Full-waveform inversion (FWI) is an advanced technique for reconstructing high-resolution subsurface physical parameters by progressively minimizing the discrepancy between observed and predicted seismic data. However, conventional FWI encounters challenges in real data applications, primarily due to its conventional objective of direct measurements of the data misfit. Accurate estimation of the source wavelet is essential for effective data fitting, alongside the need for low-frequency data and a reasonable initial model to prevent cycle skipping. Additionally, wave equation solvers often struggle to accurately simulate the amplitude of observed data in real applications. To address these challenges, we introduce a correlation-based source-independent objective function for FWI that aims to mitigate source uncertainty and amplitude dependency, which effectively enhances its practicality for real data applications. We develop a deep-learning framework constrained by this new objective function with a velocity-distribution supported deep image prior, which reparameterizes velocity inversion into trainable parameters within an autoencoder, thereby reducing the nonlinearity in the conventional FWI's objective function. We demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method using synthetic data from benchmark velocity models and, more importantly, two real datasets. These examples highlight its effectiveness and practicality even under challenging conditions, such as missing low frequencies, a crude initial velocity model, and an incorrect source wavelet.

The rapid evolution of machine learning (ML) has brought about groundbreaking developments in numerous industries, not the least of which is in the area of undersea communication. This domain is critical for applications like ocean exploration, environmental monitoring, resource management, and national security. Bangladesh, a maritime nation with abundant resources in the Bay of Bengal, can harness the immense potential of ML to tackle the unprecedented challenges associated with underwater communication. Beyond that, environmental conditions are unique to the region: in addition to signal attenuation, multipath propagation, noise interference, and limited bandwidth. In this study, we address the necessity to bring ML into communication via undersea; it investigates the latest technologies under the domain of ML in that respect, such as deep learning and reinforcement learning, especially concentrating on Bangladesh scenarios in the sense of implementation. This paper offers a contextualized regional perspective by incorporating region-specific needs, case studies, and recent research to propose a roadmap for deploying ML-driven solutions to improve safety at sea, promote sustainable resource use, and enhance disaster response systems. This research ultimately highlights the promise of ML-powered solutions for transforming undersea communication, leading to more efficient and cost-effective technologies that subsequently contribute to both economic growth and environmental sustainability.

In software engineering chatrooms, communication is often hindered by imprecise questions that cannot be answered. Recognizing key entities can be essential for improving question clarity and facilitating better exchange. However, existing research using natural language processing techniques often overlooks these software-specific nuances. In this paper, we introduce Software-specific Named Entity Recognition, Intent Detection, and Resolution Classification (SENIR), a labeling approach that leverages a Large Language Model to annotate entities, intents, and resolution status in developer chatroom conversations. To offer quantitative guidance for improving question clarity and resolvability, we build a resolution prediction model that leverages SENIR's entity and intent labels along with additional predictive features. We evaluate SENIR on the DISCO dataset using a subset of annotated chatroom dialogues. SENIR achieves an 86% F-score for entity recognition, a 71% F-score for intent detection, and an 89% F-score for resolution status classification. Furthermore, our resolution prediction model, tested with various sampling strategies (random undersampling and oversampling with SMOTE) and evaluation methods (5-fold cross-validation, 10-fold cross-validation, and bootstrapping), demonstrates AUC values ranging from 0.7 to 0.8. Key factors influencing resolution include positive sentiment and entities such as Programming Language and User Variable across multiple intents, while diagnostic entities are more relevant in error-related questions. Moreover, resolution rates vary significantly by intent: questions about API Usage and API Change achieve higher resolution rates, whereas Discrepancy and Review have lower resolution rates. A Chi-Square analysis confirms the statistical significance of these differences.

Existing contextual multi-armed bandit (MAB) algorithms fail to effectively capture both long-term trends and local patterns across all arms, leading to suboptimal performance in environments with rapidly changing reward structures. They also rely on static exploration rates, which do not dynamically adjust to changing conditions. To overcome these limitations, we propose LNUCB-TA, a hybrid bandit model integrating a novel nonlinear component (adaptive k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN)) for reducing time complexity, alongside a global-and-local attention-based exploration mechanism. Our approach uniquely combines linear and nonlinear estimation techniques, with the nonlinear module dynamically adjusting k based on reward variance to enhance spatiotemporal pattern recognition. This reduces the likelihood of selecting suboptimal arms while improving reward estimation accuracy and computational efficiency. The attention-based mechanism ranks arms by past performance and selection frequency, dynamically adjusting exploration and exploitation in real time without requiring manual tuning of exploration rates. By integrating global attention (assessing all arms collectively) and local attention (focusing on individual arms), LNUCB-TA efficiently adapts to temporal and spatial complexities. Empirical results show LNUCB-TA significantly outperforms state-of-the-art linear, nonlinear, and hybrid bandits in cumulative and mean reward, convergence, and robustness across different exploration rates. Theoretical analysis further confirms its reliability with a sub-linear regret bound.

Diffusion models optimized via variational inference (VI) have emerged as a promising tool for generating samples from unnormalized target densities. These models create samples by simulating a stochastic differential equation, starting from a simple, tractable prior, typically a Gaussian distribution. However, when the support of this prior differs greatly from that of the target distribution, diffusion models often struggle to explore effectively or suffer from large discretization errors. Moreover, learning the prior distribution can lead to mode-collapse, exacerbated by the mode-seeking nature of reverse Kullback-Leibler divergence commonly used in VI. To address these challenges, we propose end-to-end learnable Gaussian mixture priors (GMPs). GMPs offer improved control over exploration, adaptability to target support, and increased expressiveness to counteract mode collapse. We further leverage the structure of mixture models by proposing a strategy to iteratively refine the model by adding mixture components during training. Our experimental results demonstrate significant performance improvements across a diverse range of real-world and synthetic benchmark problems when using GMPs without requiring additional target evaluations.

Advanced slot and winding designs are imperative to create future high performance electrical machines (EM). As a result, the development of methods to design and improve slot filling factor (SFF) has attracted considerable research. Recent developments in manufacturing processes, such as additive manufacturing and alternative materials, has also highlighted a need for novel high-fidelity design techniques to develop high performance complex geometries and topologies. This study therefore introduces a novel physics-informed machine learning (PIML) design optimization process for improving SFF in traction electrical machines used in electric vehicles. A maximum entropy sampling algorithm (MESA) is used to seed a physics-informed Bayesian optimization (PIBO) algorithm, where the target function and its approximations are produced by Gaussian processes (GP)s. The proposed PIBO-MESA is coupled with a 2D finite element model (FEM) to perform a GP-based surrogate and provide the first demonstration of the optimal combination of complex design variables for an electrical machine. Significant computational gains were achieved using the new PIBO-MESA approach, which is 45% faster than existing stochastic methods, such as the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). The FEM results confirm that the new design optimization process and keystone shaped wires lead to a higher SFF (i.e. by 20%) and electromagnetic improvements (e.g. maximum torque by 12%) with similar resistivity. The newly developed PIBO-MESA design optimization process therefore presents significant benefits in the design of high-performance electric machines, with reduced development time and costs.

Heatwaves, intensified by climate change and rapid urbanisation, pose significant threats to urban systems, particularly in the Global South, where adaptive capacity is constrained. This study investigates the relationship between heatwaves and nighttime light (NTL) radiance, a proxy of nighttime economic activity, in four hyperdense cities: Delhi, Guangzhou, Cairo, and Sao Paulo. We hypothesised that heatwaves increase nighttime activity. Using a double machine learning (DML) framework, we analysed data from 2013 to 2019 to quantify the impact of heatwaves on NTL while controlling for local climatic confounders. Results revealed a statistically significant increase in NTL intensity during heatwaves, with Cairo, Delhi, and Guangzhou showing elevated NTL on the third day, while S\~ao Paulo exhibits a delayed response on the fourth day. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings, indicating that prolonged heat stress prompts urban populations to shift activities to night. Heterogeneous responses across cities highlight the possible influence of urban morphology and adaptive capacity to heatwave impacts. Our findings provide a foundation for policymakers to develop data-driven heat adaptation strategies, ensuring that cities remain liveable and economically resilient in an increasingly warming world.

Large Language Models (LLMs) exhibit remarkable capabilities in the hierarchical decomposition of complex tasks through semantic reasoning. However, their application in embodied systems faces challenges in ensuring reliable execution of subtask sequences and achieving one-shot success in long-term task completion. To address these limitations in dynamic environments, we propose Closed-Loop Embodied Agent (CLEA) -- a novel architecture incorporating four specialized open-source LLMs with functional decoupling for closed-loop task management. The framework features two core innovations: (1) Interactive task planner that dynamically generates executable subtasks based on the environmental memory, and (2) Multimodal execution critic employing an evaluation framework to conduct a probabilistic assessment of action feasibility, triggering hierarchical re-planning mechanisms when environmental perturbations exceed preset thresholds. To validate CLEA's effectiveness, we conduct experiments in a real environment with manipulable objects, using two heterogeneous robots for object search, manipulation, and search-manipulation integration tasks. Across 12 task trials, CLEA outperforms the baseline model, achieving a 67.3% improvement in success rate and a 52.8% increase in task completion rate. These results demonstrate that CLEA significantly enhances the robustness of task planning and execution in dynamic environments.

This study presents an innovative offset-trimmed helicoids (OTH) structure, featuring a tunable deformation center that emulates the flexibility of human fingers. This design significantly reduces the actuation force needed for larger elastic deformations, particularly when dealing with harder materials like thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The incorporation of two helically routed tendons within the finger enables both in-plane bending and lateral out-of-plane transitions, effectively expanding its workspace and allowing for variable curvature along its length. Compliance analysis indicates that the compliance at the fingertip can be fine-tuned by adjusting the mounting placement of the fingers. This customization enhances the gripper's adaptability to a diverse range of objects. By leveraging TPU's substantial elastic energy storage capacity, the gripper is capable of dynamically rotating objects at high speeds, achieving approximately 60 in just 15 milliseconds. The three-finger gripper, with its high dexterity across six degrees of freedom, has demonstrated the capability to successfully perform intricate tasks. One such example is the adept spinning of a rod within the gripper's grasp.

The modern power grids are integrated with digital technologies and automation systems. The inclusion of digital technologies has made the smart grids vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Cyberattacks on smart grids can compromise data integrity and jeopardize the reliability of the power supply. Traditional intrusion detection systems often need help to effectively detect novel and sophisticated attacks due to their reliance on labeled training data, which may only encompass part of the spectrum of potential threats. This work proposes a semi-supervised method for cyber-attack detection in smart grids by leveraging the labeled and unlabeled measurement data. We implement consistency regularization and pseudo-labeling to identify deviations from expected behavior and predict the attack classes. We use a curriculum learning approach to improve pseudo-labeling performance, capturing the model uncertainty. We demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method in detecting different types of cyberattacks, minimizing the false positives by implementing them on publicly available datasets. The method proposes a promising solution by improving the detection accuracy to 99% in the presence of unknown samples and significantly reducing false positives.