Joint Measurements on Qubits and Cloning of Observables

Cloning of observables, unlike standard cloning of states, aims at copying the information encoded in the statistics of a class of observables rather then on quantum states themselves. In such a process the emphasis is on the quantum operation (evolution plus measurement) necessary to retrieve the original information. We analyze, for qubit systems, the cloning of a class generated by two noncommuting observables, elucidating the relationship between such a process and joint measurements. This helps in establishing an optimality criterion for cloning of observables. We see that, even if the cloning machine is designed to act on the whole class generated by two noncommuting observables, the same optimal performances of a joint measurement can be attained. Finally, the connection with state dependent cloning is enlightened.     

Effects of temperature, ammonium and glucose concentrations on yeast growth in a model wine system

In enology, alcoholic fermentation is a complex process involving several mechanisms. Slow and incomplete alcoholic fermentation is a chronic problem for the wine industry and factors leading to sluggish and stuck fermentations have been extensively studied and reviewed. The most studied cause of sluggish and stuck fermentation is the nitrogen content limitation. Nevertheless, other factors, such as temperature of fermentation and sugar concentration can affect the growth of yeasts. In this study we modelled the yeast growth‐cycle in wine model system as a function of temperature, sugar and ammonium concentrations; the individual effects and the interaction of these factors were analysed by means of a quadratic response surface methodology. Cell concentrations and weight loss were monitored in the whole wine fermentation process. The results of central composite design show that lower is the availability of nitrogen, higher is the cell growth rate; moreover, initial nitrogen concentration also influences survival time of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

Hull-form stochastic optimization via computational-cost reduction methods

In this paper, analytical functions for the estimation of the temperature-dependent behaviors of poorly and highly dispersed graphene oxide reinforced nanocomposite (GORNC) materials are studied in the framework of a machine learning-based approach. The validity of the presented models is shown comparing the results achieved from this modeling with those reported in the open literature. Also, the application of the obtained functions in solving the thermal buckling problem of beams constructed from such nanocomposites is demonstrated based on an energy-based method incorporated with a shear deformable beam hypothesis. The verification of the results indicates that the presented mechanical model can approximate the buckling behaviors of nanocomposite beams with remarkable precision. It can be realized from the results that the temperature plays an indispensable role in the determination of the buckling load which can be endured by the nanocomposite structure.

     

DYRE: a DYnamic REconfigurable solution to increase GPGPU’s reliability

The Journal of Supercomputing - General-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs) are extensively used in high-performance computing. However, it is well known that these devices’...     

Automatic recognition fingerspelling gestures in multiple languages for a communication interface for the disabled

This paper presents the design and evaluation of a multi-lingual fingerspelling recognition module that is designed for an information terminal. Through the use of multimodal input and output methods, the information terminal acts as a communication medium between deaf and blind people. The system converts fingerspelled words to speech and vice versa using fingerspelling recognition, fingerspelling synthesis, speech recognition and speech synthesis in Czech, Russian, and Turkish languages. We describe an adaptive skin color based fingersign recognition system with a close to real-time performance and present recognition results on 88 different letters signed by five different signers, using above four hours of training and test videos.     

Decision making with a fuzzy ontology

Knowledge mobilisation is a transition from the prevailing knowledge management technology that has been widely used in industry for the last 20?years to a new methodology and some innovative methods for knowledge representation, formation and development and for knowledge retrieval and distribution. Knowledge mobilisation aims at coming to terms with some of the problems of knowledge management and at the same time to introduce new theory, new methods and new technology. More precisely, this paper presents an outline of a fuzzy ontology as an enhanced version of classical ontology and demonstrates some advantages for practical decision making. We show that a number of soft computing techniques, e.g. aggregation functions and interval valued fuzzy numbers, will support effective and practical decision making on the basis of the fuzzy ontology. We demonstrate the knowledge mobilisation methods with the construction of a support system for finding the best available wine for a number of wine drinking occasions using a fuzzy wine ontology and fuzzy reasoning methods; the support system has been implemented for a Nokia N900 smart phone.     

A low-cost real time virtual system for postural stability assessment at home

Background and objective

The degeneration of the balance control system in the elderly and in many pathologies requires measuring the equilibrium conditions very often. In clinical practice, equilibrium control is commonly evaluated by using a force platform (stabilometric platform) in a clinical environment.In this paper, we demonstrate how a simple movement analysis system, based on a 3D video camera and a 3D real time model reconstruction of the human body, can be used to collect information usually recorded by a physical stabilometric platform.

Methods

The algorithm used to reconstruct the human body model as a set of spheres is described and discussed. Moreover, experimental measurements and comparisons with data collected by a physical stabilometric platform are also reported. The measurements were collected on a set of 6 healthy subjects to whom a change in equilibrium condition was stimulated by performing an equilibrium task.

Results

The experimental results showed that more than 95% of data collected by the proposed method were not significantly different from those collected by the classic platform, thus confirming the usefulness of the proposed system.

Conclusions

The proposed virtual balance assessment system can be implemented at low cost (about 500$) and, for this reason, can be considered a home use medical device. On the contrary, astabilometric platform has a cost of about 10,000$ and requires periodical calibration. The proposed system does not require periodical calibration, as is necessary for stabilometric force platforms, and it is easy to use. In future, the proposed system with little integration can be used, besides being an emulator of a stabilometric platform, also to recognize and track, in real time, head, legs, arms and trunk, that is to collect information actually obtained by sophisticated optoelectronic systems.     

Formal verification of security protocol implementations: a survey

Automated formal verification of security protocols has been mostly focused on analyzing high-level abstract models which, however, are significantly different from real protocol implementations written in programming languages. Recently, some researchers have started investigating techniques that bring automated formal proofs closer to real implementations. This paper surveys these attempts, focusing on approaches that target the application code that implements protocol logic, rather than the libraries that implement cryptography. According to these approaches, libraries are assumed to correctly implement some models. The aim is to derive formal proofs that, under this assumption, give assurance about the application code that implements the protocol logic. The two main approaches of model extraction and code generation are presented, along with the main techniques adopted for each approach.     

The use of games to help children eyes testing

A doctor cannot perform a good diagnosis without the patient collaboration. One of the major problem for ophthalmologists with children is to capture and maintain their attention while performing their tests. Sometimes children give wrong answers, or not accurate, since they are no longer interested in the task. In this paper we use the serious game paradigm to help children eyes testing. We ask the children to perform a vision acuity and a daltonism test using our game PlayWithEyes. Children have to recognize symbols projected on a wall and point them in a touch interface which displays all the possible answers. Tests performed in a kindergarten with 65 children have shown that the use of our game helps to obtain children cooperation because they have fun, so their attention may last longer, thus improving the possibility to perform a correct diagnosis especially for very young children. This is particular important for some sight defects like amblyopia (lazy eye). Moreover, the system allows us to identify visual acuity reduction in two children. Tests also highlight some limitations of the tool which have been promptly fixed.