A heuristic to minimize the cardinality of a real-time task set by automated task clustering

International audienceWe propose in this paper a method to automatically map functionalities (blocks of code corresponding to high-level features) with real-time constraints to tasks (or threads). We aim at reducing the number of tasks functions are mapped to, while preserving the schedulability of the initial system. We consider independent tasks running on a single processor. Our approach has been applied with fixed-task or fixed-job priorities assigned in a Deadline Monotonic (DM) or a Earliest Deadline First (EDF) manner

Caratterizzazione molecolare di norovirus GIV ed altri virus enterici in molluschi bivalvi : uno studio preliminare

I virus enterici si replicano nell’intestino umano e possono essere eliminati dagli individui infetti ad elevate concentrazioni; pertanto i reflui urbani possono trasportare una grande quantità di patogeni responsabili di infezioni oro-fecali e contaminare le acque superficiali, incluse quelle marine. I molluschi bivalvi eduli sono spesso implicati nella trasmissione di malattie gastroenteriche di origine virale in quanto, essendo organismi filtratori, rappresentano un potenziale serbatoio di agenti patogeni e sostanze tossiche. Nonostante i miglioramenti delle tecniche per il trattamento delle acque reflue e la classificazione delle aree di allevamento e raccolta dei molluschi, il rischio di trasmissione di patogeni enterici associato al consumo di molluschi bivalvi filtratori rappresenta una problematica sanitaria di grande attualità. Lo scopo del presente studio è stato quello di valutare la contaminazione virale di sei diversi gruppi di virus enterici in molluschi eduli lamellibranchi

Initial impact of SARS-Cov-2 vaccination on healthcare workers in Italy. Update on the 28th of march 2021

In Italy, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign started in December 2020 with the vaccination of healthcare workers (HCW). To analyse the real-life impact that vaccination is having on this population group, we measured the association between week of diagnosis and HCW status using log-binomial regression. By the week 22–28 March, we observed a 74% reduction (PPR 0.26; 95% CI 0.22–0.29) in the proportion of cases reported as HCW and 81% reduction in the proportion of symptomatic cases reported as HCW, compared with the week with the lowest proportion of cases among HCWs prior to the vaccination campaign (31 August-7 September). The reduction, both in relative and absolute terms, of COVID-19 cases in HCWs that started around 30 days after the start of the vaccination campaign suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are being effective in preventing infection in this group

COVID-19 integrated surveillance in Italy: Outputs and related activities

OBJECTIVES: to describe the integrated surveillance system of COVID-19 in Italy, to illustrate the outputs used to return epidemiological information on the spread of the epidemic to the competent public health bodies and to the Italian popu-lation, and to describe how the surveillance data contributes to the ongoing weekly regional monitoring and risk assessment system. METHODS: the COVID-19 integrated surveillance system is the result of a close and continuous collaboration between the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), the Italian Ministry of Health, and the regional and local health authorities. Through a web platform, it collects individual data of laboratory confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and gathers information on their residence, laboratory diagnosis, hospital-isation, clinical status, risk factors, and outcome. Results, for different levels of aggregation and risk categories, are published daily and weekly on the ISS website, and made avail-able to national and regional public health authorities; these results contribute one of the information sources of the regional monitoring and risk assessment system. RESULTS: the COVID-19 integrated surveillance system mon-itors the space-time distribution of cases and their character-istics. Indicators used in the weekly regional monitoring and risk assessment system include process indicators on com-pleteness and results indicators on weekly trends of newly di-agnosed cases per Region. CONCLUSIONS: the outputs of the integrated surveillance system for COVID-19 provide timely information to health authorities and to the general population on the evolution of the epidemic in Italy. They also contribute to the continuous re-assessment of risk related to transmission and impact of the epidemic thus contributing to the management of COV-ID-19 in Italy

VEGFA: Just one of multiple mechanisms for Sex-Specific Vascular Development within the testis?

Testis development from an indifferent gonad is a critical step in embryogenesis. A hallmark of testis differentiation is sex-specific vascularization which occurs as endothelial cells migrate from the adjacent mesonephros into the testis to surround Sertoli-germ cell aggregates and induce seminiferous cord formation. Many in vitro experiments have demonstrated that Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) is a critical regulator of this process. Both inhibitors to VEGFA signal transduction and excess VEGFA isoforms in testis organ cultures impaired vascular development and seminiferous cord formation. However, in vivo models using mice which selectively eliminated all VEGFA isoforms: in Sertoli and germ cells (pDmrt1-Cre;Vegfa−/−); Sertoli and Leydig cells (Amhr2-Cre;Vegfa−/−) or Sertoli cells (Amh-Cre;Vegfa−/− and Sry-Cre;Vegfa−/−) displayed testes with observably normal cords and vasculature at postnatal day 0 and onwards. Embryonic testis development may be delayed in these mice; however, the postnatal data indicate that VEGFA isoforms secreted from Sertoli, Leydig or germ cells are not required for testis morphogenesis within the mouse. A Vegfa signal transduction array was employed on postnatal testes from Sry-Cre;Vegfa−/− versus controls. Ptgs1 (Cox1) was the only upregulated gene (5-fold). COX1 stimulates angiogenesis and upregulates, VEGFA, Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and PGD2. Thus, other gene pathways may compensate for VEGFA loss, similar to multiple independent mechanisms to maintain SOX9 expression. Multiple independent mechanism that induce vascular development in the testis may contribute to and safeguard the sex-specific vasculature development responsible for inducing seminiferous cord formation, thus, ensuring appropriate testis morphogenesis in the male