12,957 research outputs found

    BotMoE: Twitter Bot Detection with Community-Aware Mixtures of Modal-Specific Experts

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    Twitter bot detection has become a crucial task in efforts to combat online misinformation, mitigate election interference, and curb malicious propaganda. However, advanced Twitter bots often attempt to mimic the characteristics of genuine users through feature manipulation and disguise themselves to fit in diverse user communities, posing challenges for existing Twitter bot detection models. To this end, we propose BotMoE, a Twitter bot detection framework that jointly utilizes multiple user information modalities (metadata, textual content, network structure) to improve the detection of deceptive bots. Furthermore, BotMoE incorporates a community-aware Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) layer to improve domain generalization and adapt to different Twitter communities. Specifically, BotMoE constructs modal-specific encoders for metadata features, textual content, and graphical structure, which jointly model Twitter users from three modal-specific perspectives. We then employ a community-aware MoE layer to automatically assign users to different communities and leverage the corresponding expert networks. Finally, user representations from metadata, text, and graph perspectives are fused with an expert fusion layer, combining all three modalities while measuring the consistency of user information. Extensive experiments demonstrate that BotMoE significantly advances the state-of-the-art on three Twitter bot detection benchmarks. Studies also confirm that BotMoE captures advanced and evasive bots, alleviates the reliance on training data, and better generalizes to new and previously unseen user communities.Comment: Accepted at SIGIR 202

    Victims' Access to Justice in Trinidad and Tobago: An exploratory study of experiences and challenges of accessing criminal justice in a post-colonial society

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    This thesis investigates victims' access to justice in Trinidad and Tobago, using their own narratives. It seeks to capture how their experiences affected their identities as victims and citizens, alongside their perceptions of legitimacy regarding the criminal justice system. While there have been some reforms in the administration of criminal justice in Trinidad and Tobago, such reforms have not focused on victims' accessibility to the justice system. Using grounded theory methodology, qualitative data was collected through 31 in-depth interviews with victims and victim advocates. The analysis found that victims experienced interpersonal, structural, and systemic barriers at varying levels throughout the criminal justice system, which manifested as institutionalized secondary victimization, silencing and inequality. This thesis argues that such experiences not only served to appropriate conflict but demonstrates that access is often given in a very narrow sense. Furthermore, it shows a failure to encompass access to justice as appropriated conflicts are left to stagnate in the system as there is often very little resolution. Adopting a postcolonial lens to analyse victims' experiences, the analysis identified othering practices that served to institutionalize the vulnerability and powerlessness associated with victim identities. Here, it is argued that these othering practices also affected the rights consciousness of victims, delegitimating their identities as citizens. Moreover, as a result of their experiences, victims had mixed perceptions of the justice system. It is argued that while the system is a legitimate authority victims' endorsement of the system is questionable, therefore victims' experiences suggest that there is a reinforcement of the system's legal hegemony. The findings suggest that within the legal system of Trinidad and Tobago, legacies of colonialism shape the postcolonial present as the psychology and inequalities of the past are present in the interactions and processes of justice. These findings are relevant for policymakers in Trinidad and Tobago and other regions. From this study it is recognized that, to improve access to justice for victims, there needs to be a move towards victim empowerment that promotes resilience and enhances social capital. Going forward it is noted that there is a need for further research

    DĂ©veloppement d’un systĂšme intelligent de reconnaissance automatisĂ©e pour la caractĂ©risation des Ă©tats de surface de la chaussĂ©e en temps rĂ©el par une approche multicapteurs

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    Le rĂŽle d’un service dĂ©diĂ© Ă  l’analyse de la mĂ©tĂ©o routiĂšre est d’émettre des prĂ©visions et des avertissements aux usagers quant Ă  l’état de la chaussĂ©e, permettant ainsi d’anticiper les conditions de circulations dangereuses, notamment en pĂ©riode hivernale. Il est donc important de dĂ©finir l’état de chaussĂ©e en tout temps. L’objectif de ce projet est donc de dĂ©velopper un systĂšme de dĂ©tection multicapteurs automatisĂ©e pour la caractĂ©risation en temps rĂ©el des Ă©tats de surface de la chaussĂ©e (neige, glace, humide, sec). Ce mĂ©moire se focalise donc sur le dĂ©veloppement d’une mĂ©thode de fusion de donnĂ©es images et sons par apprentissage profond basĂ©e sur la thĂ©orie de Dempster-Shafer. Les mesures directes pour l’acquisition des donnĂ©es qui ont servi Ă  l’entrainement du modĂšle de fusion ont Ă©tĂ© effectuĂ©es Ă  l’aide de deux capteurs Ă  faible coĂ»t disponibles dans le commerce. Le premier capteur est une camĂ©ra pour enregistrer des vidĂ©os de la surface de la route. Le second capteur est un microphone pour enregistrer le bruit de l’interaction pneu-chaussĂ©e qui caractĂ©rise chaque Ă©tat de surface. La finalitĂ© de ce systĂšme est de pouvoir fonctionner sur un nano-ordinateur pour l’acquisition, le traitement et la diffusion de l’information en temps rĂ©el afin d’avertir les services d’entretien routier ainsi que les usagers de la route. De façon prĂ©cise, le systĂšme se prĂ©sente comme suit :1) une architecture d’apprentissage profond classifiant chaque Ă©tat de surface Ă  partir des images issues de la vidĂ©o sous forme de probabilitĂ©s ; 2) une architecture d’apprentissage profond classifiant chaque Ă©tat de surface Ă  partir du son sous forme de probabilitĂ©s ; 3) les probabilitĂ©s issues de chaque architecture ont Ă©tĂ© ensuite introduites dans le modĂšle de fusion pour obtenir la dĂ©cision finale. Afin que le systĂšme soit lĂ©ger et moins coĂ»teux, il a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©veloppĂ© Ă  partir d’architectures alliant lĂ©gĂšretĂ© et prĂ©cision Ă  savoir Squeeznet pour les images et M5 pour le son. Lors de la validation, le systĂšme a dĂ©montrĂ© une bonne performance pour la dĂ©tection des Ă©tats surface avec notamment 87,9 % pour la glace noire et 97 % pour la neige fondante

    The temporality of rhetoric: the spatialization of time in modern criticism

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    Every conception of criticism conceals a notion of time which informs the manner in which the critic conceives of history, representation and criticism itself. This thesis reveals the philosophies of time inherent in certain key modern critical concepts: allegory, irony and the sublime. Each concept opens a breach in time, a disruption of chronology. In each case this gap or aporia is emphatically closed, elided or denied. Taking the philosophy of time elaborated by Giorgio Agamben as an introductory proposition, my argument turns in Chapter One to the allegorical temporality which Walter Benjamin sees as the time of photography. The second chapter examines the aesthetics of the sublime as melancholic or mournful untimeliness. In Chapter Three, Paul de Man's conception of irony provides an exemplary instance of the denial of this troubling temporal predicament. In opposition to the foreclosure of the disturbing temporalities of criticism, history and representation, the thesis proposes a fundamental rethinking of the philosophy of time as it relates to these categories of reflection. In a reading of an inaugural meditation on the nature of time, and in examining certain key contemporary philosophical and critical texts, I argue for a critical attendance to that which eludes those modes of thought that attempt to map time as a recognizable and essentially spatial field. The Confessions of Augustine provide, in the fourth chapter, a model for thinking through the problems set up earlier: Augustine affords us, precisely, a means of conceiving of the gap or the interim. In the final chapter, this concept is developed with reference to the criticism of Arnold and Eliot, the fiction of Virginia Woolf and the philosophy of cinema derived from Deleuze and Lyotard. In conclusion, the philosophical implications of the thesis are placed in relation to a conception of the untimeliness of death

    Epilepsy Mortality: Leading Causes of Death, Co-morbidities, Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention

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    a reuptake inhibitor selectively prevents seizure-induced sudden death in the DBA/1 mouse model of sudden unexpected ... Bilateral lesions of the fastigial nucleus prevent the recovery of blood pressure following hypotension induced by ..

    Translating Wang Xiaoshuai: From Third Front to Cultural Revolution

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    AbstractSince the turn of the century, there has been an upturn of cultural production about the Third Front (1964-80) within China, yet mainstream knowledge of this military-industrial project and former state secret remains limited, particularly outside of China. This article examines the English-language reception of Wang Xiaoshuai’s “Third Front trilogy” of films, arguing that – despite the moniker – reviewers have tended to marginalise the Third Front and focus instead on the Cultural Revolution proper (1966-68), creating a slippage between these two distinct events. This “translation” of campaign time has occurred because of English-language reviewers’ assumptions about the Mao era and how it should be depicted by Chinese artists, as well as a Chinese-English subtitling strategy in one film that anticipates and encourages these same assumptions about the Mao era. Moreover, despite generally adopting a critical tone towards the CCP, film reviewers have reproduced – and propagated – the judgement of the 1981 Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of the Party since the Founding of the PRC that the Cultural Revolution was “ten years of turmoil”. Consequently, not only do these reviewers enfold the Third Front into the Cultural Revolution, they also homogenise the complexities of the Cultural Revolution. In doing so, film reviewers unwittingly provide the Party with useful assistance in globally disseminating and maintaining its version of PRC history, as well as hindering the emergence of alternative accounts of the Mao era

    Exploring the effects of spinal cord stimulation for freezing of gait in parkinsonian patients

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    Dopaminergic replacement therapies (e.g. levodopa) provide limited to no response for axial motor symptoms including gait dysfunction and freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Richardson’s syndrome progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP-RS) patients. Dopaminergic-resistant FOG may be a sensorimotor processing issue that does not involve basal ganglia (nigrostriatal) impairment. Recent studies suggest that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has positive yet variable effects for dopaminergic-resistant gait and FOG in parkinsonian patients. Further studies investigating the mechanism of SCS, optimal stimulation parameters, and longevity of effects for alleviating FOG are warranted. The hypothesis of the research described in this thesis is that mid-thoracic, dorsal SCS effectively reduces FOG by modulating the sensory processing system in gait and may have a dopaminergic effect in individuals with FOG. The primary objective was to understand the relationship between FOG reduction, improvements in upper limb visual-motor performance, modulation of cortical activity and striatal dopaminergic innervation in 7 PD participants. FOG reduction was associated with changes in upper limb reaction time, speed and accuracy measured using robotic target reaching choice tasks. Modulation of resting-state, sensorimotor cortical activity, recorded using electroencephalography, was significantly associated with FOG reduction while participants were OFF-levodopa. Thus, SCS may alleviate FOG by modulating cortical activity associated with motor planning and sensory perception. Changes to striatal dopaminergic innervation, measured using a dopamine transporter marker, were associated with visual-motor performance improvements. Axial and appendicular motor features may be mediated by non-dopaminergic and dopaminergic pathways, respectively. The secondary objective was to demonstrate the short- and long-term effects of SCS for alleviating dopaminergic-resistant FOG and gait dysfunction in 5 PD and 3 PSP-RS participants without back/leg pain. SCS programming was individualized based on which setting best improved gait and/or FOG responses per participant using objective gait analysis. Significant improvements in stride velocity, step length and reduced FOG frequency were observed in all PD participants with up to 3-years of SCS. Similar gait and FOG improvements were observed in all PSP-RS participants up to 6-months. SCS is a promising therapeutic option for parkinsonian patients with FOG by possibly influencing cortical and subcortical structures involved in locomotion physiology

    BECOMEBECOME - A TRANSDISCIPLINARY METHODOLOGY BASED ON INFORMATION ABOUT THE OBSERVER

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    ABSTRACT Andrea T. R. Traldi BECOMEBECOME A Transdisciplinary Methodology Based on Information about the Observer The present research dissertation has been developed with the intention to provide practical strategies and discover new intellectual operations which can be used to generate Transdisciplinary insight. For this reason, this thesis creates access to new knowledge at different scales. Firstly, as it pertains to the scale of new knowledge generated by those who attend Becomebecome events. The open-source nature of the Becomebecome methodology makes it possible for participants in Becomebecome workshops, training programmes and residencies to generate new insight about the specific project they are working on, which then reinforce and expand the foundational principles of the theoretical background. Secondly, as it pertains to the scale of the Becomebecome framework, which remains independent of location and moment in time. The method proposed to access Transdisciplinary knowledge constitutes new knowledge in itself because the sequence of activities, described as physical and mental procedures and listed as essential criteria, have never been found organised 6 in such a specific order before. It is indeed the order in time, i.e. the sequence of the ideas and activities proposed, which allows one to transform Disciplinary knowledge via a new Transdisciplinary frame of reference. Lastly, new knowledge about Transdisciplinarity as a field of study is created as a consequence of the heretofore listed two processes. The first part of the thesis is designated ‘Becomebecome Theory’ and focuses on the theoretical background and the intellectual operations necessary to support the creation of new Transdisciplinary knowledge. The second part of the thesis is designated ‘Becomebecome Practice’ and provides practical examples of the application of such operations. Crucially, the theoretical model described as the foundation for the Becomebecome methodology (Becomebecome Theory) is process-based and constantly checked against the insight generated through Becomebecome Practice. To this effect, ‘information about the observer’ is proposed as a key notion which binds together Transdisciplinary resources from several studies in the hard sciences and humanities. It is a concept that enables understanding about why and how information that is generated through Becomebecome Practice is considered of paramount importance for establishing the reference parameters necessary to access Transdisciplinary insight which is meaningful to a specific project, a specific person, or a specific moment in time

    Identification of Hindbrain Neural Substrates for Motor Initiation in the hatchling Xenopus laevis Tadpole

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    Animal survival profoundly depends on the ability to detect stimuli in the environment, process them and respond accordingly. In this respect, motor responses to a sensory stimulation evolved into a variety of coordinated movements, which involve the control of brain centres over spinal locomotor circuits. The hatchling Xenopus tadpole, even in its embryonic stage, is able to detect external sensory information and to swim away if the stimulus is considered noxious. To do so, the tadpole relies on well-known ascending sensory pathway, which carries the sensory information to the brain. When the stimulus is strong enough, descending interneurons are activated, leading to the excitation of spinal CPG neurons, which causes the undulatory movement of swimming. However, the activation of descending interneurons that marks the initiation of motor response appears after a long delay from the sensory stimulation. Furthermore, the long-latency response is variable in time, as observed in the slow-summating excitation measured in descending interneurons. These two features, i.e. long-latency and variability, cannot be explained by the firing time and pattern of the ascending sensory pathway of the Xenopus tadpole. Therefore, a novel neuronal population has been proposed to lie in the hindbrain of the tadpole, and being able to 'hold' the sensory information, thus accounting for the long and variable delay of swim initiation. In this work, the role of the hindbrain in the maintenance of the long and variable response to trunk skin stimulation is investigated in the Xenopustadpole at developmental stage 37/38. A multifaceted approach has been used to unravel the neuronal mechanisms underlying the delayed motor response, including behavioural experiments, electrophysiology analysis of fictive swimming, hindbrain extracellular recordings and imaging experiments. Two novel neuronal populations have been identified in the tadpole's hindbrain, which exhibit activation patterns compatible with the role of delaying the excitation of the spinal locomotor circuit. Future work on cellular properties and synaptic connections of these newly discovered populations might shed light on the mechanism of descending control active at embryonic stage. Identifying supraspinal neuronal populations in an embryonic organism could aid in understanding mechanisms of descending motor control in more complex vertebrates
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