5,014 research outputs found
Providing Transaction Class-Based QoS in In-Memory Data Grids via Machine Learning
Elastic architectures and the âpay-as-you-goâ resource pricing model offered by many cloud infrastructure providers may seem the right choice for companies dealing with data centric applications characterized by high variable workload. In such a context, in-memory transactional data grids have demonstrated to be particularly suited for exploiting advantages provided by elastic computing platforms, mainly thanks to their ability to be dynamically (re-)sized and tuned. Anyway, when specific QoS requirements have to be met, this kind of architectures have revealed to be complex to be managed by humans. Particularly, their management is a very complex task without the stand of mechanisms supporting run-time automatic sizing/tuning of the data platform and the underlying (virtual) hardware resources provided by the cloud. In this paper, we present a neural network-based architecture where the system is constantly and automatically re-configured, particularly in terms of computing resources
Decoding social intentions in human prehensile actions: Insights from a combined kinematics-fMRI study
Consistent evidence suggests that the way we reach and grasp an object is modulated not
only by object properties (e.g., size, shape, texture, fragility and weight), but also by the
types of intention driving the action, among which the intention to interact with another agent
(i.e., social intention). Action observation studies ascribe the neural substrate of this `intentional'
component to the putative mirror neuron (pMNS) and the mentalizing (MS) systems.
How social intentions are translated into executed actions, however, has yet to be addressed.
We conducted a kinematic and a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
study considering a reach-to-grasp movement performed towards the same object positioned
at the same location but with different intentions: passing it to another person (social
condition) or putting it on a concave base (individual condition). Kinematics showed that individual
and social intentions are characterized by different profiles, with a slower movement
at the level of both the reaching (i.e., arm movement) and the grasping (i.e., hand aperture)
components. fMRI results showed that: (i) distinct voxel pattern activity for the social and the
individual condition are present within the pMNS and the MS during action execution; (ii)
decoding accuracies of regions belonging to the pMNS and the MS are correlated, suggesting
that these two systems could interact for the generation of appropriate motor commands.
Results are discussed in terms of motor simulation and inferential processes as part of a
hierarchical generative model for action intention understanding and generation of appropriate
motor commands
Potential effects of E-cigarettes and vaping in pediatric asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood and exposure to tobacco smoke has been long recognized as a risk factor for its onset as well as for exacerbations and poor disease control. Since the early 2000s, electronic cigarettes have been marketed worldwide as a non-harmful electronic alternative to combustible cigarettes and as a device likely to help stop smoking, and their use is continuously rising, particularly among adolescents. However, several studies have shown that vape contains many different well-known toxicants, causing significant cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory effects on the airways in-vitro and in animal models. In humans, a variety of harmful lung effects related to vaping, ranging from bronchoconstriction to severe respiratory distress has been already reported
In Vitro Evaluation of Monohalogenated Semicarbazones and Thiosemicarbazones as Potential Cytotoxic Agents Induction of Apoptosis and Genotoxicity
A series of halogenated Semicarbazones (SCs) and Thiosemicarbazones (TSCs) (11-30) were synthesized from mono fluorinated-, bromine- and chlorinated acetophenones (1-10). Structures were confirmed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectral data. Both effects, the halogenated substituent and the position of the substitution on the antiproliferative activity, were systematically investigated for the first time. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated, using tetrazolium salt method (MTT), in two murine cell lines: CT26 (colon cancer) and B16 (melanoma). Only, o-, m- and p-fluorinated SCs and TSCs showed significant cytotoxic activity. Among them, compounds with fluorine at m-position in thephenyl ring showed the superior antiproliferative activity. The most actives derivatives were: m-Fluoroacetophenone semicarbazone (13) (ÎŒM; IC50 =7.2 ± 0.5, IC50=8.1 ± 0.2) and m-Fluoroacetophenone Thiosemicarbazone (23) (ÎŒM; IC50 = 3.1 ± 0.4, IC50=4.9 ± 0.5) in CT26 and B16, respectively. In addition, studying the genes Bcl-2 and Bax, compound 23 showed apoptosis induction and non-genotoxic properties.Fil: Morera, Luis Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en TecnologĂa QuĂmica. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de QuĂmica, BioquĂmica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en TecnologĂa QuĂmica; ArgentinaFil: Novoa, Rodrigo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en TecnologĂa QuĂmica. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de QuĂmica, BioquĂmica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en TecnologĂa QuĂmica; ArgentinaFil: Di Genaro, Maria Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones BiolĂłgicas de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias FĂsico MatemĂĄticas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones BiolĂłgicas de San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Cifuente, Diego Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en TecnologĂa QuĂmica. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de QuĂmica, BioquĂmica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en TecnologĂa QuĂmica; Argentin
Long COVID-19 in Children: From the Pathogenesis to the Biologically Plausible Roots of the Syndrome
Long Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) refers to the persistence of symptoms related to the infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This condition is described as persistent and can manifest in various combinations of signs and symptoms, such as fatigue, headache, dyspnea, depression, cognitive impairment, and altered perception of smells and tastes. Long COVID-19 may be due to long-term damage to different organs-such as lung, brain, kidney, and heart-caused by persisting viral-induced inflammation, immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, diffuse endothelial damage, and micro thrombosis. In this review, we discuss the potential and biologically plausible role of some vitamins, essential elements, and functional foods based on the hypothesis that an individual's dietary status may play an important adjunctive role in protective immunity against COVID-19 and possibly against its long-term consequences
Visible-Light-Mediated Amide Synthesis in Deep Eutectic Solvents
In the present study, for the first time environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are used as reaction media to perform an efficient, simple and straightforward photocatalytic amide synthesis at room temperature using thioacids and amines. This method features mild conditions, a broad substrate scope, high yields (â€99%) under ambient conditions with air and moisture tolerance. Moreover, the applied operationally mild reaction conditions tolerate the presence of several different functional group substituents on the amine counterpart. Finally, the developed approach allows the recycling of the reaction medium and catalyst for at least three consecutive cycles without a significant decrease in the reaction yield.This research has been made possible thanks to the financial support received from the University of Alicante (VIGROB-316FI), the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciĂłn (PID2021-127332NB-I00) and the Valencian Department of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society (APOSTD/2020/235 and AICO/2021/013). The authors thank the Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences (Department of Excellence funded according to the Law 232/2016) of the University of Calabria (Italy)
Supporting Early-Safety Analysis of IoT Systems by Exploiting Testing Techniques
IoT systems complexity and susceptibility to failures pose significant
challenges in ensuring their reliable operation Failures can be internally
generated or caused by external factors impacting both the systems correctness
and its surrounding environment To investigate these complexities various
modeling approaches have been proposed to raise the level of abstraction
facilitating automation and analysis FailureLogic Analysis FLA is a technique
that helps predict potential failure scenarios by defining how a components
failure logic behaves and spreads throughout the system However manually
specifying FLA rules can be arduous and errorprone leading to incomplete or
inaccurate specifications In this paper we propose adopting testing
methodologies to improve the completeness and correctness of these rules How
failures may propagate within an IoT system can be observed by systematically
injecting failures while running test cases to collect evidence useful to add
complete and refine FLA rule
Quality of Grapes Grown Inside Paper Bags in Mediterranean Area
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of paper bagging of grape bunches on
the morphological, mechanical, and chemical characteristics of berries of three table grapes varieties as an environmentallyâfriendly technique for protecting clusters from biotic and abiotic agents. Clusters of Italia, Autumn Royal, and Regal Seedless grape cultivars were bagged and compared to a notâbagged control. Air temperature inside and outside the bags was monitored. Bunch weight and length, number of berries per bunch, berry longitudinal and transversal diameter, berry mass, number of seeds per berry (normal in size and aborted), soluble solid content, titratable acidity, and skin color by CIEL*a*b* parameters were determined on four points of each berry. Berries were evaluated using texture analysis, and the main texture profile analysis parameters were compared.
The air temperatures around notâbagged clusters were slightly higher than inside the bags. In all the cultivars under evaluation, bagged bunches were heavier compared with notâbagged ones. In Autumn Royal and Regal Seedless, these differences were mainly owing to the higher number of berries and higher berry weight of the bagged bunches. Regarding mechanical properties, in seedless varieties, the bagging treatment increased berry hardness (related to the berry firmness) and decreased berry cohesiveness and resilience, whereas an opposite behavior was found in cv. Italia. Berry skin break force was lower in the bagging treatment in all the analyzed varieties, indicating a softer and easierâtoâchew berry skin. The findings demonstrate that the bagging technique affected the three variety parameters to different extents. The main differences were found in the seedless varieties in terms of berry size and bunch characteristics. For all varieties,
bagged bunches achieved the quality level required by the market, confirming the suitability of this technique. However, the bag industry is proposing many different bag types (differing in material, shape, color, and closing system); therefore, further studies are needed to obtain more complete and exhaustive technical information
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