pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Generalised envelope spectrum-based signal-to-noise objectives: Formulation, optimisation and application for gear fault detection under time-varying speed conditions
Authors: Stephan Schmidt, Daniel N. Wilke, Konstantinos C. Gryllias
Date: 2024-04-26 00:00:00
Tasks: Fault Detection

In vibration-based condition monitoring, optimal filter design improves fault detection by enhancing weak fault signatures within vibration signals. This process involves optimising a derived objective function from a defined objective. The objectives are often based on proxy health indicators to determine the filter's parameters. However, these indicators can be compromised by irrelevant extraneous signal components and fluctuating operational conditions, affecting the filter's efficacy. Fault detection primarily uses the fault component's prominence in the squared envelope spectrum, quantified by a squared envelope spectrum-based signal-to-noise ratio. New optimal filter objective functions are derived from the proposed generalised envelope spectrum-based signal-to-noise objective for machines operating under variable speed conditions. Instead of optimising proxy health indicators, the optimal filter coefficients of the formulation directly maximise the squared envelope spectrum-based signal-to-noise ratio over targeted frequency bands using standard gradient-based optimisers. Four derived objective functions from the proposed objective effectively outperform five prominent methods in tests on three experimental datasets.
Baseline Drift Tolerant Signal Encoding for ECG Classification with Deep Learning
Authors: Robert O Shea, Prabodh Katti, Bipin Rajendran
Date: 2024-04-26 00:00:00
Tasks: ECG Classification

Common artefacts such as baseline drift, rescaling, and noise critically limit the performance of machine learningbased automated ECG analysis and interpretation. This study proposes Derived Peak (DP) encoding, a non-parametric method that generates signed spikes corresponding to zero crossings of the signals first and second-order time derivatives. Notably, DP encoding is invariant to shift and scaling artefacts, and its implementation is further simplified by the absence of userdefined parameters. DP encoding was used to encode the 12-lead ECG data from the PTB-XL dataset (n=18,869 participants) and was fed to 1D-ResNet-18 models trained to identify myocardial infarction, conductive deficits and ST-segment abnormalities. Robustness to artefacts was assessed by corrupting ECG data with sinusoidal baseline drift, shift, rescaling and noise, before encoding. The addition of these artefacts resulted in a significant drop in accuracy for seven other methods from prior art, while DP encoding maintained a baseline AUC of 0.88 under drift, shift and rescaling. DP achieved superior performance to unencoded inputs in the presence of shift (AUC under 1mV shift: 0.91 vs 0.62), and rescaling artefacts (AUC 0.91 vs 0.79). Thus, DP encoding is a simple method by which robustness to common ECG artefacts may be improved for automated ECG analysis and interpretation.
EEG_RL-Net: Enhancing EEG MI Classification through Reinforcement Learning-Optimised Graph Neural Networks
Authors: Htoo Wai Aung, Jiao Jiao Li, Yang An, Steven W. Su
Date: 2024-04-26 00:00:00
Tasks: Classification, EEG, Motor Imagery, Reinforcement Learning (RL)

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) rely on accurately decoding electroencephalography (EEG) motor imagery (MI) signals for effective device control. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) outperform Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) in this regard, by leveraging the spatial relationships between EEG electrodes through adjacency matrices. The EEG_GLT-Net framework, featuring the state-of-the-art EEG_GLT adjacency matrix method, has notably enhanced EEG MI signal classification, evidenced by an average accuracy of 83.95% across 20 subjects on the PhysioNet dataset. This significantly exceeds the 76.10% accuracy rate achieved using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) method within the same framework. In this research, we advance the field by applying a Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach to the classification of EEG MI signals. Our innovative method empowers the RL agent, enabling not only the classification of EEG MI data points with higher accuracy, but effective identification of EEG MI data points that are less distinct. We present the EEG_RL-Net, an enhancement of the EEG_GLT-Net framework, which incorporates the trained EEG GCN Block from EEG_GLT-Net at an adjacency matrix density of 13.39% alongside the RL-centric Dueling Deep Q Network (Dueling DQN) block. The EEG_RL-Net model showcases exceptional classification performance, achieving an unprecedented average accuracy of 96.40% across 20 subjects within 25 milliseconds. This model illustrates the transformative effect of the RL in EEG MI time point classification.
Optimizing Brain-Computer Interface Performance: Advancing EEG Signals Channel Selection through Regularized CSP and SPEA II Multi-Objective Optimization
Authors: M. Moein Esfahani, Hossein Sadati, Vince D Calhoun
Date: 2024-04-26 00:00:00
Tasks: Brain Computer Interface, channel selection, EEG, EEG Signal Classification, Electroencephalogram (EEG), Ensemble Learning

Brain-computer interface systems and the recording of brain activity has garnered significant attention across a diverse spectrum of applications. EEG signals have emerged as a modality for recording neural electrical activity. Among the methodologies designed for feature extraction from EEG data, the method of RCSP has proven to be an approach, particularly in the context of MI tasks. RCSP exhibits efficacy in the discrimination and classification of EEG signals. In optimizing the performance of this method, our research extends to a comparative analysis with conventional CSP techniques, as well as optimized methodologies designed for similar applications. Notably, we employ the meta-heuristic multi-objective Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm II (SPEA-II) as a pivotal component of our research paradigm. This is a state-of-the-art approach in the selection of an subset of channels from a multichannel EEG signal with MI tasks. Our main objective is to formulate an optimum channel selection strategy aimed at identifying the most pertinent subset of channels from the multi-dimensional electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. One of the primary objectives inherent to channel selection in the EEG signal analysis pertains to the reduction of the channel count, an approach that enhances user comfort when utilizing gel-based EEG electrodes. Additionally, within this research, we took benefit of ensemble learning models as a component of our decision-making. This technique serves to mitigate the challenges associated with overfitting, especially when confronted with an extensive array of potentially redundant EEG channels and data noise. Our findings not only affirm the performance of RCSP in MI-based BCI systems, but also underscore the significance of channel selection strategies and ensemble learning techniques in optimizing the performance of EEG signal classification.
A Novel Machine Learning-based Equalizer for a Downstream 100G PAM-4 PON
Authors: Chen Shao, Elias Giacoumidis, Shi Li, Jialei Li, Michael Faerber, Tobias Kaefer, Andre Richter
Date: 2024-04-25 00:00:00

A frequency-calibrated SCINet (FC-SCINet) equalizer is proposed for down-stream 100G PON with 28.7 dB path loss. At 5 km, FC-SCINet improves the BER by 88.87% compared to FFE and a 3-layer DNN with 10.57% lower complexity.
EEG-Deformer: A Dense Convolutional Transformer for Brain-computer Interfaces
Authors: Yi Ding, Yong Li, Hao Sun, Rui Liu, Chengxuan Tong, Chenyu Liu, Xinliang Zhou, Cuntai Guan
Date: 2024-04-25 00:00:00
Tasks: EEG, Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Effectively learning the temporal dynamics in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is challenging yet essential for decoding brain activities using brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Although Transformers are popular for their long-term sequential learning ability in the BCI field, most methods combining Transformers with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) fail to capture the coarse-to-fine temporal dynamics of EEG signals. To overcome this limitation, we introduce EEG-Deformer, which incorporates two main novel components into a CNN-Transformer: (1) a Hierarchical Coarse-to-Fine Transformer (HCT) block that integrates a Fine-grained Temporal Learning (FTL) branch into Transformers, effectively discerning coarse-to-fine temporal patterns; and (2) a Dense Information Purification (DIP) module, which utilizes multi-level, purified temporal information to enhance decoding accuracy. Comprehensive experiments on three representative cognitive tasks-cognitive attention, driving fatigue, and mental workload detection-consistently confirm the generalizability of our proposed EEG-Deformer, demonstrating that it either outperforms or performs comparably to existing state-of-the-art methods. Visualization results show that EEG-Deformer learns from neurophysiologically meaningful brain regions for the corresponding cognitive tasks. The source code can be found at https://github.com/yi-ding-cs/EEG-Deformer.
SoK: Behind the Accuracy of Complex Human Activity Recognition Using Deep Learning
Authors: Duc-Anh Nguyen, Nhien-An Le-Khac
Date: 2024-04-25 00:00:00
Tasks: Activity Recognition, Deep Learning, Human Activity Recognition

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is a well-studied field with research dating back to the 1980s. Over time, HAR technologies have evolved significantly from manual feature extraction, rule-based algorithms, and simple machine learning models to powerful deep learning models, from one sensor type to a diverse array of sensing modalities. The scope has also expanded from recognising a limited set of activities to encompassing a larger variety of both simple and complex activities. However, there still exist many challenges that hinder advancement in complex activity recognition using modern deep learning methods. In this paper, we comprehensively systematise factors leading to inaccuracy in complex HAR, such as data variety and model capacity. Among many sensor types, we give more attention to wearable and camera due to their prevalence. Through this Systematisation of Knowledge (SoK) paper, readers can gain a solid understanding of the development history and existing challenges of HAR, different categorisations of activities, obstacles in deep learning-based complex HAR that impact accuracy, and potential research directions.
Cross-modality Matching and Prediction of Perturbation Responses with Labeled Gromov-Wasserstein Optimal Transport
Authors: Jayoung Ryu, Charlotte Bunne, Luca Pinello, Aviv Regev, Romain Lopez
Date: 2024-05-01 00:00:00

It is now possible to conduct large scale perturbation screens with complex readout modalities, such as different molecular profiles or high content cell images. While these open the way for systematic dissection of causal cell circuits, integrated such data across screens to maximize our ability to predict circuits poses substantial computational challenges, which have not been addressed. Here, we extend two Gromov-Wasserstein Optimal Transport methods to incorporate the perturbation label for cross-modality alignment. The obtained alignment is then employed to train a predictive model that estimates cellular responses to perturbations observed with only one measurement modality. We validate our method for the tasks of cross-modality alignment and cross-modality prediction in a recent multi-modal single-cell perturbation dataset. Our approach opens the way to unified causal models of cell biology.
Some properties of Euler capital allocation
Authors: Lars Holden
Date: 2024-05-01 00:00:00

The paper discusses capital allocation using the Euler formula and focuses on the risk measures Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected shortfall (ES). Some new results connected to this capital allocation is known. Two examples illustrate that capital allocation with VaR is not monotonous which may be surprising since VaR is monotonous. A third example illustrates why the same risk measure should be used in capital allocation as in the evaluation of the total portfolio. We show how simulation may be used in order to estimate the expected Return on risk adjusted capital in the commitment period of an asset. Finally, we show how Markov chain Monte Carlo may be used in the estimation of the capital allocation.
Pricing and delta computation in jump-diffusion models with stochastic intensity by Malliavin calculus
Authors: Ayub Ahmadi, Mahdieh Tahmasebi
Date: 2024-05-01 00:00:00
Tasks: Attribute, Management

This paper investigates the pricing of financial derivatives and the calculation of their delta Greek when the underlying asset is a jump-diffusion process in which the stochastic intensity component follows the CIR process. Utilizing Malliavin derivatives for pricing financial derivatives and challenging to find the Malliavin weight for accurately calculating delta will be established in such models. Because asset prices rely on information from the intensity process, the moments of the Malliavin weights and the underlying asset must be bound. We apply the Euler scheme to show the convergence of the approximated solution, a financial derivative, and its delta Greeks and we have established the convergence analysis. Our approach has been validated through numerical experiments, highlighting its effectiveness and potential for risk management and hedging strategies in markets characterized by jump and stochastic intensity dynamics.
Optimal nonparametric estimation of the expected shortfall risk
Authors: Daniel Bartl, Stephan Eckstein
Date: 2024-05-01 00:00:00

We address the problem of estimating the expected shortfall risk of a financial loss using a finite number of i.i.d. data. It is well known that the classical plug-in estimator suffers from poor statistical performance when faced with (heavy-tailed) distributions that are commonly used in financial contexts. Further, it lacks robustness, as the modification of even a single data point can cause a significant distortion. We propose a novel procedure for the estimation of the expected shortfall and prove that it recovers the best possible statistical properties (dictated by the central limit theorem) under minimal assumptions and for all finite numbers of data. Further, this estimator is adversarially robust: even if a (small) proportion of the data is maliciously modified, the procedure continuous to optimally estimate the true expected shortfall risk. We demonstrate that our estimator outperforms the classical plug-in estimator through a variety of numerical experiments across a range of standard loss distributions.
Target-Specific De Novo Peptide Binder Design with DiffPepBuilder
Authors: Fanhao Wang, Yuzhe Wang, Laiyi Feng, Changsheng Zhang, Luhua Lai
Date: 2024-04-30 00:00:00

Despite the exciting progress in target-specific de novo protein binder design, peptide binder design remains challenging due to the flexibility of peptide structures and the scarcity of protein-peptide complex structure data. In this study, we curated a large synthetic dataset, referred to as PepPC-F, from the abundant protein-protein interface data and developed DiffPepBuilder, a de novo target-specific peptide binder generation method that utilizes an SE(3)-equivariant diffusion model trained on PepPC-F to co-design peptide sequences and structures. DiffPepBuilder also introduces disulfide bonds to stabilize the generated peptide structures. We tested DiffPepBuilder on 30 experimentally verified strong peptide binders with available protein-peptide complex structures. DiffPepBuilder was able to effectively recall the native structures and sequences of the peptide ligands and to generate novel peptide binders with improved binding free energy. We subsequently conducted de novo generation case studies on three targets. In both the regeneration test and case studies, DiffPepBuilder outperformed AfDesign and RFdiffusion coupled with ProteinMPNN, in terms of sequence and structure recall, interface quality, and structural diversity. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that the introduction of disulfide bonds enhanced the structural rigidity and binding performance of the generated peptides. As a general peptide binder de novo design tool, DiffPepBuilder can be used to design peptide binders for given protein targets with three dimensional and binding site information.
Heterogeneity analysis provides evidence for a genetically homogeneous subtype of bipolar-disorder
Authors: Caroline C. McGrouther, Aaditya V. Rangan, Arianna Di Florio, Jeremy A. Elman, Nicholas J. Schork, John Kelsoe
Date: 2024-04-30 00:00:00

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a complex disease. It is heterogeneous, both at the phenotypic and genetic level, although the extent and impact of this heterogeneity is not fully understood. In this paper, we leverage recent advances in heterogeneity analysis to look for genetically-driven subgroups (i.e., biclusters) within the broad phenotype of Bipolar Disorder. We first apply this covariate-corrected biclustering algorithm to a cohort of 2524 BD cases and 4106 controls from the Bipolar Disease Research Network (BDRN) within the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC). We find evidence of genetic heterogeneity delineating a statistically significant bicluster comprising a subset of BD cases which exhibits a disease-specific pattern of differential-expression across a subset of SNPs. This disease-specific genetic pattern (i.e., 'genetic subgroup') replicates across the remaining data-sets collected by the PGC containing 5781/8289, 3581/7591, and 6825/9752 cases/controls, respectively. This genetic subgroup (discovered without using any BD subtype information) was more prevalent in Bipolar type-I than in Bipolar type-II. Our methodology has successfully identified a replicable homogeneous genetic subgroup of bipolar disorder. This subgroup may represent a collection of correlated genetic risk-factors for BDI. By investigating the subgroup's bicluster-informed polygenic-risk-scoring (PRS), we find that the disease-specific pattern highlighted by the bicluster can be leveraged to eliminate noise from our GWAS analyses and improve risk prediction. This improvement is particularly notable when using only a relatively small subset of the available SNPs, implying improved SNP replication. Though our primary focus is only the analysis of disease-related signal, we also identify replicable control-related heterogeneity.
Anti-seizure medication tapering correlates with daytime delta band power reduction in the cortex
Authors: Guillermo M. Besne, Nathan Evans, Mariella Panagiotopoulou, Billy Smith, Fahmida A Chowdhury, Beate Diehl, John S Duncan, Andrew W McEvoy, Anna Miserocchi, Jane de Tisi, Mathew Walker, Peter N. Taylor, Chris Thornton, Yujiang Wang
Date: 2024-05-02 00:00:00
Tasks: EEG

Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are the primary treatment for epilepsy, yet medication tapering effects have not been investigated in a dose, region, and time-dependent manner, despite their potential impact on research and clinical practice. We examined over 3000 hours of intracranial EEG recordings in 32 subjects during long-term monitoring, of which 22 underwent concurrent ASM tapering. We estimated ASM plasma levels based on known pharmaco-kinetics of all the major ASM types. We found an overall decrease in the power of delta band activity around the period of maximum medication withdrawal in most (80%) subjects, independent of their epilepsy type or medication combination. The degree of withdrawal correlated positively with the magnitude of delta power decrease. This dose-dependent effect was evident across all recorded cortical regions during daytime; but not in sub-cortical regions, or during night time. We found no evidence of a differential effect in seizure onset, spiking, or pathological brain regions. The finding of decreased delta band power during ASM tapering agrees with previous literature. Our observed dose-dependent effect indicates that monitoring ASM levels in cortical regions may be feasible for applications such as medication reminder systems, or closed-loop ASM delivery systems. ASMs are also used in other neurological and psychiatric conditions, making our findings relevant to a general neuroscience and neurology audience.
Reliability and predictability of phenotype information from functional connectivity in large imaging datasets
Authors: Jessica Dafflon, Dustin Moraczewski, Eric Earl, Dylan M. Nielson, Gabriel Loewinger, Patrick McClure, Adam G. Thomas, Francisco Pereira
Date: 2024-05-01 00:00:00
Tasks: Functional Connectivity

One of the central objectives of contemporary neuroimaging research is to create predictive models that can disentangle the connection between patterns of functional connectivity across the entire brain and various behavioral traits. Previous studies have shown that models trained to predict behavioral features from the individual's functional connectivity have modest to poor performance. In this study, we trained models that predict observable individual traits (phenotypes) and their corresponding singular value decomposition (SVD) representations - herein referred to as latent phenotypes from resting state functional connectivity. For this task, we predicted phenotypes in two large neuroimaging datasets: the Human Connectome Project (HCP) and the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC). We illustrate the importance of regressing out confounds, which could significantly influence phenotype prediction. Our findings reveal that both phenotypes and their corresponding latent phenotypes yield similar predictive performance. Interestingly, only the first five latent phenotypes were reliably identified, and using just these reliable phenotypes for predicting phenotypes yielded a similar performance to using all latent phenotypes. This suggests that the predictable information is present in the first latent phenotypes, allowing the remainder to be filtered out without any harm in performance. This study sheds light on the intricate relationship between functional connectivity and the predictability and reliability of phenotypic information, with potential implications for enhancing predictive modeling in the realm of neuroimaging research.
Cold plasma treatment boosts barley germination and seedling vigor: Insights into soluble sugar, starch, and protein modifications
Authors: Mohamed Ali Benabderrahim, Imen Bettaieb, Hédia Hannachi, Mokhtar Rejili, Thierry Dufour
Date: 2024-04-18 00:00:00

This study investigates the impact of three cold plasma treatments on barley seed germination: direct treatment of dry seeds (DDS), direct treatment of water-soaked seeds (DWS), and indirect treatment of seeds using plasma-activated water (IPAW).