NetJobs: A new approach to network monitoring for the Grid using Grid jobs

With grid computing, the far-fl�ung and disparate IT resources act as a single "virtual datacenter". Grid computing interfaces heterogeneous IT resources so they are available when and where we need them. Grid allows us to provision applications and allocate capacity among research and business groups that are geographically and organizationally dispersed. Building a high availability Grid is hold as the next goal to achieve: protecting against computer failures and site failures to avoid downtime of resource and honor Service Level Agreements. Network monitoring has a key role in this challenge. This work is concerning the design and the prototypal implementation of a new approach to Network monitoring for the Grid based on the usage of Grid scheduled jobs. This work was carried out within the Network Support task (SA2) of the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) project. This thesis is organized as follows: Chapter 1: Grid Computing From the origins of Grid Computing to the latest projects. Conceptual framework and main features characterizing many kind of popular grids will be presented. Chapter 2: The EGEE and EGI projects This chapter describes the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) project and the European Grid Infrastructure (EGI). EGEE project (2004-2010) was the�flagship Grid infrastructure project of the EU. The third and last two-year phase of the project (started on 1 May 2008) was financed with a total budget of around 47 million euro, with a further estimated 50 million euro worth of computing resources contributed by the partners. A total manpower of 9,000 Person Months, of which over 4,500 Person Months has been contributed by the partners from their own funding sources. At its close, EGEE represented a worldwide infrastructure of approximately to 200,000 CPU cores, collaboratively hosted by more than 300 centres around the world. By the end of the project, around 13 million jobs were executed on the EGEE grid each month. The new organization, EGI.eu, has then been created to continue the coordination and evolution of the European Grid Infrastructure (EGI) based on EGEE Grid. Chapter3: gLite Middleware Chapter three gives an overview on the gLite Grid Middleware. gLite is the middleware stack for grid computing used by the EGEE and EGI projects with in a very large variety of scientifi�c domains. Born from the collaborative efforts of more than 80 people in 12 different academic and industrial research centers as part of the EGEE Project, gLite provides a complete set of services for building a production grid infrastructure. gLite provides a framework for building grid applications tapping into the power of distributed computing and storage resources across the Internet. The gLite services are currently adopted by more than 250 Computing Centres and used by more than 15000 researchers in Europe and around the world. Chapter 4: Network Activity in EGEE/EGI Grid infrastructures are distributed by nature, involving many sites, normally in different administrative domains. Individual sites are connected together by a network, which is therefore a critical part of the whole Grid infrastructure; without the network there is no Grid. Monitoring is a key component for the successful operation of any infrastructure, helping in the discovery and diagnosis of any problem which may arise. Network monitoring is able to contribute to the day-to-day operations of the Grid by helping to provide answers to specific questions from users and site administrators. This chapter will discuss all the effort lavished by EGEE and EGI in the Grid Network domain. Chapter 5: Grid Network Monitoring based on Grid Jobs Net Jobs is a prototype of a light weight solution for the Grid network monitoring. A job-based approach has been used in order to prove the feasibility of this non intrusive solution. It is currently configured to monitor eight production sites spread from Italy to France but this method could be applied to the vast majority of Grid sites. The prototype provides coherent RTT, MTU, number of hops and TCP achievable bandwidth tests

Physically based approaches incorporating evaporation for early warning predictions of rainfall-induced landslides

Abstract. In the field of rainfall-induced landslides on sloping covers, models for early warning predictions require an adequate trade-off between two aspects: prediction accuracy and timeliness. When a cover's initial hydrological state is a determining factor in triggering landslides, taking evaporative losses into account (or not) could significantly affect both aspects. This study evaluates the performance of three physically based predictive models, converting precipitation and evaporative fluxes into hydrological variables useful in assessing slope safety conditions. Two of the models incorporate evaporation, with one representing evaporation as both a boundary and internal phenomenon, and the other only a boundary phenomenon. The third model totally disregards evaporation. Model performances are assessed by analysing a well-documented case study involving a 2 m thick sloping volcanic cover. The large amount of monitoring data collected for the soil involved in the case study, reconstituted in a suitably equipped lysimeter, makes it possible to propose procedures for calibrating and validating the parameters of the models. All predictions indicate a hydrological singularity at the landslide time (alarm). A comparison of the models' predictions also indicates that the greater the complexity and completeness of the model, the lower the number of predicted hydrological singularities when no landslides occur (false alarms)

Two Applications of Soil Water Balance in Unsaturated Pyroclastic Soils

Abstract Evaluation of the monthly soil water balance (SWB) provides a tool for understanding and predicting the effects of seasonal and long-term changes in soil water conditions within many geotechnical problems. In this paper, two applications of the SWB approach in the pyroclastic partially saturated soils are shown. Firstly, rainfall, evapotranspiration, water storage measured or estimated at the experimental site in Monteforte Irpino (in Southern Italy) are shown. Secondly, rainfall, infiltration, actual evapotranspiration and water storage measured by data provided by a physical model are shown. In the both cases, data are reported over two years (2010-2012). The physical model was constituted by a wooden tank filled with reconstituted silty pyroclastic soil taken from experimental site at Monteforte Irpino (AV) and it was exposed to the atmosphere at a site in Napoli. Comparison between soil hydraulic behaviours observed is discussed and the scale effects on the estimation of the SWB are analysed, treating with practical implications. From the results, it is clear that similar trends in SWB and the same value of suction over wet season (10 kPa) can be observed at both the scales in spite of differences in meteorological conditions and hydraulic properties of soils exposed to atmosphere

ROCK Inhibitors in Corneal Diseases and Glaucoma-A Comprehensive Review of These Emerging Drugs.

Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitors have gained significant attention as emerging novel treatment options in the field of ophthalmology in recent years. The evidence supporting their efficacy in glaucoma and corneal pathology includes both in vitro and clinical studies. Among the available options, ripasudil and netarsudil have emerged as the leading ROCK inhibitors, and some countries have approved these therapeutic options as treatments for glaucoma. Various dosing regimens have been studied, including monotherapy and combination therapy, especially for patients with secondary glaucoma who are already on multiple medications. Another rising application of ROCK inhibitors includes their use as an adjunct in surgical procedures such as Descemetorhexis Without Endothelial Keratoplasty (DWEK), Descemet Stripping Only (DSO) to accelerate visual recovery, glaucoma surgeries to reduce scarring process and allow better intraocular pressure (IOP) control, or after complicated anterior segment surgery to treat corneal oedema. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the existing literature in the field, offering recommendations for prescribing ROCK inhibitors and also discussing patient selection, drug efficacy, and possible adverse effects

Design conditions in the middle range for implementation of integrated ring resonators in LiNbO₃ by direct laser writing

The aim of this work is to design an integrated optical ring resonator to be implemented in LiNbO₃ with a 2.5 mm radius and an operating wavelength of 1550 nm. Considering these ring parameters, a free spectral range of 71.54 pm and a quality factor of ∼ 5 × 10⁵ were calculated. The authors apply results to improve the implementation of femtosecond laser writing in lithium niobate crystals. As it is well-known finite difference time domain method requires large memory and time for processing circuits with large footprint (few square mm), in contrast, the beam propagation method allows to simulate large bends in a simple way. RSoft suite design tools commonly represent circles by closed polygons whose geometrical parameters are not optimised to obtain bending losses as least as possible, as suggested by coherent coupling theory. In this sense, the suitable determination of a splice angle (in this case 1.44°), shape and length for segments are key parameters in the ring design. For this purpose, an ad hoc software was implemented to overcome this drawback. In summary, a 250 sided polygon side showed a suitable coupling performance and established a new layout approach for middle range rings.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasFacultad de IngenieríaCentro de Investigaciones Óptica

INTS3 controls the hSSB1-mediated DNA damage response

MISE is identified as a component of the Integrator complex required for DNA repair

Managing Post-Keratoplasty Astigmatism: High-Tech vs. Low-Tech Imaging Techniques for Guiding Suture Manipulation

Astigmatism is a visually significant condition that can develop after keratoplasty. The management of post-keratoplasty astigmatism can be performed both when transplant sutures are in place and when they have been removed. Fundamental for astigmatism management is its identification and characterization in terms of type, amount, and direction. Commonly, post-keratoplasty astigmatism is evaluated through corneal tomography or topo-aberrometry; however, many other techniques can be used in case these instruments are not readily available. Here, we describe several low-tech and high-tech techniques used for post-keratoplasty astigmatism detection in order to quickly understand if it contributes to low vision quality and to determine its characteristics. The management of post-keratoplasty astigmatism through suture manipulation is also described

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London