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This document serves as a preface to a special issue of the International Journal on Artificial Intelligence Tools (IJAIT). The articles in this issue build upon papers presented at the 36th International Florida AI Research Society Conferences in May 2023. The lead article introduces the theme of the special issue, which is explainable, fair, and Trustworthy AI. Other articles in the issue cover topics such as improving the bounds of a neuron's Boolean function, ethical explanations and transparency in AI systems, fairness measurement and mitigation in deep learning systems, and the dynamics of human-agent collaboration in ad hoc teams. The paper emphasizes the importance of positive and negative contrastive explanations in enhancing motivation and performance. It also addresses the challenges of fairness and reliability in predictive policing systems, with a focus on reducing bias related to race, age, and sex. The authors propose tailoring predictive models to specific causal queries and utilizing causal structure instead of relying solely on pre-trained models. The paper also explores how machine learning models can balance accuracy and understandability, as well as ensure fairness. The findings indicate that more complex models tend to outperform current guidelines, but fair models have lower complexity. The paper concludes by expressing gratitude to the reviewers for their contributions and support. [Extracted from the article]

The life expectancy of power transformers is primarily determined by the integrity of the insulating oil and cellulose paper between the conductor turns, phases and phase to earth. During the course of their in-service lifetime, the solid insulating system of windings is contingent on long-standing ageing and decomposition. The decomposition of the cellulose paper insulation is strikingly grievous, as it reduces the tensile strength of the cellulose paper and can trigger premature failure. The latter can trigger premature failure, and to realize at which point during the operational life this may occur is a daunting task. Various methods of estimating the DP have been proposed in the literature; however, these methods yield different results, making it difficult to accurately estimate a reliable DP. In this work, a novel approach based on the Feedforward Backpropagation Artificial Neural Network has been proposed to predict the amount of DP in transformer cellulose insulation. Presently, no ANN model has been proposed to predict the remaining DP using 2FAL concentration. A databank comprising 100 data sets—70 for training and 30 for testing—is used to develop the proposed ANN using 2-furaldehyde (2FAL) as an input and DP as an output. The proposed model yields a correlation coefficient of 0.958 for training, 0.915 for validation, 0.996 for testing and an overall correlation of 0.958 for the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most models of quantum neural networks are optimized based on gradient descent, and like classical neural networks, gradient descent suffers from the barren plateau phenomenon, which reduces the effectiveness of optimization. Therefore, this paper establishes a new QNN model, the optimization process adopts efficient quantum particle swarm optimization, and tentatively adds a quantum activation circuit to our QNN model. Our model will inherit the superposition property of quantum and the random search property of quantum particle swarm. Simulation experiments on some classification data show that the model proposed in this paper has higher classification performance than the gradient descent-based QNN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unknown nature of the future requires us to question our decisions and seek reliable methods. The artificial neural networks approach, which is one of the methods used to best predict the future and one that is important for decision making has been thought of, particularly in recent years, as a method with a high level of validity in the fields of economy and financial prediction. The Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), at which millions of national and international investors operate, is among the developed stock exchanges of the world. The ISE has the attributes of being appropriate for making predictions regarding financial returns, without any sector differentiation, as a whole. In this study, it was aimed to predict monthly stock yields of 14 different paper companies dealing with the ISE (Istanbul Stock Exchange) by using artificial neural network. Four different variables (the gold price, ISE daily trading volume, exchange rate purchase-sale average, and monthly deposit interest rates by utilizing) and 127 months data were used. Results show that the monthly stock yields of the paper sector can be predicted correctly to account for 95% of the variability of data with the artificial neural network model, and the average absolute percentage failure value was 6.85%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an approach to the controllable simulation of paper forming using artificial neural network methods. Problem of simulating the dynamics of paper forming; Model for simulation of the dynamics of paper forming; Artificial neural networks and simulation of paper forming; Experimental results of the study; Discussion of the results; Conclusions.

Papermaking is an industrial process that is becoming more competitive nowadays. In this process there are numerous techniques and measurements to indicate paper quality. To increase competitiveness a good control of paper quality is needed through paper properties predictions from different process measurements. However, complex physico-chemical processes take place during papermaking, and thus, paper property predictions are not easy to obtain, especially in the wet-end area. In the wet end flocculation takes place, which will determine the floc properties during the formation of the sheet, and therefore, it will influence retention, drainage and formation. These strongly affect the runnability of the machine and the properties of the final product, and thus, using wet-end measurements for the predictions implies advanced data treatment. Artificial neural networks have been used in this article to predict newsprint paper properties from wet-end parameters. Results show that formation and strength properties can be robustly predicted from pulp properties at the headbox, flocculation parameters and machine speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to numerically resolve linear and nonlinear transient heat conduction problems in multilayer composite materials using a deep learning method called multi-domain physics-informed neural networks (MDPINNs). For this purpose, the multilayer media are first divided into independent sub-domains based on domain decomposition technique. The single-layer deep neural networks are first established, and each sub-domain has its corresponding sub-network. Then, each two sub-networks are connected by continuity conditions on the interface to form a MDPINNs' framework that can directly solve the transient heat conduction problem in multilayer media. The temperature distribution in the computational domain can be obtained by training the MDPINNs, including the temperature values on the interface. A series of numerical experiments are carried out to verify that the proposed framework can achieve satisfactory accuracy, including in micrometer or even nanometer structures. Compared with conventional methods, the MDPINNs have the advantage of directly solving both linear and nonlinear heat conduction problems in multilayer materials in a unified and concise form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the packing method of "plastic bag–buffer packing–packing paper box" is adopted for bearing packaging. However, the common packing method has a poor packing effect and poor versatility. In this study, a new biomimetic cobweb cushion is proposed to solve the problem of insufficient cushioning capacity of high-precision bearing cushion packaging pads. First, according to the nature of cobweb form, the cobweb cushion structure configuration is determined. Next, based on the structure of the cushion and the relationship between the parameters of radial thread and spiral thread, a mechanical and target optimization model is established. The stress nephogram of bearing and the cobweb cushion are analyzed under three drop heights of 381, 610, and 700 mm, in the finite element simulation software to ensure that the maximum bearings stress is not beyond the material yield strength. Via the 3D printing technology, a cobweb cushion shell cast is made. Drop tests of the bearing were performed, and the results were verified with the finite element simulation analysis. This research can provide technical support for the protection of high-precision bearings from accidental drops during transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of the impact of two important parameters, moisture and aging of the oil/paper dielectric used as insulation in power transformers.The way in which these two parameters influence different parameters of the Frequency Domain Spectroscopy (FDS) measurements, is emphasized.Different FDS parameters were measured by varying the moisturecontent and the aging degree of the oil impregnated paper.The use of two types of neural networks for analysis of the results was necessary in order to help discriminating the impact of moisture and aging on the FDS measurements and, in some cases, to estimate the aging duration of the paper impregnated with oil. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• AI improves infectious waste management. • Ensemble model exceeds 97.81% accuracy. • Reinforcement learning optimizes classification. • Geometric augmentation boosts model robustness. • Study addresses urgent urban waste challenges. This research paper focuses on effective infectious municipal waste management in urban settings, highlighting a dearth of dedicated research in this domain. Unlike general or specific waste types, infectious waste poses distinct health and environmental risks. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence techniques, we prioritize infectious waste categorization and optimization, integrating metaheuristics into optimization methods to create a robust dual-ensemble framework. Our model, the "Enhanced Artificial Intelligence for Infectious Municipal Waste Classification System," combines ensemble image segmentation methods and diverse convolutional neural network models. Innovative geometric image augmentation enhances model robustness, diversifies training data, and improves accuracy across waste types. A pivotal aspect is the integration of a reinforcement learning-differential evolution algorithm as a decision fusion strategy, optimizing classification by harmonizing outputs from ensemble methods and convolutional neural network models. Computational results, using a newly collected dataset, demonstrate our model's accuracy exceeding 96.54% while using the existing solid waste dataset we achieve the accuracy of 97.81%, outperforming advanced approaches by margins ranging from 2.02% to 8.80%. This research significantly advances sustainable waste management, showcasing artificial intelligence's transformative potential in addressing intricate waste challenges. It establishes a foundational framework prioritizing efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability for future waste management solutions. Acknowledging the importance of diverse datasets, customization for urban contexts, and practical integration into existing infrastructures, our work contributes to the broader discourse on the role of artificial intelligence in evolving waste management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accidental leakage of gaseous hydrogen from hydrogen refueling station facilities has the potential to result in a large fire and explosion catastrophe. The ability to forecast the spatiotemporal evolution of hydrogen plumes in real-time is crucial for monitoring the distribution of plume concentrations and mitigating the risk of fire and explosion. The utilization of deep learning has been extensively employed in a diverse range of spatiotemporal forecasting tasks. However, these approaches encounter limitations in accurately quantifying uncertainty when predicting spatiotemporal concentrations and plume boundaries. This research paper introduces a novel model called DPSTNN_H 2 Evolution, which is a deep probabilistic spatial-temporal neural network designed for forecasting the spatiotemporal evolution of hydrogen plumes. The benchmark dataset is constructed by the implementation of numerical simulations pertaining to the inadvertent leak of hydrogen within a hydrogen refueling station. The findings of the study indicate that incorporating quantified uncertainty information might enhance the precision of plume boundaries and the resilience of plume concentrations when predicting the spatiotemporal development of hydrogen. By employing Monte Carlo sampling with a sample size of m = 100 and a dropout rate of p = 0.1 , the model demonstrates the ability to provide real-time inference for 10 instances of plumes, while maintaining a high level of accuracy with R2 = 0.9829. In comparison to the current state-of-the-art model, the proposed model demonstrates superior accuracy and robustness in forecasting the spatiotemporal evolution of hydrogen plumes. In general, our proposed model has the potential to serve as a dependable option for the development of a digital twin for emergency management of hydrogen refueling stations. • Probabilistic spatial-temporal neural network model for hydrogen plume evolutions is proposed. • Normalized uncertainty contours and uncertainty intervals to improve accuracy and robustness. • Numerical experiment of hydrogen leakage and dispersion in refueling station are conducted. • Optimal hyper-parameters of the proposed model are determined • Comparison between the proposed model with point-estimation based model is conducted [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PIN diodes, due to their simple structure and variable resistance characteristics under high-frequency high-power excitation, are often used in radar front-end as limiters to filter high power microwaves (HPM) to prevent its power from entering the internal circuit and causing damage. This paper carries out theoretical derivation and research on the HPM effects of PIN diodes, and then uses an optimized neural network algorithm to replace traditional physical modeling to calculate and predict two types of HPM limiting indicators of PIN diode limiters. We proposes a neural network model for each of the following two prediction scenarios: in the scenario of time-junction temperature curves under different HPM irradiation, the weighted mean squared error (MSE) between the predicted values from the test dataset and the simulated values is below 0.004. While in predicting PIN limiter's power limitation threshold, insertion loss, and maximum isolation under different HPM irradiation, the MSE of the test set prediction values and simulation values are all less than 0.03. The method proposed in this research, which applies an optimized neural network algorithm to replace traditional physical modeling algorithms for studying the high-power microwave effects of PIN diode limiters, significantly improves the computational and simulation speed, reduces the calculation cost, and provides a new method for studying the high-power microwave effects of PIN diode limiters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing reliance on internet-based services has heightened the vulnerability of network infrastructure to cyberattacks, particularly distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks can cause severe disruptions and significant financial losses. Early detection of malicious traffic is crucial in effectively combating such threats. This paper presents an innovative approach called the Encoder-Stacked deep neural networks (E-SDNN) model, which leverages Stacked/bagged multi-layer perceptrons (MLP) for accurate DDoS attack detection. The proposed method employs an encoder to select pertinent features from a preprocessed dataset, enabling precise attack detection. Extensive experiments were conducted on benchmark cybersecurity datasets, namely CICDS2017 and CICDDoS2019, encompassing various DDoS attack scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the E-SDNN model compared to state-of-the-art methods. The proposed E-SDNN model achieved an impressive overall accuracy rate of 99.94% and 98.86% for CICDDS2017 and CICDDoS2019, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a condition that degenerates over time and impairs speech and pronunciation because brain cells have died. This research work aims to predict parkinson disease using the voice features extracted from speech signals recorded from PD individuals with dysphonic speech disorders by employing deep learning algorithms. PD is challenging to diagnose early on in the clinical presentation. To address the issue in machine learning methods, this paper proposes a neural network model by processing speech signals to classify PD using the University of California Irvine (UCI) machine learning repository dataset. Initially, a pre-loss reduction module is created by using pre-sampling to make the dataset balanced by reducing the dimensionality and maintaining the size of the space without influencing the learning process for data preparation. The relevant features are derived using a novel multi-agent salp swarm (MASS) algorithm, and a novel Parkinson classification neural network (PCNN) is proposed to classify Parkinson's patients with high accuracy employing these derived features. The result shows that the models that use MASS-PCNN produce higher classification accuracy of 99.1%, precision of 97.8%, recall of 94.7% and F1-score of 0.995 when paralleled to the existing models. As an outcome, the suggested model will perform superior to common convolutional neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method to perform the real-time creation of models that are used to represent aspects of tracked objects in video frames. Object modeling is done during the task of tracking previously unseen selected objects, and both tracking and model creation are implemented using the WiSARD weightless neural network and occur in real time, starting from no prior knowledge. The main purpose of this work is to track an object through camera images and, simultaneously, create a model that describes the presented appearances along with the transitions between each learned aspect. To achieve this goal, an object tracker based on the ClusWiSARD weightless neural network model was used to determine the states that describe the observed objects. In this way, it is possible to obtain a system that capture knowledge about the visual structures of the learned objects, creating relationships between the possible appearances, and being able to transit over the model aspects in an appropriate way. Furthermore, the created models have visual representations that can be used to show the learned aspects and validate the state transitions, in addition to being able to visualize occluded parts of objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once realized, autonomous aerial refueling will revolutionize unmanned aviation by removing current range and endurance limitations. Previous attempts at establishing vision-based solutions have come close but rely heavily on near perfect extrinsic camera calibrations that often change midflight. In this paper, we propose dual object detection, a technique that overcomes such requirement by transforming aerial refueling imagery directly into receiver aircraft reference frame probe-to-drogue vectors regardless of camera position and orientation. These vectors are precisely what autonomous agents need to successfully maneuver the tanker and receiver aircraft in synchronous flight during refueling operations. Our method follows a common 4-stage process of capturing an image, finding 2D points in the image, matching those points to 3D object features, and analytically solving for the object pose. However, we extend this pipeline by simultaneously performing these operations across two objects instead of one using machine learning and add a fifth stage that transforms the two pose estimates into a relative vector. Furthermore, we propose a novel supervised learning method using bounding box corrections such that our trained artificial neural networks can accurately predict 2D image points corresponding to known 3D object points. Simulation results show that this method is reliable, accurate (within 3 cm at contact), and fast (45.5 fps). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient approximation of parametric PDEs is of tremendous importance in science and engineering. In this paper, we show how one can train Galerkin discretizations to efficiently learn quantities of interest of solutions to a parametric PDE. The central component in our approach is an efficient neural-network-weighted Minimal-Residual formulation, which, after training, provides Galerkin-based approximations in standard discrete spaces that have accurate quantities of interest, regardless of the coarseness of the discrete space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectroscopic techniques generate one-dimensional spectra with distinct peaks and specific widths in the frequency domain. These features act as unique identities for material characteristics. Deep neural networks (DNNs) has recently been considered a powerful tool for automatically categorizing experimental spectra data by supervised classification to evaluate material characteristics. However, most existing work assumes balanced spectral data among various classes in the training data, contrary to actual experiments, where the spectral data is usually imbalanced. The imbalanced training data deteriorates the supervised classification performance, hindering understanding of the phase behavior, specifically, sol-gel transition (gelation) of soft materials and glycomaterials. To address this issue, this paper applies a novel data augmentation method based on a generative adversarial network (GAN) proposed by the authors in their prior work. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the actual imbalanced spectral data from Pluronic F-127 hydrogel and Alpha-Cyclodextrin hydrogel are used to classify the phases of data. Specifically, our approach improves 8.8%, 6.4%, and 6.2% of the performance of the existing data augmentation methods regarding the classifier's F-score, Precision, and Recall on average, respectively. Specifically, our method consists of three DNNs: the generator, discriminator, and classifier. The method generates samples that are not only authentic but emphasize the differentiation between material characteristics to provide balanced training data, improving the classification results. Based on these validated results, we expect the method's broader applications in addressing imbalanced measurement data across diverse domains in materials science and chemical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has surged in recent years, making it the foremost cause of mortality among humans. The Electrocardiogram (ECG), being one of the pivotal diagnostic tools for cardiovascular diseases, is increasingly gaining prominence in the field of machine learning. However, prevailing neural network models frequently disregard the spatial dimension features inherent in ECG signals. In this paper, we propose an ECG autoencoder network architecture incorporating low-rank attention (LRA-autoencoder). It is designed to capture potential spatial features of ECG signals by interpreting the signals from a spatial perspective and extracting correlations between different signal points. Additionally, the low-rank attention block (LRA-block) obtains spatial features of electrocardiogram signals through singular value decomposition, and then assigns these spatial features as weights to the electrocardiogram signals, thereby enhancing the differentiation of features among different categories. Finally, we utilize the ResNet-18 network classifier to assess the performance of the LRA-autoencoder on both the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia and PhysioNet Challenge 2017 datasets. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method demonstrates superior classification performance. The mean accuracy on the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia dataset is as high as 0.997, and the mean accuracy and F 1 -score on the PhysioNet Challenge 2017 dataset are 0.850 and 0.843. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, whose viruses are transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti, significantly impact human health worldwide. Despite the recent development of promising vaccines against the dengue virus, controlling these arbovirus diseases still depends on mosquito surveillance and control. Nonetheless, several studies have shown that these measures are not sufficiently effective or ineffective. Identifying higher-risk areas in a municipality and directing control efforts towards them could improve it. One tool for this is the premise condition index (PCI); however, its measure requires visiting all buildings. We propose a novel approach capable of predicting the PCI based on facade street-level images, which we call PCINet. Methodology: Our study was conducted in Campinas, a one million-inhabitant city in São Paulo, Brazil. We surveyed 200 blocks, visited their buildings, and measured the three traditional PCI components (building and backyard conditions and shading), the facade conditions (taking pictures of them), and other characteristics. We trained a deep neural network with the pictures taken, creating a computational model that can predict buildings' conditions based on the view of their facades. We evaluated PCINet in a scenario emulating a real large-scale situation, where the model could be deployed to automatically monitor four regions of Campinas to identify risk areas. Principal findings: PCINet produced reasonable results in differentiating the facade condition into three levels, and it is a scalable strategy to triage large areas. The entire process can be automated through data collection from facade data sources and inferences through PCINet. The facade conditions correlated highly with the building and backyard conditions and reasonably well with shading and backyard conditions. The use of street-level images and PCINet could help to optimize Ae. aegypti surveillance and control, reducing the number of in-person visits necessary to identify buildings, blocks, and neighborhoods at higher risk from mosquito and arbovirus diseases. Author summary: The strategies to control Ae. aegypti require intensive work and considerable financial resources, are time-consuming, and are commonly affected by operational problems requiring urgent improvement. The PCI is a good tool for identifying higher-risk areas; however, its measure requires a high amount of human and material resources, and the aforementioned issues remain. In this paper, we propose a novel approach capable of predicting the PCI of buildings based on street-level images. This first work combines deep learning-based methods with street-level data to predict facade conditions. Considering the good results obtained with PCINet and the good correlations of facade conditions with PCI components, we could use this methodology to classify building conditions without visiting them physically. With this, we intend to overcome the high cost of identifying high-risk areas. Although we have a long road ahead, our results show that PCINet could help to optimize Ae. aegypti and arbovirus surveillance and control, reducing the number of in-person visits necessary to identify buildings or areas at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a detailed evaluation of cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) approaches and metaheuristic algorithms for optimizing wind turbine location inside wind farms. The growing need for renewable energy sources has fueled an increase in research towards efficient and sustainable wind farm designs. To address this challenge, various AI techniques, including genetic algorithms (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), simulated annealing, artificial neural networks (ANNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and reinforcement learning, have been explored in combination with metaheuristic algorithms. The goal is to discover optimal sites for turbine placement based on a variety of parameters such as energy output, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, and geographical restrictions. The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy and highlights current breakthroughs in the area. This assessment adds to continuing efforts to optimize wind farm design and promote the use of clean and sustainable energy sources by offering significant insights into current advances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learned fault detection approaches are being increasingly used for fault detection in distribution grid. However, the performance of the models can be improved by customizing the models. In this regard, a customised artificial neural network (CANN) for fault detection in a distribution grid is proposed in this paper. The proposed work develops a CANN that combines the "up‐pyramid" and "down‐pyramid" model of ANN into a "custom‐pyramid" model. As a result, the same model can be used both for determining the types of fault as well as its location. The data needed to train the model has been taken from a reconfigured IEEE‐33 bus distribution system developed in Typhoon HIL real‐time simulator. Spectral‐kurtosis is utilized for extraction of features of the faulted transient signals which are used as input data to develop the CANN. The result showcases that the reduction of input features reduces computational complexity without compromising its accuracy. The proposed model classifies fault location with an accuracy of 95.43%. The proposed method also identifies fault type with an accuracy of 96.08%. Several test cases have been developed to test the method. The method proved to be able to perform in most of the cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate three-dimensional (3D) measurement for large field of view (FOV) is currently a significant research field. Accordingly, system calibration is crucial to ensure accuracy. However typical calibration methods often involve the use of large calibration objects, which is not only expensive but also difficult to achieve sufficient accuracy. A novel method based on a dual-brand deep neural network (DNN) is proposed for the system calibration. Taking advantage of the concept of "divide and conquer", the FOV is divided into sub-regions with a part of overlapping regions by a small calibration object, which forms a large calibration object covering the whole FOV. Then the sub-regions are fused into a global framework and further optimized by the proposed dual-brand DNN. The proposed method reduces the need for calibration objects while improving the calibration accuracy and generalization ability in large FOV. A series of experiments have been designed to prove the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. • A high-accuracy calibration method of a 3D measurement system with large field-of-view is proposed. The highlights of the paper are: • A high-accuracy calibration method for large field-of-view is proposed. • The large field-of-view is divided into multiple sub-regions. • Sub-regions are unified to a uniform coordinate system by self-constraint. • A dual-branch DNN is optimized using the multi-objective loss function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The diagnosis of oral cancer can require multiple biopsies to increase the likelihood of sampling the most pathologic site within a lesion. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables the examination of subsurface morphology and has shown potential in biopsy guidance. OCT captures changes in tissue stratification related to depth, topology, and presence of the epithelial-stromal boundary, which are structural biomarkers for pre-invasive and invasive oral cancer. This study presents a neural network pipeline to simplify OCT interpretation by providing information about epithelial depth and stratification through simple en face maps. U-net models were employed to segment the boundaries of the epithelial layer, and supporting convolutional neural networks were used for identification of the imaging field and artifacts. Non-cancerous, precancerous, and cancerous pathologies across the oral cavity were evaluated. The predictions demonstrate as-good-as or better agreement than inter-rater agreement, suggesting strong predictive power. This paper aims to simplify the application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the examination of subsurface morphology in the oral cavity and reduce barriers towards the adoption of OCT as a biopsy guidance device. The aim of this work was to develop automated software tools for the simplified analysis of the large volume of data collected during OCT. Imaging and corresponding histopathology were acquired in-clinic using a wide-field endoscopic OCT system. An annotated dataset (n = 294 images) from 60 patients (34 male and 26 female) was assembled to train four unique neural networks. A deep learning pipeline was built using convolutional and modified u-net models to detect the imaging field of view (network 1), detect artifacts (network 2), identify the tissue surface (network 3), and identify the presence and location of the epithelial–stromal boundary (network 4). The area under the curve of the image and artifact detection networks was 1.00 and 0.94, respectively. The Dice similarity score for the surface and epithelial–stromal boundary segmentation networks was 0.98 and 0.83, respectively. Deep learning (DL) techniques can identify the location and variations in the epithelial surface and epithelial–stromal boundary in OCT images of the oral mucosa. Segmentation results can be synthesized into accessible en face maps to allow easier visualization of changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Risk assessment in early breast cancer is critical for clinical decisions, but defining risk categories poses a significant challenge. The integration of conventional histopathology and biomarkers with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, including machine learning and deep learning, has the potential to offer more precise information. AI applications extend beyond detection to histological subtyping, grading, and molecular feature identification. The successful integration of AI into clinical practice requires collaboration between histopathologists, molecular pathologists, computational pathologists, and oncologists to optimize patient outcomes. Effective risk assessment in early breast cancer is essential for informed clinical decision-making, yet consensus on defining risk categories remains challenging. This paper explores evolving approaches in risk stratification, encompassing histopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular biomarkers alongside cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. Leveraging machine learning, deep learning, and convolutional neural networks, AI is reshaping predictive algorithms for recurrence risk, thereby revolutionizing diagnostic accuracy and treatment planning. Beyond detection, AI applications extend to histological subtyping, grading, lymph node assessment, and molecular feature identification, fostering personalized therapy decisions. With rising cancer rates, it is crucial to implement AI to accelerate breakthroughs in clinical practice, benefiting both patients and healthcare providers. However, it is important to recognize that while AI offers powerful automation and analysis tools, it lacks the nuanced understanding, clinical context, and ethical considerations inherent to human pathologists in patient care. Hence, the successful integration of AI into clinical practice demands collaborative efforts between medical experts and computational pathologists to optimize patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robots (TOMRs) are widely used to accomplish precise transportation tasks in narrow environments owing to their stability, flexible operation, and heavy loads. However, these robots are susceptible to slippage. For wheeled robots, almost all faults and slippage will directly affect the power consumption. Thus, using the energy consumption model data and encoder data in the healthy condition as a reference to diagnose robot slippage and other system faults is the main issue considered in this paper. We constructed an energy model for the TOMR and analyzed the factors that affect the power consumption in detail, such as the position of the gravity center. The study primarily focuses on the characteristic relationship between power consumption and speed when the robot experiences slippage or common faults, including control system faults. Finally, we present the use of a table-based artificial neural network (ANN) to indicate the type of fault by comparing the modeled data with the measured data. The experiments proved that the method is accurate and effective for diagnosing faults in TOMRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anthropogenic climate crisis results in the gradual loss of tree species in locations where they were previously able to grow. This leads to increasing workloads and requirements for foresters and arborists as they are forced to restructure their forests and city parks. The advancements in computer vision (CV)—especially in supervised deep learning (DL)—can help cope with these new tasks. However, they rely on large, carefully annotated datasets to produce good and generalizable models. This paper presents BAMFORESTS: a dataset with 27,160 individually delineated tree crowns in 105 ha of very-high-resolution UAV imagery gathered with two different sensors from two drones. BAMFORESTS covers four areas of coniferous, mixed, and deciduous forests and city parks. The labels contain instance segmentations of individual trees, and the proposed splits are balanced by tree species and vitality. Furthermore, the dataset contains the corrected digital surface model (DSM), representing tree heights. BAMFORESTS is annotated in the COCO format and is especially suited for training deep neural networks (DNNs) to solve instance segmentation tasks. BAMFORESTS was created in the BaKIM project and is freely available under the CC BY 4.0 license. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of sea surface height (SSH), which is of great importance in the field of oceanography, can be obtained through the innovative technique of GNSS-R for remote sensing. This research utilizes the dataset from spaceborne GNSS-R platforms, the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) and FengYun-3E (FY-3E), as the primary source of data for retrieving sea surface height (SSH). The utilization of artificial neural networks (ANNs) allows for the accurate estimation of ocean surface height with a precision of meter-level accuracy throughout the period of 1–17 August 2022. As a traditional machine learning method, an ANN is employed to extract pertinent data features, facilitating the acquisition of precise sea surface height estimations. Additionally, separate models are devised for both GNSS-R platforms, one based on constant velocity (CV) and the other on constant acceleration (CA). The Interactive Multiple Model (IMM) is utilized as the main method to combine the four models and convert the likelihood of each model. The transition between the models allows the filters to effectively adapt to dynamic changes and complex environments. This approach relies on the fundamental notion of the Kalman filter (KF), which showcases robust noise handling capabilities in predicting the SSH, separately. The results demonstrate that the model interaction technology is capable of efficiently filtering and integrating SSH data, yielding a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 1.03 m. This corresponds to a 9.84% enhancement compared to the retrieved height from CYGNSS and a 37.19% enhancement compared to the retrieved height from FY-3E. The model proposed in this paper provides a potential scheme for the GNSS-R data fusion of multiple platforms and multiple models. In the future, more data sources and more models can be added to achieve more accurate adaptive fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the use of deep neural network in effective network feature extraction and the design of efficient and high-precision hyperspectral image classification algorithms has gradually become a research hotspot for scholars. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining hyperspectral images and the high cost of annotation, the training samples are very limited. In order to cope with the small sample problem, researchers often deepen the network model and use the attention mechanism to extract features; however, as the network model continues to deepen, the gradient disappears, the feature extraction ability is insufficient, and the computational cost is high. Therefore, how to make full use of the spectral and spatial information in limited samples has gradually become a difficult problem. In order to cope with such problems, this paper proposes two-branch multiscale spatial–spectral feature aggregation with a self-attention mechanism for a hyperspectral image classification model (FHDANet); the model constructs a dense two-branch pyramid structure, which can achieve the high efficiency extraction of joint spatial–spectral feature information and spectral feature information, reduce feature loss to a large extent, and strengthen the model's ability to extract contextual information. A channel–space attention module, ECBAM, is proposed, which greatly improves the extraction ability of the model for salient features, and a spatial information extraction module based on the deep feature fusion strategy HLDFF is proposed, which fully strengthens feature reusability and mitigates the feature loss problem brought about by the deepening of the model. Compared with five hyperspectral image classification algorithms, SVM, SSRN, A2S2K-ResNet, HyBridSN, SSDGL, RSSGL and LANet, this method significantly improves the classification performance on four representative datasets. Experiments have demonstrated that FHDANet can better extract and utilise the spatial and spectral information in hyperspectral images with excellent classification performance under small sample conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The driver authority decision for driver‐initiated takeover is closely related to vehicle driving safety. In this paper, a lateral driver‐automation driver authority decision method considering the safety of the intended functionality is proposed to improve vehicle driving safety. Based on systems‐theoretic processes analysis, functional safety analysis of driver initiative takeover is carried out to clarify the safety of the intended functionality issues caused by the unreasonable decision. Then, a method for defining the safe driving area is developed to assess the safety level of the driving area around the ego vehicle. Taking the driver‐vehicle state parameters and vehicle–vehicle state parameters as input, a deep neural network model is constructed to determine the intention of the driver to take over the vehicle. The lateral driver‐automation driver authority decision method is designed to make the driver‐machine take‐over decisions, which considers the safety of the intended functionality. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated via numerical simulation and hardware‐in‐the‐loop experiments. The results show that the designed method not only improves the control ability of the driver to the maximum extent but also integrates the perception ability of the driver into the vehicle control system to improve further vehicle driving safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of fragility curves is an important step in seismic risk assessment within the scope of performance‐based earthquake engineering. The goal of this work is to use machine learning methods (regression‐based tools) to forecast the large‐span precast parking structural responses and fragility curves. This study proposes five predicting models based on machine learning to evaluate the seismic performance of the large‐span precast parking structures, including: neural networks, genetic algorithm‐based neural networks, support vector machine, decision tree and random forest. A database that includes 453 numerical synthetic results was used to train and test the machine learning models. The seismic performance of large‐span precast parking structures were predicted using the constructed machine learning models. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of input parameters was conducted. From this paper we can conclude that: (1) the genetic optimization‐based neural networks' predicting model has the most accurate predictive ability for seismic fragility estimation and (2) the structural responses and the fragility curves of parking structures are related to the differences of the stiffness of the connectors and the number of floors, of which the stiffness of the connectors should be given special attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, research on infrared and visible image fusion has mainly focused on deep learning‐based approaches, particularly deep neural networks with auto‐encoder architectures. However, these approaches suffer from problems such as insufficient feature extraction capability and inefficient fusion strategies. Therefore, this paper introduces a novel image fusion network to address the limitations of infrared and visible image fusion networks with auto‐encoder architectures. In the designed network, the encoder employs a multi‐branch cascade structure, and these convolution branches with different kernel sizes provide the encoder with an adaptive receptive field to extract multi‐scale features. In addition, the fusion layer incorporates a non‐local attention module that is inspired by the self‐attention mechanism. With its global receptive field, this module is used to build a non‐local attention fusion network, which works together with the l1${l}_1$‐norm spatial fusion strategy to extract, split, filter, and fuse global and local features. Comparative experiments on the TNO and MSRS datasets demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other state‐of‐the‐art fusion approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are widely utilized in neural network research to capture spatiotemporal features in video data. However, their effectiveness heavily relies on the spatial features upon which they trained. This paper introduces innovative ensembles of features for constructing frame-wise structures by employing impactful neural network models with innovative training pipelines. These features are designed to enhance the recognition of hand gesture videos using RNN by leveraging temporal information. Recognizing hand gestures from videos is a complex task that presents considerable challenges. One notable challenge is the overlap in gesture motion, where different gesture categories exhibit similar hand poses within a single video clip. To overcome this issue, we were motivated to develop extensive and diverse features that offer a more comprehensive description of the gesture video clips, thereby mitigating recognition problems caused by images overlapping. Overall, our efforts to generate diverse features have yielded promising results in enhancing the recognition of hand gestures from videos, particularly in scenarios where overlap poses a significant challenge. We have combined the extracted features from a deep neural network trained from scratch with features obtained from various standard neural networks (Self-Organizing Map, Radial Base Function) that are trained to enhance the deep-trained features. The mutual arrangement for combining the shared features has configured new frame-wise image features. Furthermore, we have provided a performance comparison of the newly constructed frame-wise features through time-sharing to train RNN for recognition. The proposed models have been evaluated on two-hand gesture video datasets, where a preserving gesture sequence is crucial due to overlapping motions. Our work demonstrates a significant improvement in performance for both datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been extensive evidence demonstrating that deep neural networks are vulnerable to adversarial examples, which motivates the development of defenses against adversarial attacks. Existing adversarial defenses typically improve model robustness against individual specific perturbation types (e.g., ℓ ∞ -norm bounded adversarial examples). However, adversaries are likely to generate multiple types of perturbations in practice (e.g., ℓ 1 , ℓ 2 , and ℓ ∞ perturbations). Some recent methods improve model robustness against adversarial attacks in multiple ℓ p balls, but their performance against each perturbation type is still far from satisfactory. In this paper, we observe that different ℓ p bounded adversarial perturbations induce different statistical properties that can be separated and characterized by the statistics of Batch Normalization (BN). We thus propose Gated Batch Normalization (GBN) to adversarially train a perturbation-invariant predictor for defending multiple ℓ p bounded adversarial perturbations. GBN consists of a multi-branch BN layer and a gated sub-network. Each BN branch in GBN is in charge of one perturbation type to ensure that the normalized output is aligned towards learning perturbation-invariant representation. Meanwhile, the gated sub-network is designed to separate inputs added with different perturbation types. We perform an extensive evaluation of our approach on commonly-used dataset including MNIST, CIFAR-10, and Tiny-ImageNet, and demonstrate that GBN outperforms previous defense proposals against multiple perturbation types (i.e., ℓ 1 , ℓ 2 , and ℓ ∞ perturbations) by large margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variable DC link direct torque control (DTC) for induction motors was proposed in this paper utilizing an artificial neural network (ANN). Variable DC-link voltage is utilized as the inverter's controlling input to improve the induction motor's performance. By injecting the dynamically variable dc-link voltage, inverter switching losses are decreased and inverter efficiency is increased. Two significant limitations are the torque ripple in DTC and the speed regulation of induction motors at low speeds. The driveline of an electric vehicle is modeled, and the suggested control is put into practice to enhance low-speed speed regulation, high dynamic performance, and minimal torque ripple. With variable DC-link voltage based on ANN, an improvement in torque and speed is made possible. Additionally, the suggested strategy minimizes the current ripples. To verify the improved efficacy of the electric driveline under various operating scenarios, a proposed control of the electric driveline is implemented using MATLAB SIMULINK, and the results are compared with the conventional scheme. The recommended speeds for the three speed ranges are as follows: 300 rpm for low speed, 900 rpm for medium speed, and 1275 rpm for high speed. The torque ripples decreased from 0.39 to 0.24 in the low-speed region, 0.38 to 0.24 in the medium-speed region, and 0.36 to 0.24 in the high-speed region while the motor was operated at a constant load torque of 2 N-m. The torque ripples decreased from 0.4 to 0.274 in the low speed region, 0.4 to 0.274 in the medium speed zone, and 0.2 to 0.274 in the medium speed region when the motor operated at various speed regions with a constant load. The main effect of running the motor at different load torques, such as 1.5 N-m, 2.5 N-m, and 2.0 N-m, is shown in Table 9 and numerical data of torque ripples is presented in Table 9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming to solve the problems of multiple internal power components, high fault probability, high similarity of the fault features of different power components, difficulty of traditional fault diagnosis feature extraction and low accuracy of fault identification in high-voltage multilevel cascaded H-bridge inverters, this paper presents a fault diagnosis method based on an attention-parallel multisource data fusion residual network. First, a parallel residual neural network model is established, and the extracted multilevel three-phase voltage before filtering and the three-phase current waveform after filtering are converted into two-dimensional image data using a wavelet transform. Subsequently, a feature fusion module is integrated into the network structure to adaptively extract features at different network levels. This module locates key features using the attention mechanism. Then, it fuses useful fault information into feature images using the feature fusion mechanism, enhancing the feature representation capability of the network. Finally, the fault features extracted by the feature fusion module undergo the complete convolution operation. The final enhanced features are used as classification features and classified using a softmax layer. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits high fault diagnosis accuracy and adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock strength parameters such as uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity are crucial parameters in designing rock engineering structures. Owing to the importance of the aforementioned parameters, in this paper, image processing technique is coupled with artificial neural network (ANN) method for assessing the uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of sandstones. For this reason, 102 core sandstone samples were prepared. Subsequently petrographic analyses and imaging operation for 102 images were performed. Principal component analysis was then conducted for feature reduction purposes. At last, an ANN model, which received its input data from image processing technique, was constructed for assessing the UCS and E of sandstone samples. Overall, the best performance of the network was obtained when 10 hidden nodes were used. The correlation coefficient (R) values of 0.9722 and 0.97062 for UCS and E, respectively, suggest the feasibility of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliable design of multiphase micro‐structured apparatus requires a precise knowledge of the internal flow regime. Previous research indicated that classifiers based on artificial neural networks (ANN) are relatively simple to develop and provide a reasonable accuracy when trained with data for specific inlet designs. This paper introduces advanced ANN classifiers capable of predicting all relevant flow regimes regardless of the inlet design with a recall of 94 % and above for Taylor, churn, dispersed, rivulet, and parallel flows, between 89 % and 94 % for annular and bubbly flows, and 83 % for Taylor‐annular flow. These classifiers were trained and validated by using more than 13,000 experimental data points extracted from 97 flow maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safe and efficient navigation is critical for a mobile robot in a highly constrained workspace. Autonomous navigation is to be performed safely and robustly in the environment map with obstacles of various geometric shapes, sizes and colors positioned at random locations. In this paper, we present an approach to perform autonomous navigation by detecting the obstacles in the map and by generating auxiliary collision-free waypoints in obstacle-free space map. In achieving this, the object detection is done using SSDMobileNetV2 model and auxiliary collision-free navigation waypoints are generated using the Deepway neural network model. Further, the RRT path planner is applied to analyze the waypoints generated and to find the a global path between start and goal locations. An optimal local path is achieved using the A* path planner. Extensive simulations of various scenarios are performed and the proposed model is evaluated. The results reveal that the proposed model achieves significant improvements in terms of time, distance and F1-score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐angle cameras are commonly used for trajectory data collection in transportation research. However, without refinement and validation, trajectory data obtained through video processing software may be unreliable, inaccurate, or incomplete. This paper focuses on a critical issue in the field of trajectory data acquisition and analysis—there is still no reliable and fully vetted trajectory dataset in the research community. The current practice for validating video‐based trajectory can be classified as indirect methods and direct methods. Indirect methods of trajectory validation use algorithms to efficiently correct data anomalies without human intervention but may overlook detailed driving behaviors, whereas direct methods involve meticulous manual verification to preserve data fidelity but are labor‐intensive and less scalable. The spatial‐temporal maps (STMaps) method offers an additional layer of verification to affirm the accuracy and reliability of trajectory data. To enhance the performance, the deep spatial‐temporal embedding model is proposed for trajectory instance segmentation on STMaps using the contrastive learning framework. The parity constraints at both pixel and instance levels guide the deep neural network to learn the embedding spaces that can be built on different backbone networks. The reconstructed Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) highway dataset trajectory dataset is thoroughly validated against manually processed ground truth, and the error‐free NGSIM data are refined to be a reliable resource for transportation research based on car‐following behaviors, lane‐change frequency, consistency, and jerk value measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automotive S-rail plays a crucial role in frontal car crashes, aiming to absorb impact energy and reduce passenger injury. This paper innovatively presents an optimization approach to determine the optimal configuration of an S-rail featuring a tapered, multicell front section. The structural design of the S-rail is conceptualized within the design space of a heavy quadricycle vehicle and subsequently subjected to numerical investigation through LS-DYNA using nonlinear explicit dynamics analyses. The objective is to maximize energy absorption while minimizing the S-rail's initial peak force (IPF) and mass. An artificial neural network (ANN) is employed to construct surrogate models for the optimization process. The non dominated sorting genetic algorithm, integrated with the ANN, yields an optimal S-rail design. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method, using the mean weighting method on the Pareto frontier optimal solution set, is appropriately applied to select the optimal solution. The optimized S-rail shows improved specific energy absorption compared to the baseline model while maintaining a low IPF. In conclusion, this study highlights the superior predictability of an ANN over conventional quadratic response surface methodology. The results confirm the effectiveness of the ANN-based optimization approach and the selection of a compromise solution using the TOPSIS technique. The proposed procedure has substantial potential to enhance the safety and performance of automotive S-rails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Model Predictive Torque Control (MPTC) has gained popularity as a powerful method of controlling Induction Motors (IMs). There are, however, some factors such as the weighted coefficient that must be taken into account to attain satisfactory performance at different operation points for stator flux. As of now, an empirical procedure has been used for tuning the weighting factor in MPTC, which is not as effective. Model Predictive Flux Control (MPFC) is proposed in this paper, which eliminates complicated process of predicting the stator current by using the flux vectors as control variables. In order to get over these obstacles, a novel Model Predictive Control (MPC) method utilizing a Cascaded Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is proposed in this research. As a result, the control complexity is diminished and weighting factor in standard MPTC is eliminated. In-depth evaluations and comparisons of MPTC and MPFC are conducted, covering low-speed function, dynamic response, and steady-state performance. In contract to traditional approaches, the preferred method has much lower computational cost, virtuous dynamic response, and superior steady-state performance. The overall proposed work is simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK platform and experimental tests performed on 3Φ VSI fed IM drives are used to verify the efficacy of proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents improved single- and multi-objective algorithms based on the original moth flame optimizer (MFO) to tackle the dynamic economic emission dispatch (DEED) problem that affects power systems operations. The DEED problem is a multi-objective optimization problem that is strongly constrained, multi-dimensional, nonlinear, and non-convex. It comprises several optimization criteria, many of which are in direct opposition to one another; therefore, no one solution is optimal with regard to all of those criteria. Firstly, an enhanced flame generation strategy is incorporated into the MFO algorithm to improve performance. Then, the improved MFO is combined with the crowding distance mechanism and non-dominated sorting framework to enhance the convergence rate and the quality of the results. This helps improve the convergence pace. Firstly, the proposed multi-objective moth flame optimizer (MOMFO) algorithm is validated using 15 ZDT and UF benchmark multi-objective test functions. Then, the nonlinear DEED problem is also solved by determining the feasible optimal solution using the MOMFO algorithm. The implementation of the MOMFO on 10-unit systems and the IEEE 30-bus test system is being done to display the ability to solve a nonlinear, non-convex, and constrained DEED optimization problem. The DEED problem is solved using the MOMFO algorithm and other state-of-the-art algorithms, such as the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), the multi-objective teaching–learning-based optimization (MOTLBO) algorithm, and multi-objective reptile search algorithm (MORSA). The selection of the control parameters of the MOMFO can be decided from the algorithm's findings on different IEEE bus systems. This study also introduces a new technique for incorporating loss predictions using artificial neural networks into the DEED model. During each phase of the dispatch time, the trained neural network can make only a single forecast of the transmission loss. The performance of MOMFO is compared with NSGA-II, MOTLBO, and MORSA, and the results obtained for both benchmarks and DEED proved the superiority of the proposed algorithm in solving the DEED of the power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper aims to ensure the reliable and efficient operation of grid-connected solid-state transformers (SSTs) by detecting and evaluating various undesirable operating conditions. The study considers different types of faults, including internal faults like open switches and open capacitors, external faults such as symmetrical and asymmetrical faults occurring at various locations of the SST, and abnormalities on the grid side known as sympathetic inrush conditions. To analyze these operating conditions, the secondary current of the high-frequency transformer is normalized and decomposed using the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and wavelet packet transform (WPT). From the DWT and WPT decomposition at multiple levels, several statistical parameters are calculated. These statistical parameters are carefully selected from different decomposition levels to enhance the effectiveness of the detection algorithm utilizing DWT and WPT. In order to quickly identify and classify all operating conditions that impact the performance of the grid-connected SST, a three-layer feedforward artificial neural network (ANN) is employed, using the selected statistical features. The accuracy and efficiency of the ANN-based classification approach are evaluated by assessing the effectiveness of the statistical features obtained from DWT and WPT. Simulation results have been altered by introducing various noise levels to systematically assess the performance of the proposed algorithms. The average accuracy of the DWT-ANN algorithm stands at 97.89%, while the WPT-ANN algorithm achieves a slightly elevated accuracy level of 98.01%. This notable similarity in accuracy curtails from the careful selection of the wavelet function, decomposition level, and feature sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variant of membrane computing models called Spiking Neural P systems (SNP systems) closely mimics the structure and behavior of biological neurons. As third-generation neural networks, SNP systems have flexible architectures allowing the design of bio-inspired machine learning algorithms. This paper proposes Modular Spiking Neural P (MSNP) systems to solve image classification problems, a novel SNP system to be applied in scenarios where hundreds or even thousands of different classes are considered. A main issue to face in such situations is related to the structural complexity of the network. MSNP systems devised in this work allow to approach the general classification problem by dividing it in smaller parts, that are then faced by single entities of the network. As a benchmark dataset, the Oxford Flowers 102 dataset is considered, consisting of more than 8000 pictures of flowers belonging to the 102 species commonly found in the UK. These classes sometimes present large variations within them, may be also very similar to one another, and different images of the same subject may differ a lot. The work describes the architecture of the MSNP system, based on modules focusing on a specific class, their training phase, and the evaluation of the model both concerning result accuracy as well as energy consumption. Experimental results on image classification problems show that the model achieves good results, but is strongly connected to image quality, mainly depending on the frequency of images, remarkable changes of pose, images not centered, and subject mostly not shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel machine-learning based models are presented to predict the effect of notch depth on elastic new strain-concentration factor of rectangular bars with single edge U-notch under combined loading of static tension and pure bending. Regarding the importance of this study, the database with 162 samples is utilized to develop the new methodology of machine learning based models. The database includes the notch radius, the Poisson's ratio, and the thick ratio that represent the influential inputs. The predicted key feature is the elastic new strain-concentration factor under combined loading of static tension and pure bending. These samples were tested with high precision and the predicted values of SNCF were obtained. For comparison, adaptive neural fuzzy inference system, artificial neural network, fine tree, ensemble boosted tree, and ensemble optimized bagged tree were designed and developed in this study. To evaluate and compare the performance of the models, four statistical indices of MAE, MSE, root mean square error (RMSE)and determination coefficient (R) were utilized. Based on the results, all models can predict the SNCF appropriately. However, the Ensemble optimized Bagged tree model had a better performance than other models and it had a significant priority in term of prediction accuracy. Finally, the results indicated that the elastic SNCF increased with increasing notch depth from 0.2 ≤ ho/Ho ≤ 0.7 and sharply decreases with increasing notch depth for shallow notches (0.8 ≤ ho/Ho ≤ 0.95). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pavement management systems (PMS) are considered to be crucial tools for agencies in managing their pavement networks and using accessible budgets in an appropriate technique. In this paper, a newly developed condition rating index [modified pavement condition rating (MPCR)] was used to assess the current and future pavement performance. The pavement future performance in terms of MPCR was predicted using two models: (1) a stochastic Markov chain model, and (2) an artificial neural network (ANN) model. In Markov chain modeling, the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database was used to develop the transition probability matrix (TPM). An ANN model for future pavement performance prediction was developed based on the same LTPP data. For both models, 245 data points from the LTPP data were used for deterioration modeling. Both models were verified using LTPP data and data obtained from the General Authority of Roads, Bridges and Land Transport (GARBLT), Egypt. The Markov chain and ANN results were compared. The Markov chain model performed better than the ANN model, with a coefficient of determination, R2 , of 0.9 and RMS Error (RMSE) of 0.1268. the ANN model yielded an R2 of only 0.53 and a RMSE of 0.2205. Increasing the number data points did not lead to a significant improvement in the ANN model accuracy. A multiobjective particle swarm optimization (PSO) model is used for fund allocation to maximize the average pavement condition and minimize the maintenance cost. The developed optimization model was tested on two benchmark optimization problems to ensure its validity for real-life applications. The developed optimization model was used on a network of roads and was found to be capable of generating optimal or near-optimal solutions for the maintenance decisions to keep the pavement in good workable condition. As such, the current study presents a comprehensive development tackling different modules of a pavement management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keeping in view the design of short to medium-span bridges in critical locations such as road/river crossings under the action of oppositely moving high-speed loads, this paper presents a hybrid model for the prediction of dynamic displacement employing a theoretical non-dimensional framework aided by an artificial neural network (ANN). The introduction of such a hybrid model reduces parametric space and time. The feed-forward ANN is implemented to train the comprehensive data set obtained from the non-dimensional theoretical scheme. The dimensionless input to ANN comprises the bridge and load parameters, whereas maximum dynamic displacement is the output parameter. The robustness and efficiency of the proposed surrogate ANN framework in terms of computational efficiency are compared with the conventional mode-superposition method formulated in dimensionless form. The training of test and validated data sets results in best-fit models with optimistic statistical metrics and accuracy ≤ 6%. Moreover, the sensitivity of different parameters to the displacement response is highlighted using Pearson's correlation and Quantile–Quantile plots. To incorporate the best-fit models into the design by bypassing the high-fidelity model, a user-friendly interface is developed, confirming the standards of the high-speed rating code (TZY2014-232 2014). Such interfaces have the potential for wide application in the preliminary design of short-to medium-span bridges under opposite moving loads in critical locations such as crossing valleys, rivers, and railroads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]