Montera: A Framework for Efficient Execution of Monte Carlo Codes on Grid Infrastructures

he objective of this work is to improve the performance of Monte Carlo codes on Grid production infrastructures. To do so, the codes and the grid sites are characterized with simple parameters to model their behaviors. Then, a new performance model for grid infrastructures is proposed, and an algorithm that employs this information is described. This algorithm dynamically calculates the number and size of tasks to execute on each site to maximize the performance and reduce makespan. Finally, a newly developed framework called Montera is presented. Montera deals with the execution of Monte Carlo codes in an unattended way, isolating the complexity of the problem from the final user. By employing two fusion Monte Carlo codes as example cases, along with the described characterizations and scheduling algorithm, a performance improvement up to 650 % over current best results is obtained on a real production infrastructure, together with enhanced stability and robustness

The Symbiosis Interactome: a computational approach reveals novel components, functional interactions and modules in Sinorhizobium meliloti

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Rhizobium</it>-Legume symbiosis is an attractive biological process that has been studied for decades because of its importance in agriculture. However, this system has undergone extensive study and although many of the major factors underpinning the process have been discovered using traditional methods, much remains to be discovered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we present an analysis of the 'Symbiosis Interactome' using novel computational methods in order to address the complex dynamic interactions between proteins involved in the symbiosis of the model bacteria <it>Sinorhizobium meliloti </it>with its plant hosts. Our study constitutes the first large-scale analysis attempting to reconstruct this complex biological process, and to identify novel proteins involved in establishing symbiosis. We identified 263 novel proteins potentially associated with the Symbiosis Interactome. The topology of the Symbiosis Interactome was used to guide experimental techniques attempting to validate novel proteins involved in different stages of symbiosis. The contribution of a set of novel proteins was tested analyzing the symbiotic properties of several <it>S. meliloti </it>mutants. We found mutants with altered symbiotic phenotypes suggesting novel proteins that provide key complementary roles for symbiosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our 'systems-based model' represents a novel framework for studying host-microbe interactions, provides a theoretical basis for further experimental validations, and can also be applied to the study of other complex processes such as diseases.</p

Desarrollo de bioherramientas para la remediación de agua y suelos contaminados con cobre

Motivación: La contaminación por cobre es uno de los principales problemas mediambientales en Andalucía. Diversos estudios señalan el estuario conjunto de los ríos Tinto y Odiel como uno de los ecosistemas más contaminados del mundo (Sáinz et al., 2004). El objetivo de este trabajo es diseñar bioherramientas útiles para la descontaminación de suelos y aguas residuales contaminadas con cobre. Métodos: Se ha caracterizado un operón copABCD de resistencia a cobre de la cepa Pseudomonas sp. Az13 , aislada de la rizosfera de leguminosas que crecían de forma espontánea en la zona de Aznalcóllar afectada por el vertido tóxico de 1998 (Dary et al., 2010). Diversos genes de dicho operón se han transferido a rizobios y a plantas, con el propósito de aumentar su resistencia y/o capacidad de acumulación de Cu. Resultados: Con el objetivo de mejorar la respuesta de la simbiosis Sinorhizobium medicae-Medicago truncatula en suelos contaminados con Cu (lo que permitiría su enriquecimiento en nitrógeno), se obtuvo una cepa de S. medicae modificada genéticamente que expresaba parte del operón resistencia a Cu (genes copAB). Las plantas inoculadas con esta bacteria tienen parámetros de crecimiento y nodulación similares en sustratos contaminados con 300 µM de Cu y sin contaminar. El microsimbionte obtenido por ingeniería genética parece dirigir la acumulación de Cu de forma preferente al nódulo. Por otro lado, el gen copC (cuyo producto es capaz de unir dos átomos de Cu) se introdujo en plantas de Arabidopsis thaliana y en raíces pilosas de tabaco. En plantas transgénicas que expresaban dicho gen se incrementó hasta 5 veces su capacidad de acumulación de Cu, si bien su tolerancia al metal disminuía (Rodríguez-Llorente et al., 2012). Por su parte, las raíces transgénicas que expresan el mismo gen se han mostrado como el sistema vivo capaz de acumular los niveles de Cu más altos descritos hasta la fecha, alcanzando valores de 30.000 ppm, sin mostrar síntomas aparentes de toxicidad. Conclusiones: La cepa de S. medicae que expresa los genes copAB tiene un gran potencial como herramienta para la fitoestabilización de Cu utilizando plantas del género Medicago. La expresión de copC tanto en plantas como en raíces permite aumentar su capacidad de acumulación de Cu, haciendo esta herramienta útil en biorremediación de suelos y aguas contaminadas por Cu

Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem’s capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem’s capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs

The Variant rs1867277 in FOXE1 Gene Confers Thyroid Cancer Susceptibility through the Recruitment of USF1/USF2 Transcription Factors

In order to identify genetic factors related to thyroid cancer susceptibility, we adopted a candidate gene approach. We studied tag- and putative functional SNPs in genes involved in thyroid cell differentiation and proliferation, and in genes found to be differentially expressed in thyroid carcinoma. A total of 768 SNPs in 97 genes were genotyped in a Spanish series of 615 cases and 525 controls, the former comprising the largest collection of patients with this pathology from a single population studied to date. SNPs in an LD block spanning the entire FOXE1 gene showed the strongest evidence of association with papillary thyroid carcinoma susceptibility. This association was validated in a second stage of the study that included an independent Italian series of 482 patients and 532 controls. The strongest association results were observed for rs1867277 (OR[per-allele] = 1.49; 95%CI = 1.30–1.70; P = 5.9×10−9). Functional assays of rs1867277 (NM_004473.3:c.−283G>A) within the FOXE1 5′ UTR suggested that this variant affects FOXE1 transcription. DNA-binding assays demonstrated that, exclusively, the sequence containing the A allele recruited the USF1/USF2 transcription factors, while both alleles formed a complex in which DREAM/CREB/αCREM participated. Transfection studies showed an allele-dependent transcriptional regulation of FOXE1. We propose a FOXE1 regulation model dependent on the rs1867277 genotype, indicating that this SNP is a causal variant in thyroid cancer susceptibility. Our results constitute the first functional explanation for an association identified by a GWAS and thereby elucidate a mechanism of thyroid cancer susceptibility. They also attest to the efficacy of candidate gene approaches in the GWAS era

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Cloud Detection Autonomous System Based on Machine Learning and COTS Components On-Board Small Satellites

One of the main applications of small satellites is Earth observation. CubeSats and different kinds of nanosatellites usually form constellations that obtain images mainly using an optical payload. There is a massive amount of data generated by these satellites and a limited capacity of download due to volume and mass constraints that make it difficult to use high-speed communication systems and high-power systems. For this reason, it is important to develop satellites with the autonomy to process data on board. In this way, the limited communication channel can be used efficiently to download relevant images containing the required information. In this paper, a system for the satellite on-board processing of RGB images is proposed, which automatically detects the cloud coverage level to prioritize the images and effectively uses the download time and the mission operation center. The system implements a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) on a Commercial off-the-Shelf (COTS) microcontroller that receives the image and returns the cloud level (priority). After training, the system was tested on a dataset of 100 images with an accuracy of 0.9 and it was also evaluated with CubeSat images to evaluate the performance of a different image sensor. This implementation contributes to the development of autonomous satellites with processing on board

La reina del mundo: reflexiones sobre la historia de la opinión pública

Obra colectiva sobre la evolución histórica de la opinión pública abordada desde un enfoque de carácter multidisciplinar, desde las perspectivas de análisis de la historiografía, la filosofia, la sociología y las ciencias de la información. Pretende presentar una visión global del fenómeno de la opinión pública en toda su dimensió

Role of Nodulation-Enhancing Rhizobacteria in the Promotion of Medicago sativa Development in Nutrient-Poor Soils

Legumes are usually used as cover crops to improve soil quality due to the biological nitrogen fixation that occurs due to the interaction of legumes and rhizobia. This symbiosis can be used to recover degraded soils using legumes as pioneer plants. In this work, we screened for bacteria that improve the legume&ndash;rhizobia interaction in nutrient-poor soils. Fourteen phosphate solubilizer-strains were isolated, showing at least three out of the five tested plant growth promoting properties. Furthermore, cellulase, protease, pectinase, and chitinase activities were detected in three of the isolated strains. Pseudomonas sp. L1, Chryseobacterium soli L2, and Priestia megaterium L3 were selected to inoculate seeds and plants of Medicago sativa using a nutrient-poor soil as substrate under greenhouse conditions. The effects of the three bacteria individually and in consortium showed more vigorous plants with increased numbers of nodules and a higher nitrogen content than non-inoculated plants. Moreover, bacterial inoculation increased plants&rsquo; antioxidant activities and improved their development in nutrient-poor soils, suggesting an important role in the stress mechanisms of plants. In conclusion, the selected strains are nodulation-enhancing rhizobacteria that improve leguminous plants growth and nodulation in nutrient-poor soils and could be used by sustainable agriculture to promote plants&rsquo; development in degraded soils