ERP PACKAGE EVALUATION, THE CASE OF SMEs KAVALA’s REGION

In this paper we want to examine how enterprise resource planning (ERP) systemseffects on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Kavala’s region. We consider several SMEsof our region, we use data from each SME and we form a questionnaire to secure more data fromthe enterprises. We weight up the factors that affect the choice of ERP. Also, we relate these factorswith basic characteristics of the specific SMEs of our region. Flexibility and functionality are themost important criteria of choosing an ERP system. Surprisingly, the cost is one of the lessimportant criteria. Also, minor effects have criteria such as brand, name and position of the vendor.Finally, we indicate issues for future research.ERP, SMEs, criteria evaluation

When IoT Meets DevOps: Fostering Business Opportunities

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the new digital revolution for the near-future society, the second after the creation of the Internet itself. The software industry is converging towards the large-scale deployment of IoT devices and services, and there’s broad support from the business environment for this engineering vision. The Development and Operations (DevOps) project management methodology, with continuous delivery and integration, is the preferred approach for achieving and deploying applications to all levels of the IoT architecture. In this paper we also discuss the promising trend of associating devices with microservices, which are further encapsulated into functional packages called containers. Docker is considered the market leader in container-based service delivery, though other important software companies are promoting this concept as part of the technology solution for their IoT customers. In the experimental section we propose a three-layer IoT model, business-oriented, and distributed over multiple cloud environments, comprising the Physical, Fog/Edge, and Application layers.     Keywords: Internet-of-Things, software technologies, project management, business environment Heading

Farnesylated Nuclear Proteins Kugelkern and Lamin Dm0 Affect Nuclear Morphology by Directly Interacting with the Nuclear Membrane

Nuclear shape changes are observed during a variety of developmental processes, pathological conditions and ageing. Here, the molecular mechanism is analyzed how the farnesylated nuclear proteins interact with the nuclear envelope and deform the phospholipid bilayer

Computational analysis with applications in the multiresolution analysis of information

[…] Σκοπός της παρούσης διατριβής είναι η εύρεση νέων διακριτών γραµµικών και µη γραµµικών µετασχηµατισµών και η ανάπτυξη νέων αλγορίθµων ικανών καταρχήν στην εξαγωγή της τοπικής πληροφορίας και επιπλέον, στην εύρεση µη γραµµικών δοµών, στην εύρεση της κρυµµένης γραµµατικής και της περιοδικότητας της πληροφορίας. Αφετηρία της παρούσας διατριβής αποτέλεσε η εµπειρία από τη συµµετοχή στα ερευνητικά προγράµµατα EU Project IST-2000-26016 IMCOMP, “Immunocomputing” και Ε.Π.Ε.Α.Ε.Κ. ΙΙ, Έργο Πυθαγόρας ΙΙ – ΕΕΟΠ, υποέργο 24, “Μαθηµατικά Βιο-πληροφορικών εφαρµογών”, όπου η ερευνητική οµάδα του Α.Π.Θ. εντόπισε τα πιο πάνω προβλήµατα των διακριτών µετασχηµατισµών και διέβλεψε ότι βασικές βιολογικές λειτουργίες των γονιδίων όπως είναι η αναπαραγωγή σε πολλαπλά αντίγραφα και η συρραφή τµηµάτων αυτών θα µπορούσαν να εµπνεύσουν την κατασκευή νέων γραµµικών και µη γραµµικών διακριτών µετασχηµατισµών. Έτσι, εκτός της παρούσας διατριβής έγινε προσπάθεια εύρεσης νέων κλάσεων διακριτών µετασχηµατισµών (βλ. τις εργασίες [3]-[5], [20]). Η παρούσα διατριβή ως συνέχεια των ανωτέρω εστιάζεται στα ακόλουθα: Στην κατασκευή µίας ευρείας κλάσης τετραγωνικών αντιστρέψιµων αραιών πινάκων (sparse matrices, δηλ. πίνακες µε ολίγα µη µηδενικά στοιχεία). Οι πίνακες αυτοί προκύπτουν απο έναν αρχικό πίνακα, όπου µε επεξεργασία αναπαραγωγής/συρραφής σε πολλαπλά αντίγραφα οι παραγώµενοι νέοι πίνακες διατηρούν µερικές βασικές ιδιότητες του αρχικού. Με τον τρόπο αυτό δηµιουργείται µία κλιµακωτή ανάλυση (πολυδιακριτή ανάλυση) που εξασφαλίζει τον έλεγχο της τοπικής πληροφορίας. Έτσι, για παράδειγµα ένας πίνακας διάστασης 3 x 3 µπορεί να αναπτυχθεί σε πίνακες διάστασης 3ⁿ x 3ⁿ, n = 2, 3,.. και εποµένως µία ακολουθία δεδοµένων µήκους 3ⁿ, µπορεί να κωδικοποιηθεί/συµπιεσθεί σε µία ακολουθία µε 3ᵏ το πλήθος δεδοµένα, όπου k<n, και εξ’ αιτίας του ότι οι πίνακες αυτοί είναι αραιοί, επιτυγχάνεται µία ταχεία κωδικοποίηση/ συµπίεση της τοπικής πληροφορίας. Στην κατασκευή µη γραµµικών αντιστρέψιµων µετασχηµατισµών που έχουν εργοδική δοµή. Στην εργασία [3] έχει αποδειχθεί ότι οι µη γραµµικοί µετασχηµατισµοί (Γινόµενα Riesz, βλ. την εισαγωγή του 3ου Κεφαλαίου) του ορθογωνίου συστήµατος Haar είναι αντιστρέψιµοι, επιπλέον έχουν εργοδική δοµή και µπορούν να αναγνωρίσουν απλές γραµµατικές συµβολοσειρών, όπως παραδείγµατος χάριν συµβολοσειρές που αντιστοιχούν στο γνωστό σύνολο Cantor. Ένα σηµαντικό µέρος αυτής της διατριβής εστιάζεται στην µελέτη αντιστρέψιµων Γινοµένων Riesz που ορίζονται από τους αραιούς πίνακες που αναφέραµε. Ο τρίτος στόχος αυτής της διατριβής είναι να βρούµε εφαρµογές αυτών των µετασχηµατισµών. Έτσι, παραθέτουµε δύο εφαρµογές, µία για τη δηµιουργία ενός µοντέλου πρόβλεψης σε κλάσεις σχεδόν περιοδικών ακολουθιών και µία άλλη για την ανάπτυξη µίας µεθόδου κρυπτογράφησης. […

Factors Effecting Studies in the Department of Industrial Informatics of the Kavala Institute of Technology

Information regarding students’ and education institutes’ progress is a barometer for the overall prestige of the education system in Greece. Scientific community, the relative ministries and the society demand the evaluation of students and education institutes. Higher education studies are one of the most important level of education in Greece and compose important time in the lives of young scientists. A long deliberation took place during the last years regarding the time that is consuming for higher education and whether it should be unlimited or it should be limited to an upper limit. Recently, a rule of (2ν+1) for the upper limit of studies has been set by the Greek state. The pass-mark of 10 has been abolished and a deliberation for possible integration and abolishment of departments has started. In this paper, we study data regarding duration of studies in the department of Industrial Informatics of the Kavala Institute of Technology. The goal of this study is to extract important conclusions for the students’ progress and for their evaluation for the department. The final conclusions can become an important tool for the department, in order to make the necessary actions for its better function

Consolidation of Gold and Gadolinium Nanoparticles: An Extra Step towards Improving Cancer Imaging and Therapy

The multifactorial nature of cancer still classifies the disease as one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Modern medical sciences are following an interdisciplinary approach that has been fueled by the nanoscale revolution of the past years. The exploitation of high-Z materials, in combination with ionizing or non-ionizing radiation, promises to overcome restrictions in medical imaging and to augment the efficacy of current therapeutic modalities. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have proven their value among the scientific community in various therapeutic and diagnostic techniques. However, the high level of multiparametric demands of AuNP experiments in combination with their biocompatibility and cytotoxicity levels remain crucial issues. Gadolinium NPs (GdNPs), have presented high biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and excellent hemocompatibility, and have been utilized in MRI-guided radiotherapy, photodynamic and photothermal therapy, etc. Τhe utilization of gadolinium bound to AuNPs may be a promising alternative that would reduce phenomena, such as toxicity, aggregation, etc., and could create a multimodal in vivo contrast and therapeutic agent. This review highlights multi-functionalization strategies against cancer where gold and gadolinium NPs are implicated. Their experimental applications and limitations of the past 5 years will be analyzed in the hope of enlightening the benefits and drawbacks of their proper combination

The cis-regulatory code of Hox function in Drosophila

Spatiotemporal control of gene expression is orchestrated by the combinatorial interplay of transcription factor (TF) complexes with cis-regulatory DNA elements. However, it remains mostly unclear how TFs, many of which are active in several cell types, acquire cell-type specific functions. An ideal model to study the mechanisms underlying TF tissue-specificity are the Homeobox (Hox) TFs, which despite their broad expression, activate or repress transcriptional programs in a highly context dependent manner. To address how a widely expressed transcriptional regulator is able to modulate downstream gene activity with high cellular specificity, we have quantitatively identified binding regions for the Hox TF Deformed (Dfd) in the Drosophila genome. By analyzing Dfd bound cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), we show that architectural features like motif-pair associations and motif distance preferences are essential for cell-type specific expression of associated target genes. CRM features indeed determine specificity, since they alone accurately predict target gene function and expression patterns. We also find that Dfd and Ultrabithorax (Ubx), another Hox TF specifying different morphological traits, interact exclusively with non-overlapping genomic regions in vivo, regardless of their similar DNA binding preferences. Despite their comparable basic design principles, Dfd and Ubx CRMs show distinct motif compositions and motif-pair associations, explaining the high functional specificity of the two Hox proteins. Our results uncover the regulatory code of Hox CRMs and elucidate the mechanisms underlying functional specificity of TFs in vivo