McGill University

About: McGill University is a education organization based out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 72688 authors who have published 162565 publications receiving 6966523 citations. The organization is also known as: Royal institution of advanced learning & University of McGill College.

A closer look at memorization in deep networks

Abstract: We examine the role of memorization in deep learning, drawing connections to capacity, generalization, and adversarial robustness. While deep networks are capable of memorizing noise data, our results suggest that they tend to prioritize learning simple patterns first. In our experiments, we expose qualitative differences in gradient-based optimization of deep neural networks (DNNs) on noise vs. real data. We also demonstrate that for appropriately tuned explicit regularization (e.g., dropout) we can degrade DNN training performance on noise datasets without compromising generalization on real data. Our analysis suggests that the notions of effective capacity which are dataset independent are unlikely to explain the generalization performance of deep networks when trained with gradient based methods because training data itself plays an important role in determining the degree of memorization.

A systematic review of faculty development initiatives designed to improve teaching effectiveness in medical education: BEME Guide No. 8

Abstract: Background: Preparing healthcare professionals for teaching is regarded as essential to enhancing teaching effectiveness. Although many reports describe various faculty development interventions, there is a paucity of research demonstrating their effectiveness.Objective: To synthesize the existing evidence that addresses the question: “What are the effects of faculty development interventions on the knowledge, attitudes and skills of teachers in medical education, and on the institutions in which they work?”Methods: The search, covering the period 1980–2002, included three databases (Medline, ERIC and EMBASE) and used the keywords: staff development; in-service training; medical faculty; faculty training/development; continuing medical education. Manual searches were also conducted.Articles with a focus on faculty development to improve teaching effectiveness, targeting basic and clinical scientists, were reviewed. All study designs that included outcome data beyond participant satisfaction were accepted....

PRIMARY CONSUMER δ13C AND δ15N AND THE TROPHIC POSITION OF AQUATIC CONSUMERS

Abstract: Stable nitrogen isotope signatures (δ15N) are increasingly used to infer the trophic position of consumers in food web studies. Interpreting the δ15N of consumers relative to the δ15N characterizing the base of the food web provides a time-integrated measure of trophic position. We use primary consumers (trophic level 2) as baseline indicator organisms and investigate the variation in baseline δ15N values in 14 lakes in Ontario and Quebec. Values of δ15N ranged from −2 to +9‰ and varied significantly as a function of lake habitat (mean littoral = 1.6‰, pelagic = 3.1‰, profundal = 5.2 ‰). Stable carbon isotopic signatures (δ13C) of primary consumers decreased along this same habitat gradient (mean littoral = −23.8‰, pelagic = −28.4‰, profundal = −30.5‰). Primary consumer δ13C and a categorical lake variable explained 72% of the variability in primary consumer δ15N. This relationship was corroborated by primary consumer δ15N and δ13C data from the literature, indicating that habitat-specific variation in ba...

From the gate to the neuromatrix.

Abstract: The gate control theory's most important contribution to understanding pain was its emphasis on central neural mechanisms. The theory forced the medical and biological sciences to accept the brain as an active system that filters, selects and modulates inputs. The dorsal horns, too, were not merely passive transmission stations but sites at which dynamic activities (inhibition, excitation and modulation) occurred. The great challenge ahead of us is to understand brain function. I have therefore proposed that the brain possesses a neural network--the body-self neuromatrix--which integrates multiple inputs to produce the output pattern that evokes pain. The body-self neuromatrix comprises a widely distributed neural network that includes parallel somatosensory, limbic and thalamocortical components that subserve the sensory-discriminative. affective-motivational and evaluative-cognitive dimensions of pain experience. The synaptic architecture of the neuromatrix is determined by genetic and sensory influences. The 'neurosignature' output of the neuromatrix--patterns of nerve impulses of varying temporal and spatial dimensions--is produced by neural programs genetically build into the neuromatrix and determines the particular qualities and other properties of the pain experience and behavior. Multiple inputs that act on the neuromatrix programs and contribute to the output neurosignature include. (1) sensory inputs (cutaneous, visceral and other somatic receptors); (2) visual and other sensory inputs that influence the cognitive interpretation of the situation; (3) phasic and tonic cognitive and emotional inputs from other areas of the brain; (4) intrinsic neural inhibitory modulation inherent in all brain function; (5) the activity of the body's stress-regulation systems, including cytokines as well as the endocrine, autonomic, immune and opioid systems. We have traveled a long way from the psychophysical concept that seeks a simple one-to-one relationship between injury and pain. We now have a theoretical framework in which a genetically determined template for the body-self is modulated by the powerful stress system and the cognitive functions of the brain, in addition to the traditional sensory inputs.

The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding: a systematic review.

Abstract: Although the health benefits of breastfeeding are acknowledged widely, opinions and recommendations are divided on the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. We systematically reviewed available evidence concerning the effects on child health, growth, and development and on maternal health of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months vs. exclusive breastfeeding for 3-4 months followed by mixed breastfeeding (introduction of complementary liquid or solid foods with continued breastfeeding) to 6 months. Two independent literature searches were conducted, together comprising the following databases: MEDLINE (as of 1966), Index Medicus (prior to 1966), CINAHL, HealthSTAR, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE-Medicine, EMBASE-Psychology, Econlit, Index Medicus for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, African Index Medicus, Lilacs (Latin American and Carribean literature), EBM Reviews-Best Evidence, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. No language restrictions were imposed. The two searches yielded a total of 2,668 unique citations. Contacts with experts in the field yielded additional published and unpublished studies. Studies were stratified according to study design (controlled trials vs. observational studies) and provenance (developing vs. developed countries). The main outcome measures were weight and length gain, weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores, head circumference, iron status, gastrointestinal and respiratory infectious morbidity, atopic eczema, asthma, neuromotor development, duration of lactational amenorrhea, and maternal postpartum weight loss. Twenty independent studies meeting the selection criteria were identified by the literature search: 9 from developing countries (2 of which were controlled trials in Honduras) and 11 from developed countries (all observational studies). Neither the trials nor the observational studies suggest that infants who continue to be exclusively breastfed for 6 months show deficits in weight or length gain, although larger sample sizes would be required to rule out modest increases in the risk of undernutrition. The data are conflicting with respect to iron status but suggest that, at least in developing-country settings, where iron stores of newborn infants may be suboptimal, exclusive breastfeeding without iron supplementation through 6 months of age may compromise hematologic status. Based primarily on an observational analysis of a large randomized trial in Belarus, infants who continue exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months or more appear to have a significantly reduced risk of one or more episodes of gastrointestinal tract infection. No significant reduction in risk of atopic eczema, asthma, or other atopic outcomes has been demonstrated in studies from Finland, Australia, and Belarus. Data from the two Honduran trials suggest that exclusive breastfeeding through 6 months of age is associated with delayed resumption of menses and more rapid postpartum weight loss in the mother. Infants who are breastfed exclusively for 6 months experience less morbidity from gastrointestinal tract infection than infants who were mixed breastfed as of 3 or 4 months of age. No deficits have been demonstrated in growth among infants from either developing or developed countries who are exclusively breastfed for 6 months or longer. Moreover, the mothers of such infants have more prolonged lactational amenorrhea and faster postpartum weight loss. Based on the results of this review, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution to recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months to its member countries. Large randomized trials are recommended in both developed and developing countries to ensure that exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months does not increase the risk of undernutrition (growth faltering), to confirm the health benefits reported thus far, and to investigate other potential effects on health and development, especially over the long term.