An Efficient Protocol for Negotiation over Combinatorial Domains with Incomplete Information

We study the problem of agent-based negotiation in combinatorial domains. It is difficult to reach optimal agreements in bilateral or multi-lateral negotiations when the agents' preferences for the possible alternatives are not common knowledge. Self-interested agents often end up negotiating inefficient agreements in such situations. In this paper, we present a protocol for negotiation in combinatorial domains which can lead rational agents to reach optimal agreements under incomplete information setting. Our proposed protocol enables the negotiating agents to identify efficient solutions using distributed search that visits only a small subspace of the whole outcome space. Moreover, the proposed protocol is sufficiently general that it is applicable to most preference representation models in combinatorial domains. We also present results of experiments that demonstrate the feasibility and computational efficiency of our approach

An Approach to Assertion Application via Generalised Resolution

In this paper we address assertion retrieval and application in theorem proving systems or proof planning systems for classical first-order logic. Due to Huang the notion of assertion comprises mathematical knowledge such as definitions, theorems, and axioms. We propose a distributed mediator module between a mathematical knowledge base KB and a theorem proving system TP which is independent of the particular proof representation format of TP and which applies generalised resolution in order to analyze the logical consequences of arbitrary assertions for a proof context at hand. Our approach is applicable also to the assumptions which are dynamically created during a proof search process. It therefore realises a crucial first step towards full automation of assertion level reasoning. We discuss the benefits and connection of our approach to proof planning and motivate an application in a project aiming at a tutorial dialogue system for mathematics

Exploration fonctionnelle de la réponse au stress chez des micro-organismes d'intérêt technologique : dynamique de la réponse membranaire suite au stress éthanolique chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The study of membrane response induced by ethanol stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae aims to understand mechanisms involved in the survival of eukaryotic cells submitted to high ethanol concentrations. The cell membrane by its position between the intra- and extracellular environment is the first target of ethanolic perturbations. Experiments performed in this study aimed to characterize the maintain of the functional integrity of the membrane in relation to the sterol composition in the yeast S. cerevisiae submitted to different types of ethanolic disturbances: increasing concentrations of ethanol in the growth medium; ethanolic shocks of increasing magnitude; shock 20% ethanol for 15 minutes and then return in a medium without ethanol ("pulse" 20% ethanol)). Our results demonstrate the importance of ergosterol in maintaining membrane integrity and also support the hypothesis of the vector role of ethanol in cell oxidation, whose effectiveness is dependent on the nature of sterols at the membrane level. In addition, our results analyzing the kinetics of transcription of genes involved in oxidative stress response suggest an increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by ethanol in the Δerg6 mutant, affected in the biosynthetic pathway of ergosterol.L’étude de la réponse membranaire suite au stress éthanolique chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae vise à comprendre les mécanismes impliqués dans la survie des eucaryotes aux concentrations en éthanol élevées. La membrane cellulaire, par sa position entre l’environnement intra et extracellulaire, est la première cible des perturbations éthanoliques. Les expérimentations effectuées dans cette étude visent à caractériser le maintien de l’intégrité fonctionnelle en relation avec la composition en stérols membranaires chez la levure S. cerevisiae soumise à différents types de perturbations éthanoliques (augmentation de la concentrations en éthanol dans le milieu de croissance, chocs éthanoliques d’amplitude croissante et suivi au cours du temps ; choc à 20% pendant 15 minutes puis suivi au cours du temps après retour dans un milieu sans éthanol (« pulse » 20% d’éthanol)). Les résultats obtenus démontrent l’importance de l’ergostérol dans le maintien de l’intégrité membranaire et supportent également l’hypothèse du rôle « vecteur » de l’éthanol vis à vis d’une oxydation, dont l’efficacité serait dépendante de la nature des stérols présents au niveau membranaire. Les premiers résultats analysant la cinétique de transcription de gènes impliqués dans la réponse au stress oxydatif suggèrent une formation plus importante de formes réactives de l’oxygène (ROS), induite par le choc éthanol chez un mutant Δerg6, affecté dans la voie de biosynthèse de l’ergostérol

Virtualization of Micro-architectural Components Using Software Solutions

Cloud computing has become a dominant computing paradigm in the information technology industry due to its flexibility and efficiency in resource sharing and management. The key technology that enables cloud computing is virtualization. Essential requirements in a virtualized system where several virtual machines (VMs) run on a same physical machine include performance isolation and predictability. To enforce these properties, the virtualization software (called the hypervisor) must find a way to divide physical resources (e.g., physical memory, processor time) of the system and allocate them to VMs with respect to the amount of virtual resources defined for each VM. However, modern hardware have complex architectures and some microarchitectural-level resources such as processor caches, memory controllers, interconnects cannot be divided and allocated to VMs. They are globally shared among all VMs which compete for their use, leading to contention. Therefore, performance isolation and predictability are compromised. In this thesis, we propose software solutions for preventing unpredictability in performance due to micro-architectural components. The first contribution is called Kyoto, a solution to the cache contention issue, inspired by the polluters pay principle. A VM is said to pollute the cache if it provokes significant cache replacements which impact the performance of other VMs. Henceforth, using the Kyoto system, the provider can encourage cloud users to book pollution permits for their VMs. The second contribution addresses the problem of efficiently virtualizing NUMA machines. The major challenge comes from the fact that the hypervisor regularly reconfigures the placement of a VM over the NUMA topology. However, neither guest operating systems (OSs) nor system runtime libraries (e.g., HotSpot) are designed to consider NUMA topology changes at runtime, leading end user applications to unpredictable performance. We presents eXtended Para-Virtualization (XPV), a new principle to efficiently virtualize a NUMA architecture. XPV consists in revisiting the interface between the hypervisor and the guest OS, and between the guest OS and system runtime libraries so that they can dynamically take into account NUMA topology changes

Security for Two-Way Untrusted Relay against Constant and Reactive Jamming with Fixed Signals

Active attacking in physical-layer security has not been significantly studied while potentially causing serious consequences for the legitimate networks. In this paper, we propose a novel method to estimate and remove the jamming signals from multiple multi-antenna jammers in a two-way relay network with multi-antenna legitimate and relay nodes. We carefully consider the signals in the time slots in order to exploit the repetition of the signals and design the transmitted signals which can work in different cases. The numerical results show that the secrecy maximum achievable sum-rate (MASR) at the legitimate nodes is higher than that of the conventional method when considering the affect of transmit SNR; the number antennas at the legitimate and relay nodes; normalized distance between one legitimate node and the relay; and the vertical coordinate of the relay

Security for Multi-hop Communication of Two-tier Wireless Networks with Different Trust Degrees

Many effective strategies for enhancing network performance have been put forth for wireless communications' physical-layer security. Up until now, wireless communications security and privacy have been optimized based on a set assumption on the reliability or network tiers of certain wireless nodes. Eavesdroppers, unreliable relays, and trustworthy cooperative nodes are just a few examples of the various sorts of nodes that are frequently categorized. When working or sharing information for one another, wireless nodes in various networks may not always have perfect trust in one another. Modern wireless networks' security and privacy may be enhanced in large part by optimizing the network based on trust levels. To determine the path with the shortest total transmission time between the source and the destination while still ensuring that the private messages are not routed through the untrusted network tier, we put forth a novel approach. To examine the effects of the transmit SNR, node density, and the percentage of the illegitimate nodes on various network performance components, simulation results are provided

Evaluating the effect of self-interference on the performance of full-duplex two-way relaying communication with energy harvesting

In this paper, we study the throughput and outage probability (OP) of two-way relaying (TWR) communication system with energy harvesting (EH). The system model consists two source nodes and a relay node which operates in full-duplex (FD) mode. The effect of self-interference (SI) due to the FD operation on the system performance is evaluated for both one-way full duplex (OWFD) and two-way full duplex (TWFD) diagrams where the amplify-and-forward (AF) relay node collects energy harvesting with the time switching (TS) scheme. We first propose an individual OP expression for each specific source. Then, we derive the exact closed-form overall OP expression for the OWFD diagram. For the TWFD diagram, we propose an approximate closed-form expression for the overall OP. The overall OP comparison among hybrid systems (Two-Way Half-Duplex (TWHD), OWFD, TWFD) are also discussed.  Finally, the numerical/simulated results are presented for Rayleigh fading channels to demonstrate the correction of the proposed analysis