Improved metrics collection and correlation for the CERN cloud storage test framework

Storage space is one of the most important ingredients that the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) needs for its experiments and operation. Part of the Data & Storage Services (IT-DSS) group’s work at CERN is focused on testing and evaluating the cloud storage system that is provided by the openlab partner Huawei, Huawei Universal Disk Storage System (UDS). As a whole, the system consists of both software and hardware. The objective of the Huawei-CERN partnership is to investigate the performance of the cloud storage system. Among the interesting questions are the system’s scalability, reliability and ability to store and retrieve files. During the tests, possible bugs and malfunctions can be discovered and corrected. Different versions of the storage software that runs inside the storage system can also be compared to each other. The nature of testing and benchmarking a storage system gives rise to several small tasks that can be done during a short summer internship. In order to test the storage system a test framework developed by the DSS group is used. The framework consists of various types of file transfer tests, client and server monitoring programs and log file analysis programs. Part of the work done was additions to the existing framework and part was developing new tools. Metrics collection was the central theme. Metrics are to be understood as system statistics, such as memory consumption or processor usage. Memory usage and disk reads/writes were added to the existing client real-time monitoring framework. CPU and memory usage, network traffic (bytes received/sent) and the number of processes running are collected from a client computer before and after a daily test. Two other additions are visualization for storage system log files, as well as a new monitoring tool for the storage system. This report is divided into parts describing each part of the framework that was improved or added, the problem and the final solution. A short description of the code and the architecture are also included

Antigenic Differences between AS03 Adjuvanted Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic Vaccines : Implications for Pandemrix-Associated Narcolepsy Risk

Peer reviewe

Identification of the genes regulated by Wnt-4, a critical signal for commitment of the ovary

AbstractThe indifferent mammalian embryonic gonad generates an ovary or testis, but the factors involved are still poorly known. The Wnt-4 signal represents one critical female determinant, since its absence leads to partial female-to-male sex reversal in mouse, but its signalling is as well implicated in the testis development. We used the Wnt-4 deficient mouse as a model to identify candidate gonadogenesis genes, and found that the Notum, Phlda2, Runx-1 and Msx1 genes are typical of the wild-type ovary and the Osr2, Dach2, Pitx2 and Tacr3 genes of the testis. Strikingly, the expression of these latter genes becomes reversed in the Wnt-4 knock-out ovary, suggesting a role in ovarian development. We identified the transcription factor Runx-1 as a Wnt-4 signalling target gene, since it is expressed in the ovary and is reduced upon Wnt-4 knock-out. Consistent with this, introduction of the Wnt-4 signal into early ovary cells ex vivo induces Runx-1 expression, while conversely Wnt-4 expression is down-regulated in the absence of Runx-1. We conclude that the Runx-1 gene can be a Wnt-4 signalling target, and that Runx-1 and Wnt-4 are mutually interdependent in their expression. The changes in gene expression due to the absence of Wnt-4 in gonads reflect the sexually dimorphic role of this signal and its complex gene network in mammalian gonad development

On non-absolute functional Volterra integral equations and impulsive differential equations in ordered Banach spaces

In this article we derive existence and comparison results for discontinuous non-absolute functional integral equations of Volterra type in an ordered Banach space which has a regular order cone. The obtained results are then applied to first-order impulsive differential equations

Continuous solutions of distributional Cauchy problems

Existence of the smallest, greatest, minimal, maximal and unique continuous solutions to distributional Cauchy problems, as well as their dependence on the data, are studied. The main tools are a continuous primitive integral and fixed point results in function spaces

Controlled Outcomes for Achievement of Urinary Continence among Boys Treated for Posterior Urethral Valves

Purpose: We evaluated the age at which boys with a history of posterior urethral valves after no or minimal anticholinergic medication achieve urinary continence and the factors contributing to continence. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the hospital records of all males treated for posterior urethral valves at a single institution between 1990 and 2008. Continence was considered to have been attained if no weekly wetting episodes occurred. We evaluated the influence of patient characteristics, including reduced kidney function and primary ring type ureteral stoma, on age at which continence was achieved. Results: A total of 76 patients were assessed. Achievement of daytime and nighttime urinary continence was markedly delayed in patients (mean +/- SD age 5.5 +/- 3.3 years and 5.4 +/- 3.0 years, respectively) compared to the reference population (2.3 +/- 0.5 and 2.9 +/- 1.2, p <0.001). Increased serum creatinine levels at age 5 years were associated with later daytime and nighttime continence (mean +/- SD 6.0 +/- 3.2 and 5.5 +/- 2.6 years, respectively, vs 4.1 +/- 2.3 and 3.7 +/- 1.4 years, respectively, in patients with normal serum creatinine, p Conclusions: Patients with posterior urethral valves achieve daytime and nighttime urinary continence significantly later than their healthy peers. Prenatal or neonatal diagnosis and high serum creatinine are associated with later attainment of continence.Peer reviewe

Existence of solutions for discontinuous functional equations and elliptic boundary-value problems

We prove existence results for discontinuous functional equations in general $L^p$-spaces and apply these results to the solvability of implicit and explicit elliptic boundary-value problems involving discontinuous nonlinearities. The main tool in the proof is a fixed point result in lattice-ordered Banach spaces proved by the second author