IBM (Belgium)

A “branch and bound” algorithm is presented for solving the traveling salesman problem. The set of all tours (feasible solutions) is broken up into increasingly small subsets by a procedure called branching. For each subset a lower bound on the length of the tours therein is calculated. Eventually, a subset is found that contains a single tour whose length is less than or equal to some lower bound for every tour. The motivation of the branching and the calculation of the lower bounds are based on ideas frequently used in solving assignment problems. Computationally, the algorithm extends the size of problem that can reasonably be solved without using methods special to the particular problem.

Abstract This paper deals with methods of “cluster analysis”. In particular we attack the problem of exploring the structure of multivariate data in search of “clusters”. The approach taken is to use a computer procedure to obtain the “best” partition of n objects into g groups. A number of mathematical criteria for “best” are discussed and related to statistical theory. A procedure for optimizing the criteria is outlined. Some of the criteria are compared with respect to their behavior on actual data. Results of data analysis are presented and discussed.

The ever growing bandwidth in access networks, in combination with IPTV and video on demand (VoD) offerings, opens up unlimited possibilities to the users. The operators can no longer compete solely on the number of channels or content and increasingly make high definition channels and quality of experience (QoE) a service differentiator. Currently, the most reliable way of assessing and measuring QoE is conducting subjective experiments, where human observers evaluate a series of short video sequences, using one of the international standardized subjective quality assessment methodologies. Unfortunately, since these subjective experiments need to be conducted in controlled environments and pose limitations on the sequences and overall experiment duration they cannot be used for real-life QoE assessment of IPTV and VoD services. In this article, we propose a novel subjective quality assessment methodology based on full-length movies. Our methodology enables audiovisual quality assessment in the same environments and under the same conditions users typically watch television. Using our new methodology we conducted subjective experiments and compared the outcome with the results from a subjective test conducted using a standardized method. Our findings indicate significant differences in terms of impairment visibility and tolerance and highlight the importance of real-life QoE assessment.

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei develops antigenic variation to escape the immune response of its host. To this end, the trypanosome genome contains multiple telomeric expression sites competent for transcription of variant surface glycoprotein genes, but as a rule only a single antigen is expressed at any time. We used reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) to analyse transcription of different segments of the expression sites in different variant clones of two independent strains of T. brucei. The results indicated that RNA polymerase is installed and active at the beginning of many, if not all, expression sites simultaneously, but that a progressive arrest of RNA elongation occurs in all but one site. This defect is linked to inefficient RNA processing and RNA release from the nucleus. Therefore, functional transcription in the active site appears to depend on the selective recruitment of a RNA elongation/processing machinery.

The electrical stability of CMOS devices with conventional gate dielectrics is commonly studied using static (DC) measurement techniques. By applying the same methods to MOS devices with alternative gate dielectrics, it has been shown that alternative gate stacks suffer from severe charge trapping and that the trapped charge is not stable, leading to fast transient charging components. In this paper, time-resolved measurement techniques down to the /spl mu/s time range are applied to capture the fast transient component of the charge trapping observed in SiO/sub 2//HfO/sub 2/ dual layer gate stacks. Furthermore, its impact on the device performance and reliability of n-channel FETs is discussed.

International audience

Creating service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions means rethinking the practices currently in use to build systems, reconsidering the skills in an organization, and redefining the ways in which team members collaborate. A service orientation contributes to the development of solutions that are assembled from disparate applications, and SOA is an architectural style that emphasizes loose coupling of independent service providers. This perspective on service orientation is known as service-oriented development of applications (SODA). SODA encompasses composition, adaptive process management, service-based interoperability and integration, discovery and description, and rapid application maintenance. In this paper, we focus on how IBM supports SODA, the relationship of SODA to the IBM Rational Software Development Platform (RSDP), and how IBM's core approach to design and construction—model-driven development—is an essential element in creating effective and efficient services and service-oriented solutions. We explore the concepts behind these approaches and illustrate their realization with illustrative examples from customer experiences.

The traditional model of computer security was formulated in the 1970’s, when computers were espensive, solitary, heavy, and rare. It rests on three fundamental foundations: management of security policy describing the set of actions each user is entit.led to perform, integrity of the physical system, its software, and especially its security-enforcing mechanisms, and secrecy of cryptographic keys and sensitive data. The modern computing environment, with its rapidly accelerating complexity, connectivity, and miniaturization, is undermining all three of these foundations. Nevertheless, the newest “secure ” computer systems continue to be built on them. This paper argues that the traditional model of computer security is no longer viable, and that new definitions of the security problem are needed before the industry can begin to work toward effective security in the new environment. 1

At the origin of this investigation is the well-known result of Feller1 concerning the Petersburg game, in which the player receives $2i if heads first appears at the ith toss of an unbiased coin (i = 1, 2, …). Since the expectation of the player’s gain x is infinite, a problem arises in deciding on the proper fee for the privilege of playing the game; Feller shows that if the player pays variable entrance fees with cumulative fee b n = n log2 n for the first n games, and if s n = x 1 + … + x n denotes his total gain, then the games becomes “fair” in the sense that $$\mathop {\lim }\limits_{n \to \infty } \frac{{{S_n}}}{{{b_n}}} = 1{\text{ in probability}}{\text{.}}$$ (1) .

The purpose of our work is to outline objects on images in an interactive environment. We use an improved method based on energy minimizing active contours or `snakes.' Kass et al., proposed a variational technique; Amini used dynamic programming; and Williams and Shah introduced a fast, greedy algorithm. We combine the advantages of the latter two methods in a two-stage algorithm. The first stage is a greedy procedure that provides fast initial convergence. It is enhanced with a cost term that extends over a large number of points to avoid oscillations. The second stage, when accuracy becomes important, uses dynamic programming. This step is accelerated by the use of alternating search neighborhoods and by dropping stable points from the iterations. We have also added several features for user interaction. First, the user can define points of high confidence. Mathematically, this results in an extra cost term and, in that way, the robustness in difficult areas (e.g., noisy edges, sharp corners) is improved. We also give the user the possibility of incremental contour tracking, thus providing feedback on the refinement process. The algorithm has been tested on numerous photographic clip art images and extensive tests on medical images are in progress.

A purified flagellar pocket fraction of the Trypanosoma brucei AnTat 1.1E clone was used for the generation of polyclonal antiserum in rats. Anti-flagellar pocket antibodies present in this serum recognized several proteins distinct from the major variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). In Balb/c mice, flagellar pocket immunization resulted in partial resistance towards the challenge with a low dose of parasites. This was accompanied by the induction of specific IgG2a antibodies. In an attempt to discover protective parasite antigens, antiflagellar pocket serum was used for the screening of a T. brucei bloodstream form cDNA library constructed in the lambdagt11 bacteriophage expression system. Through antibody panning and VSG elimination, 15 specific cDNA inserts were selected. Most intriguing was the observation that in addition to two clones encoding the invariant surface glycoprotein 75 (ISG75), 10 out of 15 independently selected cDNA inserts encoded the trypanosome heat shock protein 60 (tHSP60).

This study is the first known large-scale research specifically examining the 60-hour workweek hypothesis, which proposes that the ideal for intact households with children is for both parents to participate in paid employment but with the combinedwork hours of the mother and the father not to exceed 60 hours per week. Three groups of married couples with children are compared: full-time/full-time; at least one partner part-time (60-hour); and full-time/not employed. The relationship between these arrangements and eightwork and family outcomes—job satisfaction, job flexibility, job performance, organizational commitment, work-family fit, work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and family satisfaction—is examined. The sample is from International Business Machines Corporation ( N= 3,097) and consists mostly of employees in professional positions. Sixty-hour couples report significantly greater job flexibility, improved workfamily fit, enhanced family satisfaction, and lesswork-to-family conflict. Results are discussed as they relate to the recent trend for professional mothers to leave theworkplace.

In the thyroid, the transport of iodide from the extracellular space to the follicular lumen requires two steps: the transport in the cell at the basal side and in the lumen at the apical side. The first step is mediated by the Na(+)/I(-) symporter (NIS). In most reviews and textbooks, the second step is presented as mediated by pendrin. In this review, we analyze this assumption. There are several arguments supporting the concept that indeed pendrin plays an important role in thyroid physiology. However, biochemical, clinical and histological data on the thyroid of a patient with Pendred syndrome do not suggest an essential role in iodide transport, which is corroborated by the lack of a thyroid phenotype in pendrin knockout mice. Experiments in vivo and in vitro on polarized and unpolarized cells show that iodide is transported transport of iodide at the apex of the thyroid cell. Moreover, ectopic expression of pendrin in transfected non-thyroid cells is capable of mediating iodide efflux. It is concluded that pendrin may participate in the iodide efflux into thyroid lumen but not as the unique transporter. Moreover, another role of pendrin in mediating Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchange and controlling luminal pH is suggested.

Technical Briefs The Indentation of a Transversely Isotropic Half Space by a Rigid Sphere H. D. Conway, H. D. Conway Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.; International Business Machines Corporation Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar K. A. Farnham, K. A. Farnham International Business Machines Corporation, Systems Development Division, Endicott, N. Y. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar T. C. Ku T. C. Ku International Business Machines Corporation, Systems Development Division, Endicott, N. Y. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Author and Article Information H. D. Conway Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.; International Business Machines Corporation K. A. Farnham International Business Machines Corporation, Systems Development Division, Endicott, N. Y. T. C. Ku International Business Machines Corporation, Systems Development Division, Endicott, N. Y. J. Appl. Mech. Jun 1967, 34(2): 491-492 (2 pages) https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3607712 Published Online: June 1, 1967 Article history Received: July 25, 1966 Revised: December 2, 1966 Online: September 14, 2011

SUMMARY The logistic process is a simple stochastic process often used to represent the spread of an epidemic. Some recent studies (Bailey, 1950; Haskey, 1954) provided information regarding the stochastic epidemic curve for this process. In this paper, we present much more extensive tables of this epidemic curve, and we note some potential uses for the logistic process in the behavioural sciences.

Twenty years ago, corporate work and family programs at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) were seen as a means to accommodate the needs of working mothers. Today, IBM's work/life strategy is seen as a business imperative to attract, motivate, and retain key talent needed to drive success in the marketplace. To intelligently develop work/life strategies that would simultaneously meet business and personal needs, IBM conducted seven work and life issues surveys, beginning in 1986. These surveys provide a wealth of data on which dramatic change has been based. Many initiatives have been implemented related to dependent care, flexibility in when and wherework is done, and management support of employees'work/life needs. This article briefly shares IBM'swork/life experience during the past 20 years. Key results from each work/life survey are enumerated along with the substantive policies that they engendered to make IBM a global corporate work/life leader.

Artificial intelligence is neither a myth nor a threat to man. It relates to a serious attempt to develop ma chine methods for dealing with some of the perplexing prob lems that should, in all justice, be delegated to machines but which now seem to require the exercise of human intelligence. Two fundamentally different approaches to the problem are being explored, the one aimed at a complete understanding of the intellectual processes involved and the other aimed at du plicating the assumed specific behavior of the brain. The first approach concerns itself with such matters as search, pattern recognition, learning, planning, and induction; the second ap proach involves a study of the behavior of random nets. It is fair to conclude that artificial intelligence promises to reduce rather than to augment technological unemployment.

Purpose Most recent C-suite surveying suggests current applications of generative AI, although hyped, are fragmented and unlikely to yield major financial returns anticipated. Instead, business leaders expect major value from generative AI will be achieved through application of generative AI to innovation: operational innovation, product and service innovation, and most elusive of all, business model innovation. Design/methodology/approach Findings and analysis presented draws on data from several surveys of C-level executives conducted by IBM Institute for Business Value in collaboration with Oxford Economics during 2023. Each survey focused on the potential of generative AI in a particular business area. The n-count of each survey ranged from 100-3000. Findings 1. Business leaders expect generative AI to build on returns achieved from investments in traditional AI, with 10 percent RoI expected on generative AI investments by 2025. 2. Executives anticipate that generative AI will have most impact when implemented to expand innovation. 3. Specific examples provided for operational innovation, product innovation, and business model innovation Research limitations/implications We are still very early in the generative AI development cycle. We have made best efforts to project, but only time will tell for sure. Practical implications Business application of generative AI are extremely fragmented. Despite the desire to throw investments at the wall to see what sticks, it is important that leaders take a structured approach to generative AI, focusing on RoI from innovation investments. Social implications To alleviate negative impacts of generative AI, focusing on innovation potential and value maximization is crucial. Originality/value This research is based on completely new surveying and data. This papers adds to the sum total of new knowledge in the generative AI domain.

A fundamental aspect of compliance involves the capability to produce business reports which constitute adequate audit and control records. This presents two significant challenges. Very often, international and government regulators do not coordinate their policies, creating a great deal of overhead for the implementing organizations, particularly those represented in multiple geographical areas. In addition, the information required to produce these reports may be in inconsistent formats throughout the enterprise or unavailable at the right level of detail. To overcome these challenges, organizations need to develop an enterprise-wide data architecture that enables the consolidation of regulatory reporting requirements and the integration of data from different business areas. The definition of data standards and the use of common data-modeling techniques throughout the enterprise can assist in this effort. IBM has developed a series of industry models that address these challenges based on the principles of data warehousing and business intelligence. This paper describes in detail the technical and business challenges of information management in the context of compliance and presents a few practical examples of how customers in the financial services industry have addressed compliance requirements such as Basel II and Solvency II by using enterprise-wide information management approaches based on industry models and related technology.

Abstract The growth of U.S. productivity has been declining for several years. The reasons for this decline are complex, and there is little consensus among experts as to the real cause. Part of the difficulty lies in accurately assessing the productivity of today's workforce. Much of the work being done in today's society is based on services, communications, and information and, therefore, no longer fits the traditional production processes and techniques used for measuring productivity in an industrial society. Traditional input and output measures do not work for measuring the productivity of most white collar workers. New measures and definitions are needed to measure productivity more accurately. Information technology and the effective management of information resources are beginning to play a significant role in reversing the declining rate of U.S. productivity growth. Traditionally, the introduction of new technologies into the workplace has focused on the blue collar worker or, within the office environment, on the secretarial or clerical population. However, the bulk of U.S. salary expenditures is spent on the managerial and professional population. The greatest productivity gains can be realized by improving the productivity of this group, often referred to as knowledge workers. By improving knowledge workers' ability to communicate more effectively and to find and use information more efficiently, significant improvements in productivity can be realized.