Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development Conceptual framework and state of research Electronic Governance (EGOV) research studies the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve governance processes. Sustainable Development (SD) research studies possible development routes that satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Despite substantial progress in advancing both domains independently, little research exists at their intersection how to utilize EGOV in support of SD. We call this intersection Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development (EGOV4SD). This paper: 1) proposes a conceptual framework for EGOV4SD, 2) proposes EGOV4SD research assessment framework and 3) applies both frameworks to determine the state of EGOV4SD research. The main contribution of the paper is establishing a foundation for EGOV4SD research.

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

electronic governance
sustainable development

electronic governance for sustainable development


SelGen: System to dynamically evaluate and compare the agronomic behavior of genotypes that participate in networks of comparative yield trials One of the decisions of major impact on crop profitability is the selection of the genotype to sow. SelGen is a software that makes it possible to evaluate and dynamically compare genotypes; this allows a faster selection of the suitable genotype. The software processes, according to the options selected by the user, the information contained in a database regarding the genotype yield in different environments. The results are shown in graphs and tables. The database included in the program is updated twice a year. Users can analyze their own databases.

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

genotype selection
crop yield
evaluation system


Control of mineral wool thickness using predictive functional control The production process of mineral wool is affected by several constantly changing factors. The ingredients for the mineral wool are melted in a furnace. The molten mineral charge exits the bottom of the furnace in a water-cooled trough and falls into a fiberization device (the centrifuge). The centrifuge forms the fibers. At this stage binders are injected to bind the fibers together. To ensure the quality of the end product (the consistent thickness) the flow of the bounded fibers must be as constant as possible. One way to ensure that is to control the speed of the conveyor belt that transports the bounded fibers from the centrifuge to the curing process. Predictive functional controller and PID controller are considered to replace an existing algorithm. Both can easily replace an existing one as they do not require any new sensor installation. All three algorithms are presented and tested on a developed plant model. The study showed that the predictive control gives better results than the existing and PID controller.

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

stone wool process
thickness control
conveyor belt control


Bioinformatics resource manager v2.3: an integrated software environment for systems biology with microRNA and cross-species analysis tools MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that direct post-transcriptional regulation of protein coding genes. Recent studies have shown miRNAs are important for controlling many biological processes, including nervous system development, and are highly conserved across species. Given their importance, computational tools are necessary for analysis, interpretation and integration of high-throughput (HTP) miRNA data in an increasing number of model species. The Bioinformatics Resource Manager (BRM) v2.3 is a software environment for data management, mining, integration and functional annotation of HTP biological data. In this study, we report recent updates to BRM for miRNA data analysis and cross-species comparisons across datasets.

B 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 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


Integrated process planning using tool/process capabilities and heuristic search CAD-CAM integration has involved either design with standard manufacturing features (feature-based design), or interpretation of a solid model based on a set of predetermined feature patterns (automatic feature recognition). Thus existing approaches are limited in application to predefined features, and also disregard the dynamic nature of the process and tool availability in the manufacturing shop floor. To overcome this problem, we develop a process oriented approach to design interpretation, and model the shape producing capabilities of the tools into tool classes. We then interpret the part by matching regions of it with the tool classes directly. In addition, there could be more than one way in which a part can be interpreted, and to obtain an optimal plan, it is necessary for an integrated computer aided process planning system to examine these alternatives. We develop a systematic search algorithm to generate the different interpretations, and a heuristic approach to sequence operations (set-ups/tools) for the features of the interpretations generated. The heuristic operation sequencing algorithm considers features and their manufacturing constraints (precedences) simultaneously, to optimally allocate set-ups and tools for the various features. The modules within the design interpretation and process planner are linked through an abstracted qualitative model of feature interactions. Such an abstract representation is convenient for geometric reasoning tasks associated with planning and design interpretation.

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

design interpretation
feature recognition

computer-aided process planning
qualitative spatial reasoning
feature-based manufacturing
tool/process capability matching


Reliable approaches of variational iteration method for nonlinear operators In this paper, new approaches of the variational iteration method are developed to handle nonlinear problems. The proposed approaches are capable of reducing the size of calculations and easily overcome the difficulty arising in calculating complicated integrals. Numerical examples are examined to show the efficiency of the techniques. The modified approaches show improvements over the existing numerical schemes. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

O O O B I I 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

lagrange multiplier
klein-gordon equation
sine-gordon equation


Program termination and well partial orderings The following known observation is useful in establishing program termination: if a transitive relation R is covered by finitely many well-founded relations U(1),..., U(n) then R is well-founded. A question arises how to bound the ordinal height vertical bar R vertical bar of the relation R in terms of the ordinals alpha(i) = vertical bar U(i) vertical bar. We introduce the notion of the stature parallel to P parallel to of a well partial ordering P and show that vertical bar R vertical bar <= parallel to alpha(1) x ... x alpha(n) parallel to and that this bound is tight. The notion of stature is of considerable independent interest. We define parallel to P parallel to as the ordinal height of the forest of nonempty bad sequences of P, but it has many other natural and equivalent definitions. In particular, parallel to P parallel to is the supremum, and in fact the maximum, of the lengths of linearizations of P. And parallel to alpha(1) x ... x alpha(n) parallel to is equal to the natural product alpha(1) circle times ... circle times alpha(n).

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

program termination
well partial orderings

algorithms
theory
covering observation
game criterion


linear predictive coding and cepstrum coefficients for mining time variant information from software repositories This paper presents an approach to recover time variant information from software repositories. It is widely accepted that software evolves due to factors such as defect removal, market opportunity or adding new features. Software evolution details are stored in software repositories which often contain the changes history. On the other hand there is a lack of approaches, technologies and methods to efficiently extract and represent time dependent information. Disciplines such as signal and image processing or speech recognition adopt frequency domain representations to mitigate differences of signals evolving in time. Inspired by time-frequency duality, this paper proposes the use of Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) and Cepstrum coefficients to model time varying software artifact histories. LPC or Cepstrum allow obtaining very compact representations with linear complexity. These representations can be used to highlight components and artifacts evolved in the same way or with very similar evolution patterns. To assess the proposed approach we applied LPC and Cepstral analysis to 211 Linux kernel releases (i.e., from 1.0 to 1.3.100), to identify files with very similar size histories. The approach, the preliminary results and the lesson learned are presented in this paper.

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


Outlier detection for patient monitoring and alerting We develop and evaluate a data-driven approach for detecting unusual (anomalous) patient-management decisions using past patient cases stored in electronic health records (EHRs). Our hypothesis is that a patient-management decision that is unusual with respect to past patient care may be due to an error and that it is worthwhile to generate an alert if such a decision is encountered. We evaluate this hypothesis using data obtained from EHRs of 4486 post-cardiac surgical patients and a subset of 222 alerts generated from the data. We base the evaluation on the opinions of a panel of experts. The results of the study support our hypothesis that the outlier-based alerting can lead to promising true alert rates. We observed true alert rates that ranged from 25% to 66% for a variety of patient-management actions, with 66% corresponding to the strongest outliers.

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

machine learning
clinical alerting
conditional outlier detection
medical errors


Maplets for correspondence-based object recognition We present a correspondence-based system for visual object recognition with invariance to position, orientation, scale and deformation. The system is intermediate between high- and low-dimensional representations of correspondences. The essence of the approach is based on higher-order links, called here maplets, which are specific to narrow ranges of mapping parameters (position, scale and orientation), which interact cooperatively with each other, and which are assumed to be formed by learning. While being based on dynamic links, the system overcomes previous problems with that formulation in terms of speed of convergence and range of allowed variation. We perform face recognition experiments, comparing ours to other published systems. We see our work as a step towards a reformulation of neural dynamics that includes rapid network self-organization as essential aspect of brain state organization.

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

correspondence
dynamic link
map formation
self-organization
maplet


Self-interruptions in discretionary multitasking Human multitasking is often the result of self-initiated interruptions in the performance of an ongoing task. These self-interruptions occur in the absence of external triggers such as electronic alerts or email notifications. Compared to externally induced interruptions, self-interruptions have not received enough research attention. To address this gap, this paper develops a typology of self-interruptions based on the integration of Flow Theory and Self-regulation Theory. In this new typology, the two major categories stem from positive and negative feelings of task progress and prospects of goal attainment. The proposed classification is validated in an experimental multitasking environment with pre-defined tasks. Empirical findings indicate that negative feelings trigger more self-interruptions than positive feelings. In general, more self-interruptions result in lower accuracy in all tasks. The results suggest that negative internal triggers of self-interruptions unleash a downward spiral that may degrade performance.

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

multitasking interruptions performance flow


PID-Controlled Particle Swarm Optimization Premature convergence is a major challenge for particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) when dealing with multi-modal problems. The reason is partly due to the insufficient exploration capability because of the fast convergent speed especially in the final stage. In this paper, the PSO is regarded as a two-inputs one-output feedback system, and two PID controllers are incorporated into the methodology of PSO to improve the population diversity. Different from the integral controller, PID controller has three independent parameters and adjusts them dynamically. Theoretical results with support set theory and stability analysis both demonstrate that PID controller provides more chances to escaping from a local optimum. To validate the efficiency of this new variant, four other famous variants are used to compare including the comprehensive leaning PSO, modified time-varying accelerator coefficients PSO, integral-controlled PSO and the standard version, the test suit consists five unconstrained numerical benchmarks with dimensionality 30 and 100, respectively. Simulation results show PID-controlled PSO is suitable for high-dimensional multi-modal problems due to the large exploration capability in the final stage.

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

particle swarm optimization
pid controller
support set theory
stability analysis


Small k-pyramids and the complexity of determining k Motivated by the computational complexity of determining whether a graph is hamiltonian, we study under algorithmic aspects a class of polyhedra called k-pyramids, introduced in [31], and discuss related applications. We prove that determining whether a given graph is the 1-skeleton of a k -pyramid, and if so whether it is belted or not, can be done in polynomial time for k?3 k ? 3 . The impact on hamiltonicity follows from the traceability of all 2-pyramids and non-belted 3-pyramids, and from the hamiltonicity of all non-belted 2-pyramids. The algorithm can also be used to determine the outcome for larger values of k, but the complexity increases exponentially with k. Lastly, we present applications of the algorithm, and improve the known bounds for the minimal cardinality of systems of bases called foundations in graph families with interesting properties concerning traceability and hamiltonicity.

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


Performance of MRC combining multi-antenna cooperative relay network Performance of cooperative relaying employing infrastructure based fixed relays having multiple antennas has been investigated. Employing MGF based approach, closed form expression for outage probability and bit error rate performance of BPSK signal have been derived, when relay and destination are assumed to perform MRC combining of the signals. The effect of relay placement on the system performance has also been studied under different path loss conditions.

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

bit error rate for bpsk
multi-antenna relay
decode and forward mode


Novel Tight Closed-Form Bounds for the Symbol Error Rate of EGC and MRC Diversity Receivers Employing Linear Modulations Over \(\alpha -\mu \) Fading In this paper, we propose novel lower and upper bounds on the average symbol error rate (SER) of the dual-branch maximal-ratio combining and equal-gain combining diversity receivers assuming independent branches. \(M\)-ary pulse amplitude modulation and \(M\)-ary phase shift keying schemes are employed and operation over the \(\alpha -\mu \) fading channel is assumed. The proposed bounds are given in closed form and are very simple to calculate as they are composed of a double finite summation of basic functions that are readily available in the commercial software packages. Furthermore, the proposed bounds are valid for any combination of the parameters \(\alpha \) and \(\mu \) as well as \(M\). Numerical results presented show that the proposed bounds are very tight when compared to the exact SER obtained via performing the exact integrations numerically making them an attractive much simpler alternative for SER evaluation studies.

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

\(\alpha -\mu \) fading
maximal-ratio combining
equal-gain combining
approximation


Future directions in evaluation research: People, organizational, and social issues Objective: To review evaluation literature concerning people, organizational, and social issues and provide recommendations for future research. Method: Analyze this research and make recommendations. Results and Conclusions: Evaluation research is key in identifying how people, organizational, and social issues - all crucial to system design, development, implementation, and use - interplay with informatics projects. Building on a long history of contributions and using a variety of methods, researchers continue developing evaluation theories and methods while producing significant interesting studies. We recommend that future research: I) Address concerns of the many individuals involved in or affected by informatics applications. 2) Conduct studies in different type and size sites, and with different scopes of systems and different groups of users. Do multi site or multi-system comparative studies. 3) Incorporate evaluation into all phases of a project. 4) Study failures, partial successes, and changes in project definition or outcome. 5) Employ evaluation approaches that take account of the shifting nature of health care and project environments, and do formative evaluations. 6) Incorporate people, social, organizational, cultural, and concomitant ethical issues into the mainstream of medical informatics. 7) Diversify research approaches and continue to develop new approaches. 8) Conduct investigations at different levels of analysis. 9) Integrate findings from different applications and contextual settings, different areas of health care, studies in other disciplines, and also work that is not published in traditional research outlets. 10) Develop and test theory to inform both further evaluation research and informatics practice.

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

evaluation
medical informatics
implementation
ethical issues

technology assessment
telemedicine
organizational culture
attitudes towards computers
barriers
people, organizational, social issues
sociotechnical
qualitative methods
ethnographic methods
multi-method
human-computer interaction


An intervention method for occupational safety in farming evaluation of the effect and process In order to increase safety in Swedish farming an intervention methodology to influence attitudes and behaviour was tested. Eightyeight farmers and farm workers in nine groups gathered on seven occasions during 1 year. The basic concept was to create socially supportive networks and encourage discussions and reflection, focusing on risk manageability. Six of the groups made structured incident/accident analyses. Three of the latter groups also received information on risks and accident consequences. Effects were evaluated in a pre-post questionnaire using six-graded scales. A significant increase in safety activity and significant reduction in stress and risk acceptance was observed in the total sample. Risk perception and perceived risk manageability did not change. Analysing incidents/accidents, but not receiving information, showed a more positive outcome. Qualitative data indicated good feasibility and that the long duration of the intervention was perceived as necessary. The socially supportive network was reported as beneficial for the change process.

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

long-term safety intervention
attitude and behavioural change


A performance model of the Parallel Ocean Program In this paper we describe a performance model of the Parallel Ocean Program (POP). In particular, the latest version of POP (v2.0) is considered, which has similarities and differences to the earlier version (v1.4.3) as commonly used in climate simulations. The performance model encapsulates an understanding of POP's data decomposition, processing flow, and scaling characteristics. The model is parametrized in many of the main input parameters to POP as well as characteristics of a processing system such as network latency and bandwidth. The performance model has been validated to date on a medium-sized (128 processor) AlphaServer ES40 system with the QsNet-1 interconnection network, and also on a larger scale (2048 processor) Blue Gene/Light system. The accuracy of the performance model is high when using two standard benchmark configurations, one of which represents a realistic configuration similar to that used in Community Climate System Model coupled climate simulations. The performance model is also used to explore the performance of POP after possible optimizations to the code, and different task to processor assignment strategies, whose performance cannot be currently measured.

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

performance modeling
large-scale systems
performance analysis
ocean modeling


Biosignals Modulated by Tumor-Associated Carbohydrate Antigens Based on the remodeling of glycosphingolipids on the human tumor cell lines with manipulation of glycosyltransferase genes, roles of sugar moieties in tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens have been analyzed. Two main topics, that is, the roles of ganglioside GD3 in human malignant melanomas and those of GD2 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were reported. GD3 enhances tyrosine phosphorylation of two adaptor molecules, p130Cas and paxillin, resulting in the increased cell growth and invasion in melanoma cells. GD2 also enhances the proliferation and invasion of SCLC cells. GD2 also mediates apoptosis with anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) via dephosphorylation of the focal adhesion kinase. These approaches have promoted further understanding of mechanisms by which gangliosides modulate malignant properties of human cancer, and the results obtained here propose novel targets for cancer therapy

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

gd3
gd2
melanoma
lung cancer
proliferation
invasion


A novel hybrid intelligent system for multi-objective machine parameter optimization This multidisciplinary research presents a novel hybrid intelligent system to perform a multi-objective industrial parameter optimization process. The intelligent system is based on the application of evolutionary and neural computation in conjunction with identification systems, which makes it possible to optimize the implementation conditions in the manufacturing process of high precision parts, including finishing precision, while saving time, financial costs and/or energy. Empirical verification of the proposed hybrid intelligent system is performed in a real industrial domain, where a case study is defined and analyzed. The experiments are carried out based on real dental milling processes using a high precision machining centre with five axes, requiring high finishing precision of measures in micrometers with a large number of process factors to analyze. The results of the experiments which validate the performance of the proposed approach are presented in this study.

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

hybrid intelligent system
optimization
identification systems

dental milling process
unsupervised learning
multi-objective optimization


A general approach for modeling the motion of rigid and deformable ellipsoids in ductile flows A general approach for modeling the motion of rigid or deformable objects in viscous flows is presented. It is shown that the rotation of a 3D object in a viscous fluid, regardless of the mechanical property and shape of the object, is defined by a common and simple differential equation, d Q / d t = ? ? Q , where Q is a matrix defined by the orientation of the object and ? is the angular velocity tensor of the object. The difference between individual cases lies only in the formulation for the angular velocity. Thus the above equation, together with Jeffery's theory for the angular velocity of rigid ellipsoids, describes the motion of rigid ellipsoids in viscous flows. The same equation, together with Eshelby's theory for the angular velocity of deformable ellipsoids, describes the motion of deformable ellipsoids in viscous flows. Both problems are solved here numerically by a general approach that is much simpler conceptually and more economic computationally, compared to previous approaches that consider the problems separately and require numerical solutions to coupled differential equations about Euler angles or spherical (polar coordinate) angles. A RungeKutta approximation is constructed for solving the above general differential equation. Singular cases of Eshelby's equations when the object is spheroidal or spherical are handled in this paper in a much simpler way than in previous work. The computational procedure can be readily implemented in any modern mathematics application that handles matrix operations. Four MathCad Worksheets are provided for modeling the motion of a single rigid or deformable ellipsoid immersed in viscous fluids, as well as the evolution of a system of noninteracting rigid or deformable ellipsoids embedded in viscous flows.

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

jeffery's theory
eshelby's theory
clast rotation
preferred orientation
viscous flow
numerical modeling


An MDD-based generalized arc consistency algorithm for positive and negative table constraints and some global constraints A table constraint is explicitly represented as its set of solutions or non-solutions. This ad hoc (or extensional) representation may require space exponential to the arity of the constraint, making enforcing GAC expensive. In this paper, we address the space and time inefficiencies simultaneously by presenting the mddc constraint. mddc is a global constraint that represents its (non-)solutions with a multi-valued decision diagram (MDD). The MDD-based representation has the advantage that it can be exponentially smaller than a table. The associated GAC algorithm (called mddc) has time complexity linear to the size of the MDD, and achieves full incrementality in constant time. In addition, we show how to convert a positive or negative table constraint into an mddc constraint in time linear to the size of the table. Our experiments on structured problems, car sequencing and still-life, show that mddc is also a fast GAC algorithm for some global constraints such as sequence and regular. We also show that mddc is faster than the state-of-the-art generic GAC algorithms in Gent et al. (2007), Lecoutre and Szymanek (2006), Lhomme and R,gin (2005) for table constraint.

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

global constraint
table constraint
generalized arc consistency

ad hoc constraint
positive constraint
negative constraint
multi-valued decision diagram


Opinion dynamics driven by leaders, media, viruses and worms A model on the effects of leader, media, viruses, worms, and other agents on the opinion of individuals is developed and utilized to simulate the formation of consensus in society and price in market via excess between supply and demand. The effects of some time varying drives (harmonic and hyperbolic) are also investigated.

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


ON THE LEARNING POTENTIAL OF THE APPROXIMATED QUANTRON The quantron is a hybrid neuron model related to perceptrons and spiking neurons. The activation of the quantron is determined by the maximum of a sum of input signals, which is difficult to use in classical learning algorithms. Thus, training the quantron to solve classification problems requires heuristic methods such as direct search. In this paper, we present an approximation of the quantron trainable by gradient search. We show this approximation improves the classification performance of direct search solutions. We also compare the quantron and the perceptron's performance in solving the IRIS classification problem.

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 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 B 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 B I I

quantron
gradient search
iris classification problem


trust management services in relational databases Trust management represents today a promising approach for supporting access control in open environments. While several approaches have been proposed for trust management and significant steps have been made in this direction, a major obstacle that still exists in the realization of the benefits of this paradigm is represented by the lack of adequate support in the DBMS.In this paper, we present a design that can be used to implement trust management within current relational DBMSs. We propose a trust model with a SQL syntax and illustrate the main issues arising in the implementation of the model in a relational DBMS. Specific attention is paid to the efficient verification of a delegation path for certificates. This effort permits a relatively inexpensive realization of the services of an advanced trust management model within current relational DBMSs.

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


Note on algebraic solutions of differential equations with known finite Galois group Given a linear differential equation with known finite differential Galois group, we discuss methods to construct the minimal polynomial of a solution. We first outline a well known general method involving a basis transformation of the basis of formal solutions at a singular point. In the second part we construct directly the minimal polynomial of an eigenvector of the monodromy matrix at a singular point. The method is very efficient for irreducible second and third order linear differential equations where a one dimensional eigenspace of some monodromy matrix always exists.

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

linear differential equations
algebraic solutions

differential galois theory
liouvillian solutions


Security of Kuwakado-Tanaka transitive signature scheme for directed trees Recently, Kuwakado and Tanaka proposed a transitive signature scheme for directed trees. In this letter, we show that Kuwakado-Tanaka scheme is insecure against a forgery attack, in which an attacker is able to forge edge signatures by composing edge signatures provided by a signer.

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


An improved virtualization layer to support distribution of multimedia contents in pervasive social applications Pervasive social computing is a new paradigm of computer science that aims to facilitate the realization of activities in whichever context, with the aid of information devices and considering social relations between users. This vision requires means to support the shared experiences by harnessing the communication and computing capabilities of the connected devices, relying on direct or hop-by-hop communications among people who happen to be close to each other. In this paper, we present an approach to turn mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) into stable communication environments for pervasive social applications. The proposal is based on an evolution of the VNLayer, a virtualization layer that defined procedures for mobile devices to collaboratively emulate an infrastructure of stationary virtual nodes. We refine the VNLayer procedures and introduce new ones to increase the reliability and the responsiveness of the virtual nodes, which serves to boost the performance of routing with a virtualized version of the well-known AODV algorithm. We prove the advantages of the resulting routing scheme by means of simulation experiments and measurements on a real deployment of an application for immersive and collective learning about History in museums and their surroundings.

O O B 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 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

pervasive social computing
virtualization


A repartitioning hypergraph model for dynamic load balancing ? In parallel adaptive applications, the computational structure of the applications changes over time, leading to load imbalances even though the initial load distributions were balanced. To restore balance and to keep communication volume low in further iterations of the applications, dynamic load balancing (repartitioning) of the changed computational structure is required. Repartitioning differs from static load balancing (partitioning) due to the additional requirement of minimizing migration cost to move data from an existing partition to a new partition. In this paper, we present a novel repartitioning hypergraph model for dynamic load balancing that accounts for both communication volume in the application and migration cost to move data, in order to minimize the overall cost. The use of a hypergraph-based model allows us to accurately model communication costs rather than approximate them with graph-based models. We show that the new model can be realized using hypergraph partitioning with fixed vertices and describe our parallel multilevel implementation within the Zoltan load balancing toolkit. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first implementation for dynamic load balancing based on hypergraph partitioning. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we conducted experiments on a Linux cluster with 1024 processors. The results show that, in terms of reducing total cost, our new model compares favorably to the graph-based dynamic load balancing approaches, and multilevel approaches improve the repartitioning quality significantly.

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

dynamic load balancing
hypergraph partitioning

parallel algorithms
scientific computing
distributed memory computers


assigning location information to display individuals on a map for web people search results Distinguishing people with identical names is becoming more and more important in Web search. This research aims to display person icons on a map to help users select person clusters that are separated into different people from the result of person searches on the Web. We propose a method to assign person clusters with one piece of location information. Our method is comprised of two processes: (a) extracting location candidates from Web pages and (b) assigning location information using a local search engine. Our main idea exploits search engine rankings and character distance to obtain good location information among location candidates. Experimental results revealed the usefulness of our proposed method. We also show a developed prototype system.

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

location information
character distance
web people search


A declarative approach to procedural modeling of virtual worlds With the ever increasing costs of manual content creation for virtual worlds, the potential of creating it automatically becomes too attractive to ignore. However, for most designers, traditional procedural content generation methods are complex and unintuitive to use, hard to control, and generated results are not easily integrated into a complete and consistent virtual world. We introduce a novel declarative modeling approach that enables designers to concentrate on stating what they want to create instead of on describing how they should model it. It aims at reducing the complexity of virtual world modeling by combining the strengths of semantics-based modeling with manual and procedural approaches. This article describes two of its main contributions to procedural modeling of virtual worlds: interactive procedural sketching and virtual world consistency maintenance. We discuss how these techniques, integrated in our modeling framework SketchaWorld, build up to enable designers to create a complete 3D virtual world in minutes. Procedural sketching provides a fast and more intuitive way to model virtual worlds, by letting designers interactively sketch their virtual world using high-level terrain features, which are then procedurally expanded using a variety of integrated procedural methods. Consistency maintenance guarantees that the semantics of all terrain features is preserved throughout the modeling process. In particular, it automatically solves conflicts possibly emerging from interactions between terrain features. We believe that these contributions together represent a significant step towards providing more user control and flexibility in procedural modeling of virtual worlds. It can therefore be expected that by further reducing its complexity, virtual world modeling will become accessible to an increasingly broad group of users.

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

virtual worlds
declarative modeling
consistency maintenance
procedural methods
procedural sketching


Lagrangian finite element modelling of dam-fluid interaction: Accurate absorbing boundary conditions The dynamic dam-fluid interaction is considered via a Lagrangian approach, based on a fluid finite element 'FE, model under the assumption of small displacement and inviscid fluid. The fluid domain is discretized by enhanced displacement-based finite elements, which can be considered an evolution of those derived from the pioneering works of Bathe and Hahn [Bathe KJ, Hahn WF. On transient analysis of fluid-structure system. Comp Struct 1979;10:383-93] and of Wilson and Khalvati [Wilson EL, Khalvati M. Finite element for the dynamic analysis of fluid-solid system. Int. J Numer Methods Eng 1983;19:1657-68]. The irrotational condition for inviscid fluids is imposed by the penalty method and consequentially leads to a type of micropolar media. The model is implemented using a FE code, and the numerical results of a rectangular bidimensional basin (subjected to horizontal sinusoidal acceleration) are compared with the analytical solution. It is demonstrated that the Lagrangian model is able to perform pressure and gravity wave propagation analysis, even if the gravity (or surface) waves are dispersive. The dispersion nature of surface waves indicates that the wave propagation velocity is dependent on the wave frequency. For the practical analysis of the coupled dam-fluid problem the analysed region of the basin must be reduced and the use of suitable asymptotic boundary conditions must be investigated. The classical Sommerfeld condition is implemented by means of a boundary layer of dampers and the analysis results are shown for the cases of sinusoidal forcing. The classical Sommerfeld condition is highly efficient for pressure-based FE modelling, but may not be considered fully adequate for the displacement-based FE approach. In the present paper a high-order boundary condition proposed by Higdom [Higdom RL. Radiation boundary condition for dispersive waves. SIAM J Numer Anal 1994;31:64-100] is considered. Its implementation requires the resolution of a multifreedom constraint problem, defined in terms of incremental displacements, in the ambit of dynamic time integration problems. The first- and second-order Higdon conditions are developed and implemented. The results are compared with the Sommerfeld condition results, and with the analytical unbounded problem results. Finally, a number of finite element results are presented and their related features are discussed and critically compared. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

absorbing boundary
lagrangian finite element
dynamic analysis


Optimal Independent Spanning Trees on Odd Graphs The use of multiple independent spanning trees (ISTs) for data broadcasting in networks provides a number of advantages, including the increase of fault-tolerance and bandwidth. The designs of multiple ISTs on several classes of networks have been widely investigated. In this paper we show a construction algorithm of ISTs on odd graphs, and we analyze that all the lengths of the paths in the ISTs are less than or equal to the length of the shortest path+4, which is optimal. We also prove that the heights of the ISTs we constructed are d+1, which again is optimal, since the fault diameter of an odd graph is d+1.

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

optimal independent spanning trees
odd graphs


Reliability Evaluation for Single Event Transients on Digital Circuits The effect of single event transient (SET) on reliability has become a significant concern for digital circuits. This paper proposed an algorithm for evaluating the reliability for SET on digital circuits, based on signal probability, universal generating function technique, and generalized reliability block diagrams. The algorithm provides an expression for the reliability of SET under consideration for the effects of logic masking, error attenuation of gates, and crosstalk effects among interconnect wires. We perform simulations of ISCAS85 circuits. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm can effectively evaluate the reliability for SET on circuits. The error attenuation of gates can increase the reliability by more than 41.6%, and the masking and crosstalk effects will improve the reliability by more than 43%.

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

crosstalk effects
masking
reliability evaluation
single event transient


Identifying Shapes Using Self-assembly In this paper, we introduce the following problem in the theory of algorithmic self-assembly: given an input shape as the seed of a tile-based self-assembly system, design a finite tile set that can, in some sense, uniquely identify whether or not the given input shape-drawn from a very general class of shapes-matches a particular target shape. We first study the complexity of correctly identifying squares. Then we investigate the complexity associated with the identification of a considerably more general class of non-square, hole-free shapes.

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

algorithmic self-assembly
kolmogorov complexity
rnase assembly model
shape identification problem


Advanced multimodal visualisation of clinical gait and fluoroscopy analyses in the assessment of total knee replacement Traditional gait and fluoroscopy analysis of human movement are largely utilised but are still limited in registration, integration, synchronisation and visualisation capabilities. The present work exploits the features of a recently developed software tool based on multimodal display (Data Manager developed within the EU-funded project Multimod) in an exemplary clinical case. Standard lower limb gait analysis, comprising segment position, ground reaction force and EMG data collection, and three-dimensional fluoroscopy analysis at the replaced joint were performed in a total knee replacement patient while ascending stairs. Clinical information such as X-rays and standard scores were also available. Data Manager was able to import all this variety of data and to structure these in an original hierarchical tree. Bone and prosthesis component models were registered to corresponding marker position data for effective three-dimensional animations. These were also synchronised with corresponding standard video sequences. Animations, video, time-histories of collected and also processed data were shown in various combinations, according to specific interests of the bioengineering and medical professionals expected to observe and to interpret this large amount of data. This software tool demonstrated to be a valuable means to enhance representation and interpretation of measurements coming from human motion analysis. In a single software, a thorough and effective clinical and biomechanical analysis of human motion was performed.

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

gait analysis
fluoroscopy
total knee replacement
multimodal display
synchronisation
registration


A high-performance angular speed measurement method based on adaptive hysteresis switching techniques A new adaptive angular speed (AS) estimate method minimizes AS errors. Hysteresis switching technology is applied to avoid speed fluctuations. Errors caused by the mechanical errors of optical encoder are removed. Merits of high accuracy, fast response, and less fluctuation are achieved. Two-layer hysteresis switches system is realized in DSC.

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

hysteresis switch
adaptive angular speed measurement
digital signal controller (dsc)


A multidimensional segmentation evaluation for medical image data Evaluation of segmentation methods is a crucial aspect in image processing, especially in the medical imaging field, where small differences between segmented regions in the anatomy can be of paramount importance. Usually, segmentation evaluation is based on a measure that depends on the number of segmented voxels inside and outside of some reference regions that are called gold standards. Although some other measures have been also used, in this work we propose a set of new similarity measures, based on different features, such as the location and intensity values of the misclassified voxels, and the connectivity and the boundaries of the segmented data. Using the multidimensional information provided by these measures, we propose a new evaluation method whose results are visualized applying a Principal Component Analysis of the data, obtaining a simplified graphical method to compare different segmentation results. We have carried out an intensive study using several classic segmentation methods applied to a set of MRI simulated data of the brain with several noise and RF inhomogeneity levels, and also to real data, showing that the new measures proposed here and the results that we have obtained from the multidimensional evaluation, improve the robustness of the evaluation and provides better understanding about the difference between segmentation methods.

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

segmentation evaluation
principal component analysis

multidimensional visualization
image segmentation
mri segmentation
similarity measure


PROBABILISTIC QUERYING OVER UNCERTAIN DATA STREAMS Inherent imprecision of data in many applications motivates us to support uncertainty as a first-class concept. Data stream and probabilistic data have been recently considered noticeably in isolation. However, there are many applications including sensor data management systems and object monitoring systems which need both issues in tandem. Our main contribution is designing a probabilistic data stream management system, called Sarcheshmeh,(a) for continuous querying over probabilistic data streams. Sarcheshmeh supports uncertainty from input data to final query results. In this paper, after reviewing requirements and applications of probabilistic data streams, we present our new data model for probabilistic data streams and define our main logical operators formally. Then, we present query language and physical operators. In addition, we introduce the architecture of Sarcheshmeh and also describe some major challenges like memory management and our floating precision mechanism toward designing a more robust system. Finally, we report evaluation of our system and the effect of floating precision on the tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency.

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


Numerical study of the 3D failure envelope of a single pile in sand The paper presents a comprehensive study of the failure envelope (or capacity diagram) of a single elastic pile in sand. The behavior of a pile subjected to different load combinations is simulated using a large number of finite element numerical calculations. The sand is modeled using a constitutive law based on hypoplasticity. In order to find the failure envelope in the three-dimensional space (i.e. horizontal force H, bending moment M and vertical force V), the radial displacement method and swipe tests are numerically performed. It is found that with increasing vertical load the horizontal bearing capacity of the pile decreases. Furthermore, the presence of bending moment on the pile head significantly influences the horizontal bearing capacity and the capacity diagram in the HM plane manifests an inclined elliptical shape. An analytical equation providing good agreement with the 3D numerical results is finally proposed. The formula is useful for design purposes and the development of simplified modeling numerical strategies such as macro-element.

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

3d failure envelope
capacity diagram
pile
hypoplasticity
swipe tests
analytical equation
sand


Semantic linkages in research information systems as a new data source for scientometric studies A growing number of research information systems use a semantic linkage technique to represent in explicit mode information about relationships between elements of its content. This practice is coming nowadays to a maturity when already existed data on semantically linked research objects and expressed by this scientific relationships can be recognized as a new data source for scientometric studies. Recent activities to provide scientists with tools for expressing in a form of semantic linkages their knowledge, hypotheses and opinions about relationships between available information objects also support this trend. The study presents one of such activities performed within the Socionet research information system with a special focus on (a) taxonomy of scientific relationships, which can exist between research objects, especially between research outputs; and (b) a semantic segment of a research e-infrastructure that includes a semantic interoperability support, a monitoring of changes in linkages and linked objects, notifications and a new model of scientific communication, and at lastscientometric indicators built by processing of semantic linkages data. Based on knowledge what is a semantic linkage data and how it is stored in a research information system we propose an abstract computing model of a new data source. This model helps with better understanding what new indicators can be designed for scientometric studies. Using current semantic linkages data collected in Socionet we present some statistical experiments, including examples of indicators based on two data sets: (a) what objects are linked and (b) what scientific relationships (semantics) are expressed by the linkages.

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

research information system
semantic linkages
new data source
scientometric studies


Flash memory efficient LTL model checking As the capacity and speed of flash memories in form of solid state disks grow, they are becoming a practical alternative for standard magnetic drives. Currently, most solid-state disks are based on NAND technology and much faster than magnetic disks in random reads, while in random writes they are generally not. So far, large-scale LTL model checking algorithms have been designed to employ external memory optimized for magnetic disks. We propose algorithms optimized for flash memory access. In contrast to approaches relying on the delayed detection of duplicate states, in this work, we design and exploit appropriate hash functions to re-invent immediate duplicate detection. For flash memory efficient on-the-fly LTL model checking, which aims at finding any counter-example to the specified LTL property, we study hash functions adapted to the two-level hierarchy of RAM and flash memory. For flash memory efficient off-line LTL model checking, which aims at generating a minimal counterexample and scans the entire state space at least once, we analyze the effect of outsourcing a memory-based perfect hash function from RAM to flash memory. Since the characteristics of flash memories are different to magnetic hard disks, the existing I/O complexity model is no longer sufficient. Therefore, we provide an extended model for the computation of the I/O complexity adapted to flash memories that has a better fit to the observed behavior of our algorithms. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

external memory algorithms
algorithm engineering


Data fusion trees for detection: Does architecture matter? We consider the problem of decentralized detection in a network consisting of a large number of nodes arranged as a tree of bounded height, under the assumption of conditionally independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) observations. We characterize the optimal error exponent under a Neyman-Pearson formulation. We show that the Type II error probability decays exponentially fast with the number of nodes, and the optimal error exponent is often the same as that corresponding to a parallel configuration. We provide sufficient, as well as necessary, conditions for this to happen. For those networks satisfying the sufficient conditions, we propose a simple strategy that nearly achieves the optimal error exponent, and in which all non-leaf nodes need only send 1-bit messages.

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


conversion of generalization hierarchies and union types from extended entity-relationship model to an xml logical model This short paper proposes alternative rules for converting generalization/specialization hierarchies and union types, defined in the Extended Entity-Relationship model, to an XML logical model. Our approach considers all the possible constraints and constructs for generalization and union types, generating abstract schemas for the logical design of XML documents.

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

generalization/specialization
eer
xml schemas


A qualitative process system for modeling NF-?B and AP-1 gene regulation in immune cell biology research An experiment-oriented integrated model of the regulation of the biologically ubiquitous NF-?B and AP-1 gene transcription promoters was built by extending a previously developed qualitative process system for simulating cell behavior in the immune system. The core knowledge base (KB) implemented a deep biological ontology including molecular, ultrastructural, cytological, histological, and organismic definitions. KB states, relationships, predicates, and heuristics also represented process interactions between reactive oxygen species, growth factors, and a variety of kinases phosphorylating intermediate molecules in the NF-?B and AP-1 regulatory signaling pathways. The system successfully simulated the molecular process steps underlying outcomes of eight different molecular genetics laboratory experiments, including those dealing with NF-?B and AP-1 regulation in immunodeficiency virus infection and tumor necrosis factor responses.

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

qualitative modeling
immunology research


Universality in two-dimensional enhancement percolation We consider a type of dependent percolation introduced in [2], where it is shown that certain "enhancements" of independent (Bernoulli) percolation, called essential, make the percolation critical probability strictly smaller. In this study we first prove that, for two-dimensional enhancements with a natural monotonicity property, being essential is also a necessary condition to shift the critical point. We then show that (some) critical exponents and the scaling limit of crossing probabilities of a two-dimensional percolation process are unchanged if the process is subjected to a monotonic enhancement that is not essential. This proves a form of universality for all dependent percolation models obtained via a monotonic enhancement (of Bernoulli percolation) that does not shift the critical point. For the case of site percolation on the triangular lattice, we also prove a stronger form of universality by showing that the full scaling limit [12, 13] is not affected by any monotonic enhancement that does not shift the critical point. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

enhancement percolation
scaling limit
critical exponents
universality


proactive information caching for efficient resource discovery in a self-structured grid The cornerstone of successful deployment of large scale grid systems depends on efficient resource discovery mechanisms. In this respect, this paper presents a grid information system supported by a self-structured overlay topology and proactive information caching. The proposed approach features an ant-inspired self-organized overlay construction that maintains a bounded diameter overlay, and a selective flooding based discovery algorithm that exploit local caches to reduce the number of visited nodes. The caches are periodically exchanged between neighboring nodes using an epidemic replication mechanism that is based on a gossiping algorithm, thus allowing nodes to have a more general view of the network and its resources. We conducted extensive experimentation that provides evidence that the average number of hops required to efficiently locate resources is limited and that our framework performs well with respect to hit rate and network overhead.

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

grid computing
overlay networks
collaborative ant algorithms


robust id-based threshold signcryption scheme from pairings Recently bilinear pairings on elliptic curves have raised great interest in cryptographic community. Based on their good properties, many excellent ID-based cryptographic schemes have been proposed. However, in these proposed schemes, the private key generator should be assumed trusted, while in real environment, this assumption does not always hold. To overcome this weakness, in this paper, we will use the threshold technology to devise a secure ID-based signcryption scheme. Since the threshold technology is adopted not only in the master key management but also in the group signature, our scheme can achieve high security and resist some malicious attacks under a certain threshold.

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

identity-based cryptography
threshold scheme


Non-convex fuzzy data and fuzzy statistics: a first descriptive approach to data analysis LR-fuzzy numbers are widely used in Fuzzy Set Theory applications based on the standard definition of convex fuzzy sets. However, in some empirical contexts such as, for example, human decision making and ratings, convex representations might not be capable to capture more complex structures in the data. Moreover, non-convexity seems to arise as a natural property in many applications based on fuzzy systems (e.g., fuzzy scales of measurement). In these contexts, the usage of standard fuzzy statistical techniques could be questionable. A possible way out consists in adopting ad-hoc data manipulation procedures to transform non-convex data into standard convex representations. However, these procedures can artificially mask relevant information carried out by the non-convexity property. To overcome this problem, in this article we introduce a novel computational definition of non-convex fuzzy number which extends the traditional definition of LR-fuzzy number. Moreover, we also present a new fuzzy regression model for crisp input/non-convex fuzzy output data based on the fuzzy least squares approach. In order to better highlight some important characteristics of the model, we applied the fuzzy regression model to some datasets characterized by convex as well as non-convex features. Finally, some critical points are outlined in the final section of the article together with suggestions about future extensions of this work.

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

non-convex fuzzy data
fuzzy linear regression
fuzzy rating scales
fuzzy measurement tools


Training a neural network to select dispatching rules in real time Dispatching rules are often Suggested to schedule manufacturing systems in real-time. Numerous dispatching rules exist. Unfortunately no dispatching rule (DR) is known to be globally better than any other. Their efficiency depends on the characteristics of the system, operating condition parameters and the production objectives, Several authors have demonstrated the benefits of changing dynamically these rules, so as to take into account the changes that can occur in the system state, A new approach based on neural networks (NN) is proposed here to select in real time, each time a resource becomes available, the most suited DR. The selection is made in accordance with the current system state and the workshop Operating condition parameters. Contrarily to the few learning approaches presented in the literature to select scheduling heuristics, no training set is needed. The NN parameters are determined through simulation optimization. The benefits of the proposed approach are illustrated through the example of a simplified flow-shop already published. It is shown that the NN can automatically select efficient DRs dynamically: the knowledge is only generated from Simulation experiments, Which are driven by the optimization method. Once trained offline, the resulting NN can be used online, in connection with the monitoring system of a flexible manufacturing system. (C) 2009 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 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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

simulation
optimization
neural network
learning


The optimisation of block layout and aisle structure by a genetic algorithm The design of a manufacturing layout is incomplete without consideration of aisle structure for material handling. This paper presents a method to solve the layout and aisle structure problems simultaneously by a slicing floorplan. In this representation, the slicing lines are utilised as the aisles for a material handling system. The method decomposes the problem into two stages. The first stage minimises the material handling cost with aisle distance, and the second stage optimises the aisles in the aisle structure. A representation of slicing floorplan is introduced for the optimisation by genetic algorithms (GAs). The corresponding operators of the GA are also developed. Computational tests demonstrate the goodness of the method. A comparison study of the GA and the random search (RS) for the problem was performed. It showed that the GA has a much higher efficiency than a RS, though further study is still needed to improve the efficiency of the GA. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

layout
slicing floorplan
material handling
genetic algorithms


Constrained High Accuracy Stereo Reconstruction Method for Surgical Instruments Positioning In this paper, a high accuracy stereo reconstruction method for surgery instruments positioning is proposed. Usually, the problem of surgical instruments reconstruction is considered as a basic task in computer vision to estimate the 3-D position of each marker on a surgery instrument from three pairs of image points. However, the existing methods considered the 3-D reconstruction of the points separately thus ignore the structure information. Meanwhile, the errors from light variation, imaging noise and quantization still affect the reconstruction accuracy. This paper proposes a method which takes the structure information of surgical instruments as constraints, and reconstructs the whole markers on one surgical instrument together. Firstly, we calibrate the instruments before navigation to get the structure parameters. The structure parameters consist of markers' number, distances between each markers and a linearity sign of each instrument. Then, the structure constraints are added to stereo reconstruction. Finally, weighted filter is used to reduce the jitter. Experiments conducted on surgery navigation system showed that our method not only improve accuracy effectively but also reduce the jitter of surgical instrument greatly.

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 B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 vision
surgical instruments positioning


Plastic collapse of circular conical shells under uniform external pressure The article reports on two theoretical investigations and an experimental investigation into the collapse of six circular conical shells under uniform external pressure. Four of the vessels collapsed through plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling and one vessel collapsed through plastic axisymmetric buckling. A sixth vessel failed in a mixed mode of plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling, combined with plastic axisymmetric buckling. The theoretical and experimental investigations appeared to indicate that there was a link between plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling and plastic axisymmetric buckling. The theoretical investigations were via the finite element method and were used to provide a design chart for these vessels.

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

conical
shells
buckling
axisymmetric
finite element
plastic


meta-heuristics for reconstructing cross cut shredded text documents In this work, we present two new approaches based on variable neighborhood search (VNS) and ant colony optimization (ACO) for the reconstruction of cross cut shredded text documents. For quickly obtaining initial solutions, we consider four different construction heuristics. While one of them is based on the well known algorithm of Prim, another one tries to match shreds according to the similarity of their borders. Two further construction heuristics rely on the fact that in most cases the left and right edges of paper documents are blank, i.e. no text is written on them. Randomized variants of these construction heuristics are applied within the ACO. Experimental tests reveal that regarding the solution quality the proposed ACO variants perform better than the VNS approaches in most cases, while the running times needed are shorter for VNS. The high potential of these approaches for reconstructing cross cut shredded text documents is underlined by the obtained results.

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

ant colony optimization
variable neighborhood search

document reconstruction
integer linear programming


The cybernetics of architecture: a tribute to the contribution of Gordon Pask Discusses the relation between cybernetics and architecture and pays tribute to Gordon Pask's role and influence. Indicates Pask's contribution to an increasingly environmentally responsive architectural theory that may lead to a more humane and ecologically conscious environment.

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


Forecasting volatility based on wavelet support vector machine One of the challenging problems in forecasting the conditional volatility of stock market returns is that general kernel functions in support vector machine (SVM) cannot capture the cluster feature of volatility accurately. While wavelet function yields features that describe of the volatility time series both at various locations and at varying time granularities, so this paper construct a multidimensional wavelet kernel function and prove it meeting the mercer condition to address this problem. The applicability and validity of wavelet support vector machine (WSVM) for volatility forecasting are confirmed through computer simulations and experiments on real-world stock data.

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


THE ROLE OF USER CAPABILITY AND INCENTIVES IN GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS - AN ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE We model the decision making processes in decision support systems and programs as sequential information acquisition processes and compare their usefulness. A Bayesian decision maker is shown to be indifferent between the two approaches. In contrast, a decision maker with bounded rationality prefers the decision support systems approach. The model is extended to group decision support systems where the interaction between the decision support systems approach. The model is extended to group decision support systems where the interaction between the decision makers and the group facilitator is modelled as a non-cooperative economics game. We show that in some instances the group facilitator would prefer precommitment to an interaction plan rather than allow evolutionary planning of the interaction. This planning is similar to that in a program and may take the form of an organization chart.

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

decision support systems
programs
bayesian
bounded rationality
organization chart

group dss
economics model
incentive conflict
noncooperative game


using chi-scores to reward honest feedback from repeated interactions Online communities increasingly rely on reputation information to foster cooperation and deter cheating. As rational agents can often benefit from misreporting their observations, explicit incentives must be created to reward honest feedback. Reputation side-payments (e.g., agents get paid for submitting feedback) can be designed to make truth-telling optimal. In this paper, we present a new side-payment scheme adapted for settings where agents repeatedly submit feedback. We rate the feedback set of an agent, rather than individual reports. The CHI-Score of the feedback set is computed based on a Chi-square independence test that assesses the correlation between the agent's feedback and the feedback submitted by the rest of the community. The mechanism has intuitive appeal and generates significantly lower costs than existing incentive-compatible reporting mechanisms.

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


Embedding {0,1/2}-cuts in a branch-and-cut framework: A computational study Embedding cuts into a branch-and-cut framework is a delicate task, especially when a large set of cuts is available. In this paper we describe a separation heuristic for {10, 1/2}-cuts, a special case of Chvatal-Gomory cuts, that tends to produce many violated inequalities within relatively short time. We report computational results on a large testbed of integer linear programming (ILP) instances of combinatorial problems including satisfiability, max-satisfiability, and linear ordering problems, showing that a careful cut-selection strategy produces a considerable speedup with respect to the cases in which either the separation heuristic is not used at all, or all of the cuts it produces are added to the LP relaxation.

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

programming, integer, algorithms, cutting plane


2-ANTBAL: An ant colony optimisation algorithm for balancing two-sided assembly lines Two-sided assembly lines are a special type of assembly lines in which workers perform assembly tasks in both sides of the line. This type of lines is of crucial importance, especially in the assembly of large-sized products, like automobiles, buses or trucks, in which some tasks must be performed at it specific side of the product. This paper presents ail approach to address the two-sided mixed-model assembly line balancing problem. First, a mathematical programming model is presented to formally describe the problem. Then, an ant colony optimisation algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. In the proposed procedure two ants 'work' simultaneously, one at each side of the line, to build a balancing solution which verifies the precedence, zoning, capacity, side and synchronism constraints of the assembly process. The main goal is to minimise the number of workstations of the line, but additional goals are also envisaged. The proposed procedure is illustrated with a numerical example and results of a computational experience that exhibit its superior performance are presented. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

assembly line balancing
ant colony optimisation

two-sided assembly lines
mixed-model assembly lines


Evaluation of ICL670, a Once-Daily Oral Iron Chelator in a Phase III Clinical Trial of ?-Thalassemia Patients with Transfusional Iron Overload Abstract: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are frequent complications of thalassemia major (TM) and intermedia (TI). Osteoporosis was found in 23/25 patients with TI and in 115/239 patients with TM. In TM, no association was found with specific polymorphisms in candidate genes (vitamin D receptor, estrogen receptor, calcitonin receptor, and collagen type 1 alpha 1). Osteoporosis in TM female was strongly associated with primary amenorrhea (P < .0001), while in male patients with TM hypogonadism was not significantly related to BMD (P= .0001). Low BMD was also associated with cardiomiopathy (P= .01), diabetes mellitus (P= .0001), chronic hepatitis (P= .0029), and increased ALT (P= .01).

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

deferasirox (icl670)
?-thalassemia
pediatrics


Maximum local energy: An effective approach for multisensor image fusion in beyond wavelet transform domain The benefits of multisensor fusion have motivated research in this area in recent years. Redundant fusion methods are used to enhance fusion system capability and reliability. The benefits of beyond wavelets have also prompted scholars to conduct research in this field. In this paper, we propose the maximum local energy method to calculate the low-frequency coefficients of images and compare the results with those of different beyond wavelets. An image fusion step was performed as follows: first, we obtained the coefficients of two different types of images through beyond wavelet transform. Second, we selected the low-frequency coefficients by maximum local energy and obtaining the high-frequency coefficients using the sum modified Laplacian method. Finally, the fused image was obtained by performing an inverse beyond wavelet transform. In addition to human vision analysis, the images were also compared through quantitative analysis. Three types of images (multifocus, multimodal medical, and remote sensing images) were used in the experiments to compare the results among the beyond wavelets. The numerical experiments reveal that maximum local energy is a new strategy for attaining image fusion with satisfactory performance.

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

maximum local energy (mle)
sum modified laplacian (sml)


hla federate migration The High Level Architecture (HLA) is a standardized framework for distributed simulation that promotes reuse and interoperability of simulation components (federates). Federates are processes which communicate with each other in the simulation via the Run Time Infrastructure (RTI). When running a large scale simulation over many nodes/workstations, some may get more workload than others. To run the simulation as efficiently as possible, the workload should be uniformly distributed over the nodes. Current RTI implementations are very static, and do not allow any load balancing. Load balancing of a HLA federation can be achieved by scheduling new federates on the node with least load and migrating executing federates from a highly loaded node to a lightly loaded node. Process migration has been a topic of research for many years, but not within the context of HLA. This paper focuses on process migration within the HLA framework.

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

high level architecture
load balancing
federate migration
distributed simulation


Online activity, motivation, and reasoning among adult learners College students motivational beliefs influence their online behavior and ability to think critically. In the present study, doctoral health science students reports of motivation, as measured by the California Measure of Mental Motivation, reasoning skill, as measured by the Health Science Reasoning Test, and Web-CT records of online activity during a Web-CT-based statistics course were explored. Critical thinking skill and disposition each contributed unique variance to student grades, with age, organization disposition, and analysis skill as the strongest predictors. The youngest students, those so-called millennial age, and born after 1982, were those with the lowest critical thinking skill and dispositions, and the lowest grades in the class. Future research must take into consideration discrepancies between skill and disposition and interactions with age or cohort. At present, and contrary to popular wisdom, older students may make better online learners than younger.

O O O 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

critical thinking dispositions
critical thinking skills
online communication


Automatic simulation and verification of pipelined microcontrollers This paper presents a methodology for automatic simulation and verification of pipelined microcontrollers. Using this methodology, we can generate the simulation for the instruction set architecture (ISA), abstract finite slate machine (FSM) and pipelined register transfer level design and compare the simulation results across different levels quickly. We have implemented our method in the simulation and verification of a synthesized microcontroller HT_4 using our behavioral synthesis tool.

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

functional verification
high level synthesis
microprocessors


Constraint satisfaction for planning and scheduling problems The areas of planning and scheduling (from the Artificial Intelligence point of view) have seen important advances thanks to application of constraint satisfaction techniques. Currently, many important real-world problems require efficient constraint handling for planning, scheduling and resource allocation to competing goal activities over time in the presence of complex state-dependent constraints. Solutions to these problems require integration of resource allocation and plan synthesis capabilities. Hence to manage such complex problems planning, scheduling and constraint satisfaction must be interrelated. This special issue on Constraint Satisfaction for Planning and Scheduling Problems compiles a selection of papers dealing with various aspects of applying constraint satisfaction techniques in planning and scheduling. The core of submitted papers was formed by the extended versions of papers presented at COPLAS'2009: ICAPS 2009 Workshop on Constraint Satisfaction Techniques for Planning and Scheduling Problems. This issue presents novel advances on planning, scheduling, constraint programming/constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) and many other common areas that exist among them. On the whole, this issue mainly focus on managing complex problems where planning, scheduling, constraint satisfaction and search must be combined and/or interrelated, which entails an enormous potential for practical applications and future research.

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


Induction of M-convex functions by linking systems Induction (or transformation) by bipartite graphs is one of the most important operations on matroids, and it is well known that the induction of a matroid by a bipartite graph is again a matroid. As an abstract form of this fact, the induction of a matroid by a linking system is known to be a matroid. M-convex functions are quantitative extensions of matroidal structures, and they are known as discrete convex functions. As with matroids, it is known that the induction of an M-convex function by networks generates an M-convex function. As an abstract form of this fact, this paper shows that the induction of an M-convex function by linking systems generates an M-convex function. Furthermore, we show that this result also holds for M-convex functions on constant-parity jump systems. Previously known operations such as aggregation, splitting, and induction by networks can be understood as special cases of this construction.

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


Some scheduling problems with sum-of-processing-times-based and job-position-based learning effects In this paper we introduce a new scheduling model with learning effects in which the actual processing time of a job is a function of the total normal processing times of the jobs already processed and of the jobs scheduled position. We show that the single-machine problems to minimize makespan and total completion time are polynomially solvable. In addition, we show that the problems to minimize total weighted completion time and maximum lateness are polynomially solvable under certain agreeable conditions. Finally, we present polynomial-time optimal solutions for some special cases of the m-machine flowshop problems to minimize makespan and total completion time.

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