Agency in Transport Service: Implications of Traveller Mode Choice Objective and Latent Attributes Using Random Parameter Logit Model

Abstract: This paper explains how principal-agent theory (PAT) can be used as an analytical tool to understand the traveller-Transport for NSW (TfNSW) relationship and minimise the agency problem in the relationship by examining traveller preferences for mode choices. The paper emphasises latent variables (LVs) and traditional objective attributes (TOAs) together during the choice process within the agency relationship, as a method by which the utility of the principal (traveller) can be maximised and evaluated using a discrete choice experiment, i.e. random parameter logit (RPL) model. The probability of car use is significantly higher than public transport, which indicates that an agency problem exists in the relationship and incorporating traveller preferences in the transport projects may minimise this problem. Citation: Anwar, A.H.M., Tieu, K., Gibson, P., Win, K.T. & Berryman, M.J. (2014). Agency in Transport Service: Implications of Traveller Mode Choice Objective and Latent Attributes Using Ransom Parameter Logit Model. In: Campbell P. and Perez P. (Eds), Proceedings of the International Symposium of Next Generation Infrastructure, 1-4 October 2013, SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Australia

UIT-Saviors at MEDVQA-GI 2023: Improving Multimodal Learning with Image Enhancement for Gastrointestinal Visual Question Answering

In recent years, artificial intelligence has played an important role in medicine and disease diagnosis, with many applications to be mentioned, one of which is Medical Visual Question Answering (MedVQA). By combining computer vision and natural language processing, MedVQA systems can assist experts in extracting relevant information from medical image based on a given question and providing precise diagnostic answers. The ImageCLEFmed-MEDVQA-GI-2023 challenge carried out visual question answering task in the gastrointestinal domain, which includes gastroscopy and colonoscopy images. Our team approached Task 1 of the challenge by proposing a multimodal learning method with image enhancement to improve the VQA performance on gastrointestinal images. The multimodal architecture is set up with BERT encoder and different pre-trained vision models based on convolutional neural network (CNN) and Transformer architecture for features extraction from question and endoscopy image. The result of this study highlights the dominance of Transformer-based vision models over the CNNs and demonstrates the effectiveness of the image enhancement process, with six out of the eight vision models achieving better F1-Score. Our best method, which takes advantages of BERT+BEiT fusion and image enhancement, achieves up to 87.25% accuracy and 91.85% F1-Score on the development test set, while also producing good result on the private test set with accuracy of 82.01%.Comment: ImageCLEF2023 published version: https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3497/paper-129.pd

Learning evolving relations for multivariate time series forecasting

Multivariate time series forecasting is essential in various fields, including healthcare and traffic management, but it is a challenging task due to the strong dynamics in both intra-channel relations (temporal patterns within individual variables) and inter-channel relations (the relationships between variables), which can evolve over time with abrupt changes. This paper proposes ERAN (Evolving Relational Attention Network), a framework for multivariate time series forecasting, that is capable to capture such dynamics of these relations. On the one hand, ERAN represents inter-channel relations with a graph which evolves over time, modeled using a recurrent neural network. On the other hand, ERAN represents the intra-channel relations using a temporal attentional convolution, which captures the local temporal dependencies adaptively with the input data. The elvoving graph structure and the temporal attentional convolution are intergrated in a unified model to capture both types of relations. The model is experimented on a large number of real-life datasets including traffic flows, energy consumption, and COVID-19 transmission data. The experimental results show a significant improvement over the state-of-the-art methods in multivariate time series forecasting particularly for non-stationary data

Identifying Computer-Translated Paragraphs using Coherence Features

We have developed a method for extracting the coherence features from a paragraph by matching similar words in its sentences. We conducted an experiment with a parallel German corpus containing 2000 human-created and 2000 machine-translated paragraphs. The result showed that our method achieved the best performance (accuracy = 72.3%, equal error rate = 29.8%) when it is compared with previous methods on various computer-generated text including translation and paper generation (best accuracy = 67.9%, equal error rate = 32.0%). Experiments on Dutch, another rich resource language, and a low resource one (Japanese) attained similar performances. It demonstrated the efficiency of the coherence features at distinguishing computer-translated from human-created paragraphs on diverse languages.Comment: 9 pages, PACLIC 201

Octadentate zirconium(IV)-loaded macrocycles with varied stoichiometry assembled from hydroxamic acid monomers using metal-templated synthesis

Published: February 28, 2017The reaction between Zr(IV) and the forward endo-hydroxamic acid monomer 4-[(5-aminopentyl)(hydroxy)amino]-4-oxobutanoic acid (for-PBH) in a 1:4 stoichiometry in the presence of diphenylphosphoryl azide and triethylamine gave the octadentate Zr(IV)-loaded tetrameric hydroxamic acid macrocycle for-[Zr(DFOT₁)] ([M + H]⁺ calc 887.3, obs 887.2). In this metal-templated synthesis (MTS) approach, the coordination preferences of Zr(IV) directed the preorganization of four oxygen-rich bidentate for-PBH ligands about the metal ion prior to ring closure under peptide coupling conditions. The replacement of for-PBH with 5-[(5-aminopentyl) (hydroxy)amino]-5-oxopentanoic acid (for-PPH), which contained an additional methylene group in the dicarboxylic acid region of the monomer, gave the analogous Zr(IV)-loaded macrocycle for-[Zr(PPDFOT₁)] ([M + H]⁺ calc 943.4, obs 943.1). A second, well-resolved peak in the liquid chromatogram from the for-PPH MTS system also characterized as a species with [M + H]⁺ 943.3, and was identified as the octadentate complex between Zr(IV) and two dimeric tetradentate hydroxamic acid macrocycles for-[Zr(PPDFOT1D)₂]. Treatment of for-[Zr(PPDFOT₁)] or for-[Zr(PPDFOT1D)₂] with EDTA at pH 4.0 gave the respective hydroxamic acid macrocycles as free ligands: octadentate PPDFOT₁ or two equivalents of tetradentate PPDFOT1D (homobisucaberin, HBC). At pH values closer to physiological, EDTA treatment of for-[Zr(DFOT₁)], for-[Zr(PPDFOT₁)], or Zr(IV) complexes with related linear tri- or tetrameric hydroxamic acid ligands showed the macrocycles were more resistant to the release of Zr(IV), which has implications for the design of ligands optimized for the use of Zr(IV)-89 in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of cancer.William Tieu, Tulip Lifa, Andrew Katsifis, and Rachel Cod

Asymmetric Cold Rolling of Thin Strip with Roll Edge Kiss

Asymmetric rolling can reduce the thickness of rolled strip and rolling load significantly. In this paper, the asymmetric cold rolling of thin strip with roll edge kiss was analysed theoretically and the rolling pressure, intermediate force between the work roll and backup roll, the work roll edge kiss force, the strip profile after rolling are obtained for this special asymmetric rolling. The rolling pressure, intermediate force, roll edge kiss force and the strip profile are compared for various roll speed ratios, reduction and friction coefficients. Simulation result shows that the roll speed ratio and reduction have significant influence on the profile of rolled strip, and the calculated rolling forces are consistent with the measured values. The effect of friction in the roll bite on mechanics of the asymmetric cold rolling of thin strip with roll edge kiss is also discussed

Endogenously produced nonclassical vitamin D hydroxy-metabolites act as "biased" agonists on VDR and inverse agonists on RORα and RORγ

The classical pathway of vitamin D activation follows the sequence D3→25(OH)D3→1,25(OH)(2)D3 with the final product acting on the receptor for vitamin D (VDR). An alternative pathway can be started by the action of CYP11A1 on the side chain of D3, primarily producing 20(OH)D3, 22(OH)D3, 20,23(OH)(2)D3, 20,22(OH)(2)D3 and 17,20,23(OH)(3)D3. Some of these metabolites are hydroxylated by CYP27B1 at C1α, by CYP24A1 at C24 and C25, and by CYP27A1 at C25 and C26. The products of these pathways are biologically active. In the epidermis and/or serum or adrenals we detected 20(OH)D3, 22(OH)D3, 20,22(OH)(2)D3, 20,23(OH)(2)D3, 17,20,23(OH)(3)D3, 1,20(OH)(2)D3, 1,20,23(OH)(3)D3, 1,20,22(OH)(3)D3, 20,24(OH)(2)D3, 1,20,24(OH)(3)D3, 20,25(OH)(2)D3, 1,20,25(OH)(3)D3, 20,26(OH)(2)D3 and 1,20,26(OH)(3)D3. 20(OH)D3 and 20,23(OH)(2)D3 are non-calcemic, while the addition of an OH at C1α confers some calcemic activity. Molecular modeling and functional assays show that the major products of the pathway can act as “biased” agonists for the VDR with high docking scores to the ligand binding domain (LBD), but lower than that of 1,25(OH)(2)D3. Importantly, cell based functional receptor studies and molecular modeling have identified the novel secosteroids as inverse agonists of both RORα and RORγ receptors. Specifically, they have high docking scores using crystal structures of RORα and RORγ LBDs. Furthermore, 20(OH)D3 and 20,23(OH)(2)D3 have been tested in cell model that expresses a Tet-on RORα or RORγ vector and a RORE-LUC reporter (ROR-responsive element), and in a mammalian 2-hybrid model that test interactions between an LBD-interacting LXXLL-peptide and the LBD of RORα/γ. These assays demonstrated that the novel secosteroids have ROR-antagonist activities that were further confirmed by the inhibition of IL17 promoter activity in cells overexpressing RORα/γ. In conclusion, endogenously produced novel D3 hydroxy-derivatives can act both as “biased” agonists of the VDR and/or inverse agonists of RORα/γ. We suggest that the identification of large number of endogenously produced alternative hydroxy-metabolites of D3 that are biologically active, and of possible alternative receptors, may offer an explanation for the pleiotropic and diverse activities of vitamin D, previously assigned solely to 1,25(OH)(2)D3 and VDR

Transformation on Computer-Generated Facial Image to Avoid Detection by Spoofing Detector

Making computer-generated (CG) images more difficult to detect is an interesting problem in computer graphics and security. While most approaches focus on the image rendering phase, this paper presents a method based on increasing the naturalness of CG facial images from the perspective of spoofing detectors. The proposed method is implemented using a convolutional neural network (CNN) comprising two autoencoders and a transformer and is trained using a black-box discriminator without gradient information. Over 50% of the transformed CG images were not detected by three state-of-the-art spoofing detectors. This capability raises an alarm regarding the reliability of facial authentication systems, which are becoming widely used in daily life.Comment: Accepted to be Published in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo (ICME) 2018, San Diego, US