3 research outputs found
Measuring and Managing Answer Quality for Online Data-Intensive Services
Online data-intensive services parallelize query execution across distributed
software components. Interactive response time is a priority, so online query
executions return answers without waiting for slow running components to
finish. However, data from these slow components could lead to better answers.
We propose Ubora, an approach to measure the effect of slow running components
on the quality of answers. Ubora randomly samples online queries and executes
them twice. The first execution elides data from slow components and provides
fast online answers; the second execution waits for all components to complete.
Ubora uses memoization to speed up mature executions by replaying network
messages exchanged between components. Our systems-level implementation works
for a wide range of platforms, including Hadoop/Yarn, Apache Lucene, the
EasyRec Recommendation Engine, and the OpenEphyra question answering system.
Ubora computes answer quality much faster than competing approaches that do not
use memoization. With Ubora, we show that answer quality can and should be used
to guide online admission control. Our adaptive controller processed 37% more
queries than a competing controller guided by the rate of timeouts.Comment: Technical Repor
The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder