Globally optimal on-line learning rules

We present a method for determining the globally optimal on-line learning rule for a soft committee machine under a statistical mechanics framework. This work complements previous results on locally optimal rules, where only the rate of change in generalization error was considered. We maximize the total reduction in generalization error over the whole learning process and show how the resulting rule can significantly outperform the locally optimal rule.

An evaluation of TCP over wired-to-wireless networks

To exploit the popularity of TCP as still the dominant sender and protocol of choice for transporting data reliably across the heterogeneous Internet, this thesis explores end-to-end performance issues and behaviours of TCP senders when transferring data to wireless end-users. The theme throughout is on end-users located specifically within 802.11 WLANs at the edges of the Internet, a largely untapped area of work. To exploit the interests of researchers wanting to study the performance of TCP accurately over heterogeneous conditions, this thesis proposes a flexible wired-to-wireless experimental testbed that better reflects conditions in the real-world. To exploit the transparent functionalities between TCP in the wired domain and the IEEE 802.11 WLAN protocols, this thesis proposes a more accurate methodology for gauging the transmission and error characteristics of real-world 802.11 WLANs. It also aims to correlate any findings with the functionality of fixed TCP senders. To exploit the popularity of Linux as a popular operating system for many of the Internet’s data servers, this thesis studies and evaluates various sender-side TCP congestion control implementations within the recent Linux v2.6. A selection of the implementations are put under systematic testing using real-world wired-to-wireless conditions in order to screen and present a viable candidate/s for further development and usage in the modern-day heterogeneous Internet. Overall, this thesis comprises a set of systematic evaluations of TCP senders over 802.11 WLANs, incorporating measurements in the form of simulations, emulations, and through the use of a real-world-like experimental testbed. The goal of the work is to ensure that all aspects concerned are comprehensively investigated in order to establish rules that can help to decide under which circumstances the deployment of TCP is optimal i.e. a set of paradigms for advancing the state-of-the-art in data transport across the Internet.

Query Enrichment for Image Collections by Reuse of Classification Rules

User queries over image collections, based on semantic similarity, can be processed in several ways. In this paper, we propose to reuse the rules produced by rule-based classifiers in their recognition models as query pattern definitions for searching image collections.

The relative advantage of marketing over technological capabilities in influencing new product performance:the moderating role of country institutions

Marketing and technological capabilities are major drivers of new product performance. Prior research has suggested that marketing capabilities outperform technological capabilities. This study shows that the relative advantage of marketing over technological capabilities for new product performance depends on the institutional context in a country. Meta-analytic data of 341 effect sizes of the relationship between capabilities and new product performance taken from 50 articles with 57 independent samples and collected in 17 different countries reveal new contingencies to the capabilities framework. Although in general, marketing capabilities have a stronger influence than technological capabilities on new product performance, this effect is moderated by institutional context factors. The relative advantage decreases and even reverses with increasing growth rates; it further decreases with increasingly stronger rules of law in a country; and it increases in societies that put emphasis on self-expression values over survival values. These findings contribute to research on the utility of different capabilities, inform the institution-based view of firms in international marketing, and provide implications for international marketing managers.

Válaszúton: Konszolidált vagy színlelt demokrácia? (At the crossroads: consolidated or simulated democracy)

Az írás az utóbbi néhány év magyarországi válságjelenségeinek magyarázatát keresi. Elméletileg egyrészt a demokratikus elitizmus fogalmi rendszere alkalmazhatóságának kérdőjeleit fogalmazza meg, másrészt a szimulált demokrácia fogalmának megalkotására tesz kísérletet. A színlelt demokrácia feltételei között a társadalom jelentős csoportjai és az elit csak imitálják a szabályok elfogadását, ami kiegészül a demokratikus játékszabályokat illető elitkonszenzus hiányával, valamint a politikai vezetőréteg és a társadalom kapcsolatában a szimbolikus képviselet dominanciájával – a tartalmi képviselet és a felelősség helyett. A populista tendenciák bátorítása, a transzformatív elemek túlsúlya, a politika perszonalizációja, a hétköznapi élet és a szakmai kérdések átpolitizálása, az ellenfelek legitimációjának megkérdőjelezése, eltérő irányú üzenetek küldése a köz és az elit számára, a közpénzek nem transzparens felhasználása, a széles körben elterjedt adóelkerülés és normaszegés, valamint az ígérgetés fatális lehet a demokratikus stabilitás és a politikai rendszer működése szempontjából. ________ The article seeks to identify the causes of the Hungarian crisis phenomena that emerged in the past couple of years. Theoretically, fi rst it asks whether the conceptual framework of democratic elitism can be applied, and then it attempts to outline the concept of simulated democracy. The article argues that in a simulated democracy both the elite and large groups within society only imitate that they accept the rules of the game. Moreover, there is no elite consensus about these rules and instead of substantive representation and responsibility symbolic representation does dominate the linkage between political elite and society. Both democratic stability and the performance of the regime will be seriously undermined because the elite encourage populist tendencies, transformative elements dominate, politics is personalized, everyday life and professional issues are over-politicized. In addition, the legitimacy of the opponents tends to be questioned, different and opposing messages are sent to the public and to the elite, public monies are spent in a nontransparent way, and tax-evasion, norm-breaching and over-bidding prevail.

Essays on the selection of securities: Decision on acquisition and issuance perspectives and decision rules

This dissertation is a discourse on the capital market and its interactive framework of acquisition and issuance of financial assets that drive the economy from both sides—investors/lenders and issuers/users of capital assets. My work consists of four essays in financial economics that offer a spectrum of revisions to this significant area of study. The first essay is a delineation of the capital market over the past half a century and major developments on capital markets on issues that pertain to the investor's opportunity set and the corporation's capital-raising availability set. This chapter should have merits on two counts: (i) a comprehensive account of capital markets and return-generating assets and (ii) a backdrop against which I present my findings in Chapters 2 through 4. ^ In Chapter 2, I rework on the Markowitz-Roy-Tobin structure of the efficient frontier and of the Separation Theorem. Starting off with a 2-asset portfolio and extending the paradigm to an n-asset portfolio, I bring out the optimal choice of assets for an investor under constrained utility maximization. In this chapter, I analyze the selection and revision-theoretic construct and bring out optimum choices. The effect of a change in perceived risk or return in the mind of an investor is ascertained on the portfolio composition. ^ Chapter 3 takes a look into corporations that issue market securities. The question of how a corporation decides what kinds of securities it should issue in the marketplace to raise funds brings out the classic value invariance proposition of Modigliani and Miller and fills the gap that existed in the literature for almost half a century. I question the general validity in the classic results of Modigliani and Miller and modify the existing literature on the celebrated value invariance proposition. ^ Chapter 4 takes the Modigliani-Miller regime to its correct prescription in the presence of corporate and personal taxes. I show that Modigliani-Miller's age-old proposition needs corrections and extensions, which I derive. ^ My dissertation overall brings all of these corrections and extensions to the existing literature as my findings, showing that capital markets are in an ever-changing state of necessary revision. ^

Effective end wall profiling rules for a highly loaded compressor cascade

This paper presents a numerical study of a linear compressor cascade to investigate the effective end wall profiling rules for highly-loaded axial compressors. The first step in the research applies a correlation analysis for the different flow field parameters by a data mining over 600 profiling samples to quantify how variations of loss, secondary flow and passage vortex interact with each other under the influence of a profiled end wall. The result identifies the dominant role of corner separation for control of total pressure loss, providing a principle that only in the flow field with serious corner separation does the does the profiled end wall change total pressure loss, secondary flow and passage vortex in the same direction. Then in the second step, a multi-objective optimization of a profiled end wall is performed to reduce loss at design point and near stall point. The development of effective end wall profiling rules is based on the manner of secondary flow control rather than the geometry features of the end wall. Using the optimum end wall cases from the Pareto front, a quantitative tool for analyzing secondary flow control is employed. The driving force induced by a profiled end wall on different regions of end wall flow are subjected to a detailed analysis and identified for their positive/negative influences in relieving corner separation, from which the effective profiling rules are further confirmed. It is found that the profiling rules on a cascade show distinct differences at design point and near stall point, thus loss control of different operating points is generally independent.

Kommunala riktlinjer för anhöriganställningar : En kvalitativ innehållsanalys med feministisk teoriansats

Det övergripande syftet var att undersöka kommunala riktlinjer för anhöriganställningar tillgängliga på kommunernas hemsidor, dvs regeldokument gällande situationer där en anhörig anställs för att vårda en närstående. Det övergripande syftet har byggts upp utifrån följande tre frågeställningar angående hur kommunerna i Sverige beskriver: 1) vilka situationer som berättigar anhöriganställning, 2) hur det säkerställs att den äldre personen skall få sina behov tillgodosedda samt 3) hur säkerställs den anhöriganställdes rättigheter/välmående? Det saknas lagstöd för anhöriganställningar som rättighet, och det kommunala självstyret avgör om kommunen erbjuder denna omsorgsform. På senare tid har anhöriganställningar begränsats och förbjudits i flera svenska kommuner, och enligt uppgifter är det cirka 55–65 % av Sveriges kommuner som tillåter anhöriganställningar. Det är mestadels kvinnor med utländsk bakgrund som är anhöriganställda numera, och feministisk omsorgsforskning och media lyfter fram anhöriganställningar som en kvinnofälla och som en risk för integration av invandrare. I studien inkluderas riktlinjer från totalt 21 kommuner, vilka analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys enligt Elo & Kyngäs (2007). De undersökta riktlinjerna hittades från hemsidorna för Sveriges 121 medelstora och stora kommuner (mer än 20 000 invånare). Resultatet har bearbetats med hjälp av feministisk teori (Hirdman 2012). Resultatet visar att det överlag finns få riktlinjer tillgängliga i Sveriges kommuner och att regelverken skiljer sig åt i de olika kommunerna.  I de riktlinjer som finns är ofta innehållet allmänna eller oklara beskrivningar. En slutsats är därför att många kommuner säkerställer sitt eget handlingsutrymme och ett tolkningsföreträde genom otydliga och allmänt hållna regler i sina riktlinjer. Utifrån ett feministiskt perspektiv kan dessa tolkningsföreträden skapa orättvisa strukturer och skillnader i förutsättningar och villkor för de äldre och för deras anhörigvårdare avseende anhöriganställningar. Slutligen visar resultatet på att de få detaljerade beskrivningarna prioriterar de äldres rättigheter framför de anhöriganställdas. Säkerställandet av de anhöriganställdas rättigheter beskrivs huvudsakligen att ske genom att kontrollera och styra de anhöriganställda. De anhöriganställda är ofta osynliga i riktlinjerna, betraktas som pseudoanställda och hamnar därför mellan stolarna vad gäller stödbehovet (Sand 2010).

A New Platinum Complex With Tryptophan: Synthesis, Structural Characterization, Dft Studies And Biological Assays In Vitro Over Human Tumorigenic Cells.

A new platinum(II) complex with the amino acid L-tryptophan (trp), named Pt-trp, was synthesized and characterized. Elemental, thermogravimetric and ESI-QTOF mass spectrometric analyses led to the composition [Pt(C11H11N2O2)2]⋅6H2O. Infrared spectroscopic data indicate the coordination of trp to Pt(II) through the oxygen of the carboxylate group and also through the nitrogen atom of the amino group. The (13)C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopic data confirm coordination through the oxygen atom of the carboxylate group, while the (15)N CP/MAS NMR data confirm coordination of the nitrogen of the NH2 group to the metal. Density functional theory (DFT) studies were applied to evaluate the cis and trans coordination modes of trp to platinum(II). The trans isomer was shown to be energetically more stable than the cis one. The Pt-trp complex was evaluated as a cytotoxic agent against SK-Mel 103 (human melanoma) and Panc-1 (human pancreatic carcinoma) cell lines. The complex was shown to be cytotoxic over the considered cells.

Surface and subsurface erosion of primary enamel by acid beverages over time

This study evaluated the influence of a cola-type soft drink and a soy-based orange juice on the surface and subsurface erosion of primary enamel, as a function of the exposure time. Seventy-five primary incisors were divided for microhardness test (n=45) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis (n=30). The specimens were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 1 - artificial saliva (control); 2 - cola-type soft drink; and 3 - soy-based orange juice. Immersion cycles in the beverages were undertaken under agitation for 5 min, 3 times a day, during 60 days. Surface microhardness was measured at 7, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days. After 60 days, specimens were bisected and subsurface microhardness was measured at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 200 µm from the surface exposed. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s test (a=0.05). Groups 2 and 3 presented similar decrease of surface microhardness. Regarding subsurface microhardness, group 2 presented the lowest values. SEM images revealed that after 60 days the surfaces clearly exhibited structural loss, unlike those immersed in artificial saliva. It may be concluded that erosion of the surfaces exposed to the cola-type soft drink was more accentuated and directly proportional to the exposure time.

An Eulerian Immersed Boundary Method for flow simulations over stationary and moving rigid bodies

The fluid flow over bodies with complex geometry has been the subject of research of many scientists and widely explored experimentally and numerically. The present study proposes an Eulerian Immersed Boundary Method for flows simulations over stationary or moving rigid bodies. The proposed method allows the use of Cartesians Meshes. Here, two-dimensional simulations of fluid flow over stationary and oscillating circular cylinders were used for verification and validation. Four different cases were explored: the flow over a stationary cylinder, the flow over a cylinder oscillating in the flow direction, the flow over a cylinder oscillating in the normal flow direction, and a cylinder with angular oscillation. The time integration was carried out by a classical 4th order Runge-Kutta scheme, with a time step of the same order of distance between two consecutive points in x direction. High-order compact finite difference schemes were used to calculate spatial derivatives. The drag and lift coefficients, the lock-in phenomenon and vorticity contour plots were used for the verification and validation of the proposed method. The extension of the current method allowing the study of a body with different geometry and three-dimensional simulations is straightforward. The results obtained show a good agreement with both numerical and experimental results, encouraging the use of the proposed method.

A hybrid heuristic for the multi-plant capacitated lot sizing problem with setup carry-over

This paper addresses the capacitated lot sizing problem (CLSP) with a single stage composed of multiple plants, items and periods with setup carry-over among the periods. The CLSP is well studied and many heuristics have been proposed to solve it. Nevertheless, few researches explored the multi-plant capacitated lot sizing problem (MPCLSP), which means that few solution methods were proposed to solve it. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no study of the MPCLSP with setup carry-over was found in the literature. This paper presents a mathematical model and a GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure) with path relinking to the MPCLSP with setup carry-over. This solution method is an extension and adaptation of a previously adopted methodology without the setup carry-over. Computational tests showed that the improvement of the setup carry-over is significant in terms of the solution value with a low increase in computational time.

Nanostructured thin films obtained by electrodeposition over a colloidal crystal template: applications in electrochemical devices

Colloidal particles have been used to template the electrosynthesis of several materials, such as semiconductors, metals and alloys. The method allows good control over the thickness of the resulting material by choosing the appropriate charge applied to the system, and it is able to produce high density deposited materials without shrinkage. These materials are a true model of the template structure and, due to the high surface areas obtained, are very promising for use in electrochemical applications. In the present work, the assembly of monodisperse polystyrene templates was conduced over gold, platinum and glassy carbon substrates in order to show the electrodeposition of an oxide, a conducting polymer and a hybrid inorganic-organic material with applications in the supercapacitor and sensor fields. The performances of the resulting nanostructured films have been compared with the analogue bulk material and the results achieved are depicted in this paper.

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry for inclusive jet production in (p)over-right-arrow + (p)over-right-arrow collisions at root s=200 GeV

We report a new STAR measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A(LL) for inclusive jet production at midrapidity in polarized p+p collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 200 GeV. The data, which cover jet transverse momenta 5 < p(T) < 30 GeV/c, are substantially more precise than previous measurements. They provide significant new constraints on the gluon spin contribution to the nucleon spin through the comparison to predictions derived from one global fit to polarized deep-inelastic scattering measurements. They provide significant new constraints on the gluon spin contribution to the nucleon spin through the comparison to predictions derived from one global fit to polarized deep-inelastic scattering measurements.

Multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer calibration for spectral aerosol optical depth retrievals over Sao Paulo City, Brazil

Multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR) calibration values for aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals were determined by means of the general method formulated by Forgan [Appl. Opt. 33, 4841 (1994)] at a polluted urban site. The obtained precision is comparable with the classical method, the Langley plot, applied on clean mountaintops distant of pollution sources. The AOD retrieved over Sao Paulo City with both calibration procedures is compared with the Aerosol Robotic Network data. The observed results are similar, and, except for the shortest wavelength (415 nm), the MFRSR`s AOD is systematically overestimated by similar to 0.03. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.