30793 research outputs found
Sort by
Ultimately Bounded Output Feedback Control for Networked Nonlinear Systems with Unreliable Communication Channel: A Buffer-Aided Strategy
Get PDFThis paper concerns ultimately bounded output-feedback control problems for networked systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics. Sensor-to-observer signal transmission is facilitated over networks that has communication constraints. These transmissions are carried out over an unreliable communication channel. In order to enhance the utilization rate of measurement data, a buffer-aided strategy is novelly employed to store historical measurements when communication networks are inaccessible. Using the neural network technique, a novel observer-based controller is introduced to address effects of signal transmission behaviors and unknown nonlinear dynamics. Through the application of stochastic analysis and Lyapunov stability, a joint framework is constructed for analyzing resultant system performance under the introduced controller. Subsequently, existence conditions for the desired output-feedback controller are delineated. The required parameters for the observer-based controller are then determined by resolving some specific matrix inequalities. Finally, a simulation example is showcased to confirm method efficacy.10.13039/501100001809-National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 61933007,62273087,U22A2044,61973102,62073180)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
No full textData Access:
The data for this study has been sourced from the public repository Yahoo Finance. Related code can be found at: https://github.com/xilu5047/Stock_prediction .Accurately predicting stock prices remains a formidable challenge in financial markets. Traditional predictive models often aggregate data from multiple companies, failing to account for the unique characteristics of each firm, which can hinder the model’s ability to identify company-specific patterns. Moreover, existing research on stock price prediction frequently trains and tests models within the same group of companies, neglecting to assess their generalizability on ‘Out-of-Sample’ companies. This study addresses these limitations by employing BERT to encode business descriptions into vectors, capturing the distinctive attributes of each company. We further enhance the predictive modeling framework by developing features that describe the percentage change of existing indicators, adding significant novelty to the existing research. Additionally, we apply a Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM) for dimensionality reduction after the BERT encoding process. In our approach, both the technical indicators and the vectorized descriptions are treated as distinct elements within the transformer encoder. By integrating these representations, our model is better equipped to differentiate between firms and recognize their individual patterns. The proposed model demonstrates superior performance over baseline models, particularly when tested on ‘Out-of-Sample’ companies, highlighting its ability to learn, understand, and analyze company-specific descriptions for more accurate predictions. This research offers novel insights into addressing the heterogeneity in stock price prediction.The work of Matloob Khushi was supported by UKRI NERC under Grant NE/X000192/12
Dynamic Factor Models and Fractional Integration—With an Application to US Real Economic Activity
Get PDFData Availability Statement:
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available from the authors on request.JEL Classification: C22; E32.This paper makes a twofold contribution. First, it develops the dynamic factor model of by allowing for fractional integration instead of imposing the classical dichotomy between I(0) stationary and I(1) non-stationary series. This more general setup provides valuable information on the degree of persistence and mean-reverting properties of the series. Second, the proposed framework is used to analyse five annual US Real Economic Activity series (Employees, Energy, Industrial Production, Manufacturing, Personal Income) over the period from 1967 to 2019 in order to shed light on their degree of persistence and cyclical behaviour. The results indicate that economic activity in the US is highly persistent and is also characterised by cycles with a periodicity of 6 years and 8 months.This research was funded by the project from ‘Ministerium de Economía, Industria y Competitividad’ (MINEIC), ‘Agencia Estatal de Investigación’ (AEI) Spain and ‘Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional’ (FEDER), Grant number D2023-149516NB-I00
Recruiting the world’s first disabled astronaut doesn’t mean space travel is inclusive
Get PDFThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Image rights: Esa astronaut John McFall undergoes microgravity training. Esa / Novespace, Author provided (* no reuse *); The New Shepard vehicle carries paying customers on sub-orbital flights to space. Blue Origin, Author provided (* no reuse *); Older spacesuits were designed with male astronauts in mind. Nasa / Mike Hopkins; Exercise equipment need adjustments to allow them to be used by disabled astronauts. NASA; John McFall (second from right) will participate in a special study based around barriers facing disabled people in space. ESA/Nasa, Author provided (* no reuse *). Read the original which includes the three redacted images at https://theconversation.com/recruiting-the-worlds-first-disabled-astronaut-doesnt-mean-space-travel-is-inclusive-heres-how-to-change-that-242397 .Sean Cullen receives funding from the Engineering Design and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This project specifically was funded through the Brunel Research Interdisciplinary Lab (BRIL). He is affiliated with the Space 4 All community.
Ezgi Merdin Uygur receives funding from the Marketing Trust and the British Academy / Leverhulme.
Vanja Garaj currently receives funding from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Research England.In the past, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to meet stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But in recent years, that has all been changing.Brunel Research Interdisciplinary Lab (BRIL)
Machine learning-driven web-post buckling resistance prediction for high-strength steel beams with elliptically-based web openings
Get PDFData availability:
Data will be made available on request.Copyright © 2024 The Authors.. The use of periodical elliptically-based web (EBW) openings in high strength steel (HSS) beams has been increasingly popular in recent years mainly because of the high strength-to-weight ratio and the reduction in the floor height as a result of allowing different utility services to pass through the web openings. However, these sections are susceptible to web-post buckling (WPB) failure mode and therefore it is imperative that an accurate design tool is made available for prediction of the web-post buckling capacity. Therefore, the present paper aims to implement the power of various machine learning (ML) methods for prediction of the WPB capacity in HSS beams with (EBW) openings and to assess the performance of existing analytical design model. For this purpose, a numerical model is developed and validated with the aim of conducting a total of 10,764 web-post finite element models, considering S460, S690 and S960 steel grades. This data is employed to train and validate different ML algorithms including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machine Regression (SVR) and Gene Expression Programming (GEP). Finally, the paper proposes new design models for WPB resistance prediction. The results are discussed in detail, and they are compared with the numerical models and the existing analytical design method. The proposed design models based on the machine learning predictions are shown to be powerful, reliable and efficient design tools for capacity predictions of the WPB resistance of HSS beams with periodical (EBW) openings
Co-hydrothermal carbonization as a potential method of utilising digested sludge and screenings from wastewater treatment plants towards energy application
Get PDFData availability:
No data was used for the research described in the article.Anaerobic digestion is one of the most recommended methods for utilising sewage sludge produced by wastewater treatment plants. However, the increasing amount of micropollutants in digested sludge can significantly limit its future utilisation. Recent studies suggests that the hydrothermal carbonization process can be used as a complementary method for sludge management, due to the improved quality of solid products - hydrochar. Moreover, this allows for the possibility of reusing liquid by-products in the anaerobic digestion process for biogas production. However, hydrochar generated from hydrothermal carbonisation has a higher concentration of heavy metals and low energy value, which limits its use in agriculture and energy sectors. This study highlights a partial resolution to this problem, by mixing digested sludge with screenings in the co-hydrothermal carbonisation process. The findings of this study show improvements in the properties of hydrochar including total solids measured according to ISO, inorganic fractions determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and higher calorific values measured by the calorimetric bomb. Biomethane potential tests were conducted on liquid by-products. The results showed an average increase in biomethane potential from liquids obtained from co-hydrothermal carbonization compared to liquids from hydrothermal carbonization of digested sludge without screenings in series 1, 2 and 3 - up to 60%, 40% and 26% for three different sludges with initial total solids content of 2.6%, 12.5% and 21.5% w/w.The study was co-carried out in the framework of the statutory funds for research, co-financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education BS/PB-400-301/24
Positive risk-taking within social care for adults with physical disabilities: A review of guidelines in practice in England
Get PDFData availability statement:
During the development, progress, and reporting of the submitted research, Patient and Public Involvement in the research was not included at any stage of the research.Introduction: Despite practice guidelines, professionals do not feel confident in implementing positive risk-taking. This may be due to the guidance provided. Method: A scoping review of current organisational guidance for the professional practice of positive risk-taking within Adult Social Care services for people with a physical disability. Guidelines were obtained from Local Authorities in England in October 2020. The data were extracted using TIDieR to describe positive risk-taking as an intervention. The quality of the guidelines was assessed using AGREE II. Findings: In all, 36 Local Authorities responded out of 106 contacted. A total of 21 documents were included for review. Substantial variability was found in terminology, definitions and risk grading between documents. The greatest consistency was found in how to implement a positive risk-taking intervention. Consistency was also found in the policy that documents cited. There was little reference to evidence to support intervention components. Overall, AGREE II quality scores were low and stakeholder involvement, specifically with regard to the views and preferences of service users, was largely absent. Conclusion: There is a need for a greater consensus to guide the professional practice of positive risk-taking. Determining the extent of current evidence and establishing an evidence base may facilitate more consistent guidelines and support professionals’ confidence in implementing positive risk-taking.This scoping review was conducted as part of LF’s PhD funded by Health Education England Thames Valley through the INTALECA programme at Oxford Brookes University. JC is supported by NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centr
Beyond Work and Play: Decolonising Children’s Right to Leisure
Get PDFData Availability:
Not applicable.In this research note, I unpack the way children’s right to leisure and play has been understood and formulated in contemporary child rights discourses. Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recognises children’s right to “rest and leisure” including their right to participate in age-appropriate play and recreational activities. I argue that this ‘right to leisure’ discourse within UNCRC reinforces a liberal, unitary model of citizenship that locates the individual child as the locus of rights. Instead, I connect contemporary debates around difference-centred model of children’s citizenship and living rights with decolonial approaches to leisure and vernacular rights cultures to offer a critical appraisal of children’s right to leisure. These inclusive approaches can offer new avenues for theorising and researching children’s right to leisure
Can formal argumentative reasoning enhance LLMs performances?
Get PDFRecent years witnessed significant performance advancements in deep-learning-driven natural language models, with a strong focus on the development and release of Large Language Models (LLMs). These improvements resulted in better quality AI-generated output but rely on resource-expensive training and upgrading of models. Although different studies have proposed a range of techniques to enhance LLMs without retraining, none have considered computational argumentation as an option. This is a missed opportunity since computational argumentation is an intuitive mechanism that formally captures agents' interactions and the information conflict that may arise during such interplays, and so it seems well-suited for boosting the reasoning and conversational abilities of LLMs in a seamless manner. In this paper, we present a pipeline (MQArgEng) and preliminary study to evaluate the effect of introducing computational argumentation semantics on the performance of LLMs. Our experiment's goal was to provide a proof-of-concept and a feasibility analysis in order to foster (or deter) future research towards a fully-fledged argumentation engine plugin for LLMs. Exploratory results using the MT-Bench indicate that MQArgEng provides a moderate performance gain in most of the examined topical categories and, as such, show promise and warrant further research
Breaching boundaries: reflections on the journey towards a transdisciplinary arts and sciences undergraduate degree programme to address global challenges
Get PDFData availability: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.This commentary reflects upon the progress, limitations, and some of the pitfalls of one UK London-based HE institution’s development of a trans-disciplinary arts and sciences undergraduate degree programme specifically designed to build knowledge and confidence in students to both reflect upon and effectively respond in constructive and just ways to some of the ‘global challenges’ facing society. It does not challenge the importance and necessity of specialist expertise but sees the potential of a trans-disciplinary approach to education as not just complementary but increasingly valuable to a wider range of graduates. Graduates needed to lead systems change and facilitate wider appreciation and practical understanding of multidimensional problem-solving, the importance of stakeholder engagement and more holistic systems thinking, something that should not be limited to those who have the opportunity and means to study Masters or PhD degrees. As one of a few UK universities that offer inter-disciplinary or trans-disciplinary undergraduate degrees and with some added insights from a former colleague who now works on University College London’s (UCL) interdisciplinary BASc, we offer the following suggestions and advice for those interested in working towards developing trans-disciplinary provision. This includes the development of a financial model that allows students and staff to work between departments or faculties; an administrative structure that promotes communication and information sharing between different departments without compromising the requirements of data protection; the buy-in and support of senior leaders who both understand and can advocate for the benefits of a trans-disciplinary approach and explicit university-wide recognition of the staff who work on such programmes in terms of career progression and support for the trans-disciplinary research they undertake
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇