The application of rhetorical structure theory to interactive news program generation from digital archives

Rhetorical structure theory (RST) provides a model of textual function based upon rhetoric. Initially developed as a model of text coherence, RST has been used extensively in text generation research, and has more recently been proposed as a basis for multimedia presentation generation. This paper investigates the use of RST for generating video presentations having a rhetorical form, using models of the rhetorical roles of video components, together with rules for selecting components for presentation on the basis of their rhetorical functions. An RST model can provide a predefined link structure providing viewers with options for obtaining and dynamically modifying rhetorically coherent video presentations from video archives and databases. The use of an RST analysis for interactive presentation generation may provide a more powerful rhetorical device than conventional linear video presentation. Conversely, making alternative RST analyses of the same video data available to users can have the effect of encouraging closer and more independent viewer analysis of the material, and discourage taking any particular rhetorical presentation at face value

Evaluating the robustness of objective pilling classification with the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform

Previously, we proposed a new method of frequency domain analysis based on the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform to objectively measure pilling intensity in sample fabric images. We have further evaluated this method, and our results indicate that it is robust to small horizontal and/or vertical translations and to significant variations in the brightness of the image under analysis, and is sensitive to rotation and to dilation of the image. These results suggest that as long as precautions are taken to ensure fabric test samples are imaged under consistent conditions of weave/knit pattern alignment (rotation) and apparent interyarn pitch (dilation), the method will yield repeatable results. <br /

A probabilistic approach for acoustic emission based monitoring techniques: with application to structural health monitoring

It has been demonstrated that acoustic-emission (AE), inspection of structures can offer advantages over other types of monitoring techniques in the detection of damage; namely, an increased sensitivity to damage, as well as an ability to localise its source. There are, however, numerous challenges associated with the analysis of AE data. One issue is the high sampling frequencies required to capture AE activity. In just a few seconds, a recording can generate very high volumes of data, of which a significant portion may be of little interest for analysis. Identifying the individual AE events in a recorded time-series is therefore a necessary procedure for reducing the size of the dataset and projecting out the influence of background noise from the signal. In this paper, a state-of-the-art technique is presented that can automatically identify cluster the AE events from a probabilistic perspective. A nonparametric Bayesian approach, based on the Dirichlet process (DP), is employed to overcome some of the challenges associated with this task. Additionally, the developed model is applied for damage detection using AE data collected from an experimental setup. Two main sets of AE data are considered in this work: (1) from a journal bearing in operation, and (2) from an Airbus A320 main landing gear subjected to fatigue testing

Dialysis initiation, modality choice, access, and prescription: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies Conference

Globally, the number of patients undergoing maintenance dialysis is increasing, yet throughout the world there is significant variability in the practice of initiating dialysis. Factors such as availability of resources, reasons for starting dialysis, timing of dialysis initiation, patient education and preparedness, dialysis modality and access, as well as varied \u201ccountry-specific\u201d factors significantly affect patient experiences and outcomes. As the burden of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) has increased globally, there has also been a growing recognition of the importance of patient involvement in determining the goals of care and decisions regarding treatment. In January 2018, KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) convened a Controversies Conference focused on dialysis initiation, including modality choice, access, and prescription. Here we present a summary of the conference discussions, including identified knowledge gaps, areas of controversy, and priorities for research. A major novel theme represented during the conference was the need to move away from a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d approach to dialysis and provide more individualized care that incorporates patient goals and preferences while still maintaining best practices for quality and safety. Identifying and including patient-centered goals that can be validated as quality indicators in the context of diverse health care systems to achieve equity of outcomes will require alignment of goals and incentives between patients, providers, regulators, and payers that will vary across health care jurisdictions

Updated Nucleosynthesis Constraints on Unstable Relic Particles

We revisit the upper limits on the abundance of unstable massive relic particles provided by the success of Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis calculations. We use the cosmic microwave background data to constrain the baryon-to-photon ratio, and incorporate an extensively updated compilation of cross sections into a new calculation of the network of reactions induced by electromagnetic showers that create and destroy the light elements deuterium, he3, he4, li6 and li7. We derive analytic approximations that complement and check the full numerical calculations. Considerations of the abundances of he4 and li6 exclude exceptional regions of parameter space that would otherwise have been permitted by deuterium alone. We illustrate our results by applying them to massive gravitinos. If they weigh ~100 GeV, their primordial abundance should have been below about 10^{-13} of the total entropy. This would imply an upper limit on the reheating temperature of a few times 10^7 GeV, which could be a potential difficulty for some models of inflation. We discuss possible ways of evading this problem.Comment: 40 pages LaTeX, 18 eps figure

Search for the Zγ decay mode of new high-mass resonances in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This letter presents a search for narrow, high-mass resonances in the Zγ final state with the Z boson decaying into a pair of electrons or muons. The √s = 13 TeV pp collision data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and have an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The data are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model background expectation. Upper limits are set on the resonance production cross section times the decay branching ratio into Zγ. For spin-0 resonances produced via gluon–gluon fusion, the observed limits at 95% confidence level vary between 65.5 fb and 0.6 fb, while for spin-2 resonances produced via gluon–gluon fusion (or quark–antiquark initial states) limits vary between 77.4 (76.1) fb and 0.6 (0.5) fb, for the mass range from 220 GeV to 3400 GeV

The ATLAS trigger system for LHC Run 3 and trigger performance in 2022

The ATLAS trigger system is a crucial component of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. It is responsible for selecting events in line with the ATLAS physics programme. This paper presents an overview of the changes to the trigger and data acquisition system during the second long shutdown of the LHC, and shows the performance of the trigger system and its components in the proton-proton collisions during the 2022 commissioning period as well as its expected performance in proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions for the remainder of the third LHC data-taking period (2022–2025)

Search for heavy Higgs bosons with flavour-violating couplings in multi-lepton plus b-jets final states in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new heavy scalars with flavour-violating decays in final states with multiple leptons and b-tagged jets is presented. The results are interpreted in terms of a general two-Higgs-doublet model involving an additional scalar with couplings to the top-quark and the three up-type quarks (ρtt, ρtc, and ρtu). The targeted signals lead to final states with either a same-sign top-quark pair, three top-quarks, or four top-quarks. The search is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Events are categorised depending on the multiplicity of light charged leptons (electrons or muons), total lepton charge, and a deep-neural-network output to enhance the purity of each of the signals. Masses of an additional scalar boson mH between 200 − 630 GeV with couplings ρtt = 0.4, ρtc = 0.2, and ρtu = 0.2 are excluded at 95% confidence level. Additional interpretations are provided in models of R-parity violating supersymmetry, motivated by the recent flavour and (g − 2)μ anomalies