Data-aware task scheduling for all-to-all comparison problems in heterogeneous distributed systems

Solving large-scale all-to-all comparison problems using distributed computing is increasingly significant for various applications. Previous efforts to implement distributed all-to-all comparison frameworks have treated the two phases of data distribution and comparison task scheduling separately. This leads to high storage demands as well as poor data locality for the comparison tasks, thus creating a need to redistribute the data at runtime. Furthermore, most previous methods have been developed for homogeneous computing environments, so their overall performance is degraded even further when they are used in heterogeneous distributed systems. To tackle these challenges, this paper presents a data-aware task scheduling approach for solving all-to-all comparison problems in heterogeneous distributed systems. The approach formulates the requirements for data distribution and comparison task scheduling simultaneously as a constrained optimization problem. Then, metaheuristic data pre-scheduling and dynamic task scheduling strategies are developed along with an algorithmic implementation to solve the problem. The approach provides perfect data locality for all comparison tasks, avoiding rearrangement of data at runtime. It achieves load balancing among heterogeneous computing nodes, thus enhancing the overall computation time. It also reduces data storage requirements across the network. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated through experimental studies.

Optimal production resource reallocation for CO2 emissions reduction in manufacturing sectors

To mitigate the effects of climate change, countries worldwide are advancing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper proposes and measures optimal production resource reallocation using data envelopment analysis. This research attempts to clarify the effect of optimal production resource reallocation on CO2 emissions reduction, focusing on regional and industrial characteristics. We use finance, energy, and CO2 emissions data from 13 industrial sectors in 39 countries from 1995 to 2009. The resulting emissions reduction potential is 2.54 Gt-CO2 in the year 2009, with former communist countries having the largest potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the manufacturing sectors. In particular, basic material industry including chemical and steel sectors has a lot of potential to reduce CO2 emissions.

Scheduling tools to reduce the cost of cane railway transport

Cane railway systems provide empty bins for harvesters to fill and full bins of cane for the factory to process. These operations need to be conducted in a timely fashion to minimise delays to harvesters and the factory and to minimise the cut-to-crush delay, while also minimising the cost of providing this service. A range of tools has been provided over the years to assist in this process. This paper reviews the objectives of the cane transport system and the tools available to achieve those objectives. The facilities within these tools to assist in the control of costs are highlighted.

Unusual RNA plant virus integration in the soybean genome leads to the production of small RNAs

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is known to be a major force in genome evolution. The acquisition of genes from viruses by eukaryotic genomes is a well-studied example of HGT, including rare cases of non-retroviral RNA virus integration. The present study describes the integration of cucumber mosaic virus RNA-1 into soybean genome. After an initial metatranscriptomic analysis of small RNAs derived from soybean, the de novo assembly resulted a 3029-nt contig homologous to RNA-1. The integration of this sequence in the soybean genome was confirmed by DNA deep sequencing. The locus where the integration occurred harbors the full RNA-1 sequence followed by the partial sequence of an endogenous mRNA and another sequence of RNA-1 as an inverted repeat and allowing the formation of a hairpin structure. This region recombined into a retrotransposon located inside an exon of a soybean gene. The nucleotide similarity of the integrated sequence compared to other Cucumber mosaic virus sequences indicates that the integration event occurred recently. We described a rare event of non-retroviral RNA virus integration in soybean that leads to the production of a double-stranded RNA in a similar fashion to virus resistance RNAi plants.

Pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol production using eucalyptus biomass pre-treated by dilute acid and steam explosion

The widespread deployment of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol currently hinges on developing and evaluating scalable processes whilst broadening feedstock options. This study investigates whole Eucalyptus grandis trees as a potential feedstock and demonstrates dilute acid pre-treatment (with steam explosion) followed by pre-saccharification simultaneous saccharification fermentation process (PSSF) as a suitable, scalable strategy for the production of bioethanol. Biomass was pre-treated in dilute H2SO4 at laboratory scale (0.1 kg) and pilot scale (10 kg) to evaluate the effect of combined severity factor (CSF) on pre-treatment effectiveness. Subsequently, pilot-scale pre-treated residues (15 wt.%) were converted to ethanol in a PSSF process at 2 L and 300 L scales. Good polynomial correlations (n = 2) of CSF with hemicellulose removal and glucan digestibility with a minimum R2 of 0.91 were recorded. The laboratory-scale 72 h glucan digestibility and glucose yield was 68.0% and 51.3%, respectively, from biomass pre-treated at 190 °C /15 min/ 4.8 wt.% H2SO4. Pilot-scale pre-treatment (180 °C/ 15 min/2.4 wt.% H2SO4 followed by steam explosion) delivered higher glucan digestibility (71.8%) and glucose yield (63.6%). However, the ethanol yields using PSSF were calculated at 82.5 and 113 kg/ton of dry biomass for the pilot and the laboratory scales, respectively. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd