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Stochastic mixed integer programming (SMIP) models arise in a variety of applications. In particular they are being increasingly applied in the modelling and analysis of financial planning and supply chain management problems. SMIP models explicitly consider discrete decisions and model uncertainty and thus provide hedged decisions that perform well under several scenarios. Such SMIP models are relevant for industrial practitioners and academic researchers alike. From an industrial perspective, the need for well-hedged solutions cannot be overemphasized. On the other hand the NP-Hard nature of the underlying model (due to the discrete variables) together with the curse of dimensionality (due to the underlying random variables) make these models important research topics for academics. In this chapter we discus the contemporary developments of SMIP models and algorithms. We introduce a generic classification scheme that can be used to classify such models. Next we discuss the use of such models in supply chain planning and management. We present a case study of a strategic supply chain model modelled as a two-stage SMIP model. We propose a heuristic based on Lagrangean relaxation for processing the underlying model. Our heuristic can be generalized to an optimum-seeking branch-and-price algorithm, but we confine ourselves to a simpler approach of ranking the first-stage decisions which use the columns generated by the Lagrangean relaxation. In addition to providing integer feasible solutions, this approach has the advantage of mimicking the use of scenario analysis, while seeking good “here-and-now” solutions. The approach thus provides industrial practitioners an approach that they are able to incorporate within their decision-making methodology. Our computational investigations with this model are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttranslational modifications of histones play an important role in the regulation of chromatin structure and, hence, gene regulation. Recently, we have identified a novel modification of histones: binding of the vitamin biotin to lysine residues in histones H2A, H3, and H4. Here, we describe a procedure to identify those amino acids that are targets for biotinylation in histones. Briefly, the following analytical sequence is used to identify biotinylation sites: (i) short peptides (<20 amino acids in length) are synthesized chemically; amino acid sequences in the peptides are based on the sequence in a given region of a given histone; (ii) peptides are incubated with biotinidase or holocarboxylase synthetase to conduct enzymatic biotinylation; and (iii) biotin in peptides are probed using streptavidin peroxidase. Amino acid substitutions (e.g., lysine-to-alanine substitutions) in synthetic peptides can be used to corroborate identification of biotinylation sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 14 of the book "Global Cases on Hospitality Industry" is presented. It describes the case of Maruti Hotels Pvt. Ltd. (MHPL), a heritage property in India that is entering into a professional partnership with a well known branded hotel. Insights into the financial condition of a hotel property entering into a relationship with a larger brand are offered. It is noted that the originating points for MHPL's customers are the tour operators and travel agents.

Providing financial services to poor people is costly, in part because they have small amounts of money, often live in sparsely populated areas, and rarely have documented credit histories. During the past few decades, specialised microfinance institutions (MFIs) have begun to solve the latter problem by developing techniques that permit safe lending in the absence of borrowers' credit histories. Still, MFIs must charge relatively high interest rates to cover the administrative costs of handling small transactions.2 MFIs with operating costs of 12-15 percent of assets are considered efficient, while the similar ratio for banks rarely exceeds 5 percent. Despite significant inroads in microfinance in recent years, such as through widespread wholesale lending to MFIs, most commercial banks still view microfinance as unprofitable.4 Unlike MFIs, many commercial banks cannot compensate for high costs by charging high interest rates. Banks in many developing countries are legally required to limit interest rates on loans to low-income and rural borrowers, particularly when they use government funds. In India, most commercial banks cannot charge more than their prime lending rate (roughly 11%) for loans below Rs 200,000 (US$ 4,500). Public-sector banks are particularly sensitive to the political implications of charging poor borrowers relatively high interest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turmeric, the bright yellow spice extracted from the tuberous rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa, has been used in traditional Indian and Chinese systems of medicine for centuries to treat a variety of ailments, including jaundice and hepatic disorders, rheumatism, anorexia, diabetic wounds, and menstrual difficulties. Most of the medicinal effects of turmeric have been attributed to curcumin, the principal curcumanoid found in turmeric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign investment for microfinance is on the rise. Socially-motivated foreign investors have placed US$ 1.2 billion in debt, equity and guarantees in about 500 specialised microfinance institutions (MFIs) and cooperatives.1 These investments are provided by both privately-managed microfinance funds and public investors (the international financial institutions or IFIs). New and existing private investment funds have an estimated US$ 400 million on hand to invest in microfinance, and were expected to raise approximately US$ 255 million in additional capital in 2005. As the supply of foreign investment in microfinance continues to grow, it will be increasingly important to understand the appropriate role of foreign investors in helping to build strong institutions that provide financial services to poor people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affine control loops (acls) comprise an important class of compute- and data-intensive computations. The theoretical framework for the automatic parallelization of acls is well established. However, the hardware compilation of arbitrary acls is still in its infancy. An important component for an efficient hardware implementation is a control mechanism that informs each processing element (pe) which computation needs to be performed and when. We formulate this control signal problem in the context of compiling arbitrary acls parallelized with a multi-dimensional schedule into hardware. We characterize the logical time instants when pes need a control signal indicating which particular computations need to be performed. Finally, we present an algorithm to compute the minimal set of logical time instants for these control signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a set S of n pre-placed radio-stations and a source station s*, we consider two variations of minimum cost homogeneous range assignment problem for the 2-hops broadcast from s* to all the members in S, where the range assigned to a radio-station is either zero or a fixed value r. Thus, the cost of range assignment is proportional to the number of radio-stations having range r. The variations we study are (i) find the value of r and identify the radio-stations with range r such that the total cost is minimum, and (ii) given a real number r, check whether homogeneous 2-hops broadcast from s* to the members in S is possible with range r, and if so, then identify the smallest subset of S whom range r is to be assigned such that 2-hops broadcast from s* is possible. The first problem is solved in O(n3) time and space. But, the second one seems to be hard. We present a 3-factor approximation algorithm for this problem, which runs in O(n2) time. An O(n2) time heuristic algorithm for the second problem is also presented. Most of the times, it produces optimum result for randomly placed radio-stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-homogeneous version of the range assignment problem in Ad-Hoc wireless network is studied in the context of information broadcast and accumulation. Efficient algorithms are presented for the unbounded and bounded-hop broadcast problems for a set of radio-stations when they are placed on a straight line. This improves time complexity of the existing results for the same two problems by a factor of n, where n is the number of radio-stations [2]. An easy to implement algorithm for the unbounded version of accumulation problem is also presented for the non-homogeneous version of the range assignment problem. Its worst case running time complexity is O(n2). The same algorithm works when the radio-stations are placed in Rd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research on the timing and content of feedback on student learning in computer-based learning environments has shown that directed or corrective feedback helps with immediate learning, whereas guided and metacognitive feedback help in gaining deep understanding of the domain and developing the ability to transfer this knowledge. Feedback becomes important in discovery learning environments, where novice students are often over-whelmed by the cognitive load associated with learning and organizing new knowledge while at the same time monitoring their own learning progress. We focus on feedback mechanisms in Betty's Brain, a teachable agent system in the domain of river ecosystems. Our goal is to help improve students' abilities to monitor their agent, Betty's knowledge, and, in the process their own learning and understanding. Our studies demonstrate the effectiveness of guided metacognitive feedback in preparing students for future learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Track to track fusion systems require a capability to perform track matching across the reporting sensors. In conditions where significant ambiguity exists, for example due to closely spaced objects, a simple single frame assignment algorithm can produce poor results. For measurement-to-track fusion this has long been recognized and sophisticated multiple hypothesis, multiple frame, data association methods considerably improve tracking performance in these challenging scenarios. The most successful of the multiple frame methods are multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT) and multiple frame assignments (MFA), which is formulated as a multidimensional assignment problem. The performance advantage of the multiple frame methods over the single frame methods follows from the ability to hold difficult decisions in abeyance until more information is available and the opportunity to change past decisions to improve current decisions. In this chapter, the multiple source track correlation and fusion problem is formulated as a multidimensional assignment problem. The computation of cost coefficients for the multiple frame correlation assignments is based on a novel batch MAP estimation approach. Based on the multidimensional assignments we introduce a novel multiple hypothesis track correlation approach that allows one to make robust track management decisions over multiple frames of data. The use of the proposed multiple hypothesis, multiple frame correlation system, is expected to improve the fusion system performance in scenarios where significant track assignment ambiguity exists. In the same way that multiple frame processing has shown improvements in the tracking performance in measurement-to-track fusion applications, we expect to achieve improvements in the track-to-track fusion problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation therapy is extensively used to treat a wide range of cancers. Due to the increasing complexities of delivery mechanisms, and the improved imaging devices that allow more accurate determination of cancer location, determination of high quality treatment plans via trial-and-error methods is impractical and computer optimization approaches to planning are becoming more critical and more difficult. We outline three examples of the types of treatment planning problem that can arise in practice and strive to understand the commonalities and differences in these problems. We highlight optimization approaches to the problems, and particularly consider approaches based on mixed integer programming. Details of the mathematical formulations and algorithmic approaches are developed and pointers are given to supporting literature that shows the efficacy of the approaches in practical situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiperiod Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) model for offshore oilfield infrastructure planning is presented where nonlinear reservoir behavior is incorporated directly into the formulation. Discrete decisions include the selection of production platforms, well platforms and wells to be installed/drilled, as well as the drilling schedule for the wells over the planning horizon. Continuous decisions include the capacities of the platforms, as well as the production profile for each well in each time period. For the solution of this model, an iterative aggregation/disaggregation algorithm is proposed in which logic-based methods, a bilevel decomposition technique, the use of convex envelopes and aggregation of time periods are integrated. Furthermore, a novel dynamic programming sub-problem is proposed to improve the aggregation scheme at each iteration in order to obtain an aggregate problem that resembles the disaggregate problem more closely. A number of examples are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In highly regulated industries, such as agrochemical and pharmaceutical, new products have to pass a number of regulatory tests related to safety, efficacy and environmental impact, to gain FDA approval. If a product fails one of these tests it cannot enter the market place and the investment in previous tests is wasted. Depending on the nature of the products, testing may last up to 10 years, and the scheduling of the tests should be made with the goal of minimizing the time to market and the cost of testing. Maravelias and Grossmann (2001) proposed a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) that considers a set of candidate products for which the cost, duration and probability of success of their tests is given, as well as the potential income if the products are successfully launched. Furthermore, there are limited resources in terms of laboratories and number of technicians. If needed, a test may be outsourced at a higher cost. The major decisions in the model are: (i) the decision to perform in-house or outsource a testing task, (ii) the assignment of resources to testing tasks, and (iii) the sequencing and timing of tests. The objective is to maximize the net present value of multiple projects. The mixed-integer linear program can become very expensive for solving real world problems (2–10 products and 50–200 tests). In order to improve the linear programming relaxation, we propose the use of logic cuts that are derived from implied precedences that arise in the graphs of the corresponding schedules. The solution of a single large-scale problem is avoided with a heuristic decomposition algorithm that relies on solving a reduced MILP model that embeds the optimal schedules obtained for the individual products. It is shown that a tight upper bound can be easily determined for this decomposition algorithm. On a set of test problems the proposed algorithm is shown to be one to two orders of magnitude faster than the full space method, yielding solutions that are optimal or near optimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years wireless communications have experienced an unprecedented growth providing ubiquitous services irrespective of users’ location and mobility patterns. This chapter reviews different resource management strategies for wireless cellular networks that employ Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The main aim of the formulated optimization problems is to provide efficient utilization of the scarce radio resources, namely power and transmission rate. Due to the fact that practical systems allow discrete rate transmissions, the corresponding optimization problems are discrete in their domains. Additionally, these optimizations problems are also non-linear in their nature. We focus on power minimization and throughput maximization formulations both for single time period and multiple period models. We provide a new method for solving resource management problems in CDMA networks, formulated as dynamic programming problems. A linear approximate dynamic programming algorithm is implemented that estimates the optimal resource allocation policies in real time. The algorithm is compared with baseline heuristics and it is shown that it provides a significant improvement in utilizing the radio network resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes some of the most important models and algorithms for the classical vehicle routing problem and for several families of arc routing problems. Exact methods (mostly based on branch-and-cut) and heuristics (mostly based on tabu search) are described, and computational results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Networks form the backbone of many familiar, and economically critical, activities in our modern life, as exemplified by electrical grid systems, computer systems, telecommunication systems, and transportation systems. Network models, and associated optimization algorithms, are important in ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of such systems. In this chapter, we wish to introduce the reader to a variety of less apparent network models. Such models are drawn from application areas such as genomics, sports, artificial intelligence, and decision analysis as well as transportation and communication. Our objective is to illustrate how network modelling can be useful in formulating problems occurring in these diverse areas — problems that at first blush seem quite remote from the standard applications of networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter we present various equivalent formulations or models for the Mutually Orthogonal Latin Squares (MOLS) problem and its generalization. The most interesting feature of the problem is that for some parameters the problem may be infeasible. Our evaluation of different formulations is geared to tackling this feasibility problem. Starting from a Constraint Programming (CP) formulation which emanates naturally from the problem definition, we develop several Integer Programming (IP) formulations. We also discuss a hybrid CP-IP approach in both modelling and algorithmic terms. A non-linear programming formulation and an interesting modelling approach based on the intersection of matroids are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Logic-based modeling can result in decision models that are more natural and easier to debug. The addition of logical constraints to mixed integer programming need not sacrifice computational speed and can even enhance it if the constraints are processed correctly. They should be written or automatically reformulated so as to be as nearly consistent or hyperarc consistent as possible. They should also be provided with a tight continuous relaxation. This chapter shows how to accomplish these goals for a number of logic-based constraints: formulas of propositional logic, cardinality formulas, 0–1 linear inequalities (viewed as logical formulas), cardinality rules, and mixed logical/linear constraints. It does the same for three global constraints that are popular in constraint programming systems: the all-different, element and cumulative constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter contains short expository notes on applying continuous approaches for solving discrete optimization problems. We discuss some general aspects of the connection between integer programming and continuous optimization problems, along with several specific examples. The considered problems include maximum clique, satisfiability, the Steiner tree problem, minimax and semidefinite programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory chapter first discusses the applicability of Discrete Optimisation and how Integer Programming is the most satisfactory method of solving such problems. It then describes a number of modelling techniques, such as linearisng products of variables, special ordered sets of variables, logical conditions, disaggregating constraints and variables, column generation etc. The main solution methods are described, i.e. Branch-and-Bound and Cutting Planes. Finally alternative methods such as Lagrangian Relaxation and non-optimising methods such as Heuristics and Constraint Satisfaction are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes the methods we use to maintain and expand undifferentiated human embryonic stem (hES) cells on human and mouse feeder cells. All of the available hES cells have been derived and propagated on primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts as feeder cells that have been mitotically inactivated. We found that hES cells can be successfully cultured on selected human feeder cells, such as marrow stromal cells derived from adult bone marrow and breast skin fibroblasts. Detailed protocols to use human and mouse feeder cells are described here, together with our method to split hES cells by trypsin/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-mediated dissociation. We also describe methods we use to characterize hES cells expanded on either human or mouse feeder cells, including alkaline phosphatase staining, immunostaining for cell-surface markers associated with undifferentiated hES cells, and teratoma formation in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important problem of mobile communication is placing a given number of base-stations in a given convex region, and to assign range to each of them such that every point in the region is covered by at least one base-station, and the maximum range assigned is minimized. The algorithm proposed in this paper uses Voronoi diagram, and it works for covering a convex region of arbitrary shape. Experimental results justify the efficiency of our algorithm and the quality of the solution produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and deployment of Virginia Tech's terascale computing cluster is described. The goal of this project is to demonstrate that world-class on-campus supercomputing is possible and affordable, and to explore the resulting benefits for an academic community consisting of both computational scientists and computer science researchers and students. Computer science research in high performance computing systems benefits significantly from hands-on access to this system and from close collaborations with the local computational science user community. We describe an example of this computer science research, in the area of dynamically resizable parallel applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cetus is a compiler infrastructure for the source-to-source transformation of programs. Since its creation nearly three years ago, it has grown to over 12,000 lines of Java code, been made available publically on the web, and become a basis for several research projects. We discuss our experience using Cetus for a selection of these research projects. The focus of this paper is not the projects themselves, but rather how Cetus made these projects possible, how the needs of these projects influenced the development of Cetus, and the solutions we applied to problems we encountered with the infrastructure. We believe the research community can benefit from such a discussion, as shown by the strong interest in the mini-workshop on compiler research infrastructures where some of this information was first presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Location-Based Service(LBS) is a wireless application service that uses geographic information to serve a mobile user. Recent research on the LBS focuses on context sensitive computing and visualization. Location is the core context in context sensitive LBS and the use of the map is the most efficient way to visualize the geographic information. Many existing researches, however, has limited capability to provide dynamic map services and realistic information acquired from the Web. The goals of our research are to fully access geographical information and incorporate it with the LBS services. For the purpose, it is important to extract semantically relevant geographical information from the Web and efficiently present it to mobile users. In this paper, we present an effective LBS approach based on advance Mobile GIS and Web technologies. We design and implement the prototype of the Tour Guide System as a motivating application of LBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emerging trends driven by advances in information technology lifelong learning has become an essential one for shaping the future of an individual in particular and the society in general[1]. The importance of computer-based learning is growing at all levels of education. The move to a learning society needs changes in personal attitudes and learning infrastructure. Web based learning generally is seen as the chance to innovative learning process. The direction is that learning can take place anywhere, at the moment when it is needed. The focus on individualizing learning process based on time, place, duration, and learning style is on the rise. Pervasive computing, with its focus on users and their tasks rather than on computing devices and technology, provides an attractive vision for the future of web based learning. This paper discusses the features of web based learning, pervasive computing and proposes a framework for use of pervasive computing in web based learning. Keywords: Web Based Learning, Information Technology, Pervasive Computing, Learning Process, Framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have endeavored to create and develop Website quality instruments in both the information systems and marketing domains. This study contributes to further theory development and refinement of measuring Website Quality by extending previous studies in the field. It adopts a confirmatory factor analysis approach to empirically assess three Australian based e-retailing Websites across three industry groups. The study presents a parsimonious model for each industry examined, that can be used for benchmarking purposes and for future scholarly research efforts. Managerial implications are highlighted with future research directions discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality plays an important role in developing software products. In the present global economic scenario, industry is giving at most importance to the quality software products. In this context, performance, which is an important quality attribute, is no exemption. Object oriented approach has been widely used in Industry. Exploiting features of UML makes software development easy. In this paper, we present a method for the performance assessment early in the life cycle, before the design phase. We exploit features of UML based object-oriented approach. We propose an algorithm to transform requirements into Software execution model (EG), which is useful in performance assessment. The input graph for this EG, Actor-event graph (AEG), is also discussed. The model then solved and the results are presented for a case study on Web Applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many algorithms have been proposed for processing multiple XPath Expressions such as Xfilter[5], Yfilter[6], turboXPath[13] and Xtrie[9]. But they do not deal with backward axes. XAOS[2] deals with XPath expressions with forward and backward axes (such as parent and ancestor). But XAOS deals with only one query at a time. As a result a document is parsed q times for a set of q queries, which is a significant cost in terms of time. More over, in a large-scale system, there is bound to be substantial commonality among different queries. In this paper, we present a method called YALXP, which attempts to evaluate multiple queries, with both forward and backward axes, in less number of passes exploiting commonality among the queries. Our method is built upon XAOS algorithm. Our experiments show that YALXP performs better in CPU time and memory than traditional XPath engine Xalan (ODP) - for multiple queries with single DOM construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capitalizing on the tremendous performance gains of turbo codes and the turbo decoding algorithm, turbo equalization is an iterative equalization and decoding technique that can achieve equally impressive performance gains for communication systems that send digital data over channels that require equalization, i.e. those which suffer from intersymbol interference (ISI). Turbo equalizers have been shown to be successful in mitigating the effects of inter-symbol interference introduced by partial response modems and by dispersive channels for code rates of R > 1/2. We analyze the performance of iterative equalization and decoding (IED) using an M-BCJR equalizer. We use bit error rate (BER), frame error rate simulations and extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts to study and compare the performances of M-BCJR and BCJR equalizers on precoded and non-precoded channels. We predict the BER performance of IED using the M-BCJR equalizer from EXIT charts and explain the discrepancy between the observed and predicted performances.. We show that the true LLR's can be estimated if the conditional distributions of the extrinsic outputs are known and finally we design a practical estimator for computing the true LLR's from the extrinsic outputs of the M-BCJR equalizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of optimal pulse-width modulation (PWM) is to select the switching instances in such a way that a waveform with a particular characteristic is obtained and a certain criterion is minimized. The conventional method to solve the optimal PWM problem would usually lead to large content of surplus harmonics immediately following the eliminated frequency band, which may increase the filter loss and reduce the efficiency and performance of the whole controller. Meanwhile, it may increase the probability of resonance between line impedance and filter components. To overcome the shortcomings of conventional PWM methods, in this paper, we propose an algorithm for pushing the first crest of the surplus harmonics backward, ameliorating the amplitude frequency spectrum distribution of the output waveform, and thus reducing the impact of surplus harmonics. The problem is first formulated as a constrained optimization problem and then a Quantum-inspired Evolutionary Algorithm (QEA) algorithm is applied to solve it. Other than Newton-like methods, the enhanced QEA does not need good initial values for solving the optimal PWM problem and is not stuck in local optimum. The simulation results indicate that the algorithm is robust and scalable for a variety of application requirements. Keywords: Surplus harmonics, Constrained nonlinear optimization, Quantum-inspired Evolutionary Algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we presents an adaptive neural network based clustering method to group protein-protein interaction data according to their functional categories for new protein interaction prediction in conjunction with information theory based feature selection. Our technique for grouping protein interaction is based on ART-1 neural network. The cluster prototype constructed with existing protein interaction data is used to predict the class of new protein interactions. The protein interaction data of S.cerevisiae (bakers yeast) from MIPS and SGD are used. The clustering performance was compared with traditional k-means clustering method in terms of cluster distance. According to the experimental results, the proposed method shows about 89.7% clustering accuracy and the feature selection filter boosted overall performances about 14.8%. Also, inter-cluster distances of cluster constructed with ART-1 based clustering method have shown high cluster quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Location update schemes are vital for the success of position-based routing in mobile ad hoc networks. However, efficient location update schemes have been focus of research for scalability of ad hoc networks. Therefore, researchers have proposed various location update schemes. Grid Location Service has been one of the commonly referred location update scheme in the literature. In this paper, we propose an efficient grid location update scheme that outperforms the Grid Location Service scheme. We use the concept of Rings of squares for location updates and selective query mechanism for destination query. The simulation results show that our proposed grid location update scheme has better percentage of successful queries with smaller location update cost for updating the location servers. Our proposed location update scheme also performs location updates faster than the GLS scheme. Keywords: Location update, Grid Location Service, Rings, Selective Query, New Grid scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kohonen's Self-organizing Map (SOM) is one of the most popular neural network algorithms. SOM produces topology preserving map of the input data. In the current study the SOM's topology preservation property is used to identify the input features whose removal does not affect significantly the neighborhood relations among the input data points. The topology preservation property of of an SOM is measured using a quantitative index. However the same index can be slightly modified to compute topology preservation in the SOM along individual features. Thus studying the topology preservation due to each individual feature we can compare their quality with respect to their importance in affecting the neighborhood relation among input points. Experimental study is conducted with a synthetic data set, well known Iris data set and a multi-channel satellite image dataset. The results are cross verified by comparing with Sammon error of the data computed in the corresponding dimension. k-NN classification performance is also considered for the data sets. Keywords: SOM, topology preservation, feature quality, Shammon error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both encryption and digital watermarking techniques need to be incorporated in a digital rights management framework to address different aspects of content management. While encryption transforms original multimedia object into another form, digital watermarking leaves the original object intact and recognizable. The objective is to develop low power, real time, reliable and secure watermarking systems, which can be achieved through hardware implementations. In this paper, we present an FPGA based implementation of an invisible spatial domain watermarking encoder. The watermarking encoder consists of a watermark generator, watermark insertion module, and a controller. Most of the invisible watermarking algorithms available in the literature and also the algorithm implemented in this paper insert pseudorandom numbers to host data. Therefore, we focus on the structural design aspects of watermarking generator using linear feedback shift register. We synthesized the prototype watermarking encoder chip using Xilinx FPGA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital Libraries are emerging technologies for content management. These contents include multi-media objects, video-objects etc. On account of storage and bandwidth costs, the content storage and delivery are the major problems. It is necessary to formulate a new method by taking into account all aspects of multimedia and video-on-demand content management. This paper describes a new method called multi-agent based user access pattern oriented optimal content allocation method for digital libraries and is concerned with various behavioural pattern of the digital library system. The content access pattern not only varies based on regional interest, subject interest, cultural interest etc. but also this pattern varies over time because of the movement of various user communities. Intelligent multi-agent based system design for dynamic content allocation has been proved as the cost-effective method when contrasted with other mathematical models for content allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, block based texture segmentation is proposed based on contourlets and the hidden Markov model (HMM). Hidden Markov model is combined with hidden Markov tree (HMT) to form HMM-HMT model that models global dependency between the blocks in addition to the local statistics within a block. The HMM-HMT model is modified to use the contourlet transform, a new extension to the wavelet transform that forms a true basis for image representations. The maximum likelihood multiresolution segmentation algorithm is used to handle several block sizes at once. Since the algorithm works on the contourlet transformed image data, it can directly segment images without the need for transforming into the space domain. The experimental results demonstrate the competitive performance of the algorithm on contourlets with that of the other methods and excellent visual performance at small block sizes.The performance is comparable with that of wavelets and is superior at small block sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model management aims at solving problems that stem from model representation and its manipulation by considering models as first-class citizens that are manipulated by means of generic operators. MOMENT is a prototype that supports generic model management using an algebraic approach within the four-layered metamodeling culture of MOF [1]. In this paper, we focus on the automatic generation of schemas that belong to different metamodels, using a term-rewriting system approach. We present the type system of the algebra that we use to represent models in the MOMENT prototype, and we describe our generic operator that automatically translates schemas between different metamodels: the operator generate. This algebra has been implemented using the functional language F#, which allows us to validate the correctness of our approach. Keywords: information modeling, reverse engineering, model management, algebraic morphisms, schema generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes test design architecture suitable for built-in self-testing (BIST) of embedded cores-based digital circuits by using a reconfigurable device. In the paper, a sample circuit under test (CUT) and its corresponding space compressor were realized in Java language, downloaded, and then tested at runtime in a simulation environment written in JBits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work a tool is developed to generate test cases automatically for C++ programs. This approach analyses the prototypes. When data type differs, the compiler raises a warning and implicitly converts and performs the operation. This may affect further computations in number crunching applications. So, the tool checks the data type of the actual parameters and formal parameters for a exact match. If a match doesn't occur, the tool reports this situation. This implementation is mainly focused to detect defects in the program. A defect results due to omission or mismanipulation. This work checks the correctness of the program when operator [] is overloaded. In the context of inheritance when virtual function is used, it has been observed that expected results are not achieved under certain circumstances. A test case has been developed to handle this situation and prepared to ascertain the working of template functions in the context of character input, to tackle dangling reference problem and to ascertain the working of the program, in the context of exception handling. Keywords: Test case, Automatic Generation, Function overloading, Hybrid Inheritance, Friend Function, Virtual Function, Template Function, Dangling Reference [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When we deal with different information systems in an enterprise, we unfortunately deal with problems of integrating and developing systems and databases in heterogeneous, distributed environments. In the last decade, the ontologies are used in order to make understandable the data, and to be a support for system's interoperability problems. As shared common vocabulary, the ontologies play a key role in resolving partially the semantic conflicts among systems. Since, different applications of the same domain have several representations of the same real world entities; our aim is to propose MurO: a Multi-representation ontology. The latter is an ontology characterizing the concepts by a variable set of properties (static and dynamic) or attributes in several contexts and in several scales of granularity. We introduce, in this paper, the multi-representation requirements for ontologies. We develop, as well, a formalism based on Modal Description Logics for coding MurO ontologies. Then, we show its use with the ongoing EISCO (Enterprise Information System Contextual ontology) project and its relevance for answering the motivating requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although each paradigm have their own influence in the software engineering field with the support of their merits, researchers continue to strive for more efficient and powerful techniques. Agents are being advocated as a next generation model for engineering complex, distributed systems. Since the agent-oriented decomposition is an effective way of partitioning the problem space of complex system it has become a trend in software engineering. Although there are an increasing number of deployed agent applications, there is no systematic analysis precisely what makes the agent paradigm effective, when to use it and what type of applications can get use of it. Moreover the qualitative analysis of agent-based software engineering would not permit an objective observer to distinguish and prefer the agent-based approach from other approaches in the field of software engineering (includes software testing). Hence, the distinguishing factor cannot be just with qualitative descriptions; rather, it must be quantitative in nature. This paper therefore provides a timely summary and enhancement of agent theory in software testing, which describes an evaluation framework based on quantitative theory for adapting Agent-Oriented Software Testing (AOST) to complex systems.The multi-agent system illustrated here, is on the basis of few basic operational real-world testing techniques, as an attempt to describe how to practice agent-based software testing, which has not previously done. Keywords: Multi agent-based, Intra-class testing, Integrated framework, Agent-based framework, Distributed frame work, Reliability enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial data is often represented as layers of thematic maps. User queries often necessiate overlay operations involving these maps. Map overlay is an extensively used operation in GIS. Typical two-map overlay involves operations on a large number of polygons of each map. Many applications require overlay of more than two maps. This operation, called multiple map overlay is executed as a sequence of binary map overlay operations. The complexity of the multiple map overlay is dependent on the order in which the individual binary overlay operations are performed. In this paper, we consider the problem of determining good order in which to overlay a set of maps and propose efficient algorithms for the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The database schema is assumed to be stable enough to remain valid even as the modeled environment changes. However, in practice, data models are not nearly as stable as commonly assumed by the database designers. Even though a rich set of schema change operations is provided in current database systems, the users suffer from the problem that schema change usually impacts existing application programs that have been written against the schema. In this paper, we are exploring the possible solutions to overcome this problem of impacts on the application programs. We believe that for continued support of the existing programs on the old schema, the old schema should continue to allow updates and queries, as before. Furthermore, its associated data has to be kept up-to-date. We call this the program independency property of schema change tools. For this property, we devise so-called program independency schema evolution (PISE) methodology. For each of the set of schema change operations in the relational schemas, the overview of the additional code blocks due to the PISE compliance is presented in order to prove the comprehensiveness and soundness of our PISE methodology. Keywords: schema evolution, program independency, database view, relational database, data model, schema version, database schema, capacity-augmenting schema change, type mismatch, shared database [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extension to ER (Entity Relationship) model for semantic modeling of databases in top down manner is presented. The model proposes a new entity type called composite entity type and a table based meta construct called tabletype relationship. A composite entity type models composite entities, whereas a tabletype relationship is shorthand and represents a number of relationship types. The concept of composite entity type is abstract, helps in semantic modeling, and is not required in implementation. A composite entity type along with tabletype relationship captures semantics of the database of an application at a higher level of abstraction and provides a top down semantic modeling approach in flavor of ER model. Keywords: Semantic model, ER model, Top down model, Database design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concurrency control is one of the main issues in the studies of real-time database systems. In this paper different distributed concurrency control methods are studied and evaluated in real-time system environment. Because optimistic concurrency control is promising candidate for real-time database systems, distributed optimistic concurrency control methods are discussed more detailed way. We propose a new distributed optimistic concurrency control method, demonstrate that proposed method produces a correct results and proposed method is evaluated and tested in prototype implementation of real-time database system for telecommunications. ... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the design, implementation, and performance evaluation of MykilDDS, a secure and highly scalable data distribution system over the Internet. MykilDDS facilitates a secure distribution of data over the Internet to a significantly large number of clients. It integrates IP multicast with Mykil group key management system. Important advantages of MykilDDS include security, high scalability, differentiated quality of service for data distribution, high availability, and support for user mobility and smaller, hand-held devices. A prototype of MykilDDS has been implemented. The paper describes this implementation and reports on the performance measured from this implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inherent presence of self-similarity in network (LAN, Internet) traffic motivates the applicability of wavelets in the study of ‘burstiness' features of them. Inspired by the methods that use the self-similarity property of a data network traffic as normal behaviour and any deviation from it as the anomalous behaviour, we propose a method for anomaly based network intrusion detection. Making use of the relations present among the wavelet coefficients of a self-similar function in a different way, our method determines the possible presence of not only an anomaly, but also its location in the data. We provide the empirical results on KDD data set to justify our approach. Keywords: Network traffic, Intrusion detection, Burstiness, Wavelets, Hurst parameter, Energy plot, Self-similarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]