we use a pattern recognition method to select a feature appeared in SSIs received by several radio frequency (RF) readers at different places and to classify them into a particular location. In our work, we regard the estimated location as the most probable location where the object is placed. As for the latter, we use the detected human behavior to support the estimation based on the analysis of RSSIs. Experiment results showed that the proposed method improved the estimation performance from about 50 to 95\% compared with using only RSSIs to localize objects. Moreover, the results also suggested that we can estimate object location indoors without sensors for detecting human position. This indoor object localization method can contribute for constructing an indoor object management system that improves living comfort.

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

rssi
environment-embedded sensor
indoor localization


Noise-Tuning-Based Hysteretic Noisy Chaotic Neural Network for Broadcast Scheduling Problem in Wireless Multihop Networks Compared with noisy chaotic neural networks (NCNNs), hysteretic noisy chaotic neural networks (HNCNNs) are more likely to exhibit better optimization performance at higher noise levels, but behave worse at lower noise levels. In order to improve the optimization performance of HNCNNs, this paper presents a novel noise-tuning-based hysteretic noisy chaotic neural network (NHNCNN). Using a noise tuning factor to modulate the level of stochastic noises, the proposed NHNCNN not only balances stochastic wandering and chaotic searching, but also exhibits stronger hysteretic dynamics, thereby improving the optimization performance at both lower and higher noise levels. The aim of the broadcast scheduling problem (BSP) in wireless multihop networks (WMNs) is to design an optimal time-division multiple-access frame structure with minimal frame length and maximal channel utilization. A gradual NHNCNN (G-NHNCNN), which combines the NHNCNN with the gradual expansion scheme, is applied to solve BSP in WMNs to demonstrate the performance of the NHNCNN. Simulation results show that the proposed NHNCNN has a larger probability of finding better solutions compared to both the NCNN and the HNCNN regardless of whether noise amplitudes are lower or higher.

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

broadcast scheduling problem
noise tuning
noisy chaotic neural network
wireless multihop networks


probabilistic multi-path vs. deterministic single-path protocols for dynamic ad-hoc network scenarios We investigate the performance of different protocol stacks under various application scenarios. Our method of choice is a full-fledged simulation in QualNet, testing the complete protocol stack over fairly large-scale networks. We find that the relative ranking of protocols strongly depends on the network scenario, the session load, the mobility level, and the choice of protocol parameters. We show that the Parametric Probabilistic Protocols, which we generalize from their original definition, can outperform standard routing protocols, such as AODV or Gossiping or Shortest-Path, in a variety of realistic scenarios.

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


Geophysics and NIH Image1 It is possible to interpret 2D and 3D seismic data using NIH Image, a free medical imaging software product developed by the US National Institutes of Health. Using Image, or one of several developing spin-offs, the basic flow of seismic interpretation can be accomplished. It is also capable of some advanced methods such as volume visualization, amplitude calibration to well control, cube displays and reservoir area/volume estimates. All figures in this paper were generated using this free product. At the least, Image is a marvelous data viewer which compliments workstation class systems. However, for many users, it may be sufficient for the entire interpretation process.

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


Coal-fired generation in a privatised electricity supply industry Since privatisation of the UK Electricity Supply Industry, the merit-order for the dispatch of generating plant has undergone radical changes. In Scotland, where the electricity companies have a broad-based generation portfolio, base load is now usually carried by a combination of nuclear and gas-fired generation. Hydroelectricity has now moved to a much less well-defined position for generation, partly because of its seasonal variability. However, the major consequence of this arrangement has been that coal-fired generation has slipped in the merit-order from the days of Nationalisation and now occupies a mid-merit position. This changed role for coal has imposed new requirements on engineers involved in the operation of, and generation planning for, coal-fired power stations.

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

coal-fired generation
mid-merit position


Provable algorithms for parallel generalized sweep scheduling We present provably efficient parallel algorithms for sweep scheduling, which is a commonly used technique in radiation transport problems, and involves inverting an operator by iteratively sweeping across a mesh from multiple directions. Each sweep involves solving the operator locally at each cell. However. each direction induces a partial order in which this computation can proceed. On a distributed computing system, the goal is to schedule the computation, so that the length of the schedule is minimized. Due to efficiency and coupling considerations, we have an additional constraint, namely. a mesh cell must be processed on the same processor along each direction. Problems similar in nature to sweep scheduling arise in several other applications, and here we formulate a combinatorial generalization of this problem that captures the sweep scheduling constraints and call it the generalized sweep scheduling problem. Several heuristics have been proposed for this problem; see [S. Pautz, An algorithm for parallel S-n, sweeps on unstructured meshes, Nucl. Sci. Eng. 140 (2002) 111-136; S. Plimpton, B. Hendrickson, S. Burns, W. McLendon, Parallel algorithms for radiation transport on unstructured grids, Super Comput. (2001)] and the references therein; but none of these have provable worst case performance guarantees. Here we present a simple, almost linear time randomized algorithm for the generalized sweep scheduling problem that (provably) gives a schedule of length at most O(log(2)n) times the optimal schedule for instances with n cells, when the communication cost is not considered, and a slight variant, which coupled with a Much more careful analysis, gives a schedule of (expected) length 0(log m log log log m) times the optimal schedule for in processors. These are the first such provable guarantees for this problem. The algorithm can be extended with an additional multiplicative factor in the case when we have inter-processor communication latency, in the models of Rayward-Smth [UET scheduling with inter-processor communication delays, Discrete Appl. Math. 18 (1) (1987) 55-71] and Hwang et al. [Scheduling precedence graphs in systems with inter-processor communication times. SIAM J. Comput. 18(2) (1989) 244-257]. Our algorithms are extremely simple, and use no geometric information about the mesh; therefore, these techniques are likely to be applicable in more general settings. We also design a priority based list schedule using these ideas, with the same theoretical guarantee, but much better performance in practice; combining this algorithm with a simple block decomposition also lowers the overall communication cost significantly. Finally, we perform a detailed experimental analysis of our algorithm. Our results indicate that the algorithm compares favorably with the length of the schedule produced by other natural and efficient parallel algorithms proposed in the literature [S. Pautz, An Algorithm for parallel S-n sweeps on unstructured meshes, Nucl. Sci. Eng. 140 (2002) 111-136: S. Plimpton, B. Hendrickson, S. Burns, W. McLendon, Parallel algorithms for radiation transport on unstructured grids, Super Comput. (2001)]. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

minimum makespan scheduling
approximation algorithms
sweep scheduling on meshes


RDTC optimized compression of image-based scene representations (Part I): Modeling and theoretical analysis Rendering of virtual views in interactive streaming of compressed image-based scene representations requires random access to arbitrary parts of the reference image data. The degree of interframe dependencies exploited during encoding has an impact on the transmission and decoding time and, at the same time, delimits the (storage) rate-distortion (RD) tradeoff that can be achieved. In this work, we extend the classical RD optimization approach using hybrid video coding concepts to a tradeoff between the storage rate (R), distortion (D), transmission data rate (T), and decoding complexity (Q. We present a theoretical model for this RDTC space with a focus on the decoding complexity and, in addition, the impact of client side caching on the RDTC measures is considered and evaluated. Experimental results qualitatively match those predicted by our theoretical models and show that an adaptation of the encoding process to scenario specific parameters like computational power of the receiver and channel throughput can significantly reduce the user-perceived delay or required storage for RDTC optimized streams compared to RD optimized or independently encoded scene representations.

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

image-based rendering (ibr)
rdtc optimization


Forecasting accuracy of behavioural models for participation in the arts This paper assesses the forecasting performance of count data models applied to arts attendance. We estimate participation models for two artistic activities that differ in their degree of popularity museums and jazz concerts with data derived from the 2002 release of the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts for the United States. We estimate a finite mixture model a zero-inflated negative binomial model that allows us to distinguish between true non-attendants and goers and their respective behaviour regarding participation in the arts. We evaluate the predictive (in-sample) and forecasting (out-of-sample) accuracy of the estimated model using bootstrapping techniques to compute the Brier score. Overall, the results indicate the model performs well in terms of forecasting. Finally, we draw certain policy implications from the models forecasting capacity, thereby allowing the identification of target populations.

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


Effect of intervertebral disc degeneration on disc cell viability: a numerical investigation Degeneration of the intervertebral disc may be initiated and supported by impairment of the nutrition processes of the disc cells. The effects of degenerative changes on cell nutrition are, however, only partially understood. In this work, a finite volume model was used to investigate the effect of endplate calcification, water loss, reduction of disc height and cyclic mechanical loading on the sustainability of the disc cell population. Oxygen, lactate and glucose diffusion, production and consumption were modelled with non-linear coupled partial differential equations. Oxygen and glucose consumption and lactate production were expressed as a function of local oxygen concentration, pH and cell density. The cell viability criteria were based on local glucose concentration and pH. Considering a disc with normal water content, cell death was initiated in the centre of the nucleus for oxygen, glucose, and lactate diffusivities in the cartilaginous endplate below 20% of the physiological values. The initial cell population could not be sustained even in the non-calcified endplates when a reduction of diffusion inside the disc due to water loss was modelled. Alterations in the disc shape such as height loss, which shortens the transport route between the nutrient sources and the cells, and cyclic mechanical loads, could enhance cell nutrition processes.

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

cell nutrition
finite volume
cell viability
intervertebral disc


RESOURCE AWARE RUN-TIME ADAPTATION SUPPORT FOR RECOVERY STRATEGIES The selection of recovery strategies is often based only on the types and circumstances of the failures. However, also changes in the euvironment such as fewer resources at node levels or degradation of quality-of-service Should be considered before allocating a new process/task to another host or before taking re-configuration decisions. In this paper we present why and how resource availability information should be considered for recovery strategies adaptation. Such resource aware run-time adaptation of recovery improves the availability and survivability of a system.

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

recovery strategy
fault tolerance
resource monitoring


Optimal retailers replenishment decisions in the EPQ model under two levels of trade credit policy The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the optimal retailers replenishment decisions under two levels of trade credit policy within the economic production quantity (EPQ) framework. We assume that the supplier would offer the retailer a delay period and the retailer also adopts the trade credit policy to stimulate his/her customer demand to develop the retailers replenishment model under the replenishment rate is finite. Furthermore, we assume that the retailers trade credit period offered by supplier M is not shorter than the customers trade credit period offered by retailer N (M?N). Since the retailer cannot earn any interest in this situation, M<N. Based upon the above arguments, this paper incorporates both Chung and Huang [K.J. Chung, Y.F. Huang, The optimal cycle time for EPQ inventory model under permissible delay in payments, International Journal of Production Economics 84 (2003) 307318] and Huang [Y.F. Huang, Optimal retailers ordering policies in the EOQ model under trade credit financing, Journal of the Operational Research Society 54 (2003) 10111015] under above conditions. In addition, we model the retailers inventory system as a cost minimization problem to determine the retailers optimal replenishment decisions. Then three theorems are developed to efficiently determine the optimal replenishment decisions for the retailer. We deduce some previously published results of other authors as special cases. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the theorems obtained in this paper. Then, as well as, we obtain a lot of managerial insights from numerical examples.

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

epq
inventory
two levels of trade credit
permissible delay in payments


Focused shape models for hip joint segmentation in 3D magnetic resonance images ? We introduce a weighted shape learning approach applied to the human hip joint. Weights may be set to focus the shape representation energy to important areas. The highly weighted areas become the dominant representations within the model. Lower reconstruction errors and higher accuracy can be obtained in those areas. Validation was done on 35 3T unilateral small field of view MR scans.

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


Top-k k followee recommendation over microblogging systems by exploiting diverse information sources A novel CF approach for recommending high quality top-k k microblogging followees. Latent factor model to exploit both tweet content and social relations. The comprehensive experiments on large-scale traces and Amazon Mechanical Turk.

O O B I 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


Orientation-dependent stress build-up during the formation of epitaxial CoSi2 The epitaxial CoSi2 is formed by using a Ti interlayer with variable thickness on a (100) Si substrate (TIME: Ti interlayer mediated epitaxy). These experiments confirm previous work where for an increasing amount of Ti in between the Si substrate and the Co layer, a transition from polycrystalline CoSi2 over a preferential (220) orientation towards (400) epitaxial CoSi2 is observed. This work emphasises the impact of the volume fraction of the epitaxial (400) CoSi2 grains on the mechanical stress induced during the Si/Ti/Co silicidation. It is shown that the mechanical stress increases for increasing epitaxial (400) orientation of the CoSi2 film. The stress caused by the epitaxial CoSi2 can have a detrimental impact on the device performance.

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


Multi-view action recognition based on action volumes, fuzzy distances and cluster discriminant analysis In this paper, we present a view-independent action recognition method exploiting a low computational-cost volumetric action representation. Binary images depicting the human body during action execution are accumulated in order to produce the so-called action volumes. A novel time-invariant action representation is obtained by exploiting the circular shift invariance property of the magnitudes of the Discrete Fourier Transform coefficients. The similarity of an action volume with representative action volumes is exploited in order to map it to a lower-dimensional feature space that preserves the action class properties. Discriminant learning is, subsequently, employed for further dimensionality reduction and action class discrimination. By using such an action representation, the proposed approach performs fast action recognition. By combining action recognition results coming from different view angles, high recognition rates are obtained. The proposed method is extended to interaction recognition, i.e., to human action recognition involving two persons. The proposed approach is evaluated on a publicly available action recognition database using experimental settings simulating situations that may appear in real-life applications, as well as on a new nutrition support action recognition database.

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

action recognition
action volumes
cluster discriminant analysis


A hierarchical model for object-oriented design quality assessment This paper describes an improved hierarchical model for the assessment of high-level design quality attributes in object-oriented designs. In this model, structural and behavioral design properties of classes, objects, and their relationships are evaluated using a suite of object-oriented design metrics. This model relates design properties such as encapsulation, modularity, coupling, and cohesion to high-level quality attributes such as reusability, flexibility, and complexity using empirical and anecdotal information, The relationship, or links, from design properties to quality attributes are weighted in accordance with their influence and importance. The model is validated by using empirical and expert opinion to compare with the model results on several large commercial object-oriented systems. A key attribute of the model is that it can be easily modified to include different relationships and weights, thus providing a practical quality assessment too adaptable to a variety of demands.

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

quality model
product metrics
object-oriented metrics


Support System for Novice Researchers (SSNR): Usability Evaluation of the First Use Scholars make use of research output in the form of conference proceedings, journal and. theses as references as guideline in generating new knowledge for the use of future generations. Support in the early stage of study is crucial for novice researchers as it will give them some insights of where to seek for extra information on relevant literature, institutions, people and research trend without having to go through tedious process of identifying this information all by themselves. The result of the implementation of SSNR shows significant information that can be utilized by novice researchers in accelerating research process. Thus, this paper will discuss on the evaluation of SSNR by novice researchers, in terms of its usability. The results are promising which indicated that SSNR work as it should.

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


An automated process for compiling dataflow graphs into reconfigurable hardware We describe a system, developed as part of the Cameron project, which compiles programs written in a single-assignment subset of C called SA-C into dataflow graphs and then into VHDL, The primary application domain is image processing, The system consists of an optimizing compiler which produces dataflow graphs and a dataflow graph to VHDL translator. The method used for the translation is described here, along with some results on an application. The objective is not to produce yet another design entry tool, but rather to shift the programming paradigm from HDLs to an algorithmic level, thereby extending the realm of hardware design to the application programmer.

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

adaptive computing
configurable
reconfigurable components
reconfigurable computing
reconfigurable systems


Dialogue on Reverse-Engineering Assessment and Methods The biotechnological advances of the last decade have confronted us with an explosion of genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data. These data need to be organized and structured before they may provide a coherent biological picture. To accomplish this formidable task, the availability of an accurate map of the physical interactions in the cell that are responsible for cellular behavior and function would be exceedingly helpful, as these data are ultimately the result of such molecular interactions. However, all we have at this time is, at best, a fragmentary and only partially correct representation of the interactions between genes, their byproducts, and other cellular entities. If we want to succeed in our quest for understanding the biological whole as more than the sum of the individual parts, we need to build more comprehensive and cell-contextspecific maps of the biological interaction networks. DREAM, the Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and Methods, is fostering a concerted effort by computational and experimental biologists to understand the limitations and to enhance the strengths of the efforts to reverse engineer cellular networks from high-throughput data. In this chapterwe will discuss the salient arguments of the first DREAM conference. We will highlight both the state of the art in the field of reverse engineering as well as some of its challenges and opportunities

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


Design of a Java spatial extension for relational databases Jaspa (Java Spatial) is a novel spatial extension for relational database management systems (RDBMSs). It is the result of a research project that aims to accomplish two goals: firstly, to fill the absence in the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) world of a solid Java-based alternative to PostGIS, the leading spatial extension written in C. Secondly, to exploit the advantages of Java and the Java geospatial libraries over C in terms of portability and easiness to extend. Java programming for geospatial purposes is a flowering field and similar solutions to Jaspa have recently appeared, but none of them can equate with PostGIS due to lack of functionalities. Jaspa currently implements almost all PostGIS functionality. The next step will be the enrichment of the software with more sophisticated features: storage of spatial data in a topological structure within the RDBMS, cluster tolerance and geodetic functionalities. Jaspa is being developed at the Department of Cartographic Engineering, Geodesy and Photogrammetry of the Universidad Politcnica de Valencia and it has been published under an Open Source license on the OSOR.eu repository. This paper has been written by its creators with the aim of introducing users to its main capabilities.

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


Modelling and estimating heterogeneous variances in threshold models for ordinal discrete data via Winbugs/Openbugs Analysis of discrete repeated outcomes is an important issue in biomedical studies. The aim of this paper is to propose a flexible and parsimonious model to account for heterogeneous variances for discrete outcomes. The proposed method is based on the use of a linear mixed model on the log of the standard deviation parameters. It is also shown how parameter estimation in this model can be performed with an exact procedure based on a Gibbs sampling algorithm implemented with the Winbugs/Openbugs software. A model comparison study is presented to illustrate the efficiency of this procedure using a well known example from the clinical trial literature. It was found that the proposed methodology considerably improved the predictive ability of the model while remaining very parsimonious. In particular, it was found that adding a random subject effect in the variance model significantly improved the posterior predictive p-value criterion of the model.

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

ordered categorical data
mixed models
heteroscedasticity
glmm
winbugs
openbugs