Noise and outlier removal from jet engine health signals using weighted FIR median hybrid filters

The removal of noise and outliers from measurement signals is a major problem in jet engine health monitoring. Topical measurement signals found in most jet engines include low rotor speed, high rotor speed. fuel flow and exhaust gas temperature. Deviations in these measurements from a baseline 'good' engine are often called measurement deltas and the health signals used for fault detection, isolation, trending and data mining. Linear filters such as the FIR moving average filter and IIR exponential average filter are used in the industry to remove noise and outliers from the jet engine measurement deltas. However, the use of linear filters can lead to loss of critical features in the signal that can contain information about maintenance and repair events that could be used by fault isolation algorithms to determine engine condition or by data mining algorithms to learn valuable patterns in the data, Non-linear filters such as the median and weighted median hybrid filters offer the opportunity to remove noise and gross outliers from signals while preserving features. In this study. a comparison of traditional linear filters popular in the jet engine industry is made with the median filter and the subfilter weighted FIR median hybrid (SWFMH) filter. Results using simulated data with implanted faults shows that the SWFMH filter results in a noise reduction of over 60 per cent compared to only 20 per cent for FIR filters and 30 per cent for IIR filters. Preprocessing jet engine health signals using the SWFMH filter would greatly improve the accuracy of diagnostic systems. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Unsupervised feature selection for outlier detection in categorical data using mutual information

Outlier detection in high dimensional categorical data has been a problem of much interest due to the extensive use of qualitative features for describing the data across various application areas. Though there exist various established methods for dealing with the dimensionality aspect through feature selection on numerical data, the categorical domain is actively being explored. As outlier detection is generally considered as an unsupervised learning problem due to lack of knowledge about the nature of various types of outliers, the related feature selection task also needs to be handled in a similar manner. This motivates the need to develop an unsupervised feature selection algorithm for efficient detection of outliers in categorical data. Addressing this aspect, we propose a novel feature selection algorithm based on the mutual information measure and the entropy computation. The redundancy among the features is characterized using the mutual information measure for identifying a suitable feature subset with less redundancy. The performance of the proposed algorithm in comparison with the information gain based feature selection shows its effectiveness for outlier detection. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated on various high-dimensional benchmark data sets employing two existing outlier detection methods.

Structural damage diagnosis of steel truss bridges by outlier detection

This study discusses structural damage diagnosis of real steel truss bridges by measuring trafficinduced vibration of bridges and utilizing a damage indicator derived from linear system parameters of a time series model. On-site damage experiments were carried out on real steel truss bridges. Artificial damage was applied to the bridge by severing a truss member with a cutting machine.Vehicle-induced vibrations of the bridges before and after applying damagewere measured and used in structural damage diagnosis of the bridges. Changes in the damage indicator are detected by Mahalanobis-Taguchi system (MTS) which is one of multivariate outlier analyses. The damage indicator and outlier detection was successfully applied to detect anomalies in the steel truss bridges utilizing vehicle-induced vibrations. Observations through this study demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach for real world applications.

Data Cleaning and Outlier Removal: Application in Human Skin Detection

An outlier removal based data cleaning technique is proposed to
clean manually pre-segmented human skin data in colour images.
The 3-dimensional colour data is projected onto three 2-dimensional
planes, from which outliers are removed. The cleaned 2 dimensional
data projections are merged to yield a 3D clean RGB data. This data
is finally used to build a look up table and a single Gaussian classifier
for the purpose of human skin detection in colour images.

Outlier SNP markers reveal fine-scale genetic structuring across European hake populations (Merluccius merluccius)

Shallow population structure is generally reported for most marine fish and explained as a consequence of high dispersal, connectivity and large population size. Targeted gene analyses and more recently genome-wide studies have challenged such view, suggesting that adaptive divergence might occur even when neutral markers provide genetic homogeneity across populations. Here, 381 SNPs located in transcribed regions were used to assess large- and fine-scale population structure in the European hake (Merluccius merluccius), a widely distributed demersal species of high priority for the European fishery. Analysis of 850 individuals from 19 locations across the entire distribution range showed evidence for several outlier loci, with significantly higher resolving power. While 299 putatively neutral SNPs confirmed the genetic break between basins (F(CT) = 0.016) and weak differentiation within basins, outlier loci revealed a dramatic divergence between Atlantic and Mediterranean populations (F(CT) range 0.275-0.705) and fine-scale significant population structure. Outlier loci separated North Sea and Northern Portugal populations from all other Atlantic samples and revealed a strong differentiation among Western, Central and Eastern Mediterranean geographical samples. Significant correlation of allele frequencies at outlier loci with seawater surface temperature and salinity supported the hypothesis that populations might be adapted to local conditions. Such evidence highlights the importance of integrating information from neutral and adaptive evolutionary patterns towards a better assessment of genetic diversity. Accordingly, the generated outlier SNP data could be used for tackling illegal practices in hake fishing and commercialization as well as to develop explicit spatial models for defining management units and stock boundaries.

Outlier Loci Detect Intraspecific Biodiversity amongst Spring and Autumn Spawning Herring across Local Scales

Herring, Clupea harengus, is one of the ecologically and commercially most important species in European northern seas, where two distinct ecotypes have been described based on spawning time; spring and autumn. To date, it is unknown if these spring and autumn spawning herring constitute genetically distinct units. We assessed levels of genetic divergence between spring and autumn spawning herring in the Baltic Sea using two types of DNA markers, microsatellites and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, and compared the results with data for autumn spawning North Sea herring. Temporally replicated analyses reveal clear genetic differences between ecotypes and hence support reproductive isolation. Loci showing non-neutral behaviour, so-called outlier loci, show convergence between autumn spawning herring from demographically disjoint populations, potentially reflecting selective processes associated with autumn spawning ecotypes. The abundance and
exploitation of the two ecotypes have varied strongly over space and time in the Baltic Sea, where autumn spawners have faced strong depression for decades. The results therefore have practical implications by highlighting the need for specific management of these co-occurring ecotypes to meet requirements for sustainable exploitation and ensure optimal livelihood for coastal communities.

Detection of frailty in Weibull lifetime data using Outlier tests

Heterogeneity in lifetime data may be modelled by multiplying an individual's hazard by an unobserved frailty. We test for the presence of frailty of this kind in univariate and bivariate data with Weibull distributed lifetimes, using statistics based on the ordered Cox-Snell residuals from the null model of no frailty. The form of the statistics is suggested by outlier testing in the gamma distribution. We find through simulation that the sum of the k largest or k smallest order statistics, for suitably chosen k , provides a powerful test when the frailty distribution is assumed to be gamma or positive stable, respectively. We provide recommended values of k for sample sizes up to 100 and simple formulae for estimated critical values for tests at the 5% level.

Combined bias and outlier identification in dynamic data reconciliation

Measured process data normally contain inaccuracies because the measurements are obtained using imperfect instruments. As well as random errors one can expect systematic bias caused by miscalibrated instruments or outliers caused by process peaks such as sudden power fluctuations. Data reconciliation is the adjustment of a set of process data based on a model of the process so that the derived estimates conform to natural laws. In this paper, techniques for the detection and identification of both systematic bias and outliers in dynamic process data are presented. A novel technique for the detection and identification of systematic bias is formulated and presented. The problem of detection, identification and elimination of outliers is also treated using a modified version of a previously available clustering technique. These techniques are also combined to provide a global dynamic data reconciliation (DDR) strategy. The algorithms presented are tested in isolation and in combination using dynamic simulations of two continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR).

Legal outlier, again? U.S. felon suffrage: comparative and international human rights perspectives

The judiciousness of American felon suffrage policies has long been the subject of scholarly debate, not least due to the large number of affected Americans: an estimated 5.3 million citizens are ineligible to vote as a result of a criminal conviction. This article offers comparative law and international human rights perspectives and aims to make two main contributions to the American and global discourse. After an introduction in Part I, Part II offers comparative law perspectives on challenges to disenfranchisement legislation, juxtaposing U.S. case law against recent judgments rendered by courts in Canada, South Africa, Australia, and by the European Court of Human Rights. The article submits that owing to its unique constitutional stipulations, as well as to a general reluctance to engage foreign legal sources, U.S. jurisprudence lags behind an emerging global jurisprudential trend that increasingly views convicts’ disenfranchisement as a suspect practice and subjects it to judicial review. This transnational judicial discourse follows a democratic paradigm and adopts a “residual liberty” approach to criminal justice that considers convicts to be rights-holders. The discourse rejects regulatory justifications for convicts’ disenfranchisement, and instead sees disenfranchisement as a penal measure. In order to determine its suitability as a punishment, the adverse effects of disenfranchisement are weighed against its purported social benefits, using balancing or proportionality review. Part III analyzes the international human rights treaty regime. It assesses, in particular, Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), which proclaims that “every citizen” has a right to vote without “unreasonable restrictions.” The analysis concludes that the phrase “unreasonable restrictions” is generally interpreted in a manner which tolerates certain forms of disenfranchisement, whereas other forms (such as life disenfranchisement) may be incompatible with treaty obligations. This article submits that disenfranchisement is a normatively flawed punishment. It fails to treat convicts as politically-equal community members, degrades them, and causes them grave harms both as individuals and as members of social groups. These adverse effects outweigh the purported social benefits of disenfranchisement. Furthermore, as a core component of the right to vote, voter eligibility should cease to be subjected to balancing or proportionality review. The presumed facilitative nature of the right to vote makes suffrage less susceptible to deference-based objections regarding the judicial review of legislation, as well as to cultural relativity objections to further the international standardization of human rights obligations. In view of this, this article proposes the adoption of a new optional protocol to the ICCPR proscribing convicts’ disenfranchisement. The article draws analogies between the proposed protocol and the ICCPR’s “Optional Protocol Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty.” If adopted, the proposed protocol would strengthen the current trajectory towards expanding convicts’ suffrage that emanates from the invigorated transnational judicial discourse.

Entrepreneurship and economic growth : why is New Zealand an outlier? A preliminary analysis

The literature indicates that entrepreneurship and economic growth are closely and positively associated. For four years running, New Zealand has had the developed world’s highest rate of “Total Entry-Level Entrepreneurial Activity” (Acs et al. 2005; Frederick et al. 2004; Reynolds et al., 2004), yet it has slid to the lower ranks in the OECD in measures of economic development. At its level of entrepreneurial activity, New Zealand should have a higher level of economic development if it were to emulate other countries.

We make use of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data set, including nascent entrepreneurship rates for 45 countries over the 2000-2004 period as well as variables from standardised national statistics.

The paper uses two approaches. This research first finds evidence for “U-shaped curve” associating entrepreneurship with economic growth. It notes that New Zealand has the greatest deviation from this association compared to other developed countries with similar entrepreneurial rates (e.g. United States, Australia and Iceland). The second approach looks at nascent entrepreneurship as a function of non-economic conditions such as technology, demography, culture and institutions.

This short paper develops the hypotheses and carries out the “U-shaped curve” test. For the time being it leaves the factor analysis of non-economic conditions for another opportunity.

The outlier phenomenon in entrepreneurship and economic growth : mollycoddling policies create New Zealand’s perfect storm

Analyzing GEM 2005 data, we confirm that entrepreneurship and economic development form a U-shaped curve. We seek to understand New Zealand’s large deviation from the modeled curve by factor-analyzing all countries’ deviations from the curve. We make recommendations that would move New Zealand toward the trend line and thus aid in increasing its level of economic development. Our findings indicate that measures that overprotect workers, spoil incentives, or indulge welfare passivity can stymie economic growth even in conditions of high entrepreneurial activity.

Bayesian outlier analysis in binary regression

We propose alternative approaches to analyze residuals in binary regression models based on random effect components. Our preferred model does not depend upon any tuning parameter, being completely automatic. Although the focus is mainly on accommodation of outliers, the proposed methodology is also able to detect them. Our approach consists of evaluating the posterior distribution of random effects included in the linear predictor. The evaluation of the posterior distributions of interest involves cumbersome integration, which is easily dealt with through stochastic simulation methods. We also discuss different specifications of prior distributions for the random effects. The potential of these strategies is compared in a real data set. The main finding is that the inclusion of extra variability accommodates the outliers, improving the adjustment of the model substantially, besides correctly indicating the possible outliers.