pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Can Artificial Intelligence Generate Quality Research Topics Reflecting Patient Concerns?
Authors: Jiyeong Kim, Michael L. Chen, Shawheen J. Rezaei, Mariana Ramirez-Posada, Jennifer L. Caswell-Jin, Allison W. Kurian, Fauzia Riaz, Kavita Y. Sarin, Jean Y. Tang, Steven M. Asch, Eleni Linos
Date: 2024-11-15 00:00:00
Tasks: Articles, Prompt Engineering

Patient-centered research is increasingly important in narrowing the gap between research and patient care, yet incorporating patient perspectives into health research has been inconsistent. We propose an automated framework leveraging innovative natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) with patient portal messages to generate research ideas that prioritize important patient issues. We further quantified the quality of AI-generated research topics. To define patient clinical concerns, we analyzed 614,464 patient messages from 25,549 individuals with breast or skin cancer obtained from a large academic hospital (2013 to 2024), constructing a 2-staged unsupervised NLP topic model. Then, we generated research topics to resolve the defined issues using a widely used AI (ChatGPT-4o, OpenAI Inc, April 2024 version) with prompt-engineering strategies. We guided AI to perform multi-level tasks: 1) knowledge interpretation and summarization (e.g., interpreting and summarizing the NLP-defined topics), 2) knowledge generation (e.g., generating research ideas corresponding to patients issues), 3) self-reflection and correction (e.g., ensuring and revising the research ideas after searching for scientific articles), and 4) self-reassurance (e.g., confirming and finalizing the research ideas). Six highly experienced breast oncologists and dermatologists assessed the significance and novelty of AI-generated research topics using a 5-point Likert scale (1-exceptional, 5-poor). One-third of the AI-suggested research topics were highly significant and novel when both scores were lower than the average. Two-thirds of the AI-suggested topics were novel in both cancers. Our findings demonstrate that AI-generated research topics reflecting patient perspectives via a large volume of patient messages can meaningfully guide future directions in patient-centered health research.
A Neural Network Training Method Based on Distributed PID Control
Authors: Jiang Kun
Date: 2024-11-18 00:00:00

In the previous article, we introduced a neural network framework based on symmetric differential equations. This novel framework exhibits complete symmetry, endowing it with perfect mathematical properties. While we have examined some of the system's mathematical characteristics, a detailed discussion of the network training methodology has not yet been presented. Drawing on the principles of the traditional backpropagation algorithm, this study proposes an alternative training approach that utilizes differential equation signal propagation instead of chain rule derivation. This approach not only preserves the effectiveness of training but also offers enhanced biological interpretability. The foundation of this methodology lies in the system's reversibility, which stems from its inherent symmetry,a key aspect of our research. However, this method alone is insufficient for effective neural network training. To address this, we further introduce a distributed Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control approach, emphasizing its implementation within a closed system. By incorporating this method, we achieved both faster training speeds and improved accuracy. This approach not only offers novel insights into neural network training but also extends the scope of research into control methodologies. To validate its effectiveness, we apply this method to the MNIST dataset, demonstrating its practical utility.
Activation Functions for "A Feedforward Unitary Equivariant Neural Network"
Authors: Pui-Wai Ma
Date: 2024-11-17 00:00:00
Tasks: Form

In our previous work [Ma and Chan (2023)], we presented a feedforward unitary equivariant neural network. We proposed three distinct activation functions tailored for this network: a softsign function with a small residue, an identity function, and a Leaky ReLU function. While these functions demonstrated the desired equivariance properties, they limited the neural network's architecture. This short paper generalises these activation functions to a single functional form. This functional form represents a broad class of functions, maintains unitary equivariance, and offers greater flexibility for the design of equivariant neural networks.
Summarizing Bayesian Nonparametric Mixture Posterior -- Sliced Optimal Transport Metrics for Gaussian Mixtures
Authors: Khai Nguyen, Peter Mueller
Date: 2024-11-22 00:00:00
Tasks: Density Estimation, valid

Existing methods to summarize posterior inference for mixture models focus on identifying a point estimate of the implied random partition for clustering, with density estimation as a secondary goal (Wade and Ghahramani, 2018; Dahl et al., 2022). We propose a novel approach for summarizing posterior inference in nonparametric Bayesian mixture models, prioritizing estimation of the mixing measure (or mixture) as an inference target. One of the key features is the model-agnostic nature of the approach, which remains valid under arbitrarily complex dependence structures in the underlying sampling model. Using a decision-theoretic framework, our method identifies a point estimate by minimizing posterior expected loss. A loss function is defined as a discrepancy between mixing measures. Estimating the mixing measure implies inference on the mixture density and the random partition. Exploiting the discrete nature of the mixing measure, we use a version of sliced Wasserstein distance. We introduce two specific variants for Gaussian mixtures. The first, mixed sliced Wasserstein, applies generalized geodesic projections on the product of the Euclidean space and the manifold of symmetric positive definite matrices. The second, sliced mixture Wasserstein, leverages the linearity of Gaussian mixture measures for efficient projection
Gradient-based optimization for variational empirical Bayes multiple regression
Authors: Saikat Banerjee, Peter Carbonetto, Matthew Stephens
Date: 2024-11-21 00:00:00
Tasks: regression, Variational Inference

Variational empirical Bayes (VEB) methods provide a practically attractive approach to fitting large, sparse, multiple regression models. These methods usually use coordinate ascent to optimize the variational objective function, an approach known as coordinate ascent variational inference (CAVI). Here we propose alternative optimization approaches based on gradient-based (quasi-Newton) methods, which we call gradient-based variational inference (GradVI). GradVI exploits a recent result from Kim et. al. [arXiv:2208.10910] which writes the VEB regression objective function as a penalized regression. Unfortunately the penalty function is not available in closed form, and we present and compare two approaches to dealing with this problem. In simple situations where CAVI performs well, we show that GradVI produces similar predictive performance, and GradVI converges in fewer iterations when the predictors are highly correlated. Furthermore, unlike CAVI, the key computations in GradVI are simple matrix-vector products, and so GradVI is much faster than CAVI in settings where the design matrix admits fast matrix-vector products (e.g., as we show here, trendfiltering applications) and lends itself to parallelized implementations in ways that CAVI does not. GradVI is also very flexible, and could exploit automatic differentiation to easily implement different prior families. Our methods are implemented in an open-source Python software, GradVI (available from https://github.com/stephenslab/gradvi ).
Multi-granularity Interest Retrieval and Refinement Network for Long-Term User Behavior Modeling in CTR Prediction
Authors: Xiang Xu, Hao Wang, Wei Guo, Luankang Zhang, Wanshan Yang, Runlong Yu, Yong liu, Defu Lian, Enhong Chen
Date: 2024-11-22 00:00:00
Tasks: Click-Through Rate Prediction, Retrieval

Click-through Rate (CTR) prediction is crucial for online personalization platforms. Recent advancements have shown that modeling rich user behaviors can significantly improve the performance of CTR prediction. Current long-term user behavior modeling algorithms predominantly follow two cascading stages. The first stage retrieves subsequence related to the target item from the long-term behavior sequence, while the second stage models the relationship between the subsequence and the target item. Despite significant progress, these methods have two critical flaws. First, the retrieval query typically includes only target item information, limiting the ability to capture the user's diverse interests. Second, relational information, such as sequential and interactive information within the subsequence, is frequently overlooked. Therefore, it requires to be further mined to more accurately model user interests. To this end, we propose Multi-granularity Interest Retrieval and Refinement Network (MIRRN). Specifically, we first construct queries based on behaviors observed at different time scales to obtain subsequences, each capturing users' interest at various granularities. We then introduce an noval multi-head Fourier transformer to efficiently learn sequential and interactive information within the subsequences, leading to more accurate modeling of user interests. Finally, we employ multi-head target attention to adaptively assess the impact of these multi-granularity interests on the target item. Extensive experiments have demonstrated that MIRRN significantly outperforms state-of-the-art baselines. Furthermore, an A/B test shows that MIRRN increases the average number of listening songs by 1.32% and the average time of listening songs by 0.55% on the Huawei Music App. The implementation code is publicly available at https://github.com/USTC-StarTeam/MIRRN.
A Reproducibility and Generalizability Study of Large Language Models for Query Generation
Authors: Moritz Staudinger, Wojciech Kusa, Florina Piroi, Aldo Lipani, Allan Hanbury
Date: 2024-11-22 00:00:00
Tasks: Information Retrieval, Retrieval

Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) are a cornerstone of academic research, yet they are often labour-intensive and time-consuming due to the detailed literature curation process. The advent of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) promises to revolutionize this process by assisting researchers in several tedious tasks, one of them being the generation of effective Boolean queries that will select the publications to consider including in a review. This paper presents an extensive study of Boolean query generation using LLMs for systematic reviews, reproducing and extending the work of Wang et al. and Alaniz et al. Our study investigates the replicability and reliability of results achieved using ChatGPT and compares its performance with open-source alternatives like Mistral and Zephyr to provide a more comprehensive analysis of LLMs for query generation. Therefore, we implemented a pipeline, which automatically creates a Boolean query for a given review topic by using a previously defined LLM, retrieves all documents for this query from the PubMed database and then evaluates the results. With this pipeline we first assess whether the results obtained using ChatGPT for query generation are reproducible and consistent. We then generalize our results by analyzing and evaluating open-source models and evaluating their efficacy in generating Boolean queries. Finally, we conduct a failure analysis to identify and discuss the limitations and shortcomings of using LLMs for Boolean query generation. This examination helps to understand the gaps and potential areas for improvement in the application of LLMs to information retrieval tasks. Our findings highlight the strengths, limitations, and potential of LLMs in the domain of information retrieval and literature review automation.
The 1st Workshop on Human-Centered Recommender Systems
Authors: Kaike Zhang, Yunfan Wu, Yougang Lyu, Du Su, Yingqiang Ge, Shuchang Liu, Qi Cao, Zhaochun Ren, Fei Sun
Date: 2024-11-22 00:00:00
Tasks: Diversity, Fairness, Recommendation Systems

Recommender systems are quintessential applications of human-computer interaction. Widely utilized in daily life, they offer significant convenience but also present numerous challenges, such as the information cocoon effect, privacy concerns, fairness issues, and more. Consequently, this workshop aims to provide a platform for researchers to explore the development of Human-Centered Recommender Systems~(HCRS). HCRS refers to the creation of recommender systems that prioritize human needs, values, and capabilities at the core of their design and operation. In this workshop, topics will include, but are not limited to, robustness, privacy, transparency, fairness, diversity, accountability, ethical considerations, and user-friendly design. We hope to engage in discussions on how to implement and enhance these properties in recommender systems. Additionally, participants will explore diverse evaluation methods, including innovative metrics that capture user satisfaction and trust. This workshop seeks to foster a collaborative environment for researchers to share insights and advance the field toward more ethical, user-centric, and socially responsible recommender systems.
G-RAG: Knowledge Expansion in Material Science
Authors: Radeen Mostafa, Mirza Nihal Baig, Mashaekh Tausif Ehsan, Jakir Hasan
Date: 2024-11-21 00:00:00
Tasks: Information Retrieval, RAG, Retrieval, Retrieval-augmented Generation

In the field of Material Science, effective information retrieval systems are essential for facilitating research. Traditional Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approaches in Large Language Models (LLMs) often encounter challenges such as outdated information, hallucinations, limited interpretability due to context constraints, and inaccurate retrieval. To address these issues, Graph RAG integrates graph databases to enhance the retrieval process. Our proposed method processes Material Science documents by extracting key entities (referred to as MatIDs) from sentences, which are then utilized to query external Wikipedia knowledge bases (KBs) for additional relevant information. We implement an agent-based parsing technique to achieve a more detailed representation of the documents. Our improved version of Graph RAG called G-RAG further leverages a graph database to capture relationships between these entities, improving both retrieval accuracy and contextual understanding. This enhanced approach demonstrates significant improvements in performance for domains that require precise information retrieval, such as Material Science.
GeMID: Generalizable Models for IoT Device Identification
Authors: Kahraman Kostas, Rabia Yasa Kostas, Mike Just, Michael A. Lones
Date: 2024-11-05 00:00:00
Tasks: Classification, feature selection, IoT Device Identification, Model Selection

With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ensuring their security has become paramount. Device identification (DI), which distinguishes IoT devices based on their traffic patterns, plays a crucial role in both differentiating devices and identifying vulnerable ones, closing a serious security gap. However, existing approaches to DI that build machine learning models often overlook the challenge of model generalizability across diverse network environments. In this study, we propose a novel framework to address this limitation and evaluate the generalizability of DI models across datasets collected within different network environments. Our approach involves a two-step process: first, we develop a feature and model selection method that is more robust to generalization issues by using a genetic algorithm with external feedback and datasets from distinct environments to refine the selections. Second, the resulting DI models are then tested on further independent datasets in order to robustly assess their generalizability. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method by empirically comparing it to alternatives, highlighting how fundamental limitations of commonly employed techniques such as sliding window and flow statistics limit their generalizability. Our findings advance research in IoT security and device identification, offering insights into improving model effectiveness and mitigating risks in IoT networks.
Enhancing GANs with MMD Neural Architecture Search, PMish Activation Function, and Adaptive Rank Decomposition
Authors: Prasanna Reddy Pulakurthi, Mahsa Mozaffari, Sohail Dianat, Jamison Heard, Raghuveer Rao, Majid Rabbani
Date: 2024-10-23 00:00:00
Proceeding: IEEE Access 2024 10
Tasks: Image Generation

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have gained considerable attention owing to their impressive ability to generate high-quality, realistic images from a desired data distribution. This research introduces advancements in GANs by developing an improved activation function, a novel training strategy, and an adaptive rank decomposition method to compress the network. The proposed activation function, called Parametric Mish (PMish), automatically adjusts a trainable parameter to control the smoothness and shape of the activation function. Our method employs a Neural Architecture Search (NAS) to discover the optimal architecture for image generation while using the Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) repulsive loss for adversarial training. The proposed novel training strategy improves performance by progressively increasing the upper bound of the bounded MMD-GAN repulsive loss. Finally, the proposed Adaptive Rank Decomposition (ARD) method reduces the complexity of the network with minimal impact on its generative performance, thus enabling efficient deployment on resource-limited platforms. The effectiveness of these advancements is rigorously tested on standard benchmark datasets such as CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, STL-10, and CelebA, where significant improvements over existing techniques are demonstrated. The implementation code is available at: https://github.com/PrasannaPulakurthi/MMD-PMish-NAS
Deeplasia: deep learning for bone age assessment validated on skeletal dysplasias
Authors: Sebastian Rassmann, Alexandra Keller, Kyra Skaf, Alexander Hustinx, Ruth Gausche, Miguel A. Ibarra-Arrelano, Tzung-Chien Hsieh, Yolande E. D. Madajieu, Markus M. Nöthen, Roland Pfäffle, Ulrike I. Attenberger, Mark Born, Klaus Mohnike, Peter M. Krawitz & Behnam Javanmardi
Date: 2023-11-23 00:00:00
Proceeding: Pediatric Radiology 2023 11
Tasks: Deep Learning

Skeletal dysplasias collectively affect a large number of patients worldwide. Most of these disorders cause growth anomalies. Hence, evaluating skeletal maturity via the determination of bone age (BA) is a useful tool. Moreover, consecutive BA measurements are crucial for monitoring the growth of patients with such disorders, especially for timing hormonal treatment or orthopedic interventions. However, manual BA assessment is time-consuming and suffers from high intra- and inter-rater variability. This is further exacerbated by genetic disorders causing severe skeletal malformations. While numerous approaches to automate BA assessment have been proposed, few are validated for BA assessment on children with skeletal dysplasias.
Social Media Algorithms Can Shape Affective Polarization via Exposure to Antidemocratic Attitudes and Partisan Animosity
Authors: Tiziano Piccardi, Martin Saveski, Chenyan Jia, Jeffrey T. Hancock, Jeanne L. Tsai, Michael Bernstein
Date: 2024-11-22 00:00:00

There is widespread concern about the negative impacts of social media feed ranking algorithms on political polarization. Leveraging advancements in large language models (LLMs), we develop an approach to re-rank feeds in real-time to test the effects of content that is likely to polarize: expressions of antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity (AAPA). In a preregistered 10-day field experiment on X/Twitter with 1,256 consented participants, we increase or decrease participants' exposure to AAPA in their algorithmically curated feeds. We observe more positive outparty feelings when AAPA exposure is decreased and more negative outparty feelings when AAPA exposure is increased. Exposure to AAPA content also results in an immediate increase in negative emotions, such as sadness and anger. The interventions do not significantly impact traditional engagement metrics such as re-post and favorite rates. These findings highlight a potential pathway for developing feed algorithms that mitigate affective polarization by addressing content that undermines the shared values required for a healthy democracy.
SRSA: A Cost-Efficient Strategy-Router Search Agent for Real-world Human-Machine Interactions
Authors: Yaqi Wang, Haipei Xu
Date: 2024-11-21 00:00:00
Tasks: Informativeness

Recently, as Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown impressive emerging capabilities and gained widespread popularity, research on LLM-based search agents has proliferated. In real-world situations, users often input contextual and highly personalized queries to chatbots, challenging LLMs to capture context and generate appropriate answers. However, much of the prior research has not focused specifically on authentic human-machine dialogue scenarios. It also ignores the important balance between response quality and computational cost by forcing all queries to follow the same agent process. To address these gaps, we propose a Strategy-Router Search Agent (SRSA), routing different queries to appropriate search strategies and enabling fine-grained serial searches to obtain high-quality results at a relatively low cost. To evaluate our work, we introduce a new dataset, Contextual Query Enhancement Dataset (CQED), comprising contextual queries to simulate authentic and daily interactions between humans and chatbots. Using LLM-based automatic evaluation metrics, we assessed SRSA's performance in terms of informativeness, completeness, novelty, and actionability. To conclude, SRSA provides an approach that resolves the issue of simple serial searches leading to degenerate answers for lengthy and contextual queries, effectively and efficiently parses complex user queries, and generates more comprehensive and informative responses without fine-tuning an LLM.