SALDO: a touch of yin to WordNet’s yang

The English-language Princeton WordNet (PWN) and some wordnets for other languages have been extensively used as lexical–semantic knowledge sources in language technology applications, due to their free availability and their size. The ubiquitousness of PWN-type wordnets tends to overshadow the fact that they represent one out of many possible choices for structuring a lexical–semantic resource, and it could be enlightening to look at a differently structured resource both from the point of view of theoretical–methodological considerations and from the point of view of practical text processing requirements. The resource described here—SALDO—is such a lexical–semantic resource, intended primarily for use in language technology applications, and offering an alternative organization to PWN-style wordnets. We present our work on SALDO, compare it with PWN, and discuss some implications of the differences. We also describe an integrated infrastructure for computational lexical resources where SALDO forms the central component.     

Construction of a Periodic Solution to the Equations of Motion of Generalized Atwood’s Machine using Computer Algebra

Programming and Computer Software - The problem of finding a periodic motion of generalized Atwood’s machine in which the pulley of a finite radius is replaced by two small pulleys and one of...     

Superconvergence and Extrapolation Analysis of a Nonconforming Mixed Finite Element Approximation for Time-Harmonic Maxwell’s Equations

In this paper, a nonconforming mixed finite element approximating to the three-dimensional time-harmonic Maxwell’s equations is presented. On a uniform rectangular prism mesh, superclose property is achieved for electric field E and magnetic filed H with the boundary condition E×n=0 by means of the asymptotic expansion. Applying postprocessing operators, a superconvergence result is stated for the discretization error of the postprocessed discrete solution to the solution itself. To our best knowledge, this is the first global superconvergence analysis of nonconforming mixed finite elements for the Maxwell’s equations. Furthermore, the approximation accuracy will be improved by extrapolation method.     

Insensitizing exact controls for the scalar wave equation and exact controllability of 2-coupled cascade systems of PDE’s by a single control

We study the exact controllability, by a reduced number of controls, of coupled cascade systems of PDE’s and the existence of exact insensitizing controls for the scalar wave equation. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for the observability of abstract-coupled cascade hyperbolic systems by a single observation, the observation operator being either bounded or unbounded. Our proof extends the two-level energy method introduced in Alabau-Boussouira (Siam J Control Opt 42:871–906, 2003) and Alabau-Boussouira and Léautaud (J Math Pures Appl 99:544–576, 2013) for symmetric coupled systems, to cascade systems which are examples of non-symmetric coupled systems. In particular, we prove the observability of two coupled wave equations in cascade if the observation and coupling regions both satisfy the Geometric Control Condition (GCC) of Bardos et al. (SIAM J Control Opt 30:1024–1065, 1992). By duality, this solves the exact controllability, by a single control, of $2$ -coupled abstract cascade hyperbolic systems. Using transmutation, we give null-controllability results for the multidimensional heat and Schrödinger $2$ -coupled cascade systems under GCC and for any positive time. By our method, we can treat cases where the control and coupling coefficients have disjoint supports, partially solving an open question raised by de Teresa (CPDE 25:39–72, 2000). Moreover we answer the question of the existence of exact insensitizing locally distributed as well as boundary controls of scalar multidimensional wave equations, raised by Lions (Actas del Congreso de Ecuaciones Diferenciales y Aplicaciones (CEDYA), Universidad de Málaga, pp 43–54, 1989) and later on by Dáger (Siam J Control Opt 45:1758–1768, 2006) and Tebou (C R Acad Sci Paris 346(Sér I):407–412, 2008).     

L∞-Stable Approximation of a Solution to Div(Y) = f for f\in L^2 in Two Dimensions

In this paper, we propose a numerical approach for the derivation of a stable approximation in L -norm of a solution to div(Y) = f for in two dimensions. The derivation of this result is based on preliminary stability results in Fourier approximationtheory that are interesting by themselves. Numerical simulation sustain the proof of the theorem.     

Generalization of the Firm’s Profit Maximization Problem: An Algorithm for the Analytical and Nonsmooth Solution

In this paper we present a generalization of the classic Firm’s profit maximization problem, using the linear model for the production function, considering a non constant price and maximum constraints for the inputs. We formulate the problem by previously calculating the analytical minimum cost function. This minimum cost function will be calculated for each production level via the infimal convolution of quadratic functions and the result will be a piecewise quadratic function. To solve this family of optimization problems, we present an algorithm of quasi-linear complexity. Moreover, the resulting cost function in certain cases is not $C^{1}$ and the profit maximization problem will be solved within the framework of nonsmooth analysis. Finally, we present a numerical example.     

Acting by hand: Informing interaction design for the periphery of people’s attention

Interactions in and with the physical world have enabled us to perform everyday activities in the periphery of our attention. Even though digital technologies are becoming increasingly present in the everyday environment, interaction with these technologies usually requires people’s focused attention. In the realm of the vision of calm technology, we think that designing interactions with the digital world inspired by our peripheral interaction with the physical world, will enable digital technologies to better blend into our everyday lives. However, for such interaction design to be effective, a detailed understanding of the everyday periphery is required. In this paper, we therefore present a qualitative study on everyday activities that may take place in the periphery of the attention. We provide a broad range of examples of such everyday activities and cluster them to present the conditions under which they may be performed peripherally. Furthermore, we discuss how our findings may be relevant for the design of peripheral interactions with digital technologies, and present two conceptual designs that are based on our findings.     

Protocol for fast screening of multi-target drug candidates: Application to Alzheimer’s disease

The treatment of many diseases may require drugs that are capable to attack multiple targets simultaneously. Obviously, the virtual screening of multi-target drug candidates is much more time consuming compared to the single-target case. This, in particular, concerns the last step of virtual screening where the binding free energy is computed by conventional molecular dynamics simulation. To overcome this difficulty we propose a simple protocol which is relied on the fast steered molecular dynamics simulation and on available experimental data on binding affinity of reference ligand to a given target. Namely, first we compute non-equilibrium works generated during pulling ligands from the binding site using the steered molecular dynamics method. Then as top leads we choose only those compounds that have the non-equilibrium work larger than that of a reference compound for which the binding free energy has been already known from experiment.Despite many efforts no cures for AD (Alzheimer’s disease) have been found. One of possible reasons for this failure is that drug candidates were developed for a single target, while there are exist many possible pathways to AD. Applying our new protocol to five targets including amyloid beta fibril, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, retinoic X receptor α, β- and γ-secretases, we have found two potential drugs (CID 16040294 and CID 9998128) for AD from the large PubChem database. We have also shown that these two ligands can interfere with the activity of popular Acetylcholinesterase target through strong binding towards it.     

Adaptation of robot’s perception of fuzzy linguistic information by evaluating vocal cues for controlling a robot manipulator

This article proposes a method for adapting a robot’s perception of fuzzy linguistic information by evaluating vocal cues. The robot’s perception of fuzzy linguistic information such as “very little” depends on the environmental arrangements and the user’s expectations. Therefore, the robot’s perception of the corresponding environment is modified by acquiring the user’s perception through vocal cues. Fuzzy linguistic information related to primitive movements is evaluated by a behavior evaluation network (BEN). A vocal cue evaluation system (VCES) is used to evaluate the vocal cues for modifying the BEN. The user’s satisfactory level for the robot’s movements and the user’s willingness to change the robot’s perception are identified based on a series of vocal cues to improve the adaptation process. A situation of cooperative rearrangement of the user’s working space is used to illustrate the proposed system by a PA-10 robot manipulator.     

With a View to the Side: YouTube’s Sidebar and YouTuber’s Linguistic Style as Hints for Trust-Related Evaluations

Based on a heuristic approach to information processing, thematic reference of YouTube’s sidebars and YouTuber’s linguistic style are viewed as cues that should impact viewers’ evaluation of videos. In this study, a 2 × 2 online experiment was conducted wherein these factors were varied systematically for a video about nutrition myths. 147 participants assessed the credibility of information, YouTuber’s trustworthiness, and the self-reported learning gain. Results showed that a sidebar referring to similar (vs. unrelated) videos increased participants’ perceived trustworthiness of a YouTuber who used a YouTube-typical (vs. formal) language. Moreover, participants judged the learning gain to be higher when YouTube’s sidebar referred to similar videos. However, thematic reference of sidebar and linguistic style did not impact participants’ credibility judgments. Since people seem to recognize YouTube’s sidebars when evaluating videos, YouTube’s recommendation criteria might not only mediate videos, but also influence people’s judgments of YouTubers and videos.     

Effect of display of YOLO’s object recognition results to HMD for an operator controlling a mobile robot

Artificial Life and Robotics - An operator feels a burden when he/she controls a rescue robot remotely because he/she has to keep watching camera images to find the target object. We think that...     

The reconstruction of a time-dependent source from a surface measurement for full Maxwell’s equations by means of the potential field method

This paper is devoted to the study of an inverse source problem governed by full Maxwell’s equations by means of the potential field method (the $\mathit{A}$-$?$ method). The source term is assumed to be separable in time and space, in which the unknown part is solely time-dependent and is recovered from a surface measurement. We prove that the solution to the inverse problem based on the $\mathit{A}$-$?$ formulation is existing and unique. We suggest a constructive scheme for approximating the solution and discuss its convergence. Finally, a few examples are presented to verify the theoretical results.     

Online review manipulation by asymmetrical firms: Is a firm’s manipulation of online reviews always detrimental to its competitor?

Online reviews have a significant influence on consumers, and consequently firms are motivated to manipulate online reviews to promote their own products. This paper develops an analytical model to systematically explore the impact of online review manipulation on asymmetrical firms who sell substitutable search products in a competing market. Results show that a firm’s manipulation of online reviews is not necessary to hurt its competitor’s profit. In addition, if firms are free to choose whether to manipulate online reviews, both firms will always choose to manipulate online reviews. Moreover, there exists a prisoner’s dilemma in which online reviews are overmanipulated.     

Augmenting machine learning for Amharic speech recognition: a paradigm of patient’s lips motion detection

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The method of automatic lip motion recognition is an essential input for visual speech detection. It is a technological approach to demystify people who are hard...     

Design and evaluation of a device worn for fall detection and localization: Application for the continuous monitoring of risks incurred by dependents in an Alzheimer’s care unit

The Homecare project, which is part of a research project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), aims to define a new multi-sensor monitoring system for the elderly with cognitive disabilities in a care unit. Two subjects were recruited to participate to experimental trials. The main objective of this project is to design and test a complete monitoring system at a real site. It is a new clinical and technical approach which is complex to implement: Homecare is intended to propose a possible technical solution, demonstrate its feasibility and illustrate its use working at a protected site. The system consists of a motion sensor network deployed on the ceiling to monitor motion and an electronic patch worn by the subjects to identify them and detect falls. In order to locate tagged subjects inside the care unit, a network of anchor points is used. From these positions and movement data, an analysis algorithm detects an abnormal situation and alerts the nursing staff in real time. A Web application allows the medical staff to access movements and alarms. The complete monitoring system has been functioning for several months and continuously monitors two patients around the clock. In this paper, we present the implementation of the system, the method of localization inside the care unit, and the characterization of the fall detector, and we show certain results relating to activity data.