We study the properties of the Minimum Description Length principle for sequence prediction, considering a two-part MDL estimator which is chosen from a countable class of models. This applies in particular to the important case of universal sequence prediction, where the model class corresponds to all algorithms for some fixed universal Turing machine (this correspondence is by enumerable semi...

We propose a new method of automatically creating nonuniform context-dependent HMM topologies by using the Minimum Description Length (MDL) criterion. Phonetic decision tree clustering is widely used, based on the Maximum Likelihood (ML) criterion, and creates only contextual variations. However, it also needs to empirically predetermine control parameters for use as stop criteria, for example,...

In the context of wavelet denoising and compression, we study minimum description length (MDL) criteria for model selection criteria as exible forms of thresholding. Mixture MDL methods based on a single Laplacian, a two-piece Laplacian, and a generalized Gaussian prior are shown to be adaptive thresholding rules. While achieving mean squared error performance comparable with other popular thre...

We reconsider the problem of containment of monadic datalog (MDL) queries in unions of conjunctive queries (UCQs). Prior work has dealt with special cases, but has left the precise complexity characterization open. We begin by establishing a 2EXPTIME lower bound on the MDL/UCQ containment problem, resolving an open problem from the early 90’s. We then present a general approach for getting tigh...

We exploit the Minimum Description Length (MDL) principle as a model selection technique for Bernoulli distributions and compare several types of MDL codes. We first present a simplistic crude two-part MDL code and a Normalized Maximum Likelihood (NML) code. We then focus on the enumerative two-part crude MDL code, suggest a Bayesian interpretation for finite size data samples, and exhibit a st...

In the context of wavelet denoising and compression, we study minimum description length (MDL) criteria for model selection criteria as exible forms of thresholding. Mixture MDL methods based on a single Laplacian, a two-piece Laplacian, and a generalized Gaussian prior are shown to be adaptive thresholding rules. While achieving mean squared error performance comparable with other popular thre...

Dengue virus (DV) reacts with myeloid DAP12-associating lectin-1 (MDL-1) on immature polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Interaction of DV with MDL-1+ cells triggers systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), with subsequent multi-organ failure. In this issue of the JCI, Cheung et al. find that sterile acute liver injury in mice is associated with the accumulation...

Determining the number of sources in a received wave field is a well-known and a well-investigated problem. In this problem, the number of sources impinging on an array of sensors is to be estimated. The common approach for solving this problem is to use an information theoretic criterion like the minimum description length (MDL) or the Akaike information criterion. Under the assumption that th...

Non-rigid registration finds a dense correspondence between a pair of images, so that analogous structures in the two images are aligned. While this is sufficient for atlas comparisons, in order for registration to be an aid to diagnosis, registrations need to be performed on a set of images. In this paper we describe an objective function that can be used for this groupwise registration. We vi...

Mobile Device Learning (MDL), as a tool for student learning, is predicted by many scholars to be the transformational singularity forecasted to change traditional learning environments into student-centered, 21 Century classrooms. The literature is imbued with quantitative studies focused on teacher attitudes and teacher self-reported pedagogical practices regarding MDL. However, few qualitati...