Distributed Tracing for Troubleshooting of Native Cloud Applications via Rule-Induction Systems

Diagnosing IT issues is a challenging problem for large-scale distributed cloud environments due to complex and non-deterministic interrelations between the system components. Modern monitoring tools rely on AI-empowered data analytics for detection, root cause analysis, and rapid resolution of performance degradation. However, the successful adoption of AI solutions is anchored on trust. System administrators will not unthinkingly follow the recommendations without sufficient interpretability of solutions. Explainable AI is gaining popularity by enabling improved confidence and trust in intelligent solutions. For many industrial applications, explainable models with moderate accuracy are preferable to highly precise black-box ones. This paper shows the benefits of rule-induction classification methods, particularly RIPPER, for the root cause analysis of performance degradations. RIPPER reveals the causes of problems in a set of rules system administrators can use in remediation processes. Native cloud applications are based on the microservices architecture to consume the benefits of distributed computing. Monitoring such applications can be accomplished via distributed tracing, which inspects the passage of requests through different microservices. We discuss the application of rule-learning approaches to trace traffic passing through a malfunctioning microservice for the explanations of the problem. Experiments performed on datasets from cloud environments proved the applicability of such approaches and unveiled the benefits

A Lifshitz Black Hole in Four Dimensional R^2 Gravity

We consider a higher derivative gravity theory in four dimensions with a negative cosmological constant and show that vacuum solutions of both Lifshitz type and Schr\"{o}dinger type with arbitrary dynamical exponent z exist in this system. Then we find an analytic black hole solution which asymptotes to the vacuum Lifshitz solution with z=3/2 at a specific value of the coupling constant. We analyze the thermodynamic behavior of this black hole and find that the black hole has zero entropy while non-zero temperature, which is very similar to the case of BTZ black holes in new massive gravity at a specific coupling. In addition, we find that the three dimensional Lifshitz black hole recently found by E. Ayon-Beato et al. has a negative entropy and mass when the Newton constant is taken to be positive.Comment: 11 pages, no figure; v2, a minor error correcte

Evaluation of SPARC as a candidate gene of juvenile-onset primary open-angle glaucoma by mutation and copy number analyses

Purpose: To investigate the involvement of SPARC (secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine) mutations and copy number variation in juvenile-onset primary open-angle glaucoma (JPOAG). Methods: This study involved the 27 family members from the GLC1M (glaucoma 1, open angle, M)-linked Philippine pedigree with JPOAG, 46 unrelated Chinese patients with JPOAG and 95 controls. Mutation screening of the SPARC sequence, covering the promoter, 5′-untranslated region (UTR), entire coding regions, exon-intron boundaries, and part of the 3′-UTR, was performed using polymerase chain reaction and direct DNA sequencing. Copy number of the gene was analyzed by three TaqMan copy number assays. Results: No putative SPARC mutation was detected in the Philippine family. In the Chinese participants, 11 sequence variants were detected. Two were novel: IVS2+8G>T and IVS2+32C>T. For the 9 known SNPs, one was synonymous (rs2304052, p.Glu22Glu) and the others were located in noncoding regions. No individual SNP was associated with JPOAG. Five of the most common SNPs, i.e., rs2116780, rs1978707, rs7719521, rs729853, and rs1053411, were contained in a LD (linkage disequilibrium) block. Haplotype-based analysis showed that no haplotype was associated with the disorder. Copy number analysis revealed that all study subjects had two copies of the gene, suggesting no correlation between the copy number of SPARC and JPOAG. Conclusions: We have excluded SPARC as the causal gene at the GLC1M locus in the Philippine pedigree and, for the first time, revealed that the coding sequences, splice sites and copy number of SPARC do not contribute to JPOAG. Further investigations are warranted to unravel the involvement of SPARC in the pathogenesis of other forms of glaucoma

Experimental and theoretical evidences for an intermediate σ\sigma-dressed dibaryon in the NN interaction

Numerous theoretical and experimental arguments are presented in favor of the generation of intermediate $\sigma$-dressed dibaryon in $NN$ interaction at intermediate and short distances. We argue that this intermediate dibaryon can be responsible for the strong intermediate-range attraction and the short-range repulsion in the $NN$ interaction, and also for the short-range correlations in nuclei. The suggested mechanism for the $\sigma$-dressing of the dibaryon is identical to that which explains the Roper resonance structure, its dominant decay modes and its extraordinary low mass. A similar transformation mechanism from the glue to the scalar field was discovered in $J/\Psi$ decays. The new experimental data on 2$\pi$-production in the scalar-isoscalar channel produced in $pn$- and $pd$-collisions and in particular the very recent data on $\gamma\gamma$ correlations in $p$C and $d$C scattering in the GeV region seems to corroborate the existence of the $\sigma$-dressed dibaryon in two- and three nucleon interactions.Comment: 14 pages,4 figure

SNP rs1533428 at 2p16.3 as a marker for late-onset primary open-angle glaucoma

Purpose: To investigate the associations between gene variants in cholesterol 24S-hydroxylase (CYP46A1), LIM homeobox transcription factor 1-beta (LMX1B), plexin domain containing 2 (PLXDC2), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), transmembrane and tetratricopeptide repeat containing 2 (TMTC2), zona pellucida glycoprotein 4 (ZP4), chromosome 2p16.3, and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods: We studied 462 POAG patients and 577 controls from three cohorts (Hong Kong, Shantou, and Beijing, China). Twelve single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in the Hong Kong cohort using TaqMan genotyping assay. Significant associations were validated in the Shantou and Beijing cohorts. Results: Association of POAG with TLR4 rs7037117, in a recessive model, was identified in the Hong Kong and Shantou cohorts (both southern Chinese, $p_{rec}$=0.0019) but not the Beijing cohort (northern Chinese). rs1533428 at chromosome 2p16.3 showed a consistent trend of age-specific association in all three cohorts. Genotypes TT + CT conferred a 2.16 fold of significantly increased risk to late-onset POAG ($p_{dom}$=0.00025), but no significant risk to POAG of younger ages of onset in the combined cohort. A joint effect was found between rs7037117 and rs1533428, with carriers of both higher-risk genotypes having a 4.53 fold of increased disease risk (p=0.00028). Conclusions: Our study reveals discrepant association patterns of 12 candidate SNPs in 7 genes/loci with POAG in Chinese, provides positive replications for POAG markers rs1533428 at 2p16.3 and TLR4 rs7037117, and suggests that rs1533428 is a putative risk variant for late-onset POAG. The identification of an age-specific association between rs1533428 and late-onset POAG highlights a new genotype-phenotype association in POAG. Further studies are warranted to confirm the age-specific association

rad21 Is Involved in Corneal Stroma Development by Regulating Neural Crest Migration

Previously, we identified RAD21(R450C) from a peripheral sclerocornea pedigree. Injection of this rad21 variant mRNA into Xenopus laevis embryos disrupted the organization of corneal stroma fibrils. To understand the mechanisms of RAD21-mediated corneal stroma defects, gene expression and chromosome conformation analysis were performed using cells from family members affected by peripheral sclerocornea. Both gene expression and chromosome conformation of cell adhesion genes were affected in cells carrying the heterozygous rad21 variant. Since cell migration is essential in early embryonic development and sclerocornea is a congenital disease, we studied neural crest migration during cornea development in X. laevis embryos. In X. laevis embryos injected with rad21 mutant mRNA, neural crest migration was disrupted, and the number of neural crest-derived periocular mesenchymes decreased significantly in the corneal stroma region. Our data indicate that the RAD21(R450C) variant contributes to peripheral sclerocornea by modifying chromosome conformation and gene expression, therefore disturbing neural crest cell migration, which suggests RAD21 plays a key role in corneal stroma development

A boundary stress tensor for higher-derivative gravity in AdS and Lifshitz backgrounds

We investigate the Brown-York stress tensor for curvature-squared theories. This requires a generalized Gibbons-Hawking term in order to establish a well-posed variational principle, which is achieved in a universal way by reducing the number of derivatives through the introduction of an auxiliary tensor field. We examine the boundary stress tensor thus defined for the special case of `massive gravity' in three dimensions, which augments the Einstein-Hilbert term by a particular curvature-squared term. It is shown that one obtains finite results for physical parameters on AdS upon adding a `boundary cosmological constant' as a counterterm, which vanishes at the so-called chiral point. We derive known and new results, like the value of the central charges or the mass of black hole solutions, thereby confirming our prescription for the computation of the stress tensor. Finally, we inspect recently constructed Lifshitz vacua and a new black hole solution that is asymptotically Lifshitz, and we propose a novel and covariant counterterm for this case.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor corrections, references added, to appear in JHE

Dilaton gravity approach to three dimensional Lifshitz black hole

The z=3 Lifshitz black hole is an exact black hole solution to the new massive gravity in three dimensions. In order to understand this black hole clearly, we perform a dimensional reduction to two dimensional dilaton gravity by utilizing the circular symmetry. Considering the linear dilaton, we find the same Lifshitz black hole in two dimensions. This implies that all thermodynamic quantities of the z=3 Lifshitz black hole could be obtained from its corresponding black hole in two dimensions. As a result, we derive the temperature, mass, heat capacity, Bekesnstein-Hawking entropy, and free energy.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, version to appear in EPJ

Vanishing native American dog lineages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dogs were an important element in many native American cultures at the time Europeans arrived. Although previous ancient DNA studies revealed the existence of unique native American mitochondrial sequences, these have not been found in modern dogs, mainly purebred, studied so far.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified many previously undescribed mitochondrial control region sequences in 400 dogs from rural and isolated areas as well as street dogs from across the Americas. However, sequences of native American origin proved to be exceedingly rare, and we estimate that the native population contributed only a minor fraction of the gene pool that constitutes the modern population.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The high number of previously unidentified haplotypes in our sample suggests that a lot of unsampled genetic variation exists in non-breed dogs. Our results also suggest that the arrival of European colonists to the Americas may have led to an extensive replacement of the native American dog population by the dogs of the invaders.</p