University of Mons

About: University of Mons is a education organization based out in Mons, Belgium. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Large Hadron Collider & Standard Model. The organization has 3073 authors who have published 9465 publications receiving 294776 citations.

The Why and How of Nonnegative Matrix Factorization.

Abstract: Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) has become a widely used tool for the analysis of high-dimensional data as it automatically extracts sparse and meaningful features from a set of nonnegative data vectors. We first illustrate this property of NMF on three applications, in image processing, text mining and hyperspectral imaging --this is the why. Then we address the problem of solving NMF, which is NP-hard in general. We review some standard NMF algorithms, and also present a recent subclass of NMF problems, referred to as near-separable NMF, that can be solved efficiently (that is, in polynomial time), even in the presence of noise --this is the how. Finally, we briefly describe some problems in mathematics and computer science closely related to NMF via the nonnegative rank.

The relationship between quality of life and self-determination: an international study.

Abstract: Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between self-determination and quality of life (QOL) of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) living in four countries (Canada, United States, Belgium and France). Method Participants were 182 adults with mild ID living in community settings (with families, living independently or in supported living environments). QOL was measured with the Quality of Life Questionnaire. Self-determination was measured using the Adult version of The Arc's Self-Determination Scale. Discriminant function and correlational analyses were conducted. Results Discriminant function analysis indicated that essential characteristics of self-determination predicted membership in the high QOL group and that overall self-determination and QOL were significantly correlated, as were sub-scale scores. Conclusions The study replicates findings from a previous study with an international sample and confirms the importance of self-determination to enhance QOL. Subsequent research should examine the direction of the relationship between self-determination and QOL and examine the relationship of essential characteristics of self-determined behaviour and core domains of QOL in greater detail.

Multiple-length-scale elastic instability mimics parametric resonance of nonlinear oscillators

Abstract: The complex wrinkling patterns produced when a sheet or membrane is compressed are often difficult to predict. Observations of unexpected spatial period-doubling bifurcation instability in the wrinkling of a rigid membrane attached to a soft substrate can be described within a framework similar to that used for the parametric resonance of nonlinear oscillators.