Language Agnostic Code Embeddings

Recently, code language models have achieved notable advancements in addressing a diverse array of essential code comprehension and generation tasks. Yet, the field lacks a comprehensive deep dive and understanding of the code embeddings of multilingual code models. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study on multilingual code embeddings, focusing on the cross-lingual capabilities of these embeddings across different programming languages. Through probing experiments, we demonstrate that code embeddings comprise two distinct components: one deeply tied to the nuances and syntax of a specific language, and the other remaining agnostic to these details, primarily focusing on semantics. Further, we show that when we isolate and eliminate this language-specific component, we witness significant improvements in downstream code retrieval tasks, leading to an absolute increase of up to +17 in the Mean Reciprocal Rank (MRR)

Sterically Driven Current Reversal in a Model Molecular Motor

Simulations can help unravel the complicated ways in which molecular structure determines function. Here, we use molecular simulations to show how slight alterations of a molecular motor's structure can cause the motor's typical dynamical behavior to reverse directions. Inspired by autonomous synthetic catenane motors, we study the molecular dynamics of a minimal motor model, consisting of a shuttling ring that moves along a track containing interspersed binding sites and catalytic sites. The binding sites attract the shuttling ring while the catalytic sites speed up a reaction between molecular species, which can be thought of as fuel and waste. When that fuel and waste are held in a nonequilibrium steady-state concentration, the free energy from the reaction drives directed motion of the shuttling ring along the track. Using this model and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics, we show that the shuttling ring's direction can be reversed by simply adjusting the spacing between binding and catalytic sites on the track. We present a steric mechanism behind the current reversal, supported by kinetic measurements from the simulations. These results demonstrate how molecular simulation can guide future development of artificial molecular motors

Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development: Training Course on International Development and Global Health Strategy

The Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development delivers intensive training courses for government officials and development professionals to explore the theories, policies and practices of international development cooperation, particularly relating to the growing role of the rising powers in global development. These short training courses are tailored to the needs of the institution, with varying thematic foci. This course was developed to focus on the history, theory and practice of international development, the theory and evolution of health development assistance, and global health.UK Department for International Developmen

Risk for Post-Spinal Surgery Complications Associated with Pre-Operative Blood Transfusions

Introduction: The frequency of spinal surgeries has increased dramatically in the United States over the past decade and, as with all surgeries, spinal procedures carry inherent risks for complications after the operation. Recently, it has been recognized that procedures in which intra-operative/post-operative blood transfusions are administered carry a higher risk of postoperative morbidity and increased length of hospital stay (Seisean et al.). Despite this, there is little literature, currently, analyzing post-operative complications associated with blood transfusions taking place 72 hours prior to spinal operations. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of pre-operative blood transfusions in spinal surgeries and elucidate the associations that exist between those transfusions and post-operative complications. Materials & Methods: We retrospectively analyzed cases of spinal surgeries between 2005 and 2014 from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database with the exception of 2009 due to incomplete data. A total of 37,201 patients who had undergone spinal procedures were studied. Patients receiving pre-operative blood transfusions within 72 hours of surgery were documented. Demographic factors, including sex and age, were noted. Comorbidities included in this analysis include body mass index (BMI) and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score. Post-operative complications were stratified into major and minor categories. Chi-squared test, Fisher\u27s exact test, and ANOVA were used to perform univariate testing where appropriate, while multivariate analyses were performed to determine independent risk factors for complications. Results:With the exception of pneumonia (p=0.096), blood transfusions prior to spinal surgeries were associated with increased risk for all major and minor complication criteria analyzed, with major complications including myocardial infarction (MI), deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), stroke, peripheral nerve injury, deep wound infection, organ cavity infection, sepsis, and death (p Discussion: Overall, patients receiving blood transfusions within 72 hours prior to undergoing spinal procedures had increased rates of several post-operative complications. Among these complications, the most notable include superficial and deep wound infections, MI, pneumonia, DVT, stroke, and even death. Armed with this knowledge, surgeons would better be able to predict, and therefore mitigate, such post-operative complications in these patients. Future research in this area, directed toward stratification of risk based on the patient’s need for pre-operative blood transfusion and procedure type, would provide further insight into preventing post-operative complications after spinal surgeries

Unsupervised discovery of temporal sequences in high-dimensional datasets, with applications to neuroscience.

Identifying low-dimensional features that describe large-scale neural recordings is a major challenge in neuroscience. Repeated temporal patterns (sequences) are thought to be a salient feature of neural dynamics, but are not succinctly captured by traditional dimensionality reduction techniques. Here, we describe a software toolbox-called seqNMF-with new methods for extracting informative, non-redundant, sequences from high-dimensional neural data, testing the significance of these extracted patterns, and assessing the prevalence of sequential structure in data. We test these methods on simulated data under multiple noise conditions, and on several real neural and behavioral datas. In hippocampal data, seqNMF identifies neural sequences that match those calculated manually by reference to behavioral events. In songbird data, seqNMF discovers neural sequences in untutored birds that lack stereotyped songs. Thus, by identifying temporal structure directly from neural data, seqNMF enables dissection of complex neural circuits without relying on temporal references from stimuli or behavioral outputs

Simulating a Nationally Representative Housing Sample Using EnergyPlus

This report presents a new simulation tool under development at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This tool uses EnergyPlus to simulate each single-family home in the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), and generates a calibrated, nationally representative set of simulated homes whose energy use is statistically indistinguishable from the energy use of the single-family homes in the RECS sample. This research builds upon earlier work by Ritchard et al. for the Gas Research Institute and Huang et al. for LBNL. A representative national sample allows us to evaluate the variance in energy use between individual homes, regions, or other subsamples; using this tool, we can also evaluate how that variance affects the impacts of potential policies. The RECS contains information regarding the construction and location of each sampled home, as well as its appliances and other energy-using equipment. We combined this data with the home simulation prototypes developed by Huang et al. to simulate homes that match the RECS sample wherever possible. Where data was not available, we used distributions, calibrated using the RECS energy use data. Each home was assigned a best-fit location for the purposes of weather and some construction characteristics. RECS provides some detail on the type and age of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment in each home; we developed EnergyPlus models capable of reproducing the variety of technologies and efficiencies represented in the national sample. This includes electric, gas, and oil furnaces, central and window air conditioners, central heat pumps, and baseboard heaters. We also developed a model of duct system performance, based on in-home measurements, and integrated this with fan performance to capture the energy use of single- and variable-speed furnace fans, as well as the interaction of duct and fan performance with the efficiency of heating and cooling equipment. Comparison with RECS revealed that EnergyPlus did not capture the heating-side behavior of heat pumps particularly accurately, and that our simple oil furnace and boiler models needed significant recalibration to fit with RECS. Simulating the full RECS sample on a single computer would take many hours, so we used the 'cloud computing' services provided by Amazon.com to simulate dozens of homes at once. This enabled us to simulate the full RECS sample, including multiple versions of each home to evaluate the impact of marginal changes, in less than 3 hours. Once the tool was calibrated, we were able to address several policy questions. We made a simple measurement of the heat replacement effect and showed that the net effect of heat replacement on primary energy use is likely to be less than 5%, relative to appliance-only measures of energy savings. Fuel switching could be significant, however. We also evaluated the national and regional impacts of a variety of 'overnight' changes in building characteristics or occupant behavior, including lighting, home insulation and sealing, HVAC system efficiency, and thermostat settings. For example, our model shows that the combination of increased home insulation and better sealed building shells could reduce residential natural gas use by 34.5% and electricity use by 6.5%, and a 1 degree rise in summer thermostat settings could save 2.1% of home electricity use. These results vary by region, and we present results for each U.S. Census division. We conclude by offering proposals for future work to improve the tool. Some proposed future work includes: comparing the simulated energy use data with the monthly RECS bill data; better capturing the variation in behavior between households, especially as it relates to occupancy and schedules; improving the characterization of recent construction and its regional variation; and extending the general framework of this simulation tool to capture multifamily housing units, such as apartment buildings

Total Hip Arthroplasty: COPD and its Effect on Postoperative Complications

Introduction The demand for Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) has rapidly risen and continues to due to high success rates of this procedure and the growing aging population. Particularly in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), studies have indicated an increased risk of various postoperative complications across several surgery types. Despite the prevalence of COPD, very little has been investigated regarding postsurgical complications in patients with COPD following a THA. The aim of the current study is to utilize the NSQIP database and determine differences in short-term postoperative complications after undergoing THA, comparing patients with and without COPD. Methods In total, 74,814 patients were included in the analysis looking at how COPD contributes to the rates of postoperative complications in primary THA. Data was obtained from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project Database years 2005-2014, with readmission/reoperation data beginning in 2011. THA cases were selected out of the database using current procedural terminology (CPT) code 27130. On univariate analysis, p-values were calculated using chi-square for categorical variables and one-way ANOVA for continuous variables. On multivariate analysis, logistic regression was used to control for preoperative comorbidities and calculate p-values. Results On multivariate analysis and after controlling for contributing comorbidities, having COPD was found to be an independent predictor of superficial surgical site infection (OR: 1.74), pneumonia (OR: 3.69), reintubation (OR: 2.65) failure to wean (OR: 3.45), urinary tract infection (OR: 1.46), needing a postoperative transfusion (OR: 1.19), and sepsis (OR: 1.97). COPD also independently predicted whether a patient would be discharged home or not (OR: 1.50). Discussion Although COPD has been linked to negative postoperative outcomes across several surgeries, few studies have examined postsurgical complications in patients with COPD following a THA. Our study found patients with COPD to have higher rates of superficial surgical site infection, pneumonia, reintubation, failure to wean, urinary tract infection, needing a postoperative transfusion, and sepsis. COPD also independently predicted whether a patient would be discharged home or not. Managing high-risk surgical patients requires a better understanding of possible complications a patient faces and enhancing perioperative conditions to improve outcomes. Given our study identified certain complications as independent risk factors for patients with COPD, surgeons and other healthcare providers can use this information to more accurately counsel patients and make perioperative adjustments accordingly