Autonomous multispecies reaction-diffusion systems with more-than-two-site interactions

Autonomous multispecies systems with more-than-two-neighbor interactions are studied. Conditions necessary and sufficient for closedness of the evolution equations of the $n$-point functions are obtained. The average number of the particles at each site for one species and three-site interactions, and its generalization to the more-than-three-site interactions is explicitly obtained. Generalizations of the Glauber model in different directions, using generalized rates, generalized number of states at each site, and generalized number of interacting sites, are also investigated.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX2

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Workload models and performance evaluation of cloud storage services

Cloud storage systems are currently very popular with many companies offering services, including worldwide providers such as Dropbox, Microsoft and Google. These companies as well as providers entering the market could greatly benefit from a deep understanding of typical workload patterns their services have to face in order to develop cost-effective solutions. Yet, despite recent studies of usage and performance of these systems, the underlying processes that generate workload for the system have not been deeply studied. This paper presents a thorough investigation of the workload generated by Dropbox customers. We propose a hierarchical model that captures user sessions, file system modifications and content sharing patterns. We parameterize our model using passive measurements gathered from fourdifferent networks. Next, we use the proposed model to drive the development of CloudGen, a new synthetic workload generator that allows the simulation of the network traffic created by cloud storage services in various realistic scenarios. We validate CloudGen by comparing synthetic traces with actual data from operational networks. We then show its applicability by investigating the impact of the continuing growth in cloud storage popularity on bandwidth consumption. Our results indicate that a hypothetical 4-fold increase in both user population and content sharing could lead to 30 times more network traffic. CloudGen is a valuable tool for administrators and developers interested in engineering and deploying cloud storage services

Effect of storage in water and thermocycling on hardness and roughness of resin materials for temporary restorations

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the effect of storage in water and thermocycling on hardness and roughness of resin materials for temporary restorations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three acrylic resins (Dencor-De, Duralay-Du, and Vipi Cor-VC) were selected and one composite resin (Opallis-Op) was used as a parameter for comparison. The materials were prepared according to the manufacturers' instructions and were placed in stainless steel moulds (20 mm in diameter and 5 mm thick). Thirty samples of each resin were made and divided into three groups (n = 10) according to the moment of Vickers hardness (VHN) and roughness (Ra) analyses: C (control group): immediately after specimen preparation; Sw: after storage in distilled water at 37 °C for 24 hours; Tc: after thermocycling (3000 cycles; 5-55 °C, 30 seconds dwell time). Data were submitted to 2-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test (&#945; = 0.05). RESULTS: Op resin had higher surface hardness values (p < 0.0001; 25.4 ± 3.4) than the other ones (De = 4.5 ± 0.6; Du = 5.5 ± 0.4; VC = 6.1 ± 0.9). There was no statistical difference (p > 0.05) in roughness among materials (De = 0.31 ± 0.07; Du = 0.51 ± 0.20; VC = 0.41 ± 0.15; Op = 0.42 ± 0.18). Storage in water did not change hardness and roughness of the tested materials (p > 0.05). There was a significant increase in roughness after thermocycling (p < 0.05), except for material Du, which showed no significant change in roughness in any evaluated period (p = 0.99). CONCLUSION: Thermocycling increased the roughness in most tested materials without affecting hardness, while storage in water had no significant effect in the evaluated properties

Implementation of a Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional (BALANCE) Program for improvement on quality of diet and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events: A randomized, multicenter trial

Background: Appropriate dietary recommendations represent a key part of secondary prevention in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the effectiveness of the implementation of a nutritional program on quality of diet, cardiovascular events, and death in patients with established CVD. Methods: In this open-label, multicenter trial conducted in 35 sites in Brazil, we randomly assigned (1:1) patients aged 45 years or older to receive either the BALANCE Program (experimental group) or conventional nutrition advice (control group). The BALANCE Program included a unique nutritional education strategy to implement recommendations from guidelines, adapted to the use of affordable and regional foods. Adherence to diet was evaluated by the modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index. The primary end point was a composite of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, stroke, myocardial revascularization, amputation, or hospitalization for unstable angina. Secondary end points included biochemical and anthropometric data, and blood pressure levels. Results: From March 5, 2013, to Abril 7, 2015, a total of 2534 eligible patients were randomly assigned to either the BALANCE Program group (n = 1,266) or the control group (n = 1,268) and were followed up for a median of 3.5 years. In total, 235 (9.3%) participants had been lost to follow-up. After 3 years of follow-up, mean modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index (scale 0-70) was only slightly higher in the BALANCE group versus the control group (26.2 ± 8.4 vs 24.7 ± 8.6, P <.01), mainly due to a 0.5-serving/d greater intake of fruits and of vegetables in the BALANCE group. Primary end point events occurred in 236 participants (18.8%) in the BALANCE group and in 207 participants (16.4%) in the control group (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI 0.95-1.38; P =.15). Secondary end points did not differ between groups after follow-up. Conclusions: The BALANCE Program only slightly improved adherence to a healthy diet in patients with established CVD and had no significant effect on the incidence of cardiovascular events or death. © 2019 The Author