Utilising stream reasoning techniques to underpin an autonomous framework for cloud application platforms

As cloud application platforms (CAPs) are reaching the stage where the human effort required to maintain them at an operational level is unsupportable, one of the major challenges faced by the cloud providers is to develop appropriate mechanisms for run-time monitoring and adaptation, to prevent cloud application platforms from quickly dissolving into a non-reliable environment. In this context, the application of intelligent approaches to Autonomic Clouds may offer promising opportunities. In this paper we present an approach to providing cloud platforms with autonomic capabilities, utilising techniques from the Semantic Web and Stream Reasoning research fields. The main idea of this approach is to encode values, monitored within cloud application platforms, using Semantic Web languages, which then allows us to integrate semantically-enriched observation streams with static ontological knowledge and apply intelligent reasoning. Using such run-time reasoning capabilities, we have developed a conceptual architecture for an autonomous framework and describe a prototype solution we have constructed which implements this architecture. Our prototype is able to perform analysis and failure diagnosis, and suggest further adaptation actions. We report our experience in utilising the Stream Reasoning technique in this context as well as further challenges that arise out of our work

Ultrastructural correlates of enhanced norepinephrine and neuropeptide y cotransmission in the spontaneously hypertensive rat brain

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) replicates many clinically relevant features of human essential hypertension and also exhibits behavioral symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dementia. The SHR phenotype is highly complex and cannot be explained by a single genetic or physiological mechanism. Nevertheless, numerous studies including our own work have revealed striking differences in central catecholaminergic transmission in SHR such as increased vesicular catecholamine content in the ventral brainstem. Here, we used immunolabeling followed by confocal microscopy and electron microscopy to quantify vesicle sizes and populations across three catecholaminergic brain areas—nucleus tractus solitarius and rostral ventrolateral medulla, both key regions for cardiovascular control, and the locus coeruleus. We also studied colocalization of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in norepinephrine and epinephrine-containing neurons as NPY is a common cotransmitter with central and peripheral catecholamines. We found significantly increased expression and coexpression of NPY in norepinephrine and epinephrine-positive neurons of locus coeruleus in SHR compared with Wistar rats. Ultrastructural analysis revealed immunolabeled vesicles of 150 to 650 nm in diameter (means ranging from 250 to 300 nm), which is much larger than previously reported. In locus coeruleus and rostral ventrolateral medulla, but not in nucleus tractus solitarius, of SHR, noradrenergic and adrenergic vesicles were significantly larger and showed increased NPY colocalization when compared with Wistar rats. Our morphological evidence underpins the hypothesis of hyperactivity of the noradrenergic and adrenergic system and increased norepinephrine and epinephrine and NPY cotransmission in specific brain areas in SHR. It further strengthens the argument for a prohypertensive role of C1 neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla as a potential causative factor for essential hypertension

Advanced service brokerage capabilities as the catalyst for future cloud service ecosystems.

Market analysts have foreseen the emergence of cloud brokers in the mediation of cloud services. But rather than focus on current kinds of intermediary role, it is more constructive to consider the kinds of brokerage capability that could be offered in the future, which go far beyond the integration, aggregation and customization services available today. This paper identifies advanced capabilities for cloud service governance, quality assurance and optimization that will be critical in catalyzing the emergence of cloud service ecosystems, environments in which all parties will find their symbiotic niches. It shows the path whereby a platform provider could evolve to become the hub of a cloud service ecosystem, through gradually taking on more of these advanced brokerage capabilities. The paper provides an overview of work conducted by the EU FP7 Broker@Cloud project towards realizing these advanced brokerage capabilities

Organisational Knowledge Management Systems in the Era of Enterprise 2.0: The case of OrganiK.

The increasing need of small knowledge-intensive companies for loosely-coupled collaboration and ad-hoc knowledge sharing has led to a strong requirement for an alternative approach to developing knowledge management systems. This paper proposes a framework for managing organisational knowledge that builds on a socio-technical perspective that considers people and technology as two highly interconnected components. We introduce a knowledge management system architecture that merges enterprise social software characteristics from the realm of Enterprise 2.0, and information processing techniques from the domain of Semantic Web technologies, in order to deliver a KM approach that could assist in reducing the socio-technical gap

A Sociotechnical Approach to Knowledge Management in the Era of Enterprise 2.0: the Case of OrganiK.

The increasing need of small knowledge-intensive companies for loosely-coupled collaboration and ad-hoc knowledge sharing has led to a strong requirement for an alternative approach to developing knowledge management systems. This paper proposes a framework for managing organisational knowledge that builds on a socio-technical perspective and considers people as well as technology as two highly interconnected components. We introduce a conceptualised system architecture that merges enterprise social software characteristics from the realm of Enterprise 2.0, and information processing techniques from the domain of Semantic Web technologies. In order to deliver a KM approach that could assist in reducing the socio-technical gap, we suggest deploying such a solution using an integrated sociotechnical implementation methodology