Law Yat Chiu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Related Work --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Equivalence of CSPs --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- Dual Viewpoint --- p.4 / Chapter 2.3 --- CSP Reformulation --- p.5 / Chapter 2.4 --- Multiple Modeling --- p.5 / Chapter 2.5 --- Redundant Modeling --- p.6 / Chapter 2.6 --- Minimal Combined Model --- p.6 / Chapter 2.7 --- Permutation CSPs and Channeling Constraints --- p.6 / Chapter 3 --- Background --- p.8 / Chapter 3.1 --- From Viewpoints to CSP Models --- p.8 / Chapter 3.2 --- Constraint Satisfaction Techniques --- p.10 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Backtracking Search --- p.11 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Consistency Techniques and Constraint Propagation --- p.12 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Incorporating Consistency Techniques into Backtracking Search --- p.18 / Chapter 4 --- Model Induction --- p.21 / Chapter 4.1 --- Channeling Constraints --- p.21 / Chapter 4.2 --- Induced Models --- p.22 / Chapter 4.3 --- Properties --- p.30 / Chapter 5 --- Exploiting Redundancy from Model Induction --- p.35 / Chapter 5.1 --- Combining Redundant Models --- p.35 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Model Intersection --- p.36 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Model Channeling --- p.38 / Chapter 5.2 --- Three New Forms of Model Redundancy --- p.39 / Chapter 5.3 --- Experiments --- p.42 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Langford's Problem --- p.44 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Random Permutation CSPs --- p.53 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Golomb Rulers --- p.72 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- Circular Golomb Rulers --- p.74 / Chapter 5.3.5 --- All-Interval Series Problem --- p.78 / Chapter 6 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.82 / Chapter 6.1 --- Contributions --- p.82 / Chapter 6.2 --- Future Work --- p.83

<p> The overarching goal of my thesis work was to utilize the combination of mathematical and experimental models towards an effort to resolve chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), one of the most common adverse effects of cancer chemotherapy. In chapter two, we have developed quantitative-structure toxicity relationship (QSTR) models using machine learning algorithms that enable the prediction of peripheral neuropathy incidence solely from a chemicals molecular structure. The QSTR models enable the prediction of clinical neurotoxicity, which could be potentially useful in early drug discovery to screen out compounds that are highly neurotoxic and identify safer drug candidates to move forward into further development. The QSTR model was used to suggest modifications to the molecular structure of bortezomib that may reduce the number of patients who develop peripheral neuropathy from bortezomib therapy. In the third chapter, we conducted a network-based comparative systems pharmacology analysis of proteasome inhibitions. The concept behind this work was to use <i>in silico</i> pharmacological interaction networks to elucidate the neurotoxic differences between bortezomib and carfilzomib. Our theoretical results suggested the importance of the unfolded protein response in bortezomib neurotoxicity and that the mechanisms of neurotoxicity by proteasome inhibitors closely relate to the pathogenesis of Guillian-Barr&eacute; syndrome caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. In chapter four we have written a review article to introduce the concept of Boolean network modeling in systems pharmacology. Due to the lack of knowledge about parameter values that govern the cellular dynamic processes involved in peripheral nerve damage, the development of a quantitative systems pharmacology model would not be feasible. Therefore, in chapter five, we developed a Boolean network-based systems pharmacology model of intracellular signaling and gene regulation in peripheral neurons. The model was used to simulate the neurotoxic effects of bortezomib and to identify potential treatment strategies for proteasome-inhibitor induced peripheral neuropathy. A novel combinatorial treatment strategy was identified that consists of a TNF? inhibitor, NMDA receptor antagonist, and reactive oxygen species inhibitor. Our subsequent goals were aimed towards translating this finding with the endeavor to hopefully one-day impact human health. Initially we had proposed to use three separate agents for each of these targets, however the clinical administration of three agents to prevent the neurotoxicity of one is likely unfeasible. We then came across a synthetic cannabinoid derivative, dexanabinol, that promiscuously inhibits all three of these targets and was previously developed for its intended use to treat traumatic brain injury. We believe that this drug candidate was worth investigating due to the overlapping pharmacological activity with suggested targets from network analyses, previously established favorable safety profile in humans, notable <i>in vitro/vivo</i> neuroprotective properties, and rising popularity for the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids to treat CIPN. In chapter six we assessed the efficacy of dexanabinol for preventing the neurotoxic effects of bortezomib in various experimental models. Due to the limited translatability of 2D cell culture techniques, we investigated the pharmacodynamics of dexanabinol using a microphysiological model of the peripheral nerve. Bortezomib caused a reduction in electrophysiological endpoints, which were partially restored by dexanabinol. In chapter 7 we evaluated the possible interaction of dexanabinol on the anti-cancer effects of bortezomib. We observed no significant differences in tumor volume between bortezomib alone and in combination with dexanabinol in a multiple myeloma mouse model. Lastly, we are currently investigating the efficacy of dexanabinol in well-established rat model of bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy. We believe that positive results would warrant a clinical trial. In conclusion, the statistical and mechanistic models of peripheral neuropathy that were developed could be used to reduce the overall burden of CIPN through the design of safer chemotherapeutics and discovery of novel neuroprotective treatment strategies.</p><p>

<p> There have been a number of studies that try to predict sporting event outcomes. Most previous research has involved results in football and college basketball. Recent years has seen similar approaches carried out in professional basketball. This thesis attempts to build upon existing statistical techniques and apply them to the National Basketball Association using a synthesis of algorithms as motivation. A number of ensemble learning methods will be utilized and compared in hopes of improving the accuracy of single models. Individual models used in this thesis will be derived from Logistic Regression, Na&iuml;ve Bayes, Random Forests, Support Vector Machines, and Artificial Neural Networks while aggregation techniques include Bagging, Boosting, and Stacking. Data from previous seasons and games from both?players and teams will be used to train models in R.</p><p>

Nowadays, millions of pictures are shared through the internet without applying any authentication system. This may cause serious problems, particularly in situations where the digital image is an important component of the decision making process for example, child pornography and movie piracy. Motivated by this, the present research investigates the performance of estimating Photo Response Non-Uniformity (PRNU) and developing new estimation approaches to improve the performance of digital source camera identification. The PRNU noise is a sensor pattern noise characterizing the imaging device. Nonetheless, the PRNU estimation procedure is faced with the presence of image-dependent information as well as other non-unique noise components. This thesis primarily focuses on efficiently estimating the physical PRNU components during different stages. First, an image sharpening technique is proposed as a pre-processing approach for source camera identification. The sharpening method aims to amplify the PRNU components for better estimation. In the estimation stage, a new weighted averaging (WA) technique is presented. Most existing PRNU techniques estimate PRNU using the constant averaging of residue signals extracted from a set of images. However, treating all residue signals equally through constant averaging is optimal only if they carry undesirable noise of the same variance. Moreover, an improved version of the locally adaptive discrete cosine transform (LADCT) filter is proposed in the filtering stage to reduce the effect of scene details on noise residues. Finally, the post-estimation stage consists of combining the PRNU estimated from each colour plane aims to reduce the effect of colour interpolation and increasing the amount of physical PRNU components. The aforementioned techniques have been assessed on two image datasets acquired by several camera devices. Experimental results have shown a significant improvement obtained with the proposed enhancements over related state-of-the-art systems. Nevertheless, in this thesis the experiments are not including images taken with various acquisition different resolutions to evaluate the effect of these settings on PRNU performance. Moreover, images captured by scanners, cell phones can be included for a more comprehensive work. Another limitation is that investigating how the improvement may change with JPEG compression or gamma correction. Additionally, the proposed methods have not been considered in cases of geometrical processing, for instance cropping or resizing.

A widely adopted approach to solving constraint satisfaction problems combines backtracking tree search with various degrees of constraint propagation for pruning the search space. One common technique to improve the execution efficiency is to add redundant constraints, which are constraints logically implied by others in the problem model and may offer extra information to enhance constraint propagation. However, some redundant constraints are propagation redundant and hence do not contribute additional propagation information to the constraint solver. In this thesis, we propose propagation rules as a tool to compare the propagation strength of constraints, and establish results relating logical and propagation redundancy. / Redundant constraints arise naturally in the process of redundant modeling, where two models of the same problem are connected and combined through channeling constraints. We characterize channeling constraints in terms of restrictive and unrestrictive channel function and give general theorems for proving propagation redundancy of constraints in the combined model. We illustrate, on problems from CSPLib, how detecting and removing propagation redundant constraints can often significantly speed up constraint-solving. / Choi Chiu Wo. / "September 2005." / Adviser: Jimmy Lee. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: B, page: 3890. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 106-117). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Wu, Yi. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-80). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Constraint Satisfaction Problems --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Problems --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Motivation and Goal --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Outline of the Thesis --- p.5 / Chapter 2 --- Background --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1 --- Constraint Satisfaction Problems --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Backtracking Tree search --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Local consistencies in CSP --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2 --- Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Problems --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Branch and Bound Search --- p.20 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Local Consistencies in WCSP --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3 --- Global Constraints --- p.31 / Chapter 3 --- Tractable Projection-Safety --- p.36 / Chapter 3.1 --- Tractable Projection-Safety: Definition and Analysis --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- Polynomially Decomposable Soft Constraints --- p.42 / Chapter 4 --- Examples of Polynomially Decomposable Soft Global Constraints --- p.48 / Chapter 4.1 --- Soft Among Constraint --- p.49 / Chapter 4.2 --- Soft Regular Constraint --- p.51 / Chapter 4.3 --- Soft Grammar Constraint --- p.54 / Chapter 4.4 --- Max_Weight/Min Weight Constraint --- p.57 / Chapter 5 --- Experiments --- p.61 / Chapter 5.1 --- The car Sequencing Problem --- p.61 / Chapter 5.2 --- The nonogram problem --- p.62 / Chapter 5.3 --- Well-Formed Parenthesis --- p.64 / Chapter 5.4 --- Minimum Energy Broadcasting Problem --- p.64 / Chapter 6 --- Related Work --- p.67 / Chapter 6.1 --- WCSP Consistencies --- p.67 / Chapter 6.2 --- Global Constraints . --- p.68 / Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.71 / Chapter 7.1 --- Contributions --- p.71 / Chapter 7.2 --- Future Work --- p.72 / Bibliography --- p.74

This dissertation addresses the problem of developing intelligent computer integrated manufacturing (ICIM) systems. The research objectives are to provide an object-oriented development methodology for ICIM systems supported with tools and techniques to elicit and specify domain knowledge and information. Currently, no suitable methodologies or modeling techniques exist for realizing ICIM systems. Existing methodologies represent portions of ICIM but lack the richness necessary to conceptualize and implement ICIM systems. / Research contributions include composition of an object-oriented detailed methodology with phases and phase dependencies for requirements analysis and design of ICIM systems and the development of a model, ROADMAP, used for knowledge elicitation and specification of the manufacturing domain. Additional contributions include supporting techniques for control knowledge elicitation, techniques for object specification, and expansion of standard evaluation techniques for design of object-oriented systems. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-06, Section: B, page: 3157. / Major Professor: Abraham Kandel. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

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