10,971 research outputs found
Crawling in Rogue's dungeons with (partitioned) A3C
Rogue is a famous dungeon-crawling video-game of the 80ies, the ancestor of
its gender. Rogue-like games are known for the necessity to explore partially
observable and always different randomly-generated labyrinths, preventing any
form of level replay. As such, they serve as a very natural and challenging
task for reinforcement learning, requiring the acquisition of complex,
non-reactive behaviors involving memory and planning. In this article we show
how, exploiting a version of A3C partitioned on different situations, the agent
is able to reach the stairs and descend to the next level in 98% of cases.Comment: Accepted at the Fourth International Conference on Machine Learning,
Optimization, and Data Science (LOD 2018
Systematic review and meta-analysis. small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in chronic pancreatitis
BACKGROUND:
Evidence on small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) is conflicting.
AIM:
The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of SIBO in CP and to examine the relationship of SIBO with symptoms and nutritional status.
METHODS:
Case-control and cross-sectional studies investigating SIBO in CP patients were analysed. The prevalence of positive tests was pooled across studies, and the rate of positivity between CP cases and controls was calculated.
RESULTS:
In nine studies containing 336 CP patients, the pooled prevalence of SIBO was 36% (95% confidence interval (CI) 17-60%) with considerable heterogeneity (I2 = 91%). A sensitivity analysis excluding studies employing lactulose breath test gave a pooled prevalence of 21.7% (95% CI 12.7-34.5%) with lower heterogeneity (I2 = 56%). The odds ratio for a positive test in CP vs controls was 4.1 (95% CI 1.6-10.4) (I2 = 59.7%). The relationship between symptoms and SIBO in CP patients varied across studies, and the treatment of SIBO was associated with clinical improvement.
CONCLUSIONS:
One-third of CP patients have SIBO, with a significantly increased risk over controls, although results are heterogeneous, and studies carry several limitations. The impact of SIBO and its treatment in CP patients deserve further investigation
In vivo femoral strains in swimming turtles: Influence of locomotor medium on limb bone loading
The transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats was an event in vertebrate evolution that preceded a sudden radiation of species. Subsequently some vertebrate lineages have returned to their ancestral aquatic habitats. It is known that vertebrate bone structure can vary depending on habitat. The evolutionary explanation for this is attributable to the fact that loads on the skeleton varies depending on the environment organisms inhabit. Terrestrial vertebrates would be expected to experience greater loads on their bones versus aquatic vertebrates due to body support demands, but there are no experimental data to test this hypothesis or quantify the difference. We tested how loads differed on the appendicular skeleton between use in terrestrial and aquatic habitats by recoding in vivo femoral strains during swimming and walking in turtles. We predicted that since swimming exerts less force on the limbs, peak load magnitudes would be lower during swimming versus walking, but that load peaks would be nearly equal during the thrust and recovery phases of the swimming limb cycle. Our data support our first prediction, with average peak strain magnitudes of swimming being half those of walking. Loading regimes were similar between both swimming and walking with compressive axial strains experienced dorsally on the femur. However, our second prediction was not supported, because peak strains were much higher during the thrust phase. Our results indicate that even when environmental forces are lessened, limb muscles play a large role in the production of bone loads
Impurity segregation in graphene nanoribbons
The electronic properties of low-dimensional materials can be engineered by
doping, but in the case of graphene nanoribbons (GNR) the proximity of two
symmetry-breaking edges introduces an additional dependence on the location of
an impurity across the width of the ribbon. This introduces energetically
favorable locations for impurities, leading to a degree of spatial segregation
in the impurity concentration. We develop a simple model to calculate the
change in energy of a GNR system with an arbitrary impurity as that impurity is
moved across the ribbon and validate its findings by comparison with ab initio
calculations. Although our results agree with previous works predicting the
dominance of edge disorder in GNR, we argue that the distribution of adsorbed
impurities across a ribbon may be controllable by external factors, namely an
applied electric field. We propose that this control over impurity segregation
may allow manipulation and fine-tuning of the magnetic and transport properties
of GNRs.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitte
A High-Mass Protobinary System in the Hot Core W3(H2O)
We have observed a high-mass protobinary system in the hot core W3(H2O) with
the BIMA Array. Our continuum maps at wavelengths of 1.4mm and 2.8mm both
achieve sub-arcsecond angular resolutions and show a double-peaked morphology.
The angular separation of the two sources is 1.19" corresponding to 2.43X10^3
AU at the source distance of 2.04 kpc. The flux densities of the two sources at
1.4mm and 2.8mm have a spectral index of 3, translating to an opacity law of
kappa ~ nu. The small spectral indices suggest that grain growth has begun in
the hot core. We have also observed 5 K components of the CH3CN (12-11)
transitions. A radial velocity difference of 2.81 km/s is found towards the two
continuum peaks. Interpreting these two sources as binary components in orbit
about one another, we find a minimum mass of 22 Msun for the system. Radiative
transfer models are constructed to explain both the continuum and methyl
cyanide line observations of each source. Power-law distributions of both
density and temperature are derived. Density distributions close to the
free-fall value, r^-1.5, are found for both components, suggesting continuing
accretion. The derived luminosities suggest the two sources have equivalent
zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) spectral type B0.5 - B0. The nebular masses
derived from the continuum observations are about 5 Msun for source A and 4
Msun for source C. A velocity gradient previously detected may be explained by
unresolved binary rotation with a small velocity difference.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figures, accepted by The Astrophysical Journa
Josephson Coupling through a Quantum Dot
We derive, via fourth order perturbation theory, an expression for the
Josephson current through a gated interacting quantum dot. We analyze our
expression for two different models of the superconductor-dot-superconductor
(SDS) system. When the matrix elements connecting dot and leads are featureless
constants, we compute the Josephson coupling J_c as a function of the gate
voltage and Coulomb interaction. In the diffusive dot limit, we compute the
probability distribution P(J_c) of Josephson couplings. In both cases, pi
junction behavior (J_c < 0) is possible, and is not simply dependent on the
parity of the dot occupancy.Comment: 9 pages; 3 encapsulated PostScript figure
Preliminary catalog of pictures taken on the lunar surface during the Apollo 15 mission
Catalog of all pictures taken from lunar module or lunar surface during Apollo 15 missio
Prediction with Expert Advice under Discounted Loss
We study prediction with expert advice in the setting where the losses are
accumulated with some discounting---the impact of old losses may gradually
vanish. We generalize the Aggregating Algorithm and the Aggregating Algorithm
for Regression to this case, propose a suitable new variant of exponential
weights algorithm, and prove respective loss bounds.Comment: 26 pages; expanded (2 remarks -> theorems), some misprints correcte
Extending Feynman's Formalisms for Modelling Human Joint Action Coordination
The recently developed Life-Space-Foam approach to goal-directed human action
deals with individual actor dynamics. This paper applies the model to
characterize the dynamics of co-action by two or more actors. This dynamics is
modelled by: (i) a two-term joint action (including cognitive/motivatonal
potential and kinetic energy), and (ii) its associated adaptive path integral,
representing an infinite--dimensional neural network. Its feedback adaptation
loop has been derived from Bernstein's concepts of sensory corrections loop in
human motor control and Brooks' subsumption architectures in robotics.
Potential applications of the proposed model in human--robot interaction
research are discussed.
Keywords: Psycho--physics, human joint action, path integralsComment: 6 pages, Late
Documentation of Apollo 15 samples
A catalog is presented of the documentation of Apollo 15 samples using photographs and verbal descriptions returned from the lunar surface. Almost all of the Apollo 15 samples were correlated with lunar surface photographs, descriptions, and traverse locations. Where possible, the lunar orientations of rock samples were reconstructed in the lunar receiving laboratory, using a collimated light source to reproduce illumination and shadow characteristics of the same samples shown in lunar photographs. In several cases, samples were not recognized in lunar surface photographs, and their approximate locations are known only by association with numbered sample bags used during their collection. Tables, photographs, and maps included in this report are designed to aid in the understanding of the lunar setting of the Apollo 15 samples
- …