Cooperating CoScheduling: A Coscheduling Proposal Aimed at Non-Dedicated Heterogeneous NOWs

Implicit coscheduling techniques applied to non-dedicated homogeneous Networks Of Workstations （NOWs） have shown they can perform well when many local users compete with a single parallel job. Implicit coscheduling deals with minimizing the communication waiting time of parallel processes by identifying the processes in need of coscheduling through gathering and analyzing implicit runtime information, basically communication events. Unfortunately, implicit coscheduling techniques do not guarantee the performance of local and parallel jobs, when the number of parallel jobs competing against each other is increased. Thus, a low efficiency use of the idle computational resources is achieved.
In order to solve these problems, a new technique, named Cooperating CoScheduling （CCS）, is presented in this work. Unlike traditional implicit coscheduling techniques, under CCS, each node takes its scheduling decisions from the occurrence of local events, basically communication, memory, Input/Output and CPU, together with foreign events received from cooperating nodes. This allows CCS to provide a social contract based on reserving a percentage of CPU and memory resources to ensure the progress of parallel jobs without disturbing the local users, while coscheduling of communicating tasks is ensured. Besides, the CCS algorithm uses status information from the cooperating nodes to balance the resources across the cluster when necessary. Experimental results in a non-dedicated heterogeneous NOW reveal that CCS allows the idle resources to be exploited efficiently, thus obtaining a satisfactory speedup and provoking an overhead that is imperceptible to the local user.     

Strain-induced semiconductor to metal transition in the two-dimensional honeycomb structure of MoS2

The electronic properties of two-dimensional honeycomb structures of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) subjected to biaxial strain have been investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. On applying compressive or tensile bi-axial strain on bi-layer and mono-layer MoS₂, the electronic properties are predicted to change from semiconducting to metallic. These changes present very interesting possibilities for engineering the electronic properties of two-dimensional structures of MoS₂.      

CD146+ Pericytes Subset Isolated from Human Micro-Fragmented Fat Tissue Display a Strong Interaction with Endothelial Cells: A Potential Cell Target for Therapeutic Angiogenesis

Pericytes (PCs) are mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) that function as support cells and play a role in tissue regeneration and, in particular, vascular homeostasis. PCs promote endothelial cells (ECs) survival which is critical for vessel stabilization, maturation, and remodeling. In this study, PCs were isolated from human micro-fragmented adipose tissue (MFAT) obtained from fat lipoaspirate and were characterized as NG2⁺/PDGFRβ⁺/CD105⁺ cells. Here, we tested the fat-derived PCs for the dispensability of the CD146 marker with the aim of better understanding the role of these PC subpopulations on angiogenesis. Cells from both CD146-positive (CD146⁺) and negative (CD146⁻) populations were observed to interact with human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs). In addition, fat-derived PCs were able to induce angiogenesis of ECs in spheroids assay; and conditioned medium (CM) from both PCs and fat tissue itself led to the proliferation of ECs, thereby marking their role in angiogenesis stimulation. However, we found that CD146⁺ cells were more responsive to PDGF-BB-stimulated migration, adhesion, and angiogenic interaction with ECs, possibly owing to their higher expression of NCAM/CD56 than the corresponding CD146⁻ subpopulation. We conclude that in fat tissue, CD146-expressing cells may represent a more mature pericyte subpopulation that may have higher efficacy in controlling and stimulating vascular regeneration and stabilization than their CD146-negative counterpart.     

Solar Energy Storage Using a Cu2O-TiO2 Photocathode in a Lithium Battery

A Cu₂O-TiO₂ photoelectrode is pr+oposed for simultaneous solar light energy harvesting and storing of electrochemical energy in an adapted lithium coin cell. The p-type Cu₂O semiconductor layer is the light harvester component of the photoelectrode and the TiO₂ film performs as the capacitive layer. The rationale of the energy scheme shows that the photocharges generated in the Cu₂O semiconductor induce lithiation/delithiation processes in the TiO₂ film as a function of the applied bias voltage and light power. A photorechargeable lithium button cell drilled on one side recharges with visible white light in ≈9 h in open circuit. It provides an energy density of ≈150 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C discharge current in dark, and the overall efficiency is 0.29%. This work draws a new approach for the photoelectrode role to advance in monolithic rechargeable batteries.     

Adapting Shot Peening for Surface Texturing Using Customized Additive Manufactured Shots

Surface textures in engineering materials not only affect the reflective properties and aesthetics but if properly designed can modulate surface-related properties such as wettability, fatigue, wear, corrosion, and scratch resistance. Herein, a new surface texturing method is introduced based on the conventional shot peening process. Custom shots are designed, and their surface texturing capability is investigated on acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer substrates. A finite-element model is developed to bombard the substrate using AISI 316 stainless steel customized shots. The generated unique textures are compared qualitatively by visual examination and quantitatively using the standard surface roughness parameters. As a proof of concept, preliminary experiments are performed using a candidate custom shot and a spherical shot to treat the ABS sheets. The results highlight the high potential of the shot peening technique paired with additive manufacturing for customizing the peening media to be used for surface texturing polymeric materials.     

Low Energy Blue Pulsed Light-Activated Injectable Materials for Restoring Thinning Corneas

Many alternatives to human donor corneas are being developed to meet the global shortage of donated tissues. However, corneal transplantation remains the gold standard for diseases resulting in thinning corneas. In this study, transparent low energy photoactivated extracellular matrix-mimicking materials are developed for intrastromal injection to restore stromal thickness. The injectable biomaterials are comprised of short peptides and glycosaminoglycans (chondroitin, hyaluronic acid) that assemble into a hydrogel when pulsed with low-energy blue light. The dosage of pulsed-blue light needed for material activation is minimal at 8.5 mW cm⁻², thus circumventing any blue light cytotoxicity. Intrastromal injection of these light-activated biomaterials in rat corneas shows that two iterations of the formulations remain stable in situ without stimulating significant inflammation or neovascularization. The use of low light intensities and the ability of the developed materials to stably rebuild and change the curvature of the cornea tissue make these formulations attractive for clinical translation.