CloudMPL:a domain specific language for describing management policies for an autonomic cloud infrastructure

To benefit from the advantages that Cloud Computing brings to the IT industry, management policies must be implemented as a part of the operation of the Cloud. Among others, for example, the specification of policies can be used for the management of energy to reduce the cost of running the IT system or also for security policies while handling privacy issues of users. As cloud platforms are large, manual enforcement of policies is not scalable. Hence, autonomic approaches for management policies have recently received a considerable attention. These approaches allow specification of rules that are executed via rule-engines. The process of rules creation starts by the interpretation of the policies drafted by high-rank managers. Then, technical IT staff translate such policies to operational activities to implement them. Such process can start from a textual declarative description and after numerous steps terminates in a set of rules to be executed on a rule engine. To simplify the steps and to bridge the considerable gap between the declarative policies and executable rules, we propose a domain-specific language called CloudMPL. We also design a method of automated transformation of the rules captured in CloudMPL to the popular rule-engine Drools. As the policies are changed over time, code generation will reduce the time required for the implementation of the policies. In addition, using a declarative language for writing the specifications is expected to make the authoring of rules easier. We demonstrate the use of the CloudMPL language into a running example extracted from a management energy consumption case study

Implicit Maximum a Posteriori Filtering via Adaptive Optimization

Bayesian filtering approximates the true underlying behavior of a time-varying system by inverting an explicit generative model to convert noisy measurements into state estimates. This process typically requires either storage, inversion, and multiplication of large matrices or Monte Carlo estimation, neither of which are practical in high-dimensional state spaces such as the weight spaces of artificial neural networks. Here, we frame the standard Bayesian filtering problem as optimization over a time-varying objective. Instead of maintaining matrices for the filtering equations or simulating particles, we specify an optimizer that defines the Bayesian filter implicitly. In the linear-Gaussian setting, we show that every Kalman filter has an equivalent formulation using K steps of gradient descent. In the nonlinear setting, our experiments demonstrate that our framework results in filters that are effective, robust, and scalable to high-dimensional systems, comparing well against the standard toolbox of Bayesian filtering solutions. We suggest that it is easier to fine-tune an optimizer than it is to specify the correct filtering equations, making our framework an attractive option for high-dimensional filtering problems.Comment: Under review at ICLR 202

Foreword:first workshop [email protected]

The first edition of the Workshop [email protected] was held at the Eighteenth International Conference on Requirements Engineering (RE 2010) in the city of Sydney, NSW, Australia on the 28th of September 2010. It was organized by Pete Sawyer, Jon Whittle, Nelly Bencomo, Daniel Berry, and Anthony Finkelstein. This foreword presents a digest of the presentations and discussions that took place during the workshop

Study of fundamental control concepts through interactive learning objects

Information technology has contributed significantly to the renewal of teaching methodologies used in control systems teaching. Computer applications are becoming very popular as a support in traditional lectures and as self-learning tools. This paper describes an on-going project which tries to develop a suite of interactive learning objects composed by graphical interactive applications plus simple learning cards to cover the complete contents of an introductory control system course.Postprint (published version

Estimating Venezuelas Latent Inflation

Percent variation of the consumer price index (CPI) is the inflation indicator most widely used. This indicator, however, has some drawbacks. In addition to measurement errors of the CPI, there is a problem of incongruence between the definition of inflation as a sustained and generalized increase of prices and the traditional measure associated with the CPI. We use data from 1991 to 2005 to estimate a complementary indicator for Venezuela, the highest inflation country in Latin America. Latent inflation is defined as that component of measured inflation that has no impact on real output in the long-run. This notion, consequently, is consistent with a vertical long-run Phillips curve and therefore it is grounded on economic theory. Latent inflation is constructed placing dynamic restrictions on a structural vector auto regression system. We find that latent inflation reflects more closely the generalized and sustained price increases most likely to be impacted by monetary policy. Our results are consistent with the identifying restrictions and with the theoretical definition of inflation

Volatile and phenolic composition of a Chardonnay wine treated with antimicrobial plant extracts before malolactic fermentation

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.Previous studies have proven the potential of antimicrobial plant extracts to delay malolactic fermentation (MLF) in red wines. With the final end of extending their applicability in oenology, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of antimicrobial extracts (from eucalyptus leaves and almond skins) to white wines (i.e., Chardonnay wine), as a way to control MLF, would affect wine organoleptic properties, in particular those related to their volatile and phenolic composition. Although addition of both extracts led to statistically significant changes (p<0.05) in the concentration of several volatile and phenolic compounds, only few of them showed contents higher than their sensory thresholds, meaning that the changes observed in their concentration could slightly affect the final wine aroma and astringency. However, use of the extracts in the elaboration of white wines needs to be assessed in future experiments at winery scale, including wine sensorial analysis.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation (AGL2006-04514, AGL2009-13361-C02-00 and CSD2007-00063 Consolider Ingenio 2010 FUN-C-FOOD Projects), and the Comunidad de Madrid (ALIBIRD P2009/AGR-1469 Project). JJRB and AGR are the recipients of a fellowship from the JAE-Doc Program (CSIC) and DANONE Institute, respectively.Peer Reviewe

Mitochondrial Metabolism, Dysfunctions in Senescence Cell and the Possible Interventions through Herbal Medicines

The mitochondria are the cell`s powerhouse. They are considered ubiquitous organelles of all eukaryotic cells, being responsible for the cell’s life and death cycle. Through stimuli in the environment in which they live, mitochondria can modulate their own biogenesis as well as signal retrograde to the nucleus to modify the structure of their proteins. Since the mitochondrial genome contains only 37 genes, much of the encoding of its proteins depends on the nuclear genome. Thus, the communication between mitochondria and the nucleus seems to be a target of science in understanding the pathologies associated with this organelle. Some medicinal herbs have been shown to influence mitochondrial biogenesis, such as Gynostemma pentaphyllun (GP) and berberine, which increase the phosphorylation of proteins AMPactivated protein kinase (AMPK). Just as GP and berberine phosphorylate AMPK in signaling for mitochondrial biogenesis, the sesquiterpene beta-caryophyllene (BCP) demonstrated positive results in reorganizing mitochondrial transcription factors, being an agonist of the peroxisome proliferatoractivated alpha receptor (PPAR-?). Another plant derivative, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid known as cannabidiol (CBD), has been showing control in the metabolism of calcium in the mitochondrial matrix. In this review, we seek to get a closer look at the biochemical mechanisms of action of some of these plants, as well as their synergies in the results of different treatments. In the view of oriental medicines, the use of associated medicinal herbs has always been part of their treatment protocols. However, the effectiveness of these treatments in relation to plant synergy can be observed in future clinical trials for better understanding