From neural-based object recognition toward microelectronic eyes

Engineering neural network systems are best known for their abilities to adapt to the changing characteristics of the surrounding environment by adjusting system parameter values during the learning process. Rapid advances in analog current-mode design techniques have made possible the implementation of major neural network functions in custom VLSI chips. An electrically programmable analog synapse cell with large dynamic range can be realized in a compact silicon area. New designs of the synapse cells, neurons, and analog processor are presented. A synapse cell based on Gilbert multiplier structure can perform the linear multiplication for back-propagation networks. A double differential-pair synapse cell can perform the Gaussian function for radial-basis network. The synapse cells can be biased in the strong inversion region for high-speed operation or biased in the subthreshold region for low-power operation. The voltage gain of the sigmoid-function neurons is externally adjustable which greatly facilitates the search of optimal solutions in certain networks. Various building blocks can be intelligently connected to form useful industrial applications. Efficient data communication is a key system-level design issue for large-scale networks. We also present analog neural processors based on perceptron architecture and Hopfield network for communication applications. Biologically inspired neural networks have played an important role towards the creation of powerful intelligent machines. Accuracy, limitations, and prospects of analog current-mode design of the biologically inspired vision processing chips and cellular neural network chips are key design issues

Model for the inverse isotope effect of FeAs-based superconductors in the π\pi-phase-shifted pairing state

The isotope effects for Fe based superconductors are considered by including the phonon and magnetic fluctuations within the two band Eliashberg theory. We show that the recently observed inverse isotope effects of Fe, $\alpha_{Fe} \approx -0.18 \pm 0.03$,\cite{Shirage0903.3515} as well as the large positive isotope exponent ($\alpha\approx 0.35$) can naturally arise for the magnetically induced sign revered s-wave pairing state within reasonable parameter range. Either experimental report can not be discarded from the present analysis based on the parameter values they require. The inverse and positive isotope effects mean, respectively, the interband and intraband dominant eletron-phonon interaction. We first make our points based on the analytic result from the square well potential model and present explicit numerical calculations of the two band Eliashberg theory.Comment: 4 pages and 2 figure

Pembrolizumab alone or in combination with chemotherapy as first-line therapy for patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: results from the phase II nonrandomized KEYNOTE-059 study

BACKGROUND: The multicohort, phase II, nonrandomized KEYNOTE-059 study evaluated pembrolizumab ± chemotherapy in advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer. Results from cohorts 2 and 3, evaluating first-line therapy, are presented. METHODS: Patients ≥ 18 years old had previously untreated recurrent or metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Cohort 3 (monotherapy) had programmed death receptor 1 combined positive score ≥ 1. Cohort 2 (combination therapy) received pembrolizumab 200 mg on day 1, cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1 (up to 6 cycles), and 5-fluorouracil 800 mg/m2 on days 1-5 of each 3-week cycle (or capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 twice daily in Japan). Primary end points were safety (combination therapy) and objective response rate per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 by central review, and safety (monotherapy). RESULTS: In the combination therapy and monotherapy cohorts, 25 and 31 patients were enrolled; median follow-up was 13.8 months (range 1.8-24.1) and 17.5 months (range 1.7-20.7), respectively. In the combination therapy cohort, grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 19 patients (76.0%); none were fatal. In the monotherapy cohort, grade 3-5 treatment-related adverse events occurred in seven patients (22.6%); one death was attributed to a treatment-related adverse event (pneumonitis). The objective response rate was 60.0% [95% confidence interval (CI), 38.7-78.9] (combination therapy) and 25.8% (95% CI 11.9-44.6) (monotherapy). CONCLUSIONS: Pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity and was well tolerated as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma

Small anisotropy of the lower critical field and s±s_\pm-wave two-gap feature in single crystal LiFeAs

The in- and out-of-plane lower critical fields and magnetic penetration depths for LiFeAs were examined. The anisotropy ratio $\gamma_{H_{c1}}(0)$ is smaller than the expected theoretical value, and increased slightly with increasing temperature from 0.6$T_c$ to $T_c$. This small degree of anisotropy was numerically confirmed by considering electron correlation effect. The temperature dependence of the penetration depths followed a power law($\sim$$T^n$) below 0.3$T_c$, with $n$$>$3.5 for both $\lambda_{ab}$ and $\lambda_c$. Based on theoretical studies of iron-based superconductors, these results suggest that the superconductivity of LiFeAs can be represented by an extended $s_\pm$-wave due to weak impurity scattering effect. And the magnitudes of the two gaps were also evaluted by fitting the superfluid density for both the in- and out-of-plane to the two-gap model. The estimated values for the two gaps are consistent with the results of angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and specific heat experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Introduction: locating gentrification in the Global East

This special issue, a collection of papers presented and debated at an Urban Studies Foundation-funded workshop on Global Gentrification in London in 2012, attempts to problematise contemporary understandings of gentrification, which is all too often confined to the experiences of the so-called Global North, and sometimes too narrowly understood as classic gentrification. Instead of simply confirming the rise of gentrification in places outside of the usual suspects of North America and Western Europe, a more open-minded approach is advocated so as not to over-generalise distinctive urban processes under the label of gentrification, thus understanding gentrification as constitutive of diverse urban processes at work. This requires a careful attention to the complexity of property rights and tenure relations, and calls for a dialogue between gentrification and non-gentrification researchers to understand how gentrification communicates with other theories to capture the full dynamics of urban transformation. Papers in this special issue have made great strides towards these goals, namely theorising, distorting, mutating and bringing into question the concept of gentrification itself, as seen from the perspective of the Global East, a label that we have deliberately given in order to problematise the existing common practices of grouping all regions other than Western European and North American ones into the Global South

The developmental state, speculative urbanisation and the politics of displacement in gentrifying Seoul

What does gentrification mean under speculative urbanisation led by a strong developmental state? This paper analyses the contemporary history of Seoul’s urban redevelopment, arguing that new-build gentrification is an endogenous process embedded in Korea’s highly speculative urban development processes from the 1980s. Property owners, construction firms and local/central governments coalesce, facilitating the extraction of exchange value by closing the rent gap. Displacement of poorer owner-occupiers and tenants was requisite for the success of speculative accumulation. Furthermore, the paper also contends that Korea’s speculative urbanisation under the strong developmental (and later (neo-)liberalising) state has rendered popular resistance to displacement ineffective despite its initial success in securing state concessions. Examining the experience of Seoul in times of condensed industrialisation and speculative urbanisation helps inform the existing literature on gentrification by resorting to non-Western empirics

Prognostic significance of a systemic inflammatory response in patients receiving first-line palliative chemotherapy for recurred or metastatic gastric cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is increasing evidence that the presence of an ongoing systemic inflammatory response is associated with poor prognosis in patients with advanced cancers. We evaluated the relationships between clinical status, laboratory factors and progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer receiving first-line palliative chemotherapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We reviewed 402 patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma who received first-line palliative chemotherapy from June 2004 and December 2009. Various chemotherapy regimens were used. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), and clinical factors were recorded immediately prior to first-line chemotherapy. Patients with both an elevated CRP (>1.0 mg/dL) and hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 mg/dL) were assigned a GPS of 2. Patients in whom only one of these biochemical abnormalities was present were assigned a GPS of 1, and patients with a normal CRP and albumin were assigned a score of 0. To evaluate the factors that affected PFS and OS, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>According to multivariate analysis, the factors independently associated with PFS were ECOG PS (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.02-1.84, <it>P </it>= 0.035), bone metastasis (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.14-2.65, <it>P </it>= 0.009), and CRP elevation (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.28-2.09, <it>P </it>= 0.001). The factors independently associated with OS were ECOG PS (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.01-1.76, <it>P </it>= 0.037), bone metastasis (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.08-2.39, <it>P </it>= 0.017), and GPS ≥ 1 (HR 1.76, 95% CI 1.41-2.19, <it>P </it>= 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study showed that the presence of a systemic inflammatory response as evidenced by the CRP, GPS was significantly associated with shorter PFS and OS in patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer receiving first-line palliative chemotherapy. Bone metastasis and GPS were very useful indicator for survival in patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer receiving palliative chemotherapy.</p

Circulating Mesenchymal Stem Cells Microparticles in Patients with Cerebrovascular Disease

Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the application of CD105+ mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is feasible and may lead to recovery after stroke. In addition, circulating microparticles are reportedly functional in various disease conditions. We tested the levels of circulating CD105+ microparticles in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The expression of CD105 (a surface marker of MSCs) and CXCR4 (a CXC chemokine receptor for MSC homing) on circulating microparticles was evaluated by flow cytometry of samples from 111 patients and 50 healthy subjects. The percentage of apoptotic CD105 microparticles was determined based on annexin V (AV) expression. The relationship between serum levels of CD105+/AV− microparticles, stromal cells derived factor-1α (SDF-1α), and the extensiveness of cerebral infarcts was also evaluated. CD105+/AV− microparticles were higher in stroke patients than control subjects. Correlation analysis showed that the levels of CD105+/AV− microparticles increased as the baseline stroke severity increased. Multivariate testing showed that the initial severity of stroke was independently associated with circulating CD105+/AV− microparticles (OR, 1.103 for 1 point increase in the NIHSS score on admission; 95% CI, 1.032–1.178) after adjusting for other variables. The levels of CD105+/CXCR4+/AV− microparticles were also increased in patients with severe disability (r = 0.192, p = 0.046 for NIHSS score on admission), but were decreased with time after stroke onset (r = −0.204, p = 0.036). Risk factor profiles were not associated with the levels of circulating microparticles or SDF-1α. In conclusion, our data showed that stroke triggers the mobilization of MSC-derived microparticles, especially in patients with extensive ischemic stroke