Extensions of Self-Improving Sorters

Ailon et al. (SICOMP 2011) proposed a self-improving sorter that tunes its performance to the unknown input distribution in a training phase. The distribution of the input numbers x_1,x_2,...,x_n must be of the product type, that is, each x_i is drawn independently from an arbitrary distribution D_i, and the D_i\u27s are independent of each other. We study two extensions that relax this requirement. The first extension models hidden classes in the input. We consider the case that numbers in the same class are governed by linear functions of the same hidden random parameter. The second extension considers a hidden mixture of product distributions

Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, dan Humor Styles

Variables of this study are mindfulness, self-compassion, and humor styles that are related to mental health, which are important and become the attention in the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of mindfulness and self-compassion in a single way or combine with humor styles. Sample consisted of 261 students from 447 populations and used quantitative approach. Results of the first phase using linear regression to see role of mindfulness toward humor styles stated that mindfulness did not play a role in affiliative humor, but there was a negative role between mindfulness on self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor. The second phase using multiple linear regression to see role of mindfulness and self- compassion simultaneously with humor styles show there was a role for mindfulness and self- compassion towards affiliative and self-enhancing, in which self-compassion played a greater role. Whereas in aggressive and self-defeating, self-compassion had less role. Based on a review of the four humor styles, mindfulness and self-compassion have the most role in self-enhancing humor. Thus, researchers suggest students to improve their mindfulness and self-compassion by adding insight, training, and applying them in everyday life

An alternative current-error based control for VSC integration to weak grid

An enhanced current control strategy is proposed for voltage source converters for the integration to weak grids. The control derives from the current-error based vector control. By imple menting simple close-loop compensations of both angle and magnitude inputs to the pulse width modulation, the damping of vector control in the weak grid can be significantly improved hence able to deliver full rated power to very weak grid. Due to the presence of the current loop, the fault-ride-through capability can be maintained with no need for mode switching. A comprehensive frequency domain model is employed to analyze the stability. Time domain simulations are further carried out to validate its effectiveness and robustness of integrating to the weak grid with fault-ride-through capability

Cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy improves survival of gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis: evidence from an experimental study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has been considered as a promising treatment modality for gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). However, there have also been many debates regarding the efficacy and safety of this new approach. Results from experimental animal model study could help provide reliable information. This study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of CRS + HIPEC to treat gastric cancer with PC in a rabbit model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>VX2 tumor cells were injected into the gastric submucosa of 42 male New Zealand rabbits using a laparotomic implantation technique, to construct rabbit model of gastric cancer with PC. The rabbits were randomized into control group (n = 14), CRS alone group (n = 14) and CRS + HIPEC group (n = 14). The control group was observed for natural course of disease progression. Treatments were started on day 9 after tumor cells inoculation, including maximal removal of tumor nodules in CRS alone group, and maximal CRS plus heperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion with docetaxel (10 mg/rabbit) and carboplatin (40 mg/rabbit) at 42.0 ± 0.5°C for 30 min in CRS + HIPEC group. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoints were body weight, biochemistry, major organ functions and serious adverse events (SAE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rabbit model of gastric cancer with PC was successfully established in all animals. The clinicopathological features of the model were similar to human gastric PC. The median OS was 24.0 d (95% confidence interval 21.8 - 26.2 d ) in the control group, 25.0 d (95% CI 21.3 - 28.7 d ) in CRS group, and 40.0 d (95% CI 34.6 - 45.4 d ) in CRS + HIPEC group (<it>P </it>= 0.00, log rank test). Compared with CRS only or control group, CRS + HIPEC could extend the OS by at least 15 d (60%). At the baseline, on the day of surgery and on day 8 after surgery, the peripheral blood cells counts, liver and kidney functions, and biochemistry parameters were all comparable. SAE occurred in 0 animal in control group, 2 animals in CRS alone group including 1 animal death due to anesthesia overdose and another death due to postoperative hemorrhage, and 3 animals in CRS + HIPEC group including 1 animal death due to anesthesia overdose, and 2 animal deaths due to diarrhea 23 and 27 d after operation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this rabbit model of gastric cancer with PC, CRS alone could not bring benefit while CRS + HIPEC with docetaxel and carboplatin could significantly prolong the survival with acceptable safety.</p

EPVT: Environment-aware Prompt Vision Transformer for Domain Generalization in Skin Lesion Recognition

Skin lesion recognition using deep learning has made remarkable progress, and there is an increasing need for deploying these systems in real-world scenarios. However, recent research has revealed that deep neural networks for skin lesion recognition may overly depend on disease-irrelevant image artifacts (i.e. dark corners, dense hairs), leading to poor generalization in unseen environments. To address this issue, we propose a novel domain generalization method called EPVT, which involves embedding prompts into the vision transformer to collaboratively learn knowledge from diverse domains. Concretely, EPVT leverages a set of domain prompts, each of which plays as a domain expert, to capture domain-specific knowledge; and a shared prompt for general knowledge over the entire dataset. To facilitate knowledge sharing and the interaction of different prompts, we introduce a domain prompt generator that enables low-rank multiplicative updates between domain prompts and the shared prompt. A domain mixup strategy is additionally devised to reduce the co-occurring artifacts in each domain, which allows for more flexible decision margins and mitigates the issue of incorrectly assigned domain labels. Experiments on four out-of-distribution datasets and six different biased ISIC datasets demonstrate the superior generalization ability of EPVT in skin lesion recognition across various environments. Our code and dataset will be released at https://github.com/SiyuanYan1/EPVT.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Polycystic ovary syndrome in patients with epilepsy: A study in 102 Chinese women

AbstractPurposeThe incidence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) increases in women with epilepsy (WWE), which appears to vary with ethnicity. This study was conducted to determine the incidence and risk factors of PCOS in Chinese WWE.MethodsThe study was carried out in 102 of 139 Chinese WWE at reproductive ages, with 32 receiving valproic acid (VPA), 40 receiving other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and 30 without AEDs therapy. PCOS was defined as having 2 or more of the following components: polycystic ovaries, hyperandrogenism, and amenorrhoea or oligomenorrhoea (a/oligomenorrhoea).ResultsOne or more isolated components of PCOS were found in 56 (54.9%) patients, with 29 (28.4%) having polycystic ovaries, 20 (19.6%) with a/oligomenorrhea, 7 (6.9%) with hyperandrogenism, and 13 (12.7%) with defined PCOS. Their average age at the start of seizure was 13.8±6.5years, younger than that of patients without these disorders (16.9±8.6years, p<0.05). VPA therapy increased the incidence of PCOS (11/32, 34.4%), in addition to increased blood levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) as well as LH to FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) ratio. No significant relationship was found between the incidence of PCOS and the type, duration, or frequency of seizures in these WWE.ConclusionThere is an increased incidence of PCOS in Chinese WWE at reproductive ages, by more than 2 times of that in the general population. Risk factors include seizures starting at a young age and VPA therapy