2,570 research outputs found
Time Series Heterogeneous Co-execution on CPU+GPU
Time series motif (similarities) and discords discovery is one of the most important and challenging problems nowadays for time series analytics. We use an algorithm called “scrimp” that excels in collecting the relevant information of time series by reducing the computational complexity of the searching. Starting from the sequential algorithm we develop parallel alternatives based on a variety of scheduling policies that target different computing devices in a system that integrates a CPU multicore and an embedded GPU. These policies are named Dynamic -using Intel TBB- and Static -using C++11 threads- when targeting the CPU, and they are compared to a heterogeneous adaptive approach named LogFit -using Intel TBB and OpenCL- when targeting the co-execution on the CPU and GPU.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Weathering of serpentinite stone due to in situ generation of calcium and magnesium sulfates.
[EN]This paper presents a thorough study of the main features and the decay causes and mechanisms of serpentinites both freshly quarried and after centuries exposure at the main façade of the sixteenth century Royal Chancery (Granada, Spain). In particular, the process of in situ formation of calcium and magnesium sulfates has been studied. Several decay factors are identified, all of them acting synergistically in the deterioration of slabs made of serpentinite. Among them, chemical weathering of sulfides such as pyrite present in the original serpentinite induces the formation of sulfate salts such as gypsum or epsomite, salts which are considered the main cause of decay. In addition, unsuitable restoration treatments involving the use of Portland cement to fill up cracks and surface lacunae, the polluted environment of the surrounding area, and the location of the slabs close to the ground, favoring capillary rise of water, all contributed to their deterioration. This work helps to gain knowledge on the deterioration process of ornaments made of serpentinite, allowing us to propose the most appropriate measures to guarantee their conservation.GIR CHARROC
Explotando el nuevo módulo OpenCL de Intel TBB
Este artículo tiene como objetivo contribuir al desarrollo de la programación paralela trabajando en una de las herramientas desarrolladas por Intel: Intel Threading Building Blocks (Intel TBB). Hemos implementado una versión paralela de la aplicación ViVid, un algoritmo de detección de objetos, aprovechando la librería Flow Graph de TBB. En la última versión de esta librería se soporta un nuevo tipo de nodos que simplifica la ejecución de kernels OpenCL. Estos nodos OpenCL_node han simplificado la codificación de nuestro algoritmo para aprovechar al mismo tiempo tanto la CPU como la GPU. A la vista de los resultados obtenidos, podemos concluir que nuestra implementación heterogénea con Flow Graph y OpenCL_node mejora en gran medida a desarrollos anteriores, debido principalmente a explotar la técnica de zero-copy buffer entre GPU y CPU, en vez de lectura y escritura de buffers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Proyecto TIN2016-80920-R del Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitivida
Property Titles of Non-Renewable Natural Resources in Mexico: An Alternative to "Constitutional Nationalism"
Energy_Environment|MacroeconomicsHere, the authors propose the benefits of instituting a Sovereign Mexican Fund (SMF), which emulates the Alaska Trust Fund, in order to reconcile the capital investment needs of the energy sector in Mexico with the strong sense of nationalism of its people. The main virtue of the Sovereign Mexican Fund as a public policy model is that it is inclusive - all citizens participate, and all, without exception, are recipients of their share of energy income. The SMF democratizes energy income by spreading ownership of capital among all Mexicans of the present and future generations. This case study presents a roadmap with a high degree of feasibility to make the people of Mexico the primary beneficiaries of the country's mineral and hydrocarbon wealth. The short-term challenges are also discussed
Bioconsolidation of Damaged Construction Calcarenites and Evaluation of the Improvement in Their Petrophysical and Mechanical Properties
Bioconsolidation treatment using bacterial carbonatogenesis has been proposed as an environmentally friendly strategy for the efficient preservation of damaged stones, particularly suitable for carbonate stones. The study presented here deals with the evaluation of the performance of this treatment, applied to damaged carbonate stones in two historical buildings in Spain. The methodology applied in this research serves as a reference for future similar studies. Results showed significant improvement in the petrophysical and mechanical properties of the damaged stone following the treatment through the production of calcite and vaterite by the abundant carbonatogenic bacteria inhabiting the stone. These bacteria were able to effectively consolidate weathered areas if an adequate nutritional solution was employed, thereby augmenting the stone’s resistance, as evidenced by the Drilling Resistance Measurement System (DRMS). FESEM images showed calcified bacteria and calcified exopolymeric substances (EPS) consolidating stone minerals without blocking their pores. In addition to consolidation, this biotreatment improves the stone’s behavior against water absorption and increases the contact angle of water droplets without significant modifications in the pore size or diminishing vapor permeability. No color changes are observed. Overall, these results show that the application of the nutritional solution (M-3P) for in situ consolidation of different types of porous carbonate building stones is a highly effective conservation method, with no modification of the chemical composition of the treated materials.This research was funded by Spanish Government grant PID2021.125305NB.I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF A way of making Europe, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Spanish Junta de Andalucía (Research groups BIO-103 and RNM-179, and Projects P08-RNM-3943, B-RNM-574-UGR20 and P20_00675), and the University of Granada, Unidad Científica de Excelencia UCE-PP2016-05
Influence of 1D and 2D carbon fillers and their functionalisation on crystallisation and thermomechanical properties of injection moulded nylon 6,6 nanocomposites
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene were used as reinforcing fillers in nylon 6,6 in order to obtain nanocomposites by using an injection moulding process. The two differently structured nanofillers were used in their pristine or reduced form, after oxidation treatment and after amino functionalisation.Three low nanofiller contents were employed. Crystallisation behaviour and perfection of nylon 6,6 crystals were determined by differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X-ray diffraction, respectively. Crystallinity was slightly enhanced in most samples as the content of the nanofillers was increased. The dimensionality of the materials was found to provide different interfaces and therefore different features in the nylon 6,6 crystal growth resulting in improved crystal perfection. Dynamical, mechanical analysis showed the maximum increases provided by the two nanostructures correspond to the addition of 0.1 wt.% amino functionalised CNTs, enhancing in 30% the storage modulus and the incorporation of 0.5 wt.% of graphene oxide caused an increase of 44% in this property. The latter also provided better thermal stability when compared to pure nylon 6,6 under inert conditions. The superior properties of graphene nanocomposites were attributed to the larger surface area of the two-dimensional graphene compared to the one-dimensional CNTs
Citrate Stabilizes Hydroxylapatite Precursors: Implications for Bone Mineralization
Mineralization of hydroxylapatite (HAp), the main inorganic phase in bone, follows nonclassical crystallization routes involving metastable precursors and is strongly influenced by organic macromolecules. However, the effect of small organic molecules such as citrate on the formation of HAp is not well constrained. Using potentiometric titration experiments and titration calorimetry, in combination with a multianalytical approach, we show that citrate stabilizes prenucleation species as well as a liquid-like calcium phosphate precursor formed before any solid phase nucleates in the system. The stabilization of a liquid-like precursor phase could facilitate infiltration into the cavities of the collagen fibrils during bone mineralization, explaining the enhancement of collagen-mediated mineralization by citrate reported in previous studies. Hence, citrate can influence bone mineralization way before any solid phase (amorphous or crystalline) is formed. We also show that HAp formation after amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) in the absence and presence of citrate results in nanoplates of about 5-12 nm thick, elongated along the c axis. Such nanoplates are made up of HAp nanocrystallites with a preferred c axis orientation and with interspersed ACP. The nanoplatelet morphology, size, and preferred crystallographic orientation, remarkably similar to those of bone HAp nanocrystals, appear to be an intrinsic feature of HAp formed from an amorphous precursor. Our results challenge current models for HAp mineralization in bone and the role of citrate, offering new clues to help answer the long-standing question as to why natural evolution favored HAp as the mineral phase in bone
Citrate Stabilizes Hydroxylapatite Precursors: Implications for Bone Mineralization
This research was funded by the Spanish Government (grant nos. RTI2018.099565.B.I00 and CGL2015-64683-P), the European Commission (ERDF funds), the University of Granada ("Unidad Cientifica de Excelencia" UCE-PP201605), and the Junta de Andalucia (no. P11-RNM-7550 and research group RNM-179). The authors thank M. Abad and Haidour Benamin from CIC-UGR for their assistance during microscopy and NMR studies. C.R.A. thanks project A7 from SFB1214 (DFG-Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf) and Zukunftstkolleg (University of Konstanz).Mineralization of hydroxylapatite (HAp), the main inorganic phase
in bone, follows nonclassical crystallization routes involving metastable precursors
and is strongly influenced by organic macromolecules. However, the effect of small
organic molecules such as citrate on the formation of HAp is not well constrained.
Using potentiometric titration experiments and titration calorimetry, in
combination with a multianalytical approach, we show that citrate stabilizes
prenucleation species as well as a liquid-like calcium phosphate precursor formed
before any solid phase nucleates in the system. The stabilization of a liquid-like
precursor phase could facilitate infiltration into the cavities of the collagen fibrils
during bone mineralization, explaining the enhancement of collagen-mediated
mineralization by citrate reported in previous studies. Hence, citrate can influence
bone mineralization way before any solid phase (amorphous or crystalline) is
formed. We also show that HAp formation after amorphous calcium phosphate
(ACP) in the absence and presence of citrate results in nanoplates of about 5−12 nm thick, elongated along the c axis. Such
nanoplates are made up of HAp nanocrystallites with a preferred c axis orientation and with interspersed ACP. The nanoplatelet
morphology, size, and preferred crystallographic orientation, remarkably similar to those of bone HAp nanocrystals, appear to be an
intrinsic feature of HAp formed from an amorphous precursor. Our results challenge current models for HAp mineralization in bone
and the role of citrate, offering new clues to help answer the long-standing question as to why natural evolution favored HAp as the
mineral phase in bone.Spanish Government
European Commission RTI2018.099565.B.I00
CGL2015-64683-PEuropean Commission
European Commission Joint Research CentreUniversity of Granada ("Unidad Cientifica de Excelencia") UCE-PP2016-05Junta de Andalucia P11-RNM-7550
RNM-179DFG-Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf SFB1214Zukunftstkolleg (University of Konstanz
Modelling the Inorganic Bromine Partitioning in the Tropical Tropopause over the Pacific Ocean
The stratospheric inorganic bromine burden (Bry) arising from the degradation of brominated very short-lived organic substances (VSL org ), and its partitioning between reactive and reservoir species, is needed for a comprehensive assessment of the ozone depletion potential of brominated trace gases. Here we present modelled inorganic bromine abundances over the Pacific tropical tropopause based on aircraft observations of VSL org of two campaigns of the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX 2013 carried out over eastern Pacific and ATTREX 2014 carried out over the western Pacific) and chemistry-climate simulations (along ATTREX flight tracks) using the specific meteorology prevailing. Using the Community Atmosphere Model with Chemistry (CAM-Chem), we model that BrO and Br are the daytime dominant species. Integrated across all ATTREX flights BrO represents ~ 43 % and 48 % of daytime Bry abundance at 17 km over the Western and Eastern Pacific, respectively. The results also show zones where Br/BrO >1 depending on the solar zenith angle (SZA), ozone concentration and temperature. On the other hand, BrCl and BrONO 2 were found to be the dominant night-time species with ~ 61% and 56 % of abundance at 17 km over the Western and Eastern Pacific, respectively. The western-to-eastern differences in the partitioning of inorganic bromine are explained by different abundances of ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) , and total inorganic chlorine (Cly).Fil: Navarro, María A.. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Saiz-lopez, Alfonso. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Cuevas, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Fernandez, Rafael Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad Tecnologica Nacional. Facultad Regional Mendoza. Secretaría de Ciencia, Tecnología y Postgrado; ArgentinaFil: Atlas, Elliot. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriguez Lloeveras, Xavier. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Kinnison, Douglas E.. National Center For Atmospheric Research. Amospheric Chemistry División; Estados UnidosFil: Lamarque, Jean Francois. National Center For Atmospheric Research. Amospheric Chemistry División; Estados UnidosFil: Tilmes, Simone. National Center For Atmospheric Research. Amospheric Chemistry División; Estados UnidosFil: Thornberry, Troy. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Rollins, Andrew. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Elkins, James W.. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Hintsa, Eric J.. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Moore, Fred L.. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados Unido
NKG2D-CAR memory T cells target pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in vitro and n vivo but fail to eliminate leukemiai nitiating cells
[Introduction]: Refractory/relapsed pediatric acute leukemia are still clinically challenging and new therapeutic strategies are needed. Interactions between Natural Killer Group 2D (NKG2D) receptor, expressed in cytotoxic immune cells, and its ligands (NKG2DL), which are upregulated in leukemic blasts, are important for anti-leukemia immunosurveillance. Nevertheless, leukemia cells may develop immunoescape strategies as NKG2DL shedding and/or downregulation.
[Methods]: In this report, we analyzed the anti-leukemia activity of NKG2D chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected memory (CD45RA-) T cells in vitro and in a murine model of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We also explored in vitro how soluble NKG2DL (sNKG2DL) affected NKG2D-CAR T cells’ cytotoxicity and the impact of NKG2D-CAR T cells on Jurkat cells gene expression and in vivo functionality.
[Results]: In vitro, we found NKG2D-CAR T cells targeted leukemia cells and showed resistance to the immunosuppressive effects exerted by sNKG2DL. In vivo, NKG2D-CAR T cells controlled T cell leukemia burden and increased survival of the treated mice but failed to cure the animals. After CAR T cell treatment, Jurkat cells upregulated genes related to proliferation, survival and stemness, and in vivo, they exhibited functional properties of leukemia initiating cells.
[Discussion]: The data here presented suggest, that, in combination with other therapeutic approaches, NKG2D-CAR T cells could be a novel treatment for pediatric T-ALL.This work was supported by a grant from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III to LF PI21/01049, the II and V awards from UNOENTRECIENMIL Foundation, and a grant from CRIS FOUNDATION to Beat Cancer as part of the projects “Cell therapy based on NKG2D-CAR for pediatric leukemia” and “NKG2D-CAR as treatment for pediatric patients suffering from acute leukemia and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia”. AF, MI-N, AN-Z and CF have been supported by Personnel research grants from CRIS Foundation to beat cancer. CM has been supported by Personnel PhD student grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), PFIS (FI19/00176). MVG is funded by grant PID2021-123795OB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN)/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) / 10.13039/501100011033 and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)-A way of making Europe] and belongs to cancer-Hub CSIC. MI lab is funded by grant PID2020-114148RB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033,which was in part granted with FEDER funding (EC)
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