Making the Most out of Direct-Access Network Attached Storage

The performance of high-speed network-attached storage applications is often limited by end-system overhead, caused primarily by memory copying and network protocol processing. In this paper, we examine alternative strategies for reducing overhead in such systems. We consider optimizations to remote procedure call (RPC)-based data transfer using either remote direct memory access (RDMA) or network interface support for pre-posting of application receive buffers. We demonstrate that both mechanisms enable file access throughput that saturates a 2Gb/s network link when performing large I/Os on relatively slow, commodity PCs. However, for multi-client workloads dominated by small I/Os, throughput is limited by the per-I/O overhead of processing RPCs in the server. For such workloads, we propose the use of a new network I/O mechanism, Optimistic RDMA (ORDMA). ORDMA is an alternative to RPC that aims to improve server throughput and response time for small I/Os. We measured performance improvements of up to 32% in server throughput and 36% in response time with use of ORDMA in our prototype.Engineering and Applied Science

Arctic Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain Strategy Integration as Part of Creative Economy

The Arctic regions with their rich but almost inaccessible natural resources are in the focus of attention of nation states and global business. Problems and potential of sustainable socio-economic development are determined by national priorities, the economy and infrastructure of the Arctic. Interaction of the supply chain strategy and entrepreneurship can unlock the potential of the Arctic through the stimulation of supply chain management and entrepreneurship as a key objective in the development of the region. In this regard, it is crucial to create conditions for developing the labor market based on creative competencies and digital technologies, and the solution of this task will increase the income of the indigenous people. Doing this research, the authors used the results of the studies on the economy of the Arctic regions and the data on the Russian Arctic of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation. Its economic structure includes traditional sectors: reindeer husbandry, hunting, and fishing. Industrial, transport, and energy development of the territories have a negative impact on traditional activities, so that the peoples of the Arctic have to search for new forms and ways of employment, conservation of the environment, and ethno cultural development. The results of expert questionnaires and surveys of the people living in the Arctic regions of the republic indicate the interest of the Arctic population in self-employment and working in tourism as a way of earning their living

A Single Dose of Atorvastatin Applied Acutely after Spinal Cord Injury Suppresses Inflammation, Apoptosis, and Promotes Axon Outgrowth, Which Might Be Essential for Favorable Functional Outcome.

The aim of our study was to limit the inflammatory response after a spinal cord injury (SCI) using Atorvastatin (ATR), a potent inhibitor of cholesterol biosynthesis. Adult Wistar rats were divided into five experimental groups: one control group, two Th9 compression (40 g/15 min) groups, and two Th9 compression + ATR (5 mg/kg, i.p.) groups. The animals survived one day and six weeks. ATR applied in a single dose immediately post-SCI strongly reduced IL-1β release at 4 and 24 h and considerably reduced the activation of resident cells at one day post-injury. Acute ATR treatment effectively prevented the excessive infiltration of destructive M1 macrophages cranially, at the lesion site, and caudally (by 66%, 62%, and 52%, respectively) one day post-injury, whereas the infiltration of beneficial M2 macrophages was less affected (by 27%, 41%, and 16%). In addition, at the same time point, ATR visibly decreased caspase-3 cleavage in neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Six weeks post-SCI, ATR increased the expression of neurofilaments in the dorsolateral columns and Gap43-positive fibers in the lateral columns around the epicenter, and from day 30 to 42, significantly improved the motor activity of the hindlimbs. We suggest that early modulation of the inflammatory response via effects on the M1/M2 macrophages and the inhibition of caspase-3 expression could be crucial for the functional outcome

Improving Performance Isolation on Chip Multiprocessors via an Operating System Scheduler

(Article begins on next page) The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Citation Feorova, Alexandra, Margo Seltzer, and Michael D. Smith. 2007.Improving performance isolation on chip multiprocessors via an operating system scheduler. In Proceedings of the 16t

Methyltransferase Set7/9 as a Multifaceted Regulator of ROS Response.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce multiple signaling cascades in the cell and hence play an important role in the regulation of the cell's fate. ROS can cause irreversible damage to DNA and proteins resulting in cell death. Therefore, finely tuned regulatory mechanisms exist in evolutionarily diverse organisms that are aimed at the neutralization of ROS and its consequences with respect to cellular damage. The SET domain-containing lysine methyltransferase Set7/9 (KMT7, SETD7, SET7, SET9) post-translationally modifies several histones and non-histone proteins via monomethylation of the target lysines in a sequence-specific manner. In cellulo, the Set7/9-directed covalent modification of its substrates affects gene expression, cell cycle, energy metabolism, apoptosis, ROS, and DNA damage response. However, the in vivo role of Set7/9 remains enigmatic. In this review, we summarize the currently available information regarding the role of methyltransferase Set7/9 in the regulation of ROS-inducible molecular cascades in response to oxidative stress. We also highlight the in vivo importance of Set7/9 in ROS-related diseases

A HYBRID DIFFERENTIAL EVOLUTION FOR NON-SMOOTH OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

Solving high dimentional, multimodal, non-smooth global optimization problems faces challenges concerning quality of solution, computational costs or even the impossibility of solving the problem. Evolutionary algorithms, in particular, differential evolution algorithm proved itself as good method of global optimization. On the other side, approach based on subgradient methods are good for optimizing non-smooth functions. Combination of these two approaches enables to improve the quality of the algorithm, using the best features of both methods. In this paper, a new hybrid evolutionary approach based on differential evolution and subgradient algorithm as the local search procedure is proposed. Behavior of the proposed SSGDE algorithm was studied in a numerical experiment on three groups of generated tests. Comparison of the new hybrid algorithm with the pure DE approach showed the advantage of the SSGDE. It has been experimentally established that the proposed method finds the global minimum in the best way for all considered dimensions of the problem with respect to the differential evolution method. The SSGDE algorithm showed the best results with a significant increase in the number of functions