ICOMF: Towards a Multi-cloud Ecosystem for Dynamic Resource Composition and Scaling

Modern cloud-based applications and infrastructures may include resources and services (components) from multiple cloud providers, are heterogeneous by nature and require adjustment, composition and integration. The specific application requirements can be met with difficulty by the current static predefined cloud integration architectures and models. In this paper, we propose the Intercloud Operations and Management Framework (ICOMF) as part of the more general Intercloud Architecture Framework (ICAF) that provides a basis for building and operating a dynamically manageable multi-provider cloud ecosystem. The proposed ICOMF enables dynamic resource composition and decomposition, with a main focus on translating business models and objectives to cloud services ensembles. Our model is user-centric and focuses on the specific application execution requirements, by leveraging incubating virtualization techniques. From a cloud provider perspective, the ecosystem provides more insight into how to best customize the offerings of virtualized resources.

Quantitative 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy of human brain: Influence of composition and parameterization of the basis set in linear combination model-fitting

Localized short-echo-time (1)H-MR spectra of human brain contain contributions of many low-molecular-weight metabolites and baseline contributions of macromolecules. Two approaches to model such spectra are compared and the data acquisition sequence, optimized for reproducibility, is presented. Modeling relies on prior knowledge constraints and linear combination of metabolite spectra. Investigated was what can be gained by basis parameterization, i.e., description of basis spectra as sums of parametric lineshapes. Effects of basis composition and addition of experimentally measured macromolecular baselines were investigated also. Both fitting methods yielded quantitatively similar values, model deviations, error estimates, and reproducibility in the evaluation of 64 spectra of human gray and white matter from 40 subjects. Major advantages of parameterized basis functions are the possibilities to evaluate fitting parameters separately, to treat subgroup spectra as independent moieties, and to incorporate deviations from straightforward metabolite models. It was found that most of the 22 basis metabolites used may provide meaningful data when comparing patient cohorts. In individual spectra, sums of closely related metabolites are often more meaningful. Inclusion of a macromolecular basis component leads to relatively small, but significantly different tissue content for most metabolites. It provides a means to quantitate baseline contributions that may contain crucial clinical information.

Catch Rates, Composition and Fish Size from Reefs Managed with Periodically-Harvested Closures

Periodically-harvested closures are commonly employed within co-management frameworks to help manage small-scale, multi-species fisheries in the Indo-Pacific. Despite their widespread use, the benefits of periodic harvesting strategies for multi-species fisheries have, to date, been largely untested. We examine catch and effort data from four periodically-harvested reef areas and 55 continuously-fished reefs in Solomon Islands. We test the hypothesis that fishing in periodically-harvested closures would yield: (a) higher catch rates, (b) proportionally more short lived, fast growing, sedentary taxa, and (c) larger finfish and invertebrates, compared to catches from reefs continuously open to fishing. Our study showed that catch rates were significantly higher from periodically-harvested closures for gleaning of invertebrates, but not for line and spear fishing. The family level composition of catches did not vary significantly between open reefs and periodically-harvested closures. Fish captured from periodically-harvested closures were slightly larger, but Trochus niloticus were significantly smaller than those from continuously open reefs. In one case of intense and prolonged harvesting, gleaning catch rates significantly declined, suggesting invertebrate stocks were substantially depleted in the early stages of the open period. Our study suggests periodically-harvested closures can have some short term benefits via increasing harvesting efficiency. However, we did not find evidence that the strategy had substantially benefited multi-species fin-fisheries.

The composition and timing of flower odour emission by wild Petunia axillaris coincide with the antennal perception and nocturnal activity of the pollinator Manduca sexta

In the genus Petunia, distinct pollination syndromes may have evolved in association with bee-visitation (P. integrifolia spp.) or hawk moth-visitation (P. axillaris spp). We investigated the extent of congruence between floral fragrance and olfactory perception of the hawk moth Manduca sexta. Hawk moth pollinated P. axillaris releases high levels of several compounds compared to the bee-pollinated P. integrifolia that releases benzaldehyde almost exclusively. The three dominating compounds in P. axillaris were benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol and methyl benzoate. In P. axillaris, benzenoids showed a circadian rhythm with an emission peak at night, which was absent from P. integrifolia. These characters were highly conserved among different P. axillaris subspecies and P. axillaris accessions, with some differences in fragrance composition. Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings using flower-blends of different wild Petunia species on female M. sexta antennae showed that P. axillaris odours elicited stronger responses than P. integrifolia odours. EAG responses were highest to the three dominating compounds in the P. axillaris flower odours. Further, EAG responses to odour-samples collected from P. axillaris flowers confirmed that odours collected at night evoked stronger responses from M. sexta than odours collected during the day. These results show that timing of odour emissions by P. axillaris is in tune with nocturnal hawk moth activity and that flower-volatile composition is adapted to the antennal perception of these pollinators.

Linguistic relativity and dialectical idiomatization: language ideologies and second language acquisition in the Irish language revival of Northern Ireland

A considerable number of Irish Catholics in West Belfast, originally native English speakers, have started learning the Irish language throughout the Northern Irish conflict in order to feel more Irish. Many of these have developed a strong conviction that the Irish language contains a different worldview from the one embodied in English. However, rather than constituting a plausible representation of relevant differences embodied in the languages themselves, this article puts forward the hypothesis that such a neo-Whorfian endorsement of linguistic relativity might rather be the product of dialectical idiomatization, following from the interplay of prevailing language ideologies and effects of second language acquisition.

Body composition and all-cause mortality in subjects older than 65 y.

BACKGROUND A low or high body mass index (BMI) has been associated with increased mortality risk in older subjects without taking fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) into account. This information is essential because FMI is modulated through different healthcare strategies than is FFMI. OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine the relation between body composition and mortality in older subjects. DESIGN We included all adults ≥65 y old who were living in Switzerland and had a body-composition measurement by bioelectrical impedance analysis at the Geneva University Hospitals between 1990 and 2011. FMI and FFMI were divided into sex-specific quartiles. Quartile 1 (i.e., the reference category) corresponded to the lowest FMI or FFMI quartile. Mortality data were retrieved from the hospital database, the Geneva death register, and the Swiss National Cohort until December 2012. Comorbidities were assessed by using the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale. RESULTS Of 3181 subjects included, 766 women and 1007 men died at a mean age of 82.8 and 78.5 y, respectively. Sex-specific Cox regression models, which were used to adjust for age, BMI, smoking, ambulatory or hospitalized state, and calendar time, showed that body composition did not predict mortality in women irrespective of whether comorbidities were taken into account. In men, risk of mortality was lower with FFMI in quartiles 3 and 4 [HR: 0.78 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.98) and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.85), respectively] but was not affected by FMI. When comorbidities were adjusted for, FFMI in quartile 4 (>19.5 kg/m(2)) still predicted a lower risk of mortality (HR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.96). CONCLUSIONS Low FFMI is a stronger predictor of mortality than is BMI in older men but not older women. FMI had no impact on mortality. These results suggest potential benefits of preventive interventions with the aim of maintaining muscle mass in older men. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01472679.