Validating communication network configurations in cloud and HPC systems using Metamorphic Testing

Funding: This work was supported by the Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) under the Multiannual Agreement with the Complutense University as part of the Program to Stimulate Research for Young Doctors in the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation) under grant PR65/19-22452, the Spanish MINECO/FEDER project MASSIVE under Grant RTI2018-095255-B-I00, the Comunidad de Madrid project FORTE-CM under grant S2018/TCS-4314, and project S2018/TCS-4339 (BLOQUES-CM) co-funded by EIE Funds of the European Union and Comunidad de Madrid.During the last years, the fast evolution of computers and networks has led to the creation of a wide variety of services that have changed the way we live, like video streaming, on-line gaming and online shopping. These services are supported by complex systems, which require not only high computational power but high-speed and low-latency networks to fulfil the expected quality requirements. However, a misleading configuration in one of the thousand components that compose these systems may cause performance bottlenecks and functioning disruptions. Unfortunately, conventional testing methods are not adequate for checking these systems since, on many occasions, there does not exist a mechanism to determine if the behaviour of a system is the expected one. Fortunately, Metamorphic Testing is a valuable and promising testing technique that alleviates the two fundamental problems of testing: the oracle problem and the reliable test set problem. In this paper, we combine Metamorphic Testing and simulation techniques for validating communication network con- figurations in HPC systems. For this, we rely on a catalogue of Metamorphic Relations, based on network communications knowledge, for checking its correctness. In addition, we have conducted an experimental study for analysing the communica- tion network of HPC systems. The results show that Metamorphic Testing is appropriate for checking the correctness of communication networks supported by complex topologies in HPC systems.Postprin

New contributions to the geographical distinction of painted andalusi plinths

[EN] Few examples remain of artistic Andalusi decoration in the form of painted plinths in residential settings. Several technological issues have arisen when noting potential connections in an attempt to contextualize the styles, geography and chronologies of these plinths. Using XRD, FTIR and stratigraphic analysis, and considering previous research, the study of execution techniques and materials observed in plinths in Baŷŷāna (Almería) has made it possible to establish parallels with decorated plinths from the Barrio de casas de la Alcazaba in Malaga. Based on these results, interesting conclusions can be drawn regarding production techniques which are in keeping with the survival of certain execution procedures of Roman origin for renderings. Furthermore, the existence of a production nucleus grouping the examples from Almería and Malaga is proposed within a technical context which would set them apart.[ES] Una manifestación artística de la decoración andalusí de la que se conservan escasos testimonios son los zócalos pintados en el ámbito doméstico. Los intentos por contextualizar estilística, geográfica y cronológicamente estos zócalos han planteado algunas cuestiones de índole tecnológica a la hora de apuntar posibles conexiones. El estudio de las técnicas de ejecución y materiales empleados en zócalos de Baŷŷāna (Almería), mediante análisis estratigráfico, DRX y FTIR, ha permitido establecer paralelismos con zócalos decorados procedentes del barrio de casas de la Alcazaba de Málaga a partir de una investigación anterior. Los resultados permiten extraer interesantes conclusiones sobre las técnicas de elaboración, que son congruentes con la pervivencia de algunos procedimientos de ejecución de los enlucidos de raigambre romana. Además, se plantea aquí la existencia de un núcleo de producción que agruparía los ejemplos provenientes de Almería y Málaga, cuyo contexto técnico los diferenciaría.Alejandre Sánchez, FJ.; Núñez Guerrero, C.; Díaz Ramos, S.; Pérez-Malumbres Landa, A. (2023). Nuevas aportaciones a la diferenciación geográfica de los zócalos pintados andalusíes. Loggia, Arquitectura & Restauración. (36):40-51. https://doi.org/10.4995/loggia.2023.1996940513

iCanCloud: a flexible and scalable cloud infrastructure simulator

Simulation techniques have become a powerful tool for deciding the best starting conditions on pay-as-you-go scenarios. This is the case of public cloud infrastructures, where a given number and type of virtual machines (in short VMs) are instantiated during a specified time, being this reflected in the final budget. With this in mind, this paper introduces and validates iCanCloud, a novel simulator of cloud infrastructures with remarkable features such as flexibility, scalability, performance and usability. Furthermore, the iCanCloud simulator has been built on the following design principles: (1) it's targeted to conduct large experiments, as opposed to others simulators from literature; (2) it provides a flexible and fully customizable global hypervisor for integrating any cloud brokering policy; (3) it reproduces the instance types provided by a given cloud infrastructure; and finally, (4) it contains a user-friendly GUI for configuring and launching simulations, that goes from a single VM to large cloud computing systems composed of thousands of machines.This research was partially supported by the following projects: Spanish MEC project TESIS (TIN2009-14312-C02-01), and Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the grant TIN2010-16497.Publicad

Uses, cultural significance, and management of peatlands in the Peruvian Amazon: Implications for conservation

Tropical peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle by acting as significant carbon stores. South America's largest peatland complex is located in the Loreto Region of the Peruvian Amazon. Here we present the first study of human relations with these peatlands, including their uses, cultural significance and current management, as well as implications for conservation, based on qualitative research with people living in two riverine rural communities. Our results indicate that peatlands are culturally ambiguous spaces, used mainly for hunting, palm fruit harvesting, and timber, but feared due to the dangers of getting lost, sinking into the ‘sucking’ ground, and being attacked by anacondas and/or mythical creatures. While the difficult terrain and remoteness of peatlands have thus far acted as natural barriers to their destruction through conversion to different land uses, overuse of natural resources is nevertheless a significant concern for people living in the peat-dominated landscape of the Peruvian Amazon, mixed with frustration about the lack of outside support to foster environmental conservation and economic opportunities. We explore how evaluations of the present situation differ across one indigenous and one mestizo community. We identify a range of nascent peatland conservation strategies, including seedling planting to regrow valuable (palm) trees, and the climbing of palm trees for harvesting fruit as opposed to felling them. We argue that peatland conservation could be combined with the development of sustainable management strategies, but that this would require sustained engagement by outside organisations with rapidly growing local communities in these areas.NERC; Scottish Funding Counci

Anxiety and self-esteem in cyber-victimization profiles of adolescents

This study has two objectives: (1) Identify profiles of victimization in adolescence, depending on the levels of offline or online peer aggression suffered, along with the prevalence of each profile; and (2) Analyse the association of the victimization profiles with adolescents’ social anxiety and self-esteem. The sample was comprised of 3120 adolescents aged 12 to 18 (M=14.03; SD=1.40) from Asturias (Spain), who completed self-report questionnaires about traditional peer victimization and cyber-victimization, as well as social anxiety and self-esteem. We performed descriptive analyses, Latent Profile Analyses, and multivariate analyses of variance. We found a positive, moderate correlation between being a cyber-victim and being a traditional victim, along with four profile types: non-victims (77.8%), mainly cyber-victims (13.5%), mainly traditional victims (4.5%), and dual victims (4.3%). Traditional victims and dual victims exhibited greater social anxiety and less self-esteem than cyber-victims, who exhibited greater social anxiety and less self-esteem than non-victims. Dual victims and traditional victims do not differ in social anxiety and self-esteem. The results contribute to the identification of patterns of victimization in school-age adolescents, and their relationship with social anxiety and self-esteem

SK channels contribution to ventricular electrophysiology in heart failure patients

Heart failure (HF) is characterized by deterioration of the electrical and contractile function of the heart due to structural and functional remodelling, leading to development of arrhythmias and increased sudden cardiac death risk. SK channels are a type of calcium-activated potassium channels that do not play a relevant role in normal ventricular electrophysiology. However, it has been hypothesized that these channels become more relevant in pathologies such as HF. Nontheless, their role in human ventricular electrophysiology is not fully characterized

Systemic administration of a fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 agonist rescues the cognitive deficit in aged socially isolated rats.

Social isolation predominantly occurs in elderly people and it is strongly associated with cognitive decline. However, the mechanisms that produce isolation-related cognitive dysfunction during aging remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the cognitive, electrophysiological, and morphological effects of short- (4 weeks) and long-term (12 weeks) social isolation in aged male Wistar rats. Long-term but not short-term social isolation increased the plasma corticosterone levels and impaired spatial memory in the Morris water maze. Moreover, isolated animals displayed dampened hippocampal long-term potentiation in vivo, both in the dentate gyrus (DG) and CA1, as well as a specific reduction in the volume of the stratum oriens and spine density in CA1. Interestingly, social isolation induced a transient increase in hippocampal basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2), whereas fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) levels only increased after long-term isolation. Importantly, subchronic systemic administration of FGL, a synthetic peptide that activates FGFR1, rescued spatial memory in long-term isolated rats. These findings provide new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the detrimental effects on memory of chronic social isolation in the aged.pre-print507 K