pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Correlation analysis technique of key parameters for transformer material inspection based on FP-tree and knowledge graph
Authors: Jing Xu, Yongbo Zhang
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00
Tasks: Management

As one of the key equipment in the distribution system, the distribution transformer directly affects the reliability of the user power supply. The probability of accidents occurring in the operation of transformer equipment is high, so it has become a focus of material inspection in recent years. However, the large amount of raw data from sample testing is not being used effectively. Given the above problems, this paper aims to mine the relationship between the unqualified distribution transformer inspection items by using the association rule algorithm based on the distribution transformer inspection data collected from 2017 to 2021 and sorting out the key inspection items. At the same time, the unqualified judgment basis of the relevant items is given, and the internal relationship between the inspection items is clarified to a certain extent. Furthermore, based on material and equipment inspection reports, correlations between failed inspection items, and expert knowledge, the knowledge graph of material equipment inspection management is constructed in the graph database Neo4j. The experimental results show that the FP-Growth method performs significantly better than the Apriori method and can accurately assess the relationship between failed distribution transformer inspection items. Finally, the knowledge graph network is visualized to provide a systematic knowledge base for material inspection, which is convenient for knowledge query and management. This method can provide a scientific guidance program for operation and maintenance personnel to do equipment maintenance and also offers a reference for the state evaluation of other high-voltage equipment.
Age of Computing: A Metric of Computation Freshness in Communication and Computation Cooperative Networks
Authors: Xingran Chen, Yi Zhuang, Kun Yang
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00

In communication and computation cooperative networks (3CNs), timely computation is crucial but not always guaranteed. There is a strong demand for a computational task to be completed within a given deadline. The time taken involves both processing time, communication time, and the impact of the deadline. However, a measure of such timeliness in 3CNs is lacking. In this paper, we introduce the novel concept, Age of Computing (AoC), to capture computation freshness in 3CNs. We analyze AoC in a line topology consisting of a source, a transmitter, a receiver, and a computational node. Tasks generated by the source are immediately available at the transmitter, where they enter a communication queue. These tasks then pass to the receiver and subsequently to a computation queue at the computational node for processing. Each task has a deadline, requiring completion within this timeframe. AoC is evaluated under two types of deadlines: (i) soft deadline, tasks can be fed back to the source if delayed beyond the deadline, but with additional latency; (ii) hard deadline, tasks delayed beyond the deadline are discarded. Under both deadlines, we derive the AoC formula and a general expression for the time-average AoC. For the first-come, first-serve discipline, we obtain a closed-form expression for the average AoC under the soft deadline and an approximation for the hard deadline. In addition to freshness, we define computation throughput, providing a general expression and an approximation. To explore the relationship between freshness and throughput, we construct an optimization problem and prove that the objective pair is a weakly Pareto-optimal point. Numerical results validate all the theoretical findings. Additionally, they reveal that under the hard deadline, the computation throughput serves as a reliable proxy for the average AoC.
Power-Flow-Embedded Projection Conic Matrix Completion for Low-Observable Distribution Systems
Authors: Xuzhuo Wang, Guoan Yan, Zhengshuo Li
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00
Tasks: Matrix Completion, State Estimation

A low-observable distribution system has insufficient measurements for conventional weighted least square state estimators. Matrix completion state estimators have been suggested, but their computational times could be prohibitive. To resolve this problem, a novel and efficient power-flow-embedded projection conic matrix completion method customized for low-observable distribution systems is proposed in this letter. This method can yield more accurate state estimations (2-fold improvement) in a much shorter time (5% or less) than other methods. Case studies on different-scale systems have demonstrated the efficacy of the proposed method when applied to low-observable distribution system state estimation problems.
Controller Adaptation via Learning Solutions of Contextual Bayesian Optimization
Authors: Viet-Anh Le, Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Date: 2024-03-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Bayesian Optimization, Gaussian Processes, Model Predictive Control

In this work, we propose a framework for adapting the controller's parameters based on learning optimal solutions from contextual black-box optimization problems. We consider a class of control design problems for dynamical systems operating in different environments or conditions represented by contextual parameters. The overarching goal is to identify the controller parameters that maximize the controlled system's performance, given different realizations of the contextual parameters.We formulate a contextual Bayesian optimization problem in which the solution is actively learned using Gaussian processes to approximate the controller adaptation strategy. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework with a sim-to-real example. We learn the optimal weighting strategy of a model predictive control for connected and automated vehicles interacting with human-driven vehicles from simulations and then deploy it in a real-time experiment.
Les Houches Lectures on Community Ecology: From Niche Theory to Statistical Mechanics
Authors: Wenping Cui, Robert Marsland III, Pankaj Mehta
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00

Ecosystems are among the most interesting and well-studied examples of self-organized complex systems. Community ecology, the study of how species interact with each other and the environment, has a rich tradition. Over the last few years, there has been a growing theoretical and experimental interest in these problems from the physics and quantitative biology communities. Here, we give an overview of community ecology, highlighting the deep connections between ecology and statistical physics. We start by introducing the two classes of mathematical models that have served as the workhorses of community ecology: Consumer Resource Models (CRM) and the generalized Lotka-Volterra models (GLV). We place a special emphasis on graphical methods and general principles. We then review recent works showing a deep and surprising connection between ecological dynamics and constrained optimization. We then shift our focus by analyzing these same models in "high-dimensions" (i.e. in the limit where the number of species and resources in the ecosystem becomes large) and discuss how such complex ecosystems can be analyzed using methods from the statistical physics of disordered systems such as the cavity method and Random Matrix Theory.
Matching under Imperfectly Transferable Utility
Authors: Alfred Galichon, Simon Weber
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00

In this paper, we examine matching models with imperfectly transferable utility (ITU). We provide motivating examples, discuss the theoretical foundations of ITU matching models and present methods for estimating them. We also explore connected topics and provide an overview of the related literature. This paper has been submitted as a draft chapter for the Handbook of the Economics of Matching, edited by Che, Chiappori and Salani\'e.
Binaural Speech Enhancement Using Deep Complex Convolutional Transformer Networks
Authors: Vikas Tokala, Eric Grinstein, Mike Brookes, Simon Doclo, Jesper Jensen, Patrick A. Naylor
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00
Tasks: Decoder, Speech Enhancement

Studies have shown that in noisy acoustic environments, providing binaural signals to the user of an assistive listening device may improve speech intelligibility and spatial awareness. This paper presents a binaural speech enhancement method using a complex convolutional neural network with an encoder-decoder architecture and a complex multi-head attention transformer. The model is trained to estimate individual complex ratio masks in the time-frequency domain for the left and right-ear channels of binaural hearing devices. The model is trained using a novel loss function that incorporates the preservation of spatial information along with speech intelligibility improvement and noise reduction. Simulation results for acoustic scenarios with a single target speaker and isotropic noise of various types show that the proposed method improves the estimated binaural speech intelligibility and preserves the binaural cues better in comparison with several baseline algorithms.
Robust Semantic Communications for Speech Transmission
Authors: Zhenzi Weng, Zhijin Qin
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00
Tasks: Generative Adversarial Network, Semantic Communication, Speech-to-Text, Speech-to-Text Translation, Translation

In this paper, we propose a robust semantic communication system for speech transmission, named Ross-S2T, by delivering the essential semantic information. Particularly, we consider the speech-to-text translation (S2TT) as the transmission goal. First, a deep semantic encoder is developed to directly convert speech in the source language to textual features associated with the target language, facilitating the end-to-end (E2E) semantic exchange to perform the S2TT task and reducing the transmission data without performance degradation. To mitigate semantic impairments inherent in the corrupted speech, a novel generative adversarial network (GAN)-enabled deep semantic compensator is established to estimate the lost semantic information within the speech and extract deep semantic features simultaneously, which enables robust semantic transmission for corrupted speech. Furthermore, a semantic probe-aided compensator is devised to enhance the semantic fidelity of recovered semantic features and improve the understandability of the target text. According to simulation results, the proposed Ross-S2T exhibits superior S2TT performance compared to conventional approaches and high robustness against semantic impairments.
A Decoupled Approach for Composite Sparse-plus-Smooth Penalized Optimization
Authors: Adrian Jarret, Valérie Costa, Julien Fageot
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00

We consider a linear inverse problem whose solution is expressed as a sum of two components: one smooth and the other sparse. This problem is addressed by minimizing an objective function with a least squares data-fidelity term and a different regularization term applied to each of the components. Sparsity is promoted with an $\ell_1$ norm, while the smooth component is penalized with an $\ell_2$ norm. We characterize the solution set of this composite optimization problem by stating a Representer Theorem. Consequently, we identify that solving the optimization problem can be decoupled by first identifying the sparse solution as a solution of a modified single-variable problem and then deducing the smooth component. We illustrate that this decoupled solving method can lead to significant computational speedups in applications, considering the problem of Dirac recovery over a smooth background with two-dimensional partial Fourier measurements.
Clustering Interval Load with Weather to Create Scenarios of Behind-the-Meter Solar Penetration
Authors: Allison M. Campbell, Soumya Kundu, Andrew P. Reiman, Orestis Vasios, Ian Beil, Andy Eiden
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00

Forecasting load at the feeder level has become increasingly challenging with the penetration of behind-the-meter solar, as this self-generation (also called total generation) is only visible to the utility as aggregated net-load. This work proposes a methodology for creation of scenarios of solar penetration at the feeder level for use by forecasters to test the robustness of their algorithm to progressively higher penetrations of solar. The algorithm draws on publicly available observations of weather \emph{condition} (e.g., rainy/cloudy/fair) for use as proxies to sky clearness. These observations are used to mask and weight the interval deviations of similar native usage profiles from which average interval usage is calculated and subsequently added to interval net generation to reconstruct interval total generation. This approach improves the estimate of annual energy generation by 23\%; where the net generation signal currently only reflects 52\% of total annual generation, now 75\% is captured via the proposed algorithm. This proposed methodology is data driven and extensible to service territories which lack information on irradiance measurements and geo-coordinates.
Advances of Deep Learning in Protein Science: A Comprehensive Survey
Authors: Bozhen Hu, Cheng Tan, Lirong Wu, Jiangbin Zheng, Jun Xia, Zhangyang Gao, Zicheng Liu, Fandi Wu, Guijun Zhang, Stan Z. Li
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00
Tasks: Deep Learning, Drug Discovery, Protein Function Prediction, Protein Structure Prediction, Representation Learning, Survey

Protein representation learning plays a crucial role in understanding the structure and function of proteins, which are essential biomolecules involved in various biological processes. In recent years, deep learning has emerged as a powerful tool for protein modeling due to its ability to learn complex patterns and representations from large-scale protein data. This comprehensive survey aims to provide an overview of the recent advances in deep learning techniques applied to protein science. The survey begins by introducing the developments of deep learning based protein models and emphasizes the importance of protein representation learning in drug discovery, protein engineering, and function annotation. It then delves into the fundamentals of deep learning, including convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, attention models, and graph neural networks in modeling protein sequences, structures, and functions, and explores how these techniques can be used to extract meaningful features and capture intricate relationships within protein data. Next, the survey presents various applications of deep learning in the field of proteins, including protein structure prediction, protein-protein interaction prediction, protein function prediction, etc. Furthermore, it highlights the challenges and limitations of these deep learning techniques and also discusses potential solutions and future directions for overcoming these challenges. This comprehensive survey provides a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the field of proteins who are interested in harnessing the power of deep learning techniques. By consolidating the latest advancements and discussing potential avenues for improvement, this review contributes to the ongoing progress in protein research and paves the way for future breakthroughs in the field.
Cell reprogramming design by transfer learning of functional transcriptional networks
Authors: Thomas P. Wytock, Adilson E. Motter
Date: 2024-03-07 00:00:00
Tasks: Transfer Learning

Recent developments in synthetic biology, next-generation sequencing, and machine learning provide an unprecedented opportunity to rationally design new disease treatments based on measured responses to gene perturbations and drugs to reprogram cells. The main challenges to seizing this opportunity are the incomplete knowledge of the cellular network and the combinatorial explosion of possible interventions, both of which are insurmountable by experiments. To address these challenges, we develop a transfer learning approach to control cell behavior that is pre-trained on transcriptomic data associated with human cell fates, thereby generating a model of the network dynamics that can be transferred to specific reprogramming goals. The approach combines transcriptional responses to gene perturbations to minimize the difference between a given pair of initial and target transcriptional states. We demonstrate our approach's versatility by applying it to a microarray dataset comprising >9,000 microarrays across 54 cell types and 227 unique perturbations, and an RNASeq dataset consisting of >10,000 sequencing runs across 36 cell types and 138 perturbations. Our approach reproduces known reprogramming protocols with an AUROC of 0.91 while innovating over existing methods by pre-training an adaptable model that can be tailored to specific reprogramming transitions. We show that the number of gene perturbations required to steer from one fate to another increases with decreasing developmental relatedness and that fewer genes are needed to progress along developmental paths than to regress. These findings establish a proof-of-concept for our approach to computationally design control strategies and provide insights into how gene regulatory networks govern phenotype.
Nano/micro-plastics effects in agricultural landscapes: an overlooked threat to pollination, biological pest control, and food security
Authors: Dong Sheng, Siyuan Jing, Xueqing He, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Heinz-R. Köhler, Thomas C. Wanger
Date: 2024-03-07 00:00:00

Biodiversity-associated ecosystem services such as pollination and biocontrol may be severely affected by emerging nano/micro-plastics (NMP) pollution. We synthesized the little-explored effects of NMP on pollinators and biocontrol agents on the organismal, farm and landscape scale. For instance ingested NMP trigger organismal changes from gene expression, organ damage to behavior modifications. At the farm and landscape level, NMP will likely amplify synergistic effects with other threats such as pathogens and antibiotics, and may alter landscape properties such as floral resource distributions in high NMP concentration areas, what we call NMP islands. It is essential to understand the functional exposure pathways of NMP on pollinators and biocontrol agents to comprehensively evaluate the risks for agricultural ecosystems and global food security.
Optical Screening of Citrus Leaf Diseases Using Label-Free Spectroscopic Tools: A Review
Authors: Saurav Bharadwaj, Akshita Midha, Shikha Sharma, Gurupkar Singh Sidhu, Rajesh Kumar
Date: 2024-03-07 00:00:00

Citrus diseases pose threats to citrus farming and result in economic losses worldwide. Nucleic acid and serology-based methods of detection and, immunochromatographic assays are commonly used but these laboratory tests are laborious, expensive and might be subjected to cross-reaction and contamination. Modern optical spectroscopic techniques offer a promising alternative as they are label-free, sensitive, rapid, non-destructive, and demonstrate the potential for incorporation into an autonomous system for disease detection in citrus orchards. Nevertheless, the majority of optical spectroscopic methods for citrus disease detection are still in the trial phases and, require additional efforts to be established as efficient and commercially viable methods. The review presents an overview of fundamental working principles, the state of the art, and explains the applications and limitations of the optical spectroscopy technique including the spectroscopic imaging approach (hyperspectral imaging) in the identification of diseases in citrus plants. The review highlights (1) the technical specifications of optical spectroscopic tools that can potentially be utilized in field measurements, (2) their applications in screening citrus diseases through leaf spectroscopy, and (3) discusses their benefits and limitations, including future insights into label-free identification of citrus diseases. Moreover, the role of artificial intelligence is reviewed as potential effective tools for spectral analysis, enabling more accurate detection of infected citrus leaves even before the appearance of visual symptoms by leveraging compositional, morphological, and chemometric characteristics of the plant leaves. The review aims to encourage stakeholders to enhance the development and commercialization of field-based, label-free optical tools for the rapid and early-stage screening of citrus diseases in plants.
The temperature affects the impact levels of synthetic insecticides on a parasitoid wasp used in the biological control of pentatomid pests in soybean crops
Authors: Matheus Rakes, Maíra Chagas Morais, Leandro do Prado Ribeiro, Gabriel Rodrigues Palma, Rafael de Andrade Moral, Daniel Bernardi, Anderson Dionei Grützmacher
Date: 2024-03-08 00:00:00

The impact of climate change has led to growing global concern about the interaction of temperature and xenobiotics in agricultural toxicological studies. Thus, for the first time, we evaluated the lethal, sublethal and transgerational effects of six insecticides used in the management of stink bug complex in soybean crops on the different life stages of the parasitoid Telenomus podisi (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in three temperature levels (15, 25 and 30 {\deg}C). Telenomus podisi adults (F0 generation), when exposed to insecticides based on acephate, spinosad and thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin, showed accumulated mortality of 100% at all temperature levels tested. On the other hand, methoxyfenozide + spinetoram caused average mortalities of 88.75% at 15 {\deg}C and 38.75% at 25 and 30 {\deg}C. In contrast, the mortality rates caused by chlorfenapyr at 15, 25 and 30 {\deg}C were 1.25, 71.25 and 71.25%. On the other hand, surviving adults in lethal toxicity bioassay did not show differences in egg parasitism (F0 generation) and emergence of F1 generation in all temperature levels studied; however, the insecticide methoxyfenozide + spinetoram showed the lowest level of parasitism and emergence of T. podisi. In addition, our results demonstrated significant changes in the proportion of emerged males and females as the temperature increased; however, we did not find any differences when comparing the insecticides studied. Furthermore, we detected a significant interaction between insecticides and temperatures by contaminating the host's parasitized eggs (parasitoid pupal stage). Generally, the highest emergence reduction values were found at the highest temperature studied (30 {\deg}C). Our results highlighted the temperature-dependent impact of synthetic insecticides on parasitoids, which should be considered in toxicological risk assessments and under predicted climate change scenarios.