Subgroup discovery is a descriptive and exploratory data mining technique to identify subgroups in a population that exhibit interesting behavior with respect to a variable of interest. Subgroup discovery has numerous applications in knowledge discovery and hypothesis generation, yet it remains inapplicable for unstructured, high-dimensional data such as images. This is because subgroup discovery algorithms rely on defining descriptive rules based on (attribute, value) pairs, however, in unstructured data, an attribute is not well defined. Even in cases where the notion of attribute intuitively exists in the data, such as a pixel in an image, due to the high dimensionality of the data, these attributes are not informative enough to be used in a rule. In this paper, we introduce the subgroup-aware variational autoencoder, a novel variational autoencoder that learns a representation of unstructured data which leads to subgroups with higher quality. Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method at learning subgroups with high quality while supporting the interpretability of the concepts.

The model selection procedure is usually a single-criterion decision making in which we select the model that maximizes a specific metric in a specific set, such as the Validation set performance. We claim this is very naive and can perform poor selections of over-fitted models due to the over-searching phenomenon, which over-estimates the performance on that specific set. Futhermore, real world data contains noise that should not be ignored by the model selection procedure and must be taken into account when performing model selection. Also, we have defined four theoretical optimality conditions that we can pursue to better select the models and analyze them by using a multi-criteria decision-making algorithm (TOPSIS) that considers proxies to the optimality conditions to select reasonable models.

The origin of life is shrouded in mystery, with few surviving clues, obscured by evolutionary competition. Previous reviews have touched on the complementary approaches of top-down and bottom-up synthetic biology to augment our understanding of living systems. Here we point out the synergies between these fields, especially between bottom-up synthetic biology and origin of life research. We explore recent progress made in artificial cell compartmentation in line with the crowded cell, its metabolism, as well as cycles of growth and division, and how those efforts are starting to be combined. Though the complexity of current life is among its most striking characteristics, none of life's essential features require it, and they are unlikely to have emerged thus complex from the beginning. Rather than recovering the one true origin lost in time, current research converges towards reproducing the emergence of minimal life, by teasing out how complexity and evolution may arise from a set of essential components.

GUDAI-DARRI, Australia--In this remote corner of western Australia, surrounded by clusters of low-lying scrub and red rocky outcrop, the world's second-biggest mining company has built its most technologically advanced mine. For Rio Tinto finding the workers to run the new high-tech operation is a challenge.

Plastic waste is being discovered in increasingly remote locations around the world, from fresh Antarctic snow to the mountain air above the Pyrenees. According to the World Economic Forum, between 75 and 199 million tons of plastic are currently in our oceans. This ranges from large floating debris to microplastics, which form as the bigger pieces of waste break down. As a result, scientists and engineers are working hard to find new solutions to the global problem of plastic pollution. These include aquatic drones that can be programmed to scoop up floating debris from the surface of rivers, and buggies that use artificial intelligence (AI) to search for and pick up litter for use on beaches.

Want to join a company where doing good is what we do? The right data can make that happen. As a member of the Enterprise Data Solutions team, you'll have the opportunity to work with data assets and data professionals across the entire organization to improve efficiencies, increase profitability and better manage risk. You'll also perform analysis and develop data solutions to help solve real business problems rather than shortsighted quick fixes. Partnering with your teammates to understand project requirements and user insights, you'll continually focus on supporting Amica's strategic plan to create peace of mind and build enduring relationships.

Inspired by fireflies, MIT researchers have created soft actuators that can emit light in different colors or patterns. Fireflies that light up dusky backyards on warm summer evenings use their luminescence for communication -- to attract a mate, ward off predators, or lure prey. These glimmering bugs also sparked the inspiration of scientists at MIT. Taking a cue from nature, they built electroluminescent soft artificial muscles for flying, insect-scale robots. The tiny artificial muscles that control the robots' wings emit colored light during flight. This electroluminescence could enable the robots to communicate with each other.

As the global population has expanded over time, agricultural modernisation has been humanity's prevailing approach to staving off famine. A variety of mechanical and chemical innovations delivered during the 1950s and 1960s represented the third agricultural revolution. The adoption of pesticides, fertilisers and high-yield crop breeds, among other measures, transformed agriculture and ensured a secure food supply for many millions of people over several decades. Concurrently, modern agriculture has emerged as a culprit of global warming, responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, namely carbon dioxide and methane. Meanwhile, inflation on the price of food is reaching an all-time high, while malnutrition is rising dramatically.

Isolation of spacecraft microvibrations is essential for the successful deployment of instruments relying on high-precision pointing. Hexapod platforms represent a promising solution, but the difficulties associated with attaining desirable 3D dynamics within acceptable mass and complexity budgets have led to a minimal practical adoption. This paper addresses the influence of strut boundary conditions (BCs) on system-level mechanical disturbance suppression. Inherent limitations of the traditional all-rotational joint configuration are highlighted and shown to originate in link mass and rotational inertia. A pin-slider BC alternative is proposed and analytically proven to alleviate them in both 2D and 3D. The advantages of the new BC hold for arbitrary parallel manipulators and are demonstrated for several hexapod geometries through numerical tests. A configuration with favourable performance is suggested. Finally, a novel planar joint that allows the physical realisation of the proposed BC is described and validated. Consequently, this work enables the development of platforms for microvibration attenuation that do not require active control.

Integrity and trust are at the heart of humanity and allow for peaceful nations, bonds and trust between multiple parties. However, when that integrity is played with, many become overprotective, people cannot enjoy the common object and once trustful systems are tampered with, connections between communities are disrupted. On a global scale, counterfeit goods are where this integrity is played with the most. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals cause the deaths of millions in developing nations2, counterfeit batteries pose risks to everyday items bursting at any moment and overall, these goods cost the global market over one trillion dollars. Current solutions can easily be reverse-engineered and as the counterfeit epidemic surges, the world needs a solution to make counterfeit goods impossible. The integration of nanotags and harnessing the randomness and uniqueness of quantum dots allow for unclonable tags on each product. These tags are verified by the end-user through a deep learning algorithm. The tags are unclonable by any quantum computer let alone any attacker, ensuring the security of millions of lives and billions of dollars. The global market of counterfeit goods is currently $1.8 trillion and this number is only increasing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a greater urgency for counterfeiting occurred as the global demand for medical supplies continued to increase (2). Not only does counterfeiting cost the global economy trillions of dollars, but it also results in fake pharmaceutical pills, costing millions of lives (2). To add on, 500 identity frauds happen on a daily basis, showcasing how counterfeit goods are reaching an epidemic level (10). In 2015, 10% of all luxury goods in Europe were counterfeit, and the number continues to increase (10).