Recovery escalation with load balancing and backup resources sharing in survivable WDM optical networks In this paper, we propose a new survivable algorithm, called Enhanced Shared-Path Protection (ESPP), to tolerate multi-link failures in WDM optical networks. In ESPP, we consider the load balancing method to reduce the blocking probability for computing the primary paths, and we also use the idea of backup resources sharing to save backup resources for computing the backup paths. In order to tolerate multi-link failures, we perform the recovery escalation mechanism to establish new routes for carrying the traffic affected by the failures. Simulation results show that, compared with the conventional algorithm, ESPP has better resource utilization ratio, lower blocking probability, and higher protection ability.

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

wdm networks
multi-link failures
shared protection


local analysis of atomicity sphere for b2b collaboration Atomicity is a desirable property for business processes to conduct transactions in Business-to-Business (B2B) collaboration. Although it is possible to reason about atomicity of B2B collaboration using the public views, yet such reasoning requires the presence of a trustworthy party who has complete knowledge of these views. It is inapplicable when some parties may want to keep the confidentiality of their collaborative partners for privacy and other business reasons, or the trustworthy party is not available. To address this problem, we propose a novel approach that allows each party to jointly conduct local atomicity checking with its direct partners. It is based on iterative forwarding and regression of compensability properties between each pair of direct partners. This approach is applied to a case study based on a real-life insurance process in the motor damage claims domain.

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


minimizing cost of local variables access for dsp-processors Recent work on compilation for DSP-processors deals with optimizing access to local variables of functions. The common way is to use one or more address registers as pointers into the functions stack frame and modify it with post modify addressing modes (which are sometimes the only addressing modes). Additionally to previous work we present an algorithm which assigns frame pointer values over a whole procedure. Our algorithm also deals with basic blocks, which have no accesses to local variables. The algorithm works with a new data structure, the control flow line graph, which is derived from the control flow graph. In our experiments, the algorithm showed improvements to similar algorithms.

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

control flow graph
use
values
addressing
graph
compilation
control flow
access
algorithm
pointers
cost

processor
variability
optimality
data structures
experience
locality


A simple distributed garbage collector for distributed real-time Java The use of real-time distribution middleware programmed with high-level languages like Java is becoming of increasing interest in next generation applications. Technology like Javas Remote Method Invocation (RMI) paves the way towards these new distributed horizons. RMI offers many high-level abstractions useful for distributed application programmers to reduce their development times. One of these abstractions is a distributed garbage collector (DGC) that removes unreachable remote objects from the distributed ecosystem. However, in real-time Java, distributed garbage collection is underspecified and it introduces unbounded indeterminism on end-to-end real-time Java communications. This article analyzes this problem proposing a simple characterization for a predictable real-time distributed garbage collector (RT-DGC). The approach requires support from the middleware infrastructure that implements the abstraction but it also introduces bounded overhead. The article provides insight on the performance that RT-DGC offers to a distributed real-time Java application and the extra overheads due to the intrinsic cost of this abstraction.

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

java
distributed garbage collection
middleware


achieving range-free localization beyond connectivity Wireless sensor networks have been proposed for many location-dependent applications. In such applications, the requirement of low system cost prohibits many range-based methods for sensor node localization; on the other hand, range-free localization depending only on connectivity may underutilize the proximity information embedded in neighborhood sensing. In response to the above limitations, this paper presents a range-free approach to capturing a relative distance between 1-hop neighboring nodes from their neighborhood orderings that serve as unique high-dimensional location signatures for nodes in the network. With little overhead, the proposed design can be conveniently applied as a transparent supporting layer for many state-of-the-art connectivity-based localization solutions to achieve better positioning accuracy. We implemented our design with three well-known localization algorithms and tested it in two types of outdoor test-bed experiments: an 850-foot-long linear network with 54 MICAz motes, and a regular 2D network covering an area of 10000 square feet with 49 motes. Results show that our design helps eliminate estimation ambiguity with sub-hop resolution, and reduces localization errors by as much as 35\%. In addition, extensive simulations reveal an interesting feature of robustness for our design under unevenly distributed radio propagation path loss, and confirm its effectiveness for large-scale networks.

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


A graph coloring model for a feasibility problem in monthly crew scheduling with preferential bidding We consider a monthly crew scheduling problem with preferential bidding in the airline industry. We propose a new methodology based on a graph coloring model and a tabu search algorithm for determining if the problem contains at least one feasible solution. We then show how to combine the proposed approach with a heuristic sequential scheduling method that uses column generation and branch-and-bound techniques.

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

graph coloring
crew scheduling
preferential bidding
tabu search


High-accuracy 3-D modeling of cultural heritage: The digitizing of Donatello's "Maddalena" Three-dimensional digital modeling of Heritage works of art through optical scanners, has been demonstrated in recent years with results of exceptional interest. However, the routine application of three-dimensional (3-D) modeling to Heritage conservation still requires the systematic investigation of a number of technical problems. In this paper, the acquisition process of the 3-D digital model of the Maddalena by Donatello, a wooden statue representing one of the major masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance which was swept away by the Florence flood of 1966 and successively restored, is described. The paper reports all the steps of the acquisition procedure, from the project planning to the solution of the various problems due to range camera calibration and to material non optically cooperative. Since the scientific focus is centered on the 3-D model overall dimensional accuracy, a methodology for its quality control is described. Such control has demonstrated how, in some situations, the ICP-based alignment can lead to incorrect results. To circumvent this difficulty we propose an alignment technique based on the fusion of ICP with close-range digital photogrammetry and a noninvasive procedure in order to generate a final accurate model. In the end detailed results are presented, demonstrating the improvement of the final model, and how the proposed sensor fusion ensure a pre-specified level of accuracy.

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

measurement errors
modeling accuracy
optical distance measurement
three-dimensional (3-d) modeling


a constant-factor approximation algorithm for tsp with pairwise-disjoint connected neighborhoods in the plane In the Euclidean TSP with neighborhoods (TSPN) problem we seek. shortest tour that visits a given set of n neighborhoods . The Euclidean TSPN generalizes the standard TSP on points. We present the first constant-factor approximation algorithm for planar TSPN with pairwise-disjoint connected neighborhoods of any size or shape. Prior approximation bounds were O (log n ), except in special cases.

O O B I 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 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


KNOWLEDGE TRACING - MODELING THE ACQUISITION OF PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE This paper describes an effort to model students' changing knowledge state during skill acquisition. Students in this research are learning to write short programs with the ACT Programming Tutor (APT). APT is constructed around a production rule cognitive model of programming knowledge, called the ideal student model. This model allows the tutor to solve exercises along with the student and provide assistance as necessary. As the student works, the tutor also maintains an estimate of the probability that the student has learned each of the rules in the ideal model, in a process called knowledge tracing. The tutor presents an individualized sequence of exercises to the student based on these probability estimates until the student has 'mastered' each rule. The programming tutor, cognitive model and learning and performance assumptions are described. A series of studies is reviewed that examine the empirical validity of knowledge tracing and has led to modifications in the process. Currently the model is quite successful in predicting test performance. Further modifications in the modeling process are discussed that may improve performance levels.

O O O O 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 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O 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
empirical validity
procedural knowledge

student modeling
intelligent tutoring systems
mastery learning
individual differences


Patterns and long range correlations in idealized granular flows An initially homogeneous freely evolving fluid of inelastic hard spheres develops inhomogeneities in the dow field u(r, t) (vortices) and in the density held n(r, t) (clusters), driven by unstable fluctuations, delta a = {delta n, delta u}. Their spatial correlations, (delta a(r, t)delta a(r', t)], as measured in molecular dynamics simulations, exhibit long range correlations; the mean vortex diameter grows as xi(t) proportional to root ln t; there occur transitions to macroscopic shearing states, etc. The Cahn-Hilliard theory of spinodal decomposition offers a qualitative understanding and quantitative estimates of the observed phenomena. When intrinsic length scales are of the order of the system size, effects of physical boundaries and periodic boundaries (finite size effects in simulations) are important.

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 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


Application of a hybrid quantized Elman neural network in short-term load forecasting A hybrid quantized Elman neural network with quantized training is proposed for STLF. The GA algorithm is used to optimize the structures of the proposed neural model. The comparisons for STLF are carried out among the ENN, MFNN and our neural models.

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

short-term load forecasting
quantized learning algorithm


Optimal Configuration for Multiversion Real-Time Systems Using Slack Based Schedulability In an embedded control system control performances of each job depend on its latency and a control algorithm implemented in it In order to adapt a job set to optimize control performances subject to schedulability we design several types of control software for each job which will be called versions and select one version from them when the job is released A real time system where each job has several versions is called a multiversion real time system A benefit and a CPU utilization of a job depend on the versions So it is an important problem to select a version of each job so as to maximize the total benefit of the system subject to a schedulability condition Such a problem will be called an optimal configuration problem In this paper we assume that each version is specified by the relative deadline the execution time and the benefit We show that the optimal configuration problem is transformed to a maximum path length problem We propose an optimal algorithm based on the forward dynamic programming Moreover we propose sub optimal algorithms to reduce computation times The efficiencies of the proposed algorithms are illustrated by simulations

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

real time systems
edf scheduling
multiversion task model optimization


A QSAR study of the antiallergic activities of substituted benzamides and their structures Multiple regression analysis (MRA) and comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) have been used in studies of the correlation between the antiallergic activities of substituted benzamides and their structures. The results achieved using Coh IFA based on 3D factors are much better than those obtained using MRA based on mainly 2D structural information. The CoMFA results reveal that the steric effects are more important than the electrostatic effects for the activities of substituted benzamides. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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

comparative molecular field analysis
multiple regression analysis
substituted benzamides


generic similarity search engine demonstrated by an image retrieval application We introduce a generic engine for large-scale similarity search and demonstrate it on a set of 100 million Flickr images.

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

content-based search
metric space
scalability


AUTOMORPHISMS OF THE ALGEBRA OF FUZZY TRUTH VALUES II This paper continues an earlier investigation of automorphisms of the algebra of truth values of type-2 fuzzy sets. Several significant problems left unresolved are settled, the most basic being that the automorphism group of the algebra of fuzzy truth values is isom orphic in a natural way to the product of two copies of the automorphism group of the unit interval. This theorem has several corollaries concerning characteristic subalgebras.

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

automorphism
algebra of truth values
fuzzy truth values

characteristic subalgebra
type-2 fuzzy set
interval-valued fuzzy set


Security Primitives for Reconfigurable Hardware-Based Systems Computing systems designed using reconfigurable hardware are increasingly composed using a number of different Intellectual Property (IP) cores, which are often provided by third-party vendors that may have different levels of trust. Unlike traditional software where hardware resources are mediated using an operating system, IP cores have fine-grain control over the underlying reconfigurable hardware. To address this problem, the embedded systems community requires novel security primitives that address the realities of modern reconfigurable hardware. In this work, we propose security primitives using ideas centered around the notion of "moats and drawbridges." The primitives encompass four design properties: logical isolation, interconnect traceability, secure reconfigurable broadcast, and configuration scrubbing. Each of these is a fundamental operation with easily understood formal properties, yet they map cleanly and efficiently to a wide variety of reconfigurable devices. We carefully quantify the required overheads of the security techniques on modern FPGA architectures across a number of different applications.

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

field programmable gate arrays (fpgas)
advanced encryption standard (aes)
memory protection
separation
controlled sharing
hardware security
reference monitors
execution monitors
enforcement mechanisms
security policies
static analysis
security primitives
systems-on-a-chip (socs)


Massively parallel chemical potential calculation on graphics processing units One- and two-stage free energy methods are common approaches for calculating the chemical potential from a molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo molecular simulation trajectory. Although these methods require significant amounts of CPU time spent on post-simulation analysis, this analysis step is well-suited for parallel execution. In this work, we implement this analysis step on graphics processing units (GPUs), an architecture that is optimized for massively parallel computation. A key issue in porting these free energy methods to GPUs is the trade-off between software efficiency and sampling efficiency. In particular, fixed performance costs in the software favor a higher number of insertion moves per configuration. However, higher numbers of moves lead to lower sampling efficiency. We explore this issue in detail, and find that for a dense, strongly interacting system of small molecules like liquid water, the optimal number of insertions per configuration can be as high as 105 10 5 for a two-stage approach like Bennetts method. We also find that our GPU implementation accelerates chemical potential calculations by as much as 60-fold when compared to an efficient, widely available CPU code running on a single CPU core.

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


Normalization and feasibility of speech understanding tests for Dutch speaking toddlers As a result of newborn hearing screening programs, hearing impairment is often identified early in life and proper intervention (hearing aids, cochlear implant) will enable children to develop expressive and receptive skills as young as possible. The goals of this study are to obtain normative data on speech tests that are suitable for evaluation of young hearing-impaired Dutch speaking children in Flanders and the Netherlands and to determine the youngest age at which these tests are feasible. Normative data are obtained with 143 normal-hearing children with normal cognitive and language development for the Gttinger I (34years) and Gttinger II (56years). It is shown that one performance intensity curve can describe both tests. Moreover, a subsequent study with 35 normal-hearing children showed that the Gttinger I can also be administered to children with normal cognitive and language development younger than three years of age. In addition, the feasibility of two analytical tests was examined. These tests were designed to obtain information on the transmission of spectral and temporal speech cues by the hearing aid or cochlear implant in children as young as 2 1 2 years of age.

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 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 B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 unilateral (Delta, D*)-problem Large digraphs of a specified maximum degree and unilateral diameter are given for small values of these parameters. The constructions are based on different techniques such as voltage digraphs, digraph products, join of cycles, and vertex duplication. Finally, a table with the results is given. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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

dense digraphs
moore bound
large constructions


"Non-identity-check" is QMA-complete We describe a computational problem that is complete for the complexity class QMA, a quantum generalization of NP. It arises as a natural question in quantum computing and quantum physics. "Non-identity-check" is the following decision problem: Given a classical description of a quantum circuit (a sequence of elementary gates), determine whether it is almost equivalent to the identity. Explicitly, the task is to decide whether the corresponding unitary is close to a complex multiple of the identity matrix with respect to the operator norm. We show that this problem is QMA-complete. A generalization of this problem is "non-equivalence check": given two descriptions of quantum circuits and a description of a common invariant subspace, decide whether the restrictions of the circuits to this subspace almost coincide. We show that non-equivalence check is also in QMA and hence QMA-complete.

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


GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation to land suitability modelling for giant prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) farming in Companigonj Upazila of Noakhali, Bangladesh Site selection is a key factor in any aquaculture operation, affecting both success and sustainability as well as solving conflicts between different activities and making rational use of the land. The study was conducted to identify appropriate site for the farming of giant prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, in Companigonj of Noakhali, Bangladesh using GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation taking 20 base layers of water quality, soil characteristics and infrastructure facilities. ASTER image and thematic layers were analyzed using ENVI and ArcView capabilities to develop a series of GIS models and prioritize the most suitable areas for prawn farming. The model output clearly indicates the location and extent of prawn farming area in different suitability scales, i.e., most suitable 11,999ha (52%), moderately suitable 10,219ha (45%) and not suitable 781ha (3%) which was consistent with field verification data. The compactness of vast flood-free derelict lands with suitable water and soil quality as well as infrastructure facilities would be an appropriate option for prawn farming to diversify the economic activities of local communities.

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

analytical hierarchy process
aquaculture planning
freshwater prawn farming


Mutual Distance Bounding Protocols A distance bounding protocol enables one entity to determine an upper bound on the physical distance to the other entity as well as to authenticate the other entity. It has been actively researched during the recent years as distance-based attacks like Mafia fraud attacks become a threat in wireless environment, especially in RFID systems. Almost all distance bounding protocols deal with unilateral authentication as they consider authentication of a passive RFID tag to a reader. Recently, a distance bounding protocol providing mutual authentication has been proposed by Yum et al. asserting that it provides a lower false acceptance rate under Mafia fraud attack. However, we show in two ways that their security margins have been overestimated. First, we show that their analysis is not correct. Second, we introduce a new attack that achieves a higher false acceptance rate. Furthermore, we introduce a method that can modify existing distance bounding protocols with unilateral authentication to ones providing mutual authentication.

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

rfid
authentication
distance bounding protocol


Automated geometric correction of multispectral images from High Resolution CCD Camera (HRCC) on-board CBERS-2 and CBERS-2B ChinaBrazil Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS) imagery is identified as one of the potential data sources for monitoring Earth surface dynamics in the event of a Landsat data gap. Currently available multispectral images from the High Resolution CCD (Charge Coupled Device) Camera (HRCC) on-board CBERS satellites (CBERS-2 and CBERS-2B) are not precisely geo-referenced and orthorectified. The geometric accuracy of the HRCC multispectral image product is found to be within 211km. The use of CBERS-HRCC multispectral images to monitor Earth surface dynamics therefore necessitates accurate geometric correction of these images. This paper presents an automated method for geo-referencing and orthorectifying the multispectral images from the HRCC imager on-board CBERS satellites. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) Level 1T (L1T) imagery provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is employed as reference for geometric correction. The proposed method introduces geometric distortions in the reference image prior to registering it with the CBERS-HRCC image. The performance of the geometric correction method was quantitatively evaluated using a total of 100images acquired over the Andes Mountains and the Amazon rainforest, two areas in South America representing vastly different landscapes. The geometrically corrected HRCC images have an average geometric accuracy of 17.04m (CBERS-2) and 16.34m (CBERS-2B). While the applicability of the method for attaining sub-pixel geometric accuracy is demonstrated here using selected images, it has potential for accurate geometric correction of the entire archive of CBERS-HRCC multispectral images.

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

orthorectification
geo-referencing
image registration
multi-temporal change


receipt management- transaction history based trust establishment In a history-based trust-management system, users and service providers use information about past transactions to make trust-based decisions concerningcurrent transactions. One category of such systems is represented by the reputation systems. However, despite the growing body of experience in building reputation systems, there are several limitations on how they are typically implemented. They often rely on scores that are evaluated by service providers and are often not reliable or well understood. We believe that reputation hasto be based on objective and reliable information. In such context, transaction histories play an important role. In this paper, we present the VeryIDX systemthat implements an electronic receipt infrastructure and supports protocols to build and manage online transaction history of users. The receipt protocols are shown to have several essential security and privacy properties. We present a basic yet reasonably expressive language which provides service providers with a new way to establish trust based on users' transaction history. We alsodescribe the architecture and prototype implementation of VeryIDX, based on several important design considerations of a real-world e-commerce system infrastructure.

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


Selection of discriminant wavelength intervals in NIR spectrometry with genetic algorithms Spectra, obtained in visible and near infrared spectral regions, contain much information whose interest depends on the context. For instance, in a discrimination context, the only information of interest is the one, concerning the differences between groups. This is our problem and we want to determine zones in the spectra (intervals), allowing a good discrimination between groups defined in advance. In that goal, genetic algorithms (GAs) will be used as a method of feature (wavelengths) selection. The Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (or Factorial Discriminant Analysis denoted FDA) will be applied on the selected variables. The efficiency of the method is shown on the discrimination of tobacco products. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

near infrared spectrometry
feature selection


Strength and deformation of arbitrary beam sections using adaptive FEM Still today, structural design is often based on simplified hand-calculation formulas for special cases, which is tedious to apply and do not cover more general situations. To improve the situation, the paper presents a FE-program for analysis of strength and deformation of arbitrary beam cross sections of steel and concrete loaded by all six force and moment components. The program is based on (1) an enhanced beam theory with three-dimensional state of stress, (2) multi-surface elasto-plasticity for modeling of the materials and (3) efficient numerical algorithms (mesh adaptive FEM, arc-length method, etc.). The paper presents the theory behind the program and some initial numerical testing to show how the program works. The initial numerical testing on steel and reinforced concrete beam sections loaded in bending, shear and torsion show promising results.

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

fem
adaptive
beam
reinforced concrete
steel
bending
shear
torsion


The probability theories for IVFSs and IVIFSs Since the concept of IFS-probability was proposed, the probability theory for IF-events has been constructed. In this paper the concepts of IVFS-probability and IVIFS-probability are proposed for the first time. And the representation theorem for IVFS-probability is given. Furthermore, the relationships between IFS-probability, IVFS-probability and IVIFS-probability are discussed.

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


Challenges for the multilingual Web of Data The Web has witnessed an enormous growth in the amount of semantic information published in recent years. This growth has been stimulated to a large extent by the emergence of Linked Data. Although this brings us a big step closer to the vision of a Semantic Web, it also raises new issues such as the need for dealing with information expressed in different natural languages. Indeed, although the Web of Data can contain any kind of information in any language, it still lacks explicit mechanisms to automatically reconcile such information when it is expressed in different languages. This leads to situations in which data expressed in a certain language is not easily accessible to speakers of other languages. The Web of Data shows the potential for being extended to a truly multilingual web as vocabularies and data can be published in a language-independent fashion, while associated language-dependent (linguistic) information supporting the access across languages can be stored separately. In this sense, the multilingual Web of Data can be realized in our view as a layer of services and resources on top of the existing Linked Data infrastructure adding (i) linguistic information for data and vocabularies in different languages, (ii) mappings between data with labels in different languages, and (iii) services to dynamically access and traverse Linked Data across different languages. In this article, we present this vision of a multilingual Web of Data. We discuss challenges that need to be addressed to make this vision come true and discuss the role that techniques such as ontology localization, ontology mapping, and cross-lingual ontology-based information access and presentation will play in achieving this. Further, we propose an initial architecture and describe a roadmap that can provide a basis for the implementation of this vision.

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


Chebyshev polynomial solutions of systems of higher-order linear FredholmVolterra integro-differential equations A Chebyshev collocation method, an expansion method, has been proposed in order to solve the systems of higher-order linear integro-differential equations. This method transforms the IDE system and the given conditions into the matrix equations via Chebyshev collocation points. By merging these results, a new system which corresponds to a system of linear algebraic equations is obtained. The solution of this system yields the Chebyshev coefficients of the solution function. Some numerical results are also given to illustrate the efficiency of the method. Moreover, this method is valid for the systems of differential and integral equations.

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

system of integro-differential equations


Optimal operation policy for total reflux and multi-effect batch distillation systems The optimal operation policy which minimizes energy consumption is derived for a total-reflux-type batch distillation system and for a new type of separation system called 'multi-effect batch distillation system (MEBAD)'. The results of optimizations for the binary system show that the separation performance of the total reflux column is increased remarkably by optimizing the reboiler hold-up as a function of time, and that the performance is the same or even better than that of the rectifying column if the hold-up is optimized. The MEBAD can be regarded as a heat-integrated batch distillation system. Thus, for ternary systems the separation performance of the MEBAD is better than the conventional batch distillation column even if the hold-up of each vessel is kept constant during the entire operation period. Furthermore, the simulation results indicate that by optimizing the hold-up of each vessel as a function of time the separation performance of the MEBAD can be improved to the level of a continuous distillation system. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

batch distillation
optimal operation
separation

energy conservation
heat integration
successive quadratic programming


Expert system of a crude oil distillation unit for process optimization using neural networks An expert system of crude oil distillation unit (CDU) was developed to carry out the process optimization on maximizing oil production rate under the required oil product qualities. The expert system was established using the expertise of a practical CDU operating system provided by a group of experienced engineers. The input operating variables of the CDU system were properties of crude oil and manipulated variables; while the system output variables were defined as oil product qualities. The knowledge database of the CDU operating model can be built using the inputoutput data with an approach of artificial neural networks (ANN). The built ANN model can be applied on predicting the oil product qualities with respect to the system input variables. In addition, a design of experiment was implemented to analyze the effect of the system input variables on the oil product qualities. Optimal operating conditions were then found using the knowledge database with an optimization method according to a defined objective function. The built expert system can provide on-line optimal operating information of the CDU process to the operators corresponding to the change of crude oil properties.

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

expert system
artificial neural networks
crude oil distillation
process optimization
design of experiment


in requirements engineering, everything is an aspect This keynote is intended to provoke a discussion on crosscutting in early stages of software development. Both proponents and opponents of Early Aspects are invited to attend. The speaker works in requirements engineering (RE) and is not directly involved with work on Early Aspects. Nevertheless, RE is certainly early. The speaker believes that in RE, one never sees any cross-cutting concerns, but there are plenty of concerns there and these are all requirements. The speaker is of the view that, in the early stages, requirements are not well enough structured, and that, any concern can be identified as crosscutting as opposed to not crosscutting. Consequently, it is hard to define which concerns are crosscutting and which are not. Everything is just a concern. Nevertheless, there will certainly be crosscutting concerns later when the required system is built.

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

requirements engineering
crosscutting concerns


Reliable Critical Infrastructure: Multiple Failures for Multicast using Multi-Objective Approach Multicast is the keystone for multimedia Internet. Multicast is one of the new and most used services in telecommunication networks. However, these networks meet big challenges when facing failures from diverse factors, including natural disasters and bad configurations. Networks operators need to establish mechanisms to maintain available multicast services, and plan actions to handle incidents. We study and implement an elitist evolutionary algorithm based on Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm - SPEA. Our implementation recalculates network routes, even when there are multiple failures. The results indicate that our product finds lower-cost and higher-availability multicast tree to protect multicast services.

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

resilience
protection
survivability networks
multi-objective evolutionary algorithm


A decision-support system for forest density management within upland black spruce stand-types The objective of this study was to develop an enhanced modular-based structural stand density management model (SSDMM) and associated algorithmic analogue for upland black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) BSP.) stand-types situated within the central portion of the Canadian Boreal Forest Region. For a given density management regime, site quality, rotation age, stock-type, cost structure and set of merchantability standards, the hierarchical-based SSDMM enabled estimation of the following metrics: overall productivity (e.g., mean annual volume, biomass and carbon increments), volumetric yields (e.g., total and merchantable volumes per unit area), log-product distributions (e.g., number of pulp and saw logs by diameter class), biomass production and carbon sequestration outcomes (e.g., oven-dried masses of above-ground components and associated carbon equivalents by diameter class), recoverable end-products and associated monetary values (e.g., volume and economic value of recovered chip and dimensional lumber products by diameter class and sawmill-type (stud and randomized length processing protocols)), and fibre quality attributes (e.g., maximum branch diameter and wood density). The core modules which were responsible for describing stand dynamics and structural change were developed using 407 (122 from natural stands and 285 from managed stands) temporal tree-list measurements obtained from 269 (142 in natural stands and managed 127 in managed stands) sample plots (note, natural stands are those that naturally regenerated following a stand-replacing disturbance and have no history of density regulation whereas managed stands are those that naturally or artificially regenerated following a stand-replacing disturbance and have a history of density regulation). The modules responsible for predicting log product distributions, and end-product volumes and values, were developed employing relationships derived from taper and sawmill simulation studies. The modules responsible for predicting biomass and carbon outcomes, and log and fibre quality attributes, were developed using data obtained from initial espacement and thinning experiments. The resultant model introduces a number of advancements over its predecessors including those that (1) ensured mathematical compatibility among yield estimates, (2)accounted for intrinsic density-independent mortality factors, response delay following thinning, and genetic worth effects, and (3) provided increased flexibility in terms of enabling end-users to change merchantability standards, specify product degrade factors, and adjust cost profiles, according to their unique requirements. As demonstrated, the decision-support model can assist in facilitating the transformative shift towards the production of high value end-products, bio-energy feed stocks, carbon credits, and ecosystem services, currently underway within the Canadian forest sector.

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

density management
mathematical compatibility
response delay
genetic worth
product degrade
volumetric yields

operational adjustment factor
recoverable end-products
economic efficiency


Exploiting user interests to characterize navigational patterns in web browsing assistance In order to be capable of exploiting context for pro-active information recommendation, agents need to extract and understand user activities based on their knowledge of the user interests. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for context-aware recommendation in browsing assistants based on the integration of user profiles, navigational patterns and contextual elements. In this approach, user profiles built using an unsupervised Web page clustering algorithm are used to characterize user ongoing activities and behavior patterns. Experimental evidence show that using longer-term interests to explain active browsing goals user assistance is effectively enhanced.

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


Multi-attribute decision making for green electrical discharge machining This paper aims to develop a combination of Taguchi and fuzzy TOPSIS methods to solve multi-response parameter optimization problems in green manufacturing. Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), a commonly used non-traditional manufacturing process was considered in this study. A decision making model for the selection of process parameters in order to achieve green EDM was developed. An experimental investigation was carried out based on Taguchi L9 orthogonal array to analyze the sensitivity of green manufacturing attributes to the variations in process parameters such as peak current, pulse duration, dielectric level and flushing pressure. Weighing factors for the output responses were determined using triangular fuzzy numbers and the most desirable factor level combinations were selected based on TOPSIS technique. The model developed in this study can be used as a systematic framework for parameter optimization in environmentally conscious manufacturing processes.

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


GeoPDEs: A research tool for Isogeometric Analysis of PDEs GeoPDEs (http://geopdes.sourceforge.net) is a suite of free software tools for applications on Isogeometric Analysis (IGA). Its main focus is on providing a common framework for the implementation of the many IGA methods for the discretization of partial differential equations currently studied, mainly based on B-Splines and Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS), while being flexible enough to allow users to implement new and more general methods with a relatively small effort. This paper presents the philosophy at the basis of the design of GeoPDEs and its relation to a quite comprehensive, abstract definition of IGA.

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 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

finite element method
b-splines
matlab
octave


Learning via human feedback in continuous state and action spaces This paper considers the problem of extending Training an Agent Manually via Evaluative Reinforcement (TAMER) in continuous state and action spaces. Investigative research using the TAMER framework enables a non-technical human to train an agent through a natural form of human feedback (negative or positive). The advantages of TAMER have been shown on tasks of training agents by only human feedback or combining human feedback with environment rewards. However, these methods are originally designed for discrete state-action, or continuous state-discrete action problems. This paper proposes an extension of TAMER to allow both continuous states and actions, called ACTAMER. The new framework utilizes any general function approximation of a human trainers feedback signal. Moreover, a combined capability of ACTAMER and reinforcement learning is also investigated and evaluated. The combination of human feedback and reinforcement learning is studied in both settings: sequential and simultaneous. Our experimental results demonstrate the proposed method successfully allowing a human to train an agent in two continuous state-action domains: Mountain Car and Cart-pole (balancing).

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

reinforcement learning
continuous states

human-agent interaction
interactive learning
human teachers
reward shaping
continuous actions


Learning a factor model via regularized PCA We consider the problem of learning a linear factor model. We propose a regularized form of principal component analysis (PCA) and demonstrate through experiments with synthetic and real data the superiority of resulting estimates to those produced by pre-existing factor analysis approaches. We also establish theoretical results that explain how our algorithm corrects the biases induced by conventional approaches. An important feature of our algorithm is that its computational requirements are similar to those of PCA, which enjoys wide use in large part due to its efficiency.

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

principal component analysis
factor model

high-dimensional data
covariance matrix estimation
regularization


Communication-based prevention of useless checkpoints in distributed computations A useless checkpoint is a local checkpoint that cannot be part of a consistent global checkpoint. This paper addresses the following problem. Given a set of processes that take (basic) local checkpoints in an independent and unknown way, the problem is to design communication-induced checkpointing protocols that direct processes to take additional local (forced) checkpoints to ensure no local checkpoint is useless. The paper first proves two properties related to integer timestamps which are associated with each local checkpoint. The first property is a necessary and sufficient condition that these timestamps must satisfy for no checkpoint to be useless. The second property provides an easy timestamp-based determination of consistent global checkpoints. Then, a general communication-induced checkpointing protocol is proposed. This protocol, derived from the two previous properties, actually defines a family of timestamp-based communication-induced checkpointing protocols. It is shown that several existing checkpointing protocols for the same problem are particular instances of the general protocol. The design of this general protocol is motivated by the use of communication-induced checkpointing protocols in "consistent global checkpoint"-based distributed applications such as the detection of stable or unstable properties and the determination of distributed breakpoints.

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

asynchronous distributed system
fault-tolerance


Automated CT image evaluation of the lung: A morphology-based concept Computed tomography (CT) provides the most reliable method to detect emphysema in vivo. Commonly used methods only calculate the area of low attenuation [pixel index (PI)], while a radiologist considers the bullous morphology of emphysema, The PI is a good, well-known measure of emphysema, But it is not able to detect emphysema in cases in which emphysema and fibrosis occur at the same time. This is because fibrosis leads to a low number of low-attenuation pixels, while emphysema leads to a high number of pixels. The PI takes the average of both and, consequently, may present a result within the normal range. Method: The main focus of this paper is to present a new algorithm of thoracic CT image evaluation based on pulmonary morphology of emphysema, The PI is extended, in that it is enabled to differentiate between small, medium, and large bullae (continuous low-attenuation areas), It is not a texture-based algorithm, The bullae are sorted by size into four size classes: class 1 being within the typical size of lung parenchyma; classes 2-4 presenting small, medium, and large bullae, It is calculated how much area the different classes take up of all low-attenuation pixels. The bullae index (BI) is derived from the percentage of areas covered, respectively, by small, medium, and large bullae. From the relation of the area of bullae belonging to class 4, to that of those belonging to class 2, a measure of the emphysema type (ET) is calculated. It classifies the lung by the type of emphysema in bullous emphysema or small-sized, diffuse emphysema, respectively. Results: The BI is as reliable as the PI. In cases in which the PI indicates normal values while in fact emphysema is coexisting with fibrosis, the BI, nevertheless, detects the destruction caused by the emphysema, The BI combined with the ET reflects the visual assessment of the radiological expert. Conclusion: The BI is an objective and reliable index in order to quantify emphysematous destruction, hence, avoiding interobserver variance. This is particularly interesting for follow-up. The classification of the ET is a helpful and unique approach to achieving an exact diagnosis of emphysema.

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

algorithm
emphysema
image evaluation
morphology

classification by size and type
densitometry
lung ct


A framework for the evaluation of session reconstruction heuristics in web-usage analysis Web-usage mining has become the subject of intensive research, as its potential for personalized services, adaptive Web sites and customer profiling is recognized. However, the reliability of Web-usage mining results depends heavily on the proper preparation of the input datasets. In particular, errors in the reconstruction of sessions and incomplete tracing of users' activities in a site can easily result in invalid patterns and wrong conclusions. In this study, we evaluate the performance of heuristics employed to reconstruct sessions from the server log data. Such heuristics are called to partition activities first by user and then by visit of the user in the site, where user identification mechanisms, such as cookies, may or may not be available. We propose a set of performance measures that are sensitive to two types of reconstruction errors and appropriate for different applications in knowledge discovery (KDD) applications. We have tested our framework on the Web server data of a frame-based Web site. The first experiment concerned a specific KDD application and has shown the sensitivity of the heuristics to particularities of the site's structure and traffic. The second experiment is not bound to a specific application but rather compares the performance of the heuristics for different measures and thus for different application types. Our results show that there is no single best heuristic, but our measures help the analyst in the selection of the heuristic best suited for the application at hand.

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

web-usage mining
data preparation
reconstruction of web server sessions


cross-system resource allocation based on random matrix theory This paper investigates the situation where a (large) group of terminals can be connected simultaneously to several base stations using distinct wireless technologies. We introduce and solve the problem of optimally sharing the mobile transmit power between different systems. Key results from asymptotic random matrix theory (when the number of users and the dimensions of different systems increase) allow us to derive the best power allocation scheme in the sense of the sum-capacity of the overall system, for which the uplink is equivalent to a parallel fading multiple access channel. Moreover, we provide an iterative algorithm to solve the power allocation algorithm. Simulations for a finite number of users validate the asymptotic claims.

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

multiple access channel
power allocation
random matrix theory

information theory
cross system optimization
iterative water-filling
heterogeneous networks


Bayesian R-estimates in two-sample location models Implementation of nonparametric rank-based procedures in the Bayesian context is discussed primarily for the two-sample location models. The information in the data is summarized via the (possibly asymptotic) distribution of some rank-based quantity, which is used as a pseudo-likelihood. The complete posterior distribution (or the posterior distribution up to a normalizing constant) of the parameter of interest given the rank-based quantity can be obtained by assuming a prior distribution for the parameter. Statistical inference then proceeds based on this posterior distribution. Posterior estimation and testing are considered, along with a discussion of a normal approximation to the posterior distribution.

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

robust estimate
bayesian analysis
rank estimate
two-sample location model


Generalized Bose-Lin codes, a class of codes detecting asymmetric errors Bose and Lin introduced a class of systematic codes for detection of binary asymmetric errors. In this note, we describe a generalization to q-ary asymmetric error detecting codes. For these codes, the possible undetectable errors are characterized and the undetectable errors of minimum weight are determined.

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

asymmetric channel
bose-lin codes
error detection


Time-accurate calculation of variable density flows with strong temperature gradients and combustion A time-accurate algorithm is proposed for low Mach number, variable density flows with or without chemical reactions. The algorithm is based on a predictorcorrector time integration scheme that employs a projection method for the momentum equation. A constant-coefficient Poisson equation is solved for the pressure following both the predictor and corrector steps to fully satisfy the continuity equation at each time step. Spatial discretization is performed on a collocated grid system that offers computational simplicity and straightforward extension to curvilinear coordinate systems. To avoid the pressure oddeven decoupling that is typically encountered in such grids, a flux interpolation technique is introduced for the equations governing variable density flows. An important characteristic of the proposed algorithm is that it can be applied to flows in both open and closed domains. Its robustness and accuracy are illustrated with a series of numerical experiments. In particular, we present simulations of non-isothermal, turbulent channel flow as well as simulations of a premixed flamevortex interaction.

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

variable density flows
poisson equation
collocated grid

reacting flows
low mach number approximation
large-eddy simulation


a graph transform model for configuration management environments A model for software configuration management that subsumes several existing systems is described. It is patterned after compiler models in which programs are transformed by multiple phases ending in an executable program. We model configuration management as transforming a high-level specification of a software product to be produced into a complete specification capable of being executed to construct the product. This transformational approach is used to model four existing systems and to compare and contrast their operation.

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

software configuration management
program
product
software
graph
systems
model
environments
configuration management


directed dialogue protocols: verbal data for user interface design The development of an interface design tool called directed dialogue protocols is discussed. The tool is based upon Kato's (1986) method of verbal data collection, question-asking protocols. Three extensions to the question-asking method are detailed: 1) an experimental procedure of atomic tasks which facilitate the quantization of verbal data; 2) interventions by the experimenter that probe the subject's expectations and prompt verbalizations; and 3) a technique for answering subject queries called sequential disclosure. Also discussed are applications of the directed dialogue that have identified design choices which build learnability and usability into a product's user-interface.

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

applications
probe
method
usability
data collection
design
tool
user interface
data
queries
quantization
dialogue

product
experimentation
atom
developer
direct
extensibility
interface design
user interface design


Achieving fair nonrepudiation in electronic transactions The fast development of computer networks has facilitated electronic commerce. Meanwhile, some security problems may arise in such a new business environment. Nonrepudiation services, in which evidence is generated, collected, and maintained to enable dispute resolution, protect the transacting parties against any false denial that a particular event or action has taken place. In addition, fairness is a desirable requirement such that neither party can gain an advantage by quitting prematurely or otherwise misbehaving during a transaction. In this article, I investigate the techniques and protocols that use a (trusted) third party to achieve fair nonrepudiation in electronic transactions, and I discuss some applications of these fair nonrepudiation protocols.

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


Semantic categorization of digital home photo using photographic region templates In this paper, a semantic categorization method in generic home photos is proposed. In recent years, the semantic categorization of image has been a challenge due to the proliferation of digital home photos. Our approach is to detect semantically meaningful concepts contained in a photo. The proposed method incorporates an intermediate level of concepts, called local concept, so that it catches well semantic meaning of local regions of image as bridging the semantic gap of the low-level features and high-level category concepts. To detect the local concepts from the home photo, region segmentation by photographic region template and concept merging is also proposed. The efficacy of the proposed semantic categorization method was demonstrated with 3828 general home photos. The experiment results showed the proposed categorization method would be useful to detect multiple semantic meaning of the home photos.

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

photo album
photographic composition
svm


Efficient modeling of MIMO systems through Timed Automata based Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Engine We introduce a new neuro-fuzzy inference engine for modeling MIMO systems. The method integrates TSK fuzzy rule-based system, ANFIS and APCA. The performance are better than a conventional application of the ANFIS algorithm.

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

multi-input multi-output coupling systems


real time dynamic wind calculation for a pressure driven wind system We describe real time dynamic wind calculation for a pressure driven wind system. This simple and elegant approach allows us to perform visual effects in real time using a minute fraction of the CPU's processing power over and above what is required for static wind. Experiments were performed with a real-time application to render wind-driven snow over a 3D terrain to verify these claims.

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 O O O O O O O O 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


The Power of Forgetting: Improving the Last-Good-Reply Policy in Monte Carlo Go The dominant paradigm for programs playing the game of Go is Monte Carlo tree search. This algorithm builds a search tree by playing many simulated games (playouts). Each playout consists of a sequence of moves within the tree followed by many moves beyond the tree. Moves beyond the tree are generated by a biased random sampling policy. The recently published last-good-reply policy makes moves that, in previous playouts, have been successful replies to immediately preceding moves. This paper presents a modification of this policy that not only remembers moves that recently succeeded but also immediately forgets moves that recently failed. This modification provides a large improvement in playing strength. We also show that responding to the previous two moves is superior to responding to the previous one move. Surprisingly, remembering the win rate of every reply performs much worse than simply remembering the last good reply (and indeed worse than not storing good replies at all).

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

board games
machine learning
monte carlo methods


Hierarchical palmprint identification via multiple feature extraction Biometric computing offers an effective approach to identify personal identity by using individual's unique, reliable and stable physical or behavioral characteristics. This paper describes a new method to authenticate individuals based on palmprint identification and verification. Firstly, a comparative study of palmprint feature extraction is presented. The concepts of texture feature and interesting points are introduced to define palmprint features. A texture-based dynamic selection scheme is proposed to facilitate the fast search for the best matching of the sample in the database in a hierarchical fashion. The global texture energy, which is characterized with high convergence of inner-palm similarities and good dispersion of inter-palm discrimination, is used to guide the dynamic selection of a small set of similar candidates from the database at coarse level for further processing. An interesting point based image matching is performed on the selected similar patterns at fine level for the final confirmation. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method.

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

biometric computing
feature extraction
interesting points
image matching

palmprint classification
texture features


Reduced transition metal oxides as electron injection layers in hybrid-PLEDs Here we report on the improved performance of hybrid polymer light emitting diodes (HyPLEDs) upon inserting an ultra thin layer of partially reduced tungsten oxide (WO2.5) or molybdenum oxide (MoO2.7), deposited (by heating a W or Mo filament while hydrogen was flowing through the chamber) at the polymer/Al cathode interface. Improved current densities, luminances and efficiencies were achieved as a result of improved electron injection and transport at its interface with Al. The observed electron injection improvement is attributed to the lowering of the effective cathode interfacial barrier due to the occupation of gap states with electrons after partial reduction.

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

hybrid polymer light emitting diodes
reduced transition metal oxides
reduction


On QoS multicast routing algorithms using k-minimum Steiner trees In this paper, we study how to obtain Steiner trees appropriately for efficient multicast routing. We first introduce a scheme for generating a new weighted multicast parameter by efficiently combining two independent measures: cost and delay. We call our proposal the Weighted Parameter for Multicast Trees (WPMT) algorithm. The WPMT can be adjusted by the weight ??[0,1]. For instance, if ? approaches 0, then the delay of the multicast tree may be relatively lower than the delay of other trees that are obtained as ? approaches 1. Otherwise, as the weight approaches 1 then the cost of the obtained tree may be relatively lower compared with other trees. A case study shows how to find an appropriate Steiner tree for each ?. The simulation results show that the use of the proposed WPMT produces results similar to the k-minimum Steiner tree algorithm. The WPMT can be applied to several existing multicast problems as we describe. We also propose several multicast algorithms using the WPMT in order to solve well-known multicast problems, and compare the proposed algorithms-based the WPMT with representative algorithms for the well-known problems.

O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 of service (qos)
minimum steiner tree algorithm
delay constraint problem
delay variation constraint problem


Acceleration of 3D crack propagation simulation by the utilization of fast BEM-techniques For the acceleration of the 3D simulation of fatigue crack propagation fast BEM techniques are combined in the present paper. The so-called dual BEM is utilized to separate the coincident crack surfaces. In the present context, the relevant boundary integral equations are evaluated in the framework of a collocation procedure. For the reduction of the numerical complexity of the stress analysis fast BEM techniques are applied. The domain is decomposed in order to obtain a band-structured system matrix. The crack is modeled in terms of the dual discontinuity method. Therewith, the relevant boundary of the domain is reduced by one crack surface. Finally, the adaptive cross approximation, an algebraic matrix compression technique, is utilized to compress the system matrix. The efficiency of this procedure is shown on complex industrial applications.

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

3d dual bem
adaptive cross approximation (aca)
domain decomposition
dual discontinuity method (ddm)


A statistical study of transferral and promotion mechanisms relating to the appointment of professors at Japanese national universities based on cross tabulation and log-linear model analysis The aim of this study is to use the Japanese university employee list (published by Kojunsha) to compile a database of teacher transferrals in higher education (HM-DB) at 9 points in time over the 21-year period from 1988 to 2008, and then to use this database to assess and analyze the status of national university teachers immediately before and after assuming office as professors in order to gain some understanding of the transferral mechanisms of teachers at Japans national universities. From the results of cross-tabulation analysis, it has become clear that a growing proportion of transfers involving the appointment of professors involve movements between very similar universities (transferral blocking phenomenon), and that there is a growing tendency for professorial appointments to involve a migration from universities with a lower share of published research papers to universities with a higher share. Also, by constructing a log-linear model and performing a residual analysis, we have found that although these trends are clearly apparent, they do not yet have a great deal of influence.

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

appointment of professors to national universities


a cdd-based formal model for expert finding Searching an organization's document repositories for experts is a frequently faced problem in intranet information management. This paper proposes a candidate-centered model which is referred as Candidate Description Document (CDD)-based retrieval model. The expertise evidence about an expert candidate scattered over repositories is mined and aggregated automatically to form a profile called the candidate's CDD, which represents his knowledge. We present the model from its foundations through its logical development and argue in favor of this model for expert finding. We devise and compare the different strategies for exploring a variety of expertise evidence. The experiments on TREC enterprise corpora demonstrate that the CDD-based model achieves significant and consistent improvement on performance through comparative studies with non-CDD methods.

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


Spin-Transfer Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) Spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) is a novel, magnetic memory technology that leverages the base platform established by an existing 100+nm node memory product called MRAM to enable a scalable nonvolatile memory solution for advanced process nodes. STT-MRAM features fast read and write times, small cell sizes of 6F(2) and potentially even smaller, and compatibility with existing DRAM and SRAM architecture with relatively small associated cost added. STT-MRAM is essentially a magnetic multilayer resistive element cell that is fabricated as an additional metal layer on top of conventional CMOS access transistors. In this review we give an overview of the existing STT-MRAM technologies currently in research and development across the world, as well as some specific discussion of results obtained at Grandis and with our foundry partners. We will show that in-plane STT-MRAM technology, particularly the DMTJ design, is a mature technology that meets all conventional requirements for an STT-MRAM cell to be a nonvolatile solution matching DRAM and/or SRAM drive circuitry. Exciting recent developments in perpendicular STT-MRAM also indicate that this type of STT-MRAM technology may reach maturity faster than expected, allowing even smaller cell size and product introduction at smaller nodes.

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

spin transfer torque
tunneling magnetoresistance
spin polarization
magnetic tunneling junction


An approximate maximum likelihood approach, applied to phylogenetic trees A novel type of approximation scheme to the maximum likelihood (ML) approach is presented and discussed in the context of phylogenetic tree reconstruction from aligned DNA sequences. It is based on a parameterized approximation to the conditional distribution of hidden variables (related, e.g., to the sequences of unobserved branch point ancestors) given the observed data. A modified likelihood, based on the extended data, is then maximized with respect to the parameters of the model as well as to those involved in the approximation. With a suitable form of the approximations the proposed method allows for simpler updating of the parameters, at the cost of an increased parameter count and a slight decrease in performance. The method is tested on phylogenetic tree reconstruction from artificially generated sequences, and its performance is compared to that of ML, showing that the approach is competitive for reasonably similar sequences. The method is also applied to real DNA sequences from primates, yielding a result consistent with those obtained by other standard algorithms.

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


Analysis of the monotonicity conditions in the mimetic finite difference method for elliptic problems ? The maximum principle is one of the most important properties of solutions of partial differential equations. Its numerical analog, the discrete maximum principle (DMP), is one of the most difficult properties to achieve in numerical methods, especially when the computational mesh is distorted to adapt and conform to the physical domain or the problem coefficients are highly heterogeneous and anisotropic. Violation of the DMP may lead to numerical instabilities such as oscillations and to unphysical solutions such as heat flow from a cold material to a hot one. In this work, we investigate sufficient conditions to ensure the monotonicity of the mimetic finite difference (MFD) method on two- and three-dimensional meshes. These conditions result in a set of general inequalities for the elements of the mass matrix of every mesh element. Efficient solutions are devised for meshes consisting of simplexes, parallelograms and parallelepipeds, and orthogonal locally refined elements as those used in the AMR methodology. On simplicial meshes, it turns out that the MFD method coincides with the mixed-hybrid finite element methods based on the low-order RaviartThomas vector space. Thus, in this case we recover the well-established conventional angle conditions of such approximations. Instead, in the other cases a suitable design of the MFD method allows us to formulate a monotone discretization for which the existence of a DMP can be theoretically proved. Moreover, on meshes of parallelograms we establish a connection with a similar monotonicity condition proposed for the Multi-Point Flux Approximation (MPFA) methods. Numerical experiments confirm the effectiveness of the considered monotonicity conditions.

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

mimetic finite differences
monotone matrix
m-matrix
monotone scheme
mesh refinement


Image compression using multiple transforms Discrete cosine transform (DCT) is used in practically all commercial image and video compression systems. It has been found to be the best choice among all unitary transforms in compressing natural images. We are also quite convinced that it is difficult to find any clear alternative for DCT in typical transform coders. Instead, we decided to change the problem. If another single transform cannot outperform DCT, how about using a set of transforms? This paper tries to give an overview about this idea. It was tested in several experiments, which show that the use of several transforms can improve compression ratio despite the side information needed. The result is a compression method that can be described as an intermediate stage between traditional transform coding and vector quantization. It can be used for compressing natural images, but it would be suited best for real multidimensional data.

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

transforms
compression
vector quantization


Modeling of the dynamic response of a Francis turbine The paper presents a detailed numerical model of the dynamic behaviour of a Francis turbine installed in a hydroelectric plant. The model considers in detail the Francis turbine with all the electromechanical subsystems, such as the main speed governor, the controller and the servo actuator of the turbine distributor, and the electrical generator. In particular, it reproduces the effects of pipeline elasticity in the penstock, the water inertia and the water compressibility on the turbine behaviour. The dynamics of the surge tank on low frequency pressure waves is also modelled together with the main governor speed loop and the position controllers of the distributor actuator and of the hydraulic electrovalve. Model validation has been made by means of experimental data of a 75MW470m hydraulic headFrancis turbine acquired during some starting tests after a partial revamping, which also involved the control system of the distributor.

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


Web designers and web users: Influence of the ergonomic quality of the web site on the information search Despite rapid growth in the number of web sites, there is still a significant number of ergonomic problems which hinder web users. Many studies focus on analysing cognitive processes and difficulties experienced by web users, but very few are interested in web designers difficulties or in comparing their respective activities. Towards this end, the two experimental studies presented in this article compare the strategies developed both by professional web designers and (novice vs. experienced) web users while searching for information on web sites of varying ergonomic quality. More precisely, we investigated whether web designers can effectively use their own strategies as web users when designing web sites. We presented a comparison of novice web users, experienced web users and professional web designers searching behavior and cognitive load when using ergonomic and non-ergonomic web sites. In addition, we asked web designers to predict the strategy used by novice web users. Based on the results obtained in the two experiments, we conclude that web designers are not able to predict strategies of novice users and do not behave like novice users. Consequently, ways for supporting web designers in developing a user-centered activity are necessary, and certain ways are suggested at the end of this article.

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

web designers
web users
information search
cognitive load


ARSC: Augmented reality student card An augmented reality solution for the education field Augmented Reality (AR) is the technology of adding virtual objects to real scenes through enabling the addition of missing information in real life. As the lack of resources is a problem that can be solved through AR, this paper presents and explains the usage of AR technology we introduce Augmented Reality Student Card (ARSC) as an application of AR in the field of education. ARSC uses single static markers combined in one card for assigning different objects, while leaving the choice to the computer application for minimizing the tracking process. ARSC is designed to be a useful low cost solution for serving the education field. ARSC can represent any lesson in a 3D format that helps students to visualize different learning objects, interact with theories and deal with the information in a totally new, effective, and interactive way. ARSC can be used in offline, online and game applications with seven markers, four of them are used as a joystick game controller. One of the novelties in this paper is that experimental tests had been made for the ARTag marker set for sorting them according to their efficiency. The results of those tests were used in this research to choose the most efficient markers for ARSC, and can be used for further research. The experimental work in this paper also shows the constraints for marker creation for an AR application. As we need to work in both online and offline application, merging of toolkits and libraries has been made, as presented in this paper. ARSC was examined by a number of students of both genders with average age between 10 and 17 years and it found great acceptance among them. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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mixed reality
computer assisted learning
optical tracking


Modelling interface aesthetics An important aspect of screen design is aesthetic evaluation of screen layouts. While it is conceivable to define a set of variables that characterize the key attributes of many alphanumeric display formats, such a task seems difficult for graphic displays because of their much greater complexity. This paper proposes a theoretical approach to capture the essence of artists insights with 14 aesthetic measures for graphic displays. Our empirical study has suggested that these measures are important to prospective viewers and may help gain attention and build confidence in using computer system.

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screen design
interface aesthetics
aesthetic measures

aesthetic characteristics
multi-screen interfaces


category detection using hierarchical mean shift Many applications in surveillance, monitoring, scientific discovery, and data cleaning require the identification of anomalies. Although many methods have been developed to identify statistically significant anomalies, a more difficult task is to identify anomalies that are both interesting and statistically significant. Category detection is an emerging area of machine learning that can help address this issue using a "human-in-the-loop" approach. In this interactive setting, the algorithm asks the user to label a query data point under an existing category or declare the query data point to belong to a previously undiscovered category. The goal of category detection is to bring to the user's attention a representative data point from each category in the data in as few queries as possible. In a data set with imbalanced categories, the main challenge is in identifying the rare categories or anomalies; hence, the task is often referred to as rare category detection. We present a new approach to rare category detection based on hierarchical mean shift. In our approach, a hierarchy is created by repeatedly applying mean shift with an increasing bandwidth on the data. This hierarchy allows us to identify anomalies in the data set at different scales, which are then posed as queries to the user. The main advantage of this methodology over existing approaches is that it does not require any knowledge of the dataset properties such as the total number of categories or the prior probabilities of the categories. Results on real-world data sets show that our hierarchical mean shift approach performs consistently better than previous techniques.

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