id
stringlengths
9
16
title
stringlengths
4
278
categories
stringlengths
5
104
abstract
stringlengths
6
4.09k
1106.5249
The strength of strong ties in scientific collaboration networks
physics.soc-ph cs.SI physics.data-an
Network topology and its relationship to tie strengths may hinder or enhance the spreading of information in social networks. We study the correlations between tie strengths and topology in networks of scientific collaboration, and show that these are very different from ordinary social networks. For the latter, it has earlier been shown that strong ties are associated with dense network neighborhoods, while weaker ties act as bridges between these. Because of this, weak links act as bottlenecks for the diffusion of information. We show that on the contrary, in co-authorship networks dense local neighborhoods mainly consist of weak links, whereas strong links are more important for overall connectivity. The important role of strong links is further highlighted in simulations of information spreading, where their topological position is seen to dramatically speed up spreading dynamics. Thus, in contrast to ordinary social networks, weight-topology correlations enhance the flow of information across scientific collaboration networks.
1106.5253
User Arrival in MIMO Interference Alignment Networks
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper we analyze a constant multiple-input multiple-output interference channel where a set of active users are cooperating through interference alignment while a set of secondary users desire access to the channel. We derive the minimum number of secondary transmit antennas required so that a secondary user can use the channel without affecting the sum rate of the active users, under a zero-forcing equalization assumption. When the secondary users have enough antennas, we derive several secondary user precoders that approximately maximize the secondary users' sum rate without changing the sum rate of the active users. When the secondary users do not have enough antennas, we perform numerical optimization to find secondary user precoders that cause minimum degradation to the sum rate of the active users. Through simulations, we confirm that i) with enough antennas at the secondary users, gains equivalent to the case of all the users cooperating through interference alignment is obtainable, and ii) when the secondary users do not have enough antennas, large rate losses at the active users can be avoided.
1106.5256
Structure and Complexity in Planning with Unary Operators
cs.AI
Unary operator domains -- i.e., domains in which operators have a single effect -- arise naturally in many control problems. In its most general form, the problem of STRIPS planning in unary operator domains is known to be as hard as the general STRIPS planning problem -- both are PSPACE-complete. However, unary operator domains induce a natural structure, called the domain's causal graph. This graph relates between the preconditions and effect of each domain operator. Causal graphs were exploited by Williams and Nayak in order to analyze plan generation for one of the controllers in NASA's Deep-Space One spacecraft. There, they utilized the fact that when this graph is acyclic, a serialization ordering over any subgoal can be obtained quickly. In this paper we conduct a comprehensive study of the relationship between the structure of a domain's causal graph and the complexity of planning in this domain. On the positive side, we show that a non-trivial polynomial time plan generation algorithm exists for domains whose causal graph induces a polytree with a constant bound on its node indegree. On the negative side, we show that even plan existence is hard when the graph is a directed-path singly connected DAG. More generally, we show that the number of paths in the causal graph is closely related to the complexity of planning in the associated domain. Finally we relate our results to the question of complexity of planning with serializable subgoals.
1106.5257
Answer Set Planning Under Action Costs
cs.AI
Recently, planning based on answer set programming has been proposed as an approach towards realizing declarative planning systems. In this paper, we present the language Kc, which extends the declarative planning language K by action costs. Kc provides the notion of admissible and optimal plans, which are plans whose overall action costs are within a given limit resp. minimum over all plans (i.e., cheapest plans). As we demonstrate, this novel language allows for expressing some nontrivial planning tasks in a declarative way. Furthermore, it can be utilized for representing planning problems under other optimality criteria, such as computing ``shortest'' plans (with the least number of steps), and refinement combinations of cheapest and fastest plans. We study complexity aspects of the language Kc and provide a transformation to logic programs, such that planning problems are solved via answer set programming. Furthermore, we report experimental results on selected problems. Our experience is encouraging that answer set planning may be a valuable approach to expressive planning systems in which intricate planning problems can be naturally specified and solved.
1106.5258
Learning to Coordinate Efficiently: A Model-based Approach
cs.AI
In common-interest stochastic games all players receive an identical payoff. Players participating in such games must learn to coordinate with each other in order to receive the highest-possible value. A number of reinforcement learning algorithms have been proposed for this problem, and some have been shown to converge to good solutions in the limit. In this paper we show that using very simple model-based algorithms, much better (i.e., polynomial) convergence rates can be attained. Moreover, our model-based algorithms are guaranteed to converge to the optimal value, unlike many of the existing algorithms.
1106.5260
SAPA: A Multi-objective Metric Temporal Planner
cs.AI
SAPA is a domain-independent heuristic forward chaining planner that can handle durative actions, metric resource constraints, and deadline goals. It is designed to be capable of handling the multi-objective nature of metric temporal planning. Our technical contributions include (i) planning-graph based methods for deriving heuristics that are sensitive to both cost and makespan (ii) techniques for adjusting the heuristic estimates to take action interactions and metric resource limitations into account and (iii) a linear time greedy post-processing technique to improve execution flexibility of the solution plans. An implementation of SAPA using many of the techniques presented in this paper was one of the best domain independent planners for domains with metric and temporal constraints in the third International Planning Competition, held at AIPS-02. We describe the technical details of extracting the heuristics and present an empirical evaluation of the current implementation of SAPA.
1106.5261
A New General Method to Generate Random Modal Formulae for Testing Decision Procedures
cs.AI
The recent emergence of heavily-optimized modal decision procedures has highlighted the key role of empirical testing in this domain. Unfortunately, the introduction of extensive empirical tests for modal logics is recent, and so far none of the proposed test generators is very satisfactory. To cope with this fact, we present a new random generation method that provides benefits over previous methods for generating empirical tests. It fixes and much generalizes one of the best-known methods, the random CNF_[]m test, allowing for generating a much wider variety of problems, covering in principle the whole input space. Our new method produces much more suitable test sets for the current generation of modal decision procedures. We analyze the features of the new method by means of an extensive collection of empirical tests.
1106.5262
AltAltp: Online Parallelization of Plans with Heuristic State Search
cs.AI
Despite their near dominance, heuristic state search planners still lag behind disjunctive planners in the generation of parallel plans in classical planning. The reason is that directly searching for parallel solutions in state space planners would require the planners to branch on all possible subsets of parallel actions, thus increasing the branching factor exponentially. We present a variant of our heuristic state search planner AltAlt, called AltAltp which generates parallel plans by using greedy online parallelization of partial plans. The greedy approach is significantly informed by the use of novel distance heuristics that AltAltp derives from a graphplan-style planning graph for the problem. While this approach is not guaranteed to provide optimal parallel plans, empirical results show that AltAltp is capable of generating good quality parallel plans at a fraction of the cost incurred by the disjunctive planners.
1106.5263
New Polynomial Classes for Logic-Based Abduction
cs.AI
We address the problem of propositional logic-based abduction, i.e., the problem of searching for a best explanation for a given propositional observation according to a given propositional knowledge base. We give a general algorithm, based on the notion of projection; then we study restrictions over the representations of the knowledge base and of the query, and find new polynomial classes of abduction problems.
1106.5264
Acquiring Correct Knowledge for Natural Language Generation
cs.CL
Natural language generation (NLG) systems are computer software systems that produce texts in English and other human languages, often from non-linguistic input data. NLG systems, like most AI systems, need substantial amounts of knowledge. However, our experience in two NLG projects suggests that it is difficult to acquire correct knowledge for NLG systems; indeed, every knowledge acquisition (KA) technique we tried had significant problems. In general terms, these problems were due to the complexity, novelty, and poorly understood nature of the tasks our systems attempted, and were worsened by the fact that people write so differently. This meant in particular that corpus-based KA approaches suffered because it was impossible to assemble a sizable corpus of high-quality consistent manually written texts in our domains; and structured expert-oriented KA techniques suffered because experts disagreed and because we could not get enough information about special and unusual cases to build robust systems. We believe that such problems are likely to affect many other NLG systems as well. In the long term, we hope that new KA techniques may emerge to help NLG system builders. In the shorter term, we believe that understanding how individual KA techniques can fail, and using a mixture of different KA techniques with different strengths and weaknesses, can help developers acquire NLG knowledge that is mostly correct.
1106.5265
Planning Through Stochastic Local Search and Temporal Action Graphs in LPG
cs.AI
We present some techniques for planning in domains specified with the recent standard language PDDL2.1, supporting 'durative actions' and numerical quantities. These techniques are implemented in LPG, a domain-independent planner that took part in the 3rd International Planning Competition (IPC). LPG is an incremental, any time system producing multi-criteria quality plans. The core of the system is based on a stochastic local search method and on a graph-based representation called 'Temporal Action Graphs' (TA-graphs). This paper focuses on temporal planning, introducing TA-graphs and proposing some techniques to guide the search in LPG using this representation. The experimental results of the 3rd IPC, as well as further results presented in this paper, show that our techniques can be very effective. Often LPG outperforms all other fully-automated planners of the 3rd IPC in terms of speed to derive a solution, or quality of the solutions that can be produced.
1106.5266
TALplanner in IPC-2002: Extensions and Control Rules
cs.AI
TALplanner is a forward-chaining planner that relies on domain knowledge in the shape of temporal logic formulas in order to prune irrelevant parts of the search space. TALplanner recently participated in the third International Planning Competition, which had a clear emphasis on increasing the complexity of the problem domains being used as benchmark tests and the expressivity required to represent these domains in a planning system. Like many other planners, TALplanner had support for some but not all aspects of this increase in expressivity, and a number of changes to the planner were required. After a short introduction to TALplanner, this article describes some of the changes that were made before and during the competition. We also describe the process of introducing suitable domain knowledge for several of the competition domains.
1106.5267
Potential-Based Shaping and Q-Value Initialization are Equivalent
cs.LG
Shaping has proven to be a powerful but precarious means of improving reinforcement learning performance. Ng, Harada, and Russell (1999) proposed the potential-based shaping algorithm for adding shaping rewards in a way that guarantees the learner will learn optimal behavior. In this note, we prove certain similarities between this shaping algorithm and the initialization step required for several reinforcement learning algorithms. More specifically, we prove that a reinforcement learner with initial Q-values based on the shaping algorithm's potential function make the same updates throughout learning as a learner receiving potential-based shaping rewards. We further prove that under a broad category of policies, the behavior of these two learners are indistinguishable. The comparison provides intuition on the theoretical properties of the shaping algorithm as well as a suggestion for a simpler method for capturing the algorithm's benefit. In addition, the equivalence raises previously unaddressed issues concerning the efficiency of learning with potential-based shaping.
1106.5268
Temporal Decision Trees: Model-based Diagnosis of Dynamic Systems On-Board
cs.AI
The automatic generation of decision trees based on off-line reasoning on models of a domain is a reasonable compromise between the advantages of using a model-based approach in technical domains and the constraints imposed by embedded applications. In this paper we extend the approach to deal with temporal information. We introduce a notion of temporal decision tree, which is designed to make use of relevant information as long as it is acquired, and we present an algorithm for compiling such trees from a model-based reasoning system.
1106.5269
Optimal Schedules for Parallelizing Anytime Algorithms: The Case of Shared Resources
cs.AI
The performance of anytime algorithms can be improved by simultaneously solving several instances of algorithm-problem pairs. These pairs may include different instances of a problem (such as starting from a different initial state), different algorithms (if several alternatives exist), or several runs of the same algorithm (for non-deterministic algorithms). In this paper we present a methodology for designing an optimal scheduling policy based on the statistical characteristics of the algorithms involved. We formally analyze the case where the processes share resources (a single-processor model), and provide an algorithm for optimal scheduling. We analyze, theoretically and empirically, the behavior of our scheduling algorithm for various distribution types. Finally, we present empirical results of applying our scheduling algorithm to the Latin Square problem.
1106.5270
Decision-Theoretic Bidding Based on Learned Density Models in Simultaneous, Interacting Auctions
cs.AI
Auctions are becoming an increasingly popular method for transacting business, especially over the Internet. This article presents a general approach to building autonomous bidding agents to bid in multiple simultaneous auctions for interacting goods. A core component of our approach learns a model of the empirical price dynamics based on past data and uses the model to analytically calculate, to the greatest extent possible, optimal bids. We introduce a new and general boosting-based algorithm for conditional density estimation problems of this kind, i.e., supervised learning problems in which the goal is to estimate the entire conditional distribution of the real-valued label. This approach is fully implemented as ATTac-2001, a top-scoring agent in the second Trading Agent Competition (TAC-01). We present experiments demonstrating the effectiveness of our boosting-based price predictor relative to several reasonable alternatives.
1106.5271
The Metric-FF Planning System: Translating "Ignoring Delete Lists" to Numeric State Variables
cs.AI
Planning with numeric state variables has been a challenge for many years, and was a part of the 3rd International Planning Competition (IPC-3). Currently one of the most popular and successful algorithmic techniques in STRIPS planning is to guide search by a heuristic function, where the heuristic is based on relaxing the planning task by ignoring the delete lists of the available actions. We present a natural extension of ``ignoring delete lists'' to numeric state variables, preserving the relevant theoretical properties of the STRIPS relaxation under the condition that the numeric task at hand is ``monotonic''. We then identify a subset of the numeric IPC-3 competition language, ``linear tasks'', where monotonicity can be achieved by pre-processing. Based on that, we extend the algorithms used in the heuristic planning system FF to linear tasks. The resulting system Metric-FF is, according to the IPC-3 results which we discuss, one of the two currently most efficient numeric planners.
1106.5294
Set systems: order types, continuous nondeterministic deformations, and quasi-orders
cs.LO cs.GT cs.LG
By reformulating a learning process of a set system L as a game between Teacher and Learner, we define the order type of L to be the order type of the game tree, if the tree is well-founded. The features of the order type of L (dim L in symbol) are (1) We can represent any well-quasi-order (wqo for short) by the set system L of the upper-closed sets of the wqo such that the maximal order type of the wqo is equal to dim L. (2) dim L is an upper bound of the mind-change complexity of L. dim L is defined iff L has a finite elasticity (fe for short), where, according to computational learning theory, if an indexed family of recursive languages has fe then it is learnable by an algorithm from positive data. Regarding set systems as subspaces of Cantor spaces, we prove that fe of set systems is preserved by any continuous function which is monotone with respect to the set-inclusion. By it, we prove that finite elasticity is preserved by various (nondeterministic) language operators (Kleene-closure, shuffle-closure, union, product, intersection,. . ..) The monotone continuous functions represent nondeterministic computations. If a monotone continuous function has a computation tree with each node followed by at most n immediate successors and the order type of a set system L is {\alpha}, then the direct image of L is a set system of order type at most n-adic diagonal Ramsey number of {\alpha}. Furthermore, we provide an order-type-preserving contravariant embedding from the category of quasi-orders and finitely branching simulations between them, into the complete category of subspaces of Cantor spaces and monotone continuous functions having Girard's linearity between them. Keyword: finite elasticity, shuffle-closure
1106.5301
Optimizing and controlling functions of complex networks by manipulating rich-club connections
physics.soc-ph cs.SI
Traditionally, there is no evidence suggesting that there are strong ties between the rich-club property and the function of complex networks. In this study, we find that whether a very small portion of rich nodes connected to each other or not can strongly affect the frequency of occurrence of basic building blocks (motif) within networks, and therefore the function, of a heterogeneous network. Conversely whether a homogeneous network has a rich-club property or not generally has no significant effect on its structure and function. These findings open the possibility to optimize and control the function of complex networks by manipulating rich-club connections. Furthermore, based on the subgraph ratio profile, we develop a more rigorous approach to judge whether a network has a rich-club or not. The new method does not calculate how many links there are among rich nodes but depends on how the links among rich nodes can affect the overall structure as well as function of a given network. These results can also help us to understand the evolution of dynamical networks and design new models for characterizing real-world networks.
1106.5308
Clasificarea distribuita a mesajelor de e-mail
cs.HC cs.CL
A basic component in Internet applications is the electronic mail and its various implications. The paper proposes a mechanism for automatically classifying emails and create dynamic groups that belong to these messages. Proposed mechanisms will be based on natural language processing techniques and will be designed to facilitate human-machine interaction in this direction.
1106.5312
Manipulation of Nanson's and Baldwin's Rules
cs.AI
Nanson's and Baldwin's voting rules select a winner by successively eliminating candidates with low Borda scores. We show that these rules have a number of desirable computational properties. In particular, with unweighted votes, it is NP-hard to manipulate either rule with one manipulator, whilst with weighted votes, it is NP-hard to manipulate either rule with a small number of candidates and a coalition of manipulators. As only a couple of other voting rules are known to be NP-hard to manipulate with a single manipulator, Nanson's and Baldwin's rules appear to be particularly resistant to manipulation from a theoretical perspective. We also propose a number of approximation methods for manipulating these two rules. Experiments demonstrate that both rules are often difficult to manipulate in practice. These results suggest that elimination style voting rules deserve further study.
1106.5316
Online Cake Cutting (published version)
cs.AI cs.GT cs.MA
We propose an online form of the cake cutting problem. This models situations where agents arrive and depart during the process of dividing a resource. We show that well known fair division procedures like cut-and-choose and the Dubins-Spanier moving knife procedure can be adapted to apply to such online problems. We propose some fairness properties that online cake cutting procedures can possess like online forms of proportionality and envy-freeness. We also consider the impact of collusion between agents. Finally, we study theoretically and empirically the competitive ratio of these online cake cutting procedures. Based on its resistance to collusion, and its good performance in practice, our results favour the online version of the cut-and-choose procedure over the online version of the moving knife procedure.
1106.5321
Uncovering Social Network Sybils in the Wild
cs.SI physics.soc-ph
Sybil accounts are fake identities created to unfairly increase the power or resources of a single malicious user. Researchers have long known about the existence of Sybil accounts in online communities such as file-sharing systems, but have not been able to perform large scale measurements to detect them or measure their activities. In this paper, we describe our efforts to detect, characterize and understand Sybil account activity in the Renren online social network (OSN). We use ground truth provided by Renren Inc. to build measurement based Sybil account detectors, and deploy them on Renren to detect over 100,000 Sybil accounts. We study these Sybil accounts, as well as an additional 560,000 Sybil accounts caught by Renren, and analyze their link creation behavior. Most interestingly, we find that contrary to prior conjecture, Sybil accounts in OSNs do not form tight-knit communities. Instead, they integrate into the social graph just like normal users. Using link creation timestamps, we verify that the large majority of links between Sybil accounts are created accidentally, unbeknownst to the attacker. Overall, only a very small portion of Sybil accounts are connected to other Sybils with social links. Our study shows that existing Sybil defenses are unlikely to succeed in today's OSNs, and we must design new techniques to effectively detect and defend against Sybil attacks.
1106.5341
Pose Estimation from a Single Depth Image for Arbitrary Kinematic Skeletons
cs.CV cs.AI cs.LG
We present a method for estimating pose information from a single depth image given an arbitrary kinematic structure without prior training. For an arbitrary skeleton and depth image, an evolutionary algorithm is used to find the optimal kinematic configuration to explain the observed image. Results show that our approach can correctly estimate poses of 39 and 78 degree-of-freedom models from a single depth image, even in cases of significant self-occlusion.
1106.5346
Reconstruction and Estimation of Scattering Functions of Overspread Radar Targets
cs.IT math.IT
In many radar scenarios, the radar target or the medium is assumed to possess randomly varying parts. The properties of a target are described by a random process known as the spreading function. Its second order statistics under the WSSUS assumption are given by the scattering function. Recent developments in the operator identification theory suggest a channel sounding procedure that allows to determine the spreading function given complete statistical knowledge of the operator echo. We show that in a continuous model it is indeed theoretically possible to identify a scattering function of an overspread target given full statistics of a received echo from a single sounding by a custom weighted delta train. Our results apply whenever the scattering function is supported on a set of area less than one. Absent such complete statistics, we construct and analyze an estimator that can be used as a replacement of the averaged periodogram estimator in case of poor geometry of the support set of the scattering function.
1106.5349
Discrete calculus of variations for quadratic lagrangians
math.OC cs.SY
We develop in this paper a new framework for discrete calculus of variations when the actions have densities involving an arbitrary discretization operator. We deduce the discrete Euler-Lagrange equations for piecewise continuous critical points of sampled actions. Then we characterize the discretization operators such that, for all quadratic lagrangian, the discrete Euler-Lagrange equations converge to the classical ones.
1106.5350
Discrete Calculus of Variations for Quadratic Lagrangians. Convergence Issues
math.OC cs.SY
We study in this paper the continuous and discrete Euler-Lagrange equations arising from a quadratic lagrangian. Those equations may be thought as numerical schemes and may be solved through a matrix based framework. When the lagrangian is time-independent, we can solve both continuous and discrete Euler-Lagrange equations under convenient oscillatory and non-resonance properties. The convergence of the solutions is also investigated. In the simplest case of the harmonic oscillator, unconditional convergence does not hold, we give results and experiments in this direction.
1106.5351
Quadratic choreographies
math.OC cs.SY
This paper addresses the classical and discrete Euler-Lagrange equations for systems of $n$ particles interacting quadratically in $\mathbb{R}^d$. By highlighting the role played by the center of mass of the particles, we solve the previous systems via the classical quadratic eigenvalue problem (QEP) and its discrete transcendental generalization. The roots of classical and discrete QEP being given, we state some conditional convergence results. Next, we focus especially on periodic and choreographic solutions and we provide some numerical experiments which confirm the convergence.
1106.5364
Macro and Micro Diversity Behaviors of Practical Dynamic Decode and Forward Relaying schemes
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we propose a practical implementation of the Dynamic Decode and Forward (DDF) protocol based on rateless codes and HARQ. We define the macro diversity order of a transmission from several intermittent sources to a single destination. Considering finite symbol alphabet used by the different sources, upper bounds on the achievable macro diversity order are derived. We analyse the diversity behavior of several relaying schemes for the DDF protocol, and we propose the Patching technique to increase both the macro and the micro diversity orders. The coverage gain for the open-loop transmission case and the spectral efficiency gain for the closed loop transmission case are illustrated by simulation results.
1106.5367
Partial Interference Alignment for K-user MIMO Interference Channels
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we consider a Partial Interference Alignment and Interference Detection (PIAID) design for $K$-user quasi-static MIMO interference channels with discrete constellation inputs. Each transmitter has M antennas and transmits L independent data streams to the desired receiver with N receive antennas. We focus on the case where not all K-1 interfering transmitters can be aligned at every receiver. As a result, there will be residual interference at each receiver that cannot be aligned. Each receiver detects and cancels the residual interference based on the constellation map. However, there is a window of unfavorable interference profile at the receiver for Interference Detection (ID). In this paper, we propose a low complexity Partial Interference Alignment scheme in which we dynamically select the user set for IA so as to create a favorable interference profile for ID at each receiver. We first derive the average symbol error rate (SER) by taking into account of the non-Guassian residual interference due to discrete constellation. Using graph theory, we then devise a low complexity user set selection algorithm for the PIAID scheme,which minimizes the asymptotically tight bound for the average end-to-end SER performance. Moreover, we substantially simplify interference detection at the receiver using Semi-Definite Relaxation (SDR) techniques. It is shown that the SER performance of the proposed PIAID scheme has significant gain compared with various conventional baseline solutions.
1106.5387
Subspace Properties of Network Coding and their Applications
cs.IT cs.NI math.IT
Systems that employ network coding for content distribution convey to the receivers linear combinations of the source packets. If we assume randomized network coding, during this process the network nodes collect random subspaces of the space spanned by the source packets. We establish several fundamental properties of the random subspaces induced in such a system, and show that these subspaces implicitly carry topological information about the network and its state that can be passively collected and inferred. We leverage this information towards a number of applications that are interesting in their own right, such as topology inference, bottleneck discovery in peer-to-peer systems and locating Byzantine attackers. We thus argue that, randomized network coding, apart from its better known properties for improving information delivery rate, can additionally facilitate network management and control.
1106.5413
Accelerated Linearized Bregman Method
math.OC cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we propose and analyze an accelerated linearized Bregman (ALB) method for solving the basis pursuit and related sparse optimization problems. This accelerated algorithm is based on the fact that the linearized Bregman (LB) algorithm is equivalent to a gradient descent method applied to a certain dual formulation. We show that the LB method requires $O(1/\epsilon)$ iterations to obtain an $\epsilon$-optimal solution and the ALB algorithm reduces this iteration complexity to $O(1/\sqrt{\epsilon})$ while requiring almost the same computational effort on each iteration. Numerical results on compressed sensing and matrix completion problems are presented that demonstrate that the ALB method can be significantly faster than the LB method.
1106.5427
Theory and Algorithms for Partial Order Based Reduction in Planning
cs.AI
Search is a major technique for planning. It amounts to exploring a state space of planning domains typically modeled as a directed graph. However, prohibitively large sizes of the search space make search expensive. Developing better heuristic functions has been the main technique for improving search efficiency. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that improving heuristics alone has certain fundamental limits on improving search efficiency. Recently, a new direction of research called partial order based reduction (POR) has been proposed as an alternative to improving heuristics. POR has shown promise in speeding up searches. POR has been extensively studied in model checking research and is a key enabling technique for scalability of model checking systems. Although the POR theory has been extensively studied in model checking, it has never been developed systematically for planning before. In addition, the conditions for POR in the model checking theory are abstract and not directly applicable in planning. Previous works on POR algorithms for planning did not establish the connection between these algorithms and existing theory in model checking. In this paper, we develop a theory for POR in planning. The new theory we develop connects the stubborn set theory in model checking and POR methods in planning. We show that previous POR algorithms in planning can be explained by the new theory. Based on the new theory, we propose a new, stronger POR algorithm. Experimental results on various planning domains show further search cost reduction using the new algorithm.
1106.5433
Kolmogorov complexity and cryptography
cs.CR cs.IT math.IT
This paper contains some results of An.A.Muchnik (1958-2007) reported in his talks at the Kolmogorov seminar (Moscow State Lomonosov University, Math. Department, Logic and Algorithms theory division, March 11, 2003 and April 8, 2003) but not published at that time. These results were stated (without proofs) in the joint talk of Andrej Muchnik and Alexei Semenov at Dagstuhl Seminar 03181, 27.04.2003-03.05.2003. This text was prepared by Alexey Chernov and Alexander Shen in 2008-2009. We consider (in the framework of algorithmic information theory) questions of the following type: construct a message that contains different amounts of information for recipients that have (or do not have) certain a priori information. Assume, for example, that the recipient knows some string $a$, and we want to send her some information that allows her to reconstruct some string $b$ (using $a$). On the other hand, this information alone should not allow the eavesdropper (who does not know $a$) to reconstruct $b$. It is indeed possible (if the strings $a$ and $b$ are not too simple). Then we consider more complicated versions of this question. What if the eavesdropper knows some string $c$? How long should be our message? We provide some conditions that guarantee the existence of a polynomial-size message; we show then that without these conditions this is not always possible.
1106.5448
Dominating Manipulations in Voting with Partial Information
cs.AI cs.CC cs.GT cs.MA
We consider manipulation problems when the manipulator only has partial information about the votes of the nonmanipulators. Such partial information is described by an information set, which is the set of profiles of the nonmanipulators that are indistinguishable to the manipulator. Given such an information set, a dominating manipulation is a non-truthful vote that the manipulator can cast which makes the winner at least as preferable (and sometimes more preferable) as the winner when the manipulator votes truthfully. When the manipulator has full information, computing whether or not there exists a dominating manipulation is in P for many common voting rules (by known results). We show that when the manipulator has no information, there is no dominating manipulation for many common voting rules. When the manipulator's information is represented by partial orders and only a small portion of the preferences are unknown, computing a dominating manipulation is NP-hard for many common voting rules. Our results thus throw light on whether we can prevent strategic behavior by limiting information about the votes of other voters.
1106.5460
Automated segmentation of the pulmonary arteries in low-dose CT by vessel tracking
cs.CV
We present a fully automated method for top-down segmentation of the pulmonary arterial tree in low-dose thoracic CT images. The main basal pulmonary arteries are identified near the lung hilum by searching for candidate vessels adjacent to known airways, identified by our previously reported airway segmentation method. Model cylinders are iteratively fit to the vessels to track them into the lungs. Vessel bifurcations are detected by measuring the rate of change of vessel radii, and child vessels are segmented by initiating new trackers at bifurcation points. Validation is accomplished using our novel sparse surface (SS) evaluation metric. The SS metric was designed to quantify the magnitude of the segmentation error per vessel while significantly decreasing the manual marking burden for the human user. A total of 210 arteries and 205 veins were manually marked across seven test cases. 134/210 arteries were correctly segmented, with a specificity for arteries of 90%, and average segmentation error of 0.15 mm. This fully-automated segmentation is a promising method for improving lung nodule detection in low-dose CT screening scans, by separating vessels from surrounding iso-intensity objects.
1106.5524
Robust network community detection using balanced propagation
physics.soc-ph cs.SI physics.data-an
Label propagation has proven to be an extremely fast method for detecting communities in large complex networks. Furthermore, due to its simplicity, it is also currently one of the most commonly adopted algorithms in the literature. Despite various subsequent advances, an important issue of the algorithm has not yet been properly addressed. Random (node) update orders within the algorithm severely hamper its robustness, and consequently also the stability of the identified community structure. We note that an update order can be seen as increasing propagation preferences from certain nodes, and propose a balanced propagation that counteracts for the introduced randomness by utilizing node balancers. We have evaluated the proposed approach on synthetic networks with planted partition, and on several real-world networks with community structure. The results confirm that balanced propagation is significantly more robust than label propagation, when the performance of community detection is even improved. Thus, balanced propagation retains high scalability and algorithmic simplicity of label propagation, but improves on its stability and performance.
1106.5536
Spreading paths in partially observed social networks
physics.soc-ph cs.SI
Understanding how and how far information, behaviors, or pathogens spread in social networks is an important problem, having implications for both predicting the size of epidemics, as well as for planning effective interventions. There are, however, two main challenges for inferring spreading paths in real-world networks. One is the practical difficulty of observing a dynamic process on a network, and the other is the typical constraint of only partially observing a network. Using a static, structurally realistic social network as a platform for simulations, we juxtapose three distinct paths: (1) the stochastic path taken by a simulated spreading process from source to target; (2) the topologically shortest path in the fully observed network, and hence the single most likely stochastic path, between the two nodes; and (3) the topologically shortest path in a partially observed network. In a sampled network, how closely does the partially observed shortest path (3) emulate the unobserved spreading path (1)? Although partial observation inflates the length of the shortest path, the stochastic nature of the spreading process also frequently derails the dynamic path from the shortest path. We find that the partially observed shortest path does not necessarily give an inflated estimate of the length of the process path; in fact, partial observation may, counterintuitively, make the path seem shorter than it actually is.
1106.5551
Labeling 3D scenes for Personal Assistant Robots
cs.RO
Inexpensive RGB-D cameras that give an RGB image together with depth data have become widely available. We use this data to build 3D point clouds of a full scene. In this paper, we address the task of labeling objects in this 3D point cloud of a complete indoor scene such as an office. We propose a graphical model that captures various features and contextual relations, including the local visual appearance and shape cues, object co-occurrence relationships and geometric relationships. With a large number of object classes and relations, the model's parsimony becomes important and we address that by using multiple types of edge potentials. The model admits efficient approximate inference, and we train it using a maximum-margin learning approach. In our experiments over a total of 52 3D scenes of homes and offices (composed from about 550 views, having 2495 segments labeled with 27 object classes), we get a performance of 84.06% in labeling 17 object classes for offices, and 73.38% in labeling 17 object classes for home scenes. Finally, we applied these algorithms successfully on a mobile robot for the task of finding an object in a large cluttered room.
1106.5562
Relative clock demonstrates the endogenous heterogeneity of human dynamics
physics.soc-ph cs.SI
The heavy-tailed inter-event time distributions are widely observed in many human-activated systems, which may result from both endogenous mechanisms like the highest-priority-first protocol and exogenous factors like the varying global activity versus time. To distinguish the effects on temporal statistics from different mechanisms is this of theoretical significance. In this Letter, we propose a new timing method by using a relative clock, where the time length between two consecutive events of an individual is counted as the number of other individuals' events appeared during this interval. We propose a model, in which agents act either in a constant rate or with a power-law inter-event time distribution, and the global activity either keeps unchanged or varies periodically versus time. Our analysis shows that the heavy tails caused by the heterogeneity of global activity can be eliminated by setting the relative clock, yet the heterogeneity due to real individual behaviors still exists. We perform extensive experiments on four large-scale systems, the search engine by AOL, a social bookmarking system--Delicious, a short-message communication network, and a microblogging system--Twitter. Strong heterogeneity and clear seasonality of global activity are observed, but the heavy tails cannot be eliminated by using the relative clock. Our results suggest the existence of endogenous heterogeneity of human dynamics.
1106.5568
Opportunistic Content Search of Smartphone Photos
cs.IR cs.DB
Photos taken by smartphone users can accidentally contain content that is timely and valuable to others, often in real-time. We report the system design and evaluation of a distributed search system, Theia, for crowd-sourced real-time content search of smartphone photos. Because smartphones are resource-constrained, Theia incorporates two key innovations to control search cost and improve search efficiency. Incremental Search expands search scope incrementally and exploits user feedback. Partitioned Search leverages the cloud to reduce the energy consumption of search in smartphones. Through user studies, measurement studies, and field studies, we show that Theia reduces the cost per relevant photo by an average of 59%. It reduces the energy consumption of search by up to 55% and 81% compared to alternative strategies of executing entirely locally or entirely in the cloud. Search results from smartphones are obtained in seconds. Our experiments also suggest approaches to further improve these results.
1106.5569
Augmented Reality Implementation Methods in Mainstream Applications
cs.CV
Augmented reality has became an useful tool in many areas from space exploration to military applications. Although used theoretical principles are well known for almost a decade, the augmented reality is almost exclusively used in high budget solutions with a special hardware. However, in last few years we could see rising popularity of many projects focused on deployment of the augmented reality on different mobile devices. Our article is aimed on developers who consider development of an augmented reality application for the mainstream market. Such developers will be forced to keep the application price, therefore also the development price, at reasonable level. Usage of existing image processing software library could bring a significant cut-down of the development costs. In the theoretical part of the article is presented an overview of the augmented reality application structure. Further, an approach for selection appropriate library as well as the review of the existing software libraries focused in this area is described. The last part of the article outlines our implementation of key parts of the augmented reality application using the OpenCV library.
1106.5571
Mobile Augmented Reality Applications
cs.CV
Augmented reality have undergone considerable improvement in past years. Many special techniques and hardware devices were developed, but the crucial breakthrough came with the spread of intelligent mobile phones. This enabled mass spread of augmented reality applications. However mobile devices have limited hardware capabilities, which narrows down the methods usable for scene analysis. In this article we propose an augmented reality application which is using cloud computing to enable using of more complex computational methods such as neural networks. Our goal is to create an affordable augmented reality application suitable which will help car designers in by 'virtualizing' car modifications.
1106.5594
The Swiss Board Directors Network in 2009
cs.SI physics.soc-ph
We study the networks formed by the directors of the most important Swiss boards and the boards themselves for the year 2009. The networks are obtained by projection from the original bipartite graph. We highlight a number of important statistical features of those networks such as degree distribution, weight distribution, and several centrality measures as well as their interrelationships. While similar statistics were already known for other board systems, and are comparable here, we have extended the study with a careful investigation of director and board centrality, a k-core analysis, and a simulation of the speed of information propagation and its relationships with the topological aspects of the network such as clustering and link weight and betweenness. The overall picture that emerges is one in which the topological structure of the Swiss board and director networks has evolved in such a way that special actors and links between actors play a fundamental role in the flow of information among distant parts of the network. This is shown in particular by the centrality measures and by the simulation of a simple epidemic process on the directors network.
1106.5601
Class-based Rough Approximation with Dominance Principle
cs.CC cs.AI
Dominance-based Rough Set Approach (DRSA), as the extension of Pawlak's Rough Set theory, is effective and fundamentally important in Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). In previous DRSA models, the definitions of the upper and lower approximations are preserving the class unions rather than the singleton class. In this paper, we propose a new Class-based Rough Approximation with respect to a series of previous DRSA models, including Classical DRSA model, VC-DRSA model and VP-DRSA model. In addition, the new class-based reducts are investigated.
1106.5615
Achievable Outage Rate Regions for the MISO Interference Channel
cs.IT math.IT
We consider the slow-fading two-user multiple-input single-output (MISO) interference channel. We want to understand which rate points can be achieved, allowing a non-zero outage probability. We do so by defining four different outage rate regions. The definitions differ on whether the rates are declared in outage jointly or individually and whether the transmitters have instantaneous or statistical channel state information (CSI). The focus is on the instantaneous CSI case with individual outage, where we propose a stochastic mapping from the rate point and the channel realization to the beamforming vectors. A major contribution is that we prove that the stochastic component of this mapping is independent of the actual channel realization.
1106.5626
A distributed control strategy for reactive power compensation in smart microgrids
math.OC cs.SY
We consider the problem of optimal reactive power compensation for the minimization of power distribution losses in a smart microgrid. We first propose an approximate model for the power distribution network, which allows us to cast the problem into the class of convex quadratic, linearly constrained, optimization problems. We then consider the specific problem of commanding the microgenerators connected to the microgrid, in order to achieve the optimal injection of reactive power. For this task, we design a randomized, gossip-like optimization algorithm. We show how a distributed approach is possible, where microgenerators need to have only a partial knowledge of the problem parameters and of the state, and can perform only local measurements. For the proposed algorithm, we provide conditions for convergence together with an analytic characterization of the convergence speed. The analysis shows that, in radial networks, the best performance can be achieved when we command cooperation among units that are neighbors in the electric topology. Numerical simulations are included to validate the proposed model and to confirm the analytic results about the performance of the proposed algorithm.
1106.5648
Joint LDPC and Physical-layer Network Coding for Asynchronous Bi-directional Relaying
cs.IT math.IT
In practical asynchronous bi-directional relaying, symbols transmitted by two sources cannot arrive at the relay with perfect frame and symbol alignments and the asynchronous multiple-access channel (MAC) should be seriously considered. Recently, Lu et al. proposed a Tanner-graph representation of the symbol-asynchronous MAC with rectangular-pulse shaping and further developed the message-passing algorithm for optimal decoding of the symbol-asynchronous physical-layer network coding. In this paper, we present a general channel model for the asynchronous MAC with arbitrary pulse-shaping. Then, the Bahl, Cocke, Jelinek, and Raviv (BCJR) algorithm is developed for optimal decoding of the asynchronous MAC channel. For Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC)-coded BPSK signalling over the symbol-asynchronous MAC, we present a formal log-domain generalized sum-product-algorithm (Log-G-SPA) for efficient decoding. Furthermore, we propose to use cyclic codes for combating the frame-asynchronism and the resolution of the relative delay inherent in this approach can be achieved by employing the simple cyclic-redundancy-check (CRC) coding technique. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
1106.5675
Writing on the Facade of RWTH ICT Cubes: Cost Constrained Geometric Huffman Coding
cs.IT math.IT
In this work, a coding technique called cost constrained Geometric Huffman coding (ccGhc) is developed. ccGhc minimizes the Kullback-Leibler distance between a dyadic probability mass function (pmf) and a target pmf subject to an affine inequality constraint. An analytical proof is given that when ccGhc is applied to blocks of symbols, the optimum is asymptotically achieved when the blocklength goes to infinity. The derivation of ccGhc is motivated by the problem of encoding a text to a sequence of slats subject to architectural design criteria. For the considered architectural problem, for a blocklength of 3, the codes found by ccGhc match the design criteria. For communications channels with average cost constraints, ccGhc can be used to efficiently find prefix-free modulation codes that are provably capacity achieving.
1106.5683
Distributed Interference Alignment with Low Overhead
cs.IT math.IT
Based on closed-form interference alignment (IA) solutions, a low overhead distributed interference alignment (LOIA) scheme is proposed in this paper for the $K$-user SISO interference channel, and extension to multiple antenna scenario is also considered. Compared with the iterative interference alignment (IIA) algorithm proposed by Gomadam et al., the overhead is greatly reduced. Simulation results show that the IIA algorithm is strictly suboptimal compared with our LOIA algorithm in the overhead-limited scenario.
1106.5714
Non-parametric change-point detection using string matching algorithms
math.PR cs.IT math.IT stat.ME
Given the output of a data source taking values in a finite alphabet, we wish to detect change-points, that is times when the statistical properties of the source change. Motivated by ideas of match lengths in information theory, we introduce a novel non-parametric estimator which we call CRECHE (CRossings Enumeration CHange Estimator). We present simulation evidence that this estimator performs well, both for simulated sources and for real data formed by concatenating text sources. For example, we show that we can accurately detect the point at which a source changes from a Markov chain to an IID source with the same stationary distribution. Our estimator requires no assumptions about the form of the source distribution, and avoids the need to estimate its probabilities. Further, we establish consistency of the CRECHE estimator under a related toy model, by establishing a fluid limit and using martingale arguments.
1106.5730
HOGWILD!: A Lock-Free Approach to Parallelizing Stochastic Gradient Descent
math.OC cs.LG
Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) is a popular algorithm that can achieve state-of-the-art performance on a variety of machine learning tasks. Several researchers have recently proposed schemes to parallelize SGD, but all require performance-destroying memory locking and synchronization. This work aims to show using novel theoretical analysis, algorithms, and implementation that SGD can be implemented without any locking. We present an update scheme called HOGWILD! which allows processors access to shared memory with the possibility of overwriting each other's work. We show that when the associated optimization problem is sparse, meaning most gradient updates only modify small parts of the decision variable, then HOGWILD! achieves a nearly optimal rate of convergence. We demonstrate experimentally that HOGWILD! outperforms alternative schemes that use locking by an order of magnitude.
1106.5737
Fingerprint: DWT, SVD Based Enhancement and Significant Contrast for Ridges and Valleys Using Fuzzy Measures
cs.CV
The performance of the Fingerprint recognition system will be more accurate with respect of enhancement for the fingerprint images. In this paper we develop a novel method for Fingerprint image contrast enhancement technique based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and singular value decomposition (SVD) has been proposed. This technique is compared with conventional image equalization techniques such as standard general histogram equalization and local histogram equalization. An automatic histogram threshold approach based on a fuzziness measure is presented. Then, using an index of fuzziness, a similarity process is started to find the threshold point. A significant contrast between ridges and valleys of the best, medium and poor finger image features to extract from finger images and get maximum recognition rate using fuzzy measures. The experimental results show the recognition of superiority of the proposed method to get maximum performance up gradation to the implementation of this approach.
1106.5742
Wireless Network Coding with Local Network Views: Coded Layer Scheduling
cs.IT math.IT
One of the fundamental challenges in the design of distributed wireless networks is the large dynamic range of network state. Since continuous tracking of global network state at all nodes is practically impossible, nodes can only acquire limited local views of the whole network to design their transmission strategies. In this paper, we study multi-layer wireless networks and assume that each node has only a limited knowledge, namely 1-local view, where each S-D pair has enough information to perform optimally when other pairs do not interfere, along with connectivity information for rest of the network. We investigate the information-theoretic limits of communication with such limited knowledge at the nodes. We develop a novel transmission strategy, namely Coded Layer Scheduling, that solely relies on 1-local view at the nodes and incorporates three different techniques: (1) per layer interference avoidance, (2) repetition coding to allow overhearing of the interference, and (3) network coding to allow interference neutralization. We show that our proposed scheme can provide a significant throughput gain compared with the conventional interference avoidance strategies. Furthermore, we show that our strategy maximizes the achievable normalized sum-rate for some classes of networks, hence, characterizing the normalized sum-capacity of those networks with 1-local view.
1106.5793
A Replica Inference Approach to Unsupervised Multi-Scale Image Segmentation
cond-mat.stat-mech cs.CV physics.soc-ph
We apply a replica inference based Potts model method to unsupervised image segmentation on multiple scales. This approach was inspired by the statistical mechanics problem of "community detection" and its phase diagram. Specifically, the problem is cast as identifying tightly bound clusters ("communities" or "solutes") against a background or "solvent". Within our multiresolution approach, we compute information theory based correlations among multiple solutions ("replicas") of the same graph over a range of resolutions. Significant multiresolution structures are identified by replica correlations as manifest in information theory overlaps. With the aid of these correlations as well as thermodynamic measures, the phase diagram of the corresponding Potts model is analyzed both at zero and finite temperatures. Optimal parameters corresponding to a sensible unsupervised segmentation correspond to the "easy phase" of the Potts model. Our algorithm is fast and shown to be at least as accurate as the best algorithms to date and to be especially suited to the detection of camouflaged images.
1106.5815
Patchy Solution of a Francis-Byrnes-Isidori Partial Differential Equation
math.OC cs.SY math.DS
The solution to the nonlinear output regulation problem requires one to solve a first order PDE, known as the Francis-Byrnes-Isidori (FBI) equations. In this paper we propose a method to compute approximate solutions to the FBI equations when the zero dynamics of the plant are hyperbolic and the exosystem is two-dimensional. With our method we are able to produce approximations that converge uniformly to the true solution. Our method relies on the periodic nature of two-dimensional analytic center manifolds.
1106.5818
Characterizing the process of reaching consensus for social systems
physics.soc-ph cs.SI
A novel way of characterizing the process of reaching consensus for a social system is given. The foundation of the characterization is based on the theorem which states that the sufficient and necessary condition for a system to reach the state of consensus is the occurrence of communicators, defined as the units of the system that can directly communicate with all the others simultaneously. A model is proposed to illustrate the characterization explicitly. The existence of communicators provides an efficient way for unifying two systems that a state of consensus is guaranteed after the mergence.
1106.5825
Fundamentals of Inter-cell Overhead Signaling in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks
cs.IT math.IT
Heterogeneous base stations (e.g. picocells, microcells, femtocells and distributed antennas) will become increasingly essential for cellular network capacity and coverage. Up until now, little basic research has been done on the fundamentals of managing so much infrastructure -- much of it unplanned -- together with the carefully planned macro-cellular network. Inter-cell coordination is in principle an effective way of ensuring different infrastructure components behave in a way that increases, rather than decreases, the key quality of service (QoS) metrics. The success of such coordination depends heavily on how the overhead is shared, and the rate and delay of the overhead sharing. We develop a novel framework to quantify overhead signaling for inter-cell coordination, which is usually ignored in traditional 1-tier networks, and assumes even more importance in multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs). We derive the overhead quality contour for general K-tier HCNs -- the achievable set of overhead packet rate, size, delay and outage probability -- in closed-form expressions or computable integrals under general assumptions on overhead arrivals and different overhead signaling methods (backhaul and/or wireless). The overhead quality contour is further simplified for two widely used models of overhead arrivals: Poisson and deterministic arrival process. This framework can be used in the design and evaluation of any inter-cell coordination scheme. It also provides design insights on backhaul and wireless overhead channels to handle specific overhead signaling requirements.
1106.5826
A Dirty Model for Multiple Sparse Regression
cs.LG math.ST stat.ML stat.TH
Sparse linear regression -- finding an unknown vector from linear measurements -- is now known to be possible with fewer samples than variables, via methods like the LASSO. We consider the multiple sparse linear regression problem, where several related vectors -- with partially shared support sets -- have to be recovered. A natural question in this setting is whether one can use the sharing to further decrease the overall number of samples required. A line of recent research has studied the use of \ell_1/\ell_q norm block-regularizations with q>1 for such problems; however these could actually perform worse in sample complexity -- vis a vis solving each problem separately ignoring sharing -- depending on the level of sharing. We present a new method for multiple sparse linear regression that can leverage support and parameter overlap when it exists, but not pay a penalty when it does not. A very simple idea: we decompose the parameters into two components and regularize these differently. We show both theoretically and empirically, our method strictly and noticeably outperforms both \ell_1 or \ell_1/\ell_q methods, over the entire range of possible overlaps (except at boundary cases, where we match the best method). We also provide theoretical guarantees that the method performs well under high-dimensional scaling.
1106.5829
Active Classification: Theory and Application to Underwater Inspection
cs.RO cs.AI cs.CV
We discuss the problem in which an autonomous vehicle must classify an object based on multiple views. We focus on the active classification setting, where the vehicle controls which views to select to best perform the classification. The problem is formulated as an extension to Bayesian active learning, and we show connections to recent theoretical guarantees in this area. We formally analyze the benefit of acting adaptively as new information becomes available. The analysis leads to a probabilistic algorithm for determining the best views to observe based on information theoretic costs. We validate our approach in two ways, both related to underwater inspection: 3D polyhedra recognition in synthetic depth maps and ship hull inspection with imaging sonar. These tasks encompass both the planning and recognition aspects of the active classification problem. The results demonstrate that actively planning for informative views can reduce the number of necessary views by up to 80% when compared to passive methods.
1106.5841
Capacity Bounds of Finite Dimensional CDMA Systems with Fading/Near-Far Effects and Power Control
cs.IT math.IT
This paper deals with fading and/or near-far effects with or without power control on the evaluation of the sum capacity of finite dimensional Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems for binary and finite nonbinary inputs and signature matrices. Important results of this paper are that the knowledge of the received power variations due to input power differences, fading and/or near-far effects can significantly improve the sum capacity. Also traditional power controls can not improve the sum capacity; for the asymptotic case, any type of power control on the near-far effects is equivalent to the case without any power control. Moreover, for the asymptotic case, we have developed a method that determines bounds for the fading/near-far sum capacity with imperfect power estimation from the actual sum capacity of a CDMA system with perfect power estimation. To show the power and utility of the results, a number of sum capacity bounds for special cases are numerically evaluated.
1106.5890
A Comparison of Lex Bounds for Multiset Variables in Constraint Programming
cs.AI
Set and multiset variables in constraint programming have typically been represented using subset bounds. However, this is a weak representation that neglects potentially useful information about a set such as its cardinality. For set variables, the length-lex (LL) representation successfully provides information about the length (cardinality) and position in the lexicographic ordering. For multiset variables, where elements can be repeated, we consider richer representations that take into account additional information. We study eight different representations in which we maintain bounds according to one of the eight different orderings: length-(co)lex (LL/LC), variety-(co)lex (VL/VC), length-variety-(co)lex (LVL/LVC), and variety-length-(co)lex (VLL/VLC) orderings. These representations integrate together information about the cardinality, variety (number of distinct elements in the multiset), and position in some total ordering. Theoretical and empirical comparisons of expressiveness and compactness of the eight representations suggest that length-variety-(co)lex (LVL/LVC) and variety-length-(co)lex (VLL/VLC) usually give tighter bounds after constraint propagation. We implement the eight representations and evaluate them against the subset bounds representation with cardinality and variety reasoning. Results demonstrate that they offer significantly better pruning and runtime.
1106.5917
Implementing Human-like Intuition Mechanism in Artificial Intelligence
cs.AI cs.NE
Human intuition has been simulated by several research projects using artificial intelligence techniques. Most of these algorithms or models lack the ability to handle complications or diversions. Moreover, they also do not explain the factors influencing intuition and the accuracy of the results from this process. In this paper, we present a simple series based model for implementation of human-like intuition using the principles of connectivity and unknown entities. By using Poker hand datasets and Car evaluation datasets, we compare the performance of some well-known models with our intuition model. The aim of the experiment was to predict the maximum accurate answers using intuition based models. We found that the presence of unknown entities, diversion from the current problem scenario, and identifying weakness without the normal logic based execution, greatly affects the reliability of the answers. Generally, the intuition based models cannot be a substitute for the logic based mechanisms in handling such problems. The intuition can only act as a support for an ongoing logic based model that processes all the steps in a sequential manner. However, when time and computational cost are very strict constraints, this intuition based model becomes extremely important and useful, because it can give a reasonably good performance. Factors affecting intuition are analyzed and interpreted through our model.
1106.5928
Image denoising assessment using anisotropic stack filtering
cs.CV
In this paper we propose a measure of anisotropy as a quality parameter to estimate the amount of noise in noisy images. The anisotropy of an image can be determined through a directional measure, using an appropriate statistical distribution of the information contained in the image. This new measure is achieved through a stack filtering paradigm. First, we define a local directional entropy, based on the distribution of 0's and 1's in the neigborhood of every pixel location of each stack level. Then the entropy variation of this directional entropy is used to define an anisotropic measure. The empirical results have shown that this measure can be regarded as an excellent image noise indicator, which is particularly relevant for quality assessment of denoising algorithms. The method has been evaluated with artificial and real-world degraded images.
1106.5930
An Algorithm for Classification of Binary Self-Dual Codes
math.CO cs.DS cs.IT math.IT
An efficient algorithm for classification of binary self-dual codes is presented. As an application, a complete classification of the self-dual codes of length 38 is given.
1106.5936
Singly-even self-dual codes with minimal shadow
math.CO cs.IT math.IT
In this note we investigate extremal singly-even self-dual codes with minimal shadow. For particular parameters we prove non-existence of such codes. By a result of Rains \cite{Rains-asymptotic}, the length of extremal singly-even self-dual codes is bounded. We give explicit bounds in case the shadow is minimal.
1106.5960
On the classification of binary self-dual [44,22,8] codes with an automorphism of order 3 or 7
math.CO cs.IT math.IT
All binary self-dual [44,22,8] codes with an automorphism of order 3 or 7 are classified. In this way we complete the classification of extremal self-dual codes of length 44 having an automorphism of odd prime order.
1106.5973
Entropy of Telugu
cs.CL
This paper presents an investigation of the entropy of the Telugu script. Since this script is syllabic, and not alphabetic, the computation of entropy is somewhat complicated.
1106.5979
Probabilistic Voronoi Diagrams for Probabilistic Moving Nearest Neighbor Queries
cs.DB
A large spectrum of applications such as location based services and environmental monitoring demand efficient query processing on uncertain databases. In this paper, we propose the probabilistic Voronoi diagram (PVD) for processing moving nearest neighbor queries on uncertain data, namely the probabilistic moving nearest neighbor (PMNN) queries. A PMNN query finds the most probable nearest neighbor of a moving query point continuously. To process PMNN queries efficiently, we provide two techniques: a pre-computation approach and an incremental approach. In the pre-computation approach, we develop an algorithm to efficiently evaluate PMNN queries based on the pre-computed PVD for the entire data set. In the incremental approach, we propose an incremental probabilistic safe region based technique that does not require to pre-compute the whole PVD to answer the PMNN query. In this incremental approach, we exploit the knowledge for a known region to compute the lower bound of the probability of an object being the nearest neighbor. Experimental results show that our approaches significantly outperform a sampling based approach by orders of magnitude in terms of I/O, query processing time, and communication overheads.
1106.5992
On the Dynamics of Human Proximity for Data Diffusion in Ad-Hoc Networks
cs.NI cs.HC cs.SI physics.soc-ph
We report on a data-driven investigation aimed at understanding the dynamics of message spreading in a real-world dynamical network of human proximity. We use data collected by means of a proximity-sensing network of wearable sensors that we deployed at three different social gatherings, simultaneously involving several hundred individuals. We simulate a message spreading process over the recorded proximity network, focusing on both the topological and the temporal properties. We show that by using an appropriate technique to deal with the temporal heterogeneity of proximity events, a universal statistical pattern emerges for the delivery times of messages, robust across all the data sets. Our results are useful to set constraints for generic processes of data dissemination, as well as to validate established models of human mobility and proximity that are frequently used to simulate realistic behaviors.
1106.5995
From Cognitive Binary Logic to Cognitive Intelligent Agents
cs.AI cs.LO math.LO
The relation between self awareness and intelligence is an open problem these days. Despite the fact that self awarness is usually related to Emotional Intelligence, this is not the case here. The problem described in this paper is how to model an agent which knows (Cognitive) Binary Logic and which is also able to pass (without any mistake) a certain family of Turing Tests designed to verify its knowledge and its discourse about the modal states of truth corresponding to well-formed formulae within the language of Propositional Binary Logic.
1106.5998
The 3rd International Planning Competition: Results and Analysis
cs.AI
This paper reports the outcome of the third in the series of biennial international planning competitions, held in association with the International Conference on AI Planning and Scheduling (AIPS) in 2002. In addition to describing the domains, the planners and the objectives of the competition, the paper includes analysis of the results. The results are analysed from several perspectives, in order to address the questions of comparative performance between planners, comparative difficulty of domains, the degree of agreement between planners about the relative difficulty of individual problem instances and the question of how well planners scale relative to one another over increasingly difficult problems. The paper addresses these questions through statistical analysis of the raw results of the competition, in order to determine which results can be considered to be adequately supported by the data. The paper concludes with a discussion of some challenges for the future of the competition series.
1106.6022
Use of Markov Chains to Design an Agent Bidding Strategy for Continuous Double Auctions
cs.AI
As computational agents are developed for increasingly complicated e-commerce applications, the complexity of the decisions they face demands advances in artificial intelligence techniques. For example, an agent representing a seller in an auction should try to maximize the seller's profit by reasoning about a variety of possibly uncertain pieces of information, such as the maximum prices various buyers might be willing to pay, the possible prices being offered by competing sellers, the rules by which the auction operates, the dynamic arrival and matching of offers to buy and sell, and so on. A naive application of multiagent reasoning techniques would require the seller's agent to explicitly model all of the other agents through an extended time horizon, rendering the problem intractable for many realistically-sized problems. We have instead devised a new strategy that an agent can use to determine its bid price based on a more tractable Markov chain model of the auction process. We have experimentally identified the conditions under which our new strategy works well, as well as how well it works in comparison to the optimal performance the agent could have achieved had it known the future. Our results show that our new strategy in general performs well, outperforming other tractable heuristic strategies in a majority of experiments, and is particularly effective in a 'seller?s market', where many buy offers are available.
1106.6024
The Rate of Convergence of AdaBoost
math.OC cs.AI stat.ML
The AdaBoost algorithm was designed to combine many "weak" hypotheses that perform slightly better than random guessing into a "strong" hypothesis that has very low error. We study the rate at which AdaBoost iteratively converges to the minimum of the "exponential loss." Unlike previous work, our proofs do not require a weak-learning assumption, nor do they require that minimizers of the exponential loss are finite. Our first result shows that at iteration $t$, the exponential loss of AdaBoost's computed parameter vector will be at most $\epsilon$ more than that of any parameter vector of $\ell_1$-norm bounded by $B$ in a number of rounds that is at most a polynomial in $B$ and $1/\epsilon$. We also provide lower bounds showing that a polynomial dependence on these parameters is necessary. Our second result is that within $C/\epsilon$ iterations, AdaBoost achieves a value of the exponential loss that is at most $\epsilon$ more than the best possible value, where $C$ depends on the dataset. We show that this dependence of the rate on $\epsilon$ is optimal up to constant factors, i.e., at least $\Omega(1/\epsilon)$ rounds are necessary to achieve within $\epsilon$ of the optimal exponential loss.
1106.6104
Deterministic Sequencing of Exploration and Exploitation for Multi-Armed Bandit Problems
math.OC cs.LG cs.SY math.PR math.ST stat.TH
In the Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) problem, there is a given set of arms with unknown reward models. At each time, a player selects one arm to play, aiming to maximize the total expected reward over a horizon of length T. An approach based on a Deterministic Sequencing of Exploration and Exploitation (DSEE) is developed for constructing sequential arm selection policies. It is shown that for all light-tailed reward distributions, DSEE achieves the optimal logarithmic order of the regret, where regret is defined as the total expected reward loss against the ideal case with known reward models. For heavy-tailed reward distributions, DSEE achieves O(T^1/p) regret when the moments of the reward distributions exist up to the pth order for 1<p<=2 and O(T^1/(1+p/2)) for p>2. With the knowledge of an upperbound on a finite moment of the heavy-tailed reward distributions, DSEE offers the optimal logarithmic regret order. The proposed DSEE approach complements existing work on MAB by providing corresponding results for general reward distributions. Furthermore, with a clearly defined tunable parameter-the cardinality of the exploration sequence, the DSEE approach is easily extendable to variations of MAB, including MAB with various objectives, decentralized MAB with multiple players and incomplete reward observations under collisions, MAB with unknown Markov dynamics, and combinatorial MAB with dependent arms that often arise in network optimization problems such as the shortest path, the minimum spanning, and the dominating set problems under unknown random weights.
1106.6173
Power and Subcarrier Allocation for Physical-Layer Security in OFDMA-based Broadband Wireless Networks
cs.IT math.IT
Providing physical-layer security for mobile users in future broadband wireless networks is of both theoretical and practical importance. In this paper, we formulate an analytical framework for resource allocation in a downlink OFDMA-based broadband network with coexistence of secure users (SU) and normal users (NU). The SU's require secure data transmission at the physical layer while the NU's are served with conventional best-effort data traffic. The problem is formulated as joint power and subcarrier allocation with the objective of maximizing average aggregate information rate of all NU's while maintaining an average secrecy rate for each individual SU under a total transmit power constraint for the base station. We solve this problem in an asymptotically optimal manner using dual decomposition. Our analysis shows that an SU becomes a candidate competing for a subcarrier only if its channel gain on this subcarrier is the largest among all and exceeds the second largest by a certain threshold. Furthermore, while the power allocation for NU's follows the conventional water-filling principle, the power allocation for SU's depends on both its own channel gain and the largest channel gain among others. We also develop a suboptimal algorithm to reduce the computational cost. Numerical studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms in terms of the achievable pair of information rate for NU and secrecy rate for SU at different power consumptions.
1106.6174
Pairwise Check Decoding for LDPC Coded Two-Way Relay Block Fading Channels
cs.IT math.IT
Partial decoding has the potential to achieve a larger capacity region than full decoding in two-way relay (TWR) channels. Existing partial decoding realizations are however designed for Gaussian channels and with a static physical layer network coding (PLNC). In this paper, we propose a new solution for joint network coding and channel decoding at the relay, called pairwise check decoding (PCD), for low-density parity-check (LDPC) coded TWR system over block fading channels. The main idea is to form a check relationship table (check-relation-tab) for the superimposed LDPC coded packet pair in the multiple access (MA) phase in conjunction with an adaptive PLNC mapping in the broadcast (BC) phase. Using PCD, we then present a partial decoding method, two-stage closest-neighbor clustering with PCD (TS-CNC-PCD), with the aim of minimizing the worst pairwise error probability. Moreover, we propose the minimum correlation optimization (MCO) for selecting the better check-relation-tabs. Simulation results confirm that the proposed TS-CNC-PCD offers a sizable gain over the conventional XOR with belief propagation (BP) in fading channels.
1106.6185
Effects of Compensation, Connectivity and Tau in a Computational Model of Alzheimer's Disease
cs.NE q-bio.NC
This work updates an existing, simplistic computational model of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) to investigate the behaviour of synaptic compensatory mechanisms in neural networks with small-world connectivity, and varying methods of calculating compensation. It additionally introduces a method for simulating tau neurofibrillary pathology, resulting in a more dramatic damage profile. Small-world connectivity is shown to have contrasting effects on capacity, retrieval time, and robustness to damage, whilst the use of more easily-obtained remote memories rather than recent memories for synaptic compensation is found to lead to rapid network damage.
1106.6186
IBSEAD: - A Self-Evolving Self-Obsessed Learning Algorithm for Machine Learning
cs.LG
We present IBSEAD or distributed autonomous entity systems based Interaction - a learning algorithm for the computer to self-evolve in a self-obsessed manner. This learning algorithm will present the computer to look at the internal and external environment in series of independent entities, which will interact with each other, with and/or without knowledge of the computer's brain. When a learning algorithm interacts, it does so by detecting and understanding the entities in the human algorithm. However, the problem with this approach is that the algorithm does not consider the interaction of the third party or unknown entities, which may be interacting with each other. These unknown entities in their interaction with the non-computer entities make an effect in the environment that influences the information and the behaviour of the computer brain. Such details and the ability to process the dynamic and unsettling nature of these interactions are absent in the current learning algorithm such as the decision tree learning algorithm. IBSEAD is able to evaluate and consider such algorithms and thus give us a better accuracy in simulation of the highly evolved nature of the human brain. Processes such as dreams, imagination and novelty, that exist in humans are not fully simulated by the existing learning algorithms. Also, Hidden Markov models (HMM) are useful in finding "hidden" entities, which may be known or unknown. However, this model fails to consider the case of unknown entities which maybe unclear or unknown. IBSEAD is better because it considers three types of entities- known, unknown and invisible. We present our case with a comparison of existing algorithms in known environments and cases and present the results of the experiments using dry run of the simulated runs of the existing machine learning algorithms versus IBSEAD.
1106.6206
A generalisation of the Gilbert-Varshamov bound and its asymptotic evaluation
cs.IT math.IT
The Gilbert-Varshamov (GV) lower bound on the maximum cardinality of a q-ary code of length n with minimum Hamming distance at least d can be obtained by application of Turan's theorem to the graph with vertex set {0,1,..,q-1}^n in which two vertices are joined if and only if their Hamming distance is at least d. We generalize the GV bound by applying Turan's theorem to the graph with vertex set C^n, where C is a q-ary code of length m and two vertices are joined if and only if their Hamming distance at least d. We asymptotically evaluate the resulting bound for n-> \infty and d \delta mn for fixed \delta > 0, and derive conditions on the distance distribution of C that are necessary and sufficient for the asymptotic generalized bound to beat the asymptotic GV bound. By invoking the Delsarte inequalities, we conclude that no improvement on the asymptotic GV bound is obtained. By using a sharpening of Turan's theorem due to Caro and Wei, we improve on our bound. It is undecided if there exists a code C for which the improved bound can beat the asymptotic GV bound.
1106.6215
Towards two-dimensional search engines
cs.IR cond-mat.stat-mech
We study the statistical properties of various directed networks using ranking of their nodes based on the dominant vectors of the Google matrix known as PageRank and CheiRank. On average PageRank orders nodes proportionally to a number of ingoing links, while CheiRank orders nodes proportionally to a number of outgoing links. In this way the ranking of nodes becomes two-dimensional that paves the way for development of two-dimensional search engines of new type. Statistical properties of information flow on PageRank-CheiRank plane are analyzed for networks of British, French and Italian Universities, Wikipedia, Linux Kernel, gene regulation and other networks. A special emphasis is done for British Universities networks using the large database publicly available at UK. Methods of spam links control are also analyzed.
1106.6223
Why 'GSA: A Gravitational Search Algorithm' Is Not Genuinely Based on the Law of Gravity
cs.NE
Why 'GSA: A Gravitational Search Algorithm' Is Not Genuinely Based on the Law of Gravity
1106.6224
Structured Compressed Sensing: From Theory to Applications
cs.IT math.IT
Compressed sensing (CS) is an emerging field that has attracted considerable research interest over the past few years. Previous review articles in CS limit their scope to standard discrete-to-discrete measurement architectures using matrices of randomized nature and signal models based on standard sparsity. In recent years, CS has worked its way into several new application areas. This, in turn, necessitates a fresh look on many of the basics of CS. The random matrix measurement operator must be replaced by more structured sensing architectures that correspond to the characteristics of feasible acquisition hardware. The standard sparsity prior has to be extended to include a much richer class of signals and to encode broader data models, including continuous-time signals. In our overview, the theme is exploiting signal and measurement structure in compressive sensing. The prime focus is bridging theory and practice; that is, to pinpoint the potential of structured CS strategies to emerge from the math to the hardware. Our summary highlights new directions as well as relations to more traditional CS, with the hope of serving both as a review to practitioners wanting to join this emerging field, and as a reference for researchers that attempts to put some of the existing ideas in perspective of practical applications.
1106.6242
Visual Secret Sharing Scheme using Grayscale Images
cs.CR cs.CV
Pixel expansion and the quality of the reconstructed secret image has been a major issue of visual secret sharing (VSS) schemes. A number of probabilistic VSS schemes with minimum pixel expansion have been proposed for black and white (binary) secret images. This paper presents a probabilistic (2, 3)-VSS scheme for gray scale images. Its pixel expansion is larger in size but the quality of the image is perfect when it's reconstructed. The construction of the shadow images (transparent shares) is based on the binary OR operation.
1106.6251
Kernels for Vector-Valued Functions: a Review
stat.ML cs.AI math.ST stat.TH
Kernel methods are among the most popular techniques in machine learning. From a frequentist/discriminative perspective they play a central role in regularization theory as they provide a natural choice for the hypotheses space and the regularization functional through the notion of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. From a Bayesian/generative perspective they are the key in the context of Gaussian processes, where the kernel function is also known as the covariance function. Traditionally, kernel methods have been used in supervised learning problem with scalar outputs and indeed there has been a considerable amount of work devoted to designing and learning kernels. More recently there has been an increasing interest in methods that deal with multiple outputs, motivated partly by frameworks like multitask learning. In this paper, we review different methods to design or learn valid kernel functions for multiple outputs, paying particular attention to the connection between probabilistic and functional methods.
1106.6258
A Note on Improved Loss Bounds for Multiple Kernel Learning
cs.LG
In this paper, we correct an upper bound, presented in~\cite{hs-11}, on the generalisation error of classifiers learned through multiple kernel learning. The bound in~\cite{hs-11} uses Rademacher complexity and has an\emph{additive} dependence on the logarithm of the number of kernels and the margin achieved by the classifier. However, there are some errors in parts of the proof which are corrected in this paper. Unfortunately, the final result turns out to be a risk bound which has a \emph{multiplicative} dependence on the logarithm of the number of kernels and the margin achieved by the classifier.
1106.6271
Low-Complexity Adaptive Channel Estimation over Multipath Rayleigh Fading Non-Stationary Channels Under CFO
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we propose novel low-complexity adaptive channel estimation techniques for mob ile wireless chan- n els in presence of Rayleigh fading, carrier frequency offsets (CFO) and random channel variations. We show that the selective p artial update of the estimated channel tap-weight vector offers a better trade-off between the performance and computational complexity, compared to the full update of the estimated channel tap-weight vector. We evaluate the mean-square weight error of th e proposed methods and demonstrate the usefulness of its via simulation studies.
1106.6323
The Diversity Multiplexing Tradeoff of the MIMO Half-Duplex Relay Channel
cs.IT math.IT
The fundamental diversity-multiplexing tradeoff of the three-node, multi-input, multi-output (MIMO), quasi-static, Rayleigh faded, half-duplex relay channel is characterized for an arbitrary number of antennas at each node and in which opportunistic scheduling (or dynamic operation) of the relay is allowed, i.e., the relay can switch between receive and transmit modes at a channel dependent time. In this most general case, the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff is characterized as a solution to a simple, two-variable optimization problem. This problem is then solved in closed form for special classes of channels defined by certain restrictions on the numbers of antennas at the three nodes. The key mathematical tool developed here that enables the explicit characterization of the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff is the joint eigenvalue distribution of three mutually correlated random Wishart matrices. Previously, without actually characterizing the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff, the optimality in this tradeoff metric of the dynamic compress-and-forward (DCF) protocol based on the classical compress-and-forward scheme of Cover and El Gamal was shown by Yuksel and Erkip. However, this scheme requires global channel state information (CSI) at the relay. In this work, the so-called quantize-map and forward (QMF) coding scheme due to Avestimehr {\em et} {\em al} is adopted as the achievability scheme with the added benefit that it achieves optimal tradeoff with only the knowledge of the (channel dependent) switching time at the relay node. Moreover, in special classes of the MIMO half-duplex relay channel, the optimal tradeoff is shown to be attainable even without this knowledge. Such a result was previously known only for the half-duplex relay channel with a single antenna at each node, also via the QMF scheme.
1106.6328
On the Asymptotic Validity of the Decoupling Assumption for Analyzing 802.11 MAC Protocol
cs.NI cs.IT cs.PF math.IT
Performance evaluation of the 802.11 MAC protocol is classically based on the decoupling assumption, which hypothesizes that the backoff processes at different nodes are independent. This decoupling assumption results from mean field convergence and is generally true in transient regime in the asymptotic sense (when the number of wireless nodes tends to infinity), but, contrary to widespread belief, may not necessarily hold in stationary regime. The issue is often related with the existence and uniqueness of a solution to a fixed point equation; however, it was also recently shown that this condition is not sufficient; in contrast, a sufficient condition is a global stability property of the associated ordinary differential equation. In this paper, we give a simple condition that establishes the asymptotic validity of the decoupling assumption for the homogeneous case. We also discuss the heterogeneous and the differentiated service cases and formulate a new ordinary differential equation. We show that the uniqueness of a solution to the associated fixed point equation is not sufficient; we exhibit one case where the fixed point equation has a unique solution but the decoupling assumption is not valid in the asymptotic sense in stationary regime.
1106.6335
Bases for Riemann-Roch spaces of one point divisors on an optimal tower of function fields
math.NT cs.IT math.AG math.IT
For applications in algebraic geometric codes, an explicit description of bases of Riemann-Roch spaces of divisors on function fields over finite fields is needed. We give an algorithm to compute such bases for one point divisors, and Weierstrass semigroups over an optimal tower of function fields. We also explicitly compute Weierstrass semigroups till level eight.
1106.6341
Vision-Based Navigation III: Pose and Motion from Omnidirectional Optical Flow and a Digital Terrain Map
cs.CV cs.AI
An algorithm for pose and motion estimation using corresponding features in omnidirectional images and a digital terrain map is proposed. In previous paper, such algorithm for regular camera was considered. Using a Digital Terrain (or Digital Elevation) Map (DTM/DEM) as a global reference enables recovering the absolute position and orientation of the camera. In order to do this, the DTM is used to formulate a constraint between corresponding features in two consecutive frames. In this paper, these constraints are extended to handle non-central projection, as is the case with many omnidirectional systems. The utilization of omnidirectional data is shown to improve the robustness and accuracy of the navigation algorithm. The feasibility of this algorithm is established through lab experimentation with two kinds of omnidirectional acquisition systems. The first one is polydioptric cameras while the second is catadioptric camera.
1107.0015
Automaton based detection of affected cells in three dimensional biological system
cs.CE
The aim of this research review is to propose the logic and search mechanism for the development of an artificially intelligent automaton (AIA) that can find affected cells in a 3-dimensional biological system. Research on the possible application of such automatons to detect and control cancer cells in the human body are greatly focused MRI and PET scans finds the affected regions at the tissue level even as we can find the affected regions at the cellular level using the framework. The AIA may be designed to ensure optimum utilization as they record and might control the presence of affected cells in a human body. The proposed models and techniques can be generalized and used in any application where cells are injured or affected by some disease or accident. The best method to import AIA into the body without surgery or injection is to insert small pill like automata, carrying material viz drugs or leukocytes that is needed to correct the infection. In this process, the AIA can be compared to nano pills to deliver or support therapy. NanoHive simulation software was used to validate the framework of this paper. The existing nanomedicine models such as obstacle avoidance algorithm based models (Hla K H S et al 2008) and the framework in this model were tested in different simulation based experiments. The existing models such as obstacle avoidance based models failed in complex environmental conditions (such as changing environmental conditions, presence of semi-solid particles, etc) while the model in this paper executed its framework successfully.Come systems biology, this field of automatons deserves a bigger leap of understanding especially when pharmacogenomics is at its peak. The results also indicate the importance of artificial intelligence and other computational capabilities in the proposed model for the successful detection of affected cells.
1107.0018
A New Technique for Combining Multiple Classifiers using The Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence
cs.AI
This paper presents a new classifier combination technique based on the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. The Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence is a powerful method for combining measures of evidence from different classifiers. However, since each of the available methods that estimates the evidence of classifiers has its own limitations, we propose here a new implementation which adapts to training data so that the overall mean square error is minimized. The proposed technique is shown to outperform most available classifier combination methods when tested on three different classification problems.
1107.0019
Searching for Bayesian Network Structures in the Space of Restricted Acyclic Partially Directed Graphs
cs.AI
Although many algorithms have been designed to construct Bayesian network structures using different approaches and principles, they all employ only two methods: those based on independence criteria, and those based on a scoring function and a search procedure (although some methods combine the two). Within the score+search paradigm, the dominant approach uses local search methods in the space of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), where the usual choices for defining the elementary modifications (local changes) that can be applied are arc addition, arc deletion, and arc reversal. In this paper, we propose a new local search method that uses a different search space, and which takes account of the concept of equivalence between network structures: restricted acyclic partially directed graphs (RPDAGs). In this way, the number of different configurations of the search space is reduced, thus improving efficiency. Moreover, although the final result must necessarily be a local optimum given the nature of the search method, the topology of the new search space, which avoids making early decisions about the directions of the arcs, may help to find better local optima than those obtained by searching in the DAG space. Detailed results of the evaluation of the proposed search method on several test problems, including the well-known Alarm Monitoring System, are also presented.
1107.0020
Learning to Order BDD Variables in Verification
cs.AI
The size and complexity of software and hardware systems have significantly increased in the past years. As a result, it is harder to guarantee their correct behavior. One of the most successful methods for automated verification of finite-state systems is model checking. Most of the current model-checking systems use binary decision diagrams (BDDs) for the representation of the tested model and in the verification process of its properties. Generally, BDDs allow a canonical compact representation of a boolean function (given an order of its variables). The more compact the BDD is, the better performance one gets from the verifier. However, finding an optimal order for a BDD is an NP-complete problem. Therefore, several heuristic methods based on expert knowledge have been developed for variable ordering. We propose an alternative approach in which the variable ordering algorithm gains 'ordering experience' from training models and uses the learned knowledge for finding good orders. Our methodology is based on offline learning of pair precedence classifiers from training models, that is, learning which variable pair permutation is more likely to lead to a good order. For each training model, a number of training sequences are evaluated. Every training model variable pair permutation is then tagged based on its performance on the evaluated orders. The tagged permutations are then passed through a feature extractor and are given as examples to a classifier creation algorithm. Given a model for which an order is requested, the ordering algorithm consults each precedence classifier and constructs a pair precedence table which is used to create the order. Our algorithm was integrated with SMV, which is one of the most widely used verification systems. Preliminary empirical evaluation of our methodology, using real benchmark models, shows performance that is better than random ordering and is competitive with existing algorithms that use expert knowledge. We believe that in sub-domains of models (alu, caches, etc.) our system will prove even more valuable. This is because it features the ability to learn sub-domain knowledge, something that no other ordering algorithm does.
1107.0021
Decentralized Supply Chain Formation: A Market Protocol and Competitive Equilibrium Analysis
cs.AI
Supply chain formation is the process of determining the structure and terms of exchange relationships to enable a multilevel, multiagent production activity. We present a simple model of supply chains, highlighting two characteristic features: hierarchical subtask decomposition, and resource contention. To decentralize the formation process, we introduce a market price system over the resources produced along the chain. In a competitive equilibrium for this system, agents choose locally optimal allocations with respect to prices, and outcomes are optimal overall. To determine prices, we define a market protocol based on distributed, progressive auctions, and myopic, non-strategic agent bidding policies. In the presence of resource contention, this protocol produces better solutions than the greedy protocols common in the artificial intelligence and multiagent systems literature. The protocol often converges to high-value supply chains, and when competitive equilibria exist, typically to approximate competitive equilibria. However, complementarities in agent production technologies can cause the protocol to wastefully allocate inputs to agents that do not produce their outputs. A subsequent decommitment phase recovers a significant fraction of the lost surplus.
1107.0022
K-Implementation
cs.GT cs.AI
This paper discusses an interested party who wishes to influence the behavior of agents in a game (multi-agent interaction), which is not under his control. The interested party cannot design a new game, cannot enforce agents' behavior, cannot enforce payments by the agents, and cannot prohibit strategies available to the agents. However, he can influence the outcome of the game by committing to non-negative monetary transfers for the different strategy profiles that may be selected by the agents. The interested party assumes that agents are rational in the commonly agreed sense that they do not use dominated strategies. Hence, a certain subset of outcomes is implemented in a given game if by adding non-negative payments, rational players will necessarily produce an outcome in this subset. Obviously, by making sufficiently big payments one can implement any desirable outcome. The question is what is the cost of implementation? In this paper we introduce the notion of k-implementation of a desired set of strategy profiles, where k stands for the amount of payment that need to be actually made in order to implement desirable outcomes. A major point in k-implementation is that monetary offers need not necessarily materialize when following desired behaviors. We define and study k-implementation in the contexts of games with complete and incomplete information. In the latter case we mainly focus on the VCG games. Our setting is later extended to deal with mixed strategies using correlation devices. Together, the paper introduces and studies the implementation of desirable outcomes by a reliable party who cannot modify game rules (i.e. provide protocols), complementing previous work in mechanism design, while making it more applicable to many realistic CS settings.
1107.0023
CP-nets: A Tool for Representing and Reasoning withConditional Ceteris Paribus Preference Statements
cs.AI
Information about user preferences plays a key role in automated decision making. In many domains it is desirable to assess such preferences in a qualitative rather than quantitative way. In this paper, we propose a qualitative graphical representation of preferences that reflects conditional dependence and independence of preference statements under a ceteris paribus (all else being equal) interpretation. Such a representation is often compact and arguably quite natural in many circumstances. We provide a formal semantics for this model, and describe how the structure of the network can be exploited in several inference tasks, such as determining whether one outcome dominates (is preferred to) another, ordering a set outcomes according to the preference relation, and constructing the best outcome subject to available evidence.
1107.0024
Complexity Results and Approximation Strategies for MAP Explanations
cs.AI
MAP is the problem of finding a most probable instantiation of a set of variables given evidence. MAP has always been perceived to be significantly harder than the related problems of computing the probability of a variable instantiation Pr, or the problem of computing the most probable explanation (MPE). This paper investigates the complexity of MAP in Bayesian networks. Specifically, we show that MAP is complete for NP^PP and provide further negative complexity results for algorithms based on variable elimination. We also show that MAP remains hard even when MPE and Pr become easy. For example, we show that MAP is NP-complete when the networks are restricted to polytrees, and even then can not be effectively approximated. Given the difficulty of computing MAP exactly, and the difficulty of approximating MAP while providing useful guarantees on the resulting approximation, we investigate best effort approximations. We introduce a generic MAP approximation framework. We provide two instantiations of the framework; one for networks which are amenable to exact inference Pr, and one for networks for which even exact inference is too hard. This allows MAP approximation on networks that are too complex to even exactly solve the easier problems, Pr and MPE. Experimental results indicate that using these approximation algorithms provides much better solutions than standard techniques, and provide accurate MAP estimates in many cases.
1107.0025
Taming Numbers and Durations in the Model Checking Integrated Planning System
cs.AI
The Model Checking Integrated Planning System (MIPS) is a temporal least commitment heuristic search planner based on a flexible object-oriented workbench architecture. Its design clearly separates explicit and symbolic directed exploration algorithms from the set of on-line and off-line computed estimates and associated data structures. MIPS has shown distinguished performance in the last two international planning competitions. In the last event the description language was extended from pure propositional planning to include numerical state variables, action durations, and plan quality objective functions. Plans were no longer sequences of actions but time-stamped schedules. As a participant of the fully automated track of the competition, MIPS has proven to be a general system; in each track and every benchmark domain it efficiently computed plans of remarkable quality. This article introduces and analyzes the most important algorithmic novelties that were necessary to tackle the new layers of expressiveness in the benchmark problems and to achieve a high level of performance. The extensions include critical path analysis of sequentially generated plans to generate corresponding optimal parallel plans. The linear time algorithm to compute the parallel plan bypasses known NP hardness results for partial ordering by scheduling plans with respect to the set of actions and the imposed precedence relations. The efficiency of this algorithm also allows us to improve the exploration guidance: for each encountered planning state the corresponding approximate sequential plan is scheduled. One major strength of MIPS is its static analysis phase that grounds and simplifies parameterized predicates, functions and operators, that infers knowledge to minimize the state description length, and that detects domain object symmetries. The latter aspect is analyzed in detail. MIPS has been developed to serve as a complete and optimal state space planner, with admissible estimates, exploration engines and branching cuts. In the competition version, however, certain performance compromises had to be made, including floating point arithmetic, weighted heuristic search exploration according to an inadmissible estimate and parameterized optimization.