415 research outputs found
Towards Scalable Real-time Analytics:: An Architecture for Scale-out of OLxP Workloads
We present an overview of our work on the SAP HANA Scale-out Extension, a novel distributed database architecture designed to support large scale analytics over real-time data. This platform permits high performance OLAP with massive scale-out capabilities, while concurrently allowing OLTP workloads. This dual capability enables analytics over real-time changing data and allows fine grained user-specified service level agreements (SLAs) on data freshness. We advocate the decoupling of core database components such as query processing, concurrency control, and persistence, a design choice made possible by advances in high-throughput low-latency networks and storage devices. We provide full ACID guarantees and build on a logical timestamp mechanism to provide MVCC-based snapshot isolation, while not requiring synchronous updates of replicas. Instead, we use asynchronous update propagation guaranteeing consistency with timestamp validation. We provide a view into the design and development of a large scale data management platform for real-time analytics, driven by the needs of modern enterprise customers
Degradation of Bradykinin by Neutral Endopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.11) in Cultured Human Endothelial Cells
Peer Reviewe
AxPcoords & parallel AxParafit: statistical co-phylogenetic analyses on thousands of taxa
Background
Current tools for Co-phylogenetic analyses are not able to cope with the continuous accumulation of phylogenetic data. The sophisticated statistical test for host-parasite co-phylogenetic analyses implemented in Parafit does not allow it to handle large datasets in reasonable times. The Parafit and DistPCoA programs are the by far most compute-intensive components of the Parafit analysis pipeline. We present AxParafit and AxPcoords (Ax stands for Accelerated) which are highly optimized versions of Parafit and DistPCoA respectively.
Results
Both programs have been entirely re-written in C. Via optimization of the algorithm and the C code as well as integration of highly tuned BLAS and LAPACK methods AxParafit runs 5–61 times faster than Parafit with a lower memory footprint (up to 35% reduction) while the performance benefit increases with growing dataset size. The MPI-based parallel implementation of AxParafit shows good scalability on up to 128 processors, even on medium-sized datasets. The parallel analysis with AxParafit on 128 CPUs for a medium-sized dataset with an 512 by 512 association matrix is more than 1,200/128 times faster per processor than the sequential Parafit run. AxPcoords is 8–26 times faster than DistPCoA and numerically stable on large datasets. We outline the substantial benefits of using parallel AxParafit by example of a large-scale empirical study on smut fungi and their host plants. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the largest co-phylogenetic analysis to date.
Conclusion
The highly efficient AxPcoords and AxParafit programs allow for large-scale co-phylogenetic analyses on several thousands of taxa for the first time. In addition, AxParafit and AxPcoords have been integrated into the easy-to-use CopyCat tool
Species Delimitation in Taxonomically Difficult Fungi: The Case of Hymenogaster
False truffles are ecologically important as mycorrhizal partners of trees and evolutionarily highly interesting as the result of a shift from epigeous mushroom-like to underground fruiting bodies. Since its first description by Vittadini in 1831, inappropriate species concepts in the highly diverse false truffle genus Hymenogaster has led to continued confusion, caused by a large variety of prevailing taxonomical opinions.In this study, we reconsidered the species delimitations in Hymenogaster based on a comprehensive collection of Central European taxa comprising more than 140 fruiting bodies from 20 years of field work. The ITS rDNA sequence dataset was subjected to phylogenetic analysis as well as clustering optimization using OPTSIL software.Among distinct species concepts from the literature used to create reference partitions for clustering optimization, the broadest concept resulted in the highest agreement with the ITS data. Our results indicate a highly variable morphology of H. citrinus and H. griseus, most likely linked to environmental influences on the phenology (maturity, habitat, soil type and growing season). In particular, taxa described in the 19(th) century frequently appear as conspecific. Conversely, H. niveus appears as species complex comprising seven cryptic species with almost identical macro- and micromorphology. H. intermedius and H. huthii are described as novel species, each of which with a distinct morphology intermediate between two species complexes. A revised taxonomy for one of the most taxonomically difficult genera of Basidiomycetes is proposed, including an updated identification key. The (semi-)automated selection among species concepts used here is of importance for the revision of taxonomically problematic organism groups in general
The Nitric Oxide Pathway Provides Innate Antiviral Protection in Conjunction with the Type I Interferon Pathway in Fibroblasts
The innate host response to virus infection is largely dominated by the production of type I interferon and interferon stimulated genes. In particular, fibroblasts respond robustly to viral infection and to recognition of viral signatures such as dsRNA with the rapid production of type I interferon; subsequently, fibroblasts are a key cell type in antiviral protection. We recently found, however, that primary fibroblasts deficient for the production of interferon, interferon stimulated genes, and other cytokines and chemokines mount a robust antiviral response against both DNA and RNA viruses following stimulation with dsRNA. Nitric oxide is a chemical compound with pleiotropic functions; its production by phagocytes in response to interferon-γ is associated with antimicrobial activity. Here we show that in response to dsRNA, nitric oxide is rapidly produced in primary fibroblasts. In the presence of an intact interferon system, nitric oxide plays a minor but significant role in antiviral protection. However, in the absence of an interferon system, nitric oxide is critical for the protection against DNA viruses. In primary fibroblasts, NF-κB and interferon regulatory factor 1 participate in the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression, which subsequently produces nitric oxide. As large DNA viruses encode multiple and diverse immune modulators to disable the interferon system, it appears that the nitric oxide pathway serves as a secondary strategy to protect the host against viral infection in key cell types, such as fibroblasts, that largely rely on the type I interferon system for antiviral protection
Corporate boards and the performance of Asian firms: A meta-analysis
The prevalence of ownership concentration in Asian firms presents a challenge to the influential agency theory-based understanding of the role of corporate boards. In this paper we develop and test hypotheses about board attributes and firm performance that reflect Asian institutional conditions. We present the first meta-analysis of the relationship between board attributes and performance of Asian firms using a varied set of meta-analytical techniques on a database of 86 studies covering nine Asian countries. First, we find that board structure and composition preferences are influenced by the identity of the concentrated owner. Second, consistent with US data, we find very limited evidence of a direct relationship between board attributes and firm financial performance in the Asian context. Third, we find that the relationship between board structure and composition and firm performance is mediated by the revealed strategic preferences of Asian firms specifically by the level of R&D investment
Estudo biológico e comportamental de lagartas de Spodoptera frugiperda visando à produção de BaculovÃrus spodoptera
A utilização de bioinseticida a base de Spodoptera frugiperda
multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) possui potencial para o controle de
Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), porém sua obtenção em larga
escala depende da maximização da produção in vivo. Assim, alguns fatores
biológicos e comportamentais devem ser estudados para aperfeiçoar a
produção de SfMNPV com intuito de disponibilizar um bioinseticida eficiente,
economicamente viável e que possa ser usado no manejo de S. frugiperda nos
mais diversos sistemas agrÃcolas. Entre os fatores relacionados ao hospedeiro,
a temperatura e a idade para inoculação do vÃrus são de extrema importância,
pois interferem diretamente no ciclo de vida e na replicação viral. O
comportamento também deve ser avaliado, para evitar condições de criação do
hospedeiro que favoreçam o canibalismo e causa prejuÃzo na multiplicação in
vivo do SfMNPV. Assim, objetivou-se determinar a melhor condição térmica
para criar as lagartas e a idade ideal, para inocular e multiplicar o vÃrus no
hospedeiro, bem como, verificar a ocorrência do comportamento canibal em
lagartas de S. frugiperda. Os experimentos foram conduzidos no Laboratório de
Controle Microbiano de Insetos do Núcleo de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e
Tecnológico em Manejo Fitossanitário de Pragas e Doenças (NUDEMAFI),
localizado no Centro de Ciências Agrárias da UFES, em Alegre, EspÃrito Santo,
Brasil. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em duas etapas, a primeira para determinar
a condição térmica e a idade ideais para criar e inocular, respectivamente, o
hospedeiro com o vÃrus, para multiplicação in vivo de SfMNPV. A segunda
etapa foi para avaliar o comportamento canibal de lagartas da espécie S.
frugiperda criadas a 22, 25 e 31°C, inoculadas com SfMNPV quando com
idades de 10, 8 e 4 dias, respectivamente, e mantidas em diferentes
densidades populacionais (5, 10, 25 e 50 lagartas por recipiente). A
mortalidade diminuiu com o aumento da temperatura e da idade do hospedeiro
nas temperaturas de 25, 28 e 31 °C. O aumento na taxa de canibalismo foi
12
diretamente proporcional à densidade populacional quando as lagartas foram
criadas a 22 °C, inoculadas aos 10 dias de idade e 25 ºC, inoculadas aos 8
dias e atingiram 63,5 e 62,5%, respectivamente na densidade populacional de
50 lagartas. Mas, quando as lagartas foram criadas a 31ºC e inoculadas com
idade de 4 dias, a densidade populacional não afetou o comportamento
canibal, taxa média de 24%, inferior aos outros tratamentos com 50 lagartas
por recipiente. Demonstrando que é viável para a multiplicação viral, criar
lagartas a 31 °C e aos 4 dias de idade inocular o vÃrus, podendo a partir de
então colocar até 50 lagartas por recipiente, o que reduz a mão-de-obra
necessária para individualizar as lagartas e otimiza o espaço fÃsico em uma
biofábrica. Portanto, se para otimizar o processo produção viral e o serviço em
uma biofábrica, é preciso maximizar a produção viral, reduzir o tempo de
multiplicação do vÃrus e o canibalismo entre as lagartas, com ausência de
contaminação da criação, a temperatura e idade ideais para criação massal de
S. frugiperda e inoculação do vÃrus nas lagartas, respectivamente, visando
produção de baculovÃrus em larga escala são de 31 ºC e 4 dias
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