First Year Infrastructure Operations Report

This document summarizes the achievements of the infrastructure operations activity during the first year of the project. It describes the technical specifications of the infrastructure that has been put into operation, the process that was followed to establish it, the problems encountered and the various solutions that were applied. It also provides statistics about the usage of cloud resources and an assessment of their utilization

Evidence for increased immune mobilization in First Episode Psychosis compared with the prodromal stage in males

The aim of the study was to gauge both the immune and neuroendocrine function in Ultra High Risk for psychosis (UHR) subjects and compare them with a cohort presenting with First Episode Psychosis (FEP). We recruited two groups, the first group consisted of 12 UHR males and the second of 25 males with FEP. We measured serum cortisol levels at 08:00, 12:00, 18:00 with their Area Under Curve with respect to the ground (AUCg) and the increase (AUCi) and we measured serum cytokines levels, Interleukin-1a, IL-1a, IL-2, IL-4,IL-5,IL-6,IL-8, IL-10,IL-12, IL-17a, Tumor Necrosis Factor-a (TNF-a), Interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) was also performed. The results suggest higher levels of both pro-inflammatory (TNF-a, IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines in the FEP group compared with the UHR counterparts. Regarding the HPA axis function, the prodromal subjects showed a trend for higher AUCg and AUCi change/decrease cortisol levels. On the contrary, the DST results did not differ between the groups. No significant associations were demonstrated within each group among cytokines, cortisol and psychopathology. The findings favor a hypothesis of a relatively increased mobilization of both the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine networks, in FEP compared with that of UHR subjects

Infrastructure Specifications

This document presents the computing infrastructure deployed in the context of StratusLab project, details the configuration of the computing resources used and the commitments made from the project partners to contribute with computing resources in the project. During the first months of operation this infrastructure has already been significantly exploited to deliver the first results towards the project's goals. The OpenNebula virtual management software has been used to install private clouds on different OS platforms. Two pre-production grid sites have been deployed in the private cloud and are used to test the implications of providing grid services in cloud environments. Experience from the deployment and operation of the above sites will help us identify the required tools and procedures for offering grid production sites over computing clouds. Finally the document presents related work, relevant to infrastructure operations, taking place in other projects and initiatives

Dynamic Connectedness of UK Regional Property Prices

In this study we examine the network topology of UK regional property prices using a dynamic measure of connectedness developed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2014) over the period 1973Q4-2014Q4. Our findings suggest that the transmission of inter-regional property returns shocks is an important source of regional property return fluctuations in the UK. The UK regions of South West, Outer South East, East Midlands and Northern Ireland seem to be the dominant transmitters of property returns shocks throughout our sample period. Moreover, the results indicate that regional housing markets in the UK are highly interconnected and extreme-economic-event dependent. In addition, the dynamic framework of our analysis provides further insights regarding the ripple effect, while, emphasis is also placed on the fact that London may also act as a net recipient of shocks from other regions. Findings are important for policy makers purporting to alleviate regional imbalances and achieve balanced growth, as well as, investors who formulate portfolio diversification strategies. Our results exhibit robustness to a series of tests

Asset prices regime-switching and the role of inflation targeting monetary policy

This paper provides the empirical framework to assess whether UK monetary policy shocks induce both the UK housing market and the UK stock market to remain at a high-volatility (risk) environment. The Markov regime switching modelling approach is employed in order to identify two distinct environments for each market; namely, a high-risk environment and a low-risk environment, while a probit model is employed in order to test whether monetary policy shocks provide this predictive information regarding the current state of both markets under consideration. Our findings indicate that monetary policy shocks do indeed have predictive power on the stock market. In addition, in both asset markets there is a key role for inflation. Results are important especially within the framework of the inflation targeting monetary policy regime

Assessment of the Impact of Dark Signal on Image Quality in Computerized Mammography

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of dark signal on assessing the image quality in computerized mammography. A GE analogue mammography unit was calibrated to be used with an Agfa CR35-X system. Tests for quality control were performed and Image Plates (IPs) were erased by the CR system. All IPs were first exposed to known amounts of scatter radiation and then used to take mammographic images of phantoms with varying density (a PASMAM-1054 Phantom with PMMA and Al inserts). Since high Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and high Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) are of great importance in mammographic image quality, we measured SNR and CNR of the taken images. Our results show the effect of scatter radiation on SNR and CNR. Scatter radiation increases SNR and decreases CNR. The impact of background signal was found not to be negligible. Dark signal deteriorates image quality in CR mammography. Consequently, further investigation may be warranted and daily erasure of the IPs is recommended in order to limit dark signal effect on image qualit

Dynamic Connectedness of UK Regional Property Prices

In this study we examine the network topology of UK regional property prices using a dynamic measure of connectedness developed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2014) over the period 1973Q4-2014Q4. Our findings suggest that the transmission of inter-regional property returns shocks is an important source of regional property return fluctuations in the UK. The UK regions of South West, Outer South East, East Midlands and Northern Ireland seem to be the dominant transmitters of property returns shocks throughout our sample period. Moreover, the results indicate that regional housing markets in the UK are highly interconnected and extreme-economic-event dependent. In addition, the dynamic framework of our analysis provides further insights regarding the ripple effect, while, emphasis is also placed on the fact that London may also act as a net recipient of shocks from other regions. Findings are important for policy makers purporting to alleviate regional imbalances and achieve balanced growth, as well as, investors who formulate portfolio diversification strategies. Our results exhibit robustness to a series of tests

3D Spect Myocardial Volume Estimation Increases the Reliability of Perfusion Diagnosis

The aim of this work consists of modeling the left ventricle of the heart, at stress and rest situation, using the myocardial scintigraphic data obtained in 3D stress/rest images and focuses on the possibility of quantification of differences. 32 cardiac patients completed stress and rest tests by Tc99m tetrofosmin in one-day protocol by a GE-Starcam-4000 gammacamera; Images of myocardium were reconstructed by the GE Volumetrix software in the GE Xeleris processing system. Myocardial perfusion was estimated by all (Short axis, HLA (Horizontal Long Axis) and VLA (Vertical Long Axis)) SPECT slices. For each patient, 2 series of transverse slices by tomographic image reconstruction, were produced, using OSEM iterative algorithm. DICOM data was extracted for each patient and an algorithm that integrates 3D visualization has been used for image processing analysis by MatLabR2012b. The appropriate threshold value was identified by creating intensity isocontours. The myocardium volume was evaluated and reconstructed as 3D image and calculations of the differences between the rest and stress data of the 3D images were made. An index ratio of the Volume of Interest (VOI) was determined. The differences between 3D images at rest and stress situations provide us with visual and quantitative evaluation of myocardial perfusio