FNNC: Achieving Fairness through Neural Networks

In classification models fairness can be ensured by solving a constrained optimization problem. We focus on fairness constraints like Disparate Impact, Demographic Parity, and Equalized Odds, which are non-decomposable and non-convex. Researchers define convex surrogates of the constraints and then apply convex optimization frameworks to obtain fair classifiers. Surrogates serve only as an upper bound to the actual constraints, and convexifying fairness constraints might be challenging. We propose a neural network-based framework, \emph{FNNC}, to achieve fairness while maintaining high accuracy in classification. The above fairness constraints are included in the loss using Lagrangian multipliers. We prove bounds on generalization errors for the constrained losses which asymptotically go to zero. The network is optimized using two-step mini-batch stochastic gradient descent. Our experiments show that FNNC performs as good as the state of the art, if not better. The experimental evidence supplements our theoretical guarantees. In summary, we have an automated solution to achieve fairness in classification, which is easily extendable to many fairness constraints

Selektivna i osjetljiva metoda određivanja metoprolola u humanoj plazmi tekućinskom kromatografijom spregnutom s masenom spektrometrijom

A high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the determination of metoprolol in human plasma. The analyte and internal standard, nevirapine,were extracted from plasma matrix by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Cromatographic separation was achieved on a C-18 analytical column with an isocratic mobile phase of 15:85 (V/V) 10 m mol L–1 ammonium acetate (pH 5.0)/acetonitrile. The atmospheric pressure chemical ionization technique was used for sample ionization in positive ion mode and enhanced selectivity was achieved by tandem mass spectrometric analysis via two multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions, 268.2 → 116.2 for metoprolol and 267.1 → 226.2 for nevirapine, respectively. The assay was validated for human plasma over a concentration range of 1200 ng mL–1 with the precision and accuracy ranging from 0.9 to 8.8 % and 89.9 to 105.8 %, respectively.U radu je opisano određivanje metoprolola u humanoj plazmi tekućinskom kromatografijom visoke učinkovitosti spregnutom s masenom spektrometrijom. Analit i interni standard, nevirapin, ekstrahirani su iz plazme etil-acetatom. Kromatografsko odjeljivanje provedeno je na C-18 koloni uz mobilnu fazu sljedećeg sastava: 10 mmol L–1 amonijev acetat (pH 5,0)/acetonitril 15:85 (V/V). Ionizacija uzoraka provedena je pri atmosferskom tlaku. Povećanje selektivnosti postignuto je spregnutom masenom spektrometrijskom analizom praćenjem dvaju prijelaza (MRM) – 268,2 → 116,2 za metoprolol, odnosno 267,1 → 226,2 za nevirapin. Metoda je validirana za koncentracijsko područje 1200 ng mL–1 uz preciznost i točnost od 0,9 do 8,8 %, odnosno 89,9 do 105,8 %

PCA-RECT: An Energy-efficient Object Detection Approach for Event Cameras

We present the first purely event-based, energy-efficient approach for object detection and categorization using an event camera. Compared to traditional frame-based cameras, choosing event cameras results in high temporal resolution (order of microseconds), low power consumption (few hundred mW) and wide dynamic range (120 dB) as attractive properties. However, event-based object recognition systems are far behind their frame-based counterparts in terms of accuracy. To this end, this paper presents an event-based feature extraction method devised by accumulating local activity across the image frame and then applying principal component analysis (PCA) to the normalized neighborhood region. Subsequently, we propose a backtracking-free k-d tree mechanism for efficient feature matching by taking advantage of the low-dimensionality of the feature representation. Additionally, the proposed k-d tree mechanism allows for feature selection to obtain a lower-dimensional dictionary representation when hardware resources are limited to implement dimensionality reduction. Consequently, the proposed system can be realized on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) device leading to high performance over resource ratio. The proposed system is tested on real-world event-based datasets for object categorization, showing superior classification performance and relevance to state-of-the-art algorithms. Additionally, we verified the object detection method and real-time FPGA performance in lab settings under non-controlled illumination conditions with limited training data and ground truth annotations.Comment: Accepted in ACCV 2018 Workshops, to appea

Latency-aware Resource Management in Data Centres

Energy efficiency is a key issue in data centres. Data centres consume half of its maximum power even at low utilisation. In order to improve energy proportionality, machine utilisation is increased by co-locating best-effort (BE) workloads with latency-critical (LC) workloads. However, latency-critical workloads have strict quality-of-service (QoS) targets which must be met. When workloads are co-located, they share resources such as cores and last-level cache (LLC). A cluster manager is responsible for dynamically managing resources of the workloads in order to protect the performance of the LC workload while improving machine utilisation. This thesis aims to study an existing cluster manager called Intel PRM. Intel PRM uses cycles per instruction (CPI) a throughput based metric, to make resource management decisions when workloads are co-located. We aim to optimise the existing cluster manager by modifying it to make decisions based on the application-level latency. This thesis only deals with CPU resource management. We succeed in improving the throughput of the best-effort workload from 4.6% to 54.0% while providing 100% QoS-guarantee

Astrocytes modulate microglial phenotype and dendritic cell-like properties

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the CNS. In the healthy CNS, they express negligible levels of MHC II molecules as well as co-stimulatory molecules CD40, CD80 and CD86 necessary for antigen presentation to and activation of T cells. Co-stimulatory molecule expression can be induced in isolated microglia in vitro by sequential treatment with granulocyte monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Upon such treatment, they become mature dendritic cells (DCs), capable of activating T cells. However, microglia are not isolated in life, but rather exist in an environment enriched by other cells, notably astrocytes. Therefore, to determine the effect of astrocytes on the assumption by microglia of the DC phenotype, microglia were treated with GM-CSF and LPS either in the presence or absence of astrocytes and assayed for the DC phenotypic marker CD11c and the co-stimulatory CD40, CD80, CD86 and MHC II by flow cytometry. When compared to isolated microglia, a significantly lower percentage of microglia co-cultured with astrocytes expressed these markers. Astrocytes also prevent the expression of these molecules in bone marrow-derived DCs. Neither interleukin-10, transforming growth factor-beta, nor prostaglandin E2 are responsible for the inhibition. Rather, contact with the astrocytic environment is responsible for the suppressive qualities. Microglia cultured in the presence of astrocytes are also functionally distinct from those cultured in isolation. Microglia in association with astrocytes promote T cell proliferation more robustly than do microglia in isolation. By contrast, a significantly higher percentage of CD4+ T cells stimulated with αCD3 in the presence of isolated microglia acquire an anti-inflammatory Foxp3+ T regulatory phenotype when compared to T cells cultured with microglia in the presence of astrocytes. This is not due to interactions between CD80/CD86 and CTLA4. The elevated presence of Foxp3+ T cells appears to be responsible for the lower level of T cell proliferation in the presence of isolated microglia. Finally, analysis of the supernatants from the T cell co-culture experiments reveal that astrocytic interaction(s) with microglia suppress T cell production of pro-inflammatory cytoki nes i nterferon-γ and interleukin-17. These data taken together suggest that astrocytes play a crucial role in modulating the microgl i al immune response in the CNS

A Quad-Band Ring shaped Wearable antenna for WBAN Applications

The article contemplates the proposal and analysis of ring-shaped quad-band antenna with a 1 by 3 power divider feeding network for wireless communication applications. The proposed antenna operates in four frequency bands 2.4 GHz, 2.93GHz, 3.3 GHz, and 4.4 GHz for Wi-Fi, WLAN, military navigation, and drone applications. The antenna is designed using a ring-shaped structure, which provides a compact size and easy integration with the wireless devices. The 1 by 2 power divider feeding network is used to excite the antenna, which helps to improve the antenna performance by providing a balanced feed. The simulated outcomes demonstrate that the suggested antenna with the Power splitter 1 by 2 serving network has the stable radiation pattern and a good gain performance across all the operating frequency bands. Therefore, the proposed ring-shaped quad-band antenna with a 1 by 3 power distributed serving network is the promising candidate for various wireless communication applications

A NEW REDUCED CLOCK POWER FLIP-FLOP FOR FUTURE SOC APPLICATIONS

In this paper a novel technique is proposed based on the comparison between Conventional Conditional Data Mapping Flip-flop and Clock Pair Shared D flip flop(CPSFF) here we are checking the working of CDMFF and the conventional D Flip-flop. Due to the immense growth in nanometer technology the SOC is became the future concept of the modern electronics the number of clock transistors are also considerably increased. In this paper we propose a new system which will considerably reduce the number of transistor which will lead to the reduction in clocking power which will improve the overall power consumption.Our proposed which is designed using Pass Transistor Logic (LCPTFF) Low Power Clocked Pass Transistor Flip-Flop system is showing much better output than all other designs as mentioned in the tabulation.The simulations are done using Microwind& DSCH analysis software tools and the result between all those types are listed below

A NEW LOW POWER TECHNOLOGY FOR POWER REDUCTION IN SRAM’S USING COLUMN DECOUPLING COMBINED WITH VIRTUAL GROUNDING

In this paper we are going to modify the column decoupled SRAM for the purpose of more reduced leakages than the existing type of designs as well as the new design which is combined of virtual grounding with column decoupling logic is compared with the existing technologies & the nanometer technology is also improved for the purpose of much improved reduction of area & power factors the simulations were done using microwind& DSCH result

ESTIMATION OF ETONOGESTREL IN HUMAN PLASMA BY USING LC–ESI–MS/MS METHOD

Objective: The aspiration of the present study was to develop simple, robust and reliable liquid chromatography/electro spray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) (Agilent Technologies) assay method for the quantification of etonogestrel in human serum by using etonogestrel d6 as internal standard (IS). Methods: An easy Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) sample processing method was used to extract etonogestrel from plasma and chromatographic method was developed with run time 3.5min with linear calibration curve ranges from 50-3604 pg/mL for both etonogestrel and etonogestrel d6 and chromatographic method validated by determining carryover test, sensitivity, matrix effect, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, dilution integrity and stability. The developed method was used for pharmacokinetic study of 75mcg desogestrel tablet formulation under fasting condition in healthy females. Results: The validation showed the developed method was accurate with the results of validated parameters were met acceptance criteria as per Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. The validated method successfully was used for pharmacokinetic study of 75mcg desogestrel tablet in healthy females and quantified the amount of etonogestrel and IS. Conclusion: The developed method for etonogestrel in human plasma has been validated and used in pharmacokinetic studies.Â&nbsp