Publications | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

2015

mms Helmstedt, A., Dohmeier, N., Müller, N., Gryzia, A., Brechling, A., Heinzmann, U., Hoeke, V., Krickemeyer, E., Glaser, T., Leicht, P., Fonin, M., Tietze, T., Joly, L., Kuepper, K. Probing the magnetic moments of [MnIII6CrIII]3+ single-molecule magnets - A cross comparison of XMCD and spin-resolved electron spectroscopy {Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena}, 198, pages: 12-19, Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, 2015 (article)

2013

Branch&Rank for Efficient Object Detection

Lehmann, A., Gehler, P., VanGool, L.

International Journal of Computer Vision, Springer, December 2013 (article)

Abstract

Ranking hypothesis sets is a powerful concept for efficient object detection. In this work, we propose a branch&rank scheme that detects objects with often less than 100 ranking operations. This efficiency enables the use of strong and also costly classifiers like non-linear SVMs with RBF-TeX kernels. We thereby relieve an inherent limitation of branch&bound methods as bounds are often not tight enough to be effective in practice. Our approach features three key components: a ranking function that operates on sets of hypotheses and a grouping of these into different tasks. Detection efficiency results from adaptively sub-dividing the object search space into decreasingly smaller sets. This is inherited from branch&bound, while the ranking function supersedes a tight bound which is often unavailable (except for rather limited function classes). The grouping makes the system effective: it separates image classification from object recognition, yet combines them in a single formulation, phrased as a structured SVM problem. A novel aspect of branch&rank is that a better ranking function is expected to decrease the number of classifier calls during detection. We use the VOC’07 dataset to demonstrate the algorithmic properties of branch&rank.

pdf link (url) [BibTex]

2013

ps Lehmann, A., Gehler, P., VanGool, L. Branch&Rank for Efficient Object Detection International Journal of Computer Vision, Springer, December 2013 (article)

pdf link (url) [BibTex]

Extracting Postural Synergies for Robotic Grasping

Romero, J., Feix, T., Ek, C., Kjellstrom, H., Kragic, D.

Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 29(6):1342-1352, December 2013 (article)

ps Romero, J., Feix, T., Ek, C., Kjellstrom, H., Kragic, D. Extracting Postural Synergies for Robotic Grasping Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 29(6):1342-1352, December 2013 (article)

Publishers site pdf [BibTex]

Markov Random Field Modeling, Inference & Learning in Computer Vision & Image Understanding: A Survey

Wang, C., Komodakis, N., Paragios, N.

Computer Vision and Image Understanding (CVIU), 117(11):1610-1627, November 2013 (article)

Abstract

In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of Markov Random Fields (MRFs) in computer vision and image understanding, with respect to the modeling, the inference and the learning. While MRFs were introduced into the computer vision field about two decades ago, they started to become a ubiquitous tool for solving visual perception problems around the turn of the millennium following the emergence of efficient inference methods. During the past decade, a variety of MRF models as well as inference and learning methods have been developed for addressing numerous low, mid and high-level vision problems. While most of the literature concerns pairwise MRFs, in recent years we have also witnessed significant progress in higher-order MRFs, which substantially enhances the expressiveness of graph-based models and expands the domain of solvable problems. This survey provides a compact and informative summary of the major literature in this research topic.

ps Wang, C., Komodakis, N., Paragios, N. Markov Random Field Modeling, Inference & Learning in Computer Vision & Image Understanding: A Survey Computer Vision and Image Understanding (CVIU), 117(11):1610-1627, November 2013 (article)

Publishers site pdf [BibTex]

3-D Object Reconstruction of Symmetric Objects by Fusing Visual and Tactile Sensing

Illonen, J., Bohg, J., Kyrki, V.

The International Journal of Robotics Research, 33(2):321-341, Sage, October 2013 (article)

Abstract

In this work, we propose to reconstruct a complete 3-D model of an unknown object by fusion of visual and tactile information while the object is grasped. Assuming the object is symmetric, a first hypothesis of its complete 3-D shape is generated. A grasp is executed on the object with a robotic manipulator equipped with tactile sensors. Given the detected contacts between the fingers and the object, the initial full object model including the symmetry parameters can be refined. This refined model will then allow the planning of more complex manipulation tasks. The main contribution of this work is an optimal estimation approach for the fusion of visual and tactile data applying the constraint of object symmetry. The fusion is formulated as a state estimation problem and solved with an iterative extended Kalman filter. The approach is validated experimentally using both artificial and real data from two different robotic platforms.

Web DOI Project Page [BibTex]

am Illonen, J., Bohg, J., Kyrki, V. 3-D Object Reconstruction of Symmetric Objects by Fusing Visual and Tactile Sensing The International Journal of Robotics Research, 33(2):321-341, Sage, October 2013 (article)

Web DOI Project Page [BibTex]

Vision meets Robotics: The KITTI Dataset

Geiger, A., Lenz, P., Stiller, C., Urtasun, R.

International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(11):1231 - 1237 , Sage Publishing, September 2013 (article)

Abstract

We present a novel dataset captured from a VW station wagon for use in mobile robotics and autonomous driving research. In total, we recorded 6 hours of traffic scenarios at 10-100 Hz using a variety of sensor modalities such as high-resolution color and grayscale stereo cameras, a Velodyne 3D laser scanner and a high-precision GPS/IMU inertial navigation system. The scenarios are diverse, capturing real-world traffic situations and range from freeways over rural areas to inner-city scenes with many static and dynamic objects. Our data is calibrated, synchronized and timestamped, and we provide the rectified and raw image sequences. Our dataset also contains object labels in the form of 3D tracklets and we provide online benchmarks for stereo, optical flow, object detection and other tasks. This paper describes our recording platform, the data format and the utilities that we provide.

avg ps

pdf DOI [BibTex]

avg ps Geiger, A., Lenz, P., Stiller, C., Urtasun, R. Vision meets Robotics: The KITTI Dataset International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(11):1231 - 1237 , Sage Publishing, September 2013 (article)

pdf DOI [BibTex]

Human Pose Calculation from Optical Flow Data

Black, M., Loper, M., Romero, J., Zuffi, S.

European Patent Application EP 2843621 , August 2013 (patent)

Google Patents [BibTex]

ps Black, M., Loper, M., Romero, J., Zuffi, S. Human Pose Calculation from Optical Flow Data European Patent Application EP 2843621 , August 2013 (patent)

Google Patents [BibTex]

Studying large-scale brain networks: electrical stimulation and neural-event-triggered fMRI

Logothetis, N., Eschenko, O., Murayama, Y., Augath, M., Steudel, T., Evrard, H., Besserve, M., Oeltermann, A.

Twenty-Second Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2013), July 2013, journal = {BMC Neuroscience}, year = {2013}, month = {7}, volume = {14}, number = {Supplement 1}, pages = {A1}, (talk)

ei Logothetis, N., Eschenko, O., Murayama, Y., Augath, M., Steudel, T., Evrard, H., Besserve, M., Oeltermann, A. Studying large-scale brain networks: electrical stimulation and neural-event-triggered fMRI Twenty-Second Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2013), July 2013, journal = {BMC Neuroscience}, year = {2013}, month = {7}, volume = {14}, number = {Supplement 1}, pages = {A1}, (talk)

Correlation of Simultaneously Acquired Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and 2-Deoxy-[18F] fluoro-2-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography of Pulmonary Lesions in a Dedicated Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance/Positron Emission Tomography System

Schmidt, H., Brendle, C., Schraml, C., Martirosian, P., Bezrukov, I., Hetzel, J., Müller, M., Sauter, A., Claussen, C., Pfannenberg, C., Schwenzer, N.

Investigative Radiology, 48(5):247-255, May 2013 (article)

ei Schmidt, H., Brendle, C., Schraml, C., Martirosian, P., Bezrukov, I., Hetzel, J., Müller, M., Sauter, A., Claussen, C., Pfannenberg, C., Schwenzer, N. Correlation of Simultaneously Acquired Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and 2-Deoxy-[18F] fluoro-2-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography of Pulmonary Lesions in a Dedicated Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance/Positron Emission Tomography System Investigative Radiology, 48(5):247-255, May 2013 (article)

Replacing Causal Faithfulness with Algorithmic Independence of Conditionals

Lemeire, J., Janzing, D.

Minds and Machines, 23(2):227-249, May 2013 (article)

Abstract

Independence of Conditionals (IC) has recently been proposed as a basic rule for causal structure learning. If a Bayesian network represents the causal structure, its Conditional Probability Distributions (CPDs) should be algorithmically independent. In this paper we compare IC with causal faithfulness (FF), stating that only those conditional independences that are implied by the causal Markov condition hold true. The latter is a basic postulate in common approaches to causal structure learning. The common spirit of FF and IC is to reject causal graphs for which the joint distribution looks ‘non-generic’. The difference lies in the notion of genericity: FF sometimes rejects models just because one of the CPDs is simple, for instance if the CPD describes a deterministic relation. IC does not behave in this undesirable way. It only rejects a model when there is a non-generic relation between different CPDs although each CPD looks generic when considered separately. Moreover, it detects relations between CPDs that cannot be captured by conditional independences. IC therefore helps in distinguishing causal graphs that induce the same conditional independences (i.e., they belong to the same Markov equivalence class). The usual justification for FF implicitly assumes a prior that is a probability density on the parameter space. IC can be justified by Solomonoff’s universal prior, assigning non-zero probability to those points in parameter space that have a finite description. In this way, it favours simple CPDs, and therefore respects Occam’s razor. Since Kolmogorov complexity is uncomputable, IC is not directly applicable in practice. We argue that it is nevertheless helpful, since it has already served as inspiration and justification for novel causal inference algorithms.

ei Lemeire, J., Janzing, D. Replacing Causal Faithfulness with Algorithmic Independence of Conditionals Minds and Machines, 23(2):227-249, May 2013 (article)

Publishers site PDF [BibTex]

Unscented Kalman Filtering on Riemannian Manifolds

Soren Hauberg, Francois Lauze, Kim S. Pedersen

Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision, 46(1):103-120, Springer Netherlands, May 2013 (article)

ps Soren Hauberg, Francois Lauze, Kim S. Pedersen Unscented Kalman Filtering on Riemannian Manifolds Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision, 46(1):103-120, Springer Netherlands, May 2013 (article)

Publishers site PDF [BibTex]

What can neurons do for their brain? Communicate selectivity with bursts

Balduzzi, D., Tononi, G.

Theory in Biosciences , 132(1):27-39, Springer, March 2013 (article)

Abstract

Neurons deep in cortex interact with the environment extremely indirectly; the spikes they receive and produce are pre- and post-processed by millions of other neurons. This paper proposes two information-theoretic constraints guiding the production of spikes, that help ensure bursting activity deep in cortex relates meaningfully to events in the environment. First, neurons should emphasize selective responses with bursts. Second, neurons should propagate selective inputs by burst-firing in response to them. We show the constraints are necessary for bursts to dominate information-transfer within cortex, thereby providing a substrate allowing neurons to distribute credit amongst themselves. Finally, since synaptic plasticity degrades the ability of neurons to burst selectively, we argue that homeostatic regulation of synaptic weights is necessary, and that it is best performed offline during sleep.

ei Balduzzi, D., Tononi, G. What can neurons do for their brain? Communicate selectivity with bursts Theory in Biosciences , 132(1):27-39, Springer, March 2013 (article)

Apprenticeship Learning with Few Examples

Boularias, A., Chaib-draa, B.

Neurocomputing, 104, pages: 83-96, March 2013 (article)

Abstract

We consider the problem of imitation learning when the examples, provided by an expert human, are scarce. Apprenticeship learning via inverse reinforcement learning provides an efficient tool for generalizing the examples, based on the assumption that the expert's policy maximizes a value function, which is a linear combination of state and action features. Most apprenticeship learning algorithms use only simple empirical averages of the features in the demonstrations as a statistics of the expert's policy. However, this method is efficient only when the number of examples is sufficiently large to cover most of the states, or the dynamics of the system is nearly deterministic. In this paper, we show that the quality of the learned policies is sensitive to the error in estimating the averages of the features when the dynamics of the system is stochastic. To reduce this error, we introduce two new approaches for bootstrapping the demonstrations by assuming that the expert is near-optimal and the dynamics of the system is known. In the first approach, the expert's examples are used to learn a reward function and to generate furthermore examples from the corresponding optimal policy. The second approach uses a transfer technique, known as graph homomorphism, in order to generalize the expert's actions to unvisited regions of the state space. Empirical results on simulated robot navigation problems show that our approach is able to learn sufficiently good policies from a significantly small number of examples.

ei Boularias, A., Chaib-draa, B. Apprenticeship Learning with Few Examples Neurocomputing, 104, pages: 83-96, March 2013 (article)

website+code pdf link (url) [BibTex]

Quasi-Newton Methods: A New Direction

Hennig, P., Kiefel, M.

Journal of Machine Learning Research, 14(1):843-865, March 2013 (article)

Abstract

Four decades after their invention, quasi-Newton methods are still state of the art in unconstrained numerical optimization. Although not usually interpreted thus, these are learning algorithms that fit a local quadratic approximation to the objective function. We show that many, including the most popular, quasi-Newton methods can be interpreted as approximations of Bayesian linear regression under varying prior assumptions. This new notion elucidates some shortcomings of classical algorithms, and lights the way to a novel nonparametric quasi-Newton method, which is able to make more efficient use of available information at computational cost similar to its predecessors.

ei ps pn

ei ps pn Hennig, P., Kiefel, M. Quasi-Newton Methods: A New Direction Journal of Machine Learning Research, 14(1):843-865, March 2013 (article)

website+code pdf link (url) [BibTex]

Regional effects of magnetization dispersion on quantitative perfusion imaging for pulsed and continuous arterial spin labeling

Cavusoglu, M., Pohmann, R., Burger, H. C., Uludag, K.

Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 69(2):524-530, Febuary 2013 (article)

Abstract

Most experiments assume a global transit delay time with blood flowing from the tagging region to the imaging slice in plug flow without any dispersion of the magnetization. However, because of cardiac pulsation, nonuniform cross-sectional flow profile, and complex vessel networks, the transit delay time is not a single value but follows a distribution. In this study, we explored the regional effects of magnetization dispersion on quantitative perfusion imaging for varying transit times within a very large interval from the direct comparison of pulsed, pseudo-continuous, and dual-coil continuous arterial spin labeling encoding schemes. Longer distances between tagging and imaging region typically used for continuous tagging schemes enhance the regional bias on the quantitative cerebral blood flow measurement causing an underestimation up to 37% when plug flow is assumed as in the standard model.

ei Cavusoglu, M., Pohmann, R., Burger, H. C., Uludag, K. Regional effects of magnetization dispersion on quantitative perfusion imaging for pulsed and continuous arterial spin labeling Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 69(2):524-530, Febuary 2013 (article)

The multivariate Watson distribution: Maximum-likelihood estimation and other aspects

Sra, S., Karp, D.

Journal of Multivariate Analysis, 114, pages: 256-269, February 2013 (article)

Abstract

This paper studies fundamental aspects of modelling data using multivariate Watson distributions. Although these distributions are natural for modelling axially symmetric data (i.e., unit vectors where View the MathML source are equivalent), for high-dimensions using them can be difficult—largely because for Watson distributions even basic tasks such as maximum-likelihood are numerically challenging. To tackle the numerical difficulties some approximations have been derived. But these are either grossly inaccurate in high-dimensions [K.V. Mardia, P. Jupp, Directional Statistics, second ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2000] or when reasonably accurate [A. Bijral, M. Breitenbach, G.Z. Grudic, Mixture of Watson distributions: a generative model for hyperspherical embeddings, in: Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, AISTATS 2007, 2007, pp. 35–42], they lack theoretical justification. We derive new approximations to the maximum-likelihood estimates; our approximations are theoretically well-defined, numerically accurate, and easy to compute. We build on our parameter estimation and discuss mixture-modelling with Watson distributions; here we uncover a hitherto unknown connection to the “diametrical clustering” algorithm of Dhillon et al. [I.S. Dhillon, E.M. Marcotte, U. Roshan, Diametrical clustering for identifying anticorrelated gene clusters, Bioinformatics 19 (13) (2003) 1612–1619].

ei Sra, S., Karp, D. The multivariate Watson distribution: Maximum-likelihood estimation and other aspects Journal of Multivariate Analysis, 114, pages: 256-269, February 2013 (article)

How the result of graph clustering methods depends on the construction of the graph

Maier, M., von Luxburg, U., Hein, M.

ESAIM: Probability & Statistics, 17, pages: 370-418, January 2013 (article)

Abstract

We study the scenario of graph-based clustering algorithms such as spectral clustering. Given a set of data points, one rst has to construct a graph on the data points and then apply a graph clustering algorithm to nd a suitable partition of the graph. Our main question is if and how the construction of the graph (choice of the graph, choice of parameters, choice of weights) in uences the outcome of the nal clustering result. To this end we study the convergence of cluster quality measures such as the normalized cut or the Cheeger cut on various kinds of random geometric graphs as the sample size tends to innity. It turns out that the limit values of the same objective function are systematically dierent on dierent types of graphs. This implies that clustering results systematically depend on the graph and can be very dierent for dierent types of graph. We provide examples to illustrate the implications on spectral clustering.

ei Maier, M., von Luxburg, U., Hein, M. How the result of graph clustering methods depends on the construction of the graph ESAIM: Probability & Statistics, 17, pages: 370-418, January 2013 (article)

Explicit eigenvalues of certain scaled trigonometric matrices

Sra, S.

Linear Algebra and its Applications, 438(1):173-181, January 2013 (article)

ei Sra, S. Explicit eigenvalues of certain scaled trigonometric matrices Linear Algebra and its Applications, 438(1):173-181, January 2013 (article)

How Sensitive Is the Human Visual System to the Local Statistics of Natural Images?

Gerhard, H., Wichmann, F., Bethge, M.

PLoS Computational Biology, 9(1):e1002873, January 2013 (article)

Abstract

Several aspects of primate visual physiology have been identified as adaptations to local regularities of natural images. However, much less work has measured visual sensitivity to local natural image regularities. Most previous work focuses on global perception of large images and shows that observers are more sensitive to visual information when image properties resemble those of natural images. In this work we measure human sensitivity to local natural image regularities using stimuli generated by patch-based probabilistic natural image models that have been related to primate visual physiology. We find that human observers can learn to discriminate the statistical regularities of natural image patches from those represented by current natural image models after very few exposures and that discriminability depends on the degree of regularities captured by the model. The quick learning we observed suggests that the human visual system is biased for processing natural images, even at very fine spatial scales, and that it has a surprisingly large knowledge of the regularities in natural images, at least in comparison to the state-of-the-art statistical models of natural images.

ei Gerhard, H., Wichmann, F., Bethge, M. How Sensitive Is the Human Visual System to the Local Statistics of Natural Images? PLoS Computational Biology, 9(1):e1002873, January 2013 (article)

A neural population model for visual pattern detection

Goris, R., Putzeys, T., Wagemans, J., Wichmann, F.

Psychological Review, 120(3):472–496, 2013 (article)

ei Goris, R., Putzeys, T., Wagemans, J., Wichmann, F. A neural population model for visual pattern detection Psychological Review, 120(3):472–496, 2013 (article)

Grosse-Wentrup, M., Schölkopf, B.

A Review of Performance Variations in SMR-Based Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs)

In Brain-Computer Interface Research, pages: 39-51, 4, SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering, (Editors: Guger, C., Allison, B. Z. and Edlinger, G.), Springer, 2013 (inbook)

ei Grosse-Wentrup, M., Schölkopf, B. A Review of Performance Variations in SMR-Based Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs) In Brain-Computer Interface Research, pages: 39-51, 4, SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering, (Editors: Guger, C., Allison, B. Z. and Edlinger, G.), Springer, 2013 (inbook)

Accurate indel prediction using paired-end short reads

Grimm, D., Hagmann, J., Koenig, D., Weigel, D., Borgwardt, KM.

BMC Genomics, 14(132), 2013 (article)

ei Grimm, D., Hagmann, J., Koenig, D., Weigel, D., Borgwardt, KM. Accurate indel prediction using paired-end short reads BMC Genomics, 14(132), 2013 (article)

Counterfactual Reasoning and Learning Systems: The Example of Computational Advertising

Bottou, L., Peters, J., Quiñonero-Candela, J., Charles, D., Chickering, D., Portugualy, E., Ray, D., Simard, P., Snelson, E.

Journal of Machine Learning Research, 14, pages: 3207-3260, 2013 (article)

Web link (url) [BibTex]

ei Bottou, L., Peters, J., Quiñonero-Candela, J., Charles, D., Chickering, D., Portugualy, E., Ray, D., Simard, P., Snelson, E. Counterfactual Reasoning and Learning Systems: The Example of Computational Advertising Journal of Machine Learning Research, 14, pages: 3207-3260, 2013 (article)

Web link (url) [BibTex]

When luminance increment thresholds depend on apparent lightness

Maertens, M., Wichmann, F.

Journal of Vision, 13(6):1-11, 2013 (article)

ei Maertens, M., Wichmann, F. When luminance increment thresholds depend on apparent lightness Journal of Vision, 13(6):1-11, 2013 (article)

Efficient network-guided multi-locus association mapping with graph cuts

Azencott, C., Grimm, D., Sugiyama, M., Kawahara, Y., Borgwardt, K.

Bioinformatics, 29(13):i171-i179, 2013 (article)

ei Azencott, C., Grimm, D., Sugiyama, M., Kawahara, Y., Borgwardt, K. Efficient network-guided multi-locus association mapping with graph cuts Bioinformatics, 29(13):i171-i179, 2013 (article)

Semi-supervised learning in causal and anticausal settings

Schölkopf, B., Janzing, D., Peters, J., Sgouritsa, E., Zhang, K., Mooij, J.

In Empirical Inference, pages: 129-141, 13, Festschrift in Honor of Vladimir Vapnik, (Editors: Schölkopf, B., Luo, Z. and Vovk, V.), Springer, 2013 (inbook)

ei Schölkopf, B., Janzing, D., Peters, J., Sgouritsa, E., Zhang, K., Mooij, J. Semi-supervised learning in causal and anticausal settings In Empirical Inference, pages: 129-141, 13, Festschrift in Honor of Vladimir Vapnik, (Editors: Schölkopf, B., Luo, Z. and Vovk, V.), Springer, 2013 (inbook)

Janzing, D., Balduzzi, D., Grosse-Wentrup, M., Schölkopf, B.

Quantifying causal influences

Annals of Statistics, 41(5):2324-2358, 2013 (article)

ei Janzing, D., Balduzzi, D., Grosse-Wentrup, M., Schölkopf, B. Quantifying causal influences Annals of Statistics, 41(5):2324-2358, 2013 (article)

Probabilistic movement modeling for intention inference in human-robot interaction

Wang, Z., Mülling, K., Deisenroth, M., Ben Amor, H., Vogt, D., Schölkopf, B., Peters, J.

International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(7):841-858, 2013 (article)

ei Wang, Z., Mülling, K., Deisenroth, M., Ben Amor, H., Vogt, D., Schölkopf, B., Peters, J. Probabilistic movement modeling for intention inference in human-robot interaction International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(7):841-858, 2013 (article)

Blind Retrospective Motion Correction of MR Images

Loktyushin, A., Nickisch, H., Pohmann, R., Schölkopf, B.

Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (MRM), 70(6):1608–1618, 2013 (article)

ei Loktyushin, A., Nickisch, H., Pohmann, R., Schölkopf, B. Blind Retrospective Motion Correction of MR Images Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (MRM), 70(6):1608–1618, 2013 (article)

Modeling fixation locations using spatial point processes

Barthelmé, S., Trukenbrod, H., Engbert, R., Wichmann, F.

Journal of Vision, 13(12):1-34, 2013 (article)

Abstract

Whenever eye movements are measured, a central part of the analysis has to do with where subjects fixate and why they fixated where they fixated. To a first approximation, a set of fixations can be viewed as a set of points in space; this implies that fixations are spatial data and that the analysis of fixation locations can be beneficially thought of as a spatial statistics problem. We argue that thinking of fixation locations as arising from point processes is a very fruitful framework for eye-movement data, helping turn qualitative questions into quantitative ones. We provide a tutorial introduction to some of the main ideas of the field of spatial statistics, focusing especially on spatial Poisson processes. We show how point processes help relate image properties to fixation locations. In particular we show how point processes naturally express the idea that image features' predictability for fixations may vary from one image to another. We review other methods of analysis used in the literature, show how they relate to point process theory, and argue that thinking in terms of point processes substantially extends the range of analyses that can be performed and clarify their interpretation.

ei Barthelmé, S., Trukenbrod, H., Engbert, R., Wichmann, F. Modeling fixation locations using spatial point processes Journal of Vision, 13(12):1-34, 2013 (article)

Tractable large-scale optimization in machine learning

Sra, S.

In Tractability: Practical Approaches to Hard Problems, pages: 202-230, 7, (Editors: Bordeaux, L., Hamadi , Y., Kohli, P. and Mateescu, R. ), Cambridge University Press , 2013 (inbook)

ei Sra, S. Tractable large-scale optimization in machine learning In Tractability: Practical Approaches to Hard Problems, pages: 202-230, 7, (Editors: Bordeaux, L., Hamadi , Y., Kohli, P. and Mateescu, R. ), Cambridge University Press , 2013 (inbook)

A probabilistic model for secondary structure prediction from protein chemical shifts

Mechelke, M., Habeck, M.

Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, 81(6):984–993, 2013 (article)

ei Mechelke, M., Habeck, M. A probabilistic model for secondary structure prediction from protein chemical shifts Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, 81(6):984–993, 2013 (article)

Climate Extremes and the Carbon Cycle

Reichstein, M., Bahn, M., Ciais, P., Frank, D., Mahecha, M., Seneviratne, S., Zscheischler, J., Beer, C., Buchmann, N., Frank, D., Papale, D., Rammig, A., Smith, P., Thonicke, K., van der Velde, M., Vicca, S., Walz, A., Wattenbach, M.

Nature, 500, pages: 287-295, 2013 (article)

ei Reichstein, M., Bahn, M., Ciais, P., Frank, D., Mahecha, M., Seneviratne, S., Zscheischler, J., Beer, C., Buchmann, N., Frank, D., Papale, D., Rammig, A., Smith, P., Thonicke, K., van der Velde, M., Vicca, S., Walz, A., Wattenbach, M. Climate Extremes and the Carbon Cycle Nature, 500, pages: 287-295, 2013 (article)

Identification of stimulus cues in narrow-band tone-in-noise detection using sparse observer models

Schönfelder, V., Wichmann, F.

Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 134(1):447-463, 2013 (article)

ei Schönfelder, V., Wichmann, F. Identification of stimulus cues in narrow-band tone-in-noise detection using sparse observer models Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 134(1):447-463, 2013 (article)

Probabilistic Model-based Imitation Learning

Englert, P., Paraschos, A., Peters, J., Deisenroth, M.

Adaptive Behavior Journal, 21(5):388-403, 2013 (article)

ei Englert, P., Paraschos, A., Peters, J., Deisenroth, M. Probabilistic Model-based Imitation Learning Adaptive Behavior Journal, 21(5):388-403, 2013 (article)

Metabolic cost as an organizing principle for cooperative learning

Balduzzi, D., Ortega, P., Besserve, M.

Advances in Complex Systems, 16(02n03):1350012, 2013 (article)

ei Balduzzi, D., Ortega, P., Besserve, M. Metabolic cost as an organizing principle for cooperative learning Advances in Complex Systems, 16(02n03):1350012, 2013 (article)

MR-based PET Attenuation Correction for PET/MR Imaging

Bezrukov, I., Mantlik, F., Schmidt, H., Schölkopf, B., Pichler, B.

Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, 43(1):45-59, 2013 (article)

ei Bezrukov, I., Mantlik, F., Schmidt, H., Schölkopf, B., Pichler, B. MR-based PET Attenuation Correction for PET/MR Imaging Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, 43(1):45-59, 2013 (article)

MR-based Attenuation Correction Methods for Improved PET Quantification in Lesions within Bone and Susceptibility Artifact Regions

Bezrukov, I., Schmidt, H., Mantlik, F., Schwenzer, N., Brendle, C., Schölkopf, B., Pichler, B.

Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 54(10):1768-1774, 2013 (article)

Abstract

Hybrid PET/MR systems have recently entered clinical practice. Thus, the accuracy of MR-based attenuation correction in simultaneously acquired data can now be investigated. We assessed the accuracy of 4 methods of MR-based attenuation correction in lesions within soft tissue, bone, and MR susceptibility artifacts: 2 segmentation-based methods (SEG1, provided by the manufacturer, and SEG2, a method with atlas-based susceptibility artifact correction); an atlas- and pattern recognition–based method (AT&PR), which also used artifact correction; and a new method combining AT&PR and SEG2 (SEG2wBONE). Methods: Attenuation maps were calculated for the PET/MR datasets of 10 patients acquired on a whole-body PET/MR system, allowing for simultaneous acquisition of PET and MR data. Eighty percent iso-contour volumes of interest were placed on lesions in soft tissue (n = 21), in bone (n = 20), near bone (n = 19), and within or near MR susceptibility artifacts (n = 9). Relative mean volume-of-interest differences were calculated with CT-based attenuation correction as a reference. Results: For soft-tissue lesions, none of the methods revealed a significant difference in PET standardized uptake value relative to CT-based attenuation correction (SEG1, −2.6% ± 5.8%; SEG2, −1.6% ± 4.9%; AT&PR, −4.7% ± 6.5%; SEG2wBONE, 0.2% ± 5.3%). For bone lesions, underestimation of PET standardized uptake values was found for all methods, with minimized error for the atlas-based approaches (SEG1, −16.1% ± 9.7%; SEG2, −11.0% ± 6.7%; AT&PR, −6.6% ± 5.0%; SEG2wBONE, −4.7% ± 4.4%). For lesions near bone, underestimations of lower magnitude were observed (SEG1, −12.0% ± 7.4%; SEG2, −9.2% ± 6.5%; AT&PR, −4.6% ± 7.8%; SEG2wBONE, −4.2% ± 6.2%). For lesions affected by MR susceptibility artifacts, quantification errors could be reduced using the atlas-based artifact correction (SEG1, −54.0% ± 38.4%; SEG2, −15.0% ± 12.2%; AT&PR, −4.1% ± 11.2%; SEG2wBONE, 0.6% ± 11.1%). Conclusion: For soft-tissue lesions, none of the evaluated methods showed statistically significant errors. For bone lesions, significant underestimations of −16% and −11% occurred for methods in which bone tissue was ignored (SEG1 and SEG2). In the present attenuation correction schemes, uncorrected MR susceptibility artifacts typically result in reduced attenuation values, potentially leading to highly reduced PET standardized uptake values, rendering lesions indistinguishable from background. While AT&PR and SEG2wBONE show accurate results in both soft tissue and bone, SEG2wBONE uses a two-step approach for tissue classification, which increases the robustness of prediction and can be applied retrospectively if more precision in bone areas is needed.

ei Bezrukov, I., Schmidt, H., Mantlik, F., Schwenzer, N., Brendle, C., Schölkopf, B., Pichler, B. MR-based Attenuation Correction Methods for Improved PET Quantification in Lesions within Bone and Susceptibility Artifact Regions Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 54(10):1768-1774, 2013 (article)

Learning output kernels for multi-task problems

Dinuzzo, F.

Neurocomputing, 118, pages: 119-126, 2013 (article)

ei Dinuzzo, F. Learning output kernels for multi-task problems Neurocomputing, 118, pages: 119-126, 2013 (article)

Analytical probabilistic modeling for radiation therapy treatment planning

Bangert, M., Hennig, P., Oelfke, U.

Physics in Medicine and Biology, 58(16):5401-5419, 2013 (article)

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ei pn Bangert, M., Hennig, P., Oelfke, U. Analytical probabilistic modeling for radiation therapy treatment planning Physics in Medicine and Biology, 58(16):5401-5419, 2013 (article)

Imaging Findings and Therapy Response Monitoring in Chronic Sclerodermatous Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Preliminary Data of a Simultaneous PET/MRI Approach

Sauter, A., Schmidt, H., Mantlik, F., Kolb, A., Federmann, B., Pfannenberg, C., Reimold, M., Pichler, B., Bethge, W., Horger, M.

Clinical Nuclear Medicine, 38(8):e309-e317, 2013 (article)

Abstract

PURPOSE: Our objective was a multifunctional imaging approach of chronic sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease (ScGVHD) and its course during therapy using PET/MRI. METHODS: We performed partial-body PET/CT and PET/MRI of the calf in 6 consecutively recruited patients presenting with severe ScGVHD. The patients were treated with different immunosuppressive regimens and supportive therapies. PET/CT scanning started 60.5 +/- 3.3 minutes, PET/MRI imaging 139.5 +/- 16.7 minutes after F-FDG application. MRI acquisition included T1- (precontrast and postcontrast) and T2-weighted sequences. SUVmean, T1 contrast enhancement, and T2 signal intensity from region-of-interest analysis were calculated for different fascial and muscular compartments. In addition, musculoskeletal MRI findings and the modified Rodnan skin score were assessed. All patients underwent imaging follow-up. RESULTS: At baseline PET/MRI, ScGVHD-related musculoskeletal abnormalities consisted of increased signal and/or thickening of involved anatomical structures on T2-weighted and T1 postcontrast images as well as an increased FDG uptake. At follow-up, ScGVHD-related imaging findings decreased (SUVmean n = 4, mean T1 contrast enhancement n = 5, mean T2 signal intensity n = 3) or progressed (SUVmean n = 3, mean T1 contrast enhancement n = 2, mean T2 signal intensity n = 4). Clinically modified Rodnan skin score improved for 5 follow-ups and progressed for 2. SUVmean values correlated between PET/CT and PET/MRI acquisition (r = 0.660, P = 0.014), T1 contrast enhancement, and T2 signal (r = 0.668, P = 0.012), but not between the SUVmean values and the MRI parameters. CONCLUSIONS: PET/MRI as a combined morphological and functional technique seems to assess the inflammatory processes from different points of view and provides therefore in part complementary information

ei Sauter, A., Schmidt, H., Mantlik, F., Kolb, A., Federmann, B., Pfannenberg, C., Reimold, M., Pichler, B., Bethge, W., Horger, M. Imaging Findings and Therapy Response Monitoring in Chronic Sclerodermatous Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Preliminary Data of a Simultaneous PET/MRI Approach Clinical Nuclear Medicine, 38(8):e309-e317, 2013 (article)

MR-Based Attenuation Correction for Combined Brain PET/MR: Robustness of Atlas- and Pattern Recognition Method to Atlas Registration Failures

Mantlik, F., Bezrukov, I., Hofmann, M., Schölkopf, B., Pichler, B.

IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (IEEE MIC), 2013 (talk)

ei Mantlik, F., Bezrukov, I., Hofmann, M., Schölkopf, B., Pichler, B. MR-Based Attenuation Correction for Combined Brain PET/MR: Robustness of Atlas- and Pattern Recognition Method to Atlas Registration Failures IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (IEEE MIC), 2013 (talk)

A Survey on Policy Search for Robotics, Foundations and Trends in Robotics

Deisenroth, M., Neumann, G., Peters, J.

Foundations and Trends in Robotics, 2(1-2):1-142, 2013 (article)

ei Deisenroth, M., Neumann, G., Peters, J. A Survey on Policy Search for Robotics, Foundations and Trends in Robotics Foundations and Trends in Robotics, 2(1-2):1-142, 2013 (article)

Reinforcement Learning in Robotics: A Review

Kober, J., Bagnell, D., Peters, J.

International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(11):1238–1274, 2013 (article)

ei Kober, J., Bagnell, D., Peters, J. Reinforcement Learning in Robotics: A Review International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(11):1238–1274, 2013 (article)

Multimodal information improves the rapid detection of mental fatigue

Laurent, F., Valderrama, M., Besserve, M., Guillard, M., Lachaux, J., Martinerie, J., Florence, G.

Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 8(4):400 - 408, 2013 (article)

ei Laurent, F., Valderrama, M., Besserve, M., Guillard, M., Lachaux, J., Martinerie, J., Florence, G. Multimodal information improves the rapid detection of mental fatigue Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 8(4):400 - 408, 2013 (article)

Interactive Domain Adaptation for the Classification of Remote Sensing Images using Active Learning

Persello, C.

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 10(4):736-740, 2013 (article)

ei Persello, C. Interactive Domain Adaptation for the Classification of Remote Sensing Images using Active Learning IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 10(4):736-740, 2013 (article)

Learning to Select and Generalize Striking Movements in Robot Table Tennis

Mülling, K., Kober, J., Kroemer, O., Peters, J.

International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(3):263-279, 2013 (article)

ei Mülling, K., Kober, J., Kroemer, O., Peters, J. Learning to Select and Generalize Striking Movements in Robot Table Tennis International Journal of Robotics Research, 32(3):263-279, 2013 (article)

HiFiVE: A Hilbert Space Embedding of Fiber Variability Estimates for Uncertainty Modeling and Visualization

Schultz, T., Schlaffke, L., Schölkopf, B., Schmidt-Wilcke, T.

Computer Graphics Forum, 32(3):121-130, (Editors: B Preim, P Rheingans, and H Theisel), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, Eurographics Conference on Visualization (EuroVis), 2013 (article)

ei Schultz, T., Schlaffke, L., Schölkopf, B., Schmidt-Wilcke, T. HiFiVE: A Hilbert Space Embedding of Fiber Variability Estimates for Uncertainty Modeling and Visualization Computer Graphics Forum, 32(3):121-130, (Editors: B Preim, P Rheingans, and H Theisel), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, Eurographics Conference on Visualization (EuroVis), 2013 (article)

Detection and attribution of large spatiotemporal extreme events in Earth observation data

Zscheischler, J., Mahecha, M., Harmeling, S., Reichstein, M.

Ecological Informatics, 15, pages: 66-73, 2013 (article)

Abstract

Latest climate projections suggest that both frequency and intensity of climate extremes will be substantially modified over the course of the coming decades. As a consequence, we need to understand to what extent and via which pathways climate extremes affect the state and functionality of terrestrial ecosystems and the associated biogeochemical cycles on a global scale. So far the impacts of climate extremes on the terrestrial biosphere were mainly investigated on the basis of case studies, while global assessments are widely lacking. In order to facilitate global analysis of this kind, we present a methodological framework that firstly detects spatiotemporally contiguous extremes in Earth observations, and secondly infers the likely pathway of the preceding climate anomaly. The approach does not require long time series, is computationally fast, and easily applicable to a variety of data sets with different spatial and temporal resolutions. The key element of our analysis strategy is to directly search in the relevant observations for spatiotemporally connected components exceeding a certain percentile threshold. We also put an emphasis on characterization of extreme event distribution, and scrutinize the attribution issue. We exemplify the analysis strategy by exploring the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) from 1982 to 2011. Our results suggest that the hot spots of extremes in fAPAR lie in Northeastern Brazil, Southeastern Australia, Kenya and Tanzania. Moreover, we demonstrate that the size distribution of extremes follow a distinct power law. The attribution framework reveals that extremes in fAPAR are primarily driven by phases of water scarcity.

ei Zscheischler, J., Mahecha, M., Harmeling, S., Reichstein, M. Detection and attribution of large spatiotemporal extreme events in Earth observation data Ecological Informatics, 15, pages: 66-73, 2013 (article)

Simultaneous PET/MR reveals Brain Function in Activated and Resting State on Metabolic, Hemodynamic and Multiple Temporal Scales

Wehrl, H., Hossain, M., Lankes, K., Liu, C., Bezrukov, I., Martirosian, P., Schick, F., Reischl, G., Pichler, B.

Nature Medicine, 19, pages: 1184–1189, 2013 (article)

Abstract

Combined positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a new tool to study functional processes in the brain. Here we study brain function in response to a barrel-field stimulus simultaneously using PET, which traces changes in glucose metabolism on a slow time scale, and functional MRI (fMRI), which assesses fast vascular and oxygenation changes during activation. We found spatial and quantitative discrepancies between the PET and the fMRI activation data. The functional connectivity of the rat brain was assessed by both modalities: the fMRI approach determined a total of nine known neural networks, whereas the PET method identified seven glucose metabolism–related networks. These results demonstrate the feasibility of combined PET-MRI for the simultaneous study of the brain at activation and rest, revealing comprehensive and complementary information to further decode brain function and brain networks.

ei Wehrl, H., Hossain, M., Lankes, K., Liu, C., Bezrukov, I., Martirosian, P., Schick, F., Reischl, G., Pichler, B. Simultaneous PET/MR reveals Brain Function in Activated and Resting State on Metabolic, Hemodynamic and Multiple Temporal Scales Nature Medicine, 19, pages: 1184–1189, 2013 (article)