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Predicting nutrient loads is essential to understanding and managing one of the environmental issues faced by the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone, which poses a severe threat to the Gulf's healthy ecosystem and economy. The development of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico is strongly associated with the eutrophication process initiated by excessive nutrient loads. Due to the complexities in the excessive nutrient loads to the Gulf of Mexico, it is challenging to understand and predict the underlying temporal variation of nutrient loads. The study was aimed at identifying an optimal predictive machine learning model to capture and predict nonlinear behavior of the nutrient loads delivered from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) to the Gulf of Mexico. For this purpose, monthly nutrient loads (N and P) in tons were collected from US Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring station 07373420 from 1980 to 2020. Machine learning models—including autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), gaussian process regression (GPR), single-layer multilayer perceptron (MLP), and a long short-term memory (LSTM) with the single hidden layer—were developed to predict the monthly nutrient loads, and model performances were evaluated by standard assessment metrics—Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Correlation Coefficient (R). The residuals of predictive models were examined by the Durbin–Watson statistic. The results showed that MLP and LSTM persistently achieved better accuracy in predicting monthly TN and TP loads compared to GPR and ARIMA. In addition, GPR models achieved slightly better test RMSE score than ARIMA models while their correlation coefficients are much lower than ARIMA models. Moreover, MLP performed slightly better than LSTM in predicting monthly TP loads while LSTM slightly outperformed for TN loads. Furthermore, it was found that the optimizer and number of inputs didn't show effects on the LSTM performance while they exhibited impacts on MLP outcomes. This study explores the capability of machine learning models to accurately predict nonlinearly fluctuating nutrient loads delivered to the Gulf of Mexico. Further efforts focus on improving the accuracy of forecasting using hybrid models which combine several machine learning models with superior predictive performance for nutrient fluxes throughout the MARB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working with pushbroom imagery in photogrammetry and remote sensing presents a fundamental challenge in object-to-image space transformation. For this transformation, accurate estimation of Exterior Orientation Parameters (EOPs) for each scanline is required. To tackle this challenge, Best Scanline Search or Determination (BSS/BSD) methods have been developed. However, the current BSS/BSD methods are not efficient for real-time applications due to their complex procedures and interpolations. This paper introduces a new non-iterative BSD method specifically designed for line-type pushbroom images. The method involves simulating a pair of sets of points, Simulated Control Points (SCOPs), and Simulated Check Points (SCPs), to train and test a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model. The model establishes a strong relationship between object and image spaces, enabling a direct transformation and determination of best scanlines. This proposed method does not rely on the Collinearity Equation (CE) or iterative search. After training, the MLP model is applied to the SCPs for accuracy assessment. The proposed method is tested on ten images with diverse landscapes captured by eight sensors, exploiting five million SCPs per image for statistical assessments. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values range between 0.001 and 0.015 pixels across ten images, demonstrating the capability of achieving the desired sub-pixel accuracy within a few seconds. The proposed method is compared with conventional and state-of-the-art BSS/BSD methods, indicating its higher applicability regarding accuracy and computational efficiency. These results position the proposed BSD method as a practical solution for transforming object-to-image space, especially for real-time applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel method for retrieving atmospheric temperature profiles with tree-structured Parzen estimator (TPE) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) algorithms was proposed, using FY-4A/GIIRS (Geosynchronous Interferometric Infrared Sounder) and ERA5 data. Firstly, by adding solar altitude angle, satellite zenith angle, 2m temperature, and surface temperature to the input layer of MLP, there is an improvement in retrieval accuracy. Secondly, TPE is effective in optimizing the hyper-parameters of MLP, and a set of optimized hyper-parameters is obtained through iterative optimization. Thirdly, comparing the retrieved temperature profiles with ERA5 data, we found that retrieval accuracy is influenced by detector, signal-to-noise ratio, terrain, solar altitude angle, satellite zenith angle, and the horizontal temperature gradient. The mean biases of the two adjacent detectors show significant differences, and the retrieval accuracy of the center detectors is greater than that of the north and south sides. The retrieval accuracy is relatively poor in areas with high terrain and large satellite zenith angle. There is a monthly variation in the retrieval accuracy due to the horizontal temperature gradient and signal-to-noise ratio and a significant diurnal variation due to solar altitude angle and signal-to-noise ratio. Compared to in situ sounding data, the mean biases vary from −0.56 K to 0.60 K, and the standard deviations vary from 1.26 K to 2.17 K. The analysis of factors influencing retrieval accuracy provides important insights into improving the ability to retrieve atmospheric temperatures from geostationary hyperspectral IR sounder observations for near real-time (NRT) applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are powerful data-oriented "black-box" algorithms capable of assessing and delineating linear and multifaceted non-linear correlations between the dependent and explanatory variables. Through the years, neural networks have proven to be effective and robust analytical techniques for establishing artificial intelligence-based tools for modelling, estimating, and projecting spatial and temporal variations in water bodies. Accordingly, ANN-based algorithms gained increased attention and have emerged as practical alternatives to traditional approaches for hydro-chemical analysis. ANNs are among the widely used computer systems for modelling surface water quality. Considering their wide recognition, resilience, flexibility, and accuracy, the current study employs a neural network-based methodology to construct a novel water quality index (WQI) model suitable for analysing South African rivers. The feed-forward, back-propagated multilayered perceptron model has three parallel-distributed neuron layers interconnected with seventy weighted links orientated laterally from left to right. First, the input layer includes thirteen neuro-nodes symbolising thirteen explanatory variables, including NH3, Ca, Cl, Chl-a, EC, F, CaCO3, Mg, Mn, NO3, pH, SO4, and turbidity (NTU). Second, the hidden layer consists of eleven neuro-nodes accountable for computational tasks. Lastly, the output layer features one neuron responsible for conveying network outcomes using a single-digit WQI rating extending from zero to one hundred, where zero represents substandard water quality and one hundred denotes exceptional water quality. The AI-based model was developed using water quality data obtained from six monitoring locations within four drainage basins under the management of the Umgeni Water Board in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The dataset comprises 416 samples randomly divided into training, testing, and validation sets using a proportional split of 70:15:15%. The Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS) technique was utilised to conduct backpropagation training and adjust synapse weights. The dependent variables are the WQI scores from the universal water quality index (UWQI) model developed specifically for South African river basins. The ANN demonstrated enhanced efficiency through an overall correlation coefficient (R) of 0.985. Furthermore, the neural network attained R-values of 0.987, 0.992, and 0.977 for the training, testing, and validation intervals. The ANN model achieved a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) value of 0.974 and coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.970. Sensitivity analysis provided additional validation of the preparedness and computational competence of the ANN model. The typical target-to-output error tolerance for the ANN model is 0.242, demonstrating an adequate predictive ability to deliver results comparable with the target UWQI, having the lowest and highest index ratings of 75.995 and 94.420, respectively. Accordingly, the three-layer neural network is scientifically sound, with index values and water quality evaluations corresponding to the UWQI results. The current research project seeks to document the processes used and the outcomes obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are required globally. Under this background, the Multilayer Perceptron machine-learning algorithm was used to predict liquid natural gas consumption to improve energy consumption efficiency. Setting hyperparameters remains challenging in machine-learning-based prediction. Here, to improve prediction efficiency, hyperparameter autotuning via Bayesian optimization was used to identify the optimal combination of the eight key hyperparameters. The autotuned model was validated by comparing its predictive performance with that of a base model (with all hyperparameters set to the default values) using the coefficient of variation of root-mean-square error (CvRMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) based on the Measurement and Verification Guideline evaluation metrics. To confirm the model's industrial applicability, its predictions were compared with values measured at a small-to-medium-sized food factory. The optimized model performed better than the base model, achieving a CvRMSE of 12.30% and an R2 of 0.94, and achieving a predictive accuracy of 91.49%. By predicting energy consumption, these findings are expected to promote the efficient operation and management of energy in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel system was designed to enhance the efficiency of data acquisition in a portable and compact instrument dedicated to the spectral analysis of various surfaces, including plant leaves, and materials requiring characterization within the 410 to 915 nm range. The proposed system incorporates two nine-band detectors positioned on the top and bottom of the target surface, each equipped with a digitally controllable LED. The detectors are capable of measuring both reflection and transmission properties, depending on the LED configuration. Specifically, when the upper LED is activated, the lower detector operates without its LED, enabling the precise measurement of light transmitted through the sample. The process is reversed in subsequent iterations, facilitating an accurate assessment of reflection and transmission for each side of the target surface. For reliability, the error estimation utilizes a color checker, followed by a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) implementation integrated into the microcontroller unit (MCU) using TinyML technology for real-time refined data acquisition. The system is constructed with 3D-printed components and cost-effective electronics. It also supports USB or Bluetooth communication for data transmission. This innovative detector marks a significant advancement in spectral analysis, particularly for plant research, offering the potential for disease detection and nutritional deficiency assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of low-cost structural and environmental sensors has sparked a transformation across numerous fields, offering cost-effective solutions for monitoring infrastructures and buildings. However, the affordability of these solutions often comes at the expense of accuracy. To enhance precision, the LARA (Low-cost Adaptable Reliable Anglemeter) system averaged the measurements of a set of five different accelerometers working as inclinometers. However, it is worth noting that LARA's sensitivity still falls considerably short of that achieved by other high-accuracy commercial solutions. There are no works presented in the literature to enhance the accuracy, precision, and resolution of low-cost inclinometers using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for measuring structural deformation. To fill these gaps, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are used to elevate the precision of the LARA system working as an inclinometer. The proposed AI-driven tool uses Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) to glean insight from high-accuracy devices' responses. The efficacy and practicality of the proposed tools are substantiated through the structural and environmental monitoring of a real steel frame located in Cuenca, Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional movement screening (FMS) is a crucial testing method that evaluates fundamental movement patterns in the human body and identifies functional limitations. However, due to the inherent complexity of human movements, the automated assessment of FMS poses significant challenges. Prior methodologies have struggled to effectively capture and model critical human features in video data. To address this challenge, this paper introduces an automatic assessment approach for FMS by leveraging deep learning techniques. The proposed method harnesses an I3D network to extract spatiotemporal video features across various scales and levels. Additionally, an attention mechanism (AM) module is incorporated to enable the network to focus more on human movement characteristics, enhancing its sensitivity to diverse location features. Furthermore, the multilayer perceptron (MLP) module is employed to effectively discern intricate patterns and features within the input data, facilitating its classification into multiple categories. Experimental evaluations conducted on publicly available datasets demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves state-of-the-art performance levels. Notably, in comparison to existing state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods, this approach exhibits a marked improvement in accuracy. These results corroborate the efficacy of the I3D-AM-MLP framework, indicating its significance in extracting advanced human movement feature expressions and automating the assessment of functional movement screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the use of electroencephalography (EEG) has grown as a tool for diagnostic and brain function monitoring, being a simple and non-invasive method compared with other procedures like histological sampling. Typically, in order to extract functional brain responses from EEG signals, prolonged and repeated stimuli are needed because of the artifacts generated in recordings which adversely impact the stimulus-response analysis. To mitigate the artifact effect, correlation analysis (CA) methods are applied in the literature, where the predominant approaches focus on enhancing stimulus-response correlations through the use of linear analysis methods like canonical correlation analysis (CCA). This paper introduces a novel CA framework based on a neural network with a loss function specifically designed to maximize correlation between EEG and speech stimuli. Compared with other deep learning CA approaches (DCCAs) in the literature, this framework introduces a single multilayer perceptron (MLP) network instead of two networks for each stimulus. To validate the proposed approach, a comparison with linear CCA (LCCA) and DCCA was performed, using a dataset containing the EEG traces of subjects listening to speech stimuli. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the overall Pearson correlation by 10.56% compared with the state-of-the-art DCCA method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era marked by increasing concerns about environmental sustainability, the telecommunications industry faces a pressing need to examine its commitment to sustainable development practices. Therefore, this study investigated the drivers and constraints influencing the adoption of such practices within the industry, with particular emphasis on the roles and interactions of ecosystem players. The research employed structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS to test the hypotheses and multilayer perceptron (MLP), which is an artificial neural network model, to assess the importance of each variable in the context of sustainable development adoption (SDA). This study analyzed data obtained from a diverse sample of telecommunications professionals, including telecom operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, and content and service providers. The findings reveal that stakeholder expectations held the highest normalized importance, suggesting their paramount influence in driving sustainable practices within the industry. Competitive advantage emerged as the second most significant factor, contributing to the adoption of sustainable strategies by companies. Conversely, cost and ROI concerns presented a constraint that potentially hindered SDA. This research contributes to the comprehensive understanding of sustainable development in the high-tech sector, aiding industry practitioners and policymakers in fostering a more sustainable future for the telecommunications industry. The implications derived from the sensitivity analysis provide valuable insights into prioritizing efforts and resources to enhance sustainable development adoption in the telecommunications sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breakdown (BD) voltage is significant in high-voltage power electric machines. Currently, BD voltages are mainly predicted by the semi-empirical formula in strongly inhomogeneous electric fields. However, the equation could not be applied for electrodes with weakly inhomogeneous electric fields. In this paper, positive lightning impulse BD voltages are predicted in various sphere-to-plane air gaps using forms of machine learning such as support vector regression (SVR), Bayesian regression (BR) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). Unlike previous studies, a method is also proposed by introducing streamer propagation characteristics as new features and by removing electric field gradients as unnecessary features to find out how to reduce the feature dimension. The streamer propagation characteristics are suggested to reflect the possibility of a discharge process between electrodes. Predicted voltages from machine learning algorithms are compared with the experimental results and calculated voltages from the semi-empirical formula. Firstly, the predictions from each model agreed well with the datasets. New features were observed to be applied for machine learning algorithms and to be as important as known electrostatic features before discharge. Secondly, predicted BD voltages were more accurate than calculated voltages from the semi-empirical equation in strongly inhomogeneous electric fields. Predictions from each model also agreed well with the experimental results in weakly inhomogeneous electric fields. The prediction accuracy of SVR was better than those of BR and MLP. Machine learning algorithms were also shown to be applied for electrodes with a wide range of inhomogeneities, unlike a semi-empirical method. We expect that the suggested features and machine learning algorithms can be used for accurately calculating BD voltages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classification of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites (WHS) is essential for promoting sustainable tourism and ensuring the long-term conservation of cultural and natural heritage sites. Therefore, two commonly used techniques for classification problems, multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF) neural networks, were utilized to define the pros and cons of their applications. Then, according to the findings, both correlation attribute evaluator (CAE) and relief attribute evaluator (RAE) identified the region and date of inscription as the most prominent features in the classification of UNESCO WHS. As a result, a trade-off condition arises when classifying a large dataset for sustainable tourism between MLP and RBF regarding evaluation time and accuracy. MLP achieves a slightly higher accuracy rate with higher processing time, while RBF achieves a slightly lower accuracy rate but with much faster evaluation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Versatile Video Coding (VVC), the state-of-the-art video coding standard, was developed by the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) of ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) in 2020. Although VVC can provide powerful coding performance, it requires tremendous computational complexity to determine the optimal mode decision during the encoding process. In particular, VVC adopted the bi-prediction with CU-level weight (BCW) as one of the new tools, which enhanced the coding efficiency of conventional bi-prediction by assigning different weights to the two prediction blocks in the process of inter prediction. In this study, we investigate the statistical characteristics of input features that exhibit a correlation with the BCW and define four useful types of categories to facilitate the inter prediction of VVC. With the investigated input features, a lightweight neural network with multilayer perceptron (MLP) architecture is designed to provide high accuracy and low complexity. We propose a fast BCW mode decision method with a lightweight MLP to reduce the computational complexity of the weighted multiple bi-prediction in the VVC encoder. The experimental results show that the proposed method significantly reduced the BCW encoding complexity by up to 33% with unnoticeable coding loss, compared to the VVC test model (VTM) under the random-access (RA) configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides can cause severe damage to both the environment and society, and many statistical, index-based, and inventory-based methods have been developed to assess landslide susceptibility; however, it is still challenging to choose the most effective method and properly identify major driving factors for specific regions. Here, we applied four machine learning algorithms, adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), gradient-boosting decision tree (GBDT), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and random forest (RF), to predict the landslide susceptibility at 30 m spatial scale based on thirteen landslide conditioning factors (LCFs) in a landslide-vulnerable region. Based on inventory landslide points, the classification results were evaluated, and indicated that the performance of the RF (F1-score: 0.85, AUC: 0.92), AdaBoost (F1-score: 0.83, AUC: 0.91), and GBDT (F1-score: 0.83, AUC: 0.88) methods were significantly better than the MLP (F1-score: 0.76, AUC: 0.79) method. The results further indicated that the areas with high and very high landslide risk (susceptibility greater than 0.5) accounted for about 40% of the study region. All four models matched well and predicted similar spatial distribution patterns in landslide susceptibility, with the very high risk areas mostly distributed in the western and southeastern regions. Daoshi, Qingliangfeng, Jinnan, and Linglong towns have the highest landslide risk, with mean susceptibility levels greater than 0.5. The leading contributing factors to landslide susceptibility were slightly different for the four models; however, population density, distance to road, and relief amplitude were generally among the top leading factors for most towns. Our study provided significant information on the highly landslide-prone areas and the major contributing factors for decision-makers and policy planners, and suggested that different areas should take unique precautions to mitigate or avoid severe damage from landslide events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood disasters are a natural occurrence around the world, resulting in numerous casualties. It is vital to develop an accurate flood forecasting and prediction model in order to curb damages and limit the number of victims. Water resource allocation, management, planning, flood warning and forecasting, and flood damage mitigation all benefit from rain forecasting. Prior to recent decades' worth of research, this domain demonstrated to be promising prospects in time series prediction tasks. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to build a forecasting model based on the exponential smoothing-long-short term memory (ES-LSTM) structure and recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for predicting hourly precipitation seasons; and classify the precipitation using an artificial neural network (ANN) model and decision tree (DT) algorithm. We employ the dataset from the Australian commonwealth office of meteorology named Historical Daily Weather dataset to test the effectiveness of the proposed model. The findings showed that the ES-LSTM and RNN had achieved 3.17 and 6.42 in terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), respectively. Meanwhile, the ANN and DT models obtained a prediction accuracy rate of 96.65% and 84.0%, respectively. Finally, the outcomes revealed that ES-LSTM and ANN had achieved the best results compared to other models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual localization, i.e., the camera pose localization within a known three-dimensional (3D) model, is a basic component for numerous applications such as autonomous driving cars and augmented reality systems. The most widely used methods from the literature are based on local feature matching between a query image that needs to be localized and database images with known camera poses and local features. However, this method still struggles with different illumination conditions and seasonal changes. Additionally, the scene is normally presented by a sparse structure-from-motion point cloud that has corresponding local features to match. This scene representation depends heavily on different local feature types, and changing the different local feature types requires an expensive feature-matching step to generate the 3D model. Moreover, the state-of-the-art matching strategies are too resource intensive for some real-time applications. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a novel framework called deep-learning accelerated visual localization (DLALoc) based on mesh representation. In detail, we employ a dense 3D model, i.e., mesh, to represent a scene that can provide more robust 2D-3D matches than 3D point clouds and database images. We can obtain their corresponding 3D points from the depth map rendered from the mesh. Under this scene representation, we use a pretrained multilayer perceptron combined with homotopy continuation to calculate the relative pose of the query and database images. We also use the scale consistency of 2D-3D matches to perform the efficient random sample consensus to find the best 2D inlier set for the subsequential perspective-n-point localization step. Furthermore, we evaluate the proposed visual localization pipeline experimentally on Aachen DayNight v1.1 and RobotCar Seasons datasets. The results show that the proposed approach can achieve state-of-the-art accuracy and shorten the localization time about five times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaches presented today in the scientific literature suggest that there are no methodological solutions based on the training of artificial neural networks to predict the direction of industrial development, taking into account a set of factors—innovation, environmental friendliness, modernization and production growth. The aim of the study is to develop a predictive model of performance management of innovative industrial systems by building neural networks. The research methods were correlation analysis, training of neural networks (species—regression), extrapolation, and exponential smoothing. As a result of the research, the estimation efficiency technique of an innovative industrial system in a complex considering the criteria of technical modernization, development, innovative activity, and ecologization is developed; the prognostic neural network models allow to optimize the contribution of signs to the formation of target (set) values of indicators of efficiency for macro and micro-industrial systems that will allow to level a growth trajectory of industrial systems; the priority directions of their development are offered. The following conclusions: the efficiency of industrial systems is determined by the volume of sales of goods, innovative products and waste recycling, which allows to save resources; the results of forecasting depend significantly on the DataSet formulated. Although multilayer neural networks independently select important features, it is advisable to conduct a correlation analysis beforehand, which will provide a higher probability of building a high-quality predictive model. The novelty of the research lies in the development and testing of a unique methodology to assess the effectiveness of industrial systems: it is based on a multidimensional system approach (takes into account factors of innovation, environmental friendliness, modernization and production growth); it combines a number of methodological tools (correlation, ranking and weighting); it expands the method of effectiveness assessment in terms of the composition of variables (previously presented approaches are limited to the aspects considered). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many surgical operations performed daily in operation rooms worldwide. Adequate anesthesia is needed during an operation. Besides hypnosis, adequate analgesia is critical to prevent autonomic reactions. Clinical experience and vital signs are usually used to adjust the dosage of analgesics. Analgesia nociception index (ANI), which ranges from 0 to 100, is derived from heart rate variability (HRV) via electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, for pain evaluation in a non-invasive manner. It represents parasympathetic activity. In this study, we compared the performance of multilayer perceptron (MLP) and long short-term memory (LSTM) algorithms in predicting expert assessment of pain score (EAPS) based on patient′s HRV during surgery. The objective of this study was to analyze how deep learning models differed from the medical doctors′ predictions of EAPS. As the input and output features of the deep learning models, the opposites of ANI and EAPS were used. This study included 80 patients who underwent operations at National Taiwan University Hospital. Using MLP and LSTM, a holdout method was first applied to 60 training patients, 10 validation patients, and 10 testing patients. As compared to the LSTM model, which had a testing mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.633 ± 0.542, the MLP model had a testing MAE of 2.490 ± 0.522, with a more appropriate shape of its prediction curves. The model based on MLP was selected as the best. Using MLP, a seven-fold cross validation method was then applied. The first fold had the lowest testing MAE of 2.460 ± 0.634, while the overall MAE for the seven-fold cross validation method was 2.848 ± 0.308. In conclusion, HRV analysis using MLP algorithm had a good correlation with EAPS; therefore, it can play role as a continuous monitor to predict intraoperative pain levels, to assist physicians in adjusting analgesic agent dosage. Further studies may consider obtaining more input features, such as photoplethysmography (PPG) and other kinds of continuous variable, to improve the prediction performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecules with pleasant odors, unacceptable odors, and even serious toxicity are closely related to human social life. It is impractical to identify the odors of molecules in large quantities (particularly hazardous odors) using experimental methods. Computer-aided methods have currently attracted increasing attention for the prediction of molecular odors. Here, through models based on multilayer perceptron (MLP) and physicochemical descriptors (MLP-Des), MLP and molecular fingerprint, and convolutional neural network (CNN), we conduct the two-class prediction of odor/no odor, fruity/no odor, floral/no odor, and woody/no odor, and the multi-class prediction of fruity/flowery/woody/no odor on our newly refined molecular odor datasets. We show that three kinds of predictors can robustly predict molecular odors. The MLP-Des model not only exhibits the best prediction results (the AUC values are 0.99 and 0.86 for the two- and multi-classification models, respectively) but can also well reflect the characteristics of the structure–odor relationship of molecules. The CNN model takes 2D molecular images as input and can automatically extract the structural features related to molecular odors. The proposed models are of great help for the prediction of molecular odorants, understanding the underlying relationship between chemical structure and odor perception, and the discovery of new odorous and/or hazardous molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud Computing (CC) provides a combination of technologies that allows the user to use the most resources in the least amount of time and with the least amount of money. CC semantics play a critical role in ranking heterogeneous data by using the properties of different cloud services and then achieving the optimal cloud service. Regardless of the efforts made to enable simple access to this CC innovation, in the presence of various organizations delivering comparative services at varying cost and execution levels, it is far more difficult to identify the ideal cloud service based on the user's requirements. In this research, we propose a Cloud-Services-Ranking Agent (CSRA) for analyzing cloud services using end-users' feedback, including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), based on ontology mapping and selecting the optimal service. The proposed CSRA possesses Machine-Learning (ML) techniques for ranking cloud services using parameters such as availability, security, reliability, and cost. Here, the Quality of Web Service (QWS) dataset is used, which has seven major cloud services categories, ranked from 0–6, to extract the required persuasive features through Sequential Minimal Optimization Regression (SMOreg). The classification outcomes through SMOreg are capable and demonstrate a general accuracy of around 98.71% in identifying optimum cloud services through the identified parameters. The main advantage of SMOreg is that the amount of memory required for SMO is linear. The findings show that our improved model in terms of precision outperforms prevailing techniques such as Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Linear Regression (LR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology evaluation in the electronics field leads to the great development of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for a variety of applications. The sensor nodes are deployed in hazardous environments, and they are operated by isolated battery sources. Network connectivity is purely based on power availability, which impacts the network lifetime. Hence, power must be used wisely to prolong the network lifetime. The sensor nodes that fail due to power have to detect quickly to maintain the network. In a WSN, classifiers are used to detect the faults for checking the data generated by the sensor nodes. In this paper, six classifiers such as Support Vector Machine, Convolutional Neural Network, Multilayer Perceptron, Stochastic Gradient Descent, Random Forest and Probabilistic Neural Network have been taken for analysis. Six different faults (Offset fault, Gain fault, Stuck-at fault, Out of Bounds, Spike fault and Data loss) are injected in the data generated by the sensor nodes. The faulty data are checked by the classifiers. The simulation results show that the Random Forest detected more faults and it also outperformed all other classifiers in that category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, socioeconomic transformation and social modernisation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have led to tremendous changes in lifestyle and, subsequently, expansion of urban settlements. This accelerated growth is pronounced not only across vegetated coasts, plains, and mountains, but also in desert cities. Nevertheless, spatial simulation and prediction of desert urban patterns has received little attention, including in Oman. While most urban settlements in Oman are located in desert environments, research exploring and monitoring this type of urban growth is rare in the scientific literature. This research focuses on analysing and predicting land use–land cover (LULC) changes across the desert city of Ibri in Oman. A methodology was employed involving integrating the multilayer perceptron (MLP) and Markov chain (MC) techniques to forecast spatiotemporal LULC dynamics and map urban growth patterns. The inputs were three Landsat images from 2010 and 2020, and a series of covariate layers based on transforms of elevation, slope, population settlements, urban centres, and points of interest that proxy the driving forces of change. The findings indicated that the observed LULC changes were predominantly rapid across the city during 2010 to 2020, transforming desert, bare land, and vegetation into built-up areas. The forecast showed that area of land conversion from desert to urban would be 5666 ha during the next two decades and 7751 ha by 2050. Similarly, vacant land is expected to contribute large areas to urban expansion (2370 ha by 2040, and 3266 ha by 2050), although desert cities confront numerous environmental challenges, including water scarcity, shrinking vegetation cover, and being converted into residential land. Massive urban expansion has consequences for biodiversity and natural ecosystems—particularly in green areas, which are expected to decline by approximately 107 ha by 2040 (i.e., 10%) and 166 ha by 2050. The outcomes of this research provide fundamental guidance for decision-makers and planners in Oman and elsewhere to effectively monitor and manage desert urban dynamics and sustainable desert cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interferometric imaging radar altimeter (InIRA) adopts a short baseline along with small incidence angles to acquire interferometric signals from the sea surface with high accuracy, thus the wide-swath sea surface height (SSH) and backscattering coefficient ( σ 0 ) can be obtained simultaneously. This work presents an approach to jointly retrieve the wind speed and significant wave height (SWH) for the Chinese Tiangong-2 interferometric imaging radar altimeter (TG2-InIRA). This approach utilizes a multilayer perceptron (MLP) joint retrieval model based on σ 0 and SSH data. By comparing with the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data, the root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the retrieved wind speed and the SWH are 1.27 m/s and 0.36 m, respectively. Based on the retrieved SWH, two enhanced wind speed retrieval models are developed for high sea states and low sea states, respectively. The results show that the RMSE of the retrieved wind speed is 1.12 m/s when the SWHs < 4 m; the RMSE is 0.73 m/s when the SWHs ≥ 4 m. Similarly, two enhanced SWH retrieval models for relatively larger and relatively smaller wind speed regions are developed based on the retrieved wind speed with corresponding RMSEs of 0.19 m and 0.16 m, respectively. The comparison between the retrieved results and the buoy data shows that they are highly consistent. The results show that the additional information of SWH can be used to improve the accuracy of wind speed retrieval at small incidence angles, and also the additional information of wind speed can be used to improve the SWH retrieval. The stronger the correlation between wind speed and SWH, the greater the improvement of the retrieved results. The proposed method can achieve joint retrieval of wind speed and SWH accurately, which complements the existing wind speed and SWH retrieval methods for InIRA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) has been applied to measure the chlorophyll content of seeds, in order to determine seed maturity, but the high price of equipment limits its wider application. Astragalus seeds were used to explore the applicability of digital image analysis technology to the prediction of seed chlorophyll content and to supply a low cost and alternative method. Our research comprised scanning and extracting the characteristic features of Astragalus seeds, determining the chlorophyll content, and establishing a predictive model of chlorophyll content in Astragalus seeds based on characteristic features. The results showed that the R2 of the MLR prediction model established with multiple features was ≥0.947, and the R2 of the MLP model was ≥0.943. By sorting of two single features, the R and G values, the R2 reached 0.969 and 0.965, respectively. A germination result showed that the lower the chlorophyll content, the higher the quality of the seeds. Therefore, we draw a conclusion that digital image analysis technology can be used to predict effectively the chlorophyll content of Astragalus seeds, and provide a reference for the selection of mature and viable Astragalus seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contamination of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in agricultural soils is a serious concern around the globe, and modelling approaches is imperative in order to determine the possible hazards linked with PTEs. These techniques accurately assess the PTEs in soil, which play a pivotal role in eliminating the weaknesses in determining PTEs in soils. This paper aims to predict the concentration of Cu, Co and Pb using neural networks (NNs) based on multilayer perceptron (MLP) and boosted regression trees (BT). Statistical performance estimation factors were rummage-sale to measure the performance of developed models. Comparison of the coefficient of correlation and root mean squared error suggest that MLP-established models perform better than BT-based models for predicting the concentration of Cu and Pb, whereas BT models perform better than MLP established models at predicting the concentration of Co. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault location with the highest possible accuracy has a significant role in expediting the restoration process, after being exposed to any kind of fault in power distribution grids. This paper provides fault detection, classification, and location methods using machine learning tools and advanced signal processing for a radial distribution grid. The three-phase current signals, one cycle before and one cycle after the inception of the fault are measured at the sending end of the grid. A discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is employed to extract useful features from the three-phase current signal. Standard statistical techniques are then applied onto DWT coefficients to extract the useful features. Among many features, mean, standard deviation (SD), energy, skewness, kurtosis, and entropy are evaluated and fed into the artificial neural network (ANN), Multilayer perceptron (MLP), and extreme learning machine (ELM), to identify the fault type and its location. During the training process, all types of faults with variations in the loading and fault resistance are considered. The performance of the proposed fault locating methods is evaluated in terms of root mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean squared error (RMSE), Willmott's index of agreement (WIA), coefficient of determination ( R 2 ), and Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (NSEC). The time it takes for training and testing are also considered. The proposed method that discrete wavelet transforms with machine learning is a very accurate and reliable method for fault classifying and locating in both a balanced and unbalanced radial system. 100% fault detection accuracy is achieved for all types of faults. Except for the slight confusion of three line to ground (3LG) and three line (3L) faults, 100% classification accuracy is also achieved. The performance measures show that both MLP and ELM are very accurate and comparative in locating faults. The method can be further applied for meshed networks with multiple distributed generators. Renewable generations in the form of distributed generation units can also be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization due to irrigation affects agricultural productivity in the semi-arid region of Brazil. In this study, the performance of four computational models to estimate electrical conductivity (EC) (soil salinization) was evaluated using laboratory reflectance spectroscopy. To investigate the influence of bandwidth and band positioning on the EC estimates, we simulated the spectral resolution of two hyperspectral sensors (airborne ProSpecTIR-VS and orbital Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI)) and three multispectral instruments (RapidEye/REIS, High Resolution Geometric (HRG)/SPOT-5, and Operational Land Imager (OLI)/Landsat-8)). Principal component analysis (PCA) and the first-order derivative analysis were applied to the data to generate metrics associated with soil brightness and spectral features, respectively. The three sets of data (reflectance, PCA, and derivative) were tested as input variable for Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), Ordinary Least Square regression (OLS), Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), and Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). Finally, the laboratory models were inverted to a ProSpecTIR-VS image (400-2500 nm) acquired with 1-m spatial resolution in the northeast of Brazil. The objective was to estimate EC over exposed soils detected using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The results showed that the predictive ability of the linear models and ELM was better than that of the MLP, as indicated by higher values of the coefficient of determination (R²) and ratio of the performance to deviation (RPD), and lower values of the root mean square error (RMSE). Metrics associated with soil brightness (reflectance and PCA scores) were more efficient in detecting changes in the EC produced by soil salinization than metrics related to spectral features (derivative). When applied to the image, the PLSR model with reflectance had an RMSE of 1.22 dS·m-1 and an RPD of 2.21, and was more suitable for detecting salinization (10-20 dS·m-1) in exposed soils (NDVI < 0.30) than the other models. For all computational models, lower values of RMSE and higher values of RPD were observed for the narrowband-simulated sensors compared to the broadband-simulated instruments. The soil EC estimates improved from the RapidEye to the HRG and OLI spectral resolutions, showing the importance of shortwave intervals (SWIR-1 and SWIR-2) in detecting soil salinization when the reflectance of selected bands is used in data modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial canker of tomato is caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm). The disease is highly destructive, because it produces latent asymptomatic infections that favor contagion rates. The present research aims consisted on the implementation of Raman spectroscopy (RS) and machine-learning spectral analysis as a method for the early disease detection. Raman spectra were obtained from infected asymptomatic tomato plants (BCTo) and healthy controls (HTo) with 785 nm excitation laser micro-Raman spectrometer. Spectral data were normalized and processed by principal component analysis (PCA), then the classifiers algorithms multilayer perceptron (PCA + MLP) and linear discriminant analysis (PCA + LDA) were implemented. Bacterial isolation and identification (16S rRNA gene sequencing) were realized of each plant studied. The Raman spectra obtained from tomato leaf samples of HTo and BCTo exhibited peaks associated to cellular components, and the most prominent vibrational bands were assigned to carbohydrates, carotenoids, chlorophyll, and phenolic compounds. Biochemical changes were also detectable in the Raman spectral patterns. Raman bands associated with triterpenoids and flavonoids compounds can be considered as indicators of Cmm infection during the asymptomatic stage. RS is an efficient, fast and reliable technology to differentiate the tomato health condition (BCTo or HTo). The analytical method showed high performance values of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial patterns of species richness can be used as indicators for conservation and restoration, but data problems, including the lack of species surveys and geographical data gaps, are obstacles to mapping species richness across large areas. Lack of species data can be overcome with remote sensing because it covers extended geographic areas and generates recurring data. We developed a Deep Learning (DL) framework using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products and modeled potential species richness by stacking species distribution models (S-SDMs) to ask, "What are the spatial patterns of potential plant species richness across the Korean Peninsula, including inaccessible North Korea, where survey data are limited?" First, we estimated plant species richness in South Korea by combining the probability-based SDM results of 1574 species and used independent plant surveys to validate our potential species richness maps. Next, DL-based species richness models were fitted to the species richness results in South Korea, and a time-series of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI) from MODIS. The individually developed models from South Korea were statistically tested using datasets that were not used in model training and obtained high accuracy outcomes (0.98, Pearson correlation). Finally, the proposed models were combined to estimate the richness patterns across the Korean Peninsula at a higher spatial resolution than the species survey data. From the statistical feature importance tests overall, growing season NDVI-related features were more important than LAI features for quantifying biodiversity from remote sensing time-series data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing demand for a land surface temperature (LST) dataset with both fine spatial and temporal resolutions due to the key role of LST in the Earth's land–atmosphere system. Currently, the technique most commonly used to meet the demand is thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing. However, cloud contamination interferes with TIR transmission through the atmosphere, limiting the potential of space-borne TIR sensors to provide the LST with complete spatio-temporal coverage. To solve this problem, we developed a two-step integrated method to: (i) estimate the 10-km LST with a high spatial coverage from passive microwave (PMW) data using the multilayer perceptron (MLP) model; and (ii) downscale the LST to 1 km and fill the gaps based on the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. Finally, the 1-km all-weather LST for cloudy pixels was fused with Aqua MODIS clear-sky LST via bias correction. This method was applied to produce the all-weather LST products for both daytime and nighttime during the years 2013–2018 in South China. The evaluations showed that the accuracy of the reproduced LST on cloudy days was comparable to that of the MODIS LST in terms of mean absolute error (2.29–2.65 K), root mean square error (2.92–3.25 K), and coefficients of determination (0.82–0.92) against the in situ measurements at four flux stations and ten automatic meteorological stations with various land cover types. The spatial and temporal analysis showed that the MLP-GTWR LST were highly consistent with the MODIS, in situ, and ERA5-Land LST, with the satisfactory ability to present the LST pattern under cloudy conditions. In addition, the MLP-GTWR method outperformed a gap-filling method and another TIR-PMW integrated method due to the local strategy in MLP and the consideration of temporal non-stationarity relationship in GTWR. Therefore, the test of the developed method in the frequently cloudy South China indicates the efficient potential for further application to other humid regions to generate the LST under cloudy condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate prediction of the solar diffuse fraction (DF), sometimes called the diffuse ratio, is an important topic for solar energy research. In the present study, the current state of Diffuse irradiance research is discussed and then three robust, machine learning (ML) models are examined using a large dataset (almost eight years) of hourly readings from Almeria, Spain. The ML models used herein, are a hybrid adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), a single multi-layer perceptron (MLP) and a hybrid multi-layer perceptron grey wolf optimizer (MLP-GWO). These models were evaluated for their predictive precision, using various solar and DF irradiance data, from Spain. The results were then evaluated using frequently used evaluation criteria, the mean absolute error (MAE), mean error (ME) and the root mean square error (RMSE). The results showed that the MLP-GWO model, followed by the ANFIS model, provided a higher performance in both the training and the testing procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-cost light scattering particulate matter (PM) sensors have been widely researched and deployed in order to overcome the limitations of low spatio-temporal resolution of government-operated beta attenuation monitor (BAM). However, the accuracy of low-cost sensors has been questioned, thus impeding their wide adoption in practice. To evaluate the accuracy of low-cost PM sensors in the field, a multi-sensor platform has been developed and co-located with BAM in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Korea from 15 January 2019 to 4 September 2019. In this paper, a sample variation of low-cost sensors has been analyzed while using three commercial low-cost PM sensors. Influences on PM sensor by environmental conditions, such as humidity, temperature, and ambient light, have also been described. Based on this information, we developed a novel combined calibration algorithm, which selectively applies multiple calibration models and statistically reduces residuals, while using a prebuilt parameter lookup table where each cell records statistical parameters of each calibration model at current input parameters. As our proposed framework significantly improves the accuracy of the low-cost PM sensors (e.g., RMSE: 23.94 → 4.70 μ g/m 3 ) and increases the correlation (e.g., R 2 : 0.41 → 0.89), this calibration model can be transferred to all sensor nodes through the sensor network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many direct and indirect methods, processes, and sensors available on the market today are used to monitor the occupancy of selected Intelligent Building (IB) premises and the living activities of IB residents. By recognizing the occupancy of individual spaces in IB, IB can be optimally automated in conjunction with energy savings. This article proposes a novel method of indirect occupancy monitoring using CO2, temperature, and relative humidity measured by means of standard operating measurements using the KNX (Konnex (standard EN 50090, ISO/IEC 14543)) technology to monitor laboratory room occupancy in an intelligent building within the Internet of Things (IoT). The article further describes the design and creation of a Software (SW) tool for ensuring connectivity of the KNX technology and the IoT IBM Watson platform in real-time for storing and visualization of the values measured using a Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol and data storage into a CouchDB type database. As part of the proposed occupancy determination method, the prediction of the course of CO2 concentration from the measured temperature and relative humidity values were performed using mathematical methods of Linear Regression, Neural Networks, and Random Tree (using IBM SPSS Modeler) with an accuracy higher than 90%. To increase the accuracy of the prediction, the application of suppression of additive noise from the CO2 signal predicted by CO2 using the Least mean squares (LMS) algorithm in adaptive filtering (AF) method was used within the newly designed method. In selected experiments, the prediction accuracy with LMS adaptive filtration was better than 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]