For systems using software diversity, well-established theories show that the expected probability of failure on demand (pfd) for two diverse program versions failing together will generally differ from what it would be if they failed independently. This is explained in terms of a “difficulty function” that varies between demands on the system. This theory gives insight, but no specific predict...

In this paper, we describe a representation for spatial information, called the stochastic map, and associated procedures for building it, reading information from it, and revising it incrementally as new information is obtained. The map contains the estimates of relationships among objects in the map, and their uncertainties, given all the available information. The procedures provide a genera...

A symmetric multiple-valued function can be realized as the disjunction of fwrdamental symmetric functions. A simpler disjunction can be formed when the latter functions combine in the same way that minterms combine to form simpler product terms for sum-of-products expressions. We solve a problem posed by Muzio [7], who seeks the worst case symmetric function in the sense that the maximum numbe...

Textual-case based reasoning (TCBR) systems where the problem and solution are in free text form are hard to evaluate. In the absence of class information, domain experts are needed to evaluate solution quality, and provide relevance information. This approach is costly and time consuming. We propose three measures that can be used to compare alternate TCBR system configurations, in the absence...

In 1984, B. Chazelle [SIAM J. Comp., 13 (1984), pp. 488{507] proposed a notch-cutting procedure for decomposing a non-convex polyhedron into convex pieces. This paper shows that notch-cutting, when applied to a polyhedron with n faces and r re ex dihedral angles, gives a convex decomposition with (nr + r7=3) worst-case complexity. The upper and lower bounds are obtained by studying the complexi...

While video conferencing is often viewed as a greener alternative to physically travelling to meet inperson, it has its own energy, carbon dioxide and time costs. In this paper we present the first analysis of the total cost of videoconferencing, including operating costs of the network and videoconferencing equipment, lifecycle assessment of equipment costs, and the time cost of people involve...

Although recent years have seen a surge of interest in the computational aspects of social choice, no attention has previously been devoted to elections with multiple winners, e.g., elections of an assembly or committee. In this paper, we fully characterize the worst-case complexity of manipulation and control in the context of four prominent multi-winner voting systems. Additionally, we show t...

In this paper, we argue that syntactic analysis is most likely to improve retrieval accuracy in textual case-based reasoning when the task of the system is well-defined and the relationship between queries and cases is specified in terms of this task. We illustrate this claim with an implemented system for syntax-based answer-indexed retrieval, RealDialog.

background: neurobrucellosis is a rare complication of brucellosis. acute meningitis and encephalitis are the most common clinical manifestations; however, symptoms of these two conditions may be subacute and diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion in patients from endemic areas. diagnosis is often based on neurological symptoms, serology, and suggestive brain imaging because cerebrospinal...

neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. in different classification of neuroblastomas, a subset of undifferentiated or poorly differentiated tumors with bizarre histological features has been mentioned. a 3-year-old girl presented with abdominal pain. her haematological and biochemical parameters were normal except her urinary vanelylmandelic acid level was elevat...