Adaptive convolution kernel for artificial neural networks

Many deep neural networks are built by using stacked convolutional layers of fixed and single size (often 3 × 3) kernels. This paper describes a method for learning the size of convolutional kernels to provide varying size kernels in a single layer. The method utilizes a differentiable, and therefore backpropagation-trainable Gaussian envelope which can grow or shrink in a base grid. Our experiments compared the proposed adaptive layers to ordinary convolution layers in a simple two-layer network, a deeper residual network, and a U-Net architecture. The results in the popular image classification datasets such as MNIST, MNIST-CLUTTERED, CIFAR-10, Fashion, and ‘‘Faces in the Wild’’ showed that the adaptive kernels can provide statistically significant improvements on ordinary convolution kernels. A segmentation experiment in the Oxford-Pets dataset demonstrated that replacing ordinary convolution layers in a U-shaped network with 7 × 7 adaptive layers can improve its learning performance and ability to generalize.This work was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey programme ( TUBITAK-1001 no: 118E722 ), Isik University BAP programme, Turkey (no: 16A202 ), and NVIDIA hardware donation of a Tesla K40 GPU unit, Turkey.Publisher's Versio

Adaptive Convolution Kernel for Artificial Neural Networks

Many deep neural networks are built by using stacked convolutional layers of fixed and single size (often 3$\times$3) kernels. This paper describes a method for training the size of convolutional kernels to provide varying size kernels in a single layer. The method utilizes a differentiable, and therefore backpropagation-trainable Gaussian envelope which can grow or shrink in a base grid. Our experiments compared the proposed adaptive layers to ordinary convolution layers in a simple two-layer network, a deeper residual network, and a U-Net architecture. The results in the popular image classification datasets such as MNIST, MNIST-CLUTTERED, CIFAR-10, Fashion, and ``Faces in the Wild'' showed that the adaptive kernels can provide statistically significant improvements on ordinary convolution kernels. A segmentation experiment in the Oxford-Pets dataset demonstrated that replacing a single ordinary convolution layer in a U-shaped network with a single 7$\times$7 adaptive layer can improve its learning performance and ability to generalize.Comment: 25 page

Harnack Inequality and Regularity for a Product of Symmetric Stable Process and Brownian Motion

In this paper, we consider a product of a symmetric stable process in $\mathbb{R}^d$ and a one-dimensional Brownian motion in $\mathbb{R}^+$. Then we define a class of harmonic functions with respect to this product process. We show that bounded non-negative harmonic functions in the upper-half space satisfy Harnack inequality and prove that they are locally H\"older continuous. We also argue a result on Littlewood-Paley functions which are obtained by the $\alpha$-harmonic extension of an $L^p(\mathbb{R}^d)$ function.Comment: 23 page

A rare neurodegenerative disorder with a novel mutation in ROGDI and Rett- like phenotype: Kohlschutter- Tönz syndrome

Kohlschutter-Tonz syndrome (KTZS) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that presents with seizures, developmental delay, psychomotor regression, hypoplastic dental enamel morphology characteristic for amelogenesis imperfecta, and dysmorphologies. Genetic analysis has identified loss of function mutations within the coding region of the ROGDI and SLC13A5 genes in KTZS. In this report, we documented the clinical, radiological, electroencephalographic, and genetic results of a 3.5-year-old Turkish girl, born to nonconsanguineous parents, who was the first patient diagnosed with KTZS in Turkey. The patient presented with Rett syndrome-like phenotype, neurodevelopmental delay, refractory seizures, and amelogenesis imperfecta. After obtaining informed consent, chromosomal DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of our patient and her parents. To investigate the molecular diagnosis of the patient, the clinical exome sequencing was performed. The Sanger sequencing analysis was performed for all of the family members for the validation and segregation of this mutation. Pub Med/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were also searched to find all of the published data on KTZS. The literature comprises 18 published studies about KTZS. The genetic analysis of our patient revealed a novel homozygous c.201-1G>T mutation in the ROGDI gene. The same mutation was also found to be heterozygous in her mother and father. The mutation caused alternative splicing of the ROGDI translation and resulted in a disruption of the ROGDI protein

Modeling repair demand in existence of a nonstationary installed base

This research is funded by TUBITAK 3501 National Young Researchers Career Development Program with the grant number 118M477 . Authors are thankful to Ali Kök for his help in organizing our code base that we use in our numerical experiments.Life cycles of products consist of 3 phases, namely growth, maturity, and decline phases. Modeling repair demand is particularly difficult in the growth and decline stages due to nonstationarity. In this study, we suggest respective stochastic models that capture the dynamics of repair demand in these two phases. We apply our theory to two different operations management problems. First, using the moments of spare parts demand, we suggest an algorithm that selects a parametric distribution from the hypergeometric family (Ord, 1967) for each period in time. We utilize the algorithm in a single echelon inventory control problem. Second, we focus on investment decisions of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to extend economic lifetimes of products with technology upgrades. Our results indicate that the second moment is sufficient for growing customer bases, whereas using the third moment doubles the approximation quality of theoretical distributions for a declining customer base. From a cost minimization perspective, using higher moments of demand leads to savings up to 13.6% compared to the single-moment approach. Also, we characterize the optimal investment policy for lifetime extension decisions from risk-neutral and risk-averse perspectives. We find that there exists a critical level of investment cost and installed base size for profitability of lifetime extension for OEMs. From a managerial point of view, we find that a risk-neutral decision maker finds the lifetime extension problem profitable. In contrast, even a slight risk aversion can make the lifetime extension decision economically undesirable.TUBITAK 3501 National Young Researchers Career Development ProgramPublisher's Versio

Some boundary Harnack principles with uniform constants

We prove two versions of a boundary Harnack principle in which the constants do not depend on the domain by using probabilistic methods.Research partially supported by NSERC (Canada) and BAP 20A101 Grant of Işık University (Turkey).The first named author, Martin T. Barlow, was partially supported by NSERC (Canada). The second named author, Deniz Karli, was partially supported by NSERC (Canada) and partially by the BAP grant, numbered 20A101, at the Isik University, Istanbul, Turkey. We thank our referees for their comments, and in particular one referee for suggesting a considerable simplification of our proof of Theorem 2. We also thank Pinar KarliAkgun for drawing the figures in this manuscript.Publisher's Versio

Optimization of wastewater treatment systems for growing industrial parks

Wastewater treatment is one of the crucial functions of industrial parks as wastewater from industrial facilities usually contains toxic compounds that can cause damage to the environment. To control their environmental loads, industrial parks make investment decisions for wastewater treatment plants. For this, they need to consider technical and economic factors as well as future growth projections as substantial construction and operational costs of wastewater treatment plants have to be shared by all companies in an industrial park. In this paper, we consider the long-term capacity planning problem for wastewater treatment facilities of a stochastically growing industrial park. By explicitly modeling randomness in the arrival of new tenants and their random wastewater discharges, our model calculates the future mean and variance of wastewater flow in the industrial park. Mean and variance are used in a Mixed Integer Programming Model to optimize wastewater treatment plant selection over a long planning horizon (30 years). By fitting our first model to empirical data from an industrial park in Turkey, we find that considering the variance of wastewater load is critical for long-term planning. Also, we quantify the economic significance of lowering wastewater discharges which can be achieved by water recycling or interplant water exchange.Publisher's VersionPMID: 3773460

A Case Of Tuberculous Meningitis With Paradoxical Response In A 14-Year-Old Boy

A clinical or radiological worsening of already existing lesions or an emergence of new lesions after beginning treatment in patients with tuberculosis (TB) is referred to as the paradoxical response. This has aroused suspicion regarding the accuracy of diagnosis, the possibilities of treatment failure, or the presence of another underlying disease, and thus it is an important topic for clinicians to understand. In this article, the development of a paradox reaction in a 14-year-old male patient diagnosed with and treated for tuberculosis meningitis is reported. This pediatric patient with a healthy immune system is treated with steroids successfully and reported to elucidate the importance of managing the paradox of TB progression in spite of the appropriate anti-TB medications.PubMe

IVIg-induced headache: prospective study of a large cohort with neurological disorders

Background: Intravenous immune globulin (IVIg) is frequently used in some neurological diseases and is also the first-line therapy in Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and multifocal motor neuropathy. We aimed to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of headaches, which is one of the most common side effects of IVIg treatment. Methods: Patients who received IVIg treatment for neurological diseases were prospectively enrolled in 23 centers. Firstly, the characteristics of patients with and without IVIg-induced headaches were analyzed statistically. Then, patients with IVIg-induced headaches were classified into three subgroups determined by their history: no primary headache, tension-type headache (TTH), and migraine. Results: A total of 464 patients (214 women) and 1548 IVIg infusions were enrolled between January and August 2022. The frequency of IVIg-related headaches was 27.37% (127/464). A binary logistic regression analysis performed with significant clinical features disclosed that female sex and fatigue as a side effect were statistically more common in the IVIg-induced headache group. IVIg-related headache duration was long and affected daily living activities more in patients with migraine compared to no primary headache and TTH groups (p = 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Headache is more likely to occur in female patients receiving IVIg and those who develop fatigue as a side effect during the infusion. Clinicians’ awareness of IVIg-related headache characteristics, especially in patients with migraine, may increase treatment compliance