Credible autocoding of convex optimization algorithms

The efficiency of modern optimization methods, coupled with increasing computational resources, has led to the possibility of real-time optimization algorithms acting in safety-critical roles. There is a considerable body of mathematical proofs on on-line optimization algorithms which can be leveraged to assist in the development and verification of their implementation. In this paper, we demonstrate how theoretical proofs of real-time optimization algorithms can be used to describe functional properties at the level of the code, thereby making it accessible for the formal methods community. The running example used in this paper is a generic semi-definite programming solver. Semi-definite programs can encode a wide variety of optimization problems and can be solved in polynomial time at a given accuracy. We describe a top-down approach that transforms a high-level analysis of the algorithm into useful code annotations. We formulate some general remarks on how such a task can be incorporated into a convex programming autocoder. We then take a first step towards the automatic verification of the optimization program by identifying key issues to be addressed in future work.     

Values of the mass transfer coefficient of the linear driving force model for VOC adsorption on activated carbons

Modelling of activated carbon cartridges is essential in personal protective equipments against toxic gases in order to know the duration of protection. The linear driving force model seems to be more adapted than the actual Wheeler–Jonas model because it has more physical significance. The difficulty is that the mass transfer coefficient can not be calculated a priori. Values of the LDF mass transfer coefficient are disseminated in the literature and thus there is no overview of the range and variations with different adsorbents, adsorbates and concentrations. The object of this paper is thus twofold: obtaining values of the mass transfer coefficient at different concentrations and adsorbates in order to have a comprehensive view of variations and appreciating the validity of the LDF constant pattern model.     

Influence of Host-Plant Surface Chemicals on the Oviposition of the Cereal Stemborer Busseola Fusca

The chemical composition of plant surfaces plays a role in selection of host plants by herbivorous insects. Once the insect reaches the plant, these cues determine host acceptance. Laboratory studies have shown that the stem borer Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an important pest of sorghum and maize in sub-Saharan Africa, is able to differentiate between host and non-host plant species. However, no information is available on the cues used by this insect to seek and accept the host plant. Thus, the role of surface phytochemical stimuli on host selection and oviposition by B. fusca was studied in the laboratory using two host plants, sorghum, Sorghum bicolor, and maize, Zea mays, and one non-host plant, Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum. The numbers of eggs and egg masses deposited on the three plant species were compared first under no-choice and choice conditions. In both cases, more eggs and egg masses were laid on maize and sorghum than on the non-host. Artificial surrogate stems treated with a water or chloroform surface extract of each plant were then compared with surrogate stems treated with, respectively, water or chloroform as controls, under similar conditions. Surrogate stems treated with plant water extracts did not show an increase in oviposition when compared to controls, indicating that the major compounds in these extracts, i.e., simple sugars and free amino acids, are not significantly responsible for the oviposition preference. By contrast, a chloroform extract of sorghum enhanced oviposition on the surrogate stems compared to the control, while those of maize and Napier grass showed no significant effects. Analysis of the chloroform extract of sorghum showed higher amounts of α-amyrin, ß-amyrin, and n-nonacosane compared to those of maize and Napier grass. A blend of the three chemicals significantly increased oviposition compared to the chloroform-treated control, indicating that these compounds are part of the surface chemical signature of the plant responsible for host recognition and oviposition by B. fusca.     

Influence of Process Parameters on the Morphology of Spray‐Dried BaCl2 Powders

Spray‐drying is an effective method for producing powder aggregates with controlled size and morphology. Here, we report on a systematic study aimed at determining how spray‐drying parameters such as nozzle temperature, gas flow, salt concentration and solution feed rate, influence the characteristics of BaCl₂ granules prepared from aqueous solutions. We correlate the granule characteristics to these conditions through the use of processing maps and modeling. It is found that well‐dispersed, high density and spherical aggregates, which are favorable for subsequent powder compaction and sintering, can be obtained within a limited range of processing conditions.     

Execution profiling blueprints

Although traditional approaches to code profiling help locate performance bottlenecks, they offer only limited support for removing these bottlenecks. The main reason is the lack of detailed visual runtime information to identify and eliminate computation redundancy. We provide three profiling blueprints that help identify and remove performance bottlenecks. The structural distribution blueprint graphically represents the CPU consumption share for each method and class of an application. The behavioral distribution blueprint depicts the distribution of CPU consumption along method invocations and hints at method candidates for caching optimizations. The behavioral evolution blueprint compares profiles of different versions of a software system and highlights performance‐critical changes in the system. These three blueprints helped us to significantly optimize Mondrian, an open source visualization engine. Our implementation is freely available for the Pharo development environment and has been evaluated in a number of different scenarios. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Real-time retrieval for case-based reasoning in interactive multiagent-based simulations

The aim of this paper is to present the principles and results about case-based reasoning adapted to real-time interactive simulations, more precisely concerning retrieval mechanisms. The article begins by introducing the constraints involved in interactive multiagent-based simulations. The second section presents a framework stemming from case-based reasoning by autonomous agents. Each agent uses a case base of local situations and, from this base, it can choose an action in order to interact with other autonomous agents or users’ avatars. We illustrate this framework with an example dedicated to the study of dynamic situations in football. We then go on to address the difficulties of conducting such simulations in real-time and propose a model for case and for case base. Using generic agents and adequate case base structure associated with a dedicated recall algorithm, we improve retrieval performance under time pressure compared to classic CBR techniques. We present some results relating to the performance of this solution. The article concludes by outlining future development of our project.     

A Secure Grid Medical Data Manager Interfaced to the gLite Middleware

The medical community is producing and manipulating a tremendous volume of digital data for which computerized archiving, processing and analysis is needed. Grid infrastructures are promising for dealing with challenges arising in computerized medicine but the manipulation of medical data on such infrastructures faces both the problem of interconnecting medical information systems to Grid middlewares and of preserving patients’ privacy in a wide and distributed multi-user system. These constraints are often limiting the use of Grids for manipulating sensitive medical data. This paper describes our design of a medical data management system taking advantage of the advanced gLite data management services, developed in the context of the EGEE project, to fulfill the stringent needs of the medical community. It ensures medical data protection through strict data access control, anonymization and encryption. The multi-level access control provides the flexibility needed for implementing complex medical use-cases. Data anonymization prevents the exposure of most sensitive data to unauthorized users, and data encryption guarantees data protection even when it is stored at remote sites. Moreover, the developed prototype provides a Grid storage resource manager (SRM) interface to standard medical DICOM servers thereby enabling transparent access to medical data without interfering with medical practice.     

A network approach to the French system of legal codes—part I: analysis of a dense network

We explore one aspect of the structure of a codified legal system at the national level using a new type of representation to understand the strong or weak dependencies between the various fields of law. In Part I of this study, we analyze the graph associated with the network in which each French legal code is a vertex and an edge is produced between two vertices when a code cites another code at least one time. We show that this network distinguishes from many other real networks from a high density, giving it a particular structure that we call concentrated world and that differentiates a national legal system (as considered with a resolution at the code level) from small-world graphs identified in many social networks. Our analysis then shows that a few communities (groups of highly wired vertices) of codes covering large domains of regulation are structuring the whole system. Indeed we mainly find a central group of influent codes, a group of codes related to social issues and a group of codes dealing with territories and natural resources. The study of this codified legal system is also of interest in the field of the analysis of real networks. In particular we examine the impact of the high density on the structural characteristics of the graph and on the ways communities are searched for. Finally we provide an original visualization of this graph on an hemicyle-like plot, this representation being based on a statistical reduction of dissimilarity measures between vertices. In Part II (a following paper) we show how the consideration of the weights attributed to each edge in the network in proportion to the number of citations between two vertices (codes) allows deepening the analysis of the French legal system.     

Robust backstepping for the Euler approximate model of sampled-data strict-feedback systems

Stabilization of uncertain sampled-data strict-feedback systems is addressed. The stability study is carried out on the Euler approximation of the exact discretized model of the plant. Firstly, a class of state-feedback controllers is developed that guarantees an input-to-state stability property for the closed-loop system. Additionally, assuming some hypotheses on the uncertain terms hold, a practical asymptotic stability property is ensured by designing an appropriate class of controllers.     

Optimizing BRDF orientations for the manipulation of anisotropic highlights

This paper introduces a system for the direct editing of highlights produced by anisotropic BRDFs, which we call anisotropic highlights. We first provide a comprehensive analysis of the link between the direction of anisotropy and the shape of highlight curves for arbitrary object surfaces. The gained insights provide the required ingredients to infer BRDF orientations from a prescribed highlight tangent field. This amounts to a non‐linear optimization problem, which is solved at interactive framerates during manipulation. Taking inspiration from sculpting software, we provide tools that give the impression of manipulating highlight curves while actually modifying their tangents. Our solver produces desired highlight shapes for a host of lighting environments and anisotropic BRDFs.