GPU-accelerated DXT and JPEG compression schemes for low-latency network transmissions of HD, 2K,and 4K video

Low-latency transmissions of high resolution video such as HD, 2K, or 4K over both Internet and private IP networks have found a foothold in many interactive applications, ranging from collaborative environments in science and medicine to the arts and entertainment industry. In this paper we demonstrate how the power of commodity graphics processing units can be used for efficient implementation of JPEG and DXT compression. We propose an approach to fine-grained parallelization of JPEG compression and the use of auxiliary indexes for efficient decompression, which are backward compatible with the JPEG standard. In-depth performance analysis is provided to show various aspects of the proposed parallelization including the dependency on image content and on various settings of the compression algorithm, as well as the impact of compression for interactive applications in terms of end-to-end latency. The applicability of these compression schemes in medicine and cinematography has also been evaluated using double-blind ABX tests compared with uncompressed video. We describe selected successful real-world deployment use cases based on our open-source implementation within the UltraGrid framework, such as trans-Atlantic 4K interactive video streaming during the CineGrid 2011 workshop. As discussed in the paper, the proposed approaches to parallelization provide sufficient performance even for the future generation of 8K video processing systems, currently limited by availability of camera and display hardware.     

NICE h : a higher-order explicit numerical scheme for integration of constitutive models in plasticity

The article introduces, as a result of further development of the first-order scheme NICE, a simple and efficient higher-order explicit numerical scheme for the integration of a system of ordinary differential equations which is constrained by an algebraic condition (DAE). The scheme is based on the truncated Taylor expansion of the constraint equation with order h of the scheme being determined by the highest exponent in the truncated Taylor series. The integration scheme thus conceived will be named NICE ^h , considering both principal premises of its construction. In conjunction with a direct solution technique used to solve the boundary value problem, the NICE ^h scheme is very convenient for integrating constitutive models in plasticity. The plasticity models are defined mostly by a system of algebraic and differential equations in which the yield criterion represents the constraint condition. To study the properties of the new integration scheme, which, like the forward-Euler scheme, is characterised by its implementation simplicity due to the explicitness of its formulations, a damage constitutive model (Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman model) is considered. The general opinion that the implicit backward-Euler scheme is much more accurate than the thus-far known explicit schemes is challenged by the introduction of the NICE ^h scheme. The accuracy of the higher-order explicit scheme in the studied cases is significantly higher than the accuracy of the classical backward-Euler scheme, if we compare them under the condition of a similar CPU time consumption.     

The Conceptual Model of Well-Being Management Based on Achieving Requisite Personal Holism

Organizations should look at humans as multilayered, not only as professional entities. In synergy, not only individually, we define humans as: (1) physical, (2) mental, (3) social, (4) spiritual, and (5) economic entities, marked by requisitely holistic patterns of relatively permanent characteristics, due to which individuals differ from each other; they differ also as specialized professionals. All these and other attributes form synergies. On this basis, the behavior of individuals who are willing to practice interdisciplinary cooperation becomes socially responsible and they have a high level of well-being.

Individuals as well as organizations seek requisite personal holism (RPH) on the one hand and psychic well-being (PWB) on the other hand. Thus, individuals implement individual techniques and organizations implement special strategies, programs, and actions in the frame of human resource management (HRM). That is how organizations in the frame of HRM, more specifically in the frame of management well-being, are developing special programs for managing PWB. These programs are based on their RPH and organizations might help employees to feel respected and valued in their work settings, without regard to their culture, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, or other individual differences. The most-often applied programs of the kind include: (1) stress management programs, (2) diversity management programs, (3) wellness programs, (4) employee assistance programs, and (5) programs for personal growth.     

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC-UTILITY COMPANIES BY INNOVATIVENESS BASED ON DIALECTICAL SYSTEMS THINKING

Bertalanffian systemic thinking attacks over-specialization and tries to teach humans how to attain holism for humankind to survive. Indirect ways may support this crucial intention better, including business excellence, which enjoys the support of, for example, the European Quality Award (EFQM/EQA). But in some industries, such as public utilities working on waste problems, market and EFQM/EQA do not support systemic thinking well enough. The new model presented herein has been evolving for over ten years and has proven successful in practice in the public utility companies.     

Distributed Computation Multi-agent System

This article addresses a formal model of a distributed computation multi-agent system. This model has evolved from the experimental research on using multi-agent systems as a ground for developing fuzzy cognitive maps. The main paper contribution is a distributed computation multi-agent system definition and mathematical formalization based on automata theory. This mathematical formalization is tested by developing distributed computation multi-agent systems for fuzzy cognitive maps and artificial neural networks – two typical distributed computation systems. Fuzzy cognitive maps are distributed computation systems used for qualitative modeling and behavior simulation, while artificial neural networks are used for modeling and simulating complex systems by creating a non-linear statistical data model. An artificial neural network encapsulates in its structure data patterns that are hidden in the data used to create the network. Both of these systems are well suited for formal model testing. We have used evolutionary incremental development as an agent design method which has shown to be a good approach to develop multi-agent systems according to the formal model of a distributed computation multi-agent system.     

Non-local stabilization of a spherical inverted pendulum

We design a non-linear stabilizing control law for a four degree of freedom spherical inverted pendulum. The pendulum is a slim cylindrical beam attached to a horizontal plane via a universal joint; the joint is free to move in the plane under the influence of a planar force. The upright position is an unstable equilibrium of the uncontrolled system because of gravity. The objective is to design a controller so that it stabilizes the upright position starting from any position in the upper hemisphere with arbitrary velocity. We achieve this by first transforming the original system to an appropriate upper triangular form and then designing a controller which incorporates a high gain design with the method of non-linear forwarding. The control law is evaluated through computer simulations.