pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Estimating Countries with Similar Maternal Mortality Rate using Cluster Analysis and Pairing Countries with Identical MMR
Authors: S. Nandini, Sanjjushri Varshini R
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Management

In the evolving world, we require more additionally the young era to flourish and evolve into developed land. Most of the population all around the world are unaware of the complications involved in the routine they follow while they are pregnant and how hospital facilities affect maternal health. Maternal Mortality is the death of a pregnant woman due to intricacies correlated to pregnancy, underlying circumstances exacerbated by the pregnancy or management of these situations. It is crucial to consider the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in diverse locations and determine which human routines and hospital facilities diminish the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). This research aims to examine and discover the countries which are keeping more lavish threats of MMR and countries alike in MMR encountered. Data is examined and collected for various countries, data consists of the earlier years' observation. From the perspective of Machine Learning, Unsupervised Machine Learning is implemented to perform Cluster Analysis. Therefore the pairs of countries with similar MMR as well as the extreme opposite pair concerning the MMR are found.
Invariant Random Forest: Tree-Based Model Solution for OOD Generalization
Authors: Yufan Liao, Qi Wu, Xing Yan
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00

Out-Of-Distribution (OOD) generalization is an essential topic in machine learning. However, recent research is only focusing on the corresponding methods for neural networks. This paper introduces a novel and effective solution for OOD generalization of decision tree models, named Invariant Decision Tree (IDT). IDT enforces a penalty term with regard to the unstable/varying behavior of a split across different environments during the growth of the tree. Its ensemble version, the Invariant Random Forest (IRF), is constructed. Our proposed method is motivated by a theoretical result under mild conditions, and validated by numerical tests with both synthetic and real datasets. The superior performance compared to non-OOD tree models implies that considering OOD generalization for tree models is absolutely necessary and should be given more attention.
CODEX: A Cluster-Based Method for Explainable Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Timothy K. Mathes, Jessica Inman, Andrés Colón, Simon Khan
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Clustering, counterfactual, reinforcement-learning, Reinforcement Learning, Reinforcement Learning (RL), Starcraft, Starcraft II

Despite the impressive feats demonstrated by Reinforcement Learning (RL), these algorithms have seen little adoption in high-risk, real-world applications due to current difficulties in explaining RL agent actions and building user trust. We present Counterfactual Demonstrations for Explanation (CODEX), a method that incorporates semantic clustering, which can effectively summarize RL agent behavior in the state-action space. Experimentation on the MiniGrid and StarCraft II gaming environments reveals the semantic clusters retain temporal as well as entity information, which is reflected in the constructed summary of agent behavior. Furthermore, clustering the discrete+continuous game-state latent representations identifies the most crucial episodic events, demonstrating a relationship between the latent and semantic spaces. This work contributes to the growing body of work that strives to unlock the power of RL for widespread use by leveraging and extending techniques from Natural Language Processing.
Constrained Hierarchical Clustering via Graph Coarsening and Optimal Cuts
Authors: Eliabelle Mauduit, Andrea Simonetto
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Clustering, Sentence

Motivated by extracting and summarizing relevant information in short sentence settings, such as satisfaction questionnaires, hotel reviews, and X/Twitter, we study the problem of clustering words in a hierarchical fashion. In particular, we focus on the problem of clustering with horizontal and vertical structural constraints. Horizontal constraints are typically cannot-link and must-link among words, while vertical constraints are precedence constraints among cluster levels. We overcome state-of-the-art bottlenecks by formulating the problem in two steps: first, as a soft-constrained regularized least-squares which guides the result of a sequential graph coarsening algorithm towards the horizontal feasible set. Then, flat clusters are extracted from the resulting hierarchical tree by computing optimal cut heights based on the available constraints. We show that the resulting approach compares very well with respect to existing algorithms and is computationally light.
Wavelength-multiplexed Delayed Inputs for Memory Enhancement of Microring-based Reservoir Computing
Authors: Bernard J. Giron Castro, Christophe Peucheret, Francesco Da Ros
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Time Series, Time Series Prediction

We numerically demonstrate a silicon add-drop microring-based reservoir computing scheme that combines parallel delayed inputs and wavelength division multiplexing. The scheme solves memory-demanding tasks like time-series prediction with good performance without requiring external optical feedback.
Language Model Knowledge Distillation for Efficient Question Answering in Spanish
Authors: Adrián Bazaga, Pietro Liò, Gos Micklem
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Knowledge Distillation, Language Modeling, Language Modelling, Model Compression, Question Answering

Recent advances in the development of pre-trained Spanish language models has led to significant progress in many Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks, such as question answering. However, the lack of efficient models imposes a barrier for the adoption of such models in resource-constrained environments. Therefore, smaller distilled models for the Spanish language could be proven to be highly scalable and facilitate their further adoption on a variety of tasks and scenarios. In this work, we take one step in this direction by developing SpanishTinyRoBERTa, a compressed language model based on RoBERTa for efficient question answering in Spanish. To achieve this, we employ knowledge distillation from a large model onto a lighter model that allows for a wider implementation, even in areas with limited computational resources, whilst attaining negligible performance sacrifice. Our experiments show that the dense distilled model can still preserve the performance of its larger counterpart, while significantly increasing inference speedup. This work serves as a starting point for further research and investigation of model compression efforts for Spanish language models across various NLP tasks.
Coherent energy and force uncertainty in deep learning force fields
Authors: Peter Bjørn Jørgensen, Jonas Busk, Ole Winther, Mikkel N. Schmidt
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Deep Learning

In machine learning energy potentials for atomic systems, forces are commonly obtained as the negative derivative of the energy function with respect to atomic positions. To quantify aleatoric uncertainty in the predicted energies, a widely used modeling approach involves predicting both a mean and variance for each energy value. However, this model is not differentiable under the usual white noise assumption, so energy uncertainty does not naturally translate to force uncertainty. In this work we propose a machine learning potential energy model in which energy and force aleatoric uncertainty are linked through a spatially correlated noise process. We demonstrate our approach on an equivariant messages passing neural network potential trained on energies and forces on two out-of-equilibrium molecular datasets. Furthermore, we also show how to obtain epistemic uncertainties in this setting based on a Bayesian interpretation of deep ensemble models.
A novel feature selection framework for incomplete data
Authors: Cong Guo
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Feature Importance, feature selection, Imputation, Missing Values

Feature selection on incomplete datasets is an exceptionally challenging task. Existing methods address this challenge by first employing imputation methods to complete the incomplete data and then conducting feature selection based on the imputed data. Since imputation and feature selection are entirely independent steps, the importance of features cannot be considered during imputation. However, in real-world scenarios or datasets, different features have varying degrees of importance. To address this, we propose a novel incomplete data feature selection framework that considers feature importance. The framework mainly consists of two alternating iterative stages: the M-stage and the W-stage. In the M-stage, missing values are imputed based on a given feature importance vector and multiple initial imputation results. In the W-stage, an improved reliefF algorithm is employed to learn the feature importance vector based on the imputed data. Specifically, the feature importance vector obtained in the current iteration of the W-stage serves as input for the next iteration of the M-stage. Experimental results on both artificially generated and real incomplete datasets demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other approaches significantly.
Mixture of Dynamical Variational Autoencoders for Multi-Source Trajectory Modeling and Separation
Authors: Xiaoyu Lin, Laurent Girin, Xavier Alameda-Pineda
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Audio Source Separation, Multi-Object Tracking, Object Tracking, Trajectory Modeling

In this paper, we propose a latent-variable generative model called mixture of dynamical variational autoencoders (MixDVAE) to model the dynamics of a system composed of multiple moving sources. A DVAE model is pre-trained on a single-source dataset to capture the source dynamics. Then, multiple instances of the pre-trained DVAE model are integrated into a multi-source mixture model with a discrete observation-to-source assignment latent variable. The posterior distributions of both the discrete observation-to-source assignment variable and the continuous DVAE variables representing the sources content/position are estimated using a variational expectation-maximization algorithm, leading to multi-source trajectories estimation. We illustrate the versatility of the proposed MixDVAE model on two tasks: a computer vision task, namely multi-object tracking, and an audio processing task, namely single-channel audio source separation. Experimental results show that the proposed method works well on these two tasks, and outperforms several baseline methods.
Improving Communication Efficiency of Federated Distillation via Accumulating Local Updates
Authors: Zhiyuan Wu, Sheng Sun, Yuwei Wang, Min Liu, Tian Wen, Wen Wang
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Federated Learning

As an emerging federated learning paradigm, federated distillation enables communication-efficient model training by transmitting only small-scale knowledge during the learning process. To further improve the communication efficiency of federated distillation, we propose a novel technique, ALU, which accumulates multiple rounds of local updates before transferring the knowledge to the central server. ALU drastically decreases the frequency of communication in federated distillation, thereby significantly reducing the communication overhead during the training process. Empirical experiments demonstrate the substantial effect of ALU in improving the communication efficiency of federated distillation.
Multi-scale Residual Transformer for VLF Lightning Transients Classification
Authors: Jinghao Sun, Tingting Ji, Guoyu Wang, Rui Wang
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Classification

The utilization of Very Low Frequency (VLF) electromagnetic signals in navigation systems is widespread. However, the non-stationary behavior of lightning signals can affect VLF electromagnetic signal transmission. Accurately classifying lightning signals is important for reducing interference and noise in VLF, thereby improving the reliability and overall performance of navigation systems. In recent years, the evolution of deep learning, specifically Convolutional Neural Network (CNNs), has sparked a transformation in lightning classification, surpassing traditional statistical methodologies. Existing CNN models have limitations as they overlook the diverse attributes of lightning signals across different scales and neglect the significance of temporal sequencing in sequential signals. This study introduces an innovative multi-scale residual transform (MRTransformer) that not only has the ability to discern intricate fine-grained patterns while also weighing the significance of different aspects within the input lightning signal sequence. This model performs the attributes of the lightning signal across different scales and the level of accuracy reached 90% in the classification. In future work, this model has the potential applied to a comprehensive understanding of the localization and waveform characteristics of lightning signals.
Zero-Touch Networks: Towards Next-Generation Network Automation
Authors: Mirna El Rajab, Li Yang, Abdallah Shami
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: AutoML, Decision Making, Management

The Zero-touch network and Service Management (ZSM) framework represents an emerging paradigm in the management of the fifth-generation (5G) and Beyond (5G+) networks, offering automated self-management and self-healing capabilities to address the escalating complexity and the growing data volume of modern networks. ZSM frameworks leverage advanced technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) to enable intelligent decision-making and reduce human intervention. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of Zero-Touch Networks (ZTNs) within the ZSM framework, covering network optimization, traffic monitoring, energy efficiency, and security aspects of next-generational networks. The paper explores the challenges associated with ZSM, particularly those related to ML, which necessitate the need to explore diverse network automation solutions. In this context, the study investigates the application of Automated ML (AutoML) in ZTNs, to reduce network management costs and enhance performance. AutoML automates the selection and tuning process of a ML model for a given task. Specifically, the focus is on AutoML's ability to predict application throughput and autonomously adapt to data drift. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed AutoML pipeline over traditional ML in terms of prediction accuracy. Integrating AutoML and ZSM concepts significantly reduces network configuration and management efforts, allowing operators to allocate more time and resources to other important tasks. The paper also provides a high-level 5G system architecture incorporating AutoML and ZSM concepts. This research highlights the potential of ZTNs and AutoML to revolutionize the management of 5G+ networks, enabling automated decision-making and empowering network operators to achieve higher efficiency, improved performance, and enhanced user experience.
Resource Allocation for Semantic Communication under Physical-layer Security
Authors: Yang Li, Xinyu Zhou, Jun Zhao
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Semantic Communication

Semantic communication is deemed as a revolution of Shannon's paradigm in the six-generation (6G) wireless networks. It aims at transmitting the extracted information rather than the original data, which receivers will try to recover. Intuitively, the larger extracted information, the longer latency of semantic communication will be. Besides, larger extracted information will result in more accurate reconstructed information, thereby causing a higher utility of the semantic communication system. Shorter latency and higher utility are desirable objectives for the system, so there will be a trade-off between utility and latency. This paper proposes a joint optimization algorithm for total latency and utility. Moreover, security is essential for the semantic communication system. We incorporate the secrecy rate, a physical-layer security method, into the optimization problem. The secrecy rate is the communication rate at which no information is disclosed to an eavesdropper. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm obtains the best joint optimization performance compared to the baselines.
A Novel Federated Learning-Based IDS for Enhancing UAVs Privacy and Security
Authors: Ozlem Ceviz, Pinar Sadioglu, Sevil Sen, Vassilios G. Vassilakis
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Federated Learning, Intrusion Detection

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating within Flying Ad-hoc Networks (FANETs) encounter security challenges due to the dynamic and distributed nature of these networks. Previous studies focused predominantly on centralized intrusion detection, assuming a central entity responsible for storing and analyzing data from all devices. However, these approaches face challenges including computation and storage costs, along with a single point of failure risk, threatening data privacy and availability. The widespread dispersion of data across interconnected devices underscores the need for decentralized approaches. This paper introduces the Federated Learning-based Intrusion Detection System (FL-IDS), addressing challenges encountered by centralized systems in FANETs. FL-IDS reduces computation and storage costs for both clients and the central server, which is crucial for resource-constrained UAVs. Operating in a decentralized manner, FL-IDS enables UAVs to collaboratively train a global intrusion detection model without sharing raw data, thus avoiding delay in decisions based on collected data, as is often the case with traditional methods. Experimental results demonstrate FL-IDS's competitive performance with Central IDS (C-IDS) while mitigating privacy concerns, with the Bias Towards Specific Clients (BTSC) method further enhancing FL-IDS performance even at lower attacker ratios. Comparative analysis with traditional intrusion detection methods, including Local IDS (L-IDS), sheds light on the strengths of FL-IDS. This study significantly contributes to UAV security by introducing a privacy-aware, decentralized intrusion detection approach tailored to UAV networks. Moreover, by introducing a realistic dataset for FANETs and federated learning, our approach differs from others lacking high dynamism and 3D node movements or accurate federated data federations.
Small Area Estimation of Case Growths for Timely COVID-19 Outbreak Detection
Authors: Zhaowei She, Zilong Wang, Jagpreet Chhatwal, Turgay Ayer
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Transfer Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a profound impact on the global economy and continues to exact a significant toll on human lives. The COVID-19 case growth rate stands as a key epidemiological parameter to estimate and monitor for effective detection and containment of the resurgence of outbreaks. A fundamental challenge in growth rate estimation and hence outbreak detection is balancing the accuracy-speed tradeoff, where accuracy typically degrades with shorter fitting windows. In this paper, we develop a machine learning (ML) algorithm, which we call Transfer Learning Generalized Random Forest (TLGRF), that balances this accuracy-speed tradeoff. Specifically, we estimate the instantaneous COVID-19 exponential growth rate for each U.S. county by using TLGRF that chooses an adaptive fitting window size based on relevant day-level and county-level features affecting the disease spread. Through transfer learning, TLGRF can accurately estimate case growth rates for counties with small sample sizes. Out-of-sample prediction analysis shows that TLGRF outperforms established growth rate estimation methods. Furthermore, we conducted a case study based on outbreak case data from the state of Colorado and showed that the timely detection of outbreaks could have been improved by up to 224% using TLGRF when compared to the decisions made by Colorado's Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). To facilitate implementation, we have developed a publicly available outbreak detection tool for timely detection of COVID-19 outbreaks in each U.S. county, which received substantial attention from policymakers.
On the adaptation of in-context learners for system identification
Authors: Dario Piga, Filippo Pura, Marco Forgione
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Meta-Learning

In-context system identification aims at constructing meta-models to describe classes of systems, differently from traditional approaches that model single systems. This paradigm facilitates the leveraging of knowledge acquired from observing the behaviour of different, yet related dynamics. This paper discusses the role of meta-model adaptation. Through numerical examples, we demonstrate how meta-model adaptation can enhance predictive performance in three realistic scenarios: tailoring the meta-model to describe a specific system rather than a class; extending the meta-model to capture the behaviour of systems beyond the initial training class; and recalibrating the model for new prediction tasks. Results highlight the effectiveness of meta-model adaptation to achieve a more robust and versatile meta-learning framework for system identification.
A Transformer Model for Symbolic Regression towards Scientific Discovery
Authors: Florian Lalande, Yoshitomo Matsubara, Naoya Chiba, Tatsunori Taniai, Ryo Igarashi, Yoshitaka Ushiku
Date: 2023-12-07 00:00:00
Tasks: regression, scientific discovery, Symbolic Regression

Symbolic Regression (SR) searches for mathematical expressions which best describe numerical datasets. This allows to circumvent interpretation issues inherent to artificial neural networks, but SR algorithms are often computationally expensive. This work proposes a new Transformer model aiming at Symbolic Regression particularly focused on its application for Scientific Discovery. We propose three encoder architectures with increasing flexibility but at the cost of column-permutation equivariance violation. Training results indicate that the most flexible architecture is required to prevent from overfitting. Once trained, we apply our best model to the SRSD datasets (Symbolic Regression for Scientific Discovery datasets) which yields state-of-the-art results using the normalized tree-based edit distance, at no extra computational cost.