All articles A–Z

Constrained decoding (guided generation)

Constrained decoding, also called guided generation, is an inference-time technique that masks language model tokens so output provably matches a formal specification such as a JSON Schema, regular expression, or grammar.

Constrained Markov decision process

A constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) is a Markov decision process extended with constraints on expected cumulative costs, the standard formal model for safe reinforcement learning.

Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

The Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM) is a restricted version of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model whose particle spectrum is fixed by six universal parameters.

Constrained policy optimization

Constrained policy optimization (CPO) is a trust region algorithm for constrained reinforcement learning, introduced by Joshua Achiam and colleagues at ICML 2017 to enforce safety constraints during training.

Constrained reinforcement learning

Constrained reinforcement learning trains an agent to maximize reward under explicit limits on cost, risk, or resources, and is standard in safe reinforcement learning for robotics, driving, and healthcare.

Constrained sampling (statistics)

Constrained sampling is the task of drawing random samples from a probability distribution while restricting them to a feasible set, typically a convex polytope, using Markov chain Monte Carlo.

Constrained spherical deconvolution

Constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD) is a diffusion MRI method introduced in 2007 that estimates fiber orientation distributions in the brain, using a non-negativity constraint and implemented in MRtrix3.

Constrained-layer damping

Constrained-layer damping (CLD) is a passive vibration-control treatment in which a stiff constraining layer forces a bonded viscoelastic core into shear, dissipating vibrational energy as heat.

Constrained-random verification

Constrained-random verification (CRV) is a hardware design verification methodology in which a constraint solver generates random but legal test stimulus, and it underlies the standard UVM framework.

Constraint logic programming

Constraint logic programming (CLP) is a declarative programming scheme, defined by Joxan Jaffar and Jean-Louis Lassez in 1987, that combines logic programming with constraint solving over domains like integers and Booleans.

Constraint programming

Constraint programming is an approach where a problem is stated by constraints on decision variables, and a solver finds satisfying assignments by interleaving constraint propagation with systematic search.

Constraint propagation

Constraint propagation, also known as local consistency or filtering, is a family of polynomial-time algorithms for constraint satisfaction problems that remove values no solution can use.

Constraint satisfaction problem

A constraint satisfaction problem, also known as constraint solving, is an NP-complete computational problem of assigning values to variables under constraints, unifying satisfiability, graph coloring, and scheduling.

Constraint stabilization (multibody)

Constraint stabilization in multibody dynamics is a family of numerical techniques that keep simulated constrained systems on their constraint manifold, best known through Baumgarte's 1972 PD-control method.

Constraint-induced movement therapy

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT, CI therapy) is a UAB-developed neurorehabilitation treatment overcoming learned nonuse after stroke: shaping practice, mitt restraint of the unaffected limb, and a transfer package.

Oct 21, 2026

Constricted affect

Constricted affect, also called restricted affect (ICD-11 MB24.60), is a mildly reduced range or intensity of displayed emotion in the mental status exam, the mildest grade on the spectrum running through blunted to flat affect.

Constriction

Constriction is the snake prey-killing behavior of wrapping body coils around prey to restrain and kill it before swallowing. Key facts: 28.8% of species constrict; circulatory arrest, not suffocation, kills; pressures up to 175 kPa; proposed key innovation in snake evolution.

Constrictive pericarditis

Constrictive pericarditis: fibrotic, often calcified pericardium restricts ventricular filling, causing right heart failure. Causes include idiopathic/viral, cardiac surgery, radiation, tuberculosis; pericardiectomy is the only cure.

Constrictor knot

The constrictor knot is a binding knot tied like a clove hitch with an extra tuck, gripping tightly but nearly impossible to untie once cinched.

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, also known as Grupo CAF, is a Spanish manufacturer of trains, trams, metros, and buses, headquartered in Beasain in the Basque Country.

Construct (game engine)

Construct is a browser-based 2D game engine developed by Scirra Ltd in London, letting users build games through a visual event system or optional JavaScript.

Construct Capital

Construct Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm in Washington, DC, founded in 2020 by Dayna Grayson and Rachel Holt to invest in robotics, AI, and automation for foundational industries.

Construct validity

Construct validity, also called construct validation, is the degree to which a measurement instrument truly measures the theoretical construct it is intended to measure, a concept introduced in 1954.

Constructability

Constructability is the optimal use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, procurement, and field operations to achieve overall project objectives, a concept defined by the Construction Industry Institute in 1986.

Constructal design

Constructal design is an engineering method that applies the constructal law to generate flow geometries, such as tree-shaped networks, fins, and cavities, that ease heat, fluid, or mass flow.

Constructed language

Constructed language (conlang): a language consciously created by an individual or group, unlike naturally evolved languages. Types include auxlangs like Esperanto (1887), artlangs like Tolkien's Quenya, and engelangs; fMRI shows natural-language brain processing.

Constructed wetland

Constructed wetland (artificial wetland, treatment wetland): an engineered wastewater treatment system using wetland plants, soils, and microbes. Shallow FWS or subsurface-flow beds remove BOD, nutrients, and metals at low energy and cost versus activated sludge.