Dynamical Isometry is Achieved in Residual Networks in a Universal Way for any Activation Function

We demonstrate that in residual neural networks (ResNets) dynamical isometry is achievable irrespectively of the activation function used. We do that by deriving, with the help of Free Probability and Random Matrix Theories, a universal formula for the spectral density of the input-output Jacobian at initialization, in the large network width and depth limit. The resulting singular value spectrum depends on a single parameter, which we calculate for a variety of popular activation functions, by analyzing the signal propagation in the artificial neural network. We corroborate our results with numerical simulations of both random matrices and ResNets applied to the CIFAR-10 classification problem. Moreover, we study the consequence of this universal behavior for the initial and late phases of the learning processes. We conclude by drawing attention to the simple fact, that initialization acts as a confounding factor between the choice of activation function and the rate of learning. We propose that in ResNets this can be resolved based on our results, by ensuring the same level of dynamical isometry at initialization

Social Diversification of Overweight and Obesity in Adults in Poland

Overweight and obesity are connected with environmental factors to a greater degree than with genetic and psychological factors, because in their aetiology the focus is mostly on two factors, i.e. inappropriate diet and a sedentary lifestyle. This is an increasingly widespread phenomenon that harms the health and quality of life in adults, and also contributes to a decrease in their efficiency at work. The study aimed to evaluate the social diversification of overweight and obesity in adults living in different social environments in Swietokrzyskie region of Poland. The study was based on a questionnaire and observations, and encompassed 517 women and 515 men aged between 20 and 59 years. The questionnaire included questions about the characteristics of the social and family environment; while the observation involved anthropometric measurements of the basic somatic traits that were used to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) and Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR), which in turn were used to evaluate the occurrence of overweight and obesity. The incidence of overweight and obese adults showed a clear increase with age and displayed considerable social diversification, especially in the case of the women, among whom a better financial situation and a higher level of education correlated with a more slender body shape and a smaller increase in the incidence of overweight and obesity. The increase in the number of overweight and obese adult persons who lived in the different social environments in Poland was only slightly smaller than the increase in other European countries. Overall, the social diversification of overweight and obesity in adult persons indicates that Polish women are more health-aware than men

Water bound in elytra of the Weevil Liparus glabrirostris (Küster, 1849) by NMR and sorption isotherm (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Scanning electron microscopy micrograms of the elytra of Liparus glabrirostris showed a different dorsal and ventral surface and a multilayered inner structure. Hydration kinetics, sorption isotherm, and proton free induction decays are measured for hydrated elytra of the weevil species Liparus glabrirostris (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the atmosphere with controlled humidity. Very tightly bound water fraction with the mass Δ m/$m_0$ = 0.037 ± 0.004, and very short hydration time, tightly bound water Δ m/$m_0$ = 0.034 ± 0.009, and hydration time $t_1^{h}$ = (3.31 ± 0.93) h, and finally loosely bound water fraction with $t_2^{h}$ = (25.5 ± 7.8) h were distinguished. The sorption isotherm is sigmoidal in form, with the mass of water saturating primary water binding sites equal of Δ M/$m_0$ = 0.036. The proton free induction decays show the presence of solid signal (well fitted by a Gaussian function) from elytra ($T_{2G}$* ≈ 18 μs), the immobilized water fraction ($T_{2L_1}$* ≈ 120 μs) and mobile water pool ($T_{2 L_2}$* ≈ 300 μs). The hydration dependence of the water bound in elytra of L. glabrirostris, L/S is linear showing the absence of water-soluble solid fraction and negligible content of water pool "sealed" in pores of the structure

Leczenie chirurgiczne objawowych) naczyniaków kręgosłupa

Background and purpose Vertebral haemangiomas are relatively common, benign vascular lesions; symptomatic ones that cause spinal cord compression are rare, however. Only 0.9–1.2% of all vertebral haemangiomas are symptomatic. The aim of the paper is to present indications, operative techniques and stabilization methods in patients with symptomatic vertebral haemangiomas. Material and methods Clinical analysis included 7 patients treated between 1995 and 2007. There were 4 females and 3 males, aged 24 to 63 yrs (average age 44 yrs). Symptomatic vertebral haemangiomas were diagnosed on the basis of neuroradiological studies. Surgery was applied in all cases. Implantation of internal stabilization followed vertebral haemangioma resection. Results Localization of vertebral haemangiomas included 1 case in the cervical, 5 cases in the thoracic and 1 case in the lumbar segment of the vertebral column. Symptoms of medulla compression were observed in 7 patients. Neurological symptoms were caused usually by hypertrophy or ballooning of the posterior cortex of the vertebral body into the vertebral canal. The anterior surgical approach was carried out in 2 cases, posterolateral in 3 cases and posterior in 2 cases. Spinal stability was secured by various implant systems and autogenic bone grafts. Bone defects in the vertebral body were filled with acrylic cement in 4 patients. In histological examinations, cavernous types were found in all patients. Neurological condition improved after the treatment in 5 patients. Conclusions No standard therapy exists for symptomatic thoracic vertebral haemangiomas. However, immediate surgical intervention is necessary in cases with acute compressive myelopathy before the symptoms become irreversible.Wstęp i cel pracy Naczyniak kręgosłupa jest najczęstszym pierwotnym guzem kostnym kręgosłupa. Tylko 0,9—1,2% naczyniaków powoduje neurologiczne objawy ubytkowe. W pracy przedstawiono wskazania, techniki operacyjne i sposoby stabilizacji u chorych leczonych z powodu objawowych naczyniaków kręgosłupa. Materiał i metody Analizą kliniczną objęto 7 chorych leczonych w latach 1995—2007, w tym 4 kobiety i 3 mężczyzn w wieku od 24 do 63 lat (średnia wieku wynosiła 44 lata). Diagnostyka opierała się na badaniach neuroradiologicznych. Wszyscy chorzy byli leczeni chirurgicznie. Po usunięciu naczyniaka przeprowadzano stabilizację wewnętrzną kręgosłupa metalowymi implantami i autogennym przeszczepem kostnym. Ubytek w trzonie kręgu w 4 przypadkach został wypełniony cementem akrylowym. Wyniki Naczyniaki kręgosłupa występowały najczęściej w odcinku piersiowym — 5 przypadków, w odcinkach szyjnym i lędźwiowym — po 1 przypadku. Objawy kliniczne ucisku rdzenia kręgowego stwierdzono u wszystkich chorych. Naczyniaki powodowały ucisk rdzenia kręgowego przez przerost i balonowate uwypuklenie zwykle tylnej ściany trzonu kręgowego. Przednie dojście operacyjne wykonano w 2 przypadkach, tylno-boczne w 3 przypadkach, a tylne w 2 przypadkach. W badaniu histologicznym u wszystkich chorych stwierdzono naczyniaki jamiste. Poprawę stanu neurologicznego obserwowano u 5 pacjentów. Wnioski Nie ma ustalonych standardów leczenia u chorych z objawowymi naczyniakami kręgosłupa. Interwencja chirurgiczna polegająca na uwolnieniu rdzenia kręgowego z ucisku jest konieczna w przypadkach narastających neurologicznych objawów ubytkowych

Non-linear ICA based on Cramer-Wold metric

Non-linear source separation is a challenging open problem with many applications. We extend a recently proposed Adversarial Non-linear ICA (ANICA) model, and introduce Cramer-Wold ICA (CW-ICA). In contrast to ANICA we use a simple, closed--form optimization target instead of a discriminator--based independence measure. Our results show that CW-ICA achieves comparable results to ANICA, while foregoing the need for adversarial training

Acceptance of suffering and death due to cancer in the religions of the world

Cancer undoubtedly occurs in human life as unwanted. Finding yourself in a situation of cancer, it generates a series of thoughts, events that result in the need to confront the new reality. The sense of threat to life makes a person changes the mode of operation and a hierarchy of important things for him. Polish proverb "when in fear, God is near" aptly interprets human behavior in a difficult situation. Often, in such a situation a person is looking for support in religion, religion often begins to have a new meaning for the patient, while being the source of the sense of safety. Thanks to it, religion can shape the patient's level of hope. As the result the patient can better cope with the difficulties to give peace and balance of spirit, certainly needed to overcome the disease and persist in it. The aim of the study was the location of the phenomenon of death and suffering of cancer in the context of cancer. Conclusions: 1.Majority of religions of the world see suffering as an important part of the way of life, which can provide a relief for those suffering from cancer. 2.Most of the major religions of the world present the vision of the immortal soul, which gives hope to the dying people, that life does not end, but it will last, but in a different form. 3.Atheism, as well as low levels of religiosity may increase the fear of death and impede acceptance of suffering. 4. Developing knowledge by medical staff about the religion should be their good practice, allowing them to better understand and support patients

Grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence of periodic structures – a comparison between X-ray standing waves and geometrical optics calculations

Grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence spectra of nano-scaled periodic line structures were recorded at the four crystal monochromator beamline in the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the synchrotron radiation facility BESSY II. For different tilt angles between the lines and the plane of incidence of the monochromatic synchrotron radiation, spectral features are observed which can be understood and explained with calculations of the emerging X-ray standing wave (XSW) field. On the other hand, there are structures, i.e., pronounced modulations above the substrate's critical angle of external total reflection, which are not included in the XSW concept. Novel geometrical optics calculations can reproduce these structures taking the sample's specific geometric conditions into account

Wewnątrznaczyniowe leczenie tętniaków naczyń mózgowych przy użyciu spirali odczepianych hydraulicznie

Background: Authors analysed results of endovascular treatment using platinum hydraulically detachable coils in ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the presented method and safety of the treatment for patients with cerebral aneurysms. Material/Methods: Authors describe a clinical analysis in a group of 129 patients with 153 cerebral aneurysms treated with endovascular embolization in Department of Neurosurgery and Neurotraumatology of University of Medical Sciences in Poznań, Poland. 116 patients were hospitalized with a history of subarachnoidal hemorrhage, while 13 patients were without previous onset of bleeding. In bled group the clinical condition was assessed according to Hunt-Hess's scale. All patients were treated using Balt (MDS Pression) hydraulically detachable coils system. Based on angiographic examination results one evaluated the anatomical conditions of the aneurysm, its size, and relationship of the aneurysmal sac to its neck. Considering 116 patients with ruptured aneurysms, endovascular embolization within 72 hours was performed in 70 cases, in case of 46 patients the procedure was delayed. Results: Complete occlusion of the lumen of the aneurysmal sac was achieved in 126 (82.3%) patients, while incomplete occlusion in 27 (17.7%). The efficacy of embolization was connected with the size and morphology of the aneurysm, as well as the relationship of the neck to the aneurysmal sac. Complete embolization was obtained specially in case of small aneurysms and those with a narrow neck. Conclusions: Authors proof justness of transarterial embolisation as a highly effective first choice procedure of aneurismal sack exclusion from cerebral circulation