A two-stage gene selection scheme utilizing MRMR filter and GA wrapper Gene expression data usually contain a large number of genes, but a small number of samples. Feature selection for gene expression data aims at finding a set of genes that best discriminates biological samples of different types. In this paper, we propose a two-stage selection algorithm for genomic data by combining MRMR (Minimum Redundancy-Maximum Relevance) and GA (Genetic Algorithm). In the first stage, MRMR is used to filter noisy and redundant genes in high-dimensional microarray data. In the second stage, the GA uses the classifier accuracy as a fitness function to select the highly discriminating genes. The proposed method is tested for tumor classification on five open datasets: NCI, Lymphoma, Lung, Leukemia and Colon using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Na < ve Bayes (NB) classifiers. The comparison of the MRMR-GA with MRMR filter and GA wrapper shows that our method is able to find the smallest gene subset that gives the most classification accuracy in leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV).

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

feature selection
genetic algorithm
mrmr
support vector machine
loocv


Singular optimum topology of skeletal structures with frequency constraints by AGGA This paper studies singular optimum topology of skeletal structures with frequency constraints. To capture the local flexural vibration modes of members, skeletal structure should be approximately modeled as frame structure. However, the topology optimization of frame structures has the characteristics of singular optimum and disjoint feasible domain. For the discrete nature of such problem, the optimum design can't be obtained by continuous search. To handle the difficulty, the automatic grouping genetic algorithm with improvements in crossover operator and penalty function is applied to optimize frame structures. Two examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

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

skeletal structure
topology optimization
automatic grouping
genetic algorithm


enable wikis for seamless hypervideo integration Motivation -- Wikis are Web-based collaborative systems that allow users to create, share and interlink content. Existing Wikis restrict users to edit and arrange text with other embedded media formats. Unfortunately moving pictures are handled as a whole without considering their temporal dimension. Their time-related composition and association with other parts of the wiki are withhold from the users influence. Thus, current wikis cannot be used to host or author rich dynamic and interactive hypervideos along with hypertext elements. Research approach -- A comparison of hypermedia systems and video production tools as well as wiki software was made to identify requirements of time-based user interfaces for hypervideo authoring environments. Findings/Design -- In this paper I present an approach for seamless and collaborative integration of interactive hypervideos into existing wiki environments. The wiki metaphor is combined with a direct manipulation user interface for hypervideo authoring and particular markup conventions. Originality/Value -- The research makes a contribution to collaborative work and learning with wikis. It enables users to annotate spatio temporal hyperlinks as well as composite sequential video clips through both, graphical user interface and generic markup language. Take away message -- Moving images within wikis can communicate ideas in ways that text can not. These images can be interconnected with other wiki contents.

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


A hole filling method for surfaces by using C-1-Powell-Sabin splines. Estimation of the smoothing parameters Let D subset of R-2 be a polygonal domain, H be a subdomain of D and f is an element of C-1((D) over bar - (H) over circle). In this paper we propose a method to reconstruct f over the whole (D) over bar using a technique based on the minimization of an energy functional J More precisely, we construct a new C-1-Powell-Sabin spline function f* over (D) over bar that approximates f outside H, and fills the hole off inside H. The resulting filling patch strongly depends on the values of two smoothing parameters involved in the functional J. We give a criteria to select optimum values of the parameters and we present some graphical and numerical examples. (C) 2010 IMACS. Published by Elsevier E.V. All rights reserved.

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

filling holes
minimal energy
optimum parameters
powell-sabin


Capacity of interference channels with partial transmitter cooperation Capacity regions are established for several two-sender, two-receiver channels with partial transmitter cooperation. First, the capacity regions are determined for compound multiple-access channels (MACs) with common information and compound MACs with conferencing. Next, two interference channel models are considered: an interference channel with common information (ICCI) and an interference channel with unidirectional cooperation (ICUC) in which the message sent by one of the encoders is known to the other encoder. The capacity regions of both of these channels are determined when there is strong interference, i.e., the interference is such that both receivers can decode all messages with no rate penalty. The resulting capacity regions coincide with the capacity region of the compound MAC with common information.

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

capacity region
cooperation
strong interference


Validating Second-Order Mutation at System Level Mutation has been recognized to be an effective software testing technique. It is based on the insertion of artificial faults in the system under test (SUT) by means of a set of mutation operators. Different operators can mutate each program statement in several ways, which may produce a huge number of mutants. This leads to very high costs for test case execution and result analysis. Several works have approached techniques for cost reduction in mutation testing, like n-order mutation where each mutant contains n artificial faults instead of one. There are two approaches to n-order mutation: increasing the effectiveness of mutation by searching for good n-order mutants, and decreasing the costs of mutation testing by reducing the mutants set through the combination of the first-order mutants into n-order mutants. This paper is focused on the second approach. However, this second use entails a risk: the possibility of leaving undiscovered faults in the SUT, which may distort the perception of the test suite quality. This paper describes an empirical study of different combination strategies to compose second-order mutants at system level as well as a cost-risk analysis of n-order mutation at system level.

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

empirical evaluation
high-order mutation


A Marked Point Process for Modeling Lidar Waveforms Lidar waveforms are 1-D signals representing a train of echoes caused by reflections at different targets. Modeling these echoes with the appropriate parametric function is useful to retrieve information about the physical characteristics of the targets. This paper presents a new probabilistic model based upon a marked point process which reconstructs the echoes from recorded discrete waveforms as a sequence of parametric curves. Such an approach allows to fit each mode of a waveform with the most suitable function and to deal with both, symmetric and asymmetric, echoes. The model takes into account a data term, which measures the coherence between the models and the waveforms, and a regularization term, which introduces prior knowledge on the reconstructed signal. The exploration of the associated configuration space is performed by a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) sampler coupled with simulated annealing. Experiments with different kinds of lidar signals, especially from urban scenes, show the high potential of the proposed approach. To further demonstrate the advantages of the suggested method, actual laser scans are classified and the results are reported.

O B I I 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 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 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

monte carlo sampling
object-based stochastic model
source modeling


Classification method for detecting coercive self-citation in journals Coercive self-citations seriously undermine the integrity and impartiality of journals and produce a detrimental academic atmosphere. We develop a method for automatically identifying the undesirable self-citation behavior. The classification model is effective at identifying abnormal journals involved in coercive self-citation using a classification model.

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

scientific journal
coercive self-citation


An exact method for computing the area moments of wavelet and spline curves We present a method for the exact computation of the moments of a region bounded by a curve represented by a scaling function or wavelet basis. Using Green's Theorem, we show that the computation of the area moments is equivalent to applying a suitable multidimensional filter on the coefficients of the curve and thereafter computing a scalar product. The multidimensional filter coefficients are precomputed exactly as the solution of a two-scale relation. To demonstrate the performance improvement of the new method, we compare it with existing methods such as pixel-based approaches and approximation of the region by a polygon. We also propose an alternate scheme when the scaling function is sinc(x).

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

splines
wavelets
fourier
two-scale relation
box splines
wavelet-galerkin integrals


Theoretical design of donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers based on furo-, thieno-, and selenopheno[3,4-c] thiophene-4,6-dione and benzodithiophene units for organic solar cells In this work, a series of donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers (PBDTFPD(Pa1), PBDTTPD (Pa2) and PBDTSePD(Pa3)) were selected and theoretically investigated using O3LYP/6-31G(d), PBE0/6-31G(d), TD-O3LYP/6-31G(d)//O3LYP/6-31G(d) and periodic boundary conditions methods. The calculated results go well with the available experimental data of highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO/LUMO) energy levels and band gaps. A series of conjugated polymers (Pb1 similar to Pb3) comprised of electron-deficient benzodithiophene and electron-rich furo-, thieno-, and selenopheno[3,4-c]thiophene-4,6-dione were further designed and studied. Compared with Pa1-Pa3, the designed polymers of Pb1 similar to Pb3 show better performances with smaller band gaps, lower HOMO energy levels, red shift of absorption spectra, and larger open circuit voltage (Voc). For investigated polymers (Pa1, Pa2, Pa3, Pb1, Pb2, Pb3), the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of similar to 6.1 %, similar to 7.2 %, similar to 7.9 %, similar to 8.0 %, similar to 9.5 % and similar to 9.0 % are predicted by Scharber diagrams when they are used in combination with PC60BM as an acceptor. The results illustrate that these designed polymers which turn the electron-withdrawing capability in D-A conjugated polymers are expected to turn into highly efficient donor materials for organic solar cells.

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 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

density functional theory
hole mobility
optical absorption
organic solar cell
power conversion efficiency


design concept to promote both reflective and experimental cognition for creative design work We discuss the disadvantages of the current design support systems that arise from a poor understanding of the human-cognitive characteristics, such as the reflective and experimental modes, and the selection of a suitable media for use in the creative design process. Then we demonstrate the current prototype system called "Godzilla" that supports the creative design especially for the car exterior designer. The designers can draw the concept image on a 2D pad (tablet with an LCD). When they grasp it and put it in midair, the shape of the 2D sketch is automatically recognized and appears as 3D sketch on a 3D pad (stereovision TV). They can sketch, modify, and observe from different viewpoints in both 2D and 3D. Note that 3D images are not displayed as a beautiful CG image, but a 3D sketch that consists of many 3D-cursive lines produced by mimicking the designer's pen touch in order to keep the designers in the reflective cognitive mode and to provide them with rich stimuli for their creative activities.

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


The safety and quality of decision support systems Objectives: The use of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can improve the overall safety and quality of healthcare delivery, but may also introduce machine-related errors. Recent concerns about the potential for CDSS to harm parents hove generated much debate, but there is little research available to identify the nature of such errors, or quantify their frequency or clinical impact. Methods: A review of recent literature into electronic prescribing systems, as well as related literature indecision support. Results: There seems to be some evidence for variation in the outcomes of using CDSS, most likely reflecting variations in clinical setting, culture, training and organizational process, independent of technical variables. There is also preliminary evidence that poorly implemented CDSS can lead to increased mortality in some settings. Studies in the US, UK and Australia have found commercial prescribing systems often fail to uniformly detect significant drug interactions, probably because of errors in their knowledge base. Electronic medication management systems may generate new types of error because of user-interface design, but also because of event in the workplace such as distraction affecting the actions of system users. Another potential source of CDSS influenced errors are automation bioses, including errors of omission where individuals miss important data because the system does not prompt them to notice them, and errors of commission where individuals do what the decision aid tells to do, even when this contradicts their training and other available data. Errors of dismissal occur when relevant alerts are ignored. On-line decision support systems may also result in errors where clinicians come to an incorrect assessment of the evidence, possibly shaped in part by cognitive decision biases. Conclusions:. The effectiveness of decision support systems, like all other health IT, cannot be assessed purely by evaluating the usability and performance of the software, but is the outcome of a complex set of cognitive and socio-technical interactions. A deeper understanding of these issues can result in the design of systems which are not just intrinsically 'safe' but which also result in safe outcomes in the hands of busy or poorly resourced clinicians.

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

decision support systems
safety
error
electronic prescribing


Effect of climatic conditions on energy consumption in direct fresh-air container data centers Fresh-air-cooled container data center is set in a Tokyo suburb. Our container has been managed within the server environmental conditions for a year. Our container exhibit a 20.8% reduction in the total energy use compared with CRAC. The PUE observed in the temperate humid climate is similar to those in other areas.

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

fresh-air cooling
evaporative cooling
energy reduction
energy saving


Combination of spatio-temporal correction methods using traffic survey data for reconstruction of people flow Data on people flow has become increasingly important in various fields, including marketing and public services. Although mobile phones enable the users position to be located with a certain degree of accuracy from a large number of people and become one of the most promising devise, unwillingness to share related with privacy issues still remain. Therefore, it is also important to establish a practical method for reconstructing people flow from various kinds of existing fragmentary spatio-temporal data, such as public traffic survey data, from a view of complementariness with mobile phone data. In this study, we propose a combination of spatio-temporal correction processes to a previously published method, to generate continuous spatio-temporal people flow data sets at chosen intervals in selected cities. The correction methods include temporal smoothing of departure time using kernel density estimation, network data correction in OpenStreetMap data, and spatial smoothing in geocoding with MODIS data. We also compare the reconstruction accuracy by deriving correlation coefficients for different combinations of correction methods. Such reconstructed people flow data can potentially be used as infrastructure data in various fields, including emergency planning and related events in areas where data collection and real-time awareness are weak.

O O O O O O B I I 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 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

reconstruction of people flow
traffic survey data


Agent-Based Interaction Protocols and Topologies for Manufacturing Task Allocation This paper focuses on interaction protocols and topologies of multiagent systems (MASs) for task allocation, particularly in manufacturing application. Resource agents in manufacturing are members of a network whose possible logical topologies and governing interaction protocol influence the scheduling and control in the MAS. Four models are presented in this paper, each having specific rules and characteristics for scheduling and task allocation. Two models out of the four use a well-known standard interaction method [contract-net protocol (CNP)], while the others are proposed in this paper. The newly proposed models are based on ring topology and algorithms developed in the research. A Java-based MAS was also developed to simulate different scenarios of task allocation and to compare the four models in terms of some scheduling performance indicators, using cases from manufacturing. The results produced meaningful differences between the four models, including their strengths and weaknesses. Two models, namely, modified ring and CNP-based peer-to-peer, gave superior performance compared with the others. Furthermore, the proposed modified ring exhibits significant potential in handling manufacturing task allocation applications.

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

agent-based systems
contract-net protocol (cnp)
manufacturing scheduling


QFD: a methodological tool for integration of ergonomics at the design stage As a marked increase in the number of musculoskeletal disorders was noted in many industrialized countries and more specifically in companies that require the use of hand tools, the French National Research and Safety Institute launched in 1999 a research program on the topic of integrating ergonomics into hand tool design. After a brief review of the problems of integrating ergonomics at the design stage, the paper shows how the Quality Function Deployment method has been applied to the design of a boning knife and it highlights the difficulties encountered. Then, it demonstrates how this method can be a methodological tool geared to greater ergonomics consideration in product design.

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


Average-optimal string matching The exact string matching problem is to find the occurrences of a pattern of length m from a text of length n symbols. We develop a novel and unorthodox filtering technique for this problem. Our method is based on transforming the problem into multiple matching of carefully chosen pattern subsequences. While this is seemingly more difficult than the original problem, we show that the idea leads to very simple algorithms that are optimal on average. We then show how our basic method can be used to solve multiple string matching as well as several approximate matching problems in average optimal time. The general method can be applied to many existing string matching algorithms. Our experimental results show that the algorithms perform very well in practice.

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

multiple string matching
optimality
bit-parallelism


Memory and Learning of Sequential Patterns by Nonmonotone Neural Networks Conventional neural network models for temporal association generally do not work well in the absence of synchronizing neurons. This is because their dynamical properties are fundamentally not suitable for storing sequential patterns, no matter what storage or learning algorithm is used. The present article describes a nonmonotone neural network (NNN) model in which sequential patterns are stored by being embedded in a trajectory attractor of the dynamical system, and recalled stably and smoothly without synchronization; recall is done in such a way that the network state successively moves along the trajectory. A simple and natural learning algorithm for the NNN is also presented, where one only has to vary the input pattern gradually and modify the synaptic weights according to a kind of covariance rule; then the network state follows slightly behind the input pattern, and its trajectory grows to be an attractor with a small number of repetitions. Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

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

temporal association
nonmonotone neural networks
covariance rule

sequential pattern memory
nonmonotone dynamics
trajectory attractors
spatiotemporal pattern learning


Comparison of database replication techniques based on total order broadcast In this paper, we present a performance comparison of database replication techniques based on total order broadcast. While the performance of total order broadcast-based replication techniques has been studied in previous papers, this paper presents many new contributions. First, it compares with each other techniques that were presented and evaluated separately, usually by comparing them to a classical replication scheme like distributed locking. Second, the evaluation is done using a finer network model than previous studies. Third, the paper compares techniques that offer the same consistency criterion (one-copy serializability) in the same environment using the same settings. The paper shows that, while networking performance has little influence in a LAN setting, the cost of synchronizing replicas is quite high. Because of this, total order broadcast-based techniques are very promising as they minimize synchronization between replicas.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 databases
performance attributes
distributed programming


Effect of geometric parameters on popcorn cracking in plastic packages during VPS process Several thin quad flat packages (TQFPs) are analyzed for the evaluation of G, the energy release rate based on the interfacial fracture mechanics. The purposes of this study are; (i)to obtain the values of G as a function of the length of delamination (interfacial crack) and various geometric dimensions, (ii)to obtain the values of G for the package crack, which is believed to be the subsequent stage to the full delamination, and consequently (iii)to investigate quantitatively the effect of the various geometric dimensions on the popcorn cracking during vapor-phase soldering (VPS). Also the method to compute the phase angle (or mode mixity) for the interfacial crack is presented for several TQFPs. Due to the insufficient data for Gcint, the question of whether the partial delamination for given a (delamination length or crack length) grows or not cannot be addressed. However, this can be used for the prediction of the popcorn cracking in the future study.

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

popcorn cracking
fracture mechanics
energy release rate

vapor-phase soldering (vps)
j-integral
m-integral


Specification of a job shop scheduling simulation model and some properties of its internal transition function We specify a job shop scheduling system according to DEVS formalism introduced by Zeigler. Our specification defines a set of state variables and an internal transition function that moves the system from state to state at event times. Some properties of the internal transition function are presented.

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

backward simulation
production scheduling


An improved algorithm for reconstructing a simple polygon from its visibility angles ? Given a cyclically ordered vertex sequence of an unknown simple polygon P of n vertices and, for each vertex v of P, the sequence of angles defined by all the visible vertices of v in P, we study the problem of reconstructing the polygon P (up to similarity). An O ( n 3 log n ) time algorithm has been proposed for this problem (by Disser, Mihalk, and Widmayer in 2011 [5]). We show in this paper that the running time of the algorithm in the previous work can be reduced to O(n2) O ( n 2 ) time by new observations on the geometric structures of the problem.

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


Balanced scorecard performance evaluation in a closed-loop hierarchical model under uncertainty This measurement system includes a set of financial and non-financial measures. This study proposes a hierarchical network structure and interdependence relations under uncertainty. This study demonstrates a closed-loop network to improve practical performance.

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

analytical network process
fuzzy set theory
closed-loop hierarchical structure


interactive and intelligent visual communication systems Interventions to support children with cognitive and social developmental disabilities often include visual elements. Use of visual artifacts has been shown to increase the communication and understanding levels of children with disabilities. We describe a research agenda for expanding these capabilities using interactive, collaborative and intelligent systems.

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


global reuse strategy based on use cases (poster session) The paper introduces two concepts based on use cases: business patterns and automation patterns. It describes a connection between the business and automation patterns with classes. Finally, it presents an idea of a multi-level library that allows global reuse of software development models and code.

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


Perceptual blur and ringing metrics: application to JPEG2000 We present a full- and no-reference blur metric as well as a full-reference ringing metric. These metrics are based on an analysis of the edges and adjacent regions in an image and have very low computational complexity. As blur and ringing are typical artifacts of wavelet compression, the metrics are then applied to JPEG2000 coded images. Their perceptual significance is corroborated through a number of subjective experiments. The results show that the proposed metrics perform well over a wide range of image content and distortion levels. Potential applications include source coding optimization and network resource management.

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

blur
ringing
subjective experiments
jpeg2000


Strategies of loop recombination in ciliates The concept of breakpoint graph, known from the theory of sorting by reversal, has been successfully applied in the theory of gene assembly in ciliates. We further investigate its usage for gene assembly, and show that the graph allows for an efficient characterization of the possible orders of loop recombination operations (one of the three types of molecular operations that accomplish gene assembly) for a given gene during gene assembly. The characterization is based on spanning trees within a graph built upon the connected components in the breakpoint graph. We work in the abstract and more general setting of so-called legal strings.

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


nt/windows 2000 user profile issues This document explains NT roaming profile issues experienced on public PC's at Bethel College & Seminary. Issues explained include slow login times (5+ minutes), profile corruption, and lost files. It also explains the NT logon and logoff process. This document is for user services and support staff to come up with a plan to help users overcome these issues.

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

server
microsoft nt
workstations
windows 2000


Calibration of an elasto-plastic constitutive model by a constrained optimisation procedure The presented paper deals with a constrained optimisation technique for the calibration of elasto-plastic model parameters in a rational and objective manner. The procedure consists in finding a set of model parameters which minimise the difference between the experimental data and the numerical simulations defined by an objective function. For this purpose, an optimisation routine, termed ParaID, has been developed which combines the quasi-Newton and stochastic methods. The optimisation technique was employed to calibrate a multi-mechanism elasto-plastic constitutive model. Using the results of three isotropically consolidated drained triaxial compression tests, a comparison between numerical and experimental results clearly shows the capability of the optimisation procedure to determine the model parameters correctly.

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

elasto-plasticity
constitutive modelling
sensitivity analysis


an approach for qos-aware service composition based on genetic algorithms Web services are rapidly changing the landscape of software engineering. One of the most interesting challenges introduced by web services is represented by Quality Of Service (QoS)--aware composition and late--binding. This allows to bind, at run--time, a service--oriented system with a set of services that, among those providing the required features, meet some non--functional constraints, and optimize criteria such as the overall cost or response time. In other words, QoS--aware composition can be modeled as an optimization problem.We propose to adopt Genetic Algorithms to this aim. Genetic Algorithms, while being slower than integer programming, represent a more scalable choice, and are more suitable to handle generic QoS attributes. The paper describes our approach and its applicability, advantages and weaknesses, discussing results of some numerical simulations.

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

qos--aware composition
service--oriented software engineering


Hypermedia on the web: What will it take? Researchers in the hypermedia field often lament that the World Wide Web does not support many of hypermedia's rich structuring, navigation and annotation features. What would it take for everyday Web applications to be fully hypermedia compliant, now that the basic hypermedia building blocks exist on the Web? The following four capabilities are the most critical for integrating hypermedia support in the Web environment: edit-capable browsers, storing document content and link anchors separately, external linkbases, and displaying link spans, node and link attributes. Individual developers cannot decide autonomously on how to resolve many of the outstanding issues. Developers need agreed-upon conventions and tools built upon today's Web standards to fully incorporate hypermedia functionality into everyday applications.

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

hypermedia
world wide web
browsers
linkbases
link attributes

standardization
design
hypertext
hypertext functionality


B-Queue: Efficient and Practical Queuing for Fast Core-to-Core Communication Core-to-core communication is critical to the effective use of multi-core processors. A number of software based concurrent lock-free queues have been proposed to address this problem. Existing solutions, however, suffer from performance degradation in real testbeds, or rely on auxiliary hardware or software timers to handle the deadlock problem when batching is used, making those solutions good in theory but difficult to use in practice. This paper describes the pros and cons of existing concurrent lock-free queues in both dummy and real testbeds and proposes B-Queue, an efficient and practical single-producer-single-consumer concurrent lock-free queue that solves the deadlock problem gracefully by introducing a self-adaptive backtracking mechanism. Experiments show that in real massively-parallel applications, B-Queue is faster than FastForward and MCRingBuffer, the two state-of-the-art concurrent lock-free queues, by up to 10x and 5x, respectively. Moreover, B-Queue outperforms FastForward and MCRingBuffer in terms of stability and scalability, making it a good candidate for fast core-to-core communication on multi-core architectures.

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

nonblocking synchronization
lock-free queue
parallelization
multi-core


Evaluating the reliability level of virtual metrology results for flexible process control: a novelty detection-based approach The purpose of virtual metrology (VM) in semiconductor manufacturing is to support process monitoring and quality control by predicting the metrological values of every wafer without an actual metrology process, based on process sensor data collected during the operation. Most VM-based quality control schemes assume that the VM predictions are always accurate, which in fact may not be true due to some unexpected variations that can occur during the process. In this paper, therefore, we propose a means of evaluating the reliability level of VM prediction results based on novelty detection techniques, which would allow flexible utilization of the VM results. Our models generate a high-reliability score for a wafers VM prediction only when its process sensor values are found to be consistent with those of the majority of wafers that are used in model building; otherwise, a low-reliability score is returned. Thus, process engineers can selectively utilize VM results based on their reliability level. Experimental results show that our reliability generation models are effective; the VM results for wafers with a high level of reliability were found to be much more accurate than those with a low level.

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

virtual metrology
reliability level
novelty detection
semiconductor
process monitoring


Advanced Indexing Technique for Temporal Data The need for efficient access and management of time dependent data in modern database applications is well recognised and researched. Existing access methods are mostly derived from the family of spatial R-tree indexing techniques. These techniques are particularly not suitable to handle data involving open ended intervals, which are common in temporal databases. This is due to overlapping between nodes and huge dead space found in the database. In this study, we describe a detailed investigation of a new approach called "Triangular Decomposition Tree" (TD-Tree). The underlying idea for the TD-Tree is to manage temporal intervals by virtual index structures relying on geometric interpretations of intervals, and a space partition method that results in an unbalanced binary tree. We demonstrate that the unbalanced binary tree can be efficiently manipulated using a virtual index. We also show that the single query algorithm can be applied uniformly to different query types without the need of dedicated query transformations. In addition to the advantages related to the usage of a single query algorithm for different query types and better space complexity, the empirical performance of the TD-tree has been found to be superior to its best known competitors.

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


Improving software testing process: feature prioritization to make winners of success-critical stakeholders For a successful software project, acceptable quality must be achieved within an acceptable cost, demonstrating business value to customers and satisfactorily meeting delivery timeliness. Testing serves as the most widely used approaches to determine that the intended functionalities are performed correctly and achieve the desired level of services; however, it is also a labor-intensive and expensive process during the whole software life cycle. Most current testing processes are often technique-centered, rather than organized to maximize business value. In this article, we extend and elaborate the 4+1 theoretical lenses of Value-based Software Engineering (VBSE) framework in the software testing process; propose a multi-objective feature prioritization strategy for testing planning and controlling, which aligns the internal testing process with value objectives coming from customers and markets. Our case study in a real-life business project shows that this method allows reasoning about the software testing process in different dimensions: it helps to manage the testing process effectively and efficiently, provides information for continuous internal software process improvement, and increases customer satisfaction, which makes winners of all success-critical stakeholders (SCSs) in the software testing process. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

value-based
business importance
quality risk
market


Rehabilitation of an unloved child: semi-splaying Splay trees are widely considered as the classic examples of self-adjusting binary search trees and are part of most courses on data structures and algorithms. Already in the first seminal paper on splay trees (J. Assoc. Comput. Mach. 1985, 32(3):652-686) alternative operations were introduced, among which is semi-splaying. On the one hand, the analysis of semi-splaying gives a smaller constant for the amortized complexity, but on the other hand the authors write: Whether any version of semi-splaying is an improvement over splaying depends on the access sequence. Semi-splaying may be better when the access pattern is stable, but splaying adapts much faster to changes in usage. Maybe this sentence was the reason that nobody seriously ran tests to compare the performance of semi-splaying and splaying. Semi-splaying is conceptually simpler than splaying, has the same asymptotic amortized complexity and, as will be clear from empirical data presented in this paper, the practical performance is better for a very broad variety of access patterns. Therefore, its efficiency is a good reason to use semi-splaying for applications instead of its more prominent brother. Moreover, its simplicity also makes it very attractive for teaching purposes. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

semi-splaying
self-adjusting
binary trees
experimental results


The adaptive convexification algorithm for semi-infinite programming with arbitrary index sets A numerical solution method for semi-infinite optimization problems with arbitrary, not necessarily box-shaped, index sets is presented. Following the ideas of Floudas and Stein (SIAM J Optim 18:1187-1208, 2007), convex relaxations of the lower level problem are adaptively constructed and then reformulated as mathematical programs with complementarity constraints and solved. Although the index set is arbitrary, this approximation produces feasible iterates for the original problem. The convex relaxations and needed parameters are constructed with ideas of the alpha BB method of global optimization and interval methods. It is shown that after finitely many steps an -stationary point of the original semi-infinite problem is reached. A numerical example illustrates the performance of the proposed method.

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

mathematical programming with complementarity constraints


Dynamic inference of polymorphic lock types We present FINDLOCKS, an approach for automatically proving the absence of data races in multi-threaded Java programs, using a combination of dynamic and static analysis. The program in question is instrumented so that when executed it will gather information about locking relationships. This information is then used to automatically generate annotations needed to type check the program using the Race-Free Java type system. Programs that type check are sure to be free from races. We call this technique dynamic annotation inference. We describe the design and implementation of our approach, and our experience applying the tool to a variety of Java programs. We have found that when using a reasonably comprehensive test suite, which is easy for small programs but harder for larger ones, the approach generates useful annotations. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

dynamic analysis
type inference
multithreading


Efficient generation of large-scale pareto-optimal topologies The objective of this paper is to introduce an efficient algorithm and implementation for large-scale 3-D topology optimization. The proposed algorithm is an extension of a recently proposed 2-D topological-sensitivity based method that can generate numerous pareto-optimal topologies up to a desired volume fraction, in a single pass. In this paper, we show how the computational challenges in 3-D can be overcome. In particular, we consider an arbitrary 3-D domain-space that is discretized via hexahedral/brick finite elements. Exploiting congruence between elements, we propose a matrix-free implementation of the finite element method. The latter exploits modern multi-core architectures to efficiently solve topology optimization problems involving millions of degrees of freedom. The proposed methodology is illustrated through numerical experiments; comparisons are made against previously published results.

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


A base function for generating contour traversal paths in stereolithography apparatus applications The technique of layered manufacturing in rapid prototyping is to fabricate product prototype by scanning the cross-sectional contours of the product using a laser beam layer by layer. The outlines of geometrical objects on each layer are different, and each layer may contain several geometrical objects. In order to simplify the problem, each geometrical object on the same plane is approximating by its own minimum circumscribed circle. Therefore, the minimum traversal path of circles can be the based model of the minimum traversal path of scanning geometrical objects. Furthermore, the minimum traversal path of three circles is the degenerated case of the minimum traversal path of plural circles. And the problem of the minimum traversal path of three circles can be transferred to the problem of the minimum traversal path of one circle and two points in this paper. By using the concepts of reflection of light in physics and geometrical mathematics, the equation of the minimum traversal path of three circles is derived in this paper. This equation can be easily implemented in many areas of application, including robotic motion planning and path planning for submarine, ship, and airplane.

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

stereolithography apparatus
layered manufacturing
path planning
robotic motion planning

minimum traversal function
analytic geometric function


A novel method for attribute reduction of covering decision systems Attribute reduction has become an important step in pattern recognition and machine learning tasks. Covering rough sets, as a generalization of classical rough sets, have attracted wide attention in both theory and application. This paper provides a novel method for attribute reduction based on covering rough sets. We review the concepts of consistent and inconsistent covering decision systems and their reducts and we develop a judgment theorem and a discernibility matrix for each type of covering decision system. Furthermore, we present some basic structural properties of attribute reduction with covering rough sets. Based on a discernibility matrix, we develop a heuristic algorithm to find a subset of attributes that approximate a minimal reduct. Finally, the experimental results for UCI data sets show that the proposed reduction approach is an effective technique for addressing numerical and categorical data and is more efficient than the method presented in the paper [D.G. Chen, C.Z. Wang, Q.H. Hu, A new approach to attribute reduction of consistent and inconsistent covering decision systems with covering rough sets, Information Sciences 177(17) (2007) 35003518].

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

attribute reduction
discernibility matrix

covering rough set
consistent covering decision system
inconsistent covering decision system


Numerical fluid solutions for nonlocal electron transport in hot plasmas: Equivalent diffusion versus nonlocal source Flux limitation and preheat are important processes in electron transport occurring in laser produced plasmas. The proper calculation of both of these has been a subject receiving much attention over the entire lifetime of the laser fusion project. Where nonlocal transport (instead of simple single flux limit) has been modeled, it has always been with what we denote the equivalent diffusion solution, namely treating the transport as only a diffusion process. We introduce here a new approach called the nonlocal source solution and show it is numerically viable for laser produced plasmas. It turns out that the equivalent diffusion solution generally underestimates preheat. Furthermore, the advance of the temperature front, and especially the preheat, can be held up by artificial thermal barriers. The nonlocal source method of solution, on the other hand more accurately describes preheat and can stably calculate the solution for the temperature even if the heat flux is up the gradient.

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

nonlocal electron transport
equivalent diffusion

krook model
implicitexplicit diffusion algorithm
numerical stability


Motor Performance and Motor Learning in Lurcher Mice In adult Lurcher mice virtually all cerebellar Purkinje cells have degenerated as a direct consequence of mutant gene action, providing a natural model for studying the effect of cerebellar cortical lesions on the generation of compensatory eye movements. Lurcher mice possess both optokinetic (OKR) and vestibular (VOR) compensatory reflexes. However, clear differences were observed in control of the OKR consisting of a large reduction in gain and a moderate increase in phase lag. Minor differences were also observed in the VOR in that gain and phase lead of the reflex were both increased in Lurcher animals. Subjecting Lurcher animals to eight days of visuovestibular training tested the assumption that increased VOR gain reflected an adaptive mechanism within remaining brainstem oculomotor pathways to compensate for the reduced OKR. Contrary to control animals, Lurcher animals were unable to modify either VOR or OKR in the course of training and therefore confirmed that an intact cerebellum is indispensable for the implementation of adaptive modifications to the oculomotor system.

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

lurcher mouse
visuovestibular adaptation


Atrial flutter and atrial tachycardia detection using Bayesian approach with high resolution timefrequency spectrum from ECG recordings We introduce a novel method for automatic detection of AFL and AT. We use Bayesian approach followed by high resolution timefrequency spectrum. We found TQ interval of ECG by using a particle filter. For classifications of AFL, AT and NSR, we found that our approach resulted in accuracies of 0.89, 0.87 and 0.91. Our approach tracks the time-varying fundamental frequency of atrial activity with high-resolution timefrequency.

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

atrial flutter
atrial tachycardia
particle filter
high resolution timefrequency spectrum

dynamic ecg model
variable frequency complex demodulation
electrocardiogram


Performance bound's for space-time trellis codes In this paper, we derive the union bound for space-time trellis codes over quasi-static fading channels. We first observe that the standard approach for evaluating the union bound yields very loose, in fact divergent, bounds over the quasi-static fading channel. We then develop a method for obtaining a tight bound on the error probability. We derive the union bound by performing expurgation of the standard union bound. In addition, we limit the conditional union bound before averaging over the fading process. We demonstrate that this approach provides a tight bound on the error probability of space-time codes. The bounds can be used for the case when the fading coefficients among different transmit/receive antenna pairs are correlated as well. We present several examples of the bounds to illustrate their usefulness.

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

multiple input multiple output (mimo)
space-time codes


Low coherence fiber differentiating interferometer and its passive demodulation schemes The fiber interferometer adopts ASE source and passive demodulation scheme. The phase measurement resolution of the interferometer can reach 610?5rad. The interferometer adopts balanced detection to reduce the intensity noise. The DCM method is suitable to acquire signals and has a wide dynamic range.

O O O B I 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

differentiating interferometer
passive demodulation


On the Positive-Negative Partial Set Cover problem The Positive-Negative Partial Set Cover problem is introduced and its complexity, especially the hardness-of-approximation, is studied. The problem generalizes the Set Cover problem, and it naturally arises in certain data mining applications. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

approximation algorithms
combinatorial problems
hardness of approximation


Anatomic and electro-physiologic connectivity of the language system: A combined DTI-CCEP study Here we present a novel multimodal analysis of network connectivity in the language system. We assessed connectivity of Broca's area using tractography with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and with cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEPs) to measure the spread of artificial currents applied directly to human cortex. We found that both the amplitude and latency of CCEP currents significantly correlates (r2=0.41, p<10?16) with the number of DTI pathways connecting the stimulation and recording loci. This strategy of relating electrical information flow with the neural architecture will likely yield new insights into cognitive processes.

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

cortico-cortical evoked potentials
diffusion-weighted mri
broca's area
epilepsy
intracranial stimulation
phonation
articulation
arcuate fasciculus


A method for identifying Web applications Web applications are ubiquitous in today's businesses. The security of these applications is of utmost importance since security breaches might negatively impact good reputation, and even result in bankruptcy. There are different methods of assessing security of Web applications, mainly based on some automated method of scanning. One type of scan method feeds random data to the application and monitors its behavior. The other type uses a database with predefined vulnerabilities that are checked one by one until either a vulnerability is found, or it can be claimed that the application does not have any known vulnerabilities. The important step in latter type of scan process is the identification of the application since in this case we are narrowing number of checks and, as a consequence, the scan process is faster. This paper describes a method for Web application identification based on a black box principle. Our method is based on the invariance of certain characteristics of Web applications. We experimentally tested and confirmed the usefulness of this 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 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


Measurement error analysis and accuracy enhancement of 2D vision system for robotic drilling Built a model of relative errors between drill and workpiece in robotic drilling. Described the principle of relative error measurement with 2D vision system. Determined the camera TCP to eliminate Abbe errors in vision-based measurement. Established error models of vision-based measurement. Proposed a method to control perpendicularity and object distance in measurement.

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

robotic drilling
2d vision system
error measurement
perpendicularity
object distance


Fair exchange protocol of signatures based on aggregate signatures In Eurocrypt 2003, Boneh et al. proposed verifiably encrypted signatures from the concept of aggregate signatures that support aggregation. Such signatures enable verifiers to test that a given ciphertext is the encryption of a signature on a given message. Verifiably encrypted signatures are used in fair exchange protocols of signatures. In this paper, we first show that Boneh et al.'s verifiably encrypted signature is not secure against rogue-key attacks. Moreover, the fairness of fair exchange protocols of signatures with the adjudicator relies on the neutrality of the adjudicator, which has become a major practical hindrance to fair exchange protocols of signatures getting widely deployed. Then we propose a fair exchange protocol of signatures from pairings by using aggregate signatures. We not only enhance the fair exchange protocol of signatures against three types of inside attackers but also relax the need of the trust in the adjudicator so that it only needs to be trusted by the signer. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

aggregate signature
computational diffie-hellman problem


Designing dependable and sustainable Smart Grids How to apply Algorithm Engineering to distributed control in power systems ? We propose a process model for the development of distributed Smart Grid algorithms. We deduce requirements for this process model from a Smart Grid architectural model. The iterative process model covers conceptual, analytic and experimental phases. Experts from different disciplines are involved in the distinct phases. For each phase, we provide concise descriptions of inputs, steps and outputs.

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 B I 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

distributed algorithms
smart grid simulation
scenario design
information technology


A perturbed iterative procedure for multivalued pseudo-contractive mappings and multivalued accretive mappings in Banach spaces The main purpose of this paper is to introduce and study a new perturbed iteration method for multivalued mappings. Some strong convergence theorems of perturbed iteration sequences for multivalued pseudo-contractive mappings and strongly accretive mappings are obtained. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

multivalued strongly pseudo-contractive mapping


the definition and use of data structures in reduce This paper gives a brief description and motivation of the mode analyzing and data-structuring extensions to the algebraic language REDUCE. These include generic functions, user defined recursive data structures, mode transfer functions and user modifiable automatic coercion. A number of examples are given to illustrate the style and features of the language, and how it will aid in the construction of more efficient and reliable programs.

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

use
examples
motivation
language
definition
data structures
paper
user
generic

program structure efficiency recursion reliability data extensibility feature


Global sense of risk: Media reporting on scientific studies and potential risks of mobile phones A high sense of risk is characteristic of modern societies. During recent decades, increasing risk awareness has caused consumers to become more prudent. Consumer policy has become more cautious and governmental security and regulatory institutions function on behalf of citizens. Politically aware non-governmental organisations are ready to take up new risk issues and a vigilant media is monitoring, reporting and even amplifying modern dangers and public fears. Sophisticated risk analyses of menaces to humans are constantly being produced, and reflective individuals are eager to adapt their way of life according to the latest guidelines produced by the government, the media and science. The focus of this paper is the recent worldwide worry over the risks of the low-frequency electric and magnetic fields of mobile Phones and their base stations. This study of international media reports on the safety and health issues related to mobile phones (N = 732) indicates that the content of media reports varies, between Europe, Asia and North-America, and that the same research results are given different emphases in different newspapers. This paper also examines the complex reciprocal relationships subsisting between the different actors and institutions amplifying and playing down the individual and collective sense of risk.

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


A fictitious domain approach with spread interface for elliptic problems with general boundary conditions The aim of this article is to solve second-order elliptic problems in an original physical domain using a fictitious domain method with a spread interface approach. The main idea of the fictitious domain approach consists in immersing the original domain of study into a geometrically bigger and simpler one called fictitious domain. As the spatial discretization is being performed in the fictitious domain, this method allows the use of structured meshes. The discretization is not boundary-fitted to the original physical domain. This paper describes several ways to impose Dirichlet, Robin or Neumann boundary conditions on a spread immersed interface, without locally modifying the numerical scheme and without using Lagrange multipliers. The numerical applications focus on diffusion and convection problems in the unit disk, with Dirichlet or Robin boundary conditions. For such problems, analytical solutions can be determined for a correctly chosen source term. The numerical resolution is performed using a Q1 Q 1 Finite Element scheme. The spread interface approach is then combined with a local adaptive mesh refinement algorithm in order to increase the precision in the vicinity of the immersed boundary. The L2 norm of the errors is computed in order to evaluate the capability of the method. Immersed boundaries are found in many industrial applications like two-phase flow simulations, fluid/structure interaction, etc. This article represents a first step towards the simulation of these kinds of applications.

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

fictitious domain method
elliptic problems
local adaptive mesh refinement

embedded boundary conditions
spread interface method


Supporting Virtual Collaboration in Spatial Design Tasks: Are Surrogate or Natural Gestures More Effective? Hand gestures offer a rich source of information for communication of spatial concepts. However, gestures are often lost when people work together in virtual space. Gestures may be conveyed in virtual spaces through many approaches, for example by drawing circles and arrows around objects on a shared screen, or using natural, real-time videos of a distant collaborator's hands or body. The first is an example of "surrogate" gestures and the second of "natural" gestures. The first is relatively inexpensive but requires users take some effort to draw and erase temporary symbols; the second is more costly but also more expressive and natural. This work will: 1) provide a brief, high-level framework characterizing tools that support virtual gestures; and 2) present an experimental study comparing the cognitive effort required when using sketched surrogate gestures versus natural gestures in a virtual mechanical design tasks. The larger goal is to understand whether the additional cost to support natural gestures is warranted, thus informing the design of future virtual collaboration tools. We recruited 24 participants and asked them to collaborate using three different approaches: face-to-face (as a baseline), virtual-sketching (which allows users to make gestural sketches on their drawings), and virtual-sketching with natural hand videos projected on the drawing surface. We found that users' cognitive workload was significantly reduced when natural hand videos were added to a virtual-sketching environment. These results suggest that the ease and expressivity of natural gestures provide more benefits than simpler surrogate gestures for virtual mechanical design tasks.

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

collaborative design
distance engineering
formatting
natural hand gestures


Distributed resource allocation in cognitive radio networks with a game learning approach to improve aggregate system capacity This paper presents a game theoretic solution for joint channel allocation and power control in cognitive radio networks analyzed under the physical interference model. The objective is to find a distributed solution that maximizes the network utility, defined with different criteria, with limited information. The problem is addressed through a non-cooperative game based on local information. Although the existence of a pure Nash Equilibrium cannot be assured for this game, simulation results show that it exists with high probability and with a performance similar to that of a potential game, where each player requires overall network information. The obtained results are compared with a centralized heuristic genetic algorithm to show the correctness of the proposals. From this point, utility functions for the local game are modified to restrict the transmitted power to drive the solution to a more cooperative approach. To overcome the convergence limitations of the local game, no-regret learning algorithms are used to perform the joint channel and power allocation. These algorithms provide stable mixed strategies in any scenario with even better global performance. This opens an interesting perspective to develop realistic protocols based on the modeled interactions and increases the adaptability to perform efficient opportunistic spectrum access.

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

cognitive radio networks
channel allocation
power control


An unsplit, cell-centered Godunov method for ideal MHD We present a second-order Godunov algorithm for multidimensional, ideal MHD. Our algorithm is based on the unsplit formulation of Colella (J. Comput. Phys. 87, 1990), with all of the primary dependent variables centered at the same location. To properly represent the divergence-free condition of the magnetic fields, we apply a discrete projection to the intermediate values of the field at cell faces, and apply a filter to the primary dependent variables at the end of each time step. We test the method against a suite of linear and nonlinear tests to ascertain accuracy and stability of the scheme under a variety of conditions. The test suite includes rotated planar linear waves, MHD shock tube problems, low-beta flux tubes, and a magnetized rotor problem. For all of these cases, we observe that the algorithm is second-order accurate for smooth solutions, converges to the correct weak solution for problems involving shocks, and exhibits no evidence of instability or loss of accuracy due to the possible presence of non-solenoidal fields.

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

stability and convergence of difference schemes


Determining and characterizing the reused text for plagiarism detection An important task in plagiarism detection is determining and measuring similar text portions between a given pair of documents. One of the main difficulties of this task resides on the fact that reused text is commonly modified with the aim of covering or camouflaging the plagiarism. Another difficulty is that not all similar text fragments are examples of plagiarism, since thematic coincidences also tend to produce portions of similar text. In order to tackle these problems, we propose a novel method for detecting likely portions of reused text. This method is able to detect common actions performed by plagiarists such as word deletion, insertion and transposition, allowing to obtain plausible portions of reused text. We also propose representing the identified reused text by means of a set of features that denote its degree of plagiarism, relevance and fragmentation. This new representation aims to facilitate the recognition of plagiarism by considering diverse characteristics of the reused text during the classification phase. Experimental results employing a supervised classification strategy showed that the proposed method is able to outperform traditionally used approaches. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

plagiarism detection
supervised classification


Comparing the roles of representations in face-to-face and online computer supported collaborative learning This paper reports an empirical study comparing the role of discourse and knowledge representations (graphical evidence mapping) in face-to-face versus synchronous online collaborative learning. Prior work in face-to-face collaborative learning situations has shown that the features of representational notations can influence the focus of learners' discourse and collaborative activities. Two hypotheses were considered in the present study: (1) The influence of knowledge representations in the online condition could be weaker because of the lack of shared awareness and meaning that results from working together in front of a physically shared display, and because of the greater difficulty of utilizing the representations as a resource for conversation through gestural deixis, and (2) The influence of knowledge representations in the online study could be stronger because participants must rely more on them to compensate for the absence of face-to-face modes of communication. Quantitative results largely support the second hypothesis. There was greater consideration of certain coding categories supported by the knowledge representation software. However, essay quality and other observations provide indirect support for the first hypothesis. Explanations for these results and implications for the design of online collaborative learning environments are provided. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

computer-mediated communication
human-computer interface


A New Shape Adaptation Scheme to Affine Invariant Detector In this paper, we propose a new affine shape adaptation scheme for the affine invariant feature detector, in which the convergence stability is still an opening problem. This paper examines the relation between the integration scale matrix of next iteration and the current second moment matrix and finds that the convergence stability of the method can be improved by adjusting the relation between the two matrices instead of keeping them always proportional as proposed by previous methods. By estimating and updating the shape of the integration kernel and differentiation kernel in each iteration based on the anisotropy of the current second moment matrix, we propose a coarse-to-fine affine shape adaptation scheme which is able to adjust the pace of convergence and enable the process to converge smoothly. The feature matching experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach obtains an improvement in convergence ratio and repeatability compared with the current schemes with relatively fixed integration kernel.

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

local image feature
scale invariant feature
adaptive kernel shape


A framework for PSS pricing as an ancillary service in a competitive electricity market This paper presents a new framework for the valuation of small signal stability as an ancillary service through Power System Stabilizers (PSSs). PSSs can improve small signal stability and simultaneously reduce the generation costs in a competitive market. This saving could be treated as a source to compensate the service provided by PSSs. This paper proposes an allocation approach to compensate the PSSs, proportional to their effectiveness in overall system small signal behavior. NSGA-II approach is used to solve the resulting multi objective optimization problem. A test system is used to represent the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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

multi-objective optimization
power system deregulation
power system stabilizer
nsga-ii


GERT analysis of m-consecutive-k-out-of-n systems An m-consecutive-k-out-of-n:F system, introduced by W.S. Griffith, consists of an ordered linear sequence of n i.i.d. components that fails iff there are at least m non-overlapping runs of k consecutive failed components. However, a situation may occur in which an ordered linear sequence of n i.i.d. components fails iff there are at least m non-overlapping runs of at least k consecutive failed components. We call such a system an m-consecutive-at least-k-out-of-n:F system. This paper presents a graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT) analysis of both types of systems providing closed form explicit formulae for reliability evaluation in a unified manner. GERT, besides providing a visual picture of the system, helps to analyse the system in a less inductive manner. Numerical examples for each system are studied in detail by computing the reliability for various combinations of sets of values of the parameters involved. It is observed that m-consecutive-at least-k-out-of-n:F systems are more reliable than m-consecutive-k-out-of-n:F systems as the number of possible state combinations leading to system's failure are larger in the latter. Mathematica is used for systematic computations. Numerical investigations illustrate the efficiency of GERT in reliability analysis of such systems. In comparison with the existing formulae of m-consecutive-k-out-of-n:F systems for i.i.d. components, the formula obtained by GERT analysis, to be referred to as GERT-F, is much more efficient owing to its significantly low computational time, and easy implementation.

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

m-consecutive-at least-k-out-of-n : f system


reimplementing the cedar file system using logging and group commit The workstation file system for the Cedar programming environment was modified to improve its robustness and performance. Previously, the file system used hardware-provided labels on disk blocks to increase robustness against hardware and software errors. The new system does not require hardware disk labels, yet is more robust than the old system. Recovery is rapid after a crash. The performance of operations on file system metadata, e.g., file creation or open, is greatly improved. The new file system has two features that make it atypical. The system uses a log, as do most database systems, to recover metadata about the file system. To gain performance, it uses group commit, a concept derived from high performance database systems. The design of the system used a simple, yet detailed and accurate, analytical model to choose between several design alternatives in order to provide good disk performance.

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

metadata
software
order
recovery
systems
log
design
performance
concept
commit
group
hardware
programming environment
errors
robust

label
analytic models
database system
high-performance
operability
feature
file systems


Boolean fuzzy sets Extending the notion of context-free languages and equational sets, we use the approximation theory to define boolean subsets and boolean fuzzy subsets of an algebra. We establish some basic properties of boolean fuzzy sets.

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


Analysis of centroid aggregation for the Euclidean distance p-median problem Demand data aggregation results in loss of information and thereby induces errors in the locational decision being made, both in the facility location configurations (optimality error) and in the computed value of the objective function (cost error). The aggregation effect is quite problem-specific, depending on the aggregation scheme used and on the demand pattern. In this paper, we perform a theoretical analysis for the centroid aggregation effect on the Euclidean distance p-median location problem. We study the worst case and average case errors, and in the multi-facility location model Source C error is closely examined. The results of the paper are illustrated via numerical examples and some empirical findings of previous work are interpreted using our analytical results.

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


Making design researchers' information sharing visible through material objects This article seeks to make visible information-sharing activities that take place within a geographically dispersed network of design researchers. For this purpose, a theoretical approach is applied that comprises the analytical notion of material objects and a document theory. Empirical material was primarily ethnographically produced over a period of 6 months, including 2 seminars within the network. Trajectories of sharing that reach across time and space have been identified by studying how people interact with multidimensional objects, such as documents. These were found to coordinate and shape the social practice under study. The theoretical framework has made it possible to highlight aspects of information sharing that have tended to be blackboxed in previous research. It has been suggested in previous research that the concept of information sharing can be reduced to that of mere sharing. Such a stance potentially entails reduction of conceptual ambiguity but may also decrease analytical sharpness. Based on the present study, it appears beneficial to adopt the concept of document into the discourse of information-sharing research. By adding the concept of document to our analytical toolbox, which hitherto has been dominated by the slightly diffuse concept of information, material features can be emphasized without reducing the social and cognitive dimensions of information sharing. The article offers insight into the information-sharing activities of design researchers. Through its focus on materiality, it presents a novel theoretical approach and methodological strategy for studying information practices.

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


Formal passive testing of timed systems: theory and tools This paper presents a methodology to perform passive testing of timed systems. In passive testing, the tester does not interact with the implementation under test. On the contrary, execution traces are observed without interfering with the behaviour of the system. Invariants are used to represent the most relevant expected properties of the implementation under test. Intuitively, an invariant expresses the fact that each time the implementation under test performs a given sequence of actions, it must exhibit a behaviour in a lapse of time reflected in the invariant. There are two types of invariants: consequent and observational. The paper gives two algorithms to decide the correctness of proposed invariants with respect to a given specification and algorithms to check the correctness of a log, recorded from the implementation under test, with respect to an invariant. The soundness of this methodology is shown by relating it to an implementation relation. In addition to the theoretical framework, a tool called PASTE has been developed. This tool helps in the automation of the passive testing approach because it implements all the algorithms presented in this paper. PASTE takes advantage of mutation testing techniques in order to evaluate the goodness of an invariant according to its capability to detect errors in logs generated from mutants. An empirical study where PASTE was used to analyse a non-trivial system is also reported. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

formal testing
conformance testing
tools for testing


Strong converse for identification via quantum channels In this paper, we present a simple proof of the strong converse for identification via discrete memoryless quantum channels, based on a novel covering lemma. The new method is a generalization to quantum communication channels of Ahlswede's recently discovered approach to classical channels. It involves a development of explicit large deviation estimates to the case of random variables taking values in self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space. This theory is presented separately in an appendix, and we illustrate it by showing its application to quantum generalizations of classical hypergraph covering problems.

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


An ultra low area asynchronous combo 4/8/12-bit/quaternary A/D converter based on integer division An asynchronous A/D Converter architecture based on a binary tree structure is presented in this paper. Two alternative design strategies are presented that lead either to a high mismatch immunity ADC that requires a light calibration logic (area: 0.123mm2, power: 72mW) or a faster, tinier and even lower power ADC (area: 0.21mm2, power: 25mW) with lower mismatch immunity that needs a slightly more complicated calibration logic. Both alternative ADC design strategies require at least one or two orders of magnitude lower area than any known approach and a remarkable low power consumption without sacrificing speed. The designed A/D Converter can operate with a configurable resolution of either 4, 8, or 12-bits. Moreover, 6 quaternary digits or three 16-level outputs are also available from the intermediate nodes of the binary tree, for applications that require multi-valued communication lines. Simulation results prove that the peak conversion rate of the high mismatch immunity A/D design alternative exceeds 300, 230 and 225MS/s for 4, 8 and 12-bit resolution, respectively, while the peak conversion rate of the faster design alternative is higher than 500, 440 and 420MS/s for 4, 8 and 12-bit resolution, respectively. An appropriate sample/hold and voltage to current conversion architecture has been developed along with an intelligent output latching technique that improve the achieved signal to noise and distortion ratio by up to 7dB. Moreover, an appropriate calibration method that extends the temperature operating range and compensates for the component mismatches is presented. The ultra low area and power consumption of the developed ADC architecture favours its employment in sensor networks while these features make its use attractive as a building block in time interleaved parallel ADCs for the achievement of ultra high speed conversion.

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

integer division
calibration
voltage to current conversion

analogue digital conversion
multivalued signals
sample-hold


Modeling spontaneous speech variability in professional dictation In this work, we present a model combination approach at the word level that aims to improve the modeling of spontaneous speech variabilities on a highly spontaneous, real life medical transcription task. The technique (1) separates speech variabilities into pre-defined classes, (2) generates speech variability specific acoustic and pronunciation models and (3) properly combines these models later in the search procedure on a word level basis. For efficient integration of the specific acoustic and pronunciation models into the search procedure, a theoretical framework is provided. Our algorithm is a general approach that can be applied to model various speech variabilities. In our experiments, we focused on the variabilities related to filled pauses, rate of speech and speaker accent. Our best system combines six variability specific acoustic and pronunciation models on a word level and achieves a word error rate reduction of 13% relative compared to the baseline. In a number of contrast experiments we evaluated the importance of different components in our system and explored ways to reduce the system complexity.

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

automatic speech recognition
spontaneous speech modeling
pronunciation modeling
rate of speech modeling
filled pause modeling