Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduced Response Time with Preheated Caches

CPU performance is increasingly limited by thermal dissipation, and soon aggressive power management will be beneficial for performance. Especially, large parts of the chip (including the caches) will be frequently power-gated in order to reduce leakage power. Therefore, the cache content is lost whenever the CPU is idle, which causes a performance loss when execution is resumed, due to the high number of cache misses when the working set is fetched from external memory. In a server system, the first network request during this period suffers from increased response time. For common workloads, we measured as much as 34% response time overhead due to cold caches. In this thesis, we present a technique to reduce this overhead by preheating the caches in advance before the network request arrives at the server: Our design predicts the working set of the server application by analyzing the cache contents after similar requests have been processed. As soon as an estimate of the working set is available, a predictable network architecture starts to announce future incoming network packets to the server, which then loads the predicted working set into the last-level cache in anticipation of the packets. When the network packet arrives after this preheating step is complete, the server application can process the network request with warm caches and therefore with improved performance. We evaluate our design with a proof-of-concept prototype based on Linux, on a system with ARM CPUs. Our experiments show that cache preheating can reduce the response time overhead caused by cold caches by an average of 80%. We demonstrate that our prototype does not cause significant runtime overhead, and we show that the time required to load the working set into the cache is low enough that it is possible to exploit the full potential of cache preheating on current server CPUs.
Codeword Set Selection for the Error-Correcting 4b/10b Line Code with Maximum Clique Enumeration

SUMMARY This paper addresses the problem of ﬁnding, evaluating, and selecting the best set of codewords for the 4b / 10b line code, a dependable line code with forward error correction (FEC) designed for real-time communication. Based on the results of our scheme [1], we formulate codeword search as an instance of the maximum clique problem, and enumerate all candidate codeword sets via maximum clique enumeration as proposed by Eblen et al. [2]. We then measure each set in terms of resistance to bit errors caused by noise and present a canonical set of codewords for the 4b / 10b line code. Additionally, we show that maximum clique enumeration is #P-hard.
Integrative approaches to the study of predation : general thoughts and a case study on sunfish and salamander larvae

An integrative study of predation uses a blend of several approaches in evolutionary biology (conflicting selection pressures, phylogenetic constraints, genetics, development) to explain the proximate mechanisms that control "limiting" traits that influence predator-prey dynamics. Predation often has strong, but variable effects on prey. Variation in predator impacts on prey can often be explained by variation in prey behavior. Many systems have prey that show ineffective antipredator behavior; these prey thus do poorly with predators. Ineffective antipredator behavior can be explained by conflicting demands within or across situations. Alternatively, ineffective behavior might be explained by phylogenetic, genetic or developmental constraints. The study of constraints can yield useful insights; however, there are also important limitations on the value of these approaches for adaptation-oriented evolutionary ecologists. I used an integrative approach to study the responses of streamside salamanders, Ambystoma barbouri, to predatory sunfish. A. barbouri suffers heavy sunfish predation due to relatively high prey activity in fish pools in the day-time. A phylogenetic perspective suggests that this species has actually evolved in the wrong direction with regard to this key "bad" behavior. The apparent explanation for the evolution of ineffective antipredator behavior in this system is conflicting selection pressures generated by behavioral tendencies (high activity levels) that carry over across situations.
Understanding the early events in Bluetongue virus cell entry

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an arbovirus of the Reoviridae family and causes major economic impact due to the haemorrhagic presentation of Bluetongue disease in ruminants. Target cells of BTV infection are endothelial and immune cells in the mammalian hosts (bovine and ovine) and the midgut and salivary gland cells of the insect host (Culicoides spp.), which is the known vector in the transmission of BTV. Little is known about BTV entry and replication in host derived cells. This thesis investigates the endocytosis mechanisms used by BTV in bovine endothelial (BFA) cells and (KC) cells derived from Culicoides spp. Using a combination of confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, endocytosis pathways were dissected by using pharmacological inhibitors, siRNA and dominant-negative (DN) protein expression which inhibit cellular factors, allowing discrimination between distinct endocytosis pathways. It was found that BTV-1 entry and trafficking to acidic endosomes was relatively slow, consistent with a non-clathrin uptake pathway in BFA cells. During entry, BTV appeared to induce global rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton and disruption of F-actin filaments with Cytochalasin D inhibited BTV-1 infection by preventing an early step in infection. Furthermore, preliminary evidence suggests that BTV-1 may induce actin rearrangements and uptake by initiating Rho protein signalling. Infection was inhibited by EIPA and IPA-3 which target sodium-proton exchanger 1 and p21 activated kinases respectively, which are cellular factors required for macropinocytosis. Taken together, these results suggest that BTV is utilizing macropinocytosis for entry in BFA cells. Furthermore, expression of DN eps15 and treatment with an inhibitor of CME (Pitstop 2) did not inhibit BTV-1 infection of BFA cells. Interestingly, treatment of KC cells with Pitstop-2 appeared to inhibit BTV-1 infection, indicating that infection may be clathrin dependent in KC cells. Additionally, treatment of BFA and KC cells with Methyl-β-cyclodextrin did not inhibit infection, indicating infection is cholesterol-independent. Treatment of BFA cells with a dynamin inhibitor, Dyngo4a, siRNA targeting dynamin-2 and expression of DN dynamin-2 splice variant ba all inhibited BTV-1 infection and Dyngo4a was shown to inhibit BTV-1 entry. In addition, dynamin inhibitors Dynasore and Dyngo4a also inhibited BTV-1 infection in KC cells. This suggests that the endocytosis pathway used by BTV-1 in BFA and KC cells is dynamin-dependent. This thesis provides evidence that entry of BTV-1 is determined in part by the target cell and uses a dynamin-dependent macropinocytosis-like pathway to enter mammalian cells and CME in insect cells.
The characterisation of the murine gene for properdin

Comprising more than 30 components, the complement system plays a major role in the innate immunity response. Complement activation occurs via three pathways, classical, alternative and lectin, each initiating an enzymatic cascade leading to the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) on the targeted cell. Recognition of immune complexes, certain sugars or foreign surfaces will trigger complement activation and the enzymatic cascade. The three pathways of complement activation lead to the proteolysis of the same component, C3, that will then carry on the enzymatic cascade of the downstream components and the MAC proteins. In the context of the alternative pathway, the enzyme responsible for the proteolysis of C3 relies upon properdin, a six thrombospondin repeat domains protein, for its stability and activity. Thus properdin has a key role in ensuring the full activity of the alternative pathway. Cases studies of properdin deficiency show that the patients have a higher risk to suffer recurrent bacterial infections, in particular of meningoccocal nature, and that the ensuing level of mortality is also higher than non-deficient patients. The work described in this thesis is the characterisation of the murine gene for properdin. High homology between human and mice of the complement activation, regulation and components, makes these animals a privileged laboratory model. The mouse properdin gene was isolated by screening a mouse genomic library of the SVJ129 strain and sequence analysis of phage clones determined to represent the genomic sequence for properdin. The properdin gene was determined to contain 9 exons encoding for the leader peptide, N-terminus, the six thrombospondin repeats and the 3’untranslated region. Each thrombospondin repeat was shown to be encoded by a single exon with the exception of the sixth repeat which is encoded by two separate exons interrupted by an intronic sequence. The sequencing of the gene confirmed the homology to human properdin at the genomic level, thus validating further the value of the mouse model to study properdin deficiency. The characterisation of the mouse gene for properdin will allow the generation of a mouse strain deficient for the properdin gene to study the phenotype of these transgenic animals.
Cloning and expression of a cDNA encoding the extrinsic 20 kDa protein of photosystem II from a red alga Cyanidium caldarium

Oxygen-evolving PS II complex purified from a red alga, Cyanidium caldarium, contains four extrinsic proteins; they are 12 kDa, 20 kDa, 33 kDa proteins and cytochrome (cyt) c-550 [Enami et al. (1995) B.B.A. 1232, 208 - 216]. In this study, the 20 kDa protein was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The 20 kDa protein was purified from CaCl2-treated extracts of purified PS II complex and its N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined. Oligonucleotides synthesized on the basis of its N-amino acid sequence were used as primers for degenerated PCR, and complete sequence of the gene was determined using modified 5'- and 3'- RACE methods. The resulted open reading frame encodes a protein of 218 amino acid residues of which, the first 62 residues were assigned as leader sequences according to the N-terminal sequence of the mature protein. The resulted mature protein contains 146 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 16386 Da. A search with the Swiss-Prot database revealed that the Cyanidium caldarium 20 kDa protein is 36.3% and 30.3% identical to the extrinsic 17 kDa protein from Volvox and Chlamydomonas, respectively, suggesting that the red algal 20 kDa protein is possibly an ancestor of the 17 kDa protein in green algae. An expression vector containing the 20 kDa gene was constructed in pCAL-n-EK plasmid, and the successful expression of the protein has been confirmed. We are currently performing reconstitution experiments with the recombinant 20 kDa protein to CaCl2-washed red algal PS II to study the binding and functional properties of the protein.
Distribución espacial de la riqueza de especies leñosas raras de la Península de Yucatán y su relación con las áreas naturales protegidas

Las especies de plantas raras de las selvas en la Península de Yucatán aún no han sido evaluadas como un grupo particular. Se seleccionó un conjunto de especies leñosas raras (ELR) de las selvas tropicales de la Península de Yucatán. Se estimó la riqueza de especies, sumando los mapas de distribución potencial de cada especie, y se evaluó su relación con las Áreas Naturales Protegidas (ANP) de la península. Se identificaron 3 niveles de rareza -bajo, medio y alto-, de acuerdo a la frecuencia, la especificidad de hábitat y el rango de distribución potencial de las especies seleccionadas. Se identificaron 4 regiones de mayor riqueza de ELR. Todas las regiones incluyeron especies del nivel de rareza bajo, 3 regiones incluyeron especies de nivel medio y sólo una región incluyó especies extremadamente raras (nivel alto); esta región está fuera de las ANP establecidas. La riqueza de ELR se asoció positivamente con el tamaño de las ANP. Este estudio representa el primer esfuerzo para conocer a las especies leñosas raras de la Península de Yucatán, sus patrones de distribución potencial y evaluar su estado de protección actual. Nuestros resultados sugieren que las ANP actuales podrían estar preservando la riqueza de ELR del nivel bajo y medio de rareza, pero no la riqueza de las especies extremadamente raras. Por lo tanto, es prioritario el establecimiento de ANP en la región en la que podría concentrarse la más alta riqueza de estas especies, que son particularmente vulnerables a la extinción.
A fundamental dichotomy in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid abundance between and within marine and terrestrial ecosystems

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially long-chain (i.e., ≥20 carbons) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), are fundamental to the health and survival of marine and terrestrial organisms. Therefore, it is imperative that we gain a better understanding of their origin, abundance, and transfer between and within these ecosystems. We evaluated the natural variation in PUFA distribution and abundance that exists between and within these ecosystems by amassing and analyzing, using multivariate and analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods, >3000 fatty acid (FA) profiles from marine and terrestrial organisms. There was a clear dichotomy in LC-PUFA abundance between organisms in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, mainly driven by the C18 PUFA in terrestrial organisms and omega-3 (n-3) LC-PUFA in marine organisms. The PUFA content of an organism depended on both its biome (marine vs terrestrial) and taxonomic group. Within the marine biome, the PUFA content varied among taxonomic groups. PUFA content of marin.
Parametric Comparison of H.264 with Existing Video Standards

-The H.264 is a dominant video coding standard in transmission and storage of video data. The new H.264 video standard has achieved significant improvements in terms of compression over existing standards despite of the fact having same basic coding framework similar to existing standards, but H.264 introduces many new features. In this paper we compare H.264 standard with previous existing standards like MPEG 4 and MPEG 2 in terms of PSNR, NOISE ESTIMATION, BLURRING and MSE.
Análisis de los componentes físicos y antropométricos de jóvenes futbolistas chilenos desde la categoría Sub-13 a Sub-19 (Analysis of the physical and anthropometric components of young Chilean footballers from category Sub-13 to Sub-19)

Objective: to describe the anthropometric and fitness profile of young Chilean soccer players from the Sub-13 to Sub-19 category, proposing a battery of objective tests, which allows providing a series of valid measurement indicators. Methodology: field tests of agility 20 m zigzag, acceleration 10 m, speed 30 m, running based anaerobic sprint test (RAST), Yo-Yo IR1 and countermovement jump (CMJ) were applied, added to anthropometric measurements of height and body mass. Results: The results showed that the athletes in the youngest categories (Sub-13, Sub-14 and Sub-15) are higher than those reported in other scientific publications. In addition, 73.2% of athletes were born in the first two quarters of the selection year, revealing the effect of relative age. Categories Sub13 and Sub-14 presented the greatest number of differences when comparing their means in the different variants. Conclusion: The greater presence of objective tests allows us to determine the physical performance of young soccer players, this in turn allows us to create a more objective selection standard and with a lower margin of error for coaches.
Direct Measurements of Instantaneous Lift in Desert Locust; Comparison with Jensen'S Experiments on Detached Wings

Instantaneous values of lift in the locust Schistocerca gregaria, flying in a wind tunnel, were measured by means of a piezo-electric probe. The airflow velocity was adjusted to be equal to that which would have been experienced by the freely flying insect. In order to obtain the true aerodynamic forces, the inertial forces must be subtracted from the gross forces measured. These inertial forces were calculated from the movement of the centre of gravity and from the mass of the different wing sections. The lift curves obtained have a shape similar to the curves deduced by Jensen from measurements on isolated wings in steady flows, but an approximately doubled amplitude. These amplitude differences appear to be caused by the existence of significant unsteady effects.
Effects of soft rot and bacteria on electrical impedance of wood at low moisture content

Une spectroscopie complexe de l'impedance electrique basee sur la modelisation non lineaire (EIS) pour l'analyse de la putrefaction (putrefaction humide et bacteries) du bois a ete presentee. De petits echantillons de bois (5 mm x 10 mm x 100 mm) presentant trois degres de putrefaction distincts (un echantillon de controle et deux echantillons soumis a des conditions de putrefaction differentes) ont ete mesures par spectroscopie d'impedance a des frequences comprises entre 80 Hz et 1 MHz. L'effet de la putrefaction sur l'impedance a ete etudie par la modelisation EIS et l'analyse des parametres de frequence constants a deux niveaux differents de teneur en humidite sous le point de saturation des fibres. Deux circuits ZC en serie ont ete utilises pour la modelisation. Le parametre de distribution ψ 1 du modele ZC double a diminue avec l'augmentation de la putrefaction tandis que les valeurs reduites du parametre de distribution ont ete affectees par l'augmentation de la variabilite dans la structure de la cellule du bois. L'effet de la putrefaction sur les parametres de frequence constants a ete negligeable en comparaison a l'effet de la teneur en humidite. Les conditions de putrefaction et le niveau de teneur en humidite de chaque echantillon ont ainsi pu etre evalues par une methode combinee de modelisation EIS et d'analyse des parametres de frequence constants.
Effects of grass—legume mixtures on the production and photosynthetic capacity of constructed grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract. Constructed grasslands are primary restoration measures in areas with degraded natural grasslands. Grass–legume mixtures are chosen to obtain high production and forage quality; however, the photosynthetic and other traits of such mixtures are not well understood. In this study, we evaluated the effects of grass–legume mixtures on the growth and photosynthetic capacity of three forage crops over two growing seasons. Bromus inermis and Elymus nutans were grown as monocultures or in mixtures with Medicago sativa. We analysed forage yields, quality, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The grass–legume mixtures improved the forage yield, root : shoot ratio, and contents of crude protein and lignin. Compared with the monoculture, grasses in the mixtures had higher net photosynthesis, water-use efficiency (WUE), and leaf nitrogen (N) content, but lower carbon : N ratio, and distributed more absorbed light to photosynthetic electron transport and thermal dissipation. In the mixture, B. inermis had a higher light-saturation point, indicating high light-use efficiency. Elymus nutans had a lower light-compensation point and dark respiration rate, suggesting good shade tolerance. However, water deficits decreased biomass and photosynthetic capacity in the E. nutans–M. sativa mixture, suggesting that E. nutans was sensitive to soil moisture. The B. inermis–M. sativa mixture had greater and more consistent biomass and WUE.The grass—legume mixture is an important way to construct grasslands. We analysed forage yields, quality, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence in the mixtures, finding that grass—legume mixtures improved forage production and photosynthetic capacity. The study provides a scientific basis for establishment of constructed grasslands with high yield and quality.
Protection of chickens against very virulent Marek's disease virus (MDV) by an infectious clone of Meq-null MDV vaccination.

Received: Revised: Accepted: Online available: December 16, 2014 July 04, 2015 July 10, 2015 November 29, 2015 To evaluate the immune-protective effect of GX0101∆meq bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) which contains an infectious meq-null Marek’s disease virus genome, 1-day-old SPF chickens were reared separately in isolators with positive filtered air. On 1 day of age, chickens were immunized with 20 μg of GX0101∆meq BAC suspended in PBS, and challenge infection with 500 PFU very virulent rMd5 were performed at day 5 and 12 post-immunization separately. During 90 days after challenge, all chickens were recorded and checked for necropsy. The protective index of the two vaccines used was 80 and 40 for CVI988/Rispens and GX0101∆meq BAC, respectively, after challenged with the very virulent (vv) virus rMd5 at day 5 post-immunization. When challenged with rMd5 at day 12 postimmunization, the protection index of GX0101∆meq BAC increased to 67%. Except that GX0101∆meq BAC can confer protection against vv MDV, a delay in the development of MD could be observed in some chickens vaccinated with GX0101∆meq BAC. On the other hand, compared with CVI988/Rispens, the rescue of GX0101∆meq BAC in the body is a prerequisite for access to protection. Therefore, there is a blank period after immunization, which provides a chance for infection with the wild MDV.
Características de fermentação da silagem de cana-de-açúcar tratada com uréia, zeólita, inoculante bacteriano e inoculante bacteriano/enzimático (Fermentation of sugarcane silage treated with urea, zeolita, bacteria inoculant and bacteria/enzymatic inoculant)

ABSTRACT The characteristics of fermentation of sugarcane (RB72454) submitted to the treatments control; 0.5% urea; 0.5% zeolita; 0.5% urea and 0.5% zeolita; commercial bacterial inoculant and commercial bacterial/enzymatic inoculant were studied. The material stored in silos was opened on 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days of fermentation and was analysed for grades of MS, soluble carbohydrates, PB, NNH 3 /NT, pH, FDN, FDA, cellulosis, hemicellulosis, lignin and DIVMS. The reduction of the MS content of the silos was observed, with average of 21.1% compared to the original material (28.7%). The concentration of carbohydrates soluble on the original material was 19.7% and, after 56 days of fermentation, it was 0.92%. The concentration of PB in the control silage and treated with zeolita, commercial bacterial inoculant and commercial bacterial/enzymatic inoculant varied between 2.1% and 3.1% and in thoses that received urea and urea+zeolita was 8.4%. The grades of NNH 3 /NT were lower than 10% in the control silage and treated with zeolita, commercial bacterial inoculant and commercial bacterial/enzymatic inoculant. However, they were 30.4% and 31.1% in the silage with urea and urea+zeolita, respectively. On the first day of fermentation, the pH presented average of 3.75. After 56