Importance of Kernel Bandwidth in Quantum Machine Learning

Quantum kernel methods are considered a promising avenue for applying quantum computers to machine learning problems. However, recent results overlook the central role hyperparameters play in determining the performance of machine learning methods. In this work we identify the hyperparameter controlling the bandwidth of a quantum kernel and show that it controls the expressivity of the resulting model. We use extensive numerical experiments with multiple quantum kernels and classical datasets to show consistent change in the model behavior from underfitting (bandwidth too large) to overfitting (bandwidth too small), with optimal generalization in between. We draw a connection between the bandwidth of classical and quantum kernels and show analogous behavior in both cases. Furthermore, we show that optimizing the bandwidth can help mitigate the exponential decay of kernel values with qubit count, which is the cause behind recent observations that the performance of quantum kernel methods decreases with qubit count. We reproduce these negative results and show that if the kernel bandwidth is optimized, the performance instead improves with growing qubit count and becomes competitive with the best classical methods.

Motion-in-depth effects on interceptive timing errors in an immersive environment

We often need to interact with targets that move along arbitrary trajectories in the 3D scene. In these situations, information of parameters like speed, time-to-contact, or motion direction is required to solve a broad class of timing tasks (e.g., shooting, or interception). There is a large body of literature addressing how we estimate different parameters when objects move both in the fronto-parallel plane and in depth. However, we do not know to which extent the timing of interceptive actions is affected when motion-in-depth (MID) is involved. Unlike previous studies that have looked at the timing of interceptive actions using constant distances and fronto-parallel motion, we here use immersive virtual reality to look at how differences in the above-mentioned variables influence timing errors in a shooting task performed in a 3D environment. Participants had to shoot at targets that moved following different angles of approach with respect to the observer when those reached designated shooting locations. We recorded the shooting time, the temporal and spatial errors and the head’s position and orientation in two conditions that differed in the interval between the shot and the interception of the target’s path. Results show a consistent change in the temporal error across approaching angles: the larger the angle, the earlier the error. Interestingly, we also found different error patterns within a given angle that depended on whether participants tracked the whole target’s trajectory or only its end-point. These differences had larger impact when the target moved in depth and are consistent with underestimating motion-in-depth in the periphery. We conclude that the strategy participants use to track the target’s trajectory interacts with MID and affects timing performance.

An Integrated Approach for Evaluating Lean Innovation Practices in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Backgroung: Lean innovation focuses on minimizing waste in the product development stages in order to increase productivity by obtaining customer feedback more quickly and efficiently. The usage of lean innovation practices in product development stages in the pharmaceutical supply chain is the topic of an increasing amount of research on the critical question of how lean innovation practices can be implemented in a pharmaceutical supply chain or logistic sector. To answer this question, we first identified lean innovation practices by reviewing the literature. Methods: the identified practices were screened using the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM). The expert panel included eight persons working in pharmaceutical supply chain fields. In the next step, the causal relationships between practices were analyzed using the Gray DEMATEL (GDEMATEL) technique. Results: show that technological knowledge was the most crucial factor in lean innovation practices in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Conclusions: Actualizing lean innovation in the supply chain is more than just utilizing the correct strategies and instruments. To execute lean innovation effectively, a reevaluation must be accomplished: A culture that recognizes requirements for change and is set up for consistent change is essential. Methodological strategies such as the value system cannot be set up as a one-time strategy. To execute lean innovation on a long-haul premise, members must be included and become acclimated to a proceeding with the progress process. Changes in forms are frequently used because of an absence of association of suppliers, regardless of whether measures are sensible.

The Formation and Development of Women’s Secondary Education in Volyn in the 19th–the Beginning of the 20th Century

Aim. The article aims to analyse the formation and development of women’s secondary education in Volyn in the 19th-early 20th centuries under historical, sociocultural, and religious factors. Methods. The authors describe the historical, sociocultural, and religious situation in Volyn of the late 19th-early 20th centuries and apply comparative diachronic and synchronous analyses of the charters of the educational institutions for girls, their curricula and weekly workload. Systematised pedagogical approaches to teaching and testing students of the analysed schools are used. Results and conclusion. The formation and development of women’s education in Volyn in the 19th-early 20th centuries represents a natural, consistent change in the content and structure of educational processes under certain specific historical conditions. Due to subordination changes in the region, private Orthodox boarding houses for noble girls became widespread in Volyn. Ostroh Women’s Specialised School, founded by Countess Antonina Bludova, underwent a qualitative and structural transformation under the influence of specific historical events. Both Women Count D. Bludov Specialised School and the Bratsvo School aimed to raise a certified woman who can teach children at home and other educational institutions. Analysis of the statutes of educational institutions, programmes of academic disciplines, and weekly workload indicates following the educational sequence principle. In Women Count D. Bludov Specialised School, attention was paid to general disciplines in the first years of study (arithmetics, languages, geography, general history etc.). At the last stage (4th grade), students were taught pedagogy (methodology) directly related to their future profession.

Origin of the Indus ophiolite linked to the mantle transition zone (410–660 km)

ABSTRACT The southeast Ladakh (India) area displays one of the best-preserved ophiolite sections in this planet, in places up to 10 km thick, along the southern bank of the Indus River. Recently, in situ, ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) mineralogical evidence from the mantle transition zone (MTZ; ∼410–660 km) with diamond and reduced fluids were discovered from two peridotite bodies in the basal mantle part of this Indus ophiolite. Ultrahigh-pressure phases were also found by early workers from podiform chromitites of another coeval Neo-Tethyan ophiolite in southern Tibet. However, the MTZ phases in the Indus ophiolite are found in silicate peridotites, but not in metallic chromitites, and the peridotitic UHP phases show systematic and contiguous phase transitions from the MTZ to shallower depth, unlike the discrete UHP inclusions, all in Tibetan chromitites. We observe consistent change in oxygen fugacity (fO2) and fluid composition from (C-H + H2) to (CO2 + H2O) in the upwelling peridotitic mantle, causing melting to produce mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB). At shallow depths (<100 km) the free water stabilizes into hydrous phases, such as pargasitic amphibole, capable of storing water and preventing melting. Our discoveries provide unique insights into deep sub-oceanic-mantle processes, and link deep-mantle upwelling and MORB genesis. Moreover, the tectonic setting of Neo-Tethyan ophiolites has been a difficult problem since the birth of the plate-tectonics concept. This problem for the origin of ophiolites in mid-ocean-ridge versus supra-subduction zone settings clearly confused the findings from Indus ophiolites. However, in this contribution, we provide arguments in favor of mid-ocean-ridge origin for Indus ophiolite. In addition, we venture to revisit the “historical contingency” model of E.M. Moores and others for Neo-Tethyan ophiolite genesis based on the available evidence and have found that our new results strongly support the “historical contingency” model.

Middle Eastern Everyday Life in S.S. Kondurushkin’s Magazine Essays at Beginning of Twentieth Century

The problem of the presentation of the Middle Eastern everyday life in the early prose of S.S. Kondurushkin (1874—1919), an active participant in the literary and social life of Russia at the turn of the XIX—XX centuries is examined in the article. On the basis of the essay cycle “From Wanderings in Syria” and other works of the early 1900s, an analysis of the methods of recreating the Middle Eastern everyday life is presented. The narrative strategies that underlie the Middle Eastern narrative of the Russian traveler are studied. This makes it possible to clarify the characteristics of the genre of the travel sketch in the general context of Russian literature at the turn of the century, which determines the scientific novelty and relevance of the article. The authors examine in detail the essays “Greeks in Palestine and Syria”, “Terra incognita”, “La Bayadere”, “Akulina in Tripoli”. The consistent change of the exposing discourse of political journal-ism to various forms of “ethnographic” narrative are substantiated in the article. The tasks set required the use of traditional methods of academic literary criticism, as well as techniques of cultural linguistics, imagology, imperial and colonial studies. A number of archival materials are introduced into scientific circulation, in particular, letters from N.K. Mikhailovsky addressed to S.S.Kondurushkin.

Motion-in-depth effects on interceptive timing errors in an immersive enviornment

We often need to interact with targets that move along arbitrary trajectories in the 3D scene. In these situations, information of parameters like speed, time-to-contact, or motion direction is required to solve a broad class of timing tasks (e.g., shooting, or interception). There is a large body of literature addressing how we estimate different parameters when objects move both in the fronto-parallel plane and in depth. However, we do not know to which extent the timing of interceptive actions is affected when there is MID involved. Unlike previous studies that have looked at the timing of interceptive actions using constant distances and fronto-parallel motion, we here use immersive virtual reality to look at how differences in the above-mentioned variables influence timing errors in a shooting task performed in a 3D environment. Participants had to shoot at targets that moved following different angles of approach with respect to the observer when those reached designated shooting locations. We recorded the shooting time, the temporal and spatial errors and the head’s position and orientation in two conditions that differed in the interval between the shot and the interception of the target’s path. Results show a consistent change of the temporal error across approaching angles: the larger the angle, the earlier the error. Interestingly, we also found different error patterns within a given angle that depended on whether participants tracked the whole target’s trajectory or only its end-point. These differences had larger impact when the target moved in depth and are consistent with underestimating motion-in-depth in the periphery. We conclude that the strategy participants use to track the trajectory interacts with MID and affects timing performance.

No negative impact of word retraining on vocabulary use or clarity of communication in Semantic Dementia

Word retraining techniques can improve picture naming of treated items in people with semantic dementia (SD). The utility of this, however, has been questioned given the propensity for under- and overgeneralisation errors in naming in SD. Few studies have investigated the occurrence of such errors. This study examined whether, following tailored word retraining: 1) misuse of words increases, 2) the type of naming errors changes, and/or 3) clarity of communication is reduced. Performance on trained and untrained word naming from nine participants with SD who completed a word retraining program were analysed. Responses from baseline and post-intervention assessments were coded for misuse (i.e., trained word produced for another target item), error type, and communication clarity. All participants showed significant improvement for trained vocabulary. There was no significant increase in misuse of words, with such errors occurring rarely. At a group level, there was an increased tendency toward omission errors for untrained items, and a reduction in semantically related responses. However, this did not impact on clarity scores with no consistent change across participants. In sum, we found no negative impacts following tailored word retraining, providing further evidence of the benefit of these programs for individuals with SD.

Metabolome and transcriptome profiling reveals anthocyanin contents and anthocyanin-related genes of chimeric leaves in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus

Background Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is a colorful plant used as a cut flower or landscape ornamental. The unique foliage color of this plant includes both green and red leaves and, as a trait of interest, deserves investigation. In order to explore the pigments behind the red section of the chimeric leaves, the green and red parts of chimeric leaves of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus were sampled and analyzed at phenotypic, cellular and molecular levels in this study. Results The CIELAB results indicated that the a* values and L* values samples had significant differences between two parts. Freehand sections showed that anthocyanin presented limited accumulation in the green leaf tissues but obviously accumulation in the epidermal cells of red tissues. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed by RNA-seq and LC-ESI-MS/MS. Among the 508 identified metabolites, 10 kinds of anthocyanins were detected, with 6 significantly different between the two samples. The cyanidin-3,5-O-diglucoside content that accounts for nearly 95.6% in red samples was significantly higher than green samples. RNA-Seq analyses showed that 11 out of 40 anthocyanin-related genes were differentially expressed between the green and red samples. Transcriptome and metabolome correlations were determined by nine quadrant analyses, and 9 anthocyanin-related genes, including MYB5 and MYB82, were correlated with 7 anthocyanin-related metabolites in the third quadrant in which genes and metabolites showing consistent change. Particularly, the PCCs between these two MYB genes and cyanidin-3,5-O-diglucoside were above 0.95. Conclusion Phenotypic colors are closely related to the tissue structures of different leaf parts of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus, and two MYB transcription factors might contribute to differences of anthocyanin accumulation in two parts of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus chimeric leaves. This study lay a foundation for further researches on functions of MYBs in Ananas comosus var. bracteatus and provides new insights to anthocyanin accumulation in different parts of chimeric leaves.

Acquisition of the Long Jump Skill Using Varying Feedback / Usvajanje tehnike skoka u dalj korištenjem povratnih informacija različitih vrsta i frekvencija

The aim of this study was to examine the acquisition of the long jump skill in elementary school children using augmented feedback of varying type and frequency. Eighty-eight boys and girls aged (mean ± SD) 11 ± 0.5 years, without any prior experience in the long jump skill acquisition, were assigned to one of the four study groups: (1) the group receiving only verbal feedback on key errors, (2) the group receiving both verbal and video feedback on key errors, (3) the group receiving both verbal and video feedback on all errors, and (4) the group receiving no feedback. Before and after an 8-week training intervention, long jump distance and relevant kinematic variables were recorded. The results indicated that the group receiving both verbal and video feedback on all errors improved the most in terms of the long jump distance. Varying feedback influenced kinematic parameters differently, as there was no consistent change in the monitored kinematic variables across groups. It was concluded that, when learning a complex motor skill in a typical Physical Education setting, elementary school children are likely to benefit the most when receiving frequent feedback (both verbal and using video analysis, focusing on all errors) in comparison with the situation in which they receive feedback reduced in the type (only verbal) and the frequency (focusing only on key errors).Keywords: bandwidth feedback; kinematics; knowledge of performance; motor learning. --- Cilj ovoga rada bio je ispitati utjecaj različitih količina i vrsta povratnih informacija (PI) u procesu usvajanja tehnike skoka u dalj kod učenika osnovne škole. Osamdeset i osam učenika i učenica, starosti 11 (±0,5) godina, bez prethodnoga iskustva u treningu skoka u dalj, raspodijeljeno je u jednu od četiriju skupina ispitanika koje su dobivale PI: (1) verbalno samo na ključne greške, (2) verbalno i vizualno samo na ključne greške, (3) verbalno i vizualno na sve greške ili (4) nisu primale PI. Duljina skoka i relevantni kinematički parametri skoka u dalj izmjereni su prije i nakon 8-tjednog eksperimentalnoga tretmana. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako je grupa koja je primala PI, na svaku grešku verbalnim i vizualnim putem najviše napredovala u smislu duljine skoka u dalj. Različite količine i vrste PI različito djelovale su na promatrane kinematičke parametre te nisu uočene konzistentne promjene između grupa. Zaključeno je kako djeca osnovnoškolske dobi prilikom usvajanja kompleksne motoričke vještine imaju više koristi od većih frekvencija PI (verbalnih i vizualnih na sve greške) u usporedbi s reduciranim PI prema vrsti (samo verbalne) ili frekvenciji (samo na ključne greške).Ključne riječi: kinematika; motoričko učenje; poznavanje izvedbe; reducirane povratne informacije.