52 research outputs found
Fantastic Weights and How to Find Them: Where to Prune in Dynamic Sparse Training
Dynamic Sparse Training (DST) is a rapidly evolving area of research that
seeks to optimize the sparse initialization of a neural network by adapting its
topology during training. It has been shown that under specific conditions, DST
is able to outperform dense models. The key components of this framework are
the pruning and growing criteria, which are repeatedly applied during the
training process to adjust the network's sparse connectivity. While the growing
criterion's impact on DST performance is relatively well studied, the influence
of the pruning criterion remains overlooked. To address this issue, we design
and perform an extensive empirical analysis of various pruning criteria to
better understand their impact on the dynamics of DST solutions. Surprisingly,
we find that most of the studied methods yield similar results. The differences
become more significant in the low-density regime, where the best performance
is predominantly given by the simplest technique: magnitude-based pruning. The
code is provided at https://github.com/alooow/fantastic_weights_paperComment: NeurIPS 202
Quartic double solids with ordinary singularities
We study the mixed Hodge structure on the third homology group of a threefold
which is the double cover of projective three-space ramified over a quartic
surface with a double conic. We deal with the Torelli problem for such
threefolds.Comment: 14 pages, presented at the Conference Arnol'd 7
Fantastic Weights and How to Find Them: Where to Prune in Dynamic Sparse Training
peer reviewedDynamic Sparse Training (DST) is a rapidly evolving area of research that
seeks to optimize the sparse initialization of a neural network by adapting its
topology during training. It has been shown that under specific conditions, DST
is able to outperform dense models. The key components of this framework are
the pruning and growing criteria, which are repeatedly applied during the
training process to adjust the network's sparse connectivity. While the growing
criterion's impact on DST performance is relatively well studied, the influence
of the pruning criterion remains overlooked. To address this issue, we design
and perform an extensive empirical analysis of various pruning criteria to
better understand their impact on the dynamics of DST solutions. Surprisingly,
we find that most of the studied methods yield similar results. The differences
become more significant in the low-density regime, where the best performance
is predominantly given by the simplest technique: magnitude-based pruning. The
code is provided at https://github.com/alooow/fantastic_weights_paper9. Industry, innovation and infrastructur
Work and Health, a Blind Spot in Curative Healthcare? A Pilot Study
Introduction Most workers with musculoskeletal disorders on sick leave often consult with regular health care before entering a specific work rehabilitation program. However, it remains unclear to what extent regular healthcare contributes to the timely return to work (RTW). Moreover, several studies have indicated that it might postpone RTW. There is a need to establish the influence of regular healthcare on RTW as outcome; “Does visiting a regular healthcare provider influence the duration of sickness absence and recurrent sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders?”. Methods A cohort of workers on sick leave for 2–6 weeks due to a-specific musculoskeletal disorders was followed for 12 months. The main outcomes for the present analysis were: duration of sickness absence till 100% return to work and recurrent sick leave after initial RTW. Cox regression analyses were conducted with visiting a general health practitioner, physical therapist, or medical specialist during the sick leave period as independent variables. Each regression model was adjusted for variables known to influence health care utilization like age, sex, diagnostic group, pain intensity, functional disability, general health perception, severity of complaints, job control, and physical load at work. Results Patients visiting a medical specialist reported higher pain intensity and more functional limitations and also had a worse health perception at start of the sick leave period compared with those not visiting a specialist. Visiting a medical specialist delayed return to work significantly (HR = 2.10; 95%CI 1.43–3.07). After approximately 8 weeks on sick leave workers visiting a physical therapist returned to work faster than other workers. A recurrent episode of sick leave during the follow up quick was initiated by higher pain intensity and more functional limitations at the moment of fully return to work. Visiting a primary healthcare provider during the sickness absence period did not influence the occurrence of a new sick leave period. Conclusion Despite the adjustment for severity of the musculoskeletal disorder, visiting a medical specialist was associated with a delayed full return to work. More attention to the factor ‘labor’ in the regular healthcare is warranted, especially for those patients experiencing substantial functional limitations due to musculoskeletal disorders
Characterisation and expression of calpain family members in relation to nutritional status, diet composition and flesh texture in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata).
Calpains are non-lysosomal calcium-activated neutral proteases involved in a wide range of cellular processes including muscle proteolysis linked to post-mortem flesh softening. The aims of this study were (a) to characterise several members of the calpain system in gilthead sea bream and (b) to examine their expression in relation to nutritional status and muscle tenderisation. We identified the complete open reading frame of gilthead sea bream calpains1-3, sacapn1, sacapn2, sacapn3, and two paralogs of the calpain small subunit1, sacapns1a and sacapns1b. Proteins showed 63-90% sequence identity compared with sequences from mammals and other teleost fishes, and the characteristic domain structure of vertebrate calpains. Transcripts of sacapn1, sacapn2, sacapns1a and sacapns1b had a wide tissue distribution, whereas sacapn3 was almost exclusively detected in skeletal muscle. Next, we assessed transcript expression in skeletal muscle following alteration of nutritional status by (a) fasting and re-feeding or (b) feeding four experimental diets with different carbohydrate-to-protein ratios. Fasting significantly reduced plasma glucose and increased free fatty acids and triglycerides, together with a significant increase in sacapns1b expression. Following 7 days of re-feeding, plasma parameters returned to fed values and sacapn1, sacapn2, sacapns1a and sacapns1b expression was significantly reduced. Furthermore, an increase in dietary carbohydrate content (11 to 39%) diminished growth but increased muscle texture, which showed a significant correlation with decreased sacapn1 and sacapns1a expression, whilst the other calpains remained unaffected. This study has demonstrated that calpain expression is modulated by nutritional status and diet composition in gilthead sea bream, and that the expression of several calpain members is correlated with muscle texture, indicating their potential use as molecular markers for flesh quality in aquaculture production
Implementation outcome instruments for use in physical healthcare settings: a systematic review
BACKGROUND: Implementation research aims to facilitate the timely and routine implementation and sustainment of evidence-based interventions and services. A glaring gap in this endeavour is the capability of researchers, healthcare practitioners and managers to quantitatively evaluate implementation efforts using psychometrically sound instruments. To encourage and support the use of precise and accurate implementation outcome measures, this systematic review aimed to identify and appraise studies that assess the measurement properties of quantitative implementation outcome instruments used in physical healthcare settings. METHOD: The following data sources were searched from inception to March 2019, with no language restrictions: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, HMIC, CINAHL and the Cochrane library. Studies that evaluated the measurement properties of implementation outcome instruments in physical healthcare settings were eligible for inclusion. Proctor et al.'s taxonomy of implementation outcomes was used to guide the inclusion of implementation outcomes: acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, adoption, penetration, implementation cost and sustainability. Methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Psychometric quality of the included instruments was assessed using the Contemporary Psychometrics checklist (ConPsy). Usability was determined by number of items per instrument. RESULTS: Fifty-eight publications reporting on the measurement properties of 55 implementation outcome instruments (65 scales) were identified. The majority of instruments assessed acceptability (n = 33), followed by appropriateness (n = 7), adoption (n = 4), feasibility (n = 4), penetration (n = 4) and sustainability (n = 3) of evidence-based practice. The methodological quality of individual scales was low, with few studies rated as 'excellent' for reliability (6/62) and validity (7/63), and both studies that assessed responsiveness rated as 'poor' (2/2). The psychometric quality of the scales was also low, with 12/65 scales scoring 7 or more out of 22, indicating greater psychometric strength. Six scales (6/65) rated as 'excellent' for usability. CONCLUSION: Investigators assessing implementation outcomes quantitatively should select instruments based on their methodological and psychometric quality to promote consistent and comparable implementation evaluations. Rather than developing ad hoc instruments, we encourage further psychometric testing of instruments with promising methodological and psychometric evidence. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 2017 CRD42017065348
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