A Simulated Annealing Method to Cover Dynamic Load Balancing in Grid Environment

High-performance scheduling is critical to the achievement of application performance on the computational grid. New scheduling algorithms are in demand for addressing new concerns arising in the grid environment. One of the main phases of scheduling on a grid is related to the load balancing problem therefore having a high-performance method to deal with the load balancing problem is essential to obtain a satisfactory high-performance scheduling. This paper presents SAGE, a new high-performance method to cover the dynamic load balancing problem by means of a simulated annealing algorithm. Even though this problem has been addressed with several different approaches only one of these methods is related with simulated annealing algorithm. Preliminary results show that SAGE not only makes it possible to find a good solution to the problem (effectiveness) but also in a reasonable amount of time (efficiency)

EXPLORING THE MECHANISM OF ALGINATE ACETYLATION IN PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

The opportunistic pathogen P. aeruginosa is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis patients. During chronic infection of the cystic fibrosis lung, P. aeruginosa undergoes conversion to a mucoid phenotype, constitutively producing the exopolysaccharide alginate, composed of the uronic acids D-mannuronate and L-guluronate. This alginate production contributes significantly to virulence in the cystic fibrosis lung. Evidence suggests that the acetylation state of the mannuronate component of the alginate influences the ability of components of the immune system to phagocytose the organism. To garner new and relevant information regarding the mechanism of alginate acetylation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a variety of approaches were undertaken. Analysis of the alginate produced by algX, algG, and algK alginate biosynthesis mutants revealed that the small oligouronides they produced were unacetylated. This strongly supports the hypothesis that the mannuronates are acetylated in periplasm, and that a polymer of at least some specific size is required. While three alginate biosynthesis gene products (AlgI, AlgJ, and AlgF) have been shown to be involved in alginate acetylation, another gene in the cluster, algX, shares 30% identity with one of them and thus generates speculation as to its potential involvement in the process. To test this possibility, an algX mutant was complemented with a plasmid carrying a mutation at a conserved residue shown to be required for alginate acetylation in the homologous protein. Analysis of alginate from this construct suggested that AlgX is not involved in alginate acetylation. To determine if changes in levels of alginate acetylation are accomplished at the transcriptional level, transcript levels of several alginate biosynthesis genes in different media were determined by real-time PCR. As qRT-PCR had not been previously performed on any of the alginate biosynthesis genes, this yielded important information about the transcription of the operon. In addition, beta-galactosidase assays on upstream regions of several biosynthesis genes identified two previously unrecognized promoters, one upstream of algG and one upstream of algI. The remaining approach was to examine protein interactions of AlgF, the protein product of one of the three acetylation genes. 2-D redox SDS-PAGE gels indicated that disulfide bonding may be important for interactions with this protein. While mass spectrometry was unable to identify the binding partners of AlgF, efforts are ongoing to create a mutation in the P. aeruginosa genome that changes the cysteine residue in AlgF to a serine residue. This would be a definitive method for determining the importance of disulfide bonding in AlgF

Yang-Baxter integrable open quantum systems

This work is based on the author's PhD thesis. The main result of the thesis is the use of the boost operator to develop a systematic method to construct new integrable spin chains with nearest-neighbour interaction and characterized by an R-matrix of non-difference form. This method has the advantage of being more feasible than directly solving the Yang-Baxter equation. We applied this approach to various contexts, in particular, in the realm of open quantum systems, we achieved the first classification of integrable Lindbladians. These operators describe the dynamics of physical systems in contact with a Markovian environment. Within this classification, we discovered a novel deformation of the Hubbard model spanning three sites of the spin chain. Additionally, we applied our method to classify models with $\mathfrak{su}(2)\oplus \mathfrak{su}(2)$ symmetry and we recovered the matrix part of the S-matrix of $AdS_5 \times S^5$ derived by requiring centrally extended $\mathfrak{su}(2|2)$ symmetry. Furthermore, we focus on spin 1/2 chain on models of 8-Vertex type and we showed that the models of this class satisfy the free fermion condition. This enables us to express the transfer matrix associated to some of the models in a diagonal form, simplifying the computation of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The thesis is based on the works: 2003.04332, 2010.11231, 2011.08217, 2101.08279, 2207.14193, 2301.01612, 2305.01922.Comment: 244 pages: 204 from chapters and 40 from appendices + reference

Francis Hutcheson: Why Be Moral?

Like all theories that account for moral motivation, Francis Hutcheson\u27s moral sense theory faces two related challenges. The skeptical challenge calls into question what reasons an agent has to be moral at all. The priority challenge asks why an agent\u27s reasons to be moral tend to outweigh her non-moral reasons to act. I argue a defender of Hutcheson can respond to these challenges by building on unique features of his account. She can respond to skeptical challenge by drawing a direct parallel between an agent\u27s reasons to pursue natural, self-directed goods and her reasons to pursue moral goods. This parallel, however, makes establishing the significance of morality difficult. Given this difficulty, a separate aspect of Hutcheson\u27s account, the additional weight given to benevolence in our assessment of mixed actions, can be used to respond to the priority challenge

Equality, Capability and Neurodiversity

The challenges of neurodiversity have been most directly explored in debate around the demands of equality in a democracy. The debate roughly divides into two camps: democratic equality and the capabilities approach. Neurodiverstiy raises at least one central question that helps to think through the debate over these two conceptions of equality: how do different capabilities and differing levels of ability affect the demands of equality in country that prides itself on having free and equal citizens? Democratic equality, with its overt focus citizen’s role as a citizen, pays insufficient attention to individual’s neurological and psychological differences. The capabilities approach provides a better place to start in our theorizing about neurodiversity. By focusing on what individuals can do with resources in a particular context, it incorporates human variation as a starting point in the justice debate. Two questions, however, loom large. First, recognizing human variation will make some less independent, how should we determine who gets included as an equal member in society? Second, what limits, if any, are there on how many resources can justly be spent on the project of attaining equality? I suggest our best current approach brings together elements from the capabilities framework, thereby adopting a better framework for capturing neurodiversity, and an institutional approach more readily aligned with democratic equality, providing resources for a principled limit on the demands of justice. Using this framework I briefly argue for a presumption of inclusion and present several considerations to mitigate the worry about limits

The Structural Competence of Contractualism

The contractualist account of wrongness faces a family of objections that all aim to show that the account is explanatorily inadequate. These objections often level claims of circularity or redundancy, and interpreted as an internal challenge they present formal objections to the account of wrongness. If correct, they show that structurally contractualism fails to provide an independent account of wrongness because its determinations of wrongness necessarily rely on a non-contractual basis. Rather than respond to particular versions of these objections, I identify the elements of contractualism that may provide a basis for a charge of redundancy or circularity: the objections to a principle of action, the basis for assessing the objections and the reason-giving force of wrongness. Then, I show that accounting for the wrongness of an action at any of these stages either fails to capture the contractual account of wrongness or does not invoke a non-contractualist standard. Building on the ideal of justifiability, contractualists can provide an in principle response to these structural challenges

How to Overcome Strawson’s Point: Defending a Value-Oriented Foundation for Contractualism

In The Second Person Standpoint, Darwall charges that all value-oriented foundations for ethics make a category mistake. Calling it Strawson’s point, he argues these foundations explain moral authority, which concerns whether someone has standing to hold another accountable, in terms of a value, which essentially concerns what makes the world go best. However, whether it would be good for me to blame you simply asks a different question than whether I have standing to blame you. I defend a value-oriented foundation for contractualism by identifying one way to overcome Strawson’s point. At bottom, Darwall’s objection relies on the assumption that all values are world regarding. I argue that another class of values exists: second-personal values. Grounding morality in one of these values does not make the category mistake at the heart of Strawson’s point. In particular, I argue that grounding morality on one second personal value, the ideal of acting justifiably towards others, better captures traditional contractualist ideals than Darwall’s formal foundation

Comparação de custo-efetividade entre a esclerectomia profunda não penetrante e a terapia clínica máxima tolerada para o glaucoma no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS)

PURPOSE: Non-penetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS) has emerged as a viable option in the surgical management of open-angle glaucoma. Our aim is to assess the cost-effectiveness of NPDS and to compare it to maximum medical treatment in a 5-year follow-up. METHODS: A decision analysis model was built. Surgical (NPDS) arm of the decision tree was observational (consecutive retrospective case series) and maximum medical treatment arm was hypothetical. Maximum medical therapy was considered a three-drug regimen (association of a fixed combination of timolol/dorzolamide [FCTD] and a prostaglandin analogue [bimatoprost, latanoprost or travoprost]). Cost-effectiveness ratio was defined as direct cost (US dollars) for each percentage of intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction. Horizon was 5 years and perspective is from the public health care service in Brazil (SUS). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated. RESULTS: Direct cost for each percentage of IOP reduction in 5 years (cost-effectiveness ratio) was US$10.19 for NPDS; US$ 37.45 for the association of a FCTD and bimatoprost; US$39.33 for FCTD and travoprost; and US$ 41.42 for FCTD and latanoprost. NPDS demonstrated a better cost-effectiveness ratio, compared to maximum medical therapy. The ICER was negative for all medical treatment options; therefore NPDS was dominant. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations, NPDS was both less costly and more effective than maximum medical therapy. From the Brazilian public health perspective, it was the most cost-effective treatment option when compared to maximum medical therapy (FCTD and prostaglandin).OBJETIVO: A esclerectomia profunda não penetrante (EPNP) é uma opção viável para o tratamento cirúrgico do glaucoma de ângulo aberto. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a relação custo-efetividade da EPNP e compará-la com terapia clínica máxima (TCM) em um acompanhamento de 5 anos. MÉTODOS: Um modelo de análise de decisão foi proposto comparando-se o tratamento cirúrgico (EPNP) versus a TCM. A avaliação da EPNP foi observacional retrospectiva de uma série consecutiva de casos e da TCM foi hipotética. A TCM foi considerada como o uso de três drogas (associação de uma combinação fixa de timolol/dorzolamida [CFTD] e um análogo de prostaglandina [bimatoprosta, latanoprosta ou travoprosta]). A relação custo-efetividade foi definida com o custo direto (em dólares) para cada porcentual de redução da pressão intraocular (PIO). A razão de custo-efetividade incremental (ICER) foi calculada. O seguimento foi de 5 anos e a perspectiva dos custos é do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). RESULTADOS: O custo direto para cada porcentual de redução da PIO ao final de 5 anos (relação custo-efetividade) foi de US$10,19 para a EPNP; US$ 37,45 para a CFTD + bimatoprosta; US$39,33 para CFTD + travoprosta; e US$ 41,42 para CFTD + latanoprosta. A EPNP apresentou uma melhor relação custo-efetividade, quando comparada com a TCM. O índice ICER foi negativo, portanto a EPNP foi a opção terapêutica dominante. CONCLUSÃO: A EPNP foi menos custosa e mais efetiva que a TCM. Do ponto de vista do SUS, ela foi a opção mais custo-efetiva, quando comparada com a TCM