171 research outputs found

    Bologna dopo la pandemia. Impatto territoriale e scenari futuri

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    La pandemia di Covid-19 ha contribuito in maniera decisiva a evidenziare alcuni dei limiti delle nostre città. Il mercato del lavoro, il turismo, i servizi hanno accusato un contraccolpo che, in molti casi, può essere interpretato come una “deflagrazione” di contraddizioni e fragilità preesistenti, messe a nudo e radicalizzate dal contesto pandemico. Oggi che gli spazi della vita sociale, faticosamente, stanno tornando alla “normalità” sembra si possa cominciare a parlare di una fase “post-Covid” che implica una convivenza con il virus e le sue mutazioni, con l’emergenza sanitaria a mostrare ancora i suoi effetti sull’organizzazione della vita urbana. Adottando un approccio multidisciplinare, il volume propone una riflessione ampia sui molteplici impatti della pandemia sulla città di Bologna. Da un lato, si indagano le accelerazioni subite dalle disuguaglianze e dalle criticità sociali che, già prima del Covid, attraversavano la città. Dall’altro, emerge in molti dei contributi proposti come la pandemia abbia indotto una risposta di tenuta da parte del tessuto socio-economico bolognese, oltre che un’apertura verso prospettive di sviluppo socio-territoriale nei campi dell’innovazione tecnologica e digitale e della mobilità sostenibile

    Development and application of methodologies and infrastructures for cancer genome analysis within Personalized Medicine

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    [eng] Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized biomedical sciences, especially in the area of cancer. It has nourished genomic research with extensive collections of sequenced genomes that are investigated to untangle the molecular bases of disease, as well as to identify potential targets for the design of new treatments. To exploit all this information, several initiatives have emerged worldwide, among which the Pan-Cancer project of the ICGC (International Cancer Genome Consortium) stands out. This project has jointly analyzed thousands of tumor genomes of different cancer types in order to elucidate the molecular bases of the origin and progression of cancer. To accomplish this task, new emerging technologies, including virtualization systems such as virtual machines or software containers, were used and had to be adapted to various computing centers. The portability of this system to the supercomputing infrastructure of the BSC (Barcelona Supercomputing Center) has been carried out during the first phase of the thesis. In parallel, other projects promote the application of genomics discoveries into the clinics. This is the case of MedPerCan, a national initiative to design a pilot project for the implementation of personalized medicine in oncology in Catalonia. In this context, we have centered our efforts on the methodological side, focusing on the detection and characterization of somatic variants in tumors. This step is a challenging action, due to the heterogeneity of the different methods, and an essential part, as it lays at the basis of all downstream analyses. On top of the methodological section of the thesis, we got into the biological interpretation of the results to study the evolution of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in a close collaboration with the group of Dr. ElĂ­as Campo from the Hospital ClĂ­nic/IDIBAPS. In the first study, we have focused on the Richter transformation (RT), a transformation of CLL into a high-grade lymphoma that leads to a very poor prognosis and with unmet clinical needs. We found that RT has greater genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic complexity than CLL. Its genome may reflect the imprint of therapies that the patients received prior to RT, indicating the presence of cells exposed to these mutagenic treatments which later expand giving rise to the clinical manifestation of the disease. Multiple NGS- based techniques, including whole-genome sequencing and single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing, among others, confirmed the pre-existence of cells with the RT characteristics years before their manifestation, up to the time of CLL diagnosis. The transcriptomic profile of RT is remarkably different from that of CLL. Of particular importance is the overexpression of the OXPHOS pathway, which could be used as a therapeutic vulnerability. Finally, in a second study, the analysis of a case of CLL in a young adult, based on whole genome and single-cell sequencing at different times of the disease, revealed that the founder clone of CLL did not present any somatic driver mutations and was characterized by germline variants in ATM, suggesting its role in the origin of the disease, and highlighting the possible contribution of germline variants or other non-genetic mechanisms in the initiation of CLL

    Optimizing Collective Communication for Scalable Scientific Computing and Deep Learning

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    In the realm of distributed computing, collective operations involve coordinated communication and synchronization among multiple processing units, enabling efficient data exchange and collaboration. Scientific applications, such as simulations, computational fluid dynamics, and scalable deep learning, require complex computations that can be parallelized across multiple nodes in a distributed system. These applications often involve data-dependent communication patterns, where collective operations are critical for achieving high performance in data exchange. Optimizing collective operations for scientific applications and deep learning involves improving the algorithms, communication patterns, and data distribution strategies to minimize communication overhead and maximize computational efficiency. Within the context of this dissertation, the specific focus is on optimizing the alltoall operation in 3D Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) applications and the allreduce operation in parallel deep learning, particularly on High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems. Advanced communication algorithms and methods are explored and implemented to improve communication efficiency, consequently enhancing the overall performance of 3D FFT applications. Furthermore, this dissertation investigates the identification of performance bottlenecks during collective communication over Horovod on distributed systems. These bottlenecks are addressed by proposing an optimized parallel communication pattern specifically tailored to alleviate the aforementioned limitations during the training phase in distributed deep learning. The objective is to achieve faster convergence and improve the overall training efficiency. Moreover, this dissertation proposes fault tolerance and elastic scaling features for distributed deep learning by leveraging the User-Level Failure Mitigation (ULFM) from Message Passing Interface (MPI). By incorporating ULFM MPI, the dissertation aims to enhance the elastic capabilities of distributed deep learning systems. This approach enables graceful and lightweight handling of failures while facilitating seamless scaling in dynamic computing environments

    Development system for forecasting of supercomputer performance

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    YĂĽksek Lisans Bitirme ProjesiThe research purpose: The purpose of the graduation work is to create a system for forecasting the performance of supercomputers in Python. Forecasting is one of the most important topics in modern times and Python is one of the best programs used to create forecasting systems with the help of the different libraries. A system for forecasting the performance of supercomputers has been created here. The research result: The graduation work is devoted to forecasting the performance of modern supercomputers. The main stages of forecasting in the graduation work were as follows: Selection of modern supercomputers; Review of forecasting methods; Using the Stats models library in Python

    Development and application of methodologies and infrastructures for cancer genome analysis within Personalized Medicine

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    Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicina / Tesi realitzada al Barcelona Supercomputing Cener (BSC)[eng] Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized biomedical sciences, especially in the area of cancer. It has nourished genomic research with extensive collections of sequenced genomes that are investigated to untangle the molecular bases of disease, as well as to identify potential targets for the design of new treatments. To exploit all this information, several initiatives have emerged worldwide, among which the Pan-Cancer project of the ICGC (International Cancer Genome Consortium) stands out. This project has jointly analyzed thousands of tumor genomes of different cancer types in order to elucidate the molecular bases of the origin and progression of cancer. To accomplish this task, new emerging technologies, including virtualization systems such as virtual machines or software containers, were used and had to be adapted to various computing centers. The portability of this system to the supercomputing infrastructure of the BSC (Barcelona Supercomputing Center) has been carried out during the first phase of the thesis. In parallel, other projects promote the application of genomics discoveries into the clinics. This is the case of MedPerCan, a national initiative to design a pilot project for the implementation of personalized medicine in oncology in Catalonia. In this context, we have centered our efforts on the methodological side, focusing on the detection and characterization of somatic variants in tumors. This step is a challenging action, due to the heterogeneity of the different methods, and an essential part, as it lays at the basis of all downstream analyses. On top of the methodological section of the thesis, we got into the biological interpretation of the results to study the evolution of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in a close collaboration with the group of Dr. ElĂ­as Campo from the Hospital ClĂ­nic/IDIBAPS. In the first study, we have focused on the Richter transformation (RT), a transformation of CLL into a high-grade lymphoma that leads to a very poor prognosis and with unmet clinical needs. We found that RT has greater genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic complexity than CLL. Its genome may reflect the imprint of therapies that the patients received prior to RT, indicating the presence of cells exposed to these mutagenic treatments which later expand giving rise to the clinical manifestation of the disease. Multiple NGS- based techniques, including whole-genome sequencing and single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing, among others, confirmed the pre-existence of cells with the RT characteristics years before their manifestation, up to the time of CLL diagnosis. The transcriptomic profile of RT is remarkably different from that of CLL. Of particular importance is the overexpression of the OXPHOS pathway, which could be used as a therapeutic vulnerability. Finally, in a second study, the analysis of a case of CLL in a young adult, based on whole genome and single-cell sequencing at different times of the disease, revealed that the founder clone of CLL did not present any somatic driver mutations and was characterized by germline variants in ATM, suggesting its role in the origin of the disease, and highlighting the possible contribution of germline variants or other non-genetic mechanisms in the initiation of CLL

    ATHENA Research Book, Volume 2

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    ATHENA European University is an association of nine higher education institutions with the mission of promoting excellence in research and innovation by enabling international cooperation. The acronym ATHENA stands for Association of Advanced Technologies in Higher Education. Partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia: University of Orléans, University of Siegen, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Niccolò Cusano University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and University of Maribor. In 2022, two institutions joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University from Poland and the University of Vigo from Spain. Also in 2022, an institution from Austria joined the alliance as an associate member: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences. This research book presents a selection of the research activities of ATHENA University's partners. It contains an overview of the research activities of individual members, a selection of the most important bibliographic works of members, peer-reviewed student theses, a descriptive list of ATHENA lectures and reports from individual working sections of the ATHENA project. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that encourages collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects by advanced and early career researchers

    What if the 1% gave 10%?

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    Today, the world is full of opportunities for making radical improvements which might otherwise be neglected by governments or markets. In fact, in what could be humanity's most dangerous and most consequential century yet, we may need ambitious philanthropy more than ever.Of course we have many reasons to be cautious of, and even cynical about, philanthropy. At its worst, it continues to be used for corporate gain; buying influence over and reliance from recipients, reputation laundering, 'greenwashing', and more. In other words, when the very wealthy do give, it is often in exchange for something else. Our hope in this report is to show the potential of another kind of philanthropy. We show what one version of ambitious philanthropy could look like: how it could enable projects to begin solving serious global problems, and ignite optimism about the potential to make a real — and very big — difference through giving.So we asked: what if the global 1% gave just 10% of their income in such an ambitious way? And, for those whose wealth outstrips their income, what if they gave just 2.5% of their net worth, aimed at making real progress? What could such a level of giving achieve? The answer is surprising: in just the first year, this would result in an increase of at least $3.5 trillion over and above what already goes to charity each year

    Understanding Quantum Technologies 2022

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    Understanding Quantum Technologies 2022 is a creative-commons ebook that provides a unique 360 degrees overview of quantum technologies from science and technology to geopolitical and societal issues. It covers quantum physics history, quantum physics 101, gate-based quantum computing, quantum computing engineering (including quantum error corrections and quantum computing energetics), quantum computing hardware (all qubit types, including quantum annealing and quantum simulation paradigms, history, science, research, implementation and vendors), quantum enabling technologies (cryogenics, control electronics, photonics, components fabs, raw materials), quantum computing algorithms, software development tools and use cases, unconventional computing (potential alternatives to quantum and classical computing), quantum telecommunications and cryptography, quantum sensing, quantum technologies around the world, quantum technologies societal impact and even quantum fake sciences. The main audience are computer science engineers, developers and IT specialists as well as quantum scientists and students who want to acquire a global view of how quantum technologies work, and particularly quantum computing. This version is an extensive update to the 2021 edition published in October 2021.Comment: 1132 pages, 920 figures, Letter forma

    Representation Challenges

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    Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are technological domains that closely interact with space at architectural and urban scale in the broader ambits of cultural heritage and innovative design. The growing interest is perceivable in many fields of knowledge, supported by the rapid development and advancement of theory and application, software and devices, fueling a pervasive phenomenon within our daily lives. These technologies demonstrate to be best exploited when their application and other information and communication technology (ICT) advancements achieve a continuum. In particular, AR defines an alternative path to observe, analyze and communicate space and artifacts. Besides, AI opens future scenarios in data processing, redefining the relationship between man and computer. In the last few years, the AR/AI expansion and relationship have raised deep transdisciplinary speculation. The research experiences have shown many cross-relations in Architecture and Design domains. Representation studies could arise an international debate as a convergence place of multidisciplinary theoretical and applicative contributions related to architecture, city, environment, tangible and intangible Cultural Heritage. This book collects 66 papers and identify eight lines of research that may guide future developments
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