Raising of the functioning efficiency of the automated information systems by planning the procedure of their improvement

Розглянуто принципи підвищення ефективності функціонування автоматизованих інформаційних систем на основі аналізу часу початку їх реінжинірингу, а також планування процедур удосконалення в цілому. Побудовано комплекс марковських і напівмарковських моделей для визначення показників надійності й продуктивності укрупнених кластерів автоматизованих інформаційних систем.Both, the principles of raising the efficiency of automated information systems functioning by analyzing the starting time of their re-engineering and improvement planning procedures in general are taken into consideration. The complex of the Markov and semi-Markov models to determine the reliability and productivity indices of enlarged clusters of automated information systems is built. To choose the depth (level) of penetration of reengineering procedures the quantitative and qualitative estimation is used. The depth of reengineering penetration is defined by the penetration coefficient correlated with the possible automation level of a certain system element in particular or the whole system in general. To determine the re-engineering starting time for the AIMS two approaches are used. The first one determines the best reengineering starting time by estimating the expenses increase on the system service. The second approach determines the average cycle time of the system on the basis of the semi-Markov model construction. The paper contains the numerical simulation of the distribution functions mean cycle time of dataset service for the Erlang distribution under the conditions defined mathematical expectation and variance for the time between failures, processing unit recovery time, set collection and dataset processing time Results obtained in our work limit the efficiency level of AIMS subsystems. For the systems with clear structural differentiation the estimation of the minimal acceptable level of the system performance indicator for each structural unit is done. As a result, the constraints ensemble was obtained. Thus, the obtained expressions for the structural components of AIMS can be used as limits of the effectiveness of these subsystems, when making decision on the whole system re-engineering. The novelty of this approach realization is the accounting of investments at the stage of the system functioning after the beginning of moral obsolescence and correlation of these expenses with the efficiency of the system ongoing improvement by estimation changes in the mean time of the system cycles. The total amount of efforts (financial, intellectual, creative) on continuous improvement determines the particular starting time and penetration depth of re-engineering procedures, which make possible to save due to the same factors providing the revolutionary change of the system modernization

The operational value of inlet monitoring at service reservoirs

Drinking water quality leaving water treatment works is known to deteriorate as it makes its way through distribution networks. As deterioration rates are related to the condition of the network and how it is operated, it is important to determine the location and magnitude so that causes can be determined and effective maintenance implemented. Water quality is typically monitored at outlets of service reservoirs to help track changing water quality. However, these results do not confirm whether the issue is linked to the network between treatment and the service reservoir, the service reservoir itself, or both. The work in this paper investigates the value of using inlet monitoring at service reservoirs to overcome this limitation. Results show that monitoring at both the inlet and outlet of service reservoirs provides valuable information on asset performance and highlights the location and extent of deterioration helping inform cost-efficient resource provision

Influence of service reservoir construction age on the likelihood of bacteriological failure occurrence

Service reservoirs (SRs) are crucial components in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs). These assets are often associated with water quality issues, including significant waterborne disease outbreaks. To ensure safety of supply, monitoring is conducted at SR outlets for disinfectant residual and bacteriological indicators. Older SRs are often believed to be a source of bacteriological failures as old or poorly constructed SRs can be prone to structural issues, which can lead to ingress and contamination of the stored water. However, there is a lack of evidence to support the existence of a genuine relationship between SR age and risk of failure. In this study, historical bacteriological failure data at SR outlets and company-wide SR construction age data collected from three large UK water utilities was used to assess the potential relationship between the duration of time a SR has been in service and the likelihood of bacteriological failure. Findings showed that there was no relationship between the two parameters. Analysis also revealed instances where newer SRs, no older than twenty years old, experienced one or more bacteriological failures, challenging the ingrained association that older SRs are at a higher risk of ingress and bacteriological contamination

Diversity of methyl halide-degrading microorganisms in oceanic and coastal waters

Methyl halides have a significant impact on atmospheric chemistry, particularly in the degradation of stratospheric ozone. Bacteria are known to contribute to the degradation of methyl halides in the oceans and marine bacteria capable of using methyl bromide and methyl chloride as sole carbon and energy source have been isolated. A genetic marker for microbial degradation of methyl bromide ( cmuA ) was used to examine the distribution and diversity of these organisms in the marine environment. Three novel marine clades of cmuA were identified in unamended seawater and in marine enrichment cultures degrading methyl halides. Two of these cmuA clades are not represented in extant bacteria, demonstrating the utility of this molecular marker in identifying uncultivated marine methyl halide-degrading bacteria. The detection of populations of marine bacteria containing cmuA genes suggests that marine bacteria employing the CmuA enzyme contribute to methyl halide cycling in the ocean

Genomic analysis reveals hidden biodiversity within colugos, the sister group to primates

Colugos are among the most poorly studied mammals despite their centrality to resolving supraordinal primate relationships. Two described species of these gliding mammals are the sole living members of the order Dermoptera, distributed throughout Southeast Asia. We generated a draft genome sequence for a Sunda colugo and a Philippine colugo reference alignment, and used these to identify colugo-specific genetic changes that were enriched in sensory and musculoskeletal-related genes that likely underlie their nocturnal and gliding adaptations. Phylogenomic analysis and catalogs of rare genomic changes overwhelmingly support the contested hypothesis that colugos are the sister group to primates (Primatomorpha), to the exclusion of treeshrews. We captured ~140 kb of orthologous sequence data from colugo museum specimens sampled across their range and identified large genetic differences between many geographically isolated populations that may result in a >300% increase in the number of recognized colugo species. Our results identify conservation units to mitigate future losses of this enigmatic mammalian order.Victor C. Mason, Gang Li Patrick Minx, Jürgen Schmitz, Gennady Churakov, Liliya Doronina, Amanda D. Melin ... et al

Comparison of Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) and Furin-2A (F2A) for Monoclonal Antibody Expression Level and Quality in CHO Cells

10.1371/journal.pone.0063247PLoS ONE85

CD133/prominin-1 is a potential therapeutic target for antibody-drug conjugates in hepatocellular and gastric cancers

CD133/prominin-1 is a pentaspan transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed in various solid tumours including colorectal and glioblastomas. CD133 was found here to be highly expressed in ⩾50% of pancreatic, gastric and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. Quantitative flow cytometric analysis showed that a panel of established hepatocellular, pancreatic and gastric cancer cell lines expressed CD133 at levels higher than normal epithelial cells or bone marrow progenitor cells. A murine anti-human CD133 antibody (AC133) conjugated to a potent cytotoxic drug, monomethyl auristatin F (MMAF), effectively inhibited the growth of Hep3B hepatocellular and KATO III gastric cancer cells in vitro with IC50 values of 2–7 ng ml−1. MMAF induced apoptosis in the cancer cells as measured by caspase activation. The anti-CD133-drug conjugate (AC133-vcMMAF) was shown to internalise and colocalised with the lysosomal marker CD107a in the sensitive cell lines. In contrast, in the resistant cell line Su.86.86, the conjugate internalised and colocalised with the caveolae marker, Cav-1. Addition of ammonium chloride, an inhibitor of lysosomal trafficking and processing, suppressed the cytotoxic effect of AC133-vcMMAF in both Hep3B and KATO III. Anti-CD133-drug conjugate treatment resulted in significant delay of Hep3B tumour growth in SCID mice. Anti-CD133 antibody-drug conjugates warrant further evaluation as a therapeutic strategy to eradicate CD133+ tumours

Insights into the Transposable Mobilome of Paracoccus spp. (Alphaproteobacteria)

Several trap plasmids (enabling positive selection of transposition events) were used to identify a pool of functional transposable elements (TEs) residing in bacteria of the genus Paracoccus (Alphaproteobacteria). Complex analysis of 25 strains representing 20 species of this genus led to the capture and characterization of (i) 37 insertion sequences (ISs) representing 9 IS families (IS3, IS5, IS6, IS21, IS66, IS256, IS1182, IS1380 and IS1634), (ii) a composite transposon Tn6097 generated by two copies of the ISPfe2 (IS1634 family) containing two predicted genetic modules, involved in the arginine deiminase pathway and daunorubicin/doxorubicin resistance, (iii) 3 non-composite transposons of the Tn3 family, including Tn5393 carrying streptomycin resistance and (iv) a transposable genomic island TnPpa1 (45 kb). Some of the elements (e.g. Tn5393, Tn6097 and ISs of the IS903 group of the IS5 family) were shown to contain strong promoters able to drive transcription of genes placed downstream of the target site of transposition. Through the application of trap plasmid pCM132TC, containing a promoterless tetracycline resistance reporter gene, we identified five ways in which transposition can supply promoters to transcriptionally silent genes. Besides highlighting the diversity and specific features of several TEs, the analyses performed in this study have provided novel and interesting information on (i) the dynamics of the process of transposition (e.g. the unusually high frequency of transposition of TnPpa1) and (ii) structural changes in DNA mediated by transposition (e.g. the generation of large deletions in the recipient molecule upon transposition of ISPve1 of the IS21 family). We also demonstrated the great potential of TEs and transposition in the generation of diverse phenotypes as well as in the natural amplification and dissemination of genetic information (of adaptative value) by horizontal gene transfer, which is considered the driving force of bacterial evolution

Quantification of the relative contribution of the different right ventricular wall motion components to right ventricular ejection fraction

Abstract Three major mechanisms contribute to right ventricular (RV) pump function: (i) shortening of the longitudinal axis with traction of the tricuspid annulus towards the apex; (ii) inward movement of the RV free wall; (iii) bulging of the interventricular septum into the RV and stretching the free wall over the septum. The relative contribution of the aforementioned mechanisms to RV pump function may change in different pathological conditions. Our aim was to develop a custom method to separately assess the extent of longitudinal, radial and anteroposterior displacement of the RV walls and to quantify their relative contribution to global RV ejection fraction using 3D data sets obtained by echocardiography. Accordingly, we decomposed the movement of the exported RV beutel wall in a vertex based manner. The volumes of the beutels accounting for the RV wall motion in only one direction (either longitudinal, radial, or anteroposterior) were calculated at each time frame using the signed tetrahedron method. Then, the relative contribution of the RV wall motion along the three different directions to global RV ejection fraction was calculated either as the ratio of the given direction’s ejection fraction to global ejection fraction and as the frame-by-frame RV volume change (∆V/∆t) along the three motion directions. The ReVISION (Right VentrIcular Separate wall motIon quantificatiON) method may contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of RV mechanical adaptations to different loading conditions and diseases