Digital Commons Network^™

Self-Supervised Learning For Invariant Representations From Multi-Spectral And Sar Images, Pallavi Jain, Bianca Schoen Phelan, Robert J. Ross

Articles

Self-Supervised learning (SSL) has become the new state of the art in several domain classification and segmentation tasks. One popular category of SSL are distillation networks such as Bootstrap Your Own Latent (BYOL). This work proposes RS-BYOL, which builds on BYOL in the remote sensing (RS) domain where data are non-trivially different from natural RGB images. Since multi-spectral (MS) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors provide varied spectral and spatial resolution information, we utilise them as an implicit augmentation to learn invariant feature embeddings. In order to learn RS based invariant features with SSL, we trained RS-BYOL in two ways, …

Comprehensive Evidence Implies A Higher Social Cost Of Co2, Kevin Rennert, Frank Errickson, Brian C. Prest, Lisa Rennels, Richard G. Newell, William Pizer, Cora Kingdon, Jordan Wingenroth, Roger Cooke, Bryan Parthum, David Smith, Kevin Cromar, Delavane Diaz, Frances C. Moore, Ulrich K. Müller, Richard J. Plevin, Adrian E. Raftery, Hana Ševčíková, Hannah Sheets, James H. Stock, Tammy Tan, Mark Watson, Tony E. Wong, David Anthoff

Articles

The social cost of carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) measures the monetized value of the damages to society caused by an incremental metric tonne of CO2 emissions and is a key metric informing climate policy. Used by governments and other decision-makers in beneft–cost analysis for over a decade, SC-CO2 estimates draw on climate science, economics, demography and other disciplines. However, a 2017 report by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine1 (NASEM) highlighted that current SC-CO2 estimates no longer refect the latest research. The report provided a series of recommendations for improving the scientifc basis, transparency and uncertainty characterization of …

Mimibrick.Jl: A Julia Package For The Brick Model For Sea-Level Change In The Mimi Integrated Modeling Framework, Tony E. Wong, Lisa Rennels, Vivek Srikrishnan, Alexander Bakker, Klaus Keller, David Anthoff

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BRICK is a semi-empirical model for global and local mean sea-level change (Wong et al., 2017). The core model includes component sub-models for the major contributors to global mean sea-level change - glaciers and ice caps, thermal expansion, land water storage, and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The resulting global mean sea levels can be downscaled via a data set that represents the “fingerprint” of each sea-level component on local mean sea level (Slangen et al., 2014). In this way, BRICK provides information about local sea-level changes, including characterizations of key uncertainties. BRICK is flexible and efficient enough to …

Experimental Performance Evaluation Of A Convective Thermoelectric Building Envelope For Building Heating And Cooling, Xiaoli Liu, Kazuaki Yazawa, Ming Qu, Orkan Kurtulus, Brian Norton, Niall Holmes Dr., Ruchita Jani, Jorge Kohanoff, Lorenzo Stella, Conrad Johnston, Hongxi Yin

Articles

The thermoelectric building envelope (TBE) integrates thermoelectric materials with the building envelope for active space heating and cooling. The advantage of TBE heating and cooling includes its significantly low-profile design and no refrigerant use. Although there are existing studies evaluating TBE performance, they were based on limited operating conditions. The study aims to experimentally evaluate the heating and cooling performance of a TBE prototype under various operating conditions. The TBE prototype was installed between two psychrometric chambers, which simulated indoor and outdoor conditions. The prototype was tested at an indoor temperature of around 22.35–23.58 degrees C and outdoor temperatures from …

Prevalence And Incidence Of Nonmotor Symptoms In Individuals With And Without Parkinson’S Disease, Mariam Paracha, Konnor Herbst, Karl Kieburtz, Charles S. Venuto

Articles

Background

The prevalence ratio (PR) and incidence rate ratio (IRR) of nonmotor symptoms (NMS) were calculated for early Parkinson's disease (PD) versus non-PD from 2 observational studies.

Methods

NMS were assessed through the self-reported Non-Motor Symptom Questionnaire in the online Fox Insight study and through self- and clinician-rated scales in the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) study. Age- and sex-adjusted/matched PR and IRR were estimated for each NMS by PD status using Poisson regression.

Results

Most NMS occurred more frequently in PD. Among 15,194 Fox Insight participants, sexual dysfunction had the largest adjusted PR (12.4 [95% CI, 6.9–22.2]) and dysgeusia/hyposmia …

Validating And Testing An Agent-Based Model For The Spread Of Covid-19 In Ireland, Elizabeth Hunter, John D. Kelleher

Articles

Agent-based models can be used to better understand the impacts of lifting restrictions or implementing interventions during a pandemic. However, agent-based models are computationally expensive, and running a model of a large population can result in a simulation taking too long to run for the model to be a useful analysis tool during a public health crisis. To reduce computing time and power while running a detailed agent-based model for the spread of COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland, we introduce a scaling factor that equates 1 agent to 100 people in the population. We present the results from model …

Understanding The Assumptions Of An Seir Compartmental Model Using Agentization And A Complexity Hierarchy, Elizabeth Hunter, John D. Kelleher

Articles

Equation-based and agent-based models are popular methods in understanding disease dynamics. Although there are many types of equation-based models, the most common is the SIR compartmental model that assumes homogeneous mixing and populations. One way to understand the effects of these assumptions is by agentization. Equation-based models can be agentized by creating a simple agent-based model that replicates the results of the equationbased model, then by adding complexity to these agentized models it is possible to break the assumptions of homogeneous mixing and populations and test how breaking these assumptions results in different outputs. We report a set of experiments …

A Physical Layer Security (Pls) Approach Through Address Fed Mapping Crest Factor Reduction Applicable For 5g/6g Signals, Somayeh Mohammady, David Malone Prof.

Articles

The privacy and security of 5G/6G infrastructures are receiving great attention together with power consumption and efficiency. Here, Physical Layer Security (PLS) is considered and a technique named Address Fed Mapping (AFM) is proposed which not only enhances the physical layer security, but also reduces the effect of high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR), which results in efficiency improvement in OFDM based signals used in beyond 5G and 6G. The AFM is designed based on the idea of randomly generated signals, modifying the original signal to reduce PAPR. Instead of a typical randomization algorithm, a unique key is generated …

Physiognomic Artificial Intelligence, Luke Stark, Jevan Hutson

Articles

The reanimation of the pseudosciences of physiognomy and phrenology at scale through computer vision and machine learning is a matter of urgent concern. This Article—which contributes to critical data studies, consumer protection law, biometric privacy law, and antidiscrimination law—endeavors to conceptualize and problematize physiognomic artificial intelligence (“AI”) and offer policy recommendations for state and federal lawmakers to forestall its proliferation.

Physiognomic AI, as this Article contends, is the practice of using computer software and related systems to infer or create hierarchies of an individual’s body composition, protected class status, perceived character, capabilities, and future social outcomes based on their physical …

Accessdesign: An Inclusive Co-Design Toolkit For The Creation Of Accessible Digital Tools., Claudia Fernandez-Rivera, Sarah Boland, Eamon Aswad, John Gilligan, Dympna O'Sullivan, Emma Murphy

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Existing toolkits and resources to support co-design are not always accessible to designers and co-designers with disabilities. In this paper we present a study based on an innovative co-design programme, in collaboration with St John of God Community Services, where 3rd year computer science students work with service users with intellectual disabilities to create digital applications together. We conducted a series of co-design focus group sessions involving the service users who were previously involved in the co-design collaboration with SJOG Services and TU Dublin. The data collected during these design sessions has been integrated to form an accessible design toolkit …

Addressing Ethical Issues In The Design Of Smart Home Technology For Older Adults And People With Disabilities., Jonathan Turner, Dympna O'Sullivan, Damian Gordon, Yannis Stavrakakis, Brian Keegan, Emma Murphy

Articles

Unique ethical, privacy and safety implications arise for people who are reliant on home-based smart technology due to health conditions or disabilities. In this paper we highlight a need for a reflective, inclusive ethical framework that encompasses the life cycle of smart home technology. We present key ethical considerations for smart home technology for older adults and people with disabilities and argue for ethical frameworks which combine these key considerations with existing models of design and development.

Co-Design To Support Engagement In Activities Of Daily Living And Meaningful Activities For People Living With Dementia, Michael Wilson, Julie Doyle, Ann Marron, Jonathan Turner, Ciaran Nugent, Dympna O'Sullivan

Articles

Dementia is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative illness, which can lead to significant difficulties in a person’s capacity to perform activities of daily living and engage in meaningful activities. The Smart Dementia Care project aims to establish an understanding of how best to design digital tools that persons with dementia and their carers will find useful and usable for care planning and goal setting. This paper discusses the first phase of this project and describes how co-design is being used to support engagement in activities of daily living and meaningful activities for people living with the early stages of dementia, …

The Dna Landscape: Development And Application Of A New Framework For Visual Communication About Dna, Leslie Kate Wright, Emalee Wrightstone, Lauren Trumpore, Julia Steele, Deanna M. Abid, Dina L. Newman

Articles

Learning molecular biology involves using visual representations to communicate ideas about largely unobservable biological processes and molecules. Genes and gene expression cannot be directly visualized, but students are expected to learn and understand these and related concepts. Theoretically, textbook illustrations should help learners master such concepts, but how are genes and other DNA-linked concepts illustrated for learners? We examined all DNA-related images found in 12 undergraduate biology textbooks to better understand what biology students encounter when learning concepts related to DNA. Our analysis revealed a wide array of DNA images that were used to design a new visual framework, the …

The Patent Medium: Toward A Network Paradigm Of The Patent System, Or Cohen Sasson

Articles

The modern patent system is conceived of as an information platform; it is evident in the common description of the patent system as a quid-pro-quo bargain: Society grants exclusive rights in exchange for information published by a patentee. But is there more to the patent system than merely informing others? Does the patent system also serve as a communication (and not only information) platform, namely, as a medium? Based on an interdisciplinary analysis of the patent system's structure and features through the lenses of communication studies, this Article suggests that it does. It demonstrates how the patent system as a …

Kf-Loc: A Kalman Filter And Machine Learning Integrated Localization System Using Consumer-Grade Millimeter-Wave Hardware, Abhishek Vashist, Maojia Li, Amlan Ganguly, Sai Manoj P. D., Clark Hochgraf, Raymond Ptucha, Andres Kwasinski, Michael E. Kuhl

Articles

With the ever-increasing demands of e-commerce, the need for smarter warehousing is increasing exponentially. Such warehouses requires industry automation beyond Industry 4.0. In this work, we use consumer-grade millimeter-wave (mmWave) equipment to enable fast, and low-cost implementation of our localization system. However, the consumer-grade mmWave routers suffer from coarse-grained channel state information due to cost-effective antenna array design limiting the accuracy of localization systems. To address these challenges, we present a Machine Learning (ML) and Kalman Filter (KF) integrated localization system (KF-Loc). The ML model learns the complex wireless features for predicting the static position of the robot. When in …

Osm-Gan: Using Generative Adversarial Networks For Detecting Change In High-Resolution Spatial Images, Lasith Niroshan, James Carswell

Articles

Detecting changes to built environment objects such as buildings/roads/etc. in aerial/satellite (spatial) imagery is necessary to keep online maps and various value-added LBS applications up-to-date. However, recognising such changes automatically is not a trivial task, and there are many different approaches to this problem in the literature. This paper proposes an automated end-to-end workflow to address this problem by combining OpenStreetMap (OSM) vectors of building footprints with a machine learning Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) model - where two neural networks compete to become more accurate at predicting changes to building objects in spatial imagery. Notably, our proposed OSM-GAN architecture achieved …

Characterization And Performance Enhancement Of Cement-Based Thermoelectric Materials, Ruchita Jani, Niall Holmes Dr., Roger West, Kevin Gaughan, Xiaoli Liu, Ming Qu, Esther Orisakwee, Lorenzo Stella, Jorge Kohanoff, Hongxi Yin, Bartlomiej Wojciechowski

Articles

Thermoelectric materials enable the direct conversion of thermal to electrical energy. One application of this is ambient heat energy harvesting where relatively stable temperature gradients existing between the inside and outside of a building could be utilized to produce electricity. Buildings can thus change from energy consumers to energy generators. This could ultimately help reduce the surface temperatures and energy consumption of buildings, especially in urban areas. In this paper, research work carried out on developing and characterizing a cement-based thermoelectric material is presented. Cement-based samples are doped with different metal oxides (Bi2O3 and Fe2O3) to enhance their thermoelectric properties, …

Analysis Of The Evolution Of Parametric Drivers Of High-End Sea-Level Hazards, Alana Hough, Tony E. Wong

Articles

Climate models are critical tools for developing strategies to manage the risks posed by sea-level rise to coastal communities. While these models are necessary for understanding climate risks, there is a level of uncertainty inherent in each parameter in the models. This model parametric uncertainty leads to uncertainty in future climate risks. Consequently, there is a need to understand how those parameter uncertainties impact our assessment of future climate risks and the efficacy of strategies to manage them. Here, we use random forests to examine the parametric drivers of future climate risk and how the relative importances of those drivers …

Meaningful Activity Replacement Recommendations In Dementia, Jonathan Turner, Michael Wilson, Ciaran Nugent, Damon Berry, Julie Doyle, Dympna O'Sullivan

Articles

Exercise of meaningful activities is important for people living with dementia, both for quality of life and to maintain the necessary basic activities of daily living. A method is proposed for recommendation of replacements for lost meaningful activities that accounts for the need to maintain activities of daily living.

Graph-Based Heuristic Solution For Placing Distributed Video Processing Applications On Moving Vehicle Clusters, Kanika Sharma, Bernard Butler, Brendan Jennings

Articles

Vehicular fog computing (VFC) is envisioned as an extension of cloud and mobile edge computing to utilize the rich sensing and processing resources available in vehicles. We focus on slow-moving cars that spend a significant time in urban traffic congestion as a potential pool of onboard sensors, video cameras, and processing capacity. For leveraging the dynamic network and processing resources, we utilize a stochastic mobility model to select nodes with similar mobility patterns. We then design two distributed applications that are scaled in real-time and placed as multiple instances on selected vehicular fog nodes. We handle the unstable vehicular environment …

Scaling And Placing Distributed Services On Vehicle Clusters In Urban Environments, Kanika Sharma, Bernard Butler, Brendan Jennings

Articles

Many vehicles spend a significant amount of time in urban traffic congestion. Due to the evolution of autonomous vehicles, driver assistance systems, and in-vehicle entertainment, these vehicles have plentiful computational and communication capacity. How can we deploy data collection and processing tasks on these (slowly) moving vehicles to productively use any spare resources? To answer this question, we study the efficient placement of distributed services on a moving vehicle cluster. We present a macroscopic flow model for an intersection in Dublin, Ireland, using real vehicle density data. We show that such aggregate flows are highly predictable (even though the paths …

Contributions Of Vibrational Spectroscopy To Virology: A Review, Iqra Chaudhary, Naomi Jackson, Denise Denning, Luke O'Neill, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Vibrational spectroscopic techniques, both infrared absorption and Raman scattering, are high precision, label free analytical techniques which have found applications in fields as diverse as analytical chemistry, pharmacology, forensics and archeometrics and, in recent times, have attracted increasing attention for biomedical applications. As analytical techniques, they have been applied to the characterisation of viruses as early as the 1970s, and, in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, have been explored in response to the World Health Organisation as novel methodologies to aid in the global efforts to implement and improve rapid screening of viral infection. This review …

An Exploratory Study On Refactoring Documentation In Issues Handling, Eman Abdullah Alomar, Anthony Peruma, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer, Christian D. Newman, Ali Ouni

Articles

Understanding the practice of refactoring documentation is of paramount importance in academia and industry. Issue tracking systems are used by most software projects enabling developers, quality assurance, managers, and users to submit feature requests and other tasks such as bug fixing and code review. Although recent studies explored how to document refactoring in commit messages, little is known about how developers describe their refactoring needs in issues. In this study, we aim at exploring developer-reported refactoring changes in issues to better understand what developers consider to be problematic in their code and how they handle it. Our approach relies on …

Code Review Practices For Refactoring Changes: An Empirical Study On Openstack, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer, Eman Abdullah Alomar, Moatz Chouchen, Ali Ouni

Articles

Modern code review is a widely used technique employed in both industrial and open-source projects to improve software quality, share knowledge, and ensure adherence to coding standards and guidelines. During code review, developers may discuss refactoring activities before merging code changes in the code base. To date, code review has been extensively studied to explore its general challenges, best practices and outcomes, and socio-technical aspects. However, little is known about how refactoring is being reviewed and what developers care about when they review refactored code. Hence, in this work, we present a quantitative and qualitative study to understand what are …

Square Pegs And Round Holes: Differentiated Instruction And The Law Classroom, Karen J. Sneddon

Articles

As the academic semester begins, law students enter the classroom with sharpened pencils and charged laptops. Law professors enter the classroom with prepared notes and tabbed casebooks. But how will law professors ensure that the learning of each individual student is supported? Students do not take one path to law school. From English majors to engineering majors, students enter law school immediately upon graduating from college or years after graduation with various professional experiences. Despite criticism that legal education is resistant to change and over-relies on the Socratic Method, law school educators know that learning is not a one-size-fits-all experience. …

Combining Pharmacokinetics And Vibrational Spectroscopy: Mcr-Als Hard-And-Soft Modelling Of Drug Uptake In Vitro Using Tailored Kinetic Constraints, David Perez-Guaita, Guillermo Quintas, Zeineb Farhane, Roma Tauler, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is a label-free technique which is very suited for the investigation of pharmacokinetics of cellular uptake, mechanisms of interaction, and efficacies of drugs in vitro. However, the complexity of the spectra makes the identification of spectral patterns associated with the drug and subsequent cellular responses difficult. Indeed, multivariate methods that relate spectral features to the inoculation time do not normally take into account the kinetics involved, and important theoretical information which could assist in the elucidation of the relevant spectral signatures is excluded. Here, we propose the integration of kinetic equations in the modelling of drug uptake and …

Estimating The Analytical Performance Of Raman Spectroscopy For Quantification Of Active Ingredients In Human Stratum Corneum, Hichem Kichou, Emilie Munnier, Yuri Dancik, Kamilia Kemel, Hugh Byrne, Ali Tfayli, Dominique Bertrand, Martin Soucé, Igor Chourpa, Franck Bonnier

Articles

Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) has become a versatile technique that can be applied routinely to monitor skin penetration of active molecules. In the present study, CRM coupled to multivariate analysis (namely PLSR—partial least squares regression) is used for the quantitative measurement of an active ingredient (AI) applied to isolated (ex vivo) human stratum corneum (SC), using systematically varied doses of resorcinol, as model compound, and the performance is quantified according to key figures of merit defined by regulatory bodies (ICH, FDA, and EMA). A methodology is thus demonstrated to establish the limit of detection (LOD), precision, accuracy, sensitivity (SEN), and …

Controlling Unequal Surface Energy Results Caused By Test Liquids: The Case Of Uv/O3 Treated Pet, Bilge N. Altay, Paul D. Fleming, Md Arifur Rahman, Alexandra Pekarovicova, Bruce Myers, Cem Aydemir, Arif Karademir

Articles

Ultraviolet/ozone (UV/O3) treatment has been reported to be an effective method to modify properties such as wettability, adhesion or adsorption of plastic surfaces. The change in the surface is measured by contact angle analysis, which employs liquids and their surface tensions (ST) to estimate the surface energy (SE). We found two different practices in the scientific community: (1) the majority of researchers adopted the ST value of liquids from the literature, while (2) other researchers conducted real-time measurements in the lab under ambient conditions prior to SE estimation. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study that compares …

Integrated-Hybrid Framework For Connected And Autonomous Vehicles Microscopic Traffic Flow Modelling, Ammar Jafaripournimchahi, Yingfeng Cai, Hai Wang, Lu Sun, Jiancheng Weng

Articles

In this study, a novel traffic flow modeling framework is proposed considering the impact of driving system and vehicle mechanical behavior as two different units on the traffic flow. To precisely model the behavior of Connected and Autonomous (CA) vehicles, three submodels are proposed as a novel microscopic traffic flow framework, named Integrated-Hybrid (IH) model. Focusing on the realization of the car following behavior of CA vehicles, the driving system (vehicle control system) and the vehicle mechanical system are modeled separately and linked by throttle and brake actuators model. +e IH model constitutes the key part of the Full Velocity …

The World Is Our Classroom: Developing A Model For International Virtual Internships - The Global Innovations Project, Paul Doyle, Brian Keegan, Damian Gordon, Anna Becevel, Paul J. Gibson, Zhiying Jiang Phd, Dympna O'Sullivan

Articles

In the aftermath of COVID-19, remote working has become the norm, and graduates now need an even wider range of skills, which traditional classrooms and internships do not always provide. Working in multiple time zones, within global multi-cultural teams, and only ever meeting colleagues through online technology are just some of the challenges, which require a new type of global graduate. Transversal skills including leadership, collaboration, innovation, digital, green, organization and communication skills are critical. The disruption from COVID-19 also presents unprecedented opportunities to develop more inclusive approaches to internships and international experiences, to level the playing field for students …