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1308.6300
Computing Lexical Contrast
cs.CL
Knowing the degree of semantic contrast between words has widespread application in natural language processing, including machine translation, information retrieval, and dialogue systems. Manually-created lexicons focus on opposites, such as {\rm hot} and {\rm cold}. Opposites are of many kinds such as antipodals, complementaries, and gradable. However, existing lexicons often do not classify opposites into the different kinds. They also do not explicitly list word pairs that are not opposites but yet have some degree of contrast in meaning, such as {\rm warm} and {\rm cold} or {\rm tropical} and {\rm freezing}. We propose an automatic method to identify contrasting word pairs that is based on the hypothesis that if a pair of words, $A$ and $B$, are contrasting, then there is a pair of opposites, $C$ and $D$, such that $A$ and $C$ are strongly related and $B$ and $D$ are strongly related. (For example, there exists the pair of opposites {\rm hot} and {\rm cold} such that {\rm tropical} is related to {\rm hot,} and {\rm freezing} is related to {\rm cold}.) We will call this the contrast hypothesis. We begin with a large crowdsourcing experiment to determine the amount of human agreement on the concept of oppositeness and its different kinds. In the process, we flesh out key features of different kinds of opposites. We then present an automatic and empirical measure of lexical contrast that relies on the contrast hypothesis, corpus statistics, and the structure of a {\it Roget}-like thesaurus. We show that the proposed measure of lexical contrast obtains high precision and large coverage, outperforming existing methods.
1308.6309
Text recognition in both ancient and cartographic documents
cs.CV
This paper deals with the recognition and matching of text in both cartographic maps and ancient documents. The purpose of this work is to find similar text regions based on statistical and global features. A phase of normalization is done first, in object to well categorize the same quantity of information. A phase of wordspotting is done next by combining local and global features. We make different experiments by combining the different techniques of extracting features in order to obtain better results in recognition phase. We applied fontspotting on both ancient documents and cartographic ones. We also applied the wordspotting in which we adopted a new technique which tries to compare the images of character and not the entire images words. We present the precision and recall values obtained with three methods for the new method of wordspotting applied on characters only.
1308.6311
Categorizing ancient documents
cs.CV
The analysis of historical documents is still a topical issue given the importance of information that can be extracted and also the importance given by the institutions to preserve their heritage. The main idea in order to characterize the content of the images of ancient documents after attempting to clean the image is segmented blocks texts from the same image and tries to find similar blocks in either the same image or the entire image database. Most approaches of offline handwriting recognition proceed by segmenting words into smaller pieces (usually characters) which are recognized separately. Recognition of a word then requires the recognition of all characters (OCR) that compose it. Our work focuses mainly on the characterization of classes in images of old documents. We use Som toolbox for finding classes in documents. We applied also fractal dimensions and points of interest to categorize and match ancient documents.
1308.6316
Retroactive Anti-Jamming for MISO Broadcast Channels
cs.IT math.IT
Jamming attacks can significantly impact the performance of wireless communication systems. In addition to reducing the capacity, such attacks may lead to insurmountable overhead in terms of re-transmissions and increased power consumption. In this paper, we consider the multiple-input single-output (MISO) broadcast channel (BC) in the presence of a jamming attack in which a subset of the receivers can be jammed at any given time. Further, countermeasures for mitigating the effects of such jamming attacks are presented. The effectiveness of these anti-jamming countermeasures is quantified in terms of the degrees-of-freedom (DoF) of the MISO BC under various assumptions regarding the availability of the channel state information (CSIT) and the jammer state information at the transmitter (JSIT). The main contribution of this paper is the characterization of the DoF region of the two user MISO BC under various assumptions on the availability of CSIT and JSIT. Partial extensions to the multi-user broadcast channels are also presented.
1308.6319
A proposition of a robust system for historical document images indexation
cs.CV
Characterizing noisy or ancient documents is a challenging problem up to now. Many techniques have been done in order to effectuate feature extraction and image indexation for such documents. Global approaches are in general less robust and exact than local approaches. That's why, we propose in this paper, a hybrid system based on global approach(fractal dimension), and a local one based on SIFT descriptor. The Scale Invariant Feature Transform seems to do well with our application since it's rotation invariant and relatively robust to changing illumination.In the first step the calculation of fractal dimension is applied to images in order to eliminate images which have distant features than image request characteristics. Next, the SIFT is applied to show which images match well the request. However the average matching time using the hybrid approach is better than "fractal dimension" and "SIFT descriptor" if they are used alone.
1308.6324
Prediction of breast cancer recurrence using Classification Restricted Boltzmann Machine with Dropping
cs.LG
In this paper, we apply Classification Restricted Boltzmann Machine (ClassRBM) to the problem of predicting breast cancer recurrence. According to the Polish National Cancer Registry, in 2010 only, the breast cancer caused almost 25% of all diagnosed cases of cancer in Poland. We propose how to use ClassRBM for predicting breast cancer return and discovering relevant inputs (symptoms) in illness reappearance. Next, we outline a general probabilistic framework for learning Boltzmann machines with masks, which we refer to as Dropping. The fashion of generating masks leads to different learning methods, i.e., DropOut, DropConnect. We propose a new method called DropPart which is a generalization of DropConnect. In DropPart the Beta distribution instead of Bernoulli distribution in DropConnect is used. At the end, we carry out an experiment using real-life dataset consisting of 949 cases, provided by the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana.
1308.6337
A dual algorithm for a class of augmented convex models
math.OC cs.IT math.IT
Convex optimization models find interesting applications, especially in signal/image processing and compressive sensing. We study some augmented convex models, which are perturbed by strongly convex functions, and propose a dual gradient algorithm. The proposed algorithm includes the linearized Bregman algorithm and the singular value thresholding algorithm as special cases. Based on fundamental properties of proximal operators, we present a concise approach to establish the convergence of both primal and dual sequences, improving the results in the existing literature.
1308.6339
New bounds for circulant Johnson-Lindenstrauss embeddings
cs.IT math.FA math.IT
This paper analyzes circulant Johnson-Lindenstrauss (JL) embeddings which, as an important class of structured random JL embeddings, are formed by randomizing the column signs of a circulant matrix generated by a random vector. With the help of recent decoupling techniques and matrix-valued Bernstein inequalities, we obtain a new bound $k=O(\epsilon^{-2}\log^{(1+\delta)} (n))$ for Gaussian circulant JL embeddings. Moreover, by using the Laplace transform technique (also called Bernstein's trick), we extend the result to subgaussian case. The bounds in this paper offer a small improvement over the current best bounds for Gaussian circulant JL embeddings for certain parameter regimes and are derived using more direct methods.
1308.6342
Linear and Parallel Learning of Markov Random Fields
stat.ML cs.LG
We introduce a new embarrassingly parallel parameter learning algorithm for Markov random fields with untied parameters which is efficient for a large class of practical models. Our algorithm parallelizes naturally over cliques and, for graphs of bounded degree, its complexity is linear in the number of cliques. Unlike its competitors, our algorithm is fully parallel and for log-linear models it is also data efficient, requiring only the local sufficient statistics of the data to estimate parameters.
1308.6356
Respondent-Driven Sampling in Online Social Networks
cs.SI stat.AP
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a commonly used method for acquiring data on hidden communities, i.e., those that lack unbiased sampling frames or face social stigmas that make their mem- bers unwilling to identify themselves. Obtaining accurate statistical data about such communities is important because, for instance, they often have different health burdens from the greater population, and without good statistics it is hard and expensive to effectively reach them for pre- vention or treatment interventions. Online social networks (OSN) have the potential to transform RDS for the better. We present a new RDS recruitment protocol for (OSNs) and show via simulation that it out- performs the standard RDS protocol in terms of sampling accuracy and approaches the accuracy of Markov chain Monte Carlo random walks.
1308.6373
Special Bent and Near-bent Functions
cs.IT math.IT
Starting from special near-bent functions in dimension 2t-1 we construct bent functions in dimension 2t having a specific derivative. We deduce new famillies of bent functions
1308.6384
Collecting Coupons with Random Initial Stake
cs.DM cs.DS cs.NE
Motivated by a problem in the theory of randomized search heuristics, we give a very precise analysis for the coupon collector problem where the collector starts with a random set of coupons (chosen uniformly from all sets). We show that the expected number of rounds until we have a coupon of each type is $nH_{n/2} - 1/2 \pm o(1)$, where $H_{n/2}$ denotes the $(n/2)$th harmonic number when $n$ is even, and $H_{n/2}:= (1/2) H_{\lfloor n/2 \rfloor} + (1/2) H_{\lceil n/2 \rceil}$ when $n$ is odd. Consequently, the coupon collector with random initial stake is by half a round faster than the one starting with exactly $n/2$ coupons (apart from additive $o(1)$ terms). This result implies that classic simple heuristic called \emph{randomized local search} needs an expected number of $nH_{n/2} - 1/2 \pm o(1)$ iterations to find the optimum of any monotonic function defined on bit-strings of length $n$.
1308.6388
GNCGCP - Graduated NonConvexity and Graduated Concavity Procedure
cs.CV
In this paper we propose the Graduated NonConvexity and Graduated Concavity Procedure (GNCGCP) as a general optimization framework to approximately solve the combinatorial optimization problems on the set of partial permutation matrices. GNCGCP comprises two sub-procedures, graduated nonconvexity (GNC) which realizes a convex relaxation and graduated concavity (GC) which realizes a concave relaxation. It is proved that GNCGCP realizes exactly a type of convex-concave relaxation procedure (CCRP), but with a much simpler formulation without needing convex or concave relaxation in an explicit way. Actually, GNCGCP involves only the gradient of the objective function and is therefore very easy to use in practical applications. Two typical NP-hard problems, (sub)graph matching and quadratic assignment problem (QAP), are employed to demonstrate its simplicity and state-of-the-art performance.
1308.6401
A Synergistic Approach for Recovering Occlusion-Free Textured 3D Maps of Urban Facades from Heterogeneous Cartographic Data
cs.CV
In this paper we present a practical approach for generating an occlusion-free textured 3D map of urban facades by the synergistic use of terrestrial images, 3D point clouds and area-based information. Particularly in dense urban environments, the high presence of urban objects in front of the facades causes significant difficulties for several stages in computational building modeling. Major challenges lie on the one hand in extracting complete 3D facade quadrilateral delimitations and on the other hand in generating occlusion-free facade textures. For these reasons, we describe a straightforward approach for completing and recovering facade geometry and textures by exploiting the data complementarity of terrestrial multi-source imagery and area-based information.
1308.6415
Learning-Based Procedural Content Generation
cs.AI cs.HC cs.LG cs.NE
Procedural content generation (PCG) has recently become one of the hottest topics in computational intelligence and AI game researches. Among a variety of PCG techniques, search-based approaches overwhelmingly dominate PCG development at present. While SBPCG leads to promising results and successful applications, it poses a number of challenges ranging from representation to evaluation of the content being generated. In this paper, we present an alternative yet generic PCG framework, named learning-based procedure content generation (LBPCG), to provide potential solutions to several challenging problems in existing PCG techniques. By exploring and exploiting information gained in game development and public beta test via data-driven learning, our framework can generate robust content adaptable to end-user or target players on-line with minimal interruption to their experience. Furthermore, we develop enabling techniques to implement the various models required in our framework. For a proof of concept, we have developed a prototype based on the classic open source first-person shooter game, Quake. Simulation results suggest that our framework is promising in generating quality content.
1308.6432
Robust L_infinity-induced deconvolution filtering for linear stochastic systems and its application to fault reconstruction
cs.SY
The problem of stationary robust L_infinity-induced deconvolution filtering for the uncertain continuous-time linear stochastic systems is addressed. The state space model of the system contains state- and input-dependent noise and deterministic parameter uncertainties residing in a given polytope. In the presence of input-dependent noise, we extend the derived lemma in Berman and Shaked (2010) characterizing the induced L_infinity norm by linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), according to which we solve the deconvolution problem in the quadratic framework. By decoupling product terms between the Lyapunov matrix and system matrices, an improved version of the proposed L_infinity-induced norm bound lemma for continuous-time stochastic systems is obtained, which allows us to realize exploit parameter-dependent stability idea in the deconvolution filter design. The theories presented are utilized for sensor fault reconstruction in uncertain linear stochastic systems. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed design methods are shown via two numerical examples.
1308.6437
Coding with Scrambling, Concatenation, and HARQ for the AWGN Wire-Tap Channel: A Security Gap Analysis
cs.IT math.IT
This study examines the use of nonsystematic channel codes to obtain secure transmissions over the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) wire-tap channel. Unlike the previous approaches, we propose to implement nonsystematic coded transmission by scrambling the information bits, and characterize the bit error rate of scrambled transmissions through theoretical arguments and numerical simulations. We have focused on some examples of Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes to estimate the security gap, which we have used as a measure of physical layer security, in addition to the bit error rate. Based on a number of numerical examples, we found that such a transmission technique can outperform alternative solutions. In fact, when an eavesdropper (Eve) has a worse channel than the authorized user (Bob), the security gap required to reach a given level of security is very small. The amount of degradation of Eve's channel with respect to Bob's that is needed to achieve sufficient security can be further reduced by implementing scrambling and descrambling operations on blocks of frames, rather than on single frames. While Eve's channel has a quality equal to or better than that of Bob's channel, we have shown that the use of a hybrid automatic repeat-request (HARQ) protocol with authentication still allows achieving a sufficient level of security. Finally, the secrecy performance of some practical schemes has also been measured in terms of the equivocation rate about the message at the eavesdropper and compared with that of ideal codes.
1308.6481
Nonparametric Decentralized Sequential Detection via Universal Source Coding
cs.IT math.IT
We consider nonparametric or universal sequential hypothesis testing problem when the distribution under the null hypothesis is fully known but the alternate hypothesis corresponds to some other unknown distribution. These algorithms are primarily motivated from spectrum sensing in Cognitive Radios and intruder detection in wireless sensor networks. We use easily implementable universal lossless source codes to propose simple algorithms for such a setup. The algorithms are first proposed for discrete alphabet. Their performance and asymptotic properties are studied theoretically. Later these are extended to continuous alphabets. Their performance with two well known universal source codes, Lempel-Ziv code and Krichevsky-Trofimov estimator with Arithmetic Encoder are compared. These algorithms are also compared with the tests using various other nonparametric estimators. Finally a decentralized version utilizing spatial diversity is also proposed. Its performance is analysed and asymptotic properties are proved.
1308.6487
A New Algorithm of Speckle Filtering using Stochastic Distances
cs.IT cs.CV cs.GR math.IT stat.AP stat.ML
This paper presents a new approach for filter design based on stochastic distances and tests between distributions. A window is defined around each pixel, overlapping samples are compared and only those which pass a goodness-of-fit test are used to compute the filtered value. The technique is applied to intensity SAR data with homogeneous regions using the Gamma model. The proposal is compared with the Lee's filter using a protocol based on Monte Carlo. Among the criteria used to quantify the quality of filters, we employ the equivalent number of looks, line and edge preservation. Moreover, we also assessed the filters by the Universal Image Quality Index and the Pearson's correlation on edges regions.
1308.6494
Spectral community detection in sparse networks
physics.soc-ph cond-mat.stat-mech cs.SI
Spectral methods based on the eigenvectors of matrices are widely used in the analysis of network data, particularly for community detection and graph partitioning. Standard methods based on the adjacency matrix and related matrices, however, break down for very sparse networks, which includes many networks of practical interest. As a solution to this problem it has been recently proposed that we focus instead on the spectrum of the non-backtracking matrix, an alternative matrix representation of a network that shows better behavior in the sparse limit. Inspired by this suggestion, we here make use of a relaxation method to derive a spectral community detection algorithm that works well even in the sparse regime where other methods break down. Interestingly, however, the matrix at the heart of the method, it turns out, is not exactly the non-backtracking matrix, but a variant of it with a somewhat different definition. We study the behavior of this variant matrix for both artificial and real-world networks and find it to have desirable properties, especially in the common case of networks with broad degree distributions, for which it appears to have a better behaved spectrum and eigenvectors than the original non-backtracking matrix.
1308.6498
Universal Approximation Using Shuffled Linear Models
math.DS cs.NE
This paper proposes a specific type of Local Linear Model, the Shuffled Linear Model (SLM), that can be used as a universal approximator. Local operating points are chosen randomly and linear models are used to approximate a function or system around these points. The model can also be interpreted as an extension to Extreme Learning Machines with Radial Basis Function nodes, or as a specific way of using Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy models. Using the available theory of Extreme Learning Machines, universal approximation of the SLM and an upper bound on the number of models are proved mathematically, and an efficient algorithm is proposed.
1308.6503
Second-Order Asymptotics for the Classical Capacity of Image-Additive Quantum Channels
quant-ph cs.IT math-ph math.IT math.MP
We study non-asymptotic fundamental limits for transmitting classical information over memoryless quantum channels, i.e. we investigate the amount of classical information that can be transmitted when a quantum channel is used a finite number of times and a fixed, non-vanishing average error is permissible. We consider the classical capacity of quantum channels that are image-additive, including all classical to quantum channels, as well as the product state capacity of arbitrary quantum channels. In both cases we show that the non-asymptotic fundamental limit admits a second-order approximation that illustrates the speed at which the rate of optimal codes converges to the Holevo capacity as the blocklength tends to infinity. The behavior is governed by a new channel parameter, called channel dispersion, for which we provide a geometrical interpretation.
1308.6504
On the Conditions of Sparse Parameter Estimation via Log-Sum Penalty Regularization
cs.IT math.IT
For high-dimensional sparse parameter estimation problems, Log-Sum Penalty (LSP) regularization effectively reduces the sampling sizes in practice. However, it still lacks theoretical analysis to support the experience from previous empirical study. The analysis of this article shows that, like $\ell_0$-regularization, $O(s)$ sampling size is enough for proper LSP, where $s$ is the non-zero components of the true parameter. We also propose an efficient algorithm to solve LSP regularization problem. The solutions given by the proposed algorithm give consistent parameter estimations under less restrictive conditions than $\ell_1$-regularization.
1308.6537
Percolation on random networks with arbitrary k-core structure
physics.soc-ph cond-mat.stat-mech cs.SI
The k-core decomposition of a network has thus far mainly served as a powerful tool for the empirical study of complex networks. We now propose its explicit integration in a theoretical model. We introduce a Hard-core Random Network model that generates maximally random networks with arbitrary degree distribution and arbitrary k-core structure. We then solve exactly the bond percolation problem on the HRN model and produce fast and precise analytical estimates for the corresponding real networks. Extensive comparison with selected databases reveals that our approach performs better than existing models, while requiring less input information.
1308.6543
Resource Allocation in MIMO Radar With Multiple Targets for Non-Coherent Localization
cs.IT math.IT
In a MIMO radar network the multiple transmit elements may emit waveforms that differ on power and bandwidth. In this paper, we are asking, given that these two resources are limited, what is the optimal power, optimal bandwidth and optimal joint power and bandwidth allocation for best localization of multiple targets. The well known Cr\'amer-Rao lower bound for target localization accuracy is used as a figure of merit and approximate solutions are found by minimizing a sequence of convex problems. Their quality is assessed through extensive numerical simulations and with the help of a lower-bound on the true solution. Simulations results reveal that bandwidth allocation policies have a definitely stronger impact on performance than power.
1308.6552
Integer-Forcing Source Coding
cs.IT math.IT
Integer-Forcing (IF) is a new framework, based on compute-and-forward, for decoding multiple integer linear combinations from the output of a Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output channel. This work applies the IF approach to arrive at a new low-complexity scheme, IF source coding, for distributed lossy compression of correlated Gaussian sources under a minimum mean squared error distortion measure. All encoders use the same nested lattice codebook. Each encoder quantizes its observation using the fine lattice as a quantizer and reduces the result modulo the coarse lattice, which plays the role of binning. Rather than directly recovering the individual quantized signals, the decoder first recovers a full-rank set of judiciously chosen integer linear combinations of the quantized signals, and then inverts it. In general, the linear combinations have smaller average powers than the original signals. This allows to increase the density of the coarse lattice, which in turn translates to smaller compression rates. We also propose and analyze a one-shot version of IF source coding, that is simple enough to potentially lead to a new design principle for analog-to-digital converters that can exploit spatial correlations between the sampled signals.
1308.6566
Classification and construction of closed-form kernels for signal representation on the 2-sphere
cs.IT math.IT
This paper considers the construction of Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces (RKHS) on the sphere as an alternative to the conventional Hilbert space using the inner product that yields the L^2(S^2) function space of finite energy signals. In comparison with wavelet representations, which have multi-resolution properties on L^2(S^2), the representations that arise from the RKHS approach, which uses different inner products, have an overall smoothness constraint, which may offer advantages and simplifications in certain contexts. The key contribution of this paper is to construct classes of closed-form kernels, such as one based on the von Mises-Fisher distribution, which permits efficient inner product computation using kernel evaluations. Three classes of RKHS are defined: isotropic kernels and non-isotropic kernels both with spherical harmonic eigenfunctions, and general anisotropic kernels.
1308.6604
A smart local moving algorithm for large-scale modularity-based community detection
physics.soc-ph cs.SI physics.data-an
We introduce a new algorithm for modularity-based community detection in large networks. The algorithm, which we refer to as a smart local moving algorithm, takes advantage of a well-known local moving heuristic that is also used by other algorithms. Compared with these other algorithms, our proposed algorithm uses the local moving heuristic in a more sophisticated way. Based on an analysis of a diverse set of networks, we show that our smart local moving algorithm identifies community structures with higher modularity values than other algorithms for large-scale modularity optimization, among which the popular 'Louvain algorithm' introduced by Blondel et al. (2008). The computational efficiency of our algorithm makes it possible to perform community detection in networks with tens of millions of nodes and hundreds of millions of edges. Our smart local moving algorithm also performs well in small and medium-sized networks. In short computing times, it identifies community structures with modularity values equally high as, or almost as high as, the highest values reported in the literature, and sometimes even higher than the highest values found in the literature.
1308.6628
Joint Video and Text Parsing for Understanding Events and Answering Queries
cs.CV cs.CL cs.MM
We propose a framework for parsing video and text jointly for understanding events and answering user queries. Our framework produces a parse graph that represents the compositional structures of spatial information (objects and scenes), temporal information (actions and events) and causal information (causalities between events and fluents) in the video and text. The knowledge representation of our framework is based on a spatial-temporal-causal And-Or graph (S/T/C-AOG), which jointly models possible hierarchical compositions of objects, scenes and events as well as their interactions and mutual contexts, and specifies the prior probabilistic distribution of the parse graphs. We present a probabilistic generative model for joint parsing that captures the relations between the input video/text, their corresponding parse graphs and the joint parse graph. Based on the probabilistic model, we propose a joint parsing system consisting of three modules: video parsing, text parsing and joint inference. Video parsing and text parsing produce two parse graphs from the input video and text respectively. The joint inference module produces a joint parse graph by performing matching, deduction and revision on the video and text parse graphs. The proposed framework has the following objectives: Firstly, we aim at deep semantic parsing of video and text that goes beyond the traditional bag-of-words approaches; Secondly, we perform parsing and reasoning across the spatial, temporal and causal dimensions based on the joint S/T/C-AOG representation; Thirdly, we show that deep joint parsing facilitates subsequent applications such as generating narrative text descriptions and answering queries in the forms of who, what, when, where and why. We empirically evaluated our system based on comparison against ground-truth as well as accuracy of query answering and obtained satisfactory results.
1308.6633
Cross-Correlation of Photovoltaic Output Fluctuation in Power System Operation for Large-Scale Photovoltaic Integration
cs.SY
We analyzed the cross-correlation of Photovoltaic (PV) output fluctuation for the actual PV output time series data in both the Tokyo area and the whole of Japan using the principal component analysis with the random matrix theory. Based on the obtained cross-correlation coefficients, the forecast error for PV output was estimated with/without considering the cross-correlations. Then operation schedule of thermal plants is calculated to integrate PV output using our unit commitment model with the estimated forecast error. The cost for grid integration of PV system was also estimated. Finally, validity of the concept of "local production for local consumption of renewable energy" and alternative policy implications were also discussed.
1308.6641
Local Average Consensus in Distributed Measurement of Spatial-Temporal Varying Parameters: 1D Case
cs.SY
We study a new variant of consensus problems, termed `local average consensus', in networks of agents. We consider the task of using sensor networks to perform distributed measurement of a parameter which has both spatial (in this paper 1D) and temporal variations. Our idea is to maintain potentially useful local information regarding spatial variation, as contrasted with reaching a single, global consensus, as well as to mitigate the effect of measurement errors. We employ two schemes for computation of local average consensus: exponential weighting and uniform finite window. In both schemes, we design local average consensus algorithms to address first the case where the measured parameter has spatial variation but is constant in time, and then the case where the measured parameter has both spatial and temporal variations. Our designed algorithms are distributed, in that information is exchanged only among neighbors. Moreover, we analyze both spatial and temporal frequency responses and noise propagation associated with the algorithms. The tradeoffs of using local consensus, as compared to standard global consensus, include higher memory requirement and degraded noise performance. Arbitrary updating weights and random spacing between sensors are analyzed in the proposed algorithms.
1308.6646
Point values and normalization of two-direction multiwavelets and their derivatives
cs.IT math.IT
Two-direction multiscaling functions $\boldsymbol{\phi}$ and two-direction multiwavelets $\boldsymbol{\psi}$ associated with $\boldsymbol{\phi}$ are more general and more flexible setting than one-direction multiscaling functions and multiwavelets. In this paper, we investigate how to find and normalize point values and those of derivatives of the two-direction multiscaling functions $\boldsymbol{\phi}$ and multiwavelets $\boldsymbol{\psi}$. %associated with $\boldsymbol{\phi}$. For finding point values, we investigate the eigenvalue approach. For normalization, we investigate the normalizing conditions for them by normalizing the zeroth continuous moment of $\boldsymbol{\phi}$. Examples for illustrating the general theory are given.
1308.6659
Spatio-spectral Formulation and Design of Spatially-Varying Filters for Signal Estimation on the 2-Sphere
astro-ph.IM cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we present an optimal filter for the enhancement or estimation of signals on the 2-sphere corrupted by noise, when both the signal and noise are realizations of anisotropic processes on the 2-sphere. The estimation of such a signal in the spatial or spectral domain separately can be shown to be inadequate. Therefore, we develop an optimal filter in the joint spatio-spectral domain by using a framework recently presented in the literature --- the spatially localized spherical harmonic transform --- enabling such processing. Filtering of a signal in the spatio-spectral domain facilitates taking into account anisotropic properties of both the signal and noise processes. The proposed spatio-spectral filtering is optimal under the mean-square error criterion. The capability of the proposed filtering framework is demonstrated with by an example to estimate a signal corrupted by an anisotropic noise process.
1308.6682
A Novel Query-Based Approach for Addressing Summarizability Issues in XOLAP
cs.DB
The business intelligence and decision-support systems used in many application domains casually rely on data warehouses, which are decision-oriented data repositories modeled as multidimensional (MD) structures. MD structures help navigate data through hierarchical levels of detail. In many real-world situations, hierarchies in MD models are complex, which causes data aggregation issues, collectively known as the summarizability problem. This problem leads to incorrect analyses and critically affects decision making. To enforce summarizability, existing approaches alter either MD models or data, and must be applied a priori, on a case-by-case basis, by an expert. To alter neither models nor data, a few query-time approaches have been proposed recently, but they only detect summarizability issues without solving them. Thus, we propose in this paper a novel approach that automatically detects and processes summarizability issues at query time, without requiring any particular expertise from the user. Moreover, while most existing approaches are based on the relational model, our approach focus on an XML MD model, since XML data is customarily used to represent business data and its format better copes with complex hierarchies than the relational model. Finally, our experiments show that our method is likely to scale better than a reference approach for addressing the summarizability problem in the MD context.
1308.6683
Benchmarking Summarizability Processing in XML Warehouses with Complex Hierarchies
cs.DB
Business Intelligence plays an important role in decision making. Based on data warehouses and Online Analytical Processing, a business intelligence tool can be used to analyze complex data. Still, summarizability issues in data warehouses cause ineffective analyses that may become critical problems to businesses. To settle this issue, many researchers have studied and proposed various solutions, both in relational and XML data warehouses. However, they find difficulty in evaluating the performance of their proposals since the available benchmarks lack complex hierarchies. In order to contribute to summarizability analysis, this paper proposes an extension to the XML warehouse benchmark (XWeB) with complex hierarchies. The benchmark enables us to generate XML data warehouses with scalable complex hierarchies as well as summarizability processing. We experimentally demonstrated that complex hierarchies can definitely be included into a benchmark dataset, and that our benchmark is able to compare two alternative approaches dealing with summarizability issues.
1308.6687
Image Set based Collaborative Representation for Face Recognition
cs.CV
With the rapid development of digital imaging and communication technologies, image set based face recognition (ISFR) is becoming increasingly important. One key issue of ISFR is how to effectively and efficiently represent the query face image set by using the gallery face image sets. The set-to-set distance based methods ignore the relationship between gallery sets, while representing the query set images individually over the gallery sets ignores the correlation between query set images. In this paper, we propose a novel image set based collaborative representation and classification method for ISFR. By modeling the query set as a convex or regularized hull, we represent this hull collaboratively over all the gallery sets. With the resolved representation coefficients, the distance between the query set and each gallery set can then be calculated for classification. The proposed model naturally and effectively extends the image based collaborative representation to an image set based one, and our extensive experiments on benchmark ISFR databases show the superiority of the proposed method to state-of-the-art ISFR methods under different set sizes in terms of both recognition rate and efficiency.
1308.6697
Detect adverse drug reactions for drug Atorvastatin
cs.CE
Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are big concern for public health. ADRs are one of most common causes to withdraw some drugs from markets. Now two major methods for detecting ADRs are spontaneous reporting system (SRS), and prescription event monitoring (PEM). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a signal in pharmacovigilance as "any reported information on a possible causal relationship between an adverse event and a drug, the relationship being unknown or incompletely documented previously". For spontaneous reporting systems, many machine learning methods are used to detect ADRs, such as Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN), decision support methods, genetic algorithms, knowledge based approaches, etc. One limitation is the reporting mechanism to submit ADR reports, which has serious underreporting and is not able to accurately quantify the corresponding risk. Another limitation is hard to detect ADRs with small number of occurrences of each drug-event association in the database. In this paper we propose feature selection approach to detect ADRs from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database. First a feature matrix, which represents the medical events for the patients before and after taking drugs, is created by linking patients' prescriptions and corresponding medical events together. Then significant features are selected based on feature selection methods, comparing the feature matrix before patients take drugs with one after patients take drugs. Finally the significant ADRs can be detected from thousands of medical events based on corresponding features. Experiments are carried out on the drug Atorvastatin. Good performance is achieved.
1308.6701
Enhanced Data Integration for LabVIEW Laboratory Systems
cs.DB
Integrating data is a basic concern in many accredited laboratories that perform a large variety of measurements. However, the present working style in engineering faculties does not focus much on this aspect. To deal with this challenge, we developed an educational platform that allows characterization of acquisition ensembles, generation of Web pages for lessons, as well as transformation of measured data and storage in a common format. As generally we had to develop individual parsers for each instrument, we also added the possibility to integrate the LabVIEW workbench, often used for rapid development of applications in electrical engineering and automatic control. This paper describes how we configure the platform for specific equipment, i.e. how we model it, how we create the learning material and how we integrate the results in a central database. It also introduces a case study for collecting data from a thermocouple-based acquisition system based on LabVIEW, used by students for a laboratory of measurement technologies and transducers.
1308.6702
Adversarial hypothesis testing and a quantum Stein's Lemma for restricted measurements
cs.IT math.IT math.PR quant-ph
Recall the classical hypothesis testing setting with two convex sets of probability distributions P and Q. One receives either n i.i.d. samples from a distribution p in P or from a distribution q in Q and wants to decide from which set the points were sampled. It is known that the optimal exponential rate at which errors decrease can be achieved by a simple maximum-likelihood ratio test which does not depend on p or q, but only on the sets P and Q. We consider an adaptive generalization of this model where the choice of p in P and q in Q can change in each sample in some way that depends arbitrarily on the previous samples. In other words, in the k'th round, an adversary, having observed all the previous samples in rounds 1,...,k-1, chooses p_k in P and q_k in Q, with the goal of confusing the hypothesis test. We prove that even in this case, the optimal exponential error rate can be achieved by a simple maximum-likelihood test that depends only on P and Q. We then show that the adversarial model has applications in hypothesis testing for quantum states using restricted measurements. For example, it can be used to study the problem of distinguishing entangled states from the set of all separable states using only measurements that can be implemented with local operations and classical communication (LOCC). The basic idea is that in our setup, the deleterious effects of entanglement can be simulated by an adaptive classical adversary. We prove a quantum Stein's Lemma in this setting: In many circumstances, the optimal hypothesis testing rate is equal to an appropriate notion of quantum relative entropy between two states. In particular, our arguments yield an alternate proof of Li and Winter's recent strengthening of strong subadditivity for quantum relative entropy.
1308.6705
Digital breadcrumbs: Detecting urban mobility patterns and transport mode choices from cellphone networks
cs.SI physics.data-an physics.soc-ph
Many modern and growing cities are facing declines in public transport usage, with few efficient methods to explain why. In this article, we show that urban mobility patterns and transport mode choices can be derived from cellphone call detail records coupled with public transport data recorded from smart cards. Specifically, we present new data mining approaches to determine the spatial and temporal variability of public and private transportation usage and transport mode preferences across Singapore. Our results, which were validated by Singapore's quadriennial Household Interview Travel Survey (HITS), revealed that there are 3.5 (HITS: 3.5 million) million and 4.3 (HITS: 4.4 million) million inter-district passengers by public and private transport, respectively. Along with classifying which transportation connections are weak or underserved, the analysis shows that the mode share of public transport use increases from 38 percent in the morning to 44 percent around mid-day and 52 percent in the evening.
1308.6709
Distributed H-infinity Tracking Control for Discrete-Time Multi-Agent Systems with a High-Dimensional Leader
cs.SY
This paper considers the distributed H-infinity leader-following tracking problem for a class of discrete time multi-agent systems with a high-dimensional dynamic leader. It is assumed that output information about the leader is only available to designated followers, and the dynamics of the followers are subject to perturbations. To achieve distributed H-infinity leader-following tracking, a new class of control protocols is proposed which is based on the feedback from the nearest neighbors as well as a distributed state estimator. Under the assumptions that dynamics of the leader are detectable and the communication topology contains a directed spanning tree, sufficient conditions are obtained that enable all followers to track the leader while achieving a desired H-infinity leader-following tracking performance. Numerical simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.
1308.6721
Discriminative Parameter Estimation for Random Walks Segmentation
cs.CV cs.LG
The Random Walks (RW) algorithm is one of the most e - cient and easy-to-use probabilistic segmentation methods. By combining contrast terms with prior terms, it provides accurate segmentations of medical images in a fully automated manner. However, one of the main drawbacks of using the RW algorithm is that its parameters have to be hand-tuned. we propose a novel discriminative learning framework that estimates the parameters using a training dataset. The main challenge we face is that the training samples are not fully supervised. Speci cally, they provide a hard segmentation of the images, instead of a proba- bilistic segmentation. We overcome this challenge by treating the opti- mal probabilistic segmentation that is compatible with the given hard segmentation as a latent variable. This allows us to employ the latent support vector machine formulation for parameter estimation. We show that our approach signi cantly outperforms the baseline methods on a challenging dataset consisting of real clinical 3D MRI volumes of skeletal muscles.
1308.6728
Extension of "Model Parameter Adaptive Approach of Extended Object Tracking Using Random Matrix"
cs.SY
This is a draft of summary of multi-model algorithm of extended object tracking based on random matrix (RMF-MM).
1308.6732
Strong converse for the classical capacity of the pure-loss bosonic channel
quant-ph cs.IT math.IT
This paper strengthens the interpretation and understanding of the classical capacity of the pure-loss bosonic channel, first established in [Giovannetti et al., Physical Review Letters 92, 027902 (2004), arXiv:quant-ph/0308012]. In particular, we first prove that there exists a trade-off between communication rate and error probability if one imposes only a mean-photon number constraint on the channel inputs. That is, if we demand that the mean number of photons at the channel input cannot be any larger than some positive number N_S, then it is possible to respect this constraint with a code that operates at a rate g(\eta N_S / (1-p)) where p is the code's error probability, \eta\ is the channel transmissivity, and g(x) is the entropy of a bosonic thermal state with mean photon number x. We then prove that a strong converse theorem holds for the classical capacity of this channel (that such a rate-error trade-off cannot occur) if one instead demands for a maximum photon number constraint, in such a way that mostly all of the "shadow" of the average density operator for a given code is required to be on a subspace with photon number no larger than n N_S, so that the shadow outside this subspace vanishes as the number n of channel uses becomes large. Finally, we prove that a small modification of the well-known coherent-state coding scheme meets this more demanding constraint.
1308.6736
Wiretap Channel With Causal State Information and Secure Rate-Limited Feedback
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we consider the secrecy capacity of a wiretap channel in the presence of causal state information and secure rate-limited feedback. In this scenario, the causal state information from the channel is available to both the legitimate transmitter and legitimate receiver. In addition, the legitimate receiver can send secure feedback to the transmitter at a limited rate Rf . We shown that the secrecy capacity is bounded. Moreover, when the channel to the legitimate receiver is less noisy than the channel to the eavesdropper, the bound is shown to be tight. The capacity achieving scheme is based on both the Wyner wiretap coding and two steps of shared-key generation: one from the state information and one via the noiseless feedback. Finally, we consider several special cases. When state information is available only at the legitimate receiver, the analysis suggests that unlike previous results involving feedback, it is better to use the feedback to send the state information to the transmitter (when possible), rather than send a random key.
1308.6744
Preventing Disclosure of Sensitive Knowledge by Hiding Inference
cs.CR cs.DB cs.LG
Data Mining is a way of extracting data or uncovering hidden patterns of information from databases. So, there is a need to prevent the inference rules from being disclosed such that the more secure data sets cannot be identified from non sensitive attributes. This can be done through removing or adding certain item sets in the transactions Sanitization. The purpose is to hide the Inference rules, so that the user may not be able to discover any valuable information from other non sensitive data and any organisation can release all samples of their data without the fear of Knowledge Discovery In Databases which can be achieved by investigating frequently occurring item sets, rules that can be mined from them with the objective of hiding them. Another way is to release only limited samples in the new database so that there is no information loss and it also satisfies the legitimate needs of the users. The major problem is uncovering hidden patterns, which causes a threat to the database security. Sensitive data are inferred from non-sensitive data based on the semantics of the application the user has, commonly known as the inference problem. Two fundamental approaches to protect sensitive rules from disclosure are that, preventing rules from being generated by hiding the frequent sets of data items and reducing the importance of the rules by setting their confidence below a user-specified threshold.
1308.6750
Robust Iterative Interference Alignment for Cellular Networks with Limited Feedback
cs.IT math.IT
In theory coordinated multi-point transmission (CoMP) promises vast gains in spectral efficiency. But industrial field trials show rather disappointing throughput gains, whereby the major limiting factor is proper sharing of channel state information. Many recent papers consider this so-called limited feedback problem in the context of CoMP. Usually taking the assumptions: 1) infinite SNR regime, 2) no user selection and 3) ideal link adaptation; rendering the analysis too optimistic. In this paper we make a step forward towards a more realistic assessment of the limited feedback problem by introducing an improved metric for the performance evaluation which better captures the throughput degradation. We find the relevant scaling laws (lower and upper bounds) and how that they are different from existing ones. Moreover, we provide a robust iterative interference alignment algorithm and corresponding feedback strategies achieving the obtained scaling laws. The main idea is that instead of sending the complete channel matrix each user fixes a receive filter and feeds back a quantized version of the effective channel. Finally we underline our findings with simulations for the proposed system.
1308.6783
Bipartite entanglement of quantum states in a pair basis
quant-ph cond-mat.quant-gas cs.IT math.IT
The unambiguous detection and quantification of entanglement is a hot topic of scientific research, though it is limited to low dimensions or specific classes of states. Here we identify an additional class of quantum states, for which bipartite entanglement measures can be efficiently computed, providing new rigorous results. Such states are written in arbitrary $d\times d$ dimensions, where each basis state in the subsystem A is paired with only one state in B. This new class, that we refer to as pair basis states, is remarkably relevant in many physical situations, including quantum optics. We find that negativity is a necessary and sufficient measure of entanglement for mixtures of states written in the same pair basis. We also provide analytical expressions for a tight lower-bound estimation of the entanglement of formation, a central quantity in quantum information.
1308.6797
Online Ranking: Discrete Choice, Spearman Correlation and Other Feedback
cs.LG cs.GT stat.ML
Given a set $V$ of $n$ objects, an online ranking system outputs at each time step a full ranking of the set, observes a feedback of some form and suffers a loss. We study the setting in which the (adversarial) feedback is an element in $V$, and the loss is the position (0th, 1st, 2nd...) of the item in the outputted ranking. More generally, we study a setting in which the feedback is a subset $U$ of at most $k$ elements in $V$, and the loss is the sum of the positions of those elements. We present an algorithm of expected regret $O(n^{3/2}\sqrt{Tk})$ over a time horizon of $T$ steps with respect to the best single ranking in hindsight. This improves previous algorithms and analyses either by a factor of either $\Omega(\sqrt{k})$, a factor of $\Omega(\sqrt{\log n})$ or by improving running time from quadratic to $O(n\log n)$ per round. We also prove a matching lower bound. Our techniques also imply an improved regret bound for online rank aggregation over the Spearman correlation measure, and to other more complex ranking loss functions.
1308.6804
A Low-Dimensional Representation for Robust Partial Isometric Correspondences Computation
cs.CV cs.GR
Intrinsic isometric shape matching has become the standard approach for pose invariant correspondence estimation among deformable shapes. Most existing approaches assume global consistency, i.e., the metric structure of the whole manifold must not change significantly. While global isometric matching is well understood, only a few heuristic solutions are known for partial matching. Partial matching is particularly important for robustness to topological noise (incomplete data and contacts), which is a common problem in real-world 3D scanner data. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to partial, intrinsic isometric matching. Our method is based on the observation that isometries are fully determined by purely local information: a map of a single point and its tangent space fixes an isometry for both global and the partial maps. From this idea, we develop a new representation for partial isometric maps based on equivalence classes of correspondences between pairs of points and their tangent spaces. From this, we derive a local propagation algorithm that find such mappings efficiently. In contrast to previous heuristics based on RANSAC or expectation maximization, our method is based on a simple and sound theoretical model and fully deterministic. We apply our approach to register partial point clouds and compare it to the state-of-the-art methods, where we obtain significant improvements over global methods for real-world data and stronger guarantees than previous heuristic partial matching algorithms.
1308.6823
A Hypergraph-Partitioned Vertex Programming Approach for Large-scale Consensus Optimization
cs.AI cs.DC
In modern data science problems, techniques for extracting value from big data require performing large-scale optimization over heterogenous, irregularly structured data. Much of this data is best represented as multi-relational graphs, making vertex programming abstractions such as those of Pregel and GraphLab ideal fits for modern large-scale data analysis. In this paper, we describe a vertex-programming implementation of a popular consensus optimization technique known as the alternating direction of multipliers (ADMM). ADMM consensus optimization allows elegant solution of complex objectives such as inference in rich probabilistic models. We also introduce a novel hypergraph partitioning technique that improves over state-of-the-art partitioning techniques for vertex programming and significantly reduces the communication cost by reducing the number of replicated nodes up to an order of magnitude. We implemented our algorithm in GraphLab and measure scaling performance on a variety of realistic bipartite graph distributions and a large synthetic voter-opinion analysis application. In our experiments, we are able to achieve a 50% improvement in runtime over the current state-of-the-art GraphLab partitioning scheme.
1308.6833
Stability of Polynomial Differential Equations: Complexity and Converse Lyapunov Questions
math.OC cs.CC cs.SY math.CA math.DS
We consider polynomial differential equations and make a number of contributions to the questions of (i) complexity of deciding stability, (ii) existence of polynomial Lyapunov functions, and (iii) existence of sum of squares (sos) Lyapunov functions. (i) We show that deciding local or global asymptotic stability of cubic vector fields is strongly NP-hard. Simple variations of our proof are shown to imply strong NP-hardness of several other decision problems: testing local attractivity of an equilibrium point, stability of an equilibrium point in the sense of Lyapunov, invariance of the unit ball, boundedness of trajectories, convergence of all trajectories in a ball to a given equilibrium point, existence of a quadratic Lyapunov function, local collision avoidance, and existence of a stabilizing control law. (ii) We present a simple, explicit example of a globally asymptotically stable quadratic vector field on the plane which does not admit a polynomial Lyapunov function (joint work with M. Krstic). For the subclass of homogeneous vector fields, we conjecture that asymptotic stability implies existence of a polynomial Lyapunov function, but show that the minimum degree of such a Lyapunov function can be arbitrarily large even for vector fields in fixed dimension and degree. For the same class of vector fields, we further establish that there is no monotonicity in the degree of polynomial Lyapunov functions. (iii) We show via an explicit counterexample that if the degree of the polynomial Lyapunov function is fixed, then sos programming may fail to find a valid Lyapunov function even though one exists. On the other hand, if the degree is allowed to increase, we prove that existence of a polynomial Lyapunov function for a planar or a homogeneous vector field implies existence of a polynomial Lyapunov function that is sos and that the negative of its derivative is also sos.
1309.0003
Concentration Inequalities for Bounded Random Vectors
math.PR cs.LG math.ST stat.TH
We derive simple concentration inequalities for bounded random vectors, which generalize Hoeffding's inequalities for bounded scalar random variables. As applications, we apply the general results to multinomial and Dirichlet distributions to obtain multivariate concentration inequalities.
1309.0040
Enhanced Flow in Small-World Networks
cond-mat.dis-nn cs.SI physics.soc-ph
The small-world property is known to have a profound effect on the navigation efficiency of complex networks [J. M. Kleinberg, Nature 406, 845 (2000)]. Accordingly, the proper addition of shortcuts to a regular substrate can lead to the formation of a highly efficient structure for information propagation. Here we show that enhanced flow properties can also be observed in these complex topologies. Precisely, our model is a network built from an underlying regular lattice over which long-range connections are randomly added according to the probability, $P_{ij}\sim r_{ij}^{-\alpha}$, where $r_{ij}$ is the Manhattan distance between nodes $i$ and $j$, and the exponent $\alpha$ is a controlling parameter. The mean two-point global conductance of the system is computed by considering that each link has a local conductance given by $g_{ij}\propto r_{ij}^{-\delta}$, where $\delta$ determines the extent of the geographical limitations (costs) on the long-range connections. Our results show that the best flow conditions are obtained for $\delta=0$ with $\alpha=0$, while for $\delta \gg 1$ the overall conductance always increases with $\alpha$. For $\delta\approx 1$, $\alpha=d$ becomes the optimal exponent, where $d$ is the topological dimension of the substrate. Interestingly, this exponent is identical to the one obtained for optimal navigation in small-world networks using decentralized algorithms.
1309.0052
Accelerating a Cloud-Based Software GNSS Receiver
cs.PF cs.CE cs.DC
In this paper we discuss ways to reduce the execution time of a software Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver that is meant for offline operation in a cloud environment. Client devices record satellite signals they receive, and send them to the cloud, to be processed by this software. The goal of this project is for each client request to be processed as fast as possible, but also to increase total system throughput by making sure as many requests as possible are processed within a unit of time. The characteristics of our application provided both opportunities and challenges for increasing performance. We describe the speedups we obtained by enabling the software to exploit multi-core CPUs and GPGPUs. We mention which techniques worked for us and which did not. To increase throughput, we describe how we control the resources allocated to each invocation of the software to process a client request, such that multiple copies of the application can run at the same time. We use the notion of effective running time to measure the system's throughput when running multiple instances at the same time, and show how we can determine when the system's computing resources have been saturated.
1309.0085
Artificial Intelligence Based Cognitive Routing for Cognitive Radio Networks
cs.NI cs.AI
Cognitive radio networks (CRNs) are networks of nodes equipped with cognitive radios that can optimize performance by adapting to network conditions. While cognitive radio networks (CRN) are envisioned as intelligent networks, relatively little research has focused on the network level functionality of CRNs. Although various routing protocols, incorporating varying degrees of adaptiveness, have been proposed for CRNs, it is imperative for the long term success of CRNs that the design of cognitive routing protocols be pursued by the research community. Cognitive routing protocols are envisioned as routing protocols that fully and seamless incorporate AI-based techniques into their design. In this paper, we provide a self-contained tutorial on various AI and machine-learning techniques that have been, or can be, used for developing cognitive routing protocols. We also survey the application of various classes of AI techniques to CRNs in general, and to the problem of routing in particular. We discuss various decision making techniques and learning techniques from AI and document their current and potential applications to the problem of routing in CRNs. We also highlight the various inference, reasoning, modeling, and learning sub tasks that a cognitive routing protocol must solve. Finally, open research issues and future directions of work are identified.
1309.0088
Caching Gain in Wireless Networks with Fading: A Multi-User Diversity Perspective
cs.IT math.IT
We consider the effect of caching in wireless networks where fading is the dominant channel effect. First, we propose a one-hop transmission strategy for cache-enabled wireless networks, which is based on exploiting multi-user diversity gain. Then, we derive a closed-form result for throughput scaling of the proposed scheme in large networks, which reveals the inherent trade-off between cache memory size and network throughput. Our results show that substantial throughput improvements are achievable in networks with sources equipped with large cache size. We also verify our analytical result through simulations.
1309.0111
Turing Instability in Reaction-Diffusion Systems with a Single Diffuser: Characterization Based on Root Locus
cs.SY nlin.PS q-bio.QM
Cooperative behaviors arising from bacterial cell-to-cell communication can be modeled by reaction-diffusion equations having only a single diffusible component. This paper presents the following three contributions for the systematic analysis of Turing instability in such reaction-diffusion systems. (i) We first introduce a unified framework to formulate the reaction-diffusion system as an interconnected multi-agent dynamical system. (ii) Then, we mathematically classify biologically plausible and implausible Turing instabilities and characterize them by the root locus of each agent's dynamics, or the local reaction dynamics. (iii) Using this characterization, we derive analytic conditions for biologically plausible Turing instability, which provide useful guidance for the design and the analysis of biological networks. These results are demonstrated on an extended Gray-Scott model with a single diffuser.
1309.0113
Non-Asymptotic Convergence Analysis of Inexact Gradient Methods for Machine Learning Without Strong Convexity
math.OC cs.LG
Many recent applications in machine learning and data fitting call for the algorithmic solution of structured smooth convex optimization problems. Although the gradient descent method is a natural choice for this task, it requires exact gradient computations and hence can be inefficient when the problem size is large or the gradient is difficult to evaluate. Therefore, there has been much interest in inexact gradient methods (IGMs), in which an efficiently computable approximate gradient is used to perform the update in each iteration. Currently, non-asymptotic linear convergence results for IGMs are typically established under the assumption that the objective function is strongly convex, which is not satisfied in many applications of interest; while linear convergence results that do not require the strong convexity assumption are usually asymptotic in nature. In this paper, we combine the best of these two types of results and establish---under the standard assumption that the gradient approximation errors decrease linearly to zero---the non-asymptotic linear convergence of IGMs when applied to a class of structured convex optimization problems. Such a class covers settings where the objective function is not necessarily strongly convex and includes the least squares and logistic regression problems. We believe that our techniques will find further applications in the non-asymptotic convergence analysis of other first-order methods.
1309.0123
A Robust Alternating Direction Method for Constrained Hybrid Variational Deblurring Model
cs.CV
In this work, a new constrained hybrid variational deblurring model is developed by combining the non-convex first- and second-order total variation regularizers. Moreover, a box constraint is imposed on the proposed model to guarantee high deblurring performance. The developed constrained hybrid variational model could achieve a good balance between preserving image details and alleviating ringing artifacts. In what follows, we present the corresponding numerical solution by employing an iteratively reweighted algorithm based on alternating direction method of multipliers. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method in terms of quantitative and qualitative image quality assessments.
1309.0129
Information filtering via hybridization of similarity preferential diffusion processes
cs.IR cs.SI physics.soc-ph
The recommender system is one of the most promising ways to address the information overload problem in online systems. Based on the personal historical record, the recommender system can find interesting and relevant objects for the user within a huge information space. Many physical processes such as the mass diffusion and heat conduction have been applied to design the recommendation algorithms. The hybridization of these two algorithms has been shown to provide both accurate and diverse recommendation results. In this paper, we proposed two similarity preferential diffusion processes. Extensive experimental analyses on two benchmark data sets demonstrate that both recommendation and accuracy and diversity are improved duet to the similarity preference in the diffusion. The hybridization of the similarity preferential diffusion processes is shown to significantly outperform the state-of-art recommendation algorithm. Finally, our analysis on network sparsity show that there is significant difference between dense and sparse system, indicating that all the former conclusions on recommendation in the literature should be reexamined in sparse system.
1309.0136
Near-optimal Frequency-weighted Interpolatory Model Reduction
cs.SY math.DS math.NA
This paper develops an interpolatory framework for weighted-$\mathcal{H}_2$ model reduction of MIMO dynamical systems. A new representation of the weighted-$\mathcal{H}_2$ inner products in MIMO settings is introduced and used to derive associated first-order necessary conditions satisfied by optimal weighted-$\mathcal{H}_2$ reduced-order models. Equivalence of these new interpolatory conditions with earlier Riccati-based conditions given by Halevi is also shown. An examination of realizations for equivalent weighted-$\mathcal{H}_2$ systems leads then to an algorithm that remains tractable for large state-space dimension. Several numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of this approach and its competitiveness with Frequency Weighted Balanced Truncation and an earlier interpolatory approach, the Weighted Iterative Rational Krylov Algorithm.
1309.0141
Empirical distribution of good channel codes with non-vanishing error probability (extended version)
cs.IT math.IT math.PR
This paper studies several properties of channel codes that approach the fundamental limits of a given (discrete or Gaussian) memoryless channel with a non-vanishing probability of error. The output distribution induced by an $\epsilon$-capacity-achieving code is shown to be close in a strong sense to the capacity achieving output distribution. Relying on the concentration of measure (isoperimetry) property enjoyed by the latter, it is shown that regular (Lipschitz) functions of channel outputs can be precisely estimated and turn out to be essentially non-random and independent of the actual code. It is also shown that the output distribution of a good code and the capacity achieving one cannot be distinguished with exponential reliability. The random process produced at the output of the channel is shown to satisfy the asymptotic equipartition property. Using related methods it is shown that quadratic forms and sums of $q$-th powers when evaluated at codewords of good AWGN codes approach the values obtained from a randomly generated Gaussian codeword.
1309.0145
Delay Minimization for Instantly Decodable Network Coding in Persistent Channels with Feedback Intermittence
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing the multicast decoding delay of generalized instantly decodable network coding (G-IDNC) over persistent forward and feedback erasure channels with feedback intermittence. In such an environment, the sender does not always receive acknowledgement from the receivers after each transmission. Moreover, both the forward and feedback channels are subject to persistent erasures, which can be modelled by a two state (good and bad states) Markov chain known as Gilbert-Elliott channel (GEC). Due to such feedback imperfections, the sender is unable to determine subsequent instantly decodable packets combination for all receivers. Given this harsh channel and feedback model, we first derive expressions for the probability distributions of decoding delay increments and then employ these expressions in formulating the minimum decoding problem in such environment as a maximum weight clique problem in the G-IDNC graph. We also show that the problem formulations in simpler channel and feedback models are special cases of our generalized formulation. Since this problem is NP-hard, we design a greedy algorithm to solve it and compare it to blind approaches proposed in literature. Through extensive simulations, our adaptive algorithm is shown to outperform the blind approaches in all situations and to achieve significant improvement in the decoding delay, especially when the channel is highly persistent
1309.0157
A complementary construction using mutually unbiased bases
cs.IT cs.DM math.IT
We present a construction for complementary pairs of arrays that exploits a set of mutually-unbiased bases, and enumerate these arrays as well as the corresponding set of complementary sequences obtained from the arrays by projection. We also sketch an algorithm to uniquely generate these sequences. The pairwise squared inner-product of members of the sequence set is shown to be $\frac{1}{2}$. Moreover, a subset of the set can be viewed as a codebook that asymptotically achieves $\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}$ times the Welch bound.
1309.0158
Robustness of large-scale stochastic matrices to localized perturbations
math.PR cs.DM cs.SI cs.SY
Upper bounds are derived on the total variation distance between the invariant distributions of two stochastic matrices differing on a subset W of rows. Such bounds depend on three parameters: the mixing time and the minimal expected hitting time on W for the Markov chain associated to one of the matrices; and the escape time from W for the Markov chain associated to the other matrix. These results, obtained through coupling techniques, prove particularly useful in scenarios where W is a small subset of the state space, even if the difference between the two matrices is not small in any norm. Several applications to large-scale network problems are discussed, including robustness of Google's PageRank algorithm, distributed averaging and consensus algorithms, and interacting particle systems.
1309.0165
On time-reversibility of linear stochastic models
cs.SY math.PR
Reversal of the time direction in stochastic systems driven by white noise has been central throughout the development of stochastic realization theory, filtering and smoothing. Similar ideas were developed in connection with certain problems in the theory of moments, where a duality induced by time reversal was introduced to parametrize solutions. In this latter work it was shown that stochastic systems driven by arbitrary second-order stationary processes can be similarly time-reversed. By combining these two sets of ideas we present herein a generalization of time-reversal in stochastic realization theory.
1309.0186
A Solution to the Network Challenges of Data Recovery in Erasure-coded Distributed Storage Systems: A Study on the Facebook Warehouse Cluster
cs.NI cs.DC cs.IT math.IT
Erasure codes, such as Reed-Solomon (RS) codes, are being increasingly employed in data centers to combat the cost of reliably storing large amounts of data. Although these codes provide optimal storage efficiency, they require significantly high network and disk usage during recovery of missing data. In this paper, we first present a study on the impact of recovery operations of erasure-coded data on the data-center network, based on measurements from Facebook's warehouse cluster in production. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind available in the literature. Our study reveals that recovery of RS-coded data results in a significant increase in network traffic, more than a hundred terabytes per day, in a cluster storing multiple petabytes of RS-coded data. To address this issue, we present a new storage code using our recently proposed "Piggybacking" framework, that reduces the network and disk usage during recovery by 30% in theory, while also being storage optimal and supporting arbitrary design parameters. The implementation of the proposed code in the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) is underway. We use the measurements from the warehouse cluster to show that the proposed code would lead to a reduction of close to fifty terabytes of cross-rack traffic per day.
1309.0193
Design of Minimum Correlated, Maximal Clique Sets of One-Dimensional Uni-polar (Optical) Orthogonal Codes
cs.IT math.IT
This paper proposes an algorithm to search a family of multiple sets of minimum correlated one dimensional uni-polar (optical) orthogonal codes (1-DUOC) or optical orthogonal codes (OOC) with fixed as well as variable code parameters. The cardinality of each set is equal to upper bound. The codes within a set can be searched for general values of code length, code weight, auto-correlation constraint and cross-correlation constraint. Each set forms a maximal clique of the codes within given range of correlation properties . These one-dimensional uni-polar orthogonal codes can find their application as signature sequences for spectral spreading purpose in incoherent optical code division multiple access (CDMA) systems.
1309.0213
Learning to Rank for Blind Image Quality Assessment
cs.CV
Blind image quality assessment (BIQA) aims to predict perceptual image quality scores without access to reference images. State-of-the-art BIQA methods typically require subjects to score a large number of images to train a robust model. However, subjective quality scores are imprecise, biased, and inconsistent, and it is challenging to obtain a large scale database, or to extend existing databases, because of the inconvenience of collecting images, training the subjects, conducting subjective experiments, and realigning human quality evaluations. To combat these limitations, this paper explores and exploits preference image pairs (PIPs) such as "the quality of image $I_a$ is better than that of image $I_b$" for training a robust BIQA model. The preference label, representing the relative quality of two images, is generally precise and consistent, and is not sensitive to image content, distortion type, or subject identity; such PIPs can be generated at very low cost. The proposed BIQA method is one of learning to rank. We first formulate the problem of learning the mapping from the image features to the preference label as one of classification. In particular, we investigate the utilization of a multiple kernel learning algorithm based on group lasso (MKLGL) to provide a solution. A simple but effective strategy to estimate perceptual image quality scores is then presented. Experiments show that the proposed BIQA method is highly effective and achieves comparable performance to state-of-the-art BIQA algorithms. Moreover, the proposed method can be easily extended to new distortion categories.
1309.0238
API design for machine learning software: experiences from the scikit-learn project
cs.LG cs.MS
Scikit-learn is an increasingly popular machine learning li- brary. Written in Python, it is designed to be simple and efficient, accessible to non-experts, and reusable in various contexts. In this paper, we present and discuss our design choices for the application programming interface (API) of the project. In particular, we describe the simple and elegant interface shared by all learning and processing units in the library and then discuss its advantages in terms of composition and reusability. The paper also comments on implementation details specific to the Python ecosystem and analyzes obstacles faced by users and developers of the library.
1309.0239
Energy-Neutral Source-Channel Coding with Battery and Memory Size Constraints
cs.IT math.IT
We study energy management policies for the compression and transmission of source data collected by an energy-harvesting sensor node with a finite energy buffer (e.g., rechargeable battery) and a finite data buffer (memory) between source encoder and channel encoder. The sensor node can adapt the source and channel coding rates depending on the observation and channel states. In such a system, the absence of precise information about the amount of energy available in the future is a key challenge. We provide analytical bounds and scaling laws for the average distortion that depend on the size of the energy and data buffers. We furthermore design a resource allocation policy that achieves almost optimal distortion scaling. Our results demonstrate that the energy leakage of state of art energy management policies can be avoided by jointly controlling the source and channel coding rates.
1309.0242
Ensemble approaches for improving community detection methods
physics.soc-ph cs.LG cs.SI stat.ML
Statistical estimates can often be improved by fusion of data from several different sources. One example is so-called ensemble methods which have been successfully applied in areas such as machine learning for classification and clustering. In this paper, we present an ensemble method to improve community detection by aggregating the information found in an ensemble of community structures. This ensemble can found by re-sampling methods, multiple runs of a stochastic community detection method, or by several different community detection algorithms applied to the same network. The proposed method is evaluated using random networks with community structures and compared with two commonly used community detection methods. The proposed method when applied on a stochastic community detection algorithm performs well with low computational complexity, thus offering both a new approach to community detection and an additional community detection method.
1309.0261
Multi-Column Deep Neural Networks for Offline Handwritten Chinese Character Classification
cs.CV
Our Multi-Column Deep Neural Networks achieve best known recognition rates on Chinese characters from the ICDAR 2011 and 2013 offline handwriting competitions, approaching human performance.
1309.0270
High-Accuracy Total Variation for Compressed Video Sensing
math.OC cs.CV
Numerous total variation (TV) regularizers, engaged in image restoration problem, encode the gradients by means of simple $[-1,1]$ FIR filter. Despite its low computational processing, this filter severely deviates signal's high frequency components pertinent to edge/discontinuous information and cause several deficiency issues known as texture and geometric loss. This paper addresses this problem by proposing an alternative model to the TV regularization problem via high order accuracy differential FIR filters to preserve rapid transitions in signal recovery. A numerical encoding scheme is designed to extend the TV model into multidimensional representation (tensorial decomposition). We adopt this design to regulate the spatial and temporal redundancy in compressed video sensing problem to jointly recover frames from under-sampled measurements. We then seek the solution via alternating direction methods of multipliers and find a unique solution to quadratic minimization step with capability of handling different boundary conditions. The resulting algorithm uses much lower sampling rate and highly outperforms alternative state-of-the-art methods. This is evaluated both in terms of restoration accuracy and visual quality of the recovered frames.
1309.0302
Unmixing Incoherent Structures of Big Data by Randomized or Greedy Decomposition
stat.ML cs.DS cs.LG
Learning big data by matrix decomposition always suffers from expensive computation, mixing of complicated structures and noise. In this paper, we study more adaptive models and efficient algorithms that decompose a data matrix as the sum of semantic components with incoherent structures. We firstly introduce "GO decomposition (GoDec)", an alternating projection method estimating the low-rank part $L$ and the sparse part $S$ from data matrix $X=L+S+G$ corrupted by noise $G$. Two acceleration strategies are proposed to obtain scalable unmixing algorithm on big data: 1) Bilateral random projection (BRP) is developed to speed up the update of $L$ in GoDec by a closed-form built from left and right random projections of $X-S$ in lower dimensions; 2) Greedy bilateral (GreB) paradigm updates the left and right factors of $L$ in a mutually adaptive and greedy incremental manner, and achieve significant improvement in both time and sample complexities. Then we proposes three nontrivial variants of GoDec that generalizes GoDec to more general data type and whose fast algorithms can be derived from the two strategies......
1309.0303
Fundamental Limits of HRR Profiling and Velocity Compensation For Stepped-Frequency Waveforms
cs.IT math.IT
The stepped-frequency (SF) waveform is an effective way to achieve high range resolution (HRR) in modern radars. In this paper, we determine some fundamental limits of SF waveforms on ambiguity, stability and accuracy of stable targets profiling, and velocity compensation accuracy of moving targets. The investigation shows that via using the information contained in both phase and envelop of the echo signal, the radar can achieve HRR profiles without ambiguity under a looser criterion, and can compensate the range shift caused by targets' radial velocity. The results of this paper can help the SF waveform design and the processing algorithm development for HRR profiling and velocity compensation.
1309.0305
Quantifying 'causality' in complex systems: Understanding Transfer Entropy
cond-mat.stat-mech cs.IT math.IT
'Causal' direction is of great importance when dealing with complex systems. Often big volumes of data in the form of time series are available and it is important to develop methods that can inform about possible causal connections between the different observables. Here we investigate the ability of the Transfer Entropy measure to identify causal relations embedded in emergent coherent correlations. We do this by firstly applying Transfer Entropy to an amended Ising model. In addition we use a simple Random Transition model to test the reliability of Transfer Entropy as a measure of `causal' direction in the presence of stochastic fluctuations. In particular we systematically study the effect of the finite size of data sets.
1309.0309
A Study on Unsupervised Dictionary Learning and Feature Encoding for Action Classification
cs.CV
Many efforts have been devoted to develop alternative methods to traditional vector quantization in image domain such as sparse coding and soft-assignment. These approaches can be split into a dictionary learning phase and a feature encoding phase which are often closely connected. In this paper, we investigate the effects of these phases by separating them for video-based action classification. We compare several dictionary learning methods and feature encoding schemes through extensive experiments on KTH and HMDB51 datasets. Experimental results indicate that sparse coding performs consistently better than the other encoding methods in large complex dataset (i.e., HMDB51), and it is robust to different dictionaries. For small simple dataset (i.e., KTH) with less variation, however, all the encoding strategies perform competitively. In addition, we note that the strength of sophisticated encoding approaches comes not from their corresponding dictionaries but the encoding mechanisms, and we can just use randomly selected exemplars as dictionaries for video-based action classification.
1309.0326
Tagging Scientific Publications using Wikipedia and Natural Language Processing Tools. Comparison on the ArXiv Dataset
cs.CL cs.DL
In this work, we compare two simple methods of tagging scientific publications with labels reflecting their content. As a first source of labels Wikipedia is employed, second label set is constructed from the noun phrases occurring in the analyzed corpus. We examine the statistical properties and the effectiveness of both approaches on the dataset consisting of abstracts from 0.7 million of scientific documents deposited in the ArXiv preprint collection. We believe that obtained tags can be later on applied as useful document features in various machine learning tasks (document similarity, clustering, topic modelling, etc.).
1309.0337
Scalable Probabilistic Entity-Topic Modeling
stat.ML cs.IR cs.LG
We present an LDA approach to entity disambiguation. Each topic is associated with a Wikipedia article and topics generate either content words or entity mentions. Training such models is challenging because of the topic and vocabulary size, both in the millions. We tackle these problems using a novel distributed inference and representation framework based on a parallel Gibbs sampler guided by the Wikipedia link graph, and pipelines of MapReduce allowing fast and memory-frugal processing of large datasets. We report state-of-the-art performance on a public dataset.
1309.0363
Sigma Point Belief Propagation
cs.AI cs.DC
The sigma point (SP) filter, also known as unscented Kalman filter, is an attractive alternative to the extended Kalman filter and the particle filter. Here, we extend the SP filter to nonsequential Bayesian inference corresponding to loopy factor graphs. We propose sigma point belief propagation (SPBP) as a low-complexity approximation of the belief propagation (BP) message passing scheme. SPBP achieves approximate marginalizations of posterior distributions corresponding to (generally) loopy factor graphs. It is well suited for decentralized inference because of its low communication requirements. For a decentralized, dynamic sensor localization problem, we demonstrate that SPBP can outperform nonparametric (particle-based) BP while requiring significantly less computations and communications.
1309.0365
Guaranteed Cost Tracking for Uncertain Coupled Multi-agent Systems Using Consensus over a Directed Graph
cs.SY
This paper considers the leader-follower control problem for a linear multi-agent system with directed communication topology and linear nonidentical uncertain coupling subject to integral quadratic constraints (IQCs). A consensus-type control protocol is proposed based on each agent's states relative to its neighbors and leader's state relative to agents which observe the leader. A sufficient condition is obtained by overbounding the cost function. Based on this sufficient condition, a computational algorithm is introduced to minimize the proposed guaranteed bound on tracking performance, which yields a suboptimal bound on the system consensus control and tracking performance. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated using a simulation example.
1309.0373
ENFrame: A Platform for Processing Probabilistic Data
cs.DB
This paper introduces ENFrame, a unified data processing platform for querying and mining probabilistic data. Using ENFrame, users can write programs in a fragment of Python with constructs such as bounded-range loops, list comprehension, aggregate operations on lists, and calls to external database engines. The program is then interpreted probabilistically by ENFrame. The realisation of ENFrame required novel contributions along several directions. We propose an event language that is expressive enough to succinctly encode arbitrary correlations, trace the computation of user programs, and allow for computation of discrete probability distributions of program variables. We exemplify ENFrame on three clustering algorithms: k-means, k-medoids, and Markov Clustering. We introduce sequential and distributed algorithms for computing the probability of interconnected events exactly or approximately with error guarantees. Experiments with k-medoids clustering of sensor readings from energy networks show orders-of-magnitude improvements of exact clustering using ENFrame over na\"ive clustering in each possible world, of approximate over exact, and of distributed over sequential algorithms.
1309.0403
On the Geometry of Balls in the Grassmannian and List Decoding of Lifted Gabidulin Codes
cs.IT math.AG math.IT
The finite Grassmannian $\mathcal{G}_{q}(k,n)$ is defined as the set of all $k$-dimensional subspaces of the ambient space $\mathbb{F}_{q}^{n}$. Subsets of the finite Grassmannian are called constant dimension codes and have recently found an application in random network coding. In this setting codewords from $\mathcal{G}_{q}(k,n)$ are sent through a network channel and, since errors may occur during transmission, the received words can possible lie in $\mathcal{G}_{q}(k',n)$, where $k'\neq k$. In this paper, we study the balls in $\mathcal{G}_{q}(k,n)$ with center that is not necessarily in $\mathcal{G}_{q}(k,n)$. We describe the balls with respect to two different metrics, namely the subspace and the injection metric. Moreover, we use two different techniques for describing these balls, one is the Pl\"ucker embedding of $\mathcal{G}_{q}(k,n)$, and the second one is a rational parametrization of the matrix representation of the codewords. With these results, we consider the problem of list decoding a certain family of constant dimension codes, called lifted Gabidulin codes. We describe a way of representing these codes by linear equations in either the matrix representation or a subset of the Pl\"ucker coordinates. The union of these equations and the equations which arise from the description of the ball of a given radius in the Grassmannian describe the list of codewords with distance less than or equal to the given radius from the received word.
1309.0442
A Verifiable and Correct-by-Construction Controller for Robot Functional Levels
cs.RO cs.SE
Autonomous robots are complex systems that require the interaction and cooperation between numerous heterogeneous software components. In recent times, robots are being increasingly used for complex and safety-critical tasks, such as exploring Mars and assisting/replacing humans. Consequently, robots are becoming critical systems that must meet safety properties, in particular, logical, temporal and real-time constraints. To this end, we present an evolution of the LAAS architecture for autonomous systems, in particular its GenoM tool. This evolution relies on the BIP component-based design framework, which has been successfully used in other domains such as embedded systems. We show how we integrate BIP into our existing methodology for developing the lowest (functional) level of robots. Particularly, we discuss the componentization of the functional level, the synthesis of an execution controller for it, and how we verify whether the resulting functional level conforms to properties such as deadlock-freedom. We also show through experimentation that the verification is feasible and usable for complex, real world robotic systems, and that the BIP-based functional levels resulting from our new methodology are, despite an overhead during execution, still practical on real world robotic platforms. Our approach has been fully implemented in the LAAS architecture, and the implementation has been used in several experiments on a real robot.
1309.0448
Distributed Sensing and Transmission of Sporadic Random Samples in a Multiple-Access Channel
cs.IT math.IT
This work considers distributed sensing and transmission of sporadic random samples. Lower bounds are derived for the reconstruction error of a single normally or uniformly-distributed finite-dimensional vector imperfectly measured by a network of sensors and transmitted with finite energy to a common receiver via an additive white Gaussian noise asynchronous multiple-access channel. Transmission makes use of a perfect causal feedback link to the encoder connected to each sensor. A retransmission protocol inspired by the classical scheme in [1] applied to the transmission of single and bi-variate analog samples analyzed in [2] and [3] is extended to the more general network scenario, for which asymptotic upper-bounds on the reconstruction error are provided. Both the upper and lower-bounds show that collaboration can be achieved through energy accumulation under certain circumstances. In order to investigate the practical performance of the proposed retransmission protocol we provide a numerical evaluation of the upper-bounds in the non-asymptotic energy regime using low-order quantization in the sensors. The latter includes a minor modification of the protocol to improve reconstruction fidelity. Numerical results show that an increase in the size of the network brings benefit in terms of performance, but that the gain in terms of energy efficiency diminishes quickly at finite energies due to a non-coherent combining loss.
1309.0458
Capacity of Non-Malleable Codes
cs.IT cs.CC cs.CR math.IT
Non-malleable codes, introduced by Dziembowski, Pietrzak and Wichs (ICS 2010), encode messages $s$ in a manner so that tampering the codeword causes the decoder to either output $s$ or a message that is independent of $s$. While this is an impossible goal to achieve against unrestricted tampering functions, rather surprisingly non-malleable coding becomes possible against every fixed family $F$ of tampering functions that is not too large (for instance, when $|F| \le \exp(2^{\alpha n})$ for some $\alpha \in [0, 1)$ where $n$ is the number of bits in a codeword). In this work, we study the "capacity of non-malleable coding", and establish optimal bounds on the achievable rate as a function of the family size, answering an open problem from Dziembowski et al. (ICS 2010). Specifically, 1. We prove that for every family $F$ with $|F| \le \exp(2^{\alpha n})$, there exist non-malleable codes against $F$ with rate arbitrarily close to $1-\alpha$ (this is achieved w.h.p. by a randomized construction). 2. We show the existence of families of size $\exp(n^{O(1)} 2^{\alpha n})$ against which there is no non-malleable code of rate $1-\alpha$ (in fact this is the case w.h.p for a random family of this size). 3. We also show that $1-\alpha$ is the best achievable rate for the family of functions which are only allowed to tamper the first $\alpha n$ bits of the codeword, which is of special interest. As a corollary, this implies that the capacity of non-malleable coding in the split-state model (where the tampering function acts independently but arbitrarily on the two halves of the codeword) equals 1/2. We also give an efficient Monte Carlo construction of codes of rate close to 1 with polynomial time encoding and decoding that is non-malleable against any fixed $c > 0$ and family $F$ of size $\exp(n^c)$, in particular tampering functions with, say, cubic size circuits.
1309.0482
Law of Log Determinant of Sample Covariance Matrix and Optimal Estimation of Differential Entropy for High-Dimensional Gaussian Distributions
math.ST cs.IT math.IT stat.TH
Differential entropy and log determinant of the covariance matrix of a multivariate Gaussian distribution have many applications in coding, communications, signal processing and statistical inference. In this paper we consider in the high dimensional setting optimal estimation of the differential entropy and the log-determinant of the covariance matrix. We first establish a central limit theorem for the log determinant of the sample covariance matrix in the high dimensional setting where the dimension $p(n)$ can grow with the sample size $n$. An estimator of the differential entropy and the log determinant is then considered. Optimal rate of convergence is obtained. It is shown that in the case $p(n)/n \rightarrow 0$ the estimator is asymptotically sharp minimax. The ultra-high dimensional setting where $p(n) > n$ is also discussed.
1309.0489
Relative Comparison Kernel Learning with Auxiliary Kernels
cs.LG
In this work we consider the problem of learning a positive semidefinite kernel matrix from relative comparisons of the form: "object A is more similar to object B than it is to C", where comparisons are given by humans. Existing solutions to this problem assume many comparisons are provided to learn a high quality kernel. However, this can be considered unrealistic for many real-world tasks since relative assessments require human input, which is often costly or difficult to obtain. Because of this, only a limited number of these comparisons may be provided. In this work, we explore methods for aiding the process of learning a kernel with the help of auxiliary kernels built from more easily extractable information regarding the relationships among objects. We propose a new kernel learning approach in which the target kernel is defined as a conic combination of auxiliary kernels and a kernel whose elements are learned directly. We formulate a convex optimization to solve for this target kernel that adds only minor overhead to methods that use no auxiliary information. Empirical results show that in the presence of few training relative comparisons, our method can learn kernels that generalize to more out-of-sample comparisons than methods that do not utilize auxiliary information, as well as similar methods that learn metrics over objects.
1309.0535
Decentralized Rigidity Maintenance Control with Range Measurements for Multi-Robot Systems
cs.SY cs.MA cs.RO math.OC
This work proposes a fully decentralized strategy for maintaining the formation rigidity of a multi-robot system using only range measurements, while still allowing the graph topology to change freely over time. In this direction, a first contribution of this work is an extension of rigidity theory to weighted frameworks and the rigidity eigenvalue, which when positive ensures the infinitesimal rigidity of the framework. We then propose a distributed algorithm for estimating a common relative position reference frame amongst a team of robots with only range measurements in addition to one agent endowed with the capability of measuring the bearing to two other agents. This first estimation step is embedded into a subsequent distributed algorithm for estimating the rigidity eigenvalue associated with the weighted framework. The estimate of the rigidity eigenvalue is finally used to generate a local control action for each agent that both maintains the rigidity property and enforces additional con- straints such as collision avoidance and sensing/communication range limits and occlusions. As an additional feature of our approach, the communication and sensing links among the robots are also left free to change over time while preserving rigidity of the whole framework. The proposed scheme is then experimentally validated with a robotic testbed consisting of 6 quadrotor UAVs operating in a cluttered environment.
1309.0551
Optimizing the performance of Lattice Gauge Theory simulations with Streaming SIMD extensions
cs.CE cs.PF physics.comp-ph
Two factors, which affect simulation quality are the amount of computing power and implementation. The Streaming SIMD (single instruction multiple data) extensions (SSE) present a technique for influencing both by exploiting the processor's parallel functionalism. In this paper, we show how SSE improves performance of lattice gauge theory simulations. We identified two significant trends through an analysis of data from various runs. The speed-ups were higher for single precision than double precision floating point numbers. Notably, though the use of SSE significantly improved simulation time, it did not deliver the theoretical maximum. There are a number of reasons for this: architectural constraints imposed by the FSB speed, the spatial and temporal patterns of data retrieval, ratio of computational to non-computational instructions, and the need to interleave miscellaneous instructions with computational instructions. We present a model for analyzing the SSE performance, which could help factor in the bottlenecks or weaknesses in the implementation, the computing architecture, and the mapping of software to the computing substrate while evaluating the improvement in efficiency. The model or framework would be useful in evaluating the use of other computational frameworks, and in predicting the benefits that can be derived from future hardware or architectural improvements.
1309.0566
Enhanced Precision Through Multiple Reads for LDPC Decoding in Flash Memories
cs.IT math.IT
Multiple reads of the same Flash memory cell with distinct word-line voltages provide enhanced precision for LDPC decoding. In this paper, the word-line voltages are optimized by maximizing the mutual information (MI) of the quantized channel. The enhanced precision from a few additional reads allows FER performance to approach that of full-precision soft information and enables an LDPC code to significantly outperform a BCH code. A constant-ratio constraint provides a significant simplification in the optimization with no noticeable loss in performance. For a well-designed LDPC code, the quantization that maximizes the mutual information also minimizes the frame error rate in our simulations. However, for an example LDPC code with a high error floor caused by small absorbing sets, the MMI quantization does not provide the lowest frame error rate. The best quantization in this case introduces more erasures than would be optimal for the channel MI in order to mitigate the absorbing sets of the poorly designed code. The paper also identifies a trade-off in LDPC code design when decoding is performed with multiple precision levels; the best code at one level of precision will typically not be the best code at a different level of precision.
1309.0569
Product-form solutions for integrated services packet networks and cloud computing systems
math.PR cs.IT cs.NI cs.PF math.IT math.OC
We iteratively derive the product-form solutions of stationary distributions of priority multiclass queueing networks with multi-sever stations. The networks are Markovian with exponential interarrival and service time distributions. These solutions can be used to conduct performance analysis or as comparison criteria for approximation and simulation studies of large scale networks with multi-processor shared-memory switches and cloud computing systems with parallel-server stations. Numerical comparisons with existing Brownian approximating model are provided to indicate the effectiveness of our algorithm.
1309.0576
Robust Stability of Quantum Systems with Nonlinear Dynamic Uncertainties
quant-ph cs.SY math.OC
This paper considers the problem of robust stability for a class of uncertain nonlinear quantum systems subject to unknown perturbations in the system Hamiltonian. The nominal system is a linear quantum system defined by a linear vector of coupling operators and a quadratic Hamiltonian. This paper extends previous results on the robust stability of nonlinear quantum systems to allow for quantum systems with dynamic uncertainties. These dynamic uncertainties are required to satisfy a certain quantum stochastic integral quadratic constraint. The robust stability condition is given in terms of a strict bounded real condition. This result is applied to the robust stability analysis of an optical parametric amplifier.
1309.0578
Coherent-Classical Estimation for Quantum Linear Systems
quant-ph cs.SY math.OC
This paper introduces a problem of coherent-classical estimation for a class of linear quantum systems. In this problem, the estimator is a mixed quantum-classical system which produces a classical estimate of a system variable. The coherent-classical estimator may also involve coherent feedback. An example involving optical squeezers is given to illustrate the efficacy of this idea.
1309.0607
On Throughput and Decoding Delay Performance of Instantly Decodable Network Coding
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, a comprehensive study of packet-based instantly decodable network coding (IDNC) for single-hop wireless broadcast is presented. The optimal IDNC solution in terms of throughput is proposed and its packet decoding delay performance is investigated. Lower and upper bounds on the achievable throughput and decoding delay performance of IDNC are derived and assessed through extensive simulations. Furthermore, the impact of receivers' feedback frequency on the performance of IDNC is studied and optimal IDNC solutions are proposed for scenarios where receivers' feedback is only available after and IDNC round, composed of several coded transmissions. However, since finding these IDNC optimal solutions is computational complex, we further propose simple yet efficient heuristic IDNC algorithms. The impact of system settings and parameters such as channel erasure probability, feedback frequency, and the number of receivers is also investigated and simple guidelines for practical implementations of IDNC are proposed.
1309.0634
Skew Handling in Aggregate Streaming Queries on GPUs
cs.DB cs.DC
Nowadays, the data to be processed by database systems has grown so large that any conventional, centralized technique is inadequate. At the same time, general purpose computation on GPU (GPGPU) recently has successfully drawn attention from the data management community due to its ability to achieve significant speed-ups at a small cost. Efficient skew handling is a well-known problem in parallel queries, independently of the execution environment. In this work, we investigate solutions to the problem of load imbalances in parallel aggregate queries on GPUs that are caused by skewed data. We present a generic load-balancing framework along with several instantiations, which we experimentally evaluate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to present runtime load-balancing techniques for database operations on GPUs.
1309.0659
Majority Rule for Belief Evolution in Social Networks
cs.AI cs.SI physics.soc-ph
In this paper, we study how an agent's belief is affected by her neighbors in a social network. We first introduce a general framework, where every agent has an initial belief on a statement, and updates her belief according to her and her neighbors' current beliefs under some belief evolution functions, which, arguably, should satisfy some basic properties. Then, we focus on the majority rule belief evolution function, that is, an agent will (dis)believe the statement iff more than half of her neighbors (dis)believe it. We consider some fundamental issues about majority rule belief evolution, for instance, whether the belief evolution process will eventually converge. The answer is no in general. However, for random asynchronous belief evolution, this is indeed the case.
1309.0671
BayesOpt: A Library for Bayesian optimization with Robotics Applications
cs.RO cs.AI cs.LG cs.MS
The purpose of this paper is twofold. On one side, we present a general framework for Bayesian optimization and we compare it with some related fields in active learning and Bayesian numerical analysis. On the other hand, Bayesian optimization and related problems (bandits, sequential experimental design) are highly dependent on the surrogate model that is selected. However, there is no clear standard in the literature. Thus, we present a fast and flexible toolbox that allows to test and combine different models and criteria with little effort. It includes most of the state-of-the-art contributions, algorithms and models. Its speed also removes part of the stigma that Bayesian optimization methods are only good for "expensive functions". The software is free and it can be used in many operating systems and computer languages.