Parallel Time Research Articles

One Public Health Crisis into Many Others: The Impact of COVID-19 on Upstaging of Gastric Cancer

Background: This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 affects patients with Gastric Cancer (GC) and what should be expected to happen in post-CVOID-19 era. Methods: A retrospective study of GC patients referring to Cancer Institute, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in two parallel time periods of February 25th to December 25th of 2020 and the same period in 2019 was conducted. Results: Twenty-six patients during COVID-19 pandemic and 54 patients during pre-COVID-19 time were recruited. Mean age, gender, tumor location and T status distribution did not show statistically significant difference between study groups (all p-values >0.05). Regarding N status, distributions of N0, N1, N2 and N3 in pre-COVID group were as follows: 2(3%), 21(39%), 25(48%) and 6(10%). In COVID-19 period, group N0 was not reported and N1, N2 and N3 were 7(27%), 7(27%) and 13(46%), respectively (p-value <0.05). Among pre-COVID patients, 6(11%) patients had gross metastasis in Staging Laparoscopy (SL) and 10(18.5%) patients had positive malignant cytology. In COVID-19 group positive SL and positive cytology were found in 9(35%) and 11(42%) patients, respectively (all p-values <0.05). Conclusion: Health care systems should adopt reasonable approaches to cancer management, otherwise we might face the upcoming pandemic of locally advanced and metastatic cancers.

B-112 Regression Analysis Techniques for Assessing Calibration Reproducibility Within and Between Instruments. A Practical Example with Blood Ca²⁺ Assayed with Two cobas® b 221Analyzers

Abstract Background Reproducibility of the calibration curve within the analytical measurement range (AMR) is crucial for ensuring reliable patient values within and between laboratory instruments to detect shifts and trends of clinical significance. In this practical example for ionized calcium (Ca²⁺) assayed with two cobas b221® instruments, the equality of calibration lines and the verification with patient specimen comparison study was assessed with regression analysis techniques. Methods Instruments: Two cobas b 221 (Roche Diagnostics). Calibration material: COOX/MSS™ (Five levels, Roche Diagnostics). This was independently assayed either three or five times in parallel with both instruments. The patient specimens were obtained by venipuncture in Na/Li-heparin BD™ tubes (Becton-Dickinson). Upon receipt, specimens were assayed with both instruments within two minutes. The data were transferred to Minitab® (Version 21, Minitab Inc) statistical software and analyzed with polynomial ordinary least squares (POLS), orthogonal and locally weighted scatterplot smoother (lowess) regression analysis models. The aptness of the model was assessed with standardized residuals (std. res.) diagnostics. For acceptable total error the CLIA’s criterion target value ± 10% was adopted. Results While the POLS model did not show probabilistically significant differences between instruments (P=0.8), it showed probabilistically significant differences between years (P=0.003). However, this was due to a small MSE (= 0.003 mg/dL), which is not clinically significant. The test for linearity showed probabilistically significant lack-of-fit (P<0.0001) due to a small MS pure error (<0.0001 mg/dL). The lowess for the standardized deleted residuals by the fitted value showed a quasi-linear relationship. The multiple comparisons (P=0.3) and the Levene’s (P=0.4) tests did not detect probabilistically significant heteroscedasticity of the variance by reference value. The plot of the std. res. by the leverage showed two possible outliers (std. res.>|3|) and no influential observations (Hi<0.5). These diagnostics proved the aptness of the POLS model. The harmonization between the two instruments was verified with patient specimens. The orthogonal regression model showed in the interval 3-6 mg/dL a quasi-linear relationship between the values as obtained with the two instruments. The orthogonal regression line (y=0.1+1.02 n) and the OLS regression line (y=0.03+601 n) were very similar. There was no probabilistically significant lack-of-fit (P=0.5). The plot of the std. res. by the leverage showed one possible outlier (std.res.>|3|) and no influential observations. Additionally, the plot of the relative differences between the values as obtained with b221#9371 and b221#24796 by the values as obtained with b221#9371 showed only one value exceeding half of the total allowable error. Conclusions The POLS model clearly showed that the calibration lines for the two instruments were quasi-linear in the interval 2-10 mg/dL and reproducible within and between instruments. Additionally, this reliable performance was verified with patient specimens in the interval 3-6 mg/dL. The differences between values as obtained with each instrument were within half of the CLIA’s total allowable error. This clearly showed that equality of calibration lines ensured interchangeable patient values between instruments. Finally, electronic transfer of data and the availability of statistical software like Minitab was crucial for conducting this study.

Satisfaction and Effectiveness of Telepractice for Parents of Young Children with Language Delay

Objectives: This study aims to provide parent teaching techniques to mothers of 2-3-yearold children with language developmental delays via telepractice and to analyze the effectiveness and participant satisfaction. The training focuses on techniques to promote language development in their children.Methods: The study involved training and coaching seven mothers in parallel talk, self-talk, mand-model and time delay techniques via telepractice. The interactions between mothers and children were recorded at home and analyzed to observe changes in mothers’ use of the techniques and the characteristics of children’s speech. After completing the training-coaching procedure, a satisfaction survey was conducted among the participants.Results: Most participants showed improvement in the production rate per utterance and the total frequency of the techniques after the telelpractice for parent training and coaching. The children also exhibited more diverse types of utterances and increased production rates and frequencies following their mothers’ improvements. The satisfaction with remote parent training was reported to be high.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that for parent intervention, training and coaching via telepractice can be an effective alternative for educating parents of young children with language developmental delays, enabling them to engage in interactions that promote their children’s language development.

Linear Sources and Anisotropic Scattering in the Random Ray Method

An enhanced implementation of the random ray method (TRRM), a stochastic adaptation of the method of characteristics, is presented. This implementation generalizes from a traditional flat source (FS) approximation to a linear source (LS) approximation, and from the standard isotropic scattering approximation to an anisotropic approximation, up to P3. On the two-dimensional C5G7 benchmark, LS alone enables a 1.4× and 1.7× enhancement in run time for parallel and serial executions, respectively, without compromising accuracy. Further testing on the three-dimensional C5G7 Rodded B benchmark demonstrates that LS enables significant axial coarsening and reduction in ray populations. This results in a 5.3× speedup in run time while still offering comparable accuracy. On the Babcock and Wilcox 1484 Core II benchmark, incorporating anisotropic scattering in TRRM up to P3 with a FS decreased keff errors (~110 pcm) and maximum and average pin power errors. LS with anisotropic scattering (LSPN), showed similarly improved keff errors while benefiting from a coarser mesh. The linear isotropic flat anisotropic (LIFA) method, relative to LSPN, offers further run time and memory savings of 4.1× and 1.6×, respectively, for P3, while maintaining comparable accuracy to anisotropic FS on more refined meshes.

Parallelization of particle-mass-transfer algorithms on shared-memory, multi-core CPUs

Simulating the transfer of mass between particles is not straightforwardly parallelized because it involves the calculation of the influence of many particles on each other. Engdahl et al. (2019) intuited that the number of matrix operations used for mass transfer grows quadratically with the number of particles, so that dividing the domain geometrically into sub-domains will give speed and memory advantages, even on a single processing thread. Those authors also showed the speed scalability of several one-dimensional examples on multiple cores. Here, we extend those results for more general cases, both in terms of spatial dimensions and algorithmic implementation. We show that there is an optimal subdivision scheme for naive, full-matrix calculations on a multi-processor, or multi-threading shared-memory machine. A similar sparse-matrix implementation that also uses row-and-column-sum normalization often greatly reduces the memory requirements. We also introduce a completely new mass transfer algorithm that uses a non-geometric domain decomposition and only matrix row-sum normalization. This allows the mass-transfer “matrix” to be constructed and solved one row at a time in parallel, so it is faster and vastly more memory efficient than previous methods, but requires more care for suitable accuracy.

Experimental study on a novel self-driven multi-heat sinks system

This article presents a self-driven multi-heat sinks system suitable for cooling multiple heat sources simultaneously. This system can include one driving heat sink and multiple passive heat sinks. The porous medium inside the driving heat sink absorbs heat from its heat source, causing the working fluid to evaporate. The phase changing generating capillary force to drive the circulation of liquid throughout the system. The circulating working fluid flows through the fluid channels in the external passive heat sinks, carrying away the heat from the heat sources at each passive heat sink, thus simultaneously cooling multiple heat sources. This study primarily altered the connections between heat sinks, specifically connecting them in serial and parallel, forming systems with different structures. The operating characteristics of the two differently structured systems were studied through experiments. Results show that both systems effectively dissipate heat, maintaining stable operation at a maximum heat load of 100 W. By comparing the operating characteristics of each heat sink in different structures, it was found that the structure mainly affects the circulation resistance of the working fluid. In the serial system, the high circulation resistance leads to long startup times and high startup temperatures. In contrast, the parallel system effectively addresses these issues and, due to its lower internal circulation resistance, and reduces the operating temperature of the driving heat sink. The parallel system's startup time and temperature are 7% lower than the serial system, and its driving heat sink can handle an additional 10 W of heat load. However, due to the structural impact, each passive heat sink in the parallel system receives lower flow, resulting in higher operating temperatures for the passive heat sinks. Based on the research findings above, the article concludes by outlining the suitable operating conditions for different systems: series-connected and parallel-connected systems are respectively suitable for scenarios where the heat generation of multiple heat sources is similar and where it varies significantly.

A metaheuristic image cryptosystem using improved parallel model and many‐objective optimization

AbstractMetaheuristic is one of the techniques to improve the security of image encryption. However, existing metaheuristic image cryptosystems based on metaheuristic may have convergence difficulties during the optimization process, which cause insecurity and slow convergence. Besides, the time cost of the parallel execution model applied to metaheuristic image cryptosystems is not low enough. Therefore, a parallel many‐objective optimized key generation framework is proposed. Firstly, if four or more security indicators of cryptosystem, which are the results of security test, need to be optimized, the many‐objective optimization algorithm is employed to the proposed framework. With method adjusts the chaotic system parameters as the optimization key, which effectively avoid the convergence difficulty of the encryption key. Secondly, a master‐slave parallel model is improved to metaheuristic encryption. The model allocates the most time‐consuming fitness calculation work to slave nodes, which makes the modified model more reasonable and thus reduces the encryption time. To evaluate the performance of the proposed framework, a specific encryption scheme is constructed, that utilizes a 2D quadric map and many‐objective optimization algorithm based on dominance and decomposition (MOEA/DD) to optimize five security indicators. Experimental results reveal that this scheme has good security performances and less parallel encryption time.

Rapid, low-cost exploration of nucleation rates in l-glutamic acid crystallization in pure media and the presence of polymers through novel parallel experimentation

Crystal nucleation is crucial in various fields of science and technology, ranging from materials synthesis to pharmaceutical production. Our research aims to determine the nucleation rates from parallel induction time measurement experiments followed by low-cost external bulk video imaging. Stirred conditions are applied, making our results industry-relevant where the crystallizers are also mixed. The L-Glutamic Acid-water system (L-GA/water) is used as a surrogate. The study is conducted through a series of parallel, small-scale stirred experiments that explore the effects of supersaturation, temperature, and polymer additives on nucleation rates. The methodology involves careful data collection through controlled experimental setup and analysis of induction time distributions that the stochastic nature of nucleation explains the induction time distribution. The discussion section interprets the findings within the context of the research question, highlighting the implications of varying temperature and supersaturation levels as two experimental parameters and polymers on crystal nucleation rates. The specific parameters of supersaturation and temperature dependencies are in the range of those reported in the literature, which validated the developed rapid nucleation rate measurement platform. Stepping outside of these established measurements, analyzing the influence of polymers with high potential in controlling particle size, shape, and polymorphism was touched as well. As an unexpected result, the nucleation rates appeared to depend not only on the chemical structure and amount of the polymer but also on the polymer solution preparation method. The remarkable influence of polymers on nucleation rates was shown that cannot be explained with the solubility altering effect of the polymers alone.

"Extending Amdahl's and Gustafson Baris's Laws by Adding Communication Overheads"

The extension of Amdahl's law and Gustafson-Barsis' law presented in this article provides insight into the relationship between communication costs and network topology in parallel computing. By considering communication latency in parallel computation execution time, these extensions can help researchers and developers optimize the interconnected network architecture of processing nodes and improve the performance of parallel computing systems. Today, parallel computer systems consisting of hundreds and thousands of processing nodes based on multiprocessor chip technology, high-speed optical transmission such as supercomputers are being researched, developed, and applied in many fields many areas. Although chip technology has progressed to the 3 nm process, the network architecture connecting processing nodes continues to be a problem that greatly affects the communication delay in the parallel computation time of the applications. In this paper, extensions of Amdahl's law and Gustafson-Barsis' law are presented with the addition of communication costs depending on the topology of the topology. These extensions provide insight into the relationship between communication costs and network topology in parallel computing. By considering communication latency in parallel computation execution time, these extensions can help researchers and developers optimize the interconnected network architecture of processing nodes and improve the performance of parallel computing systems.

European practices on antithrombotic management during percutaneous mechanical circulatory support in adults: an international survey of the ACVC Association of the ESC joint with EuroELSO

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Flanders. Background/introduction Bleeding and thrombotic complications impair the outcomes of patients on percutaneous mechanical circulatory support (pMCS) with veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) and/or microaxial flow pumps such as the Impella™. Very recent MCS-trials still show a 23.9% moderate/major bleeding incidence during V-A ECMO. Antithrombotic practices are an important determinant of the meticulous coagulopathic risk management, but guidelines here are non-existing. Purpose Providing an overview of the current European practices in antithrombotic management in adults on pMCS is a first but crucial step to design trials, standardize practice and improve outcome. Methods This online cross-sectional survey was distributed via a digital newsletter and social media platforms through the Association of Acute Cardiovascular Care (ACVC) and the European Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (EuroELSO). The survey was accessible between 17.04 and 23.05.2023. The target population were European clinicians involved in adult critical care and pMCS-management. Results We included responses from 105 different units from 26 European countries. 72.4% Of the European responders have an institutional anticoagulation protocol installed. Unfractionated heparin is the predominantly used anticoagulant (Impella™: 97.0% and V-A ECMO: 96.1%). Argatroban is the preferred alternative in case of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (Impella™: 52.3% and V-A ECMO: 50.7%). 10.8% And 14.5% of the anticoagulation protocols rely on anti-factor-Xa assay with activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in parallel for Impella™ and V-A ECMO, respectively. Up to 43.1% (Impella™) and 32.9% (V-A ECMO) of the European respondents rely on a monitoring strategy with APTT alone. Anticoagulant targets for heparin vary significantly between institutions. 54.0% And 42.7% of the European survey participants administer dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) during Impella™ and V-A ECMO support after acute coronary syndrome without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), increasing to 93.7% and 84.0% after recent PCI, respectively. Typical thresholds for transfusion or administration of blood products without acute bleeding also vary substantially and are frequently not predefined. Conclusion Large heterogeneity in antithrombotic practices is observed across Europe. Consequently, device-associated coagulopathic complications may largely vary due to non-standardized management and heterogeneity between institutions. This survey underpins the importance of urgent prospective trials investigating important basic questions concerning antithrombotic therapy during pMCS (anticoagulation targets, monitoring strategy, concomitant use of DAPT among others).

Diverging phenology of American lobster (Homarus americanus) larvae and their zooplankton prey in a warming ocean

Abstract We build on previous research describing correlative links between changes in the abundance of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, a foundational zooplankton species of the pelagic food web, and diminishing recruitment of young-of-year American lobster (Homarus americanus) to benthic nurseries in the Gulf of Maine. Using parallel 31-year time series of lobster larvae and zooplankton collected on the New Hampshire coast between 1988 and 2018, we investigated how changes in phenology of stage I larval lobster and their putative copepod prey, C. finmarchicus, affect their temporal overlap and potential to interact during the larval season. We found that over the time series both the lobster egg hatch and first appearance of larvae began earlier in the season, a trend significantly correlated with ocean warming. The last appearance of larvae in late summer has been delayed, however, thereby extending the larval season. Even with the longer larval lobster season, the C. finmarchicus season has increasingly been ending before the peak abundance of stage I lobster larvae. The net effect is a widening mismatch in phenology of the two species, an outcome consistent with the hypothesis that changes in abundance and phenology of C. finmarchicus have contributed to recent declines in lobster recruitment.

Online neutralization promotes water dissociation equilibrium forward in bipolar membranes to achieve 9.2 mol/L NaOH production

The bipolar membrane electrodialysis is a promising caustic soda production technique by taking advantage of the water dissociation under a reverse voltage bias. However, dissociation equilibrium is easily reached when forward water dissociation is equivalent to the back diffusion of acid and base into the salt chamber. Here, we propose manipulating the water dissociation equilibrium by introducing an online neutralization reaction for acid or base products. The results indicate that the online neutralization of the acid product could promote water dissociation forward in bipolar membranes, leading to an increase in the base yield of 27.7 % and a saving of 43.7 % in time in parallel with conventional operation. The boosting water dissociation via online acid neutralization results in the production of 9.2 mol/L NaOH, the highest recorded base concentration produced by bipolar membrane electrodialysis. The present study provides a simple and unique approach for manipulating the water dissociation equilibrium, suggesting the increasingly crucial role of bipolar membranes in base production.

Charting Tomorrow's Healthcare: A Traditional Literature Review for an Artificial Intelligence-Driven Future.

Electronic health record (EHR) systems have developed over time in parallel with general advancements in mainstream technology. As artificially intelligent (AI) systems rapidly impact multiple societal sectors, it has become apparent that medicine is not immune from the influences of this powerful technology. Particularly appealing is how AI may aid in improving healthcare efficiency with note-writing automation. This literature review explores the current state of EHR technologies in healthcare, specifically focusing on possibilities for addressing EHR challenges through the automation of dictation and note-writing processes with AI integration. This review offers a broad understanding of existing capabilities and potential advancements, emphasizing innovations such as voice-to-text dictation, wearable devices, and AI-assisted procedure note dictation. The primary objective is to provide researchers with valuable insights, enabling them to generate new technologies and advancements within the healthcare landscape. By exploring the benefits, challenges, and future of AI integration, this review encourages the development of innovative solutions, with the goal of enhancing patient care and healthcare delivery efficiency.

Coblation intracapsular tonsillectomy in a paediatric tertiary centre: Revision surgery rates over a nine-year period

ObjectivesCoblation intracapsular tonsillectomy (ICT) is increasingly being used in the paediatric population because of the rapid recovery and low rates of complications associated with it. There is, however, a risk of symptomatic regrowth with this technique. The objective of our study is to establish the rate of, and risks for, revision surgery over time in a major tertiary referral centre with a large cohort of paediatric Coblation ICT cases. MethodsA retrospective review of all children (0–19 years) undergoing Coblation ICT from April 2013 to June 2022 was undertaken, using electronic databases and clinical records. Post-operative follow up was reviewed and revision cases were subsequently identified and examined. Statistical analysis was performed using a Chi-Squared test. Results4111 patients underwent Coblation ICT during the studied period, with or without concomitant adenoidectomy. Of these, 135 (3.3 %) required revision tonsil surgery, primarily for recurrence of initial symptoms; two patients required two consecutive revision procedures (137 revision procedures in total). Eight-eight (n = 88) (64 %) of these were revised with a repeat Coblation ICT procedure and 49 (36 %) with bipolar diathermy extracapsular tonsillectomy (ECT) of remnant tonsil tissue.The revision rates after Coblation ICT declined steeply on a year-on-year basis since the commencement of this technique (from 10.6 % early on, to 0.3 % at the end of the study period P<0.001). A significantly higher revision rate was noted in children below the age of two at the time of primary surgery, compared to those older than two years of age (P<0.001). ConclusionsThis study demonstrates real-world departmental revision rates over a nine-year period from the technique's commencement of use. With Coblation ICT, symptomatic re-growth occurs rarely, but may be clinically significant, with higher rates of recurrent symptoms seen in children under two years of age at the time of primary surgery. The revision rate apparently drops over time in parallel with overall experience of surgeons and formalised training.

Short-wavelength-sensitive 1 (SWS1) opsin gene duplications and parallel visual pigment tuning support ultraviolet communication in damselfishes (Pomacentridae).

Damselfishes (Pomacentridae) are one of the most behaviourally diverse, colourful and species-rich reef fish families. One remarkable characteristic of damselfishes is their communication in ultraviolet (UV) light. Not only are they sensitive to UV, they are also prone to have UV-reflective colours and patterns enabling social signalling. Using more than 50 species, we aimed to uncover the evolutionary history of UV colour and UV vision in damselfishes. All damselfishes had UV-transmitting lenses, expressed the UV-sensitive SWS1 opsin gene, and most displayed UV-reflective patterns and colours. We find evidence for several tuning events across the radiation, and while SWS1 gene duplications are generally very rare among teleosts, our phylogenetic reconstructions uncovered two independent duplication events: one close to the base of the most species-rich clade in the subfamily Pomacentrinae, and one in a single Chromis species. Using amino acid comparisons, we found that known spectral tuning sites were altered several times in parallel across the damselfish radiation (through sequence change and duplication followed by sequence change), causing repeated shifts in peak spectral absorbance of around 10 nm. Pomacentrinae damselfishes expressed either one or both copies of SWS1, likely to further finetune UV-signal detection and differentiation. This highly advanced and modified UV vision among damselfishes, in particular the duplication of SWS1 among Pomacentrinae, might be seen as a key evolutionary innovation that facilitated the evolution of the exuberant variety of UV-reflectance traits and the diversification of this coral reef fish lineage.

Association of Hospitalist Care and Outcomes for Patients Electively Admitted for Chemotherapy

Introduction: Patients with hematologic malignancies frequently receive elective anticancer therapy as inpatients. The impact of introducing hospitalists on quality outcomes in this subset of patients is unknown. Methods: Patients with leukemia or lymphoma electively admitted for anticancer therapy to either a hematologist-led service (TS; n=59) or to a hospitalist-led service (HS; n=102) during two parallel 18-month time periods were included. Mixed linear regression models with first-order random effects for intercept (individual) and slope (time) were used to estimate the association between service and the quality outcomes of length of stay (LOS), time from admission to anticancer therapy initiation, and discharge time of day. Results: For patients who received a fixed-duration anticancer therapy regimen, after adjustment for clinical and demographic covariates, mean LOS was reduced by &gt;2 days (TS=5.97 days (95% CI: 5.13, 6.81); HS=3.88 days (95% CI, 3.53, 4.23); p&lt;0.001), mean time from admission to first anticancer therapy administration decreased by 4 hours (TS=8.32 hours (95% CI: 5.72, 10.93); HS= 4.36 hours (95% CI: 3.49, 5.23); p=0.001)), and mean discharge time was similarly decreased by 110 minutes (TS=3:12 PM (95% CI: 2:06 PM, 4:19 PM); HS=1:22 PM (95% CI: 12:48 PM, 1:57 PM); p=0.01)). For regimens that required variable monitoring for post-treatment methotrexate clearance, tumor lysis syndrome, or white blood cell count recovery, no significant difference in outcomes was noted. Conclusion: Hospitalist care of patients with hematologic malignancies admitted for elective anticancer therapy may lead to improved quality and efficiency of care.

Forecasting Pitch Response of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines with a Deep Learning Model

The design and optimization of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) pose significant challenges, stemming from the complex interplay among aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, structural dynamics, and control systems. In this context, this study introduces an innovative method for forecasting the dynamic behavior of FOWTs under various conditions by merging Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) network. This model outperforms traditional numerical models by delivering precise and efficient predictions of dynamic FOWT responses. It adeptly handles computational complexities and reduces processing duration, while maintaining flexibility and effectively managing nonlinear dynamics. The model’s prowess is showcased through an analysis of a spar-type FOWT in a multivariate parallel time series dataset using the CNN–GRU structure. The outcomes are notably promising, underscoring the model’s proficiency in accurately forecasting the performance of FOWTs.

Microcirculation-driven mitochondrion dysfunction during the progression of experimental sepsis

Sepsis is accompanied by a less-known mismatch between hemodynamics and mitochondrial respiration. We aimed to characterize the relationship and time dependency of microcirculatory and mitochondrial functions in a rodent model of intraabdominal sepsis. Fecal peritonitis was induced in rats, and multi-organ failure (MOF) was evaluated 12, 16, 20, 24 or 28 h later (n = 8/group, each) using rat-specific organ failure assessment (ROFA) scores. Ileal microcirculation (proportion of perfused microvessels (PPV), microvascular flow index (MFI) and heterogeneity index (HI)) was monitored by intravital video microscopy, and mitochondrial respiration (OxPhos) and outer membrane (mtOM) damage were measured with high-resolution respirometry. MOF progression was evidenced by increased ROFA scores; microcirculatory parameters followed a parallel time course from the 16th to 28th h. Mitochondrial dysfunction commenced with a 4-h time lag with signs of mtOM damage, which correlated significantly with PPV, while no correlation was found between HI and OxPhos. High diagnostic value was demonstrated for PPV, mtOM damage and lactate levels for predicting MOF. Our findings indicate insufficient splanchnic microcirculation to be a possible predictor for MOF that develops before the start of mitochondrial dysfunction. The adequate subcellular compensatory capacity suggests the presence of mitochondrial subpopulations with differing sensitivity to septic insults.

Parallel Algorithms for Hierarchical Nucleus Decomposition

Nucleus decompositions have been shown to be a useful tool for finding dense subgraphs. The coreness value of a clique represents its density based on the number of other cliques it is adjacent to. One useful output of nucleus decomposition is to generate a hierarchy among dense subgraphs at different resolutions. However, existing parallel algorithms for nucleus decomposition do not generate this hierarchy, and only compute the coreness values. This paper presents a scalable parallel algorithm for hierarchy construction, with practical optimizations, such as interleaving the coreness computation with hierarchy construction and using a concurrent union-find data structure in an innovative way to generate the hierarchy. We also introduce a parallel approximation algorithm for nucleus decomposition, which achieves much lower span in theory and better performance in practice. We prove strong theoretical bounds on the work and span (parallel time) of our algorithms. On a 30-core machine with two-way hyper-threading, our parallel hierarchy construction algorithm achieves up to a 58.84x speedup over the state-of-the-art sequential hierarchy construction algorithm by Sariyuce et al. and up to a 30.96x self-relative parallel speedup. On the same machine, our approximation algorithm achieves a 3.3x speedup over our exact algorithm, while generating coreness estimates with a multiplicative error of 1.33x on average.

Batch Active Learning of Reward Functions from Human Preferences

Data generation and labeling are often expensive in robot learning. Preference-based learning is a concept that enables reliable labeling by querying users with preference questions. Active querying methods are commonly employed in preference-based learning to generate more informative data at the expense of parallelization and computation time. In this paper, we develop a set of novel algorithms, batch active preference-based learning methods, that enable efficient learning of reward functions using as few data samples as possible while still having short query generation times and also retaining parallelizability. We introduce a method based on determinantal point processes (DPP) for active batch generation and several heuristic-based alternatives. Finally, we present our experimental results for a variety of robotics tasks in simulation. Our results suggest that our batch active learning algorithm requires only a few queries that are computed in a short amount of time. We showcase one of our algorithms in a study to learn human users’ preferences.