"Machine transliteration is a method for automatically converting words in one language into phonetically equivalent ones in another language. Machine transliteration plays an important role in natural language applications such as information retrieval and machine translation, especially for handling proper nouns and technical terms. Four machine transliteration models -- grapheme-based transliteration model, phoneme-based transliteration model, hybrid transliteration model, and correspondence-based transliteration model -- have been proposed by several researchers. To date, however, there has been little research on a framework in which multiple transliteration models can operate simultaneously. Furthermore, there has been no comparison of the four models within the same framework and using the same data. We addressed these problems by 1) modeling the four models within the same framework, 2) comparing them under the same conditions, and 3) developing a way to improve machine transliteration through this comparison. Our comparison showed that the hybrid and correspondence-based models were the most effective and that the four models can be used in a complementary manner to improve machine transliteration performance."

"The present article is an invited contribution to the Encyclopedia of Complexity and System Science, Robert A. Meyers Ed., Springer New York (2009). It is a review of the biophysical mechanisms that underly cell motility.…"

"[A]narchists resemble the American Founders, who saw the spirit of liberty as a necessary bulwark against concentrations of power, and were themselves partly embedded in international networks preaching revolution and social upheaval. In building a truly global economy, the great states have given anarchists the opportunity to rebuild their networks of sympathy and common political purpose across borders. Today’s anarchists want to change the world through distributed action rather than a pistol shot. It seems to be working out better."

"l1-minimization refers to finding the minimum l1-norm solution to an underdetermined linear system b=Ax. It has recently received much attention, mainly motivated by the new compressive sensing theory that shows that under quite general conditions the minimum l1-norm solution is also the sparsest solution to the system of linear equations. Although the underlying problem is a linear program, conventional algorithms such as interior-point methods suffer from poor scalability for large-scale real world problems. A number of accelerated algorithms have been recently proposed that take advantage of the special structure of the l1-minimization problem. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of five representative approaches, namely, Gradient Projection, Homotopy, Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding, Proximal Gradient, and Augmented Lagrange Multiplier. …"

"The human immune system has numerous properties that make it ripe for exploitation in the computational domain, such as robustness and fault tolerance, and many different algorithms, collectively termed Artificial Immune Systems (AIS), have been inspired by it. Two generations of AIS are currently in use, with the first generation relying on simplified immune models and the second generation utilising interdisciplinary collaboration to develop a deeper understanding of the immune system and hence produce more complex models. Both generations of algorithms have been successfully applied to a variety of problems, including anomaly detection, pattern recognition, optimisation and robotics.…"

"A widely used tool in the study of risk, insurance and extreme values is the mean excess plot. One use is for validating a generalized Pareto model for the excess distribution. This paper investigates some theoretical and practical aspects of the use of the mean excess plot."

"Monte Carlo methods play an important role in scientific computation, especially when problems have a vast phase space. In this chapter an introduction to the Monte Carlo method is given. Concepts such as Markov chains, detailed balance, critical slowing down, and ergodicity, as well as the Metropolis algorithm are explained. The Monte Carlo method is illustrated by numerically studying the critical behavior of the two-dimensional Ising ferromagnet using finite-size scaling methods. Furthermore, advanced Monte Carlo methods are described (parallel tempering Monte Carlo) and illustrated with nontrivial models from the physics of glassy systems."

"Random numbers play a crucial role in science and industry. Many numerical methods require the use of random numbers, in particular the Monte Carlo method. Therefore it is of paramount importance to have efficient random number generators. The differences, advantages and disadvantages of true and pseudo random number generators are discussed with an emphasis on the intrinsic details of modern and fast pseudo random number generators. Furthermore, standard tests to verify the quality of the random numbers produced by a given generator are outlined. Finally, standard scientific libraries with built-in generators are presented, as well as different approaches to generate nonuniform random numbers. Potential problems that one might encounter when using large parallel machines are discussed."

"Principle objective of Image enhancement is to process an image so that result is more suitable than original image for specific application. Digital image enhancement techniques provide a multitude of choices for improving the visual quality of images. Appropriate choice of such techniques is greatly influenced by the imaging modality, task at hand and viewing conditions. This paper will provide an overview of underlying concepts, along with algorithms commonly used for image enhancement. The paper focuses on spatial domain techniques for image enhancement, with particular reference to point processing methods and histogram processing."

"One can only gesture broadly at the cavernous dioramas of fallacy and illogic on display here, but a good place to begin is with this column’s woeful opening assertion that the C. Wright Mills classic The Power Elite—published in 1956, the putative heyday of balmy aristocratic management of the investment economy—somehow chronicled the ongoing social dominance of WASP primogeniture. Mills did argue that old family fortunes continued to loom disproportionately over the country’s long-term wealth profile—but more important, he maintained that the defining structural features of the power elite arose from its mastery of the technocratic military state created in the first flush of the Cold War."

"One might almost say that the real problem isn't predicting when the earth will shake, it's organizing society so that it's not a catastrophe when that happens."

"Think about that for a second. Depth of field principles dictate that everything in the same focal plane will be in the same focus. This lens bends this rule literally by bending the light entering your camera, creating extreme spherical and chromatic distortions that you can control. What’s really cool is, similar to pinhole cameras and those of yesteryear, these lenses are completely analog. There is no communication going on between the lens and your camera. No focusing, no aperture control, no VER or any of that fancy stuff. In fact, the aperture can only be set by dropping a magnetic disk in front of the lens with holes cut out in various sizes. How cool is that?"

"As he works from episode to episode it becomes apparent that Joss starts to remember who he is, but knowing he shouldn't draw attention to this fact he keeps it to himself and works slowly to improve Dollhouse from within. From episode 6 `Man on the Street' flashes of brilliance begin to save the show, culminating in the superb episode 9 `A Spy in the House of Love', by now Dollhouse has become gripping, funny, dark and touching with an intelligent and complex storyline that has people thinking. Joss is even able to help other people taken over by Fox and makes Eliza Dushku realise that she is an actress."

"So you suspect your health/auto/home insurer is run by the devil, but you're not sure whether the alternative you're considering is any better. Kiplinger Finance has posted a helpful article on how to find the complaint ratio of an insurer via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' website. Update: here's how to file your own complaint."

"So, to sum up: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is one of the greatest achievements in the history of cinema, if not the greatest. You could easily argue that cinema, as an artform, has all been leading up to this. It will destabilize your limbic system, probably forever, and make you doubt the solidity of your surroundings. Generations of auteurs have struggled, in vain, to create a cinematic experience as overwhelming, and as liberating, as ROTF."

"The final scenes of Pushing Daisies achieve what most series merely dream of: emotional closure for the audience. The gorgeously shot scenes provide the audience with a bittersweet trip down memory lane, as it were, revisiting several locales that have played key roles throughout the series and giving the climactic final scene a dramatic push; this very moment has been the culmination of everything that has come before. This last sequence also offers some of the series' characters a shot at their happiness while not tying anything up neatly with a bow. For a series that has always prided itself on its delicious whimsy, these final scenes are the icing on the cake. (Or make that lattice crust on the pie.)"

"Keen explicitly targets two audiences with Debunking Economics. One consists of policy makers and others concerned about "the common good", who need to understand the limits of economics to avoid being bamboozled by economists. The other consists of students of economics, who Keen sees as the key to reform of the discipline. It won't appeal to anti-intellectual opponents of economics, but for anyone else seeking a critical overview of the discipline Debunking Economics is highly recommended."

"Today, corporate and public policy alike are run by the most reactionary elements, well-paid rogues that suck capacity."

"The end is near. I hear a noise at the door, as of some immense slippery, living mound lumbering against it."

"In my mind, the bellwether for ebooks is which format/platform is most popular for comics."

Very interesting