Evaluating Cache Coherent Shared Virtual Memory for Heterogeneous Multicore Chips

The trend in industry is towards heterogeneous multicore processors (HMCs), including chips with CPUs and massively-threaded throughput-oriented processors (MTTOPs) such as GPUs. Although current homogeneous chips tightly couple the cores with cache-coherent shared virtual memory (CCSVM), this is not the communication paradigm used by any current HMC. In this paper, we present a CCSVM design for a CPU/MTTOP chip, as well as an extension of the pthreads programming model, called xthreads, for programming this HMC. Our goal is to evaluate the potential performance benefits of tightly coupling heterogeneous cores with CCSVM

Maquiladoras Meltdown

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.CFO_2003_Report_Maquiladoras_meltdown.pdf: 0 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Ovarian biomarkers in fertility – Serum BMP15 and GDF9 as ovarian biomarkers in polycystic ovarian syndrome and premature ovarian insufficiency

Background: Current biomarkers in widespread clinical use can only provide an indirect assessment of oocyte number (ovarian reserve) but not oocyte quality. Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and growth differentiation factor (GDF9) are predominantly expressed by the oocytes and are critical regulators of female fertility. Serum biomarkers have demonstrated diagnostic potential; however, it is currently unknown if concentrations reflect ovarian function, oocyte quality, oocyte reserve and associated pathologies. Aim: To determine if serum BMP15 and GDF9 are associated with ovarian and endocrine parameters, and the ovarian pathologies polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Method: Three cross-sectional studies of women of reproductive age with PCOM; PCOS or POI were assessed based on diagnostic criteria for their condition compared to serum biomarker concentrations of BMP15 and GDF9. Results: Study one investigated biomarker concentrations in healthy women with PCOM and PCOS. Findings identified that biomarkers were associated with ovarian but not metabolic or androgenic characteristics of PCOS. GDF9 positively correlated with ovarian volume and antral follicle count (AFC). Similar although non-significant associations were associated with BMP15. Study two investigated biomarker concentrations in infertile women with PCOS. BMP15 and luteinising hormone (LH) positively correlated with advancing PCOS pathology suggesting higher concentrations of BMP15 correlated with increased follicular activity. Comparison between study one and two identified that BMP15 concentrations increased as PCOS advanced from fertile to infertile phenotypes. Study three, biomarker concentrations in infertile women with POI and comparisons between the studies and associated pathologies were assessed. These findings identified a positive correlation for BMP15 with the final stages of oocyte development and identified that GDF9 positively correlates with ovarian characteristics preceding ovulation. Conclusion: Serum BMP15 and GDF9 concentrations reflect ovarian characteristics of PCOS and POI with increased GDF9 reflecting high AFC and increased BMP15 reflecting the preovulatory stage of folliculogenesis. Assay improvements to increase sensitivity of analysis and detection of all circulating forms would enable increased understanding how how these biomarkers function in these pathologies

Peer Rejection and Friendships in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Contributions to Long-Term Outcomes

Even after evidence-based treatment, Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with poor long-term outcomes. These outcomes may be partly explained by difficulties in peer functioning, which are common among children with ADHD and which do not respond optimally to standard ADHD treatments. We examined whether peer rejection and lack of dyadic friendships experienced by children with ADHD after treatment contribute to long-term emotional and behavioral problems and global impairment, and whether having a reciprocal friend buffers the negative effects of peer rejection. Children with Combined type ADHD (N0300) enrolled in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) were followed for 8 years. Peer rejection and dyadic friendships were measured with sociometric assessments after the active treatment period (14 or 24 months after baseline; M ages 9.7 and 10.5 years, respectively). Outcomes included delinquency, depression, anxiety, substance use, and general impairment at 6 and 8 years after baseline (Mean ages 14.9 and 16.8 years, respectively). With inclusion of key covariates, including demographics, symptoms ofADHD, ODD, and CD, and level of the outcome variable at 24 months, peer rejection predicted cigarette smoking, delinquency, anxiety, and global impairment at 6 years and global impairment at 8 years after baseline. Having a reciprocal friend was not, however, uniquely predictive of any outcomes and did not reduce the negative effects of peer rejection. Evaluating and addressing peer rejection in treatment planning may be necessary to improve long-term outcomes in children with ADHD

Large-Scale Discrete Fourier Transform on TPUs

In this work, we present two parallel algorithms for the large-scale discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) clusters. The two parallel algorithms are associated with two formulations of DFT: one is based on the Kronecker product, to be specific, dense matrix multiplications between the input data and the Vandermonde matrix, denoted as KDFT in this work; the other is based on the famous Cooley-Tukey algorithm and phase adjustment, denoted as FFT in this work. Both KDFT and FFT formulations take full advantage of TPU's strength in matrix multiplications. The KDFT formulation allows direct use of nonuniform inputs without additional step. In the two parallel algorithms, the same strategy of data decomposition is applied to the input data. Through the data decomposition, the dense matrix multiplications in KDFT and FFT are kept local within TPU cores, which can be performed completely in parallel. The communication among TPU cores is achieved through the one-shuffle scheme in both parallel algorithms, with which sending and receiving data takes place simultaneously between two neighboring cores and along the same direction on the interconnect network. The one-shuffle scheme is designed for the interconnect topology of TPU clusters, minimizing the time required by the communication among TPU cores. Both KDFT and FFT are implemented in TensorFlow. The three-dimensional complex DFT is performed on an example of dimension $8192 \times 8192 \times 8192$ with a full TPU Pod: the run time of KDFT is 12.66 seconds and that of FFT is 8.3 seconds. Scaling analysis is provided to demonstrate the high parallel efficiency of the two DFT implementations on TPUs