Local Positional Encoding for Multi-Layer Perceptrons

A multi-layer perceptron (MLP) is a type of neural networks which has a long history of research and has been studied actively recently in computer vision and graphics fields. One of the well-known problems of an MLP is the capability of expressing high-frequency signals from low-dimensional inputs. There are several studies for input encodings to improve the reconstruction quality of an MLP by applying pre-processing against the input data. This paper proposes a novel input encoding method, local positional encoding, which is an extension of positional and grid encodings. Our proposed method combines these two encoding techniques so that a small MLP learns high-frequency signals by using positional encoding with fewer frequencies under the lower resolution of the grid to consider the local position and scale in each grid cell. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method by applying it to common 2D and 3D regression tasks where it shows higher-quality results compared to positional and grid encodings, and comparable results to hierarchical variants of grid encoding such as multi-resolution grid encoding with equivalent memory footprint

All-optical link for direct comparison of distant optical clocks

We developed an all-optical link system for making remote comparisons of two distant ultra-stable optical clocks. An optical carrier transfer system based on a fiber interferometer was employed to compensate the phase noise accumulated during the propagation through a fiber link. Transfer stabilities of $2\times10^{-15}$ at 1 second and $4\times10^{-18}$ at 1000 seconds were achieved in a 90-km link. An active polarization control system was additionally introduced to maintain the transmitted light in an adequate polarization, and consequently, a stable and reliable comparison was accomplished. The instabilities of the all-optical link system, including those of the erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) which are free from phase-noise compensation, were below $2\times10^{-15}$ at 1 second and $7\times10^{-17}$ at 1000 seconds. The system was available for the direct comparison of two distant $^{87}$Sr lattice clocks via an urban fiber link of 60 km. This technique will be essential for the measuring the reproducibility of optical frequency standards

A Study on the Curriculum of Elementary Schools in Okayama City; Analysis and Classification of the Educational Objectives

　岡山市立小学校全93 校（分校・分教室等を含む。）の教育課程，特にそれを構成する要素の一つである学校教育目標に着目し，その特徴を明らかにするとともに類型化を行なった。学校教育目標に使われている言葉の分析からは，体育・徳育・知育の順に重視されていること，岡山市の教育が目指す「自立する子どもの育成」を踏まえた「自主　自立　主体性」や「地域郷土」「国際　国際社会」というESDとの関連を鮮明に示す言葉はあまり使われていないこと，また，クラスター分析による学校教育目標の類型化からは，「指導要領準拠型（23校）」「徳育体育重視型（23 校）」「地域協働型（４校）」「特色ある目標型（29 校）」「努力自立重視型（14 校）」の５類型に分けられることが明らかになった。最後に，岡山市立小学校における学校教育目標の改善・充実に向けた方策を５点提起した

小学校におけるソーシャルスキル教育を中心とした 心理教育の縦断実践研究 : 三水準モデルにおける行動的機能の変化の影響

本研究は、大対・大竹・松見（2007）によって提案された学校適応アセスメントのための三水準モデルの検証を行うため、モデルの中の行動的機能の変化パターンによって、学業的機能・社会的機能・学校適応感がどのように変化するのかを明らかにした。小学校１～６年生の児童を対象に、平成26年5月及び平成27年3月に三水準モデルの各因子に関わる質問紙を実施した。なお、質問紙調査とともに、行動的機能の因子の一部である「感謝」「聴き方・話し方」「あいさつ」については、ソーシャルスキルトレーニングが実施されている。クラスター分析により、調査を実施した２時点で行動的機能が向上した群と低下した群に児童を分類して比較検討した。行動的機能向上群が149名、行動的機能低下群が195となった。行動的機能向上群は、学業的機能・社会的機能・学校適応感のうち、「運動」を除いた他の因子に向上がみられていたため、三水準モデルと概ね一致する結果となった

小学校におけるソーシャルスキル教育を中心とした心理教育の縦断実践研究 : 行動的機能への介入効果を考慮した三水準モデルの検証

本研究は、学校適応アセスメントの三水準モデルについて、行動的機能への介入効果が時間経過後に学業的機能・社会的機能・学校適応感に現れることを考慮し、共分散構造分析によって検証した。小学校１～６年生の児童に対し、平成26年５月及び平成27年３月に三水準モデルの各因子に関わる質問紙を実施した。なお、質問紙調査とともに、行動的機能の因子の一部である「感謝」「聴き方・話し方」「あいさつ」については、学級単位のソーシャルスキルトレーニングが実施されている。分析の結果、①行動的機能と学業的機能・社会的機能・学校適応感の間に時間差があり、②引っ込み思案行動を社会的機能に位置づけ、③学校適応感から学業的機能へのパスを追加した場合に、適合度の良い結果が得られた。したがって、行動的機能への介入効果が時間を置いて現れることや、引っ込み思案行動と社会的機能及び、学校適応感と学業的機能には、何らかの影響関係があることが考えられた

Stability Transfer between Two Clock Lasers Operating at Different Wavelengths for Absolute Frequency Measurement of Clock Transition in 87Sr

We demonstrated transferring the stability of one highly stable clock laser operating at 729 nm to another less stable laser operating at 698 nm. The two different wavelengths were bridged using an optical frequency comb. The improved stability of the clock laser at 698 nm enabled us to evaluate the systematic frequency shifts of the Sr optical lattice clock with shorter averaging time. We determined the absolute frequency of the clock transition 1S0 - 3P0 in 87Sr to be 429 228 004 229 873.9 (1.4) Hz referenced to the SI second on the geoid via International Atomic Time (TAI)

Direct Comparison of Distant Optical Lattice Clocks at the 10−1610^{-16} Uncertainty

Fiber-based remote comparison of $^{87}$Sr lattice clocks in 24 km distant laboratories is demonstrated. The instability of the comparison reaches $5\times10^{-16}$ over an averaging time of 1000 s, which is two orders of magnitude shorter than that of conventional satellite links and is limited by the instabilities of the optical clocks. By correcting the systematic shifts that are predominated by the differential gravitational redshift, the residual fractional difference is found to be $(1.0\pm7.3)\times10^{-16}$, confirming the coincidence between the two clocks. The accurate and speedy comparison of distant optical clocks paves the way for a future optical redefinition of the second

The Contribution of SAA1 Polymorphisms to Familial Mediterranean Fever Susceptibility in the Japanese Population

Background/Aims: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) has traditionally been considered to be an autosomal-recessive disease, however, it has been observed that substantial numbers of patients with FMF possess only 1 demonstrable MEFV mutation. The clinical profile of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) may be influenced by MEFV allelic heterogeneity and other genetic and/or environmental factors. Methodology/Principal Findings: In view of the inflammatory nature of FMF, we investigated whether serum amyloid A (SAA) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) gene polymorphisms may affect the susceptibility of Japanese patients with FMF. The genotypes of the -13C/T SNP in the 5′-flanking region of the SAA1 gene and the two SNPs within exon 3 of SAA1 (2995C/T and 3010C/T polymorphisms) were determined in 83 Japanese patients with FMF and 200 healthy controls. The same samples were genotyped for IL-1β-511 (C/T) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms. There were no significant differences between FMF patients and healthy subjects in the genotypic distribution of IL-1β -511 (C/T), IL-1Ra VNTR and SAA2 polymorphisms. The frequencies of SAA1.1 allele were significantly lower (21.7% versus 34.0%), and inversely the frequencies of SAA1.3 allele were higher (48.8% versus 37.5%) in FMF patients compared with healthy subjects. The frequency of -13T alleles, associated with the SAA1.3 allele in the Japanese population, was significantly higher (56.0% versus 41.0%, p = 0.001) in FMF patients compared with healthy subjects. Conclusions/Significance: Our data indicate that SAA1 gene polymorphisms, consisting of -13T/C SNP in the 5′-flanking region and SNPs within exon 3 (2995C/T and 3010C/T polymorphisms) of SAA1 gene, are associated with susceptibility to FMF in the Japanese population

Bacteremia due to Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides in a Patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Leuconostoc species are vancomycin-resistant Gram-positive cocci. Infections due to Leuconostoc species have been reported in various immunocompromised patients, but little is known about such infection in patients with hematologic malignancies. We report a case of Leuconostoc infection in a 44-year-old woman with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The patient developed a high fever despite antimicrobial therapy with doripenem after induction chemotherapy. After an isolate from blood cultures was identified as L. pseudomesenteroides, we changed the antibiotics to piperacillin-tazobactam and gentamicin, after which the patient recovered from the infection. Physicians should be aware of Leuconostoc species as causative pathogen if they encounter Gram-positive cocci bacteremia resistant to standard antibiotics such as vancomycin and teicoplanin, especially in patients with hematologic malignancies