Data Augmentations in Deep Weight Spaces

Learning in weight spaces, where neural networks process the weights of other deep neural networks, has emerged as a promising research direction with applications in various fields, from analyzing and editing neural fields and implicit neural representations, to network pruning and quantization. Recent works designed architectures for effective learning in that space, which takes into account its unique, permutation-equivariant, structure. Unfortunately, so far these architectures suffer from severe overfitting and were shown to benefit from large datasets. This poses a significant challenge because generating data for this learning setup is laborious and time-consuming since each data sample is a full set of network weights that has to be trained. In this paper, we address this difficulty by investigating data augmentations for weight spaces, a set of techniques that enable generating new data examples on the fly without having to train additional input weight space elements. We first review several recently proposed data augmentation schemes %that were proposed recently and divide them into categories. We then introduce a novel augmentation scheme based on the Mixup method. We evaluate the performance of these techniques on existing benchmarks as well as new benchmarks we generate, which can be valuable for future studies.Comment: Accepted to NeurIPS 2023 Workshop on Symmetry and Geometry in Neural Representation

Stock enhancement and estimation of growth rate of green tiger prawn (Penaeus semisulcatus) and banana shrimp (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) released in the Persian Gulf

Present study was conducted in the Persian Gulf (Iranian waters) from 2009 to 2012. The main objective of the research was economical evalution of the stock enhancement of banana prawn (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) and green tiger shrimp (Penaeus semisulcatus) in the studied area. Also tagging effects on the growth and mortality of tagged shrimp were studied. In banana prawn, broodstock shrimps were hatched in June. In July 2010 and 2011some of the juvenile of this species were marked by red fluorescent liquid injection and released were made at night in the estuaries of Tiab, Kolahi and Koolgan in the Hormozgan province. 84000 juveniles of banana prawn in 2010 and about 50000 in 2011 were released in this area. In Bushehr province waters, adults shrimp were reared and when juveniles reached to optimum size, some of them were tagged by red and blue coloures and were released in the coastal waters of Bandargah and Delvar. Tagging and releasing program of green tiger prawn was performed in 2010 and 2012. A total number of 8000 prawn in 2010 and about 30000 juveniles prawn in 2010 were released. Activities for recaptured shrimps were informed by posters describing the tagging program that were distributed to local peoples, as well as local magazines, and a tagging program awareness film was broadcast on national television three times prior to the shrimp fishing season and during catch season. To encourage people to report recaptures a reward of two handered thousent riales was paid for the return of each marked shrimp accompanied by information. Economical evaluation of banana prawn was performed based on releasing and recaptured program in 2011. As it mentioned in this year 50000 of juvenile shrimp were tagged and released. At the same time 4700000 of unmarked shrimp were released in this area. In the shrimp season 11 (./022%) of tagged shrimp were recaptured. Movements of tagged shrimp were northwesterly to released area. Weight average of tagged prawns was 1.2 gram. Mean weight of the recaptured prawns was 22.06±4.9 gram. Body weight Growth of the recaptured prawns was between 16-26 grams with the growth speed of 0.88-1.41 per week. The number of recaptured prawn to the released prawn was 0.022 percent. Based on the released prawns (4700000) to the recaptured percent (./022%), about 103400 of released shrimp with mean weight of 2.5 tones were observed in the Hormozgan shrimp catch. The average price of shrimp in the studied year in the local market was 85000 Rials per kilogram. These results showed that the ratio of profit is 210 milion riales. In the taggiing program of green tiger prawn in the Bushehr waters only one recaptured shrimp was observed in the catch season (2012). Total weigth and total length of this prawn was 99 gram and 22 centimeter respectively .given the small percentage of the recaptured, economical analyses was not performed on this species. The effects of tagging on the growth and mortality of green tiger prawn were studied. The present study was carried out in the shrimp research station in Bandargah and Abzistan shrimp Hatchery Company in Delvar during 2010 and 2012. The accuracy of the study was more rialable in 2012. In this year growth and mortality of juveniles that was marked by red and blue coloures, were studied in both area Bandargah and Delvar. In Bandargah, three tanks of 300 l each with 30 specimens were used for untagged shrimp as a control group, and tagged with injected liquid fluorescent during 98 days. Length and weigh of 10 specimens were measured evenly in different times. ANOVA results (α = 0.1 and α = 0.5) showed no significant differences between length growth of tagged shrimp and control group. The mortality of two groups was evaluated by numbering of remained shrimps and the average of survival was 52 percent in the tagged and 44.5 percent in tagged shrimps. In the Delvar station, Abzistan Company, the specimens were kept in the 9 tanks each 300 l that included of 30 untagged shrimps, 30 blue tagged shrimps and 30 red florescent tagged shrimp. The growth and mortality of this station were evaluated during 110 days. The growth rate of the specimens were measured and recorded evenly. The results of ANOVA (α = 0.1 and α = 0.5) showed no difference significantly in the weight growth of tagged and control groups. The mortality rates among the control group, red tagged and blue tagged were 63 percent, 59 percent and 40 percent. The mortality of the groups was differences in the two stations and it seems the management and environmental conditions were more affected on the mortalities. The results of the study show that the ratio of profit to the coast is 0.46 that is covering half of the coasts, so that the expenditures are two times more than profit. This result is the minimum of economical value of stock enhancement of shrimp. The results of study showed that the injected tags into the body tissue of shrimp has no affected on the growth rate and mortality

A Review of Surgical Informed Consent: Past, Present, and Future. A Quest to Help Patients Make Better Decisions

Contains fulltext : 87422.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Informed consent (IC) is a process requiring a competent doctor, adequate transfer of information, and consent of the patient. It is not just a signature on a piece of paper. Current consent processes in surgery are probably outdated and may require major changes to adjust them to modern day legislation. A literature search may provide an opportunity for enhancing the quality of the surgical IC (SIC) process. METHODS: Relevant English literature obtained from PubMed, Picarta, PsycINFO, and Google between 1993 and 2009 was reviewed. RESULTS: The body of literature with respect to SIC is slim and of moderate quality. The SIC process is an underestimated part of surgery and neither surgeons nor patients sufficiently realize its importance. Surgeons are not specifically trained and lack the competence to guide patients through a legally correct SIC process. Computerized programs can support the SIC process significantly but are rarely used for this purpose. CONCLUSIONS: IC should be integrated into our surgical practice. Unfortunately, a big gap exists between the theoretical/legal best practice and the daily practice of IC. An optimally informed patient will have more realistic expectations regarding a surgical procedure and its associated risks. Well-informed patients will be more satisfied and file fewer legal claims. The use of interactive computer-based programs provides opportunities to improve the SIC process.1 juli 201

Tc1 Cells Percentage in Patients with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis before and after Treatment with Glucantime

Background: Various responses and different prognosis to specific treatment in different patients from one hand, and importance of IFN-γ producer cells on the other hand impressed us to study Tc1. Methods: The study was conducted in Ghaem Medical Center and Bu-Ali Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran from 2001 to 2002. Lymphocytes of 36 patients were counted and cultured. Percentage of different responsible immunity cells in 29 patients, were determined by Flow Cytometry System before and after medication with glucantime (IM). Patients who showed improvement after the treatment were put into group 1 and those who did not recover were labeled group 2. In this self-control clinical trial, sampling method was consecutive non-probability and the results were analyzed by t-test consequently. Results: The percentage of Tc1 cells showed a significant increase despite of being stimulated with Phorpol-Mristate-Acetate (PMA) among the whole studied patients and group 1 (P= 0.069 and P= 0.040, respectively). While no significant change was observed among patients in group 2. Conclusion: This verifies the influence of Tc1 cells for the treatment of patients with CL and perhaps the role of glucantime in improving the cell immunity response through increasing such cells

Prediction of HCV load using genotype, liver biomarkers, and clinical symptoms by a mathematical model in patients with HCV infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem with about 1.75 million new HCV cases and 71 million chronic HCV infections worldwide. The study aimed to evaluate clinical, serological, molecular, and liver markers to develop a mathematical predictive model for the quantification of the HCV viral load in chronic HCV infected patients. In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were taken from 249 recently diagnosed HCV-infected subjects and were tested for liver condition, viral genotype, and HCV RNA load. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and multiple linear regression analysis were used to predict the HCV-RNA load. Genotype 3 followed by genotype 1 were the most prevalent genotypes in Mashhad, Northeastern Iran. The maximum levels of viral load were detected in the mixed genotype group, and the lowest levels in the undetectable genotype group. The log of the HCV viral load was significantly associated with thrombocytopenia and higher serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT). In addition, the log HCV RNA was significantly higher in patients with arthralgia, fatigue, fever, vomiting, or dizziness. Moreover, genotype 3 was significantly associated with icterus. A ROC curve analysis revealed that the best cut-off points for serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), ALT, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were >31, >34, and ≤246 IU/L, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values for AST were 87.7%, 84.36%, and 44.6%, for ALT they were 83.51%, 81.11%, and 36%, and for ALP were 72.06%, 42.81%, and 8.3%, respectively. A mathematical regression model was developed that could estimate the HCV-RNA load. Regression model: log viral load = 7.69 − 1.01 × G3 − 0.7 × G1 + 0.002 × ALT − 0.86 × fatigue