Extending MadFlow: device-specific optimization

In this proceedings we demonstrate some advantages of a top-bottom approach in the development of hardware-accelerated code. We start with an autogenerated hardware-agnostic Monte Carlo generator, which is parallelized in the event axis. This allow us to take advantage of the parallelizable nature of Monte Carlo integrals even if we don't have control of the hardware in which the computation will run (i.e., an external cluster). The generic nature of such an implementation can introduce spurious bottlenecks or overheads. Fortunately, said bottlenecks are usually restricted to a subset of operations and not to the whole vectorized program. By identifying the more critical parts of the calculation one can get very efficient code and at the same time minimize the amount of hardware-specific code that needs to be written. We show benchmarks demonstrating how simply reducing the memory footprint of the calculation can increase the performance of a $2 \to 4$ process.Comment: Proceedings ICHEP 2022, 6 page

PDFFlow: parton distribution functions on GPU

We present PDFFlow, a new software for fast evaluation of parton distribution functions (PDFs) designed for platforms with hardware accelerators. PDFs are essential for the calculation of particle physics observables through Monte Carlo simulation techniques. The evaluation of a generic set of PDFs for quarks and gluon at a given momentum fraction and energy scale requires the implementation of interpolation algorithms as introduced for the first time by the LHAPDF project. PDFFlow extends and implements these interpolation algorithms using Google's TensorFlow library providing the capabilities to perform PDF evaluations taking fully advantage of multi-threading CPU and GPU setups. We benchmark the performance of this library on multiple scenarios relevant for the particle physics community.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Code available at https://github.com/N3PDF/pdfflo

Determining probability density functions with adiabatic quantum computing

A reliable determination of probability density functions from data samples is still a relevant topic in scientific applications. In this work we investigate the possibility of defining an algorithm for density function estimation using adiabatic quantum computing. Starting from a sample of a one-dimensional distribution, we define a classical-to-quantum data embedding procedure which maps the empirical cumulative distribution function of the sample into time dependent Hamiltonian using adiabatic quantum evolution. The obtained Hamiltonian is then projected into a quantum circuit using the time evolution operator. Finally, the probability density function of the sample is obtained using quantum hardware differentiation through the parameter shift rule algorithm. We present successful numerical results for predefined known distributions and high-energy physics Monte Carlo simulation samples.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Actividad de fluidos hidrotermales del Neoproterozoico tardío en el cinturón de Tandilia, Argentina

In the Barker - Villa Cacique area, Tandilia belt, alteration mineral assemblages were studied by petrography, XRD and EMPA at three different stratigraphic levels: (1) a phyllic alteration at the unconformity palaeoproterozoic basement-neoproterozoic sedimentary succession (TLPU); (2) an advanced argillic alteration in the Las Águilas Formation (middle level); and (3) a phyllic alteration on pyroclastic rocks of the Olavarría Formation (upper level). Special emphasize was placed on the chemical characterization of K-white micas and chlorites. Secondary K-white micas of altered migmatites, from the Las Aguilas and Olavarría Formations have a low paragonite content (Na* 9.5 km) for the entire sedimentary pile. Hot fluids would rise from deep-seated realms, metamorphic and/or hidden igneous sources. A correlation with a rasiliano thermo-tectonic event is hypothesized.En el área de Barker - Villa Cacique, Tandilia, se estudiaron mediante petrografía, DRX, y microsonda electrónica, las para- génesis de minerales de alteración de tres niveles estratigráficos diferentes: (1) alteración fílica de la discordancia basamento paleoproterozoico-secuencia sedimentaria neoproterozoica (TLPU); (2) alteración argílica avanzada en la Formación Las Águilas (nivel medio); y (3) alteración fílica en rocas piroclásticas de la Formación Olavarría (nivel superior). Las micas potási- cas y cloritas, de dichos niveles de alteración, fueron caracterizadas químicamente. Las micas potásicas de migmatitas alteradas y de las formaciones Las Águilas y Olavarría tienen un bajo contenido en paragonita (Na* 9,5 km) para el total de la pila sedimentaria. Los fluidos hidrotermales habrían ascendido desde ambientes profundos con una fuente metamórfica y/o cuerpos ígneos ocultos. Una correlación con un evento termo-tectónico Brasiliano es hipotetizada.Fil: Martinez, Juan Cruz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Dristas, Jorge A.. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geologia. Catedra de Petrologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Van Den Kerkhof, Alfons M. . Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum der Universität Göttingen; AlemaniaFil: Wemmer, Klaus . Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum der Universität Göttingen; AlemaniaFil: Massonne, Hans J.. Universität Stuttgart; AlemaniaFil: Theye, Thomas. Universität Stuttgart; AlemaniaFil: Frisicale, Maria Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentin

Inflammatory-related clinical and metabolic outcomes in Covid-19 patients

Background. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) infection elicits inflammatory manifestations that relate with a “cytokine storm.” Objective. The aim of this research was to assess the role of circulating interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels and other inflammatory markers in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on metabolic functions and accompanying clinical complications. Patients and Methods. A total of 165 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia were examined for medical features and inflammatory markers such as blood IL-6, CRP, ferritin, LDH, neutrophil/lymphocyte index (NLI), D-Dimer, and Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW). Regression analyses concerning electronically collected medical data were adjusted by appropriate factors and confounding variables. Results. Plasma IL-6 determinations evidenced a consistent association with hospital stay days, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, and mortality rates. Similar trends were found for other proinflammatory variables, where ferritin and NLI showed a remarkable value as surrogates. Hyperglycaemia and the Charlson Comorbidity Index Score were positively associated with the inflammatory response induced by the SARS-COV-2 infection. An unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking and alcoholic drinks consumption as well as excessive body adiposity influenced inflammatory-related outcomes in the screened patients. Conclusion. IL-6 together with other inflammatory biomarkers accompanied poor clinical and metabolic outcomes in COVID-19-infected patients. IL-6 may result in a suitable proxy to individually categorise patients in order to manage this infectious pandemic.CIBERon Instituto Carlos III in Madrid is credited for institutional support

A Mediterranean lifestyle reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in the “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) cohort

Background and aims: A healthy lifestyle is essential to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, beyond dietary habits, there is a scarcity of studies comprehensively assessing the typical traditional Mediterranean lifestyle with a multi-dimensional index. We assessed the association between the Mediterranean lifestyle (measured with the MEDLIFE index including diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors) and the incidence of CVD. Methods and results: The “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) project is a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of Spanish university graduates. We calculated a MEDLIFE score, composed of 28 items on food consumption, dietary habits, physical activity, rest, social habits, and conviviality, for 18,631 participants by assigning 1 point for each typical Mediterra- nean lifestyle factor achieved, for a theoretically possible final score ranging from 0 to 28 points. During an average follow-up of 11.5 years, 172 CVD cases (myocardial infarction, stroke or cardio- vascular death) were observed. An inverse association between the MEDLIFE score and the risk of primary cardiovascular events was observed, with multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) Z 0.50; (95% confidence interval, 0.31e0.81) for the highest MEDLIFE scores (14e23 points) compared to the lowest scores (0e9 points), p (trend) Z 0.004. Conclusion: A higher level of adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle was significantly associ- ated with a lower risk of CVD in a Spanish cohort. Public health strategies should promote the Mediterranean lifestyle to preserve cardiovascular health

Pancreatic cancer escape variants that evade immunogene therapy through loss of sensitivity to IFNgamma-induced apoptosis

Combined injections into experimental tumor nodules of adenovirus encoding IL-12 and certain chemokines are capable to induce immune-mediated complete regressions. In this study, we found that the combination of two adenoviruses, one encoding IL-12 and other MIP3alpha (AdCMVIL-12+AdCMVMIP3alpha) was very successful in treating CT-26-derived colon carcinomas. However, in experimental tumors generated from the pancreatic carcinoma cell line Panc02 such combined treatment induces 50% of macroscopic complete regressions, although local relapses within 1 week are almost constant. We derived cell lines from such relapsing tumors and found that experimental malignancies derived from their inoculum were not amenable to treatment in any case with AdCMVIL-12+AdCMVMIP-3alpha. Importantly, relapsing cell lines were insensitive to in vitro induction of apoptosis by IFNgamma, in clear contrast with the original Panc02 cells. Comparative analyses by cDNA arrays of relapsing cell lines versus wild-type Panc02 were performed revealing an important number of genes (383) whose expression levels were modified more than two-fold. These changes grouped in certain gene ontology categories should harbor the mechanistic explanations of the acquired selective resistance to IFNgamma