Generating reversible circuits from higher-order functional programs

Boolean reversible circuits are boolean circuits made of reversible elementary gates. Despite their constrained form, they can simulate any boolean function. The synthesis and validation of a reversible circuit simulating a given function is a difficult problem. In 1973, Bennett proposed to generate reversible circuits from traces of execution of Turing machines. In this paper, we propose a novel presentation of this approach, adapted to higher-order programs. Starting with a PCF-like language, we use a monadic representation of the trace of execution to turn a regular boolean program into a circuit-generating code. We show that a circuit traced out of a program computes the same boolean function as the original program. This technique has been successfully applied to generate large oracles with the quantum programming language Quipper.Comment: 21 pages. A shorter preprint has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of Reversible Computation 2016. The final publication is available at http://link.springer.co

Observed communication semantics for classical processes

Classical Linear Logic (CLL) has long inspired readings of its proofs as communicating processes. Wadler's CP calculus is one of these readings. Wadler gave CP an operational semantics by selecting a subset of the cut-elimination rules of CLL to use as reduction rules. This semantics has an appealing close connection to the logic, but does not resolve the status of the other cut-elimination rules, and does not admit an obvious notion of observational equivalence. We propose a new operational semantics for CP based on the idea of observing communication, and use this semantics to define an intuitively reasonable notion of observational equivalence. To reason about observational equivalence, we use the standard relational denotational semantics of CLL. We show that this denotational semantics is adequate for our operational semantics. This allows us to deduce that, for instance, all the cut-elimination rules of CLL are observational equivalences

Reducing anemia prevalence in Afghanistan: socioeconomic correlates and the particular role of agricultural assets

This research aims to examine the socio-economic correlates of anemia in women, and potential sources of iron in household diets in Afghanistan. It also examines whether ownership of agricultural (particularly livestock) assets and their use in food production has a role in alleviating anaemia, especially where local markets may be inadequate. We analyse data from the 2010/11 Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, estimating a logistic regression to examine how anemia status of women is associated with socio-economic covariates. A key result found is that sheep ownership has a protective effect in reducing anemia (prevalence odds ratio of sheep ownership on anemia of 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.73–0.94) after controlling for wealth and other covariates. This association is found to be robust to alternative model specifications. Given the central role of red meat in heme iron provision and absorption of non-heme iron, we hypothesise that sheep ownership promotes mutton consumption from own-production in a setting where market-sourced provision of nutritious food is a challenge. We then use the 2011/12 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment household data to understand the Afghan diet from the perspective of dietary iron provision, and to understand interactions between own-production, market sourcing and mutton consumption. Sheep ownership is found to increase the likelihood that a household consumed mutton (odds ratio of 1.27, 95% CI: 1.15–1.42), the number of days in the week that mutton was consumed (prevalence rate ratio of 1.24. 95% CI: 1.12–1.37) and the quantity of mutton consumed (7 grams/person/week). In the subsample of mutton consumers, households sourcing mutton mostly from own production consumed mutton 1.5 days more frequently on average than households relying on market purchase, resulting in 100 grams per person per week higher mutton intake. Thus this analysis lends support to the notion that the linkage between sheep ownership and anemia risk is at least partly due to consumption arising from own-production in the presence of market incompleteness

Deterministic diffusion fiber tracking improved by quantitative anisotropy

Diffusion MRI tractography has emerged as a useful and popular tool for mapping connections between brain regions. In this study, we examined the performance of quantitative anisotropy (QA) in facilitating deterministic fiber tracking. Two phantom studies were conducted. The first phantom study examined the susceptibility of fractional anisotropy (FA), generalized factional anisotropy (GFA), and QA to various partial volume effects. The second phantom study examined the spatial resolution of the FA-aided, GFA-aided, and QA-aided tractographies. An in vivo study was conducted to track the arcuate fasciculus, and two neurosurgeons blind to the acquisition and analysis settings were invited to identify false tracks. The performance of QA in assisting fiber tracking was compared with FA, GFA, and anatomical information from T 1-weighted images. Our first phantom study showed that QA is less sensitive to the partial volume effects of crossing fibers and free water, suggesting that it is a robust index. The second phantom study showed that the QA-aided tractography has better resolution than the FA-aided and GFA-aided tractography. Our in vivo study further showed that the QA-aided tractography outperforms the FA-aided, GFA-aided, and anatomy-aided tractographies. In the shell scheme (HARDI), the FA-aided, GFA-aided, and anatomy-aided tractographies have 30.7%, 32.6%, and 24.45% of the false tracks, respectively, while the QA-aided tractography has 16.2%. In the grid scheme (DSI), the FA-aided, GFA-aided, and anatomy-aided tractographies have 12.3%, 9.0%, and 10.93% of the false tracks, respectively, while the QA-aided tractography has 4.43%. The QA-aided deterministic fiber tracking may assist fiber tracking studies and facilitate the advancement of human connectomics. © 2013 Yeh et al

Exploring the views of young women and their healthcare professionals on dietary habits and supplementation practices in adolescent pregnancy: a qualitative study

Background: Nutrition is a modifiable factor affecting foetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. Inadequate nutrition is of particular concern in adolescent pregnancies with poor quality diet and competing demands for nutrients. The aim of this study was to explore knowledge and understanding of nutrition advice during adolescent pregnancy,and identify barriers and facilitators to dietary change and supplementation use in this vulnerable population. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with young women and key antenatal healthcare providers: midwives, family nurses and obstetricians. Doncaster, Manchester and London were chosen as sites offering different models of midwifery care alongside referral to the Family Nurse Partnership programme. Results: A total of 34 young women (adolescents aged 16–19 years) and 20 health professionals were interviewed. Young women made small changes to their dietary intake despite limited knowledge and social constraints. Supplementation use varied; the tablet format was identified by few participants as a barrier but forgetting to take them was the main reason for poor adherence. Health professionals provided nutrition information but often lack the time and resources to tailor this appropriately. Young women’s prime motivator was a desire to have a healthy baby; they wanted to understand the benefits of supplementation and dietary change in those terms. Conclusion: Pregnancy is a window of opportunity for improving nutrition but often constrained by social circumstances. Health professionals should be supported in their role to access education, training and resources which build their self-efficacy to facilitate change in this vulnerable population group beyond the routine care they provide

Effect of Quinoa Seeds (Chenopodium quinoa) in Diet on some Biochemical Parameters and Essential Elements in Blood of High Fructose-Fed Rats

The effect of Chenopodium quinoa seeds on lipid profile, glucose level, protein metabolism and selected essential elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg) level was determined in high—fructose fed male Wistar rats. Fructose decreased significantly LDL [42%, p < 0.01] and activity of alkaline phosphatase [20%, p < 0.05], and increased triglycerides level [86%, p < 0.01]. The analysis of blood of rats fed quinoa indicated, that these seeds effectively reduced serum total cholesterol [26%, p < 0.05], LDL [57%, p < 0.008] and triglycerides [11%, p < 0.05] when compared to the control group. Quinoa seeds also significantly reduced the level of glucose [10%, p < 0.01] and plasma total protein level [16%, p < 0.001]. Fructose significantly decreased HDL [15%, p < 0.05] level in control group but when the quinoa seeds were added into the diet the decrease of HDL level was inhibited. Quinoa seeds did not prevent any adverse effect of increasing triglyceride level caused by fructose. It was shown in this study that quinoa seeds can reduce most of the adverse effects exerted by fructose on lipid profile and glucose level

JNK2 Promotes Endothelial Cell Alignment under Flow

Endothelial cells in straight, unbranched segments of arteries elongate and align in the direction of flow, a feature which is highly correlated with reduced atherosclerosis in these regions. The mitogen-activated protein kinase c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is activated by flow and is linked to inflammatory gene expression and apoptosis. We previously showed that JNK activation by flow is mediated by integrins and is observed in cells plated on fibronectin but not on collagen or basement membrane proteins. We now show thatJNK2 activation in response to laminar shear stress is biphasic, with an early peak and a later peak. Activated JNK localizes to focal adhesions at the ends of actin stress fibers, correlates with integrin activation and requires integrin binding to the extracellular matrix. Reducing JNK2 activation by siRNA inhibits alignment in response to shear stress. Cells on collagen, where JNK activity is low, align slowly. These data show that an inflammatory pathway facilitates adaptation to laminar flow, thereby revealing an unexpected connection between adaptation and inflammatory pathways

The challenge of admitting the very elderly to intensive care

The aging of the population has increased the demand for healthcare resources. The number of patients aged 80 years and older admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) increased during the past decade, as has the intensity of care for such patients. Yet, many physicians remain reluctant to admit the oldest, arguing a "squandering" of societal resources, that ICU care could be deleterious, or that ICU care may not actually be what the patient or family wants in this instance. Other ICU physicians are strong advocates for admission of a selected elderly population. These discrepant opinions may partly be explained by the current lack of validated criteria to select accurately the patients (of any age) who will benefit most from ICU hospitalization. This review describes the epidemiology of the elderly aged 80 years and older admitted in the ICU, their long-term outcomes, and to discuss some of the solutions to cope with the burden of an aging population receiving acute care hospitalization