Comparison Of Distances Research Articles

Deep Triplet Complex-Valued Network for PolSAR Image Classification

Recently, convolutional neural network (CNN) has proved itself as a successful deep model and has been successfully utilized in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image classification. Most CNN-based models, however, concentrate on the correlation between the pixels and the labels in images and have fewer constraints on interclass or intraclass features. For fully utilizing the polarimetric data, we utilized complex-valued (CV) distance to learn the PolSAR features and proposed a PolSAR classification method by CV distance comparisons. First, we proposed a triplet CV network (TCVN) to learn the CV representations from PolSAR data by maximizing the interclass distance and minimizing intraclass distance. It uses the CV convolution and the CV Euclidean to maintain the phase components and applies the CV-dropout and CV <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> parameter regularization to reduce the overfitting and further improve the network performance. Subsequently, CV K nearest neighbor (CV-KNN) computes the distance of the CV representations and groups similar pixels. CV-KNN is well coupled with the TCVN because both of them are based on the Euclidean distance in the complex domain. Compared with the CNN-based methods, the proposed deep metric learning model can simultaneously extract the hierarchical features by comparing the polarimetric resolution cells in the complex domain and maintain the phase component by performing CV convolutions. The effectiveness and the superiorities of CV Euclidean distance in TCVN are demonstrated. Experiments on real PolSAR images illustrate that TCVN can deal with PolSAR data more effectively and achieve comparable performance in the PolSAR image classification even with a smaller data set.

Distance learning: current state and development prospects

This article is devoted to the issue of organizing and conducting distance learning in educational institutions. The attention is focused on the advantages of distance learning. Comparison of distance and traditional forms of education is carried out. The article highlights the relevance of distance learning. The problems that hinder the development of distance learning are analyzed. It has been established that distance learning allows the applicant to fully provide the necessary educational and methodological complex of the academic discipline, the problem of lack or absence of educational materials disappears.&#x0D; The article determines that the introduction of modern information and communication technologies into the distance learning system allows people with special needs to fully satisfy their educational needs. The distance education system increases the efficiency and quality of education, expands the information environment, increases communication opportunities for participants in the educational process, and provides access to world information resources.

Evidence for V363 Cas as a First Overtone Anomalous Cepheid

V363 Cassiopeiae was observed through 51 acquisitions of each of V, B, i and z filters, during a 15 day observation window. From the observations, folded light curves were generated using a PDM technique. It was my objective to provide further evidence for this star’s reclassification as a first overtone Anomalous Cepheid, as some past papers have proposed (Fernley, 1998). Based on our light curve characteristics (shape, and period), V363 Cas appeared to favor the anomalous Cepheid class over any RR Lyrae class. My observed period of 0.545 days is higher than the typical range of periods for RRd Lyrae, reported between 0.25 and 0.49 days (Soszynski et al., 2008). The RRab type Lyrae, as some have imposed on V363 Cas (Kholopov et al., 1985), was ruled out due to the evidence for overtone pulsation by Hajdu et al. (Hajdu, Jurcsik, et al., 2009) and Fernley (Fernley, 1998). Finally, a rough distance comparison to GAIA, using Nemec’s 1994 P-L-[Fe/H] for Anomalous Cepheids (Nemec, Nemec, &amp; Lutz, 1994), estimated the distance of V363 Cas to be closer to the distance estimated by GAIA than estimates made with RRd class equations.

Comparison of Distance and Linkage in Integrated Cluster Analysis with Multiple Discriminant Analysis on Home Ownership Credit Bank in Indonesia

This study aims to compare the size of distance (Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance, and Mahalanobis distance) and linkage (average linkage, single linkage, and complete linkage) in integrated cluster analysis with Multiple Discriminant Analysis on Home Ownership Credit Bank consumers in Indonesia. The data used are secondary data from the 5C assessment on Bank consumers in Indonesia. The data contain notes on the 5 C assessment as well as 3 credit collectability (current, special mention, and substandard) from Home Ownership Credit customers. The population in this study were all Home Ownership Credit customers in all banks in Indonesia. The sampling technique used was purposive random sampling. The sample size is 300 customers from customer data at three branches of Bank in Indonesia. This research is a quantitative study using cluster analysis integrated with multiple discriminant analysis. The best method for classifying Home Ownership Credit Bank customers based on the 5C variable assessment is an integrated cluster analysis with Multiple Discriminant Analysis based on the Mahalanobis distance with 2 clusters, namely the high cluster and the low cluster. Use of an integrated cluster with Multiple Discriminant Analysis to compare distance and linkage measures. In addition, the objects used are Home Ownership Credit Bank customers in Indonesia.

Numerical Study on the Influence of Vortex Generator Arrangement on Heat Transfer Enhancement of Oil-Cooled Motor

At present, vortex generators have been extensively used in radiators to improve the overall heat transfer performance. However, there is no research on the effect of vortex generators on the ends of motor coils. Meanwhile, the current research mainly concentrates on the attack angle, shape and size, and lacks a detailed study on the transverse and longitudinal distance and arrangement of vortex generators. In this paper, the improved dimensionless number R is used as the key index to evaluate the overall performance of enhanced heat transfer. Firstly, the influence of the attack angle on heat transfer enhancement is discussed through a single pair of rectangular vortex generators, and the results demonstrate that the vortex generator with a 45° attack angle is superior. On this basis, we compare the effects of different longitudinal distances (2 h, 4 h, and 6 h, h meaning the height of vortex generator) on enhanced heat transfer under four distribution modes: Flow-Up (FU), Flow-Down (FU), Flow-Up-Down (FUD), Flow-Down-UP (FDU). Thereafter, the performances of different transverse distances (0.25 h, 0.5 h, and 0.75 h) of the vortex generators are numerically simulated. When comparing the longitudinal distances, FD with a longitudinal distance of 4 h (FD-4 h) performs well when the Reynolds number is less than 4000, and FU with a longitudinal distance of 4 h (FU-4 h) performs better when the Reynolds number is greater than 4000. Similarly, in the comparison of transverse distances, FD-4 h still performs well when the Reynolds number is less than 4000, and FU with a longitudinal distance of 4 h and transverse distance of 0.5 h (FU-4 h–0.5 h) is more prominent when the Reynolds number is greater than 4000.

Short Digital Spatial Memory Test Detects Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: Impairment in navigation abilities and object location memory are often seen in early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), yet these constructs are not included in standard neuropsychological assessment. We investigated the differential ability of a short digital spatial memory test in mild AD dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: 21 patients with AD dementia (66.9 ± 6.9; 47% female), 22 patients with MCI (69.6 ± 8.3; 46% female) and 21 patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) (62.2 ± 8.9; 48% female) from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort performed the Object Location Memory Test (OLMT), consisting of a visual perception and memory trial, and the Virtual Tübingen (VT) test, consisting of a scene recognition, route continuation, route ordering and distance comparison task. The correlations with other cognitive domains were examined. Results: Patients with mild AD dementia (Z: −2.51 ± 1.15) and MCI (Z: −1.81 ± 0.92) performed worse than participants with SCD (Z: 0.0 ± 1.0) on the OLMT. Scene recognition and route continuation were equally impaired in patients with AD dementia (Z: −1.14 ± 0.73; Z: −1.44 ± 1.13) and MCI (Z: −1.37 ± 1.25; Z: −1.21 ± 1.07). Route ordering was only impaired in patients with MCI (Z: −0.82 ± 0.78). Weak to moderate correlations were found between route continuation and memory (r(64) = 0.40, p < 0.01), and between route ordering and attention (r(64) = 0.33, p < 0.01), but not for the OLMT. Conclusion: A short digital spatial memory test battery was able to detect object location memory and navigation impairment in patients with mild AD dementia and MCI, highlighting the value of incorporating such a test battery in standard neuropsychological assessment.

Paramagnetic spin labeling of a bacterial DnaB helicase for solid-state NMR

Labeling of biomolecules with a paramagnetic probe for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy enables determining long-range distance restraints, which are otherwise not accessible by classically used dipolar coupling-based NMR approaches. Distance restraints derived from paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) can facilitate the structure determination of large proteins and protein complexes. We herein present the site-directed labeling of the large oligomeric bacterial DnaB helicase from Helicobacter pylori with cysteine-reactive maleimide tags carrying either a nitroxide radical or a lanthanide ion. The success of the labeling reaction was followed by quantitative continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments performed on the nitroxide-labeled protein. PREs were extracted site-specifically from 2D and 3D solid-state NMR spectra. A good agreement with predicted PRE values, derived by computational modeling of nitroxide and Gd3+ tags in the low-resolution DnaB crystal structure, was found. Comparison of experimental PREs and model-predicted spin label-nucleus distances indicated that the size of the “blind sphere” around the paramagnetic center, in which NMR resonances are not detected, is slightly larger for Gd3+ (∼14 Å) than for nitroxide (∼11 Å) in 13C-detected 2D spectra of DnaB. We also present Gd3+-Gd3+ dipolar electron–electron resonance EPR experiments on DnaB supporting the conclusion that DnaB was present as a hexameric assembly.

Supervised contrastive learning over prototype-label embeddings for network intrusion detection

Contrastive learning makes it possible to establish similarities between samples by comparing their distances in an intermediate representation space (embedding space) and using loss functions designed to attract/repel similar/dissimilar samples. The distance comparison is based exclusively on the sample features. We propose a novel contrastive learning scheme by including the labels in the same embedding space as the features and performing the distance comparison between features and labels in this shared embedding space. Following this idea, the sample features should be close to its ground-truth (positive) label and away from the other labels (negative labels). This scheme allows to implement a supervised classification based on contrastive learning. Each embedded label will assume the role of a class prototype in embedding space, with sample features that share the label gathering around it. The aim is to separate the label prototypes while minimizing the distance between each prototype and its same-class samples. A novel set of loss functions is proposed with this objective. Loss minimization will drive the allocation of sample features and labels in embedding space. Loss functions and their associated training and prediction architectures are analyzed in detail, along with different strategies for label separation. The proposed scheme drastically reduces the number of pair-wise comparisons, thus improving model performance. In order to further reduce the number of pair-wise comparisons, this initial scheme is extended by replacing the set of negative labels by its best single representative: either the negative label nearest to the sample features or the centroid of the cluster of negative labels. This idea creates a new subset of models which are analyzed in detail.The outputs of the proposed models are the distances (in embedding space) between each sample and the label prototypes. These distances can be used to perform classification (minimum distance label), features dimensionality reduction (using the distances and the embeddings instead of the original features) and data visualization (with 2 or 3D embeddings).Although the proposed models are generic, their application and performance evaluation is done here for network intrusion detection, characterized by noisy and unbalanced labels and a challenging classification of the various types of attacks. Empirical results of the model applied to intrusion detection are presented in detail for two well-known intrusion detection datasets, and a thorough set of classification and clustering performance evaluation metrics are included.

Major histocompatibility class I antigens in the Lebanese population

Except for two reports on Lebanese immigrants, there have been no studies on the major histocompatibility [MHC] antigens in the Lebanese population. We describe the frequency and distribution of MHC class I antigens present in the A, B and C loci based on data obtained from 200 healthy unrelated individuals from different parts of Lebanon. The highest gene frequencies were as follows:A2 [24.8%], B35 [17.9%] and Cw4 [18.6%], making this haplotype the commonest. Comparison of genetic distances revealed a pattern closer to the Caucasoid population than to the Mongoloid, Oriental or Black populations

Digital restoration of the Wilson-Leonard 2 Paleoindian skull (~10,000 BP) from central Texas with comparison to other early American and modern crania.

Craniofacial morphology (CFM) is often used to address questions about the biological affinities of the earliest Americans, or Paleoindians, but resolution is complicated in part by a lack of well-preserved crania. The Wilson-Leonard 2 (WL-2) Paleoindian skull from Texas has never been fully analyzed because it is crushed and cannot be physically reconstructed. This study employs a digital restoration for comprehensive assessment and analysis of WL-2. High-resolution CT data and geometric morphometrics are used to restore the WL-2 skull and analyze its morphology using 65 craniometric measurements acquired on the restoration. These data allow for a full morphological description and multivariate (Mahalanobis Distance and Principal Component) comparisons to other Paleoindians and recent populations. WL-2 has a long, narrow braincase, and a short, modestly prognathic face. Compared with other Paleoindians, she is individually similar to several skulls from Brazil, but aligns most closely with pooled samples from the US and Mexico. WL-2 is most similar to recent populations from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and markedly different to those from Africa and Australia. The overall morphology of WL-2 and her association with Asians and Europeans align well with trends identified in other CFM analyses. Her affinity to recent Amerindians contrasts with the findings of many previous CFM studies, but is seemingly consistent with molecular analyses suggesting a close relationship between some Paleoindians and modern American Indians. This study demonstrates the potential for using digital anthropological methods to study other Paleoindian crania whose data value is limited by physical destruction and/or deformation.

Assessment of genetic diversity among wild populations of the striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) by 20 novel microsatellite markers

The striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, is one of the most economically important aquaculture species in Vietnam. This study developed 26 novel microsatellite markers from the draft genome of the striped catfish to assess the genetic diversity of three wild populations of the striped catfish (Bien Ho, Cuu Long, and Kratie) for establishing the breeding program. The study exhibited that 6 out of 26 loci had significantly high null allele frequency and deviated from Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium; thus, they were eliminated for further analysis. Across 20 loci without null alleles, a total of 255 different alleles was identified, ranging from 7 to 21 alleles per locus, with many unique alleles for each population. The results based on 20 loci revealed the mean polymorphic information content PIC=0.783; the mean observed heterozygosity Ho=0.809; the mean expected heterozygosity He=0.812; inbreeding coefficient Fis=-0.0147 (Fis&lt;0). The results indicated that the striped catfish populations have high genetic diversity and are suitable for selective breeding. The Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) and comparison of genetic distances showed significant genetic differentiation among three populations while the Kratie population was distant from the others.

Assessment of the Development Potential of Post-Industrial Areas in Terms of Social, Economic and Environmental Aspects: The Case of Wałbrzych Region (Poland)

The purpose of this research was to assess the development potential of cities and municipalities in Wałbrzych County, approached from the perspective of social, economic and environmental potential. Comparisons were performed for the periods 2002–2004 and 2016–2018. The following problem questions were formulated in the study: Which strategic goals can currently act as incentives for taking action in the analysed post-industrial areas, and for which ones should development be particularly strengthened? What development direction should be taken by individual municipalities in Wałbrzych County? The research covering the development potential of the municipalities was conducted using the multidimensional analysis method, and the similarities in municipal potential were analysed taking into account a comparison of distances between individual diagnostic variables. Among the analysed municipalities, in terms of social, economic and environmental potential, Szczawno-Zdrój and Czarny Bór achieved the best results, and Boguszów Gorce ranked the worst. In some municipalities, a noticeable increase in social potential (Jedlina-Zdrój, Mieroszów, Walim) or economic potential (Jedlina-Zdrój) was observed, and a significant decline in economic potential in Stare Bogaczowice was seen. As a result of the research, the following was established: the policies of municipal authorities have to focus on improving the living conditions of residents; the crucial factors are opening new jobs, providing appropriate living conditions and services and offering diverse sports and tourism options. Efforts should be made to take advantage of the inherent potential in the area, also by highlighting the preserved post-industrial buildings and constructions.

Comparison of distance of upper central incisor root and incisive canal in different sagittal and vertical skeletal patterns and sex: A retrospective CBCT study

To evaluate the influence of sagittal and vertical skeletal patterns (skeletal classes and facial profiles), and sex on the distance between upper central incisors roots and incisive canal. Cone-beam computed tomography exams of 172 patients were classified into skeletal classes I, II, and III and according to the facial profile into mesofacial, brachyfacial, and dolichofacial. In sagittal reconstructions, linear measurements were done between central incisors roots and incisive canal at three levels: incisive foramen opening, intermediate region, and the region close to the apex of upper central incisors. In axial reconstructions, measurements of incisive canal width and distance between the roots were obtained. Analysis of Variance (three-way ANOVA) was used to evaluate measurement differences in relation to skeletal classes, facial profiles, and sex. The distance between upper central incisors roots and incisive canal anterior region was little influenced by sagittal and vertical skeletal patterns and sex. Men had significantly greater incisive canal (mean=2.85mm; SD=1.18) width compared to women (mean=2.40mm; SD=1.04), regardless of skeletal class and facial profile (P<0.05). In general, inter-root distance between medial points of central incisors roots and incisive canal opening was greater in the region close to upper central incisors apex (mean=3.84mm; SD=1.44) than in incisive foramen opening (2.44mm; SD=1.04), (P<0.05). The distance between upper central incisors roots and incisive canal is little influenced by sagittal and vertical skeletal patterns and sex.

Scalable Privacy-preserving Geo-distance Evaluation for Precision Agriculture IoT Systems

Precision agriculture has become a promising paradigm to transform modern agriculture. The recent revolution in big data and Internet-of-Things (IoT) provides unprecedented benefits including optimizing yield, minimizing environmental impact, and reducing cost. However, the mass collection of farm data in IoT applications raises serious concerns about potential privacy leakage that may harm the farmers’ welfare. In this work, we propose a novel scalable and private geo-distance evaluation system, called SPRIDE, to allow application servers to provide geographic-based services by computing the distances among sensors and farms privately. The servers determine the distances without learning any additional information about their locations. The key idea of SPRIDE is to perform efficient distance measurement and distance comparison on encrypted locations over a sphere by leveraging a homomorphic cryptosystem. To serve a large user base, we further propose SPRIDE+ with novel and practical performance enhancements based on pre-computation of cryptographic elements. Through extensive experiments using real-world datasets, we show SPRIDE+ achieves private distance evaluation on a large network of farms, attaining 3+ times runtime performance improvement over existing techniques. We further show SPRIDE+ can run on resource-constrained mobile devices, which offers a practical solution for privacy-preserving precision agriculture IoT applications.

Modeling existing buildings three-dimensional (3D) using unmanned aerial vehicles: A study case in Binus Syahdan Campus Building

Developments in the field of photogrammetric technology using UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) make it easier to represent mapping results quickly and accurately. Along with the growing need for spatial use, both horizontally and vertically, have implications for the need of accurate spatial data both in two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) space. 3D visualization and modeling is a representation of the surface of the earth with the aim of supplying the appearance of the earth along with the whole above it more realistic and able to provide a broader perspective compared to 2D visualization or conventional maps. In this study, the drone-based UAV was used, namely DJI Mavic Air to collect geometric data on the Syahdan campus. The digital data that has been recorded by the UAV is then processed into three-dimensional modeling using DroneDeploy software. DroneDeploy software is cloud-based and is generally used for aerial mapping, in this study it is used in making 3D modeling because of its efficient. The elevation data at each building point measured using a drone-based UAV are compared with the as-built drawing of the Syahdan Campus, Binus. The root mean square value of the comparison of elevation distance between 3D model and as built drawing is 0.47 meters.

Chromosome anchoring in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) reveals sex-associated markers and genome rearrangements in flatfish

The integration of physical and high-density genetic maps is a very useful approach to achieve chromosome-level genome assemblies. Here, the genome of a male Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) was de novo assembled and the contigs were anchored to a high-quality genetic map for chromosome-level scaffolding. Hybrid assembled genome was 609.3 Mb long and contained 3403 contigs with a N50 of 513 kb. The linkage map was constructed using 16,287 informative SNPs derived from ddRAD sequencing in 327 sole individuals from five families. Markers were assigned to 21 linkage groups with an average number of 21.9 markers per megabase. The anchoring of the physical to the genetic map positioned 1563 contigs into 21 pseudo-chromosomes covering 548.6 Mb. Comparison of genetic and physical distances indicated that the average genome-wide recombination rate was 0.23 cM/Mb and the female-to-male ratio 1.49 (female map length: 2,698.4 cM, male: 2,036.6 cM). Genomic recombination landscapes were different between sexes with crossovers mainly concentrated toward the telomeres in males while they were more uniformly distributed in females. A GWAS analysis using seven families identified 30 significant sex-associated SNP markers located in linkage group 18. The follicle-stimulating hormone receptor appeared as the most promising locus associated with sex within a region with very low recombination rates. An incomplete penetrance of sex markers with males as the heterogametic sex was determined. An interspecific comparison with other Pleuronectiformes genomes identified a high sequence similarity between homologous chromosomes, and several chromosomal rearrangements including a lineage-specific Robertsonian fusion in S. senegalensis.

Single-Cell Joint Methylomics and Transcriptomics Define the Epigenetic Evolution and Lineage Histories of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Genetic and epigenetic intra-tumoral heterogeneity cooperate to shape the evolutionary course of cancer progression and relapse. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), we have previously uncovered a fundamental property of the CLL epigenome: stochastically disordered DNA methylation (DNAme), which reflects ongoing changes in the DNA methylome (‘epimutation‘). Bulk bisulfite sequencing revealed that DNAme epimutation is significantly higher in CLL compared to normal B cells. Yet, bulk analysis does not allow to phase epimutations across distant genomic loci within the same single cells. As such, it cannot answer whether epimutations occur homogenously across the cell population, or rather affect a minority of cells with highly disordered methylation.We therefore developed multiplexed single-cell reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (MscRRBS) and applied it to 382 normal B cells from four healthy donors and 324 CLL cells from three CLL patients (Fig A). We achieved bisulfite conversion rates of 99.7%±0.001 (median±SEM) and recovered on average ~500K unique CpG per cell. The overall epimutation rate was higher across CLL cells population compared to single normal B cells, in agreement with our prior bulk RRBS analysis. Uniquely, the single-cell data allowed us to measure cell-to-cell variation in epimutation rate and revealed that CLL samples, irrespective of their IgVH mutational status, exhibit minimal cell-to-cell variability, while normal B cells showed widely variable epimutation rates (Fig B).This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that epimutation serves as a cellular molecular clock, reflecting the number of generations in the cell's history. Whereas the common clonal CLL origin results in uniform epimutation rate, the variable rate in normal B cells reflects an admixture of cells with different replicative histories. In support of these findings, MscRRBS of sorted naïve and memory B cells revealed aged memory B cells exhibit higher epimutation rate than naïve B cells (Fig C).Our prior analyses quantified DNAme stochastic epimutation by assessing the concordance of adjacent CpGs recovered within the same sequencing read. As MscRRBS enables the phasing of CpGs even if not contained within the same read, we extended our analysis to calculate the DNAme concordance between any two given CpGs as function of their genomic distance. Consistent with a stochastic epimutation model, we observed faster concordance decay as a function of genomic distance in CLL compared with normal B cells. Indicative of positive selection, this phenomenon was magnified in regions with major roles in gene regulation in CLL (e.g., promoters of tumor suppressor genes such as TP53/TP63 and their targets) (Fig D).Lastly, the heritable information captured through MscRRBS epimutation data also allowed us to accurately reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between CLL cells, providing a native lineage tracing system. Lineage trees were inferred with maximum likelihood-based phylogeny reconstruction and were found to be 3-fold more robust than simple parsimony trees that ignore the phylogenetic structure. By comparing topological features (maximum tree depth and patristic distance) of normal and CLL phylogenetic trees, we have retraced the evolutionary histories of CLL populations, and found that they exhibit early branching, consistent with rapid drift after the initial malignant transformation. In contrast, normal B cell clades appear to follow a pattern that resembles typical normal B cell differentiation with late branching and deeper tree topology (Fig E, F).To validate lineage relationships inferred from single-cell DNA methylomes and enable coupling of phylogenetic relationships with transcriptional profiles, we performed parallel MscRRBS and single-cell transcriptome sequencing on 42 individual CLL cells. We found that transcriptional similarity between cells decreases as a function of their phylogenetic distance. Specifically, cells separated by one node (siblings) were ~10% more similar than cells separated by 2 nodes (cousins), providing a direct measurement of the heritability of the transcriptional profile (Fig G). To our knowledge, these measurements offer the first direct comparison of lineage and transcriptional distances between individual cells in primary patient samples, and provide further insight into the epigenetic dimension of CLL evolution. [Display omitted] DisclosuresWu:Neon Therapeutics: Consultancy. Landau:Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Improved Genetic Algorithm (VNS-GA) using polar coordinate classification for workload balanced multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (mTSP)

The multiple traveling salesman problem (mTSP) is an extension of the traveling salesman problem (TSP), which has wider applications in real life than the traveling salesman problem such as transportation and delivery, task allocation, etc. In this paper, an improved genetic algorithm (VNS-GA) that uses polar coordinate classification to generate the initial solutions is proposed. It integrates the variable neighbourhood algorithm to solve the multiple objective optimization of the mTSP with workload balance. Aiming to workload balance, the first design of this paper is about generating initial solutions based on the polar coordinate classification. Then a distance comparison insertion operator is designed as a neighbourhood action for allocating paths in a targeted manner. Finally, the neighbourhood descent process in the variable neighbourhood algorithm is fused into the genetic algorithm for the expansion of search space. The improved algorithm is tested on the TSPLIB standard data set and compared with other genetic algorithms. The results show that the improved genetic algorithm can increase computational efficiency and obtain a better solution for workload balance and this algorithm has wild applications in real life such as multiple robots task allocation, school bus routing problem and other optimization problems.

Changes in the gut microbiome associated with infliximab in patients with bipolar disorder.

ObjectivesAvailable information exists supporting the gut–brain axis, but additional information is needed to explore how the gut microbiome changes when exposed to mood disorder treatments. We sought to explore the effects of a novel treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), infliximab, on the gut microbiome.MethodsParticipants with a primary diagnosis of BD (n = 15) who participated in a 12‐week, randomized placebo‐controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of adjunctive infliximab in the treatment of BD were recruited and followed. Stool samples were collected prior to randomization and at 12 weeks. 16S rRNA sequencing was employed in order to analyze the gut microbial community profile.ResultsA total of 17 participants were randomized to infliximab (n = 9; mean [SD] age, 47.6 [10.3] years; 8 female) or to placebo (n = 8; mean [SD] age, 45.9 [10.7] years; 7 female) but two participants from the infliximab group were lost to follow‐up post randomization. Across all time points, there were no differences in the diversity on either Shannon or Simpson's Diversity indices. Comparison of Aitchison distances revealed a lack of clustering of the microbiota by time point, but did reveal a small overall effect of treatment that was not significantly different at individual time points. There were also no effects of either time or treatment on differential abundance at either the amplicon sequence variant or genus level.ConclusionsThese observations indicate that no community‐wide changes in the microbiota diversity and profile were detected after the use of infliximab treatment.

The Initial Upper Paleolithic in Central and East Asia: Blade Technology, Cultural Transmission, and Implications for Human Dispersals

Archaeological assemblages labeled as Initial Upper Paleolithic are often seen as possible evidence for dispersals of Homo sapiens populations in Eurasia, ca. 45,000 years ago. While most authors agree that the IUP can be recognized by a set of shared features, there is far less consensus on what these features are, and what they mean. Because of methodological challenges inherent to long distance comparisons, documenting and establishing a firm connection between archaeological assemblages remain difficult and often draw legitimate skepticism. There could be many reasons why Paleolithic hunter-gatherers used comparable technologies, but it usually comes down to two kinds of processes: cultural transmission or convergence. In other words, technological similarities may illustrate a cultural link between regions or may be caused by mechanisms of independent reinvention between more distantly related populations. Here, I focus on three assemblages from the Siberian Altai, Zabaikal region, and North Mongolia to address one main question: is there such thing as a united IUP in Central and East Asia, or are we looking at unrelated yet comparable adaptive processes? First, I describe the common structure of lithic blade production at the sites, with special attention to derived features relative to the regional sequence. After comparing the complexity of the production system with those of other lithic technologies, I suggest that this coherent, intricate, yet unprecedented technological pattern found across contiguous regions in Asia is better explained by transmission processes than by multiple unrelated reinventions, or local developments. The blade production system described in Siberia and Mongolia reoccur as a package, which is consistent with indirect bias and/or conformist cultural transmission processes. Overall, the results point toward close contact between individuals and hunter gatherer populations, and supports the recognition of a broad cultural unit to encapsulate Asian IUP assemblages. Considering other lines of evidence, the geographical and chronological distribution of Asian IUP lithic technology is consistent with a dispersal of Homo sapiens populations in Central and East Asia during the Marine Isotopic Stage 3, although the geographical origin of such movement is less clear.