electronics

Editorial
Advances in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep
Learning Applications
Muhammad Salman Haleem

Advanced Biomedical Signal Processing and Intelligent eHealth Lab., School of Engineering, University of
Warwick, Library Rd., Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; [email protected]

Recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have been pivotal in enhancing
the effectiveness and efficiency of many systems and in all fields of knowledge, including
medical diagnosis [1,2], healthcare [3], the Internet of Things [4], power systems [5], etc.
This includes the design and development of novel algorithms based on machine learning
and deep learning to be applied to data acquired from recently adopted devices, sensors,
and equipment for the automatic prediction and detection of patterns of interest. This also
includes the implementation of novel AI and big data technologies for extracting relevant
information from unstructured data with enhanced performance across different sectors [6].
The advances in the state-of-the-art methods addressing real-world AI applications vary
from novel feature selection procedures [7] to the development of novel and application-
based machine learning architectures [1,8]. In addition, some insights have been provided
towards Generative AI [9].
This Special Issue’s editorial review process accepted 38 high-quality manuscripts.
Among them, significant fundamental methods applicable to action recognition in health-
care, surveillance, network security and transport sciences have been proposed and de-
veloped. One of those methods is based on a graph-driven attentional convolutional
network (Contribution 1); another is based on a sequence segmentation attention network
for skeleton-based action recognition (Contribution 2). In addition, a static gesture recogni-
tion algorithm has been introduced based on improved YOLOv5 (Contribution 3). Some
fundamental methods have been proposed for generating and propagating features. One of
the key methods proposed is a feature-pyramid-network-driven feature fusion single-shot
detector to extract and propagate high-level multiscale semantic feature maps to enable
real-time prostate capsule detection (Contribution 4). Another method developed a feature
Citation: Haleem, M.S. Advances in
enhancement single-shot multibox detector for remote sensing image target detection (Con-
Artificial Intelligence, Machine
tribution 5). Moreover, a real-time semantic segmentation, light-weight asymmetric spatial
Learning and Deep Learning
Applications. Electronics 2023, 12,
feature network has also been proposed (Contribution 6), as well as a feature trajectory
3780. https://doi.org/10.3390/
clustering algorithm driven by deep learning for spatio-temporal features in cityscapes
electronics12183780 (Contribution 7). Another contribution proposes an image-style transfer learning approach
based on a halo attention-driven deep neural network (Contribution 8). With the awareness
Received: 11 August 2023
of trustworthy AI and fairness, one contribution suggests the feature set extraction based
Accepted: 30 August 2023
on consistency of their explanation via different explainable AI methods (Contribution
Published: 7 September 2023
9). Also, another research work suggests the use of least squares to improve piecewise
linear approximation to control the change in absolute error in back propagation in neural
networks (Contribution 10).
Copyright: © 2023 by the author.
Significant advancements and breakthroughs in AI have been observed in the field
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. of healthcare. New deep learning-driven techniques have been introduced for predicting
This article is an open access article labor based on time series electrohysterogram signals under low-cost settings (Contribu-
distributed under the terms and tion 11) and freehand 3D ultrasound reconstruction based on measuring the trajectory of
conditions of the Creative Commons conventional 2D ultrasound (Contribution 12). Application-driven traditional machine
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// learning and deep learning methods have been developed for effective hospital manage-
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ ment (Contribution 13), as well as for the early prediction of life-threatening infections,
4.0/). e.g., sepsis (Contribution 14), and for detecting granulation tissue to track chronic wound

Electronics 2023, 12, 3780. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12183780 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics

healing in diabetic foot ulcers (Contribution 15). Due to the bottlenecks associated with
the availability and integrity of data, a novel study has been conducted to synthesize time
series multivariate data, which can be acquired through the use of modern smart watches
(Contribution 16). The study developed two techniques, i.e., a temporally correlated multi-
modal generative adversarial network and a document sequence generator, to synthetically
generate the data obtainable from smart watches.
Some advancements have been made in the field of natural language processing
and speech and time series signal processing, where the data are generally in encoded
sequential fashion into embedding matrices. The NLP has many applications, especially in
human–computer interaction, task-oriented dialogue systems, etc. A key advancement has
been made towards dialogue state and context tracking via a transformer-based mechanism
(Contribution 17). Another technology utilizes transformers with hierarchical frame-level
networks for speech enhancement at the spectrogram level (Contribution 18). Another
work developed a self-supervised contrast learning approach for the specific emitter iden-
tification of radio signals, which addressed the challenge associated with training deep
learning models due to large unlabeled datasets (Contribution 19). Some advancements
have been made towards hybrid models combining the sentence-based models from two
transformer-based NLP models (BERT and USE) and an unsupervised LSTM autoencoder
for sarcasm detection (Contribution 20). Another attempt developed a multimodal feature
fusion approach by joining aggregation and propagation structures via bidirectional graph
convolutional network and BERT model for detecting rumors in social media (Contribu-
tion 21), which can be compared with traditional machine learning and deep learning
approaches (Contribution 22).
Significant advancements have been made in the field of artificial intelligence in
anomaly detection for network security. Traditional machine learning models based on
k-means and sequential minimal optimization methods (Contribution 23) and deep forest
methods (Contribution 24) have been proposed for detecting anomalies and malicious traffic
detection. In addition, deep learning architectures based on GRU have also been proposed
for time series anomaly detection (Contribution 25). This is highly applicable in different
fields such as the Internet of Vehicles, as trajectory analysis and traffic flow prediction
require anomaly and malicious traffic prediction. A key advancement has been made in
federated learning frameworks based on incremental weight and diversity selection for
the incremental learning in the Internet of Vehicles (Contribution 26). Most of the learning
has been based on real-time vehicular network trajectory analysis, such as via introducing
digital twin network-based latency prediction (Contribution 27) and the identification of
cyber attacks via deep learning approaches (Contribution 28). Apart from deep learning
(Contribution 29), graph neural networks have been introduced to complex networks for
traffic flow prediction (Contribution 30). Trajectory clustering and spatiotemporal feature
networks have been extensively studied for aircraft trajectory prediction (Contribution 31).
Other advancements in machine learning and deep learning applications include im-
proved multi-layer perceptron energy meter fault diagnosis based on a deep belief network
(Contribution 32), an appearance defect detection method for cigarettes based on convolu-
tional block attention mechanism (Contribution 33), power forecasting of regional wind
farms via variational autoencoders and deep hybrid transfer learning (Contribution 34),
and poisonous plant species prediction using a hybrid model composed of a convolutional
neural network and a support vector machine (Contribution 35). Some applications of
the YOLO model for object detection include photovoltaic panel defect detection (Con-
tribution 36), stud leakage detection (Contribution 37), and surface defects detection in
aluminum profiles (Contribution 38). The approaches discussed in this Special Issue offer
readers a wide range of valuable paradigms that promote the use of fundamental and
applied AI in different application domains and, at the same time, provide rich material for
scientific thinking.
Electronics 2023, 12, 3780 3 of 5

List of Contributions
1. S.-B. Zhou, R.-R. Chen, X.-Q. Jiang, and F. Pan, “2s-GATCN: Two-Stream Graph
Attentional Convolutional Networks for Skeleton-Based Action Recognition”
2. Y. Zhang and H. Cai, “Sequence Segmentation Attention Network for Skeleton-Based
Action Recognition”
3. S. Wu, Z. Li, S. Li, Q. Liu, and W. Wu, “Static Gesture Recognition Algorithm Based
on Improved YOLOv5s”
4. S. Wu, X. Wang, and C. Guo, “Application of Feature Pyramid Network and Feature
Fusion Single Shot Multibox Detector for Real-Time Prostate Capsule Detection”
5. J. Guo, Z. Wang, and S. Zhang, “FESSD: Feature Enhancement Single Shot MultiBox
Detector Algorithm for Remote Sensing Image Target Detection”
6. Y. Chen, W. Zhan, Y. Jiang, D. Zhu, R. Guo, and X. Xu, “LASNet: A Light-Weight
Asymmetric Spatial Feature Network for Real-Time Semantic Segmentation”
7. X. He, Q. Li, R. Wang, and K. Chen, “A Spatio-Temporal Feature Trajectory Clustering
Algorithm Based on Deep Learning”
8. K. Li, D. Yang, and Y. Ma, “Image Style Transfer Based on Dynamic Convolutional
Manifold Alignment of Halo Attention”
9. G. Elkhawaga, O. Elzeki, M. Abuelkheir, and M. Reichert, “Evaluating Explainable Ar-
tificial Intelligence Methods Based on Feature Elimination: A Functionality-Grounded
Approach”
10. X. Liao, T. Zhou, L. Zhang, X. Hu, and Y. Peng, “A Method for Calculating the
Derivative of Activation Functions Based on Piecewise Linear Approximation”
11. T. R. Jossou, Z. Tahori, G. Houdji, D. Medenou, A. Lasfar, F. Sanya, M. H. Ahouand-
jinou, S M. Pagliara, M. S. Haleem and A. Et-Tahir, “N-Beats as an EHG Signal
Forecasting Method for Labour Prediction in Full Term Pregnancy”
12. X. Chen, H. Chen, Y. Peng, L. Liu, and C. Huang, “A Freehand 3D Ultrasound
Reconstruction Method Based on Deep Learning”
13. E. Iadanza, G. Benincasa, I. Ventisette, and M. Gherardelli, “Automatic classification
of hospital settings through artificial intelligence”
14. J. E. Camacho-Cogollo, I. Bonet, B. Gil, and E. Iadanza, “Machine Learning Models
for Early Prediction of Sepsis on Large Healthcare Dataset”
15. A. S.-Y. Lien, C.-Y. Lai, J.-D. Wei, H.-M. Yang, J.-T. Yeh, and H.-C. Tai, “A Granulation
Tissue Detection Model to Track Chronic Wound Healing in DM Foot Ulcers”
16. M. S. Haleem, A. Ekuban, A. Antonini, S. Pagliara, L. Pecchia, and C. Allocca, “Deep-
Learning-Driven Techniques for Real-Time Multimodal Health and Physical Data
Synthesis”
17. Q. Li, W. Zhang, M. Huang, S. Feng, and Y. Wu, “RSP-DST: Revisable State Prediction
for Dialogue State Tracking”
18. W. Jiang, C. Sun, F. Chen, Y. Leng, Q. Guo, J. Sun and J. Peng, “Low Complexity
Speech Enhancement Network Based on Frame-Level Swin Transformer”
19. B. Liu, H. Yu, J. Du, Y. Wu, Y. Li, Z. Zhu and Z. Wang, “Specific Emitter Identification
Based on Self-Supervised Contrast Learning”
20. D. K. Sharma, B. Singh, S. Agarwal, H. Kim, and R. Sharma, “Sarcasm Detection over
Social Media Platforms Using Hybrid Auto-Encoder-Based Model”
21. N. Zhong, G. Zhou, W. Ding, and J. Zhang, “A Rumor Detection Method Based on
Multimodal Feature Fusion by a Joining Aggregation Structure”
22. H. Alhakami, W. Alhakami, A. Baz, M. Faizan, M. W. Khan, and A. Agrawal, “Eval-
uating Intelligent Methods for Detecting COVID-19 Fake News on Social Media
Platforms”
23. S. Gadal, R. Mokhtar, M. Abdelhaq, R. Alsaqour, E. S. Ali, and R. Saeed, “Machine
Learning-Based Anomaly Detection Using K-Mean Array and Sequential Minimal
Optimization”
24. X. Zhang, M. Zhao, J. Wang, S. Li, Y. Zhou, and S. Zhu, “Deep-Forest-Based Encrypted
Malicious Traffic Detectio”
Electronics 2023, 12, 3780 4 of 5

25. G. Li, Z. Yang, H. Wan, and M. Li, “Anomaly-PTG: A Time Series Data-Anomaly-
Detection Transformer Framework in Multiple Scenarios”
26. Y. Lei, S. L. Wang, M. Zhong, M. Wang, and T. F. Ng, “A Federated Learning Frame-
work Based on Incremental Weighting and Diversity Selection for Internet of Vehicles”
27. Y. Fu, D. Guo, Q. Li, L. Liu, S. Qu, and W. Xiang, “Digital Twin Based Network Latency
Prediction in Vehicular Networks”
28. H.-C. Lin, P. Wang, K.-M. Chao, W.-H. Lin, and J.-H. Chen, “Using Deep Learning
Networks to Identify Cyber Attacks on Intrusion Detection for In-Vehicle Networks”
29. S. Safavi, M. Jalali, and M. Houshmand, “Toward Point-of-Interest Recommendation
Systems: A Critical Review on Deep-Learning Approaches”
30. Z. Hu, F. Shao, and R. Sun, “A New Perspective on Traffic Flow Prediction: A Graph
Spatial-Temporal Network with Complex Network Information”
31. Y. Wu, H. Yu, J. Du, B. Liu, and W. Yu, “An Aircraft Trajectory Prediction Method
Based on Trajectory Clustering and a Spatiotemporal Feature Network”.
32. C. Zhong, Y. Jiang, L. Wang, J. Chen, J. Zhou, T. Hong and F. Zheng, “Improved MLP
Energy Meter Fault Diagnosis Method Based on DBN”
33. H. Liu, G. Yuan, L. Yang, K. Liu, and H. Zhou, “An Appearance Defect Detection
Method for Cigarettes Based on C-CenterNet”
34. M. Khan, M. R. Naeem, E. A. Al-Ammar, W. Ko, H. Vettikalladi, and I. Ahmad, “Power
Forecasting of Regional Wind Farms via Variational Auto-Encoder and Deep Hybrid
Transfer Learning”
35. T. H. Noor, A. Noor, and M. Elmezain, “Poisonous Plants Species Prediction Using a
Convolutional Neural Network and Support Vector Machine Hybrid Model”
36. L. Li, Z. Wang, and T. Zhang, “GBH-YOLOv5: Ghost Convolution with BottleneckCSP
and Tiny Target Prediction Head Incorporating YOLOv5 for PV Panel Defect Detec-
tion”
37. P. Cong, K. Lv, H. Feng, and J. Zhou, “Improved YOLOv3 Model for Workpiece Stud
Leakage Detection”
38. T. Wang, J. Su, C. Xu, and Y. Zhang, “An Intelligent Method for Detecting Surface
Defects in Aluminium Profiles Based on the Improved YOLOv5 Algorithm”

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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