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Objective: Anxiety is associated with physiological changes that can be noninvasively measured using inexpensive and wearable sensors. These changes provide an objective and language-free measure of arousal associated with anxiety, which can complement treatment programs for clinical populations who have difficulty with introspection, communication, and emotion recognition. This motivates the development of automatic methods for detection of anxiety-related arousal using physiology signals. While several supervised learning methods have been proposed for this purpose, these methods require regular collection and updating of training data and are, therefore, not suitable for clinical populations, where obtaining labelled data may be challenging due to impairments in communication and introspection. In this context, the objective of this paper is to develop an unsupervised and real-time arousal detection algorithm. Methods: We propose a learning framework based on the Kalman filtering theory for detection of physiological arousal based on cardiac activity. The performance of the system was evaluated on data obtained from a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder. Results: The results indicate that the system can detect anxiety-related arousal in these children with sensitivity and specificity of 99% and 92%, respectively. Conclusion and significance: Our results show that the proposed method can detect physiological arousal associated with anxiety with high accuracy, providing support for technical feasibility of augmenting anxiety treatments with automatic detection techniques. This approach can ultimately lead to more effective anxiety treatment for a larger and more diverse population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increasing population density, closer social contact and interactions make epidemic control difficult. Traditional offline epidemic control methods (e.g., using medical survey or medical records) or model-based approach are not effective due to its inability to gather health data and social contact information simultaneously or impractical statistical assumption about the dynamics of social contact networks, respectively. In addition, it is challenging to find optimal sets of people to be quarantined to contain the spread of epidemics for large populations due to high computational complexity. Unlike these approaches, in this paper, a novel cluster-based epidemic control scheme is proposed based on Smartphone-based body area networks. The proposed scheme divides the populations into multiple clusters based on their physical location and social contact information. The proposed control schemes are applied within the cluster or between clusters. Further, we develop a computational efficient approach called UGP to enable an effective cluster-based quarantine strategy using graph theory for large scale networks (i.e., populations). The effectiveness of the proposed methods is demonstrated through both simulations and experiments on real social contact networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next-generation wireless communication networks are envisioned to offer many multimedia services such as audio/video clips, mobile TV, web browsing, video conference, etc., with diverse quality of service (QoS) requirements. Multicasting/broadcasting has been recognized as an emerging and enabling technique for such multimedia transmissions over wireless networks. By employing multicast transmission, a base station can transmit the same data content to several groups of users requiring flexible QoS. In this paper, we investigate subchannel and power allocation problems in an OFDM-based wireless multicast system. With the goal of maximizing the total system capacity, a low complexity, novel genetic algorithm aided efficient subchannel allocation scheme taking into account the constraints of total available bandwidth, proportional data rate fairness and total transmit power budget at the base station is proposed. The subchannel allocation is then followed by optimal power allocation. Unlike previous work where either no fairness or fairness based on number of subchannels allocated to the different groups was considered, we incorporate a set of system parameters in the problem formulation such that the ratio of the group data rates strictly follow the set of system parameters after resource allocation. Simulation results show that the proposed method obtains higher sum capacities while maintaining proportional data rate fairness among different multicast groups, without being awfully complex. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Several studies have shown the importance of realistic micromobility and macromobility modeling in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). At the macroscopic level, most researchers focus on a detailed and accurate description of road topology. However, a key factor often overlooked is a spatiotemporal configuration of vehicular traffic. This factor greatly influences network topology and topology variations. Indeed, vehicle distribution has high spatial and temporal diversity that depends on the time of the day and place attraction. This diversity impacts the quality of radio links and, thus, network topology. In this paper, we propose a new mobility model for vehicular networks in urban and suburban environments. To reproduce realistic network topology and topological changes, the model uses real static and dynamic data on the environment. The data concern particularly the topographic and socioeconomic characteristics of infrastructures and the spatiotemporal population distribution. We validate our model by comparing the simulation results with real data derived from individual displacement survey. We also present statistics on network topology, which show the interest of taking into account the spatiotemporal mobility variation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We consider the high-dimensional discriminant analysis problem. For this problem, different methods have been proposed and justified by establishing exact convergence rates for the classification risk, as well as the \ell 2 convergence results to the discriminative rule. However, sharp theoretical analysis for the variable selection performance of these procedures have not been established, even though model interpretation is of fundamental importance in scientific data analysis. This paper bridges the gap by providing sharp sufficient conditions for consistent variable selection using the sparse discriminant analysis. Through careful analysis, we establish rates of convergence that are significantly faster than the best known results and admit an optimal scaling of the sample size $n$ , dimensionality $p$ , and sparsity level $s$ in the high-dimensional setting. Sufficient conditions are complemented by the necessary information theoretic limits on the variable selection problem in the context of high-dimensional discriminant analysis. Exploiting a numerical equivalence result, our method also establish the optimal results for the ROAD estimator and the sparse optimal scoring estimator. Furthermore, we analyze an exhaustive search procedure, whose performance serves as a benchmark, and show that it is variable selection consistent under weaker conditions. Extensive simulations demonstrating the sharpness of the bounds are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain storm optimization (BSO) is a novel population-based swarm intelligence algorithm based on the human brainstorming process. BSO has been proven feasible and has been successfully applied to benchmark problems in the electromagnetic field. In this paper, inspired by the mechanism of quantum theories, a novel variant of BSO algorithm, called quantum-behaved BSO (QBSO), is proposed to solve an optimization problem modeled for Loney’s solenoid problem. The new mechanism improves the diversity of population and also utilizes the global information to generate the new individual. Simulation results show that QBSO has better ability to jump out of local optima and perform better compared with the basic BSO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliability analysis of power systems has been attracting increasing attention. Regulatory agencies establish reliability standards that, if infringed, result in costly fines for the utility suppliers. A special concern pertains to the distribution networks on which most failures occur. The allocation of switches is a possible strategy to improve reliability, by allowing network reconfiguration to isolate contingencies and restore power to dark areas. This paper proposes an optimization methodology to allocate switches on radially operated distribution networks. The solution framework considers sectionalizing and tie switches of different capacities, with manual or automatic operation schemes. The approach minimizes the costs of allocation and energy not supplied, under reliability and flow capacity constraints. The solution framework is based on memetic algorithm concepts with a structured population. Case studies with a large network and real-world scenarios were used to evaluate the methodology. The results indicate that significant cost reductions can be achieved using the proposed solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cluster identification of ultra-wideband (UWB) propagations is of great significance to the parameter extraction and measurement analysis of channel modeling. In this paper, we address this challenging problem within a promising biological processing framework. Both the two large-scale characteristics of each multipath component, i.e., the decaying amplitude and the time of arrivals, are organically combined and fully explored in the suggested cluster identification algorithm. Each resolvable trajectory component is first projected onto a 2-D amplitude–time plane and further modeled as a virtual ant-agent, which can move around in this 2-D workspace with a preference to the high local-environment similarity. By establishing a subtle population similarity and specifying an efficient position adaptation strategy, cluster identifications can be realized by the biological ant colony clustering procedure. Owing to the population-based intelligence and the involved positive-feedback collaboration during the agents evolution, the suggested algorithm can efficiently identify the involved multiple clusters in a completely automatic manner. Experiments on UWB channels validate the proposed method. The practical parameter configuration is analyzed, and a group of numerical performance metrics is derived. As demonstrated by numerical investigations, multiple clusters involved in UWB channel impulse responses can be accurately extracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of data captured and made available to scientists for research. This increase amplifies the difficulty scientists face in finding the data most relevant to their information needs. In prior work, we hypothesized that Information Retrieval-style ranked search can be applied to data sets to help a scientist discover the most relevant data amongst the thousands of data sets in many formats, much like text-based ranked search helps users make sense of the vast number of Internet documents. To test this hypothesis, we explored the use of ranked search for scientific data using an existing multi-terabyte observational archive as our test-bed. In this paper, we investigate whether the concept of varying relevance, and therefore ranked search, applies to numeric data—that is, are data sets are enough like documents for Information Retrieval techniques and evaluation measures to apply? We present a user study that demonstrates that data set similarity resonates with users as a basis for relevance and, therefore, for ranked search. We evaluate a prototype implementation of ranked search over data sets with a second user study and demonstrate that ranked search improves a scientist's ability to find needed data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Binary sequences with low aperiodic autocorrelation levels, defined in terms of the peak sidelobe level (PSL) and/or merit factor, have many important engineering applications, such as radars, sonars, spread spectrum communications, system identification, and cryptography. Searching for low autocorrelation binary sequences (LABS) is a notorious combinatorial problem, and has been chosen to form a benchmark test for constraint solvers. Due to its prohibitively high complexity, an exhaustive search solution is impractical, except for relatively short lengths. Many suboptimal algorithms have been introduced to extend the LABS search for lengths of up to a few hundred. In this paper, we address the challenge of discovering even longer LABS by proposing an evolutionary algorithm (EA) with a new combination of several features, borrowed from genetic algorithms, evolutionary strategies (ES), and memetic algorithms. The proposed algorithm can efficiently discover long LABS of lengths up to several thousand. Record-breaking minimum peak sidelobe results of many lengths up to 4096 have been tabulated for benchmarking purposes. In addition, our algorithm design can be easily adapted to tackle various extensions of the LABS problem, say, with a generic sidelobe criterion and/or for possibly nonbinary sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell population represents an intrinsically heterogeneous and stochastic system, in which individual cells often behave very differently in molecular contents, functions and even genotypes from the population average in response to uniform physiological stimuli. The traditional bulk cellular analysis often overlooks cellular heterogeneity and does not provide information on cell–cell variations. Single-cell measurements can reveal information obscured in population averages, and enable us to determine distributions rather than averaged properties within a cell population. The level of complexity, with numerous variables acting at the same time, requires multiparametric and dynamic investigation of a large number of single cells. Multiplexed study can provide quantitative correlations or inter-relationships among multiple cellular components and molecular markers within a protein network or family in biological processes. In this paper, we applied multiple fluorophore-conjugated primary antibodies to detect multiple proteins expressed on the same singe cells from a clonal population. To reveal cell–cell heterogeneity, we quantified the histograms of six proteins within a cell population as functions of TNF-α stimulation time. Then, we quantified noise and noise strength of these protein histograms as functions of TNF-α stimulation time. Thirdly, we quantified correlation coefficients of multiple proteins expressed on same single-cells as functions of TNF-α stimulation time. Above parameters demonstrated nonlinear relationships with TNF-α stimulation. Quantification of above parameters on independent cell subpopulations further reveals the cell–cell heterogeneity when exposed to identical environmental conditions. Such cellular heterogeneity will be useful to characterize the disease progression and disease diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we propose new memetic algorithms (MAs) for the multiobjective flexible job shop scheduling problem (MO-FJSP) with the objectives to minimize the makespan, total workload, and critical workload. The problem is addressed in a Pareto manner, which aims to search for a set of Pareto optimal solutions. First, by using well-designed chromosome encoding/decoding scheme and genetic operators, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is adapted for the MO-FJSP. Then, our MAs are developed by incorporating a novel local search algorithm into the adapted NSGA-II, where some good individuals are chosen from the offspring population for local search using a selection mechanism. Furthermore, in the proposed local search, a hierarchical strategy is adopted to handle the three objectives, which mainly considers the minimization of makespan, while the concern of the other two objectives is reflected in the order of trying all the possible actions that could generate the acceptable neighbor. In the experimental studies, the influence of two alternative acceptance rules on the performance of the proposed MAs is first examined. Afterwards, the effectiveness of key components in our MAs is verified, including genetic search, local search, and the hierarchical strategy in local search. Finally, extensive comparisons are carried out with the state-of-the-art methods specially presented for the MO-FJSP on well-known benchmark instances. The results show that the proposed MAs perform much better than all the other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Backtracking search algorithm (BSA) is a novel evolutionary algorithm (EA) for solving real-valued numerical optimization problems. In this paper, an adaptive BSA (ABSA) is proposed to solve the optimization problem of an induction magnetometer (IM). In the adaptive algorithm, the probabilities of crossover and mutation are varied depending on the fitness values of the solutions to refine the convergence performance. The proposed ABSA will also be compared with basic BSA and other widely used EA algorithms. Simulation results show that ABSA is better able to solving the IM optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational tools are needed to make data-driven disaster mitigation planning accessible to planners and policymakers without the need for programming or geographic information systems expertise. To address this problem, we have created modules to facilitate quantitative analyses pertinent to a variety of different disaster scenarios. These modules, which comprise the REsponse PLan ANalyzer framework, may be used to create tools for specific disaster scenarios that allow planners to harness large amounts of disparate data and execute computational models through a point-and-click interface. Bio-E, a user-friendly tool built using this framework, was designed to develop and analyze the feasibility of ad hoc clinics for treating populations following a biological emergency event. In this paper, the design and implementation of the RE-PLAN framework are described, and the functionality of the modules used in the Bio-E biological emergency mitigation tools are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automatic design of synchronous reluctance (SyR) machines is considered in this paper by means of finite-element analysis and multiobjective optimization algorithms (MOOAs). The research focuses on the design of the rotor geometry, which is the key aspect of the SyR machine design. In particular, the performance of three popular MOOAs is analyzed and compared in terms of quality of the final design and computational time. A procedure to minimize the computational burden of the optimized design process is introduced and applied to a three-layer and a five layer rotor. Two prototypes experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of the design procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In relay-assisted cellular networks, when and how to cooperate for potential relay nodes is an important issue, particularly from the energy-aware perspective. Moreover, addressing the dynamic cooperative partner-selection problem with incomplete private information is a challenging issue, particularly in the competitive and changing environments. In this paper, we model the energy-aware dynamic competition of cooperative partner selection as an evolutionary game. Specifically, the replicator dynamics are applied to model the adaptation of strategic interactions while considering the dynamic nature in time dependence, and the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) is referred to as the robust solution of the proposed game. Moreover, we prove the uniqueness of the resulting ESS, guarantee the convergence to the ESS, and analyze the convergence behavior under the replicator dynamics from different perspectives. In practical terms, we further develop a cooperative partner-selection evolutionary algorithm based on the Q-learning approach, which only requires local knowledge for the potential relay nodes. In addition, we extend our observation by studying the dynamic cooperative partner selection with delay and discuss the properties of the resulting ESS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exponential growth of information generated by online social networks demands effective and scalable recommender systems to give useful results. Traditional techniques become unqualified because they ignore social relation data; existing social recommendation approaches consider social network structure, but social contextual information has not been fully considered. It is significant and challenging to fuse social contextual factors which are derived from users’ motivation of social behaviors into social recommendation. In this paper, we investigate the social recommendation problem on the basis of psychology and sociology studies, which exhibit two important factors: individual preference and interpersonal influence. We first present the particular importance of these two factors in online behavior prediction. Then we propose a novel probabilistic matrix factorization method to fuse them in latent space. We further provide a scalable algorithm which can incrementally process the large scale data. We conduct experiments on both Facebook style bidirectional and Twitter style unidirectional social network data sets. The empirical results and analysis on these two large data sets demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms the existing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with design optimization of air-cored permanent magnet linear synchronous motors with overlapping windings to achieve high thrust per volume, high thrust per coils quantity, high motor constant, and low thrust ripple simultaneously for ultra-precise positioning stage with air-bearing. Based on accurate magnetic field model, motor parameters such as flux density, inductive electromotive force (EMF), thrust per volume, thrust per coils quantity, and thrust ripple are analyzed. A multiobjective optimization method with weight coefficients is proposed by applying the multiple population genetic algorithm. The design optimization is verified by 3-D finite element analysis and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Originating from the strategic management theory, resource-based view of firm believes that firms rely on bundles of resources which enable them to gain competitive advantage. Patent, as an integral part of intellectual capital, is an important resource for organizations building capabilities. With the heterogeneous in nature and imperfectly mobile, patent and its management becomes increasingly crucial for organizations facing globalization, information transparency, and intensified competition in developing a sustainable competitive advantage. Drawing upon the literature on strategic alliance, resource-based view, and patent management, we study how sharing patents can create sharing value added and synergy value added that enable participants in the patent alliance to obtain better financial payoff. Specifically, in this paper, we use the evolutionary stable strategy and replicator dynamic from evolutionary game theory to model the synergy effects in patent alliance. Our evolutionary dynamic modeling shows that an evolutionary stable state converges when organizations share patents, and supports that both patent sharing value added and synergy value added from patent alliance would be financially beneficial to organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper studies the limiting behavior of a class of robust population covariance matrix estimators, originally due to Maronna in 1976, in the regime where both the number of available samples and the population size grow large. Using tools from random matrix theory, we prove that, for sample vectors made of independent entries having some moment conditions, the difference between the sample covariance matrix and (a scaled version of) such robust estimator tends to zero in spectral norm, almost surely. This result can be applied to various statistical methods arising from random matrix theory that can be made robust without altering their first order behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Currently, video-on-demand (VoD) streaming over Internet is a popular application. Because of the rapidly growing video population and user population, how to maintain high user quality of experience (QoE) with low cost is a challenging problem for Internet video streaming providers. A promising technique to potentially benefit VoD streaming system is network coding. A number of recent works studied how to use network coding to simplify chunk scheduling strategy to enhance VoD streaming performance. Most of these works only covered extreme cases of pure coding or pure chunk scheduling, emphasizing implementation, and experimentation in peer-to-peer (P2P) scenario without analytically evaluating the realizable performance gains explicitly. In this paper we discuss the strength and weakness of a family of coding strategies for CDN-based VoD streaming systems. The coding schemes are characterized by block sizes while the chunk scheduling strategy is characterized by the order to download chunks. Both pure coding strategy and pure chunk scheduling strategy are special cases of this family of strategies. We then propose a model to evaluate the benefits brought by each strategy. Basically, the coding scheme with larger block size gives more streaming and scheduling benefits with the cost of heavier overheads (e.g., encoding and decoding). System designers can take advantage of our model to balance the tradeoff between coding gain and coding overheads. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the use of polarimetry to improve the estimation of the height of buildings in high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Polarimetric coherence optimization techniques solve the problem of layover effects in urban scenes by allowing a phase separation of the scatterers sharing the same resolution cell. Bare soil elevation estimation is also improved by the polarimetric phase diversity. First, we present an analysis of the statistical modeling of the generalized coherence set. A building height estimation method is then derived from this analysis. Finally, the method is tested and quantitatively validated over an X-band polarimetric interferometric SAR (PolInSAR) airborne image acquired in a single-pass mode, containing a set of 140 different buildings with ground truth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In order to optimize hydro power plants generator scheduling according to 24-h system demand, a parallel self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm has been applied. The proposed algorithm presents a novel approach to considering the multi-population and utilization of the preselection step for the improvements of the algorithm's global search capabilities. A preselection step with the best, middle, and worst populations' individuals establishes the new trial vectors. This algorithm has been verified on two different models. The first one consists of eight power plants with real parameters, and the second one consists of four power plants, mostly used as a test model in scientific papers. The main goal of the optimization process is to satisfy system demand for 24 h with a decreased usage of water quantity per electrical energy unit. The initial and final states of the reservoirs must also be satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Current social networks are of extremely large-scale generating tremendous information flows at every moment. How information diffuses over social networks has attracted much attention from both industry and academics. Most of the existing works on information diffusion analysis are based on machine learning methods focusing on social network structure analysis and empirical data mining. However, the network users' decisions, actions, and socio-economic interactions are generally ignored by most of existing works. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary game theoretic framework to model the dynamic information diffusion process in social networks. Specifically, we derive the information diffusion dynamics in complete networks, uniform degree, and nonuniform degree networks, with the highlight of two special networks, the Erdős–Rényi random network and the Barabási–Albert scale-free network. We find that the dynamics of information diffusion over these three kinds of networks are scale-free and all the three dynamics are same with each other when the network scale is sufficiently large. To verify our theoretical analysis, we perform simulations for the information diffusion over synthetic networks and real-world Facebook networks. Moreover, we also conduct an experiment on a Twitter hashtags dataset, which shows that the proposed game theoretic model can well fit and predict the information diffusion over real social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We propose in this paper to consider code-smells detection as a distributed optimization problem. The idea is that different methods are combined in parallel during the optimization process to find a consensus regarding the detection of code-smells. To this end, we used Parallel Evolutionary algorithms (P-EA) where many evolutionary algorithms with different adaptations (fitness functions, solution representations, and change operators) are executed, in a parallel cooperative manner, to solve a common goal which is the detection of code-smells. An empirical evaluation to compare the implementation of our cooperative P-EA approach with random search, two single population-based approaches and two code-smells detection techniques that are not based on meta-heuristics search. The statistical analysis of the obtained results provides evidence to support the claim that cooperative P-EA is more efficient and effective than state of the art detection approaches based on a benchmark of nine large open source systems where more than 85 percent of precision and recall scores are obtained on a variety of eight different types of code-smells. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scalable compact models for passive elements are important in the Analog/RF circuit design and optimization. Traditional scalable modeling methods are mainly physical and manual based methods, which usually require deep physical insight and extensive human intervention. In this paper, an automatic scalable compact modeling method for generic passive elements is established. The proposed method is a unified parameter extraction and scalable modeling scheme with novel inner-loop correlated parameter extraction and outer-loop adaptive boundary compression techniques. Experimental results show that both accuracy and scalability have been achieved by the proposed method for industrial inductors and transformers with an acceptable computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Methods for obtaining cardiomyocytes from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are improving at a significant rate. However, the characterization of these cardiomyocytes (CMs) is evolving at a relatively slower rate. In particular, there is still uncertainty in classifying the phenotype (ventricular-like, atrial-like, nodal-like, etc.) of an hESC-derived cardiomyocyte (hESC-CM). While previous studies identified the phenotype of a CM based on electrophysiological features of its action potential, the criteria for classification were typically subjective and differed across studies. In this paper, we use techniques from signal processing and machine learning to develop an automated approach to discriminate the electrophysiological differences between hESC-CMs. Specifically, we propose a spectral grouping-based algorithm to separate a population of CMs into distinct groups based on the similarity of their action potential shapes. We applied this method to a dataset of optical maps of cardiac cell clusters dissected from human embryoid bodies. While some of the nine cell clusters in the dataset are presented with just one phenotype, the majority of the cell clusters are presented with multiple phenotypes. The proposed algorithm is generally applicable to other action potential datasets and could prove useful in investigating the purification of specific types of CMs from an electrophysiological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The discovery of evolving communities in dynamic networks is an important research topic that poses challenging tasks. Evolutionary clustering is a recent framework for clustering dynamic networks that introduces the concept of temporal smoothness inside the community structure detection method. Evolutionary-based clustering approaches try to maximize cluster accuracy with respect to incoming data of the current time step, and minimize clustering drift from one time step to the successive one. In order to optimize both these two competing objectives, an input parameter that controls the preference degree of a user towards either the snapshot quality or the temporal quality is needed. In this paper the detection of communities with temporal smoothness is formulated as a multiobjective problem and a method based on genetic algorithms is proposed. The main advantage of the algorithm is that it automatically provides a solution representing the best trade-off between the accuracy of the clustering obtained, and the deviation from one time step to the successive. Experiments on synthetic data sets show the very good performance of the method when compared with state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Semiconductor manufacturers are increasingly assembling multiple chips into a single package to maximize the capacity of flash memories. Multiple-chip products (MCPs) require repetitive visits to assembly stages and incur frequent setup changes. As utilization of packaging facilities decreases due to the introduction of MCPs, research on scheduling of packaging facilities is becoming more important than ever. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to find a good schedule for semiconductor packaging facilities by focusing on bottleneck stages while satisfying practical operational constraints. A genetic algorithm-based sequence optimizer is employed, and construction and performance evaluation of a schedule are separately addressed by a simulator. Furthermore, a recommender is proposed to accelerate convergence of the optimizer. Experimental results show that the proposed approach performs better than the other existing methods while successfully reducing computation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concurrent minimization of project time and project cost is an important issue in construction planning and management. Tradeoff optimization between these two variables is necessary to maximize overall construction project benefit. This paper presents a two-phase differential evolution (DE) model to resolve these problems. This model is able to effectively consider both time–cost effects and resource constraints. First, we introduce a novel multiple-objective algorithm, the chaotic initialized multiple objective differential evolution with adaptive-mutation strategy-based time–cost tradeoff, to determine the execution mode that best optimizes the time–cost balance. Subsequently, we introduce a DE-based resource-constrained method to generate a feasible schedule. A real construction case study is then used to illustrate the application of the proposed algorithm. Performance comparisons done with the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm, multiple objective particle swarm optimization, and multiple objective differential evolution further verify the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new methodology for the automated generation of the optimal performance trade-offs of integrated inductors is presented. The methodology combines a multiobjective optimization algorithm with electromagnetic simulation to get highly accurate results. A set of sized inductors is obtained showing the best performance trade-offs for a given technology. Unlike reported approaches for inductor synthesis, performance trade-offs are generated offline, i.e., before any specific inductance or quality factor are required. The tight efficiency versus accuracy trade-off of existing approaches is, in this way, avoided and performance evaluation via electromagnetic simulation becomes affordable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Power electronic converters are often used in parallel both for efficiency and reliability improvement. Numerous approaches have been documented, but so far, to the best knowledge of the authors, there is no general proof demonstrating if a given configuration would lead to maximum overall efficiency throughout the whole load range. Finding a general answer is complicated by the large number of topologies and load sharing strategies that are used. This paper endeavors to find a generic solution to the question, Which current sharing technique yields best results in terms of overall efficiency?, by using a game theoretic approach and a generalized form of efficiency load current characteristic. The authors start from the assumption that each converter in parallel can be modeled as an agent endowed with intelligence, able to choose a strategy in order to achieve a target. The method is applied to dc/dc converters in general and as an example to the buck converter. Nevertheless, the results can be generalized to other converter types (in the case of ac, additional dimensions will appear, such as reactive power, phase, or frequency) or to other energy conversion or transmission devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to design new strategies to extend traditional multiobjective optimization algorithms to efficiently obtain Pareto-optimal solutions in presence of noise on the objective surfaces. The first strategy, referred to as adaptive selection of sample size, is employed to balance the tradeoff between quality measure of fitness and run-time complexity. The second strategy is concerned with determining statistical expectation, instead of conventional averaging, of fitness samples as the measure of fitness of the trial solutions. The third strategy attempts to extend Goldberg's method to compare slightly worse trial solutions with its competitor by a more statistically viable comparator to examine possible placement of the former solution in the Pareto optimal front. The traditional differential evolution for multiobjective optimization algorithm has been modified by extending its selection step with the proposed strategies. Experiments undertaken to study the performance of the extended algorithm reveal that the extended algorithm outperforms its competitors with respect to three performance metrics, when examined on a test suite of 23 standard benchmarks with additive noise of three statistical distributions. The extended algorithm has been applied on the well known box-pushing problem, where the forces and torques required to shift the box by two robots are evaluated to jointly satisfy the conflicting objectives on task-execution time and energy consumption in presence of noise on range estimates from the sidewalls of the workspace. The application justifies the importance of the proposed noise-handling strategies in practical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moment estimation is an important problem during circuit validation, in both presilicon and postsilicon stages. From the estimated moments, the probability of failure and parametric yield can be estimated at each circuit configuration and corner, and these metrics are used for design optimization and making product qualification decisions. The problem is especially difficult if only a very small sample size is allowed for measurement or simulation, as is the case for complex analog/mixed-signal circuits. In this paper, we propose an efficient moment estimation method, called multiple-population moment estimation (MPME), that significantly improves estimation accuracy under small sample size. The key idea is to leverage the data collected under different corners/configurations to improve the accuracy of moment estimation at each individual corner/configuration. Mathematically, we employ the hierarchical Bayesian framework to exploit the underlying correlation in the data. We apply the proposed method to several datasets including postsilicon measurements of a commercial high-speed I/O link, and demonstrate an average error reduction of up to $2\times$ , which can be equivalently translated to significant reduction of validation time and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Population decay (real transition) and pure dephasing (virtual transition) determine the dephasing rates of excitons in quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor optical amplifiers. In previous theoretical studies, population-decay and pure dephasing are usually handled separately. In this paper, the theory of exciton dephasing in an InAs/GaAs QD semiconductor optical amplifier is presented to elucidate the combination of population decay and pure dephasing and determine the total dephasing rate. The proposed model extends the classical independent boson model to include the effects of real transition. Results show that population decay decreases the pure dephasing rate and imply that the former is directly coupled to pure dephasing despite their differences. Our theoretical results are consistent with the reported experimental phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a theoretical and experimental investigation of parameters of plasma [hydrogen (H2) and argon (Ar)] developed in an inductively coupling plasma reactor. The reactor was shaped as a planar chamber inserted between two gaps formed between two separated identical halves of a quasi-closed solenoid cut along its diameter and powered with a 13.56-MHz RF to generate a closed loop of alternating magnetic field crossing the reactor chamber twice. It has been shown that the solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation describing motion of a charged particle with the certain momentum in a radial cylindrical wave generated in a gap of the quasi-closed solenoid can be presented as the particle motion along a closed Fig. 8-type trajectory. Simple estimation based on this solution has shown that energy of plasma electrons captured and accelerated in the gap at reasonable power applied to the solenoid should run up to \sim70~eV. Experiments have shown that in the reactor filled with H2 at 6 mtorr and powered, for example, with 2 kW of 13.56-MHz RF, the electrons accelerated in electromagnetic fields were arranged in three distinct populations: 1) electrons of \rm\sim130\-eV energy detected as stable electron flows; 2) certain portion of electrons mentioned in 1) diffused on neutrals and forming in velocity space a layer with thickness \sim6~eV at average energy \sim100~eV; and 3) a small population of cold electrons of \sim20\-eV energy in plasma potential vicinity. It has been shown also that the certain disposition of one of the quasi-closed solenoid halves with respect to the other one leads to the electron energy variation at approximate conservation of their density for all of the electron populations in the range from \sim6 to \sim100~eV. The same effect can be obtained by shift of phase of the RF source powering one of the solenoid halves with respect to the other one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an algorithm is presented for estimating scene flow, which is a richer, 3D analog of optical flow. The approach operates orders of magnitude faster than alternative techniques and is well suited to further performance gains through parallelized implementation. The algorithm employs multiple hypotheses to deal with motion ambiguities, rather than the traditional smoothness constraints, removing oversmoothing errors and providing significant performance improvements on benchmark data, over the previous state of the art. The approach is flexible and capable of operating with any combination of appearance and/or depth sensors, in any setup, simultaneously estimating the structure and motion if necessary. Additionally, the algorithm propagates information over time to resolve ambiguities, rather than performing an isolated estimation at each frame, as in contemporary approaches. Approaches to smoothing the motion field without sacrificing the benefits of multiple hypotheses are explored, and a probabilistic approach to occlusion estimation is demonstrated, leading to 10 and 15 percent improved performance, respectively. Finally, a data-driven tracking approach is described, and used to estimate the 3D trajectories of hands during sign language, without the need to model complex appearance variations at each viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the path to the future implementation of the smart grid, microgrids are presented as a cornerstone. An efficient and optimal microgrid operation is paramount. In this paper, we present a hierarchical microgrid management system using task sharing and an evolutionary game theory based dispatch strategy as a coordination algorithm to integrate the three main control levels needed for microgrid operation, which can be considered as a distributed intelligent system. The proposed algorithm shares the total load demanded into the distributed generators efficiently, while the microgrid utility is maximized dynamically, increasing the system reliability. Some simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the dynamic performance of the proposed approach compared with a traditional hierarchical algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A near-optimal base-station antenna array synthesis suitable for broadcasting applications is presented. The array is required to provide a high-gain radiation pattern with a main lobe slightly tilted from the horizontal plane and null filling inside an angular sector under the main lobe. To satisfy the above requirements, a novel invasive weed optimization (IWO) variant called Taguchi initialized IWO (TI-IWO) is proposed in this paper. In TI-IWO, the Taguchi's optimization method is employed to initialize effectively the positions of the weeds used by the IWO method. In this way, the fitness function starts from lower values and, thus, the TI-IWO method finds better near-optimal solutions than the conventional IWO method. The proposed method has been applied to linear arrays. Due to its easy implementation in practice, a uniform-amplitude excitation distribution is considered to be applied on the array elements. Two cases of isotropic source arrays are studied under specific requirements for maximum possible gain, main lobe tilting, and null filling. Also, the TI-IWO method is applied to optimize realistic cases of collinear wire dipole arrays in front of a mast under the same requirements and an additional one concerning the impedance matching of all the dipoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently deployed 4G access technology promises to satisfy the increasing demand of bandwidth consuming applications by providing high network capacity, low latency and seamless mobility. Towards this direction, concept solutions concerning the integration of wireless and optical networks have been proposed. However, the majority of these approaches assume the conventional fixed commitment of resources to the base stations, an inefficient and costly process, especially in case the Passive Optical Network (PON) belongs to a different operator. As a result, new, more dynamic backhaul resource allocation approaches are required. In this paper, the authors study the problem of committing resources of the backhaul network to a base station by employing evolutionary game theory in order to model the interactions between the subscribers and the base station. The asymptotic stability of the proposed scheme is proven under the replicator dynamics model. Finally, the impact of time delay in the proposed scheme is also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we describe a method for optimizing frequency reconfigurable pixel antennas. The method utilizes a multi-objective function that is efficiently computed by using only one full electromagnetic simulation in the entire genetic algorithm optimization process. Minimization of the number of switches in the design is also attempted. The method is demonstrated using an antenna structure consisting of a rectangular grid of pixels adjacent to a ground plane and using RF MEMS switches for achieving the reconfigurability. The effects of the RF MEMS switches on the antenna performance as well as the control feed lines for them are also addressed. We provide both simulation and experimental results for a reconfigurable dual-band antenna that reconfigures the bands 820–1140 and 1720–1900 MHz to the bands 860–1160 and 1890–2300 MHz with dimensions of 39 mm \times 24 mm on a ground plane of 40 mm \times 65 mm with one switch only. The results demonstrate that reconfigurable antennas can be designed effectively with a minimum number of switches using an efficient optimization method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) requires fast and accurate localization of the prostate in 3-D treatment-guided radiotherapy, which is challenging due to low tissue contrast and large anatomical variation across patients. On the other hand, the IGRT workflow involves collecting a series of computed tomography (CT) images from the same patient under treatment. These images contain valuable patient-specific information yet are often neglected by previous works. In this paper, we propose a novel learning framework, namely incremental learning with selective memory (ILSM), to effectively learn the patient-specific appearance characteristics from these patient-specific images. Specifically, starting with a population-based discriminative appearance model, ILSM aims to “personalize” the model to fit patient-specific appearance characteristics. The model is personalized with two steps: backward pruning that discards obsolete population-based knowledge and forward learning that incorporates patient-specific characteristics. By effectively combining the patient-specific characteristics with the general population statistics, the incrementally learned appearance model can localize the prostate of a specific patient much more accurately. This work has three contributions: 1) the proposed incremental learning framework can capture patient-specific characteristics more effectively, compared to traditional learning schemes, such as pure patient-specific learning, population-based learning, and mixture learning with patient-specific and population data; 2) this learning framework does not have any parametric model assumption, hence, allowing the adoption of any discriminative classifier; and 3) using ILSM, we can localize the prostate in treatment CTs accurately (DSC \sim0.89) and fast (\sim4 s), which satisfies the real-world clinical requirements of IGRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Validation is arguably the bottleneck in the diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) community. This paper evaluates and compares 20 algorithms for recovering the local intra-voxel fiber structure from diffusion MRI data and is based on the results of the “HARDI reconstruction challenge” organized in the context of the “ISBI 2012” conference. Evaluated methods encompass a mixture of classical techniques well known in the literature such as diffusion tensor, Q-Ball and diffusion spectrum imaging, algorithms inspired by the recent theory of compressed sensing and also brand new approaches proposed for the first time at this contest. To quantitatively compare the methods under controlled conditions, two datasets with known ground-truth were synthetically generated and two main criteria were used to evaluate the quality of the reconstructions in every voxel: correct assessment of the number of fiber populations and angular accuracy in their orientation. This comparative study investigates the behavior of every algorithm with varying experimental conditions and highlights strengths and weaknesses of each approach. This information can be useful not only for enhancing current algorithms and develop the next generation of reconstruction methods, but also to assist physicians in the choice of the most adequate technique for their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel thresholding amounts to segmenting a gray-level image into several distinct regions. This paper presents a 2D histogram based multilevel thresholding approach to improve the separation between objects. Recent studies indicate that the results obtained with 2D histogram oriented approaches are superior to those obtained with 1D histogram based techniques in the context of bi-level thresholding. Here, a method to incorporate 2D histogram related information for generalized multilevel thresholding is proposed using the maximum Tsallis entropy. Differential evolution (DE), a simple yet efficient evolutionary algorithm of current interest, is employed to improve the computational efficiency of the proposed method. The performance of DE is investigated extensively through comparison with other well-known nature inspired global optimization techniques such as genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, artificial bee colony, and simulated annealing. In addition, the outcome of the proposed method is evaluated using a well known benchmark—the Berkley segmentation data set (BSDS300) with 300 distinct images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most effective cancer treatments are the ones that prolong patients’ lives while offering a reasonable quality of life during and after treatment. The treatments must also carry out their actions rapidly and with high efficiency such that a very large percentage of tumor cells die or shift into a state where they stop proliferating. Due to biological and microenvironmental variabilities within tumor cells, the action period of an administered drug can vary among a population of patients. In this paper, based on a recently proposed model for tumor growth inhibition, we first probabilistically characterize the variability of the length of drug action. Then, we present a methodology to devise optimal intervention strategies for any Markovian genetic regulatory network governing the tumor when the antitumor drug has a random-length duration of action. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Image cytometry has emerged as a valuable in vitro screening tool and advances in automated microscopy have made it possible to readily analyze large cellular populations of image data. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the viability of using cell shape to test equality of cell populations based on image data. Shape space theory is reviewed, from which differences between shapes can be quantified in terms of geodesic distance. Several multivariate nonparametric statistical hypothesis tests are adapted to test equality of cell populations. It is illustrated that geodesic distance can be a better feature than cell spread area and roundness in distinguishing between cell populations. Tests based on geodesic distance are able to detect natural perturbations of cells, whereas Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests based on area and roundness are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a probabilistic method based on a total risk index (probability times consequences) for assessing the number of spare breakers required for a group of similar high voltage breakers used in switching and transformer stations. The proposed method uses a Markov model for assessing the probability of failures and a bulk power system reliability program for evaluating failure consequences. The method considers a number of factors such as the group size, unit failure rate, unit repair time, transmission station layout, and other power system parameters that may impact the number of spare breakers. A cost/benefit analysis approach is used in determining the required number of spare breakers. The number of spare units is determined when the total cost (sum of spare unit costs, system operating costs and system outage costs due to breaker failures) is minimum. An example is given to illustrate the proposed method of assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a novel hybrid algorithm based on artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm and differential evolution (DE) algorithm called ABC-DE is proposed to inherit their advantages and overcome their drawbacks. In ABC-DE algorithm, employed bees employ the mutation and crossover strategies of DE to enforce their exploration ability while onlooker bees keep their original updating strategy to retain the exploitation ability. Classical test functions have been provided to testify the ABC-DE algorithm. Furthermore, ABC-DE is applied to different types of time-modulated arrays (TMAs) pattern synthesis problems, including the syntheses of low equal-ripple sidelobe level (SLL) pattern, deep null level pattern, multiple-beams patterns and satellite footprint pattern. Experiment results reveal that ABC-DE has a promising performance in the convergence rate and the exploration ability when compared with other improved evolutionary algorithms, which indicates that the proposed algorithm can be an effective approach for TMAs synthesis problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Smart-grid development calls for effective solutions, such as electric vehicles (EVs), to meet the energy and environmental challenges. To facilitate large-scale EV applications, optimal locating and sizing of charging stations in smart grids have become essential. This paper proposes a multiobjective EV charging station planning method which can ensure charging service while reducing power losses and voltage deviations of distribution systems. A battery capacity-constrained EV flow capturing location model is proposed to maximize the EV traffic flow that can be charged given a candidate construction plan of EV charging stations. The data-envelopment analysis method is employed to obtain the final optimal solution. Subsequently, the well-established cross-entropy method is utilized to solve the planning problem. The simulation results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method based on a case study consisting of a 33-node distribution system and a 25-node traffic network system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading reference documentation is an important part of programming with application programming interfaces (APIs). Reference documentation complements the API by providing information not obvious from the API syntax. To improve the quality of reference documentation and the efficiency with which the relevant information it contains can be accessed, we must first understand its content. We report on a study of the nature and organization of knowledge contained in the reference documentation of the hundreds of APIs provided as a part of two major technology platforms: Java SDK 6 and .NET 4.0. Our study involved the development of a taxonomy of knowledge types based on grounded methods and independent empirical validation. Seventeen trained coders used the taxonomy to rate a total of 5,574 randomly sampled documentation units to assess the knowledge they contain. Our results provide a comprehensive perspective on the patterns of knowledge in API documentation: observations about the types of knowledge it contains and how this knowledge is distributed throughout the documentation. The taxonomy and patterns of knowledge we present in this paper can be used to help practitioners evaluate the content of their API documentation, better organize their documentation, and limit the amount of low-value content. They also provide a vocabulary that can help structure and facilitate discussions about the content of APIs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]