Non-Volatile Memory Array Based Quantization- and Noise-Resilient LSTM Neural Networks

In cloud and edge computing models, it is important that compute devices at the edge be as power efficient as possible. Long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks have been widely used for natural language processing, time series prediction and many other sequential data tasks. Thus, for these applications there is increasing need for low-power accelerators for LSTM model inference at the edge. In order to reduce power dissipation due to data transfers within inference devices, there has been significant interest in accelerating vector-matrix multiplication (VMM) operations using non-volatile memory (NVM) weight arrays. In NVM array-based hardware, reduced bit-widths also significantly increases the power efficiency. In this paper, we focus on the application of quantization-aware training algorithm to LSTM models, and the benefits these models bring in terms of resilience against both quantization error and analog device noise. We have shown that only 4-bit NVM weights and 4-bit ADC/DACs are needed to produce equivalent LSTM network performance as floating-point baseline. Reasonable levels of ADC quantization noise and weight noise can be naturally tolerated within our NVMbased quantized LSTM network. Benchmark analysis of our proposed LSTM accelerator for inference has shown at least 2.4x better computing efficiency and 40x higher area efficiency than traditional digital approaches (GPU, FPGA, and ASIC). Some other novel approaches based on NVM promise to deliver higher computing efficiency (up to 4.7x) but require larger arrays with potential higher error rates.Comment: Published in: 2019 IEEE International Conference on Rebooting Computing (ICRC

Silencing of FGF ‐21 expression promotes hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis by regulation of the STAT 3– SOCS 3 signal

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106851/1/febs12767.pd

A Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems: Computational Creativity Evaluation Based on What it is to be Creative

Computational creativity is a flourishing research area, with a variety of creative systems being produced and developed. Creativity evaluation has not kept pace with system development with an evident lack of systematic evaluation of the creativity of these systems in the literature. This is partially due to difficulties in defining what it means for a computer to be creative; indeed, there is no consensus on this for human creativity, let alone its computational equivalent. This paper proposes a Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems (SPECS). SPECS is a three-step process: stating what it means for a particular computational system to be creative, deriving and performing tests based on these statements. To assist this process, the paper offers a collection of key components of creativity, identified empirically from discussions of human and computational creativity. Using this approach, the SPECS methodology is demonstrated through a comparative case study evaluating computational creativity systems that improvise music

Aeroacoustic response of an array of tubes with and without bias-flow

Heat exchangers, consisting of tube arrays in a cross-flow are a vital component of power generation systems. They are of interest from an acoustic point of view, because they can reflect, transmit and absorb an incident sound wave; in other words, they have the potential to act as a sound absorber and even as a passive control device to prevent a thermoacoustic instability in the power generation system. This paper presents a fundamental study of the aeroacoustic response of a tube array with and without bias-flow (also called cross-flow). The study has a theoretical and experimental side. On the theoretical side, a new model, based on the assumption of quasi-steady flow, was developed to predict the acoustic reflection and transmission coefficient of a tube array with bias-flow. Also, the model by Huang and Heckl (Huang and Heckl, 1993, Acustica 78, 191–200) for the case without bias-flow was evaluated. On the experimental side, flow-duct experiments using a multi-microphone technique were performed to validate the predictions from both models. The agreement was found to be very good for low frequencies. The measurements revealed the limit of validity of the quasi-steady model in terms of the Strouhal number. Although this limit is quite low, our quasi-steady model can serve as a valuable tool for designers of heat exchangers

Decision-making in percutaneous coronary intervention: a survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few researchers have examined the perceptions of physicians referring cases for angiography regarding the degree to which collaboration occurs during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) decision-making. We sought to determine perceptions of physicians concerning their involvement in PCI decisions in cases they had referred to the cardiac catheterization laboratory at a major academic medical center.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An anonymous survey was mailed to internal medicine faculty members at a major academic medical center. The survey elicited whether responders perceived that they were included in decision-making regarding PCI, and whether they considered such collaboration to be the best process of decision-making.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 378 surveys mailed, 35% (133) were returned. Among responding non-cardiologists, 89% indicated that in most cases, PCI decisions were made solely by the interventionalist at the time of the angiogram. Among cardiologists, 92% indicated that they discussed the findings with the interventionalist prior to any PCI decisions. When asked what they considered the best process by which PCI decisions are made, 66% of non-cardiologists answered that they would prefer collaboration between either themselves or a non-interventional cardiologist and the interventionalist. Among cardiologists, 95% agreed that a collaborative approach is best.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both non-cardiologists and cardiologists felt that involving another decision-maker, either the referring physician or a non-interventional cardiologist, would be the best way to make PCI decisions. Among cardiologists, there was more concordance between what they believed was the best process for making decisions regarding PCI and what they perceived to be the actual process.</p

Outcome of Contemporary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the Elderly and the Very Elderly: Insights From the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium

Background: There is a paucity of data on the outcome of contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the elderly. Accordingly, we assessed the impact of age on outcome of a large cohort of patients undergoing PCI in a regional collaborative registry. Hypothesis: Increasing age is associated with a higher incidence of procedural‐related complications. Methods: We evaluated the outcome of 152373 patients who underwent PCI from 2003 to 2008 in the 31 hospitals participating in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium. The procedural outcomes of the cohort were compared by dividing patients into <70 years of age, 70 to 79 years, 80 to 84 years, 85 to 89 years, and ≥90 years. Results: Of the cohort, 64.64% were <70 years of age, 23.83% were 70 to 79 years, 7.85% were 80 to 84 years, 3.09% were 85 to 89 years, and 0.58% were 90 years or older. Increasing age was associated with an increase in all‐cause in‐hospital mortality, contrast‐induced nephropathy, transfusion, stroke/transient ischemic attack, and vascular complications. The overall in‐hospital mortality rate was 1.09% and increased from 0.67% in those younger than 70 years up to 5.44% in those 90 years old or greater. The mortality rate in patients over 80 years approached 12% to 15% for those with ST‐segment myocardial infarction and 39% in cardiogenic shock patients. Conclusions: The proportion of elderly patients referred for PCI is increasing. Procedural complications increase with age, and patients presenting with unstable symptoms are at the highest risk. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This work was supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The authors have no other funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86865/1/20926_ftp.pd

(Digital) tools as professional and generational identity badges in the Chinese creative industries

Animators, architects, designers, and others active in the Chinese creative industries are expert users of tools, both analog and digital. Performances of expert tool use (the wearing of professional identity badges) are strategic ways of signaling creativity understood as sets of skills and character traits essential for attracting work projects but also for professional identity formation. Analogue tools are generally associated with creative openness and fluidity whereas digital tools are discursively constructed as a technological other to the analogue. ‘Older’ creatives (born before 1980) tend to apply some of the media-inflected discourse around the balinghou generation (born 1980–1989) to their younger competitors, including an assumed affinity with digital media and technologies (the pinning on of a generational identity badge). Such generational assumptions can have the effect of reinforcing project hierarchies and denying expert users of digital tools their claims to creativity

A novel pathway producing dimethylsulphide in bacteria is widespread in soil environments

The volatile compound dimethylsulphide (DMS) is important in climate regulation, the sulphur cycle and signalling to higher organisms. Microbial catabolism of the marine osmolyte dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) is thought to be the major biological process generating DMS. Here we report the discovery and characterisation of the first gene for DMSP-independent DMS production in any bacterium. This gene, mddA, encodes a methyltransferase that methylates methanethiol (MeSH) and generates DMS. MddA functions in many taxonomically diverse bacteria including sediment-dwelling pseudomonads, nitrogen-fixing bradyrhizobia and cyanobacteria, and mycobacteria, including the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The mddA gene is present in metagenomes from varied environments, being particularly abundant in soil environments, where it is predicted to occur in up to 76% of bacteria. This novel pathway may significantly contribute to global DMS emissions, especially in terrestrial environments, and could represent a shift from the notion that DMSP is the only significant precursor of DMS

Can We Really Prevent Suicide?

Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for all ages. Unfortunately, suicide is difficult to prevent, in large part because the prevalence of risk factors is high among the general population. In this review, clinical and psychological risk factors are examined and methods for suicide prevention are discussed. Prevention strategies found to be effective in suicide prevention include means restriction, responsible media coverage, and general public education, as well identification methods such as screening, gatekeeper training, and primary care physician education. Although the treatment for preventing suicide is difficult, follow-up that includes pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or both may be useful. However, prevention methods cannot be restricted to the individual. Community, social, and policy interventions will also be essentia