South America
On the Rate of Convergence of Kolmogorov-Arnold Network Regression Estimators
Liu, Wei, Chatzi, Eleni, Lai, Zhilu
Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KANs) offer a structured and interpretable framework for multivariate function approximation by composing univariate transformations through additive or multiplicative aggregation. This paper establishes theoretical convergence guarantees for KANs when the univariate components are represented by B-splines. We prove that both additive and hybrid additive-multiplicative KANs attain the minimax-optimal convergence rate $O(n^{-2r/(2r+1)})$ for functions in Sobolev spaces of smoothness $r$. We further derive guidelines for selecting the optimal number of knots in the B-splines. The theory is supported by simulation studies that confirm the predicted convergence rates. These results provide a theoretical foundation for using KANs in nonparametric regression and highlight their potential as a structured alternative to existing methods.
Hybrid Pipeline SWD Detection in Long-Term EEG Signals
Rincon, Antonio Quintero, Masino, Nicolas, Marsico, Veronica, Batatia, Hadj
Spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs) are the electroencephalographic hallmark of absence epilepsy, yet their manual identification in multi-day recordings remains labour-intensive and error-prone. We present a lightweight hybrid pipeline that couples analytical features with a shallow artificial neural network (ANN) for accurate, patient-specific SWD detection in long-term, monopolar EEG. A two-sided moving-average (MA) filter first suppresses the high-frequency components of normal background activity. The residual signal is then summarised by the mean and the standard deviation of its normally distributed samples, yielding a compact, two-dimensional feature vector for every 20s window. These features are fed to a single-hidden-layer ANN trained via back-propagation to classify each window as SWD or non-SWD. The method was evaluated on 780 channels sampled at 256 Hz from 12 patients, comprising 392 annotated SWD events. It correctly detected 384 events (sensitivity: 98%) while achieving a specificity of 96.2 % and an overall accuracy of 97.2%. Because feature extraction is analytic, and the classifier is small, the pipeline runs in real-time and requires no manual threshold tuning. These results indicate that normal-distribution descriptors combined with a modest ANN provide an effective and computationally inexpensive solution for automated SWD screening in extended EEG recordings.
STARQA: A Question Answering Dataset for Complex Analytical Reasoning over Structured Databases
Maddela, Mounica, Xie, Lingjue, Preotiuc-Pietro, Daniel, Mausam, null
Semantic parsing methods for converting text to SQL queries enable question answering over structured data and can greatly benefit analysts who routinely perform complex analytics on vast data stored in specialized relational databases. Although several benchmarks measure the abilities of text to SQL, the complexity of their questions is inherently limited by the level of expressiveness in query languages and none focus explicitly on questions involving complex analytical reasoning which require operations such as calculations over aggregate analytics, time series analysis or scenario understanding. In this paper, we introduce STARQA, the first public human-created dataset of complex analytical reasoning questions and answers on three specialized-domain databases. In addition to generating SQL directly using LLMs, we evaluate a novel approach (Text2SQLCode) that decomposes the task into a combination of SQL and Python: SQL is responsible for data fetching, and Python more naturally performs reasoning. Our results demonstrate that identifying and combining the abilities of SQL and Python is beneficial compared to using SQL alone, yet the dataset still remains quite challenging for the existing state-of-the-art LLMs.
Generative AI as a catalyst for democratic Innovation: Enhancing citizen engagement in participatory budgeting
Sousa, Italo Alberto do Nascimento, Machado, Jorge, Vaz, Jose Carlos
This research examines the role of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing citizen engagement in participatory budgeting. In response to challenges like declining civic participation and increased societal polarization, the study explores how online political participation can strengthen democracy and promote social equity. By integrating Generative AI into public consultation platforms, the research aims to improve citizen proposal formulation and foster effective dialogue between citizens and government. It assesses the capacities governments need to implement AI-enhanced participatory tools, considering technological dependencies and vulnerabilities. Analyzing technological structures, actors, interests, and strategies, the study contributes to understanding how technological advancements can reshape participatory institutions to better facilitate citizen involvement. Ultimately, the research highlights how Generative AI can transform participatory institutions, promoting inclusive, democratic engagement and empowering citizens.
Short-Term Regional Electricity Demand Forecasting in Argentina Using LSTM Networks
This study presents the development and optimization of a deep learning model based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks to predict short-term hourly electricity demand in Cรณrdoba, Argentina. Integrating historical consumption data with exogenous variables (climatic factors, temporal cycles, and demographic statistics), the model achieved high predictive precision, with a mean absolute percentage error of 3.20\% and a determination coefficient of 0.95. The inclusion of periodic temporal encodings and weather variables proved crucial to capture seasonal patterns and extreme consumption events, enhancing the robustness and generalizability of the model. In addition to the design and hyperparameter optimization of the LSTM architecture, two complementary analyses were carried out: (i) an interpretability study using Random Forest regression to quantify the relative importance of exogenous drivers, and (ii) an evaluation of model performance in predicting the timing of daily demand maxima and minima, achieving exact-hour accuracy in more than two-thirds of the test days and within abs(1) hour in over 90\% of cases. Together, these results highlight both the predictive accuracy and operational relevance of the proposed framework, providing valuable insights for grid operators seeking optimized planning and control strategies under diverse demand scenarios.
CSIYOLO: An Intelligent CSI-based Scatter Sensing Framework for Integrated Sensing and Communication Systems
Zhang, Xudong, Tan, Jingbo, Ren, Zhizhen, Wang, Jintao, Ma, Yihua, Song, Jian
ISAC is regarded as a promising technology for next-generation communication systems, enabling simultaneous data transmission and target sensing. Among various tasks in ISAC, scatter sensing plays a crucial role in exploiting the full potential of ISAC and supporting applications such as autonomous driving and low-altitude economy. However, most existing methods rely on either waveform and hardware modifications or traditional signal processing schemes, leading to poor compatibility with current communication systems and limited sensing accuracy. To address these challenges, we propose CSIYOLO, a framework that performs scatter localization only using estimated CSI from a single base station-user equipment pair. This framework comprises two main components: anchor-based scatter parameter detection and CSI-based scatter localization. First, by formulating scatter parameter extraction as an image detection problem, we propose an anchor-based scatter parameter detection method inspired by You Only Look Once architectures. After that, a CSI-based localization algorithm is derived to determine scatter locations with extracted parameters. Moreover, to improve localization accuracy and implementation efficiency, we design an extendable network structure with task-oriented optimizations, enabling multi-scale anchor detection and better adaptation to CSI characteristics. A noise injection training strategy is further designed to enhance robustness against channel estimation errors. Since the proposed framework operates solely on estimated CSI without modifying waveforms or signal processing pipelines, it can be seamlessly integrated into existing communication systems as a plugin. Experiments show that our proposed method can significantly outperform existing methods in scatter localization accuracy with relatively low complexities under varying numbers of scatters and estimation errors.
Houthi drone strike hits Israeli city of Eilat, injuring 22
Is recognising Palestine a way to'save face' for Western leaders? This is the moment a drone launched by Yemen's Houthis exploded in the Israeli city of Eilat. Footage shows it over the southern port city before bursting into flames in a residential neighbourhood, injuring at least 22 people, after Israeli military failed to intercept it. Finland's president hails rise of global south at UNGA Estonia calls Russian jets violating its airspace a'hostile act'
Spain to join Italy in deploying naval ship to escort Gaza flotilla
Is recognising Palestine a way to'save face' for Western leaders? A Spanish naval vessel will join the Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza to provide assistance and, if necessary, conduct rescues, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said. Italy earlier announced it was dispatching a frigate after a night of drone attacks on the humanitarian flotilla opposed by the Israeli government. Finland's president hails rise of global south at UNGA Estonia calls Russian jets violating its airspace a'hostile act'
Russia will expand aggression beyond Ukraine if not stopped, Zelensky warns
Vladimir Putin will keep driving the war forward wider and deeper if he is not stopped, Ukraine's President Zelensky has warned. Speaking at the UN's General Assembly in New York, Zelensky said more countries would be met with Russian aggression unless allies displayed a united front and ramped up support. He said all nations were threatened by a global arms race, as military technology advances, adding that weapons decide who survives and called for global rules on AI. His comments come after US President Donald Trump shifted his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying for the first time that Ukraine could win back all of its land. Zelensky criticised international institutions, suggesting they are too weak to offer Ukraine safety guarantees, adding - in apparent reference to Nato - that being part of a long-standing military alliance doesn't automatically mean you are safe. We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, he said.