Towards Deep Learning with Competing Generalisation Objectives

The unreasonable effectiveness of Deep Learning continues to deliver unprecedented Artificial Intelligence capabilities to billions of people. Growing datasets and technological advances keep extending the reach of expressive model architectures trained through efficient optimisations. Thus, deep learning approaches continue to provide increasingly proficient subroutines for, among others, computer vision and natural interaction through speech and text. Due to their scalable learning and inference priors, higher performance is often gained cost-effectively through largely automatic training. As a result, new and improved capabilities empower more people while the costs of access drop. The arising opportunities and challenges have profoundly influenced research. Quality attributes of scalable software became central desiderata of deep learning paradigms, including reusability, efficiency, robustness and safety. Ongoing research into continual, meta- and robust learning aims to maximise such scalability metrics in addition to multiple generalisation criteria, despite possible conflicts. A significant challenge is to satisfy competing criteria automatically and cost-effectively. In this thesis, we introduce a unifying perspective on learning with competing generalisation objectives and make three additional contributions. When autonomous learning through multi-criteria optimisation is impractical, it is reasonable to ask whether knowledge of appropriate trade-offs could make it simultaneously effective and efficient. Informed by explicit trade-offs of interest to particular applications, we developed and evaluated bespoke model architecture priors. We introduced a novel architecture for sim-to-real transfer of robotic control policies by learning progressively to generalise anew. Competing desiderata of continual learning were balanced through disjoint capacity and hierarchical reuse of previously learnt representations. A new state-of-the-art meta-learning approach is then proposed. We showed that meta-trained hypernetworks efficiently store and flexibly reuse knowledge for new generalisation criteria through few-shot gradient-based optimisation. Finally, we characterised empirical trade-offs between the many desiderata of adversarial robustness and demonstrated a novel defensive capability of implicit neural networks to hinder many attacks simultaneously

Detailed Morphology of the Incisive or Nasopalatine Canal

(1) Background: The nasopalatine canal (NPC), or the incisive canal (IC) of maxilla, unites the anterior nasal floor with the anterior palatine region. Different morphological variables of the NPC were investigated, indicating it is either anatomically variable or constant. It was therefore decided to perform an additional study of the NPC. (2) Methods: A retrospective cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) study was performed on 89 patient files: 38 males and 51 females. The study documented the presence or absence of a well-defined NPC, the number of openings, and the anatomic variables of the canal (number, course, and secondary canaliculi). (3) Results: the NPC/IC in the coronal plane was classified into five types: (I) NPC present with two superior, nasopalatine foramina (NPFs) (66.29%); (II) NPC absent with two NPFs (2.25%); (III) NPC present and single NPF (17.98%); (IV) NPC present with three NPFs (3.37%); (V) both absent NPC and NPF (10.11%). (4) Conclusions: The anatomical possibilities of the NPC are numerous and diverse; they include the absence of the canal. Therefore, a standardized description of this canal could not be assumed and a radiological assessment is recommended before surgical treatment in the premaxilla area

Promising Therapies for Atrial Fibrillation and Ventricular Tachycardia

Sudden cardiac death due to arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, account for 15–20% of all deaths. Myocardial infarction increases the burden of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia by structural and electrical remodeling of the heart. The current management of new-onset atrial fibrillation includes electric cardioversion with very high conversion rates and pharmacologic cardioversion, with less a than 50% conversion rate. If atrial fibrillation cannot be converted, the focus becomes the control of the symptoms ensuring a constant rhythm and rate control, without considering other contributory factors such as autonomic imbalance. Recently, a huge success was obtained by developing ablation techniques or addressing the vagal nerve stimulation. On the other hand, ventricular tachycardia is more sensitive to drug therapies. However, in cases of non-responsiveness to drugs, the usual therapeutic choice is represented by stereotactic ablative therapy or catheter ablation. This review focuses on these newly developed strategies for treatment of arrhythmias in clinical practice, specifically on vernakalant and low-level tragus stimulation for atrial fibrillation and stereotactic ablative therapy for drug-refractory ventricular tachycardia. These therapies are important for the significant improvement of the management of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, providing: (1) a safer profile than current therapies, (2) higher success rate than current solutions, (3) low cost of delivery

Cercetări privind valorificarea ca îngrăşământ a deşeurilor din industria vinicolă şi cea de producere a alcoolului etilic

The article presents the results of field testing of three waste types: wine yeast, vinasse and grain mash derived from grape processing and ethyl alcohol production. The results proved that the administration of two doses of wine yeast (13 and 26 t/ha), of vinasse (300 and 600 m3 /ha) and of grain mash (50 and 100 m3 /ha) contributed to the significant increase of the organic matter content, mobile phosphorus and changeable potassium in the arable soil layer. The use of wine yeast annually ensured a significant increase of grape yields by 1.2 – 2.2 t/ha or by 12 – 22 % more than those obtained from the unfertilized control variant, where only 10.2 t/ha were harvested. The vinasse had a significant impact on the grapevines productivity as well. The grape harvest constituted on average 0.9 – 1.0 t/ha or by 9 – 10 % more than in the control variant. The grain mash contributed to obtain an average increase of the yield of 993-1292 kg/ha of grain units or by 45 -58 % more compared to the unfertilized variant. Rezumat. În articol sunt prezentate rezultatele testării în câmp a 3 deşeuri: drojdii de vin, vinasă şi borhot de cereale, provenite de la prelucrarea strugurilor şi producerea alcoolului etilic. Rezultatele au demonstrat că administrarea, în două doze, a drojdiilor de vin (13 şi 26 t/ha), a vinasei (300 şi 600 m3 /ha) şi a borhotului de cereale (50 şi 100 m3 /ha) a favorizat majorarea semnificativă a conţinutului de materie organică, fosfor mobil şi potasiu schimbabil în stratul arabil de sol. Aplicarea drojdiilor de vin anual a asigurat un spor semnificativ de struguri de 1,2-2,2 t/ha sau cu 12-22% mai mult decât la martorul nefertilizat, unde s-a recoltat 10,2 t/ha. Acţiune semnificativă asupra productivităţii plantelor viţei-de-vie a avut-o şi vinasa. Sporul de recoltă în medie a constituit 0,9-1,0 t/ha sau cu 9-10 % mai mult decât la martor. Borhotul de cereale a contribuit la obţinerea unor sporuri medii de producţie de 993-1292 kg/ha unităţi cereale sau cu 45-58 % mai mult în comparaţie cu varianta nefertilizată

Putative Early Risk Factors At Bone-Implant Interface In Immediate Loading

During osseointegration a dental implant early develops special spatial and molecular relationships with surrounding tissues. The surface roughness and microtopography are closely related to a long-term clinical success. A better understanding of various but relevant molecules, and even of genes, that encodes biological factors involved in tissue healing should be considered useful in particular cases. Biocompatibility of implant is not yet considered as a solved problem, at infrastructural and molecular level, at least on long-term. Various biological factors, already in use, such as platelet-rich plasma, and growth factors, should be under control in order to follow a more efficient pathway towards a reliable osseointegration. A paramount attention has to be done, on long-term, to the functional modulation of bone tissue-dental implant, especially in immediate occlusal loading of dental implants

Development of the Romanian Radar Sensor for Space Surveillance and Tracking Activities

The constant increase in the number of space objects and debris orbiting the Earth poses risks to satellites and other spacecraft, both in orbit and during the launching process. Therefore, the monitoring of space hazards to assess risk and prevent collisions has become part of the European Space Policy and requires the establishment of a dedicated Framework for Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST) Support. This article presents the CHEIA SST Radar, a new space tracking radar sensor developed and installed in Romania with the purpose of being included in the EU SST sensor network and of contributing to the joint database of space objects orbiting the Earth. The paper describes the processes of design, simulation, and implementation of the hardware and software building blocks that make up the radar system. It emphasizes the particular case of using an already existing system of two large parabolic antennas requiring an innovative retrofitting design to include them as the basis for a new quasi-monostatic radar using LFMCW probing signals. The preliminary design was validated by extensive simulations, and the initial operational testing carried out in December 2021 demonstrated the good performance of the radar in the measuring range and radial speed of LEO space objects

Recent Research at the Basilica Extra Muros in Histria at 100 Years Since the Initiation of Archaeological Research on the Site

The Basilica extra muros is among the first monuments in Histria that started to be excavated right after Vasile Pârvan discovered the site in 1914. The uncovering of the only Early Christian basilica outside the precinct walls of Histria continued during several campaigns (1917 – under the leadership of the the German architect J. Jacobs ; 1955– 1956 – Em. Popescu ; 1961– 1964 – N. Hamparţumian), leading to the almost entire uncovering of the monument and the identification of two necropolises in the area – one earlier than the basilica (4th– 5th century AD) and the other contemporary to it (end of the 5th century – first half of the 7th century AD). At the initiative of Alexandru Suceveanu, the research of the Basilica extra muros was resumed again in 2001 by a team initially consisting of Viorica Rusu-Bolindeţ (MNIT), Karl von de Lohe (“ Ludwig Maximilian” University in München – the 2001 campaign), Alexandru Bădescu (MNIR), and since 2008 Vlad-Andrei Lăzărescu (IAIAC). The following goals have been reached during the five campaigns (2001, 2006, 2008– 2010, 2013) : the creation of an up-to-date survey of the basilica (2001) and archaeological research of both the annex on the north-eastern side (2006) and the area south of the three annex buildings of the Christian monument (2008– 2010, 2013). The present article aims at providing a synthesis overview of the results of the archaeological research performed during the previously mentioned campaigns. On the basis of the stratigraphy and the archaeological material we shall present both the new data obtained, aimed at contributing to a more detailed chronology, building and functioning stages of the Basilica extra muros, and at providing new information on the development of the extra muros area in Histria. Thus, it has been noted that the Late Roman habitation (end of the 5th century – first half of the 7th century AD) was present both north and south of the Basilica extra muros, as building elements discovered in the area south of the three annex buildings of the Christian monument, to the south, confirmed the observations we were able to make during previous research north of the basilica (2001– 2012). We have also obtained new data on the necropolises in that area – 23 more inhumation tombs were discovered on the southern side of the basilica (out of which 10 have been excavated so far), mainly belonging to a necropolis in use before the construction of the basilica (4th– 5th century AD), but also some were part of the necropolis that was contemporary to the building (end of the 5th century – first half of the 7th century AD). The presentation of these tombs, together with their inventory, typology and chronological setting, as well as the anthropologic analysis1 of the skeletons are a significant part of the results obtained by the team excavating the Basilica extra muros sector during the last years. We hope that the continuation of the archaeological research in that area, combined with those performed in the Histria South sector by colleague Mircea Dabîca (IAB), will bring more information on the possible boundaries between the habitation area and the necropolises and on the location of the harbor of the Greek-Roman city of Histria.Basilica extra muros este unul dintre primele monumente de la Histria a cărui cercetare a început odată cu descoperirea sitului de către Vasile Pârvan în anul 1914.Rusu-Bolindeţ Viorica, Bădescu Alexandru, Lăzărescu Vlad-Andrei, Dima Mihai, Radu Claudia, Szeredai Norbert, Kelemen Beatrice. Recent Research at the Basilica Extra Muros in Histria at 100 Years Since the Initiation of Archaeological Research on the Site. In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°10 2014. pp. 199-219

Lorenz Type Behaviors Associated To Fractal-Non-Fractal Transition In The Dynamics Of The Complex Systems

In the framework of Fractal Theory of Motion for the Scale Relativity Theory with arbitrary and constant fractal dimensions, dynamics in complex systems associated to the fractal-non-fractal transition are analyzed. Working with the assumption that these dynamics are described by means of fractal curves, Lorenz type behaviors become "operational" through a Galerkin method. Then Rayleigh and Prandtl effective numbers are specified both by means of classical kinetic coefficients and scale resolution while the dynamics variables act as the limit of a family of mathematical functions, non-differentiable for non-null scale resolution

The Diagnostic Value of MRI-Based Radiomic Analysis of Lacrimal Glands in Patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of MRI-based texture features of the lacrimal glands (LG) in augmenting the imaging differentiation between primary Sjögren’s Syndrome (pSS) affected LG and healthy LG, as well as to emphasize the possible importance of radiomics in pSS early-imaging diagnosis. The MRI examinations of 23 patients diagnosed with pSS and 23 healthy controls were retrospectively included. Texture features of both LG were extracted from a coronal post-contrast T1-weighted sequence, using a dedicated software. The ability of texture features to discriminate between healthy and pSS lacrimal glands was performed through univariate, multivariate, and receiver operating characteristics analysis. Two quantitative textural analysis features, RunLengthNonUniformityNormalized (RLNonUN) and Maximum2DDiameterColumn (Max2DDC), were independent predictors of pSS-affected glands (p < 0.001). Their combined ability was able to identify pSS LG with 91.67% sensitivity and 83.33% specificity. MRI-based texture features have the potential to function as quantitative additional criteria that could increase the diagnostic accuracy of pSS-affected LG

A Nanocomposite Sol-Gel Film Based on PbS Quantum Dots Embedded into an Amorphous Host Inorganic Matrix

In this study, a sol-gel film based on lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots incorporated into a host network was synthesized as a special nanostructured composite material with potential applications in temperature sensor systems. This work dealt with the optical, structural, and morphological properties of a representative PbS quantum dot (QD)-containing thin film belonging to the Al2O3–SiO2–P2O5 system. The film was prepared using the sol-gel method combined with the spin coating technique, starting from a precursor solution containing a suspension of PbS QDs in toluene with a narrow size distribution and coated on a glass substrate in a multilayer process, followed by annealing of each deposited layer. The size (approximately 10 nm) of the lead sulfide nanocrystallites was validated by XRD and by the quantum confinement effect based on the band gap value and by TEM results. The photoluminescence peak of 1505 nm was very close to that of the precursor PbS QD solution, which demonstrated that the synthesis route of the film preserved the optical emission characteristic of the PbS QDs. The photoluminescence of the lead sulfide QD-containing film in the near infrared domain demonstrates that this material is a promising candidate for future sensing applications in temperature monitoring