17578293
Representational strategy in the visual cortex
We generalized Daubechies' (see IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol.36, no.5, p.961-1004, 1990) results on 1D wavelets to 2D, and elucidated the conditions in which a family of Gabor wavelets will provide a complete representation of an image. We found that the phase space (scale, orientation, x, y) sampling density of the striate cortical simple cells is sufficiently dense to form a tight wavelet frame. This tight frame approximates the continuous wavelet transform, and its redundancy allows high resolution information to be represented in the low-resolution firings of the simple cells. We presented some experimental results to demonstrate this idea.<<ETX>>
8163714
Scaling Laws in Natural Scenes and the Inference of 3D Shape
This paper explores the statistical relationship between natural images and their underlying range (depth) images. We look at how this relationship changes over scale, and how this information can be used to enhance low resolution range data using a full resolution intensity image. Based on our findings, we propose an extension to an existing technique known as shape recipes [3], and the success of the two methods are compared using images and laser scans of real scenes. Our extension is shown to provide a two-fold improvement over the current method. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ideal linear shape-from-shading filters, when learned from natural scenes, may derive even more strength from shadow cues than from the traditional linear-Lambertian shading cues.
35157
A cooperative coevolutionary algorithm for multiobjective optimization
This paper presents a kind of cooperative coevolutionary algorithm (CCEA) for multi-objective optimization (MOO). In this algorithm, solutions evolve in the form of cooperative subpopulations. An archive stores non-dominated solutions and helps to evaluate individuals in the subpopulations. The mechanism of niching is applied to maintain the diversity of solutions in the archive. Meanwhile, an extending operator is designed to mine information on solution distribution from the archive and guide the search to regions that are not explored enough. Extensive simulations are performed on different benchmark problems for various multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) and indicate that CCEA is strongly competitive with five recent well-known MOEAs in finding a good non-dominated solution set.
45512564
Constraint-driven hierarchical information extraction
This abstract summarizes a propsal to use semistructured constraints as a general framework for information extraction. The proposal builds on the intuition that written documents tend to contain a great deal of redundancy: Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them. While current methods overlook or eliminate redundancy, we seek to explicitly represent and exploit both repetition and other natural patterns in semistructured text. We summarize our early research on verification, outline current and future directions, and identify related work. Our initial work assumes knowledge of both document structure and its attendant constraints for the purpose of extraction verification. Specifically, semantic and structural constraints are used to check wrapper accuracy. For example, a structural constraint might ensure that the parties to a contract are introduced at the beginning of the document. A foreign-key constraint checks whether the parties are included on a list of approved signers. That signatories are repeated at the end of a contract is represented by an inverse constraint. A wrapper to extract seven attributes from legal arbitration decisions was applied to 200 cases. Constraint-based verification produced only ten false negatives, the majority of which were due to errors in wrapper delimiters. Further results were reported earlier [Hunter, et al., 2002]. We are currently experimenting with semistructured constraints in hierarchical extraction. Documents with the same semantic and structural constraints are placed in the same class. Class-specific routines fragment the document, extract from each fragment, and recurse on selected components. We propose the use of semistructured constraints as a framework for both fragmentation and extraction. For example, in addition to simple features like HTML-nesting, constraints can dictate whether certain values or structural properties functionally determine other fragments. A dissenting opinion must correspond to a legal decision with more than one judge.
16239260
Hybrid local polynomial wavelet shrinkage: wavelet regression with automatic boundary adjustment
An usual assumption underlying the use of wavelet shrinkage is that the regression function is assumed to be either periodic or symmetric. However, such an assumption is not always realistic. This paper proposes an effective method for correcting the boundary bias introduced by the inappropriateness of such periodic or symmetric assumption. The idea is to combine wavelet shrinkage with local polynomial regression, where the latter regression technique is known to possess excellent boundary properties. Simulation results from both the univariate and bivariate settings provide strong evidence that the proposed method is extremely effective in terms of correcting boundary bias.
12361441
Computer-aided prototype system for nose surgery
Rhinoplasty, or surgery to reshape the nose, is one of the most common of all plastic-surgery procedures. Rhinoplasty can enhance a patient's appearance and self-confidence, may also correct a birth defect or injury, or help relieve some breathing problem. In this paper, we present a three-dimensional (3-D) surgical simulation system, which can assist surgeons in planning rhinoplasty procedures. This system employs computer graphics and image-processing techniques for the simulation of a rhinoplasty. Although the presented algorithms themselves are not new, the proposed system exploits the new idea to apply 3-D morphing for rhinoplasty, and simulation results are useful for the physicians. According to patients' expectation of what they would like their noses to look like, our system simulates expected results. Our tools provide quantitative measurements of a nose structure. Using these quantitative results, surgeons can arrange appropriate preoperative plans for patients. Finally, experimental results and experiences are reported to evaluate the usefulness of the proposed system.
7135959
On original generation of structure in legal documents
This position paper advocates a vision in the development of automated legal reasoning and presents evidence supporting the plausibility of that vision. The paper observes that original creation of documents of legal import in either fully formal or semistructured form offers the prospect of greatly reducing the cost and expanding the scope of knowledge engineering for legal reasoning. This, it is claimed, is most likely to be achieved via formalization of various sublanguages of legal discourse. SeaSpeak is an example of such a sublanguage and it appears to be amenable to full formalization. Short of that, much can be done with partial formalization and semistructured documents. The paper presents a tabular format for message expression, motivated by a formal agent communication language.