bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Non-rigid Surface Shape Registration to Monitor Change in Back Surface Topography
Authors: Mitchell Harvey L.  , Ang Kim Siang
Published: February 2025

Measured back surface topographies can be useful to monitor the external manifestation of scoliosis to avoid exposure to large doses of radiation. Manual shape fitting of back surface topographies from successive clinical visits can then be used to detect differences. Automated matching of the measured topographies has been seen as a possible improvement on manual comparisons. Recognizing that two changed surface cannot be expected to be simple rigid replicas of each other, the goal of this research has been to develop a new algorithm based on a non-rigid surface matching algorithm, suited to matching the surfaces into same reference frame while also estimating the parameters of the scoliosis deformities, and eliminating noise due to normal body change caused by growth. Back surface topography data from laser optical scanning have been automatically matched by a least squares non-rigid matching algorithm. The algorithm includes new parameters able to model shape changes caused by normal growth and scoliosis deformation. This non-rigid matching algorithm returned r.m.s. values for surface closeness which were improved by at least 10% over rigid matching. Experiments on various scoliosis data demonstrate that the non-rigid matching algorithm is able to accurately match the surfaces while simultaneously extracting parameters representing patient shape change. The non-rigid algorithm has proven to be an improvement on the classical rigid surface matching approach which allows positional fit rather than shape fit. Measured back surface topographies can be closely matched to monitor the external manifestation of scoliosis.
Historic Scientific Contributions to the Etiology of Spinal Deformities in Man. An Explanation in what Maintenance of Postural Balance around the Cord Means
Authors: Van Loon P.J.M.  , Soerterbroek A.  , Thunnissen F.B.
Published: February 2025

Introduction: Scoliosis and other spinal deformities progressing in adolescence are seen as multifactorial in their etiology now with a broad spectrum of mainly internal factors.
Pedicle Screw Placement in Pediatric Scoliosis Surgery: Do non-idiopathic patients have higher misplacement rates?
Authors: Vitale Michael G.  , Privitera David M.  , Gomez Jaime A.  , Matsumoto Hiroko  , Klinge Steve A.  , Corona Jacqueline  , Hyman Joshua E.  , Roye, Jr. David P.
Published: February 2025

Introduction: Pedicle screw misplacement in scoliosis surgery is well documented in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (IS), but not in the non-idiopathic and skeletally immature population.
Informing the Development of a Knowledge Base
Authors: Neville Karen  , Emerson William  , Walsh Eoin
Published: February 2025

Knowledge based social networks are regarded as valuable learning tools, particularly in their ability to promote collaborative learning, and high level of adaptability. This research-in-progress investigates key factors in the design of a Wiki-based knowledge sharing tool to support teaching and learning in a third level institution. To determine these factors, five higher education institutions were selected and within these institutions, a number of individuals were selected for interview, based on their extensive experience with technology-supported learning and collaboration. This paper develops a development model for a knowledge community and proposes key development decisions that should be taken into account, such as pedagogy, technology, and the integration of these two core areas to provide a holistic learning experience. The paper concludes with a plan for the creation and evaluation of a knowledge base for a learning community.
Market Strategy and Innovation in the Business Intelligence Industry: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Remington Steve  , O'Donnell Peter  , Arnott David
Published: February 2025

Business intelligence (BI) is the dominant technology for decision support in medium and large organizations. Unfortunately, there has been no rigorous academic research on the market and innovation strategies of the leading vendors. This is surprising as BI is a key technology priority for CIOs and unusually in a major global financial downturn it is an area of significant growth in IT spending. This paper presents a preliminary study of market strategy and innovation in one of the four leading BI vendors, Cognos/IBM. The case study uses data from archived press releases and statutory financial returns to analyze Cognos's activities from 1995 to 2009. The results illuminate a complex commercial environment. Based on the case study and background literature a research agenda structured around eight key questions is proposed.
Context-oriented scientific workflow system and its application in virtual screening
Authors: Fan Xiaoliang  , Brézillon Patrick  , Zhang Ruisheng  , Li Lian
Published: February 2025

Scientific workflow (SWF) system is gradually liberating the computational scientists from burden of data-centric operations to concentration on their decision making. However, contemporary SWF systems fail to address the variables when scientists urge to deliver new outcomes through reproduction of workflow, including not only workflow representation, but also its “context” of use. Thus, current failure is mainly due to lack of representing and managing the “context”. We propose a context-oriented approach to create a SWF system more adaptive to the dynamic research environment. We present the feedbacks from interviews of multi-national virtual screening scientists, and illustrate a case study in which their decision making processes are modelled by contextual graphs as a uniform representation of knowledge, of reasoning, and of contexts. Finally, we conclude and highlight that sharing SWF intellectually with its context would make SWF as a complement to paper-based publications.
Characterising a Socio-Technical approach to Knowledge Management – Cases in Small to Medium Sized Software Enterprises (SMEs)
Authors: Heavin Ciara  , Adam Frédéric
Published: February 2025

With promises of reinventing the organisation, practitioners, consultants and academics alike jumped on the Knowledge Management (KM) bandwagon in the late 1990s. It has typically been larger organisations that have possessed the economies of scale i.e. the financial resources to pursue this strategy, where they perceive they will lose their market share if they do not follow the trend while smaller organisations have not had the same luxury. Ironically, it is these small businesses that have successfully managed knowledge for centuries. However, the success of the KM approach is too tightly linked to the implementation of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). Although information systems are integral to a KM approach, from an organisational perspective, it is essential that alternative mechanisms which support a formalised KM approach are better understood in order to make a suitable match between the organization's knowledge needs with the most fitting modes available to support the activity. Consequently, using multiple case studies, this study presents a well rounded view of the KM approach, identifying both routine and non-routine modes of knowledge processing for small software organisations, addressing the balance of usage associated with supporting knowledge requirements, in order to improve the organisation's ability to be more flexible in the face of change.
An IS Success Evaluation of a DSS in a Police Organization
Authors: Carlsson Sven A.  , Skog Linda-Marie  , Tona Olgerta
Published: February 2025

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are used in the public and private sectors. Most DSS research has focused the private sector and few DSS evaluation studies have been conducted in public organizations. Police organizations are in need of functional DSS to support the employees in their work. Given this, we did an evaluation study of the success of a DSS in the context of a police organization. The DSS is used for a variety of tasks and decisions, for example, operational resource management as well as long-range planning. The question for this study is: How successful is the DSS in the police organization. The evaluation study is based on DeLone and McLean's Information System (IS) success model. For each of the model's six dimensions, we based on a literature review generated questions for the questionnaire distributed to the users and potential users of the DSS. The questionnaire was made available to the employees using the police organization's intranet. We got 367 useable questionnaires back; 103 of these were from users and these questionnaires were used in the evaluation study. We also conducted a group interview. The study shows that system quality, information quality, user satisfaction, individual impact and organizational impact are at satisfying levels. The use of the system in general is low and primarily depending on external factors rather than system quality, information quality and user satisfaction. The overall conclusion is that the DSS can be considered quite successful, but that there is room for improvements.
Identification of the Variables in an E-Learning Platform Using a Cost-Benefit Analysis and an Automatic Decision-Making Tool
Authors: Fenu Gianni  , Picconi Massimiliano
Published: February 2025

New forms of communication techniques are used by universities to offer new services to teachers and students. E-Learning solutions are often integrated into traditional learning courses. A process of implementation of an e-Learning solution requires a comparative analysis of alternative options, in order to produce a synthetic conclusion on the allocation of budgets and on the enhancements of effectiveness of the learning services. The purpose of this paper is to describe a methodology to structure and arrange the different aspects to be taken into account in a process of implementation of an e-Learning solution. In particular, the evaluation variables involved in the analysis of an e-Learning solution and the automatic decision-making tool are described.
How to Track Absolutely Everything
Authors: Ceusters Werner  , Manzoor Shahid
Published: February 2025

The analysis of events prior to and during September 11 revealed that a smooth execution of the intelligence process is hampered by inadequate information sharing. This caused a rethinking of the intelligence process and a transition towards a ‘Globally Networked and Integrated Intelligence Enterprise’ with the goal that more detailed, tagged, and, therefore, traceable, information will reach those who need it, when they need it, and in a form that they can easily absorb. We present the referent tracking paradigm and its implementation in networks of referent tracking systems as an enabling technology to make this vision come true. Referent tracking uses a system of singular and globally unique identifiers to track not only entities and events in first-order reality, but also the data and information elements that are created to describe such entities and events in information systems. By doing so, it meets the requirements of the Nation's Information Sharing Strategy.
Estimation of Transient Temperature Distribution in Friction Welding Process of Aluminum Alloys
Authors: Isshiki Yoshihiro  , Kawai Gosaku  , Ochi Hiizu
Published: February 2025

A numerical method has been proposed to estimate transient temperature distribution in friction welding of aluminum alloys. The temperature distribution was calculated with a finite element method using the measured rotation speed, friction pressure, upset pressure and burn-off length. The calculated heat input and temperature were compared with the measurement results. It has been shown that the transient temperature characteristic could be calculated quantitatively by this numerical method which allows the deformation of two similar base materials.
Bridging the semantics gap between terminologies, ontologies, and information models
Authors: Schulz Stefan  , Schober Daniel  , Daniel Christel  , Jaulent Marie-Christine
Published: February 2025

SNOMED CT and other biomedical vocabularies provide semantic identifiers for all kinds of linguistic expressions, many of which cannot be considered terms in a strict sense. We analyzed such “non-terms” in SNOMED CT and concluded that many of them cannot be interpreted as directly referring to objects or processes, but rather to information entities. Discussing two approaches to represent information entities, viz. the OBO Information artifact ontology (IAO) and the HL7 v3 Reference Information Model (RIM), we propose an integrative solution for representing information entities in SNOMED CT, in a way that is still compatible with RIM and the IAO and uses moderately enhanced description logics.
Exploitation of linguistic indicators for automatic weighting of synonyms induced within three biomedical terminologies
Authors: Grabar Natalia  , Hamon Thierry
Published: February 2025

Acquisition and enrichment of lexical resources is an important research area for the computational linguistics. We propose a method for inducing a lexicon of synonyms and for its weighting in order to establish its reliability. The method is based on the analysis of syntactic structure of complex terms. We apply and evaluate the approach on three biomedical terminologies (MeSH, Snomed Int, Snomed CT). Between 7.7 and 33.6% of the induced synonyms are ambiguous and cooccur with other semantic relations. A virtual reference allows to validate 9 to 14% of the induced synonyms.
Mapping ICNP Version 1 Concepts to SNOMED CT
Authors: Park Hyeoun-Ae  , Lundberg Cyndie  , Coenen Amy  , Konicek Debora
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of SNOMED CT to represent concepts of the ICNP Version 1 – the 7-Axis model. We selected the 1568 concepts of the ICNP 7-Axis model. From January 2007 through June 2007, the first author mapped the ICNP Version 1 concepts to the SNOMED CT using CLUE browser 5.0. The second author from the SNOMED Terminology Solutions and the third author from the ICN validated mapping result. In total, SNOMED CT covered 1381 concepts of 1658 (83%) ICNP 7-Axis model concepts ranging from 65% coverage rate of the Actions Axis concepts to 94% coverage rate of the Judgment Axis concepts. SNOMED CT can represent most (83%) of the ICNP Version 1 concepts. Improvements in ICNP Version 1 in terms of concept naming and definition, and adding missing concepts to the SNOMED CT would lead to greater coverage of the ICNP Version 1 concepts.
A Web Service for enabling Medical Image Retrieval Integrated into a Social Medical Image Sharing Platform
Authors: Niinimäki Marko  , Zhou Xin  , de la Vega Enrique  , Cabrer Miguel  , Müller Henning
Published: February 2025

Content–based visual image access is in the process from a research domain towards real applications. So far, most image retrieval applications have been in one specialized domain such as lung CTs as diagnosis aid or for classification of general images based on anatomic region, modality, and view. This article describes the use of a content–based image retrieval system in connection with the medical image sharing platform MEDTING, so a data set with a very large variety. Similarity retrieval is possible for all cases of the social image sharing platform, so cases can be linked by either visual similarity or similarity in keywords. The visual retrieval search is based on the GIFT (GNU Image Finding Tool). The technology for updating the index with new images added by users employs RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. The ARC (Advanced Resource Connector) middleware is used for the implementation of a web service for similarity retrieval, simplifying the integration of this service. Novelty of this article is the application/integration and image updating strategy. Retrieval methods themselves employ existing techniques that are all open source and can easily be reproduced.
Case Study: Analysis of End-User Requests on Electronic Medical Record and Computerized Physician Order Entry System of Seoul National University Hospital in Korea
Authors: Kim Young-Ah  , Shin Soo-Yong  , Jo Eun-Mi  , Park Chan-Hee  , Hwang Min-A  , Kim Kyung Hwan  , Chung Chun Kee
Published: February 2025

Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Korea has utilized the full Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system since October 2004. Unlike other countries, most EMR systems in Korean teaching and general hospitals are in-house development systems. Therefore, we can actively respond to user requests on EMR. Here, based on 5 years of experience in EMR system operation, we analyzed 2,339 SNUH EMR user requests from 2006 to 2008 for improvement of EMR system operation and management. We classify user requests into 9 criteria based on guidelines from the SNUH medical information management team. In conclusion, the most common requests (73 %) are for improvement of improving quality of care. However, requests associated with hospital enterprise, public policy, and customer service are gradually increased every year. Therefore, we suggest that suitable EMR management criteria are necessary for reliable EMR operation and management.
Discuss Now, Document Later: CIS/CPOE Perceived to be a ‘Shift Behind’ in the ICU
Authors: Collins Sarah  , Bakken Suzanne  , Vawdrey David  , Coiera Enrico  , Currie Leanne M.
Published: February 2025

Effective communication is essential to safe and efficient patient care. We aimed to understand the current patterns and perceptions of communication of common goals in the ICU using the distributed cognition and clinical communication space theoretical frameworks. We conducted a focus group and 5 interviews with ICU clinicians and observed 59.5 hours of interdisciplinary ICU morning rounds. Clinicians used a CIS/CPOE system and paper artifacts for documentation; yet, preferred verbal communication as a method of information exchange because they perceived that the documentation was often not updated or efficient for information retrieval. These perceptions that the CIS/CPOE is a “shift behind” may lead to a further reliance on verbal information exchange, which is a valuable clinical communication activity, yet, is subject to information loss. Electronic documentation tools that, in real time, capture information that is currently verbally communicated may increase the effectiveness of communication.
Barriers of Obtaining Health Information Among Diabetes Patients
Authors: Milewski James  , Chen Yunan
Published: February 2025

While healthcare information plays an essential role in the process of disease management, previous studies have shown that many patients may be unaware of the availability of certain healthcare information, thus leading to the progression of their diseases and deterioration of their health. This study explores the information seeking behaviors among patients with type-2 diabetes and explores the barriers that hinder effective healthcare information usages. 19 semi-structured interviews were carried out with patients and caregivers in various stages of diabetes disease management. Data analysis identified five major barriers for seeking health information: lack of motivation, passiveness, inconsistency of information, generality of information and loss of information. These findings call for the designing of active and personalized information delivery mechanisms.
Patient web empowerment index (PWEI): An index for assessment of healthcare providers' web strategies. Case study: PWEI application in Italy
Authors: Buccoliero Luca  , Bellio Elena  , Prenestini Anna
Published: February 2025

The arrival of the Internet contributes to the growth of new areas for patient empowerment. In the presence of a challenge such as this, we nevertheless note that the adequacy and characteristics of the web strategies of healthcare providers have, up to the present, not been subjected to thoroughgoing critical analysis. The aim of this paper is to: (a) provide an analysis of the key factors of an efficient web strategy for healthcare organizations with regard to the issue of patient empowerment (b) build a concise indicator for measuring the degree of empowerment potential of healthcare providers' web sites (Patient Web Empowerment Index -PWEI-). PWEI was calculated in order to assess the web sites of 340 Italian National Health Service healthcare organizations, the aim being the appraisal of the current degree of maturity of their web strategies in relation to potentials for an effective increase in patient empowerment.
Development and Implementation of an Integrated EHR for Homecare Service: A South American Experience
Authors: Aguilera Díaz Jerónimo  , Arias Antonio Eduardo  , Budalich Cintia Mabel  , Benítez Sonia Elizabeth  , López Gastón  , Borbolla Damián  , Plazzotta Fernando  , Luna Daniel  , de Quirós Fernán González Bernaldo
Published: February 2025

This paper describes the development and implementation of a web based electronic health record for the Homecare Service program in the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. It reviews the process of the integration of the new electronic health record to the hospital information system, allowing physicians to access the clinical data repository from their Pc's at home and with the capability of consulting past and present history of the patient health care, order, tests, and referrals with others professionals trough the new Electronic Health Record. We also discuss how workflow processes were changed and improved for the physicians, nurses, and administrative personnel of the Homecare Services and the educational methods used to improve acceptance and adoption of these new technologies. We also briefly describe the validation of physicians and their field work with electronic signatures.
Attempting to predict the fate of an ongoing epidemic. Lessons from A(H1N1) influenza in USA
Authors: Luis José  , Cáceres Hernández
Published: February 2025

A simple method is proposed for predicting the fate of an epidemic outburst from early data. The method is based on the Richards model, and linearizations are proposed for obtaining preliminary values. A second step with nonlinear estimation fed with preliminary values as initial guess values may be attempted if field conditions allow the computation. The method was tested on data from 2001 dengue outbursts in both Havana and Winward Islands (French Polynesia). Predictions were satisfactory and an attempt of true prediction based on daily data for the 2009 H1N1 influenza outburst in the USA was undertaken. Comparison of early predictions with actual values obtained 3 months later suggests that some of the discrepancies are not due to method's inacuracy, but to real improvement of infection rate as the H1N1 outburst proceeded. The method can be applied in any setting where cumulative number of cases is properly recorded.
Towards A Multi-Level Game Model for Influenza Epidemics
Authors: Chen Qiongyu  , Leong Tze-Yun
Published: February 2025

Although game theory has been first invented to reason with economic scenarios with rational agents, it has since been extended into many other fields including biological and medical sciences. In this paper we propose to model the interactions between virus and human in an influenza epidemic in a two player, adversarial game scenario with multiple levels of abstraction. As conventional game representations are inadequate in this complex problem domain, we propose Object Oriented Multi-Agent Influence Diagrams (OO-MAID), a novel graphical representation for multi-level games, which takes advantage of both organizational information and probabilistic independence in the problem domain. The OO-MAID representation can be readily applied in similar medical independent characteristics. We demonstrate the feasibility of this novel approach with sample models in the domain.
Deploying Portable Ultrasonography with Remote Assistance for Isolated Physicians in Africa: Lessons from a Pilot Study in Mali
Authors: Bagayoko Cheick Oumar  , Niang Mahamoudane  , Traoré Seydou T.  , Bediang Georges  , Naef Jean-Marc  , Geissbuhler Antoine
Published: February 2025

Objective: demonstrate the feasibility of deploying portable ultrasonography with remote assistance to improve the diagnostic capabilities of isolated physicians in Africa. Methods: the approach is based on the training of general practitioners for the use of ultrasonography, and the remote support by radiologists using dedicated tools for image transfer over low-bandwidth internet connections. Results: our early results in a pilot project in Mali show that this approach is feasible, and that isolated physicians can productively use ultrasonography to improve diagnosis and management decisions such as the need for a medical evacuation towards a reference hospital. Conclusion : these encouraging early results must be confirmed by larger-scale studies, in order to better understand the organizational requirements and demonstrate outcomes and return on investments for such telemedicine services. This scale-up project will start in 2010 in collaboration with the International Development Research Center of Canada.
Can Multilingual Machine Translation Help Make Medical Record Content More Comprehensible to Patients?
Authors: Zeng-Treitler Qing  , Kim Hyeoneui  , Rosemblat Graciela  , Keselman Alla
Published: February 2025

With the development of electronic personal health records, more patients are gaining access to their own medical records. However, comprehension of medical record content remains difficult for many patients. Because each record is unique, it is also prohibitively costly to employ human translators to solve this problem. In this study, we investigated whether multilingual machine translation could help make medical record content more comprehensible to patients who lack proficiency in the language of the records. We used a popular general-purpose machine translation tool called Babel Fish to translate 213 medical record sentences from English into Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Korean. We evaluated the comprehensibility and accuracy of the translation. The text characteristics of the incorrectly translated sentences were also analyzed. In each language, the majority of the translations were incomprehensible (76% to 92%) and/or incorrect (77% to 89%). The main causes of the translation are vocabulary difficulty and syntactical complexity. A general-purpose machine translation tool like the Babel Fish is not adequate for the translation of medical records; however, a machine translation tool can potentially be improved significantly, if it is trained to target certain narrow domains in medicine.
Processing Gradual Information with Fuzzy Arden Syntax
Authors: Vetterlein Thomas  , Mandl Harald  , Adlassnig Klaus Peter
Published: February 2025

The programming language Arden Syntax is especially adapted to the needs of computer-based clinical decision support. Recently, an extension of Arden Syntax, named Fuzzy Arden Syntax, was proposed by the authors. Fuzzy Arden Syntax is a conservative extension of Arden Syntax and offers special functionality to process gradual information. The background is the observation that in medicine we frequently deal with statements which are neither clearly false nor clearly true but hold to some intermediate degree. In this paper, we demonstrate under which circumstances a Medical Logic Module (a program unit written in Arden Syntax) may show unintended behavior and how the situation can easily be improved by means of the possibilities offered by Fuzzy Arden Syntax. To this end, an example from the domain of nosocomial infection control is discussed in detail.
Non-elementary speed up for model checking synchronous perfect recall
Authors: Cohen Mika  , Lomuscio Alessio
Published: February 2025

We consider the complexity of the model checking problem for the logic of knowledge and past time in synchronous systems with perfect recall. Previously established bounds are k-exponential in the size of the system for specifications with k nested knowledge modalities. We show that the upper bound for positive (respectively, negative) specifications is polynomial (respectively, exponential) in the size of the system irrespective of the nesting depth.
Strategic planning in the game of Go using coupled non-linear oscillators
Authors: Wilkinson Nicholas  , Bossomaier Terry  , Harré Michael  , Snyder Allan
Published: February 2025

The ancient oriental game of Go is the last of the great perfect knowledge games wherein strong human players still outperform AI players, but the gap is narrowing. Superior strategic skill is keeping humans several steps ahead even as computers catch up tactically. Taking the perspective that large scale topological perception is part of the key to strategic excellence, we present a new method for generating strategic plans in the game of Go. Treating stones in play as continuous perturbations of a dynamical system composed of coupled non-linear oscillators, we exploit transitory synchrony in the wave patterns thus generated to make topological inferences about possible territories later in the game. Our system is shown, using professional game records, to focus search on appropriate areas of the space of continuations. By combining spatial (rather than game-tree) representation with dynamical lookahead, we hope to overcome some of the limitations faced by static spatial mapping and dynamical game-tree based approaches.
Implementing an Intelligent Moving Average with a Neural Network
Authors: Marques Nuno C.  , Gomes Carlos
Published: February 2025

Recent results in hybrid neural networks using extended versions of the core method have shown that we can use background knowledge to guide back-propagation learning. This paper further explores this ideas by adding numeric functions to the encoded knowledge and using the traditional recursive Elman neural network model. An illustration of the properties of these neural networks will be used to calculate a simple moving average. Simulations on generated data and on the Eurostoxx50 financial index will illustrate the potential of such a strategy.
Behavior-Oriented Commitment-based Protocols
Authors: Baldoni Matteo  , Baroglio Cristina  , Marengo Elisa
Published: February 2025

Ever since the seminal work of Searle, two components of interaction protocols have been identified: constitutive rules, defining the meaning of actions and regulative rules, defining the flow of execution, i.e. the behavior the agent should show. The two parts together define the meaning of the interaction. Commitment-based protocols, however, usually do not account for the latter and, when they do it, they do not adopt a decoupled representation of the two parts. A clear distinction in the two representations would, however, bring many advantages, mainly residing in a greater openess of multi-agent systems, an easier re-use of protocols and of action definitions, and a finer specification of protocol properties. In this work we introduce the notion of behavior-oriented commitment-based protocols, which account both for the constitutive and the regulative specifications and that explicitly foresee a representation of the latter based on constraints among commitments. A language, named 2CL, for writing regulative specifications is also given.
Non-intrusive Detection of Driver Distraction using Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Tango Fabio  , Botta Marco  , Minin Luca  , Montanari Roberto
Published: February 2025

Driver's distraction has become an important and growing safety concern with the increasing use of the so-called In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS), such as cell-phones, navigation systems, etc. A very promising way to overcome this problem is to detect driver's distraction and thus to adopt in-vehicle systems accordingly, in order to avoid or mitigate the negative effects. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a method for the non-intrusive detection of visual distraction, based on the vehicle dynamic data; in particular, we present and compare two models, applying Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) which are well-known data-mining methods.
Computational Aspects of Extending the Shapley Value to Coalitional Games with Externalities
Authors: Michalak Tomasz  , Rahwan Talal  , Marciniak Dorota  , Szamotulski Marcin  , Jennings Nicholas R.
Published: February 2025

Until recently, computational aspects of the Shapley value were only studied under the assumption that there are no externalities from coalition formation, i.e., that the value of any coalition is independent of other coalitions in the system. However, externalities play a key role in many real-life situations and have been extensively studied in the game-theoretic and economic literature. In this paper, we consider the issue of computing extensions of the Shapley value to coalitional games with externalities proposed by Myerson [21], Pham Do and Norde [23], and McQuillin [17]. To facilitate efficient computation of these extensions, we propose a new representation for coalitional games with externalities, which is based on weighted logical expressions. We demonstrate that this representation is fully expressive and, sometimes, exponentially more concise than the conventional partition function game model. Furthermore, it allows us to compute the aforementioned extensions of the Shapley value in time linear in the size of the input.
EA
Authors: Sykulski Adam M.  , Chapman Archie C.  , Munoz de Cote Enrique  , Jennings Nicholas R.
Published: February 2025

We describe the winning strategy of the inaugural Lemonade Stand Game (LSG) Tournament. The LSG is a repeated symmetric 3–player constant–sum finite horizon game, in which a player chooses a location for their lemonade stand on an island with the aim of being as far as possible from its opponents. To receive a high utility in this game, our strategy, EA2, attempts to find a suitable partner with which to coordinate and exploit the third player. To do this, we classify the behaviour of our opponents using the history of joint interactions in order to identify the best player to coordinate with and how this coordination should be established. This approach is designed to be adaptive to various types of opponents such that coordination is almost always achieved, which yields consistently high utilities to our agent, as evidenced by the Tournament results and our subsequent experimental analysis. Our strategy models behaviours of its opponents, rather than situations of the game (e.g. game theoretic equilibrium or off equilibrium paths), which makes EA2easy to generalize to many other games.
Learning conditionally lexicographic preference relations
Authors: Booth Richard  , Chevaleyre Yann  , Lang Jérôme  , Mengin Jérôme  , Sombattheera Chattrakul
Published: February 2025

We consider the problem of learning a user's ordinal preferences on a multiattribute domain, assuming that her preferences are lexicographic. We introduce a general graphical representation called LP-trees which captures various natural classes of such preference relations, depending on whether the importance order between attributes and/or the local preferences on the domain of each attribute is conditional on the values of other attributes. For each class we determine the Vapnik-Chernovenkis dimension, the communication complexity of preference elicitation, and the complexity of identifying a model in the class consistent with a set of user-provided examples.
Modelling Multilateral Negotiation in Linear Logic
Authors: Porello Daniele  , Endriss Ulle
Published: February 2025

We show how to embed a framework for multilateral negotiation, in which a group of agents implement a sequence of deals concerning the exchange of a number of resources, into linear logic. In this model, multisets of goods, allocations of resources, preferences of agents, and deals are all modelled as formulas of linear logic. Whether or not a proposed deal is rational, given the preferences of the agents concerned, reduces to a question of provability, as does the question of whether there exists a sequence of deals leading to an allocation with certain desirable properties, such as maximising social welfare. Thus, linear logic provides a formal basis for modelling convergence properties in distributed resource allocation.
Context-aware Media Agent for Public Spaces
Authors: Satoh Ichiro
Published: February 2025

This paper presents an agent-based framework for building and operating context-aware media for digital signage in public spaces. The framework is managed in a non-centralized manner by using mobile agent technology and enables user assistant media agents to follow the movement of their users between stationary computers, e.g., public terminals, by using active RFID-tags. When users moves between locations in a public space, their agents provide annotations in personal forms according their current context. To demonstrate the utility and effectiveness of the system, we describe two applications of the frameworks.
Knowledge Compilation Using Interval Automata and Applications to Planning
Authors: Niveau Alexandre  , Fargier Hélène  , Pralet Cédric  , Verfaillie Gérard
Published: February 2025

Knowledge compilation [6, 5, 14, 8] consists in transforming a problem offline into a form which is tractable online. In this paper, we introduce new structures, based on the notion of interval automaton (IA), adapted to the compilation of problems involving both discrete and continuous variables, and especially of decision policies and transition tables, in the purpose of controlling autonomous systems.
Parallel Model Checking for Temporal Epistemic Logic
Authors: Kwiatkowska Marta  , Lomuscio Alessio  , Qu Hongyang
Published: February 2025

We investigate the problem of the verification of multi-agent systems by means of parallel algorithms. We present algorithms for CTLK, a logic combining branching time temporal logic with epistemic modalities. We report on an implementation of these algorithms and present the experimental results obtained. The results point to a significant speed-up in the verification step.
The Complexity of Epistemic Model Checking: Clock Semantics and Branching Time
Authors: Huang X.  , van der Meyden R.
Published: February 2025

In the clock semantics for epistemic logic, two situations are indistinguishable for an agent when it makes the same observation and the time in the situations is the same. The paper characterizes the complexity of model checking branching time logics of knowledge in finite state systems with respect to the clock semantics.
Designing a Successful Adaptive Agent for TAC Ad Auction
Authors: Chang Meng  , He Minghua  , Luo Xudong
Published: February 2025

This paper describes the design and evaluation of Aston-TAC, the runner-up in the Ad Auction Game of 2009 International Trading Agent Competition. In particular, we focus on how Aston-TAC generates adaptive bid prices according to the Market-based Value Per Click and how it selects a set of keyword queries to bid on to maximise the expected profit under limited conversion capacity. Through evaluation experiments, we show that AstonTAC performs well and stably not only in the competition but also across a broad range of environments.
Using Domain Knowledge to Guide Lattice-based Complex Data Exploration
Authors: Messai Nizar  , Devignes Marie-Dominique  , Napoli Amedeo  , Smaïl-Tabbone Malika
Published: February 2025

In this paper we propose an approach which combines semantic resources and formal concept analysis to deal with heterogenous data sets represented as many-valued (MV) formal contexts. We define a new Galois connection considering the semantic relationships between attribute values in a MV context. The semantic relationships are used to calculate the similarity between attribute values to decide whether an attribute is shared by a set of objects or not. Then, based on this Galois connection, we define MV formal concepts and MV concept lattices. Depending on a chosen similarity threshold, MV concept lattices may have different levels of precision. We take advantage of this feature to browse the content of a biological databases repository in a dynamic and progressive way. The browsing process combines the navigation in several MV concept lattices and allows zooming operations by switching between MV concept lattices with higher or lower precision.
Solving Pseudo-Boolean Modularity Constraints
Authors: Ansótegui Carlos  , Béjar Ramón  , Fernández Cèsar  , Guitart Francesc  , Mateu Carles
Published: February 2025

This paper introduces new solving strategies for the resolution of Pseudo-Boolean Modularity (PBMod) constraints. In particular, we deal with modular arithmetic constraints on Boolean variables. On the one hand, we analyze translations to Pseudo-Boolean (PB) constraints and apply PB solvers. We also look at those PB solvers that have shown that a transformation to the SAT problem can be an effective solving strategy for PB problems. Among the existing translation techniques we focus on the encoding based on a network of sorters. We extend this encoding technique to generate directly a SAT formula from the PBMod constraints. We compare our approach to other standard techniques such as Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) solvers with support for the Quantifier Free Linear Integer Arithmetic (QF_LIA) theory and the GLPK package for Mixed Integer Programming. In order to conduct our experimental investigation we present a generator of random PBMod constraints and study the impact of the several parameters on the hardness of the instances.
Completeness-Preserving Pruning for Optimal Planning
Authors: Coles Amanda  , Coles Andrew
Published: February 2025

This paper focuses on efficient methods for pruning the state space in cost-optimal planning. The use of heuristics to guide search and prune irrelevant branches has been widely and successfully explored. However, heuristic computation at every node in the search space is expensive, and even near perfect heuristics still leave a large portion of the search space to be explored [9]. Using up-front analysis to reduce the number of nodes to be considered therefore has great potential. Our contributions are not concerned with heuristic guidance, rather, with orthogonal completeness-preserving pruning techniques that reduce the number of states a planner must explore to find an optimal solution. We present results showing that our techniques can improve upon state-of-the-art optimal planners, both when using blind search and importantly in conjunction with modern heuristics, specifically hLM-CUT[8]. Our techniques are not limited to optimal planning and can also be applied in satisfycing planning.
A Probabilistic Approach to Appearance-Based Localization and Mapping
Authors: Campos F.M.  , Correia L.  , Calado J.M.F.
Published: February 2025

Recent approaches to appearance-based robot localization and mapping have relied on a topological representation of the environment and loop closing procedures to build correct maps. Because these solutions do not separate the problem of localization in mapped areas from the exploration of new locations, they require that loop-closing detection is performed continuously, inducing an extra computational burden on the robot. In this paper, we introduce a modified version of the Markov localization algorithm which avoids this condition by employing procedures that detect when novel areas are being explored or already mapped areas are revisited.
Discussion about Data Mining Application in Civil Engineering Deformation Measurement Analysis
Authors: Tang Y.J.
Published: February 2025

This paper presents the data mining application in the civil engineering deformation measurement. The data mining process is described based on a case study. This case is about deformation of residence buildings caused by one of Shanghai tunnel constructions in the vicinity of these buildings. The steps of data cleaning, data Integration, data mining, model assessment, and analysis results expression are given in detail according to the specific condition in the case. The findings in this article provide reference for deformation measuring data analysis, especially for the situation which limited measuring network or relative unstable region.
The Research and Application on Visual Information System of Safety Monitoring during Tunnelling Based on GIS
Authors: Lin Zhi  , Li Yuan-Hai  , Li Xing-Ping  , Yang Changjiang
Published: February 2025

In order to solve the problem of low efficiency in managing the monitoring information during tunnel construction, a new graphic information system with the capability of performance prediction was proposed. The system is designed to reach the target of rapid data calculation, quick analysis and high efficiency feedback by integrating the safety-related information, such as monitoring data, geological conditions and construction sequences. The core part of the system is an electronic construction monitoring map, which can be used to a basis for construction data management, daily construction monitoring services, query of the monitoring data and prediction of tunnel performance. It is envisioned that the system will influence design pattern and monitoring technology of tunnel engineering in the future.
Tractability in Value-based Argumentation
Authors: Dunne Paul E.
Published: February 2025

Value-based argumentation frameworks (VAFs) have proven to be a useful development of Dung's seminal model of argumentation in providing a rational basis for distinguishing mutually incompatible yet individually acceptable sets of arguments. In classifying argument status within value-based frameworks two main decision problems arise: subjective acceptance (SBA) and objective acceptance (OBA). These problems have proven to be somewhat resistant to efficient algorithmic approaches (the general cases being NP–complete and coNP–complete) even when very severe limitations are placed on the structure of the supporting Dung-style framework. Although using the number of values (k) represented within a given vaf leads to fixed parameter tractable (FPT) methods, these are not entirely satisfactory: the rate of growth of the parameter function (k!) making such methods unacceptable in cases where k is moderately large, e.g. k ≥ 20. In this paper we consider an alternative approach to the development of practical algorithms in value-based argumentation. In particular cases this leads to polynomial (in |χ|) methods, i.e. irrespective of the value of k. More general examples are shown to be decidable in O(f(k)|χ|2) steps where f(k)=o(k!) resulting in worst-case run times that significantly improve upon enumerating all value orderings.
Exploring the Role of Emotions in Rational Decision Making
Authors: Nawwab Fahd Saud  , Dunne Paul E.  , Bench-Capon Trevor
Published: February 2025

Our focus in this paper is to explore how emotional factors can complement rationality in decision making. Our approach is to develop a model of the situation and use this model to generate arguments for and against the actions that an agent can perform. Actions are then chosen by evaluating this set of arguments according to the subjective preferences and emotional state of the agent concerned. A mechanism to control and balance the extent of emotional effects is also introduced. We illustrate our approach with an extended case study based on an implemented system embodying this approach.
CF2-extensions as Answer-set Models
Authors: Osorio Mauricio  , Nieves Juan Carlos  , Gómez-Sebastià Ignasi
Published: February 2025

Extension-based argumentation semantics have shown to be a suitable approach for performing practical reasoning. Since extension-based argumentation semantics were formalized in terms of relationships between atomic arguments, it has been shown that extension-based argumentation semantics based on admissible sets such as stable semantics can be characterized in terms of answer sets. In this paper, we present an approach for characterizing SCC-recursive semantics in terms of answer set models. In particular, we will show a characterization of CF2 in terms of answer set models. This result suggests that not only extension-based argumentation semantics based on admissible sets can be characterized in terms of answer sets; but also extension-based argumentation semantics based on Strongly Connected Components can be characterized in terms of answer sets.