A massively parallel fractional step solver for incompressible flows This paper presents a parallel implementation of fractional solvers for the incompressible NavierStokes equations using an algebraic approach. Under this framework, predictorcorrector and incremental projection schemes are seen as sub-classes of the same class, making apparent its differences and similarities. An additional advantage of this approach is to set a common basis for a parallelization strategy, which can be extended to other split techniques or to compressible flows. The predictorcorrector scheme consists in solving the momentum equation and a modified continuity equation (namely a simple iteration for the pressure Schur complement) consecutively in order to converge to the monolithic solution, thus avoiding fractional errors. On the other hand, the incremental projection scheme solves only one iteration of the predictorcorrector per time step and adds a correction equation to fulfill the mass conservation. As shown in the paper, these two schemes are very well suited for massively parallel implementation. In fact, when compared with monolithic schemes, simpler solvers and preconditioners can be used to solve the non-symmetric momentum equations (GMRES, Bi-CGSTAB) and to solve the symmetric continuity equation (CG, Deflated CG). This gives good speedup properties of the algorithm. The implementation of the mesh partitioning technique is presented, as well as the parallel performances and speedups for thousands of processors.

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

navierstokes equations
predictorcorrector scheme
incremental projection scheme
parallel implementation

fractional methods
stabilized finite element
high performance computing


Recognizing knee pathologies by classifying instantaneous screws of the six degrees-of-freedom knee motion We address the problem of knee pathology assessment by using screw theory to describe the knee motion and by using the screw representation of the motion as an input to a machine learning classifier. The flexions of knees with different pathologies are tracked using an optical tracking system. The instantaneous screw parameters which describe the transformation of the tibia with respect to the femur in each two successive observation is represented as the instantaneous screw axis of the motion given in its Plcker line coordinates along with its corresponding pitch. The set of instantaneous screw parameters associated with a particular knee with a given pathology is then identified and clustered in R 6 to form a signature of the motion for the given pathology. Sawbones model and two cadaver knees with different pathologies were tracked, and the resulting screws were used to train a classifier system. The system was then tested successfully with new, never-trained-before data. The classifier demonstrated a very high success rate in identifying the knee pathology.

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

knee kinematics
pathology classification
support vector machines


Approximating multi-objective scheduling problems In many practical situations, decisions are multi-objective by nature. In this paper, we propose a generic approach to deal with multi-objective scheduling problems (MOSPs). The aim is to determine the set of Pareto solutions that represent the interactions between the different objectives. Due to the complexity of MOSPs, an efficient approximation based on dynamic programming is developed. The approximation has a provable worst case performance guarantee. Even though the approximate Pareto set consists of fewer solutions, it represents a good coverage of the true set of Pareto solutions. We consider generic cost parameters that depend on the state of the system. Numerical results are presented for the time-dependent multi-objective knapsack problem, showing the value of the approximation in the special case when the state of the system is expressed in terms of time.

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

?-dominance ? - dominance ?-dominance ? - dominance ?-dominance ? - dominance ? - dominance


Algebraic methods for computing smallest enclosing and circumscribing cylinders of simplices We provide an algebraic framework to compute smallest enclosing and smallest circumscribing cylinders of simplices in Euclidean space E-n. Explicitly, the computation of a smallest enclosing cylinder in E-3 is reduced to the computation of a smallest circumscribing cylinder. We improve existing polynomial formulations to compute the locally extreme circumscribing cylinders in E-3 and exhibit subclasses of simplices where the algebraic degrees can be further reduced. Moreover, we generalize these efficient formulations to the n-dimensional case and provide bounds on the number of local extrema. Using elementary invariant theory, we prove structural results on the direction vectors of any locally extreme circumscribing cylinder for regular simplices.

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

smallest enclosing cylinder
circumscribing cylinder

simplex
outer radius
polynomial equations


A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of positive periodic solutions of a model of hematopoiesis In this paper, we derive a sufficient condition as well as a necessary condition for existence of positive periodic solutions of the hematopoiesis model with periodic coefficients x' (t) = -delta(t)x(t) + p(t) . x(t -tau(t))/1 + [x(t -tau(t)](n), t >= 0, where delta, p epsilon C(R+, (0, infinity)) and tau E C(R+, R+) are T-periodic functions. When p(t) = gamma delta(t) with gamma > 0, a sufficient and necessary condition for the existence of a positive T-periodic solution is established. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

positive periodic solution
coincidence degree
positive equilibrium


Automating the tracking of lymph nodes in follow-up studies of thoracic CT images The study of lymph node features over time is of great clinical significance. Tracking of the same lymph node in CT images over time is done manually in the current clinical practice, which is tedious and lack of consistency. In this paper, we propose a search scheme to automate the process. Regions of interest (ROIs) are located by mapping the center point of lymph node based on the transformation found in the rigid registration. Similarity values between ROI of the template image and ROIs of repository images are compared, the highest of which decides the best match. Our method generated a success rate of 82% in determining the corresponding image in follow-up scan with the same lymph node as in baseline. The location of the lymph node in the corresponding image is tracked and estimated by mapping the lymph node center at baseline image using the transformation obtained from both affine and free-form deformation (FFD) registration. FFD performs better than affine registration in tracking the lymph node location. All lymph nodes in our study are tracked successfully by the suggested points which fall within the boundary of the same node in the corresponding follow-up images using FFD registration.

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

longitudinal study
computer tomography
cross-correlation


Optimum control limits for employing statistical process control in software process There is an increased interest in using control charts for monitoring and improving software processes, particularly quality control processes like reviews and testing. In a control chart, control limits are established for some attributes and, if any point falls outside the limits, it is assumed to be due to some special causes that need to be identified and eliminated. If the control limits are too tight, they may raise too many "false alarms" and, if they are too wide, they may miss some special situations. Optimal control limits will try to minimize the cost of these errors. In this paper, we develop a cost model for employing control charts to software process using which optimum control limits can be determined. Our applications of the model suggest that, for quality control processes like the inspection process, the optimum control limits may be tighter than what is commonly used in manufacturing. We have also implemented this model as a web-service that can be used for determining optimum control limits.

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

software metrics
software process improvement (spi)
statistical process control (spc)
inspections/reviews
software quality control


Anti-CD20 Treatment Prolongs Syngeneic Islet Graft Survival and Delays the Onset of Recurrent Autoimmune Diabetes Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease characterized by T cellmediated destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells. Pancreatic islet transplantation with long-term immunosuppressive drug treatment is an accepted therapeutic option for patients with type 1 diabetes suffering from disabling hypoglycemia on insulin treatment. Here we investigated the replacement of immunosuppressive drug treatment with immune tolerance establishment induced by temporary B celldepletion therapy for islet transplantation. The result suggested that the combined therapy of B cell depletion and syngeneic islet transplantation may reverse the disease in hCD20/NOD mice.

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


Proactive screening for depression through metaphorical and automatic text analysis Proactive and automatic screening for depression is a challenge facing the public health system. This paper describes a system for addressing the above challenge. The system implementing the methodology Pedesis harvests the Web for metaphorical relations in which depression is embedded and extracts the relevant conceptual domains describing it. This information is used by human experts for the construction of a depression lexicon. The lexicon is used to automatically evaluate the level of depression in texts or whether the text is dealing with depression as a topic. Tested on three corpora of questions addressed to a mental health site the system provides 9% improvement in prediction whether the question is dealing with depression. Tested on a corpus of Blogs, the system provides 84.2% correct classification rate (p<.001) whether a post includes signs of depression. By comparing the system's prediction to the judgment of human experts we achieved an average 78% precision and 76% recall. Depression can be automatically screened in texts and the mental health system may benefit from this screening ability.

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

depression
mental health
automatic screening


preliminary design of rowing simulator for in-door skill training In this paper we report on the preliminary design of a rowing simulator to be integrated in a VR sport training system for rowing. The proposed simulator aims at bringing in an indoor location the specific features and situations of outdoor rowing, by means of an enhanced Virtual Environment (VE) that combines visual, haptic, acoustic flows to proprio- and exteroception of user status. This paper describes the experimental activities carried out on in-door rowing to characterize the main features of the stroke gesture, the design and analytical study of a fluidodynamic dissipator for force rendering and an overview of graphic simulation and of the overall system architecture.

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


Stability and distribution of steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by vibro-tactile stimulation Steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials (SSSEPs) have been elicited applying vibro-tactile stimulation to all fingertips of the right hand. Nine healthy subjects participated in two sessions within this study. All fingers were stimulated 40 times with a 200-Hz carrier frequency modulated with a rectangular signal. The frequencies of the rectangular signal ranged between 17 and 35Hz in 2Hz steps. Relative band power tuning curves were calculated, introducing two different methods. Person-specific resonance-like frequencies were selected based on the data from the first session. The selected resonance-like frequencies were compared with the second session using an ANOVA for repeated measures to investigate the stability of SSSEPs over time. To determine, if SSSEPs can be classified with a classifier based on unseen data, an LDA classifier was trained with data from the first and applied to data from the second session. Person-specific resonance-like frequencies within a range from 19 to 29Hz were found. The relative band power of the resonance-like frequencies did not differ significantly between the two sessions. Significant differences were found for the two methods and the used channels. SSSEPs were classified with a hit rate from 51 to 96%.

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

steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials (sssep)


A client-based vertical handoff approach for seamless mobility across heterogeneous wireless networks With the rapid growth of mobile Internet, offering seamless connectivity in different types of wireless networks is an important feature in next generation wireless networks (4G networks). Mobile IP (MIP) is expected to play a key role to handle the movements of mobile nodes (MNs) in 4G networks. However, MIP suffers from long handoff latency since it is designed to support the macromobility of a MN. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a scheme that provides currently deployed networks with backward compatibility and that offers seamless connectivity during MIP handoffs across the heterogeneous wireless networks. In this paper, we propose a client-based vertical handoff system for multi-networks to provide end-users with seamless connectivity across heterogeneous wireless networks. Our proposed system is designed as a common network interface at a client side and provides transparent service to IP/MIP layers regardless of used wireless technologies. With this system, we also present vertical handoff performance over a loosely coupled cdma2000/WLAN experimental test-bed. The experimental results show that our system enables a MN to handoff seamlessly across different types of wireless networks without any modifications to the existing IP/MIP stack and core network. Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

vertical handoff
heterogeneous wireless networks
4g networks
mobile ip


context-aware application programming for mobile devices This research aims at facilitating the development of context-aware application software for mobile devices by providing a programming model, an implementation framework and a development environment. The programming model provides a multi-layered software architecture for context-aware application programming. The model supports developers to define contexts, behaviors and context-behavior binding rules through specifications and automates generation of context-aware application code based on the specifications. The implementation framework is a backbone program that implements the programming model. It facilitates the development in reducing the effort on the common tasks of context-awareness and help developers focus on the application-specific components. The development environment provides a series of tools to support the development of context-aware applications. These tools simplify the development process and provide the developed applications with robustness and testability.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 systems
emerging computing technologies


Carbon doped boron phosphide nanotubes: A computational study A computational study based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations has been performed to investigate the properties of the electronic structure of carbon doped boron phosphide nanotube (C-doped BPNT). Pristine and the C-doped structures of two representative (6,0) zigzag and (4,4) armchair BPNTs have been investigated. At first, the geometries of the structures have been allowed to relax by optimization. Subsequently, NMR parameters have been calculated in the optimized structures. The results indicated that the influence of C-doping was more significant on the geometries of the zigzag model than the armchair one. The difference of band gap energies between the pristine and C-doped armchair BPNT was larger than the zigzag model. Significant differences of NMR parameters of those nuclei directly contributed to the C-doping atoms have been observed.

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

boron phosphide nanotube
density functional theory
nmr


Fuzzy inequational logic A truth-functional logic for reasoning with graded inequalities is proposed. Its semantics is defined using algebras with fuzzy orders. Completeness in the Pavelka style is established for all complete residuated lattices. A complete abstract logic of graded attributes is shown as an application.

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

complete axiomatization
fuzzy order
ifthen rules


a methodology for high-level synthesis of communication on multicomputers Freeing the user from the tedious task of generating explicit communication is one of the primary goals of numerous research projects on compilers for distributed memory machines. In the process of synthesis of communication, the effective use of collective communication routines offers a considerable scope for improving the program performance. This paper presents a methodology for determining the collective communication primitives that should be used for implementing the data movement at various points in the program. We introduce the notion of certain synchronous properties between array references in statements inside loops, and present tests to determine the presence of these properties. These tests enable the compiler to analyze quite precisely the communication requirements of those statements, and implement communication using appropriate primitives. These results not only lay down a framework for synthesis of communication on multicomputers, they also form the basis of our implementation of a system that statically estimates the communication costs of programs on multicomputers.

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

requirements communication framework task use movement goals performance presence paper user program research methodology implementation process data synthesis distributed

high level synthesis
point
synchronization
collect
arrays
project
systems
memorialized
compilation
effect


An adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller for remotely operated underwater vehicles Sliding mode control is a very attractive control scheme because of its robustness against both structured and unstructured uncertainties as well as external disturbances. In this way, it has been widely employed for the dynamic positioning of remotely operated underwater vehicles. Nevertheless, in such situations the discontinuities in the control law must be smoothed out to avoid the undesirable chattering effects. The adoption of properly designed boundary layers has proven effective in completely eliminating chattering, however, leading to an inferior tracking performance. This work describes the development of a dynamic positioning system for remotely operated underwater vehicles. The adopted approach is primarily based on the sliding mode control strategy and enhanced by an adaptive fuzzy algorithm for uncertainty/disturbance compensation. Using the Lyapunov stability theory and Barbalats lemma, the boundedness and convergence properties of the closed-loop signals are analytically proven. The performance of the proposed control scheme is also evaluated by means of numerical simulations.

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

dynamic positioning
remotely operated underwater vehicles

adaptive algorithms
fuzzy logic
sliding modes


omni-face detection for video/image content description An omni-face detection scheme for image/video content description is proposed in this paper. It provides the ability to extract high-level features in terms of human activities rather than low-level features like color, texture and shape. The system relies on an omni-face detection system capable of locating human faces over a broad range of views in color images or videos with complex scenes. It uses the presence of skin-tone pixels coupled with shape, edge pattern and face-specific features to locate faces. The main distinguishing contribution of this work is being able to detect faces irrespective of their poses, including frontal-view and side-view, whereas contemporary systems deal with frontal-view faces only. The other novel aspects of the work lie in its iterative candidate filtering to segment objects from extraneous region, the use of Hausdorff distance-based normalized similarity measure to identify side-view facial profiles, and the exploration of hidden Markov model (HMM) to verify the presence of a side-view face. Image and video can be assigned with semantic descriptors based on human face information for later indexing and retrieval.

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

video
color
use
human
presence
paper
shape
filtering
exploration
pattern
indexing
views
systems
semantic
region
retrieval
image
profiles
hidden markov model
similarity measure
scheme

activation
content-based retrieval
side-view faces
skin
skin-tone filtering
object
imaging
informal
distance
contention
aspect
locatability
extraction
image annotation
segmentation
face detection
complexity
feature
iter


autonomic business service management Medium and large enterprises think of information technology implementing business services. Examples include online banking or Web commerce. Most systems and application management technology manage individual hardware and software systems. A business service is inherently a composite comprised from multiple HW, SW and logical entities. For example, a Web commerce system may have a Web server, Web application server, database server and messaging system to connect to mainframe inventory management. Each of the systems has various installed software. Businesses want to automate management of the business service, not the individual instances. IT management systems must manage the service, "unwind" the high level policies and operations, and apply them to individual HW and SW elements. SOA makes managing composites more difficult due to dynamic binding and request routing. This presentation describes the design and implementation of a business service management system. The core elements include: A Unified Service Model A real-time management database that extends the concept of a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMDB], and integrates external management and monitoring systems. Rule based event correlation and rule based discovery of the structure of a business service. Algorithmic analysis of the composite service to automatically detect and repair availability and end-to-end performance problems. The presentation suggests topics for additional research.

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


Test data compression using interval broadcast scan for embedded cores The paper proposes a new test data compression scheme for testing embedded cores with multiple scan chains. The new compression scheme allows broadcasting identical test data to several scan chains whenever the cells in the same depth are compatible for the current application test pattern. Thus, it efficiently utilizes the compatibility of the scan cells among the scan chain segments, increases test data run in broadcast mode and reduces test data volume and test application time effectively. It does not need complex compressing algorithm and costly hardware. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and versatility of the proposed method.

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

test data compression
embedded cores
multiple scan chains


An improved algorithm for the net assignment problem In this paper, we consider the net assignment problem in the logic emulation system. This problem is also known as the board-level-routing problem. There are held programmable logic arrays (FPGAs) and crossbars on an emulator board. Each FPGA is connected to each crossbar. Connection requests between FPGAs are called nets, and FPGAs are interconnected through crossbars. We are required to assign each net to the suitable crossbar. This problem is known to be NP-complete in general. A polynomial time algorithm is known for a certain restricted case, in which we treat only 2-terminal nets. In this paper we propose a new polynomial time algorithm for this case.

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

logic emulator
edge coloring
nearly equitable edge coloring


Topological navigation and qualitative localization for indoor environment using multi-sensory perception This article describes a navigation system for a mobile robot which must execute motions in a building; the robot is equipped with a belt of ultrasonic sensors and with a camera. The environment is represented by a topological model based on a Generalized Voronoi Graph (GVG) and by a set of visual landmarks. Typically, the topological graph describes the free space in which the robot must navigate; a node is associated to an intersection between corridors, or to a crossing towards another topological area (an open space: rooms, hallways, ); an edge corresponds to a corridor or to a path in an open space. Landmarks correspond to static, rectangular and planar objects (e.g. doors, windows, posters, ) located on the walls. The landmarks are only located with respect to the topological graph: some of them are associated to nodes, other to edges. The paper is focused on the preliminary exploration task, i.e. the incremental construction of the topological model. The navigation task is based on this model: the robot self-localization is only expressed with respect to the graph.

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

topological navigation
generalized voronoi graph
visual landmarks


Performance evaluation of an integrated fuzzy-based trustworthiness system for P2P communications in JXTA-overlay Over the last decade Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems have become very popular, and have been used to provide solutions in areas such as distributed computation, voice over IP, and knowledge sharing. P2P architectures will be very important for future distributed systems and applications. In such networks, peers are heterogeneous in providing the services and they do not have the same competence of reliability. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate whether a peer is trustworthy or not for file sharing and other services. In this paper, we propose an integrated fuzzy-based trustworthiness system for P2P communications in JXTA-overlay, which consists of two Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLC1 and FLC2). For FLC1, we use three input parameters: Number of Jobs (NJ), Number of Connections (NC) and Connection Lifetime (CL) and the output is Actual Behavioral Criterion (ABC). We use ABC and Reputation (R) as input linguistic parameters for FLC2 and the output is Peer Reliability (PR). We evaluate the proposed system by computer simulations. The simulation results has shown that the proposed system has a good behavior.

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


An E-Learning Semantic Grid for life science education There are a lot of life science databases and services on the Internet nowadays, especially in life science e-science. In this paper, we will present an E-Learning Semantic Grid that integrates these resources provided by both teachers and scientists for life science education. It uses domain ontologies to integrate these heterogeneous life science database and service resources, and supports ontology-based e-learning data-sharing and service-coordination for life science teachers and students in an e-learning virtual organization. Our system provides life science students with semantically superior experience in learning activities, and also extends the function of life science e-science. It has a promising future in the domain of life science education.

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 B I 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 B I I

e-learning
e-science
resource sharing
service coordination


A computational biology database digest: Data, data analysis, and data management Computational Biology or Bioinformatics has been defined as the application of mathematical and Computer Science methods to solving problems in Molecular Biology that require large scale data, computation, and analysis [26]. As expected, Molecular Biology databases play an essential role in Computational Biology research and development. This paper introduces into current Molecular Biology databases, stressing data modeling, data acquisition, data retrieval, and the integration of Molecular Biology data from different sources. This paper is primarily intended for an audience of computer scientists with a limited background in Biology.

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

computational biology
molecular biology databases
data analysis


Tuning EPR spectral parameters with a genetic algorithm We present an evolutionary computation approach to parameter tuning in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy which is a nondestructive technique suitable for inspection of complex biological systems. Characterization of such a system is much more reliable when spectral features are extracted from a biophysical model of the system. This involves optimization of the model parameters so that the spectrum generated by the model matches the experimental EPR spectrum. Various optimization methods have been applied to this task in the past, but nowadays stochastic algorithms are used more and more often. As many single-point algorithms require time-consuming preparation of promising starting points to produce reasonable results, we have addressed the problem with population-based search strategy. We have implemented a genetic algorithm for EPR spectral parameter optimization and tested it on synthetic spectra obtained in cell membrane inspection. Preliminary numerical experiments show the new approach is beneficial in that it produces satisfactory results and reduces the time a spectroscopist spends for navigating the optimization process.

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

epr spectral parameters
evolutionary computation
genetic algorithm

electron paramagnetic resonance (epr)
biological system characterization
cell membranes
stochastic optimization


Softshell: Dynamic Scheduling on GPUs In this paper we present Softshell, a novel execution model for devices composed of multiple processing cores operating in a single instruction, multiple data fashion, such as graphics processing units (GPUs). The Softshell model is intuitive and more flexible than the kernel-based adaption of the stream processing model, which is currently the dominant model for general purpose GPU computation. Using the Softshell model, algorithms with a relatively low local degree of parallelism can execute efficiently on massively parallel architectures. Softshell has the following distinct advantages: (1) work can be dynamically issued directly on the device, eliminating the need for synchronization with an external source, i.e., the CPU; (2) its three-tier dynamic scheduler supports arbitrary scheduling strategies, including dynamic priorities and real-time scheduling; and (3) the user can influence, pause, and cancel work already submitted for parallel execution. The Softshell processing model thus brings capabilities to GPU architectures that were previously only known from operating-system designs and reserved for CPU programming. As a proof of our claims, we present a publicly available implementation of the Softshell processing model realized on top of CUDA. The benchmarks of this implementation demonstrate that our processing model is easy to use and also performs substantially better than the state-of-the-art kernel-based processing model for problems that have been difficult to parallelize in the past.

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

priority scheduling
priority work queue
real-time scheduling
persistent threads
dynamic parallelism


plagiarism detection using feature-based neural networks This paper focuses on the use of code features for automatic plagiarism detection. Instead of the text-based analyses employed by current plagiarism detectors, we propose a system that is based on properties of assignments that course instructors use to judge the similarity of two submissions. This system uses neural network techniques to create a feature-based plagiarism detector and to measure the relevance of each feature in the assessment. The system was trained and tested on assignments from an introductory computer science course, and produced results that are comparable to the most popular plagiarism detectors.

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

neural networks
features
plagiarism detection
introductory computer science


Flexible flow shop scheduling with uniform parallel machines We consider the multistage flexible flow shop scheduling problem with uniform parallel machines in each stage and the objective of minimizing makespan. We develop a general class of heuristics for this strongly NP-hard problem that extend several well-known heuristics for the corresponding embedded serial flow shop problem, and obtain absolute performance guarantees for heuristics in this class by building on similar absolute performance guarantees for the corresponding serial flow shop heuristics. Our approach is quite robust, since it can extend any heuristic for the serial flow shop problem (with an absolute performance guarantee) to a similar one for the flexible flow shop problem with uniform parallel machines.

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

scheduling
makespan
flexible flow shop
absolute performance guarantee

uniform machines
approximation algorithms


enhancing sat-based sequential depth computation by pruning search space The sequential depth determines the completeness of bounded model checking in design verification. Recently, a SAT-based method is proposed to compute the sequential depth of a design by searching the state space. Unfortunately, it suffers from the search space explosion due to the exponential growth of design complexity. To alleviate the impact of state space explosion, we propose a search space reduction method. We collect the learned states and consider them constraints for further path searching. Furthermore, we propose a heuristic to guide the SAT-solver to efficiently find a shortest path. The experimental results show that as compared to another method which also enhances the previous SAT-based method using a branch-and-bound strategy, our approach obtains more improvements.

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


Metabolic Profiles of Androgens in Malignant Human Liver Cell Lines In this study we have investigated androgen (testosterone and androstenedione) metabolism in malignant HepG2, Huh-7, and HA22T human liver cell lines. Following 72-h incubation with testosterone or androstenedione, estrogen formation through aromatase activity was consistently higher in HepG2 cells (being nearly 100%) and moderate in Huh7 cells (34%), while it was undetectable in HA22T cells. The produced estrogens are completely conjugated by estrogen sulpho-transferase (EST) in HepG2 cells, while nearly 25% remains in the free form in Huh-7 cells. The HA22T and Huh-7 cells show a markedly different balance of 5?- versus 5?-reduced androgens (65.7% vs. 2.5% and 2.6% vs. 22.2%, respectively), while no detectable 5?/5?-reduced androgen is formed in HepG2 cells. These divergent metabolic profiles, coupling aromatase to EST, and to 5?/5?-reductase, hint at a differential regulation of androgen metabolic pathways that may ultimately lead to a distinct impact of biologically active metabolites on growth and function of human liver cancer cells

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


Smart color channel allocation for visible light communication cell ID In wireless communication network, multi-channel communication technology is a promising solution for throughput performance enhancement and collision avoidance. Similarly with visible light communication, multi-channel approach will show more advances due to the limitation of color channel and co-channel interference at the photo detector. In this research, we proposed a new color channel allocation for visible light communication Cell ID based on IEEE 802.15.7 specification. The proposed scheme is based on feedback channel information, channel priority and cognitive technique. We hope that with the flexibility, efficiency, and reliable scheduling of cognitive issue, it proves to a promising technology for future wireless network generally and especially visible light communication. The numerical results and experimental implementation show the enhancement of signal-to-noise ratio, blocking probability, and CCA time.

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


Ring generators - New devices for embedded test applications This paper presents a novel methodology of designing generators and compactors of test data. The essence of, the proposed approach is to use a set of transformations, which alters the structure of the conventional linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs) while preserving the transition function of the original circuits. It is shown that after applying the transition function preserving transformations in a certain order, the resultant circuits feature a significantly reduced the number of levels of XOR logic, minimized internal fanouts, and simplified circuit layout and routing, as compared to previous schemes based on external feedback LFSRs, internal feedback LFSRs, and cellular automata, all implementing the same characteristic polynomial. Consequently, the proposed devices can operate at higher speeds than those of conventional solutions and become highly modular structures.

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

built-in self-test
design for testability
linear feedback shift registers (lfsrs)
phase shifters


Flood risk mapping for Pari River incorporating sediment transport Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an efficient and interactive spatial decision support tool for flood risk analysis. This paper describes the development of ArcView GIS extension namely AVHEC-6.avx to integrate the HEC-6 hydraulic model within GIS environment. The extension was written in an Avenue Script language and Dialog Designer with a series of point and click options. It has the capability of analyzing the computed water surface profiles generated from HEC-6 model and producing a related flood map for the Pari River in the ArcView GIS. The user-friendly menu interface guides the user to understand, visualize, build query, conduct repetitious and multiple analytical tasks with HEC-6 outputs. The flood risk model was tested using the hydraulic and hydrological data from the Pari River catchment area. The required sediment input parameters were obtained from field sampling. The results of this study clearly show that GIS provides an effective environment for flood risk analysis and mapping. The present study only concentrates on the flood risk within the boundary of the bunds.

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

gis
river
flood risk mapping
sediment transport


Bioinformatics and biological reality Many bioinformaticians seem to shy away from believing that we can have knowledge about a mind-independent biological reality. This paper attempts to show that this tendency is neither well-founded nor harmless. Even though most bioinformaticians work only with terms and concepts, they cannot altogether disregard the question whether these terms and concepts have any real referents. The paper consists of three parts. Part I clarifies three different positions in the philosophy of science with which it would be good for the philosophical outlook of bioinformaticians to become familiar, and it defends one of them, Karl Poppers epistemological realism. Part II discusses a distinction which is necessary for epistemological realism and is of practical importance for bioinformatics, the distinction between the use and mention of terms and concepts. Part III, finally, contains some brief concluding words about realism, both in general and in relation to bioinformatics.

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

gene ontology
crisp
hl7 rim
bias
fictionalism
truthlikeness
use-mention distinction
karl popper
thomas nagel


A simple and fast algorithm for computing exponentials of power series As was initially shown by Brent, exponentials of truncated power series can be computed using a constant number of polynomial multiplications. This note gives a relatively simple algorithm with a low constant factor. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

algorithms
exponential
fast fourier transform
newton iteration


An efficient multiple-path routing protocol for ad hoc networks An ad hoc network is a cooperative engagement of a collection of mobile hosts that requires no intervening of any centralized access point or existing infrastructure, Each mobile host, operating as a specialized router, forwards packets from other mobile hosts. The possibility of fast movement of mobile hosts means network topologies may change frequently. Thus, applying traditional routing schemes to ad hoc networks is inappropriate. In this paper, we present an efficient routing protocol called the multiple next hops (MNH) routing protocol, which is based on the ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol for ad hoc networks. The proposed MNH protocol establishes multiple paths for a route discovery procedure, thus conserving network bandwidth and reducing route reconstruction times when routing paths fail. Numerical experiments are given to show the effectiveness of the MNH routing protocol. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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

ad hoc networking
dynamic routing
mobile networking


PP-Trust-chi: A system for privacy preserving trust negotiations Trust negotiation is a promising approach for establishing trust in open systems, in which sensitive interactions may often occur between entities with no prior knowledge of each other. Although, to date several trust negotiation systems have been proposed, none of them fully address the problem of privacy preservation. Today, privacy is one of the major concerns of users when exchanging information through the Web and thus we believe that trust negotiation systems must effectively address privacy issues in order to be widely applicable. For these reasons, in this paper, we investigate privacy in the context of trust negotiations. We propose a set of privacy-preserving features for inclusion in any trust negotiation system, such as the support for the P3P standard, as well as a number of innovative features, such as a novel format for encoding digital credentials specifically designed for preserving privacy. Further, we present a variety of interoperable strategies to carry on the negotiation with the aim of improving both privacy and efficiency.

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

algorithms
design
security
access control
attribute-based access control
automated trust negotiation
strategy


Towards coupling a 3D hydrodynamic lake model with the Canadian Regional Climate Model: Simulation on Great Slave Lake Recently, it has been recognized that large lakes exert considerable influence on regional climate systems and vice versa and that the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM), which does not currently have a lake component, requires the development of a coupled lake sub-model. Prior to a full effort for this model development, however, studies are needed to select and assess the suitability of a lake hydrodynamic model in terms of its capability to couple with the CRCM. This paper evaluates the performance of the 3-dimensional hydrodynamic model ELCOM on Great Slave Lake, one of Canada's largest lakes in the northern climatic system. Model simulations showed dominant circulation patterns that can create relatively large spatial and temporal gradients in temperature. Simulated temperatures compared well with cross-lake temperature observations both at the surface and vertically. Sensitivity analysis was applied to determine the critical meteorological variables affecting simulations of temperature and surface heat fluxes. For example, a 10% increase in air temperature and solar radiation was found to result in a 3.1% and 8.3% increase in water surface temperature and 8.5% increase in latent heat flux. Knowledge of the model sensitivity is crucial for future research in which the hydrodynamic model coupled with the atmosphere will be forced from the CRCM output.

O O O B I I I 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 B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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 hydrodynamic lake model
canadian regional climate model
sensitivity analysis


An enhanced flow analysis technique for detecting unreachability faults in concurrent systems ? We present a flow analysis technique for detecting unreachable states and actions in concurrent systems. It is an enhancement of the approach by Cheung and Kramer. Each process of a concurrent system is modeled as a finite state machine, whose states represent process execution states and whose transitions are labeled by actions. We construct dependency sets incrementally and eliminate spurious paths by checking the execution sequences of actions. We prove mathematically that our algorithm can detect more unreachability faults than the well-known Reif/Smolka and Cheung/Kramer algorithms. The algorithm is easy to manage and its complexity is still polynomial to the system size. Case studies on two commonly used communication protocols show that the technique is effective.

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

concurrency
distributed systems
reachability analysis
static analysis


A new technique for selecting features from protein sequences A new method for selecting features from protein sequences is proposed in this paper. First, the protein sequences are converted into fixed-dimensional feature vectors. Then, a subset of features is selected using relative entropy method and used as the inputs for Support Vector Machine (SVM). Finally, the trained SVM classifier is utilized to classify protein sequences into certain known protein families. Experimental results over proteins obtained from PlR database and GPCRs have shown that our proposed approach is really effective and efficient in selecting features from protein sequences.

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

feature extraction
protein sequence classification


Time-Driven Access and Forwarding for Industrial Wireless Multihop Networks The deployment of wireless technologies in industrial networks is very promising mainly due to their inherent flexibility. However, current wireless solutions lack the capability to provide the deterministic, low delay service required by many industrial applications. Moreover, the high level of interference generated by industrial equipment limits the coverage that ensures acceptable performance. Multihop solutions, when combining frame forwarding with higher node density, have the potential to provide the needed coverage while keeping radio communication range short. However, in multihop solutions, the medium access time at each of the nodes traversed additively contributes to the end-to-end delay and the forwarding delay (i.e., the time required for packets to be processed, switched, and queued) at each node is to be added as well. This paper describes time-driven access and forwarding, a solution for guaranteeing deterministic delay, at both the access and forwarding level, in wireless multihop networks, analyzes its properties, and assesses its performance in industrial scenarios.

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

medium access control
pipeline forwarding (pf)
wireless networks


Topological analysis of AOCD-based agent networks and experimental results Topological analysis of intelligent agent networks provides crucial information about the structure of agent distribution over a network. Performance analysis of agent network topologies helps multi-agent system developers to understand the impact of topology on system efficiency and effectiveness. Appropriate topology analysis enables the adoption of suitable frameworks for specific multi-agent systems. In this paper, we systematically classify agent network topologies and propose a novel hybrid topology for distributed multi-agent systems. We compare the performance of this topology with two other common agent network topologies-centralised and decentralised topologies-within a new multi-agent framework, called Agent-based Open Connectivity for DSS (AOCD). Three major aspects are studied for estimating topology performance, which include (i) transmission time for a set of requests; (ii) waiting time for processing requests; and (iii),memory consumption for storing agent information. We also conduct a set of AOCD topological experiments to compare the performance of hybrid and centralised agent network topologies and illustrate our experimental results in this paper. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

agent network topology
agent network performance
intelligent agents


Continuous interaction with a virtual human This paper presents our progress in developing a Virtual Human capable of being an attentive speaker. Such a Virtual Human should be able to attend to its interaction partner while it is speaking-and modify its communicative behavior on-the-fly based on what it observes in the behavior of its partner. We report new developments concerning a number of aspects, such as scheduling and interrupting multimodal behavior, automatic classification of listener responses, generation of response eliciting behavior, and strategies for generating appropriate reactions to listener responses. On the basis of this progress, a task-based setup for a responsive Virtual Human was implemented to carry out two user studies, the results of which are presented and discussed in this paper.

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

listener responses
continuous interaction


Sensor Node Localization by Three Mobile Anchors in the Wireless Sensor Networks For the deployment of sensor networks, the sensor localization, which finds the position of sensor nodes, is very important. Most previous localization schemes generally use the GPS signal for the sensor localization. However, the GPS signal is unavailable when there is an obstacle between the sensor nodes and satellites. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new localization scheme which does not use the GPS signal. The proposed scheme localizes the sensors by using three mobile anchors. Because the three mobile anchors collaboratively move by themselves, it is self-localizable and can be adopted even when the sensors are randomly and sparsely deployed in the target field.

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

sensor deployment
mobile anchor
sensor network


Tailored welded blanksan experimental and numerical study in sheet metal forming on the effect of welding Tailored welded blanks allow the combination of different materials and different sheet thicknesses in a single blank, thus letting designers and engineers to fit, in initial blank, local needs of strength or other demands in the stamped component. The selection of the best material combination for a part involves a high number of parameters associated with the technologies used in industry. Sheet metal forming technology is widely used to obtain different type of parts. In these processes a large amount of plastic deformation is generally imposed to the sheet. The complexity of the plastic deformation has lead to the development of numerous techniques to predict or evaluate the formability of the raw materials. In the last few years, important developments have been achieved, based on new theoretical models and experimental validation. In this paper two experimental benchmarks are used to evaluate the ability of tailored welded blanks in the drawing process. In addition, the numerical simulation of such examples was performed and the comparison with experimental results is also presented.

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

tailored welded blanks
experimental benchmarks


Managing contextual preferences To handle the overwhelming amount of information currently available, personalization systems allow users to specify through preferences which pieces of data interest them. Most often, users have different preferences depending on context. In this paper, we introduce a model for expressing such contextual preferences. Context is modeled using a set of hierarchical attributes, thus allowing context specification at various levels of detail. We formulate the context resolution problem as the problem of selecting appropriate preferences based on context for personalizing a query. We also propose algorithms for context resolution based on data structures that index preferences by exploiting the hierarchical nature of the context attributes. Finally, we evaluate our approach from two perspectives: usability and performance. Usability evaluates the overheads imposed on users for specifying context-dependent preferences, as well as their satisfaction from the quality of the results. Our performance results focus on the context resolution using the proposed indexes.

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


On the selection of equity securities: An expert systems methodology and an application on the Athens Stock Exchange In this article we present an expert systems methodology for supporting decisions that concern the selection of equities, on the basis of financial analysis. The proposed methodology is employed for selecting the attractive equities, through the evaluation of the overall corporate performance of the corresponding firms. The crucial importance issue of the industry/sectoral accounting singularities was strongly taken into account. An elaborate review of coherent research studies is also provided. Finally, the validity of the proposed methodology is tested through a large scale application on the Athens Stock Exchange.

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


architecture of a hardware data interpreter DATA INTERPRETATION REFERS TO THE EXECUTION OF THE DATA DECLARATIONS OF A HIGH-LEVEL PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE PROGRAM, WHICH DECLARE THE DATA TYPES AND THE DATA STRUCTURES IN THE PROGRAM. THIS PAPER PRESENTS A DATA INTERPRETER WITH A HIGH-LEVEL MEMORY STRUCTURE WHERE THE DATA IS STORED IN A RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY, WHILE THE TYPE, STRUCTURAL, AND REFERENCING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DATA IS STORED IN AN ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY, WHEN THE HARDWARE DATA INTERPRETER SCANS THE DATA DECLARATION, IT MAKES ENTRIES INTO THE ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY. IT THEN INTERPRETS THE DATA WHEN THE DATA NAME IS REFERENCED. THE STORAGE STRUCTURES, CONTROL STRUCTURES, PROCESSORS AND DATA OPERATIONS OF THE HARDWARE DATA INTERPRETER ARE DESCRIBED. AN EXAMPLE OF INTERPRETING A STRUCTURE DATA DECLARATION IS USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE DATA INTERPRETER.

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

structure
interpretation
architecture
storage
types
data structures
data
hardware
paper
programming language

processor
examples
control structure
association
random access
operability
memorialized
informal
structural data


A design method for cold backward extrusion using FE analysis The dimensional accuracy of the cold forged products is strongly dependent on the elastic characteristics of the die. Therefore, a design method that makes the elastic deformation of the prestressed die as small as possible has been proposed for precision cold forging. For the purpose, applying the hard materials such as sintered carbide to the first stress ring is considered in die construction. For the design, Lam's equation is used and the diameter ratios and interferences are determined by using the maximum inner pressure without yielding of rings after shrink fitting and during cold forging. The rigid-plastic FE analysis of backward extrusion process using DEFORM has been performed and the analysis of elastic deformation of the dies has been done by using ANSYS with non-linear contact. In the simulation results, it has been found that the use of high stiffness materials to the first stress ring of forging dies can reduce the elastic deformation of die insert without failure.

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

dimensional accuracy
first stress ring
elastic deformation


Design of Spin-Torque Transfer Magnetoresistive RAM and CAM/TCAM with High Sensing and Search Speed With a great scalability potential, nonvolatile magnetoresistive memory with spin-torque transfer (STT) programming has become a topic of great current interest. This paper addresses cell structure design for STT magnetoresistive RAM, content addressable memory (CAM) and ternary CAM(TCAM). We propose a new RAM cell structure design that can realize high speed and reliable sensing operations in the presence of relatively poor magnetoresistive ratio, while maintaining low sensing current through magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs). We further apply the same basic design principle to develop new cell structures for nonvolatile CAM, and TCAM. The effectiveness of the proposed RAM, CAM and TCAM cell structures has been demonstrated by circuit simulation at 0.18 mu m CMOS technology.

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

magnetoresistive random access memory (mram)

spin-torque transfer (stt) magnetoresistive memory


Sensitivity analysis of offset QAM multicarrier systems to residual carrier frequency and timing offsets This paper presents a sensitivity analysis of filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) systems to carrier frequency offset (CFO) and timing offset. Although the emphasis of the paper is on the class of FBMC systems that are based on offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM), the developed results are found applicable to cosine modulated-based FBMC systems as well. We assume that coarse CFO and timing offset estimations and compensations have already been performed so that the residual CFO and timing offset are small. A simple closed-form approximation to the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) is derived. This approximation is compared numerically with the exact SIR and confirmed to be accurate for a variety of FBMC systems with different prototype filters. The derived SIR is characterized by a pair of coefficients that are only dependent on the underlying prototype filter, thus, allows the designer to pick from the choices of the prototype filter the one that has minimum sensitivity to CFO and/or timing offset.

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

filter bank multicarrier
offset quadrature amplitude modulation
carrier frequency offset
timing offset

cosine modulated filter bank
signal-to-interference ratio


Modelling unsaturated soil behaviour during normal consolidation and at critical state An analysis of results from published laboratory tests on Jossigny silt and Barcelona clayey silt is presented to confirm the existence of a unique capillary bonding function linking the quotient between unsaturated and saturated void ratio, at the same mean average skeleton stress, to a single capillary bonding scalar variable. The analysis confirms that the same capillary bonding function applies to both normally consolidated and critical stress states. The above two experimental sets with the addition of further published data for Speswhite Kaolin are also used to study the relationship between unsaturated critical shear strength, mean average skeleton stress and capillary bonding variable. The results of such analysis are assessed in the light of a similar modelling framework proposed in the literature.

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

soil mechanics
constitutive modelling
partial saturation
plasticity
suction


Knowledge exchange in the shrines of knowledge: The "how's" and "where's" of knowledge sharing processes Academic conferences are places of situated learning dedicated to the exchange of knowledge. Knowledge is exchanged between colleagues who are looking to enhance their future research by taking part in several formal and informal settings (lectures, discussions and social events). We studied the processes of knowledge sharing and the influence of the use of IT at the International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS2007) held in Montreal. We describe the categories of knowledge content shared at the conference. Two forms of knowledge sharing were analyzed: formal, guided, planned knowledge sharing in lectures or discussions, and informal knowledge exchange during social events. Data were collected from 274 participants at the conference. The intensity of knowledge sharing in the formal settings was higher compared to the informal settings and was perceived as contributing to future research and to the creation of social relationships. In contrast, informal knowledge sharing contributed mainly to job enhancement and to the initiation of meetings. The discussion centers on planning and evaluating conferences in terms of seeking, creating and sustaining knowledge sharing. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

academic conference
formal knowledge sharing
conference technology


Disaster Prevention Integrated into Commonly Used Web Rendered Systems with GIS Capabilities The end of the 20th century brought a remarkable increase in the field of positioning techniques and communications, making them visible and available to the public, which led to an unprecedented interconnectivity. At the same time, disasters are part of our life. Regardless of their nature, measures can be taken, in order to prevent and mitigate their effects, by anticipative preparation or by avoiding the calamity area (if possible). To this end, this paper presents an integrated system, composed of a software component, a hardware component, and a decision-making human element, all having the declared role of diminishing or eliminating human and material losses.

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


Language Embedding and Optimization in Mython Mython is an extensible variant of the Python programming language. Mython achieves extensibility by adding a quotation mechanism that accepts an additional parameter as well as the code being quoted. The additional quotation parameter takes the form of a Mython expression. Unlike other user code, Mython evaluates the quotation parameter at compile-time. The result of the compile-time expression is a function that is used to both parse the quoted code, and extend the compile-time environment. By explicitly passing the compilation environment to compile-time quotation functions, Mython's parameterized quotation allows users to inject code into the language compiler. Injected code can extend the language by modifying the compilation phases, which are visible to the compilation environment. The Mython language is realized by the MyFront compiler, a tool for translating Mython into Python byte-code modules. This paper introduces the Mython language, describes the implementation and usage of the MyFront tool, and shows how MyFront can be used to implement domain-specific optimizations using a little rewrite language.

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

design
languages
extensible languages
open compilers
compile-time metaprogramming


Classification of voltage-gated K+ ion channels from 3D pseudo-folding graph representation of protein sequences using genetic algorithm-optimized support vector machines Voltage-gated K+ ion channels (VKCs) are membrane proteins that regulate the passage of potassium ions through membranes. This work reports a classification scheme of VKCs according to the signs of three electrophysiological variables: activation threshold voltage (Vt), half-activation voltage (Va50 V a 50 ) and half-inactivation voltage (Vh50 V h 50 ). A novel 3D pseudo-folding graph representation of protein sequences encoded the VKC sequences. Amino acid pseudo-folding 3D distances count (AAp3DC) descriptors, calculated from the Euclidean distances matrices (EDMs) were tested for building the classifiers. Genetic algorithm (GA)-optimized support vector machines (SVMs) with a radial basis function (RBF) kernel well discriminated between VKCs having negative and positive/zero Vt, Va50 V a 50 and Vh50 V h 50 values with overall accuracies about 80, 90 and 86%, respectively, in crossvalidation test. We found contributions of the pseudo-core and pseudo-surface of the 3D pseudo-folded proteins to the discrimination between VKCs according to the three electrophysiological variables.

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

ion channel
kernel-based methods
graph similarity


execution monitoring and debugging tool for ada using relational algebra This symbolic run-time debugger for Ada provides facilities for observing and manipulating the execution of a monitored program, also for concurrent aspects. The debugger can be used interactively, and also as a monitoring program to control the application. A feature of this project is the use of relational algebra for defining compiler and kernel interfaces and for handling debugger information. The implementation is based on an Ada task to interface with the debugging operator and a set of user-defined Ada monitoring tasks. A prototype of the debugger was completed as a part of ART, a relational translator and interpreter for Ada.

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

task use prototype implementation tool project interfaces art feature control debugging

translation
relation algebra
applications
aspect
interpretation
concurrency
operability
compilation
relation
timing
monitor
informal
user


An approach to avoiding rank reversal in AHP Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been considerably criticized for possible rank reversal phenomenon caused by the addition or deletion of an alternative. This paper looks into the cause of rank reversal phenomenon and finds that rank reversal is caused by change of local priorities before and after an alternative is added or deleted. An approach is therefore proposed to keep the local priorities unchanged to avoid rank reversal phenomenon. Two well-known numerical examples are re-examined using the proposed approach to demonstrate its validity and practicability in rank preservation. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

analytic hierarchy process
rank reversal
rank preservation


A method for identifying a minimal set of test conditions in 2(k) experimental design A primary task of the analysis of a 2(k) factorial design is to estimate the 2(k) unknown effects/interactions. When some of these interactions are known to be zero or negligible, a full 2(k) factorial design may no longer be necessary. In,general, when only M effects/interactions are non-zero, only M test conditions are required for the estimation. Both fractional factorial design and Taguchi's method typically require 2(n) test conditions, n =2,3,4..... and hence do not take full advantage of this fact. We first demonstrate that when there are M non-zero effects/interactions in a 2(k) model, not every set of M test conditions out of the 2(k) test conditions would suffice for estimating the M unknowns. We then propose an algorithm to find a set of M test conditions that suffices. The proposed algorithm can be used to identify all such minimal sets of test conditions. In this paper. we report two such minimal sets for all possible scenarios of interest for 2(3) and 2(4) designs. If the assumed zero interactions are indeed zero. confounding is not an issue. Moreover, such assumptions can be double-checked via ANOVA. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

taguchi method
orthogonal array
run reduction


From algorithms to (sub-)symbolic inferences in Multi-Agent Systems Extending metaphorically the Moisilean idea of "nuanced-reasoning logic" and adapting it to the e-world age of Information Technology (IT), the paper aims at showing that new logics, already useful in modern software engineering, become necessary mainly for Mufti-Agent Systems (MAS), despite obvious adversities. The first sections are typical for a position paper, defending such logics from an anthropocentric perspective. Through this sieve, Section 4 outlines the features asked for by the paradigm of computing as intelligent interaction, based on "nuances of nuanced-reasoning", that should be reflected by agent logics. To keep the approach credible, Section 5 illustrates how quantifiable synergy can be reached - even in advanced challenging domains, such as stigmergic coordination - by injecting symbolic reasoning in systems based on sub-symbolic "emergent synthesis". Since for future work too the preferred logics are doxastic, the conclusions could be structured in line with the well-known agent architecture: Beliefs, Desires, Intentions.

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

nuanced-reasoning logic
multi-agent systems
sub-symbolic inferences
stigmergic coordination synergy


maximum power estimation using the limiting distributions of extreme order statistics In this paper we present a statistical method for estimating the maximum power consumption in VLSI circuits. The method is based on the theory of extreme order statistics applied to the probabilistic distribution of the cycle-based power consumption, maximum likelihood estimation, and Monte-Carlo simulation. The method can predict the maximum power in the constrained space of given input vector pairs as well as the complete space of all possible input vector pairs. The simulation-based nature of the proposed method allows one to avoid the limitations imposed by simple gate-level delay models and handle arbitrary circuit structures. The proposed method can produce maximum power estimates to satisfy used-specified error and confidence levels. Experimental results show that this method provides maximum power estimates within 5\% of the actual value and with a 90\% confidence level by simulating, on average, about 2500 vector pairs.

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

reconfigurable computing
event-driven simulation


Robust Redundancy Scheme for the Repair Process: Hierarchical Codes in the Bandwidth-Limited Systems High performance computing can be well supported by the Grid or cloud computing systems. However, these systems have to overcome the failure risks, where data is stored in the "unreliable" storage nodes that can leave the system at any moment and the nodes' network bandwidth is limited. In this case, the basic way to assure data reliability is to add redundancy using either replication or erasure codes. As compared to replication, erasure codes are more space efficient. Erasure codes break data into blocks, encode these blocks and distribute them into different storage nodes. When storage nodes permanently or temporarily abandon the system, new redundant blocks must be created to guarantee the data reliability, which is referred to as repair. Later when the churn nodes rejoin the system, the blocks stored in these nodes can reintegrate the data group to enhance the data reliability. For "classical" erasure codes, generating a new block requires to transmit a number of k blocks over the network, which brings lots of repair traffic, high computation complexity and high failure probability for the repair process. Then a near-optimal erasure code named Hierarchical Codes, has been proposed that can significantly reduce the repair traffic by reducing the number of nodes participating in the repair process, which is referred to as the repair degree d. To overcome the complexity of reintegration and provide an adaptive reliability for Hierarchical Codes, we refine two concepts called location and relocation, and then propose an integrated maintenance scheme for the repair process. Our experiments show that Hierarchical Code is the most robust redundancy scheme for the repair process as compared to other famous coding schemes.

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

hierarchical codes
erasure code
maintenance


On the complexity of sparse exon assembly Gene structure prediction is one of the most important problems in computational molecular biology. It involves two steps: the first is finding the evidence ( e. g., predicting splice sites) and the second is interpreting the evidence, that is, trying to determine the whole gene structure by assembling its pieces. In this paper, we suggest a combinatorial solution to the second step, which is also referred to as the "Exon Assembly Problem." We use a similarity-based approach that aims to produce a single gene structure based on similarities to a known homologous sequence. We target the sparse case, where filtering has been applied to the data, resulting in a set of O(n) candidate exon blocks. Our algorithm yields an O(n(2)root n) solution.

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

rectilinear steiner arborescence
sequence alignment
dynamic programming


Existence of local strong solutions for motions of electrorheological fluids in three dimensions We prove for three-dimensional domains the existence of local strong solutions to systems of nonlinear partial differential equations with p(?) p ( ? ) -structure, p??p(?)?p0 p ? ? p ( ? ) ? p 0 , and Dirichlet boundary conditions for p ? > 9 5 without restriction on the upper bound p0 p 0 . In particular this result is applicable to the motion of electrorheological fluids.

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

electrorheological fluids
strong solutions


On the convergence of some possibilistic clustering algorithms In this paper, an analysis of the convergence performance is conducted for a class of possibilistic clustering algorithms (PCAs) utilizing the Zangwill convergence theorem. It is shown that under certain conditions the iterative sequence generated by a PCA converges, at least along a subsequence, to either a local minimizer or a saddle point of the objective function of the algorithm. The convergence performance of more general PCAs is also discussed.

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


knowledge-based gene symbol disambiguation Since there is no standard naming convention for genes and gene products, gene symbol disambiguation (GSD) has become a big challenge when mining biomedical literature. Several GSD methods have been proposed based on MEDLINE references to genes. However, nowadays gene databases, e.g. Entrez Gene, provide plenty of information about genes, and many biomedical ontologies, e.g. UMLS Metathesaurus and Semantic Network, have been developed. These knowledge sources could be used for disambiguation, in this paper we propose a method which relies on information about gene candidates from gene databases, contexts of gene symbols and biomedical ontologies. We implement our method, and evaluate the performance of the implementation using BioCreAtIvE II data sets.

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

gene symbol disambuguation
biomedical text mining


Exact solutions for some oscillating motions of a fractional Burgers' fluid This article presents some starting solutions corresponding to the oscillating flows of a Burgers' fluid with fractional derivatives. The fractional calculus approach in the constitutive relationship model is introduced and a fractional Burgers' model is built. The exact solutions for the oscillating motions of a fractional Burgers' fluid due to cosine and sine oscillations of an infinite flat plate as well as those corresponding to an oscillating pressure gradient are established with the help of integral transforms (Fourier sine and Laplace transforms). In order to avoid lengthy calculations of residues and contour integrals, the discrete Laplace transform method has been used. The expressions for the velocity field and the resulting shear stress that have been obtained, presented under integral and series form in terms of the generalized G functions, satisfy all imposed initial and boundary conditions. Similar solutions for generalized Oldroyd-B, Maxwell and second grade fluids as well as those for ordinary Oldroyd-B, Maxwell, second grade and Newtonian fluids are obtained as limiting cases of our general solutions. Finally, the obtained solutions are graphically analyzed for variations of interesting flow parameters. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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-fidelity numerical simulation of the dynamic beam equation A high-fidelity finite difference approximation of the dynamic beam equation is derived. Different types of well-posed boundary conditions are analysed. The boundary closures are based on the summation-by-parts (SBP) framework and the boundary conditions are imposed using a penalty (SAT) technique, to guarantee linear stability. The resulting SBPSAT approximation leads to fully explicit time integration. The accuracy and stability properties of the newly derived SBPSAT approximations are demonstrated for both 1-D and 2-D problems.

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 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

finite difference methods
high-order derivative
high-order accuracy
boundary treatment


Imitation guided learning in learning classifier systems In this paper, we study the means of developing an imitation process allowing to improve learning in the framework of learning classifier systems. We present three different approaches in the way a behavior observed may be taken into account through a guidance interaction: two approaches using a model of this behavior, and one without modelling. Those approaches are evaluated and compared in different environments when they are applied to three major classifier systems: ZCS, XCS and ACS. Results are analyzed and discussed. They highlight the importance of using a model of the observed behavior to enable an efficient imitation. Moreover, they show the advantages of taking this model into account by a specialized internal action. Finally, they bring new results of comparison between ZCS, XCS and ACS.

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


Dielectric strength and thermal performance of PCB-embedded power electronics Advantages of embedded power electronics compared to classical soldered and bonded DCB modules are smaller size, less weight, and cost savings (Hofmann et al., 2012) [1]. In addition, the low parasitic inductance provided by the embedded technology offers the potential to better utilize the maximum chip voltages and the use of fast switching semiconductors. Compared to a standard module of 15.4nH, the measurement at the embedded module showed 2.8nH (Neeb et al., 2014) [2]. Heat-spreading in the thick copper plate inside the printed circuit board improves the thermal conductivity. At the same time, by combination with silver sintering for the die attach, higher lifetimes compared with standard DCB (direct copper bonding) assemblies may be reached. Potential risks of this new approach are lifetime limitations, and restricted dielectric strength and thermal performance of the module. In order to evaluate the embedding technology for power devices, test samples were designed and fabricated. In this study, different PCB materials were evaluated. Temperature dependent thermal conductivity of each material was measured and temperature-dependent partial discharge tests have been conducted.

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

embedded
partial discharge
thermal conductivity

pcb material
thermal resistance
power module