544 research outputs found
Stochastic rounding and reduced-precision fixed-point arithmetic for solving neural ordinary differential equations
Although double-precision floating-point arithmetic currently dominates
high-performance computing, there is increasing interest in smaller and simpler
arithmetic types. The main reasons are potential improvements in energy
efficiency and memory footprint and bandwidth. However, simply switching to
lower-precision types typically results in increased numerical errors. We
investigate approaches to improving the accuracy of reduced-precision
fixed-point arithmetic types, using examples in an important domain for
numerical computation in neuroscience: the solution of Ordinary Differential
Equations (ODEs). The Izhikevich neuron model is used to demonstrate that
rounding has an important role in producing accurate spike timings from
explicit ODE solution algorithms. In particular, fixed-point arithmetic with
stochastic rounding consistently results in smaller errors compared to single
precision floating-point and fixed-point arithmetic with round-to-nearest
across a range of neuron behaviours and ODE solvers. A computationally much
cheaper alternative is also investigated, inspired by the concept of dither
that is a widely understood mechanism for providing resolution below the least
significant bit (LSB) in digital signal processing. These results will have
implications for the solution of ODEs in other subject areas, and should also
be directly relevant to the huge range of practical problems that are
represented by Partial Differential Equations (PDEs).Comment: Submitted to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Observations and model simulations of wave-current interaction on the inner shelf
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 121 (2016); 198â208, doi:10.1002/2015JC010788.Wave directions and mean currents observed for two 1 month long periods in 7 and 2 m water depths along 11 km of the southern shoreline of Martha's Vineyard, MA, have strong tidal modulations. Wave directions are modulated by as much as 70° over a tidal cycle. The magnitude of the tidal modulations in the wavefield decreases alongshore to the west, consistent with the observed decrease in tidal currents from 2.1 to 0.2 m/s along the shoreline. A numerical model (SWAN and Deflt3D-FLOW) simulating waves and currents reproduces the observations accurately. Model simulations with and without wave-current interaction and tidal depth changes demonstrate that the observed tidal modulations of the wavefield primarily are caused by wave-current interaction and not by tidal changes to water depths over the nearby complex shoals.ONR, NSF, Sea Grant, NDSEG, an MIT Presidential Graduate Fellowship, and ASD(R&E)2016-07-1
Storm impact on morphological evolution of a sandy inlet
© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 123 (2018): 5751-5762, doi:10.1029/2017JC013708.Observations of waves, currents, and bathymetric change in shallow water (8 m). A numerical model (Delft3D, 2DH mode) simulating waves, currents, and morphological change reproduces the observations with the inclusion of hurricane force winds and sediment transport parameters adjusted based on modelâdata comparisons. For simulations of short hurricanes and longer nor'easters with identical offshore total timeâintegrated wave energy, but different peak wave energies and storm durations, morphological change is correlated (R2 = 0.60) with storm intensity (total energy of the storm divided by the duration of the storm). Similarly, the erosion observed at the Sand Engine in the Netherlands is correlated with storm intensity. The observations and simulations suggest that the temporal distribution of energy in a storm event, as well as the total energy, impacts subsequent nearshore morphological change. Increased storm intensity enhances sediment transport in bathymetrically complex, mixed waveâandâtidalâcurrent energy environments, as well as at other waveâdominated sandy beaches.NationalâSecurityâScienceâandâEngineering and VannevarâBush Faculty Fellowships;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant;
National Science Foundatio
Flow separation effects on shoreline sediment transport
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Coastal Engineering 125 (2017): 23â27, doi:10.1016/j.coastaleng.2017.04.007.Field-tested numerical model simulations are used to estimate the effects of an inlet, ebb shoal, wave height, wave direction, and shoreline geometry on the variability of bathymetric change on a curved coast with a migrating inlet and strong nearshore currents. The model uses bathymetry measured along the southern shoreline of Marthaâs Vineyard, MA, and was validated with waves and currents observed from the shoreline to ~10-m water depth. Between 2007 and 2014, the inlet was open and the shoreline along the southeast corner of the island eroded ~200 m and became sharper. Between 2014 and 2015, the corner accreted and became smoother as the inlet closed. Numerical simulations indicate that variability of sediment transport near the corner shoreline depends more strongly on its radius of curvature (a proxy for the separation of tidal flows from the coast) than on the presence of the inlet, the ebb shoal, or wave height and direction. As the radius of curvature decreases (as the corner sharpens), tidal asymmetry of nearshore currents is enhanced, leading to more sediment transport near the shoreline over several tidal cycles. The results suggest that feedbacks between shoreline geometry and inner-shelf flows can be important to coastal erosion and accretion in the vicinity of an inlet.Funding was provided by NSF, Sea Grant (NOAA), NDSEG, ASD(R&E), and ONR
Slope Stability Analysis: A Computerized Solution of Bishopâs Simplified Method of Slices
A computer program based on Bishop\u27s simplified method of slices (1954) and capable of analyzing the slope stability of a multilayered soil mass is described. The computer program was specifically developed for analyzing the slope stability of highway bridge approach embankments; however, it can be applied to a broad spectrum of practical slope configurations and bearing capacity problems. Details of the use, applications, and accuracy of the program are presented. Important features of the computer program include a grid type, search operation for locating the critical shear surface and a ledger printout of the forces acting on each individual slice. The latter feature was included so that results of the computer program could be compared to those obtained from manual computations. Pore pressures in the computer program are handled in a manner described by Bishop (1954). Additionally, for seepage cases, infinite slope conditions are assumed and used to simulate a flow net
Stability of a Side-Hill Embankment
The report submitted herein is a case history describing observations and in-depth analyses made at a highway site involving a massive, unstable side-hill embankment located on I-64 in Boyd County. The in-depth study was initiated in January 1973. The I-64 site was selected for study because it contained several design, construction and maintenance features as well as soil types that are typical of many highway embankments in Kentucky. Side-hill fill situations are common design problems and oftentimes have required extensive maintenance after construction. Major objectives of the study were to 1) determine the causes of instability of the I-64 embankment, 2) check a remedial solution previously reported for the I-64 site and present alternative solutions if necessary, 3) determine short-term (initial) and long-term safety factors of the embankment slopes, and 4) compare theoretical shear surfaces obtained from a slope stability program based on Bishop\u27s simplified method of slices with actual failure points obtained from slope indicators and surface observations. All slope stability computations were carried out in terms of effective stress using shear strength parameters obtained from consolidated, isotropic, undrained triaxial tests with pore pressure measurements
Spiking neural networks for computer vision
State-of-the-art computer vision systems use frame-based cameras that sample the visual scene as a series of high-resolution images. These are then processed using convolutional neural networks using neurons with continuous outputs. Biological vision systems use a quite different approach, where the eyes (cameras) sample the visual scene continuously, often with a non-uniform resolution, and generate neural spike events in response to changes in the scene. The resulting spatio-temporal patterns of events are then processed through networks of spiking neurons. Such event-based processing offers advantages in terms of focusing constrained resources on the most salient features of the perceived scene, and those advantages should also accrue to engineered vision systems based upon similar principles. Event-based vision sensors, and event-based processing exemplified by the SpiNNaker (Spiking Neural Network Architecture) machine, can be used to model the biological vision pathway at various levels of detail. Here we use this approach to explore structural synaptic plasticity as a possible mechanism whereby biological vision systems may learn the statistics of their inputs without supervision, pointing the way to engineered vision systems with similar online learning capabilities
Event-based computation: unsupervised elementary motion decomposition
Fast, localised motion detection is crucial for an efficient attention mechanism. We show that modelling a network capable of such motion detection can be performed using spiking neural networks simulated on many-core neuromorphic hard-ware. Moreover, highly sensitive neurons arise from the presented network architecture through unsupervised self-organisation. We use a synaptic rewiring rule which has been shown to enable the formation and refinement of neural topographic maps. Our extension allows newly formed synapses to be initialised with a delay drawn from a uniform distribution. Repeated exposure to moving bars enables neurons to be sensitised to a preferred direction of movement. Incorporating heterogeneous delays results in more sensitive neural responses. A readout mechanism involving a neuron for each learnt motion is sufficient to establish the input stimulus class
'Flying while Muslim': Citizenship and Misrecognition in the Airport
This research was funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research and a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship.Contemporary analyses of citizenship emphasise the importance of being able to occupy public space in a manner that does not compromise oneâs sense of self. Moreover, they foreground individualsâ active engagement with others (e.g., being concerned about others) and the active exercise of oneâs rights. We explore such issues through considering the psychological and social significance of having oneâs various self-definitions mis-recognised in everyday social interactions. We do so through reporting interview and focus group data obtained from Scottish Muslims concerning their experience of surveillance at airports. Focussing on their accounts of how they orient to othersâ assumptions about Muslim passengers, we consider what this means for our participantsâ ability to act on terms that they recognise as their own and for their citizenship behaviours. Our analysis is organised in two sections. First, we examine the strategies people use to avoid painful encounters inside the airport. These include changes in micro-behaviours designed to avert contact, and where this was not possible, identity performances that are, in various ways, inauthentic. Second, we examine citizenship-related activities and how these may be curtailed in the airport. These include activities that entail the individual reaching out and making positive connections with others (e.g., through helping others) and exercising the right to criticise and complain about oneâs treatment. Our analyses highlight the psychological and social consequence of identity misrecognition, and how this impacts on individualsâ abilities to act in terms of their own valued identifications and enact citizenship behaviours.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
The Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter Survey -- A 700-Square-Degree, Multi-Epoch Radio Dataset -- II: Individual Epoch Transient Statistics
We present our second paper on the Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter
Survey (ATATS), a multi-epoch, ~700 sq. deg. radio image and catalog at 1.4
GHz. The survey is designed to detect rare, bright transients as well as to
commission the ATA's wide-field survey capabilities. ATATS explores the
challenges of multi-epoch transient and variable source surveys in the domain
of dynamic range limits and changing (u,v) coverage.
Here we present images made using data from the individual epochs, as well as
a revised image combining data from all ATATS epochs. The combined image has
RMS noise 3.96 mJy / beam, with a circular beam of 150 arcsec FWHM. The
catalog, generated using a false detection rate algorithm, contains 4984
sources, and is >90% complete to 37.9 mJy. The catalogs generated from snapshot
images of the individual epochs contain between 1170 and 2019 sources over the
564 sq. deg. area in common to all epochs. The 90% completeness limits of the
single epoch catalogs range from 98.6 to 232 mJy.
We compare the catalog generated from the combined image to those from
individual epochs, and from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS), a legacy survey at
the same frequency. We are able to place new constraints on the transient
population: fewer than 6e-4 transients / sq. deg., for transients brighter than
350 mJy with characteristic timescales of minutes to days. This strongly rules
out an astronomical origin for the ~1 Jy sources reported by Matsumura et al.
(2009), based on their stated rate of 3.1e-3 / sq. deg.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, ApJ accepte
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