Neural Adaptive Admission Control Framework: SLA-driven action termination for real-time application service management

Although most modern cloud-based enterprise systems, or operating systems, do not commonly allow configurable/automatic termination of processes, tasks or actions, it is common practice for systems administrators to manually terminate, or stop, tasks or actions at any level of the system. The paper investigates the potential of automatic adaptive control with action termination as a method for adapting the system to more appropriate conditions in environments with established goals for both system’s performance and economics. A machine-learning driven control mechanism, employing neural networks, is derived and applied within data-intensive systems. Control policies that have been designed following this approach are evaluated under different load patterns and service level requirements. The experimental results demonstrate performance characteristics and benefits as well as implications of termination control when applied to different action types with distinct run-time characteristics. An automatic termination approach may be eminently suitable for systems with harsh execution time Service Level Agreements, or systems running under conditions of hard pressure on power supply or other constraints. The proposed control mechanisms can be combined with other available toolkits to support deployment of autonomous controllers in high-dimensional enterprise information systems

Spa services and wellness activities within the surf tourism experience; the case study of Jersey, Channel Islands.

This paper explores the feasibility of developing spa and wellness activities within the surf tourism experience in Jersey (Channel Islands) from the surf traveller’s perspective. Using this worldview, we evaluate a surf tourism offer in Jersey. Through an analysis of the lifestyle and attitudes of today’s surf traveller, we offer preliminary suggestions to marketers and surf lodge owners to capitalise on this unique target market. The conceptual position, that we term Swellness, refers to the perceived wellness dimensions and benefits of surfing. We identify that spa and wellness elements are feasible add-ons for surf product development. The study has also revealed an openness towards other wellness-related concepts, such as Surf Set Fitness or man­made wave surfing parks. Furthermore, the research has shown that wellness and personal responsibility for well-being are part of a surf subculture.N/

Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation - a randomized placebo-controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the effects of sleep deprivation with or without acute supplementation of caffeine or creatine on the execution of a repeated rugby passing skill.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Ten elite rugby players completed 10 trials on a simple rugby passing skill test (20 repeats per trial), following a period of familiarisation. The players had between 7-9 h sleep on 5 of these trials and between 3-5 h sleep (deprivation) on the other 5. At a time of 1.5 h before each trial, they undertook administration of either: placebo tablets, 50 or 100 mg/kg creatine, 1 or 5 mg/kg caffeine. Saliva was collected before each trial and assayed for salivary free cortisol and testosterone.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sleep deprivation with placebo application resulted in a significant fall in skill performance accuracy on both the dominant and non-dominant passing sides (p < 0.001). No fall in skill performance was seen with caffeine doses of 1 or 5 mg/kg, and the two doses were not significantly different in effect. Similarly, no deficit was seen with creatine administration at 50 or 100 mg/kg and the performance effects were not significantly different. Salivary testosterone was not affected by sleep deprivation, but trended higher with the 100 mg/kg creatine dose, compared to the placebo treatment (p = 0.067). Salivary cortisol was elevated (p = 0.001) with the 5 mg/kg dose of caffeine (vs. placebo).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Acute sleep deprivation affects performance of a simple repeat skill in elite athletes and this was ameliorated by a single dose of either caffeine or creatine. Acute creatine use may help to alleviate decrements in skill performance in situations of sleep deprivation, such as transmeridian travel, and caffeine at low doses appears as efficacious as higher doses, at alleviating sleep deprivation deficits in athletes with a history of low caffeine use. Both options are without the side effects of higher dose caffeine use.</p

DNA microarray profiling of genes differentially regulated by the histone deacetylase inhibitors vorinostat and LBH589 in colon cancer cell lines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the significant progress made in colon cancer chemotherapy, advanced disease remains largely incurable and novel efficacious chemotherapies are urgently needed. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) represent a novel class of agents which have demonstrated promising preclinical activity and are undergoing clinical evaluation in colon cancer. The goal of this study was to identify genes in colon cancer cells that are differentially regulated by two clinically advanced hydroxamic acid HDACi, vorinostat and LBH589 to provide rationale for novel drug combination partners and identify a core set of HDACi-regulated genes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HCT116 and HT29 colon cancer cells were treated with LBH589 or vorinostat and growth inhibition, acetylation status and apoptosis were analyzed in response to treatment using MTS, Western blotting and flow cytometric analyses. In addition, gene expression was analyzed using the Illumina Human-6 V2 BeadChip array and Ingenuity^®Pathway Analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with either vorinostat or LBH589 rapidly induced histone acetylation, cell cycle arrest and inhibited the growth of both HCT116 and HT29 cells. Bioinformatic analysis of the microarray profiling revealed significant similarity in the genes altered in expression following treatment with the two HDACi tested within each cell line. However, analysis of genes that were altered in expression in the HCT116 and HT29 cells revealed cell-line-specific responses to HDACi treatment. In addition a core cassette of 11 genes modulated by both vorinostat and LBH589 were identified in both colon cancer cell lines analyzed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study identified HDACi-induced alterations in critical genes involved in nucleotide metabolism, angiogenesis, mitosis and cell survival which may represent potential intervention points for novel therapeutic combinations in colon cancer. This information will assist in the identification of novel pathways and targets that are modulated by HDACi, providing much-needed information on HDACi mechanism of action and providing rationale for novel drug combination partners. We identified a core signature of 11 genes which were modulated by both vorinostat and LBH589 in a similar manner in both cell lines. These core genes will assist in the development and validation of a common gene set which may represent a molecular signature of HDAC inhibition in colon cancer.</p

La luminescence stimulée optiquement : Applications à la cartographie de dose et à la mesure de dose en environnement spatial

Nous dressons un état de l’art sur la dosimétrie des rayonnements par luminescence stimulée optiquement (OSL), développée à l’Institut d’Électronique du Sud (IES). Les propriétés spectrales de notre matériau permettent une détection de la lumière sans utilisation de filtre optique. Il présente une grande dynamique (supérieure à 7 ordres de grandeur), une sensibilité inférieure à 10 µGy et une réponse uniquement fonction de la dose absorbée. Des travaux réalisés au CERN ont montré une limite de saturation de l’ordre de 300 Gy. Deux types de dosimètres ont été développés : (1) un capteur intégré destiné à la réalisation de mesures de dose en ligne ; (2) des films OSL qui permettent la réalisation de contrôles géométriques des faisceaux d’irradiation (protons, électrons, alpha, photons). Nous étudions actuellement l’impact du dopage au bore sur notre matériau OSL dans le but de réaliser des mesures dosimétriques en champ mixte neutron – gamma. En parallèle, afin d’améliorer la reproductibilité et l’homogénéité des dépôts OSL, nous développons une méthodologie par couche mince