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In modern cloud environments, container orchestration tools are essential for effectively managing diverse workloads and services, and Kubernetes has become the de facto standard tool for automating the deployment, scaling, and operation of containerized applications. While Kubernetes plays an important role in optimizing and managing the deployment of diverse services and applications, its default scheduling approach, which is not optimized for all types of workloads, can often result in poor performance and wasted resources. This is particularly true in environments with complex interactions between services, such as microservice architectures. The traditional Kubernetes scheduler makes scheduling decisions based on CPU and memory usage, but the limitation of this arrangement is that it does not fully account for the performance and resource efficiency of the application. As a result, the communication latency between services increases, and the overall system performance suffers. Therefore, a more sophisticated and adaptive scheduling method is required. In this work, we propose an adaptive pod placement optimization technique using multi-tier inspection to address these issues. The proposed technique collects and analyzes multi-tier data to improve application performance and resource efficiency, which are overlooked by the default Kubernetes scheduler. It derives optimal placements based on the coupling and dependencies between pods, resulting in more efficient resource usage and better performance. To validate the performance of the proposed method, we configured a Kubernetes cluster in a virtualized environment and conducted experiments using a benchmark application with a microservice architecture. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the existing Kubernetes scheduler, reducing the average response time by up to 11.5% and increasing the number of requests processed per second by up to 10.04%. This indicates that the proposed method minimizes the inter-pod communication delay and improves the system-wide resource utilization. This research aims to optimize application performance and increase resource efficiency in cloud-native environments, and the proposed technique can be applied to different cloud environments and workloads in the future to provide more generalized optimizations. This is expected to contribute to increasing the operational efficiency of cloud infrastructure and improving the quality of service.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, in South Korea, several inpatient wards were converted to temporary negative pressure isolation (TNPI) wards by using portable high-efficiency particulate air filter units (PHUs). This study proposes improvements to the TNPI ward to prepare for airborne infections., Methods: Existing air-conditioning systems were investigated during the pandemic in 4 hospitals through a document review and field investigation with staff interviews. On-site experiments and measurements were conducted under vacant conditions. Differential pressure (∆P) between spaces was measured in all 4 hospitals, while tracer gas tests were carried out in 2 hospitals., Results: The investigation revealed that thermal discomfort caused the existing systems remaining perpetually active. Additionally, the noise generated by the PHU caused an unexpected shutdown of that equipment. Furthermore, the ∆P of over -2.5 Pa was measured as a result of the operating status of equipment. These situations can cause duct backflow and gas diffusion through unsealed diffusers. Moreover, low airtightness of existing facilities can affect indoor environment, pressure difference, and gas diffusion., Conclusions: When using existing facilities as TNPI wards, the airtightness and existing systems should be considered. We concluded that it is important to increase the airtightness and seal unused diffusers in order to prevent cross-infection by unpredictable airflow., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recent evidence of gut microbiota dysbiosis in the context of psoriasis and the increased cooccurrence of inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis suggest a close relationship between skin and gut immune responses. Using a mouse model of psoriasis induced by the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 ligand imiquimod, we found that psoriatic dermatitis was accompanied by inflammatory changes in the small intestine associated with eosinophil degranulation, which impaired intestinal barrier integrity. Inflammatory responses in the skin and small intestine were increased in mice prone to eosinophil degranulation. Caco-2 human intestinal epithelial cells were treated with media containing eosinophil granule proteins and exhibited signs of inflammation and damage. Imiquimod-induced skin and intestinal changes were attenuated in eosinophil-deficient mice, and this attenuation was counteracted by the transfer of eosinophils. Imiquimod levels and the distribution of eosinophils were positively correlated in the intestine. TLR7-deficient mice did not exhibit intestinal eosinophil degranulation but did exhibit attenuated inflammation in the skin and small intestine following imiquimod administration. These results suggest that TLR7-dependent bidirectional skin-to-gut communication occurs in psoriatic inflammation and that inflammatory changes in the intestine can accelerate psoriasis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)