Brook Auto: High-Level Certification-Friendly Programming for GPU-powered Automotive Systems

Modern automotive systems require increased performance to implement Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS). GPU-powered platforms are promising candidates for such computational tasks, however current low-level programming models challenge the accelerator software certification process, while they limit the hardware selection to a fraction of the available platforms. In this paper we present Brook Auto, a high-level programming language for automotive GPU systems which removes these limitations. We describe the challenges and solutions we faced in its implementation, as well as a complete evaluation in terms of performance and productivity, which shows the effectiveness of our method.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant TIN2015-65316-P and the HiPEAC Network of Excellence.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Small molecule screen in zebrafish and HSC expansion

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a valuable model organism that is amenable for large-scale chemical and genetic screens. The ability of zebrafish to produce large quantities of synchronized, externally fertilized, transparent embryos makes them ideal for screens, which often are not possible in mammalian models. Signaling pathways important for hematopoiesis are well conserved between zebrafish and mammals, making many targets identified in zebrafish screens applicable to mammals. Hematopoiesis in zebrafish occurs in two waves: the primitive or embryonic wave and the definitive or adult wave. Definitive hematopoietic stem cells arise in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros region (AGM) and express conserved markers such as runx1 and c-myb that allow for the detection of stem cells by whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH). In this protocol, we will discuss a chemical screen in zebrafish embryos to detect compounds that expand or deplete hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vivo. This type of screen represents a powerful tool to study HSCs in zebrafish

Towards general purpose computations on low-end mobile GPUs

GPUs traditionally offer high computational capabilities, frequently higher than their CPU counterparts. While high-end mobile GPUs vendors introduced recently general purpose APIs, such as OpenCL, to leverage their computational power, the vast majority of the mobile devices lack such support. Despite that their graphics APIs have similarities with desktop graphics APIs, they have significant differences, which prevent the use of well-known techniques that offer general-purpose computations over such interfaces. In this paper we show how these obstacles can be overcome, in order to achieve general purpose programmability of these devices. As a proof of concept we implemented our proposal on a real embedded platform (Raspberry Pi) based on Broadcom's VideoCore IV GPU, obtaining a speedup of 7.2× over the CPU.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant TIN2015-65316-P and the HiPEAC Network of Excellence. Leonidas Kosmidis is also funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education under the FPU grant AP2010-4208.Postprint (author's final draft

DO-178C certification of general-purpose GPU software: review of existing methods and future directions

—General-Purpose GPU software is considered for use in avionics to satisfy the increased computational requirements of future systems. Therefore, it needs to be certified following the DO-178C guidance as all airborne software. In this work, we review the existing methods in the literature, we analyse their advantages and disadvantages, and we discuss how they can be combined to obtain certification with lower effort and cost. Our focus is restricted on application-level software, under the premise that successful completion of verification of avionics graphics GPU software products has been demonstrated, so their GPU compiler has been considered acceptable for these already DO-178C certified products, or existing qualified GPU compilers exist. Finally, we discuss upcoming solutions for certified general purpose GPU computing .This work was performed within the Airbus TANIAGPU Project ADS (E/200) in collaboration with the project partners Airbus Defence and Space, Madrid, Spain and CoreAVI, Canada. It was also partially supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) through the GPU4S (GPU for Space) activity, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grants PID2019-107255GB and FJCI-2017-34095 (Spanish State Research Agency / http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033) and the HiPEAC Network of Excellence.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Thymocyte-specific truncation of the deubiquitinating domain of CYLD impairs positive selection in a NF-kappaB essential modulator-dependent manner

The cylindromatosis tumor suppressor gene (Cyld) encodes a deubiquitinating enzyme (CYLD) with immunoregulatory function. In this study, we evaluated the role of Cyld in T cell ontogeny by generating a mouse (Cyld(Delta9)) with a thymocyte-restricted Cyld mutation that causes a C-terminal truncation of the protein and reciprocates catalytically inactive human mutations. Mutant mice had dramatically reduced single positive thymocytes and a substantial loss of peripheral T cells. The analyses of polyclonal and TCR-restricted thymocyte populations possessing the mutation revealed a significant block in positive selection and an increased occurrence of apoptosis at the double-positive stage. Interestingly, in the context of MHC class I and II restricted TCR transgenes, lack of functional CYLD caused massive deletion of thymocytes that would have been positively selected, which is consistent with an impairment of positive selection. Biochemical analysis revealed that Cyld(Delta9) thymocytes exhibit abnormally elevated basal activity of NF-kappaB and JNK. Most importantly, inactivation of NF-kappaB essential modulator fully restored the NF-kappaB activity of Cyld(Delta9) thymocytes to physiologic levels and rescued their developmental and survival defect. This study identifies a fundamental role for functional CYLD in establishing the proper threshold of activation for thymocyte selection by a mechanism dependent on NF-kappaB essential modulator

Generating employee engagement in internal audit department

Στην παρούσα εργασία, αρχικά διατυπώνεται ο ορισμός της εργασιακής δέσμευσης και η τέσσερις προσεγγίσεις της . Έπειτα κατά μήκος της έρευνας αναλύεται η θεωρία της κοινωνικής ανταλλαγής. Σημειώνεται επίσης ο καθοριστικός ρόλος που διαδραματίζει η επιχειρηματική νοοτροπία που διατηρεί η κάθε εταιρεία ως προς τους εργαζομένους της. Καθώς εκτυλίσσεται το θέμα ακολουθεί ο δεύτερος ορισμός, του εσωτερικού ελέγχου και η ανάλυση της αλλαγής της φύσης του επαγγέλματος, αποκτώντας πιο συμβουλευτικό ρόλο. Σκοπός της έρευνας είναι να διερευνηθεί εάν η θέση του εσωτερικού ελεγκτή συνεπάγεται μιας παραπάνω δέσμευσης απέναντι στην εταιρεία, ενώ διακρίνονται οι τρόποι και τα μέσα που χρησιμοποιούνται για την επίτευξη και την πραγματοποίηση της εργασιακής δέσμευσης , τόσο στους εσωτερικούς ελεγκτές όσο και για όλους τους εργαζομένους . Μέσω μιας ποιοτικής έρευνας με ημί - δομημένες συνεντεύξεις και με δείγμα 5 στελεχών από εταιρίες με διαφορετικό αντικείμενο μελετώνται οι παραπάνω ερευνητικοί στόχοι. Επίσης, στην έρευνα επισημαίνεται η αναγκαιότητα ύπαρξης της εργασιακής δέσμευσης που πρέπει να διακατέχει έναν εσωτερικό ελεγκτή ενώ τονίζονται οι κίνδυνοι σε περίπτωση έλλειψης. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι λόγω της φύσης του επαγγέλματος του Εσωτερικού Ελεγκτή, δεδομένης της αντικειμενικότητας της ανεξαρτησίας και της εμπιστευτικότητας που χαρακτηρίζει το συγκεκριμένο επάγγελμα, η δέσμευση των εργαζομένων στη στρατηγική, τις αξίες και τους επιμέρους στόχους της επιχείρησης κρίνεται επιτακτική.Along the thesis, the definition of Employee Engagement is provided and its four approaches, followed by the theory of Social Exchange. Through the research is noted the significant role that played the business culture that each company maintains in its employees. Moreover, the assignment proceeds to the definition of the internal audit and the analysis of the change of the nature of the job of the internal auditor into more consultative role. The purpose of the research is to investigate if the position of the internal auditor requires an engagement with the company, the ways and the means used to achieve this, both for the internal auditors and for all the other employees. Through qualitative research with semi structured interviews and the sample of 5 people from companies with different job responsibilities it sought to highlight the subject above. Specifically, the importance of the existence of Employee engagement is determined. Additionally, the thesis reveals the necessity of employee engagement in the Internal Audit department and the risks involved when such involvement is missing. The results have shown that because of the nature of the profession of IA, given the objectivity of independence and confidentiality to be possessed, one must be inextricably linked to the concept of Employee Engagement

CYLD is a deubiquitinating enzyme that negatively regulates NF-kappaB activation by TNFR family members

Familial cylindromatosis is an autosomal dominant predisposition to tumours of skin appendages called cylindromas. Familial cylindromatosis is caused by mutations in a gene encoding the CYLD protein of previously unknown function1. Here we show that CYLD is a deubiquitinating enzyme that negatively regulates activation of the transcription factor NF-κB by specific tumour-necrosis factor receptors (TNFRs). Loss of the deubiquitinating activity of CYLD correlates with tumorigenesis. CYLD inhibits activation of NF-κB by the TNFR family members CD40, XEDAR and EDAR in a manner that depends on the deubiquitinating activity of CYLD. Downregulation of CYLD by RNA-mediated interference augments both basal and CD40-mediated activation of NF-κB. The inhibition of NF-κB activation by CYLD is mediated, at least in part, by the deubiquitination and inactivation of TNFR-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) and, to a lesser extent, TRAF6. These results indicate that CYLD is a negative regulator of the cytokine-mediated activation of NF-κB that is required for appropriate cellular homeostasis of skin appendages

Lymphocyte-Specific Function of the DNA Plymerase Epsilon Subunit Pole3 Revealed by Neomorphic Alleles

Immunodeficiencies are typically caused by loss-of-function mutations in lymphocyte-specific genes. Occasionally, mutations in ubiquitous general-purpose factors, including those affecting essential components of the DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE) holoenzyme, have cell-type-specific consequences. POLE3, one of the four components of the POLE holoenzyme, features a histone fold domain and a unique acidic C terminus, making it a particularly attractive candidate mediating cell type-specific activities of POLE. Mice lacking Pole3 survive up to late embryonic stages, indicating that this subunit is dispensable for DNA replication. The phenotypes of viable hypomorphic and neomorphic alleles are surprisingly tissue restricted and reveal a stage-specific function of the histone fold domain of Pole3 during T and B cell development. Gradual introduction of positively charged residues into the acidic C terminus leads to peripheral lymphopenia of increasing severity. Our findings serve as a paradigm to understand the molecular basis of cell-type-specific non-replicative functions of the ubiquitous POLE complex