SIMD Everywhere Optimization from ARM NEON to RISC-V Vector Extensions

Many libraries, such as OpenCV, FFmpeg, XNNPACK, and Eigen, utilize Arm or x86 SIMD Intrinsics to optimize programs for performance. With the emergence of RISC-V Vector Extensions (RVV), there is a need to migrate these performance legacy codes for RVV. Currently, the migration of NEON code to RVV code requires manual rewriting, which is a time-consuming and error-prone process. In this work, we use the open source tool, "SIMD Everywhere" (SIMDe), to automate the migration. Our primary task is to enhance SIMDe to enable the conversion of ARM NEON Intrinsics types and functions to their corresponding RVV Intrinsics types and functions. For type conversion, we devise strategies to convert Neon Intrinsics types to RVV Intrinsics by considering the vector length agnostic (vla) architectures. With function conversions, we analyze commonly used conversion methods in SIMDe and develop customized conversions for each function based on the results of RVV code generations. In our experiments with Google XNNPACK library, our enhanced SIMDe achieves speedup ranging from 1.51x to 5.13x compared to the original SIMDe, which does not utilize customized RVV implementations for the conversions

Isolation and Characterization of Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci from Metapenaeopsis barbata Using PCR-Based Isolation of Microsatellite Arrays (PIMA)

The red-spot prawn, Metapenaeopsis barbata, is a commercially important, widely distributed demersal species in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. Overfishing has made its populations decline in the past decade. To study conservation genetics, eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated. Genetic characteristics of the SSR (simple sequence repeat) fingerprints were estimated in 61 individuals from adjacent seas of Taiwan and China. The number of alleles, ranging from 2 to 4, as well as observed and expected heterozygosities in populations, ranging from 0.048 to 0.538, and 0.048 and 0.654, respectively, were detected. No deviation from Hardy–Weinberg expectations was detected at either locus. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected in locus pairs. The polymorphic microsatellite loci will be useful for investigations of the genetic variation, population structure, and conservation genetics of this species

Isotretinoin Oil-Based Capsule Formulation Optimization

The purpose of this study was to develop and optimize an isotretinoin oil-based capsule with specific dissolution pattern. A three-factor-constrained mixture design was used to prepare the systemic model formulations. The independent factors were the components of oil-based capsule including beeswax (X1), hydrogenated coconut oil (X2), and soybean oil (X3). The drug release percentages at 10, 30, 60, and 90 min were selected as responses. The effect of formulation factors including that on responses was inspected by using response surface methodology (RSM). Multiple-response optimization was performed to search for the appropriate formulation with specific release pattern. It was found that the interaction effect of these formulation factors (X1X2, X1X3, and X2X3) showed more potential influence than that of the main factors (X1, X2, and X3). An optimal predicted formulation with Y10 min, Y30 min, Y60 min, and Y90 min release values of 12.3%, 36.7%, 73.6%, and 92.7% at X1, X2, and X3 of 5.75, 15.37, and 78.88, respectively, was developed. The new formulation was prepared and performed by the dissolution test. The similarity factor f2 was 54.8, indicating that the dissolution pattern of the new optimized formulation showed equivalence to the predicted profile

Taiwanese Dermatological Association consensus for the management of atopic dermatitis

AbstractBackground/ObjectiveThis report describes the 2014 consensus of the Taiwanese Dermatological Association (TDA) regarding the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). The TDA consensus is distributed to practices throughout Taiwan to provide recommendations for therapeutic approaches for AD patients to improve their quality of life.MethodsThe information in the consensus was agreed upon by a panel of national experts at TDA AD consensus meetings held on March 16, May 4, and June 29, 2014. The consensus was in part based on the 2013 Asia–Pacific AD guidelines and the guidelines of the American Academy of Dermatology, with modification to reflect the clinical practice in Taiwan.ResultsThe amendments were drafted after scientific discussions focused on the quality of evidence, risk, and benefits; all the consensus contents were voted on by the participating dermatologists, with approval by at least 75% for inclusion.ConclusionThe consensus provides a comprehensive overview of treatment for AD, with some local and cultural considerations for practitioners in Taiwan, especially the use of wet dressings/wraps, systemic immunomodulatory agents, and complementary therapies

Tau PET With 18F-THK-5351 Taiwan Patients With Familial Alzheimer's Disease With the APP p.D678H Mutation

Background: Brain 18F-AV-45 amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) in Taiwanese patients with familial Alzheimer's disease with the amyloid precursor protein (APP) p.D678H mutation tends to involve occipital and cerebellar cortical areas. However, tau pathology in patients with this specific Taiwan mutation remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to study the Tau PET images in these patients.Methods: Clinical features, brain magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography (MRI/CT), and brain 18F-THK-5351 PET were recorded in five patients with the APP p.D678H mutation and correlated with brain 18F-AV-45 PET images. We also compared the tau deposition patterns among five patients with familial mild cognitive impairment (fMCI), six patients with sporadic amnestic mild cognitive impairment (sMCI), nine patients with mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 12 healthy controls (HCs). All of the subjects also received brain 18F-AV-45 PET.Results: The nine patients with sAD and six patients with sMCI had a positive brain AV-45 PET scans, while the 12 HCs had negative brain AV-45 PET scans. All five patients with fMCI received a tau PET scan with the age at onset ranging from 46 to 53 years, in whom increased standard uptake value ratio (SUVR) of 18F-THK-5351 was noted in all seven brain cortical areas compared with the HCs. In addition, the SUVRs of 18F-THK-5351 were increased in the frontal, medial parietal, lateral parietal, lateral temporal, and occipital areas (P < 0.001) in the patients with sAD compared with the HCs. The patients with fMCI had a significant higher SUVR of 18F-THK-5351 in the cerebellar cortex compared to the patients with sMCI. The correlations between regional SUVR and Mini-Mental State Examination score and between regional SUVR and clinical dementia rating (sum box) scores within volumes of interest of Braak stage were statistically significant.Conclusion: Tau deposition was increased in the patients with fMCI compared to the HCs. Increased regional SUVR in the cerebellar cortical area was a characteristic finding in the patients with fMCI. As compared between amyloid and tau PET, the amyloid deposition is diffuse, but tau deposition is limited to the temporal lobe in the patients with fMCI

Fermion-boson many-body interplay in a frustrated kagome paramagnet

Kagome-net, appearing in areas of fundamental physics, materials, photonic and cold-atom systems, hosts frustrated fermionic and bosonic excitations. However, it is extremely rare to find a system to study both fermionic and bosonic modes to gain insights into their many-body interplay. Here we use state-of-the-art scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to discover unusual electronic coupling to flat-band phonons in a layered kagome paramagnet. Our results reveal the kagome structure with unprecedented atomic resolution and observe the striking bosonic mode interacting with dispersive kagome electrons near the Fermi surface. At this mode energy, the fermionic quasi-particle dispersion exhibits a pronounced renormalization, signaling a giant coupling to bosons. Through a combination of self-energy analysis, first-principles calculation, and a lattice vibration model, we present evidence that this mode arises from the geometrically frustrated phonon flat-band, which is the lattice analog of kagome electron flat-band. Our findings provide the first example of kagome bosonic mode (flat-band phonon) in electronic excitations and its strong interaction with fermionic degrees of freedom in kagome-net materials.Comment: To appear in Nature Communications (2020

Mutations Altering the Interplay between GkDnaC Helicase and DNA Reveal an Insight into Helicase Unwinding

Replicative helicases are essential molecular machines that utilize energy derived from NTP hydrolysis to move along nucleic acids and to unwind double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). Our earlier crystal structure of the hexameric helicase from Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426 (GkDnaC) in complex with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) suggested several key residues responsible for DNA binding that likely play a role in DNA translocation during the unwinding process. Here, we demonstrated that the unwinding activities of mutants with substitutions at these key residues in GkDnaC are 2–4-fold higher than that of wild-type protein. We also observed the faster unwinding velocities in these mutants using single-molecule experiments. A partial loss in the interaction of helicase with ssDNA leads to an enhancement in helicase efficiency, while their ATPase activities remain unchanged. In strong contrast, adding accessory proteins (DnaG or DnaI) to GkDnaC helicase alters the ATPase, unwinding efficiency and the unwinding velocity of the helicase. It suggests that the unwinding velocity of helicase could be modulated by two different pathways, the efficiency of ATP hydrolysis or protein-DNA interaction