1,108 research outputs found
Parallel structurally-symmetric sparse matrix-vector products on multi-core processors
We consider the problem of developing an efficient multi-threaded
implementation of the matrix-vector multiplication algorithm for sparse
matrices with structural symmetry. Matrices are stored using the compressed
sparse row-column format (CSRC), designed for profiting from the symmetric
non-zero pattern observed in global finite element matrices. Unlike classical
compressed storage formats, performing the sparse matrix-vector product using
the CSRC requires thread-safe access to the destination vector. To avoid race
conditions, we have implemented two partitioning strategies. In the first one,
each thread allocates an array for storing its contributions, which are later
combined in an accumulation step. We analyze how to perform this accumulation
in four different ways. The second strategy employs a coloring algorithm for
grouping rows that can be concurrently processed by threads. Our results
indicate that, although incurring an increase in the working set size, the
former approach leads to the best performance improvements for most matrices.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, reviewed related work section, fixed typo
Lifestyle and wellbeing: Exploring behavioral and demographic covariates in a large US sample
Using data from a nationally representative sample of 46,179 US adults from the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index, we investigate covariates of four subjective mental wellbeing dimensions spanning evaluative (life satisfaction), positive affective (happiness), negative affective (worry), and eudaimonic wellbeing. Negative covariates were generally more strongly correlated with the four dimensions than positive covariates, with depression, poor health, and loneliness being the greatest negative correlates and excellent health and older age being the greatest positive correlates. We reproduce previous evidence for a âmidlife crisisâ around age 50 across the four wellbeing dimensions. Notably, although salutogenic behaviors (diet, exercise, socializing) correlated with greater wellbeing, there were diminishing benefits beyond thresholds of about four hours a day spent socializing, four days per week of consuming fruits and vegetables, and four days per week of exercising. Findings suggest that wellbeing is easier lost than gained, underscore the influence that relatively malleable lifestyle factors have on wellbeing, and stress the importance of multidimensional measurement for public policy
Parallel solution of eigenproblems in structural dynamics using the implicitly restarted Lanczos method
This paper presents a parallel implementation of the implicitly restarted Lanczos method for the solution of large and sparse eigenproblems that occur in modal analysis of complex structures using the finite element method. The implicitly restarted technique improves convergence of the desired eigenvalues without the penalty of lost of orthogonality keeping the number of factorization steps in a modest size. In the parallel solution, a subdomain by subdomain approach was implemented and overlapping and non-overlapping mesh partitions were used. Compressed data structures in the formats CSRC and CSRC/CSR were employed to store the global matrices coefficients. The parallelization of numerical linear algebra operations presented in both Krylov and implicitly restarted methods are discussed
Neuroprotection And Immunomodulation By Xenografted Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Following Spinal Cord Ventral Root Avulsion.
The present study investigates the effects of xenotransplantation of Adipose Tissue Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AT-MSCs) in animals after ventral root avulsion. AT-MSC has similar characteristics to bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs), such as immunomodulatory properties and expression of neurotrophic factors. In this study, Lewis rats were submitted to surgery for unilateral avulsion of the lumbar ventral roots and received 5âĂâ10(5) AT-MSCs via the lateral funiculus. Two weeks after cell administration, the animals were sacrificed and the moto neurons, T lymphocytes and cell defense nervous system were analyzed. An increased neuronal survival and partial preservation of synaptophysin-positive nerve terminals, related to GDNF and BDNF expression of AT-MSCs, and reduction of pro-inflammatory reaction were observed. In conclusion, AT-MSCs prevent second phase neuronal injury, since they suppressed lymphocyte, astroglia and microglia effects, which finally contributed to rat motor-neuron survival and synaptic stability of the lesioned motor-neuron. Moreover, the survival of the injected AT- MSCs lasted for at least 14 days. These results indicate that neuronal survival after lesion, followed by mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) administration, might occur through cytokine release and immunomodulation, thus suggesting that AT-MSCs are promising cells for the therapy of neuronal lesions.51616
Anatomical and physiological responses of citrus trees to varying boron availability are dependent on rootstock
In Citrus, water, nutrient transport and thereby fruit production, are influenced among other factors, by the interaction between rootstock and boron (B) nutrition. This study aimed to investigate how B affects the anatomical structure of roots and leaves as well as leaf gas exchange in sweet orange trees grafted on two contrasting rootstocks in response to B supply. Plants grafted on Swingle citrumelo or Sunki mandarin were grown in a nutrient solution of varying B concentration (deficient, adequate, and excessive). Those grafted on Swingle were more tolerant to both B deficiency and toxicity than those on Sunki, as revealed by higher shoot and root growth. In addition, plants grafted on Sunki exhibited more severe anatomical and physiological damages under B deficiency, showing thickening of xylem cell walls and impairments in whole plant leaf -specific hydraulic conductance and leaf CO2 assimilation. Our data revealed that trees grafted on Swingle sustain better growth under low B availablitlity in the root medium and still respond positively to increased B levels by combining higher B absorption and root growth as well as better organization of xylem vessels. Taken together, those traits improved water and B transport to the plant canopy. Under B toxicity, Swingle rootstock would also favor plant growth by reducing anatomical and ultrastructural damage to leaf tissue and improving water transport compared with plants grafted on Sunki. From a practical point of view, our results highlight that B management in citrus orchards shall take into account rootstock varieties, of which the Swingle rootstock was characterized by its performance on regulating anatomical and ultrastructural damages, improving water transport and limiting negative impacts of B stress conditions on plant growth7CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTĂFICO E TECNOLĂGICO - CNPQFUNDAĂĂO DE AMPARO Ă PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SĂO PAULO - FAPESPnĂŁo tem2010/52154-3; 2011/21226-
Application of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) atmospheric pressure plasma for pretreatment of medical textiles
Conventional pretreatment by wet chemistry
and/or low-pressure plasma have several drawbacks [1]. Atmospheric plasma is an alternative
and cost-competitive method to low-pressure
plasma and wet chemical pretreatments, allowing continuous and uniform processing of fibers,
substrates and films surfaces, improving its
functionalization performance [2]. This technology has been studied in the field of the R&D
project - PLASMAMED. The main objective of
this project is to produce a new generation of
coatings containing nanoparticles (NPs) and
enzybiotics, with controllable antibacterial activity, on medical textiles, with special emphasis
in antimicrobial dressing for pressure injury and
hernia meshes. To achieve this goal, a dielectric
barrier discharge (DBD) atmospheric pressure
plasma was used as a pretreatment sustainable
alternative.
In this sense, medical-grade 100% polyester
(PES) fabrics were pretreated by atmospheric
plasma technology, where various processing
conditions were tested. Different treatment
speeds and discharges powers were tested, as
well as the application of various gases (such as
helium, oxygen and nitrogen) and a corona
treatment (air), with a carrier gas (argon). The
characterization of these pretreated textiles was
carried out by contact angle (CA), through the
sessile drop technique, with 3 ”L water droplets
on the surface of the textile. In general, contact
angles exhibit a significant decrease (between
40Âș and 60Âș for all studied gases), when compared with the standard values for substrate
without treatment (around 120Âș). Therefore,
plasma pretreatment significantly improved the
hydrophilicity of these fabrics (Figure 1), which
reveals to be an advantage for the further functionalization step
Acute Auditory Stimulation with Different Styles of Music Influences Cardiac Autonomic Regulation in Men
Background: No clear evidence is available in the literature regarding the acute effect of different styles of music on cardiac autonomic control. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of classical baroque and heavy metal musical auditory stimulation on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in healthy men. Patients and Methods: In this study, HRV was analyzed regarding time (SDNN, RMSSD, NN50, and pNN50) and frequency domain (LF, HF, and LF / HF) in 12 healthy men. HRV was recorded at seated rest for 10 minutes. Subsequently, the participants were exposed to classical baroque or heavy metal music for five minutes through an earphone at seated rest. After exposure to the first song, they remained at rest for five minutes and they were again exposed to classical baroque or heavy metal music. The music sequence was random for each individual. Standard statistical methods were used for calculation of means and standard deviations. Besides, ANOVA and Friedman test were used for parametric and non-parametric distributions, respectively. Results: While listening to heavy metal music, SDNN was reduced compared to the baseline (P = 0.023). In addition, the LF index (ms2 and nu) was reduced during exposure to both heavy metal and classical baroque musical auditory stimulation compared to the control condition (P = 0.010 and P = 0.048, respectively). However, the HF index (ms2) was reduced only during auditory stimulation with music heavy metal (P = 0.01). The LF/HF ratio on the other hand decreased during auditory stimulation with classical baroque music (P = 0.019). Conclusions: Acute auditory stimulation with the selected heavy metal musical auditory stimulation decreased the sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation on the heart, while exposure to a selected classical baroque music reduced sympathetic regulation on the heart
Atlantic mammal traits: a dataset of morphological traits of mammals in the atlantic forest of south America
Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from â5.83 to â29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and â34.82 to â56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.Fil: Gonçalves, Fernando. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bovendorp, Ricardo S.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Beca, Gabrielle. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bello, Carolina. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Costa Pereira, Raul. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Muylaert, Renata L.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Rodarte, Raisa R.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Villar, Nacho. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Souza, Rafael. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Graipel, MaurĂcio E.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Cherem, Jorge J.. Caipora Cooperativa, Florianopolis; BrasilFil: Faria, Deborah. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Baumgarten, Julio. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Alvarez, MartĂn R.. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Vieira, Emerson M.. Universidade do BrasĂlia; BrasilFil: CĂĄceres, Nilton. Universidade Federal de Santa MarĂa. Santa MarĂa; BrasilFil: Pardini, Renata. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Leite, Yuri L. R.. Universidade Federal do EspĂrito Santo; BrasilFil: Costa, Leonora Pires. Universidade Federal do EspĂrito Santo; BrasilFil: Mello, Marco Aurelio Ribeiro. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Fischer, Erich. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Passos, Fernando C.. Universidade Federal do ParanĂĄ; BrasilFil: Varzinczak, Luiz H.. Universidade Federal do ParanĂĄ; BrasilFil: Prevedello, Jayme A.. Universidade do Estado de Rio do Janeiro; BrasilFil: Cruz-Neto, Ariovaldo P.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Carvalho, Fernando. Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense; BrasilFil: Reis Percequillo, Alexandre. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Paviolo, Agustin Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical - Nodo Puerto IguazĂș | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical - Nodo Puerto IguazĂș; ArgentinaFil: Duarte, JosĂ© M. B.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil. FundaciĂłn Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Bernard, Enrico. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Agostini, Ilaria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical - Nodo Puerto IguazĂș | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical - Nodo Puerto IguazĂș; ArgentinaFil: Lamattina, Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud de la NaciĂłn; ArgentinaFil: Vanderhoeven, Ezequiel Andres. Ministerio de Salud de la NaciĂłn; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin
Epidural administration of ropivacaine and its effects on the pharmacodynamics of rocuronium: Randomized controlled trial. Interaction between ropivacaine and rocuronium
Potentiation of neuromuscular blocking agents by local anesthetics has been described in various clinical and experimental studies. This study assessed the influence of epidural ropivacaine on pharmacodynamic characteristics of rocuronium.Design: This was a prospective randomized clinical trial at the women's hospital, an university tertiary hospital in Brazil. Sixty-two patients underwent elective abdominal surgeries requiring general anesthesia.Intervention: Patients were distributed into two groups: Group 1 (general anesthesia and epidural anesthesia) and Group 2 (general anesthesia). In Group 1, 0.2% ropivacaine at a dose of 40 mg (20 ml) was associated with 2 mg (2 ml) of morphine in a single epidural injection. The following parameters were assessed: clinical duration (DC25) and time for recovery of the train-of-four (TOF) 0.9 ratio (T4/T1 = 90%) after an initial 0.6 mg/kg dose of rocuronium. The primary outcomes were DC25and TOF 0.9 ratio (T4/T1 = 90%). Secondary outcomes were total propofol and remifentanil consumption.Results: Values were presented as median and interquartile range. The results for DC25and TOF 0.9 of rocuronium were, respectively, 41.5 35.0-55.0 (25.0-63.0) in Group 1 and 44.0 37.0-51.0 (20.0-67.0) in Group 2 (P = 0.88); 88.0 67.0-99.0 (43.0-137.0) in Group 1; and 80.0 71.0-86.0 (38.0-155.0) in Group 2 (P = 0.83). There was no significant difference between the groups, in terms of pharmacodynamic characteristics of rocuronium. Propofol consumption did not show any difference between the groups. However, remifentanil consumption was significantly lower in Group 1 (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Epidural ropivacaine, in the dose studied, did not prolong the duration of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade.Trial Registry Number: ReBEC (ref: RBR-7cyp6t)141636
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