Static partitioning and mapping of kernel-based applications over modern heterogeneous architectures

Heterogeneous Architectures Are Being Used Extensively To Improve System Processing Capabilities. Critical Functions Of Each Application (Kernels) Can Be Mapped To Different Computing Devices (I.E. Cpus, Gpgpus, Accelerators) To Maximize Performance. However, Best Performance Can Only Be Achieved If Kernels Are Accurately Mapped To The Right Device. Moreover, In Some Cases Those Kernels Could Be Split And Executed Over Several Devices At The Same Time To Maximize The Use Of Compute Resources On Heterogeneous Parallel Architectures. In This Paper, We Define A Static Partitioning Model Based On Profiling Information From Previous Executions. This Model Follows A Quantitative Model Approach Which Computes The Optimal Match According To User-Defined Constraints. We Test Different Scenarios To Evaluate Our Model: Single Kernel And Multi-Kernel Applications. Experimental Results Show That Our Static Partitioning Model Could Increase Performance Of Parallel Applications By Deploying Not Only Different Kernels Over Different Devices But A Single Kernel Over Multiple Devices. This Allows To Avoid Having Idle Compute Resources On Heterogeneous Platforms, As Well As Enhancing The Overall Performance. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All Rights Reserved.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement n. 609666 [24]

Problem-Based Teaching through Video Podcasts for Coding and Cryptography

In this work we present the development and preliminary evaluation of several problem-based video podcasts addressed to students of the subject “Coding and Cryptography”. Specifically, this experiment has been carried out with the students of both the Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and the Master’s degree of Mathematical Research and Modelling, Statistics and Computation, at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Our results suggest that students found these complementary videos helpful for their learning process, indicating that this methodology could be appropriate for subjects treating complex concepts, such as those in the last years of degree or in master courses.The authors are supported by the University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU (Convocatoria de Ayudas para Proyecto de Innovación Educativa, PIE-2018, Código 2), and also by the Basque Government grant IT974-16

Public and private sector wages interactions in a general equilibrium model

This paper develops a dynamic general equilibrium model in which the public and the private sector interact in the labor market. Previous studies that analyze the labor market effects of public sector employment and wages have mostly assumed exogenous rules for public wage and public employment. We show that theories that equalize wages with marginal products in the private sector can rationalize the interaction of public and private sector wages when extended to accommodate a non-trivial government sector/public sector union that endogenously determines public employment and wages. Our model suggests a positive correlation between public and private sector wages. Any increase in tax revenues, coupled with the existence of a positive public-private sector wage gap, makes working in the public sector an attractive option. Thus, a positive neutral productivity shock increases public and private sector wages. More interestingly, even a private-sector specific productivity shock spills-over to the public sector, increasing public wages. These facts lend some support to the wage leading role of the private sector. Nevertheless, at the same time, a positive shock to public sector wages would lead to an increase in private sector wages, via the flow of workers from the private to the public secto

On the road to the evaluation of RDF stream compression techniques

Proceedings of RDF Stream Processing Workshop in conjunction with the 12th Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC 2015), May 31st, 2015 in Portoroz, SloveniaThe popularization of data streaming applications, such as those related to social networks and the Internet of Things, has fostered the interest of the Semantic Web community for this kind of data. As a result of this interest, the W3C RDF Stream Processing (RSP) community group has recently been started with the goal of defining a common model “for producing, transmitting and continuously querying RDF Streams”. In this EOI we focus on the transmission model. As pointed out by recent research efforts (e.g. Ztreamy and CQELS Cloud), the efficient transmission of RDF streams is a necessary step to ensure higher throughput in RDF stream processors.This work is partially funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) under the projects “HERMES-SMARTDRIVER” (TIN2013-46801-C4-2-R) and “4V: Volumen, Velocidad, Variedad y Validez en la Gestión Innovadora de Datos” (TIN2013-46238-C4-2-R), and Austrian Science Fund (FWF): M1720-G1

A Comparative study and evaluation of parallel programming models for shared-memory parallel architectures

Nowadays, shared-memory parallel architectures have evolved and new programming frameworks have appeared that exploit these architectures: OpenMP, TBB, Cilk Plus, ArBB and OpenCL. This article focuses on the most extended of these frameworks in commercial and scientific areas. This paper shows a comparative study of these frameworks and an evaluation. The study covers several capacities, such as task deployment, scheduling techniques, or programming language abstractions. The evaluation measures three dimensions: code development complexity, performance and efficiency, measure as speedup per watt. For this evaluation, several parallel benchmarks have been implemented with each framework. These benchmarks are created to cover certain scenarios, like regular memory access or irregular computation. The conclusions show some highlights, like the fact that some frameworks (OpenMP, Cilk Plus) are better for transforming quickly a sequential code, others (TBB) have a small footprint which is ideal for small problems, and others (OpenCL) are suited for heterogeneous architectures but they require a very complex development process. The conclusions also show that the vectorization support is more critical than multitasking to achieve efficiency for those problems where this approach fits.This work has been partially funded by the project “Input/Output Scalable Techniques for distributed and high-performance computing environments” of MINISTERIO DE CIENCIA E INNOVACIÓN, TIN2010-16497. The work of J. Daniel García has been funded by "FUNDACIÓN CAJAMADRID" through a grant for Mobility of Madrid Public Universities Professors

Synchronized cell attachment triggered by photo-activatable adhesive ligands allows QCM-based detection of early integrin binding

The Quartz Crystal Microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique was applied to monitor and quantify integrin-RGD recognition during the early stages of cell adhesion. Using QCM-D crystals modified with a photo-activatable RGD peptide, the time point of presentation of adhesive ligand at the surface of the QCM-D crystal could be accurately controlled. This allowed temporal resolution of early integrin-RGD binding and the subsequent cell spreading process, and their separate detection by QCM-D. The specificity of the integrin-RGD binding event was corroborated by performing the experiments in the presence of soluble cyclicRGD as a competitor, and cytochalasin D as inhibitor of cell spreading. Larger frequency change in the QCM-D signal was observed for cells with larger spread area, and for cells overexpressing integrin avb3 upon stable transfection. This strategy enables quantification of integrin activity which, in turn, may allow discrimination among different cell types displaying distinct integrin subtypes and expression levels thereof. On the basis of these findings, we believe the strategy can be extended to other photoactivatable ligands to characterize cell membrane receptors activity, a relevant issue for cancer diagnosis (and prognosis) as other several pathologies.Fil: Iturri, Jagoba. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research; AlemaniaFil: García Fernández, Luis. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research; AlemaniaFil: Reuning, Ute. Technische Universitat Munchen; AlemaniaFil: García, Andrés J.. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: del Campo, Aránzazu. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research; AlemaniaFil: Salierno, Marcelo Javier. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Oral bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws : clinical characteristics of a series of 20 cases in Spain

Objective: The objective of this study was to define the clinical characteristics of osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ) induced by oral bisphosphonates in a series of patients from a circumscribed area in northwest Spain. Study Design: A retrospective multicentre study was undertaken in 3 hospitals in an area with a radius less than 100 km in the Autonomous Community of Galicia (Spain). The medical records were reviewed and an oral examination was performed of patients diagnosed with oral bisphosphonate-related ONJ in the previous 3 years. Results: We detected 20 cases of ONJ (24 lesions) related to oral bisphosphonates (alendronate [16 patients] and ibandronate [4 patients]), which were mainly administered as treatment for osteoporosis (17 patients). The mean interval between initiation of treatment and confirmation of a diagnosis of ONJ was 66±43 months (range, 6-132 months); in 7 patients (35%) the interval was less than 36 months. The past history revealed hypertension in 13 cases (65%) and diabetes in 4 (20%); 7 patients (35%) were on corticosteroid treatment. Oral surgery had been previously performed in 13 patients (65%) and the remaining 7 patients (35%) had removable dental prostheses. The lesions most frequently affected the posterior mandible (62.5%). The majority of the lesions (75%) were classified as stage 2, although lesions were identified in all established clinical stages (including 2 stage 0 lesions). Conclusion: In conclusion, in the present series, ONJ induced by oral bisphosphonates typically develops in women around 70 years of age, taking alendronate, that underwent oral surgery. Most lesions are located in the posterior mandible and are classified as stage 2 at diagnosis. Some patients presented no known risk factors, suggesting that there may be risk factors still to be identified. There are well-defined patterns of clinical presentation that can facilitate early diagnosis of ONJ

Ocupaciones prehistóricas del barranco de Olula (Almansa, Albacete): Estudio de los registros líticos de superficie

La industria lítica proveniente de los registros de superficie localizados en el Barranco de Olula (Almansa), permite plantear en esta zona la existencia de ocupaciones al aire libre anteriores a la Edad de Bronce. Se presenta la documentación valorando de forma crítica los problemas del registro del que proceden. Por último, se contextualiza esta información en el marco del poblamiento de la Prehistoria Reciente del Corredor Almansa-Vinalopó y de otras áreas próximas

Poly(acryloyl hydrazide), a versatile scaffold for the preparation of functional polymers: synthesis and post-polymerisation modification

Here we present the synthesis and post-polymerisation modification of poly(acryloyl hydrazide), a versatile scaffold for the preparation of functional polymers: poly(acryloyl hydrazide) was prepared from commercially available starting materials in a three step synthesis on a large scale, in good yields and high purity. Our synthetic approach included the synthesis of a Boc-protected acryloyl hydrazide, the preparation of polymers via RAFT polymerisation and the deprotection of the corresponding Boc-protected poly(acryloyl hydrazide). Post-polymerisation modification of poly(acryloyl hydrazide) was then demonstrated using a range of conditions for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic aldehydes. These experiments demonstrate the potential of poly(acryloyl hydrazide) as a scaffold in the synthesis of functional polymers, in particular those applications where in situ screening of the activity of the functionalised polymers may be required (e.g. biological applications)This work was supported by the Royal Society, U.K (IE130688) and the Wellcome Trust (177ISSFPP). F. F.-T. thanks the Birmingham Science City and the European Regional Development Fund, the Royal Society (RG140273), and the University of Birmingham (John Evans Fellowship). J. M. thanks funding from MINECO (CTQ2014-59646-R, RYC-2013-1378) the Xunta de Galicia (ED431G/09 and 2016-AD031) and the ERC (Stg-DYNAP-677786)S

Semisupervised Speech Data Extraction from Basque Parliament Sessions and Validation on Fully Bilingual Basque–Spanish ASR

In this paper, a semisupervised speech data extraction method is presented and applied to create a new dataset designed for the development of fully bilingual Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems for Basque and Spanish. The dataset is drawn from an extensive collection of Basque Parliament plenary sessions containing frequent code switchings. Since session minutes are not exact, only the most reliable speech segments are kept for training. To that end, we use phonetic similarity scores between nominal and recognized phone sequences. The process starts with baseline acoustic models trained on generic out-of-domain data, then iteratively updates the models with the extracted data and applies the updated models to refine the training dataset until the observed improvement between two iterations becomes small enough. A development dataset, involving five plenary sessions not used for training, has been manually audited for tuning and evaluation purposes. Cross-validation experiments (with 20 random partitions) have been carried out on the development dataset, using the baseline and the iteratively updated models. On average, Word Error Rate (WER) reduces from 16.57% (baseline) to 4.41% (first iteration) and further to 4.02% (second iteration), which corresponds to relative WER reductions of 73.4% and 8.8%, respectively. When considering only Basque segments, WER reduces on average from 16.57% (baseline) to 5.51% (first iteration) and further to 5.13% (second iteration), which corresponds to relative WER reductions of 66.7% and 6.9%, respectively. As a result of this work, a new bilingual Basque–Spanish resource has been produced based on Basque Parliament sessions, including 998 h of training data (audio segments + transcriptions), a development set (17 h long) designed for tuning and evaluation under a cross-validation scheme and a fully bilingual trigram language model.This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (OPEN-SPEECH project, PID2019-106424RB-I00) and by the Basque Government under the general support program to research groups (IT-1704-22)