In this paper, we propose a novel model for high-dimensional data, called the Hybrid Orthogonal Projection and Estimation (HOPE) model, which combines a linear orthogonal projection and a finite mixture model under a unified generative modeling framework. The HOPE model itself can be learned unsupervised from unlabelled data based on the maximum likelihood estimation as well as discriminatively...

In Neural Networks (NN), Adaptive Activation Functions (AAF) have parameters that control the shapes of activation functions. These parameters are trained along with other parameters in the NN. AAFs have improved performance of Neural Networks (NN) in multiple classification tasks. In this paper, we propose and apply AAFs on feedforward NNs for regression tasks. We argue that applying AAFs in t...

In Nakajo-Nishimura syndrome (NNS), proteasome disability due to a loss-of-function PSMB8 mutation induces storage of ubiquitinated proteins and overproduction of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. However, the precise mechanisms causing complex phenotypes of the disease, including pernio-like eruptions, lipodystrophy and calcification of basal ganglia, is mostly unclear. As IL-6 overproduc...

OBJECTIVE To develop a nutritional dietary intake database based on available reliable international nutritional databases adapted to the local needs of a specific population. DESIGN The Negev Nutritional Study (NNS) is a survey of a random sample of the Negev population regarding their dietary intake using 24-hour dietary recalls. A nutritional database for the Israeli population was develop...

In this paper, the general class of morphological/rank/linear (MRL) multilayer feed-forward neural networks (NNs) is presented as a unifying signal processing tool that incorporates the properties of multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) and morphological/rank neural networks (MRNNs). The fundamental processing unit of MRL-NNs is the MRL-"lter, where the combination of inputs in every node is formed by...

Automated negotiation is a very challenging research field that is gaining momentum in the e-business domain. There are three main categories of automated negotiations, classified according to the participating agent cardinality and the nature of their interaction (Jennings, Faratin, Lomuscio, Parsons, Sierra, & Wooldridge, 2001): the bilateral, where each agent negotiates with a single opponen...

BACKGROUND The survival rates of preterm infants has increased over the last years, but oral feeding difficulties are the most common problems encountered by them. OBJECTIVES This study aimed at comparing the effects of non-nutritive sucking (NNS) and pre-feeding oral stimulation on feeding skills, length of hospital stay and weight gain of 26-32 weeks gestational age preterm infants in NICU,...

BACKGROUND There has been limited work comparing survey characteristics and assessing the quality of child anthropometric data from population-based surveys. OBJECTIVE To investigate survey characteristics and indicators of quality of anthropometric data in children aged 0-59 months from 23 countries in the West Central Africa region. METHODS Using established methodologies and criteria to ...

In this paper, a new neural network (NN) for fault diagnosis of rotating machinery which synthesises the theory of adaptive resonance theory (ART) and the learning strategy of Kohonen neural network (KNN), is proposed. For NNs, as the new case occurs, the corresponding data should be added to their dataset for learning. However, the ‘off-line’ NNs are unable to adapt autonomously and must be re...

Greg Kessler Ohio University This study reports on student initiated attention to form within the collaborative construction of a wiki among pre-service Non-Native Speaker (NNS) English teachers. Forty NNS pre-service teachers from a large Mexican university were observed over a period of a sixteen week semester in an online content-based course aimed at improving their language skills while st...