Solving the Uncapacitated Single Allocation p-Hub Median Problem on GPU

A parallel genetic algorithm (GA) implemented on GPU clusters is proposed to solve the Uncapacitated Single Allocation p-Hub Median problem. The GA uses binary and integer encoding and genetic operators adapted to this problem. Our GA is improved by generated initial solution with hubs located at middle nodes. The obtained experimental results are compared with the best known solutions on all benchmarks on instances up to 1000 nodes. Furthermore, we solve our own randomly generated instances up to 6000 nodes. Our approach outperforms most well-known heuristics in terms of solution quality and time execution and it allows hitherto unsolved problems to be solved

Circulating endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the acute phase response and sickness behaviour associated with CNS inflammation.

Brain injury elicits a systemic acute-phase response (APR), which is responsible for co-ordinating the peripheral immunological response to injury. To date, the mechanisms responsible for signalling the presence of injury or disease to selectively activate responses in distant organs were unclear. Circulating endogenous extracellular vesicles (EVs) are increased after brain injury and have the potential to carry targeted injury signals around the body. Here, we examined the potential of EVs, isolated from rats after focal inflammatory brain lesions using IL-1β, to activate a systemic APR in recipient naïve rats, as well as the behavioural consequences of EV transfer. Focal brain lesions increased EV release, and, following isolation and transfer, the EVs were sequestered by the liver where they initiated an APR. Transfer of blood-borne EVs from brain-injured animals was also enough to suppress exploratory behaviours in recipient naïve animals. EVs derived from brain endothelial cell cultures treated with IL-1β also activated an APR and altered behaviour in recipient animals. These experiments reveal that inflammation-induced circulating EVs derived from endothelial cells are able to initiate the APR to brain injury and are sufficient to generate the associated sickness behaviours, and are the first demonstration that EVs are capable of modifying behavioural responses

Azacitidine for treating acute myeloid leukaemia with more than 30% bone marrow blasts: A Single Technology Appraisal

Report commissioned by the NIHR HTA ProgrammeThis report was commissioned by the NIHR HTA Programme as project number 15/64/10

Cross Section Ratios between different CM energies at the LHC: opportunities for precision measurements and BSM sensitivity

The staged increase of the LHC beam energy provides a new class of interesting observables, namely ratios and double ratios of cross sections of various hard processes. The large degree of correlation of theoretical systematics in the cross section calculations at different energies leads to highly precise predictions for such ratios. We present in this letter few examples of such ratios, and discuss their possible implications, both in terms of opportunities for precision measurements and in terms of sensitivity to Beyond the Standard Model dynamics.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure

Quality Assurance and its impact on ovarian visualisation rates in the multicentre United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

OBJECTIVE: To describe the quality assurance (QA) processes and their impact on visualisation of postmenopausal ovaries in the ultrasound arm of a multicentre ovarian cancer screening trial. METHODS: In UKCTOCS, 50,640 women aged 50-74 at recruitment were randomised to the ultrasound arm and underwent annual transvaginal scans. QA processes were developed during the course of the trial and included regular monitoring of Visualisation Rate (VR) of right ovary. Non-subjective factors previously identified as impacting on VR of right ovary were included in a generalised estimating equation(GEE) model for binary outcomes to enable comparison of observed versus adjusted VR between individual sonographers who had undertaken >1000scans on trial /centres. Analysis of annual VR of sonographers / centres was undertaken. RESULTS: Between June 2001 and December 2010, across 13 centres, 48230 (of 50639) women attended for 270035 annual transvaginal scans. One or both ovaries were seen in 84.5% (228145/270035) of scans. The observed VR of the right ovary was 72.7% (196426/270035). For the 78 sonographers included in the model, the median difference between observed and adjusted VR was 2% (range 0-8%) and median change in rank was 3 (range 0-18). For the 13 centres, the median difference between observed versus adjusted VR was 0% (range 0-2%) with no change in ranking. The median adjusted VR for sonographers was 73% (IQR 65-82%) and for centres was 74.7% (IQR 67.1-79.0%). Despite increasing age of the cohort, there was a steady decrease in the number of sonographers with VR80% (14.3% in 2002 to 40.8 % in 2010). Median centre VR increased from 65.5% (range 55.7-81.0%) in 2001 to 80.3% (range74.5%-90.9%) in 2010. CONCLUSIONS: A robust QA programme can improve visualisation of postmenopausal ovaries and is an essential component of ultrasound-based ovarian cancer screening trials. While VR should be adjusted for non-subjective factors that impact on ovarian visualisation, subjective factors are likely to be the largest contributors to VR differences

Social modulation of contagious yawning in wolves

On the basis of observational and experimental evidence, several authors have proposed that contagious yawn is linked to our capacity for empathy, thus presenting a powerful tool to explore the root of empathy in animal evolution. The evidence for the occurrence of contagious yawning and its link to empathy, however, is meagre outside primates and only recently domestic dogs have demonstrated this ability when exposed to human yawns. Since dogs are unusually skilful at reading human communicative behaviors, it is unclear whether this phenomenon is deeply rooted in the evolutionary history of mammals or evolved de novo in dogs as a result of domestication. Here we show that wolves are capable of yawn contagion, suggesting that such ability is a common ancestral trait shared by other mammalian taxa. Furthermore, the strength of the social bond between the model and the subject positively affected the frequency of contagious yawning, suggesting that in wolves the susceptibility of yawn contagion correlates with the level of emotional proximity. Moreover, female wolves showed a shorter reaction time than males when observing yawns of close associates, suggesting that females are more responsive to their social stimuli. These results are consistent with the claim that the mechanism underlying contagious yawning relates to the capacity for empathy and suggests that basic building blocks of empathy might be present in a wide range of species

Emergence of structural and dynamical properties of ecological mutualistic networks

Mutualistic networks are formed when the interactions between two classes of species are mutually beneficial. They are important examples of cooperation shaped by evolution. Mutualism between animals and plants plays a key role in the organization of ecological communities. Such networks in ecology have generically evolved a nested architecture independent of species composition and latitude - specialists interact with proper subsets of the nodes with whom generalists interact. Despite sustained efforts to explain observed network structure on the basis of community-level stability or persistence, such correlative studies have reached minimal consensus. Here we demonstrate that nested interaction networks could emerge as a consequence of an optimization principle aimed at maximizing the species abundance in mutualistic communities. Using analytical and numerical approaches, we show that because of the mutualistic interactions, an increase in abundance of a given species results in a corresponding increase in the total number of individuals in the community, as also the nestedness of the interaction matrix. Indeed, the species abundances and the nestedness of the interaction matrix are correlated by an amount that depends on the strength of the mutualistic interactions. Nestedness and the observed spontaneous emergence of generalist and specialist species occur for several dynamical implementations of the variational principle under stationary conditions. Optimized networks, while remaining stable, tend to be less resilient than their counterparts with randomly assigned interactions. In particular, we analytically show that the abundance of the rarest species is directly linked to the resilience of the community. Our work provides a unifying framework for studying the emergent structural and dynamical properties of ecological mutualistic networks.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Familiarity bias and physiological responses in contagious yawning by dogs support link to empathy

In humans, the susceptibility to yawn contagion has been theoretically and empirically related to our capacity for empathy. Because of its relevance to evolutionary biology, this phenomenon has been the focus of recent investigations in nonhuman species. In line with the empathic hypothesis, contagious yawning has been shown to correlate with the level of social attachment in several primate species. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have also shown the ability to yawn contagiously. To date, however, the social modulation of dog contagious yawning has received contradictory support and alternative explanations (i.e., yawn as a mild distress response) could explain positive evidence. The present study aims to replicate contagious yawning in dogs and to discriminate between the two possible mediating mechanisms (i.e., empathic vs. distress related response). Twenty-five dogs observed familiar (dog’s owner) and unfamiliar human models (experimenter) acting out a yawn or control mouth movements. Concurrent physiological measures (heart rate) were additionally monitored for twenty-one of the subjects. The occurrence of yawn contagion was significantly higher during the yawning condition than during the control mouth movements. Furthermore, the dogs yawned more frequently when watching the familiar model than the unfamiliar one demonstrating that the contagiousness of yawning in dogs correlated with the level of emotional proximity. Moreover, subjects’ heart rate did not differ among conditions suggesting that the phenomenon of contagious yawning in dogs is unrelated to stressful events. Our findings are consistent with the view that contagious yawning is modulated by affective components of the behavior and may indicate that rudimentary forms of empathy could be present in domesticated dogs

Systematic evaluation of implementation fidelity of complex interventions in health and social care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evaluation of an implementation process and its fidelity can give insight into the 'black box' of interventions. However, a lack of standardized methods for studying fidelity and implementation process have been reported, which might be one reason for the fact that few prior studies in the field of health service research have systematically evaluated interventions' implementation processes.</p> <p>The aim of this project is to systematically evaluate implementation fidelity and possible factors influencing fidelity of complex interventions in health and social care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A modified version of The Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity will be used as a conceptual model for the evaluation. The modification implies two additional moderating factors: context and recruitment. A systematic evaluation process was developed. Multiple case study method is used to investigate implementation of three complex health service interventions. Each case will be investigated in depth and longitudinally, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study is the first attempt to empirically test The Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity. The study can highlight mechanism and factors of importance when implementing complex interventions. Especially the role of the moderating factors on implementation fidelity can be clarified.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Supported Employment, SE, among people with severe mental illness -- a randomized controlled trial: NCT00960024.</p