Reviewerly/exHarmony huggingface dataset:
Gaussian Process Landmarking on Manifolds

As a means of improving analysis of biological shapes, we propose an algorithm for sampling a Riemannian manifold by sequentially selecting points with maximum uncertainty under a Gaussian process model. This greedy strategy is known to be near-optimal in the experimental design literature, and it appears to outperform the use of user-placed landmarks in representing the geometry of biological objects in our application. In the noiseless regime, we establish an upper bound for the mean squared prediction error (MSPE) in terms of the number of samples and geometric quantities of the manifold, demonstrating that the MSPE for our proposed sequential design decays at a rate comparable to the oracle rate achievable by any sequential or nonsequential optimal design; to the best of our knowledge this is the first result of this type for sequential experimental design. The key is to link the greedy algorithm to reduced basis methods in the context of model reduction for partial differential equations (PDEs). We expect this approach will find additional applications in other fields of research.
Optimized Preference-Aware Multi-Path Video Streaming with Scalable Video Coding

Most client hosts are equipped with multiple network interfaces (e.g., WiFi and cellular networks). Simultaneous access of multiple interfaces can significantly improve the users' quality of experience (QoE) in video streaming. An intuitive approach to achieve it is to use Multi-path TCP (MPTCP). However, the deployment of MPTCP, especially with link preference, requires OS kernel update at both the client and server side, and a vast amount of commercial content providers do not support MPTCP. Thus, in this paper, we realize a multi-path video streaming algorithm in the application layer instead, by considering Scalable Video Coding (SVC), where each layer of every chunk can be fetched from only one of the orthogonal paths. We formulate the quality decisions of video chunks subject to the available bandwidth of the different paths, chunk deadlines, and link preferences as an optimization problem. The objective is to to optimize a QoE metric that maintains a tradeoff between maximizing the playback rate of every chunk and ensuring fairness among chunks. The proposed metric prefers to use bandwidth of the links to optimize a concave utility function of the chunk quality. Even though the formulation is a non-convex discrete optimization, we provide a quadratic complexity algorithm which is shown to be optimal in some special cases. We further propose an online algorithm where several challenges including bandwidth prediction errors, are addressed. Extensive emulated experiments in a real testbed with real traces of public dataset reveal the robustness of our scheme and demonstrate its significant performance improvement compared to other multi-path algorithms.
3D Rigid Motion Segmentation with Mixed and Unknown Number of Models

Many real-world video sequences cannot be conveniently categorized as general or degenerate; in such cases, imposing a false dichotomy in using the fundamental matrix or homography model for motion segmentation on video sequences would lead to difficulty.Even when we are confronted with a general scene-motion, the fundamental matrix approach as a model for motion segmentation still suffers from several defects, which we discuss in this paper.The full potential of the fundamental matrix approach could only be realized if we judiciously harness information from the simpler homography model.From these considerations, we propose a multi-model spectral clustering framework that synergistically combines multiple models (homography and fundamental matrix) together.We show that the performance can be substantially improved in this way.For general motion segmentation tasks, the number of independently moving objects is often unknown a priori and needs to be estimated from the observations.This is referred to as model selection and it is essentially still an open research problem.In this work, we propose a set of model selection criteria balancing data fidelity and model complexity.We perform extensive testing on existing motion segmentation datasets with both segmentation and model selection tasks, achieving state-of-the-art performance on all of them; we also put forth a more realistic and challenging dataset adapted from the KITTI benchmark, containing real-world effects such as strong perspectives and strong forward translations not seen in the traditional datasets.
A survey on Blockchain based access control for Internet of Things

Access control models for the Internet of Things (IoT) proposed in the literature are based on centralized architecture and raise security issues due to the spontaneous and dynamic interaction between IoT devices. In addition to the scalability and lightweight features, the need of secure and distributed access control architecture to overcome the single point failure problem of a centralized entity becomes a big challenge. This can be done through the Blockchain technology which is used recently to provide access control services. Exploiting this technology to manage access IoT devices in term of distribution, heterogeneity, scalability, fault tolerance capability, security and privacy are promising. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the existing access control models based on Blockchain is presented and discussed with comparison and analysis.
Analyzing Families of Experiments in SE: A Systematic Mapping Study

Context: Families of experiments (i.e., groups of experiments with the same goal) are on the rise in Software Engineering (SE). Selecting unsuitable aggregation techniques to analyze families may undermine their potential to provide in-depth insights from experiments' results. Objectives: Identifying the techniques used to aggregate experiments' results within families in SE. Raising awareness of the importance of applying suitable aggregation techniques to reach reliable conclusions within families. Method: We conduct a systematic mapping study (SMS) to identify the aggregation techniques used to analyze families of experiments in SE. We outline the advantages and disadvantages of each aggregation technique according to mature experimental disciplines such as medicine and pharmacology. We provide preliminary recommendations to analyze and report families of experiments in view of families' common limitations with regard to joint data analysis. Results: Several aggregation techniques have been used to analyze SE families of experiments, including Narrative synthesis, Aggregated Data (AD), Individual Participant Data (IPD) mega-trial or stratified, and Aggregation of p-values. The rationale used to select aggregation techniques is rarely discussed within families. Families of experiments are commonly analyzed with unsuitable aggregation techniques according to the literature of mature experimental disciplines. Conclusion: Data analysis' reporting practices should be improved to increase the reliability and transparency of joint results. AD and IPD stratified appear to be suitable to analyze SE families of experiments.
Sensor Assignment Algorithms to Improve Observability While Tracking Targets

In this paper, we study two sensor assignment problems for multitarget tracking with the goal of improving the observability of the underlying estimator. We consider various measures of the observability matrix as the assignment value function. We first study the general version where the sensors must form teams to track individual targets. If the value function is monotonically increasing and submodular, then a greedy algorithm yields a 1/2-approximation. We then study a restricted version where exactly two sensors must be assigned to each target. We present a 1/3-approximation algorithm for this problem, which holds for arbitrary value functions (not necessarily submodular or monotone). In addition to approximation algorithms, we also present various properties of observability measures. We show that the inverse of the condition number of the observability matrix is neither monotone nor submodular, but present other measures that are. Specifically, we show that the trace and rank of the symmetric observability matrix are monotone and submodular and the log determinant of the symmetric observability matrix is monotone and submodular when the matrix is nonsingular. If the target's motion model is not known, the inverse cannot be computed exactly. Instead, we present a lower bound for distance sensors. In addition to theoretical results, we evaluate our results empirically through simulations.
A Recurrent Graph Neural Network for Multi-relational Data

The era of "data deluge" has sparked the interest in graph-based learning methods in a number of disciplines such as sociology, biology, neuroscience, or engineering. In this paper, we introduce a graph recurrent neural network (GRNN) for scalable semi-supervised learning from multi-relational data. Key aspects of the novel GRNN architecture are the use of multi-relational graphs, the dynamic adaptation to the different relations via learnable weights, and the consideration of graph-based regularizers to promote smoothness and alleviate over-parametrization. Our ultimate goal is to design a powerful learning architecture able to: discover complex and highly non-linear data associations, combine (and select) multiple types of relations, and scale gracefully with respect to the size of the graph. Numerical tests with real datasets corroborate the design goals and illustrate the performance gains relative to competing alternatives.
Investigation of parameter uncertainty in clustering using a Gaussian mixture model via jackknife, bootstrap and weighted likelihood bootstrap

Mixture models with (multivariate) Gaussian components are a popular tool in model-based clustering. Such models are often fitted by a procedure that maximizes the likelihood, such as the EM algorithm. At convergence, the maximum likelihood parameter estimates are typically reported, but in most cases little emphasis is placed on the variability associated with these estimates. In part this may be due to the fact that standard errors are not directly calculated in the model-fitting algorithm, either because they are not required to fit the model, or because they are difficult to compute. The examination of standard errors in model-based clustering is therefore typically neglected. Sampling based methods, such as the jackknife (JK), bootstrap (BS) and parametric bootstrap (PB), are intuitive, generalizable approaches to assessing parameter uncertainty in model-based clustering using a Gaussian mixture model. This paper provides a review and empirical comparison of the jackknife, bootstrap and parametric bootstrap methods for producing standard errors and confidence intervals for mixture parameters. The performance of such sampling methods in the presence of small and/or overlapping clusters requires consideration however; here the weighted likelihood bootstrap (WLBS) approach is demonstrated to be effective in addressing this concern in a model-based clustering framework. The JK, BS, PB and WLBS methods are illustrated and contrasted through simulation studies and through the traditional Old Faithful data set and also the Thyroid data set. The MclustBootstrap function, available in the most recent release of the popular R package mclust, facilitates the implementation of the JK, BS, PB and WLBS approaches to estimating parameter uncertainty in the context of model-based clustering. The JK, WLBS and PB approaches to variance estimation are shown to be robust and provide good coverage across a range of real and simulated data sets when performing model-based clustering; but care is advised when using the BS in such settings. In the case of poor model fit (for example for data with small and/or overlapping clusters), JK and BS are found to suffer from not being able to fit the specified model in many of the sub-samples formed. The PB also suffers when model fit is poor since it is reliant on data sets simulated from the model upon which to base the variance estimation calculations. However the WLBS will generally provide a robust solution, driven by the fact that all observations are represented with some weight in each of the sub-samples formed under this approach.
Improving Time Series Recognition and Prediction With Networks and Ensembles of Passive Photonic Reservoirs

As the performance increase of traditional Von-Neumann computing attenuates, new approaches to computing need to be found. A promising approach for low-power computing at high bitrates is integrated photonic reservoir computing. In the past though, the feasible reservoir size and computational power of integrated photonic reservoirs have been limited by hardware constraints. An alternative solution to building larger reservoirs is the combination of several small reservoirs to match or exceed the performance of a single bigger one. This paper summarizes our efforts to increase the available computational power by combining multiple reservoirs into a single computing architecture. We investigate several possible combination techniques and evaluate their performance using the classic XOR and header recognition tasks as well as the well-known Santa Fe chaotic laser prediction task. Our findings suggest that a new paradigm of feeding a reservoir's output into the readout structure of the next one shows consistently good results for various tasks as well as for both electrical and optical readouts and coupling schemes.
Implementation of CCSDS Standards for Lossless Multispectral and Hyperspectral Satellite Image Compression

This paper presents the modeling, design, and implementation of two intellectual property (IP) cores that are compliant with the consultative committee for space data systems (CCSDS) 121.0-B-2 and CCSDS 123.0-B-1 lossless satellite image compression standards. The CCSDS 121.0-B-2 describes a lossless universal compressor based on a Rice adaptive encoding. The CCSDS 123.0-B-1 standard describes a lossless algorithm specifically designed for efficient on-board compression of hyperspectral and multispectral images, and it is based on a prediction and entropy-based encoding structure. Two options are offered for the latter: the sample-adaptive and the block-adaptive encoder, which corresponds to the CCSDS 121.0-B-2 algorithm. These IP cores have been designed as independent compressors, but they can be easily combined in a plug-and-play fashion to be used together thanks to a dedicated interface. Additionally, standard interfaces are provided for configuration and external memory access. The design process encompasses the consideration of several different hardware architectures in order to maximize throughput and optimize the requirements of on-board resources at the same time. Both IPs are compliant with the high degree of configurability considered in the standard. The obtained VHDL code is completely technology independent, so it can be used to target any field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or ASIC of interest in the space environment, aiming to perform efficiently compression in satellites despite the inherent constraints of these devices. Results are reported as implementation results for the FPGA devices that are currently considered most representative and suited for on-board use from Xilinx and Microsemi families. In particular, the CCSDS123 IP core reaches for the Virtex5 FX130 a throughput of 153.5 Msamples per second, comprising only 5% of the look-up table (LUTs) in the device.
Changing views: Persuasion modeling and argument extraction from online discussions

Persuasion and argumentation are possibly among the most complex examples of the interplay between multiple human subjects. With the advent of the Internet, online forums provide wide platforms for people to share their opinions and reasonings around various diverse topics. In this work, we attempt to model persuasive interaction between users on Reddit, a popular online discussion forum. We propose a deep LSTM model to classify whether a conversation leads to a successful persuasion or not, and use this model to predict whether a certain chain of arguments can lead to persuasion. While learning persuasion dynamics, our model tends to identify argument facets implicitly, using an attention mechanism. We also propose a semi-supervised approach to extract argumentative components from discussion threads. Both these models provide useful insight into how people engage in argumentation on online discussion forums.
Choosing the right word: Using bidirectional LSTM tagger for writing support systems

Scientific writing is difficult. It is even harder for those for whom English is a second language (ESL learners). Scholars around the world spend a significant amount of time and resources proofreading their work before submitting it for review or publication. In this paper we present a novel machine learning based application for proper word choice task. Proper word choice is a generalization the lexical substitution (LS) and grammatical error correction (GEC) tasks. We demonstrate and evaluate the usefulness of applying bidirectional Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) tagger, for this task. While state-of-the-art grammatical error correction uses error-specific classifiers and machine translation methods, we demonstrate an unsupervised method that is based solely on a high quality text corpus and does not require manually annotated data. We use a bidirectional Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) with LSTM for learning the proper word choice based on a word's sentential context. We demonstrate and evaluate our application in various settings, including both a domain-specific (scientific), writing task and a general-purpose writing task. We perform both strict machine and human evaluation. We show that our domain-specific and general-purpose models outperform state-of-the-art general context learning. As an additional contribution of this research, we also share our code, pre-trained models, and a new ESL learner test set with the research community.
The Subfield Codes of Ovoid Codes

Ovoids in PG(3, GF(q)) have been an interesting topic in coding theory, combinatorics, and finite geometry for a long time. So far only two families of ovoids are known. The first is the elliptic quadrics and the second is the Tits ovoids. It is known that an ovoid in PG(3, GF(q)) corresponds to a [q <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> + 1, 4, q <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> - q] code over GF(q), which is called an ovoid code. The objectives of this paper are to develop the general theories of subfield codes and to study the subfield codes of the two families of ovoid codes. The dimensions, minimum weights, and the weight distributions of the subfield codes of the elliptic quadric codes and Tits ovoid codes are settled. The parameters of the duals of these subfield codes are also studied. Some of the codes presented in this paper are optimal, and some are distance-optimal. The parameters of the subfield codes are new.
Learning an Executable Neural Semantic Parser

This article describes a neural semantic parser that maps natural language utterances onto logical forms that can be executed against a task-specific environment, such as a knowledge base or a database, to produce a response. The parser generates tree-structured logical forms with a transition-based approach, combining a generic tree-generation algorithm with domain-general grammar defined by the logical language. The generation process is modeled by structured recurrent neural networks, which provide a rich encoding of the sentential context and generation history for making predictions. To tackle mismatches between natural language and logical form tokens, various attention mechanisms are explored. Finally, we consider different training settings for the neural semantic parser, including fully supervised training where annotated logical forms are given, weakly supervised training where denotations are provided, and distant supervision where only unlabeled sentences and a knowledge base are available. Experiments across a wide range of data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of our parser.
Parametric Gaussian process regression for big data

This work introduces the concept of parametric Gaussian processes (PGP), which is built upon the seemingly self-contradictory idea of making Gaussian processes parametric. The resulting framework is capable of encoding massive amount of data into a small number of "hypothetical" data points. Moreover, parametric Gaussian processes are well aware of their imperfections and are capable of properly quantifying the uncertainty in their predictions associated with such limitations. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using three illustrative examples, including one with simulated data, a benchmark with dataset in the airline industry with approximately 6 million records, and spatio-temporal sea surface temperature maps in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays and Stellwagen Bank for the year 2015.
Model‐based clustering and classification of functional data

Complex data analysis is a central topic of modern statistics and learning systems which is becoming of broader interest with the increasing prevalence of high‐dimensional data. The challenge is to develop statistical models and autonomous algorithms that are able to discern knowledge from raw data, which can be achieved through clustering techniques, or to make predictions of future data via classification techniques. Latent data models, including mixture model‐based approaches, are among the most popular and successful approaches in both supervised and unsupervised learning. Although being traditional tools in multivariate analysis, they are growing in popularity when considered in the framework of functional data analysis (FDA). FDA is the data analysis paradigm in which each datum is a function, rather than a real vector. In many areas of application, including signal and image processing, functional imaging, bioinformatics, etc., the analyzed data are indeed often available in the form of discretized values of functions, curves, or surfaces. This functional aspect of the data adds additional difficulties when compared to classical multivariate data analysis. We review and present approaches for model‐based clustering and classification of functional data. We present well‐grounded statistical models along with efficient algorithmic tools to address problems regarding the clustering and the classification of these functional data, including their heterogeneity, missing information, and dynamical hidden structures. The presented models and algorithms are illustrated via real‐world functional data analysis problems from several areas of application. This article is categorized under: Fundamental Concepts of Data and Knowledge &gt; Data Concepts Algorithmic Development &gt; Statistics Technologies &gt; Structure Discovery and Clustering