73 research outputs found
High-level grid application environment to use legacy codes as OGSA grid services
One of the biggest obstacles in the wide-spread industrial
take-up of Grid technology is the existence of a large
amount of legacy code that is not accessible as Grid services.
The paper describes a new approach (GEMLCA: Grid Execution Management for Legacy Code Architecture) to deploy legacy codes as Grid services without modifying the original code. Moreover, we show a workflow execution oriented Grid portal technology (P-GRADE portal) by which such legacy code based Grid services can be applied in complex business processes. GEMLCA has been implemented as GT-3 services but can be easily ported into the new WSRF Grid standards
GEMLCA: grid execution management for legacy code architecture design
The Grid Execution Management for Legacy Code Architecture
(GEMLCA) describes a solution for exposing and
executing legacy applications through an OGSI Grid Service.
This architecture has been introduced in a previous
paper by the same authors where the general concept was
demonstrated by creating an OGSI/GT3 version of the Mad-
City traffic simulator. In this paper, the class structure of the architecture is described presenting each component and describing the relationships between them. Also, the current architecture implementation is evaluated through test results gained by running the MadCity traffic simulator as a C/PVM legacy application
Security mechanisms for legacy code applications in GT3 environment
There are many legacy code applications that cannot be
run in Grid environment without significant modifications.
To avoid re-engineering of legacy code, we developed the
Grid Execution Management for Legacy Code Architecture
(GEMLCA) that enables deployment of legacy code
applications as Grid services. GEMLCA is an OGSI Grid
service layer that supports submitting jobs, getting their
results and status back. Security requirements are essential
to any Grid application to preserve the confidentiality and
integrity of data. To meet these requirements the GT3
security model was implemented in GEMLCA. The paper
introduces GEMLCA and how Grid Security Infrastructure
(GSI) components have been added to GEMLCA in order
to enable secure execution of jobs in Grid. The paper also
presents how a legacy code traffic simulator was transformed into a Grid service using GEMLCA and gives some simulation results
Photovoltaic Devices Using Sublimed Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskites: Long-Term Reproducible Processing
Fully evaporated solar cells using methylammonium iodide (MAI)-based perovskites can reach power conversion efficiencies exceeding 20%. An important point to advance perovskite photovoltaics is to ensure reproducibility from batch to batch. Sublimation control of organic ammonium halides is critical in achieving this for evaporated perovskite solar cells. Herein, a reproducible procedure for the coevaporation of PbI2 and MAI based on an evaporator chamber setup with only two quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) is described. One QCM monitors exclusively the PbI2 precursor (PbI2-QCM) and the second QCM monitors the total amount of MAPbI3 mass reaching the substrates (MAPbI3-QCM). It is shown that the MAI evaporation can be reliably monitored, indirectly, through the MAPbI3-QCM. In this way, the fluctuating sublimation rates usually observed due to variations of MAI purity are avoided. This allows one to obtain consistently high-performing solar cells over a period of one and a half years
Experiences with deploying legacy code applications as grid services using GEMLCA
One of the biggest obstacles in the wide-spread industrial take-up of Grid technology is the existence of a large amount of legacy code programs that is not accessible as Grid Services. On top of that, Grid technology challenges the user in order to intuitively interconnect and utilize resources in a friendly environment. This paper describes how legacy code applications were transformed into Grid Services using GEMLCA providing a user-friendly high-level Grid environment for deployment, and running them through the P-GRADE Grid portal. GEMLCA enables the use of legacy code programs as Grid services without modifying the original code. Using the P-GRADE Grid portal with GEMLCA it is possible to deploy legacy code applications as Grid services and use them in the creation and execution of complex workflows. This environment is tested by deploying and executing several legacy code applications on different sites of the UK e-Science OGSA testbed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005
Coarse-grained entanglement classification through orthogonal arrays
Classification of entanglement in multipartite quantum systems is an open
problem solved so far only for bipartite systems and for systems composed of
three and four qubits. We propose here a coarse-grained classification of
entanglement in systems consisting of subsystems with an arbitrary number
of internal levels each, based on properties of orthogonal arrays with
columns. In particular, we investigate in detail a subset of highly entangled
pure states which contains all states defining maximum distance separable
codes. To illustrate the methods presented, we analyze systems of four and five
qubits, as well as heterogeneous tripartite systems consisting of two qubits
and one qutrit or one qubit and two qutrits.Comment: 38 pages, 1 figur
Disappearing in the night: an overview on trade and legislation of night monkeys in South and Central America
The international trade in night monkeys (Aotus spp.), found throughout Central and South America, has been regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1975. We present a quantitative analysis of this trade from all 9 range countries, over 4 decades, and compare domestic legislation to CITES regulations. Night monkeys were exported from 8 of the 9 habitat countries, totalling 5,968 live individuals and 7,098 specimens, with trade of live individuals declining over time. In terms of species, the most commonly traded was Aotus nancymaae (present in Brazil, Colombia, Peru) followed by A. vociferans (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) and A. zonalis (Colombia, Panama). There was no significant correlation between levels of trade and species' geographic range size or the number of countries in which a species occurs. Five countries have legislation that meets CITES requirements for implementation, whereas the other 4 countries' legislation showed deficiencies. Research conducted in Colombia, Peru, and Brazil suggests significant cross-border trade not captured in official international trade registers. Although international trade has diminished, current trends suggest that populations of rarer species may be under unsustainable pressure. Further research is needed to quantify real trade numbers occurring between habitat countries
Antiprogestin mifepristone inhibits the growth of cancer cells of reproductive and non-reproductive origin regardless of progesterone receptor expression
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mifepristone (MF) has been largely used in reproductive medicine due to its capacity to modulate the progesterone receptor (PR). The study of MF has been expanded to the field of oncology; yet it remains unclear whether the expression of PR is required for MF to act as an anti-cancer agent. Our laboratory has shown that MF is a potent inhibitor of ovarian cancer cell growth. In this study we questioned whether the growth inhibitory properties of MF observed in ovarian cancer cells would translate to other cancers of reproductive and non-reproductive origin and, importantly, whether its efficacy is related to the expression of cognate PR.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Dose-response experiments were conducted with cancer cell lines of the nervous system, breast, prostate, ovary, and bone. Cultures were exposed to vehicle or increasing concentrations of MF for 72 h and analysed for cell number and cell cycle traverse, and hypodiploid DNA content characteristic of apoptotic cell death. For all cell lines, expression of steroid hormone receptors upon treatment with vehicle or cytostatic doses of MF for 24 h was studied by Western blot, whereas the activity of the G1/S regulatory protein Cdk2 in both treatment groups was monitored <it>in vitro </it>by the capacity of Cdk2 to phosphorylate histone H1.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MF growth inhibited all cancer cell lines regardless of tissue of origin and hormone responsiveness, and reduced the activity of Cdk2. Cancer cells in which MF induced G1 growth arrest were less susceptible to lethality in the presence of high concentrations of MF, when compared to cancer cells that did not accumulate in G1. While all cancer cell lines were growth inhibited by MF, only the breast cancer MCF-7 cells expressed cognate PR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Antiprogestin MF inhibits the growth of different cancer cell lines with a cytostatic effect at lower concentrations in association with a decline in the activity of the cell cycle regulatory protein Cdk2, and apoptotic lethality at higher doses in association with increased hypodiploid DNA content. Contrary to common opinion, growth inhibition of cancer cells by antiprogestin MF is not dependent upon expression of classical, nuclear PR.</p
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