Neuron-level fuzzy memoization in RNNs

The final publication is available at ACM via http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3352460.3358309Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are a key technology for applications such as automatic speech recognition or machine translation. Unlike conventional feed-forward DNNs, RNNs remember past information to improve the accuracy of future predictions and, therefore, they are very effective for sequence processing problems. For each application run, each recurrent layer is executed many times for processing a potentially large sequence of inputs (words, images, audio frames, etc.). In this paper, we make the observation that the output of a neuron exhibits small changes in consecutive invocations. We exploit this property to build a neuron-level fuzzy memoization scheme, which dynamically caches the output of each neuron and reuses it whenever it is predicted that the current output will be similar to a previously computed result, avoiding in this way the output computations. The main challenge in this scheme is determining whether the new neuron's output for the current input in the sequence will be similar to a recently computed result. To this end, we extend the recurrent layer with a much simpler Bitwise Neural Network (BNN), and show that the BNN and RNN outputs are highly correlated: if two BNN outputs are very similar, the corresponding outputs in the original RNN layer are likely to exhibit negligible changes. The BNN provides a low-cost and effective mechanism for deciding when fuzzy memoization can be applied with a small impact on accuracy. We evaluate our memoization scheme on top of a state-of-the-art accelerator for RNNs, for a variety of different neural networks from multiple application domains. We show that our technique avoids more than 24.2% of computations, resulting in 18.5% energy savings and 1.35x speedup on average.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

New species of the Madagascan genus Hovops Benoit, 1968 (Araneae: Selenopidae), with a description of the H. madagascariensis male and an identification key

Hovops Benoit is a heterogeneous genus of selenopid spiders represented by six known species endemic to Madagascar. After examining sizeable collections of Selenopidae from the Afrotropical Region especially, from Madagascar, we here propose new diagnostic characters for Hovops and describe three new species: H. betsileo sp. n. (both sexes) from Toamasina Province, H. lidiae sp. n. (both sexes) from Fianarantsoa Province, and H. merina sp. n. (female only) from Antananarivo Province. The male of H. madagascariensis (Vinson) is described for the first time, and new records of this species are also provided. An identification key to the species in this genus is proposed.Hovops Benoit es un género heterogéneo de arañas selenópidas representado hasta la fecha por unas seis especies conocidas y endémicas de Madagascar. Después de revisar una gran cantidad de material de Selenopidae de la región Afrotropical y, en especial de Madagascar, nos permite proponer nuevos caracteres diagnósticos para este género y describir tres nuevas especies para la ciencia: H. betsileo sp. n. (ambos sexos) de la provincia Toamasina, H. lidiae sp. n. (ambos sexos) de la provincia Fianarantsoa y H. merina sp. n. (sólo la hembra) para la provincia Antananarivo. El macho de H. madagascariensis (Vinson) es descripto por primera vez y también se aportan nuevos registros de distribución para esta especie. Se propone una clave para la identificación de las especies del género.Fil: Corronca, Jose Antonio. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Artigas, Sandra Mónica. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; Argentin

The labour market for LIS graduates: studies on entry into the workforce

Se describen los estudios realizados en el seguimiento laboral de los titulados universitarios en biblioteconomía y documentación en España. Estos análisis definen ciertas características del mercado de trabajo al que acceden estos graduados, tales como su volumen y dinamismo pero también sus condiciones, bastante precarias. Además, a pesar de la importancia del sector público, el sector privado cada vez emplea más a los jóvenes profesionales. De la misma manera el empleo en centros de documentación crece de forma porcentual más que en los archivos y bibliotecas. Este tipo de análisis se debe tener en cuenta en la concepción de los programas académicos de las universidades.This article describes the work done in monitoring the careers of LIS (library and information sciences) graduates in Spain. These analyses define some of the features of the labour market which the graduates gain access to, such as its volume and dynamism but also relatively quite poor conditions. Despite the importance of the public sector, the private sector increasingly employs young professionals. Equally, job opportunities grow more in percentage terms in information centres than in archives and libraries. This kind of analysis must be taken into account by universities when designing their LIS curricul

Optimal care and design of the tracheal cuff in the critically ill patient

Despite the increasing use of non-invasive ventilation and high-flow nasal-oxygen therapy, intubation is still performed in a large proportion of critically ill patients. The aim of this narrative review is to discuss recent data on long-term intubation-related complications, such as microaspiration, and tracheal ischemic lesions. These complications are common in critically ill patients, and are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Recent data suggest beneficial effects of tapered cuffed tracheal tubes in reducing aspiration. However, clinical data are needed in critically ill patients to confirm this hypothesis. Polyurethane-cuffed tracheal tubes and continuous control of cuff pressure could be beneficial in preventing microaspiration and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, large multicenter studies are needed before recommending their routine use. Cuff pressure should be maintained between 20 and 30 cmH(2)O to prevent intubation-related complications. Tracheal ischemia could be prevented by manual or continuous control of cuff pressure

La utilización de software de código libre en el área de biblioteconomía y documentación en España: el caso de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Analysis of a survey passed to the teaching staff of the University School of Library and Information Science of the Complutense University with the purpose of knowing its opinion and attitude towards the open source software like a possible solution for its use like didactic material, facilitating therefore the process of European convergence with respect to the degree in Information and Documentation. The teaching staff of the EUBD is conscious of the advantages of the open source software and are pronounced mainly favourable to the use of such programs, being the ignorance of his existence the main culprit of his lack of use on the part of the educational professionals

Mercat de treball en informació i documentació i crisi econòmica a Espanya: una aproximació a partir de les ofertes publicades a la IweTel entre 2008 i 2013

Objectiu: analitzar les ofertes d'ocupació publicades a la llista de correu IweTel des de l'inici de la crisi el 2008 fins a desembre de 2013, per veure les característiques d'aquestes convocatòries, quant al nombre, els llocs que demanen i els requisits per als candidats. Metodologia: anàlisi estadística de diferents aspectes de les ofertes d'ocupació que, en moltes ocasions, s'han hagut de normalitzar i sistematitzar perquè es puguin tractar. Resultats: la caiguda de l'ocupació en aquests sis anys estudiats (2008–2013) es fa evident, ja que passa de 190 ofertes publicades en el primer any a 35 de l'últim. Una altra característica que s'ha detectat és la precarietat d'aquestes convocatòries, sobretot pel que fa a la durada de les feines ofertes. L'organisme tipus convocant és una empresa de serveis documentals amb seu a Madrid que demana catalogadors. L'estudi té la fortalesa que la IweTel és la llista de distribució més important en informació i documentació a Espanya, però també té la debilitat que els organismes convocants, que generalment utilitzen aquest mitjà de difusió, són generalment privats i coneixen el sector, motiu pel qual no apareixen, o si ho fan és en menor mesura, ofertes d'altres tipus d'empreses

New records of seven species of pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae) from the northern Argentina

We report new records of pholcid species for northern Argentina. Guaranita yaculica Huber, 2000 and Mesabolivar uruguayensis Machado Laborda, Simó & Brescovit, 2013 are reported for the first time for Corrientes province, whereas Aymaria calilegua Huber, 2000 and Nerudia atacama Huber, 2000 are for the first time reported for Salta province. The last corresponds to a new record for Argentina. We also expand the known distribution of Guaranita goloboffi Huber, 2000, Chibchea salta Huber, 2000, and Pholcus phalangioides (Fuesslin, 1775) for Salta province.Fil: Torres, Victor Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Pardo, Paolo Luciano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Reyes, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Artigas, Sandra Mónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Corronca, Jose Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentin

Barrier-protective effects of activated protein C in human alveolar epithelial cells

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a clinical manifestation of respiratory failure, caused by lung inflammation and the disruption of the alveolar-capillary barrier. Preservation of the physical integrity of the alveolar epithelial monolayer is of critical importance to prevent alveolar edema. Barrier integrity depends largely on the balance between physical forces on cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts, and this balance might be affected by alterations in the coagulation cascade in patients with ALI. We aimed to study the effects of activated protein C (APC) on mechanical tension and barrier integrity in human alveolar epithelial cells (A549) exposed to thrombin. Cells were pretreated for 3 h with APC (50 mg/ml) or vehicle (control). Subsequently, thrombin (50 nM) or medium was added to the cell culture. APC significantly reduced thrombin-induced cell monolayer permeability, cell stiffening, and cell contraction, measured by electrical impedance, optical magnetic twisting cytometry, and traction microscopy, respectively, suggesting a barrier-protective response. The dynamics of the barrier integrity was also assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis of the tight junction ZO-1. Thrombin resulted in more elongated ZO-1 aggregates at cell-cell interface areas and induced an increase in ZO-1 membrane protein content. APC attenuated the length of these ZO-1 aggregates and reduced the ZO-1 membrane protein levels induced by thrombin. In conclusion, pretreatment with APC reduced the disruption of barrier integrity induced by thrombin, thus contributing to alveolar epithelial barrier protection

Creación de un corpus coordinado de competencias en Información y Documentación a partir de ofertas de empleo en España

El artículo busca elaborar un tesauro mediante relaciones entre las competencias pedidas por el mercado laboral en Información y Documentación y los puestos ofertados. Los planes de estudio de la titulación y las ofertas de empleo aparecidas principalmente en www.documentacion.com.es y en el SOPP de la Universidad Carlos III sirvieron para recopilar los términos del dominio. Ese corpus estructura el tesauro y sirve de base a la indización automática de las ofertas. La metodología empleada permite valorar con coherencia la adecuación de los planes de estudios a las demandas del mercado laboral. Los resultados aparecen en tablas con los elementos más característicos de las ofertas, junto a los encabezamientos terminológicos que clasifican los descriptores del tesauro. La comparación entre los términos de las ofertas y los planes de estudio denota necesidades y carencias en la adecuación de los planes de estudio a lo que el mercado de trabajo solicita

Major consequences of an intense dense shelf water cascading event on deep-sea benthic trophic conditions and meiofaunal biodiversity

Numerous submarine canyons around the world are preferential conduits for episodic dense shelf water cascading (DSWC), which quickly modifies physical and chemical ambient conditions while transporting large amounts of material towards the base of slope and basin. Observations conducted during the last 20 yr in the Lacaze-Duthiers and Cap de Creus canyons (Gulf of Lion, NW Mediterranean Sea) report several intense DSWC events. The effects of DSWC on deep-sea ecosystems are almost unknown. To investigate the effects of these episodic events, we analysed changes in the meiofaunal biodiversity inside and outside the canyon. Sediment samples were collected at depths varying from ca. 1000 to > 2100 m in May 2004 (before a major event), April 2005 (during a major cascading event) and in October 2005, August 2006, April 2008 and April 2009 (after a major event). We report here that the late winter-early spring 2005 cascading led to a reduction of the organic matter contents in canyon floor sediments down to 1800 m depth, whereas surface sediments at about 2200 m depth showed an increase. Our findings suggest that the nutritional material removed from the shallower continental shelf, canyon floor and flanks, and also the adjacent open slope was rapidly transported to the deep margin. During the cascading event the meiofaunal abundance and biodiversity in the studied deep-sea sediments were significantly lower than after the event. Benthic assemblages during the cascading were significantly different from those in all other sampling periods in both the canyon and deep margin. After only six months from the cessation of the cascading, benthic assemblages in the impacted sediments were again similar to those observed in other sampling periods, thus illustrating a quick recovery. Since the present climate change is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of these episodic events, we anticipate that they will increasingly affect benthic bathyal ecosystems, which may eventually challenge their resilience