ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Road network monitoring: algorithms and a case study
Authors: Fabien Marzolf, Martin Trépanier, André Langevin
Venue: Computers and Operations Research (2006)

Road network monitoring is an activity conducted daily by the Ministry of Transportation of Quebec. The complete network must be monitored every 2 weeks. In this setting, the usual objective in arc routing of minimizing the total travel distance is irrelevant. The vehicles are equipped with global positioning systems (GPS) locating devices to monitor events and trace routes. Since most planned route are not completed because of events on the network, there is a need to continuously re-plan and re-schedule routes. We developed a methodology to achieve this task by gathering data from the GPS trace, matching it to the planned routes within a geographic information systems (GIS) and then use mathematical algorithms to propose a new schedule with new routes. The interurban road network studied consists in a hierarchy of three classes of roads that have different monitoring standards. We tested three different methods using different objectives depending on the operators' needs. Results show that the method that implies rescheduling based on assignment and reconstruction of routes with an arc-adding method gives the best coverage for each class of road.
In the News
Authors: Laurianne McLaughlin, Jan Krikke
Venue: IEEE Intelligent Systems (2006)

The first news story, "AI Plus Art: DaVinci Would Love It," looks at interactive art that incorporates artificial intelligence techniques. The second news story, "In Silico Vox: Speech Recognition on a Chip," reports on an attempt to create the first chip that can handle speaker-independent, large-vocabulary speech recognition.
Analysis of full pallet conveyor system
Authors: Darrell W. Starks, John Fortini, Robert Schlafer
Venue: Proceedings of the 36th conference on Winter simulation (2004)

PepsiAmericas was experiencing throughput problems with its full pallet conveyor system at one of its bottling facilities. This system takes the full pallets of cans or bottles from the palletizers and sends them to the stretchwrappers and then into the warehouse. One solution was thought to be the addition of a stretchwrapper to the system. Before purchasing this equipment, PepsiAmericas decided to perform a quantitative analysis of the system using a simulation model. This model showed that a third stretchwrapper was not required. By changing a portion of the logic governing the movement of pallets from the five palletizers to the two current stretchwrappers, it was shown that the current two stretchwrappers could handle the throughput of the palletizers.
Stability of solutions of dynamic systems with randomly structured aftereffect
Authors: I. V. Vernigora
Venue: Cybernetics and Systems Analysis (2006)

The relation is established between the asymptotic stochastic stability of a linear functional differential equation and exponential stability of the trivial solution to this equation. The direct and inverse Lyapunov theorems on the stability of linear differential equations are proved.
An adaptable neuro-control system for a 10--50ghz monolithic microwave integrated circuited-based intelligent front-end amplifier
Authors: Carl White
Venue:  (2006)

Autonomous, multifunctional systems are of growing interests for implementation into emerging wireless communication applications. Such systems will enable provision of mission-defined services and will benefit system designs in terms of compactness, power consumption, and system life. Multifunctionality implies the ability to reconfigure topologies, whereas, autonomy implies the ability to self control. While such capabilities are available within narrow bandwidths of operation, current technologies inhibit these capabilities over bandwidths required by the emerging applications. Innovative solutions are, therefore, required to increase system bandwidth while minimizing system size, power requirements, and cost, and maintaining high operation performance. In response to this growing interest, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) created two research initiatives. The objective of the first initiative is to transform current monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)-based technologies via the development of new device structures or implementation of new material systems. The objective of the second initiative is to enable the development of intelligent front-end components and system utilizing innovative integrated circuit architectures that exploit advancements in digital and analog technologies. The research contained in this dissertation addresses the latter initiative by developing neural network-based control systems for front-end amplifiers. The developed neuro-controller provides autonomous operation and recovery capabilities. In operation mode, the control system enables regulation of the gain response of the amplifier over a 10-50GHz bandwidth. Such control is achieved via reconfiguration of the matching network topologies. The control system implements a model reference adaptive control strategy. State dynamics are estimated using a pseudo-sliding mode methodology. Back-propagation neural networks are used to extract state estimates and classify them into configurations that maximize the plant's gain response. The neuro-controller can also facilitate autonomous adaptation of the system's architecture in response to failures in switching components within the matching networks. Under recovery mode, 30GHz simulation results demonstrate an average 94% recovery of the decrease in gain relative to recovery performance using a manual tuning approach. For most failure scenarios investigated, the sliding mode-based control system achieved transient behavior merits as defined by the research goals.
Intermediate variable elimination in a global context for a 3D multimedia application
Authors: M. Leeman, D. A. Alonso
Venue: Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Multimedia and Expo - Volume 1 (2003)

The 3D multimedia applications have been experiencing a tremendous growth in number and complexity. Such applications mainly consist of complex algorithms that process extensive amounts of data to create 3D images and results. For quick access, data need to be stored in small and expensive memories near the processor. Due to the increasing memory-processor gap in speed and the characteristics of multimedia applications (with highly power and space-consuming data sets), software transformations are required to decrease memory requirements. In this paper, we propose a method to reduce the indirections of data types in real 3D multimedia applications. It is based on software transformations of the original algorithm to minimize the intermediate assignments and, as such, the required data types. To assess the performance of our method, we apply it to a relatively new 3D image reconstruction application. As a result, for this multimedia application, our method reduces 50/spl times/ the amount of memory accesses, 30/spl times/ the normalized memory footprint and 67/spl times/ the energy consumption compared to a manually well-optimized version of the algorithm. Finally, compared to the original application, the overall performance improves by 40% on a PC.
Tracking Facial Feature Points with Statistical Models and Gabor Wavelet
Authors: Mian-Shui Yu, Shao-Fa Li
Venue: Proceedings of the Fifth Mexican International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (2006)

A precise face tracking algorithm for image sequence is presented in this paper which integrates Gabor wavelets with statistical models AAM (active appearance models). Facial feature points are characterized using Gabor wavelets and can be individually tracked. However, a disadvantage with this kind of purely feature-based tracking is that errors accumulate and nodes loose lock on their corresponding features. To repair this defect, a face affine transform is used to obtain the initial shape of the AAM model, and then the AAM is used to impose global constraints upon the local feature points and to produce a precise tracking. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of the proposed algorithm to precisely track facial features.
Model checking erlang programs: the functional approach
Authors: Lars-Åke Fredlund, Clara Benac Earle
Venue: Proceedings of the 2006 ACM SIGPLAN workshop on Erlang (2006)

We present the new model checker McErlang for verifying Erlang programs. In comparison with the etomcrl tool set, McErlang differs mainly in that it is implemented in Erlang. The implementation language offers several advantages: checkable programs use "almost" normal Erlang, correctness properties are formulated in Erlang itself instead of a temporal logic, and it is easier to properly diagnose program bugs discovered by the model checker. In addition the model checker can easily be modified, thanks largely to the use of Erlang. The drawback of writing the model checker in Erlang is, potentially, severely reduced performance compared with model checking tools programmed in programming languages which permit destructive updates of data structures.
Integrating Security Policies via Container Portable Interceptors
Authors: Tom Ritter, Rudolf Schreiner, Ulrich Lang
Venue: IEEE Distributed Systems Online (2006)

To integrate security into middleware, the middleware must provide appropriate hooks and interfacesand meet the security architecture's requirements. In most cases, modifying existing systems is morepractical than developing new, secure middleware from scratch. Corba component-based middleware and apolicy management framework are successfully integrated to define, manage, and enforce security policies bydefining container portable interceptors and QoS enablers. An experimental secure air traffic controlsystem serves as a test case to practically evaluate the concepts.
Aging and the Neural Correlates of Successful Picture Encoding: Frontal Activations Compensate for Decreased Medial-Temporal Activity
Authors: Angela H. Gutchess, Robert C. Welsh, Trey Hedden, Ashley Bangert, Meredith Minear, Linda L. Liu, Denise C. Park
Venue: Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2005)

We investigated the hypothesis that increased prefrontal activations in older adults are compensatory for decreases in medial-temporal activations that occur with age. Because scene encoding engages both hippocampal and prefrontal sites, we examined incidental encoding of scenes by 14 young and 13 older adults in a subsequent memory paradigm using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behavioral results indicated that there were equivalent numbers of remembered and forgotten items, which did not vary as a function of age. In an fMRI analysis subtracting forgotten items from remembered items, younger and older adults both activated inferior frontal and lateral occipital regions bilaterally; however, older adults showed less activation than young adults in the left and right parahippocampus and more activation than young adults in the middle frontal cortex. Moreover, correlations between inferior frontal and parahippocampal activity were significantly negative for old but not young, suggesting that those older adults who showed the least engagement of the parahippocampus activated inferior frontal areas the most. Because the analyses included only the unique activations associated with remembered items, these data suggest that prefrontal regions could serve a compensatory role for declines in medial-temporal activations with age.
Design and implementation of a robust switching control scheme for a class of constrained robot tasks
Authors: Biao Yu, Prabhakar R. Pagilla
Venue: International Journal of Systems Science (2006)

The focus of the paper is on the design and real-time control implementation issues of a switching control scheme for a robot interacting with a constraint surface. One key aspect that is investigated is the effect of uncertainty in the location of the constraint surface. A switching controller that is robust to uncertainty in the location of the constraint surface is given overall stability of the controller for a typical constrained robot task is shown. A strategy for real-time trajectory modification, which is required to compensate for the discrepancy in the a priori known location and the actual location of the constraint, is given. An experimental platform consisting of a planar robot manipulator equipped with a force sensor and a robotic surface finishing tool is described; typical experimental results for the manipulator following straight and circular surfaces are given for the proposed real-time implementation scheme. The proposed research can find applications in robotic surface finishing operations such as polishing, chamfering and deburring, etc.
Today's IT Graduates Not Quite Measuring Up
Authors: Sorel Reisman
Venue: IT Professional (2006)

Today's college graduates in IT are not as prepared as yesterday's computer scientists to handle advanced technical demands.
Performance on Indirect Measures of Race Evaluation Predicts Amygdala Activation
Authors: Elizabeth A. Phelps, Kevin J. O'Connor, William A. Cunningham, E. Sumie Funayama, J. Christopher Gatenby, John C. Gore, Mahzarin R. Banaji
Venue: Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2000)

We used fMRI to explore the neural substrates involved in the unconscious evaluation of Black and White social groups. Specifically, we focused on the amygdala, a subcortical structure known to play a role in emotional learning and evaluation. In Experiment 1, White American subjects observed faces of unfamiliar Black and White males. The strength of amygdala activation to Black-versus-White faces was correlated with two indirect (unconscious) measures of race evaluation (Implicit Association Test &lsqb;IAT&rsqb; and potentiated startle), but not with the direct (conscious) expression of race attitudes. In Experiment 2, these patterns were not obtained when the stimulus faces belonged to familiar and positively regarded Black and White individuals. Together, these results suggest that amygdala and behavioral responses to Black-versus-White faces in White subjects reflect cultural evaluations of social groups modified by individual experience.
Selecting informative actions improves cooperative multiagent learning
Authors: Liviu Panait, Sean Luke
Venue: Proceedings of the fifth international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems (2006)

In concurrent cooperative multiagent learning, each agent simultaneously learns to improve the overall performance of the team, with no direct control over the actions chosen by its teammates. An agent's action selection directly influences the rewards received by all the agents, resulting in a co-adaptation among the concurrent learning processes. Co-adaptation can drive the team towards suboptimal solutions because agents tend to select those actions that are rewarded better, without any consideration for how such actions may affect the search of their teammates. We argue that to counter this tendency, agents should also prefer actions that inform their teammates about the structure of the joint search space in order to help them choose from among various action options. We analyze this approach in a cooperative coevolutionary framework, and we propose a new algorithm, iCCEA, that highlights the advantages of selecting informative actions. We show that iCCEA generally outperforms other cooperative coevolution algorithms on our test problems.
Marginals vs. covariance in joint distribution theory
Authors: R. G. Baraniuk
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1995. on International Conference - Volume 02 (1995)

Cohen (1966, 1995) has proposed a method for constructing joint distributions of arbitrary physical quantities, in direct generalization of joint time-frequency representations. We investigate the covariance properties of this procedure and caution that in its present form it cannot generate all possible distributions. Using group theory, we extend Cohen's construction to a more general form that can be customized to satisfy specific marginal and covariance requirements.
An Open-Source XML Framework for Authoring Curricular Material
Authors: Wolfgang Christian, Mario Belloni, Douglas Brown
Venue: Computing in Science and Engineering (2006)

The Open Source Physics (OSP) project is a synergy of curriculum development, computational physics,computer science, and physics education for scientists and students wishing to author interactivecomputer-based curricular material. This article illustrates how the OSP project combines physical data andXML tags (data and metadata, respectively) with the Launcher authoring tool to give users an easy-to-useand consistent paradigm for creating, modifying, and distributing Java-based curricular material.
LDL: An Alternative EML
Authors: Christian Martel, Laurence Vignollet, Christine Ferraris, Jean-Pierre David, Anne Lejeune
Venue: Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (2006)

This paper describes the foundations of LDL and the associated infrastructure LDI. It explains why we have chosen to define this new EML instead of using an existing one like IMS-LD..
High-Performance Unsupervised Relation Extraction from Large Corpora
Authors: Binjamin Rozenfeld, Ronen Feldman
Venue: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Data Mining (2006)

We present URIES -- an Unsupervised Relation Identification and Extraction system. The system automatically identifies interesting binary relations between entities in the input corpus, and then proceeds to extract a large number of instances of these relations. The system discovers relations by clustering frequently co-occuring pairs of entities, based on the contexts in which they appear. Its complex pattern-based representation of the contexts allows the clustering step to achieve very high precision, sufficient for the clusters to perform as sets of seeds for bootstrapping a high-recall relation extraction process. In a series of experiments we demonstrate the successful performance of URIES and compare it to the two existing systems -- a weakly supervised high-recall Web relation extraction system called SRES, and an unsupervised relation identification system that uses a simpler bag-of-words representation of contexts. The experiments show that URIES performs comparably to SRES, but without any supervision, and that such performance is due to the power of its complex contexts representation and to its novel candidate selection method.
Trust and Risk Evaluation of Transactions with Different Amounts in Peer-to-Peer E-commerce Environments
Authors: Yan Wang, Fu-ren Lin
Venue: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on e-Business Engineering (2006)

As Peer-to-Peer (P2P) e-commerce environments lack central management, prior to new transactions with an unknown peer, the trust evaluation becomes a very important concern, which relies on the transaction history data. Traditionally the evaluation process is based on other peers' recommendations neglecting transaction amounts. This may lead to the bias to the transaction trust evaluation and risk the new transaction, which may occur between unknown peers. This paper presents a novel model for transaction trust evaluation, which distinguishes transaction amounts and thus computes different impact factors when analyzing old transactions and computing trust values. As a result, the trust evaluation becomes more accurate, which is dependant on transaction history, the amounts of old transactions, the amount of the new transaction, and the temporal dimension. Therefore the obtained trust value can be taken as the risk indication of the forthcoming transaction.
FPGA architecture for static background subtraction in real time
Authors: Jozias Oliveira, André Printes, R. C. S Freire, Elmar Melcher, Ivan S. S. Silva
Venue: Proceedings of the 19th annual symposium on Integrated circuits and systems design (2006)

Background subtraction is a method typically used to segment moving regions in image sequences taken from a static camera by comparing each new frame to a model of the scene background. In this paper, we present an FPGA architecture for background subtraction, taking advantage of the data and logical parallel opportunities offered by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture. At a clock rate of 40 MHz, the architecture can process 30 frames per second, where the image resolution is 240 x 120. The capability of the system is demonstrated for several tests and video sequences.
Nonlinear transfer map treatment of beams through systems with absorbing material
Authors: K. Makino, M. Berz, D. Errede, C. J. Johnstone
Venue: Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Physics and Control - Volume 3 (2003)

Summary form only given. Particle optical systems are usually comprised of electric and magnetic bending elements, focusing elements, and high-order multipoles for correction of aberrations. However, various modern systems for the transport and manipulation of large acceptance beams of rare and short-lived particles require the detailed treatment of more advanced optical elements. In particular, in recent years the reduction of the emittance of such beams has become of prime importance. The systems performing such reduction of emittance usually consist of combinations of absorbers that uniformly reduce the components of the momenta of the particles, as well as cavities that increase predominately the longitudinal components, which overall leads to a reduction of transversal emittance. For purposes of optimal focusing, frequently both cavities and absorbers are placed inside the body or at least the fringe fields of quadrupole or solenoidal focusing elements, which leads to the requirement of treating the nonlinear optics of acceleration, absorption, and focusing in a combined approach. The treatment of such systems in ray-tracing scenarios based on integration through fields and matter is very laborious and time consuming, and does not lend itself well to optimization and correction of undesirable nonlinear effects. We describe a differential algebraic method for the treatment of such nonlinear dynamics, based on the spatial and temporal form of the accelerating fields, any superimposed focusing magnetic fields, and the geometry and physical properties of the absorbing material and its possible vessel. Described by a Bethe-Bloch-Vavilov formalism, the bulk of the effects are described in terms of a high order nonlinear transfer maps. The also occurring scattering and straggling, which are inherently non-deterministic and hence not representable in the map formalism, are described in terms of a set of stochastic kicks in the transversal and longitudinal dynamics. The stochastics is propagated to the center of the occurring absorbers and thus allows a combined treatment of the tracking of both deterministic and random effects in an efficient way. ne method is implemented in the high-order code COSY INFINTIY. Examples for the application and performance of the method are given.
A Parallel Implementation of the Katsevich Algorithm for 3-D CT Image Reconstruction
Authors: Junjun Deng, Hengyong Yu, Jun Ni, Tao He, Shiying Zhao, Lihe Wang, Ge Wang
Venue: The Journal of Supercomputing (2006)

Yu and Wang [1, 2] implemented the first theoretically exact spiral cone-beam reconstruction algorithm developed by Katsevich [3, 4]. This algorithm requires a high computational cost when the data amount becomes large. Here we study a parallel computing scheme for the Katsevich algorithm to facilitate the image reconstruction. Based on the proposed parallel algorithm, several numerical tests are conducted on a high performance computing (HPC) cluster with thirty two 64-bit AMD-based Opteron processors. The standard phantom data [5] is used to establish the performance benchmarks. The results show that our parallel algorithm significantly reduces the reconstruction time, achieving high speedup and efficiency.