A SomAgent statistical machine translation The paper describes the process by which the word alignment task performed within SOMAgent works in collaboration with the statistical machine translation system in order to learn a phrase translation table. We studied improvements in the quality of translation using syntax augmented machine translation. We also experimented with different degrees of linguistic analysis from the lexical level to a syntactic or semantic level, in order to generate a more precise alignment. We developed a contextual environment using the Self-Organizing Map, which can model a semantic agent (SOMAgent) that learns the correct meaning of a word used in context in order to deal with specific phenomena such as ambiguity, and to generate more precise alignments that can improve the first choice of the statistical machine translation system giving linguistic knowledge. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

natural language processing
semantic kohonen maps
automatic translator


Knowledge discovery with classification rules in a cardiovascular dataset In this paper we study an evolutionary machine learning approach to data mining and knowledge discovery based on the induction of classification rules. A method for automatic rules induction called AREX using evolutionary induction of decision trees and automatic programming is introduced. The proposed algorithm is applied to a cardiovascular dataset consisting of different groups of attributes which should possibly reveal the presence of some specific cardiovascular problems in young patients. A case study is presented that shows the use of AREX for the classification of patients and for discovering possible new medical knowledge from the dataset. The defined knowledge discovery loop comprises a medical expert's assessment of induced rules to drive the evolution of rule sets towards more appropriate solutions. The final result is the discovery of a possible new medical knowledge in the field of pediatric cardiology. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

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

machine learning
knowledge discovery
classification rules
pediatric cardiology


Blind identification of multichannel FIR blurs and perfect image restoration Despite its practical importance in image processing and computer vision, blind blur identification and blind image restoration have so far been addressed under restrictive assumptions such as all-pole stationary image models blurred by zero- or minimum-phase point-spread functions. Relying upon diversity (availability of a sufficient number of multiple blurred images), we develop blind FIR blur identification and order determination schemes. Apart from a minimal persistence of excitation condition (also present with nonblind setups), the inaccessible input image is allowed to be deterministic or random and of unknown color or distribution. With the blurs satisfying a certain co-primeness condition in addition, we establish existence and uniqueness results which guarantee that single-input/multiple-output FIR blurred images can be restored blindly, though perfectly in the absence of noise, using linear FIR filters. Results of simulations employing the blind order determination, blind blur identification, and blind image restoration algorithms are presented. When the SNR is high, direct image restoration is found to yield better results than indirect image restoration which employs the estimated blurs. In low SNR, indirect image restoration performs well while the direct restoration results vary with the delay but improve with larger equalizer; orders.

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

blind blur estimation
multichannel image restoration


A human-computer collaborative approach to identifying common data elements in clinical trial eligibility criteria Objective: To identify Common Data Elements (CDEs) in eligibility criteria of multiple clinical trials studying the same disease using a human-computer collaborative approach. Design: A set of free-text eligibility criteria from clinical trials on two representative diseases, breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases, was sampled to identify disease-specific eligibility criteria CDEs. In this proposed approach, a semantic annotator is used to recognize Unified Medical Language Systems (UMLSs) terms within the eligibility criteria text. The Apriori algorithm is applied to mine frequent disease-specific UMLS terms, which are then filtered by a list of preferred UMLS semantic types, grouped by similarity based on the Dice coefficient, and, finally, manually reviewed. Measurements: Standard precision, recall, and F-score of the CDEs recommended by the proposed approach were measured with respect to manually identified CDEs. Results: Average precision and recall of the recommended CDEs for the two diseases were 0.823 and 0.797, respectively, leading to an average F-score of 0.810. In addition, the machine-powered CDEs covered 80% of the cardiovascular CDEs published by The American Heart Association and assigned by human experts. Conclusion: It is feasible and effort saving to use a human-computer collaborative approach to augment domain experts for identifying disease-specific CDEs from free-text clinical trial eligibility criteria. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

clinical trial eligibility criteria
common data elements

clinical research informatics
knowledge management
human-computer collaboration
text mining


Concurrency control strategies for ordered data broadcast in mobile computing systems Although data broadcast has been shown to be an efficient method for disseminating data items in mobile computing systems, the issue on how to ensure consistency and currency of data items provided to mobile transactions (NIT), which are generated by mobile clients, has not been examined adequately. While data items are being broadcast, update transactions may install new values for them. If the executions of update transactions and the broadcast of data items are interleaved without any control, mobile transactions may observe inconsistent data values. The problem will be more complex if the mobile clients maintain some cached data items for their mobile transactions. In this paper, we propose a concurrency control method, called ordered update first with order (OUFO), for the mobile computing systems where a mobile transaction consists of a sequence of read operations and each MT is associated with a time constraint on its completion time. Besides ensuring data consistency and maximizing currency of data to mobile transactions, OUFO also aims at reducing data access delay of mobile transactions using client caches. A hybrid re-broadcast/invalidation report (IR) mechanism is designed in OUFO for checking the validity of cached data items so as to improve cache consistency and minimize the overhead of transaction restarts due to data conflicts. This is highly important to the performance of the mobile computing systems where the mobile transactions are associated with a deadline constraint on their completion times. Extensive simulation experiments have been performed to compare the performance of OUFO with two other efficient schemes, the multi-version broadcast method and the periodic IR method. The performance results show that OUFO offers better performance in most aspects, even when network disconnection is common. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

real-time data and mobile transactions processing


A methodology for supporting strategy implementation based on the VSM: A case study in a Latin-American multi-national We crafted an enhanced methodology for organizational redesign based on the VSM. First documented use of the VSM as tool for strategy implementation in a large MNC. We describe in detail a successful application of mixed research methods. Innovative, participatory practices, which sought to overcome VSMs limitations.

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

(i) or in developing countries
(s) complexity theory
problem structuring (p)
viability theory


Embedding machining features in function blocks for distributed process planning IEC 61499 function blocks, being emerging industrial process measurement and control standards, are chosen as data processing and execution control elements within the context of a distributed process planning ( DPP) system. A two-layer structure, consisting of supervisory planning (SP) and operation planning (OP), is identified to separate the generic process data from those machine-specific ones. Within DPP, function blocks are used for data encapsulation, machining parameter optimization, process monitoring, scheduling integration, and CNC control. From SP to OP, a function block evolves from meta function block, through object function block, to execution function block. The detailed design of a meta function block is depicted in this paper. A function block designer has been developed to help process planners de. ne basic function block types and generate composite function block networks. It is expected that the function block-enabled DPP approach and the associated algorithms can largely improve the dynamism of process plans as well as the flexibility and productivity of job shop operations in a changing environment.

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

process planning
function block
machining features


Faster and More Complete Extended Static Checking for the Java Modeling Language Extended Static Checking (ESC) is a fully automated formal verification technique. Verification in ESC is achieved by translating programs and their specifications into verification conditions (VCs). Proof of a VC establishes the correctness of the program. The implementations of many seemingly simple algorithms are beyond the ability of traditional Extended Static Checking (ESC) tools to verify. Not being able to verify toy examples is often enough to turn users off of the idea of using formal methods. ESC4, the ESC component of the JML4 project, is able to verify many more kinds of methods in part because of its use of novel techniques which apply multiple theorem provers. In particular, we present Offline User-Assisted ESC (OUA-ESC), a new form of verification that lies between ESC and Full Static Program Verification (FSPV). ESC is generally quite efficient, as far as verification tools go, but it is still orders of magnitude slower than simple compilation. As can be imagined, proving VCs is computationally expensive: While small classes can be verified in seconds, verifying larger programs of 50 KLOC can take hours. To help address the added cost of using multiple provers and this lack of scalability, we present the multi-threaded version of ESC4 and its distributed prover back-end.

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

extended static checking
theorem provers
java modeling language
jml4
esc
esc4


Laboratory simulations of an urban heat island in a stratified atmospheric boundary layer In the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), under high pressure conditions and negligible geostrophic winds, problems associated with pollution are the most critical. In this situation, the urban heat island plays a major role in the close-to-the-ground atmospheric dynamics and in dispersion processes at scales in the order of tens of meters (small scales). This article presents water tank laboratory simulations of an urban heat island in a stably stratified ABL, neglecting geostrophic winds and the effects of Coriolis force. The phenomenon is studied in the framework of a similarity theory developed for a nocturnal and low-aspect ratio urban heat island extended to the diurnal case. Image analysis techniques appear suitable to fully describe the phenomenon. The high resolution data provides a detailed fluid dynamic characterization of the urban heat island circulation. Present laboratory results, normalized by similarity theory scaling parameters, compare well with literature data.

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 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 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 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

water tank model
local climate
planetary boundary layer turbulence


Automatic spinal disease diagnoses assisted by 3D unaligned transverse CT slices This paper describes a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction method and an automatic diagnosis method for spinal diseases using unaligned transverse slices that have arbitrary angles and intervals but do not intersect to each other at regions of interest. The 3D reconstruction method extends the marching cube algorithm to generate triangulated isosurfaces for these unaligned slices. The automatic spinal disease diagnostic method analyses boundaries of discs and vertebral bodies on unaligned transverse slices to estimate the presence and extent of disc herniation and canal compression, and deformities in the spinal curve. The prototype system can be used as a qualitative and quantitative tool for the diagnosis of various spinal diseases using unaligned transverse slices.

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

image analysis
feature recognition
spinal disease diagnosis
transverse unaligned slice


Analysis of spatially and temporally overlapping events with application to image sequences Counting spatially and temporally overlapping events in image sequences and estimating their shape-size and duration features are important issues in some applications. We propose a stochastic model, a particular case of the nonisotropic 3D Boolean model, for performing this analysis: the temporal Boolean model. Some probabilistic properties are derived and a methodology for parameter estimation from time-lapse image sequences is proposed using an explicit treatment of the temporal dimension. We estimate the mean number of germs per unit area and time, the mean grain size and the duration distribution. A wide simulation study in order to assess the proposed estimators showed promising results. The model was applied on biological image sequences of in-vivo cells in order to estimate new parameters such as the mean number and duration distribution of endocytic events. Our results show that the proposed temporal Boolean model is effective for obtaining information about dynamic processes which exhibit short-lived, but spatially and temporally overlapping events.

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

total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy


An Approach to Ensuring Consistency in Peer-to-Peer Real-Time Group Editors Real-time group editors allow distributed users to edit a shared document at the same time over a computer network. Operational transformation (OT) is a well accepted consistency control method in state-of-the-art group editors. Significant progress has been made in this field but there are still many open issues and research opportunities. In particular, established theoretic OT frameworks all require that OT algorithms be able to converge along arbitrary transformation paths. This property is desirable because group editors that implement such algorithms will not rely on a central component for achieving convergence. However, this has not been achieved in any published work to our knowledge. We analyze the root of this problem and propose a novel state difference based transformation (SDT) approach which ensures convergence in the presence of arbitrary transformation paths. Our approach is based on a novel consistency model that is more explicitly formulated than previously established models for proving correctness. SDT is the first and the only OT algorithm proved to converge in peer-to-peer group editors.

O O O O O O 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

computer-supported cooperative work
consistency maintenance
group editing
groupware


Affine invariant image watermarking using intensity probability density-based Harris Laplace detector Feature point based image watermarking against geometric distortions has attracted great attention in recent years. However, for the state-of-the-art intensity based feature points detectors, the feature points often gather at textured portions of the image or on the edges where the change of intensity is significant, so that many feature points capture the same portion of the image, which makes the watermark be vulnerable to local geometric distortions. In this paper, we propose an affine invariant image watermarking scheme with good visual quality and reasonable resistance toward local geometric distortions, which utilizes the intensity probability density-based HarrisLaplace detector. Firstly, the uniform and robust feature points are extracted by utilizing modified HarrisLaplace detector, in which the intensity probability density gradient is used instead of intensity gradient. Then, the affine invariant local ellipse regions (LERs) are constructed adaptively according to the variation of local intensity probability density. Finally, the digital watermark is embedded into the affine invariant LERs in nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) domain by modulating the lowpass NSCT coefficients. By binding the watermark with the affine invariant LERs, the watermark detection can be done without synchronization error. Experimental results show that the proposed image watermarking is not only invisible and robust against common image processing operations such as sharpening, noise adding, and JPEG compression, but also robust against the global affine transforms and local geometric distortions.

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

image watermarking
intensity probability density
nonsubsampled contourlet transform
harrislaplace detector
synchronization error

geometric distortion
affine invariant local ellipse region
image feature point


SOCIAL INFLUENCE ON KNOWLEDGE WORKER'S ADOPTION OF INNOVATIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY User perceptions toward information technology (IT) are crucial to its successful implementation. The purpose of our study is to improve the understanding of the impact of social influences on different types of users' perceptions and adoption of IT. To do this, the study refines and expands the operationalization of the social influence construct to include four components: subjective norm, image, visibility, and voluntariness. This is used to examine influences by type of user (knowledge worker versus university student) and IT (innovative versus mature). The key finding is that when knowledge workers consider adopting innovative IT they are sensitive to general perceptions of its usefulness. The results have implications for management enquiry and practice.

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

it
users
social influence
subjective norm
knowledge workers


IPv4 to IPv6: Challenges, solutions, and lessons ? Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are crucial to the functioning of the Internet. The supply of unallocated IPv4 addresses is effectively exhausted. A decisive transition from IPv4 to IPv6 will be the most effective response. IPv4 exhaustion highlights major limitations of the current Internet governance regime. A wider role for markets will drive more efficient use and allocation of IP addresses.

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

internet protocol version 4
internet protocol version 6


Grid requirements for the integration of biomedical information resources for health applications Objectives: The goal of this paper is to identify how Grid technology can he applied for the development and deployment of integration systems, bringing together distributed and heterogeneous biomedical information sources for medical applications. Methods. The integration of new genetic and medical knowledge in clinical workflows requires the development of new paradigms for information management in which the ability to access and relate disparate data sources is essential. We adopt a requirements perspective based on the user needs we have identified in the development of the INFOGENMED system to assess current Grid technology against those requirements. Results: The gap between Grid features and distributed biomedical information integration needs is characterized. Results from prospective studies are also reported. Conclusions. Grid infrastructures offer advanced features for the deployment of collaborative computational environments across virtual organizations. New Grid developments are in line with the problem of multiple site information integration. From the INFOGENMED point of view, Grid infrastructures need to evolve to implement structured data access services and semantic content description and discovery.

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

medical informotics
computational biology
systems integration


Optimal leaf ordering of complete binary trees Ordering a set of items so as to minimize the sum of distances between consecutive elements is a fundamental optimization problem occurring in many settings. While it is NP NP -hard in general, it becomes polynomially solvable if the set of feasible permutations is restricted to be compatible with a tree of bounded degree. We present a new algorithm for the elementary case of ordering the n leaves of a binary tree with height logn+O(1) log n + O ( 1 ) . Our algorithm requires O(n2logn) O ( n 2 log n ) time and O(n) O ( n ) space. While the running time is a log-factor away from being asymptotically optimal, the algorithm is conceptually simple, easy to implement, and highly practical. Its implementation requires little more than a few bit-manipulations.

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


A simple implementation of the compression approach for global EM analysis of microwave circuits This article presents an original application of the compression approach that combines two commercial simulators. A numerical calibration procedure is proposed in order to improve the interfacing between the two simulation environments using internal ports. The capabilities of the proposed method are demonstrated by studying simple passive and active packaged structures. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

numerical calibration for internal ports


SIGNED CHIP FIRING GAMES AND SYMMETRIC SANDPILE MODELS ON THE CYCLES We investigate the Sandpile Model and Chip Firing Game and an extension of these models on cycle graphs. The extended model consists of allowing a negative number of chips at each vertex. We give the characterization of reachable configurations and of fixed points of each model. At the end, we give explicit formula for the number of their fixed points.

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

circular distribution
symmetric sandpile model
signed chip firing game
lattice structure


A hybrid group decision support system for supplier selection using analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy set theory and neural network Group decision support models for supplier selection have been proposed. The models integrate analytic hierarchy process, neural network and fuzzy sets. Fuzzy AHP for group decision making was used to estimate group preferences. Neural networks were used to map suppliers to suitable classes. Performance of proposed hybrid method tested through a case study.

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

supplier selection
neural networks
analytic hierarchy process
fuzzy set theory
group decision making

vendor selection
multi-criteria decision analysis
hybrid methods


Discrete techniques applied to low-energy mobile human activity recognition. A new approach Human activity recognition systems are currently implemented by hundreds of applications and, in recent years, several technology manufacturers have introduced new wearable devices for this purpose. Battery consumption constitutes a critical point in these systems since most are provided with a rechargeable battery. In this paper, by using discrete techniques based on the Ameva algorithm, an innovative approach for human activity recognition systems on mobile devices is presented. Furthermore, unlike other systems in current use, this proposal enables recognition of high granularity activities by using accelerometer sensors. Hence, the accuracy of activity recognition systems can be increased without sacrificing efficiency. A comparative is carried out between the proposed approach and an approach based on the well-known neural networks.

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

pattern recognition
discretization method
qualitative systems
smart-energy computing
energy saving


Accuracy and conservation properties of a three-dimensional unstructured staggered mesh scheme for fluid dynamics A three-dimensional unstructured mesh discretization of the rotational from of the incompressible Navier-Stokes is presented. The method uses novel and highly efficient algorithms for interpolating the velocity vector and constructing the convention term. The resulting discretization is shown to conserve mass. kinetic energy, and vorticity to machine precision both locally and globally. The spatial accuracy of the method is analyzed and found to be second order on regular meshes and first order on irregular meshes. The numerical efficiency, accuracy, and conservation properties of the method are tested on three-dimensional meshes and found to be in agreement with theory. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

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

navier-stokes staggered mesh
three-dimensional


Loosely coupled coordinated management in virtualized data centers Management is an important challenge for future enterprises. Previous work has addressed platform management (e.g., power and thermal management) separately from virtualization management (e.g., virtual machine (VM) provisioning, application performance). Coordinating the actions taken by these different management layers is important and beneficial, for reasons of performance, stability, and efficiency. Such coordination, in addition to working well with existing multi-vendor solutions, also needs to be extensible to support future management solutions potentially operating on different sensors and actuators. In response to these requirements, this paper proposes vManage, a solution to loosely couple platform and virtualization management and facilitate coordination between them in data centers. Our solution is comprised of registry and proxy mechanisms that provide unified monitoring and actuation across platform and virtualization domains, and coordinators that provide policy execution for better VM placement and runtime management, including a formal approach to ensure system stability from inefficient management actions. The solution is instantiated in a Xen environment through a platform-aware virtualization manager at a cluster management node, and a virtualization-aware platform manager on each server. Experimental evaluations using enterprise benchmarks show that compared to traditional solutions, vManage can achieve additional power savings (10% lower power) with significantly improved service-level guarantees (71% less violations) and stability (54% fewer VM migrations), at low overhead.

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

algorithms
standardization
sla
power management


Calligraphy generation using deformable contours This paper considers the problem of generating various calligraphy from some sample fonts. Our method is based on the deformable contour model g-snake. By representing the outline of each stroke of a character with a g-snake, we cast the generation problem into global and local deformation of g-snake under different control parameters, where the local deformation obeys the energy minimization principle of regularization technique. The base values of the control parameters are learned from given sample fonts. The experimental results on alphabet and Japanese characters Hiragana show such processing as a reasonable method for generating calligraphy.

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

calligraphy generation
deformable contour
regularization


Lattice rule algorithms for multivariate approximation in the average case setting We Study niultivariate approximation for continuous functions in the average case setting. The space of d variate continuous functions is equipped with the zero mean Gaussian measure whose covariance function is the reproducing kernel of a weighted Korobov space with the smoothness parameter alpha > 1 and weights gamma(d,j) for j = 1, 2,..., d. The weight gamma(d,j) moderates the behavior of functions with respect to the jth variable, and small gamma(d,j) means that functions depend weakly on the jth variable. We study lattice rule algorithms which approximate the Fourier coefficients of a function based on function values at lattice sample points. The generating vector for these lattice points is constructed by the component-by-component algorithm, and it is tailored for the approximation problem. Our main interest is when d is large, and we Study tractability and strong tractability of multivariate approximation. That is, we want to reduce the initial average case error by a factor epsilon by using a polynomial number of function values in epsilon(-1) and d in the case of tractability, and only polynomial in epsilon(-1) in the case of strong tractability. Necessary and sufficient conditions on tractability and strong tractability are obtained by applying known general tractability results for the class of arbitrary linear functionals and for the class of function values. Strong tractability holds for the two classes in the average case setting iff sup(d >= 1) (j=1)Sigma(d) gamma(s)(d,j) = 1) (j=1)Sigma(d) gamma(t)(d,j)/log(d + 1) < infinity for some positive t < 1. The previous results for the class of function values have been non-constructive. We provide a construction in this paper and prove tractability and strong tractability error bounds for lattice rule algorithms. This paper can be viewed as a continuation Of Our previous paper where we studied multivariate approximation for weighted Korobov spaces in the worst case setting. Many technical results from that paper are also useful for the average case setting. The exponents of epsilon(-1) and d corresponding to our error bounds are not sharp. However, for a close to 1 and for slow decaying weights, we obtain almost the minimal exponent of epsilon(-1). We also compare the results from the worst case and the average case settings in weighted Korobov spaces. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc.

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

multivariate approximation
average case error
tractability


probing the use of charts and graphs in technical documentation through analysis and pragmatic collaboration A continuous priority for technical writers is to increase user comprehension of concepts and statistical information in technical documentation. Improvements in the written language such as consistent terminology, use of an established writing style, accurate indexing, advanced search capabilities, and so on, address some of the user pain points. The complexities of certain topics do not always translate well into writing; therefore, there is a need for other aids such as information graphics to assist with visualization and to increase the efficacy of information communication [1]. The benefits of information graphics in documentation and learning modules are well documented by the works of Levin and Pane [2, 3]. The conclusion is simple according to Davison, Pane, and Bertrancourt: if graphics are crafted correctly with the intent to enhance understanding then the quality of the documentation will improve and ultimately enrich the user experience and comprehension [4, 5, 6]. With this sage advice, one might expect implementation to be straightforward, perhaps even easy. This is unfortunately not the case. Careful consideration is necessary to construct an information graphic. Many questions may arise during the process, such as how many graphics, and which type, are needed, and where best to insert them in order to convey the concept clearly. Some information graphics, such as charts and graphs, require further thought since their visual representation is derived from data. In this case, the challenge lies in shaping the data into what is truly useful for users' comprehension, and in skillfully rendering the graphics with sound design principles. This paper presents the authors' recent experiences in collaborative design of charts and graphs, and demonstrates that the responsibility of communicating effectively should not lie on one person's shoulders alone, but rather on all development and documentation professionals who bring their collective expertise to fruition in a partnership.

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

graphs
information graphics
documentation
charts

globalization
translation
graphic design
technical writer


Symbiotic evolution-based design of fuzzy-neural diagnostic system for common acute abdominal pain This paper presents a symbiotic evolution-based fuzzy-neural diagnostic system (SE-FNAAPDS) for diagnosis of common acute abdominal pain (AAP) without professional medical examination. The computer-assisted diagnostic system is formatted a multiple-choice symptom questionnaire, with a prompt/help menu to assist a layman user in obtaining accurate symptom data using nothing more technologically sophisticated than a medical-type thermometer and stethoscope. The SE-FNAAPDS combination of fuzzy modeling, back-propagation training and symbiotic evolution function auto-generates its own optimal fuzzy neural architecture, a significant advantage over previous time-consuming manual parameter determination. A set of AAP clinical feature data and confirmed diagnostic results is applied as input/output rule-generation and training data for the fuzzy-neural network. Comparison of system construction time and diagnostic accuracy is made by applying the same database to SE-FNAAPDS and three traditional systems. Compared to traditional methods, diagnostic decisions from SE-FNAAPDS show 94% agreement with professional human medical diagnosis and less CPU time for system construction. The presented design is useful as a core module for more advanced computer-assisted diagnostic systems, and for direct application in AAP diagnosis.

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

symbiotic evolution
fuzzy modeling
acute abdominal pain

back-propagation neural network
computer-assisted medical diagnosis


A review on the cognitive function of information structure during language comprehension During communication, information structure can be used to highlight the most relevant piece of information, so that sufficient amount of attention can be allocated to the most important information. This paper aims to review the cognitive function of information structure during language comprehension from a neurocognitve perspective. First, we gave a brief introduction to the concept of information structure that has been studied mostly in linguistic field. Then we introduced recent studies on information structure using electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques. After that, we discussed the relationship between attention and language processing more generally. Finally, we discussed potential directions for future studies.

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

information structure
attention
language processing


New shape-based auroral oval segmentation driven by LLS-RHT A new method that exploits shape to localize the auroral oval in satellite imagery is introduced. The core of the method is driven by the linear least-squares (LLS) randomized Hough transform (RHT). The LLS-RHT is a new fast variant of the RHT suitable when not all necessary conditions of the RHT can be satisfied. The method is also compared with the three existing methods for aurora localization, namely the histogram-based k-means [C.C. Hung, G. Germany, K-means and iterative selection algorithms in image segmentation, IEEE Southeastcon 2003 (Session 1: Software Development)], adaptive thresholding [X. Li, R. Ramachandran, M. He, S. Movva, J.A. Rushing, S.J. Graves, W. Lyatsky, A. Tan, G.A. Germany, Comparing different thresholding algorithms for segmenting auroras, in: Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Technology: Coding and Computing, vol. 6, 2004, pp. 594601], and pulse-coupled neural network-based [G.A. Germany, G.K. Parks, H. Ranganath, R. Elsen, P.G. Richards, W. Swift, J.F. Spann, M. Brittnacher, Analysis of auroral morphology: substorm precursor and onset on January 10, 1997, Geophys. Res. Lett. 25 (15) (1998) 30423046] methods. The methodologies and their performance on real image data are both considered in the comparison. These images include complications such as random noise, low contrast, and moderate levels of key obscuring phenomena.

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


Likelihood based inference for the ratio of gamma means Inference concerning the ratio of two means based two independent two-parameter gamma models with common shape parameter was examined in Booth et al. (1999) and a computationally intensive bootstrap calibration method was developed. In this paper, a likelihood based method is proposed for small sample inference about the ratio of two means of the two-parameter gamma models when the shape parameters may or may not be equal. The proposed method is very simple to use and, as illustrated in simulation studies, gives extremely accurate 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 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

full rank exponential model
gamma model
r*-formula
signed log-likelihood ratio statistic


From single to multiple enrollment i-vectors: Practical PLDA scoring variants for speaker verification The availability of multiple utterances (and hence, i-vectors) for speaker enrollment brings up several alternatives for their utilization with probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA). This paper provides an overview of their effective utilization, from a practical viewpoint. We derive expressions for the evaluation of the likelihood ratio for the multi-enrollment case, with details on the computation of the required matrix inversions and determinants. The performance of five different scoring methods, and the effect of i-vector length normalization is compared experimentally. We conclude that length normalization is a useful technique for all but one of the scoring methods considered, and averaging i-vectors is the most effective out of the methods compared. We also study the application of multicondition training on the PLDA model. Our experiments indicate that multicondition training is more effective in estimating PLDA hyperparameters than it is for likelihood computation. Finally, we look at the effect of the configuration of the enrollment data on PLDA scoring, studying the properties of conditional dependence and number-of-enrollment-utterances per target speaker. Our experiments indicate that these properties affect the performance of the PLDA model. These results further support the conclusion that i-vector averaging is a simple and effective way to process multiple enrollment utterances.

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


On using broadcast index for efficient execution of shortest path continuous queries Various efficient indexing techniques have been proposed for formulating broadcast index to minimize the tune-in cost at mobile clients to support shortest path search in a road network. However, none of them is designed for shortest path continuous queries (SPCQ). Due to frequent updates of traffic data, an SPCQ has to be invoked periodically while the client is following the suggested shortest path to its destination. This could result in heavy path searching cost at the client. To reduce the tune-in and path searching costs at the clients, in this paper, we propose the progressive approach (PA) in which we apply the next region (NR) approach together with a hierarchical network approach to formulate the local networks at the clients for shortest path navigation. Since the shortest path may change due to changing traffic, to minimize the path searching cost, we aim for an approximate path including shortcuts of shortcut networks (SN) from each invocation of an SPCQ to navigate the client to its destination step-by-step. In formulating the client local network, higher level shortcut networks are chosen if the regions are farther away from the current region of the client. An important property of the approximation mechanism adopted in PA is that traffic updates may be pruned if they will not significantly affect the shortest path information to be distributed to the clients. This can reduce the index re-generation cost at the traffic server. Extensive performance evaluation experiments have been conducted to investigate how PA reduces the tune-in cost from data broadcast and path searching cost at the clients with just small delays in the arrival times to their destinations.

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

continuous queries and shortest path searching


Bi-Directional Half-Duplex Relaying Protocols The bi-directional relay channel is the natural extension of a three-terminal relay channel where node a transmits to node b with the help of a relay r to allow for two-way communication between nodes a and b. That is, in a bi-directional relay channel, a and b wish to exchange independent messages over a shared channel with the help of a relay r. The rates at which this communication may reliably take place depend on the assumptions made on the relay processing abilities. We overview information theoretic limits of the bi-directional relay channel under a variety of conditions, before focusing on half duplex nodes in which communication takes place in a number of temporal phases (resulting in protocols), and nodes may forward messages in four manners. The relay-forwarding considered are: Amplify, and forward (AF), decode and forward (DF), compress and forward (CF), and mixed forward. The last scheme is a combination of CF in one direction and DF in the other. We derive inner and outer bounds to the capacity region of the bi-directional relay channel for three temporal protocols under these four relaying schemes. The first protocol is a two phase protocol where a and b simultaneously transmit during the first phase and the relay r alone transmits during the second. The second protocol considers sequential transmissions from a and b followed by a transmission from the relay while the third protocol is a hybrid of the first two protocols and has four phases. We provide a comprehensive treatment of protocols in Gaussian noise, obtaining their respective achievable rate regions, outer bounds, and their relative performance under different SNR and relay geometries.

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

achievable rate regions
outer bounds
relaying


Assigning roles to protein mentions: The case of transcription factors Transcription factors (TFs) play a crucial role in gene regulation, and providing structured and curated information about them is important for genome biology. Manual curation of TF related data is time-consuming and always lags behind the actual knowledge available in the biomedical literature. Here we present a machine-learning text mining approach for identification and tagging of protein mentions that play a TF role in a given context to support the curation process. More precisely, the method explicitly identifies those protein mentions in text that refer to their potential TF functions. The prediction features are engineered from the results of shallow parsing and domain-specific processing (recognition of relevant appearing in phrases) and a phrase-based Conditional Random Fields (CRF) model is used to capture the content and context information of candidate entities. The proposed approach for the identification of TF mentions has been tested on a set of evidence sentences from the TRANSFAC and FlyTF databases. It achieved an F-measure of around 51.5% with a precision of 62.5% using 5-fold cross-validation evaluation. The experimental results suggest that the phrase-based CRF model benefits from the flexibility to use correlated domain-specific features that describe the dependencies between TFs and other entities. To the best of our knowledge, this work is one of the first attempts to apply text-mining techniques to the task of assigning semantic roles to protein mentions.

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

information extraction
transcription factor identification


A Modified 2D Chain Code Algorithm for Object Segmentation and Contour Tracing In this paper, a modified algorithm for object segmentation of binary,, images is presented, and denoted as 2D modified chain code algorithm. The 2D modified chain code a algorithm can be applied to color images after being binarized. The segmented object is used to derive the chain code in the image. The definition of the 2D- modified chain code algorithm is valid for shapes composed of triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal cells. The 2D modified chain code preserves information and allows, computing geometric dimension. The results demonstrate that the 2D modified chain code algorithm could extract the coordinates of the shapes at lower computational cost when compared to the classical chain code. Here, a considerable improvement in accuracy (20.1-57.21%) over what is possible with the classical chain code has been achieved at the expense of Slight increase in computational cost (10-20%).

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

image segmentation
contour detection
chain codes


Nonparametric extraction of transient changes in neurotransmitter concentration from dynamic PET data We have developed a nonparametric approach to the analysis of dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) data for extracting temporal characteristics of the change in endogenous neurotransmitter concentration in the brain. An algebraic method based on singular value decomposition (SVD) was applied to simulated data under both rest (neurotransmitter at baseline) and activated (transient neurotransmitter release) conditions. The resulting signals are related to the integral of the change in free neurotransmitter concentration in the tissue. Therefore, a specially designed minimum mean-square error (MMSE) filter must be applied to the signals to recover the desired temporal pattern of neurotransmitter change. To test the method, we simulated sets of realistic time activity curves representing uptake of [11C]raclopride, a dopamine (DA) receptor antagonist, in brain regions, under baseline and dopamine-release conditions. Our tests considered two scenarios: 1) a spatially homogeneous pattern with all voxels in the activated state presenting an identical DA signal; 2) a spatially heterogeneous pattern in which different DA signals were contained in different families of voxels. In the first case, we demonstrated that the timing of a single DA peak can be accurately identified to within 1 min and that two distinct neurotransmitter peaks can be distinguished. In the second case, separate peaks of activation separated by as little as 5 min can be distinguished. A decrease in blood flow during activation could not account for our findings. We applied the method to human PET data acquired with [11C]raclopride in the presence of transiently elevated DA due to intravenous (IV) alcohol. Our results for an area of the nucleus accumbens-a region relevant to alcohol consumption-agreed with a model-based method for estimating the DA response. SVD-based analysis of dynamic PET data promises a completely noninvasive and model-independent technique for determining the dynamics of a neurotransmitter response to cognitive or pharmacological stimuli. Our results indicate that the method is robust enough for application to voxel-by-voxel data.

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

dopamine
positron emission tomography
singular value decomposition


Symplectic integration of Sine-Gordon type systems We construct a class of symplectic integration schemes to general Sine-Gordon type systems. We also conduct several numerical tests for these symplectic schemes. Our numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of these schemes for numerical computation of the solutions to the general Sine-Gordon type systems. (C) 1999 IMACS/Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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

finite difference method
hamiltonian system
solitary wave propagation
sine-gordon equations


Modeling and Simulation Studies of Human beta 3 Adrenergic Receptor and its Interactions with Agonists beta 3 adrenergic receptor (beta 3AR) is known to mediate various pharmacological and physiological effects such as thermogenesis in brown adipocytes, lipolysis in white adipocytes, glucose homeostasis and intestinal smooth muscle relaxation. Several efforts have been made in this field to understand their function and regulation in different human tissues and they have emerged as potential attractive targets in drug discovery for the treatment of diabetes, depression, obesity etc. Although the crystal structures of Bovine Rhodopsin and beta 2 adrenergic receptor have been resolved, to date there is no three dimensional structural information on beta 3AR. Our aim in this study was to model 3D structure of beta 3AR by various molecular modeling and simulation techniques. In this paper, we describe a refined predicted model of beta 3AR using different algorithms for structure prediction. The structural refinement and minimization of the generated 3D model of beta 3AR were done by Schrodinger suite 9.1. Docking studies of beta 3AR model with the known agonists enabled us to identify specific residues, viz, Asp 117, Ser 208, Ser 209, Ser 212, Arg 315, Asn 332, within the beta 3AR binding pocket, which might play an important role in ligand binding. Receptor ligand interaction studies clearly indicated that these five residues showed strong hydrogen bonding interactions with the ligands. The results have been correlated with the experimental data available. The predicted ligand binding interactions and the simulation studies validate the methods used to predict the 3D-structure.

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

beta 3 adrenergic receptor
molecular modeling
simulation

molecular docking with beta 3 adrenergic receptor


Finding dicing plans for multiple project wafers fabricated with shuttle mask Multiple project wafers (MPWs) containing difierent chip designs from many customers serves as an important vehicle for gaining access to advanced semiconductor process technology for prototyping innovative designs or low-volume production. In this paper, a comprehensive study on the methods for determining dicing plans for MPW was carried out. Dicing plans can be used to determine the number of MPWs needed to be fabricated before chip fabrication and employed to saw the wafers after fabrication. Several methods based on integer linear programming formulation and a heuristic based on simulated annealing was proposed. Through conducting experiments with industrial test cases, these proposed methods can achieve up to 50% wafer reduction in some cases and on average 18% and 38% reduction for low- and high- volume production, respectively. This study makes a contribution to MPW dicing and is also instrumental in developing better reticlefloorplanning methods.

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

shuttle mask
integer linear programming
simulated annealing

multiple project wafer (mpw)
reticle floorplanning
wafer dicing
conflict graph
maximal independent set
graph coloring
multi-color assignment


Microarchitectural performance comparison of Intel Knights Corner and Intel Sandy Bridge with CFD applications This paper comparatively evaluates the microarchitectural performance of two representative Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) applications on the Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) product, the Intel Knights Corner (KNC) coprocessor, and the Intel Sand Bridge (SNB) processor. Performance Monitoring Unit-based measurement method is used, along with a two-phase measurement method and some considerations to minimize the errors and instabilities. The results show that the CFD applications are sensitive to architecture factors. Their single thread performance and efficiency on KNC are much lower than that on SNB. Branch prediction and memory access are two primary factors that make the performance difference. The applications low-computational intensity and inefficient vector instruction usage are two additional factors. To be more efficient for the CFD applications, the MIC architecture needs to improve its branch prediction mechanism and memory hierarchy. Fine tuning of application codes is also crucial and is hard work.

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

many integrated core
cfd applications
performance comparison

multicore processors
microarchitecture factors
application characteristics


Human-Automation Collaboration in Occluded Trajectory Smoothing Deciding if and what objects should be engaged in a ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) scenario involves a number of complex issues. The system is large, and the timelines may be on the order of a few minutes, which drives designers to automate these systems. The critical nature of ballistic missile defense engagement decisions however, suggests exploring a human-in-the-loop approach to allow for judgment, knowledge-based decisions, and the ability to override automation decisions. This BMDS problem is reflective of the function allocation conundrum faced in many supervisory control systems, which is how to determine which functions should be mutually exclusive and which should be collaborative between humans and automation. This paper motivates and outlines two experiments that quantitatively investigated human/automation tradeoffs in the specific domain of tracking problems. Participants in both experiments were tested in their ability to smooth trajectories in different scenarios. In the first experiment, they clearly demonstrated an ability to assist an algorithm in more difficult, shorter timeline scenarios. The second experiment combined the strengths of both human and automation in order to produce a collaborative effort. Comparison of the collaborative effort to the algorithm showed that adjusting the criterion for having human participation could significantly improve solutions. Future work should focus on further examination of appropriate criteria.

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

ballistic missile defense system (bmds)
human-automation collaboration
occluded trajectories
track association


A priori worst case error bounds for floating-point computations A new technique for the a priori calculation of rigorous error bounds for floating-point computations is introduced. The theorems given in the paper combined with interval arithmetic lead to the implementation of reliable software routines. which enable the user to compute the desired error bounds automatically by a suitable computer program. As a prominent example, a table-lookup algorithm for calculating the function exp(x) - 1 that has been published by Tang [16] is analyzed using these new tools. The result shows the high quality of the new approach.

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

table-lookup algorithms
elementary function algorithms
automation of error analysis


On the identification of relevant degradation indicators in super wideband listening quality assessment models We present two super wideband listening quality assessment models. Four perceptual dimensions are studied: coloration, continuity, noisiness, loudness. We identify and extract quality degradation indicators per dimension in the models. We perform a visual evaluation and an objective analysis of these indicators.

O O O O O O O O B I 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

voice quality assessment
objective models
diagnostic


Evolutionary plantographics This letter describes an evolutionary system for creating lifelike three-dimensional plants and flowers, our main goal being the facilitation of producing realistic plant imagery. With these two goals in mind-ease of generation and realism-we designed the plant genotype and the genotype-to-phenotype mapping. Diversity in our system comes about through two distinct processes-evolution and randomization-allowing the creation not only of single plants but of entire gardens and forests. Thus, we are able to readily produce natural-looking artificial scenes.

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

computer graphics
evolutionary algorithms
robot shaping


Using age registers for a simple loadstore queue filtering ? One of the main challenges of modern processor design is the implementation of a scalable and efficient mechanism to detect memory access order violations as a result of out-of-order execution. Traditional age-ordered associative load and store queues are complex, inefficient, and power-hungry. In this paper, we introduce two new LSQ filtering mechanisms with different design tradeoffs, but both explicitly rely on timing information as a primary instrument to rule out dependence violation and enforce memory dependences. Our timing-centric design operates at a fraction of the energy cost of an associative LQ and SQ with no performance degradation.

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


Master-slave intelligent robot telepresence system In this paper, the analysis and design of master-slave intelligent robot telepresence system are discussed. When the operator acts on the master manipulator, the position and attitude information of the master manipulator are gathered by the computer. After calculating and coordinate transforming, the data are send to the computer of the slave manipulator. Then the slave manipulator-PUMA562 robot follows the master manipulator's movement precisely. Six-dimension force/toque sensor(lord cell) is mounted on the slave manipulator. As the master manipulator and the toque on the slave manipulator are different in structure, the force and the slave manipulator should be send to the master manipulator computer and dissociated by the master manipulator computer. Proper ratio of the force on the master manipulator and the force on the slave manipulator is selected, and distribute to the master manipulator joints. So that the operator could feel the force from the master manipulator, which is obtained by the motors of the joints. The proposed control scheme is introduced to a prototype master-slave system and the experimental results show the validity of the proposed scheme.

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


clock even suppression algorithm of velvet and its application to s-820 development An advanced clock event suppression algorithm for high-speed logic simulation is described. A new signal value Cn and a current clock (CC), which indicates the current status of clock signals, has been introduced to realize this algorithm. This algorithm suppresses about 60\% of the total events, and eliminates 40\% of CPU time. No overhead is needed to incorporate this algorithm using hardware support of VELVET (vectorized processing system for logic verification). Hitachi's latest supercomputer S-820 has been developed using VELVET. The development period has been shortened to 3/4 that of the S-810.

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

value simulation event supercomputer verification clock support logic hardware algorithm

applications systems signaling developer process timing


integrating relational databases with support for updates Most work on database integration has considered only support for data retrieval, not support for updates, and often the use of a special semantically rich data model has been required. In this paper we present an approach to database integration which supports updates and which uses only the standard relational data model. Many of the ideas used in this approach are applicable to database integration in the context of other data models as well.

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

context
data models
retrieval
data
support
use
paper
database

standardization
relation
relational database
update
integrability


The Effect of a Situated Learning Environment in a Distance Education Information Literacy Course ? Teaching based on situated learning theory employs techniques that enable learners to experience a concept within the circumstance in which it would most likely be useful, and is presumed to facilitate transfer of knowledge from the instructional situation to its application to environments outside the classroom. The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate the efficacy of a situated learning environment for facilitating transfer during tasks requiring the evaluation of information in an online information literacy course. Eighty-five university students enrolled in a distance education library research course were randomly assigned to a situated learning condition or a control/traditional instruction group. Students assigned to the experimental group demonstrated transfer more often. A logistic regression analysis revealed that the grouping variable was a significant predictor of transfer. These results reveal that teaching models based on the principles of situated learning have the potential to facilitate transfer to real world contexts. The implications of this study may inform curricular decisions by providing evidence-based instructional design for instructors wishing to employ situated learning in order to teach for transfer, thus improving distance education courses in general, and library instruction in particular.

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

information literacy instruction
problem-based learning
cognitive apprenticeship


A joint-ONU interval-based dynamic scheduling algorithm for ethernet passive optical networks This paper proposes a new dynamic bandwidth allocation system for Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (EPONs), subject to requirements of fairness, efficiency, and cost. An Optical Line Terminal (OLT)-centric bandwidth allocation model is proposed which employs a credit pooling,technique combined with a weighted-share policy to partition the upstream bandwidth among different classes of service, and to prevent Optical Network Units (ONUs) from monopolizing the bandwidth. The OLT-centric model allows global optimization of network resources, a characteristic which is not found in many earlier proposals. Supported by the new bandwidth allocation, the paper proposes a joint-ONU interval-based packet scheduling algorithm, referred to herein as COPS (Class -of-service Oriented Packet Scheduling), that meets the requirements set out above. We compare COPS with another well-known scheduling algorithm which employed a standard priority-based bandwidth sharing. We show that COPS is superior in terms of network utilization and maximum packet delay, with the consequence of an increase in average packet delay for the premium traffic. This drawback is overcome by combining COPS with a rate-based optimization scheme.

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

communication protocols
network architecture and design
network technologies


Convolution Operations Arising From Vandermonde Matrices Different types of convolution operations involving large Vandermonde matrices are considered. The convolutions parallel those of large Gaussian matrices and additive and multiplicative free convolution, and include additive and multiplicative convolution of Vandermonde matrices and deterministic diagonal matrices, and cases where two independent Vandermonde matrices are involved. It is also shown that the convergence of any combination of Vandermonde matrices is almost sure. The convolutions are divided into two types: those which depend on the phase distribution of the Vandermonde matrices, and those which depend only on the spectra of the matrices. A general criterion is presented to find which type applies for any given convolution. A simulation is presented, verifying the results. Implementations of the presented convolutions are provided and discussed. The implementation is based on the technique of Fourier-Motzkin elimination, and is quite general as it can be applied to virtually any combination of Vandermonde matrices. Connections with related matrices, such as Toeplitz and Hankel matrices, are also discussed.

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

deconvolution
limiting eigenvalue distribution
random matrices


false timing path identification using atpg techniques and delay-based information A well-known problem in timing verification of VLSI circuits using static timing analysis tools is the generation of false timing paths. This leads to a pessimistic estimation of the processor speed and wasted engineering effort spent optimizing unsensitizable paths. Earlier results have shown how ATPG techniques can be used to identify false paths efficiently [6],[9], as well as how to bridge the gap between the physical design on which the static timing analysis is based and the test view on which ATPG technique is applied to identify false paths [9]. In this paper, we will demonstrate efficient techniques to identify more false timing paths by utilizing information from an ordered list of timing paths according to the delay information. More than 10\% of additional false timing paths out of the total timing paths analyzed are identified compared to earlier results on the MPC7455, a Motorola processor executing to the PowerPC.

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

static timing analysis
atpg
false timing paths


transfer tagging from image to video Nowadays massive amount of web video datum has been emerging on the Internet. To achieve an effective and efficient video retrieval, it is critical to automatically assign semantic keywords to the videos via content analysis. However, most of the existing video tagging methods suffer from the problem of lacking sufficient tagged training videos due to high labor cost of manual tagging. Inspired by the observation that there are much more well-labeled data in other yet relevant types of media (e.g. images), in this paper we study how to build a "cross-media tunnel" to transfer external tag knowledge from image to video. Meanwhile, the intrinsic data structures of both image and video spaces are well explored for inferring tags. We propose a Cross-Media Tag Transfer (CMTT) paradigm which is able to: 1) transfer tag knowledge between image and video by minimizing their distribution difference; 2) infer tags by revealing the underlying manifold structures embedded within both image and video spaces. We also learn an explicit mapping function to handle unseen videos. Experimental results have been reported and analyzed to illustrate the superiority of our proposal.

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


A discussion on Calculating fuzzy inverse matrix using fuzzy linear equation system In the present note it is shown that the examples presented in a recent paper by Basaran are incorrect. The correct exact solutions are also presented here. In this way, a new direction for approximating fuzzy inverse matrix is proposed. In this paper, the first step we solve the center part of fully fuzzy linear system, then we solve the spread part of the equation 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 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

fuzzy numbers
fuzzy linear systems
approximate fuzzy inverse


Cut generation for an employee timetabling problem Motivated by an industrial application, we study a specific employee timetabling problem. Several investigations are being conducted: a lower bound by Lagrangian relaxation, a heuristic based on a cut generation process and an exact method by Benders decomposition. Experimental results on real and generated instances are reported.

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

employee timetabling problem
benders decomposition

multi-choice multi-dimensional knapsack problem


psychologically structured approach to user experience in games User experience (UX) in digital games has recently become a common topic of research. Despite association between psychology and experiences is clear, results have often been inadequately explicated by using psychological terms. In this study we explore the variety of experiences (i.e. positive and negative) that are received from playing digital games. The main aim is to integrate gamers' descriptions of their UX to theoretical constructs in psychology to reach a more analytic approach to the topic. The results suggested that user experiences are versatile in nature but they consist of four major constructs: cognition, motivation, emotion and focused attention. In addition to the main findings, gender was related on how gaming was experienced. As a conclusion, this study offers a solid and empirical-based terminology for communicating about UX in games. Also, the results can be utilized in developing models and measurement tools for UX in games in future.

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


A mobile pet wearable computer and mixed reality system for human-poultry interaction through the internet Poultry are one of the most badly treated animals in the modern world. It has been shown that they have high levels of both cognition and feelings and as a result there has been a recent trend of promoting poultry welfare. There is also a tradition of keeping poultry as pets in some parts of the world. However, in modern cities and societies, it is often difficult to maintain contact with pets, particularly for office workers. We propose and describe a novel cybernetics system to use mobile and Internet technology to improve human-pet interaction. It can also be used for people who are allergic to touching animals and thus cannot stroke them directly. This interaction encompasses both visualization and tactile sensation of real objects.

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

multimodal interaction
mobile computing
haptic interfaces
wearable devices


Estimation of water surface elevations for the Everglades, Florida The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of real-time water-level monitoring gages and modeling methods that provides scientists and managers with current (2000present) online water surface and water depth information for the freshwater domain of the Greater Everglades. This integrated system presents data on a 400-m square grid to assist in (1) large-scale field operations; (2) integration of hydrologic and ecologic responses; (3) supporting biological and ecological assessment of the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP); and (4) assessing trophic-level responses to hydrodynamic changes in the Everglades. This paper investigates the radial basis function multiquadric method of interpolation to obtain a continuous freshwater surface across the entire Everglades using radio-transmitted data from a network of water-level gages managed by the US Geological Survey (USGS), the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and the Everglades National Park (ENP). Since the hydrological connection is interrupted by canals and levees across the study area, boundary conditions were simulated by linearly interpolating along those features and integrating the results together with the data from marsh stations to obtain a continuous water surface through multiquadric interpolation. The absolute cross-validation errors greater than 5cm correlate well with the local outliers and the minimum distance between the closest stations within 2000-m radius, but seem to be independent of vegetation or season.

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

radial basis functions
absolute cross-validation errors


Infinitely many weak solutions for a class of quasilinear elliptic systems In this paper we deal with the existence of weak solutions for a quasilinear elliptic system. More precisely the existence of an exactly determined open interval of positive parameters for which the system admits infinitely many weak solutions is established. Our proofs are based on variational methods. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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


Efficient 3D characterization of raised topological defects in smooth specular coatings Many smooth, highly specular coatings, such as automotive paints and appliance coatings, are subjected to considerable performance demands and manufacturers spend significant sums each year to monitor and repair coating surface quality. Additionally, changing product specifications and environmental regulations will continue to affect the processing parameters that influence surface appearance and quality. Therefore, it is vital to develop robust methods to monitor surface quality on-line and continuously examine the processes that significantly affect surface appearance in real-time. As a critical step, this paper presents a cost-effective machine vision system design that utilizes surface reflectance models as a rational basis. Experimental and numerical investigations of diffuse angle images of specular coated surfaces confirm that these images yield a three-dimensional characterization of surface defects, efficiently, from a single image.

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

surface reflectance model
surface quality of specular coatings
defect characterization
camera calibration


Calculus of variations for a boundary value problem of differential system on the half line ? Boundary value problem of second-order differential equations on the half line is investigated in this paper. The method mainly depends on the calculus of variations to the classical functionals. Sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of the solutions.

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


Evaluating the effectiveness of visual analog scales - A web experiment The use of visual analog scales (VAS) in survey research has been relatively rare, in part because of operational difficulties. However web surveys permit the use of continuous input devices such as slider bars, making VAS more feasible. The authors conducted an experiment to explore the utility of a VAS in a web survey, comparing it to radio button input and numeric entry in a text box on a series of bipolar questions eliciting views on genetic versus environmental causes of various behaviors. The experiment included a variety of additional comparisons including the presence or absence of numeric feedback in the VAS, the use of a midpoint or no midpoint for the other two versions, and numbered versus unnumbered radio button scales. The response distributions for the VAS did not differ from those using the other scale types, and the VAS had higher rates of missing data and longer completion times.

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


Annular Flow Film Characteristics in Variable Gravity Annular flow is a frequently occurring flow regime in many industrial applications. The need for a better understanding of this flow regime is driven by the desire to improve the design of many terrestrial and space systems. Annular two-phase flow occurs in the mining and transportation of oil and natural gas, petrochemical processes, and boilers and condensers in heating and refrigeration systems. The flow regime is also anticipated during the refueling of space vehicles, and thermal management systems for space use. Annular flow is mainly inertia driven with little effect of buoyancy. However, the study of this flow regime is still desirable in a microgravity environment. The influence of gravity can create an unstable, chaotic film. The absence of gravity, therefore, allows for a more stable and axisymmetric film. Such conditions allow for the film characteristics to be easily studied at low gas flow rates. Previous studies conducted by the Microgravity Research Group dealt with varying the gas or liquid mass fluxes at a reduced gravitational acceleration.1,2 The study described here continues this work by examining the effect of changing the gravitational acceleration (hypergravity) on the film characteristics. In particular, the film thickness and the associated pressure drops are examined. The film thickness was measured using a pair of two-wire conductance probes. Experimental data was collected over a range of annular flow set points by changing the liquid and gas mass flow rates, the liquid-to-gas density ratio and the gravitational acceleration. The liquid-to-gas density ratio was varied by collecting data with helium-water and air-water at the same flow rates. The gravitational effect was examined by collecting data during the microgravity and pull-up (hypergravity) portions of the parabolic flights.

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

annular flow
film thickness
microgravity
hypergravity
film characteristics
petrochemical processes
conductance probes

frictional pressure drop
two-phase flow
thermal systems
air-water
helium-water
density effect
parabolic flight
terrestrial applications
space applications


Internet and mobile phone text-messaging dependency: Factor structure and correlation with dysphoric mood among Japanese adults Unhealthy use of the Internet and mobile phones is a health issue in Japan. We solicited participation in this questionnaire-based study from the employees of a city office in Kumamoto. A total of 92 men and 54 women filled in the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (IAQ), the Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The prevalence of light Internet addiction and severe Internet addiction were 33.7% and 6.1% for men whereas they were 24.6% and 1.8% for women. The prevalence of light mobile phone text-message addiction was 3.1% for men and 5.4% for women. There were no cases of sever text-message addiction. We found a two-factor structure for the IAQ and a three-factor structure for the STDS. We also performed an EFA of the IAQ and STDS subscales, and this revealed a two-factor structure Internet Dependency and Text-message Dependency. An STDS subscale, Relationship Maintenance, showed a moderate factor loading of the factor that reflected unhealthy Internet use. In a path analysis, Depression was associated with both Internet Dependency and Text-message Dependency whereas Anxiety was associated negatively with Text-message Dependency. These results suggest applicability of the IAQ and STDS and that Internet and Text-message Dependences are factorially distinct.

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


A symbolic data-driven technique based on evolutionary polynomial regression This paper describes a new hybrid regression method that combines the best features of conventional numerical regression techniques with the genetic programming symbolic regression technique. The key idea is to employ an evolutionary computing methodology to search for a model of the system/process being modelled and to employ parameter estimation to obtain constants using least squares. The new technique, termed Evolutionary Polynomial Regression (EPR) overcomes shortcomings in the GP process, such as computational performance; number of evolutionary parameters to tune and complexity of the symbolic models. Similarly, it alleviates issues arising from numerical regression, including difficulties in using physical insight and overfitting problems. This paper demonstrates that EPR is good, both in interpolating data and in scientific knowledge discovery. As an illustration, EPR is used to identify polynomial formulae with progressively increasing levels of noise, to interpolate the Colebrook-White formula for a pipe resistance coefficient and to discover a formula for a resistance coefficient from experimental data.

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

chezy resistance coefficient
colebrook-white formula
data-driven modelling