Empirical Study of Asynchronous Batch Codes

Partiikoodid esitleti Y. Ishai, E. Kushilevitz, R. Ostrovsky ja A. Sahai poolt aastal 2004 hajusfailisüsteemide koormusjaotuseks. A.-E. Riet, V. Skachek ja E. K. Thomas demonstreerisid artiklis, et erinevate kestvusega päringud partiikoode kasutavale failisüsteemile põhjustavad ooteaegu. Samas artiklis esitleti ooteaegade probleemi lahendamiseks asünkroonse partiikoodimudel. Käesoleva lõputöö raames loodi kahe partiikoodi mudeli võrdlemiseks süsteemi prototüüp, mille abil simuleeriti mõlemat mudelit kasutavaid failisüsteeme. Simulatsioonide töökäiku kirjeldatakse detailselt. Lõputöös võeti kasutusele asünkroonsel süsteemimudelil uus parameeter, mille abil suurendati süsteemi poolt saavutatavat täidetavat päringumahtu. Teostatud simulatsioonide tulemused visualiseeriti ning tulemusi kirjeldatakse detailselt.Batch codes were introduced by Y. Ishai, E. Kushilevitz, R. Ostrovsky and A. Sahai in 2004 for load balancing in distributed storage systems. As it is observed in a paper by A.-E. Riet, V. Skachek and E. K. Thomas, varying service times for the user requests could cause long waiting times in the system based on batch code, thus leading to a suboptimal performance. The asynchronous batch code model was introduced as a solution to this problem. In this thesis, to compare the two models, a system prototype was developed which was used to estimate the performance of these models. The constructed system model is described in detail. The thesis introduces a new parameter to the asynchronous system model, which is called "skip distance". The system performance can be improved by optimizing the value of this parameter. The results of the simulations are visualized and explained in detail

Nobeli auhind füsioloogias ja meditsiinis 2007

2007. aastal anti Nobeli auhind füsioloogias ja meditsiinis ühiselt kolmele teadlasele Mario R. Capecchile, Martin J. Evansile ja Oliver Smithiesile nimetuse all „Hiire organismi embrüonaalsete tüvirakkude abil spetsiifiliste geenimodifikatsioonide sisseviimise printsiibid”. Oma töödes ühendasid need kolm teadlast imetajatel embrüonaalsed tüvirakud ja DNA rekombinatsiooni, mis viis äärmiselt võimsa bioloogilise tehnoloogia loomiseni, mida nimetatakse geeni märgistamiseks hiirel (gene targeting in mice). Praeguseks on see tehnoloogia jõudnud rakenduseni tegelikult kõigil biomeditsiini aladel, niihästi alusuuringutes kui ka uute ravimeetodite ja ravimite väljatöötamisel. Eesti Arst 2007; 86 (12): 863–86

Kromosoomianomaaliad ja kromosoomivariandid infertiilsetel meestel

Lastetust esineb umbes 15% peredest. Selle mehepoolsetest põhjustest moodustavad 30% geneetilised tegurid, eeskätt kromosoomihaigused. Eestis on viljatuse tsütogeneetilisi põhjusi seni vähe uuritud. Töös selgitati kromosoomianomaaliate ja kromosoomivariantide seost meeste viljatusega. Selgus, et Eestis elavatel viljatutel meestel, isegi kui nendel ei olnud geneetiliste haiguste sümptomeid, oli kromosoomianomaaliate esinemissagedus suur võrreldes fertiilsete meestega.Spermatogeneesihäiret võivad põhjustada nii sugukromosoomide arvuanomaaliad kui ka autosoomide struktuurianomaaliad. Seepärast on kõiki lastetuid mehi soovitatav rutiinselt uurida tsütogeneetiliselt, eriti enne pere kunstlikule viljastamisele suunamist. Eesti Arst 2006; 85 (2): 84–9

Eradication of Salmonella Typhimurium infection in a murine model of typhoid fever with the combination of probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum ME-3 and ofloxacin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of the study was to detect whether in experimental <it>Salmonella enterica </it>Typhimurium infection the probiotic <it>Lactobacillus fermentum </it>ME-3 in combination with fluoroquinolone therapy would eradicate <it>S. </it>Typhimurium, prevent the development of liver and spleen granulomas and improve the indices of oxidative stress in the ileum mucosa.</p> <p>The selected bacteriological, histological and biochemical methods were applied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Combined treatment with <it>L. fermentum </it>ME-3 and ofloxacin eradicated <it>Salmonella </it>Typhimurium from blood, ileum and liver, decreased the number of animals with liver and spleen granulomas and reduced the value of lipid peroxides in the ileum mucosa. Higher total counts of intestinal lactobacilli in all experimental groups were associated with the absence of liver granulomas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The antimicrobial and antioxidative probiotic <it>L. fermentum </it>ME-3 combined with ofloxacin enhances the eradication of experimental <it>S</it>. Typhimurium infection. These observations on probiotic and antimicrobial co-action may serve as basis to develop new strategies for treatment of invasive bacterial infections of the gut.</p

Estonia and China: Changing role, Perceptions, and Security Implications

This publication results from the project “China's Role and Perception in the Baltic States: Implications for National Security and NATO” (NATO Public Diplomacy Division's Co-Sponsorship Grant)The chapter gives an overview of the changing Sino-Estonian relations from the consolidation of diplomatic ties in 1991 until the present. It examines the security implications these ties have started to pose for Estonia and NATO, while underlining the relative insignificance of the bilateral China-Estonia financial and trade ties. Analysing public opinion polls, this chapter outlines the risk that perceptions of China may become increasingly divergent between Estonian and non-Estonian speakers, with the former perceiving China as more of a threat than the latter. This might translate into a future security implication from the standpoint of domestic cohesiveness. Taking into account imminent risks, including Chinese surveillance technology on Estonia’s border crossings, and dubious infrastructure projects still in air, such as the Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel in the Gulf of Finland, the suggestion is made for the Estonian government to start formulating its independent China strategy, to map out the remaining areas for cooperation, and draw the boundaries where collaboration can no longer take place.This publication is sponsored by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Divisio

A dual colour FISH method for routine validation of sexed Bos taurus semen

Background: Usage of sexed semen that allows to choose the gender of the calves, is commonly practiced in livestock industry as a profitable breeding alternative, especially in dairy farming. The flow cytometric cell sorting is the only commercially available method for bovine sperm sexing. For validation of the sexing procedure several methods have been developed including sperm fluorescence in situ hybridisation techniques. Latter usually include the use of pre-labelled nucleotides for probe synthesis which is relatively expensive approach compared to combined application of aminoallyl-dUTP and chemical binding of fluorescent dyes. Here a sex determining dual colour bovine sperm fluorescence in situ hybridisation method is presented which is considered more cost-effective technique than the previously reported approaches. Results: The reliability of sex chromosome identifying probes, designed in silico, was proven on bovine metaphase plate chromosomes and through comparison with a commercially available standard method. In the dual colour FISH experiments of unsexed and sexed bovine sperm samples the hybridisation efficiency was at least 98%, whereas the determined sex ratios were not statistically different from the expected. Very few cells carried both of the sex chromosome-specific signals (less than 0.2%). Conclusions: A protocol for a dual colour bovine sperm FISH method is provided which is cost-effective, simple and fast for sex determination of spermatozoa in bull semen samples.Peer reviewe

Microbe database

Käesoleva bakalaureusetöö eesmärk on luua kliendile veebipõhine mikroobide andmebaas, mille abil oleks võimalik mugav andmehaldus ning valikuline informatsiooni jagamine kasutajatele. Rakendus on loodud Spring MVC (model-view-controller) veebiraamistikku kasutades. Lisaks on kasutatud järgnevaid tehnoloogiaid: JSP, Bootstrap raamistik, JavaScript ja HSQLdb. Rakenduses on tavakasutajal võimalik vaadata detailset informat-siooni talle jagatud mikroobide kohta. Andmebaasi administreerival kasutajal on võimalik lisada ja kustutada kasutajaid, muuta kasutajate õigusi ning lisada ja muuta mikroobide andmeid.The purpose of this Bachelor's Thesis is to create a web-based microbe database for a client, which would provide convenient data management and selective sharing of information to users. The web application is created using Spring MVC (model-view-controller) framework. In addition, the following technologies were used: JSP, Bootstrap framework, JavaScript and HSQLdb. The application provides regular users with detailed information for microbe strains that they have been given access to. Administrator users can add and delete users, change user permissions, as well as add or edit microbe strain information