NACHOS: Neural Architecture Search for Hardware Constrained Early Exit Neural Networks

Early Exit Neural Networks (EENNs) endow astandard Deep Neural Network (DNN) with Early Exit Classifiers (EECs), to provide predictions at intermediate points of the processing when enough confidence in classification is achieved. This leads to many benefits in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Currently, the design of EENNs is carried out manually by experts, a complex and time-consuming task that requires accounting for many aspects, including the correct placement, the thresholding, and the computational overhead of the EECs. For this reason, the research is exploring the use of Neural Architecture Search (NAS) to automatize the design of EENNs. Currently, few comprehensive NAS solutions for EENNs have been proposed in the literature, and a fully automated, joint design strategy taking into consideration both the backbone and the EECs remains an open problem. To this end, this work presents Neural Architecture Search for Hardware Constrained Early Exit Neural Networks (NACHOS), the first NAS framework for the design of optimal EENNs satisfying constraints on the accuracy and the number of Multiply and Accumulate (MAC) operations performed by the EENNs at inference time. In particular, this provides the joint design of backbone and EECs to select a set of admissible (i.e., respecting the constraints) Pareto Optimal Solutions in terms of best tradeoff between the accuracy and number of MACs. The results show that the models designed by NACHOS are competitive with the state-of-the-art EENNs. Additionally, this work investigates the effectiveness of two novel regularization terms designed for the optimization of the auxiliary classifiers of the EEN

The clinical effectiveness of an integrated multidisciplinary evidence-based program to prevent intraoperative pressure injuries in high-risk children undergoing long-duration surgical procedures: a quality improvement study

The prevention of hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) in children undergoing long-duration surgical procedures is of critical importance due to the potential for catastrophic sequelae of these generally preventable injuries for the child and their family. Long-duration surgical procedures in children have the potential to result in high rates of HAPI due to physiological factors and the difficulty or impossibility of repositioning these patients intraoperatively. We developed and implemented a multi-modal, multi-disciplinary translational HAPI prevention quality improvement program at a large European Paediatric University Teaching Hospital. The intervention comprised the establishment of wound prevention teams, modified HAPI risk assessment tools, specific education, and the use of prophylactic dressings and fluidized positioners during long-duration surgical procedures. As part of the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in reducing intraoperative HAPI, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 200 children undergoing long-duration surgical procedures and compared their outcomes with a matched historical cohort of 200 children who had undergone similar surgery the previous year. The findings demonstrated a reduction in HAPI in the intervention cohort of 80% (p < 0.01) compared to the comparator group when controlling for age, pathology, comorbidity, and surgical duration. We believe that the findings demonstrate that it is possible to significantly decrease HAPI incidence in these highly vulnerable children by using an evidence-based, multi-modal, multidisciplinary HAPI prevention strategy

Global Diversity of Sponges (Porifera)

With the completion of a single unified classification, the Systema Porifera (SP) and subsequent development of an online species database, the World Porifera Database (WPD), we are now equipped to provide a first comprehensive picture of the global biodiversity of the Porifera. An introductory overview of the four classes of the Porifera is followed by a description of the structure of our main source of data for this paper, the WPD. From this we extracted numbers of all ‘known’ sponges to date: the number of valid Recent sponges is established at 8,553, with the vast majority, 83%, belonging to the class Demospongiae. We also mapped for the first time the species richness of a comprehensive set of marine ecoregions of the world, data also extracted from the WPD. Perhaps not surprisingly, these distributions appear to show a strong bias towards collection and taxonomy efforts. Only when species richness is accumulated into large marine realms does a pattern emerge that is also recognized in many other marine animal groups: high numbers in tropical regions, lesser numbers in the colder parts of the world oceans. Preliminary similarity analysis of a matrix of species and marine ecoregions extracted from the WPD failed to yield a consistent hierarchical pattern of ecoregions into marine provinces. Global sponge diversity information is mostly generated in regional projects and resources: results obtained demonstrate that regional approaches to analytical biogeography are at present more likely to achieve insights into the biogeographic history of sponges than a global perspective, which appears currently too ambitious. We also review information on invasive sponges that might well have some influence on distribution patterns of the future

First record of the sponge genera Crambe and Discorhabdella for the eastern Pacific, with description of three new species

16 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla.Three new sponge species are described from the Pacific coast of Panama, namely Crambe panamensis n. sp., Discorhabdella urizae n. sp. and Discorhabdella littoralis n. sp. This is the first record of the genera Crambe and Discorhabdella for the eastern Pacific, which represents not only a considerable expansion in their known biogeographical distribution, but also empirical support for their Tethyan origin. The new species provide a better understanding of the skeletal evolution in these peculiar genera, representing a lineage in which aster-derived spicules occur within a typical poecilosclerid skeleton. The skeleton of C. panamensis consists of ectosomal subtylostyles, choanosomal tylostyles with smooth tyle, basal desmas of astroclone type only, and anchorate isochelae. The skeleton of D. urizae consists of ectosomal subtylostyles, choanosomal tylostyles with tuberose tyle, basal acanthostyles with aster-like tyle, anchorate isochelae, sigmas, and distinctive twisted microxeas. The skeleton of D. littoralis consists of ectosomal tylostyles, choanosomal tylostyles that occasionally show remains of tubercles in the tyle, basal acanthostyles with a tyle intermediate between aster-like and regular morphology, and sigmas. The skeletal affinities of Crambe and Discorhabdella with the genera Lithochela and Monanclwra are discussed, and a new family concept based on all four genera is proposed. The name Crambeidae is proposed for such a family, to replace the pre-occupied name Crambidae.This research has been partially supported by a postdoctoral Fulbright fellowship (FU93-2207057), European Community funds provided by the LSF Program (1998) of the Natural History Museum of London, and grant of the Spanish Government (MEC-PB98-0485).Peer reviewe

Discorhabdella Dendy 1924

<i>Discorhabdella</i> Dendy, 1924 <p> <i>Diagnosis.</i> Encrusting poecilosclerids characterized by a category of small acanthostyles with a globate tyle and a short shaft with spines concentrated towards the end, along with a category of large choanosomal tylostyles with tuberose tyles, and a category of small ectosomal subtylostyles. A single category of anchorate-unguifer - ate isochelae occurs in all species, except one of the new species described herein. Microxeas and sigmas may also occur, depending upon species.</p> <p> <i>Remarks.</i> The acanthostyle of <i>Discorhabdella</i> is highly characteristic in possessing a globate tyle, the hypertrophy of which is so important in some species that the spicule resembles an aster, and is termed a`pseudoastrose acanthostyle’ (Dendy, 1924). SEM observations reveal axial canals within the spines of the globate tyle, indicating that the presumed spines are actually actines and suggesting that these peculiar acanthostyles have evolved from a polyaxonid spicule, an ancestor most likely shared with the aster-like desmas of <i>Crambe</i> (Uriz and Maldonado, 1995; Maldonado and Uriz, 1996). The fact that <i>Crambe</i> and <i>Discorhabdella</i> share virtually identical spicule complement except for the aster-like desmas and the pseudoastrose acanthostyles is also consistent with the idea of aster-like desmas and pseudoastrose acanthostyle s being homologous spicules. The alternative hypothesi s that the pseudoastrose acanthostyles would not be non-polyaxonid in origin, but derived from regular diactinal acanthostyles is unlikely. From such an alternative view, the presence of axial canals in the aster-like tyles of <i>Discorhabdella</i> cannot be explained in agreement with the traditional actinal theory that distinguished between actines and spines in the spicules on the basis of the presence <b>/</b> absence of axial canals within the structure (Sollas, 1888; Dendy, 1921b, 1926). Furthermore, if aster-like desmas and pseudoastrose acanthostyles are considered non-homologous, the enormous similarity between <i>Crambe</i> and <i>Discorhabdella</i> in composition, structure and arrangement of the remaining spicule set would have to be explained by evolutionary convergence. Such a process is clearly unrealistic in probabilistic terms, given the large number of skeletal traits and micro-traits that should have converged (e.g. pattern of axial canals, spicule micro-ornamentation, spicule sizes and arrangement, etc.). It is also unsupported from any anatomic evidence.</p>Published as part of <i>Maldonado, Manuel, Carmona, M. Carmen, Van Soest, Rob W. M. & Pomponi, Shirley A., 2001, First record of the sponge genera Crambe and Discorhabdella for the eastern Paci ® c, with description of three new species, pp. 1261-1276 in Journal of Natural History 35 (9)</i> on page 1268, DOI: 10.1080/002229301750384293, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10083135">http://zenodo.org/record/10083135</a&gt

First record of the sponge genera Crambe and Discorhabdella for the eastern Pacific, with description of three new species

16 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla.Three new sponge species are described from the Pacific coast of Panama, namely Crambe panamensis n. sp., Discorhabdella urizae n. sp. and Discorhabdella littoralis n. sp. This is the first record of the genera Crambe and Discorhabdella for the eastern Pacific, which represents not only a considerable expansion in their known biogeographical distribution, but also empirical support for their Tethyan origin. The new species provide a better understanding of the skeletal evolution in these peculiar genera, representing a lineage in which aster-derived spicules occur within a typical poecilosclerid skeleton. The skeleton of C. panamensis consists of ectosomal subtylostyles, choanosomal tylostyles with smooth tyle, basal desmas of astroclone type only, and anchorate isochelae. The skeleton of D. urizae consists of ectosomal subtylostyles, choanosomal tylostyles with tuberose tyle, basal acanthostyles with aster-like tyle, anchorate isochelae, sigmas, and distinctive twisted microxeas. The skeleton of D. littoralis consists of ectosomal tylostyles, choanosomal tylostyles that occasionally show remains of tubercles in the tyle, basal acanthostyles with a tyle intermediate between aster-like and regular morphology, and sigmas. The skeletal affinities of Crambe and Discorhabdella with the genera Lithochela and Monanclwra are discussed, and a new family concept based on all four genera is proposed. The name Crambeidae is proposed for such a family, to replace the pre-occupied name Crambidae.This research has been partially supported by a postdoctoral Fulbright fellowship (FU93-2207057), European Community funds provided by the LSF Program (1998) of the Natural History Museum of London, and grant of the Spanish Government (MEC-PB98-0485).Peer reviewe

Crambe Vosmaer 1880

<i>Crambe</i> Vosmaer, 1880 <p> <i>Diagnosis.</i> Encrusting sponges characterized by having aster-like desmas (astroclones or sphaeroclones), along with a category of large choanosomal (tylo)styles, a category of small ectosomal subtylostyles, and one or two categories of anchorateunguiferate isochelae. Irregularly spiny microxeas occur in some species.</p> <p> <i>Remarks.</i> It has long been recognized that, for unknown reasons, most populations of <i>Crambe crambe</i> and some of <i>Crambe acuata</i> produce neither desmas nor isochelae (e.g. Boury-Esnault, 1971; Vacelet <i>et al</i>., 1976). This fact has largely complicated both species and genus diagnoses in <i>Crambe.</i> However, it was recently found that laboratory populations of <i>C. crambe</i> reared in seawater experimentally enriched with silicic acid produce up to four spicule types, desmas and isochelae included, that were otherwise missing in most natural populations (Maldonado <i>et al</i>., 1999). Therefore, it must be concluded that production of asteroid desmas and isochelae is a genetic trait shared by all individuals of all <i>Crambe</i> species. The skeletal reduction observed in many natural populations of <i>C. crambe</i> does not appear to have a genetic basis, but seems to be a phenotypic skeletal inhibition induced by limiting levels of silicic acid in sublittoral waters. Consequently, the presence <b>/</b> absence of desmas and isochelae must be used cautiously in the taxonomy of both <i>Crambe</i> and other crambeids.</p> <p> The genus <i>Crambe</i> is here reported for the ®rst time from the Paci®c Ocean. It is noteworthy that it has not been reported to date from the well-known Caribbean sponge fauna or in nearby zones of the Central Paci®c, such as the Galapagos Islands, which have recently been surveyed (Desqueyroux-FauÂndez and van Soest, 1997; authors, unpublished data). Nevertheless, the presence of the genus in the western Paci®c stratigraphic sediments can be inferred from the fossil sphaeroclones found in Lower Tertiary strata of Oamaru (New Zealand). Such characteristic sphaeroclones, though formerly attributed to the genus <i>Vetulina</i> by Hinde and Holmes (1892), most likely belong to a fossil species of <i>Crambe</i> (Uriz and Maldonado, 1995), namely <i>Crambe oamaruensis</i> (Hinde and Holmes, 1892).</p>Published as part of <i>Maldonado, Manuel, Carmona, M. Carmen, Van Soest, Rob W. M. & Pomponi, Shirley A., 2001, First record of the sponge genera Crambe and Discorhabdella for the eastern Paci ® c, with description of three new species, pp. 1261-1276 in Journal of Natural History 35 (9)</i> on pages 1263-1264, DOI: 10.1080/002229301750384293, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10083135">http://zenodo.org/record/10083135</a&gt

Phylomitogenomics bolsters the high-level classification of Demospongiae (phylum Porifera)

International audienceClass Demospongiae is the largest in the phylum Porifera (Sponges) and encompasses nearly 8,000 accepted species in three subclasses: Keratosa, Verongimorpha, and Heteroscleromorpha. Subclass Heteroscleromorpha contains ∼90% of demosponge species and is subdivided into 17 orders. The higher level classification of demosponges underwent major revision as the result of nearly three decades of molecular studies. However, because most of the previous molecular work only utilized partial data from a small number of nuclear and mitochondrial (mt) genes, this classification scheme needs to be tested by larger datasets. Here we compiled a mt dataset for 136 demosponge species—including 64 complete or nearly complete and six partial mt-genome sequences determined or assembled for this study—and used it to test phylogenetic relationships among Demospongiae in general and Heteroscleromorpha in particular. We also investigated the phylogenetic position of Myceliospongia araneosa , a highly unusual demosponge without spicules and spongin fibers, currently classified as Demospongiae incertae sedis , for which molecular data were not available. Our results support the previously inferred sister-group relationship between Heteroscleromorpha and Keratosa + Verongimorpha and suggest five main clades within Heteroscleromorpha: Clade C0 composed of order Haplosclerida; Clade C1 composed of Scopalinida, Sphaerocladina, and Spongillida; Clade C2 composed of Axinellida, Biemnida, Bubarida; Clade C3 composed of Tetractinellida; and Clade C4 composed of Agelasida, Clionaida, Desmacellida, Merliida, Suberitida, Poecilosclerida, Polymastiida, and Tethyida. The inferred relationships among these clades were (C0(C1(C2(C3+C4)))). Analysis of molecular data from M. araneosa placed it in the C3 clade as a sister taxon to the highly skeletonized tetractinellids Microscleroderma sp. and Leiodermatium sp. Molecular clock analysis dated divergences among the major clades in Heteroscleromorpha from the Cambrian to the Early Silurian, the origins of most heteroscleromorph orders in the middle Paleozoic, and the most basal splits within these orders around the Paleozoic to Mesozoic transition. Overall, the results of this study are mostly congruent with the accepted classification of Heteroscleromorpha, but add temporal perspective and new resolution to phylogenetic relationships within this subclass