Migrating microservices to graph database

Microservice architecture is a popular approach to structuring web backend services. Another emerging trend, after a period of hibernation, is utilizing modern graph database management systems for managing complex, richly connected data. The two approaches have rarely been used in tandem, as microservices emphasize modularization and decoupling of services, while graph data models favor data integration. In this study, literature on microservices and graph databases is reviewed and a synthesis between the two paradigms is presented. Based on the theoretical discussion, a software architecture combining the two elements is formulated and implemented using microservices serving content metadata at Yleisradio, the Finnish national broadcasting company. The architecture design follows the Design Science Research Process model. Finally, the renewed system is evaluated using quantitative and qualitative metrics. The performance of the system is measured using automated API queries and load tests. The new system was compared to an earlier version based on a PostgreSQL database. The tests gave slight indication that the renewed system performed better for complex queries, where a large number of relations were traversed, but worse in terms of throughput under heavy load. Based on the these findings, a number of performance-enhancing optimizations to the system are introduced. Observations and perpectives are also gathered in a project retrospective session. It is concluded that the resulting architecture holds promise for managing complex data rich in relations in a safe manner. In it, the different domains of the knowledge graph are decoupled into distinct named graphs managed by different microservices

Economic Approaches of the Internal Market. Bruges European Economic Research (BEER) Papers 13/April 2008

What is ‘the’ EU internal market, as economists see it? The present BEER paper attempts to survey and help readers understand various ‘economic’ approaches to the internal market idea. The paper starts with a conceptual discussion of what ‘the’ internal market is (in an economic perspective). Six different economic meanings of the internal market are presented, with the sixth one being the economic benchmark in an ideal setting. Subsequently, the question is asked what the internal market (i.e. its proper functioning) is good for. Put differently, the internal market in the EU Treaty is a means, but a means to what? Beyond the typical economic growth objectives of the Rome Treaty (still valid today, with some qualifications), other Treaty objectives have emerged. Economists typically think in means-end relationships and the instrumental role of the internal market for Treaty objectives is far from clear. The ‘new’ Commission internal market strategy of 2007 proposes a more goal-oriented internal market policy. Such a vision is more selective in picking intermediate objectives to which ‘the’ internal market should be instrumental, but it risks to ignore the major deficits in today’s internal market: services and labour! The means-end relationships get even more problematic once one begins to scrutinise all the socio-economic objectives of the current (Amsterdam/Nice) Treaty or still other intermediate objectives. The internal market (explicitly including the relevant common regulation) then becomes a ‘jack of all trades’ for the environment, a high level of social protection, innovation or ‘Social Europe’. These means/ends relationships often are ill-specified. The final section considers the future of the internal market, by distinguishing three strategies: incremental strategies (including the new internal market strategy of November 2007); the internal market as the core of the Economic Union serving the ‘proper functioning of the monetary union’; and deepening and widening of the internal market as justified by the functional subsidiarity test. Even though the latter two would seem to be preferable from an economic point of view, they currently lack political legitimacy and are therefore unlikely to be pursued in the near future

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of peroxisomal fusion and aging in yeast

Peroxisomes are organelles best known for their essential roles in lipid metabolism and hydrogen peroxide detoxification. Peroxisomal biogenesis in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is a multi-step process of temporally ordered sequential conversion of five distinct peroxisomal subforms, termed P1 to P5, into a mature peroxisomal subform P6 carrying the complete set of matrix and membrane proteins. In the first part of my thesis, I investigate the effect of lateral heterogeneity of the peroxisomal membrane bilayer on the efficiency of the fusion between P1 and P2 in the yeast Y. lipolytica. My findings provide a unique view of the multistep remodeling of the protein repertoire of ergosterol- and ceramide-rich (ECR) domains found in the peroxisomal membrane during fusion of P1 and P2, and define the hierarchy of individual steps during the spatial and temporal reorganization of the peroxisome fusion machinery that only transiently associates with ECR domains. In the second part of my thesis, I described the use of mass spectrometry-based proteomics for examining the contribution of peroxisomal proteins to longevity regulation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown under calorie restriction (CR) conditions. My proteomic analysis and experimental results from Dr. Titorenko's laboratory show that CR yeast are able to meet their metabolic requirements by remodeling their carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, which relies on functional lipid metabolic pathways in the peroxisome. These findings suggest that peroxisomal Ý-oxidation of fatty acids significantly affects the rate of chronological aging in CR yeast by defining the rate of ATP production in their mitochondria but not by making ROS. I also present my research findings on longevity regulation in S. cerevisiae by a novel anti-aging molecule "LA" identified recently in Dr. Titorenko's laboratory. Comprehensive analysis of the proteome remodeling in yeast placed on a CR diet and exposed to LA, along with experimental data obtained through various metabolomic and functional studies in Dr. Titorenko's laboratory, demonstrate that LA extends yeast chronological lifespan by maintaining the mitochondrial production of ROS at an optimal level that does not excessively damage cellular macromolecules but triggers a potent cellular stress respons

Characterization of molecular damage induced by UV photons and carbon ions on biomimetic heterostructures

The study of the effect of radiation on living tissues is a rather complex task to address mainly because they are made of a set of complex functional biological structures and interfaces. Particularly if one is looking for where damage is taking place in a first stage and what are the underlying reaction mechanisms. In this work a new approach is addressed to study the effect of radiation by making use of well identified molecular hetero-structures samples which mimic the biological environment. These were obtained by assembling onto a solid support deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and phospholipids together with a soft water-containing polyelectrolyte precursor in layered structures and by producing lipid layers at liquid/air interface with DNA as subphase. The effects of both ultraviolet (UV) radiation and carbon ions beams were systematically investigated in these heterostructures, namely damage on DNA by means vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), infrared (IR), X-Ray Photoelectron (XPS) and impedance spectroscopy. Experimental results revealed that UV affects furanose, PO2-, thymines, cytosines and adenines groups. The XPS spectrometry carried out on the samples allowed validate the VUV and IR results and to conclude that ionized phosphate groups, surrounded by the sodium counterions, congregate hydration water molecules which play a role of UV protection. The ac electrical conductivity measurements revealed that the DNA electrical conduction is arising from DNA chain electron hopping between base-pairs and phosphate groups, with the hopping distance equal to the distance between DNA base-pairs and is strongly dependent on UV radiation exposure, due loss of phosphate groups. Characterization of DNA samples exposed to a 4 keV C3+ ions beam revealed also carbon-oxygen bonds break, phosphate groups damage and formation of new species. Results from radiation induced damage carried out on biomimetic heterostructures having different compositions revealed that damage is dependent on sample composition, with respect to functional targeted groups and extent of damage. Conversely, LbL films of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-3-[Phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] (Sodium Salt) (DPPG) liposomes, alternated with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) revealed to be unaffected, even by prolonged UV irradiation exposure, in the absence of water molecules. However, DPPG molecules were damaged by the UV radiation in presence of water with cleavage of C-O, C=O and –PO2- bonds. Finally, the study of DNA interaction with the ionic lipids at liquid/air interfaces revealed that electrical charge of the lipid influences the interaction of phospholipid with DNA. In the presence of DNA in the subphase, the effects from UV irrladiation were seen to be smaller, which means that ionic products from biomolecules degradation stabilize the intact DPPG molecules. This mechanism may explain why UV irradiation does not cause immediate cell collapse, thus providing time for the cellular machinery to repair elements damaged by UV

Network analysis of human vitiligo scRNA-seq data reveals complex mechanisms of immune activation

The advent of scRNA-seq has rapidly advanced our understanding of complex systems by enabling the researcher to look at the full transcriptional profile within each cell, with the potential to reveal intercellular communications within a tissue. To map these communications, I created SignallingSingleCell, an R package that provides an end-to-end approach for the analysis of scRNA-seq data, with a particular focus on building ligand and receptor signaling networks. Using these powerful techniques, we sought to dissect the heterogenous population of cells recently reported within the BMDC culture system. From this data we were able to determine the cell type composition, identify the different myeloid responses to similar stimuli, and unify recent conflicting studies about the populations within this system. We then applied these tools to study vitiligo, an autoimmune disease of the skin, to answer fundamental questions about the initiation and progression of disease. We found signatures of increased antigen presentation through MHC-I, loss of immunotolerance cytokines such as TGFB1 and IL-10, and changes in the complex chemokine circuits that influence T cell localization, including an essential role for CCR5 in Treg function. In order to identify and characterize the autoreactive T cells that are responsible for the targeted destruction of melanocytes, we then paired scRNA-seq with TCR-seq and MHC-II complexes loaded with melanocyte antigen. From this data we contrast the transcriptional state of melanocyte specific T cells to bystanders found within the skin and circulation

Pattern Recognition

A wealth of advanced pattern recognition algorithms are emerging from the interdiscipline between technologies of effective visual features and the human-brain cognition process. Effective visual features are made possible through the rapid developments in appropriate sensor equipments, novel filter designs, and viable information processing architectures. While the understanding of human-brain cognition process broadens the way in which the computer can perform pattern recognition tasks. The present book is intended to collect representative researches around the globe focusing on low-level vision, filter design, features and image descriptors, data mining and analysis, and biologically inspired algorithms. The 27 chapters coved in this book disclose recent advances and new ideas in promoting the techniques, technology and applications of pattern recognition

Green Consensus and High Quality Development

This open access book is based on the research outputs of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) in 2020. It covers major topics of Chinese and international attention regarding green development, such as climate, biodiversity, ocean, BRI, urbanization, sustainable production and consumption, technology, finance, value chain, and so on. It also looks at the progress of China’s environmental and development policies，and the impacts from CCICED. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing insight for policy makers in environmental issues