A C0 interior penalty method for 4th order PDE's

Fourth order Partial Differential Equations (PDE's) arise in many different physic's fields. As an example, the research group for Mathematical and Computational Modeling at UPC LaCàN is studying flexoelectricity, a very promising field which aims to replace some of the uses of piezoelectric materials, and whose equations involve 4th order derivatives. This work provides a method to solve these 4th order PDE's using the Finite Element Method (FEM) with C0 elements, which provides many advantages with respect to other methods that involve using C1 elements or decoupling the equation. The method is developed over the equations of the deformation of a Kirchoff plate, which is also a 4th order PDE. This method is then successfully validated with numerical experiments, both physical and artificial. An analysis of the convergence as well as the method's sensitivity to a newly added parameter is also provided. Due to the success of the method, LaCàN group will use this method to solve flexoelectricity's PDE's

Comparing Fixed and Adaptive Computation Time for Recurrent Neural Networks

Adaptive Computation Time for Recurrent Neural Networks (ACT) is one of the most promising architectures for variable computation. ACT adapts to the input sequence by being able to look at each sample more than once, and learn how many times it should do it. In this paper, we compare ACT to Repeat-RNN, a novel architecture based on repeating each sample a fixed number of times. We found surprising results, where Repeat-RNN performs as good as ACT in the selected tasks. Source code in TensorFlow and PyTorch is publicly available at https://imatge-upc.github.io/danifojo-2018-repeatrnn/Comment: Accepted as workshop paper at ICLR 201

Complementation of two mutant p53: Implications for loss of heterozygosity in cancer

AbstractRemarkably, a cancer cell rarely possesses two mutant p53 proteins. Instead, mutation of one allele is usually associated with loss of the second p53 allele. Why do not two mutant p53 co-exist? We hypothesize that two different p53 may complement each other, when expressed at equal levels. By titrating trans-deficient and DNA-binding-deficient p53 in cells with mutant p53 and by co-transfecting distinct mutant p53 in p53-null cells, we demonstrated activation of p53-dependent transcription. We suggest that, due to complementation of two mutant p53, cancer cells need to delete the second p53 allele rather than mutate it

Comparing fixed and adaptive computation time for recurrent neural networks

Deep networks commonly perform better than shallow ones, but allocating the proper amount of computation for each particular input sample remains an open problem. This issue is particularly challenging in sequential tasks, where the required complexity may vary for different tokens in the input sequence. Adaptive Computation Time (ACT) was proposed as a method for dynamically adapting the computation at each step for Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN). ACT introduces two main modifications to the regular RNN formulation: (1) more than one RNN steps may be executed between an input sample is fed to the layer and and this layer generates an output, and (2) this number of steps is dynamically predicted depending on the input token and the hidden state of the network. In our work, we aim at gaining intuition about the contribution of these two factors to the overall performance boost observed when augmenting RNNs with ACT. We design a new baseline, Repeat-RNN, which performs a constant number of RNN state updates larger than one before generating an output. Surprisingly, such uniform distribution of the computational resources matches the performance of ACT in the studied tasks. We hope that this finding motivates new research efforts towards designing RNN architectures that are able to dynamically allocate computational resources. TL;DR: Comparison of Adaptive Computation Time with Fixed computation time for RNN's gives surprising resultsPostprint (author's final draft

Symptom screen: diagnostic usefulness in detecting pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-infected pregnant women in Kenya

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic usefulness of tuberculosis (TB) symptom screening to detect active pulmonary TB among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected pregnant women in two PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) clinics in western Kenya that are supported by the United States Agency for International Development–Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare partnership. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Participants were interviewed for TB symptoms with a standardized questionnaire (cough >2 weeks, fever, night sweats, weight loss or failure to gain weight). Those with cough submitted sputum specimens for smear microscopy for acid-fast bacilli and mycobacterial culture. Women at >14 weeks gestation underwent shielded chest radiography (CXR). RESULTS: Of 187 HIV-infected women, 38 (20%) were symptom screen-positive. Of these, 21 had a cough for >2 weeks, but all had negative sputum smears and mycobacterial cultures. CXRs were performed in 26 symptomatic women: three were suggestive of TB (1 miliary, 1 infiltrates and 1 cavitary). Of 149 women with a negative symptom screen, 100 had a CXR and seven had a CXR suggestive of TB (1 cavitary, 2 miliary and 4 infiltrates). CONCLUSION: This study did not support the utility of isolated symptom screening in identification of TB disease in our PMTCT setting. CXR was useful in identification of TB suspects in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women

Oxaliplatin induces drug resistance more rapidly than cisplatin in H69 small cell lung cancer cells

Cisplatin produces good responses in solid tumours including small cell lung cancer (SCLC) but this is limited by the development of resistance. Oxaliplatin is reported to show activity against some cisplatin-resistant cancers but there is little known about oxaliplatin in SCLC and there are no reports of oxaliplatin resistant SCLC cell lines. Studies of drug resistance mainly focus on the cellular resistance mechanisms rather than how the cells develop resistance. This study examines the development of cisplatin and oxaliplatin resistance in H69 human SCLC cells in response to repeated treatment with clinically relevant doses of cisplatin or oxaliplatin for either 4 days or 2h. Treatments with 200ng/ml cisplatin or 400ng/ml oxaliplatin for 4 days produced sublines (H69CIS200 and H69OX400 respectively) that showed low level (approximately 2-fold) resistance after 8 treatments. Treatments with 1000ng/ml cisplatin or 2000ng/ml oxaliplatin for 2h also produced sublines, however these were not stably resistant suggesting shorter treatment pulses of drug may be more effective. Cells survived the first five treatments without any increase in resistance, by arresting their growth for a period and then regrowing. The period of growth arrest was reduced after the sixth treatment and the H69CIS200 and H69OX400 sublines showed a reduced growth arrest in response to cisplatin and oxaliplatin treatment suggesting that "regrowth resistance" initially protected against drug treatment and this was further upregulated and became part of the resistance phenotype of these sublines. Oxaliplatin dose escalation produced more surviving sublines than cisplatin dose escalation but neither set of sublines were associated with increased resistance as determined by 5-day cytotoxicity assays, also suggesting the involvement of regrowth resistance. The resistant sublines showed no change in platinum accumulation or glutathione levels even though the H69OX400 subline was more sensitive to buthionine sulfoximine treatment. The H69CIS200 cells were cross-resistant to oxaliplatin demonstrating that oxaliplatin does not have activity against low level cisplatin resistance. Relative to the H69 cells, the H69CIS200 and H69OX400 sublines were more sensitive to paclitaxel and taxotere suggests the taxanes may be useful in the treatment of platinum resistant SCLC. These novel cellular models of cisplatin and oxaliplatin resistant SCLC will be useful in developing strategies to treat platinum-resistant SCLC

Should Research Ethics Encourage the Production of Cost-Effective Interventions?

This project considers whether and how research ethics can contribute to the provision of cost-effective medical interventions. Clinical research ethics represents an underexplored context for the promotion of cost-effectiveness. In particular, although scholars have recently argued that research on less-expensive, less-effective interventions can be ethical, there has been little or no discussion of whether ethical considerations justify curtailing research on more expensive, more effective interventions. Yet considering cost-effectiveness at the research stage can help ensure that scarce resources such as tissue samples or limited subject popula- tions are employed where they do the most good; can support parallel efforts by providers and insurers to promote cost-effectiveness; and can ensure that research has social value and benefits subjects. I discuss and rebut potential objections to the consideration of cost-effectiveness in research, including the difficulty of predicting effectiveness and cost at the research stage, concerns about limitations in cost-effectiveness analysis, and worries about overly limiting researchers’ freedom. I then consider the advantages and disadvantages of having certain participants in the research enterprise, including IRBs, advisory committees, sponsors, investigators, and subjects, consider cost-effectiveness. The project concludes by qualifiedly endorsing the consideration of cost-effectiveness at the research stage. While incorporating cost-effectiveness considerations into the ethical evaluation of human subjects research will not on its own ensure that the health care system realizes cost-effectiveness goals, doing so nonetheless represents an important part of a broader effort to control rising medical costs

Dispersion measuring techniques

A study of chromatic dispersion (CD) in optical fibers, its effects on signal propagation, the devices to compensate it and the methods for its characterization. We have presented the exper- imental setups for the most popular frequency domain methods for CD measurement, Peucheret and Modulation Phase Shift Method (MPSM), as well as for an advanced method with improved performance, the Asymmetric Mode and Bias Control method (AMBC), whose theoretical basis have also been described. Experimental measures of the D parameter of CD for both 75km of standard single-mode fiber and a Dispersion Compensating Fiber Bragg Grating (DC-FBG) with all 3 methods have shown good agreement.2016/201

Effects of leucine supplementation and resistance exercise on dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy and insulin resistance in rats

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effects of resistance exercise (RE) and leucine (LEU) supplementation on dexamethasone (DEXA)-induced muscle atrophy and insulin resistance.Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into DEXA(DEX), DEXA + RE (DEX-RE), DEXA + LEU (DEX-LEU), and DEXA + RE + LEU (DEX-RE-LEU) groups. Each group received DEXA 5 mg . kg(-1) . d(-1) for 7 d from drinking water and were pair-fed to the DEX group; LEU-supplemented groups received 0.135 g . kg(-1) . d(-1) through gavage for 7 d; the RE protocol was based on three sessions of squat-type exercise composed by three sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of maximal voluntary strength capacity.Results: the plantaris mass was significantly greater in both trained groups compared with the non-trained groups. Muscle cross-sectional area and fiber areas did not differ between groups. Both trained groups displayed significant increases in the number of intermediated fibers (IIa/IIx), a decreased number of fast-twitch fibers (IIb), an increased ratio of the proteins phospho(Ser2448)/ total mammalian target of rapamycin and phospho(Thr389)/total 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase. and a decreased ratio of phospho(Ser253)/total Forkhead box protein-3a. Plasma glucose was significantly increased in the DEX-LEU group compared with the DEX group and RE significantly decreased hyperglycemia. the DEX-LEU group displayed decreased glucose transporter-4 translocation compared with the DEX group and RE restored this response. LEU supplementation worsened insulin sensitivity and did not attenuate muscle wasting in rats treated with DEXA. Conversely, RE modulated glucose homeostasis and fiber type transition in the plantaris muscle.Conclusion: Resistance exercise but not LEU supplementation promoted fiber type transition and improved glucose homeostasis in DEXA-treated rats. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Univ São Paulo, Lab Appl Nutr & Metab, Sch Phys Educ & Sports, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Lab Mol & Cellular Physiol Exercise, Sch Phys Educ & Sports, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Sch Med, Lab Expt Hypertens, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biosci, São Paulo, BrazilClermont Univ, UFR Med, UMR Nutr Humaine 1019, Clermont Ferrand, FranceINRA, UMR Unite Nutr Humaine 1019, F-63122 St Genes Champanelle, FranceUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biosci, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 08/51090-1FAPESP: 10/07062-3FAPESP: 10/10852-6FAPESP: 11/04690-6Web of Scienc

Constructivism in Choral Music Education: Supplemental Activities for the Traditional Choral Ensemble

Constructivism in music education can help teachers and students alike better their educational experience by working as a collaborative team. In the choral classroom, constructivist teaching establishes the teacher as the facilitator of learning rather than the “teacher as conductor.” Teachers help foster the musical-thinking of the ensemble. Students learn and retain information when teachers can support learners’ understanding of musical ideas and work within the student’s zone of proximal development. Through the use of teacher-guided questioning, cognitive apprenticeship, informal music-making, CMP, problem-solving, and Understanding by Design, students become active participants. Included are supplemental activities for the traditional choir classroom that give a sense of how to provide meaningful lessons to students through a constructivist lens. Each activity is objective-based, working from what the students will know or be able to do by the end of the activity, to how to foster the learning in a way that builds past experiences into new experiences