A Simple Quantum Neural Net with a Periodic Activation Function

In this paper, we propose a simple neural net that requires only $O(nlog_2k)$ number of qubits and $O(nk)$ quantum gates: Here, $n$ is the number of input parameters, and $k$ is the number of weights applied to these parameters in the proposed neural net. We describe the network in terms of a quantum circuit, and then draw its equivalent classical neural net which involves $O(k^n)$ nodes in the hidden layer. Then, we show that the network uses a periodic activation function of cosine values of the linear combinations of the inputs and weights. The backpropagation is described through the gradient descent, and then iris and breast cancer datasets are used for the simulations. The numerical results indicate the network can be used in machine learning problems and it may provide exponential speedup over the same structured classical neural net.Comment: a discussion session is added. 5 pages, conference paper. To appear in The 2018 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC2018

The Impact of Surgery Resident Participation on the Outcome of Carotid Endarterectomy

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the in-hospital stroke rate plus deaths (SD) was adversely impacted by the participation of surgery residents during carotid endarterectomy. Methods. A single board-certified vascular surgeon performed 5,663 carotid endarterectomies (CEAs) from September 1982 through December 2016. The surgeon prospectively recorded the data used in this report during the patient’s hospital stay. These cases were done at five hospitals, three of which had general surgery residents participating in procedures and two that did not. Results. Of the 5,663 CEAs, residents participated at three hospitals in 4,974 CEAs. In the two hospitals that did not have surgery residents participating, 689 CEAs were performed. Fifty-seven strokes and 12 deaths occurred in hospitals with resident participation (SD 1.39%). Six strokes (0.9%) and no deaths occurred in hospitals without resident participation. No significant difference in stroke rate, death rate, or combined stroke plus death rate (SD) were identified in comparing hospitals with or without resident participation. Conclusion. This report corroborates others that senior general surgery residents did not have a significant impact on SD in patients undergoing CEA

Finding a consensus between philosophy of applied and social sciences: A case of biology of human rights

This paper is an attempt to provide an adequate theoretical framework to understand the biological basis of human rights. We argue that the skepticism about human rights is increasing especially among the most rational, innovative and productive community of intellectuals belonging to the applied sciences. By using examples of embryonic stem cell research, a clash between applied scientists and legal scientists cum human rights activists has been highlighted. After an extensive literature review, this paper concludes that the advances in applied sciences proven by empirical evidence should not be restricted by normative theories and philosophies of the social sciences. If we agree on these premises that Human Rights are biological, then biology can provide a framework of cooperation for social and applied scientists