ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Investigation of oxidation-induced strain in a top-down Si nanowire platform
Authors: M. Najmzadeh, D. Bouvet, P. Dobrosz, S. Olsen, A. M. Ionescu
Venue: Microelectronic Engineering (2009)

In this paper, we investigate the effect of different process parameters on oxidation-induced strain (OIS) into a doubly-clamped silicon nanowire FET to control and finally, enhance carrier mobility. Spacer technology together with sacrificial thermal oxidation were used to fabricate ~100nm wide Si NWs. The built-in tensile stress in the Si NWs was measured using micro-Raman spectroscopy and a maximum of 2.6GPa was found.
Analytical approximation method of option pricing under geometric mean-reverting process
Authors: R. H. Liu
Venue: International Journal of Computer Mathematics (2009)

This paper is concerned with analytical approximation for option pricing while the underlying asset price follows a geometric mean-reverting diffusion process, which is often used in real and commodity options. Two methods are developed, one employing the idea of Edgeworth series expansion and another based on Taylor series expansion. Numerical tests show that the second method significantly outperforms the first one, particularly for long-maturity options. In addition, we compare the analytical approximation prices with that obtained using an alternative log-normal model for commodities and find out for many cases the discrepancy in option prices is remarkable.
Gabor texture in active appearance models
Authors: Xinbo Gao, Ya Su, Xuelong Li, Dacheng Tao
Venue: Neurocomputing (2009)

In computer vision applications, Active Appearance Models (AAMs) is usually used to model the shape and the gray-level appearance of an object of interest using statistical methods, such as PCA. However, intensity values used in standard AAMs cannot provide enough information for image alignment. In this paper, we firstly propose to utilize Gabor filters to represent the image texture. The benefit of Gabor-based representation is that it can express local structures of an image. As a result, this representation can lead to more accurate matching when condition changes. Given the problem of the excessive storage and computational complexity of the Gabor, three different Gabor-based image representations are used in AAMs: (1) GaborD is the sum of Gabor filter responses over directions, (2) GaborS is the sum of Gabor filter responses over scales, and (3) GaborSD is the sum of Gabor filter responses over scales and directions. Through a large number of experiments, we show that the proposed Gabor representations lead to more accurate and robust matching between model and images.
Bag-of-Features Codebook Generation by Self-Organisation
Authors: Teemu Kinnunen, Joni-Kristian Kamarainen, Lasse Lensu, Heikki Kälviäinen
Venue: Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Advances in Self-Organizing Maps (2009)

Bag of features is a well established technique for the visual categorisation of objects, categories of objects and textures. One of the most important part of this technique is codebook generation since its within-class and between-class discrimination power is the main factor in the categorisation accuracy. A codebook is generated from regions of interest extracted automatically from a set of labeled (supervised/semi-supervised) or unlabeled (unsupervised) images. A standard tool for the codebook generation is the c-means clustering algorithm, and the state-of-the-art results have been reported using generation schemes based on the c-means. In this work, we challenge this mainstream approach by demonstrating how the competitive learning principle in the self-organising map (SOM) is able to provide similar and often superior results to the c-means. Therefore, we claim that exploiting the self-organisation principle is an alternative research direction to the mainstream research in visual object categorisation and its importance for the ultimate challenge, unsupervised visual object categorisation, needs to be investigated.
Experimental Comparisons of Derivative Free Optimization Algorithms
Authors: A. Auger, N. Hansen, J. M. Perez Zerpa, R. Ros, M. Schoenauer
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (2009)

In this paper, the performances of the quasi-Newton BFGS algorithm, the NEWUOA derivative free optimizer, the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES), the Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimizers (PSO) are compared experimentally on benchmark functions reflecting important challenges encountered in real-world optimization problems. Dependence of the performances in the conditioning of the problem and rotational invariance of the algorithms are in particular investigated.
Soft Computing
Authors: D. K. Pratihar
Venue:  (2007)

This book starts with an introduction to soft computing, a family consisting of many members, namely Genetic Algorithms (GAs), Fuzzy Logic (FL), Neural Networks (NNs) and others. To realize the need for a non-traditional optimization tool like GA, one chapter is devoted to explain the principle of traditional optimization. The working cycle of a GA is explained in detail. The mechanisms of some specialized GAs are then discussed with appropriate examples. Fuzzy sets are introduced before explaining the principle of fuzzy reasoning and clustering. The fundamentals of NNs are presented, prior to the discussion on various forms of NN. The combined techniques, such as GA-FL, GA-NN, NN-FL and GA-FL-NN are explained in the last three chapters.
An Improvement of HSMM-Based Speech Synthesis by Duration-Dependent State Transition Probabilities
Authors: Jing Tao, Wenju Liu
Venue: Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Neural Networks: Advances in Neural Networks - Part III (2009)

In this paper, we propose an improvement of hidden semi- Markov model (HSMM) based speech synthesis system by duration- dependent state transition probabilities. In traditional HMM algorithm, the probability of the duration of a state decreases exponentially with time, which does not provide an adequate representation of the temporal structure of speech. To overcome this limitation, HSMM, which models explicitly the state duration distribution, was proposed. However, there is still an inconsistency. Although HSMM has explicit state duration probability distributions, the state transition probabilities are duration-invariant. In this paper, we introduce duration-dependent state transition probabilities, which are able to characterize the timescale distortion at particular instant of an utterance more effectively, into HSMM based speech synthesis system. Correspondingly we improve forward-backward algorithm and re-derive parameter re-estimation formulae. Experimental results show that the proposed method improves the naturalness of the synthesized speech.
Speeding Up PEEC partial inductance computations using a QR-based algorithm
Authors: Dipanjan Gope, Albert E. Ruehli, Vikram Jandhyala
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems (2007)

The partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) approach has been used in different forms for the computation of equivalent circuit elements for quasi-static and full-wave electromagnetic models. In this paper, we focus on the topic of large scale inductance computations. For many problems as part of PEEC modeling, partial inductances need to be computed to model interactions between a large numbers of objects. These computations can be very time and memory consuming. To date, several techniques have been devised to reduce the memory and time required to compute the partial inductance entities, as well as the time required to use them in a circuit analysis compute step. Some of the existing methods use hierarchical compression while some others are based on issues like properties of the inverse of the partial inductance matrix. However, because of inherent limitations, most of these methods are less suitahle for PEEC applications. In this paper, we present an approach which is based on the compression of the partial inductance matrix utilizing the QR decomposition of the far coefficients submatrices. The QR-decomposed form is represented as a compressed SPICE-compatible circuit. This yields an efficient and mathematically consistent approach for reducing the storage and time requirements.
Motivating Learners by Nurturing Animal Companions: My-Pet and Our-Pet
Authors: Zhi-Hong Chen, Yi-Chan Deng, Chih-Yueh Chou, Tak-Wai Chan
Venue: Proceeding of the 2005 conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education: Supporting Learning through Intelligent and Socially Informed Technology (2005)

This paper reports a pilot study of how to utilize simulated animal companions to encourage students to pay more effort in their study in the classroom environment. A class of students is divided into several teams. Every student keeps her own individual animal companion, called My-Pet, which keeps a simple performance record of its master for self-reflection. Also, every team has a team animal companion, called Our-Pet, kept by all teammates. Our-Pet has a collective performance record formed by all team members' performance records. The design of Our-Pet intends to help a team set a team goal through a competitive game among Our-Pets, and promotes positive and helpful interactions among teammates. A preliminary experiment is conducted in a fifth-grade class with 31 students in an elementary school, and the experimental results show that there are both cognitive and affective gains.
Language-model-based ranking in entity-relation graphs
Authors: Shady Elbassuoni, Maya Ramanath, Gerhard Weikum
Venue: Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Keyword Search on Structured Data (2009)

We propose a language-model-based ranking approach for SPARQL-like queries on entity-relationship graphs. Our ranking model supports exact matching, approximate structure matching, and approximate matching with text predicates. We show the effectiveness of our model through examples.
Web disclosures of substandard mobile learning programmes and institutions
Authors: Jun Sun, Lai C. Liu, Kai S. Koong
Venue: International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation (2009)

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) have made it possible for people of all ages and ethnicity to access educational opportunities anywhere across the globe 24 hours a day. However, many mobile learning (m-learning) programmes and their affiliated institutions may be classified by governmental and accreditation agencies as substandard. This study examines the web disclosures of m-learning programmes and institutions that were labelled as unaccredited institutions and degree mills by states that maintain a public watch list. Among all the listed institutions with known locations, 302 were operating inside the USA and another 188 had overseas connections with 54 nations. Interestingly, these unaccredited programmes and degree mills appear to operate from certain countries or states more than others. From the perspective of compliance and enforcement, this major trend identified is important because people can now have a more focused group of institutions and their locations to monitor.
Robot motion description and real-time management with the Harmonic Motion Description Protocol
Authors: Norbert Michael Mayer, Joschka Boedecker, Minoru Asada
Venue: Robotics and Autonomous Systems (2009)

We describe the Harmonic Motion Description Protocol (HMDP), that can serve as a part in tools for rapid prototyping of behaviors in a hybrid simulation real robot environment. In particular, we are focusing on the RoboCup 3D Soccer Simulation League server that is currently evolving rapidly, and becomes a more and more useful open source, general purpose simulation environment for physical Multiagent systems. HMDP uses harmonic functions to describe motions. It allows for superposition of motions and is therefore capable of describing parametric motions. Thus, typical open loop motions (walking on spot, forward, turning, standing up) of small humanoid robots are readily available and can be optimized by hand. In conjunction with the HMDP some software tools and a small real-time motion generator (called Motion Machine) have been developed. The current implementation is very flexible to use and can easily be implemented in rather small embedded systems.
Benefits of Parallel I/O in Ab Initio Nuclear Physics Calculations
Authors: Nikhil Laghave, Masha Sosonkina, Pieter Maris, James P. Vary
Venue: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computational Science: Part I (2009)

Many modern scientific applications rely on highly parallel calculations, which scale to 10's of thousands processors. However, most applications do not concentrate on parallelizing input/output operations. In particular, sequential I/O has been identified as a bottleneck for the highly scalable MFDn (Many Fermion Dynamics for nuclear structure) code performing ab initio nuclear structure calculations. In this paper, we develop interfaces and parallel I/O procedures to use a well-known parallel I/O library in MFDn. As a result, we gain efficient input/output of large datasets along with their portability and ease of use in the downstream processing.
Kinetics of cement strength development
Authors: Tsamatsoulis Dimitris
Venue: Proceedings of the 10th WSEAS international conference on Mathematical and computational methods in science and engineering (2008)

The object of the present study is the kinetics of cement strength development. The model that has been developed uses the following data: (1) Composition of cement. (2) Mineral composition of clinker. (3) Cement fineness. (4) Early, standard and long-term strength data. The parameters of the model are constituted by: (1) The hydration rates of the mineral phases of clinker that are a function of the cement fineness. (2) The contribution of each phase to the cement strength. As far as the hydration of phases is concerned first order kinetic has been used. The parameters of the model were calculated through fitting to experimental points of strength for the cement types CEM I 42.5, CEM I 52.5, CEM II A-L 42.5 produced in the factory of HALYPS. The mathematical model can be utilized for the cement composition design, as well as a quality control tool for regulation of the current production.
Uncertainty, Information Acquisition, and Technology Adoption
Authors: Canan Ulu, James E. Smith
Venue: Operations Research (2009)

Consumers or firms contemplating purchasing a new product or adopting a new technology are often plagued by uncertainty: Will the benefits outweigh the costs? Should we buy now or wait and gather more information? In this paper, we study a dynamic programming model of this technology adoption problem. In each period, the consumer decides whether to adopt the technology, reject it, or wait and gather additional information by observing a signal about the technology's benefit. The technology's actual benefit may be constant or changing stochastically over time. The dynamic programming state variable is a probability distribution that describes the consumer's beliefs about the benefits of the technology. We allow general probability distributions on benefits and general signal processes and assume that the consumer updates her beliefs over time using Bayes' rule. We are interested in structural properties of this model. We show that improving the technology's benefit need not make the consumer better off and that first-order stochastic dominance improvements in the consumer's distribution on benefits need not increase the consumer's value function. Nevertheless, the model possesses a great deal of structure. For example, we obtain monotonic value functions and policies if we order distributions using likelihood-ratio dominance rather than first-order stochastic dominance. We also examine convexity properties and provide many comparative statics results.
Reducing search space of auto-tuners using parallel patterns
Authors: Christoph A. Schaefer
Venue: Proceedings of the 2009 ICSE Workshop on Multicore Software Engineering (2009)

Auto-tuning is indispensable to achieve best performance of parallel applications, as manual tuning is extremely labor intensive and error-prone. Search-based auto-tuners offer a systematic way to find performance optimums, and existing approaches provide promising results. However, they suffer from large search spaces.
IEEE standard 1500 compliance verification for embedded cores
Authors: Alfredo Benso, Stefano Di Carlo, Paolo Prinetto, Yervant Zorian
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems (2008)

Core-based design and reuse are the two key elements for an efficient system-on-chip (SoC) development. Unfortunately, they also introduce new challenges in SoC testing, such as core test reuse and the need of a common test infrastructure working with cores originating from different vendors. The IEEE 1500 Standard for Embedded Core Testing addresses these issues by proposing a flexible hardware test wrapper architecture for embedded cores, together with a core test language (CTL) used to describe the implemented wrapper functionalities. Several intellectual property providers have already announced IEEE Standard 1500 compliance in both existing and future design blocks. In this paper, we address the problem of guaranteeing the compliance of a wrapper architecture and its CTL description to the IEEE Standard 1500. This step is mandatory to fully trust the wrapper functionalities in applying the test sequences to the core. We present a systematic methodology to build a verification framework for IEEE Standard 1500 compliant cores, allowing core providers and/or integrators to verify the compliance of their products (sold or purchased) to the standard.
Role Assertion Analysis: a proposed method for ontology refinement through assertion learning
Authors: Adrien Coulet, Malika Smail-Tabbone, Amedeo Napoli, Marie-Dominique Devignes
Venue: Proceeding of the 2008 conference on STAIRS 2008: Proceedings of the Fourth Starting AI Researchers' Symposium (2008)

We propose an approach for extending domain knowledge represented in DL ontology by using knowledge extraction methods on ontology assertions. Concept and role assertions are extracted from the ontology in the form of assertion graphs, which are used to generate a formal context manipulated by Formal Concept Analysis methods. The resulting expressions are then represented as DL concepts and roles that can be inserted into the initial ontology after validation by the analyst. We show, through a real-world example, how this approach has been successfully used for discovering new knowledge units in a pharmacogenomics ontology.
Adapting educational web service to mobile devices
Authors: Slim Khélifi, Mona Laroussi, Xavier Le Pallec
Venue: Proceeding of the 2008 conference on Techniques and Applications for Mobile Commerce: Proceedings of TAMoCo 2008 (2008)

The users became more and more mobile. By mobility, we mean free communication through various and different devices. This new way of communication generates a new fashion of learning. We add the notion of on any devices to the traditional concept of E-learning which is being free to learn any time and on any device. To carry out courses in E-Learning environment, we use LMS (Learning management Systems). LMS are now numbrous and more and more available. Our research team develops a new LMS based on the Use of Web Services entitled SOLEIL. This paper deals with the adaptation of educational Web Services to mobile devices.
Design of Erroneous Examples for ACTIVEMATH
Authors: Erica Melis
Venue: Proceeding of the 2005 conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education: Supporting Learning through Intelligent and Socially Informed Technology (2005)

The behaviorist view of learning that informs much of traditional schooling is not likely to invite students and teachers to see errors in a positive light. This is particularly true for mathematics. Our goal is to change this situation by including erroneous examples and other error-related learning opportunities in ACTIVEMATH. This paper investigates the systematic design of erroneous examples. For this, it analyzes the potential benefits that erroneous examples can have and distinguishes different presentation patterns. This analysis together with first experiences from school and from a university course with ACTIVEMATH informs further research on effects, adaptive choice and presentation of erroneous examples in ACTIVEMATH.
Knowledge, proof and the Knower
Authors: Walter Dean, Hidenori Kurokawa
Venue: Proceedings of the 12th Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and Knowledge (2009)

The Knower Paradox demonstrates that any theory T which 1) extends Robinson arithmetic Q, 2) includes a predicate K(x) intended to formalize "the formula with godel number x is known by agent i," and 3) contains certain elementary epistemic principles involving K(x) is inconsistent. The purpose of this paper is to show how this paradox may be redeveloped within a system of quantified explicit modal logic in the tradition of Artemov [4] and Fitting [10], [11] which we argue allows for a more faithful formulation of some of the epistemic principles on which it is based. Along the way, we isolate a principle -- the so-called Uniform Barcan Formula [UBF] -- which we show is required to derive an explicit counterpart of the axiom U (i.e. K(&ulcorn;K(&urcorn;&phi;&dlcrop;) &rarr; &phi;&dlcrop;)) which was used in the original formulation of the Paradox. We argue that since there are independent epistemic reasons to be suspicious of UBF, the paradox may be resolved by abandoning this principle (and thereby U as well).