Post List

All posts; Tags Include "Parallel and Distributed Computing"

• February 17, 2015
• 07:05 AM
• 1,458 views

I'll Beam Right Over

Star Trek’s 50th anniversary is next year. Wouldn’t transporting a person to the ISS be a great way to celebrate? Well, there are a couple of problems to overcome, but we’re on our way. We have recently learned how to transport information and light from one place to another, without it ever existing anywhere in between! And this will help us make quantum computers that will be able to transport all the information contained in every atom of your body.... Read more »

Ma, X., Herbst, T., Scheidl, T., Wang, D., Kropatschek, S., Naylor, W., Wittmann, B., Mech, A., Kofler, J., Anisimova, E.... (2012) Quantum teleportation over 143 kilometres using active feed-forward. Nature, 489(7415), 269-273. DOI: 10.1038/nature11472

Yokoyama, S., Ukai, R., Armstrong, S., Sornphiphatphong, C., Kaji, T., Suzuki, S., Yoshikawa, J., Yonezawa, H., Menicucci, N., & Furusawa, A. (2013) Ultra-large-scale continuous-variable cluster states multiplexed in the time domain. Nature Photonics, 7(12), 982-986. DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2013.287

• April 19, 2014
• 04:25 PM
• 975 views

Monotonicity of EM Algorithm Proof

Here the monotonicity of the EM algorithm is established. $$f_{o}(Y_{o}|\theta)=f_{o,m}(Y_{o},Y_{m}|\theta)/f_{m|o}(Y_{m}|Y_{o},\theta)$$ $$\log L_{o}(\theta)=\log L_{o,m}(\theta)-\log f_{m|o}(Y_{m}|Y_{o},\theta) \label{eq:loglikelihood}$$ where $$L_{o}(\theta)$$ is the likelihood under the observed data and $$L_{o,m}(\theta)$$ is the likelihood under the complete data. Taking the expectation of the second line with respect to the conditional distribution of \(Y........ Read more »

Ruslan R Salakhutdinov, Sam T Roweis, & Zoubin Ghahramani. (2012) On the Convergence of Bound Optimization Algorithms. arXiv. arXiv: 1212.2490v1

• December 19, 2013
• 12:34 PM
• 861 views

When Roughly Is Good Enough: Approximate Computing Saves Energy

Scientists are creating a new type of computers capable of “approximate computing”—performing calculations that are good enough for certain tasks that don’t require perfect accuracy—potentially doubling efficiency and reducing energy consumption.... Read more »

Swagath Venkataramani, Vinay K. Chippa, Srimat T. Chakradhar, Kaushik Roy, & Anand Raghunatha. (2013) Quality programmable vector processors for approximate computing. Proceedings of the 46th Annual IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture, 1-12. info:/10.1145/2540708.2540710

• September 6, 2013
• 02:44 PM
• 1,382 views

Can DNA Template Lead to Future Technologies?

DNA is the blueprint for life. Could it also become the template for making a new generation of computer chips based not on silicon, but on an experimental material known as graphene? That’s the theory behind a process that Stanford chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao reveals in Nature Communications (citation below). Bao and her co-authors, former post-doctoral fellows Anatoliy Sokolov … Read More →... Read more »

A.N. Sokolov, F. L. Yap, N. Liu, K. Kim, L. Ci, O. B. Johnson, H. Wang, M. Vosgueritchian, A. L. Koh, J Chen, J. Park.... (2013) Direct growth of aligned graphitic nanoribbons from a DNA template by chemical vapour deposition. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3402

• August 29, 2013
• 10:06 AM
• 1,022 views

Open-Source Energy Model for Policy Makers Will Increase Transparency

Computer models are used to inform policy decisions about energy, but existing models are generally “black boxes” that don’t show how they work, making it impossible for anyone to replicate their findings. Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new open-source model and are sharing the data they put into it, to allow anyone to check their work—an important advance given the environmental and economic impact of energy policy decisions.... Read more »

• August 1, 2013
• 01:44 PM
• 1,034 views

Model Scale Parameterization for MCMC Efficiency

I recently came across a very interesting paper by Y. Yu and X. Meng[1] who present an interweaving strategy between different model parameterizations to improve mixing. It is well known that different model parameterizations can perform better than others under certain conditions. Papaspiliopoulos, Roberts and Sköld [2] present a general framework for how to parameterize […]The post Model Scale Parameterization for MCMC Efficiency appeared first on Lindons Log.... Read more »

• July 14, 2013
• 05:00 PM
• 1,005 views

Parallel Tempering Algorithm with OpenMP / C

Parallel tempering is one of my favourite sampling algorithms to improve MCMC mixing times. This algorithm seems to be used exclusively on distributed memory architectures using MPI and remains unexploited on shared memory architectures such as our office computers, which have up to eight cores. I’ve written parallel tempering algorithms in MPI and Rmpi but never in OpenMP. It turns out that the latter has substantial advantages. I guess when people think of parallel tempering they think of pr........ Read more »

Earl David J., & Deem Michael W. (2005) Parallel tempering: Theory, applications, and new perspectives. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 7(23), 3910. DOI: 10.1039/b509983h

• July 3, 2013
• 11:18 AM
• 1,454 views

The early galaxies of the universe were very different from today’s galaxies. Using new detailed studies carried out with the ESO Very Large Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers, including members from the Niels Bohr Institute, have studied an early galaxy in unprecedented detail and determined a number of important properties such as size, … Read More →... Read more »

Jens-Kristian Krogager, Johan P. U. Fynbo, Cédric Ledoux2, Lise Christensen, Anna Gallazzi, Peter Laursen, Palle Møller, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Céline Péroux, Max Pettini.... (2013) Comprehensive study of a z . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 433(1). info:/10.1093/mnras/stt955

• May 23, 2013
• 03:37 PM
• 1,249 views

Researchers Turn a Smartphone into a Biosensor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed a cradle and app for the iPhone that uses the phone’s built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules. Having such sensitive biosensing capabilities in the field could enable on-the-spot tracking of groundwater contamination, combine the phone’s GPS … Read More →... Read more »

Gallegos, D., Long, K., Yu, H., Clark, P., Lin, Y., George, S., Nath, P., & Cunningham, B. (2013) Label-free biodetection using a smartphone. Lab on a Chip, 13(11), 2124. DOI: 10.1039/C3LC40991K

• May 13, 2013
• 09:58 AM
• 1,490 views

Riding Hexapod Walkers on Dusty Alien Worlds

Speculative fiction is the home of countless machines that fly in space, yet resemble humanoid lifeforms. Scientists are now working on the next generation of robots that will blaze a trail in space by going where humans simply can’t maneuver on their own. Like so many things in the field of space exploration, the descendents … Read More →... Read more »

• March 11, 2013
• 02:04 PM
• 1,489 views

Let’s Explore Quantum Computing

It’s fairly easy to surmise how quantum computing will evolve in the future if/when it becomes a reality. Devices that are currently based around a system of electronic circuits would eventually die off. Quantum devices would ultimately become the new standard in computing. While Peter Shor’s research showed how quantum algorithms would speed up advanced [...]... Read more »

Benningshof OW, Mohebbi HR, Taminiau IA, Miao GX, & Cory DG. (2013) Superconducting microstrip resonator for pulsed ESR of thin films. Journal of magnetic resonance (San Diego, Calif. : 1997), 84-87. PMID: 23454577

Petersson KD, McFaul LW, Schroer MD, Jung M, Taylor JM, Houck AA, & Petta JR. (2012) Circuit quantum electrodynamics with a spin qubit. Nature, 490(7420), 380-3. PMID: 23075988

• March 6, 2013
• 10:03 AM
• 1,503 views

Dead Sparrow Turned into Robot to Study Bird Behavior

Researchers at Duke University recently took a major step toward better understanding how swamp sparrows use a combination of song and visual displays to communicate with one another. How they came about making this discovery, though, is what makes this story particularly newsworthy — they stuffed a deceased swamp sparrow with a miniature computer and some [...]... Read more »

• February 20, 2013
• 08:59 AM
• 984 views

New targets for HIV therapy

In a pair of studies published last year, researchers across Europe used computer simulations to make major advances in our …Continue reading »... Read more »

Sadiq SK, Noé F, & De Fabritiis G. (2012) Kinetic characterization of the critical step in HIV-1 protease maturation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(50), 20449-54. PMID: 23184967

• February 11, 2013
• 11:36 AM
• 1,150 views

Cell Circuits Remember Their History

MIT engineers have created genetic circuits in bacterial cells that not only perform logic functions, but also remember the results, which are encoded in the cell’s DNA and passed on for dozens of generations. The circuits, described in the Feb. 10 online edition of Nature Biotechnology (citation below), could be used as long-term environmental sensors, efficient controls [...]... Read more »

• January 23, 2013
• 07:38 AM
• 1,515 views

Sending Odors and Tastes as an Email Attachment

Research into cybernetic organs has been largely focused on replacements for disabled individuals who have lost a limb. Electronic noses and tongues are designed for a radically different purpose. Humans perceive different chemicals as various tastes and odors. Many types of additives are industrially manufactured to replicate certain flavors or scents. Electronic noses and tongues [...]... Read more »

• January 17, 2013
• 10:15 AM
• 1,152 views

Soft Lego Built in the Computer

Barbara Capone of the Computational Physics Group of the University of Vienna has developed a new method for the construction of building blocks at the nanoscale. The researcher in Soft Matter Physics, who works at the group of Christos Likos, Professor for Multiscale Computational Physics, is specialized on topics of self-assembly of materials at the [...]... Read more »

• January 16, 2013
• 02:24 AM
• 1,517 views

Show Some Love for the Data Glove

Data Gloves (or wired gloves or cybergloves), as the name implies, are computer input devices that are worn on the hand like a glove. They utilize motion trackers to translate finger manipulations into electrical signals. In the near future, this technology might revolutionize the way that disabled people are able to access computer resources. For [...]... Read more »

Yamaura H, Matsushita K, Kato R, & Yokoi H. (2009) Development of hand rehabilitation system for paralysis patient - universal design using wire-driven mechanism. Conference proceedings : .. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Conference, 7122-5. PMID: 19963950

Dalley, S., Varol, H., & Goldfarb, M. (2012) A Method for the Control of Multigrasp Myoelectric Prosthetic Hands. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 20(1), 58-67. DOI: 10.1109/TNSRE.2011.2175488

• January 7, 2013
• 02:27 PM
• 1,055 views

New Path to More Efficient Organic Solar Cells

Why are efficient and affordable solar cells so highly coveted? Volume. The amount of solar energy lighting up Earth’s land mass every year is nearly 3,000 times the total amount of annual human energy use. But to compete with energy from fossil fuels, photovoltaic devices must convert sunlight to electricity with a certain measure of [...]... Read more »

• January 4, 2013
• 11:43 AM
• 1,288 views

The Science of Choosing Space Pioneers

I often ask others if they would live in space or on another planet if given the opportunity. More often than not, the answer is in the affirmative. But what if you were given the chance and actually wanted to go, but were declined because you weren’t selected by a computer algorithm as one of [...]... Read more »

Yusof, N., & van Loon, J. (2012) Engineering a Global City: The Case of Cyberjaya. Space and Culture, 15(4), 298-316. DOI: 10.1177/1206331212453676

Saaty, T., & Sagir, M. (2012) Global awareness, future city design and decision making. Journal of Systems Science and Systems Engineering, 21(3), 337-355. DOI: 10.1007/s11518-012-5196-z

• January 1, 2013
• 02:27 PM
• 1,101 views

Reaching E.T. Through Standardized Protocols

Choosing a single telecommunications protocol has always been difficult for engineers on Earth, so it’s especially difficult for those who want to communicate with beings from another star system. While it’s nice to imagine that extraterrestrial beings would be able to interface with whatever protocol humans decide to encode a message in, that’s not a [...]... Read more »