Multicasting in the hypercube, chord and binomial graphs

We discuss multicasting for the n-cube network and its close variants, the Chord and the Binomial Graph (BNG) Network. We present simple transformations and proofs that establish that the sp-multicast (shortest path) and Steiner tree problems for the n-cube, Chord and the BNG network are NP-Complete, even when every destination vertex is at a distance two from the source vertex.     

Collision Attack on the Full Extended MD4 and Pseudo-Preimage Attack on RIPEMD

The cryptographic hash functions Extended MD4 and RIPEMD are double-branch hash functions,which consist of two parallel branches.Extended MD4 was proposed by Rivest in 1990,and RIPEMD was devised in the framework of the RIPE project(RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation,1988～1992).On the basis of differential analysis and meet-in-themiddle attack principle,this paper proposes a collision attack on the full Extended MD4 and a pseudo-preimage attack on the full RIPEMD respectively.The collision attack on Extended MD4 holds with a complexity of 237,and a collision instance is presented.The pseudo-preimage attack on RIPEMD holds with a complexity of 2 125.4,which optimizes the complexity order for brute-force attack.The results in this study will also be beneficial to the analysis of other double-branch hash functions such as RIPEMD-160.     

Topological properties of the Extended OTIS-n-Cube interconnection network

We have recently introduced the Extended OTIS-n-Cube to overcome the weakness of some limitations found in the well-known OTIS-n-Cube such as the degree and the diameter. This paper investigates the topological properties of the new interconnection network by proposing an extensive study on some attractive topological properties of the extended OTIS-n-Cube interconnection network. Inspired by the attractive features of the new network, such as regular degree, small diameter, and semantic structure, we present a theoretical study on some topological properties of the Extended OTIS-n-Cube including routing paths and embedded cycles. Furthermore, the paper presents a performance evaluation on the topology by comparing it with the OTIS-n-Cube. Results prove the superiority of the new topology especially in minimizing routing distances.     

Enhancing the search ability of differential evolution through orthogonal crossover

Differential evolution (DE) is a class of simple yet powerful evolutionary algorithms for global numerical optimization. Binomial crossover and exponential crossover are two commonly used crossover operators in current popular DE. It is noteworthy that these two operators can only generate a vertex of a hyper-rectangle defined by the mutant and target vectors. Therefore, the search ability of DE may be limited. Orthogonal crossover (OX) operators, which are based on orthogonal design, can make a systematic and rational search in a region defined by the parent solutions. In this paper, we have suggested a framework for using an OX in DE variants and proposed OXDE, a combination of DE/rand/1/bin and OX. Extensive experiments have been carried out to study OXDE and to demonstrate that our framework can also be used for improving the performance of other DE variants.     

Estimation of insulin sensitivity in diabetic Göttingen Minipigs

In patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, insulin sensitivity is a parameter which strongly affects insulin therapy. Due to its time-dependent variation, this parameter can improve the strategy for automatic closed-loop blood glucose control. The aim of this work is to estimate the insulin sensitivity of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus based on measured blood glucose concentrations. For this, an Extended Kalman Filter is used, based on a simplified version of the well-known Sorensen model. The compartment model of Sorensen was adapted to the glucose metabolic behaviour in diabetic Göttingen Minipigs by means of experimental data and reduced by neglecting unobservable state variables. Here, the Extended Kalman Filter is designed for simultaneous state and parameter estimation of insulin sensitivity using the insulin infusion rate and the meal size as input signals, and measurements of blood glucose concentration as output signal. The performance of the Extended Kalman Filter was tested in in silico studies using the minipig model, and is analysed by comparing the output signal of the filter with measurement data from the animal trials.     

Limits, discovery and cut optimization for a Poisson process with uncertainty in background and signal efficiency: TRolke 2.0

A C++ class was written for the calculation of frequentist confidence intervals using the profile likelihood method. Seven combinations of Binomial, Gaussian, Poissonian and Binomial uncertainties are implemented. The package provides routines for the calculation of upper and lower limits, sensitivity and related properties. It also supports hypothesis tests which take uncertainties into account. It can be used in compiled C++ code, in Python or interactively via the ROOT analysis framework.

Program summary

Program title: TRolke version 2.0Catalogue identifier: AEFT_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEFT_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: MIT licenseNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 3431No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 21 789Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: ISO C++.Computer: Unix, GNU/Linux, Mac.Operating system: Linux 2.6 (Scientific Linux 4 and 5, Ubuntu 8.10), Darwin 9.0 (Mac-OS X 10.5.8).RAM:∼20 MBClassification: 14.13.External routines: ROOT (http://root.cern.ch/drupal/)Nature of problem: The problem is to calculate a frequentist confidence interval on the parameter of a Poisson process with statistical or systematic uncertainties in signal efficiency or background.Solution method: Profile likelihood method, AnalyticalRunning time:<¹⁰−4 seconds per extracted limit.     

Real-time implementation of airborne inertial-SLAM

This paper addresses some challenges to the real-time implementation of Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) on a UAV platform. When compared to the implementation of SLAM in 2D environments, airborne implementation imposes several difficulties in terms of computational complexity and loop closure, with high nonlinearity in both vehicle dynamics and observations. An implementation of airborne SLAM is formulated to relieve this computational complexity in both direct and indirect ways. Our implementation is based on an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), which fuses data from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with data from a passive vision system. Real-time results from flight trials are provided.     

On general construction for extended visual cryptography schemes

Numerous visual cryptography schemes (VCSs) have been proposed to protect a secret image with share images. Most VCSs use random-looking shares to code a single binary secret image. Some schemes are designed for color secret images. Droste's [New results on visual cryptography, in: Advances in Cryptology-CRYPTO ’96, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 1109, Springer, Berlin, 1996, pp. 401-415] (n,n)-VCS is introduced for multiple binary secret images. Extended VCS (EVCS), by Ateniese et al. [Extended capabilities for visual cryptography, Theoretical Computer Science 250 (2001) 143-161], for binary secret image uses meaningful (innocent-looking) shares. In this paper, we start with a more concise derivation of matrix extension in the ECVS model. This is implemented by concatenating an extended matrix to each basis matrix. We then present a general construction method for single or multiple binary/grayscale/color secret images using matrix extension utilizing meaningful shares. The result (k,n)-visual secret sharing schemes are more general than most existing schemes in terms of the secret/share image types. Using our matrix extension algorithm, any existing VCS with random-looking shares can be easily modified to utilize meaningful shares. The effectiveness of our schemes is demonstrated by real examples.     

Explaining employees' Extended Use of complex information systems

Investments in complex information systems by organizations reached a record high of U.S.$26.7 billion in 2004. Yet, organizations seldom use these systems to the fullest extent and attain the expected return on investment. This paper addresses the issue of system underutilization by investigating Extended Use, which refers to using more system features to support one's tasks. Extended Use was examined in the nomological networks of the IS Continuance (ISC) Model and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A field survey was conducted in a large manufacturing firm that had successfully implemented a popular enterprise resource planning solution for more than 2 years. All paths in both ISC and TAM were statistically significant. A synthesized model was later proposed and examined in a post hoc analysis. The results indicate that the synthesized model, as compared to ISC and TAM, explained slightly higher variances in Extended Use, Perceived Usefulness (PU), and Satisfaction. Specifically, both Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and PU both affected Extended Use. Interestingly, Satisfaction has no direct impact on Extended Use in the presence of PU and PEOU. In contrast to most technology acceptance research, PEOU has a stronger behavioral impact than that of PU. This research provides a framework that explains Extended Use and is one of the few studies that investigates IS use behavior that exceeds simple, shallow, and routine use.     

Beta control charts for monitoring fraction data

p-Charts and np-Charts are commonly used in monitoring variables of the fraction type and these charts assume that the monitored variables are binomially distributed. In this paper we propose a new control chart called Beta Charts, for monitoring fraction data (p). The Beta Chart presents the control limits based on the Beta probability distribution. It was applied for monitoring the variables in three real studies, and it was compared to the control limits with three schemes. The comparative analysis showed that: (i) Beta approximation to the Binomial distribution was more appropriate with values confined in the [0, 1]-interval; and (ii) the charts proposed were more sensitive to the average run length (ARL), in both in-control and out-of-control processes monitoring. The Beta Charts outperform the control charts analyzed for monitoring fraction data.     

生物空间分布的计算机辅助生成

描述生物空间分布的数学函数种类较多,其代表是Poisson分布、二项分布及负二项分布.本文研制了这三种空间分布型的网络计算软件BioDistriProducer,可生成三种分布型的数据和图型.该软件由7个类和一个HTML引导文件组成,具有图型用户界面,可在多种支持Java的网络浏览器上运行.BioDistri-Producer的可扩展性较好,可加入奈曼分布等其他分布类型.该软件可用于生物的抽样、保护、模拟等研究,以及分布型展示等.     

Fault masking by multiple timing faults in timed EFSM models

Detection of multiple timing faults is a challenging task because these faults, although may be detectable individually, can mask each other’s faulty behavior, making a faulty implementation under test (IUT) indistinguishable from a non-faulty one during testing. This phenomenon, called fault masking, is formally defined in this paper. It is proven that graph augmentation algorithms proposed for timed Extended Finite State Machines (EFSMs) with multiple timers can detect pairwise occurrences of classes of timing faults in an IUT and, hence, detects fault masking.     

A test case generation approach for conformance testing of SDL systems

This paper presents an approach for automatic executable test case and test sequence generation for a protocol modeled by an SDL system. Our methodology uses a unified method which tests an Extended Finite State Machine (EFSM) based system by using control and data flow techniques. To test an SDL system, it extracts an EFSM from each process then the system is tested by incrementally computing a partial product for each EFSM C, taking into account only transitions which influence (or are influenced by) C, and generating test cases for it. This process ends when the coverage achieved by the generated test cases is satisfactory or when the partial products for all EFSMs are tested. Experimental results show that this method can be applied to systems of practical size.     

Extended Fibonacci Cubes

The Fibonacci Cube is an interconnection network that possesses many desirable properties that are important in network design and application. The Fibonacci Cube can efficiently emulate many hypercube algorithms and uses fewer links than the comparable hypercube, while its size does not increase as fast as the hypercube. However, most Fibonacci Cubes (more than 2/3 of all) are not Hamiltonian. In this paper, we propose an Extended Fibonacci Cube (EFC₁) with an even number of nodes. It is defined based on the same sequence F(i)=F(i-1)+F(i-2) as the regular Fibonacci sequence; however, its initial conditions are different. We show that the Extended Fibonacci Cube includes the Fibonacci Cube as a subgraph and maintains its sparsity property. In addition, it is Hamiltonian and is better in emulating other topologies. Specifically, the Extended Fibonacci Cube can embed binary trees more efficiently than the regular Fibonacci Cube and is almost as efficient as the hypercube, even though the Extended Fibonacci Cube is a much sparser network than the hypercube. We also propose a series of Extended Fibonacci Cubes with even number of nodes. Any Extended Fibonacci Cube (EFC_k, with k⩾) in the series contains the node set of any other cube that precedes EFC_k in the series. We show that any Extended Fibonacci Cube maintains virtually all the desirable properties of the Fibonacci Cube. The EFC_ks can be considered as flexible versions of incomplete hypercubes, which eliminates their restriction on the number of nodes, and, thus, makes it possible to construct parallel machines with arbitrary sizes     

Aperiodic propagation criteria for Boolean functions

We characterise the aperiodic autocorrelation for a Boolean function, f, and define the Aperiodic Propagation Criteria (APC) of degree l and order q. We establish the strong similarity between APC and the Extended Propagation Criteria (EPC) as defined by Preneel et al. in 1991, although the criteria are not identical. We also show how aperiodic autocorrelation can be related to the first derivative of f. We further propose the metric APC distance and show that quantum error correcting codes (QECCs) are natural candidates for Boolean functions with favourable APC distance.     

A two-level estimator for time varying parameters

A crucial part in an adaptive control system is the estimation of the unknown parameters of the process. The estimation is often done using a Kalman filter or an Extended Kalman filter. These estimators give good results if the parameters are not varying too fast. When the parameters are varying fast there are difficulties for the estimator to follow the variations.This paper outlines a new approach to the estimation problem. The new estimator consists of two parts. One conventional Kalman filter for fine estimation and one estimator for coarse estimation. The coarse estimator consists of a finite number of fixed a priori models and a decision mechanism which points out the model which best fits the data.The paper describes the two-level estimator and discusses its properties. Some numerical examples illustrate the behavior of the estimator.     

Procrustes analysis for the virtual trial assembly of large-size elements

Virtual assembly is an essential method to increase efficiency and to identify potential issues of the assembly process in several manufacturing fields, as for instance robotized assembly. The paper presents a novel procedure based on Affine Procrustes Analysis for the Virtual Trial Assembly (VTA) of large-size elements. This approach to virtual assembly allows to identify possible discrepancies between the workpieces and their nominal specifications, and to automatically define shape and dimensions of the potential corrective elements needed to achieve the designed assembly. The method is a variation of the classical Extended Orthogonal Procrustes Analysis (a tool that provides the least squares alignment among corresponding points), and permits to easily verify the parallelism condition of planes of large-size elements and the satisfaction of the alignment tolerances in the components to be assembled. Furthermore, the method implicitly takes into account the presence of corrective elements, avoiding assembly errors propagation. Experiments show the feasibility of the proposed approach and its advantages with respect to the classical one. The novel method is applied to the challenging assembly of dogbones elements of Vessel in New York.     

Darwinian swarm exploration under communication constraints: Initial deployment and fault-tolerance assessment

In most real multi-robot applications, such as search-and-rescue, cooperative robots have to move to complete their tasks while maintaining communication among themselves without the aid of a communication infrastructure. However, initially deploying and ensuring a mobile ad-hoc network in real and complex environments is an arduous task since the strength of the connection between two nodes (i.e., robots) can change rapidly in time or even disappear. An extension of the Particle Swarm Optimization to multi-robot applications has been previously proposed and denoted as Robotic Darwinian PSO (RDPSO). This paper contributes with a further extension of the RDPSO, thus integrating two research aspects: (i) an autonomous, realistic and fault-tolerant initial deployment strategy denoted as Extended Spiral of Theodorus (EST); and (ii) a fault-tolerant distributed search to prevent communication network splits. The exploring agents, denoted as scouts, are autonomously deployed using supporting agents, denoted as rangers. Experimental results with 15 physical scouts and 3 physical rangers show that the algorithm converges to the optimal solution faster and more accurately using the EST approach over the random deployment strategy. Also, a more fault-tolerant strategy clearly influences the time needed to converge to the final solution, but is less susceptible to robot failures.     

A hybrid controller based on the egocentric perceptual principle

In this paper we extend the control methodology based on Extended Markov Tracking (EMT) by providing the control algorithm with capabilities to calibrate and even partially reconstruct the environment’s model. This enables us to resolve the problem of performance deterioration due to model incoherence, a problem faced in all model-based control methods. The new algorithm, Ensemble Actions EMT (EA-EMT), utilises the initial environment model as a library of state transition functions and applies a variation of prediction with experts to assemble and calibrate a revised model. By so doing, this is the first hybrid control algorithm that enables on-line adaptation within the egocentric control framework which dictates the control of an agent’s perceptions, rather than an agent’s environment state. In our experiments, we performed a range of tests with increasing model incoherence induced by three types of exogenous environment perturbations: catastrophic—the environment becomes completely inconsistent with the model, deviating—some aspect of the environment behaviour diverges compared to that specified in the model, and periodic—the environment alternates between several possible divergences. The results show that EA-EMT resolved model incoherence and significantly outperformed its EMT predecessor by up to 95%.     

Expressiveness of propositional projection temporal logic with star

This paper investigates the expressiveness of Propositional Projection Temporal Logic with Star (PPTL*). To this end, Büchi automata and ω-regular expressions are first extended as Stutter Büchi Automata (SBA) and Extended Regular Expressions (ERE) to include both finite and infinite strings. Further, by equivalent transformations among PPTL* formulas, SBAs and EREs, PPTL* is proved to represent exactly the full regular language. Moreover, some fragments of PPTL* are characterized, and finally, PPTL* and its fragments are classified into five different language classes.