Graph rigidity, cyclic belief propagation, and point pattern matching

A recent paper \cite{CaeCaeSchBar06} proposed a provably optimal, polynomial time method for performing near-isometric point pattern matching by means of exact probabilistic inference in a chordal graphical model. Its fundamental result is that the chordal graph in question is shown to be \emph{globally rigid}, implying that exact inference provides the \emph{same} matching solution as exact inference in a complete graphical model. This implies that the algorithm is optimal when there is no noise in the point patterns. In this paper, we present a new graph which is also globally rigid but has an advantage over the graph proposed in \cite{CaeCaeSchBar06}: its maximal clique size is smaller, rendering inference significantly more efficient. However, this graph is not chordal and thus standard Junction Tree algorithms cannot be directly applied. Nevertheless, we show that loopy belief propagation in such a graph converges to the optimal solution. This allows us to retain the optimality guarantee in the noiseless case, while substantially reducing both memory requirements and processing time. Our experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed solution is indistinguishable from that of \cite{CaeCaeSchBar06} when there is noise in the point patterns.     

Preparation and characterization of TiO2-BaO-ZnO-B2O3 glass systems for optical devices

We study the TiO₂-BaO-ZnO-B₂O₃ glass system, where the ZnO and B₂O₃ compositions were constant and the ratio TiO₂/BaO was varied from 0.87 to 1.76. A super kanthal resistance furnace was used to melt the compounds inside an alumina crucible, at 1200 °C, for 10 min. After melting, the glasses were poured out into steel moulds and rapidly cooled by quenching. The glasses obtained were homogeneous, bubble free and transparent. They were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-VIS spectroscopy, dilatometry, density and linear refractive index. An infrared cut off caused by the composition influence was found in both IR and UV-vis spectra. From dilatometry T _d and T _g were verified as being anomalous. The linear thermal expansion coefficient presented an anomalous behaviour in relation to TiO₂ concentrations. The density and linear refractive index increased with increasing TiO₂/BaO ratio arriving at their peak value of TiO₂/BaO=1.5 and then decreasing. The dependence of softening point T _d on the ratio TiO₂/BaO exhibited the same behaviour. It is suggested that Ti⁴⁺ plays a dual part in the glass system, assuming a predominantly tetrahedral coordination in the low titania region and a predominantly octahedral coordination in the high titania region. With a heat treatment of the glass around 600 °C, we observed a rapid change of refractive index with increasing temperature.     

Higher incidence of Gastrospirillum sp. in swine with gastric ulcer of the pars oesophagea

Gastric ulcer in swine is characterized by an area of acid-peptic digestion, occurs usually in the pars oesophagea of the stomach, and has unknown etiopathogenesis. The present work was carried out to investigate the prevalence of the newly described spiral-shaped microorganism Gastrospirillum sp. ("Gastrospirillum suis") in stomachs of abattoir pigs with and without gastric ulcer. Stomachs were removed from 32 consecutive pigs presenting apparently normal mucosa and from 32 additional consecutive pigs presenting frank, chronic gastric ulcer of the pars oesophagea. Fragments of antral, oxyntic, cardiac and pars oesophagea regions were taken from each stomach and processed for histology and for identification of Gastrospirillum sp. in tissue sections. The microorganisms were identified mainly in the mucous layer and in gastric foveolas of the antral and oxyntic mucosa. Forty pigs (62.5%) were positive for Gastrospirillum sp.; among them, 27 (67.5%) had gastric ulcer, and 13 (32.5%) had no ulcer. Twenty-four pigs (37.5%) were negative for Gastrospirillum sp.; among them, five (20.8%) presented with gastric ulcer, and 19 (79.2%) had no ulcer. There was a significant difference between pigs with and without gastric ulcer in regard to the presence of Gastrospirillum sp. (P < 0.01). The spiral-shaped microorganism Gastrospirillum sp. that inhabits the stomach of pigs should be considered a possible factor connected with the etiopathogenesis of swine gastric ulcer.     

Report of the Second Workshop on the Usage of NetFlow/IPFIX in Network Management

Following the success of the First Workshop on the Usage of NetFlow/IPFIX (Pras et al. in J Netw Syst Manag 17(4), 2009) in 2008, the European EMANICS Network of Excellence organized a second workshop in October 2009, held at Jacobs University Bremen. This report summarizes the workshop and presents its main conclusions.     

The use of coevolution and the artificial immune system for ensemble learning

This paper presents two new approaches for constructing an ensemble of neural networks (NN) using coevolution and the artificial immune system (AIS). These approaches are extensions of the CLONal Selection Algorithm for building ENSembles (CLONENS) algorithm. An explicit diversity promotion technique was added to CLONENS and a novel coevolutionary approach to build neural ensembles is introduced, whereby two populations representing the gates and the individual NN are coevolved. The former population is responsible for defining the ensemble size and selecting the members of the ensemble. This population is evolved using the differential evolution algorithm. The latter population supplies the best individuals for building the ensemble, which is evolved by AIS. Results show that it is possible to automatically define the ensemble size being also possible to find smaller ensembles with good generalization performance on the tested benchmark regression problems. More interestingly, the use of the diversity measure during the evolutionary process did not necessarily improve generalization. In this case, diverse ensembles may be found using only implicit diversity promotion techniques.     

Slicing for architectural analysis

Current software development often relies on non-trivial coordination logic for combining autonomous services, eventually running on different platforms. As a rule, however, such a coordination layer is strongly woven within the application at source code level. Therefore, its precise identification becomes a major methodological (and technical) problem and a challenge to any program understanding or refactoring process.The approach introduced in this paper resorts to slicing techniques to extract coordination data from source code. Such data are captured in a specific dependency graph structure from which a coordination model can be recovered either in the form of an Orc specification or as a collection of code fragments corresponding to the identification of typical coordination patterns in the system. Tool support is also discussed.     

A methodology to specify three-dimensional interaction using Petri Nets

This work presents a methodology to formally model and to build three-dimensional interaction tasks in virtual environments using three different tools: Petri Nets, the Interaction Technique Decomposition taxonomy, and Object-Oriented techniques. User operations in the virtual environment are represented as Petri Net nodes; these nodes, when linked, represent the interaction process stages. In our methodology, places represent all the states an application can reach, transitions define the conditions to start an action, and tokens embody the data manipulated by the application. As a result of this modeling process we automatically generate the core of the application's source code. We also use a Petri Net execution library to run the application code. In order to facilitate the application modeling, we have adapted Dia, a well-known graphical diagram editor, to support Petri Nets creation and code generation. The integration of these approaches results in a modular application, based on Petri Nets formalism that allows for the specification of an interaction task and for the reuse of developed blocks in new virtual environment projects.     

A semiotic engineering approach to user interface design

Designing software involves good perception, good reasoning, and a talent to express oneself effectively through programming and interactive languages. Semiotic theories can help HCI designers increase their power to perceive, reason and communicate. By presenting some of the results we have reached with semiotic engineering over the last few years, we suggest that the main contributions of semiotic theory in supporting HCI design are: to provide designers with new perceptions on the process and product of HCI design; to bind together all the stages of software development and use, giving them a unique homogeneous treatment; and to pose innovative questions that extend the frontiers of HCI investigations.     

Quasi-stationary multiple stimulated Raman generation in the visible using optical fibers

Several orders of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in monomode and multimode fibers have been observed. The relatively low power in the visible used in the quasi-stationary regime permitted observation of sharply defined Stokes and anti-Stokes spectral lines without any continua. Results of pump-to-Stokes power conversion in a monomode fiber indicate a striking equivalence between pump power and fiber length. The dependence of multiple SRS generation/amplification with these parameters is investigated up to the limit of near total pump extinction. We propose a qualitative explanation of these facts, although a detailed theory of nonlinear behavior of fibers is wanting. Parametric four-photon mixing is again confirmed to account for the generation of stimulated anti-Stokes radiation in multimode fibers and its absolute absence in monomode fibers.