390 research outputs found
All-optical Reservoir Computing
Reservoir Computing is a novel computing paradigm which uses a nonlinear
recurrent dynamical system to carry out information processing. Recent
electronic and optoelectronic Reservoir Computers based on an architecture with
a single nonlinear node and a delay loop have shown performance on standardized
tasks comparable to state-of-the-art digital implementations. Here we report an
all-optical implementation of a Reservoir Computer, made of off-the-shelf
components for optical telecommunications. It uses the saturation of a
semiconductor optical amplifier as nonlinearity. The present work shows that,
within the Reservoir Computing paradigm, all-optical computing with
state-of-the-art performance is possible
Public debates driven by incomplete scientific data: the cases of evolution theory, global warming and H1N1 pandemic influenza
Public debates driven by incomplete scientific data where nobody can claim
absolute certainty, due to current state of scientific knowledge, are studied.
The cases of evolution theory, global warming and H1N1 pandemic influenza are
investigated. The first two are of controversial impact while the third is more
neutral and resolved. To adopt a cautious balanced attitude based on clear but
inconclusive data appears to be a lose-out strategy. In contrast overstating
arguments with wrong claims which cannot be scientifically refuted appear to be
necessary but not sufficient to eventually win a public debate. The underlying
key mechanism of these puzzling and unfortunate conclusions are identified
using the Galam sequential probabilistic model of opinion dynamics. It reveals
that the existence of inflexible agents and their respective proportions are
the instrumental parameters to determine the faith of incomplete scientific
data public debates. Acting on one's own inflexible proportion modifies the
topology of the flow diagram, which in turn can make irrelevant initial
supports. On the contrary focusing on open-minded agents may be useless given
some topologies. When the evidence is not as strong as claimed, the inflexibles
rather than the data are found to drive the opinion of the population. The
results shed a new but disturbing light on designing adequate strategies to win
a public debate.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure
Allelotyping identification of genomic alterations in rectal chromosomally unstable tumors without preoperative treatment
Sequential High-Dose Combination Chemotherapy With Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor and Peripheral Blood Progenitor Cells in Patients With Solid Tumors: Intensification Limited by Nonhematologic Toxic Effects
Discrete spherical means of directional derivatives and Veronese maps
We describe and study geometric properties of discrete circular and spherical
means of directional derivatives of functions, as well as discrete
approximations of higher order differential operators. For an arbitrary
dimension we present a general construction for obtaining discrete spherical
means of directional derivatives. The construction is based on using the
Minkowski's existence theorem and Veronese maps. Approximating the directional
derivatives by appropriate finite differences allows one to obtain finite
difference operators with good rotation invariance properties. In particular,
we use discrete circular and spherical means to derive discrete approximations
of various linear and nonlinear first- and second-order differential operators,
including discrete Laplacians. A practical potential of our approach is
demonstrated by considering applications to nonlinear filtering of digital
images and surface curvature estimation
Capsicumicine, a new bioinspired peptide from red peppers prevents staphylococcal biofilm in vitro and in vivo via a matrix anti-assembly mechanism of action
Staphylococci are pathogenic biofilm-forming bacteria and a source of multidrug resistance and/or tolerance causing a broad spectrum of infections. These bacteria are enclosed in a matrix that allows them to colonize medical devices, such as catheters and tissues, and that protects against antibiotics and immune systems. Advances in antibiofilm strategies for targeting this matrix are therefore extremely relevant. Here, we describe the development of the Capsicum pepper bioinspired peptide âcapsicumicine.â By using microbiological, microscopic, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approaches, we demonstrate that capsicumicine strongly prevents methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm via an extracellular âmatrix anti-assemblyâ mechanism of action. The results were confirmed in vivo in a translational preclinical model that mimics medical device-related infection. Since capsicumicine is not cytotoxic, it is a promising candidate for complementary treatment of infectious diseases
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) as an Adjunctive Therapy for Depression-Case Report
Depression is a debilitating disorder, and at least one third of patients do not respond to therapy. Associations between gut microbiota and depression have been observed in recent years, opening novel treatment avenues. Here, we present the first two patients with major depressive disorder ever treated with fecal microbiota transplantation as add-on therapy. Both improved their depressive symptoms 4 weeks after the transplantation. Effects lasted up to 8 weeks in one patient. Gastrointestinal symptoms, constipation in particular, were reflected in microbiome changes and improved in one patient. This report suggests further FMT studies in depression could be worth pursuing and adds to awareness as well as safety assurance, both crucial in determining the potential of FMT in depression treatment
EPA guidance on physical activity as a treatment for severe mental illness: a meta-review of the evidence and Position Statement from the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), supported by the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Mental Health (IOPTMH)
Physical activity (PA) may be therapeutic for people with severe mental illness (SMI) who generally have low PA and experience numerous life style-related medical complications. We conducted a meta-review of interventions and their impact on health outcomes for people with SMI, including schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. We searched major electronic databases until January 2018 for systematic reviews with/without meta-analysis that investigated PA for any SMI. We rated the quality of studies with the AMSTAR tool, grading the quality of evidence, and identifying gaps, future research needs and clinical practice recommendations. For MDD, consistent evidence indicated that PA can improve depressive symptoms versus control conditions, with effects comparable to those of antidepressants and psychotherapy. PA can also improve cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in people with MDD, although the impact on physical health outcomes was limited. There were no differences in adverse events versus control conditions. For MDD, larger effect sizes were seen when PA was delivered at moderate-vigorous intensity and supervised by an exercise specialist. For schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, evidence indicates that aerobic PA can reduce psychiatric symptoms, improves cognition and various subdomains, cardiorespiratory fitness, whilst evidence for the impact on anthropometric measures was inconsistent. There was a paucity of studies investigating PA in bipolar disorder, precluding any definitive recommendations. No cost effectiveness analyses in any SMI condition were identified. We make multiple recommendations to fill existing research gaps and increase the use of PA in routine clinical care aimed at improving psychiatric and medical outcomes
Diagnostic reliability of the Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysmsâusability in a series of only giant aneurysms
Background and objective The main challenge of bypass surgery of complex MCA aneurysms is not the selection of the bypass type but the initial decision-making of how to exclude the affected vessel segment from circulation. To this end, we have previously proposed a classification for complex MCA aneurysms based on the preoperative angiography. The current study aimed to validate this new classification and assess its diagnostic reliability using the giant aneurysm registry as an independent data set. Methods We reviewed the pretreatment neuroimaging of 51 patients with giant (> 2.5 cm) MCA aneurysms from 18 centers, prospectively entered into the international giant aneurysm registry. We classified the aneurysms according to our previously proposed Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms. To test for interrater diagnostic reliability, the data set was reviewed by four independent observers. Results We were able to classify all 51 aneurysms according to the Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms. Eight percent of the aneurysm were classified as type 1a, 14% as type 1b, 14% as type 2a, 24% as type 2b, 33% as type 2c, and 8% as type 3. The interrater reliability was moderate with Fleiss's Kappa of 0.419. Conclusion The recently published Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms showed diagnostic reliability, independent of the observer when applied to the MCA aneurysms of the international giant aneurysm registry.Peer reviewe
LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products
(Abridged) We describe here the most ambitious survey currently planned in
the optical, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). A vast array of
science will be enabled by a single wide-deep-fast sky survey, and LSST will
have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is
driven by four main science themes: probing dark energy and dark matter, taking
an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and
mapping the Milky Way. LSST will be a wide-field ground-based system sited at
Cerro Pach\'{o}n in northern Chile. The telescope will have an 8.4 m (6.5 m
effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg field of view, and a 3.2 Gigapixel
camera. The standard observing sequence will consist of pairs of 15-second
exposures in a given field, with two such visits in each pointing in a given
night. With these repeats, the LSST system is capable of imaging about 10,000
square degrees of sky in a single filter in three nights. The typical 5
point-source depth in a single visit in will be (AB). The
project is in the construction phase and will begin regular survey operations
by 2022. The survey area will be contained within 30,000 deg with
, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ,
covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\% of the observing time
will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will uniformly observe a
18,000 deg region about 800 times (summed over all six bands) during the
anticipated 10 years of operations, and yield a coadded map to . The
remaining 10\% of the observing time will be allocated to projects such as a
Very Deep and Fast time domain survey. The goal is to make LSST data products,
including a relational database of about 32 trillion observations of 40 billion
objects, available to the public and scientists around the world.Comment: 57 pages, 32 color figures, version with high-resolution figures
available from https://www.lsst.org/overvie
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