Model selection for convolutive ICA with an application to spatiotemporal analysis of EEG

We present a new algorithm for maximum likelihood convolutive independent component analysis (ICA) in which components are unmixed using stable autoregressive filters determined implicitly by estimating a convolutive model of the mixing process. By introducing a convolutive mixing model for the components, we show how the order of the filters in the model can be correctly detected using Bayesian model selection. We demonstrate a framework for deconvolving a subspace of independent components in electroencephalography (EEG). Initial results suggest that in some cases, convolutive mixing may be a more realistic model for EEG signals than the instantaneous ICA model.     

Learning automata-based solutions to the nonlinear fractional knapsack problem with applications to optimal resource allocation.

This paper considers the nonlinear fractional knapsack problem and demonstrates how its solution can be effectively applied to two resource allocation problems dealing with the World Wide Web. The novel solution involves a "team" of deterministic learning automata (LA). The first real-life problem relates to resource allocation in web monitoring so as to "optimize" information discovery when the polling capacity is constrained. The disadvantages of the currently reported solutions are explained in this paper. The second problem concerns allocating limited sampling resources in a "real-time" manner with the purpose of estimating multiple binomial proportions. This is the scenario encountered when the user has to evaluate multiple web sites by accessing a limited number of web pages, and the proportions of interest are the fraction of each web site that is successfully validated by an HTML validator. Using the general LA paradigm to tackle both of the real-life problems, the proposed scheme improves a current solution in an online manner through a series of informed guesses that move toward the optimal solution. At the heart of the scheme, a team of deterministic LA performs a controlled random walk on a discretized solution space. Comprehensive experimental results demonstrate that the discretization resolution determines the precision of the scheme, and that for a given precision, the current solution (to both problems) is consistently improved until a nearly optimal solution is found--even for switching environments. Thus, the scheme, while being novel to the entire field of LA, also efficiently handles a class of resource allocation problems previously not addressed in the literature.     

tweezercalib 2.0: Faster version of MatLab package for precise calibration of optical tweezers

We present a vectorized version of the MatLab (MathWorks Inc.) package tweezercalib for calibration of optical tweezers with precision. The calibration is based on the power spectrum of the Brownian motion of a dielectric bead trapped in the tweezers. Precision is achieved by accounting for a number of factors that affect this power spectrum, as described in vs. 1 of the package [I.M. Toli?-Nørrelykke, K. Berg-Sørensen, H. Flyvbjerg, Matlab program for precision calibration of optical tweezers, Comput. Phys. Comm. 159 (2004) 225-240]. The graphical user interface allows the user to include or leave out each of these factors. Several “health tests” are applied to the experimental data during calibration, and test results are displayed graphically. Thus, the user can easily see whether the data comply with the theory used for their interpretation. Final calibration results are given with statistical errors and covariance matrix.

New version program summary

Title of program: tweezercalibCatalogue identifier: ADTV_v2_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADTV_v2_0Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. IrelandReference in CPC to previous version: I.M. Toli?-Nørrelykke, K. Berg-Sørensen, H. Flyvbjerg, Comput. Phys. Comm. 159 (2004) 225Catalogue identifier of previous version: ADTVDoes the new version supersede the original program: YesComputer for which the program is designed and others on which it has been tested: General computer running MatLab (Mathworks Inc.)Operating systems under with the program has been tested: Windows2000, Windows-XP, LinuxProgramming language used: MatLab (Mathworks Inc.), standard licenseMemory required to execute with typical data: Of order four times the size of the data fileHigh speed storage required: noneNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 135 989No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1 527 611Distribution format: tar. gzNature of physical problem: Calibrate optical tweezers with precision by fitting theory to experimental power spectrum of position of bead doing Brownian motion in incompressible fluid, possibly near microscope cover slip, while trapped in optical tweezers. Thereby determine spring constant of optical trap and conversion factor for arbitrary-units-to-nanometers for detection system.Method of solution: Elimination of cross-talk between quadrant photo-diode's output channels for positions (optional). Check that distribution of recorded positions agrees with Boltzmann distribution of bead in harmonic trap. Data compression and noise reduction by blocking method applied to power spectrum. Full accounting for hydrodynamic effects: Frequency-dependent drag force and interaction with nearby cover slip (optional). Full accounting for electronic filters (optional), for “virtual filtering” caused by detection system (optional). Full accounting for aliasing caused by finite sampling rate (optional). Standard non-linear least-squares fitting. Statistical support for fit is given, with several plots facilitating inspection of consistency and quality of data and fit.Summary of revisions: A faster fitting routine, adapted from [J. Nocedal, Y.x. Yuan, Combining trust region and line search techniques, Technical Report OTC 98/04, Optimization Technology Center, 1998; W.H. Press, B.P. Flannery, S.A. Teukolsky, W.T. Vetterling, Numerical Recipes. The Art of Scientific Computing, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986], is applied. It uses fewer function evaluations, and the remaining function evaluations have been vectorized. Calls to routines in Toolboxes not included with a standard MatLab license have been replaced by calls to routines that are included in the present package. Fitting parameters are rescaled to ensure that they are all of roughly the same size (of order 1) while being fitted. Generally, the program package has been updated to comply with MatLab, vs. 7.0, and optimized for speed.Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Data should be positions of bead doing Brownian motion while held by optical tweezers. For high precision in final results, data should be time series measured over a long time, with sufficiently high experimental sampling rate: The sampling rate should be well above the characteristic frequency of the trap, the so-called corner frequency. Thus, the sampling frequency should typically be larger than 10 kHz. The Fast Fourier Transform used works optimally when the time series contain n² data points, and long measurement time is obtained with n>12-15. Finally, the optics should be set to ensure a harmonic trapping potential in the range of positions visited by the bead. The fitting procedure checks for harmonic potential.Typical running time: SecondsUnusual features of the program: NoneReferences: The theoretical underpinnings for the procedure are found in [K. Berg-Sørensen, H. Flyvbjerg, Power spectrum analysis for optical tweezers, Rev. Sci. Ins. 75 (2004) 594-612].     

Molecular dynamics simulations of oscillatory flows in microfluidic channels

In this paper we apply the direct non-equilibrium molecular dynamics technique to oscillatory flows of fluids in microscopic channels. Initially, we show that the microscopic simulations resemble the macroscopic predictions based on the Navier–Stokes equation very well for large channel width, high density and low temperature. Further simulations for high temperature and low density show that the non-slip boundary condition traditionally used in the macroscopic equation is greatly compromised when the fluid–wall interactions are the same as the fluid–fluid interactions. Simulations of a system with very narrow channel width confirm earlier findings of Poiseuille flow, namely, that the velocity profiles are modulated. We find that these modulations cannot be explained by the local area density model.

An analysis of mutative sigma-self-adaptation on linear fitness functions

This paper investigates sigma-self-adaptation for real valued evolutionary algorithms on linear fitness functions. We identify the step-size logarithm log sigma as a key quantity to understand strategy behavior. Knowing the bias of mutation, recombination, and selection on log sigma is sufficient to explain sigma-dynamics and strategy behavior in many cases, even from previously reported results on non-linear and/or noisy fitness functions. On a linear fitness function, if intermediate multi-recombination is applied on the object parameters, the i-th best and the i-th worst individual have the same sigma-distribution. Consequently, the correlation between fitness and step-size sigma is zero. Assuming additionally that sigma-changes due to mutation and recombination are unbiased, then sigma-self-adaptation enlarges sigma if and only if mu < lambda/2, given (mu, lambda)-truncation selection. Experiments show the relevance of the given assumptions.     

Interactive display of isosurfaces with global illumination

In many applications, volumetric data sets are examined by displaying isosurfaces, surfaces where the data, or some function of the data, takes on a given value. Interactive applications typically use local lighting models to render such surfaces. This work introduces a method to precompute or lazily compute global illumination to improve interactive isosurface renderings. The precompiled illumination resides in a separate volume and includes direct light, shadows, and intersections. Using this volume, interactive globally illuminated renderings of isosurfaces become feasible while still allowing dynamic manipulation of lighting, viewpoint and isovalue.     

Heroin related overdose problems

During the first ten months of 1992 the Oslo Ambulance Department registered 716 incidences of assumed drug-related intoxications. 80% happened in down town Oslo. 19 cases of asystoly were recorded, 13 of the patients recovered after treatment, without sequelae. Five of these patients left the location after emergency help and they refused hospitalization. 432 of the patients were unconscious when the ambulance personal arrived, 472 were treated with naloxone both by the intramuscular and the intravenous route. Most of the persons refused further observation. A team of specially trained out reach workers offers help after acute medical treatment by means of "streetwork". The intervention is directed at addicts who have experienced an overdose.     

Low temperature hopping conduction in neutron transmutation doped isotopically enriched70Ge:Ga single crystals

The temperature dependence of variable range hopping resistivity in neutron transmutation doped (NTD) isotopically enriched⁷⁰Ge:Ga samples is reported. Five samples with compensation ratios K less than 0.001 and Ga concentrations between 3×10¹⁶ and 1.77×10¹⁷ cm^–3 were studied. All samples investigated show the ln T^–1/2 dependence in the temperature range below 1.5K. As thermistor materials NTD⁷⁰Ge:Ga samples are found to have more than factor of two higher sensitivity than commonly used natural NTD Ge in the temperature range between 0.2K and 1K. Our results are compared with theoretical predictions for variable range hopping conduction.     

Bicriterion cluster analysis

Cluster analysis is concerned with the problem of partitioning a given set of entities into homogeneous and well-separated subsets called clusters. The concepts of homogeneity and of separation can be made precise when a measure of dissimilarity between the entities is given. Let us define the diameter of a partition of the given set of entities into clusters as the maximum dissimilarity between any pair of entities in the same cluster and the split of a partition as the minimum dissimilarity between entities in different clusters. The problems of determining a partition into a given number of clusters with minimum diameter (i.e., a partition of maximum homogeneity) or with maximum split (i.e., a partition of maximum separation) are first considered. It is shown that the latter problem can be solved by the classical single-link clustering algorithm, while the former can be solved by a graph-theoretic algorithm involving the optimal coloration of a sequence of partial graphs, described in more detail in a previous paper. A partition into a given number of clusters will be called efficient if and only if there exists no partition into at most the same number of clusters with smaller diameter and not smaller split or with larger split and not larger diameter. Two efficient partitions are called equivalent if and only if they have the same values for the split and for the diameter.     

Extensions to the repetitive branch and bound algorithm for globally optimal clusterwise regression

A branch and bound strategy is proposed for solving the clusterwise regression problem, extending Brusco's repetitive branch and bound algorithm (RBBA). The resulting strategy relies upon iterative heuristic optimization, new ways of observation sequencing, and branch and bound optimization of a limited number of ending subsets. These three key features lead to significantly faster optimization of the complete set and the strategy has more general applications than only for clusterwise regression. Additionally, an efficient implementation of incremental calculations within the branch and bound search algorithm eliminates most of the redundant ones. Experiments using both real and synthetic data compare the various features of the proposed optimization algorithm and contrasts them against a benchmark mixed logical-quadratic programming formulation optimized by CPLEX. The results indicate that all components of the proposed algorithm provide significant improvements in processing times, and, when combined, generally provide the best performance, significantly outperforming CPLEX.