Cluster Specification
Note
This document describes the design concepts of the clustering.
Intro
Akka Cluster provides a fault-tolerant decentralized peer-to-peer based cluster membership service with no single point of failure or single point of bottleneck.
Terms
- node
- A logical member of a cluster. There could be multiple nodes on a physical machine. Defined by a hostname:port:uid tuple.
- cluster
- A set of nodes joined together through the membership service.
- leader
- A single node in the cluster that acts as the leader. Managing cluster convergence and membership state transitions.
Membership
A cluster is made up of a set of member nodes. The identifier for each node is a hostname:port:uid tuple. An Akka application can be distributed over a cluster with each node hosting some part of the application. Cluster membership and the actors running on that node of the application are decoupled. A node could be a member of a cluster without hosting any actors. Joining a cluster is initiated by issuing a Join command to one of the nodes in the cluster to join.
The node identifier internally also contains a UID that uniquely identifies this actor system instance at that hostname:port. Akka uses the UID to be able to reliably trigger remote death watch. This means that the same actor system can never join a cluster again once it's been removed from that cluster. To re-join an actor system with the same hostname:port to a cluster you have to stop the actor system and start a new one with the same hostname:port which will then receive a different UID.
The cluster membership state is a specialized CRDT, which means that it has a monotonic merge function. When concurrent changes occur on different nodes the updates can always be merged and converge to the same end result.
Gossip
The cluster membership used in Akka is based on Amazon's Dynamo system and particularly the approach taken in Basho's' Riak distributed database. Cluster membership is communicated using a Gossip Protocol, where the current state of the cluster is gossiped randomly through the cluster, with preference to members that have not seen the latest version.
Vector Clocks
Vector clocks are a type of data structure and algorithm for generating a partial ordering of events in a distributed system and detecting causality violations.
We use vector clocks to reconcile and merge differences in cluster state during gossiping. A vector clock is a set of (node, counter) pairs. Each update to the cluster state has an accompanying update to the vector clock.
Gossip Convergence
Information about the cluster converges locally at a node at certain points in time. This is when a node can prove that the cluster state he is observing has been observed by all other nodes in the cluster. Convergence is implemented by passing a set of nodes that have seen current state version during gossip. This information is referred to as the seen set in the gossip overview. When all nodes are included in the seen set there is convergence.
Gossip convergence cannot occur while any nodes are unreachable. The nodes need to become reachable again, or moved to the down and removed states (see the Membership Lifecycle section below). This only blocks the leader from performing its cluster membership management and does not influence the application running on top of the cluster. For example this means that during a network partition it is not possible to add more nodes to the cluster. The nodes can join, but they will not be moved to the up state until the partition has healed or the unreachable nodes have been downed.
Failure Detector
The failure detector is responsible for trying to detect if a node is unreachable from the rest of the cluster. For this we are using an implementation of The Phi Accrual Failure Detector by Hayashibara et al.
An accrual failure detector decouple monitoring and interpretation. That makes them applicable to a wider area of scenarios and more adequate to build generic failure detection services. The idea is that it is keeping a history of failure statistics, calculated from heartbeats received from other nodes, and is trying to do educated guesses by taking multiple factors, and how they accumulate over time, into account in order to come up with a better guess if a specific node is up or down. Rather than just answering "yes" or "no" to the question "is the node down?" it returns a phi value representing the likelihood that the node is down.
The threshold that is the basis for the calculation is configurable by the user. A low threshold is prone to generate many wrong suspicions but ensures a quick detection in the event of a real crash. Conversely, a high threshold generates fewer mistakes but needs more time to detect actual crashes. The default threshold is 8 and is appropriate for most situations. However in cloud environments, such as Amazon EC2, the value could be increased to 12 in order to account for network issues that sometimes occur on such platforms.
In a cluster each node is monitored by a few (default maximum 5) other nodes, and when any of these detects the node as unreachable that information will spread to the rest of the cluster through the gossip. In other words, only one node needs to mark a node unreachable to have the rest of the cluster mark that node unreachable.
The nodes to monitor are picked out of neighbors in a hashed ordered node ring. This is to increase the likelihood to monitor across racks and data centers, but the order is the same on all nodes, which ensures full coverage.
Heartbeats are sent out every second and every heartbeat is performed in a request/reply handshake with the replies used as input to the failure detector.
The failure detector will also detect if the node becomes reachable again. When all nodes that monitored the unreachable node detects it as reachable again the cluster, after gossip dissemination, will consider it as reachable.
If system messages cannot be delivered to a node it will be quarantined and then it cannot come back from unreachable. This can happen if the there are too many unacknowledged system messages (e.g. watch, Terminated, remote actor deployment, failures of actors supervised by remote parent). Then the node needs to be moved to the down or removed states (see the Membership Lifecycle section below) and the actor system must be restarted before it can join the cluster again.
Leader
After gossip convergence a leader for the cluster can be determined. There is no leader election process, the leader can always be recognised deterministically by any node whenever there is gossip convergence. The leader is just a role, any node can be the leader and it can change between convergence rounds. The leader is simply the first node in sorted order that is able to take the leadership role, where the preferred member states for a leader are up and leaving (see the Membership Lifecycle section below for more information about member states).
The role of the leader is to shift members in and out of the cluster, changing joining members to the up state or exiting members to the removed state. Currently leader actions are only triggered by receiving a new cluster state with gossip convergence.
The leader also has the power, if configured so, to "auto-down" a node that according to the Failure Detector is considered unreachable. This means setting the unreachable node status to down automatically after a configured time of unreachability.
Seed Nodes
The seed nodes are configured contact points for new nodes joining the cluster. When a new node is started it sends a message to all seed nodes and then sends a join command to the seed node that answers first.
The seed nodes configuration value does not have any influence on the running cluster itself, it is only relevant for new nodes joining the cluster as it helps them to find contact points to send the join command to; a new member can send this command to any current member of the cluster, not only to the seed nodes.
Gossip Protocol
A variation of push-pull gossip is used to reduce the amount of gossip information sent around the cluster. In push-pull gossip a digest is sent representing current versions but not actual values; the recipient of the gossip can then send back any values for which it has newer versions and also request values for which it has outdated versions. Akka uses a single shared state with a vector clock for versioning, so the variant of push-pull gossip used in Akka makes use of this version to only push the actual state as needed.
Periodically, the default is every 1 second, each node chooses another random node to initiate a round of gossip with. If less than ½ of the nodes resides in the seen set (have seen the new state) then the cluster gossips 3 times instead of once every second. This adjusted gossip interval is a way to speed up the convergence process in the early dissemination phase after a state change.
The choice of node to gossip with is random but it is biased to towards nodes that might not have seen the current state version. During each round of gossip exchange when no convergence it uses a probability of 0.8 (configurable) to gossip to a node not part of the seen set, i.e. that probably has an older version of the state. Otherwise gossip to any random live node.
This biased selection is a way to speed up the convergence process in the late dissemination phase after a state change.
For clusters larger than 400 nodes (configurable, and suggested by empirical evidence) the 0.8 probability is gradually reduced to avoid overwhelming single stragglers with too many concurrent gossip requests. The gossip receiver also has a mechanism to protect itself from too many simultaneous gossip messages by dropping messages that have been enqueued in the mailbox for too long time.
While the cluster is in a converged state the gossiper only sends a small gossip status message containing the gossip version to the chosen node. As soon as there is a change to the cluster (meaning non-convergence) then it goes back to biased gossip again.
The recipient of the gossip state or the gossip status can use the gossip version (vector clock) to determine whether:
- it has a newer version of the gossip state, in which case it sends that back to the gossiper
- it has an outdated version of the state, in which case the recipient requests the current state from the gossiper by sending back its version of the gossip state
- it has conflicting gossip versions, in which case the different versions are merged and sent back
If the recipient and the gossip have the same version then the gossip state is not sent or requested.
The periodic nature of the gossip has a nice batching effect of state changes, e.g. joining several nodes quickly after each other to one node will result in only one state change to be spread to other members in the cluster.
The gossip messages are serialized with protobuf and also gzipped to reduce payload size.
Membership Lifecycle
A node begins in the joining state. Once all nodes have seen that the new node is joining (through gossip convergence) the leader will set the member state to up.
If a node is leaving the cluster in a safe, expected manner then it switches to the leaving state. Once the leader sees the convergence on the node in the leaving state, the leader will then move it to exiting. Once all nodes have seen the exiting state (convergence) the leader will remove the node from the cluster, marking it as removed.
If a node is unreachable then gossip convergence is not possible and therefore any leader actions are also not possible (for instance, allowing a node to become a part of the cluster). To be able to move forward the state of the unreachable nodes must be changed. It must become reachable again or marked as down. If the node is to join the cluster again the actor system must be restarted and go through the joining process again. The cluster can, through the leader, also auto-down a node after a configured time of unreachability. If new incarnation of unreachable node tries to rejoin the cluster old incarnation will be marked as down and new incarnation can rejoin the cluster without manual intervention.
Note
If you have auto-down enabled and the failure detector triggers, you can over time end up with a lot of single node clusters if you don't put measures in place to shut down nodes that have become unreachable. This follows from the fact that the unreachable node will likely see the rest of the cluster as unreachable, become its own leader and form its own cluster.
As mentioned before, if a node is unreachable then gossip convergence is not possible and therefore any leader actions are also not possible. By enabling akka.cluster.allow-weakly-up-members it is possible to let new joining nodes be promoted while convergence is not yet reached. These Joining nodes will be promoted as WeaklyUp. Once gossip convergence is reached, the leader will move WeaklyUp members to Up.
Note that members on the other side of a network partition have no knowledge about the existence of the new members. You should for example not count WeaklyUp members in quorum decisions.
State Diagram for the Member States (akka.cluster.allow-weakly-up-members=off)
State Diagram for the Member States (akka.cluster.allow-weakly-up-members=on)
Member States
- joining
transient state when joining a cluster
- weakly up
transient state while network split (only if akka.cluster.allow-weakly-up-members=on)
- up
normal operating state
- leaving / exiting
states during graceful removal
- down
marked as down (no longer part of cluster decisions)
- removed
tombstone state (no longer a member)
User Actions
- join
join a single node to a cluster - can be explicit or automatic on startup if a node to join have been specified in the configuration
- leave
tell a node to leave the cluster gracefully
- down
mark a node as down
Leader Actions
The leader has the following duties:
- shifting members in and out of the cluster
- joining -> up
- exiting -> removed
Failure Detection and Unreachability
- fd*
the failure detector of one of the monitoring nodes has triggered causing the monitored node to be marked as unreachable
- unreachable*
unreachable is not a real member states but more of a flag in addition to the state signaling that the cluster is unable to talk to this node, after being unreachable the failure detector may detect it as reachable again and thereby remove the flag
Contents


Admin
Manufacturer
Wholesaler
Intelli Search
Drug Search
Manufacturer
Manufacturer:
Save-a-life Solutions
Pro-Medical Solutions
Med-Awesome Solutions
Validate Medicine
Manufacturer Name:
Medicine Name:
Quantity:
Mfg. Date:
Expiry Date:


Should this column be included?
Should we categorize the data into bins?
Number of categories
Type the names of the values you want to be in this category, separated by commas


Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange DragonEx has notified its users that it suffered a hack on March 24.
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:16 PM
that made me stop buying his coin
was when he stated how all coins can go to 20$
He was dead right
LocoMB26-Mar-19 12:16 PM
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:16 PM
After dumping ( :
Tek26-Mar-19 12:17 PM
he actually said that about LTC only though
and i was dead on it was about 25 dollaroos at the bottom
shoulda listened to el charlton
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:17 PM
hahaha yes
el chaltron hahaha
Tek26-Mar-19 12:18 PM
tfw misspelled
I wanted to post the tweet here but I have no pic posting rights
it says, at 12 december 2017: buying LTC is extremely risky I expect us to have a multi year bear market like the one we just had where LTC dropped 90% in value ( $48 to $4 ) so if you can't handle LTC dropping to $20, don't buy
so thats when LTC was like 400 dollars lmao
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:19 PM
good old times
and charlie obviously knows what he talks about
Tek26-Mar-19 12:20 PM
yeah that scamming pump n dump copy pastaing piece of pyramid schemer sure knew when the top was in
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:20 PM
crypto is way too manipulated
Tek26-Mar-19 12:21 PM
normal fiat and system are worse conditions breh.
it only seems bad now cause its the baby days
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:21 PM
i bet computer genie is one of those whales
fucking us up
so he can steal another 1000 satoshies
Tek26-Mar-19 12:21 PM
dunno he lost cones on a windows machine that got hacked or something. dunno if whales use windows
: D
Caglio26-Mar-19 12:22 PM
^^
Keppie26-Mar-19 12:38 PM
41k btc volume on that Everex thing pfoe
Vertigo26-Mar-19 01:25 PM
Ouch we fell to 56
Cryptoon26-Mar-19 01:31 PM
56?
Tek26-Mar-19 01:31 PM
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
1
p.26-Mar-19 01:47 PM
@Cryptoon #56 on cmc
ComputerGenie 👴👴👴26-Mar-19 01:48 PM
fek cmc, the ad-revenue-chasing twats
meatspoon26-Mar-19 01:50 PM
Yeah man, how dare they provide free information and fund it through non-invasive advertising. Textbook twat move.
ComputerGenie 👴👴👴26-Mar-19 01:51 PM
"non-invasive"? You must not utilize your hosts file properly (edited)


On a web page, letter F will jump forward by form. SHIFT + F will move back by form. Try this out when using JAWS to access a variety of web sites.


Spotify is running an awesome holiday deal for new and lapsed Premium users
The offer will run until the end of the year.
by Muhammad Jarir KanjiWhat you need to know
- Spotify is offering a three-month premium subscription for just $9.99 this holiday.
- The promo runs from October 18 to December 31.
- It's available to new users and to those who may have previously canceled their subscription.
If you've never tried Spotify Premium — or if you have, and just decided to stop paying for the streaming service's ad-free premium tier — the company has an excellent deal for you this holiday season. New users can get three months of Spotify Premium for free, while lapsed subscribers can get the same for just $9.99. That's three months' worth of value, for the price of only one.
For that money, you get unrestricted access to Spotify's entire library of over 30 million songs, with on-demand playback, unlimited skips, and of course, no ads.
The promo is running from November 18 to December 31. It's available to both new and lapsed subscribers, though reading the fine print on the company's announcement shows that while the three months' free trial for new users is available for all the different types of plans the company has to offer — individual, student, duo, and family — the offer for lapsed users unfortunately only applies to individual subscribers. You also need to have canceled your subscription before October 19 to be eligible. On the plus side, the offer for new users is better than last year's, where you still needed to pay $0.99 for the three months. This time around, it's entirely free.
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1. No name radio group
2. Empty character radio group
3. Colon character radio group
4. Point character radio group
5. Minus character radio group
6. Chinese characters radio group
A1. name = 'a1'
(End of test)


Main
Matthew Leonard
Passionate data scientist with 3+ years of experience in interpreting, analysing and visualising data for the biggest school at the University of Newcastle. Play a key role in strategic decisions, with extensive knowledge of teaching and research matters and the ability to problem-solve. Constantly wrangle, analyse and visualise data to assist in decision making. Particularly skilled in SQL, R and R Studio and visualisation packages/software such as Shiny and Power BI. Always coding, always reading, always learning. More than 14 years of experience in the tertiary education sector, nine of which have been in the School of Education.
Education
Master of Data Science
Computational Intelligence Specialisation
The University of Newcastle
current - 2020
- 6.2 GPA
Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics
AQF Level 8
The University of Newcastle
2020 - 2019
- 6.0 GPA
Web Development
Certificate IV
Hunter TAFE
2006 - 2006
Experience
Administrative Officer
School of Education
The University of Newcastle
current - 2012
- Solely and manually administrate academic workload system for 100+ staff via School-designed MS Access database of 30+ tables, 100+ queries and 11 reports
- Provide high-level, analytical and strategic support to the Head of School, Deputy Heads of School and School Executive Committee
- Analyse teaching and research data and provide reports and create visualisations such as dashboards and web applications
- Worked closely with Head of School during Course Optimisation project that resulted in an estimated savings of $1.1m in 2021 School teaching costs
- Provided data for and created dashboard for the School of up-to-date statistics in eight key areas, including income, programs, courses, staff, students and external partnerships
IT / eLearning Support Officer
School of Medicine and Public Health
The University of Newcastle
2016 - 2014
- Provided reports and contributed to School committees, project teams and working parties
- Worked flexibly between multiple campuses and hospitals, providing support where and when it was most needed, whilst remaining contactable and communicating with relevant colleagues and stakeholders
- Trained three cohorts of Bachelor of Medicine students and tutors in Blackboard Collaborate, allowing tutorials to take place online whilst students were on placement
- Created automated system that created individualised PDFs, attached to personalised emails to thousands of students regarding feedback on assessments
Expo Officer / IT Officer
Careers Service
The University of Newcastle
2012 - 2009
- Coordinated four annual careers expos, which required liaising with employers, overall event management, marketing and employment and supervision of student assistants
- Maintained employer contact database and produced reports and statistics when necessary
- Introduced an online registration system and electronic floor plans for all events
- Organised numerous, simultaneous events that achieved excellent attendance and feedback from employers and students
Project Officer
Careers Service
The University of Newcastle
2008 - 2008
- Researched career opportunities and wrote content for the Degrees to Careers project
- Assisted in design and development of fully-functioning, easy-to-use and engaging website for Degrees to Careers project
Information Officer
Careers Service
The University of Newcastle
2008 - 2007
- Liaised with external recruiters to provide students and graduates with employment opportunities
- Analysed student and appointment data and provided charts, tables and written analysis for midyear and annual departmental reports
- Provided triage support for students and employers, requiring excellent knowledge of all services provided by the department
- Part of a team that won Vice Chancellor’s Award for General Staff Excellence and National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services Best Practice Award
Referees
Professor Susan Ledger
Head of School and Dean of Education
School of Education
The University of Newcastle
N/A
-<EMAIL_ADDRESS>- 0408 080 051
- 02 4921 2066
Associate Professor Robert Parkes
Acting Head of School (2019-2020)
School of Education
The University of Newcastle
N/A
-<EMAIL_ADDRESS>- 0402 432 917
- 02 4985 4080
Tanille Elley
School Executive Officer
School of Education
The University of Newcastle
N/A
-<EMAIL_ADDRESS>- 0414 273 937
- 02 4921 5494
Disclaimer
This resume was created entirely with
Markdown, CSS and R, using the package:
datadrivencv
and some help with:
pagedown, rmarkdown and tidyverse
Download a PDF of this resume


Preparation time
30 mins to 1 hour
Cooking time
10 to 30 mins
Serves
Serves 4
For the risotto, heat the olive oil in a pan. Place the onions, garlic and a pinch of salt into the pan and cook until the onions are soft and transparent.
When the onions are cooked, add the rice and stir until the rice is very hot and the grains are starting to turn translucent. Begin to add the water little by little, stirring continuously. Cook for 18-20 minutes then remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand.
To complete the risotto, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry for a few minutes.
When the mushrooms have softened, mix them through the risotto base and cook the rice for a further few minutes. Once the rice is soft, stir in the parmesan, chervil, chives and tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To serve, place the risotto into the middle of four serving dishes and drizzle over a little white truffle oil.


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ACA Kiosk machines are designed to handle all cheques without any intervention from the employees, while providing customers with printed acknowledgement receipt. The check deposit kiosk allows the customer to deposit a check 24x7. ACA Kiosk Consists of Touch Screen, Cheque Scanner, Thermal Printer with Application can be integrated with Banking application.
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ACA Features Cheque Truncation which is one of the most convenient and the faster way to process the clearances of local and intercity cheque using electronic records of the content or image of cheque instead of physical movement of cheque within bank or between bank.
MICR technology enabled the banking system to handle the growth in the cheque volumes and to provide faster and efficient clearing services to customers and to do straight through processing using MICR data.
ACA helps to improve Customer Service and build good and satisfactory customer relations ships.
ACA gives Return on investment and increase their productivity, Business and branding of Banks.
ACA comes with high resolution touch screen with 2nd optional display and high end MICR & Image scanner.
ACA provides Quick process, easy and secure transaction.
For employees we offer good working conditions - where they can be efficient yet relaxed without being intimated by the queue of overlooking people awaiting service and better use of skills and time.
For manager, we offer Daily Efficiency Reports that allow him to optimize resource allocation, and ease work flow respond to staff workloads and provide better service to his customers.


Generate exhaustive testbench for module but using Gray codes so it's more optimal testing per bit twiddle.
todo: also add ways for automated checking if given a truth table


| Modifier and Type | Method and Description |
|---|---|
static double |
Integrator.Boole(AbstractUnivariate au,
double dblLeft,
double dblRight)
Compute the function's integral within the specified limits using the Boole rule.
|
static double |
Integrator.LinearQuadrature(AbstractUnivariate au,
double dblLeft,
double dblRight)
Compute the function's integral within the specified limits using the LinearQuadrature technique.
|
static double |
Integrator.MidPoint(AbstractUnivariate au,
double dblLeft,
double dblRight)
Compute the function's integral within the specified limits using the Mid-point rule.
|
static double |
Integrator.Simpson(AbstractUnivariate au,
double dblLeft,
double dblRight)
Compute the function's integral within the specified limits using the Simpson rule.
|
static double |
Integrator.Simpson38(AbstractUnivariate au,
double dblLeft,
double dblRight)
Compute the function's integral within the specified limits using the Simpson 3/8 rule.
|
static double |
Integrator.Trapezoidal(AbstractUnivariate au,
double dblLeft,
double dblRight)
Compute the function's integral within the specified limits using the Trapezoidal rule.
|
| Modifier and Type | Class and Description |
|---|---|
class |
BernsteinPolynomial
BernsteinPolynomial provides the evaluation of the BernsteinPolynomial and its derivatives for a specified
variate.
|
class |
ExponentialTension
ExponentialTension provides the evaluation of the Exponential Tension Function and its derivatives for a
specified variate.
|
class |
HyperbolicTension
HyperbolicTension provides the evaluation of the Hyperbolic Tension Function and its derivatives for a
specified variate.
|
class |
LinearRationalShapeControl
LinearRationalShapeControl implements the deterministic rational shape control functionality on top of the
estimator basis splines inside - [0,...,1) - Globally [x_0,...,x_1):
y = 1 / [1 + lambda * x]
where is the normalized ordinate mapped as
x => (x - x_i-1) / (x_i - x_i-1)
|
class |
LinearRationalTensionExponential
LinearRationalTensionExponential provides the evaluation of the Convolution of the Linear Rational and the
Tension Exponential Functons and its derivatives for a specified variate.
|
class |
NaturalLogSeriesElement
NaturalLogSeriesElement implements an element in the natural log series expansion.
|
class |
Polynomial
Polynomial provides the evaluation of the n-th order Polynomial and its derivatives for a specified
variate.
|
class |
QuadraticRationalShapeControl
QuadraticRationalShapeControl implements the deterministic rational shape control functionality on top of
the estimator basis splines inside - [0,...,1) - Globally [x_0,...,x_1):
y = 1 / [1 + lambda * x * (1-x)]
where is the normalized ordinate mapped as
x => (x - x_i-1) / (x_i - x_i-1)
|
class |
UnivariateConvolution
This class provides the evaluation of the Convolution au1 * au2 and its derivatives for a specified
variate.
|
class |
UnivariateReflection
UnivariateReflection provides the evaluation f(1-x) instead of f(x) for a given f.
|
| Constructor and Description |
|---|
UnivariateConvolution(AbstractUnivariate au1,
AbstractUnivariate au2)
Construct a PolynomialMirrorCross instance
|
UnivariateReflection(AbstractUnivariate au)
UnivariateReflection constructor
|
| Modifier and Type | Method and Description |
|---|---|
static double |
VariateIteratorPrimitive.MultiFunction(double dblX1,
double dblX2,
double dblX3,
double dblY1,
double dblY2,
double dblY3,
AbstractUnivariate of,
double dblOFTarget,
FixedPointFinderOutput rfop)
Iterate for the next variate using the multi-function method
|
| Constructor and Description |
|---|
ExecutionControl(AbstractUnivariate of,
ExecutionControlParams ecp)
ExecutionControl constructor
|
ExecutionInitializer(AbstractUnivariate of,
ConvergenceControlParams ccp)
ExecutionInitializer constructor
|
FixedPointFinderBracketing(double dblOFGoal,
AbstractUnivariate of,
ExecutionControl ec,
int iIteratorPrimitive,
boolean bWhine)
FixedPointFinderBracketing constructor
|
FixedPointFinderBrent(double dblOFGoal,
AbstractUnivariate of,
boolean bWhine)
FixedPointFinderBrent constructor
|
FixedPointFinderNewton(double dblOFGoal,
AbstractUnivariate of,
boolean bWhine)
FixedPointFinderNewton constructor
|
FixedPointFinderZheng(double dblOFGoal,
AbstractUnivariate of,
boolean bWhine)
FixedPointFinderZheng constructor
|
| Modifier and Type | Method and Description |
|---|---|
AbstractUnivariate |
FunctionSet.indexedBasisFunction(int iBasisIndex)
Retrieve the Basis Function identified by the specified Index
|
| Constructor and Description |
|---|
FunctionSet(AbstractUnivariate[] aAUResponseBasis) |
| Modifier and Type | Class and Description |
|---|---|
class |
BasisHatShapeControl
BasisHatShapeControl implements the shape control function for the hat basis set as laid out in the
framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
CubicRationalLeftRaw
CubicRationalLeftRaw implements the TensionBasisHat interface in accordance with the raw left cubic
rational hat basis function laid out in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and
Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
CubicRationalRightRaw
CubicRationalRightRaw implements the TensionBasisHat interface in accordance with the raw right cubic
rational hat basis function laid out in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and
Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
ExponentialTensionLeftHat
ExponentialTensionLeftHat implements the TensionBasisHat interface in accordance with the left exponential
hat basis function laid out in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche
(1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
ExponentialTensionLeftRaw
ExponentialTensionLeftRaw implements the TensionBasisHat interface in accordance with the raw left
exponential hat basis function laid out in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch
and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
ExponentialTensionRightHat
ExponentialTensionRightHat implements the TensionBasisHat interface in accordance with the right
exponential hat basis function laid out in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch
and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
ExponentialTensionRightRaw
ExponentialTensionRightRaw implements the TensionBasisHat interface in accordance with the raw right
exponential hat basis function laid out in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch
and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
LeftHatShapeControl
LeftHatShapeControl implements the BasisHatShapeControl interface for the left hat basis set as laid out
in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000)
Papers.
|
class |
RightHatShapeControl
RightHatShapeControl implements the BasisHatShapeControl interface for the right hat basis set as laid out
in the basic framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000)
Papers.
|
class |
SegmentBasisFunction
SegmentBasisFunction is the abstract class over which the local ordered envelope functions for the B Splines
are implemented.
|
class |
SegmentMonicBasisFunction
SegmentMonicBasisFunction implements the local monic B Spline that envelopes the predictor ordinates, and
the corresponding set of ordinates/basis functions.
|
class |
SegmentMulticBasisFunction
SegmentMulticBasisFunction implements the local quadratic B Spline that envelopes the predictor ordinates,
and the corresponding set of ordinates/basis functions.
|
class |
TensionBasisHat
TensionBasisHat implements the common basis hat function that form the basis for all B Splines.
|
class |
TensionProcessedBasisHat
TensionProcessedBasisHat implements the processed hat basis function of the form laid out in the basic
framework outlined in Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
| Constructor and Description |
|---|
SegmentBasisFunctionSet(int iNumBasisToUse,
double dblTension,
AbstractUnivariate[] aAUHat)
SegmentBasisFunctionSet constructor
|
| Modifier and Type | Method and Description |
|---|---|
AbstractUnivariate |
ResponseScalingShapeControl.shapeController()
Retrieve the Shape Control Univariate Function
|
| Constructor and Description |
|---|
ResponseScalingShapeControl(boolean bIsLocal,
AbstractUnivariate auShapeControl)
ResponseScalingShapeControl constructor
|
| Modifier and Type | Class and Description |
|---|---|
class |
MonotoneConvexHaganWest
This class implements the regime using the Hagan and West (2006) Estimator.
|
| Modifier and Type | Class and Description |
|---|---|
class |
CalibratableMultiSegmentSequence
CalibratableMultiSegmentSequence implements the MultiSegmentSequence span that spans multiple segments.
|
| Modifier and Type | Class and Description |
|---|---|
class |
KLKHyperbolicTensionPhy
KLKHyperbolicTensionPhy implements the basic framework and the family of C2 Tension Splines outlined in
Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
class |
KLKHyperbolicTensionPsy
KLKHyperbolicTensionPsy implements the basic framework and the family of C2 Tension Splines outlined in
Koch and Lyche (1989), Koch and Lyche (1993), and Kvasov (2000) Papers.
|
| Modifier and Type | Method and Description |
|---|---|
static AbstractUnivariate[] |
KochLycheKvasovBasis.GenerateMonicBSplineSet(double dblTension)
Generate the Monic BSpline Basis Function Set
|
static AbstractUnivariate[] |
KochLycheKvasovBasis.GenerateQuadraticBSplineSet(double dblTension)
Generate the Quadratic BSpline Basis Function Set
|
| Modifier and Type | Class and Description |
|---|---|
class |
CurveStretch
CurveStretch expands the regular Multi-Segment Stretch to aid the calibration of Boot-strapped
Instruments.
|


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06 Nov 2010
UPDATE: Story picked up by Augusta Chronicle, cited in AJC Jim Galloway's Political Insider
[box]
Republicans trim Cagle's powers - (view published story on Macon.com)
By Carl Lewis
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Saturday, Nov. 08, 2010
[/box]
Following a heated day of closed-door meetings in downtown Macon, Georgia’s Senate Republican leaders decided Friday to strip some of newly re-elected Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s powers in the Senate.
Chamber leaders are calling it a new “power-sharing agreement.”
The Republican caucus gathered at Mercer University’s Woodruff House on Friday to discuss its rules and elect new leaders. Also at issue during the caucus meeting was a discussion of whether the lieutenant governor has too much power in the chamber.
After seven hours of deliberation, leaders reached the decision to peel back the lieutenant governor’s powers to assign committees, though the lieutenant governor will still retain some role in the committee-appointment process, said Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon.
A new seven-member committee of Republican legislators will be formed, and Cagle will have the power to choose two of the members of that committee.
Staton was one of the leaders who called Friday’s meeting, where he was elected as the caucus’ new majority whip.
Staton said the decision to take away some of Cagle’s power was not because of discontent with Cagle’s leadership. Staton maintained that the decision was a routine refinement of the caucus’ rules.
“This is not, in my view, any attempt to slight or take anything away from Lt. Gov. Cagle himself. He will still have quite a lot of power, and it has nothing to do with him personally. This is simply a routine rule change, and it’s a way to keep a good balance between the lieutenant governor and the Senate,” Staton said.
Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, also was one of the legislators who called Friday’s meeting. Rogers insisted the decision was not meant to reflect the chamber’s view of Cagle personally.
“Every single member of this body not only supports Cagle’s leadership but considers him a personal friend,” Rogers said. “This is simply a new power-sharing agreement that we’ve come to.”
But Cagle spokesman Ben Fry said Friday afternoon that he wasn’t convinced the move to trim Cagle’s power was entirely fair.
“It’s certainly disappointing that they’re wanting to do this, especially given the fact that the voters so clearly expressed support of Cagle in Tuesday’s election,” Fry said.
Fry said he didn’t know what might have motivated the caucus to reach its decision, but that Cagle remained confident in the caucus’ judgment.
“We’re not ready to speculate on what might have led the caucus to be called, and we’re not going to get involved in the politics,” Fry said. “As always, Cagle is focused on doing what the voters overwhelmingly elected him to do, which is to serve this state.”
03 Nov 2010
Scott topples Marshall in 8th district congressional race
By Mike Stucka and Carl Lewis
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010
Reflecting the broader national backlash against the Democratic Party this election season, voters denied U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon a fifth term in office Tuesday, choosing Republican Austin Scott as his replacement.
With 78 percent of precincts reporting, Scott led Marshall 52.5-47.5 percent in a bruising battle for Georgia’s 8th Congressional District seat.
Scott, the current state representative for Tift and Turner counties, celebrated his victory Tuesday night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Tifton.
He said his campaign won on its own merits, not because of the national picture.
“We won this race because we had the better campaign team. We worked harder than they did,” Scott said.
Scott said his supporters had placed about 250,000 telephone calls.
“At the end of April, [Marshall] was unbeatable. And tonight, tonight, Georgians have spoken,” Scott said.
Meanwhile, a crowd of about 100 Marshall supporters and campaign workers at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon watched with disappointment as Marshall trailed Scott by 8 to 10 percentage points for much of the night.
Marshall said around 10:15 p.m. that it was “hard to see a clear path to victory,” but he refused to comment on the results specifically until he confirmed Scott’s win. He blamed Scott’s lead on Republican attacks against his party affiliation.
“It’s a national tide, and there’s not much I could do. We’ve done well, and I’ve had a good team. I don’t toe the party line, but many people haven’t been able to realize that,” Marshall said.
Marshall conceded to Scott late Tuesday.
Rusty Adams of Warner Robins was one of the Marshall supporters who showed up to support the campaign Tuesday night. He expressed his disappointment with Marshall’s loss.
“I can’t believe it. I’m gonna have to live with it, though,” Adams said.
Marshall drew criticism from the Scott campaign for some of his votes, and ads on Scott’s behalf tied Marshall to Democratic leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House. Marshall launched his own campaign ads to distance himself from Pelosi.
But those efforts didn’t carry the day for Marshall. He needed critical support from swing voters such as Christine Gausche of Bonaire, wife of a retired U.S. Air Force officer. Gausche backed Marshall in 2008 — but shifted her support to the Republicans this year.
“I think he’s done some good things, but he’s part of a larger group that hasn’t done such good things,” Gausche said.
Marshall had trailed Scott in several recent polls, with some of them giving Scott an 8-point lead over the incumbent Democrat.
Marshall, who dropped out of Princeton University to fight in Vietnam, is a former Macon mayor and faculty member of Mercer University’s law school.
Scott appeared to have won in at least 16 of 21 counties in the district.
Marshall won in Bibb County by a wide margin, but the vote was nearly even in Houston County, with votes tilting slightly in Scott’s favor.
Bibb and Houston counties represent much of the 8th District’s population and voters, many of whom have ties to Robins Air Force Base. Late Tuesday, many of the votes in Twiggs and Houston counties had not been tallied.
House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter, a key member of the Republican Steering Committee that assigns House members to committees, said in a statement Tuesday night that he is excited over Scott’s election, and he would push the Steering Committee to assign Scott to committees most important to Georgia.
“Austin Scott has the common sense conservative fiscal values and life experience that are essential to winning a seat on critical committees,” Carter said.
“I am committed to use my influence in Republican leadership and on the Steering Committee to push Congressman-elect Scott for the seats that will do his district, Georgia, and the nation the most good.”
Scott told The Telegraph that voters wanted changes. And if the new Republican majority in the House doesn’t do the right thing, voters will vote for more changes in two years.
“It’s all about work now — jobs and the economy,” Scott said.
Scott’s mother, Becky, kept dancing with joy as she talked with a reporter. She said she knew the reason her son won, and thought it would translate well into Congress: “A lot of hard work.”
To contact writer Mike Stucka, call 744-4251. To contact writer Carl Lewis, e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>01 Nov 2010
Sen. Brown pushes HOPE limits, seeks family annual income cap of $150K (link to story on Macon.com)
By Carl Lewis
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010
Georgia’s Senate minority leader proposed one possible solution to the dwindling HOPE Scholarship fund Wednesday: Only give it to the students who need it the most.
Calling for a “return to the original intent” of the state lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship program, state Sen. Robert Brown, D-Macon, pushed for the family income cap to be reinstated for HOPE eligibility as a way to keep the program afloat and ensure it allows the most possible students to afford college.
Brown’s suggestion comes after it was projected this week that despite continued record lottery tickets sales, the HOPE Scholarship fund will fall short $560 million in the next two years as the number of eligible students attending college continues to soar.
“More and more students are going to college, and it’s becoming hard to keep up with demand for the scholarship,” said Tim Connell, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission that runs the HOPE program.
When then-Gov. Zell Miller first created the HOPE Scholarship in 1993, only families making less than $66,000 per year could qualify.
After a successful first year, that cap was raised in 1994 to $100,000, and in 1995 it was lifted altogether.
Brown said he's pushing for a new income cap of six times the federal poverty level, which he estimated would be about $150,000 for a family of four.
“I think it’s a lasting solution if we want to save HOPE, and it’s in line with the original purpose of the scholarship, which was to make a college education more affordable for Georgia students who couldn’t otherwise afford it,” Brown said.
Brown said his plan would not affect students already receiving the HOPE Scholarship, but at the earliest, it could impact students applying for the scholarship beginning in July 2011.
Brown said he doesn’t think the income cap will discourage students who don’t qualify financially from making the B average required for the scholarship.
“Those students are probably already discouraged from performing well,” Brown said.
As for families making just above the income cap who have budgeted with HOPE in mind, Brown said they’d have to “find other plans.”
“There are other institutions in the private sector that could offer students merit-based scholarships,” Brown said.
State Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, chairman of the Senate Higher Education committee, said he disagrees with Brown’s proposal to reinstate the income cap for HOPE.
Harp said the original purpose of the HOPE Scholarship wasn’t necessarily to make college affordable for low-income families, but to reward hard-working students for their achievement.
“The HOPE Scholarship isn’t, and never has been, a need-based scholarship,” Harp said. “It’s been based on maximizing academic achievement by rewarding students who make good grades. That’s why the income cap was removed once the program started being successful.”
Harp said he wants to wait and see what happens with the economy before making any cuts to HOPE or deciding to reinstate an income cap.
“It’s not at a crisis point. We still have $1.5 billion in reserve money, and HOPE is too important of a program to ruin, and has been too successful so far, not to evaluate other options first,” Harp said.
Brown said he knows his plan to reinstate the needs qualification for HOPE may be unpopular with many, but that the scholarship’s current budget situation leaves no other choice.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some resistance. People have come to view HOPE as an entitlement program, which it’s not. We’ve got to find a way to make it sustainable, and this is the best way,” Brown said.
To contact writer Carl Lewis, call 744-4347.
20 Aug 2010
UPDATE: Follow-up on autopsy report from Aug. 21
SPACE
Woman’s body found in backyard of vacant Macon home
By Carl Lewis
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Friday, Aug. 20, 2010
Breaking news - Crime reports
A woman’s body was discovered in the backyard of a vacant south Macon home Thursday afternoon.
Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said police received an anonymous call about 2 p.m. that a fully-clothed, dark-haired white woman in her late 30s or early 40s was lying dead in the bushes at 1284 Glendale Ave., near Houston Avenue. She had severe lacerations on her body from what appeared to be dog bites and had been dead for between six and eight hours, Jones said.
Jones said a pack of pit bulls were found roaming around the yard of the home, but he would not say whether police suspected the woman was actually killed by the dogs.
“At this time, the cause of death is unknown, and police are investigating,” Jones said.
Jones said the woman had yet to be identified as of late Thursday afternoon. He said an autopsy to determine the cause of death would be performed Friday.
Neighbors said the home has been empty since the previous tenants moved about two weeks ago. They said people from the community often cut through the alley of the house as a shortcut to a nearby convenience store.
Kristia Hargrove, who lives down the street, said she’s seen the pit bulls outside the house for a few days now, and she knows of at least two people who have been bitten by them already.
“One of my best friends was bitten by one of those dogs the other day. She had teeth prints all over her. That’s why I don’t walk near that house or through that alley anymore,” Hargrove said.
Neighbor Peggy Johnson said she wasn’t convinced the dogs killed the woman. She said she recognized the woman’s body as someone she had seen walking around the neighborhood before.
“I think she was already dead and that the dogs just smelled blood and went ballistic. If the dogs had attacked her when she was alive, she would have screamed, and someone would have heard her,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what actually killed her, though.”
Macon police spokeswoman Jami Gaudet said police have yet to determine whether foul play was involved.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 751-7500 or Macon Regional CrimeStoppers at (877) 68-CRIME.
To contact writer Carl Lewis, call 744-4347.
12 Aug 2010
Landfill expansion opposed by some Twiggs County residents - (view story on Macon.com)
By Carl Lewis
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010
It’s not just the rumble of garbage trucks past Tracie Fountain’s Twiggs County home each day that perturbs her.
It’s the odor.
Fountain lives just down the road from the Wolf Creek Landfill in Dry Branch, so close that she can smell the garbage dumped there. She’s one of the 779 Twiggs County residents who have signed a petition opposing a planned expansion of the landfill.
In July, the company that owns it, Advanced Disposal of Jacksonville, Fla., filed a rezoning and conditional use application with the Twiggs County Planning and Zoning office to expand the landfill by nearly tripling its size, from 135 acres to about 370 acres.
Last month, a group of residents found out about the company’s plan to expand and banded together to speak out against it.
The Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the planned expansion at its meeting Tuesday night, voting unanimously to recommend that the Twiggs County Commission reject the company’s proposal during its Aug. 17 meeting.
Now, the five-member commission will decide whether the company will move forward with its plans.
Three of the commissioners, Ray Bennett, Donald Floyd and Milton Sampson, said Wednesday that they’re not sure yet if they’ll approve the application, saying they don’t know all the details. The other two commissioners, Kathryn Epps and Tommie Bryant, did not return phone calls.
As part of the agreement with the disposal company, the county receives $1 for each ton of waste the landfill processes. The figure increases to $1.20 per ton if the amount surpasses 500 tons per day and to $1.40 if it exceeds 1,000 tons per day.
The landfill generally disposes of more than 1,200 tons of waste every day, according to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. That means for each day the landfill is in operation, the county brings in $1,400 to $1,700.
While that’s a large source of revenue for the county, resident Chris Bowen, who lives nearby, said he doesn’t think it’s enough money to justify keeping the landfill, which handles trash from several other counties, including Wilkinson, Jones and Bibb.
“We don’t want Twiggs County to be the dumping ground for the rest of the state. It doesn’t benefit anybody but the company and its pocketbook.
Virginia Villatoro, who works for Advanced Disposal in the landfill’s office, would not respond to specific concerns that the landfill could be getting too big. She did say she thinks the company has been aboveboard throughout the process.
“The required public notice postings and time frames have been complied with as required” by law, Villatoro said.
But for Fountain, who lives next door to the landfill with her two teenagers, the only thing that matters now is fending off the expansion proposal.
“I don’t want to smell trash at my house, and I don’t want my kids in danger and playing near the landfill,” she said. “Whether it’s only 20 people who live around here or 1,000, it affects everyone in the county.
“It’s a public problem, and it’s not the sort of thing we need if we want Twiggs County to grow.”
To contact writer Carl Lewis, call 744-4347.


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Infinite Aquarius |
Team Created |
F1 in schools Entry |
Hugh wins Car Design |
| Team Created - We formed a team. | Competition Launch - We have entered into F1 for schools. | In a friendly competition among the team, Hughs had the best drag coefficient. |
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Bernoulli Race Particle Filters
Sebastian Schmon
University of Oxford
Babylon Health - March 1, 2019
Introduction
What is this talk about?
- Bernoulli factories
- Coin flips and unbiased estimators
- Bernoulli races
- Using coin flips for exact resampling in particle filters when weights are not available
analytically: Bernoulli Race Particle Filters
- Joint work with my supervisors Arnaud Doucet and George Deligiannidis, to be presented at AISTATS 2019
Introduction
- Assume you are given an unfair coin with some
unknown probability of heads, \(\mathbb{P}(C =1) = p\).
- How can this coin be used to produce a fair result, i.e. generate a coin flip with probability \(1/2\)?
Von Neumann Extractor
The following algorithm has the desired output:
- throw the coin twice and obtain \(C_1\) and \(C_2\)
- if \(C_1 = 1\) and \(C_2 = 0\) set C = 1
- if \(C_1 = 0\) and \(C_2 = 1\) set C = 0
- else return to step 1
Both outcomes have probability \(p(1-p) = (1-p)p\).
Bernoulli Factories
How (if at all) can I create a coin with probability \(f(p) \in [0,1]\) given only access to coins with probability \(p\in (0,1)\)?
Von Neumann proposed and solved \(f(p) = 1/2\). Other factories
- \(f(p) = \lambda p, \lambda\in[0,1]\): sample \(Z\sim \mathrm{Ber}(\lambda), P\sim \mathrm{Ber}(p)\) and return \(Z\cdot P\)
- \(f(p_0, p_1) = (p_0 + p_1)/2\): sample \(I \sim \mathrm{Ber}(1/2), P_0\sim \mathrm{Ber}(p_0)\) and \(P_1\sim \mathrm{Ber}(p_1)\) and output \(P_I\)
- \(f(p) = \exp(\lambda(p-1))\): sample \(K\sim \mathrm{Pois}(\lambda), P_i \sim \mathrm{Ber}(p), i=1, \ldots, K\) and output \[\prod_{i=1}^K P_i\]
Coin Flips and Unbiased Estimators
Why are we interested in coin flips?
If there is an unbiased estimator available, then we can construct a coin flip.
If \(\hat{Z}\) is an unbiased estimator of \(\mu\), then the event \(1\{U_i \leq \hat{Z}\}\) has probability \(\mu\).
We have
$$
\begin{align}
\mathbb{E}\left[1\{U_i \leq \hat{Z}\}\right] & = \int_0^1\int_0^1 1\{u \leq z\}f_\hat{Z}(z)dz du \\
& = \int_0^1 z f_\hat{Z}(z) dz = \mu.
\end{align}
$$
Hidden Markov Models
HMMs consist of a latent (unobserved) process \((X_t)_{t\in \mathbb{N}}\) with
\[X_t \mid (X_{t-1} = x) \sim f(\cdot \mid x)\]
for \(t\geq 2\) and \(X_1 \sim \mu(\cdot)\). The process can be observed through an
an observation process
\[Y_t \mid (X_t = x) \sim g(\cdot \mid x). \]
Particle Filters
Particle Filters sequentially approximate the distribution of the hidden states given the observations
$$\begin{align}
\pi_T(x_{1:T}) &= p(x_{1:T}\mid y_{1:T}) \\
&= \frac{g(y_1 \mid x_1)\mu(x_1)\prod_{t=2}^T g(y_t \mid x_t)f(x_t \mid x_{t-1})}{p(y_{1:T})}
\end{align}
$$ where $$
\begin{align}
p(y_{1:T}) = \int g(y_1 \mid x_1)\mu(x_1)\prod_{t=2}^T g(y_t \mid x_t)f(x_t \mid x_{t-1}) dx_{1:T}.
\end{align}
$$
Particle Filters
Importance Sampling
At state \(t\geq 2\) for every \(k=1, \ldots, N\)
- \(\tilde X_t^k \sim q(\cdot \mid X_{t-1}^k, y_t)\)
- \[
w_k = w(X_{t-1}^k, \tilde{X}_t^k) = \frac{g(y_t \mid \tilde{X}_t^k)f(\tilde{X}_t^k \mid X_{t-1}^k)}{q(\tilde{X}_t^k \mid X_{t-1}^k, y_t)}
\]
Particle Filters
Sequential Importance Resampling
- Sample \(I_{1:N} \sim \mathrm{Mult}(w_1, \ldots, w_N)\)
- For \(k=1,\ldots, N\) set
\[
X_{1:t}^k = \left(X_{1:(t-1)}^{I_k},\tilde{X}_{t}^{I_k}\right).
\]
What if the weights \(w_1, \ldots, w_N\) are not available analytically?
Example: Locally Optimal Proposal
The locally optimal proposal \(q^{*}\), is
\[
q^{*}(x_{t}\mid x_{t-1},y_{t})=\frac{g(y_{t}\mid x_{t})f(x_{t}\mid x_{t-1})}{p(y_{t}\mid x_{t-1})}.
\]
The weight
$$
\begin{align}
w_{t}(x_{t-1},x_{t}) & =p(y_{t}\mid x_{t-1}) \\
& =\int g(y_{t}\mid x_{t})f(x_{t}\mid x_{t-1})dx_{t}
\end{align}
$$
is usually intractable.
Bernoulli Races
- Assume we can write \(w_k = c_k b_k\), where
- \(c_k\) is known and can be computed
- \(b_k\) is an intractable quantity taking values between \(0\) and \(1\)
- we can sample \(Z \sim \mathrm{Ber}(b_k)\)
- How can we sample
\[
p(i) = \frac{c_ib_i}{\sum_k{c_kb_k}} = \frac{w_i}{\sum_k w_k}?
\]
Bernoulli Race Algorithm
-
Propose
\[
I \sim \mathsf{Mult}\left(\frac{c_1}{\sum_{k=1}^N c_k}, \ldots, \frac{c_N}{\sum_{k=1}^N c_k}\right)
\]
- Draw \(Z_I \sim \mathrm{Ber}(b_I)\)
- If \(Z_I = 1\) return \(I\)
- else go to 1.
Bernoulli Race Algorithm
Proposition.
The Bernoulli race samples from the distribution
\[
p(i) = \mathbb{P}(I=i \mid Z_I=1) = \frac{c_ib_i}{\sum_{k=1}^N c_k b_k}.
\]
Proof.
Note that the probability of sampling \(I=i\) and accepting is
$$
\begin{equation}
\mathbb{P}(I = i, Z_i = 1) = b_i \cdot \frac{c_i}{\sum_k c_k}.
\end{equation}
$$
It follows that observing \(Z_I = 1\) has probability \(\mathbb{P}(Z_I=1) = \sum_k b_k c_k / \sum_k c_k\).
Now for any \(i=1,\ldots N\)
$$
\begin{align}
p(i) & = \mathbb{P}(I = i \mid Z_I = 1) \\
& =\frac{\mathbb{P}(I = i, Z_i = 1)}{\mathbb{P}(Z_I = 1)} \\
& =\frac{b_{i}c_{i}}{\sum_{k}c_{k}}\Big/\frac{\sum_{k}b_{k}c_{k}}{\sum_{k}c_{k}} =\frac{b_{i}c_{i}}{\sum_{k}b_{k}c_{k}}.
\end{align}
$$
Connection to von Neumann's Algorithm
Remark Von Neumann's algorithm is a special case of this scheme. Set \(c_1 = p, c_2 = 1-p, b_1 = 1 - p, b_2 = p\) then
\[
p(1) = \frac{p(1-p)}{p(1-p) + (1-p)p} = \frac{1}{2}.
\]
Efficient Implementation
- Standard resampling algorithms can sample \(N\) random variables at cost \(O(N)\)
- Bernoulli race resampling can also be implemented with an average of \(O(N)\)
- In order to get fast samples we need to have an algorithm which can provide us with a constant stream of cheap proposals
- \(\Rightarrow\) The Alias method needs \(O(N)\) set up and can then sample with \(O(1)\)
- Now we need to make sure that the number of coin flips required is also linear
Efficient Implementation
The number of coin flips \(C_{j,N}\) required for each sample follows a geometric distribution with success probability
\begin{equation}
\rho_{N}= \mathbb{P}(Z_I = 1) = \frac{\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{k}b_{k}}{\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{k}}.\label{eq:geometric_success}
\end{equation}
The expected number of trials until a value is accepted is then
\[
\mathbb{E}\left[C_{j,N}\right]=\frac{1}{\rho_N}\quad\left(j=1,\ldots,N\right).
\]
Efficient Implementation
Proposition. Assume \(\lim_{N\rightarrow\infty}\rho_{N}=:\rho\in(0,1)\).
Then we have the following central limit theorem for the average number
of coin flips as \(N\rightarrow\infty\)
\[
\sqrt{N}\left(\frac{1}{N}\sum_{j=1}^{N}C_{j,N}-\frac{1}{\rho_{N}}\right)\overset{d}{\rightarrow}\mathcal{N}\left(0,\frac{1-\rho}{\rho^{2}}\right),
\]
where \(\overset{d}{\rightarrow}\) denotes convergence in distribution.
Bernoulli Race Particle Filters
How do Bernoulli races help us in the particle filter context?
- The Bernoulli race can be used as an implementation of the resampling step.
- Advantage: works even if the weights are intractable!
- Just need to be able to generate a coin flip proportional to the weights.
Gaussian State Space Model
The latent states evolve according to
\[
X_t=aX_{t-1}+V_{t}
\]
where we take \(a = 0.8\) and we observe these hidden variables through the observation equation
\[
Y_{t}=X_{t}+W_{t}
\]
with initialization \(X_{1}\sim\mathcal{N}(0,5)\) and \(V_{t}\sim\mathcal{N}(0,5)\),
\(W_{t}\sim\mathcal{N}(0,5)\).
Locally Optimal Proposal
We implement the Gaussian state space model with the locally optimal proposal and weights
\begin{align}
w_{t}(x_{t-1},x_{t}) & =p(y_{t}\mid x_{t-1}) \\
& =\int g(y_{t}\mid x_{t})f(x_{t}\mid x_{t-1})dx_{t} \\
& =\int \frac{1}{\sqrt{10\pi}}\exp\left(-\frac{(y_t - x_t)^2}{10}\right)\frac{1}{\sqrt{10\pi}}\exp\left(-\frac{(x_t - x_{t-1})^2}{10}\right) dx_t
\end{align}
Gaussian State Space Model
Coin flips for the weights for the locally optimal proposal can be obtained by sampling from the model \(\xi_t \sim f(\cdot \mid x_{t-1})\) and computing
\[
Z_t = 1 \left\{U \leq \exp\left(-\frac{(y_t - \xi_t)^2}{10} \right)\right\}, \quad U\sim \mathrm{Unif}[0, 1].
\]
This leads to the choice \(c_{t, 1} = \ldots = c_{t, N} = 1/\sqrt{10\pi}\) and
\[
b_{t,k} = \int \exp\left(-\frac{(y_t - x)^2}{10} \right) f(x \mid x_{t-1}) dx_{t-1}.
\]
Gaussian State Space Model
Simulation Study
- In this toy example we compare the performance of the Bernoulli Race Particle Filter
with a competitor, the random weight particle filter (RWPF).
- The RWPF is like an ordinary PF but the weights are replaced with unbiased estimates.
- Theoretically this is valid, but leads to performance deterioration.
Gaussian State Space Model
Simulation results
| Test function |
\(\sigma_{RWPF}\) |
\(\sigma_{BRPF}\) |
\(\sigma_{BRPF}/\sigma_{RWPF}\) |
| \(h_1\) |
0.17 |
0.12 |
0.74 |
| \(h_2\) |
0.93 |
0.78 |
0.84 |
| \(h_3\) |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.96 |
| \(h_4\) |
0.42 |
0.40 |
0.94 |
Cox Process Inference
A random intensity function is a locally integrable function \(\lambda(t)\).
A process \(X_t\) is a Cox process if, conditionally upon \(\lambda\) it is a Poisson process and the (conditional) likelihood is
\[
p(y_{1:T} \mid \lambda) = \exp\left(-\int_\mathcal{T} \lambda (y) dy\right) \prod_{t=1}^T \lambda(y_t).
\]
The quantity \(\exp\left(-\int_\mathcal{T} \lambda (y) dy\right)\) is usually intractable.
Cox Process Inference
In order to perform sequential inference we use a squashed Gauss-Markov process
$$
\begin{align*}
\begin{pmatrix}
dx_{1, t} \\
dx_{2, t} \\
\end{pmatrix}
=
\begin{bmatrix}
0 & 1 \\
0 & \theta \\
\end{bmatrix}
\begin{pmatrix}
x_{1, t} \\
x_{2, t} \\
\end{pmatrix}
dt +
\begin{pmatrix}
0 \\ \sigma
\end{pmatrix}
dW_t.
\end{align*}
$$
with intensity function
\[
\lambda(t) = \sigma(x_{1, t}) = \frac{\exp(x_{1, t})}{1 + \exp(x_{1,t})}.
\]
Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Process
Cox Process Inference
Sequential inference. Propose from the prior and the weight is
\[
g(y_{i\colon y_i \in [t_0, t_1]} \mid x_{1, t}^k) = \exp\left(-\int_{t_0}^{t_1} \lambda^k(y) dy \right) \prod_{i\colon y_i \in [t_0, t_1]} \lambda^k(y_i).
\]
We can set
$$
\begin{align}
c_{t_1}^k &= \prod_{i\colon y_i \in [t_0, t_1]} \lambda^k(y_i), \\
b_{t_1}^k &= \exp\left(-\int_{t_0}^{t_1} \lambda^k(y) dy\right).
\end{align}
$$
How to generate coin flips
Note
that for a function \(g\) and \(U\sim\mathrm{Unif}[0,t]\) we have
\[
\mathbb{E}\left[\frac{g(X_{U})}{\lambda}\mid X_{s},0\leq s\leq t\right]=\int_{0}^{t}\frac{g(X_{s})}{\lambda t}ds.
\]
Using this relationship we can use debiasing schemes such as the Poisson
estimator to find a non-negative unbiased estimator of the expectation of the
exponential.
How to generate coin flips
Now sample \(K\sim \mathrm{Pois}(t_1-t_0)\), then an unbiased coin flip can be generated using
\[
Z = \prod_{i=1}^{K}1\left\{ V_{i}\leq 1 - \lambda(U_i)\right\}.
\]
Unbiasedness I
This estimator is indeed unbiased as can be seen by
\begin{align*}
& \mathbb{E}\left[Z\mid X=x\right] = \mathbb{E}\left[\prod_{i=1}^{K}1\left\{ V_{i}\leq 1 - \lambda(U_i)\right\} \mid X=x\right] \\
& =e^{-(t_1-t_0)}\sum_{k=0}^{\infty}\frac{\left(t_1-t_0\right)^{k}}{k!}\prod_{i=1}^{k}\mathbb{E}\left[1\left\{ V_{i}\leq 1-\lambda(U_i)\right\} \mid K=k,X=x\right]\\
& =e^{-(t_1-t_0)}\sum_{k=0}^{\infty}\frac{\left(t_1-t_0\right)^{k}}{k!}\left(\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\frac{1-\lambda(s)}{t_1-t_0}ds\right)^{k}\\
\end{align*}
Unbiasedness II
\begin{align}
& = e^{-(t_1-t_0)}\sum_{k=0}^{\infty}\frac{\left(t_1-t_0\right)^{k}}{k!}\left(\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\frac{1-\lambda(s)}{t_1-t_0}ds\right)^{k} \\
& = e^{-(t_1-t_0)}\sum_{k=0}^{\infty}\frac{\left(\int_{t_0}^{t_1}1-\lambda(s)ds\right)^{k}}{k!}\\
& = e^{-(t_1-t_0)}e^{t_1-t_0}\exp\left(-\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\lambda(s)ds\right)\\
& = \exp\left(-\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\lambda(s)ds\right).
\end{align}
Notes
- The algorithm has complexity \(O(N)\) where \(N\) is the number of particles used.
- However, the constant can be very big if the Bernoulli coin flips are very inefficient.
- If a large number of coin flips is required, a GPU implementation could be very useful.
Likelihood Estimation
The standard way of estimating the marginal likelihood \(p(y_{1:T})\) is
\[
\hat{p}(y_{1:T}) = \prod_{t=1}^T \frac{1}{N} \sum_k w_{t, k}.
\]
Note that the probability for the Bernoulli race to stop at a given iteration,
i.e. to accept a value, is
\[
\mathbb{P}\left(C_{j,N} = 1\right) = \frac{\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{t, k}b_{t, k}}{\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{t, k}}=\frac{\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k=1}^{N}w_{t, k}}{\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{t, k}}.
\]
Likelihood Estimation
Thus, conditional on the weights \(w_{t,k}, k=1,\ldots,N\),
an unbiased estimator of the marginal likelihood is
\[
\hat{\rho}_{N,T}=\prod_{t=1}^{T}\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{t, k}\cdot\frac{N-1}{\sum_{k=1}^{N}C_{k,N}-1}.
\]
Theorem.
The estimator is unbiased for \(p(y_{1:T})\), i.e. \(\mathbb{E}\left[\hat{\rho}_{N,T}\right] = p(y_{1:T})\).


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An open source ML system for the end-to-end data science lifecycle
To reflect the change of focus to the end-to-end data science lifecycle
SystemDS is an open source ML system for the end-to-end data science lifecycle from data integration, cleaning, and feature engineering, over efficient, local and distributed ML model training, to deployment and serving. To this end, it provides a stack of declarative languages with R-like syntax for (1) the different tasks of the data-science lifecycle, and (2) users with different expertise. These high-level scripts are compiled into hybrid execution plans of local, in-memory CPU and GPU operations, as well as distributed operations on Apache Spark
Contribute to Apache SystemDSTM by subscribing to our developer mailing list for updates and news. Check out All Mailing Lists.


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I own my own business, but couldn’t seem to get work done consistently. I'd have these bursts of productivity, but couldn't always stay on track. Thinking it might be ADD, I went to a doctor who brushed me off. I read more and more about ADD and composed a “script” to go by when I went to the next doctor. Everything in my 'script' was true, I just wanted to ensure that the doc didn't zero in on any particular detail and dismiss my story based solely on it.
At the end of my 1-hour evaluation, my doc whipped out his pad and prescribed me Adderall XR, the newer time-released version. I went to the pharmacy immediately and had it filled.
My prescribed dosage was as follows:
- one 30mg tablet in the morning 30-60 mins before breakfast
- one 10 mg tablet 5 hours later, before lunch
Adderall is like nothing I've ever experienced. I knew it was working when my fingers and toes started tingling. Tasks requiring me to stay focused for long periods of time became much easier, I was blown away.
For instance, I had been reviewing my draft patent application after my attorney completed it. It was 35 pages long, with another 20 pages of diagrams and charts. The thing was crammed with technical detail. Before, it would take me a week to review this monster and find anything that my lawyer had left out. After taking Adderall, I zoomed through the entire 55-page application in one 2-hour sitting, picking out the smallest of details, posing questions about remote possibilities that my lawyer had overlooked. He was impressed. I was amazed.
Now I'm writing software at 3-4 times the rate I was before. Reading intense 'Harvard Business Review' articles and retaining what I read. I'm attacking problems that overwhelmed me before like fixing my credit. I'm reading through pages and pages of federal statues regarding my rights as a consumer and *retaining* the information that I read.
Everything about Adderall isn't good though. Sometimes I find myself snapping at people who don't deserve it.   I sometimes snap at telemarketers as well. Maybe I was bound to do these things anyway.
I've been on the medication for 3 months now, and have a fear that I'll feel like I need it to get anything done. I've went a day without taking my meds a couple of times, and boy was there a difference. I was depressed, apathetic and just slept all day. I wasn't that way before I started taking this stuff. My tolerance is only going to increase and sooner or later this stuff isn't going to work the same way for me.
I'd better use this time to not only get work done, but gain some coping skills to deal with my ADD(?) on my own before I'm facing the same problem later, now with no available solution.
Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the individual authors who submit them.
Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid.


With innovation and community service at its heart, Monash Faculty of IT Masters students, guided by industry and academic mentors, are developing IT applications to address societal issues, using publicly available big data to drive their thinking.
Each semester, students from diverse IT backgrounds working in multicultural teams, are immersed in a unique industry experience. With an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset, teams analyse data to develop IT solutions (apps and websites) to real-life problems and/or identified opportunities presented by the analysis. Students are pushed beyond the comfort of their discipline boundaries and current knowledge, as they not only practise their craft in an industry setting, but also develop a sense of service.
Throughout this process the teams are mentored by expert, enthusiastic industry mentors, who play a key role coaching, questioning and providing feedback. They advise on product and process, share their industry experience and help their teams avoid pitfalls.
The program’s success is evident from the students’ palpable pride in their achievement, which comes from being challenged to surpass self-imposed limits. This pride is shared by industry who are excited to be guiding the next generation of IT professionals, and collaborating in a program committed to community service.


Getting More Accurate Tobacco Information to Consumers
By: Margaret Hamburg, M.D. Crosspost from FDAVoice
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in our country. And this Administration is committed to implementing strategies that will stop our nation’s youth from starting to use tobacco and also help adults to quit. Today we’re taking two critical steps forward that will help reduce harm from tobacco and tobacco products.
Americans will soon have more information on the chemicals found in certain tobacco products, reflecting FDA’s commitment to inform and protect the public. For the first time ever, tobacco companies will be required to report the quantity of harmful and potentially harmful constituents – HPHCs – that are in their products to the FDA.
The detailed information that we receive will help FDA determine how best to make science-based decisions to reduce the terrible toll of tobacco-related disease and death. We also hope that by having to disclose this information, industry will voluntarily start to make their products substantially less addictive and harmful.
We are also forging new territory as we seek to ensure that tobacco companies provide accurate information and will not be able to mislead American consumers, especially by making it sound like certain products are less risky than they are. The landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed by President Obama gives FDA the authority to ensure the claims for tobacco products marketed to reduce risk or exposure, such as “low tar” or “light,” are truthful and demonstrated by sound science.
So today we issued a draft guidance that provides direction for tobacco companies when they submit applications for modified risk tobacco products – MRTPs – tobacco products that are sold, distributed, or marketed to the public for use to reduce harm or the risk of tobacco-related disease.
We want to make sure consumers and the public have an accurate understanding of the health risks of tobacco products—so mistaken beliefs don’t cause them to start or continue using products that lead to preventable disease and death.
We are doing everything that we can to protect all Americans – especially our youth – from the dangers of tobacco, and we’re hopeful these two additional steps will accelerate our goal to make tobacco-related disease and death part of America’s past – not its future.
Margaret Hamburg, M.D., is Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Cutting the clutter – the newly designed Medicare Summary Notice
It’s a whole lot easier to read and understand your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN), thanks to a recently completed redesign. You’ll see a brand new format when you check your MSN at MyMedicare.gov.
MyMedicare.gov gives you faster access to your Medicare claims information—you can check it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Customize your MSN to see procedures broken down by single claim, or by a time period you choose, and print out your own statement anytime. Reviewing your MSN online means a shorter wait to see what you were charged for health care services, medical supplies or equipment, and how much Medicare paid.
We want the MSN to be something that makes it easier for you to find and understand your Medicare claims information. We spent more than a year improving it. We did one-one-one interviews and focus groups with people like you, and used their feedback to improve the design and language.
As a recent joint Kaiser Health News / Washington Post article pointed out, we’ve also redesigned the MSN to make it easier for you to help us prevent fraud and find billing errors. Did you know you could get a reward of up to $1,000 for a tip that leads to uncovering fraud? Remember, you’re our best defense against fraud, so check your MSN for services or items you didn’t get.
Here are some of the improvements you’ll see in your new MSN:
- Larger text size and wider spacing to make reading easier
- Plain, concise language you can understand quickly
- A “snapshot” of
- how much of your Part A or Part B deductible you’ve paid so far this year
- the providers you saw during the reporting period
- whether Medicare approved all your claims
- Brief descriptions of your medical procedures
- Easy-to-understand definitions for terms you might not know
- A checklist to help you make sure you’re getting the most from your Medicare
- Information on how to report fraud, preventive medical services, and important Medicare reminders
- Easy instructions for how to file an appeal
You’ll start seeing these changes in early 2013 in the mailed copy of your MSN, but why wait? Visit MyMedicare.gov and start using the newly redesigned MSN online today.
Could you be saving money?
Many people could be saving money on premiums and prescriptions, and don’t even know it. Recently, a 90-year-old woman in Oklahoma came to her local State Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (SHIP) because she was unable to pay for her prescriptions and her Medicare Part D premium.
A counselor at the SHIP helped her apply for Extra Help and found her a new Part D plan that better fit her needs. Now she spends no money on her premium and very little on her prescriptions – saving her thousands of dollars over the course of the year. She is just one of many people that can save money – and you could be one too.
Medicare Savings Programs
If your monthly income is less than $1,277 ($1,723 as a couple), you may be able to save money with these 4 different Medicare Savings Programs that help pay for premiums and more:
- Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program
- Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB)
- Qualified Individual (QI) Program
- Qualified Disabled and Working Individuals (QDWI)
Each program has a different monthly income limit – get more information about the 2012 limits and how to find out if you qualify.
Extra Help
Many people with limited income and resources may qualify for Medicare’s “Extra Help” program, but they must apply to find out. You could be one of them. You may qualify if you have up to $16,755 in yearly income ($22,695 for a married couple) and up to $13,070 in resources ($26,120 for a married couple). Get more information about Medicare’s “Extra Help” program.
You can get help with Part D prescription drug coverage premiums, deductibles and copayments. This means you don’t have to go without medications because you can’t afford them, and can get help just like our 90-year-old friend in Oklahoma.
It’s easy and free to apply for “Extra Help.”
Save money, live well, and share the information.
Join the fight against Medicare fraud
Medicare fraud affects everyone. You can team up with Medicare to help.
Our Senior Medicare Patrol volunteers are teaching people like you how to spot, report, and stop fraud, and protect themselves from identity theft.
Here are some things you can do:
- Guard your Medicare and Social Security numbers. Treat them like you would treat your credit cards.
- Hang up the phone if someone calls and asks for your Medicare number, Social Security number, or bank or credit card information. We will NEVER call and ask for this information, and we will NEVER call you or come to your home uninvited to sell Medicare products.
- Be suspicious of anyone who offers you free medical equipment or services and then requests your Medicare number. It’s illegal, and it’s not worth it!

- Check your Medicare claims for errors. Look at your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or statements from your Medicare plan. You can also check www.MyMedicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) as soon as your claims have been processed. The sooner you see and report errors, the sooner we can stop fraud. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
- Call 1-800-MEDICARE to report any suspected fraud.
Learn more about spotting and reporting fraud, and get tips on protecting yourself from identity theft.
Find out about Senior Medicare Patrol activities in your area.
Making Medicare claims and benefits statement clearer, simpler
As part of National Consumer Protection Week, the Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Marilyn Tavenner, announced the redesign of the statement that informs Medicare beneficiaries about their claims for Medicare services and benefits. The redesigned statement, known as the Medicare Summary Notice (MSN), will be available online and, starting in 2013, mailed out quarterly to beneficiaries.
This MSN redesign is part of a new initiative, “Your Medicare Information: Clearer, Simpler, At Your Fingertips,” which aims to make Medicare information clearer, more accessible, and easier for beneficiaries and their caregivers to understand. CMS will take additional actions this year to make information about benefits, providers, and claims more accessible and easier to understand for seniors and people with disabilities who have Medicare. This MSN redesign reflects more than 18 months of research and feedback from beneficiaries to provide enhanced customer service and respond to suggestions and input.
“Consumer protection starts with making sure consumers not only get timely and accurate information, but that they understand what services they’re receiving from Medicare,” said Acting Administrator Tavenner. “The new Medicare Summary Notice empowers Medicare’s seniors and people with disabilities. The statement is easier to understand and navigate, and makes clear what information to check and how to report potential fraud. The new MSN also makes it easier for people with Medicare to understand their benefits and file appeals if a claim is denied.”
To see a side-by-side comparison of the former and redesigned MSNs, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/apps/files/msn_changes.pdf
The redesign of the MSN includes several features not currently available to Medicare beneficiaries with the current MSN:
- A clear notice on how to check the form for important facts and potential fraud;
- An easy-to-understand snapshot of the beneficiary’s deductible status, a list of providers they saw, and whether their claims for Medicare services were approved.
- Clearer language, including consumer-friendly descriptions for medical procedures;
- Definitions of all terms used in the form;
- Larger fonts throughout to make it easier to read;
- Information on preventive services available to Medicare beneficiaries.
Starting later this week, the redesigned MSN will be available to beneficiaries on mymedicare.gov, Medicare’s secure online service for personalized information regarding Medicare benefits and services; and, in early 2013, paper copies of the redesigned MSN will start to replace the current version being mailed.


Students should follow the Insitute's general guidelines for applying for a PhD, and mark their application for consideration by the Computational Biology DTC
The overall operation of Ph. D. programme is governed by the Academic Regulations of the Institute. The students are required to refer clause 8 of academic regulations for further details.
Eligibility for admission
Minimum Academic qualification:
(a) M.E/M.Pharm./MBA/ M.Phil of BITS or its equivalent with a minimum of 60% aggregate.
(b) Candidate with an M Sc/B.E or an equivalent with a minimum of 60% will also be considered for provisional admission to the Ph D programme. For Ph D programme in languages and humanities, candidates with an M.Phil/M A and with minimum of 55% aggregate may also be considered. Such candidates have to undergo a minimum of two semester course work prescribed by DRC.
(c) The rare and special case of a person of high professional standing and proven competence who is deemed to have acquired mastery over all or substantial part of the course work of a higher degree of the Institute through long professional experience;
Part Time Ph D
A person working in reputed research organizations, academic Institutes and industries, situated preferably in the close vicinity of one of the campuses of BITS Pilani, can be admitted on part time basis provided
Admission to the Ph D programme is made in both the semesters against the advertisement, which can be checked at www.bitsadmission.com, the candidates have to apply along with details required in the application form.
A candidate is normally admitted to the Ph.D. programme after passing his/her Ph.D. qualifying examination. A few candidates may be admitted to the programme as provisional candidates before passing the Ph.D. qualifying examination. This provision is applicable to full time research scholars on the campus.


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Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden
The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Running
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Italian Sausage and Bell Pepper Pizza
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VERTIGO GAMERS CONFERENCE 2021
Vertigo Gamer Conference is the gathering of individuals and organisations who have a collective interest in Africa’s esports development by providing world-class solutions which in turn would lead to an influx of investments into the African community and thus providing African youths and esports lovers with funding and an enabling environment to compete with their peers on the global stage.
Please contact us via Email for any further questions about Vertigo Gamers Conference 2021<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Vertigo Gaming Conference Logo
Vertigo gaming logo was created by Olaoluwa following an inspiration from the works of O'Gabbie and the discovery of the canva website that allows you create awesome designs.
See the past VERTIGO Gamers Conference
Take a look at the last two Vertigo Global Conferences which took place in Vigas and in Beijing.
2020Vertigo GC in Vigas
2018Vertigo GC in Beijing


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Meditating next to a pond of fish and lotus. |
Trying to cross a street in Tokyo & in the rain too, wish me luck!
|
|
Meditating next to a pond of fish and lotus. |
Trying to cross a street in Tokyo & in the rain too, wish me luck!
|
Traveling to Tokyo in 2013 is one of the highlights of my travels.
The culture was so different over there, you could even go out at 2am and the city was still bustling!
There was so much new food to try.
As I did not know much Japanese every dish I tried was a mystery to me.


---
layout: post
title: Drawing test
date: '2013-08-28T17:31:00+02:00'
categories:
- Sketches
picture_url: https://film-Storyboards.tumblr.com/post/59622339805/drawing-test-in-manga-studio-inking-the
---
Drawing test in Manga Studio - inking. The original drawing inked with nib pen.


Common formats are standardized forms to facilitate submission of information in a harmonized manner. Common formats are available online in the register information page and offline in MS word format at the following link: http://absch.cbd.int/commonformats. Common formats make use of controlled vocabulary and metadata in order to facilitate the consistent registering and retrieval of information in the ABS-CH.


I've been absent for the last couple months on the SQLObject mailing lists, and not doing any maintenance work. At some point I realized -- hey, I have a day job, and then I'm supposed to come home and work on this? I suppose every developer has had this feeling, especially when you lead a project that's, well, not in maintenance mode exactly, but at least it has a bunch of users, bug reports, newbie questions (which aren't so bad because they are easy) or worse the expert questions, which are always hard.
Anyway, at some point I decided to disengage until I could recommit. I didn't want to do a half-assed job, or more accurately I didn't want to feel guilty for not even doing that much. So I let it sit for a bit -- the code still worked, and there were other people to answer questions.
In the meantime I've started to use SQLObject in my work. Our use of Zope 2 is still a problem, since I'm not using SQLObject at all in that environment; I sometimes find myself thinking about creating a half-assed ORM in that environment (but maybe I should try Modeling; it might give me some ideas in the process, and it should certainly be better than Z SQL). Anyway, now that I'm using SQLObject in my job, I find it easier to work on it, even after hours. If I'm doing something just for my own enjoyment, a database wrapper won't be it. Databases are useful, but frankly they are not that interesting.
Hopefully I'll soon find my way back to FormEncode and Webware as well.
I've been having a good deal of fun mangling and managing with SQLObject, including perverting it to use Postgres table inheritance. I know, not portable at all but fun.
Lots of chatter about Ruby and "Rails" lately. Without knowing Ruby or looking too carefully at the Active Record API, it seems to me that SQLObject does more in some areas, perhaps a little less in others, but goes further in hitting the sweet spot which is - I think:
- Make it easy to do new projects where you have total control over schema
- Make it simple to adapt SQL Objects to an existing schema.
Its easier to use SQLObject than it is to use plain DBI access to tables, even if only using SQLObject for really simple minded stuff. It would be rather nice to take a great broom through it and make it oh-so-complete across all the supported platforms, or at least head down that road. Having used three different Python ORMs now, two fairly extensively and now getting there with SQLObject, I think your project ends up being closest to what is immediately usable for the new-to-Python or new-to-Python and DBI crowd.

I second Mike's comment about SQLObject's API. It was surprisingly simple to get my head around.


--- layout: default title: Research ---
Investigating cyanobacterial evolution through microbial experimental evolution. Trying to get to a better of understanding of how/when cyanobacteria evolved, the interaction between their initial evolution and the Great Oxidation Event, and generally understanding mechanisms of evolution.
Using the dissolved gas tracer N2/Ar and nutrient ratios to investigate nitrogen cycling in the Arctic.
Preliminary work on a project investigating degradation of crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico by native fungi isolated from oil soaked sand patties.
Determining the flow of carbon recently fixed by marsh grass photosynthesis into soil microbial communities.


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If we have numbers that are completely unrelated, though - where there is no pattern between how much one increases by and the other - we'll see very low correlation:


Assessment 8 Objectives
Week 7: Minimal API Project can be found here: https://github.com/Techtonica/curriculum/blob/main/projects/minimal-api-project.md
NodeJS
- [ ] Download and install Node.js
- [ ] Run commands in the Node.js REPL
- [ ] Explain non-blocking I/O
- [ ] Explain (a)synchronous calls
- [ ] Explain event-driven programming
ExpressJS
- [ ] Explain the MVC framework
- [ ] Create a basic web app using Node.js for the server and Express.js as the MVC framework
Data Models
- [ ] become familiar with different types of data models
- [ ] (given a user flow description) identify the necessary data needed as the user moves from page to page
- [ ] (given different types of data or a user flow description) create a data model diagram to show the relationship between data
.env
- [ ] make a .env file
- [ ] add it to gitignore
- [ ] export variables to a config
- [ ] reference the config anywhere while you develop locally
- [ ] add env variables to heroku or netlify for deployment
Relational Databases
- [ ] Explain the purpose of a database
- [ ] Explain the concept of a relational database and the use of schemas to enforce structure
- [ ] Execute basic SQL commands for CRUD with a database
- [ ] Perform basic selects and joins to find the requested information
- [ ] Create tables using DDL
- [ ] Understand the existence of different SQL dialects
- [ ] Understand the existence of other database types
- [ ] Become familiar with ORMs
- [ ] onsider how to model data for relational databases
SQL
- [ ] Create database tables
- [ ] Add, update, and delete data
- [ ] Query data
- [ ] Design a basic relational database schema fitting a use case
Database Migrations
- [ ] Add a field to a table
- [ ] Remove a field from a table
- [ ] Change the properties of a field (name, data type)
- [ ] Change the name of a table
- [ ] Know what database transactions are and when to apply them
Unit Tests


French tourist dies taking selfie at Thai waterfall
by Agency ReportA French tourist died on Friday while trying to take a selfie at a Thai waterfall.
The accident happened on Thursday afternoon on the resort island of Ko Samui in southern Thailand.
Tourist Police said the 33-year-old man fell from Na Mueng 2 waterfall.
A Spanish tourist died in the same spot several months ago, Samui tourist police officer Poowadol Wiriyanarangkul told dpa.
SEE ALSO: Kogi election: Suspected thugs in police uniform invade gov Makinde’s hotel
“There are already signs saying ‘No entry,’ as the area is quite dangerous.
“Some tourists may want to get better photos, but its quite steep and slippery there and he slipped.
“A friend that accompanied him saw the man take pictures and fall —about a height equivalent to a three-storey house, he said.
Police have already contacted the deceased’s relatives.
Although a preliminary coroner’s report has yet to be issued, police believe the tourist died from fractured skull.
(dpa/NAN)


// Bol Processor version BP2.9.4
// Grammar file saved as '-gr.a.html'. Date: Ven 26 fév 1999 -- 23:26
// This grammar checks the new choice of candidate rules...
// ...in SUB1 grammars.
// Derivations occur in the leftmost position, and the rule...
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--- title: K-Stuff prototypes, from the dream to reality layout: post published: true ---
The official release announcement of the first K-Stuff prototype is sheduled for Monday May 16th at 09:00(Paris).
A source close to the leading team told that this release is the first of a future entire set of devices Kevoree#Ready. It seems that this first K-Stuff is moreover Kevoree#Inside.
To get informed about future posts:


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