Performance Analysis of Available Bandwidth Estimation Tools for Grid Networks

Abstract Modern large-scale grid computing systems for processing advanced science and engineering applications rely on geographically distributed clusters. In such highly distributed environments, estimating the available bandwidth between clusters is a key issue for efficient task scheduling. We analyze the performance of two well known available bandwidth estimation tools, pathload and abget, with the aim of using them in grid environments. Our experiments consider the accuracy of the estimation, the convergence time, their level of intrusion in the grid links, and the ability to handle multiple simultaneous estimations. Overall, pathload represents a good solution to estimate available bandwidth in grid environments

Effects of simvastatin/ezetimibe on microparticles, endothelial progenitor cells and platelet aggregation in subjects with coronary heart disease under antiplatelet therapy

It is not known whether the addition of ezetimibe to statins adds cardiovascular protection beyond the expected changes in lipid levels. Subjects with coronary heart disease were treated with four consecutive 1-week courses of therapy (T) and evaluations. The courses were: T1, 100 mg aspirin alone; T2, 100 mg aspirin and 40 mg simvastatin/10 mg ezetimibe; T3, 40 mg simvastatin/10 mg ezetimibe, and 75 mg clopidogrel (300 mg initial loading dose); T4, 75 mg clopidogrel alone. Platelet aggregation was examined in whole blood. Endothelial microparticles (CD51), platelet microparticles (CD42/CD31), and endothelial progenitor cells (CD34/CD133; CDKDR/CD133, or CD34/KDR) were quantified by flow cytometry. Endothelial function was examined by flow-mediated dilation. Comparisons between therapies revealed differences in lipids (T2 and T3T1 and T4, P=0.001). Decreased platelet aggregation was observed after aspirin (arachidonic acid, T1<T3 and T4, P=0.034) and clopidogrel (adenosine, T3 and T4<T1 and T2, P<0.0001) therapy. Simvastatin/ezetimibe diphosphate did not change platelet aggregation, the amount of circulating endothelial and platelet microparticles, or endothelial progenitor cells. Cardiovascular protection following therapy with simvastatin/ezetimibe seems restricted to lipid changes and improvement of endothelial function not affecting the release of microparticles, mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells or decreased platelet aggregation.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de MedicinaSciEL

Implicações ambientais da destinação final de resíduos de obra no Município de Manaus (Amazonas - Brasil)

Este trabalho retrata a destinação de resíduos sólidos em obras na cidade de Manaus (Amazonas-Brasil. A cidade de Manaus foi escolhida para este estudo por estar localizada no centro da Floresta Amazônica, um patrimônio ambiental do planeta, por isto a preocupação com o descarte de resíduos sólidos. As práticas utilizadas pelas empresas de construção civil, na destinação final dos resíduos sólidos em suas obras, têm gerado dúvidas quanto a eficiência na proteção do meio ambiente. A metodologia aplicada para esta pesquisa foi a de elaboração de um questionário, o qual foi aplicado para os profissionais da área ambiental cadastrados no Conselho Regional de Engenharia e Agronomia do Amazonas – CREA/AM, sendo que o questionário foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética da Universidade Fernando Pessoa – UFP, Porto/Portugal. O questionário foi encaminhado, via correspondência eletrônica, para 954 profissionais (jun/2018) e aplicados pessoalmente em 2 empresas de grande porte de Manaus. Os resultados encontrados demonstraram que 5% de profissionais responderam o questionário, e 100% das empresas responderam o questionário, onde concluímos que que o índice de empregabilidade é baixo, a atuação dos profissionais é pouca em comparação com o trabalho existente, e que quanto às empresas entrevistadas constatamos um monopólio no serviço terceirizado de destinação final, o que compromete a qualidade da proteção do meio ambiente.The city of Manaus was chosen for this study because it is located in the center of the Amazon Forest, an environmental patrimony of the planet, for this reason the concern with the disposal of solid waste in works in the city of Manaus (Amazonas-Brazil. The practices used by construction companies in the final disposal of solid waste in their works have generated doubts about the efficiency of environmental protection. The methodology applied for this research was the elaboration of a questionnaire, the which was applied to the professionals of the environmental area registered in the Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy of Amazonas - CREA / AM, and the questionnaire was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Fernando Pessoa University - UFP, Porto / via electronic correspondence, to 954 professionals (jun/2018) and personally applied in 2 large companies The results showed that 5% of professionals answered the questionnaire, and 100% of the companies answered the questionnaire, where we concluded that the employability index is low, the performance of the professionals is small compared to the existing work, and that as for the companies interviewed, we find a monopoly in the outsourced final destination service, which compromises the quality of the protection of the environment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implicações ambientais da destinação final de resíduos de obra no Município de Manaus (Amazonas - Brasil)

Este trabalho retrata a destinação de resíduos sólidos em obras na cidade de Manaus (Amazonas-Brasil. A cidade de Manaus foi escolhida para este estudo por estar localizada no centro da Floresta Amazônica, um patrimônio ambiental do planeta, por isto a preocupação com o descarte de resíduos sólidos. As práticas utilizadas pelas empresas de construção civil, na destinação final dos resíduos sólidos em suas obras, têm gerado dúvidas quanto a eficiência na proteção do meio ambiente. A metodologia aplicada para esta pesquisa foi a de elaboração de um questionário, o qual foi aplicado para os profissionais da área ambiental cadastrados no Conselho Regional de Engenharia e Agronomia do Amazonas – CREA/AM, sendo que o questionário foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética da Universidade Fernando Pessoa – UFP, Porto/Portugal. O questionário foi encaminhado, via correspondência eletrônica, para 954 profissionais (jun/2018) e aplicados pessoalmente em 2 empresas de grande porte de Manaus. Os resultados encontrados demonstraram que 5% de profissionais responderam o questionário, e 100% das empresas responderam o questionário, onde concluímos que que o índice de empregabilidade é baixo, a atuação dos profissionais é pouca em comparação com o trabalho existente, e que quanto às empresas entrevistadas constatamos um monopólio no serviço terceirizado de destinação final, o que compromete a qualidade da proteção do meio ambiente.The city of Manaus was chosen for this study because it is located in the center of the Amazon Forest, an environmental patrimony of the planet, for this reason the concern with the disposal of solid waste in works in the city of Manaus (Amazonas-Brazil. The practices used by construction companies in the final disposal of solid waste in their works have generated doubts about the efficiency of environmental protection. The methodology applied for this research was the elaboration of a questionnaire, the which was applied to the professionals of the environmental area registered in the Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy of Amazonas - CREA / AM, and the questionnaire was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Fernando Pessoa University - UFP, Porto / via electronic correspondence, to 954 professionals (jun/2018) and personally applied in 2 large companies The results showed that 5% of professionals answered the questionnaire, and 100% of the companies answered the questionnaire, where we concluded that the employability index is low, the performance of the professionals is small compared to the existing work, and that as for the companies interviewed, we find a monopoly in the outsourced final destination service, which compromises the quality of the protection of the environment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Erythropoietin reduces the expression of myostatin in mdx dystrophic mice

Erythropoietin (EPO) has been well characterized as a renal glycoprotein hormone regulating red blood cell production by inhibiting apoptosis of erythrocyte progenitors in hematopoietic tissues. EPO exerts regulatory effects in cardiac and skeletal muscles. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a lethal degenerative disorder of skeletal and cardiac muscle. in this study, we tested the possible therapeutic beneficial effect of recombinant EPO (rhEPO) in dystrophic muscles in mdx mice. Total strength was measured using a force transducer coupled to a computer. Gene expression for myostatin, transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. Myostatin expression was significantly decreased in quadriceps from mdx mice treated with rhEPO (rhEPO = 0.60 +/- 0.11, control= 1.07 +/- 0.11). On the other hand, rhEPO had no significant effect on the expression of TGF-beta 1 (rhEPO = 0.95 +/- 0.14, control= 1.05 +/- 0.16) and TNF-alpha (rhEPO = 0.73 +/- 0.20, control= 1.01 +/- 0.09). These results may help to clarify some of the direct actions of EPO on skeletal muscle.Fac Med ABC, BR-09060650 Santo Andre, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Ciencias Biomed, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Inst Ciencias Quim Ambientais & Farmaceut, Diadema, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Inst Ciencias Quim Ambientais & Farmaceut, Diadema, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

HOPX homeobox methylation in differentiated thyroid cancer and its clinical relevance

Background: The inactivation of the tumor-suppressor homeodomain-only protein X (HOPX) usually involves promoter methylation in several cancer types. This study aimed to investigate the HOPX-β mRNA expression and promoter methylation and their clinical relevance in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Patients and methods: Clinicopathological data and paraffin-embedded thyroid tumor tissues from 21 patients with DTC and 6 with benign tumors (T) and their non-tumor parenchyma (NT) were investigated. Tumor cell lines (FTC238, FTC236 and WRO) were treated with demethylating agent. HOPX-β mRNA expression was assessed by qRT-PCR and methylation status by Q-MSP. Thyroid cancer data from Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was also collected. Results: HOPX-β mRNA re-expression in two cell lines treated with demethylating agent was observed concomitantly with reduced promoter methylation. Reduced mRNA expression in T group compared to their NT was observed, and reduced protein expression in T compared to NT was observed in three cases. Low mRNA expression with high methylation status was detected in 6/14 DTC samples. High methylation status was associated with older age at diagnosis, recurrent or progressive disease and with the presence of new neoplasm event post initial therapy while hyper-methylation correlated with worse overall survival, worse disease-free status and older age. Conclusion: A moderate coupling of downregulation of HOPX-β mRNA expression in DTC followed by high HOPX-β promoter methylation was observed however; high HOPX promoter methylation status was associated with the worse prognosis of DTC patients