Evaluation of Task Assignment Policies for Supercomputing Servers: The Case for Load Unbalancing and Fairness

While the MPP is still the most common architecture in supercomputer centers today, a simpler and cheaper machine configuration is appearing at many supercomputing sites. This alternative setup may be described simply as a collection of multiprocessors or a distributed server system. This collection of multiprocessors is fed by a single common stream of jobs, where each job is dispatched to exactly one of the multiprocessor machines for processing.The biggest question which arises in such distributed server systems is what is a good rule for assigning jobs to host machines: i.e. what is a good task assignment policy. Many task assignment policies have been proposed, but not systematically evaluated under supercomputing workloads.In this paper we start by comparing existing task assignment policies using a trace-driven simulation under supercomputing workloads. We validate our experiments by providing analytical proofs of the performance of each of these policies. These proofs also help provide much intuition. We find that while the performance of supercomputing servers varies widely with the task assignment policy, none of the above task assignment policies perform as well as we would like.We observe that all policies proposed thus far aim to balance load among the hosts. We propose a policy which purposely unbalances load among the hosts, yet, counter-to-intuition, is also fair in that it achieves the same expected slowdown for all jobs – thus no jobs are biased against. We evaluate this policy again using both trace-driven simulation and analysis. We find that the performance of the load unbalancing policy is significantly better than the best of those policies which balance load.     

基于电子地图兴趣点数据的城市可持续发展水平分析——以绍兴市为例

在当前大数据时代背景下,电子地图兴趣点(POI,Point of Interest)作为地理空间大数据的重要类型,能直接反映城市人口密度、发展程度与强度等各类型要素的聚集状况。基于当前普遍使用的兴趣点数据源,运用ArcGIS软件中的空间分析工具,提取了绍兴市各区(县、市)的POI数据分类信息;结合绍兴市各区(县、市)的面积及人口数据,评估各区(县、市)的单位面积POI和单位人口POI指标,以分析绍兴市各区(县、市)POI的均衡分布水平。进一步利用核密度分析、空间回归分析和近邻分析的手段,从不同角度研究了各类POI在地理空间分布中的特征规律。研究结果表明:从不同区县来看,城市化发展水平较高的地域POI总数明显较高,其核函数密度值也明显较大;从单位面积POI数量及单位人口POI数量来看,各区县发展水平较不均衡,表现为越城区最高,上虞区、柯桥区和诸暨市次之,新昌县和嵊州市较低,其表现在不同区县在提供生活、生产服务的基础设施具有区域间差异性,不符合可持续发展的公平性原则。最后,针对解决这一问题提出一些促进绍兴各区县协调公平可持续发展的城市建设与规划建议。     

树干附生尖叶拟船叶藓的孢子体分布格局和败育研究

通过野外定位考察和实验室观察分析,结果显示:(1)贵州梵净山树干附生尖叶拟船叶藓的孢子体种群80%分布在树干的基部;(2)尖叶拟船叶藓的孢子体在其主茎和一到四次分枝上皆有分布,但在一次分枝上分布最多,并且一次分枝上的与主茎或其它各次分枝上分布的之间存在显著差异;(3)孢子体败育发生在胚胎发育时期、孢蒴膨大期或者孢子形成期等3个时期,孢子体败育率为7.3%,败育孢子体的平均生物量为正常成熟的43.3%.表明尖叶拟船叶藓孢子体种群偏少且孢子体败育率低是其重要的生物学特征.     

广东湛江保护区红树林种群的生物量及其分布格局

本文研究了广东湛江红树林自然保护区高桥镇红寨村及德耀村海滩红树植物的种群分布格局与生物量。结果表明：５年生桐花树群落、白骨壤群落、秋茄群落、１０年生木榄群落、３０年生红海榄群落的总生物量分别为５５４７５ｇ／ｍ２、１６３７０１ｇ／ｍ２、６２６４４８ｇ／ｍ２、４１３８４３ｇ／ｍ２、９６１０２０ｇ／ｍ２;其中地下部分生物量占总生物量的比例依次为３２２８％、４５４５％、４１３１％、２９８５％和２８２９％。计算得Ｓｈａｎｎｏｎ－Ｗｉｅｎｅｒ物种多样性指数为２２３２。种群的分布格局中桐花树、白骨壤、红海榄和秋茄种群为集群分布,而木榄种群为随机分布。     

A global biodiversity fund to implement distributive justice for genetic resources

This article examines the question of who has a right to control and benefit from genetic resources globally. To this end it draws on different accounts in the resource rights literature with a focus on the specific features that distinguish genetic resources from other types of natural resources. It will be argued that due to the intangible and non‐territorial nature of genetic resources, territorial rights over these resources are difficult to maintain. Moreover, the vulnerability of genetic resources implies that much cost and effort is required to protect them. I will argue that not only benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources but also these costs associated with their protection should be an object of distributive justice. To accommodate these two points I will introduce the model of a global biodiversity fund that could replace the bilateral access and benefit sharing negotiations suggested by the Convention on Biological Diversity.     

Equity or equality? Moral judgments follow the money

Previous research emphasizes people''s dispositions as a source of differences in moral views. We investigate another source of moral disagreement, self-interest. In three experiments, participants played a simple economic game in which one player divides money with a partner according to the principle of equality (same payoffs) or the principle of equity (payoffs proportional to effort expended). We find, first, that people''s moral judgment of an allocation rule depends on their role in the game. People not only prefer the rule that most benefits them but also judge it to be more fair and moral. Second, we find that participants'' views about equality and equity change in a matter of minutes as they learn where their interests lie. Finally, we find limits to self-interest: when the justification for equity is removed, participants no longer show strategic advocacy of the unequal division. We discuss implications for understanding moral debate and disagreement.     

Reassessing insurers' access to genetic information: genetic privacy, ignorance, and injustice

Many countries have imposed strict regulations on the genetic information to which insurers have access. Commentators have warned against the emerging body of legislation for different reasons. This paper demonstrates that, when confronted with the argument that genetic information should be available to insurers for health insurance underwriting purposes, one should avoid appeals to rights of genetic privacy and genetic ignorance. The principle of equality of opportunity may nevertheless warrant restrictions. A choice-based account of this principle implies that it is unfair to hold people responsible for the consequences of the genetic lottery, since we have no choice in selecting our genotype or the expression of it. However appealing, this view does not take us all the way to an adequate justification of inaccessibility of genetic information. A contractarian account, suggesting that health is a condition of opportunity and that healthcare is an essential good, seems more promising. I conclude that if or when predictive medical tests (such as genetic tests) are developed with significant actuarial value, individuals have less reason to accept as fair institutions that limit access to healthcare on the grounds of risk status. Given the assumption that a division of risk pools in accordance with a rough estimate of people's level of (genetic) risk will occur, fairness and justice favour universal health insurance based on solidarity.     

Ethical principles for promoting health research data sharing with sub‐Saharan Africa

A powerful feature of global health research is data‐sharing with regions which bear the heaviest burden of disease. It offers novel opportunities for aggregating data to address critical global health challenges in ways higher than relying on individual studies. Yet there exist important stratifiers of the capacity to share data, particularly across the Global North‐South divide. Systemic challenges that characterize sub‐Saharan Africa and disadvantage the region's scientific productivity threaten the burgeoning data‐sharing culture too. Like all endeavors requiring equal commitments under unequal circumstances, a strong ethical impetus is needed to help reduce inequities and imbalances to encourage adherence. This article discusses mandatory data‐sharing in relation to peculiar challenges faced by sub‐Saharan African scientists to suggest ethical principles for rethinking and reframing solutions. We propose six principles which mirror guidelines from the Institute of Medicine and encapsulate principles from the Emanuel Framework, Nairobi Data Sharing Principles, and the COHRED guidelines.     

Partner choice creates fairness in humans

Many studies demonstrate that partner choice has played an important role in the evolution of human cooperation, but little work has tested its impact on the evolution of human fairness. In experiments involving divisions of money, people become either over-generous or over-selfish when they are in competition to be chosen as cooperative partners. Hence, it is difficult to see how partner choice could result in the evolution of fair, equal divisions. Here, we show that this puzzle can be solved if we consider the outside options on which partner choice operates. We conduct a behavioural experiment, run agent-based simulations and analyse a game-theoretic model to understand how outside options affect partner choice and fairness. All support the conclusion that partner choice leads to fairness only when individuals have equal outside options. We discuss how this condition has been met in our evolutionary history, and the implications of these findings for our understanding of other aspects of fairness less specific than preferences for equal divisions of resources.     

上海浦东新区浅部真菌病及其致病菌种的分布特征分析

目的了解浦东新区浅部真菌病的致病病种、菌种构成及其分布特征。方法对疑似浅部真菌病患者的标本进行显微镜直接镜检及培养鉴定,并作临床资料登记及统计学分析。结果确诊的895例浅部真菌病患者中体、股癣337例(37.65%),生殖器念珠菌病227例(25.36%),手、足癣168例(18.77%),甲真菌病93例(10.39%),花斑癣70例(7.82%)。患者男性多于女性,20～39岁年龄组的患病人数(48.72%)明显多于其他年龄组(P<0.05),但甲真菌病患者女性则普遍多于男性,且以50～59岁患病人数最多(P<0.05)。分离的797株菌种中红色毛癣菌379株(47.55%),念珠菌属293株(36.76%),须癣毛癣菌62株(7.78%)。结论上海浦东新区浅部真菌病的病种以体、股癣最多见,男性青壮年多见,而甲真菌病则以中老年女性多见。浅部致病真菌的分布以红色毛癣菌占首位,念珠菌属次之,须癣毛癣菌位于第三位。