Big data deployment in containerized infrastructures through the interconnection of network namespaces

Big Data applications tackle the challenge of fast handling of large streams of data. Their performance is not only dependent on the data frameworks implementation and the underlying hardware but also on the deployment scheme and its potential for fast scaling. Consequently, several efforts have focused on the ease of deployment of Big Data applications, notably through the use of containerization. This technology was indeed raised to bring multitenancy and multiprocessing out of clusters, providing high deployment flexibility through lightweight container images. Recent studies have focused mostly on Docker containers. Notwithstanding, this article is actually interested in recent Singularity containers as they provide more security and support high-performance computing (HPC) environments and, in this way, they can make Big Data applications benefit from the specialized hardware of HPC. Singularity 2.x, however, does not isolate network resources as required by most Big Data components. Singularity 3.x allows allocating each container with isolated network resources, but their interconnection requires a nontrivial amount of configuration effort. In this context, this article makes a functional contribution in the form of a deployment scheme based on the interconnection of network namespaces, through underlay and overlay networking approaches, to make Big Data applications easily deployable inside Singularity containers. We provide detailed account of our deployment scheme when using both interconnection approaches in the form of a “how-to-do-it” report, and we evaluate it by comparing three Big Data applications based on Hadoop when performing on a bare-metal infrastructure and on scenarios involving Singularity and Docker instances.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Value-based leadership in New Zealand agri-foods exporting enterprises: Literature review

On 12 September 2017, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced that a research programme entitled Unlocking Export Prosperity from the Agri-food Values of Aotearoa New Zealand had been selected for funding from the Endeavour Fund. The programme has been launched with four reviews written for a general audience on relevant existing knowledge, including this report on (4) distinctive features of values-based leadership in New Zealand agri-food exporting enterprises. It focuses on: leadership and innovation; leadership and coordination; and leadership and marketing. Overall, the literature suggests two very important points for adding value to New Zealand agri-food exports: 1) Leadership does not directly add value to agri-food products; and 2) Relationships between leadership and value-adding processes is complex

A flow resistive inspiratory muscle training mask worn during high-intensity interval training does not improve 5 km running time-trial performance.

Purpose: There is little evidence of the ergogenic effect of flow resistive masks worn during exercise. We compared a flow resistive face mask (MASK) worn during high-intensity interval training (HIIT) against pressure threshold loading inspiratory muscle training (IMT). Methods: 23 participants (13 males) completed a 5 km time trial and six weeks of HIIT (3 sessions weekly). HIIT (n=8) consisted of repeated work (2 mins) at the speed equivalent to 95% "V" ̇O2 peak with equal rest. Repetitions were incremental (six in weeks 1, 2 and 6, eight in weeks 3 and 4 and ten in week 5). Participants were allocated to one of three training groups. MASK (n=8) wore a flow resistive mask during all sessions. The IMT group (n=8) completed 2 x 30 breaths daily at 50% maximum inspiratory pressure (PImax). A control group (CON, n=7) completed HIIT only. Following HIIT, participants completed two 5 km time trials, the first matched identically to pre-intervention trial (ISO time), and a self-paced effort. Results: Time trial performance was improved in all groups (MASK 3.1 ± 1.7%, IMT, 5.7 ± 1.5% and CON 2.6 ± 1.0%, p < 0.05). IMT improved greater than MASK and CON (p=0.004). Post intervention, PImax and diaphragm thickness were improved in IMT only (32% and 9.5% respectively, p = 0.003 and 0.024). Conclusion: A flow resistive mask worn during HIIT provides no benefit to 5 km performance when compared to HIIT only. Supplementing HIIT with IMT improves respiratory muscle strength, morphology and performance greater than HIIT alone

Interpersonal stress regulation and the development of anxiety disorders: an attachment-based developmental framework

Anxiety disorders represent a common but often debilitating form of psychopathology in both children and adults. While there is a growing understanding of the etiology and maintenance of these disorders across various research domains, only recently have intergrative accounts been proposed. While classical attachment history has been a traditional core construct in phychological models of anxiety, contemporary attachment theory has the potential to integrate neurobiological and behavioral findings within a multidisciplinary developmental framework. The current paper proposes a modern attachement theory-based developmental model grounded in relevant literature form multiple disciplines including social neuroscience, genetics, neuroendocrinology, and the study of family factors involved in the development of anxiety disorders. Recent account of stress regulation hav highlighted the interplay between stress, anxiety, and activation of the attachement system. This interplay directly affects the development of social-cognitive and mentalizing capacities that are acquired in the interpersonal context of early attachemnt relationships. Early attachement experiences are conceptualized as the key organizer of a complex interplay between genetic, environmental, and epigenetic contributions to the development of anxiety disorders - a multifactorial etiology resulting from dysfunctional co-regulation of fear and stress states. These risk-conferring processes are characterized by hyperactivation strategies in the face of anxiety. The cumulative allostatic load and subsequent "wear and tear" effects associated with hyperactivation strategies converge on the neural pathways of anxiety and stress. Attachement experiences further influence the development of anxiety as potential moderators of risk factors, differentially impacting on genetic vulnerability and relevant neurobiological pathways. Implications for further research and potential treatments are outlined

Dietary nutrient intakes and skinaging appearance among middle-aged American women

ABSTRACT Background: Nutritional factors play a key role in normal dermatologic functioning. However, little is known about the effects of diet on skin-aging appearance. Objective: We evaluated the associations between nutrient intakes and skin-aging appearance. Design: Using data from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we examined associations between nutrient intakes and skin aging in 4025 women (40 -74 y). Nutrients were estimated from a 24-h recall. Clinical examinations of the skin were conducted by dermatologists. Skin-aging appearance was defined as having a wrinkled appearance, senile dryness, and skin atrophy. A 17-g increase in fat and a 50-g increase in carbohydrate intakes increased the likelihood of a wrinkled appearance (OR: 1.28 and 1.36, respectively) and skin atrophy (OR: 1.37 and 1.33, respectively). These associations were independent of age, race, education, sunlight exposure, income, menopausal status, body mass index, supplement use, physical activity, and energy intake. Conclusions: Higher intakes of vitamin C and linoleic acid and lower intakes of fats and carbohydrates are associated with better skin-aging appearance. Promoting healthy dietary behaviors may have additional benefit for skin appearance in addition to other health outcomes in the population. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86: 1225-31

Crops For the Future (CFF): an overview of research efforts in the adoption of underutilised species

Main conclusion Crops For the Future (CFF), as an entity, has established a broad range of research activities to promote the improvement and adoption of currently underutilised crops. Abstract This paper summarises selected research activities at Crops For the Future (CFF) in pursuit of its mission 'to develop solutions for diversifying future agriculture using underutilised crops'. CFF is a research company focussed on the improvement of underutilised crops, so that they might be grown and consumed more widely with benefits to human food and nutritional security; its founding guarantors were the Government of Malaysia and the University of Nottingham. From its base in Malaysia, it engages in research around the world with a focus on species and system diversification. CFF has adopted a food system approach that adds value by delivering prototype food, feed and knowledge products. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) was adopted as an exemplar crop around which to develop CFF's food system approach with emphasis on the short-day photoperiod requirement for pod-filling and the hard-to-cook trait. Selective breeding has allowed the development of lines that are less susceptible to photoperiod but also provided a range of tools and approaches that are now being exploited in other crops such as winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), mor-inga (Moringa oleifera) and proso (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail (Setaria italica) millets. CFF has developed and tested new food products and demonstrated that several crops can be used as feed for black soldier fly which can, in turn, be used to feed fish thereby reducing the need for fishmeal. Information about underutilised crops is widely dispersed; so, a major effort has been made to develop a knowledge base that can be interrogated and used to answer practical questions about potential exploitation of plant and nutritional characteristics. Future research will build on the success with Bambara groundnut and include topics such as urban agriculture, rural development and diversification, and the development of novel foods. CFF's remit and research objective

Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis Participating in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Trials in the United States

Recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation may be at risk for developing acute kidney injury (AKI), and this risk may be increased in patients who undergo transplantation for severe systemic sclerosis (SSc) due to underlying scleroderma renal disease. AKI after transplantation can increase treatment-related mortality. To better define these risks, we analyzed 91 patients with SSc who were enrolled in 3 clinical trials in the United States of autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Eleven (12%) of the 91 patients with SSc in these studies (8 undergoing autologous HCT, 1 undergoing allogeneic HCT, 1 pretransplantation, 1 given i.v. cyclophosphamide on a transplantation trial) experienced AKI, of whom 8 required dialysis and/or therapeutic plasma exchange. AKI injury in the 9 HCT recipients developed a median of 35 days (range, 0-90 days) after transplantation. Ten of 11 patients with AKI received angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) therapy. The etiology of AKI was attributed to scleroderma renal crisis in 6 patients (including 2 with normotensive renal crisis), to AKI of uncertain etiology in 2 patients, and to AKI superimposed on scleroderma kidney disease in 3 patients. Eight of the 11 patients died, one each because of progression of SSc, multiorgan failure, gastrointestinal and pulmonary bleeding, pericardial tamponade and pulmonary complications, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, pulmonary embolism, graft-versus-host disease, and malignancy. Limiting nephrotoxins, cautious use of corticosteroids, renal shielding during total body irradiation, strict control of blood pressure, and aggressive use of ACE-Is may be of importance in preventing renal complications after HCT for SSc

Expression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes in interspecific hybrids of oil palm

© 2020, The Author(s). Evaluation of transcriptome data in combination with QTL information has been applied in many crops to study the expression of genes responsible for specific phenotypes. In oil palm, the mesocarp oil extracted from E. oleifera × E. guineensis interspecific hybrids is known to have lower palmitic acid (C16:0) content compared to pure African palms. The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of transcriptome data in revealing the expression profiles of genes in the fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis processes in interspecific hybrids. The transcriptome assembly yielded 43,920 putative genes of which a large proportion were homologous to known genes in the public databases. Most of the genes encoding key enzymes involved in the FA and TAG synthesis pathways were identified. Of these, 27, including two candidate genes located within the QTL associated with C16:0 content, showed differential expression between developmental stages, populations and/or palms with contrasting C16:0 content. Further evaluation using quantitative real-time PCR revealed that differentially expressed patterns are generally consistent with those observed in the transcriptome data. Our results also suggest that different isoforms are likely to be responsible for some of the variation observed in FA composition of interspecific hybrids

System size and centrality dependence of the balance function in A+A collisions at sqrt[sNN]=17.2 GeV

Electric charge correlations were studied for p+p, C+C, Si+Si, and centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[sNN]=17.2 GeV with the NA49 large acceptance detector at the CERN SPS. In particular, long-range pseudorapidity correlations of oppositely charged particles were measured using the balance function method. The width of the balance function decreases with increasing system size and centrality of the reactions. This decrease could be related to an increasing delay of hadronization in central Pb+Pb collisions