ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Similarity Metrics Analysis for Feature Point Based Retinal Authentication
Authors: M. Ortega, M. G. Penedo, C. Mariño, M. J. Carreira
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on Image Analysis and Recognition (2008)

Biometrics refer to identity verification of individuals based on some physiologic or behavioural characteristics (face, fingerprint, signature...). The typical authentication process of a person consists in extracting a biometric pattern of him/her and matching it with the stored pattern for the authorized user obtaining a similarity value between patterns. If that similarity is bigger than some threshold the authentication is accepted, otherwise is rejected. Thus, the similarity metrics determine the system ability to successfully classify authentications as authorized or unauthorized. In this work, an analysis of similarity metrics performance is presented for a biometric system in which retinal vessel feature points are used as biometric pattern. The results of the system allow to establish a confidence band for the metric threshold where no errors are obtained for training and test sets.
Resources
Authors: Ed Zintel
Venue: IT Professional (2008)

The Resources department aims to provide pointers to other good resources for busy IT professionals. This month it features a range of books, Web sites, and a calendar of IT-related conferences through 2008.
SmartBody: behavior realization for embodied conversational agents
Authors: Marcus Thiebaux, Stacy Marsella, Andrew N. Marshall, Marcelo Kallmann
Venue: Proceedings of the 7th international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems - Volume 1 (2008)

Researchers demand much from their embodied conversational agents (ECAs), requiring them to be both life-like, as well as responsive to events in an interactive setting. We find that a flexible combination of animation approaches may be needed to satisfy these needs. In this paper we present SmartBody, an open source modular framework for animating ECAs in real time, based on the notion of hierarchically connected animation controllers. Controllers in SmartBody can employ arbitrary animation algorithms such as keyframe interpolation, motion capture or procedural animation. Controllers can also schedule or combine other controllers. We discuss our architecture in detail, including how we incorporate traditional approaches, and develop the notion of a controller as a reactive module within a generic framework, for realizing modular animation control. To illustrate the versatility of the architecture, we also discuss a range of applications that have used SmartBody successfully.
Individualizing Tutoring with Learning Style Based Feedback
Authors: Shahida M. Parvez, Glenn D. Blank
Venue: Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (2008)

To approximate more closely effective human tutors, intelligent tutoring systems should adapt not only to a student's knowledge but also her learning style. We introduce a pedagogical framework that incorporates the Felder-Silverman learning style model and validated instrument for assessing individual learning style. The framework provides a feedback infrastructure based on the learning style model dimensions (such as visual, verbal, intuitive, sensor, etc.). It has been implemented as part of the DesignFirst-ITS, helping novices learn how to design a class in UML from a problem description. The system has been evaluated with high-school students and results show that learning style based feedback helps students realize higher learning gains.
A Seamless Model of the Global Multi-resolution Images Based on QTM
Authors: Xuesheng Zhao, Wenbin Sun, Xiangjun Yan, Zhiyuan Yan
Venue: Proceedings of the 2008 Congress on Image and Signal Processing, Vol. 4 - Volume 04 (2008)

In this paper, a global seamless image model based on Quaternary Triangular Mesh (QTM) is developed. Our approaches start with an Octahedron QTM partition on the spherical surface and an algorithm of transforming square image pixels into QTM pixels is introduced. Next, a Recursive Closing Method is approached to eliminate the cracks caused by different subdivisions. In the end, the experiment is made to test the methods above by using of Wsiearth.tif data with 256 gray levels in ArcGIS. The results illuminate that: (1) this model provides a seamless base for global analysis using global image data and the deficiencies of data broken in traditional model are overcome; (2) the transformation algorithm is feasible and its accuracy can meet most applications requirement; (3) by using the Recursive Closing method, not only the problem of discontinuity between different levels is overcome, but the pixel vertices is ensured to coincide with the vertices of QTM exactly as well.
Efficient Constrained Video Coding for Low Complexity Decoding
Authors: Paulo J. Cordeiro, Juan Gomez-Pulido, Pedro A. Assunção
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on Image Analysis and Recognition (2008)

In the latest video compression standard H.264/AVC motion compensation is the most complex operation mainly because of the operations involved on computing sub-pixel predictions. Generally this increases a video stream decoding complexity. This paper describes an efficient method to generate compressed video streams with low complexity decoding requirements. This is particularly targeted at portable decoders, where the use of such video streams leads to reduced power consumption extending the battery life. By using metrics of the computational complexity needed to decode a video stream and make the coding process aware of those, it is shown that the decoding complexity can be significantly reduced with minimal punishment in rate-distortion performance. The experimental results indicate that such optimized constrained coding method is able of achieving substantial decoding complexity decrease at the expense of minimal PSNR loss within the scope of operational bit rates.
Research on Automatic Classification for Deep Web Query Interfaces
Authors: Peiguang Lin, Yibing Du, Xiaohua Tan, Chao Lv
Venue: Proceedings of the 2008 International Symposiums on Information Processing (2008)

In recent years, the Web is "deepened" rapidly and users have to browse quantities of web sites to access Web databases in a specific domain. So, to build an unified query interface which integrates query interfaces of a domain to access various Web databases at the same time becomes a very important issue. In this paper, the schema characteristics of query interfaces and common attributes in a same domain are firstly analyzed, and it also gives a new representation of query interface, then the definition of "Form term" and "Function term" are proposed ,and a new similarity computing algorithm, literal and semantic based similarity computing (LSSC) is proposed, which is based on the two definitions. Secondly, a clustering algorithm for Deep Web query interfaces is given by combining LSSC and NQ algorithm: LSSC-NQ. Finally, experiments show that this algorithm can give accurate similarity computing, and cluster query interfaces efficiently, reliably and quickly.
Natural Logic for Natural Language
Authors: Jan Eijck
Venue: Logic, Language, and Computation: 6th International Tbilisi Symposium on Logic, Language, and Computation,TbiLLC 2005 Batumi, Georgia, September 12-16, 2005. Revised Selected Papers (2007)

For a cognitive account of reasoning it is useful to factor out the syntactic aspect -- the aspect that has to do with pattern matching and simple substitution -- from the rest. The calculus of monotonicity, alias the calculus of natural logic, does precisely this, for it is a calculus of appropriate substitutions at marked positions in syntactic structures. We first introduce the semantic and the syntactic sides of monotonicity reasoning or `natural logic', and propose an improvement to the syntactic monotonicity calculus, in the form of an improved algorithm for monotonicity marking. Next, we focus on the role of monotonicity in syllogistic reasoning. In particular, we show how the syllogistic inference rules (for traditional syllogistics, but also for a broader class of quantifiers) can be decomposed in a monotonicity component, an argument swap component, and an existential import component. Finally, we connect the decomposition of syllogistics to the doctrine of distribution.
Agent and virtual reality-based course delivery system
Authors: M. H. N. Tabrizi
Venue: Proceedings of the WSEAS International Conference on Applied Computing Conference (2008)

This paper repots on the development of the Agent and Virtual Reality-based (AVR) a non-traditional course delivery system. The system allows creation of lectures in a virtual world that enhances the learning experience of students by creating interactive lectures and class discussions in 3-D with multimedia contents delivered through a low-bandwidth Internet connection. We have been evaluating the effectiveness of the AVR technology through expected measurable outcomes of improved student performance, and increased student satisfaction.
A Game-Theoretical Approach to Data-Privacy Protection from Context-Based Inference Attacks: A Location-Privacy Protection Case Study
Authors: Gabriele Gianini, Ernesto Damiani
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th VLDB workshop on Secure Data Management (2008)

One of the approaches to the problem of data-privacy protection is given by the application of obfuscation techniques; in many situations, however, context information can help an attacker to perform inference over obfuscated data and to refine the estimate of the sensitive data up to a violation of the original privacy requirements. We consider the problem in a location privacy protection set-up where the sensitive attribute to be protected is the position of a Location Based Service user, and where the location anonymization technique is cloaking, whereas the context, supporting inference attacks, consists in some landscape-related information, namely positional constraints. In this work we adopt the assumption that the anonymizer and the attacker are two rational agents and frame the problem in a game theoretical approach by modeling the contest as a two-player, zero-sum, signaling game, then we point to the corresponding equilibrium solution and show that, when the anonymizer plays the equilibrium strategies, the advantage provided to the attacker by a non-neutral landscape gets canceled. We suggest that the game theoretical solution could be used as a reference solution for inter-technique comparisons.
FIPA-Based Interoperable Agent Mobility
Authors: Jordi Cucurull, Ramon Martí, Sergi Robles, Joan Borrell, Guillermo Navarro
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th international Central and Eastern European conference on Multi-Agent Systems and Applications V (2007)

This paper presents a proposal for a flexible agent mobility architecture based on IEEE-FIPA standards and intended to be one of them. This proposal is a first step towards interoperable mobility mechanisms, which are needed for future agent migration between different kinds of platforms. Our proposal is presented as a flexible and robust architecture that has been successfully implemented in the JADE and AgentScape platforms. It is based on an open set of protocols, allowing new protocols and future improvements to be supported. With this proposal we demonstrate that a standard architecture for agent mobility capable of supporting several agent platforms can be defined and implemented.
Improving Perception and Understanding of Nanoscale Phenomena Using Haptics and Visual Analogy
Authors: Guillaume Millet, Anatole Lécuyer, Jean-Marie Burkhardt, D. Sinan Haliyo, Stéphane Régnier
Venue: Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Haptics: Perception, Devices and Scenarios (2008)

This paper introduces a new pedagogical tool using haptic feedback and visual analogy, to improve perception and learning of nanoscale phenomena, for people without prior knowledge of nanophysics. This tool is a haptic and virtual-reality simulator of a foremost one-dimensional nanophysical phenomenon: the approach-retract cycle of an Atomic Force Microcope (AFM) probe, with a force-feedback device and two graphic representations. One representation is a virtual AFM cantilever and the other one is a virtual magnet-spring system, whose haptic behavior is analog. Preliminary results from an experiment conducted with forty-five students seem to show a better efficiency with the combination of both haptic feedback and visual analogy.
A Practical Approach to Balancing Data Confidentiality and Research Needs: The NHIS Linked Mortality Files
Authors: Kimberly Lochner, Stephanie Bartee, Gloria Wheatcroft, Christine Cox
Venue: Proceedings of the UNESCO Chair in data privacy international conference on Privacy in Statistical Databases (2008)

Demand is increasing for statistical agencies to integrate information from different sources and to make such data files publicly available. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) conducts record linkage activities for its surveys, with a major focus being the linkage to the National Death Index. In 2004, NCHS updated the mortality follow-up for the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) which, because of confidentiality protections, was made available only through the NCHS Research Data Center. In 2007, NCHS released a public-use version of the NHIS Linked Mortality Files. The release of a public-use file was based upon an approach to maximize the amount of mortality information included and minimize the amount of perturbed data, while maintaining the confidentiality protections of survey participants. Comparative analyses between the public-use and restricted-use linked mortality files show that the two data files yield very similar results for both all-cause and cause-specific mortality.
Introduction to Part III Teaching Software Engineering Issues
Authors: Michael Kölling
Venue: Reflections on the Teaching of Programming: Methods and Implementations (2008)

The previous sections of this book covered mostly topics related to early parts of programming education, such as introductory courses and teaching of object-orientation to beginners. Now, it is time to move on.This section discusses issues that may be touched on in introductory courses, but are more commonly covered in intermediate or in advanced courses.
ICA-Based Lip Feature Representation for Speaker Authentication
Authors: S. L. Wang, A. W. C. Liew
Venue: Proceedings of the 2007 Third International IEEE Conference on Signal-Image Technologies and Internet-Based System (2007)

Compared with some "static" biometrics such as human face and fingerprint, person authentication based on lip movement has the advantage of incorporating "dynamic" features which contain rich information indicating the speaker identity. This paper proposes a new lip feature representation and analyzes its discrimination power for person authentication. Since the original lip features are usually of high-dimension, the independent component analysis (ICA) is adopted for dimension- reduction and discriminative feature extraction. Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is then employed as the classifier for its superiority in dealing with time-series data. Experiments are carried out on a database containing 40 speakers in our lab. By analyzing the experimental results, detailed evaluation for various lip feature representation is made and 98.07% accuracy rate in speaker recognition and 2.31% EER in speaker authentication is achieved using our lip feature representation.
Analyzing BlobFlow: A Case Study Using Model Checking to Verify Parallel Scientific Software
Authors: Stephen F. Siegel, Louis F. Rossi
Venue: Proceedings of the 15th European PVM/MPI Users' Group Meeting on Recent Advances in Parallel Virtual Machine and Message Passing Interface (2008)

Model checking techniques are powerful tools for the analysis and verification of concurrent systems. This paper reports on a case study applying model checking techniques to a mature, MPI-based scientific program consisting of approximately 10K lines of code. The program, BlobFlow, implements a high order vortex method for solving the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. Despite the complexity of the code, we verify properties including freedom from deadlock and the functional equivalence of sequential and parallel versions of the program. This has led to new insights into the technology that will be required to automate the modeling and verification process for complex scientific software.
Applying lightweight flexible virtual machines to extensible embedded systems
Authors: Darío Álvarez Gutiérrez, Francisco Ortín Soler
Venue: Proceedings of the 1st workshop on Isolation and integration in embedded systems (2008)

Virtual Machines are spreading from the desktop to other domains. Embedded Systems is a domain where the benefits of Virtual Machines such as portability or software-based isolation can be of much help. However, for highly dynamical, extensible systems we believe that the key features needed in a VM to succeed in the domain are flexibility and lightweightness, and that reflection and a VM reduced instruction set are the means to achieve this. In this paper we briefly describe two VMs built in our research group with the before mentioned properties that could be evolved for the embedded systems domain: The Carbayonia and the nitrO Abstract Machines.
A coarse-grain analysis for the performance of measurement-based admission control algorithms
Authors: Abdelnasser M. Abdelaal, Hesham H. Ali, Hamid Sharif
Venue: Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering (2006)

Network load control mechanisms have become important due to merging towards IP-packet switched networks, Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) and the growing diversity of Internet applications. These applications vary in terms of size, content, time duration, and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. These current advancements require new design criteria for traffic control mechanisms to cope with the growing complexity of future networks and the increasing diversity of network applications. Previous work on the design and performance evaluation criteria of Call Admission Control (CAC) algorithms has taken link utilization as a measure of efficient allocation of available network resources while enhancing QoS. We believe that considering only link utilization to evaluate the performance of CAC algorithms is not an accurate criterion. In this paper, we propose a simple and robust method for evaluating the performance and design considerations of CAC algorithms. The proposed approach is based on flow parameters such as call admission rate, call rejection rate, average call duration and provided QoS parameters with respect to link utilization level. This flow-based evaluation method is particularly important for optimal resource allocation, efficient service management and content-based pricing.
Query Responsive Index Structures
Authors: Ludger Becker, Hannes Partzsch, Jan Vahrenhold
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on Geographic Information Science (2008)

In this paper, we generalize the notion of self-adapting one-dimensional index structures to a wide class of spatial index structures. The resulting query responsive index structures can adapt their structure to the users' query pattern and thus have the potential to improve the response time in practice. We outline two general approaches to providing query responsiveness and present the results in terms of the well-known R ¿ -tree. Our experiments show that depending on the query pattern significant improvements can be obtained in practice.
Dynamic Network Reconfiguration by Combination of Different Wireless LANs
Authors: Yoshitaka Shibata, Yosuke Sato, Naoki Ogasawara, Go Chiba, Kazuo Takahata
Venue: Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on Network-Based Information Systems (2008)

In this paper, we introduce a mobile network for disaster communication network by combination of different wireless LANs and mobile network. Currently available wireless LANs such as IEEE802.11b,g,j,n, IEEE802.16 (WiMAX), cellular network are combined with a mobile router and loaded on a car to build a mobile network node. Using multiple mobile network nodes, a large disaster communication network is organized.
Effective Visual Scanning of Geographic Information
Authors: Olivier Swienty, Mathias Jahnke, Holger Kumke, Simone Reppermund
Venue: Proceedings of the 10th international conference on Visual Information Systems: Web-Based Visual Information Search and Management (2008)

Whereas a user visually processes geographic information faster and more accurate than a computational system, a system processes a large number of geographic data much faster than a user. To minimise this large capability discrepancy, we propose a cognitively-adequate design of geovisualisation as an external aid to visual information processing. Our main objective is to release the limited cognitive workload of users by adapting the design of geovisualisations to their visual scanning capabilities. For a proof of concept, we design 2D thematic maps and 3D non-photorealistic visualisations, and evaluate the efficiency of visual scanning strategies with a computational attention-model and the eye-movement recording method.
Map Comparison Methods for Comprehensive Assessment of Geosimulation Models
Authors: Alex Hagen-Zanker, Pim Martens
Venue: Proceeding sof the international conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, Part I (2008)

A crucial task in the calibration and validation of geosimulation models is to measure the agreement between model and reality. In recent years many map comparison methods have been developed for this purpose. This paper presents a framework to systematically assess different aspects of model performance and express the results relative to a common reference level. Application on a constrained cellular automata model of the Netherlands demonstrates that the framework gives an in-depth account of model performance. It also shows that any performance assessment that does not follow a multi-criteria approach or lacks a reference level results in an unbalanced account and ultimately false conclusions.
A Multiphysics and Multiscale Software Environment for Modeling Astrophysical Systems
Authors: Simon Portegies Zwart, Steve Mcmillan, Breanndán Ó Nualláin, Douglas Heggie, James Lombardi, Piet Hut, Sambaran Banerjee, Houria Belkus, Tassos Fragos, John Fregeau, Michiko Fuji, Evghenii Gaburov, Evert Glebbeek, Derek Groen, Stefan Harfst, Rob Izzard, Mario Jurić, Stephen Justham, Peter Teuben, Joris Bever, Ofer Yaron, Marcel Zemp
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th international conference on Computational Science, Part II (2008)

We present MUSE, a software framework for tying together existing computational tools for different astrophysical domains into a single multiphysics, multiscale workload. MUSE facilitates the coupling of existing codes written in different languages by providing inter-language tools and by specifying an interface between each module and the framework that represents a balance between generality and computational efficiency. This approach allows scientists to use combinations of codes to solve highly-coupled problems without the need to write new codes for other domains or significantly alter their existing codes. MUSE currently incorporates the domains of stellar dynamics, stellar evolution and stellar hydrodynamics for a generalized stellar systems workload. MUSE has now reached a "Noah's Ark" milestone, with two available numerical solvers for each domain. MUSE can treat small stellar associations, galaxies and everything in between, including planetary systems, dense stellar clusters and galactic nuclei. Here we demonstrate an examples calculated with MUSE: the merger of two galaxies. In addition we demonstrate the working of MUSE on a distributed computer. The current MUSE code base is publicly available as open source at http://muse.li.