The sweet smell of success: Enhancing multimedia applications with olfaction

This is the Post-Print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ACMOlfaction, or smell, is one of the last challenges which multimedia applications have to conquer. As far as computerized smell is concerned, there are several difficulties to overcome, particularly those associated with the ambient nature of smell. In this article, we present results from an empirical study exploring users' perception of olfaction-enhanced multimedia displays. Findings show that olfaction significantly adds to the user multimedia experience. Moreover, use of olfaction leads to an increased sense of reality and relevance. Our results also show that users are tolerant of the interference and distortion effects caused by olfactory effect in multimedia

User quality of experience of mulsemedia applications

User Quality of Experience (QoE) is of fundamental importance in multimedia applications and has been extensively studied for decades. However, user QoE in the context of the emerging multiple-sensorial media (mulsemedia) services, which involve different media components than the traditional multimedia applications, have not been comprehensively studied. This article presents the results of subjective tests which have investigated user perception of mulsemedia content. In particular, the impact of intensity of certain mulsemedia components including haptic and airflow on user-perceived experience are studied. Results demonstrate that by making use of mulsemedia the overall user enjoyment levels increased by up to 77%

Synthesizing and tuning chemical reaction networks with specified behaviours

We consider how to generate chemical reaction networks (CRNs) from functional specifications. We propose a two-stage approach that combines synthesis by satisfiability modulo theories and Markov chain Monte Carlo based optimisation. First, we identify candidate CRNs that have the possibility to produce correct computations for a given finite set of inputs. We then optimise the reaction rates of each CRN using a combination of stochastic search techniques applied to the chemical master equation, simultaneously improving the of correct behaviour and ruling out spurious solutions. In addition, we use techniques from continuous time Markov chain theory to study the expected termination time for each CRN. We illustrate our approach by identifying CRNs for majority decision-making and division computation, which includes the identification of both known and unknown networks.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, appeared the proceedings of the 21st conference on DNA Computing and Molecular Programming, 201

Involutivity of integrals for sine-Gordon, modified KdV and potential KdV maps

Closed form expressions in terms of multi-sums of products have been given in \cite{Tranclosedform, KRQ} of integrals of sine-Gordon, modified Korteweg-de Vries and potential Korteweg-de Vries maps obtained as so-called $(p,-1)$-traveling wave reductions of the corresponding partial difference equations. We prove the involutivity of these integrals with respect to recently found symplectic structures for those maps. The proof is based on explicit formulae for the Poisson brackets between multi-sums of products.Comment: 24 page

Sur les exposants de Lyapounov des applications meromorphes

Let f be a dominating meromorphic self-map of a compact Kahler manifold. We give an inequality for the Lyapounov exponents of some ergodic measures of f using the metric entropy and the dynamical degrees of f. We deduce the hyperbolicity of some measures.Comment: 27 pages, paper in french, final version: to appear in Inventiones Mat

Parity nonconservation in Atomic Zeeman Transitions

We discuss the possibility of measuring nuclear anapole moments in atomic Zeeman transitions and perform the necessary calculations. Advantages of using Zeeman transitions include variable transition frequencies and the possibility of enhancement of parity nonconservation effects

Flow at the SPS and RHIC as a Quark Gluon Plasma Signature

Radial and elliptic flow in non-central heavy ion collisions can constrain the effective Equation of State(EoS) of the excited nuclear matter. To this end, a model combining relativistic hydrodynamics and a hadronic transport code(RQMD [17]) is developed. For an EoS with a first order phase transition, the model reproduces both the radial and elliptic flow data at the SPS. With the EoS fixed from SPS data, we quantify predictions at RHIC where the Quark Gluon Plasma(QGP) pressure is expected to drive additional radial and elliptic flow. Currently, the strong elliptic flow observed in the first RHIC measurements does not conclusively signal this nascent QGP pressure. Additional measurements are suggested to pin down the EoS.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Revised. Included discussed of v_2 (p_t) vs. b and comparison to STAR dat

Prochlo: Strong Privacy for Analytics in the Crowd

The large-scale monitoring of computer users' software activities has become commonplace, e.g., for application telemetry, error reporting, or demographic profiling. This paper describes a principled systems architecture---Encode, Shuffle, Analyze (ESA)---for performing such monitoring with high utility while also protecting user privacy. The ESA design, and its Prochlo implementation, are informed by our practical experiences with an existing, large deployment of privacy-preserving software monitoring. (cont.; see the paper