Abstract

Hines matrices arise in the simulations of mathematical models describing initiation and propagation of action potentials in a neuron. In this work, we exploit the structural properties of Hines matrices and design a scalable, linear work, recursive parallel algorithm for solving a system of linear equations where the underlying matrix is a Hines matrix, using the Exact Domain Decomposition Method (EDD). We give a general form for representing a Hines matrix and use the general form to prove that the intermediate matrix obtained via the EDD has the same structural properties as that of a Hines matrix. Using the above observation, we propose a novel decomposition strategy called fine decomposition which is suitable for a GPU architecture. Our algorithmic approach R-FINE-TPT based on fine decomposition outperforms the previously known approach in all the cases and gives a speedup of 2.5x on average for a variety of input neuron morphologies. We further perform experiments to understand the behaviour of R-FINE-TPT approach and show its robustness. We also employ a machine learning technique called linear regression to effectively guide recursion in our algorithm.

Abstract

Motivated by the increasing importance of edge computing and improvements in heterogeneous low-power, wimpy systems, we present a novel time-energy-cost analysis of wimpy edge computing in comparison with traditional brawny cloud computing. For this analysis, we use a brawny heterogeneous Amazon EC2 cloud instance with GPU and two wimpy heterogeneous systems represented by Jetson TK1 and Jetson TX1. As the paradigm shift to edge computing is due to the challenges of Big Data processing, we select six representative MapReduce applications with applicability in IoT edge computing. Using our time-energy-cost analysis of both wimpy edge compute nodes and cloud computing systems with GPUs, we present several key insights. Firstly, we advocate the usage of heterogeneous systems with GPU on both edge and cloud since they provide time-energy savings of up to 70% for compute-intensive applications. Secondly, we establish an equivalence ratio between one brawny cloud instance and multiple wimpy edge nodes that achieve the same or better time performance. Based on this equivalence ratio, we show that using wimpy systems as edge computing devices saves cost compared to using traditional cloud computing. Lastly, counter-to-intuition, our analysis shows that the latest Jetson TX1 system exhibits worse time-cost performance compared to the older Jetson TK1 system. This result stems from lower operating core clock frequency and lower instructions-per-cycle of Jetson TX1's GPU on some compute-intensive applications.

Abstract

With an increasing number of cybersecurity attacks due to insider threats, it is important to identify different attack mechanisms and quantify them to ease threat mitigation. We propose a discrete-event simulation model to study the impact of unintentional insider threats on the overall system security by representing time-varying human behavior using two parameters, user vulnerability and user interactions. In addition, the proposed approach determines the futuristic impact of such behavior on overall system health. We illustrate the ease of applying the proposed simulation model to explore several ”what-if” analysis for an example enterprise system and derive the following useful insights, (i) user vulnerability has a bigger impact on overall system health compared to user interactions, (ii) the impact of user vulnerability depends on the system topology, and (ii) user interactions increases the overall system vulnerability due to the increase in the number of attack paths via credential leakage.

Abstract

The transition to a “smart city” necessitates an increase in interdependencies between critical infrastructures and information technologies. Moreover, such interdependencies are across multiple domains. However, these interdependencies expose critical infrastructures to cybersecurtiy threats. Furthermore, the availability of domain-specific simulators everywhere motivates the need for federation of interoperable cybersecurity and cyberphysical testbeds to validate cybersecurity threat resiliency. This paper presents some key issues and challenges in accomplishing such a federation of testbeds. While there are multiple modeling and simulation approaches in specific domains, none of these works address the challenges of federating across multiple domains such as federation between cyberphysical testbed and cybersecurity testbed to enable validation of cybersecurity resilience. We outline a reference architecture, DEFT (feDerate tEstbeds For cybersecuriTy) with design considerations that stem from the key issues highlighted.

Abstract

In this paper, we consider optimal transceiver design and relay selection for simultaneous transfer of data and energy in a cooperative network consisting of amplify-and-forward (AF) relays. In this context, we address two different problems and propose optimal relay selection and transceiver processing. Furthermore, the problems are formulated for both time switching (TS) and power splitting (PS) schemes. The first problem is the maximization of overall rate while ensuring a minimum harvested energy at the receiver. For this problem, we perform computations of optimal fractions to distribute the received signal corresponding to TS and PS schemes, the relay weighing coefficients, and optimal relay selection. In the second problem, optimal resource allocation for maximizing the overall harvested energy at the user under constraints on the minimum achievable rate has been formulated. For this problem, we propose a suitable solution to meet the requirements for both TS and PS. For both the problems, we obtain a closed form solution. Finally, the performance of proposed design under various operating conditions and parameter values are illustrated with a comparison between TS and PS schemes.

Abstract

Noise power uncertainty is a major issue in detectors for spectrum sensing. Any uncertainty in the noise power leads to significant reduction in the detection performance of the energy detector and also results in a performance limitation in the form of SNR walls. In this paper, we propose an evidence theory (also called Dempster-Shafer theory (DST)) based cooperative energy detection (CED) for spectrum sensing. The noise variance is modeled as a random variable with a known distribution. The analyzed system model is similar to a distributed parallel detection network where each secondary user (SU) evaluates the energy from its received signal samples and sends it to a fusion center (FC), which makes the final decision. However, in the proposed DST-based CED scheme, the SUs sends computed belief-values instead of actual energy value to the FC. Any uncertainty in the noise variance is accounted for by discounting the belief values based on the amount of uncertainty associated with each SU. Finally, the discounted belief values are combined using Dempster rule to reach at a global decision. Simulation results indicate that the proposed DST scheme significantly improves the detection probability at low average signal-to-noise ratio (ASNR) in comparison to the traditional sum fusion rule in the presence of noise uncertainty.

Abstract

The existence of perceptually distinct numerosity ranges has been proposed for small (i.e., subitizing range) and larger numbers based on differences in precision, Weber fractions, and reaction times. This raises the question of whether such dissociations reflect distinct mechanisms operating across the two numerosity ranges. In the present work, we explore the predictions of a single-layer recurrent on-center, off-surround network model of attentional priority that has been applied to object individuation and enumeration. Activity from the network can be used to model various phenomena in the domain of visual number perception based on a single parameter: the strength of inhibition between nodes. Specifically, higher inhibition allows for precise representation of small numerosities, while low inhibition is preferred for high numerosities. The model makes novel predictions, including that enumeration of …

Abstract

Bilingualism has been found to delay onset of dementia and this has been attributed to an advantage in executive control in bilinguals. However, the relationship between bilingualism and cognition is complex, with costs as well as benefits to language functions. To further explore the cognitive consequences of bilingualism, the study used Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) syndromes, to examine whether bilingualism modifies the age at onset of behavioral and language variants of Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) differently. Case records of 193 patients presenting with FTD (121 of them bilingual) were examined and the age at onset of the first symptoms were compared between monolinguals and bilinguals. A significant effect of bilingualism delaying the age at onset of dementia was found in behavioral variant FTD (5.7 years) but not in progressive nonfluent aphasia (0.7 years), semantic dementia (0.5 years …

Abstract

What makes a computational neuronal model `large scale'? Is it the number of neurons modeled? Or the number of brain regions modeled in a network? Most of the higher cognitive processes span across co-ordinated activity in a network of different brain areas. However at the same time, the basic information transfer takes place at a single neuron level, together with multiple other neurons. We explore modeling a neural system involving some areas of cortex, the basal ganglia (BG) and thalamus for the process of decision making, using a large-scale neural engineering framework, Nengo. Early results tend to replicate the known neural activity patterns as found in the previous action selection model by Guthrie et al. 2013, besides operating with a larger neuronal populations. The power of converting algorithms to efficiently weighed neural networks in Nengo (Stewart et al. 2009 and Bekolay et al. 2013) is …

Abstract

The neurocomputational model described here proposes that two dimensions involved in computation of reward prediction errors i.e magnitude and time could be computed separately and later combined unlike traditional reinforcement learning models. The model is built on biological evidences and is able to reproduce various aspects of classical conditioning, namely, the progressive cancellation of the predicted reward, the predictive firing from conditioned stimuli, and delineation of early rewards by showing firing for sooner early rewards and not for early rewards that occur with a longer latency in accordance with biological data.