Hasty basics

Hasty Congregational Gradient Descent

Stepwise Gradient Descent (SGD) algorithms for online optimization converge to local minima of the relevant cost function. In this paper a globally convergent modification of SGD is proposed, in which several solutions of SGD are run in parallel, together with online estimates of the cost function and its gradient. As each SGD estimate reaches a local minimum of the cost, the fitness of the mem...

Hasty conclusion about acupuncture for hypertension?

Hasty Conclusion About Acupuncture for Hypertension? To the Editor: In his editorial commentary, “Acupuncture for Hypertension,” Kaplan1 unequivocally concludes that, “acupuncture is of no value for the treatment of hypertension.” In their clinical trial, Macklin et al2 randomly assigned hypertensive subjects to 1 of 3 interventions using “individualized,” “standardized,” or “sham” acupuncture....

Computing basics

Mitochondrial mutations in mammalian aging: an over-hasty about-turn?

The very low abundance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in nearly all mammalian tissues even in old age has led most mitochondriologists to reject the idea that such mutations might have a causal role in aging, despite (1) the strong circumstantial (e. g., interspecies) evidence that they do have such a role, (2) the promulgation since 1998 of two detailed mechanisms whereby low levels of...

Endocarditis: basics.