ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Concern-Oriented Model-Driven Development Framework
Authors: Agung Fatwanto, Clive Boughton
Venue: Proceedings of the 19th Australian Conference on Software Engineering (2008)

Developing complex software systems which involve a lot of different non-orthogonal concerns requires considerable effort. This situation can be further exacerbated by tangled and scattered concerns found across the system. In order to reduce this sort of complexity, we need to employ a software development framework that facilitates the separation of different concerns. The framework should be able to direct the process of identification, modularization and specification of concerns into autonomous parts and eventually (re)compose them to yield a complete system. In this paper, we propose a software development framework which integrates the concept of a concern-oriented approach with model-driven development. This framework promotes separation of concerns both horizontal (separating concerns based on subject matters) and vertical (separating concerns based on level of abstraction).
NGN Charging in Enhanced IMS
Authors: Noëmie Simoni, Yijun Wu, Jean Atme, Antoine Boutignon
Venue: Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Networking (2008)

The third generation network which is vigorous nowadays will be followed by an all-IP infrastructure which is referred as NGN (Next Generation Networks) in the near future. The heterogeneity and mobility of the NGN bring many challenges to the charging system in network management. Charging should be more dynamic in an end-to-end session which includes several service components. In this paper, we firstly introduce the requirements of NGN charging and current related works in the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), which led us to give our proposition which is user-centric charging with end-to-end session binding. Secondly, the experiment scenario interacting with Open IMS Core is specified. Finally, we conclude and offer perspectives.
Xengine: a fast and scalable XACML policy evaluation engine
Authors: Alex X. Liu, Fei Chen, JeeHyun Hwang, Tao Xie
Venue: ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review (2008)

XACML has become the de facto standard for specifying access control policies for various applications, especially web services. With the explosive growth of web applications deployed on the Internet, XACML policies grow rapidly in size and complexity, which leads to longer request processing time. This paper concerns the performance of request processing, which is a critical issue and so far has been overlooked by the research community. In this paper, we propose XEngine, a scheme for efficient XACML policy evaluation. XEngine first converts a textual XACML policy to a numerical policy. Second, it converts a numerical policy with complex structures to a numerical policy with a normalized structure. Third, it converts the normalized numerical policy to tree data structures for efficient processing of requests. To evaluate the performance of XEngine, we conducted extensive experiments on both real-life and synthetic XACML policies. The experimental results show that XEngine is orders of magnitude more efficient than Sun PDP, and the performance difference between XEngine and Sun PDP grows almost linearly with the number of rules in XACML policies. For XACML policies of small sizes (with hundreds of rules), XEngine is one to two orders of magnitude faster than the widely deployed Sun PDP. For XACML policies of large sizes (with thousands of rules), XEngine is three to four orders of magnitude faster than Sun PDP.
Plastic Fiber Optic Simulations
Authors: Syed V. Ahamed, Galathara Ananda Kahanda
Venue: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (2008)

Plastic fiber optics media is viable for small networks. The current applications include data distribution in aircraft and automobiles. Plastic fiber systems being an order of magnitude less expensive than silica fiber optic systems and being more robust have applications in other traditional data communication systems. In this paper, we present the simulation results for possible applications for a high-rise office buildings and premises distribution architectures. The signal to noise ratio for optical rates up to 2.5 Gb/s and for link lengths up to 5 km are reported, even though the signal level becomes too low for the PIN diodes. The quality of components affects the performance dramatically and their impact is reported. Experimental results are scarce in the literature for either of the two (PMMA and PF) categories of commercial plastic fibers. The simulations are focused for the PMMA plastic fiber to offer a window and envision other applications for this new breed of optical fibers.
A new bending stiffness measurement device to monitor the influence of different intramedullar implants during healing period
Authors: Fritz Thorey, Arne Richter, Silke Besdo, Christian Hackenbroich, Andrea Meyer-Lindenberg, Christof Hurschler, Henning Windhagen
Venue: Technology and Health Care (2008)

To manage fractures in long bones, intramedullar implants, plates or external fixators are often used. In many cases, the implants are removed after bone consolidation. X-ray images are normally used to monitor bone formation and to determine the point of return to full load bearing and removal of the implants. However, plain radiographs give only inaccurate information about the degree of healing progress. Known quantitative methods as QCT, DEXA, etc. provide information about bone density which certainly contributes to the mechanical properties of healing bone, but they do not provide a direct measurement of the stiffness of the healing callus. In this study we present an in vivo 4-point-bending stiffness device for small animals which is designed to directly monitor the progression of the healing process. The device was tested in a bone-defect model with different test-specimens chosen to simulate the stiffness of bone at different stages of healing. To verify the results, it was tested in an animal fracture study in rabbits during the healing period with and without an intramedulary implant. Both the test-specimen and bones of the in vivo study were compared with data in a materials testing system (MTS) in four-point bending. The device was found to have a high precision and significant in vitro and in vivo correlation with the MTS. The results suggest that this measurement device has the ability to monitor the healing process of bone and to analyse the influence of degradable implants on the mechanical behaviour of bone or bone metabolism effecting pharmaceutics.
On the computational power of PP and (+)P
Authors: S. Toda
Venue: Proceedings of the 30th Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (1989)

Two complexity classes, PP and (+)P, are compared with PH (the polynomial-time hierarchy). The main results are as follows: (1) every set in PH is reducible in a certain sense to a set in PP, an (2) every set in PH is reducible to a set in (+)P under randomized polynomial-time reducibility with two-sided bounded error probability. It follows from these results that neither PP nor (+)P is a subset of or equivalent to PH unless PH collapses to a finite level. This is strong evidence that both classes are strictly harder than PH.
Mock trials and role-playing in computer ethics courses
Authors: Roxanne L. Canosa, Joan M. Lucas
Venue: ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (2008)

Mock trials are an effective and fun way of eliciting thoughtful dialogue from students, and encouraging them to produce incisive analyses of current ethical dilemmas related to computers and society. This paper describes our experience using mock trials in two computer ethics courses. Each trial was centered on a specific controversial and ethically or legally ambiguous topic related to current computer usage in society. Students participated in a series of mock trials during the term, alternating their role in each trial between jury, proponent, and opponent. Class participation was nearly 100% for every trial, with many students electing to define their own sub-role within their assigned major role. The logistics of the trials were initially difficult to administer and monitor; however, they quickly became manageable as we gained more experience with the opportunities and pitfalls associated with the mock-trial system, and as students volunteered suggestions for improvements.
Automated Derivation of Speech Interfaces: A Model-Based Approach
Authors: Samuel Lahtinen, Heikki Suontausta, Kai Koskimies
Venue: Proceedings of the 19th Australian Conference on Software Engineering (2008)

Speech control is an attractive user interface paradigm for many applications. However, there is little support for the systematic construction of the speech interface part of an application. In this paper we introduce a model-based technique for producing a speech interface facility for interactive applications. The technique assumes a conceptual model of the application that is used for inferring the application-specific part of the speech grammar and for the run-time control of the speech interface. The approach has been evaluated by generating an experimental speech interface for Rational Software Modeler and Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The main benefits of the approach are rapid development of speech interfaces, support for customizing applications beyond existing GUI, and support for context-based speech commands.
Switched state-feedback controllers with multi-estimators for MIMO systems
Authors: Libor Tuma, Bořivoj Hanuš, Jaroslav Hlava
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th WSEAS International Conference on Computational Intelligence, Man-Machine Systems and Cybernetics (2006)

Switched controllers can often outperform traditional adaptive control. The paper starts with a brief overview of the development of the field of switched controllers. After that, it describes an original control architecture based on controller and estimator switching. This architecture uses state-feedback control with switched controllers to cope with controlled system dynamics changes. If conventional observer were used to estimate the unmeasurable state variables, the control performance would deteriorate because the estimation results could be corrupted by disturbances acting at various points of the controlled system. To overcome this problem, the proposed architecture includes also a bank of switched estimators. Each of these estimators is tuned for a specific input point of a disturbance. Switching logic is used to select the most suitable estimator that yields the most reliable estimate in any particular control situation. A considerable deal of attention is devoted to extensive testing of the proposed architecture using computer simulation. The testing results are promising.
A Voronoi dEtection Range Adjustment (VERA) approach for energy saving of wireless sensor networks
Authors: Hung-Chin Jang, Hon-Chung Lee
Venue: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Systems - Volume 01 (2007)

Since the batteries in a wireless sensor networks cannot be replaced, efficient power management becomes an important research issue. If we can largely reduce the overlaps among detection ranges and decrease the amount of duplicate data then we can save energy more efficiently. In [6], Meguerdichian et al. exploit the coverage problems in wireless ad-hoc sensor networks in terms of Voronoi diagram and Delaunay triangulation. In this paper, we propose a Voronoi dEtection Range Adjustment (VERA) method that utilizes distributed Voronoi diagram to delimit the area of responsibility for each sensor. We then use Genetic Algorithm to optimize the most suitable detection range for each sensor. Simulations show that VERA outperforms Maximum Detection Range, K-covered [4], and Greedy [2] methods in terms of reducing the overlaps among detection ranges, minimizing energy consumption, and prolonging the lifetime of the whole network.
Molecular Mimicry between SARS Coronavirus Spike Protein and Human Protein
Authors: Kuo-Yuan Hwa, Wan Man Lin, Yung-I Hou, Trai-Ming Yeh
Venue: Proceedings of the 2007 Frontiers in the Convergence of Bioscience and Information Technologies (2007)

Molecular mimicry defined as similar structures shared by molecules from dissimilar genes or by their protein products, is a general strategy for pathogens to infect host cells. Therefore, identification of the molecular mimic regions of a pathogen may be helpful to understand the disease. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a new human respiratory infectious disease caused by SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The virus uses the spike (S) protein to interact with the angiotensin converting enzyme 2, the host cell receptor. Our approach is to design a workflow with multiple bioinformatics tools in analyzing the sequence of spike protein of the SARS-CoV in searching its similarity to human proteins. Furthermore, eleven peptides have been synthesized to validate the in silico results.
Performance modeling for service oriented architectures
Authors: Paul C. Brebner
Venue: Companion of the 30th international conference on Software engineering (2008)

We present a tool for performance modeling of Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs). As mission-critical use of whole-of-government SOAs become pervasive, the capability to model and predict the run-time performance of interdependent composite applications is critical. The tool can be used by architects early in the software engineering lifecycle to predict performance and scalability, to evaluate architectural alternatives, to provide guidance for capacity planning and the negotiation of Service Level Agreements (SLAs). It directly models and produces metrics for SOA applications in terms that are familiar to architects (services, workflows, and compositions of services). The tool enables the performance model to be generated from available architectural artifacts and performance data, making it easy to use. It is highly dynamic to facilitate interactive evaluation of alternative architectural choices. The tool can model complex deployment scenarios such as server virtualisation. Development and evaluation of the tool was carried out in the context of architectural modeling for large-scale SOA-based Australian e-Government systems. The tool radically simplified the construction and execution of SOA performance models, and contributed critical insights for the architecting of these systems.
Estimating vegetation cover in an urban environment based on Landsat ETM imagery: A case study in Phoenix, USA
Authors: A. Buyantuyev, J. Wu, C. Gries
Venue: International Journal of Remote Sensing (2007)

Studies of urban ecological systems can be greatly enhanced by combining ecosystem modelling and remote sensing which often requires establishing statistical relationships between field and remote sensing data. At the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAPLTER) site in the south-western USA, we estimated vegetation abundance from Landsat ETM+ acquired at three dates by computing vegetation indices (NDVI and SAVI) and conducting linear spectral mixture analysis (SMA). Our analyses were stratified by three major land use/land covers-urban, agricultural, and desert. SMA, which provides direct measures of vegetation end member fraction for each pixel, was directly compared with field data and with the independent accuracy assessment dataset constructed from air photos. Vegetation index images with highest correlation with field data were used to construct regression models whose predictions were validated with the accuracy assessment dataset. We also investigated alternative regression methods, recognizing the inadequacy of traditional Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) in biophysical remote sensing. Symmetrical regressions-reduced major axis (RMA) and bisector ordinary least squares (OLSbisector)-were evaluated and compared with OLS. Our results indicated that SMA was a more accurate approach to vegetation quantification in urban and agricultural land uses, but had a poor accuracy when applied to desert vegetation. Potential sources of errors and some improvement recommendations are discussed.
A global simulated annealing heuristic for the three-parameter lognormal maximum likelihood estimation
Authors: J. Fernando Vera, Jose A. Díaz-García
Venue: Computational Statistics Data Analysis (2008)

It is well known that the inclusion of the threshold parameter in a lognormal distribution creates serious complications for parameter estimation; several parameterized schemes and global optimization procedures have been proposed to solve the problem in the maximum likelihood framework. A global Simulated Annealing optimization heuristic is proposed to solve the problem of maximum likelihood estimation in any parameterization scheme for the three-parameter lognormal distribution, as well as for the extended lognormal distribution. Positively and negatively skewed lognormal distributions are considered by introducing a one-parameter conditional estimation procedure in the classical parameterization for the three-parameter lognormal distribution, and a dual reparameterization is introduced for parameters estimation in the extended lognormal distribution. Simulated and real data are analyzed to test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Computer classification system usage in citeseer
Authors: Mirco Speretta, Susan Gauch, Praveen Lakkaraju
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th ACM/IEEE-CS joint conference on Digital libraries (2008)

The ACM society for computing and professionals provides a digital library whose Computer Classification System (CCS) is based on a taxonomy that has been continuously updated over the years. The CiteSeer digital library contains a large collection of computer science research papers, many of which are tagged with categories from the CCS taxonomy. By analyzing CiteSeer's tagged documents and by considering different time frames, we extracted statistics that shows how the CCS taxonomy covers the publications in computer and information science research sub-fields. We also studied size and growth of categories over the last four available years. We believe that the identification of such trends within taxonomies would greatly help to improve the structure of classification systems and would help the construction of more efficient browsing and searching systems.
A mini-review of numerical methods for high-order problems
Authors: A. Boutayeb, A. Chetouani
Venue: International Journal of Computer Mathematics (2007)

In this paper we present a mini-review of the numerical methods most commonly used during the last two decades to solve high-order ordinary differential equations, including initial-value, boundary-value and eigenvalue problems.
On subpancyclic line graphs
Authors: Liming Xiong
Venue: Journal of Graph Theory (1998)

We give a best possible Dirac-like condition for a graph G so that its line graph L(G) is subpancyclic, i.e., L(G) contains a cycle of length l for each l between 3 and the circumference of G. The result verifies the conjecture posed by Xiong (Pancyclic results in hamiltonian line graphs, in: Combinatorics and Graph Theory '95, vol. 2, Proceedings of the Summer School and International Conference on Combinatorics, World Scientific). &copy; 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 27: 67&ndash;74, 1998
The aAQUA Approach: Innovative Web 2.0 Tools for Developing Countries
Authors: Krithi Ramamritham, Anil Bahuman, Saurabh Sahni, Malathy Baru, Chaitra Bahuman, Arun Chandran, Manjiri Joshi
Venue: IEEE Internet Computing (2008)

aAQUA is a multilingual, multimedia agricultural portal that lets rural farmers and agribusiness employees ask and answer questions online. The system incorporates novel database systems and information retrieval techniques, including intelligent caching and offline access with intermittent synchronization. aAQUA's large-scale deployment provides avenues for researchers to contribute in the areas of unstructured information and knowledge management, cross-lingual information retrieval, delay-tolerant Web application design and content provision for rural populations. Apart from agriculture, aAQUA can be configured and customized to provide expert advice in education, healthcare, and other key domains for developing populations.
Performance of Energy Efficient Source Coding and Interference Reduction in Wireless Sensor Network Systems
Authors: Md. Rezaul Hoque Khan, Roberto Passerone
Venue: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation (2008)

In this paper, our focus is on energy efficient coding schemes for wireless sensor networks. A source coding and modulation technique for reducing multiple access interference (MAI) as well as for reducing power consumption in MC-CDMA wireless sensor network systems is presented. In all our analysis we consider perfect power control mechanism. Source symbols are represented by a special coding, termed Minimum Energy coding (ME coding), which exploits redundant bits for saving power when transmitted via RF links with On-Off-Keying. This ME coding is applied to MC-CDMA sensor network systems in order to reduce MAI as well as to reduce power consumption. The proposed method is aptly suitable for wireless sensor video node in application of video coding.
The FMICS-jETI Platform: Status and Perspectives
Authors: Tiziana Margaria, Christian Kubczak, Bernhard Steffen, Stefan Naujokat
Venue: Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Verification and Validation (2006)

One of the goals of FMICS, the ERCIM Working Group on Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems (FMICS) is to transfer and promote the use formal methods technology in industry. The ongoing Verified Software Repository Grand Challenge offers a great opportunity to reach this goal, resulting in a more robust and solid software industry in Europe. We demonstrate here the current status of the FMICS-jETI platform, a collaborative demonstrator based on the jETI technology, that provides as repository a collection of verification tools stemming from the activities of the FMICS working group and facilities to orchestrate them in a remote and simple way. At the same time FMICS-jETI itself is a contribution to the VSR repository and thus to the Grand Challenge.
Tied Factor Analysis for Face Recognition across Large Pose Differences
Authors: Simon J. D. Prince, James H. Elder, Jonathan Warrell, Fatima M. Felisberti
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (2008)

Face recognition algorithms perform very unreliably when the pose of the probe face is different from the gallery face: typical feature vectors vary more with pose than with identity. We propose a generative model that creates a one-to-many mapping from an idealized "identity" space to the observed data space. In identity space, the representation for each individual does not vary with pose. We model the measured feature vector as being generated by a pose-contingent linear transformation of the identity variable in the presence of Gaussian noise. We term this model "tied" factor analysis. The choice of linear transformation (factors) depends on the pose, but the loadings are constant (tied) for a given individual. We use the EM algorithm to estimate the linear transformations and the noise parameters from training data. We propose a probabilistic distance metric which allows a full posterior over possible matches to be established. We introduce a novel feature extraction process and investigate recognition performance using the FERET, XM2VTS and PIE databases. Recognition performance compares favourably to contemporary approaches.
Future tenseWill
Authors: William Sims Bainbridge
Venue: Communications of the ACM (2008)

Expect virtual immortality through enduring, realistic avatars based on published work and archived memory.