Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PiBooster: Performance Accelerations in Page Table Management for Paravirtual VMs

In paravirtualization, the page table management components of guest operating systems are properly patched for the security guarantees of the hypervisor. However, none of them pay enough attention to the performance improvements, which results in two noticeable performance issues. First, such security patches exacerbate the problem that the execution paths of the guest page table (de)allocations become extremely long, which would consequently increase the latencies of process creations and exits. Second, the patches introduce many additional IOTLB flushes, leading to extra IOTLB misses, and the misses would have negative impacts on I/O performance of all peripheral devices. In this paper, we propose PiBooster, a novel lightweight approach for improving the performance in the page table management. First, PiBooster shortens the execution paths of the page table (de)allocations by PiBooster cache, which maintains dedicated buffers for serving page table (de)allocations. Second, PiBooster eliminates the additional IOTLB misses with a fine-grained validation scheme, which performs guest and DMA validations separately, instead of doing both together. We implement a prototype on Xen with Linux as the guest kernel. We also evaluate the performance effects of PiBooster. Firstly, PiBooster is able to completely eliminate the additional IOTLB flushes in the workload-stable environments, and effectively reduces (de)allocation time of the page table by 47% on average. Expectedly, the latencies of the process creations and exits are reduced by 16% on average. Besides, the SPECINT, netperf and lmbench results indicate that PiBooster has no negative performance impacts on CPU computation, network I/O, and disk I/O.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice

Franchisees’ affective organizational commitment refers to the degree to which franchisees experience an emotional attachment to their franchise organization. Using a social exchange theory perspective, this research reports four studies that explore the relationship between franchisee’s affective commitment and franchisee outcomes. We found that affective com- mitment to the franchise organization was positively related to franchisee objective perfor- mance (Study 1) and intent to acquire additional units (Study 2), and negatively related to franchisee opportunism (Study 3) and intent to leave the franchise organization, particularly when continuance commitment (i.e., commitment based on the cost associated with mem- bership to the franchise) was low (Study 4). The implications of these ﬁndings are discussed.
Executive Function at Early School Age in Children Born Very Preterm

Impairments in executive function have been posited to account for some of the poor cognitive and educational outcomes associated with very preterm birth. As part of a prospective, longitudinal study, this research examined executive function in a regionally representative sample of 103 children born very preterm and/or very low birth weight (<33 weeks GA / <1500g) and a comparison sample of 108 full term children at age 6 years (corrected for prematurity). The specific aims of the study were 1) to describe the performance of children born very preterm and full term on a range of executive function measures, 2) to identify the antecedent medical, neurological and socio-familial factors associated with executive function performance within the very preterm group, and 3) to examine linkages between children’s executive function performance and their academic achievement at age 6 years. Children underwent a comprehensive developmental assessment, including standardised tests of IQ and academic achievement in mathematics, reading and receptive language. Additionally, they completed a number of executive function tasks selected to assess verbal working memory (Digit Span), spatial working memory (Corsi Blocks), planning and problem-solving (Tower of Hanoi), selective attention (Visual Search), shifting and inhibitory control (Detour Reaching Box) and sustained attention and inhibition (Kiddie-Conner’s Continuous Performance Task; K-CPT). Parents and teachers of these children also completed the Behavioural Rating Inventory of Executive Function and teachers rated children’s performance in reading, arithmetic and comprehension in relation to their classroom peers. Results revealed a pervasive pattern of impairment across multiple measures of executive function in children born very preterm relative to their full term peers.
Spatial Cue-Priming: Effects of Masked Cue Stimuli on Endogenous Visual Spatial Attention

Recent research in cognitive neuroscience has examined the relationship of consciousness and attention. On the one hand, it remains a debated topic whether attention is a necessary precondition for consciousness; on the other hand other researchers have focused on the possibility and mechanisms of attention without consciousness. Effects of unconscious stimuli on spatial attention were found in several studies but were so far restricted to peripheral cues or specific central cues which may invoke exogenous attention. Given that recent evidence suggests that unconscious stimuli have access to executive control processes, it seemed reasonable to assume that masked stimuli can affect endogenous orienting of attention as well. In the present work, masked primes were presented before visible endogenous cues in different spatial cueing tasks. These masked primes modulated speed and accuracy of responses to laterally presented visual target stimuli. This suggests that they affected endogenous orienting of attention. However, the effects of these masked primes are modulated by several factors such as perceptual similarity between prime and cue stimuli, spatial compatibility between primes and target location, validity of the visible cue stimulus, and whether the task and target parameters favor attentional selection at early or later stages of processing. Overall, results suggest different underlying mechanisms in spatial cue-priming. Large and reliable spatial cue-priming effects were found in letter discrimination tasks in which visible cues specified the target letter. In this task, priming effects on behavior seem to result in part from perceptual priming of cues and in part on later decisional processes. Direct effects of primes on attention were found in free choice task but were restricted to spatially compatible stimuli. Cue-priming effects on attention at early levels of processing seem to be mainly based on perceptual priming of cue processing. In EEG-experiments, a modulation of the visual N1 component provided further evidence for cue-priming effects on early levels of processing. In sum, results show that endogenous spatial attention can be affected by masked stimuli at different stages of target processing. However, further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms and limits of these spatial cue-priming effects.
Experiencing HIV and AIDS information: a phenomenological study of serodiscordant couples in Malawi

There being no cure for HIV, information continues to play an important role in the management of the pandemic. However, the ability to design successful HIV and AIDS information campaigns is highly dependent on knowledge of people’s information behaviour. Accordingly, there is a need for a clear understanding of the information behaviour of specific groups of people affected and infected by HIV. This phenomenological study investigates how serodiscordant couples experience HIV and AIDS information. In-depth interviews were conducted in the homes of twenty-one serodiscordant couples and three individuals who had separated from their partners. Participants for the study were selected purposively. Data analysis was done using Max Van Manen’s phenomenological approach to generate descriptions and interpretations of the couples’ experiences of HIV and AIDS information. The findings of this study identify three major aspects of experiencing HIV and AIDS information. First, the life-world is the overarching context of experiencing HIV and AIDS information. The study identified five existentials of the life-world of serodiscordant couples. The four of the five existentials were similar to those described by Max Van Manen. These are: lived body, lived space, lived others, and lived time. In addition, my study identified spirituality as a fifth existential. The second aspect of experiencing HIV and AIDS information concerns the nature of HIV and AIDS information. Serodiscordant couples experienced information sources before experiencing the information itself. In these sources serodiscordant couples categorised HIV and AIDS information as being available or unavailable, and accessible or inaccessible. Thirdly, HIV and AIDS information was experienced with various emotional and cognitive states of mind. The emotions were categorised as positive, negative, and ambiguous. Furthermore, this study proposes a conceptual framework for experiencing HIV and AIDS information. The conceptual framework suggests that HIV and AIDS information was experienced while anticipating it, interacting with it, acting on it, and reflecting on it. These findings reveal the complexity of experiencing HIV and AIDS information among serodiscordant couples. Recommendations are made for policy makers and practitioners on the importance of using knowledge of how serodiscordant couples experience HIV and AIDS information to design information services that suit their needs. In addition, this thesis highlights the need to have standard information materials for specific groups such as serodiscordant couples in order to effectively address their unique information needs.
Everolimus Therapeutic Concentration Range Defined from a Prospective Trial with Reduced-Exposure Cyclosporine in De Novo Kidney Transplantation

Prospective therapeutic drug monitoring of everolimus was performed in a 1-year multicenter trial in 237 de novo kidney transplant patients. Trough blood levels, rejection episodes, and safety parameters were evaluated to define an appropriate therapeutic concentration range for everolimus in this setting. Patients were randomized to everolimus starting doses of 0.75 mg bid (n = 112) or 1.5 mg bid (n = 125). Doses were then individualized based on everolimus trough blood levels (C0) in an attempt to maintain troughs ≥3 ng/mL; no upper limit was specified. The regimen also contained corticosteroids and cyclosporine with an early dose reduction in months 2–3 posttransplant based on concentrations 2 hours postdose (C2). Cyclosporine C0 levels were also collected. Prospective therapeutic drug monitoring of everolimus C0 in patients starting at 0.75 mg bid led to dose adjustments in 52% of patients to an average long-term dose of 0.93 ± 0.36 mg bid. This gave median (10th to 90th percentile) C0 levels of 5.3 (3.4–7.9) ng/mL. In patients starting at 1.5 mg bid, 55% had dose adjustments leading to an average long-term dose of 1.24 ± 0.35 mg bid. This yielded C0 levels of 7.2 (4.4–11.6) ng/mL. Cyclosporine dosing began on average at 274 ± 78 mg bid, was down-titrated in months 2–3 from 181 ± 80 mg to 81 ± 33 mg bid, and stabilized at 70 ± 26 mg bid thereafter. This yielded median C2 levels of 1165 ng/mL in month 1, a down-titration with levels of 853 and 630 ng/mL in months 2 and 3, and a posttitration level of 472 ng/mL. The corresponding median cyclosporine C0 was 242 ng/mL initially and 70 ng/mL in the posttitration phase. In patients starting at 0.75 mg bid everolimus and an early down-titration of cyclosporine, everolimus C0 between 3 and 8 ng/mL was an effective and safe concentration range. Concentrations up to 12 ng/mL were tolerated over the first year posttransplant. This trial demonstrated that therapeutic monitoring of everolimus can be prospectively performed for dose individualization. Maintaining everolimus troughs in the range 3 to 8 ng/mL in the first posttransplant year with reduced-exposure cyclosporine is associated with good efficacy and safety profiles.
ENDEMIC CRETINISM

thyroidism due to hypothalamic or pituitary disease there is usually a low level of TSH accompanying low levels of T, and T,. To separate hypothalamic from pituitary causes it is necessary to administer intravenously thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (200mcg) and thereafter to note the changes in the serum TSH concentrations. Blood samples are obtained at zero time and at 20 minutes and 60 minutes after injection. In the author’s experience there is normally at 60 minutes a three to four-fold increase over basal levels. No increase over basal levels indicates pituitary disease, while a near-normal response is obtained when the primary lesion is in the hypothalamus. Care must be exercised when interpreting the serum TSH levels in the neonate. Following delivery there is a surge in TSH release and high serum concentrations may be detected up to the fourth day of life. If hypothyroidism is suspected, it is prudent to delay these assays until after the first week of life. On the other hand, frank cretinism necessitates immediate treatment rather than sophisticated investigation. Radioiodine uptake studies, now used mainly for localization of remnant thyroid tissue, can well be postponed until later in childhood. When such studies are contemplated the procedure is to replace the administered thyroxine with tri-iodothyronine for a fourto six-week period*. Thereafter the tri-iodothyronine is discontinued for three days before taking blood for serum TSH, T, and T,, or administering radioiodine. The rationale for this procedure is that four to six weeks are necessary for all the exogenous thyroxine to be cleared, while exogenous tri-iodothyronine is cleared within three days. Thus a basal state is achieved early, without clinical hypothyroidism. Appropriate treatment is then recommenced since the results of the tests are usually available within a few days. Congenital hypothyroidism should now be diagnosed within the first few weeks of life. Milder cases of hypothyroidism should be detected before the onset of clinical effects. If the index of suspicion is constantly high, all that is required for diagnosis is lml of serum (or plasma) for estimation of TSH, T, and T4. * Tri-iodothyronine lOrncg for each lOOrncg T, used is a suitable substitution for this purpose, although inadequate for long-term maintenance. WILLIAM HAMILTON University Department of Child Health, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ
Modeling of Inverted Coupled Microstrip Lines Fabricated using MEMS Technology

3D electromagnetic simulations of a new low loss and low cost microstrip MEMS technology are presented in order to design passive components. First, the experimental validation of these simulation methods is presented. Then, electrical parameters and coupling coefficient are calculated for the inverted coupled lines on glass and on silicon. The characteristics of the two types of lines are finally compared.
Crystal Structure of Pyridoxal Kinase from the Escherichia coli pdxK Gene: Implications for the Classification of Pyridoxal Kinases

ABSTRACT The pdxK and pdxY genes have been found to code for pyridoxal kinases, enzymes involved in the pyridoxal phosphate salvage pathway. Two pyridoxal kinase structures have recently been published, including Escherichia coli pyridoxal kinase 2 (ePL kinase 2) and sheep pyridoxal kinase, products of the pdxY and pdxK genes, respectively. We now report the crystal structure of E. coli pyridoxal kinase 1 (ePL kinase 1), encoded by a pdxK gene, and an isoform of ePL kinase 2. The structures were determined in the unliganded and binary complexes with either MgATP or pyridoxal to 2.1-, 2.6-, and 3.2-Å resolutions, respectively. The active site of ePL kinase 1 does not show significant conformational change upon binding of either pyridoxal or MgATP. Like sheep PL kinase, ePL kinase 1 exhibits a sequential random mechanism. Unlike sheep pyridoxal kinase, ePL kinase 1 may not tolerate wide variation in the size and chemical nature of the 4′ substituent on the substrate. This is the result of differences in a key residue at position 59 on a loop (loop II) that partially forms the active site. Residue 59, which is His in ePL kinase 1, interacts with the formyl group at C-4′ of pyridoxal and may also determine if residues from another loop (loop I) can fill the active site in the absence of the substrate. Both loop I and loop II are suggested to play significant roles in the functions of PL kinases.
An Employee Who Was Not There: A study of job boredom in white-collar work

– Job boredom is an amotivational state at work, where employees lack interest in their work activities and have difficulties concentrating on them. Although recent research suggests that job boredom may concern a wide range of industries, studies investigating the experience and its emergence in white-collar work are scarce. Thereby the purpose of this paper is to contextualize job boredom by exploring the experience and its preconditions in white-collar work. , – This inductive, exploratory study employed data from 13 focus group interviews (n=72) in four organizations to investigate the emergence and experience of job boredom. , – Three types of job boredom was found. Each type involved distinct temporal experiences: inertia, acceleration and disrupted rhythm at work. The findings suggest that different types of job boredom involve specific conditions that hamper the activation of individual capabilities and disrupt temporal experience accordingly. , – Extending the conceptualization of job boredom may enable better understanding of the variety of consequences often associated with the phenomenon. , – It is also important for organizations to recognize that there are different types and various preconditions of job boredom in white-collar work, as it may have a negative impact on employee well-being and performance. , – The results indicate that job boredom is a more nuanced phenomenon than earlier believed. By identifying job boredom in white-collar work as an experience with various forms and respective preconditions, this study expands the understanding of the phenomenon and its emergence.
CD40 ligation and phagocytosis differently affect the differentiation of monocytes into dendritic cells

That monocytes can differentiate into macrophages or dendritic cells (DCs) makes them an essential link between innate and adaptive immunity. However, little is known about how interactions with pathogens or T cells influence monocyte engagement toward DCs. We approached this point in cultures where granulocyte macrophage‐colony stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) and interleukin (IL)‐4 induced monocytes to differentiate into immature DCs. Activating monocytes with soluble CD40 ligand (CD40L) led to accelerated differentiation toward mature CD83+ DCs with up‐regulated human leukocyte antigen‐DR, costimulatory molecules and CD116 (GM‐CSF receptor), and down‐regulation of molecules involved in antigen capture. Monocytes primed by phagocytosis of antibody‐opsonized, killed Escherichia coli differentiated into DCs with an immature phenotype, whereas Zymosan priming yielded active DCs with an intermediate phenotype. Accordingly, DCs obtained from cultures with CD40L or after Zymosan priming had a decreased capacity to endocytose dextran, but only DCs cultured with CD40L had increased capacity to stimulate allogeneic T cells. DCs obtained after E. coli or Zymosan priming of monocytes produced high levels of proinflammatory tumor necrosis factor α and IL‐6 as well as of regulatory IL‐10, but they produced IL‐12p70 only after secondary CD40 ligation. Thus, CD40 ligation on monocytes accelerates the maturation of DCs in the presence of GM‐CSF/IL‐4, whereas phagocytosis of different microorganisms does not alter and even facilitates their potential to differentiate into immature or active DCs, the maturation of which can be completed upon CD40 ligation. In vivo, such differences may correspond to DCs with different trafficking and T helper cell‐stimulating capacities that could differently affect induction of adaptive immune responses to infections.
Global stability validation of an uncertain large-scale aircraft model

A methodology to generate a parameter dependent uncertain large-scale aeroservoelastic aircraft model, with guaranteed bounds on the approximation error is firstly obtained using adavanced approximation and interpolation techniques. Secondly, the global stability of the aforementionned uncertain parameter dependent aircraft model, represented as a Linear Fractional Representation (LFR), subject to actuator saturation and dynamical uncertainties, is addressed through the use of an irrational multiplier-based Integral Quadratic Constraint (IQC) approach. The effectiveness of the approach is assessed on a complex set of aeroservoelastic aircraft models.
Changes in Proteome Profile of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Chronic Chagas Disease

Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc) infection causes chagasic cardiomyopathy; however, why 30–40% of the patients develop clinical disease is not known. To discover the pathomechanisms in disease progression, we obtained the proteome signature of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of normal healthy controls (N/H, n = 30) and subjects that were seropositive for Tc-specific antibodies, but were clinically asymptomatic (C/A, n = 25) or clinically symptomatic (C/S, n = 28) with cardiac involvement and left ventricular dysfunction. Protein samples were labeled with BODIPY FL-maleimide (dynamic range: > 4 orders of magnitude, detection limit: 5 f-mol) and resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE). After normalizing the gel images, protein spots that exhibited differential abundance in any of the two groups were analyzed by mass spectrometry, and searched against UniProt human database for protein identification. We found 213 and 199 protein spots (fold change: |≥ 1.5|, p< 0.05) were differentially abundant in C/A and C/S individuals, respectively, with respect to N/H controls. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) of PBMCs proteome dataset identified an increase in disorganization of cytoskeletal assembly and recruitment/activation and migration of immune cells in all chagasic subjects, though the invasion capacity of cells was decreased in C/S individuals. IPA predicted with high probability a decline in cell survival and free radical scavenging capacity in C/S (but not C/A) subjects. The MYC/SP1 transcription factors that regulate hypoxia and oxidative/inflammatory stress were predicted to be key targets in the context of control of Chagas disease severity. Further, MARS-modeling identified a panel of proteins that had >93% prediction success in classifying infected individuals with no disease and those with cardiac involvement and LV dysfunction. In conclusion, we have identified molecular pathways and a panel of proteins that could aid in detecting seropositive individuals at risk of developing cardiomyopathy.
Slacking Off or Winding Down? An Experience Sampling Study on the Drivers and Consequences of Media Use for Recovery Versus Procrastination

Today's constant availability of media content provides users with various recreational resources. It may also challenge self-control, however, once media exposure conflicts with other goals and obligations. How media users deal with these self-regulatory chances and risks in their daily lives is largely unknown. Our study addressed the predictors and consequences of recreational and procrastinatory media use using experience sampling methodology (N = 215; 1,094 media use episodes). Results suggest that trait (self-control, performance goal orientation) as well as state variables (exhaustion) are significant predictors of media use for recovery versus procrastination. Whereas recreational media use showed a positive effect on entertainment, which in turn enhanced subjective well-being, negative self-evaluation elicited by procrastinatory media use negatively affected well-being.