Efficient Optimization of Loops and Limits with Randomized Telescoping Sums

We consider optimization problems in which the objective requires an inner loop with many steps or is the limit of a sequence of increasingly costly approximations. Meta-learning, training recurrent neural networks, and optimization of the solutions to differential equations are all examples of optimization problems with this character. In such problems, it can be expensive to compute the objective function value and its gradient, but truncating the loop or using less accurate approximations can induce biases that damage the overall solution. We propose randomized telescope (RT) gradient estimators, which represent the objective as the sum of a telescoping series and sample linear combinations of terms to provide cheap unbiased gradient estimates. We identify conditions under which RT estimators achieve optimization convergence rates independent of the length of the loop or the required accuracy of the approximation. We also derive a method for tuning RT estimators online to maximize a lower bound on the expected decrease in loss per unit of computation. We evaluate our adaptive RT estimators on a range of applications including meta-optimization of learning rates, variational inference of ODE parameters, and training an LSTM to model long sequences

"What can be infinitely destroyed is what can infinitely survive" :literary and filmic representations of political torture from Algiers to Guantánamo

PhD ThesisThis thesis takes the post-9/11 Anglo-American torture debate as the territory for its analysis of the multiple and overlapping ways that cultural representations are implicated in political discourses regarding the practice of political torture by Western liberal democracies in the twenty-first century. Firstly, it makes the historical-political claim that the post-9/11 torture debate reveals the continuing existence and influence not only of colonial discourses and representations but of colonial political constellations and colonial forms of violence. Drawing on Giorgio Agamben’s work on the state of exception, I argue that despite claims of the newness of the post-Cold War geopolitical paradigm, political torture in the twenty-first century takes familiar concentrationary and disciplinary forms. Further, specific colonial discourses continue to frame contemporary debates about political torture; using the Algerian War of Independence as a lens, the thesis demonstrates this continuity through original readings of The Centurions (1960), The Battle of Algiers (1966), and The Little Soldier (1960/63). The dominant way that torture has been discussed in the context of the post-9/11 Global War on Terrorism is in terms that justify or normalise it. This thesis reads the revitalisation of colonial discourses in the second series of 24 (2002-3) as evidence of this. Further, it argues that anti-torture human rights texts such as Rendition (2007) have provided inadequate resistance to justificatory discourse. Nonetheless, narratives that successfully oppose political torture are possible, and this thesis sketches the beginnings of a canon of them: drawing on the phenomenological ethics of Emmanuel Levinas to perform readings of representations of Abu Ghraib – Standard Operating Procedure (2008) – and Guantánamo Bay – The Road to Guantánamo (2006), Guantánamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (2004) and Guantánamo (2004) – the project explores the ways that ethical address, testimony, and an activist focus on facts can produce meaningfully resistant anti-torture narratives.Arts and Humanities Research Counci

Cost Analysis of Modern Residential Solar Installations

This paper is a detailed cost analysis of standard photovoltaic panels and Tesla’s solar tiles. This analysis is specifically for the San Luis Obispo area, and focuses on comparing and contrasting new and old styles of residential solar for the average single family dwelling. This is important because there will become more consumers of solar in this area as the price becomes more favorable, and as sustainable practices become the norm. This trend is set to continue because of the movement to combat climate change. Solar energy fits into this movement because it is a source of energy that is emissions free, and seamlessly ties into our national electric grid to slow the use of other harmful energy sources such as natural gas and coal. This cost analysis focuses on the initial cost to the homeowner, the total life of each system, government subsidies and tax benefits of owning solar, and relevant finance and interest rates. The paper focuses on four main scenarios confronting a home owner considering installing solar on their home. The cost analysis is based on the assumption that it is a guide for the median home owner with the average electric bill, average available roof area, and average roof shading. Finally, this paper is a definitive guide for potential solar consumers, and details the challenges, risks, and outcomes of buying and installing solar in a residential setting

Pharmacy-Based Assessment and Management of Herpes Labialis (Cold Sores) with Antiviral Therapy

Herpes labialis, commonly known as cold sores, is an infection of the mouth and surrounding area. Antiviral therapy can be used to block viral replication, which shortens the duration of symptoms, facilitates resolution of lesions, and lessens the risk of spreading the virus. Increasing access to antivirals targeted against herpes labialis by allowing assessment and prescribing by a pharmacist may decrease time to treatment for HSV-1, and improve patient satisfaction. Experience from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States demonstrate that pharmacist management of cold sores has a safe track record and may be considered by other jurisdictions.   Commentar

Linear Support Vector Machines for Error Correction in Optical Data Transmission

Reduction of bit error rates in optical transmission systems is an important task that is difficult to achieve. As speeds increase, the difficulty in reducing bit error rates also increases. Channels have differing characteristics, which may change over time, and any error correction employed must be capable of operating at extremely high speeds. In this paper, a linear support vector machine is used to classify large-scale data sets of simulated optical transmission data in order to demonstrate their effectiveness at reducing bit error rates and their adaptability to the specifics of each channel. For the classification, LIBLINEAR is used, which is related to the popular LIBSVM classifier. It is found that is possible to reduce the error rate on a very noisy channel to about 3 bits in a thousand. This is done by a linear separator that can be built in hardware and can operate at the high speed required of an operationally useful decode

REMOVABLE SHOE SPIKE SYSTEM

The present system, method and apparatus are adapted for the quick and easy exchange of spikes on athletic shoes. More specifically, the system, apparatus and methods comprise a spike having an opening, an aglet adapted for coupling to the shoe, for example by way of a shoelace, and a coupling head affixed to the aglet which is adapted to couple with the opening on the spike so as to allow a user to quickly and easily replace, remove or install spikes in the athletic shoe. The disclosure thus allows the user to have the tool attached to their shoe at all times so as to avoid carrying additional equipment while wearing the shoe

Saran Wrap 2: Clip Handling Device

The common household Saran Wrap has been in production since 1933. A common problem comes in the handling of the plastic sheet after being torn from the roll. Corners frequently fold on themselves, the sheet bunches up, and renders some pieces useless. Our objective was to create a device along with a system to eliminate these problems, without compromising the simplicity and speed of the original box cutter

Intelligent Agents for Disaster Management

ALADDIN [1] is a multi-disciplinary project that is developing novel techniques, architectures, and mechanisms for multi-agent systems in uncertain and dynamic environments. The application focus of the project is disaster management. Research within a number of themes is being pursued and this is considering different aspects of the interaction between autonomous agents and the decentralised system architectures that support those interactions. The aim of the research is to contribute to building more robust multi-agent systems for future applications in disaster management and other similar domains