A highly efficient implementation of a backpropagation learning algorithm using matrix ISA

BackPropagation (BP) is the most famous learning algorithm for Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). BP has received intensive research efforts to exploit its parallelism in order to reduce the training time for complex problems. A modified version of BP based on matrix–matrix multiplication was proposed for parallel processing. In this paper, we present the implementation of Matrix BackPropagation (MBP) using scalar, vector, and matrix Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs). Besides this, we show that the performance of the MBP is improved by switching from scalar ISA to vector ISA. It is further improved by switching from vector ISA to matrix ISA. On a practical application, speech recognition, the speedup of training a neural network using unrolling scalar ISA over scalar ISA is 1.83. On eight parallel lanes, the speedups of using vector, unrolling vector, and matrix ISAs are respectively 10.33, 11.88, and 15.36, where the maximum theoretical speedup is 16. The results obtained show that the use of matrix ISA gives a performance close to optimal, because of reusing the loaded data, decreasing the loop overhead, and overlapping the memory operations with arithmetic operations.     

Incident Command System as a Response Model Within Emergency Operation Centers during Hurricane Rita

This study examines the degree to which the use of the Incident Command System (ICS) influenced the performance of Texas emergency operations centers (EOCs) during Hurricane Rita. Staff in evacuation, transition, and host county EOCs completed a questionnaire that assessed demographic variables, EOC physical environment, ICS experience, ICS implementation, and team climate. The results indicated that the duties each ICS section performed varied substantially from one EOC to another. Moreover, ICS experience and ICS implementation lacked statistically significant correlations with team climate, even though EOCs' physical environments did. Finally, staff from emergency relevant agencies (e.g., public works and social services) seemed to have more problems with ICS than did staff from emergency mission agencies (e.g., fire and police departments). Thus, there needs to be further study of ICS application in emergencies other than structural and wildland fires, as well as the development of new ICS training materials for emergency relevant agencies to supplement the current ICS training materials for emergency mission agencies.     

IA-64二进制翻译中指令束特性的消除技术

目前对处理器速度的追求促使指令集体系结构不断发展，但是软件的支持却不能与其匹配，造成新体系结构推广的困难，研究、解决代码迁移问题的二进制翻译方法应运而生。文中介绍了二进制翻译中解码器的功能，并结合IA-64的指令特点，设计出基于指令束的解码算法。根据测试中发现该算法存在的问题，提出了改进方案，消除束的特性，给每条指令赋予唯一地址并按此地址进行解码。在IA-64至Alpha的二进制翻译课题中，对该算法进行了工程实现。     

Bitran二进制翻译实验系统的设计和实现

对处理器速度的追求促使体系结构不断发展 ,但是软件的支持却不能与其匹配 ,造成新体系结构推广的困难 ,研究、解决代码迁移问题的二进制翻译方法应运而生 .介绍作者参与开发的一个静态二进制翻译实验系统的框架设计 ,并详细介绍框架中各个部分的实现方法 ,最后给出该翻译系统的实验数据和分析 .     

关于工控系统信息安全的思考与建议

文章在介绍工控系统的发展历程后,分析了工控信息网络安全隐患的本质与根源,在建议借鉴国外相关规范和经验的同时强调国内重要工程产品引入的约束性,提出了大力支持国内自主核心工控产品的必要洼。     

A comparison of sampling designs for estimating deforestation from Landsat imagery: A case study of the Brazilian Legal Amazon

Three sampling designs — simple random, stratified random, and systematic sampling — are compared on the basis of precision of estimated loss of intact humid tropical forest area in the Brazilian Legal Amazon from 2000 to 2005. MODIS-derived deforestation is used to partition the study area into strata to intensify sampling within forest clearing hotspots. The precision of the estimator of deforestation area for each design is calculated from a population of wall-to-wall PRODES deforestation data available for the study area. Both systematic and stratified sampling yield smaller standard errors than simple random sampling, and the stratified design has smaller standard errors than the systematic design at each sample size evaluated. The results of this case study demonstrate the utility of a stratified design based on MODIS-derived deforestation data to improve precision of the estimated loss of intact forest area as estimated from sampling Landsat imagery.     

A time-series analysis of urbanization-induced impervious surface area extent in the Dianchi Lake watershed from 1988–2017

Chinese urbanization has drawn widespread attention since the 21st century. Understanding urban expansion at a watershed scale including cities of different sizes is important for improving our current knowledge of the urban extent and its impact on the hydrological cycle, water management, surface energy balances, and biodiversity. Impervious surface area (ISA) can be used as a synthesized quantifiable index to reflect the intensity of natural ecosystems changing into urban ecosystems. It is important to understand ISA patterns and characteristics, which requires long-term impervious surface data at a high spatial and temporal resolution. Previous methods of ISA estimation mainly focused on the spectral differences between ISA and other land covers, and most studies were inclined to use one or a few images without fully considering the long time series of the temporal domain of the reflective data on remote-sensing images. This assessed the Dianchi Lake watershed as a case study area to illustrate ISA change characteristics in the context of natural and cultural conditions. Firstly, more than two hundred Landsat images (from 1988 to 2017) were downloaded through the United States Geological Survey (USGS) online portal. Secondly, the improved normalized difference build-up index (INDBI) and linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) algorithm were combined to apply the method to a series of ISA maps of the Dianchi Lake watershed at an annual resolution. Thirdly, ISA extent characteristics of the Dianchi Lake watershed were analysed from trend and pattern aspects. The results show that the proposed method was highly reliable for detecting and characterizing change, with an extracted ISA accuracy of 92.51%, based on a sample of independent validation points. The Dianchi Lake watershed has begun to adopt ‘Rashly Advancing’ and ‘Great Leap Forward’ strategies of urbanization.     

二进制翻译中的过程恢复技术

目前对处理器速度的追求促使体系结构不断发展,但是软件的支持却不能与其匹配,造成新体系结构推广的困难,研究、解决代码迁移问题的二进制翻译方法应运而生。文中介绍了在开发一个静态二进制翻译系统(XM翻译器)中的过程恢复技术,包括参数恢复和返回值恢复,并提出了解决返回值恢复问题的一个新的实现方法。它回避了一般方法中必须要进行数据流、控制流分析的复杂性,基于x86机器本身的调用特点以及实例的分析,是一种简单实用的实现返回值恢复的方法,经XM系统验证是行之有效的。     

Mapping population density distribution at multiple scales in Zhejiang Province using Landsat Thematic Mapper and census data

Population density is usually calculated from the census data, but it is dynamic over time and updating population data is often challenging because it is time-consuming and costly. Another problem is that population data for public use are often too coarse, such as at the county scale in China. Previous research on population estimation mainly focused on megacities due to their importance in socio-economic conditions, but has not paid much attention to the township or village scale because of the sparse population density and less importance in economic conditions. In reality, population density in townships and villages plays an important role in land-use/cover change and environmental conditions. It is an urgent task to timely update population density at the township and cell-size scales. Therefore, this article aims to develop an approach to estimate population density at the township scale and at a cell size of 1 km by 1 km through downscaling the population density from county to township and then to cell size. We estimated population density using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and census data in Zhejiang Province, China. Landsat TM images in 2010 were used to map impervious surface area (ISA) distribution using a hybrid approach, in which a decision tree classifier was used to extract ISA data and cluster analysis was used to further modify the ISA results. A population density estimation model was developed at the county scale, and this model was then transferred to the township scale. The population density was finally redistributed to cell-size scale based on the assumption that population only occupied the sites having ISA. This research indicates that most townships have residuals within ±50 persons/km² with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 71.56 persons/km², and a relative RMSE of 27.6%. The spatial patterns of population density distribution at the 1 km² cell size are much improved compared to the township and county scales. This research indicates the importance of using the ISA for population density estimation, where ISA can be accurately extracted from remotely sensed data.     

Characterizing fractional vegetation cover and land surface temperature based on sub-pixel fractional impervious surfaces from Landsat TM/ETM+

Estimating the distribution of impervious surfaces and vegetation is important for analysing urban landscapes and their thermal environment. The application of a crisp classification of land-cover types to analyse urban landscape patterns and land surface temperature (LST) in detail presents a challenge, mainly due to the complex characteristics of urban landscapes. In this article, sub-pixel percentage impervious surface areas (ISAs) and fractional vegetation cover (FVC) were extracted from bitemporal Thematic Mapper/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (TM/ETM+) data by linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA). Their accuracy was assessed with proportional area estimates of the impervious surface and vegetation extracted from high-resolution data. A range approach was used to classify percentage ISA into different categories by setting thresholds of fractional values and these were compared for their LST patterns. For each ISA category, FVC, LST, and percentage ISA were used to quantify the urban thermal characteristics of different developed areas in the city of Fuzhou, China. Urban LST scenarios in different seasons and ISA categories were simulated to analyse the seasonal variations and the impact of urban landscape pattern changes on the thermal environment. The results show that FVC and LST based on percentage ISA can be used to quantitatively analyse the process of urban expansion and its impacts on the spatial–temporal distribution patterns of the urban thermal environment. This analysis can support urban planning by providing knowledge on the climate adaptation potential of specific urban spatial patterns.     

微机MIS集成构造系统的研究与实践

微机ＭＩＳ集成构造系统是基于软件重用理论，采用应用描述语言，扩展数据字典和标准预制软构件快速构造信息处理系统的一种应用开发工具环境。本文主要介绍其设计思想，基本结构，构造原理，设计原则和实际使用情况。     

Database summarization using fuzzy ISA hierarchies

Summary discovery is one of the major components of knowledge discovery in databases, which provides the user with comprehensive information for grasping the essence from a large amount of information in a database. We propose an interactive top down summary discovery process which utilizes fuzzy ISA hierarchies as domain knowledge. We define a generalized tuple as a representational form of a database summary including fuzzy concepts. By virtue of fuzzy ISA hierarchies where fuzzy ISA relationships common in actual domains are naturally expressed, the discovery process comes up with more accurate database summaries. We also present an informativeness measure for distinguishing generalized tuples that delivers much information to users, based on C. Shannon's (1948) information theory.     

Database summarization using fuzzy ISA hierarchies

Summary discovery is one of the major components of knowledge discovery in databases, which provides the user with comprehensive information for grasping the essence from a large amount of information in a database. In this paper, we propose an interactive top-down summary discovery process which utilizes fuzzy ISA hierarchies as domain knowledge. We define a generalized tuple as a representational form of a database summary including fuzzy concepts. By virtue of fuzzy ISA hierarchies where fuzzy ISA relationships common in actual domains are naturally expressed, the discovery process comes up with more accurate database summaries. We also present an informativeness measure for distinguishing generalized tuples that delivers much information to users, based on Shannon's information theory.     

Separation theorem for independent subspace analysis and its consequences

Independent component analysis (ICA) – the theory of mixed, independent, non-Gaussian sources – has a central role in signal processing, computer vision and pattern recognition. One of the most fundamental conjectures of this research field is that independent subspace analysis (ISA) – the extension of the ICA problem, where groups of sources are independent – can be solved by traditional ICA followed by grouping the ICA components. The conjecture, called ISA separation principle, (i) has been rigorously proven for some distribution types recently, (ii) forms the basis of the state-of-the-art ISA solvers, (iii) enables one to estimate the unknown number and the dimensions of the sources efficiently, and (iv) can be extended to generalizations of the ISA task, such as different linear-, controlled-, post nonlinear-, complex valued-, partially observed problems, as well as to problems dealing with nonparametric source dynamics. Here, we shall review the advances on this field.     

Query optimization using restructured views: Theory and experiments

We study optimization of relational queries using materialized views, where views may be regular or restructured. In a restructured view, some data from the base table(s) are represented as metadata—that is, schema information, such as table and attribute names—or vice versa.     

An efficient implementation of the Min-Min heuristic

Min—Min is a popular heuristic for scheduling tasks to heterogeneous computational resources, which has been applied either directly or as part of more sophisticated heuristics. However, for large scenarios such as grid computing platforms, the time complexity of a straightforward implementation of Min—Min, which is quadratic in the number of tasks, may be prohibitive. This has motivated the development of high performance computing (HPC) implementations, and the use of simpler heuristics for the sake of acceptable execution times. We propose a simple algorithm that implements Min—Min requiring only O(mn) operations for scheduling n tasks on m machines. Our experiments show, in practice, that a straightforward sequential implementation of this algorithm significantly outperforms other state of the art implementations of Min—Min, even compared to HPC implementations. In addition, the proposed algorithm is at least as suitable for parallelization as a direct implementation of Min—Min.     

基于ISA100.11a标准的工业物联网开发平台的设计与实现

工业物联网技术是未来几年工业自动化产品新的增长点。作者所在实验室作为Voting Member和ISA WCI工作组成员参加ISA100.11a标准的制定,研发了基于ISA100.11a的工业物联网通信协议栈软件、网络设备及终端设备,研制的ISA100.11a工业物联网开发平台具有完善的硬件、软件产品及技术支持,核心技术已经形成专利池,可广泛应用于智能工业、环境监测、智能电网等应用系统的开发,并已经在中国四联集团、韩国汉阳大学等单位得到应用。     

An object class-uncertainty induced adaptive force and its application to a new hybrid snake

Object segmentation is of paramount interest in many imaging applications, especially, those involving numeric, symbolic, syntactic, or even high level cognitive knowledge perception. Among others, “snake”—an “active contour” model—is a popular boundary-based segmentation approach where a smooth curve is continuously deformed to lock onto an object boundary. The dynamics of a snake is governed by different internal and external forces. A major limitation of the present framework has been the difficulty of incorporating object-intensity driven features into snake dynamics so as to prevent uncontrolled expansion/contraction once the snake leaks through a weak boundary region. In this paper, a local-intensity-driven “adaptive force” is introduced into the model using object class-uncertainty theory. Given a priori knowledge of object/background intensity distributions, class-uncertainty theory yields object/background classification of every location and establishes its confidence level. It has been demonstrated earlier that confidence level is high inside homogeneous regions and low near boundaries. In the current paper, object class-uncertainty theory has been applied to control snake deformation leading to a new adaptive force acting outward (expanding) inside intensity-defined object regions and inward (squeezing) inside background regions. It has been demonstrated that the method possesses potential to resist uncontrolled expansion of a snake contour (for an expanding type) inside background after leaking through a weak boundary. Further, it has been shown that the adaptive force operates in a complementary fashion with the image intensity gradient by reducing its strength near boundaries using the confidence level of classification. Another major contribution of this paper is the formulation of a “hybrid snake” (HS)—a new model, where an initial contour is gradually deformed over a hybrid energy surface composed of some direct energies (e.g., internal energies) and other indirect energies contributed by local contour displacements over a force-field (e.g., image or user-constrained force-field). Applications of the proposed adaptive force-enabled HS on different phantom and real images have been presented and comparisons have been made with a conventional snake (CS). Finally, a quantitative comparison based on computer-generated phantoms at various levels of blur and noise has been provided.     

新型工业控制系统勒索蠕虫威胁与防御

工业控制系统（ICS）的大规模攻击对于电力生产、输配电、石油化工、水处理和传输等涉及国计民生的关键基础设施是一个巨大的威胁,目前提出的针对ICS的勒索蠕虫受限于工控网络隔离的特性,难以大规模传播。基于观察到的ICS实际开发场景,针对ICS高度隔离化的问题,提出一种基于新的攻击路径的勒索蠕虫威胁模型。此威胁模型首先将工程师站作为初次感染目标,然后以工程师站作为跳板,对处于内部网络的工业控制设备进行攻击,最后实现蠕虫式感染和勒索。基于此威胁模型,实现了ICSGhost——一种勒索蠕虫原型。在封闭的实验环境中,ICSGhost能够以预设的攻击路径对ICS进行蠕虫式感染;同时,针对该勒索蠕虫威胁,讨论了防御方案。实验结果表明此种威胁切实存在,并且由于其传播路径基于ICS实际的开发场景,较难检测和防范。     

工业无线技术在大型石油化工罐区自动化的应用

随着无线技术的迅速发展，在工业自动化领域的应用越来越广泛。本文介绍工业无线技术标准ISA100．11a及无线解决方案，霍尼韦尔基于ISA100．11a工业无线标准的解决方案在大型石油化工罐区自动化的应用。