A representation-independent mean-field dynamics is presented for batchedTD(λ). The task is learning-to-predict the outcome of an indirectly observed absorbing markov process. In the case of linear representations, the discretetime deterministic iteration is an affine map whose fixed point can be expressed in closed form without the assumption of linearly independent observation vectors. Batche...

Abstract Maritime transportation forms the backbone of world merchandise trade. In this paper, we consider a problem that combines three interconnected subproblems in tramp shipping: fleet adjustment problem, cargo selection and ship routing problem. For selection, decision behaviors under setting Contract Affreightment (COA), which cargoes should be rejected or accepted as batch. view uncertai...

We give lower bounds for the batched predecessor problem in external memory. Given the underlying sorted set S of size n, and a sorted query Q of size x ≤ n, 0 ≤ c < 1, we study tradeoffs between the searching cost, and the cost to preprocess S. We give lower bounds in three external memory models: the I/O comparison model, I/O pointer-machine model, and the indexability model. Our results show...

We analyze a batched variant of Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) with weighted sampling distribution for smooth and non-smooth objective functions. We show that by distributing the batches computationally, a significant speedup in the convergence rate is provably possible compared to either batched sampling or weighted sampling alone. We propose several computationally efficient schemes to app...

We study a problem in which a set of n jobs has to be batched as well as scheduled for processing on a single machine. A constant machine set-up time is required before the first job of each batch is processed. A schedule specifies the sequence of batches, where each batch comprises a sequence of jobs. The batch delivery time is defined as the completion time of the last job in a batch. The ear...

Background: Dendritic cells (DCs) are ideal accessory cells in the field of gene therapy. Delivery of DNA and siRNA into mammalian cells is a useful technique in treating various diseases caused by single gene defects. Selective gene silencing by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN)s is an efficient method for the manipulation of cellular functions. An effic...

Background: The poor permeability of the plasma and nuclear membranes to DNA plasmids are two major barriers for the development of these therapeutic molecules. Therefore, success in gene therapy approaches depends on the development of efficient and safe non-viral delivery systems. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro delivery of plasmid DNA encoding HPV16 E7 gene...