ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Extending Middleware Protocols for Database Replication with Integrity Support
Authors: F. D. Muñoz-Escoí, M. I. Ruiz-Fuertes, H. Decker, J. E. Armendáriz-Íñigo, J. R. Mendívil
Venue: Proceedings of the OTM 2008 Confederated International Conferences, CoopIS, DOA, GADA, IS, and ODBASE 2008. Part I on On the Move to Meaningful Internet Systems: (2008)

Current middleware database replication protocols take care of read-write conflict evaluation. If there are no such conflicts, protocols sanction transactions to commit. Other conflicts may arise due to integrity violation. So, if, in addition to the consistency of transactions and replicas, also the consistency of integrity constraints is to be supported, some more care must be taken. Some classes of replication protocols are able to seamlessly deal with the integrity support of the underlying DBMS, but others are not. In this paper, we analyze the support for integrity that can be provided in various classes of replication protocols. Also, we propose extensions for those that cannot directly manage certain kinds of constraints that are usually supported in DBMSs.
Self-assembling sweep-and-sleep sensor systems
Authors: K. J. Kwak, Y. M. Baryshnikov, E. G. Coffman
Venue: ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review (2008)

This paper describes a self-assembling sleep-wake sensor system that is scalable, easily implemented, and energy conserving. Sensors actively detecting events form wave fronts that sweep the sensor field. An application of concepts from cellular automata theory accounts for much of its novelty. The system has additional, highly desirable properties such as a self-healing capability, fault tolerance, asynchronous operation, seamless accommodation of obstacles in the sensor field, and it is highly effective even in the case of intelligent intruders, i.e., those who know sensor design and sensor locations. System performance is a focus of the paper, and, as in the study of the emergent behavior of cellular automata, an instructive example of experimental mathematics. Related open questions in mathematical performance analysis are reviewed.
Providing differentiated QoS for peer-to-peer file sharing systems
Authors: Ping Ge, Hailong Cai
Venue: ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review (2008)

In this paper, we propose a new Cluster Server Architecture (CSA) to realize an enhanced differentiated QoS in P2P file sharing systems. CSA adopts two approaches to provide a better QoS for dedicated users than standard users: (1) expedited forwarding messages of dedicated users and system maintenance messages at each node to speedup their response times, and (2) temporarily caching and instantly supplying routing information for dedicated users to reduce their self-organization overhead and warm-up time. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results show that our proposed architecture and algorithms effectively and efficiently implement a differentiated QoS model in P2P file sharing systems. The CSA introduces only modest overhead but still retains a good scalability and robustness.
ACM SIGSOFT impact paper award: reflections and prospects
Authors: David S. Rosenblum, Alexander L. Wolf
Venue: Proceedings of the 16th ACM SIGSOFT International Symposium on Foundations of software engineering (2008)

In the mid 1990s the Internet began to emerge as a communication and application platform for the masses, enabled by infrastructures from CORBA to the World Wide Web. Consequently, software engineering researchers began to address the many challenges and opportunities of engineering large-scale, highly networked distributed systems. At the same time, the event-based or implicit invocation architectural style had established itself as a prominent feature of distributed systems, but primarily restricted to small-scale systems deployed in local-area networks.
An integrative approach for predicting interactions of protein regions
Authors: Sven-Eric Schelhorn, Thomas Lengauer, Mario Albrecht
Venue: Bioinformatics (2008)

Motivation: Protein–protein interactions are commonly mediated by the physical contact of distinct protein regions. Computational identi.cation of interacting protein regions aids in the detailed understanding of protein networks and supports the prediction of novel protein interactions and the reconstruction of protein complexes. Results: We introduce an integrative approach for predicting protein region interactions using a probabilistic model.tted to an observed protein network. In particular, we consider globular domains, short linear motifs and coiled-coil regions as potential protein-binding regions. Possible cooperations between multiple regions within the same protein are taken into account. A.negrained con.dence system allows for varying the impact of speci.c protein interactions and region annotations on the modeling process. We apply our prediction approach to a large training set using a maximum likelihood method, compare different scoring functions for region interactions and validate the predicted interactions against a collection of experimentally observed interactions. In addition, we analyze prediction performance with respect to the inclusion of different region types, the incorporation of con.dence values for training data and the utilization of predicted protein interactions. Contact: mario.albrecht@mpi-inf.mpg.de Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Comparative analysis of Simulated Annealing, Simulated Quenching and Genetic Algorithms for optimal reservoir operation
Authors: A. Vasan, Komaragiri Srinivasa Raju
Venue: Applied Soft Computing (2009)

The present study deals with the application of non-traditional optimization techniques, namely, Simulated Annealing (SA), Simulated Quenching (SQ) and Real-coded Genetic Algorithms (RGA) to a case study of Mahi Bajaj Sagar Project, India. The objective of the study is to maximize the annual net benefits subjected to various irrigation planning constraints for 75% dependable flow scenario. Extensive sensitivity analysis on various parameters used in above techniques indicated that they yielded same solution corresponding to a set of optimal combination of parameters. It is concluded that SA, SQ and RGA can be utilized for efficient planning of any irrigation system with suitable modifications.
Bigfoot, sasquatch, the yeti and other missing links: what we don't know about the as graph
Authors: Matthew Roughan, Simon Jonathan Tuke, Olaf Maennel
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th ACM SIGCOMM conference on Internet measurement (2008)

Study of the Internet's high-level structure has for some time intrigued scientists. The AS-graph (showing interconnections between Autonomous Systems) has been measured, studied, modelled and discussed in many papers over the last decade. However, the quality of the measurement data has always been in question. It is by now well known that most measurements of the AS-graph are missing some set of links. Many efforts have been undertaken to correct this, primarily by increasing the set of measurements, but the issue remains: how much is enough? When will we know that we have enough measurements to be sure we can see all (or almost all) of the links. This paper aims to address the problem of estimating how many links are missing from our measurements. We use techniques pioneered in biostatistics and epidemiology for estimating the size of populations (for instance of fish or disease carriers). It is rarely possible to observe entire populations, and so sampling techniques are used. We extend those techniques to the domain of the AS-graph. The key difference between our work and the biological literature is that all links are not the same, and so we build a stratified model and specify an EM algorithm for estimating its parameters. Our estimates suggest that a very significant number of links (many of thousands) are missing from standard route monitor measurements of the AS-graph. Finally, we use the model to derive the number of monitors that would be needed to see a complete AS-graph with high-probability. We estimate that 700 route monitors would see 99.9% of links.
Towards Merging PlatΩ and PGIP
Authors: David Aspinall, Serge Autexier, Christoph Lüth, Marc Wagner
Venue: Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (ENTCS) (2009)

The PGIP protocol is a standard, abstract interface protocol to connect theorem provers with user interfaces. Interaction in PGIP is based on ASCII-text input and a single focus point-of-control, which indicates a linear position in the input that has been checked thus far. This fits many interactive theorem provers whose interaction model stems from command-line interpreters. Plat@W, on the other hand, is a system with a new protocol tailored to transparently integrate theorem provers into text editors like that support semi-structured XML input files and multiple foci of attention. In this paper we extend the PGIP protocol and middleware broker to support the functionalities provided by Plat@W and beyond. More specifically, we extend PGIP (i) to support multiple foci in provers; (ii) to display semi-structured documents; (iii) to combine prover updates with user edits; (iv) to support context-sensitive service menus, and (v) to allow multiple displays. As well as supporting , the extended PGIP protocol in principle can support other editors such as OpenOffice, Word 2007 and graph viewers; we hope it will also provide guidance for extending provers to handle multiple foci.
A Flexible Partitioning Tool for Large Ontologies
Authors: Anne Schlicht, Heiner Stuckenschmidt
Venue: Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology - Volume 01 (2008)

The benefits of modular ontologies in terms of easier creation and maintenance as well as better computational properties have been recognized by different researchers. As most real world ontologies, however, are still designed in a monolithic way, there is a need for methods that partition an existing ontology into a set of modules. Currently, existing work suffers from the fact that the notion of modularization is not as well understood in the context of ontologies as it is in software engineering. In this paper we present a flexible partitioning tool for large ontologies that can be adapted to the needs of different applications based on criteria that the resulting modular ontology should satisfy.
Complex permittivity characterization of benzocyclobutene for terahertz applications
Authors: Etienne Perret, Nicolas Zerounian, Sylvain David, Frédéric Aniel
Venue: Microelectronic Engineering (2008)

High-quality polymers such as the benzocyclobutene polymer (BCB) provide interesting dielectric feature for terahertz applications. Already used in silicon integrated circuit technologies, this material could become one of the most promising candidates for the realization of future THz waveguides and interconnections on a silicon substrate but also after active devices process on the top of any other technology (GaAs, InP, GaN...). A frequency-dependent complex permittivity of spin-coated thick layers of this low-k dielectric is obtained from transmittance spectra measured with Fourier transform spectroscopy in the frequency range of 0.5-5.4THz. The dielectric constant and the loss tangent are discussed according to curing conditions of the photosensitive resin used. A low loss tangent value of 7-9x10^-^3 at 1THz is obtained with polymerisation in oxygen-free atmosphere. An incomplete curing and a high dose UV exposure have a weak impact on losses. These results associated with the high compatibility of this polymer with silicon and metals make BCB layers well suited for the design of microelectronic THz devices and circuits.
Embodiment of an Agent by Anthropomorphization of a Common Object
Authors: Hirotaka Osawa, Ren Ohmura, Michita Imai
Venue: Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology - Volume 02 (2008)

We propose a direct anthropomorphization to improve human-agent interaction. It agentizes an artifact by attaching humanoid parts to it. There have been many studies that can provide valuable information on using spoken directions and gestures via anthropomorphic agents such as CG(Computer graphics) agents and communication robots. Our method directly anthropomorphizes the artifact through robotic bodily parts shaped like those of humans. An anthropomorphized artifact with these parts can provide information to people by giving them spoken directions and expressing themselves through body language. This makes people pay more attentions to the artifact, than when using anthropomorphic CG or robot agents. We conducted an experiment to verify the difference between receiving an explanation of the functions of the artifact using the direct anthropomorphization method and that from using the independent humanoid agent "Robovie". The results from participants' questionnaires and gazes during the experiment indicated that they noticed the target artifact and memorized the functions more quickly and easily from using the direct anthropomorphization method than from the "Robovie".
Using PSU for Early Prediction of COSMIC Size of Functional and Non-functional Requirements
Authors: Luigi Buglione, Olga Ormandjieva, Maya Daneva
Venue: Proceedings of the International Conferences on Software Process and Product Measurement (2008)

The project effort calculation with a functional size measurement method such as COSMIC can only be properly performed after the "Requirements Analysis" phase in a Project Life Cycle. The goal of this research is to investigate an early and project-level tuned prediction of the product size with the intent to reduce the effect of the `cone of uncertainty' phenomenon. The lack of size measurement methods which take into account the effect of the product non-functional requirements (NFR) on size also contributes to the above phenomenon. We propose to use the Project Size Unit (PSU) technique for predicting the product (FUR and NFR) size measured in COSMIC functional size units. Such early prediction will lower the cost of size counting the project and minimize the estimation error in the requirements phase. Furthermore, the PSU calculation procedure can be automated, which would further reduce the cost of size counting. The expected advantage of jointly using PSU and COSMIC is the ability to get early estimates of the whole project effort.
Selecting hidden Markov model state number with cross-validated likelihood
Authors: Gilles Celeux, Jean-Baptiste Durand
Venue: Computational Statistics (2008)

The problem of estimating the number of hidden states in a hidden Markov model is considered. Emphasis is placed on cross-validated likelihood criteria. Using cross-validation to assess the number of hidden states allows to circumvent the well-documented technical difficulties of the order identification problem in mixture models. Moreover, in a predictive perspective, it does not require that the sampling distribution belongs to one of the models in competition. However, computing cross-validated likelihood for hidden Markov models for which only one training sample is available, involves difficulties since the data are not independent. Two approaches are proposed to compute cross-validated likelihood for a hidden Markov model. The first one consists of using a deterministic half-sampling procedure, and the second one consists of an adaptation of the EM algorithm for hidden Markov models, to take into account randomly missing values induced by cross-validation. Numerical experiments on both simulated and real data sets compare different versions of cross-validated likelihood criterion and penalised likelihood criteria, including BIC and a penalised marginal likelihood criterion. Those numerical experiments highlight a promising behaviour of the deterministic half-sampling criterion.
Application of rough set and decision tree for characterization of premonitory factors of low seismic activity
Authors: Iftikhar U. Sikder, Toshinori Munakata
Venue: Expert Systems with Applications: An International Journal (2009)

This paper presents a machine learning approach to characterizing premonitory factors of earthquake. The characteristic asymmetric distribution of seismic events and sampling limitations make it difficult to apply the conventional statistical predictive techniques. The paper shows that inductive machine learning techniques such as rough set theory and decision tree (C4.5 algorithm) allows developing knowledge representation structure of seismic activity in term of meaningful decision rules involving premonitory descriptors such as space-time distribution of radon concentration and environmental variables. The both techniques identify significant premonitory variables and rank attributes using information theoretic measures, e.g., entropy and frequency of occurrence in reducts. The cross-validation based on ''leave-one-out'' method shows that although the overall predictive and discriminatory performance of decision tree is to some extent better than rough set, the difference is not statistically significant.
Simulated and measured X-band radar reflectivity of land in mountainous terrain using a fan-beam antenna
Authors: Marco Gabella, Riccardo Notarpietro, Stefano Turso, Giovanni Perona
Venue: International Journal of Remote Sensing (2008)

A computer program for meteorological radar siting, previously developed for pencil-beam antenna, long-range, C-band radars, has been adapted for fan-beam antenna, short-range, X-band radars. The simulator uses topographic information in the form of a raster digital elevation model and a surface backscattering cross-section per unit area at grazing angles derived from the literature. It is independent of specific radar sites and radar systems. Its use will enhance optimized scanning strategies, antenna design tailored to mountainous terrain and knowledge of land-clutter measurements at low grazing angles. The raster-based approach used in implementing the program makes it compatible with any desired spatial resolution. Simplicity and short simulation times have been pursued as primary goals during the planning and implementation phases of the routines. A preliminary validation of the simulator using backscattering data acquired in the Alps is presented in this letter.
Fast evolution of large digital circuits
Authors: Xiaoxuan She
Venue: WSEAS Transactions on Computers (2008)

Evolvable hardware (EHW) refers to self-reconfiguration hardware design, where the configuration is under the control of an evolution algorithm. One of the main difficulties in using EHW to solve real-world problems is scalability, which limits the size of the circuit that may be evolved. This paper outlines evolvable hardware based on a 2-LUT (2-input lookup table) array, which allows the evolution of large circuits via decomposition. The proposed EHW has been tested with multipliers and logic circuits taken from the Microelectronics Centre of North Carolina (MCNC) benchmark library. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme improves the evolution of logic circuits in terms of the number of generations, area and delay, reduces computational time and enables the evolution of large circuits. The proposed EHW automatically generates a complete circuit netlist in a SDRAM. Because of the low cost and large data storage of a SDRAM, the evolvable hardware provides a good platform to evolve large circuits.
Digital Divide Complacency: Misconceptions and Dangers
Authors: Jeffrey James
Venue: The Information Society (2008)

In the United States an intense debate has taken place between those wishing to minimize the digital divide and others who are skeptical of this view. In regard to the global digital divide, by contrast, although a similar type of complacency can be found, it has not yet been seriously debated. This article, accordingly, hopes to initiate such a discussion. It attacks the notions that information technology can be easily compared with the earlier diffusion of consumer durable goods, that the divide can be made to disappear by redefining the issue, and that the global divide can be analyzed without the help of basic knowledge from fields such as innovation studies, technology and development, and the diffusion of process innovations.
Gr&#x00f6;bner bases and combinatorics for binary codes
Authors: M. Borges-Quintana, M. A. Borges-Trenard, P. Fitzpatrick, E. Mart&#x00ed;nez-Moro
Venue: Applicable Algebra in Engineering, Communication and Computing (2008)

In this paper we introduce a binomial ideal derived from a binary linear code. We present some applications of a Gr&#x00f6;bner basis of this ideal with respect to a total degree ordering. In the first application we give a decoding method for the code. In the second one, by associating the code with the set of cycles in a graph, we can solve the problem of finding all codewords of minimal length (minimal cycles in a graph), and show how to find a minimal cycle basis. Finally we discuss some results on the computation of the Gr&#x00f6;bner basis.
A scalable technique for characterizing the usage of temporaries in framework-intensive Java applications
Authors: Bruno Dufour, Barbara G. Ryder, Gary Sevitsky
Venue: Proceedings of the 16th ACM SIGSOFT International Symposium on Foundations of software engineering (2008)

Framework-intensive applications (e.g., Web applications) heavily use temporary data structures, often resulting in performance bottlenecks. This paper presents an optimized blended escape analysis to approximate object lifetimes and thus, to identify these temporaries and their uses. Empirical results show that this optimized analysis on average prunes 37% of the basic blocks in our benchmarks, and achieves a speedup of up to 29 times compared to the original analysis. Newly defined metrics quantify key properties of temporary data structures and their uses. A detailed empirical evaluation offers the first characterization of temporaries in framework-intensive applications. The results show that temporary data structures can include up to 12 distinct object types and can traverse through as many as 14 method invocations before being captured.
On derivative estimation and the solution of least squares problems
Authors: John A. Belward, Ian W. Turner, Miloš Ilić
Venue: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (2008)

Surface interpolation finds application in many aspects of science and technology. Two specific areas of interest are surface reconstruction techniques for plant architecture and approximating cell face fluxes in the finite volume discretisation strategy for solving partial differential equations numerically. An important requirement of both applications is accurate local gradient estimation. In surface reconstruction this gradient information is used to increase the accuracy of the local interpolant, while in the finite volume framework accurate gradient information is essential to ensure second order spatial accuracy of the discretisation. In this work two different least squares strategies for approximating these local gradients are investigated and the errors associated with each analysed. It is shown that although the two strategies appear different, they produce the same least squares error. Some carefully chosen case studies are used to elucidate this finding.