Enhanced merit order and augmented Lagrange Hopfield network for hydrothermal scheduling This paper proposes an enhanced merit order (EMO) and augmented Lagrange Hopfield network (ALHN) for solving hydrothermal scheduling (HTS) problem with pumped-storage units. EMO is a merit order enhanced by heuristic search based algorithms and the ALHN is a continuous Hopfield network with its energy function based on augmented Lagrangian function. EMO is efficient in unit scheduling, whereas ALHN can properly handle generation ramp rate limits, and time coupling constraints such as limited fuel, water discharge for hydro units, and water balance for pumped-storage units. The proposed method solves HTS problem by optimizing step by step of sub-problems in four phases. In the first phase, EMO is applied to solve only thermal unit commitment satisfying power balance, spinning reserve, limited fuel, and minimum up and down time constraints. In the second phase, the enhanced ALHN is used to solve economic dispatch (ED) and commit hydro units based on the obtained unit schedule from the first phase. In the third phase, the enhanced ALHN is applied to handle transmission constraint. In the last phase, the enhanced ALHN is used to commit pumped-storage units and solve final constrained ED. In each phase, heuristic search based algorithms are applied to repair the constraint violations and refine the obtained solution. The proposed EMOALHN is tested on a hydrothermal system with 17 thermal, 2 hydro, and 2 pumped-storage hydro units with a scheduling time horizon of 24h. Test results indicate that the proposed method obtains less costs and faster computational times than those from augmented Hopfield neural network (AHN) and hybrid enhanced Lagrangian relaxation and quadratic programming (Hybrid LRQP) for two test cases.

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

augmented lagrange hopfield network
merit order
hydrothermal scheduling


A framework for the study of customer interface design for mobile commerce The rapid growth of mobile telephony has fueled the expansion of the mobile Internet as a foundation for mobile commerce. Proponents claim that mobile commerce will surpass electronic commerce in growth and scope, but there is as yet no commonly accepted framework for the Study of interface design for mobile commerce. Using Rayport and Jaworski's 7C's-the seven design elements of a customer interface (context, content, community, customization, communication, connection, and commerce) -as a reference framework, interfaces for mobile commerce and electronic commerce are compared. Two new elements (2M's) are identified: mobile setting and mobile device constraints. These 2M's substantially affect the design of each of the 7C's. Therefore, the 2M's and 7C's are proposed as a new framework for mobile commerce interfaces. Based on this, previous research is analyzed and suggestions for future research are generated.

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

customer interface design
mobile commerce


On the weakest failure detector for hard agreement problems ? Chandra and Toueg [J. ACM 43 (1996) 225] and Fromentin et al. [Proc. IEEE Internat. Conf. on Distrib. Comput., 1999, p. 470], respectively, stated that the weakest failure detector for any of non-blocking atomic commitment and terminating reliable broadcast is the perfect failure detector P. Recently, Guerraoui [IPL 79 (2001) 99] presented a counterexample of those results, exhibiting a failure detector called Marabout (M) that is incomparable to P and yet solves those problems. In this paper we present three new perfect failure detector classes as alternatives to P and M. All our classes are weaker than P. Furthermore, two of them are also weaker than M, and yet solve non-blocking atomic commitment and terminating reliable broadcast. Interestingly, our failure detector classes are implementable whenever P is implementable (e.g., in a synchronous system), which is not the case with M.

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

failure detector
terminating reliable broadcast

distributed computing
fault-tolerance
consensus
atomic commit


Handover approaches for seamless mobility management in next generation wireless networks Next generation wireless networks (NGWN) will be an integration of heterogeneous wireless access networks that will interwork over an IP-based infrastructure. This all-IP vision has led to the development of handover mechanisms to support seamless mobility for active network services among the different interworking wireless networks in order to ensure network access ubiquity in NGWN. These handover mechanisms need to ensure that mobile devices continue to receive ongoing communication without any noticeable disruption during handover events among the heterogeneous networks. This paper gives a qualitative and quantitative review of current handover approaches of IP mobility management protocols for NGWN with an objective to introduce a new way of further optimizing the handover performance. In particular, the paper focuses on handover approaches of mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) based mobility management protocols. Thus, the need, benefits, and limitations of these handover approaches are explored. Thereafter, dynamic handover coordination is introduced as a new viable solution that exploits the benefits and mitigates the limitations of these handover approaches hence improving handover performance in terms of handover delay, packet loss, and signaling overhead. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

handover delay
packet loss
signaling overhead


On the algorithmic complexity of k k -tuple total domination ? For a fixed positive integer k k , a k k -tuple total dominating set of a graph G G is a set D?V(G) D ? V ( G ) such that every vertex of G G is adjacent to at least k k vertices in D D . The k k -tuple total domination problem is to determine a minimum k k -tuple total dominating set of G G . This paper studies k k -tuple total domination from an algorithmic point of view. In particular, we present a linear-time algorithm for the k k -tuple total domination problem for graphs in which each block is a clique, a cycle or a complete bipartite graph, which include trees, block graphs, cacti and block-cactus graphs. We also establish NP-hardness of the k k -tuple total domination problem in undirected path graphs.

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

k k -tuple total domination k k k k k
block graph
cactus
np-complete
undirected path graph


Static analysis to support the evolution of exception structure in object-oriented systems Exception-handling mechanisms in modern programming languages provide a means to help software developers build robust applications by separating the normal control flow of a program from the control flow of the program under exceptional situations. Separating the exceptional structure from the code associated with normal operations bears some consequences. One consequence is that developers wishing to improve the robustness of a program must figure out which exceptions, if any, can flow to a point in the program. Unfortunately, in large programs, this exceptional control flow can be difficult, if not impossible, to determine. In this article, we present a model that encapsulates the minimal concepts necessary for a developer to determine exception flow for object-oriented languages that define exceptions as objects. Using these concepts, we describe why exception-flow information is needed to build and evolve robust programs. We then describe Jex, a static analysis tool we have developed to provide exception-flow information for Java systems based on this model. The Jex tool provides a view of the actual exception types that might arise at different program points and of the handlers that are present. Use of this tool on a collection of Java library and application source code demonstrates that the approach can be helpful to support both local and global improvements to the exception-handling structure of a system.

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

languages
exception structure
exception flow
static analysis

reliability
verification
error handling
exception handling
program evolution


Mitigating Attacks on Open Functionality in SMS-Capable Cellular Networks The transformation of telecommunications networks from homogeneous closed systems providing only voice services to Internet-connected open networks that provide voice and data services presents significant security challenges. For example, recent research illustrated that a carefully crafted DoS attack via text messaging could incapacitate all voice communications in a metropolitan area with little more than a cable modem. This attack highlights a growing threat to these systems; namely, cellular networks are increasingly exposed to adversaries both in and outside the network. In this paper, we use a combination of modeling and simulation to demonstrate the feasibility of targeted text messaging attacks. Under realistic network conditions, we show that adversaries can achieve blocking rates of more than 70% with only limited resources. We then develop and characterize five techniques from within two broad classes of countermeasures-queue management and resource provisioning. Our analysis demonstrates that these techniques can eliminate or extensively mitigate even the most intense targeted text messaging attacks. We conclude by considering the tradeoffs inherent to the application of these techniques in current and next generation telecommunications networks.

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


Simulation-Based Approach for Estimating Project Completion Time of Stochastic Resource-Constrained Project Networks This paper proposes a newapproach, entitled discrete event simulation with probabilistic event list (DESPEL), for approximating the project completion time and the critical path in a stochastic resource-constrained project network. Unlike the traditional discrete event simulation approach, which is based on replications to find the project completion time, this approach only requires one simulation run. This approach is similar to the programevaluation and review technique (PERT) approach in the sense that it considers the path with the highest expected activity duration as the critical path. However, it extends the capability of the PERT by considering the resource constraints when finding the critical activities and project completion time. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000165. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.

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

approximation methods
scheduling
probability


A differential evolution algorithm with self-adapting strategy and control parameters This paper presents a Differential Evolution algorithm with self-adaptive trial vector generation strategy and control parameters (SspDE) for global numerical optimization over continuous space. In the SspDE algorithm, each target individual has an associated strategy list (SL), a mutation scaling factor F list (FL), and a crossover rate CR list (CRL). During the evolution, a trial individual is generated by using a strategy, F, and CR taken from the lists associated with the target vector. If the obtained trial individual is better than the target vector, the used strategy, F, and CR will enter a winning strategy list (wSL), a winning F list (wFL), and a winning CR list (wCRL), respectively. After a given number of iterations, the FL, CRL or SL will be refilled at a high probability by selecting elements from wFL, wCRL and wSL or randomly generated values. In this way, both the trial vector generation strategy and its associated parameters can be gradually self-adapted to match different phases of evolution by learning from their previous successful experience. Extensive computational simulations and comparisons are carried out by employing a set of 19 benchmark problems from the literature. The computational results show that overall the SspDE algorithm performs better than the state-of-the-art differential evolution variants.

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 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 B I O

differential evolution
global numerical optimization

evolutionary algorithm
parameter adaptation
strategy adaptation
continuous optimization


Duality, achievable rates, and sum-rate capacity of Gaussian MIMO broadcast channels We consider a multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Gaussian broadcast channel (BC), where the transmitter and receivers have multiple antennas. Since the MIMO BC is in general a nondegraded BC, its capacity region remains an unsolved problem. In this paper, we establish a duality between what is termed the "dirty paper" achievable region (the Caire-Shamai achievable region) for the MIMO BC and the capacity region of the MIMO multiple-access channel (MAC), which is easy to compute. Using this duality, we greatly reduce the computational complexity required for, obtaining the dirty paper achievable region for the MIMO BC. We also show that the dirty paper achievable region achieves the sum-rate capacity of the MIMO BC by establishing that the maximum sum rate of this region equals an upper bound on the sum rate of the MIMO BC.

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

multiple-input multiple-output (mimo) systems


Nonadaptive algorithms for threshold group testing Threshold group testing first proposed by Damaschke is a generalization of classic group testing. Specifically, a group test is positive (negative) if it contains at least u u (at most l l ) positives, and if the number of positives is between l l and u u , the test outcome is arbitrary. Although sequential group testing algorithms have been proposed, it is unknown whether an efficient nonadaptive algorithm exists. In this paper, we give an affirmative answer to this problem by providing efficient nonadaptive algorithms for the threshold model. The key observation is that disjunct matrices, a standard tool for group testing designs, also work in this threshold model. This paper improves and extends previous results in three ways: 1. The algorithms we propose work in one stage, which saves time for testing. 2. The test complexity is lower than previous results, at least for the number of elements which need to be tested is sufficiently large. 3. A limited number of erroneous test outcomes are allowed.

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

threshold group testing
nonadaptive algorithms


Spectral (finite) volume method for conservation laws on unstructured grids V: Extension to three-dimensional systems In this paper, the fifth in a series, the high-order spectral finite-volume, or spectral volume (SV) method for unstructured grids is extended to three dimensions. Limitations of conventional structured and unstructured methods are first reviewed. The spectral finite-volume method for generalized conservation laws is then described. It is shown that if all grid cells are partitioned into structured sub-cells in a similar manner, the discretizations become universal, and are reduced to the same weighted sum of unknowns involving just a few simple adds and multiplies. Important aspects of the data structure and its effects on communication and the optimum use of cache memory are discussed. Previously defined one-parameter partitions of the SV in 2D are extended to multiple parameters and then used to construct 3D partitions. Numerical solutions of plane electromagnetic waves incident on perfectly conducting circular cylinders and spheres are presented and compared with the exact solution to demonstrate the capability of the method. Excellent agreement has been found. Computation timings show that the new method is more efficient than conventional structured and unstructured methods.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 critical appraisal of systematic reviews in software engineering from the perspective of the research questions asked in the reviews After a seminal article introducing-evidence based software engineering in 2004, systematic reviews (SR) have been increasingly used as a method for conducting secondary studies in software engineering. Our goal is to critically appraise the use of SR in software engineering with respect to the research questions asked and the ways the questions were used in the reviews. We analyzed 53 literature reviews that had been collected in two published tertiary studies. We found that over 65\% of the research questions asked in the reviews were exploratory and only 15\% investigated causality questions. We concluded that there is a need for a consistent use of terminology to classify secondary studies and that reports of literature reviews should follow reporting guidelines to support assessment and comparison.

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


Neuro-evolutionary event detection technique for downhole microseismic surveys A new pick refinement method is proposed for downhole microseismic surveys. Method uses GA on sparse, reasonably accurate picks to identify optimal arrival. Arrivals predictable due to expected moveout behavior with downhole receivers. Improves applicability and available detected events for further processing.

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

hydraulic fracturing
neural network
evolutionary algorithm
autopicking


Assessment of a renewal process experimented in the field This work describes a case study which demonstrates the efficacy of a renewal process of a very old system, judged from the viewpoint of users and managers. Data were collected over three years in a real environment to assess the effectiveness of the process, performed on a banking software system. The effects attributable to the progressive ageing of a system perceived by its users and managers were first individuated. After the process, such successes as a drop in the costs of maintenance and an increase in transferability and testability of the programs were recorded. There were also some failures, notably insufficient improvement in the quality of the programs and in their capacity to be modified. Finally, some conclusions are drawn as to the opportunity of subdividing the renewal process into two macrophases, reverse engineering and restoration, which integrate the process activities generating the benefits. Although these are conceptually distinguishable, they must be executed together to obtain the desired benefits from the renewal process.

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

process assessment
metrics
legacy system


Continuous Scan, a method for performing modal testing using meaningful measurement parameters; Part I This paper presents the first part of a work about modal testing using meaningful measurement parameters. Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV) systems are becoming largely used both in industry and university for performing vibration measurements. A reason for the success of SLDV systems can be found in their capability of measuring vibration remotely and under different environmental conditions which, when hostile, can inhibit other transducers to work correctly. Hence, SLDV system can be very practical and useful in many engineering applications. SLDV systems are being used as a contactless transducer measuring vibrations from a discrete number of measurement positions marked on the specimen whenever an optical access to it is available. Hence, the advantage of a modal test carried out using accelerometers and one carried out using a SLDV system can be: (i) the automation of the measurements and (ii) the increase of the spatial resolution of the measured modes. This suggests that SLDV systems can be used as a practical replacement of accelerometers operating the same measurement method. Continuous Scanning method is a novel approach of using contactless transducers for measuring vibrations. The most important difference between a discrete and a continuous approach is the method of measuring a vibration pattern. A discrete method measures the level of vibrations at discrete positions on a structure whereas a continuous method captures the modulation of the vibrations produced by the excited modes. This is possible when a transducer can travel across a vibrating surface. This first part of the work presents a new approach of continuous scanning measurement method using a multi-tonal excitation waveform. The paper starts from a comparison between a step and continuous scan mode to introduce a novel approach of continuous scan and multi-tonal excitation waveform. The objective of this first part of work is to present and understand that measurement parameters, such as measurement positions, and can be carefully chosen to improve the measurement technique. A laboratory test piece and a helicopter tail cone are used as examples for the application of this new measurement method approach.

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

fast scan sldv method
continuous scanning sldv methods
excitation methods
ods


Evolutionary Optimization of Service Times in Interactive Voice Response Systems A call center is a system used by companies to provide a number of services to customers, which may vary from providing simple information to gathering and dealing with complaints or more complex transactions. The design of this kind of system is an important task, since the trend is that companies and institutions choose call centers as the primary option for customer relationship management. This paper presents an evolutionary algorithm based on Dandelion encoding to obtain near-optimal service trees which represent the structure of the desired call center. We introduce several modifications to the original Dandelion encoding in order to adapt it to the specific problem of service tree design. Two search space size reduction procedures improve the performance of the algorithm. Systematic experiments have been tackled in order to show the performance of our approach: first, we tackle different synthetic instances, where we discuss and analyze several aspects of the proposed evolutionary algorithm, and second, we tackle a real application, the design of the call center of an Italian telecommunications company. In all the experiments carried out we compare our approach with a lower bound for the problem based on information theory, and also with the results of a Huffman algorithm we have used for reference.

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

call center design
dandelion codes
evolutionary algorithms
tree encoding


On post correspondence problem for letter monotonic languages We prove that for given morphisms g. h: {a(1), a(2), ..., a(n)} -> B*, it is decidable whether or not there exists a word w in the regular language a(1)*a(2)* ... a(n)* Such that g(w) = h(w). In other words, we prove that the Post Correspondence Problem is decidable if the Solutions are restricted to be from this special language. This yields a nice example of an undecidable problem in integral matrices which cannot be directly proved Undecidable using the traditional reduction from the Post Correspondence Problem. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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 B I I O O O O O O O


Constraint functional logic programming over finite domains In this paper, we present our proposal to Constraint Functional Logic Programming over Finite Domains (CFLP(FD)) with a lazy functional logic programming language which seamlessly embodies finite domain (FD) constraints. This proposal increases the expressiveness and power of constraint logic programming over finite domains (CLP(FD)) by combining functional and relational notation, curried expressions, higher-order functions, patterns, partial applications, non-determinism, lazy evaluation, logical variables, types, domain variables, constraint composition, and finite domain constraints. We describe the syntax of the language, its type discipline, and its declarative and operational semantics. We also describe TOY(FD), an implementation for CFLP(FD), and a comparison of our approach with respect to CLP(FD) from a programming point of view, showing the new features we introduce. And, finally, we show a performance analysis which demonstrates that our implementation is competitive with respect to existing CLP(FD) systems and that clearly outperforms the closer approach to CFLP(FD).

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

constraint logic programming
functional logic programming
finite domains


On nonlinear parametric search An alternative viewpoint for parametric search is presented, which achieves a bound similar to that of Cole's improvement on Megiddo's method. The new technique simulates the algorithm for the underlying fixed-parameter problem simultaneously over multiple computation paths and applies naturally to linear and nonlinear problems. The uses of the method are illustrated with examples from optimization on weighted graphs and dynamic geometry, including maximum spanning trees, diameter, and smallest enclosing ball.

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

graph problems
dynamic computational geometry


A return to volume 1 of World Patent Information The author looks at the context of the articles published in World Patent Informations first volume, in 1979, in the light of subsequent developments over the ensuing 25 years. He provides examples of articles from 1979 and from recent years to illustrate his comments. Amongst themes that continue to be significant throughout this period, are patent classification schemes, patent information for techno-commercial intelligence and policy analysis, and the less than optimal take up of patent information by actual and potential users. By contrast, the author notes that microfilm, punch cards and batch computer searching, key themes of 1979, have given way to Internet technology. In conclusion he emphasises both the massive changes brought about by technology changes and the substantially unchanging situation in many other respects, for example in the major players in the provision of patent information databases and in the importance of effective patent searching.

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

world patent information
patent classification schemes
patent searching
policy analysis
microfilm
punch cards
batch computer searching
internet technology

historical context
commercial intelligence
patent information providers


Estimating the ice thickness of shallow glaciers from surface topography and mass-balance data with a shape optimization algorithm The bedrock topography of glaciers is reconstructed with an optimal control technique. Bedrock topography and model parameters can be computed concurrently. A Tikhonov regularization based on the topography?s area is used. The whole computations underlying the algorithm are detailed.

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

bedrock topography
shape optimization
optimal control
tikhonov regularization

glacier
shallow ice approximation
sensitivity analysis
shape derivative
quasi-newton


A middleware framework for managing transactions in group-oriented mobile commerce services The emerging group-oriented mobile commerce services are receiving significant interest among researchers, developers, wireless service providers, and users. Some of these services, including mobile auctions, mobile financial services, and multi-party interactive games, are transaction-oriented and will require the network and protocol support for managing transactions. In this paper, we focus on technical challenges of managing transactions in group-oriented mobile commerce services by presenting a framework, which includes requirements, membership-management and support for dependable transactions. More specifically, we present several group-oriented mobile services, characterize transaction requirements of group-oriented m-commerce services, present protocols for membership management to support both distributed and centralized processing, and present multi-network access and agent-based system for dependable transactions.

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

group-oriented services
network protocols


Resolution enhancement in long pulse OTDR for application in structural health monitoring To improve the range resolution in inexpensive conventional long pulse optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) for application in structural health monitoring (SHM) and robotic neural network, the Fourier Wavelet Regularized Deconvolution (ForWaRD) based on the adaptive wavelet method is employed. Since Deconvolution is a noise sensitive process, employing the (ForWaRD) method enhances the signal to noise ratio. Simulation for long pulse OTDR system is done and ForWaRD method is employed to improve the resolution of the OTDR system to the order of several centimeters. In this method the resolution is limited by the bandwidth of detector, bandwidth of electronic circuit, and the sampling rate of analog to digital convertor.

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

structural health monitoring
forward method
wavelet

optical time domain reflectometer (otdr)


Surveillance of dengue vectors using spatio-temporal Bayesian modeling At present, dengue control focuses on reducing the density of the primary vector for the disease, Aedes aegypti, which is the only vulnerable link in the chain of transmission. The use of new approaches for dengue entomological surveillance is extremely important, since present methods are inefficient. With this in mind, the present study seeks to analyze the spatio-temporal dynamics of A. aegypti infestation with oviposition traps, using efficient computational methods. These methods will allow for the implementation of the proposed model and methodology into surveillance and monitoring systems.

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

bayesian methods
spatio-temporal models
zero-inflated models
inla


points-to analysis using bdds This paper reports on a new approach to solving a subset-based points-to analysis for Java using Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs). In the model checking community, BDDs have been shown very effective for representing large sets and solving very large verification problems. Our work shows that BDDs can also be very effective for developing a points-to analysis that is simple to implement and that scales well, in both space and time, to large programs.The paper first introduces BDDs and operations on BDDs using some simple points-to examples. Then, a complete subset-based points-to algorithm is presented, expressed completely using BDDs and BDD operations. This algorithm is then refined by finding appropriate variable orderings and by making the algorithm propagate sets incrementally, in order to arrive at a very efficient algorithm. Experimental results are given to justify the choice of variable ordering, to demonstrate the improvement due to incrementalization, and to compare the performance of the BDD-based solver to an efficient hand-coded graph-based solver. Finally, based on the results of the BDD-based solver, a variety of BDD-based queries are presented, including the points-to query.

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

order
examples
analysis
performance
paper
binary decision diagrams
model checking
space
verification
queries
demonstrate
algorithm
query

point
communities
efficiency
points-to analysis
timing
incremental
program
variability
experimentation
operability
graph
effect
completeness


semi-inversion of functional parameters Semi-inversion is a generalisation of inversion: A semi-inverse of a program takes some of the inputs and outputs of the original programand returns the remaining inputs and outputs. Previous papers by the author have described semi-inversion for a first-order functional language. We now extend semi-inversion to handle functions as parameters. We start by summarising the steps of the semi-inversion transformation for first-order functional languages and then describes how these steps can be extended to handle functions as parameters and illustrate this by a running example. It turns out that, even with the fairly modest extension of the language, the resequentialisation step of the semi-inversion transformation is considerably complicated. We conclude by comparison with related work and discussion of future developments.

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

higher-order functions
semi-inversion
program transformation


Modelling and segmentation of colour images in polar representations The suitability of polar representation for quantitative image processing tasks is investigated. The classical colour polar-based representations (HLS, HSV, etc.) lead to brightness and saturation with nonconsistent properties. After a short critical analysis of the gamma correction, a new polar representation using the L1 norm is proposed. It satisfies several quantitative requirements. The relevance of this representation is demonstrated by means of luminance/saturation histograms, which exhibit typical alignments. Their physical interpretation leads to a model for light reception in terms of linearly regionalized spectra. A full example illustrates the application of the histogram approach. Colour images are multivariable functions, and for segmenting them one must go through a reducing step. It is classically obtained by calculating a gradient module, which is then segmented as a grey tone image. An alternative solution is proposed. It is based on separated segmentations, followed by a final merging into a unique partition. The generalisation of the top-hat transformation for extracting colour details is also considered. These new marginal colour operators take advantage of an adaptive combination of the chromatic and the achromatic (or the spectral and the spatio-geometric) colour components.

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

colour mathematical morphology
colour segmentation
norms
bi-variate histograms
jump connection


Recognition and classification of histones using support vector machine Histones are DNA-binding proteins found in the chromatin of all eukaryotic cells. They are highly conserved and can be grouped into five major classes: H1/H5, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. Two copies of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 bind to about 160 base pairs of DNA forming the core of the nucleosome ( the repeating structure of chromatin) and H1/H5 bind to its DNA linker sequence. Overall, histones have a high arginine/lysine content that is optimal for interaction with DNA. This sequence bias can make the classification of histones difficult using standard sequence similarity approaches. Therefore, in this paper, we applied support vector machine (SVM) to recognize and classify histones on the basis of their amino acid and dipeptide composition. On evaluation through a five-fold cross-validation, the SVM-based method was able to distinguish histones from nonhistones ( nuclear proteins) with an accuracy around 98%. Similarly, we obtained an overall > 95% accuracy in discriminating the five classes of histones through the application of 1-versus-rest (1-v-r) SVM. Finally, we have applied this SVM-based method to the detection of histones from whole proteomes and found a comparable sensitivity to that accomplished by hidden Markov motifs (HMM) profiles.

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

histones
classification
support vector machine


Statistics and category systems for the shape index descriptor of local 2nd order natural image structure The shape index offers a natural and invariant description of pure 2nd order image structure. We discuss its properties and report novel natural image statistics for the shape index and the additional two parameters of curvedness and principal direction that form a complete and decoupled re-parameterisation of 2nd order structure. In a second main theme, we address three separate avenues to a categorisation of the shape index for natural images and suggest five feature categories as a natural 2nd order image structure alphabet.

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


Linear-quadratic blind source separating structure for removing show-through in scanned documents Digital documents are usually degraded during the scanning process due to the contents of the backside of the scanned manuscript. This is often caused by the show-through effect, i.e. the backside image that interferes with the main front side picture due to the intrinsic transparency of the paper. This phenomenon is one of the degradations that one would like to remove especially in the field of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or document digitalization which require denoised texts as inputs. In this paper, we first propose a novel and general nonlinear model for canceling the show-through phenomenon. A nonlinear blind source separation algorithm is used for this purpose based on a new recursive and extendible structure. However, the results are restricted due to a blurring effect that appears during the scanning process due to the light transfer function of the paper. Consequently, for improving the results, we introduce a refined separating architecture for simultaneously removing the show-through and blurring effects.

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


Computing efficiently the lattice width in any dimension We provide an algorithm for the exact computation of the lattice width of a set of points K in Z(2) in linear-time with respect to the size of K. This method consists in computing a particular surrounding polygon. From this polygon, we deduce a set of candidate vectors allowing the computation of the lattice width. Moreover, we describe how this new algorithm can be extended to an arbitrary dimension thanks to a greedy and practical approach to compute a surrounding polytope. Indeed, this last computation is very efficient in practice as it processes only a few linear time iterations whatever the size of the set of points. Hence, it avoids complex geometric processings. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 constrained minimum spanning tree problem In this paper, we give an O(n(2)) algorithm for finding a point on a given line I which, if added to a given set of n points located on one side of l, will result in the minimum spanning tree.

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


Fuzzy risk analysis based on fuzzy numbers with different shapes and different deviations In this paper, we present a new method for fuzzy risk analysis based on fuzzy numbers with different shapes and different deviations. First, we present a new method for ranking trapezoidal fuzzy numbers based on their shapes and deviations. Then, we use some examples to compare the proposed method with the existing methods for ranking fuzzy numbers. Finally, we use the proposed fuzzy ranking method to present a new fuzzy risk analysis algorithm to deal with fuzzy risk analysis problems. The proposed fuzzy risk analysis algorithm is more flexible and simpler than the existing methods due to the fact that it allows the evaluating values to be represented by trapezoidal fuzzy numbers with different shapes and different deviations.

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

ranking methods
experts confidence
index of optimism


Electronic structure and optical properties of Cu-doping and Zn vacancy impurities in ZnTe The geometric structures of perfect ZnTe, that with Zn vacancy (Zn0.875Te), and Cu-doped ZnTe (Zn0.875Cu0.125Te) were optimized using the pseudopotential plane wave (PP-PW) method based on the density functional theory (DFT) within generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The cohesive energy, band structure, density of states, and Mulliken populations were calculated and discussed in detail. On the other hand, an accurate calculation of linear optical functions (the dielectric function, refraction index, reflectivity, conductivity function, and energy-loss spectrum) was performed. The results demonstrated that compared to the perfect ZnTe, the lattice parameters of Zn0.875Te and Zn0.875Cu0.125Te were changed and the cell volumes decreased to some extent due to the vacancy and introduction of impurity. A vacancy acceptor level and an acceptor impurity level were produced in Zn0.875Te and Zn0.875Cu0.125Te, respectively. By comparison, Cu doping in the ZnTe system is relatively stable while the monovacancy system is not.

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

electronic structure
impurities
optical properties
znte


Scale factor inheritance mechanism in distributed differential evolution This article proposes a distributed differential evolution which employs a novel self-adaptive scheme, namely scale factor inheritance. In the proposed algorithm, the population is distributed over several sub-populations allocated according to a ring topology. Each sub-population is characterized by its own scale factor value. With a probabilistic criterion, that individual displaying the best performance is migrated to the neighbor population and replaces a pseudo-randomly selected individual of the target sub-population. The target sub-population inherits not only this individual but also the scale factor if it seems promising at the current stage of evolution. In addition, a perturbation mechanism enhances the exploration feature of the algorithm. The proposed algorithm has been run on a set of various test problems and then compared to two sequential differential evolution algorithms and three distributed differential evolution algorithms recently proposed in literature and representing state-of-the-art in the field. Numerical results show that the proposed approach seems very efficient for most of the analyzed problems, and outperforms all other algorithms considered in this study.

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

distributed evolutionary algorithms
evolutionary algorithms
continuous optimization


Evaluation of advance manufacturing technologies using concord and discord indices Nowadays, advance manufacturing technologies have become more vital strategic tools for many industries, with the intention of reducing manufacturing response time, improving quality and lowering the costs. In the past few years, there have been major improvements in advanced manufacturing concepts and their utilisation in terms of truly integrated systems. Although the successful implementation of advance manufacturing technologies offers manufacturing organisations numerous benefits, the assessment and preference of these technologies is a very versatile task due to the many parameters involved. In the present study, the multi-attribute decision-making approach is presented to assess and rank the advance manufacturing technologies in practice for a given manufacturing industry in Saudi Arabia. The model presented takes into consideration the objective criterion of the manufacturing industry. The objective here is to help decision makers to ensure that the selected manufacturing technologies comply with the objective of the manufacturing company. The obtained results are compared against existing results.

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

advance manufacturing technologies
discord indices


Kalman filters improve LSTM network performance in problems unsolvable by traditional recurrent nets The long short-term memory (LSTM) network trained by gradient descent solves difficult problems which traditional recurrent neural networks in general cannot. We have recently observed that the decoupled extended Kalman filter training algorithm allows for even better performance, reducing significantly the number of training steps when compared to the original gradient descent training algorithm. In this paper we present a set of experiments which are unsolvable by classical recurrent networks but which are solved elegantly and robustly and quickly by LSTM combined with Kalman filters.

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

recurrent neural networks
decoupled extended kalman filter

long short-term memory
online prediction
context sensitive language inference


Block-coordinate Gauss-Newton optimization and constrained monotone regression for image registration in the presence of outlier objects In this paper, we propose the block-coordinate Gauss-Newton/regression method in order to conduct a correlation-based registration considering the intensity difference between images in the presence of outlier objects. In the proposed method, the parameters are decomposed into two blocks, one of which is for the spatial registration and the other for the intensity compensation. The two blocks are sequentially updated by the Gauss-Newton update and the polynomial regression, respectively. Because of the separated blocks, we can perform a joint optimization with low computational complexity and high implementation flexibility. For example, we apply separately appropriate scaling techniques to the parameter blocks for a stable and fast convergence of the algorithm. Furthermore, we apply the constrained monotone regression with a robust outlier detection scheme for the intensity compensation block. From numerical results, it is shown that the proposed algorithm more effectively performs a correlation-based registration considering the intensity difference alleviating the influence of the outlier objects compared to the traditional registration algorithms that perform the joint optimization.

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

constrained monotone regression
intensity compensation
outlier
registration


Bias-dependent small-signal monolithic PIN diode modeling This paper details a new bias-dependant small-signal modeling methodology for monolithic PIN diodes. The frequency-dependent responses of intrinsic p-i-n structures are de-embedded from monolithic microwave integrated circuit PIN diodes of varying size and layout configuration and fit from 6 to 45 GHz to a classical linear model at each of 15 different bias levels. This methodology results in a bias-dependent intrinsic diode data set that shows excellent agreement with large samples of small-signal measurements. The models are useful for comparing trade-offs in electrical performance among PIN diodes of varying size and layout style. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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


optimization of nested sql queries revisited Current methods of evaluating nested queries in the SQL language can be inefficient in a variety of query and data base contexts. Previous research in the area of nested query optimization which sought methods of reducing evaluation costs is summarized, including a classification scheme for nested queries, algorithms designed to transform each type of query to a logically equivalent form which may then be evaluated more efficiently, and a description of a major bug in one of these algorithms. Further examination reveals another bug in the same algorithm. Solutions to these bugs are proposed and incorporated into a new transformation algorithm, and extensions are proposed which will allow the transformation algorithms to handle a larger class of predicates. A recursive algorithm for processing a general nested query is presented and the action of this algorithm is demonstrated. This algorithm can be used to transform any nested query.

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

research
data base
language
sql
queries
general
algorithm
query optimization
transformation
evaluation
action
class
scheme
query
bugs
classification

method recursion optimality context process extensibility


Using ILIC algorithm for an impressionist effect and stylized virtual environments Vector fields, often used in science, also find application in the artistic world of sculpture and painting. Apart from color and shape, artists utilize features of direction to depict our natural environment. The line integral convolution (LIC) method, originally developed for imaging vector field in scientific visualization, has the potential to produce images with directional characteristics. In this paper, we present four techniques to explore LIC in generating images in the style of the Impressionists. In particular, we develop an ILIC (Impressionist LIC) algorithm, which takes advantage of the directional information given by a photograph image, incorporates it with a shading technique to blend cool or warm colors into the image, and finally applies the LIC method to imitate artists paintings in the Impressionist style. The cool-to-warm blending scheme derives from a painting convention to enhance depth perception. Furthermore, we present a technique using statistical details to control the convolution length for the ILIC algorithm, allowing detailed information to be preserved during the convolution process. We also demonstrate a top-down sampling technique so that a series of mipmaps can be generated to construct virtual environments. These maps, even under multi-resolution viewing, reveal constant strokes, thereby achieving frame coherence in an interactive walkthrough system. The experimental results show satisfactory emulations and efficient computing in fabricating a wide category of artistic virtual environments.

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

line integral convolution
vector field
virtual environments


Providing forwarding assurance in multi-hop wireless networks The Assured Forwarding (AF) service in a differentiated services network offers different levels of forwarding assurance for IP packets. In the wired Internet, the AF service is implemented as a queue management scheme associated with a drop policy in each router. In multi-hop wireless networks, however, queue management in each node is not enough to provide service differentiation globally since resource is shared among neighboring nodes. Hence, several Studies for the AF service in wireless networks have proposed to manipulate the contention window size to provide service differentiation. The contention window size based differentiation scheme provides the AF service by transmitting packets in a higher class with a smaller contention window. However, since network congestion in multi-hop wireless networks causes packet losses at the link layer, the contention window size based differentiation scheme is not sufficient to provide the AF service. In this paper, we propose a rate control scheme to control load on the shared channel by adjusting sending rate according to the estimated channel state and the amount of AF traffic. We further propose a RTS retry limit adaptation scheme for loss rate differentiation at the link layer. Through extensive simulations, we show that proposed schemes are effective to differentiate forwarding assurance in multi-hop wireless networks. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

mobile ad-hoc networks
manet
multi-hop networks
qos


DNA and membrane algorithms for SAT Some DNA algorithms proposed in the literature for propositional satisfiability (SAT) are analyzed. in the class of 'extract model' the two sub-classes of 'literal string' and 'clause string' algorithms are compared and a new formulation of these algorithms is given in terms of membrane systems. Then, the duality between literal string and clause string formulation of SAT is expressed by means of 'singleton matrices' that introduce another membrane algorithm for SAT. The analysis developed suggests the perspective of membrane systems as problem-solving agents based on molecule localization, transformation, and propagation.

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

propositional satisfiability
membrane systems

dna computing
molecular computing
unconventional computing models


Numerical modelling of a hybrid skirted foundation under combined loading Offshore foundations are subject to combinations of vertical, horizontal and moment (VHM) loading. Different foundation solutions are appropriate, depending amongst others, on the expected load combinations. This paper investigates in detail the soil failure mechanisms and resulting foundation capacity under undrained VHM loading of a hybrid foundation concept. Comprising of a skirted mat combined with an internal caisson compartment, this foundation design is found to provide significantly increased horizontal capacity that is often critical in offshore applications, with key influences for increased moment capacity identified as well. The numerical study investigated both variations in the geometry of the internal caisson compartment and the soil shear strength profile. The paper concludes by proposing expressions that allow slightly conservative prediction of the combined capacity of a hybrid foundation.

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

skirted foundation
combined loading
capacity


Solving a multiobjective possibilistic problem through compromise programming ? Real decision problems usually consider several objectives that have parameters which are often given by the decision maker in an imprecise way. It is possible to handle these kinds of problems through multiple criteria models in terms of possibility theory. Here we propose a method for solving these kinds of models through a fuzzy compromise programming approach. To formulate a fuzzy compromise programming problem from a possibilistic multiobjective linear programming problem the fuzzy ideal solution concept is introduced. This concept is based on soft preference and indifference relationships and on canonical representation of fuzzy numbers by means of their ?-cuts. The accuracy between the ideal solution and the objective values is evaluated handling the fuzzy parameters through their expected intervals and a definition of discrepancy between intervals is introduced in our analysis.

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

multiple criteria decision making
multiobjective programming
fuzzy number
possibility distribution
expected interval


Dynamic adaptation of sharing granularity in DSM systems The trade-off between false sharing elimination and aggregation in distributed shared memory (DSM) systems has a major effect on their performance. Some studies in this area show that fine grain access is advantageous, while others advocate the use of large coherency units. One way to resolve the trade-off is to dynamically adapt the granularity to the application memory access pattern. In this paper, we propose a novel technique for implementing multiple sharing granularities over page-based DSMS. We present protocols for efficient switching between small and large sharing units during runtime. We show that applications may benefit from adapting the memory sharing to the memory access pattern, using both coarse grain sharing and fine grain sharing interchangeably in different stages of the computation. Our experiments show a substantial improvement in the performance using adapted granularity level over using a fixed granularity level. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

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

virtual parallel machine
network programming


Tracking control for VTOL aircraft with disabled IMUs This article focuses on the design of an output feedback controller able to achieve the asymptotic tracking of a reference trajectory for vertical take off and landing aircraft with disabled inertial measurement units (IMUs). Roll angle and roll rate cannot be measured directly when IMUs are disabled. A dynamic linear observer is designed to estimate the tracking errors of the roll angle and equivalent roll angular velocity with respect to their desired states. Moreover, based on the centre manifold theory and on the equivalent control, the closed-loop system is asymptotically convergent. The theoretical results are confirmed by computer simulations.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 Layered Approach to the Polysemy Problems in a Chinese to Taiwanese TTS System This paper proposes a novel approach to the poly semy problems in a Chinese to Taiwanese TTS (text-to-speech) system. Polysemy means there are words with more than one meaning or pronunciation, such as "(sic)"(no), "(sic)"(up), and "(sic)"(down), and so on. The correct pronunciation of a word affects the comprehensibility (or intelligibility) and fluency of Taiwanese speech. We applied our approach to solve the poly semy problems of the above mentioned three words. These words are difficult polysemy cases since they have many (6, 3, and 4, respectively) possible pronunciations. Results show that the proposed layered approach is over some language models and decision list classifier. Our approach has high accuracy and it can be extended when more training data is available.

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

layered approach
polysemy
chinese to taiwanese

word sense disam biguation
confidence measure


A generic formalism for the semantic modeling and representation of architectural elements This article presents a methodological approach to the semantic description of architectural elements based both on theoretical reflections and research experiences. To develop this approach, a first process of extraction and formalization of architectural knowledge on the basis of the analysis of architectural treaties is proposed. Then, the identified features are used to produce a template shape library dedicated to buildings surveying. Finally, the problem of the overall model structuring and organization using semantic information is addressed for user handling purposes.

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

architectural heritage
feature-based modeling
semantic shape


An EM-based technique for approximating long-tailed data sets with PH distributions We propose a new technique for fitting long-tailed data sets into phase-type (PH) distributions. This technique fits data sets with non-monotone densities into a mixture of Erlang and hyperexponential distributions, and data sets with completely monotone densities into hyperexponential distributions. The method partitions the data set in a divide-and-conquer fashion and uses the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to fit the data of each partition into a hyperexponential distribution. The fits of all partitions are combined to generate the final fit of the entire data set. The proposed method is accurate and computationally efficient. Furthermore, it allows one to apply existing analytic tools to analyze the behavior of queuing systems with long-tailed arrival and/or service processes via tractable models. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

phase-type distributions
long-tailed data sets


Object joint detection and tracking using adaptive multiple motion models This paper deals with the problem of detecting objects that may switch between different motion models. In order to accurately detect these moving objects taking into account possible changing motion models, we propose an adaptive multi-motion model in the joint detection and tracking (JDT) framework. The proposed technique differs from the existing JDT-based methods mainly in two ways. First we express the solution in the JDT framework via a formulation in the multiple motion model setting. Second, we introduce a new motion model prediction function which exploits the correlation between the motion model and object kinematic state. Experiments on both synthetic and real videos demonstrate that the JDT method employing the proposed adaptive multi-motion model can detect objects more accurately than the existing peer methods when objects change their motion models.

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

joint detection and tracking
object kinematic state


New progress in real and complex polynomial root-finding Matrix methods are increasingly popular for polynomial root-finding. The idea is to approximate the roots as the eigenvalues of the companion or generalized companion matrix associated with an input polynomial. The algorithms also solve secular equation. QR algorithm is the most customary method for eigen-solving, but we explore the inverse Rayleigh quotient iteration instead, which turns out to be competitive with the most popular root-finders because of its excellence in exploiting matrix structure. To advance the iteration we preprocess the matrix and incorporate Newton's linearization, repeated squaring, homotopy continuation techniques, and some heuristics. The resulting algorithms accelerate the known numerical root-finders for univariate polynomial and secular equations, and are particularly well suited for the acceleration by using parallel processing. Furthermore, even on serial computers the acceleration is dramatic for numerical approximation of the real roots in the typical case where they are much less numerous than all complex roots. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

polynomial root-finding
companion matrices
dpr1 matrices
eigenvectors
rayleigh quotients
homotopy continuation methods


a timed extension of respect Among the existing extensions to the basic tuple space coordination model, the tuple centre approach has been introduced to allow for the flexible programming of a tuple space behaviour, so as to encapsulate coordination laws directly as behaviour of the coordination medium. In particular, the logic-based language ReSpecT has been used for programming tuple centres in the TuCSoN coordination infrastructure [11, 9].However, among the application contexts that can be suitably engineered with agents and coordination infrastructures, some involve coordination processes where the notion of time and duration play a relevant role. Examples include distributed control systems, protocol-based interactions as in auctions, and in general all the coordination contexts where high dynamism and openness are concerned, which call for time-aware coordination artifacts supporting timed system engineering.Accordingly, in this work we discuss how the basic ReSpecT tuple centre model has been extended to support the definition and enaction of time-aware coordination policies. Several examples are provided to show the expressiveness of the language to model temporal coordination primitives and laws.

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


A probabilistic fuzzy logic system for modeling and control In this paper, a probabilistic fuzzy logic system (PFLS) is proposed for the modeling and control problems. Similar to the ordinary fuzzy logic system (FLS), the PFLS consists of the fuzzification, inference engine and defuzzification operation to process the fuzzy information. Different to the FLS, it uses the probabilistic modeling method to improve the stochastic modeling capability. By using a three-dimensional membership function (MF), the PFLS is able to handle the effect of random noise and stochastic uncertainties existing in the process. A unique defuzzification method is proposed to simplify the complex operation. Finally, the proposed PFLS is applied to a function approximation problem and a robotic system. It shows a better performance than an ordinary FLS in stochastic circumstance.

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

probabilistic fuzzy logic system (pfls)
probabilistic fuzzy set
robotic control


rendering volumetric data using sticks representation scheme An increasing need to efficiently represent and render 3D volumetric data is being experienced in many application fields ranging from scientific and medical visualization to CAD. A technique of representing this kind of data, the Sticks representation scheme, is proposed here with the aim of allowing an efficient representation and rendering of voxel data on low-capability workstations. This data model is based on a 3D extension of the well-known run-length encoding methods. It requires O(kn 2 ) memory cells to represent O(n 3 ) volumetric data and produces a degree of data compression greater than that of the Octree model. Rendering a frontal orthographic projection of a Sticks-represented volume is a very simple task and requires only a partial scan of the data. A Ray Tracing algorithm is presented for the synthesis of gradient-shaded parallel projections; the proposed algorithm exploits the data compression to drastically reduce the complexity of rendering.

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

task
voxel
representation
model
octree
scan
visualization
ray tracing
rendering
parallel
data compression
data
3d
complexity
synthesis
algorithm
scheme

applications
efficiency
project
extensibility
data models
method
exploit
memorialized
encode


Concurrent heterogeneous neural model simulation on real-time neuromimetic hardware Dedicated hardware is becoming increasingly essential to simulate emerging very-large-scale neural models. Equally, however, it needs to be able to support multiple models of the neural dynamics, possibly operating simultaneously within the same system. This may be necessary either to simulate large models with heterogeneous neural types, or to simplify simulation and analysis of detailed, complex models in a large simulation by isolating the new model to a small subpopulation of a larger overall network. The SpiNNaker neuromimetic chip is a dedicated neural processor able to support such heterogeneous simulations. Implementing these models on-chip uses an integrated library-based tool chain incorporating the emerging PyNN interface that allows a modeller to input a high-level description and use an automated process to generate an on-chip simulation. Simulations using both LIF and Izhikevich models demonstrate the ability of the SpiNNaker system to generate and simulate heterogeneous networks on-chip, while illustrating, through the network-scale effects of wavefront synchronisation and burst gating, methods that can provide effective behavioural abstractions for large-scale hardware modelling. SpiNNakers asynchronous virtual architecture permits greater scope for model exploration, with scalable levels of functional and temporal abstraction, than conventional (or neuromorphic) computing platforms. The complete system illustrates a potential path to understanding the neural model of computation, by building (and breaking) neural models at various scales, connecting the blocks, then comparing them against the biology: computational cognitive neuroscience.

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

multimodel
multiscale
universal
real time


Sensitivity-based feedforward and feedback control for uncertain systems In many control applications, we are interested in accurate trajectory tracking. This is especially true for cases in which exact analytic solutions are not available because initial states are not consistent with the desired state or output trajectories or because parameters are significantly uncertain. In these cases, control strategies can be derived on the basis of a verified sensitivity analysis. For that purpose, we have to define suitable performance indices which describe the deviation between the actual and desired trajectories. In this paper, an overview of different sensitivity-based control procedures is given. These procedures include tracking control for systems with bounded parameter uncertainties as well as measurement errors described by interval variables. Moreover, we present a first verified approach to automatic path following by means of an automatic modification of desired output trajectories. This procedure is necessary in cases in which exact trajectory tracking is not possible due to the violation of control constraints.

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

sensitivity analysis
tracking control
uncertain systems


Improving the quality of predictions using textual information in online user reviews Online reviews are often accessed by users deciding to buy a product, see a movie, or go to a restaurant. However, most reviews are written in a free-text format, usually with very scant structured metadata information and are therefore difficult for computers to understand, analyze, and aggregate. Users then face the daunting task of accessing and reading a large quantity of reviews to discover potentially useful information. We identified topical and sentiment information from free-form text reviews, and use this knowledge to improve user experience in accessing reviews. Specifically, we focus on improving recommendation accuracy in a restaurant review scenario. We propose methods to derive a text-based rating from the body of the reviews. We then group similar users together using soft clustering techniques based on the topics and sentiments that appear in the reviews. Our results show that using textual information results in better review score predictions than those derived from the coarse numerical star ratings given by the users. In addition, we use our techniques to make fine-grained predictions of user sentiments towards the individual topics covered in reviews with good accuracy.

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

text classification
social information filtering
personalized recommendations
probabilistic clustering


Quiet eye and the Bereitschaftspotential: visuomotor mechanisms of expert motor performance Concurrent exploration of the Bereitschaftspotential (BP) and quiet eye period (QE) was implemented to assess potential mechanisms underlying psychomotor skills that differentiate expert and near-expert performers. Twenty golfers were classified by their USGA handicap rating as either a high handicap (HH; near-expert) or low handicap (LH; expert) to permit skill-based inferences. Participants completed 90 trials during which QE duration, BP activity, and putting performance were recorded. The application of single-subject analyses illustrated that LH golfers were more accurate and less variable in their performance than the HH group. Systematic differences in QE duration and BP were also observed, with experts exhibiting a prolonged quiet eye period and greater cortical activation in the right-central region compared with non-experts. A significant association between cortical activation and QE duration was also noted. The results of this investigation lend support to the motor programming/preparation function of the QE period. Practical and theoretical implications are presented and suggestions for future empirical work provided.

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

readiness potentials
motor planning
attention
expertise
sport
individual differences


Variational and PCA based natural image segmentation ? This paper introduces a novel variational segmentation method within the fuzzy framework, which solves the problem of segmenting multi-region color-scale images of natural scenes. We call this kind of images as natural images. The advantages of our segmentation method are: (1) by introducing the PCA descriptors, our segmentation model can partition color-texture images better than classical variational-based segmentation models, (2) to preserve geometrical structure of each fuzzy membership function, we propose a nonconvex regularization term in our model, (3) to solve our segmentation model more efficiently, we design a fast iteration algorithm in which we integrate the augmented Lagrange multiplier method and the iterative reweighting. We conduct comprehensive experiments to measure the segmentation performance of our model in terms of visual evaluation, and we also demonstrate the efficiency of the corresponding algorithm in terms of a variety of quantitative indices. The proposed model achieves better segmentation results compared with some other well-known models, such as the level-set model and the fuzzy region competition model, while the proposed algorithm is much more efficient than the algorithm of the state-of-the-art natural image segmentation model.

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

image segmentation
region competition
iterative reweighting

principal component analysis
variable splitting


Phoneme-balanced and digit-sequence-preserving connected digit patterns for text-prompted speaker verification This paper presents a novel design of connected digit patterns to achieve high accuracy text-prompted speaker verification over a cellular phone network. To reduce the error rate. a phoneme-balanced connected digit pattern for enrollment, and digit-sequence-preserving connected digit patterns for verification (i.e. patterns preserving partial digit sequences of the enrollment pattern) are proposed. In addition to these, a decision procedure using multiple patterns has been designed to overcome the low quality of cellular phone speech. Experimental results on cellular phone speech showed the phoneme-balanced patterns for enrollment and digit-sequence-preserving patterns for verification reduced more than 50% of equal error rate compared to the conventional method using randomly selected and randomly-reordered digit patterns. The decision procedure reduced 60% of the error rate. In addition, this paper shows that verification patterns depending on the pattern of a preceding utterance reduced 10% of the error rate. Overall, the error rate obtained by the proposed method was 1 % for 99% of clients and 95% of impostors.

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

speaker verification
connected digit pattern


Silhouette-based human action recognition using sequences of key poses In this paper, a human action recognition method is presented in which pose representation is based on the contour points of the human silhouette and actions are learned by making use of sequences of multi-view key poses. Our contribution is twofold. Firstly, our approach achieves state-of-the-art success rates without compromising the speed of the recognition process and therefore showing suitability for online recognition and real-time scenarios. Secondly, dissimilarities among different actors performing the same action are handled by taking into account variations in shape (shifting the test data to the known domain of key poses) and speed (considering inconsistent time scales in the classification). Experimental results on the publicly available Weizmann, MuHAVi and IXMAS datasets return high and stable success rates, achieving, to the best of our knowledge, the best rate so far on the MuHAVi Novel Actor test.

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

key pose
key pose sequence
weizmann dataset
muhavi dataset
ixmas dataset


Visual latency-based interactive visualization for digital forensics In this paper, we present an interactive visualization and clustering algorithm for real-time multi-attribute digital forensic data such as network anomalous events. In the model, glyphs are defined with multiple network attributes and clustered with the recursive optimization algorithm for dimensional reduction. The user's visual latency time is incorporated into the recursive process so that it updates the display and the optimization model according to the human factor and maximizes the capacity of real-time computation. The interactive search interface is developed to enable the display of similar data points according to their similarity of attributes. Finally, typical network anomalous events are analyzed and visualized such as password guessing, etc. This technology is expected to have an impact on real-time visual data mining for network security, sensor networks and many other multivariable real-time monitoring systems. Our usability study shows a decent accuracy of context-independent glyph identification (89.37%) with a high precision for anomaly detection (94.36%). The results indicate that, without any context, users tend to classify unknown patterns as possibly harmful. On the other hand, in the dynamic clustering (context-dependent) experiment, clusters of very extremely unusual glyphs normally contain fewer packets. In this case, the packet identification accuracy is remarkably high (99.42%).

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

interaction
network anomaly
anomalous event


On-line free-flight path optimization based on improved genetic algorithms ? Free flight (FF) is the ideal strategy of current investigations on air traffic management systems, where an on-line flight path optimization algorithm is of top importance. This paper proposes an innovative algorithm with potential real-time properties for FF path optimization, by using an improved genetic algorithm (GA). Two kinds of mathematical models for the on-line flight path optimization problem are proposed to cover the near and far future applications. Several improvements are introduced to the GA to speed up its convergence as well as to improve performance. Simulation results show that the new algorithm is effective and has potential to solve the on-line FF path optimization problem in real time.

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

free flight
flight path
genetic algorithm


INDUCTIVE COMPUTATIONS ON GRAPHS DEFINED BY CLIQUE-WIDTH EXPRESSIONS Labelling problems for graphs consist in building distributed data structures, making it possible to check a given graph property or to compute a given function, the arguments of which are vertices. For an inductively computable function D, if G is a graph with n vertices and of clique-width at most k, where k is fixed, we can associate with each vertex x of G a piece of information (bit sequence) lab(x) of length O(log(2)(n)) such that we can compute D in constant time, using only the labels of its arguments. The preprocessing can be done in time O(h.n) where h is the height of the syntactic tree of G. We perform an inductive computation, without using the tools of monadic second order logic. This enables us to give an explicit labelling scheme and to avoid constants of exponential size.

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Cracking a hierarchical chaotic image encryption algorithm based on permutation Security performance of an encryption algorithm called HCIE is analyzed in detail. Hierarchical permutation-only encryption schemes are less secure than normal ones. Security of HCIE against ciphertext-only attack was reported being overestimated.

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chosen-plaintext attack
chaotic cryptanalysis
known-plaintext attack
histogram


Bridging Identity Gaps-Supporting Identity Performance in Citizen Service Encounters This paper explores in situ citizen service encounters in government offices. Drawing upon ethnographically informed fieldwork in Canada and Denmark, we discuss the challenges to supporting citizens in constructing and performing identities in public service settings. Our data suggests that citizens make use of at least three strategies in their attempts to perform the appropriate identities needed to "fit within the system" in specific encounters with government. There exists a strong correlation between citizens' ability to perform identities that are compatible with the bureaucratic administrative processes and the quality and swiftness of the service they receive. As we bring to light in this paper, this "fitting in" with rigid bureaucratic procedures and IT systems interestingly requires a substantial collaborative effort between the receiver(s) of the service and a complex constellation of surrounding stakeholders and intermediaries. This collaboration and the performing of multiple identities raises challenges for the design of e-government systems aimed at supporting physical and digital citizen service provision, as well as issues regarding privacy, citizenship, and public service quality. Lastly, we turn to a discussion of how the established identity gaps can be addressed through design. Information and communication technologies as well as face-to-face encounters have an important role to play in the building of an interface to government. Here, it is paramount to consider the context in which people and systems must function in order to meet the need for dynamic identity performance.

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An adjoint-based a posteriori estimation of iterative convergence error The iterative convergence error of goal functional is considered for solving the steady problem by time iterations. The functional error is calculated using adjoint parameter and time derivative. The numerical tests demonstrate the applicability of this approach for linear and nonlinear heat conduction equations. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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convergence error
a posteriori estimation