Comparing Languages for Engineering Server Software: Erlang, Go, and Scala with Akka

Servers are a key element of current IT infrastructures, and must often deal with large numbers of concurrent requests. The programming language used to construct the server has an important role in engineering efficient server software, and must support massive concurrency on multicore machines with low communication and synchronisation overheads. This paper investigates 12 highly concurrent programming languages suitable for engineering servers, and analyses three representative languages in detail: Erlang, Go, and Scala with Akka. We have designed three server benchmarks that analyse key performance characteristics of the languages. The benchmark results suggest that where minimising message latency is crucial, Go and Erlang are best; that Scala with Akka is capable of supporting the largest number of dormant processes; that for servers that frequently spawn processes Erlang and Go minimise creation time; and that for constantly communicating processes Go provides the best throughput

Persuasiveness of eWOM communications: Literature review and suggestions for future research

YesElectronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) plays an important part in consumer purchase decision. The way consumers perceive the persuasiveness of eWOM message can affect their attitude, and purchase intention, and hence sales. Thus, the topic of persuasiveness of eWOM communications has received much attention from scholars. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief review of the existing literature related to the effectiveness of eWOM communications and offer an overview of the determinants of eWOM persuasiveness. This paper contributes to the existing eWOM literature by reviewing the existing studies on eWOM communications, identifying gaps in the current research and providing directions for future research

Intraocular DHODH-inhibitor PP-001 suppresses relapsing experimental uveitis and cytokine production of human lymphocytes, but not of RPE cells

Background: Uveitis is a potentially blinding inflammatory disease of the inner eye with a high unmet need for new therapeutic interventions. Here, we wanted to investigate the suppressive effect of the intraocular application of the small molecule dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH)-inhibitor PP-001 on experimental relapsing rat uveitis and furthermore determine its effect on proliferation and cytokine secretion of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in vitro. Methods: Spontaneously relapsing uveitis was induced in rats by immunization with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) peptide R14. PP-001 was injected intravitreally after resolution of the primary disease to investigate further relapses. Proliferation and metabolic activity of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated human peripheral lymphocytes with and without PP-001 and cytokine secretion were determined by XTT assay and bioplex bead assay. The RPE cell line ARPE-19 as well as primary human RPE cells treated with PP-001 or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody bevacizumab were also investigated for metabolic activity and cytokine/chemokine secretion. Results: Injection of PP-001 into rat eyes reduced the number of relapses by 70%, from 20 relapses (57% of the rats affected) in the control group to 6 relapses (33% of the rats) in the treatment group. In human PBL cultures, PP-001 reduced the proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The secretion of several cytokines such as IL-17, IFN-gamma, and VEGF was suppressed by PP-001, as previously observed with rat T cells in the experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) model. In contrast, human RPE cells were not affected by PP-001, while the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab severely impaired the secretion of various cytokines including VEGF. Conclusions: For the first time, intravitreal injection of PP-001 demonstrated an effective, but transient reduction of relapses in the rat EAU model. In vitro PP-001 suppressed proliferation and cytokine/chemokine secretion of human lymphocytes, while neither human RPE cell line ARPE-19 nor primary RPE cells were affected

Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis

The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders

Leveraging analytics to produce compelling and profitable film content

Producing compelling film content profitably is a top priority to the long-term prosperity of the film industry. Advances in digital technologies, increasing availabilities of granular big data, rapid diffusion of analytic techniques, and intensified competition from user generated content and original content produced by Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) platforms have created unparalleled needs and opportunities for film producers to leverage analytics in content production. Built upon the theories of value creation and film production, this article proposes a conceptual framework of key analytic techniques that film producers may engage throughout the production process, such as script analytics, talent analytics, and audience analytics. The article further synthesizes the state-of-the-art research on and applications of these analytics, discuss the prospect of leveraging analytics in film production, and suggest fruitful avenues for future research with important managerial implications