Relay Backpropagation for Effective Learning of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Learning deeper convolutional neural networks becomes a tendency in recent years. However, many empirical evidences suggest that performance improvement cannot be gained by simply stacking more layers. In this paper, we consider the issue from an information theoretical perspective, and propose a novel method Relay Backpropagation, that encourages the propagation of effective information through the network in training stage. By virtue of the method, we achieved the first place in ILSVRC 2015 Scene Classification Challenge. Extensive experiments on two challenging large scale datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our method is not restricted to a specific dataset or network architecture. Our models will be available to the research community later.Comment: Technical report for our submissions to the ILSVRC 2015 Scene Classification Challenge, where we won the first plac

Het Rijksvaccinatieprogramma in Nederland : Surveillance en ontwikkelingen in 2014-2015

In Nederland is de vaccinatiegraad binnen het Rijksvaccinatieprogramma (RVP) hoog, waardoor weinig mensen de ziekten krijgen waartegen zij worden ingeënt. Alleen de deelname aan de vaccinatie van meisjes tegen het humaan papillomavirus (HPV) ligt lager. Na de vaccinaties komen weinig ernstige bijwerkingen voor. Bijwerkingen die gerapporteerd worden zijn doorgaans niet ernstig van aard zijn. Continue monitoring is nodig om een optimaal vaccinatieprogramma te behouden. Wijzigingen in het vaccinatieschema in 2014-2015 Sinds januari 2014 is de vaccinatie tegen het HPV-virus, dat baarmoederhalskanker kan veroorzaken, teruggebracht naar twee prikken. De vaccinatie wordt aan alle twaalfjarige meisjes aangeboden. Ontwikkelingen voor RVP-ziekten Door de uitbreiding van het pneumokokkenvaccin met drie typen in 2011 is het aantal kinderen gedaald dat van deze drie typen ziek werd. Deze daling was ook te zien onder volwassenen, die mogelijk indirect door de vaccinatie van kinderen zijn beschermd.Kinkhoest nam in 2014 weer toe na een daling in 2013. Het aantal zieken was minder hoog dan tijdens de epidemie in 2012. De bof kwam weinig voor in 2014, al steeg het aantal meldingen weer in de eerste maanden van 2015. De meeste mazelengevallen zijn in de eerste twee maanden van 2014 gerapporteerd, aan het einde van de epidemie die in 2013 begon. De mazelen kwam voor in gebieden waar mensen zich om religieuze redenen vaak niet laten vaccineren. Er zijn geen gevallen van polio gemeld. Vorig jaar waren de controles op polio geïntensiveerd in regio's in Nederland waar vluchtelingen worden opgevangen. Dit betrof vluchtelingen uit enkele niet-Europese landen waar het aantal poliogevallen was gestegen, zoals Syrië. Aangezien polio in die landen in 2014 minder voorkwam zijn de controles tot een normaal niveau teruggebracht. Ontwikkelingen voor toekomstige RVP-kandidaten De Gezondheidsraad kan de minister adviseren om het aantal ziekten die onder het RVP vallen uit te breiden. Het RIVM houdt in de gaten hoe ziekten die hiervoor in aanmerking komen, zich ontwikkelen. In 2014 kwamen uitzonderlijk weinig infecties met het rotavirus voor. Ook daalde het aantal zieken door meningokokken serogroep B. Het aantal mensen met het waterpokken, gordelroos en hepatitis A is de afgelopen jaren stabiel gebleven.In the Netherlands, participation in the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) is high, resulting in low incidences of most diseases included in the NIP. Yet coverage for vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) in girls is lower. Only a few severe adverse events following immunisation occurred. Reported adverse events are mostly mild and transient. Continuous monitoring of effectiveness and safety is necessary for the programme to remain optimal. Changes in the vaccination schedule in 2014-2015 Since 2014, girls have been receiving a reduced number of doses against human papillomavirus (HPV). Two doses of HPV vaccine are offered to 12-year-old girls. Developments for diseases included in the NIP The switch to the 10-valent pneumococcal vaccine (PCV10) in 2011 reduced the number of invasive pneumococcal diseases caused by the additional PCV10 serotypes in the vaccinated age groups. A decrease in the incidence of IPD caused by the additional PCV10 serotypes was also seen in the adult age groups, which is probably due to indirect protection. The incidence of pertussis increased in 2014 after a lower incidence in 2013, but was somewhat lower than during the epidemic year 2012. The incidence of mumps was low in 2014, but a resurgence of mumps and an endemic transmission were encountered in the first few months of 2015. The majority of the measles cases reported in 2014 belonged to the measles epidemic in the Bible Belt, which started in 2013. No cases of polio were reported. The environmental routine surveillance, which was intensified in the region where refugees were first cared for in 2013, was changed to routine level again in April 2015. Developments for future NIP candidates The Health Council could advise the Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports on expansion of the NIP. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands (RIVM) investigates developments in potential future NIP candidates. In 2014, the rotavirus season was exceptionally low. A decrease in meningococcal serogroup B disease was seen in 2014. Incidences of varicella zoster virus and hepatitis A remained stable over the previous years.Ministerie van VW

Strain- and Adsorption-Dependent Electronic States and Transport or Localization in Graphene

The chapter generalizes results on influence of uniaxial strain and adsorption on the electron states and charge transport or localization in graphene with different configurations of imperfections (point defects): resonant (neutral) adsorbed atoms either oxygen- or hydrogen-containing molecules or functional groups, vacancies or substitutional atoms, charged impurity atoms or molecules, and distortions. To observe electronic properties of graphene-admolecules system, we applied electron paramagnetic resonance technique in a broad temperature range for graphene oxides as a good basis for understanding the electrotransport properties of other active carbons. Applied technique allowed observation of possible metal-insulator transition and sorption pumping effect as well as discussion of results in relation to the granular metal model. The electronic and transport properties are calculated within the framework of the tight-binding model along with the Kubo-Greenwood quantum-mechanical formalism. Depending on electron density and type of the sites, the conductivity for correlated and ordered adsorbates is found to be enhanced in dozens of times as compared to the cases of their random distribution. In case of the uniaxially strained graphene, the presence of point defects counteracts against or contributes to the band-gap opening according to their configurations. The band-gap behaviour is found to be nonmonotonic with strain in case of a simultaneous action of defect ordering and zigzag deformation. The amount of localized charge carriers (spins) is found to be correlated with the content of adsorbed centres responsible for the formation of potential barriers and, in turn, for the localization effects. Physical and chemical states of graphene edges, especially at a uniaxial strain along one of them, play a crucial role in electrical transport phenomena in graphene-based materials.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

Constraints on soluble aerosol iron flux to the Southern Ocean at the Last Glacial Maximum.

Relief of iron (Fe) limitation in the Southern Ocean during ice ages, with potentially increased carbon storage in the ocean, has been invoked as one driver of glacial-interglacial atmospheric CO2 cycles. Ice and marine sediment records demonstrate that atmospheric dust supply to the oceans increased by up to an order of magnitude during glacial intervals. However, poor constraints on soluble atmospheric Fe fluxes to the oceans limit assessment of the role of Fe in glacial-interglacial change. Here, using novel techniques, we present estimates of water- and seawater-soluble Fe solubility in Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) atmospheric dust from the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) Dome C and Berkner Island ice cores. Fe solubility was very variable (1-42%) during the interval, and frequently higher than typically assumed by models. Soluble aerosol Fe fluxes to Dome C at the LGM (0.01-0.84 mg m(-2) per year) suggest that soluble Fe deposition to the Southern Ocean would have been ≥10 × modern deposition, rivalling upwelling supply.This work is a contribution to the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA), a joint European Science Foundation/European Commission (EC) scientific programme. This study was funded by a NERC studentship to T.M.C. and E.W.W. is funded by a Royal Society professorship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms885

The uncertainty surrounding the burden of post-acute consequences of dengue infection

Post-acute consequences currently form a significant component of the dengue disability-adjusted life year (DALY) burden estimates. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the incidence, duration, and severity of these symptoms. Further research is needed to more accurately estimate the health and economic burden of these dengue manifestations

The estimates of the health and economic burden of dengue in Vietnam

Dengue has been estimated to cause a substantial health and economic burden in Vietnam. The most recent studies have estimated that it is responsible for 39884 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) annually, representing an economic burden of US$94.87 million per year (in 2016 prices). However, there are alternative burden estimates that are notably lower. This variation is predominantly due to differences in how the number of symptomatic dengue cases is estimated. Understanding the methodology of these burden calculations is vital when interpreting health economic analyses of dengue. This review aims to provide an overview of the health and economic burden estimates of dengue in Vietnam. We also highlight important research gaps for future studies

Combinatorial Roles of Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans and Heparan Sulfates in Caenorhabditis elegans Neural Development

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) play critical roles in the development and adult physiology of all metazoan organisms. Most of the known molecular interactions of HSPGs are attributed to the structurally highly complex heparan sulfate (HS) glycans. However, whether a specific HSPG (such as syndecan) contains HS modifications that differ from another HSPG (such as glypican) has remained largely unresolved. Here, a neural model in C. elegans is used to demonstrate for the first time the relationship between specific HSPGs and HS modifications in a defined biological process in vivo. HSPGs are critical for the migration of hermaphrodite specific neurons (HSNs) as genetic elimination of multiple HSPGs leads to 80% defect of HSN migration. The effects of genetic elimination of HSPGs are additive, suggesting that multiple HSPGs, present in the migrating neuron and in the matrix, act in parallel to support neuron migration. Genetic analyses suggest that syndecan/sdn-1 and HS 6-O-sulfotransferase, hst-6, function in a linear signaling pathway and glypican/lon-2 and HS 2-O-sulfotransferase, hst-2, function together in a pathway that is parallel to sdn-1 and hst-6. These results suggest core protein specific HS modifications that are critical for HSN migration. In C. elegans, the core protein specificity of distinct HS modifications may be in part regulated at the level of tissue specific expression of genes encoding for HSPGs and HS modifying enzymes. Genetic analysis reveals that there is a delicate balance of HS modifications and eliminating one HS modifying enzyme in a compromised genetic background leads to significant changes in the overall phenotype. These findings are of importance with the view of HS as a critical regulator of cell signaling in normal development and disease

Renal impairment in a rural African antiretroviral programme

Background: There is little knowledge regarding the prevalence and nature of renal impairment in African populations initiating antiretroviral treatment, nor evidence to inform the most cost effective methods of screening for renal impairment. With the increasing availability of the potentially nephrotixic drug, tenofovir, such information is important for the planning of antiretroviral programmes Methods: (i) Retrospective review of the prevalence and risk factors for impaired renal function in 2189 individuals initiating antiretroviral treatment in a rural African setting between 2004 and 2007 (ii) A prospective study of 149 consecutive patients initiating antiretrovirals to assess the utility of urine analysis for the detection of impaired renal function. Severe renal and moderately impaired renal function were defined as an estimated GFR of ≤ 30 mls/min/1.73 m2 and 30–60 mls/min/1.73 m2 respectively. Logistic regression was used to determine odds ratio (OR) of significantly impaired renal function (combining severe and moderate impairment). Co-variates for analysis were age, sex and CD4 count at initiation. Results: (i) There was a low prevalence of severe renal impairment (29/2189, 1.3% 95% C.I. 0.8–1.8) whereas moderate renal impairment was more frequent (287/2189, 13.1% 95% C.I. 11.6–14.5) with many patients having advanced immunosuppression at treatment initiation (median CD4 120 cells/μl). In multivariable logistic regression age over 40 (aOR 4.65, 95% C.I. 3.54–6.1), male gender (aOR 1.89, 95% C.I. 1.39–2.56) and CD4<100 cells/ul (aOR 1.4, 95% C.I. 1.07–1.82) were associated with risk of significant renal impairment (ii) In 149 consecutive patients, urine analysis had poor sensitivity and specificity for detecting impaired renal function. Conclusion: In this rural African setting, significant renal impairment is uncommon in patients initiating antiretrovirals. Urine analysis alone may be inadequate for identification of those with impaired renal function where resources for biochemistry are limited

Energy cost and return for hunting in African wild dogs and Cheetahs

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are reported to hunt with energetically costly long chase distances. We used high-resolution GPS and inertial technology to record 1,119 high-speed chases of all members of a pack of six adult African wild dogs in northern Botswana. Dogs performed multiple short, high-speed, mostly unsuccessful chases to capture prey, while cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) undertook even shorter, higher-speed hunts. We used an energy balance model to show that the energy return from group hunting and feeding substantially outweighs the cost of multiple short chases, which indicates that African wild dogs are more energetically robust than previously believed. Comparison with cheetah illustrates the trade-off between sheer athleticism and high individual kill rate characteristic of cheetahs, and the energetic robustness of frequent opportunistic group hunting and feeding by African wild dogs