44 research outputs found
Warm-Start AlphaZero Self-Play Search Enhancements
Recently, AlphaZero has achieved landmark results in deep reinforcement
learning, by providing a single self-play architecture that learned three
different games at super human level. AlphaZero is a large and complicated
system with many parameters, and success requires much compute power and
fine-tuning. Reproducing results in other games is a challenge, and many
researchers are looking for ways to improve results while reducing
computational demands. AlphaZero's design is purely based on self-play and
makes no use of labeled expert data ordomain specific enhancements; it is
designed to learn from scratch. We propose a novel approach to deal with this
cold-start problem by employing simple search enhancements at the beginning
phase of self-play training, namely Rollout, Rapid Action Value Estimate (RAVE)
and dynamically weighted combinations of these with the neural network, and
Rolling Horizon Evolutionary Algorithms (RHEA). Our experiments indicate that
most of these enhancements improve the performance of their baseline player in
three different (small) board games, with especially RAVE based variants
playing strongly
A mixed-methods study to define Textbook Outcome for the treatment of patients with uncomplicated symptomatic gallstone disease with hospital variation analyses in Dutch trial data
Background: International consensus on the ideal outcome for treatment of uncomplicated symptomatic gallstone disease is absent. This mixed-method study defined a Textbook Outcome (TO) for this large group of patients. Methods: First, expert meetings were organised with stakeholders to design the survey and identify possible outcomes. To reach consensus, results from expert meetings were converted in a survey for clinicians and for patients. During the final expert meeting, clinicians and patients discussed survey outcomes and a definitive TO was formulated. Subsequently, TO-rate and hospital variation were analysed in Dutch hospital data from patients with uncomplicated gallstone disease. Results: First expert meetings returned 32 outcomes. Outcomes were distributed in a survey among 830 clinicians from 81 countries and 645 Dutch patients. Consensus-based TO was defined as no more biliary colic, no biliary and surgical complications, and the absence or reduction of abdominal pain. Analysis of individual patient data showed that TO was achieved in 64.2% (1002/1561). Adjusted-TO rates showed modest variation between hospitals (56.6-74.9%). Conclusion: TO for treatment of uncomplicated gallstone disease was defined as no more biliary colic, no biliary and surgical complications, and absence or reduction of abdominal pain.TO may optimise consistent outcome reporting in care and guidelines for treating uncomplicated gallstone disease
Recurrent governance challenges in the implementation and alignment of flood risk management strategies: a review
In Europe increasing flood risks challenge societies to diversify their Flood Risk Management Strategies (FRMSs). Such a diversification implies that actors not only focus on flood defence, but also and simultaneously on flood risk prevention, mitigation, preparation and recovery. There is much literature on the implementation of specific strategies and measures as well as on flood risk governance more generally. What is lacking, though, is a clear overview of the complex set of governance challenges which may result from a diversification and alignment of FRM strategies. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap. It elaborates on potential processes and mechanisms for coordinating the activities and capacities of actors that are involved on different levels and in different sectors of flood risk governance, both concerning the implementation of individual strategies and the coordination of the overall set of strategies. It identifies eight overall coordination mechanisms that have proven to be useful in this respect
Star-forming cores embedded in a massive cold clump: Fragmentation, collapse and energetic outflows
The fate of massive cold clumps, their internal structure and collapse need
to be characterised to understand the initial conditions for the formation of
high-mass stars, stellar systems, and the origin of associations and clusters.
We explore the onset of star formation in the 75 M_sun SMM1 clump in the region
ISOSS J18364-0221 using infrared and (sub-)millimetre observations including
interferometry. This contracting clump has fragmented into two compact cores
SMM1 North and South of 0.05 pc radius, having masses of 15 and 10 M_sun, and
luminosities of 20 and 180 L_sun. SMM1 South harbours a source traced at 24 and
70um, drives an energetic molecular outflow, and appears supersonically
turbulent at the core centre. SMM1 North has no infrared counterparts and shows
lower levels of turbulence, but also drives an outflow. Both outflows appear
collimated and parsec-scale near-infrared features probably trace the
outflow-powering jets. We derived mass outflow rates of at least 4E-5 M_sun/yr
and outflow timescales of less than 1E4 yr. Our HCN(1-0) modelling for SMM1
South yielded an infall velocity of 0.14 km/s and an estimated mass infall rate
of 3E-5 M_sun/yr. Both cores may harbour seeds of intermediate- or high-mass
stars. We compare the derived core properties with recent simulations of
massive core collapse. They are consistent with the very early stages dominated
by accretion luminosity.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 14 pages, 7 figure
Measuring quality of life in Duchenne muscular dystrophy : a systematic review of the content and structural validity of commonly used instruments
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an inherited X-linked neuromuscular disorder. A number of questionnaires are available to assess quality of life in DMD, but there are concerns about their validity. This systematic review aimed to appraise critically the content and structural validity of quality of life instruments for DMD. Five databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library) were searched, with supplementary searches in Google Scholar. We included articles with evidence on the content and/or structural validity of quality of life instruments in DMD, and/or instrument development. Evidence was evaluated against the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) criteria. Fifty five articles featured a questionnaire assessing quality of life in DMD. Forty instruments were extracted and 26 underwent assessment. Forty-one articles contained evidence on content or structural validity (including 37 development papers). Most instruments demonstrated low quality evidence and unsatisfactory or inconsistent validity in DMD, with the majority not featuring direct validation studies in this population. Only KIDSCREEN received an adequate rating for instrument design and a satisfactory result for content validity based on its development, yet, like the majority of PROMs, the measure has not been directly validated for use in DMD. Further research is needed on the validity of quality of life instruments in DMD, including content and structural validity studies in this population