Improving Learning Automata based Particle Swarm: An optimization algorithm

Optimization (PSO) algorithms have been recently developed, with the best aim of escaping from local minima. One of these recent variations is PSO-LA model which employs a Learning Automata (LA) that controls the velocity of the particle. Another variation of PSO enables particles to dynamically search through global and local space. This paper presents a Dynamic Global and Local Combined Particle Swarm Optimization based on a 3-action Learning Automata (DPSOLA). The embedded learning automaton accumulates the information from individuals, local best and global best particles then combines them to navigate the particle through the problem space. The proposed algorithm has been tested on eight benchmark functions with different dimensions. The work is unique from its test bed; evaluations contain large population size (150) and high dimension (150). The results show that, fitness and convergence pace is better than traditional PSO, DGLCPSO and previous PSO based LA algorithms. I

Distributed Sparse Computing and Communication for Big Graph Analytics and Deep Learning

Sparsity can be found in the underlying structure of many real-world computationally expensive problems including big graph analytics and large scale sparse deep neural networks. In addition, if gracefully investigated, many of these problems contain a broad substratum of parallelism suitable for parallel and distributed executions of sparse computation. However, usually, dense computation is preferred to its sparse alternative as sparse computation is not only hard to parallelize due to the irregular nature of the sparse data, but also complicated to implement in terms of rewriting a dense algorithm into a sparse one. Hence, foolproof sparse computation requires customized data structures to encode the sparsity of the sparse data and new algorithms to mask the complexity of the sparse computation. However, by carefully exploiting the sparse data structures and algorithms, sparse computation can reduce memory consumption, communication volume, and processing power and thus undoubtedly move the scalability boundaries compared to its dense equivalent. In this dissertation, I explain how to use parallel and distributed computing techniques in the presence of sparsity to solve large scientific problems including graph analytics and deep learning. To meet this end goal, I leverage the duality between graph theory and sparse linear algebra primitives, and thus solve graph analytics and deep learning problems with the sparse matrix operations. My contributions are fourfold: (1) design and implementation of a new distributed compressed sparse matrix data structure that reduces both computation and communication volumes and is suitable for sparse matrix-vector and sparse matrix-matrix operations, (2) introducing the new MPI*X parallelism model that deems threads as basic units of computing and communication, (3) optimizing sparse matrix-matrix multiplication by employing different hashing techniques, and (4) proposing the new data-then-model parallelism that mitigates the effect of stragglers in sparse deep learning by combining data and model parallelisms. Altogether, these contributions provide a set of data structures and algorithms to accelerate and scale the sparse computing and communication

Health services system for seafarers and fishermen in Iran

The maritime health services system is presented in this review article. The national Iranian shipping line IRISL owns the largest commercial fleet in the Middle East and it operates 137 ships. This company and several other national shipping companies employ over 5 900 seafarers. There are 11 000 fishing ships and boats and the number of Iranian fishermen reaches 124 000. Seafarers and fishermen are regularly medically examined and issued health certificates, according to the national regulations. The health services system for them is linked to the port authorities throughout the country. Observations, data and relevant statistics on the health problems of the national maritime workers have been regularly collected

Electro-catalytic Oxidation of Formaldehyde on Copper Electrode: a New Kinetics Model

Abstract Electro-catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde on copper electrode in 100 mM NaOH solution at different concentrations of formaldehyde was studied in the steady state polarization technique. The CV curve shows evidence for two processes occurring at the interface: one is associated with the formaldehyde electro-oxidation leading to formic acid formation on the surface and the other is assigned to the oxidation of formic acid that leads to CO 2 evolutions with low yield. Reaction orders for the faradic current on copper electrode have been determined as 0.21 for the higher and 0.76 for the lower concentration of formaldehyde. Reaction orders for CO 2 evolution during formaldehyde oxidation are 1.4 times higher in each case. Tafel slopes in the range of 140-160 mV are found. This signifies that the first reaction step involving the formation of adsorbed CO 2 is largely determining the overall reaction rate

Effect of Self-care on Quality of Life of Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

Long term diseases and their psycho-cognitive physiologic defects or signs affect life quality of the patients in different life stages and threaten their health resulting in their disabilities. Multiple sclerosis (MS) as a long-term life threatening disease can make acute disabilities affecting patients’ life trend. Unknown manner of disease, poor prognosis and treatment on one hand and hard prevention on the other hand have all limited the treatment to a supportive one although patients can have almost a normal length of life with appropriate self-care. Self care can well diminish the disease extension and complications provides the patient with a better life quality and his family with a better coping ability against new conditions. So this study was carried out with the above title. This study was quasi-experimental and the method of data gathering was questionnaires which included two sections as follows 26 MS patients referring to private and clinic of Isfahan Alzahra hospital were selected by convenient sampling. After that, the subjects started self-care programs for three weeks and then life quality questionnaire was filled either with the patients or the researcher. The findings were analyzed and compared with former findings through descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed a noticeable increase in life quality mean score in domain of physical function (P<0.001), psycho cognitive domain (p<0.001), social function (P<0.001) and general health (p<0.001) after self care program. There was also a sharp increase in total life quality score after self-care program compared with before that. The findings showed that self-care could positively affect life quality items. It is hoped that by formation of educational supportive associations or at least a well equipped rehabilitation center for the patients, the patients can be provided with facilities of self-care as well as a condition in which the patients themselves carry out their self care

Effect of Self-care on Quality of Life of Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

مولتیپل اسکلروزیس به عنوان یک بیماری غیرقابل درمان و دارای معلولیتهای فراوان، تا حدود زیادی زندگی طبیعی مبتلایان را تحت تأثیر قرار می دهد. با آموزش مراقبت از خود می توان از بروز یا پیشرفت بسیاری از عوارض کاست، زندگی مطلوب را افزایش داد و در تحمل بسیاری از مشکلات بوسیله سازگاری با شرایط به وجود آمده، خانواده را یاری داد؛ لذا این پژوهش با هدف بررسی تاثیر خودمراقبتی بر کیفیت زندگی مبتلایان به مولتیپل اسکلروزیس صورت گرفته است. این پژوهش به صورت نیمه تجربی، یک گروهی و دو مرحله ای انجام شده است. تعداد کل نمونه ها 28 بیمارمبتلا به مولتیپل اسکلروزیس مراجعه کننده به یکی ازدرمانگاه های خصوصی ونیز درمـانگاه بیمارستان الزهرا بوده اند که با روش نمونه گیری آسان انتخاب شده اند. اطلاعات مورد نیاز با استفاده از پرسشنامه خود ساخته کیفیت زندگی جمع آوری گردیده است. نتایج حاصل با استفاده از آمار توصیفی و استنباطی با نتایج قبلی مورد مقایسه قرار گرفت. یافته های پژوهش نشان داد که افزایش چشمگیری در میانگین امتیازات کیفیت زندگی در حیطه های عملکردجسمانی، روانشناختی ،حیطه عملکرد اجتماعی و سلامت عمومی بعد از اقدام به خودمراقبتی ایجاد شده است. همچنین یافته های پژوهش نشان داد که میانگین امتیازات کلی کیفیت زندگی بعد از خودمراقبتی افزایش بارزی نسبت به قبل از خودمراقبتی داشته است. نتایج حاصل از پژوهش نشان می دهد که انجام خودمراقبتی تاثیر مثبتی بر روی اجزای کیفیت زندگی دارد. امید است با ایجاد و تقویت انجمن های آموزشی و حمایتی، امکان انجام اقدامات خود مراقبتی برای بیماران مبتلا به مولیتپل اسکلروز فراهم گردد