461 research outputs found
Reinforcement learning or active inference?
This paper questions the need for reinforcement learning or control theory when optimising behaviour. We show that it is fairly simple to teach an agent complicated and adaptive behaviours using a free-energy formulation of perception. In this formulation, agents adjust their internal states and sampling of the environment to minimize their free-energy. Such agents learn causal structure in the environment and sample it in an adaptive and self-supervised fashion. This results in behavioural policies that reproduce those optimised by reinforcement learning and dynamic programming. Critically, we do not need to invoke the notion of reward, value or utility. We illustrate these points by solving a benchmark problem in dynamic programming; namely the mountain-car problem, using active perception or inference under the free-energy principle. The ensuing proof-of-concept may be important because the free-energy formulation furnishes a unified account of both action and perception and may speak to a reappraisal of the role of dopamine in the brain
The clinical features of the piriformis syndrome: a systematic review
Piriformis syndrome, sciatica caused by compression of the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle, has been described for over 70 years; yet, it remains controversial. The literature consists mainly of case series and narrative reviews. The objectives of the study were: first, to make the best use of existing evidence to estimate the frequencies of clinical features in patients reported to have PS; second, to identify future research questions. A systematic review was conducted of any study type that reported extractable data relevant to diagnosis. The search included all studies up to 1 March 2008 in four databases: AMED, CINAHL, Embase and Medline. Screening, data extraction and analysis were all performed independently by two reviewers. A total of 55 studies were included: 51 individual and 3 aggregated data studies, and 1 combined study. The most common features found were: buttock pain, external tenderness over the greater sciatic notch, aggravation of the pain through sitting and augmentation of the pain with manoeuvres that increase piriformis muscle tension. Future research could start with comparing the frequencies of these features in sciatica patients with and without disc herniation or spinal stenosis
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The uronic acid content of coccolith-associated polysaccharides provides insight into coccolithogenesis and past climate
Unicellular phytoplanktonic algae (coccolithophores) are among the most prolific producers of calcium carbonate on the planet, with a production of âŒ1026 coccoliths per year. During their lith formation, coccolithophores mainly employ coccolith-associated polysaccharides (CAPs) for the regulation of crystal nucleation and growth. These macromolecules interact with the intracellular calcifying compartment (coccolith vesicle) through the charged carboxyl groups of their uronic acid residues. Here we report the isolation of CAPs from modern day coccolithophores and their prehistoric predecessors and we demonstrate that their uronic acid content (UAC) offers a species-specific signature. We also show that there is a correlation between the UAC of CAPs and the internal saturation state of the coccolith vesicle that, for most geologically abundant species, is inextricably linked to carbon availability. These findings suggest that the UAC of CAPs reports on the adaptation of coccolithogenesis to environmental changes and can be used for the estimation of past CO2 concentrations
Improved Measurements of Partial Rate Asymmetry in B -> h h Decays
We report improved measurements of the partial rate asymmetry (Acp) in B -> h
h decays with 140fb^-1 of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB
e+e- collider. Here h stands for a charged or neutral pion or kaon and in total
five decay modes are included: K-+ pi+-, K0s pi-+, K-+ pi0, pi-+ pi0 and K0s
pi0. The flavor of the last decay mode is determined from the accompanying B
meson. Using a data sample 4.7 times larger than that of our previous
measurement, we find Acp(K-+ pi+-) -0.088+-0.035+-0.013, 2.4 sigma from zero.
Results for other decay modes are also presented.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
Evidence for B- -> tau- nu_bar with a Semileptonic Tagging Method
We present a measurement of the decay B- -> tau- nu_bar using a data sample
containing 657 million BB_bar pairs collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with
the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. A sample of
BB_bar pairs are tagged by reconstructing one B meson decaying
semileptonically. We detect the B- -> tau- nu_bar candidate in the recoil. We
obtain a signal with a significance of 3.6 standard deviations including
systematic uncertainties, and measure the branching fraction to be Br(B- ->
tau- nu_bar) = [1.54+0.38-0.37(stat)+0.29-0.31(syst)]*10^-4. This result
confirms the evidence for B- -> tau- nu_bar obtained in a previous Belle
measurement that used a hadronic B tagging method.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, corrected references, to appear in PRD-R
Search for gamma-ray emission from magnetars with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
We report on the search for 0.1-10 GeV emission from magnetars in 17 months
of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations. No significant evidence for
gamma-ray emission from any of the currently-known magnetars is found. The most
stringent upper limits to date on their persistent emission in the Fermi-LAT
energy range are estimated between ~10^{-12}-10^{-10} erg/s/cm2, depending on
the source. We also searched for gamma-ray pulsations and possible outbursts,
also with no significant detection. The upper limits derived support the
presence of a cut-off at an energy below a few MeV in the persistent emission
of magnetars. They also show the likely need for a revision of current models
of outer gap emission from strongly magnetized pulsars, which, in some
realizations, predict detectable GeV emission from magnetars at flux levels
exceeding the upper limits identified here using the Fermi-LAT observations.Comment: ApJ Letters in press; Corresponding authors: Caliandro G. A., Hadasch
D., Rea N., Burnett
Detection of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Starburst Galaxies M82 and NGC 253 with the Large Area Telescope on Fermi
We report the detection of high-energy gamma-ray emission from two starburst
galaxies using data obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi
Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Steady point-like emission above 200 MeV has been
detected at significance levels of 6.8 sigma and 4.8 sigma respectively, from
sources positionally coincident with locations of the starburst galaxies M82
and NGC 253. The total fluxes of the sources are consistent with gamma-ray
emission originating from the interaction of cosmic rays with local
interstellar gas and radiation fields and constitute evidence for a link
between massive star formation and gamma-ray emission in star-forming galaxies.Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letter
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