bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PERFORMANCE OF CONNECTED PRECAST LIGHTWEIGHT SANDWICH FOAMED CONCRETE PANEL UNDER FLEXURAL LOAD
Authors: Mohamad Noridah , Abdul Samad Abdul Aziz , Ali Noorwirdawati , Hadipramana Josef , Jamaluddin Norwati
Published: September 2015

This paper investigates the structural behaviour of two connected Sandwiched Precast Lightweight Foamed Concrete Panel (PLFP) in term of their load bearing capacities and failure modes. Three (3) connected PLFP panels were cast using foamed concrete as the wythe and polystyrene as the core layer. Each connected panel were cast from two single panels connected using L-bar connection. The panels were strengthened with steel bar reinforcement embedded in both wythes which were connected to each other by the steel shear truss connectors. The connected PLFP panels were tested under flexural load. A single PLFP panel was cast as a control panel and tested under axial load. The results were analysed in term of the panel’s ultimate load, crack pattern and mode of failure. Results showed that the two connected PLFP panels were able to sustain slightly lower ultimate load compared to single PLFP panel. Crack at 45 degree angle at top half of panel and small crack at surface between joint of the connection were observed.
GREEN CLEANING: AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF MALAYSIAN GREEN BUILDINGS
Authors: Zainol Nurul Nadiah , Mohammad Izran Sarrazin , Baba Maizan , Bee Woon Neo , Nazri Abdul Qayyum
Published: September 2015

This paper discusses the importance of green cleaning for green buildings during the operations and maintenance stage. The investment on green buildings is often driven by the aim to reduce energy consumption. However, many tend to overlook the importance of the operations and maintenance aspect of the building, particularly the green cleaning aspect. Green cleaning is a major contributor to Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) where IEQ is one of the important criteria that should be considered during the assessment of green building performance. In Malaysia, there is no specific regulation set for green cleaning. Green Building Index (GBI) tools itself does not specifically highlighting green cleaning in their assessment tool. Thus, based on literature review, this paper discusses the benefits of implementing green cleaning and how green cleaning can contribute to achieving better green building performance.
A NEW TECHNIQUE TO PREDICT THE FRACTURES DIP USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS AND IMAGE LOGS DATA
Authors: Alizadeh Mostafa , Movahed Zohreh , Junin Radzuan , Mohsin Rahmat , Alizadeh Mehdi , Alizadeh Mohsen
Published: September 2015

Fractures provide the place for oil and gas to be reserved and they also can provide the pathway for them to move into the well, so having a proper knowledge of them is essential and every year the companies try to improve the existed softwares in this technology. In this work, the new technique is introduced to be added as a new application to the existed softwares such as Petrel and geoframe softwares. The data used in this work are image logs and the other geological logs data of tree wells located in Gachsaran field, wells number GS-A, GS-B and GS-C. The new technique by using the feed-forward artificial neural networks (ANN) with back-propagation learning rule can predict the fracture dip data of the third well using the data from the other 2 wells. The result obtained showed that the ANN model can simulate the relationship between fractures dips in these 3 wells which the multiple R of training and test sets for the ANN model is 0.95099 and 0.912197, respectively.
DESIGN OF DOMESTIC SCALE BIO-DIGESTER ASSEMBLY, EXPERIMENTATION FOR BIOGAS PRODUCTION AND COMPARISON OF RESULTS WITH CONVENTIONAL DIGESTER
Authors: Mishra Susmita , Tenneti Srinivas , Mishra Suman
Published: September 2015

The work explored various digesters that are currently under implementation, explored their pros and cons and designed a digestion gas collection mechanism suitable for small scale applications. Internal mixing being uneconomical in the domestic and individual scale, it is not being practiced which has to be compensated with large hydraulic retention time to prevent sludge accumulation and scum formation. This in turn reduces the plant capacity for gas production. Our design configuration incorporates automatic and controlled pressure swing mechanisms incorporated by the gas production which acts as the driving force for slurry circulation in the digester and promotes gas recovery as well as improve digestion efficiency. The configuration was run  in 20 l and 50 L scales  and observed for the physical constraints encountered during  operation, recorded for change in digestion parameters with changes in substrate and organic loading rates and also recorded the gas production which was compared with the results in the literature as well as conventionally operated domestic  scale digesters.
PERTURBATION PARAMETERS TUNING OF MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION DIFFERENTIAL EVOLUTION AND ITS APPLICATION TO DYNAMIC SYSTEM MODELING
Authors: Zakaria Mohd Zakimi , Jamaluddin Hishamuddin , Ahmad Robiah , Harun Azmi , Hussin Radhwan , Mohd Khalil Ahmad Nabil , Md Naim Muhammad Khairy , Annuar Ahmad Faizal
Published: September 2015

This paper presents perturbation parameters for tuning of multi-objective optimization differential evolution and its application to dynamic system modeling. The perturbation of the proposed algorithm was composed of crossover and mutation operators.  Initially, a set of parameter values was tuned vigorously by executing multiple runs of algorithm for each proposed parameter variation. A set of values for crossover and mutation rates were proposed in executing the algorithm for model structure selection in dynamic system modeling. The model structure selection was one of the procedures in the system identification technique. Most researchers focused on the problem in selecting the parsimony model as the best represented the dynamic systems. Therefore, this problem needed two objective functions to overcome it, i.e. minimum predictive error and model complexity.  One of the main problems in identification of dynamic systems is to select the minimal model from the huge possible models that need to be considered. Hence, the important concepts in selecting good and adequate model used in the proposed algorithm were elaborated, including the implementation of the algorithm for modeling dynamic systems. Besides, the results showed that multi-objective optimization differential evolution performed better with tuned perturbation parameters.
-CHYMOTRYPSIN IMMOBILIZED ENZYME: PHYSICAL, ACTIVITY & STABILITY PROPERTIES
Authors: Nazir Mohd Hakimi , Ngadi Norzita
Published: September 2015

In this study, α-chymotrypsin enzyme was used as a substrate while micropore Y-zeolite, which is HY, USY and NaY as a support. The purpose of this study was to compare the physical properties of zeolite and immobilization of enzyme with zeolite.  The characteristics such as BET surface area, isotherm adsorption, BJH adsorption, pore size, t-plot and pore volume have been studied. Furthermore, a comparison has been conducted between immobilized and mobile enzyme for their ability to adsorb hydrolysate at λ=410 nm.  The stability of the immobilized enzyme was also determined by varying the parameters of phosphate and tris-chloride buffer and loading of sample solution. Based on the result obtained, HY zeolite has the best physical properties compared to USY and NaY zeolite.  Besides that, immobilized enzyme gave higher hydrolysate adsorption activity than the free enzyme. Stability results showed that pH of phosphate and tris-chloride buffer and amount of sample solution play an important role in obtaining the stable immobilized enzyme.
THE HABITS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE (SNS) USE AMONG POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
Authors: Ab Rahim Nor Zairah , Zainal Abidin Siti Nurkhadijah , Zainal Abidin Wardah
Published: September 2015

The rise of social networking sites (SNSs) is currently overwhelming. Individuals are now able to interact, connect, and share information, photos, and other media in various SNSs. Facebook is one of the largest and most populated SNS in the world that is accessible by anyone including university students. Hence, it is interesting to understand the habits of use of such application by students, how they interact on these sites, and the nature of their influence on the deployment of Facebook into formal learning and as course communication tool. Findings from this research revealed that majority of the respondents use Facebook approximately 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. They also use Facebook not only to share entertainment materials but also communicating with their classmates on course related topics. Similar to the findings from another study, the students communicated on Facebook using a one-to-many style however in a more passive manner as most of the instances, they are not the creator of the content but only as viewer. This study could be extended to study more in-depth habits of SNS use by postgraduate students.
EXPLORING ENERGY CHARGING PROBLEM IN SWARM ROBOTIC SYSTEMS USING FORAGING SIMULATION
Authors: Al Haek Mohammed , Ismail Amelia Ritahani , Ahmed Basalib Ahmed Omar , Makarim Nabiel
Published: September 2015

Swarm robotic systems is still a new field of study, and exploration of its applications and making use of its advantages can open the door for more research on this field in the near future. In swarm robotic systems, a number of simple robots can perform complex tasks efficiently than a single robot, giving robustness and flexibility to the group. However, robustness is one of the issues that need to be resolved as most of time the robots are suffering from low energy while performing the task. The main objectives of this paper are to highlight the robustness issue in swarm robotic systems and propose a solution to allow swarm robots to remain robust on achieving its task. To demonstrate the problem, foraging algorithm, which is inspired by ant’s behaviour, is simulated to highlight the problem of low energy in swarm robotic system and its effect on its robustness. One of the solutions is mainly by using power stations or banks, but both have its own limitation which are highlighted and discussed in this paper. Finally, the paper also explains on a potential mechanism, inspired by an immune system response, that will help swarm robots overcome the problem of low energy.
Assessment of Drag Models for Geldart A Particles in Bubbling Fluidized Beds
Authors: Estejab Bahareh , Battaglia Francine
Published: September 2015

In order to accurately predict the hydrodynamic behavior of gas and solid phases using an Eulerian–Eulerian approach, it is crucial to use appropriate drag models to capture the correct physics. In this study, the performance of seven drag models for fluidization of Geldart A particles of coal, poplar wood, and their mixtures was assessed. In spite of the previous findings that bode badly for using predominately Geldart B drag models for fine particles, the results of our study revealed that if static regions of mass in the fluidized beds are considered, these drag models work well with Geldart A particles. It was found that drag models derived from empirical relationships adopt better with Geldart A particles compared to drag models that were numerically developed. Overall, the Huilin–Gidaspow drag model showed the best performance for both single solid phases and binary mixtures, however, for binary mixtures, Wen–Yu model predictions were also accurate.
The Relation Between Thermal Wedge and Thermal Boundary Conditions for the Load-Carrying Capacity of a Rectangular Pad and a Slider With Parallel Gaps
Authors: Cui Jinlei , Kaneta Motohiro , Yang Ping , Yang Peiran
Published: September 2015

In order to understand the load-carrying mechanism of thermal wedge, numerical results for a rectangular pad and a slider with parallel gaps under four types of surface boundary temperature conditions are presented. Two assumptions of rigid-solid and smooth-surface were used to exclude the effects of both thermal deformation and micro-asperity. The relation between thermal wedge and thermal boundary conditions is revealed. The load-carrying mechanism of parallel gaps is explained with the thermal wedge derived not only from the surface temperature difference (STD) as proposed by Cameron but also from the film temperature gradient (FTG) independent of STD. It is also pointed out that in numerical analysis, the very small viscosity–temperature coefficient would result in high oil temperature and therefore, the predicted loading capacity from thermal density wedge would be extremely enlarged.
Three-dimensional particle tracking by pixel difference method of optical path length based on digital holographic microscopy
Authors: Zeng Yanan , Chang Xinyu , Lei Hai , Hu Xiaodong , Hu Xiaotang
Published: September 2015

Particle tracking with nanometer resolution is of growing importance in microrheology, microfluidics, and life science. Pixel difference method of optical path length (OPL) is a proposed novel digital holographic microscopy (DHM) method to achieve 3D particle tracking utilizing configuration of an off-axis digital holographic microscope. Pixel difference methodology focuses on variation of the OPL of two fixed pixel points in the recording plane. In this method, the second derivative of OPL difference is a tracking tag. Instead of calculating two dimensional images in classical DHM, pixel difference method of OPL only concerns trend of one-dimensional data series. In this sense, the tracking efficiency, which is important in dynamic investigation, is improved. Pixel difference of OPL, with nanometer-scale resolution, is presented as applicable in particle tracking by tracking the beads fixed on the piezoelectric stage with nanometer precision.
Benefits and applications of laser-induced sparks in real scale model measurements
Authors: Gómez-Bolaños Javier , Delikaris-Manias Symeon , Pulkki Ville , Eskelinen Joona , Hæggström Edward , Jeong Cheol-Ho
Published: September 2015

The characteristics of using a laser-induced spark as a monopole source in scale model measurements were assessed by comparison with an electric spark and a miniature spherical loudspeaker. Room impulse responses of first order directivity sources were synthesized off-line using six spatially distributed sparks. The source steering direction was scanned across the horizontal and vertical plane to assess the origin of early reflections. The results confirm that the characteristics of the laser-induced spark outperform those of typical sources. Its monopole characteristics enable the authors to synthesize room responses of directional sources, e.g., to obtain directional information about reflections inside scale models.
Global agricultural research network is overhauled again
Authors: Normile Dennis
Published: September 2015

CGIAR looks for antidote to tapering funds, internal woes.
Unsanctioned science
Authors: Stone Richard
Published: September 2015

Despite penury and isolation, Iran's scientists have pursued an ambitious agenda. If sanctions end, research will blossom.
The predator-prey power law: Biomass scaling across terrestrial and aquatic biomes
Authors: Hatton Ian A. , McCann Kevin S. , Fryxell John M. , Davies T. Jonathan , Smerlak Matteo , Sinclair Anthony R. E. , Loreau Michel
Published: September 2015

A general scaling law for ecology

Despite the huge diversity of ecological communities, they can have unexpected patterns in common. Hatton
et al.
describe a general scaling law that relates total predator and prey biomass in terrestrial and aquatic animal communities (see the Perspective by Cebrian). They draw on data from many thousands of population counts of animal communities ranging from plankton to large mammals, across a wide range of biomes. They find a ubiquitous pattern of biomass scaling, which may suggest an underlying organization in ecosystems. It seems that communities follow systematic changes in structure and dynamics across environmental gradients.

Science
, this issue
10.1126/science.aac6284
; see also p.
1053
Yeast cell factories on the horizon
Authors: Nielsen Jens
Published: September 2015

Metabolic engineering in yeast gets increasingly more versatile

[Also see Report by

Galanie
et al.

]
The adaptor protein TRAF3 inhibits interleukin-6 receptor signaling in B cells to limit plasma cell development
Authors: Lin Wai W. , Yi Zuoan , Stunz Laura L. , Maine Christian J. , Sherman Linda A. , Bishop Gail A.
Published: September 2015

TRAF3 tamps down B cell responsiveness to IL-6 to prevent excessive generation of antibody-producing cells.
Analytical and Functional Determination of Polymyxin B Protein Binding in Serum
Authors: Abodakpi Henrietta , Gohlke Jie , Chang Kai-Tai , Chow Diana S.-L. , Tam Vincent H.
Published: September 2015

To enhance our understanding of the pharmacological properties of polymyxin B, serum protein binding for polymyxin B1, B2, and B3 and for isoleucine-polymyxin B1 was evaluated. Using equilibrium dialysis and ultrafiltration, comparable protein binding was found in all 4 components of polymyxin B (92% to 99%). Protein binding in human serum was further assessed using a functional assay, the results of which were in general agreement with previous findings (approximately 90%).
CbbR, the Master Regulator for Microbial Carbon Dioxide Fixation
Authors: Dangel Andrew W. , Tabita F. Robert
Published: September 2015

Biological carbon dioxide fixation is an essential and crucial process catalyzed by both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms to allow ubiquitous atmospheric CO
2
to be reduced to usable forms of organic carbon. This process, especially the Calvin-Bassham-Benson (CBB) pathway of CO
2
fixation, provides the bulk of organic carbon found on earth. The enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) performs the key and rate-limiting step whereby CO
2
is reduced and incorporated into a precursor organic metabolite. This is a highly regulated process in diverse organisms, with the expression of genes that comprise the CBB pathway (the
cbb
genes), including RubisCO, specifically controlled by the master transcriptional regulator protein CbbR. Many organisms have two or more
cbb
operons that either are regulated by a single CbbR or employ a specific CbbR for each
cbb
operon. CbbR family members are versatile and accommodate and bind many different effector metabolites that influence CbbR's ability to control
cbb
transcription. Moreover, two members of the CbbR family are further posttranslationally modified via interactions with other transcriptional regulator proteins from two-component regulatory systems, thus augmenting CbbR-dependent control and optimizing expression of specific
cbb
operons. In addition to interactions with small effector metabolites and other regulator proteins, CbbR proteins may be selected that are constitutively active and, in some instances, elevate the level of
cbb
expression relative to wild-type CbbR. Optimizing CbbR-dependent control is an important consideration for potentially using microbes to convert CO
2
to useful bioproducts.
Induction of the Sugar-Phosphate Stress Response Allows Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2-Methyl-4-Amino-5-Hydroxymethylpyrimidine Phosphate Synthase To Function in Salmonella enterica
Authors: Palmer Lauren D. , Paxhia Michael D. , Downs Diana M.
Published: September 2015

Thiamine pyrophosphate is a required cofactor for all forms of life. The pyrimidine moiety of thiamine, 2-methyl-4-amino-5-hydroxymethylpyrimidine phosphate (HMP-P), is synthesized by different mechanisms in bacteria and plants compared to fungi. In this study,
Salmonella enterica
was used as a host to probe requirements for activity of the yeast HMP-P synthase, Thi5p. Thi5p synthesizes HMP-P from histidine and pyridoxal-5-phosphate and was reported to use a backbone histidine as the substrate, which would mean that it was a single-turnover enzyme. Heterologous expression of Thi5p did not complement an
S. enterica
HMP-P auxotroph during growth with glucose as the sole carbon source. Genetic analyses described here showed that Thi5p was activated in
S. enterica
by alleles of
sgrR
that induced the sugar-phosphate stress response. Deletion of
ptsG
(encodes enzyme IICB [EIICB] of the phosphotransferase system [PTS]) also allowed function of Thi5p and required
sgrR
but not
sgrS.
This result suggested that the role of
sgrS
in activation of Thi5p was to decrease PtsG activity. In total, the data herein supported the hypothesis that one mechanism to activate Thi5p in
S. enterica
grown on minimal medium containing glucose (minimal glucose medium) required decreased PtsG activity and an unidentified gene regulated by SgrR.

IMPORTANCE
This work describes a metabolic link between the sugar-phosphate stress response and the yeast thiamine biosynthetic enzyme Thi5p when heterologously expressed in
Salmonella enterica
during growth on minimal glucose medium. Suppressor analysis (i) identified a mutant class of the regulator SgrR that activate sugar-phosphate stress response constitutively and (ii) determined that Thi5p is conditionally active in
S. enterica
. These results emphasized the power of genetic systems in model organisms to uncover enzyme function and underlying metabolic network structure.
Preferential Budding of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus from the Basolateral Surface of Polarized Epithelial Cells Is Not Solely Directed by Matrix Protein or Glycoprotein
Authors: Drokhlyansky Eugene , Soh Timothy K. , Cepko Constance L.
Published: September 2015

Vesicular stomatitis virus has been shown to bud basolaterally, and the matrix protein, but not glycoprotein, was proposed to mediate this asymmetry. Using polarized T84 monolayers, we demonstrate that no single viral protein is sufficient for polarized budding. Particles are released from the apical and basolateral surfaces and are indistinguishable, indicating that there is no apical assembly defect. We propose that aspects of host cell polarity create a more efficient budding process at the basolateral surface.
Successful early diagnosis and treatment in a case ofToxocara canis-induced eosinophilic myocarditis with eosinophil-rich pericardial effusion
Authors: Sangen Hideto , Tanabe Jun , Takano Hitoshi , Shimizu Wataru
Published: September 2015

Fulminant myocarditis can become fatal if left untreated. Treatments for most types of myocarditis, including mechanical support, are limited. However, immediate systemic corticosteroids are known to be effective against eosinophilic myocarditis; therefore, prompt diagnosis of this disease is crucial. Unfortunately, the standard diagnostic tool for myocarditis, endomyocardial biopsy, does not provide immediate histopathological findings. Thus, a rapid diagnostic tool for identifying types of myocarditis is urgently required. We report here the first case ofToxocara canis-induced eosinophilic fulminant myocarditis which was diagnosed based on eosinophil-rich pericardial effusion where the patient recovered with early corticosteroid therapy.
Primary thymic extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma as an incidental finding in a Caucasian woman
Authors: Krogh Petersen Jeanette , Larsen Thomas Stauffer , Møller Michael Boe , Stahlberg Claudia
Published: September 2015

Primary thymic extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma (TML) is an extremely rare lymphoma strongly associated with autoimmune disease. We report an exceedingly rare case of TML found in a non-Asian population. TML was found incidentally in a 60-year-old Caucasian woman with a short history of muscle and joint pain. An anterior mediastinal mass was detected by a positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) scan and thymectomy was performed. The mass was contained within the thymus with a homogeneous pale cut surface with solid areas. Histologically, the typical morphological and immunophenotypic features of TML were found, with a prominent lymphoid infiltrate comprising of small-to-medium-sized neoplastic lymphocytes, plasmacytic differentiation and a distorted thymic epithelial network. Postoperative follow-up has indicated an associated undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) with features of systemic lupus erythaematosus.
In the shadow of the asylum: the Stanley Royd Salmonella outbreak of 1984
Authors: Wallis Jennifer
Published: September 2015

In August 1984, an outbreak of Salmonella at Stanley Royd Psychiatric Hospital in Yorkshire led to the deaths of 19 elderly residents. It was an incident that attracted a good deal of comment in both the local and national press, and one that had enduring relevance for ideas about psychiatric care, food handling and catering provisions, hospital management and the official inspection of medical institutions. This article examines the impact that the 1984 outbreak had on official and popular perceptions of these issues. As well as bringing to public attention the fact that large numbers of vulnerable elderly patients were long-term residents in psychiatric hospitals, the Salmonella outbreak highlighted the inadequacies of Victorian hospital buildings in modern healthcare. Throughout the press reports and official investigations examined here, the provenance of Stanley Royd was repeatedly emphasised; its Victorian fabric persistently interfered with cleaning regimes, cold storage facilities and the conveyance of food to patients. Within institutions like Stanley Royd, ‘new’ and ‘old’ risks came together—the microscopic bacterium and the crumbling nineteenth-century building—to create a strong critique of existing psychiatric care. The episode also highlighted broader problems within the NHS, such as systems of management and the status of psychogeriatrics as a specialism.
Pointwise almost h-semi-slant submanifolds
Authors: Park Kwang-Soon
Published: September 2015

We introduce the notions of pointwise almost h-slant submanifolds and pointwise almost h-semi-slant submanifolds as a generalization of slant submanifolds, pointwise slant submanifolds, semi-slant submanifolds, and pointwise semi-slant submanifolds. We obtain a characterization and investigate the following: the integrability of distributions, the conditions for such distributions to be totally geodesic foliations, the properties of h-slant functions and h-semi-slant functions, the properties of nontrivial warped product proper pointwise h-semi-slant submanifolds. We also obtain the topological properties of proper pointwise almost h-slant submanifolds and give an inequality for the squared norm of the second fundamental form in terms of a warping function and a h-semi-slant function for a warped product submanifold of a hyperkähler manifold. Finally, we give some examples of such submanifolds.
GLOBALIZATION AND REAL GDP: NEW EVIDENCE USING PANEL VECTOR AUTOREGRESSION
Authors: WEN JUN , CHANG CHUN-PING , WENG JIA-HSI , LIU JILIANG
Published: September 2015

The existence and the direction of the relationship between globalization and real GDP (RGDP) are very debatable. By employing annual data of 92 countries from 1970 to 2011, we apply Pedroni’s [Econometric Theory, 20, (2004) 597–625] panel cointegration test and the panel vector autoregressions (VARs) model, proposed by Love and Zicchino [Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 46(2), (2006) 190–210], to investigate again the relationship between these two variables. The results first present the weak evidence of cointegration between RGDP and overall globalization and its three main sub-indices. Second, the empirical evidence shows a bidirectional causality between RGDP and overall globalization, economic as well as social, but higher political globalization harms RGDP in the sample countries. Hence, we offer evidence for a clear bidirectional effect between RGDP and each globalization index in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, but not in non-OECD ones. Several empirical implications and suggestions are proposed through our observations.
Analysis of a MAP/PH/1 Queue with Discretionary Priority Based on Service Stages
Authors: Zhao Ning , Lian Zhaotong , Wu Kan
Published: September 2015

In this paper, we study a MAP/PH/1 queue with two classes of customers and discretionary priority. There are two stages of service for the low-priority customer. The server adopts the preemptive priority discipline at the first stage and adopts the nonpreemptive priority discipline at the second stage. Such a queuing system can be modeled into a quasi-birth-and-death (QBD) process. But there is no general solution for this QBD process since the generator matrix has a block structure with an infinite number of blocks and each block has infinite dimensions. We present an approach to derive the bound for the high-priority queue length. It guarantees that the probabilities of ignored states are within a given error bound, so that the system can be modeled into a QBD process where the block elements of the generator matrix have finite dimensions. The sojourn time distributions of both high and low priority customers are obtained. Some managerial insights are given after comparing the discretionary priority rule with the preemptive and nonpreemptive disciplines numerically.
Theoretical studies on the Knight shifts for the tetragonal Cu2+ site in HgBa2CuO4+δ
Authors: Li Guo-Liang , Wu Shao-Yi , Kuang Min-Quan , Hu Xian-Fen
Published: September 2015

The Knight shifts for the tetragonal [Formula: see text] site in [Formula: see text] are theoretically studied from the high order perturbation formulas of the Knight shifts for a tetragonally elongated octahedral [Formula: see text] cluster. The significant anisotropy of the Knight shifts is attributable to the obvious tetragonal elongation distortion of the [Formula: see text] site. The anisotropic [Formula: see text] factors of this system are uniformly analyzed, and the calculation results and the local structure of the copper site are also discussed.
Investigations on thermodynamic properties of the three sub-lattice spin frustrated chain
Authors: Wang Jue , Zhou Hong-Fei , Li Qian-Chun , Dong Hui-Ning
Published: September 2015

The spin frustration related to the high-[Formula: see text] superconductivity has received much attention. In this paper, based on the Jordan–Wigner transformation and Green’s function method, we study the magnetic and thermodynamic properties of the three sub-lattice spin frustrated chains. It is found that there are three branches for the spin–wave excitation spectra at zero temperature. Among them, two belong to nature excitation patterns with antiferromagnetic interaction and the third one is band gap excitation spectrum with ferromagnetic nature. The specific heat capacity of sub-lattice spin system presents complex characteristics with the change of temperature due to the intense competition between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. It is also shown that the increase of the ferromagnetic action is helpful to the value of net spin.
Short-time heat diffusion in compact domains with discontinuous transmission boundary conditions
Authors: Bardos Claude , Grebenkov Denis , Rozanova-Pierrat Anna
Published: September 2015

We consider a heat problem with discontinuous diffusion coefficients and discontinuous transmission boundary conditions with a resistance coefficient. For all bounded (ϵ, δ)-domains Ω ⊂ ℝn with a d-set boundary (for instance, a self-similar fractal), we find the first term of the small-time asymptotic expansion of the heat content in the complement of Ω, and also the second-order term in the case of a regular boundary. The asymptotic expansion is different for the cases of finite and infinite resistance of the boundary. The derived formulas relate the heat content to the volume of the interior Minkowski sausage and present a mathematical justification to the de Gennes' approach. The accuracy of the analytical results is illustrated by solving the heat problem on prefractal domains by a finite elements method.
Reducing quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty by weak measurement and weak measurement reversal
Authors: Zhang Yanliang , Fang Maofa , Kang Guodong , Zhou Qingping
Published: September 2015

We have investigated the dynamic features of the quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation (QMA EUR) in the amplitude damping (AD) channel. The initial state of qubit system and quantum memory system shared between Alice and Bob is assumed as extended by Werner-like (EWL) state. To reduce the amount of entropic uncertainty of Pauli observables in this noisy channel, we presented a reduction scheme by means of weak measurements (WMs) and weak measurement reversals (WMRs) before and after the entangled system subjecting to the noisy channel. It is shown that the prior WM and poster WMR can effectively reduce quantity of entropic uncertainty, but the poster WM operation cannot played a positive role on reduction of quantity of entropic uncertainty. We hope that our proposal could be verified experimentally and might possibly have future applications in quantum information processing.
Consecutive coincidences of Euler’s function
Authors: Bayless Jonathan , Kinlaw Paul
Published: September 2015

We prove a version of the Hardy–Ramanujan inequality and a bound on the count of smooth numbers up to some number [Formula: see text], both with explicit constants. We use these as tools to prove a few interesting results on the values [Formula: see text] satisfying [Formula: see text] and provide an explicit bound on the sum of the reciprocals of such [Formula: see text].
The rank and crank of partitions modulo 3
Authors: Chan Song Heng , Mao Renrong
Published: September 2015

In this paper, we prove formulas for the generating functions for the rank and crank differences for partitions modulo 3. In 2000, Andrews and Lewis made conjectures on inequalities satisfied by ranks and cranks modulo 3. These conjectures were first proved by Bringmann and Kane, respectively, using the circle method. Working directly on the generating functions, we obtain improvements to these inequalities.
On the maximum values of the additive representation functions
Authors: Kiss Sándor Z. , Sándor Csaba
Published: September 2015

Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be infinite sequences of nonnegative integers. For a positive integer [Formula: see text] let [Formula: see text] denote the number of representations of [Formula: see text] as the sum of two terms from [Formula: see text]. Let [Formula: see text] denote the maximum value of [Formula: see text] up to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] denote the distance of the sequences [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we study the connection between [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We improve a result of Haddad and Helou about the Erdős–Turán conjecture.
Two classes of number fields with a non-principal Euclidean ideal
Authors: Hsu Catherine
Published: September 2015

This paper introduces two classes of totally real quartic number fields, one of biquadratic extensions and one of cyclic extensions, each of which has a non-principal Euclidean ideal. It generalizes techniques of Graves used to prove that the number field [Formula: see text] has a non-principal Euclidean ideal.
Leveraging Transactional Execution for Memory Consistency Model Emulation
Authors: Natarajan Ragavendra , Zhai Antonia
Published: September 2015

System emulation is widely used in today’s computer systems. This technology opens new opportunities for resource sharing as well as enhancing system security and reliability. System emulation across different instruction set architectures (ISA) can enable further opportunities. For example, cross-ISA emulation can enable workload consolidation over a wide range of microprocessors and potentially facilitate the seamless deployment of new processor architectures. As multicore and manycore processors become pervasive, it is important to address the challenges toward supporting system emulation on these platforms. A key challenge in cross-ISA emulation on multicore systems is ensuring the correctness of emulation when the guest and the host memory consistency models differ. Many existing cross-ISA system emulators are sequential, thus they are able to avoid this problem at the cost of significant performance degradation. Recently proposed parallel emulators are able to address the performance limitation; however, they provide limited support for memory consistency model emulation.

When the host system has a weaker memory consistency model compared to the guest system, the emulator can insert memory fences at appropriate locations in the translated code to enforce the guest memory ordering constraints. These memory fences can significantly degrade the performance of the translated code. Transactional execution support available on certain recent microprocessors provides an alternative approach. Transactional execution of the translated code enforces sequential consistency (SC) at the coarse-grained transaction level, which in turn ensures that all memory accesses made on the host machine conform to SC. Enforcing SC on the host machine guarantees that the emulated execution will be correct for any guest memory model. In this article, we compare and evaluate the overheads associated with using transactions and fences for memory consistency model emulation on the Intel Haswell processor. Our experience of implementing these two approaches on a state-of-the-art parallel emulator, COREMU, demonstrates that memory consistency model emulation using transactions performs better when the transaction sizes are large enough to amortize the transaction overhead and the transaction conflict rate is low, whereas inserting memory fences is better for applications in which the transaction overhead is high. A hybrid implementation that dynamically determines which approach to invoke can outperform both approaches. Our results, based on the SPLASH-2 and the PARSEC benchmark suites, demonstrate that the proposed hybrid approach is able to outperform the fence insertion mechanism by 4.9% and the transactional execution approach by 24.9% for two-thread applications, and outperform them by 4.5% and 44.7%, respectively, for four-threaded execution.
SKMD
Authors: Lee Janghaeng , Samadi Mehrzad , Park Yongjun , Mahlke Scott
Published: September 2015

Heterogeneous computing on CPUs and GPUs has traditionally used fixed roles for each device: the GPU handles data parallel work by taking advantage of its massive number of cores while the CPU handles non data-parallel work, such as the sequential code or data transfer management. This work distribution can be a poor solution as it underutilizes the CPU, has difficulty generalizing beyond the single CPU-GPU combination, and may waste a large fraction of time transferring data. Further, CPUs are performance competitive with GPUs on many workloads, thus simply partitioning work based on the fixed roles may be a poor choice. In this article, we present the single-kernel multiple devices (SKMD) system, a framework that transparently orchestrates collaborative execution of a single data-parallel kernel across multiple asymmetric CPUs and GPUs. The programmer is responsible for developing a single data-parallel kernel in OpenCL, while the system automatically partitions the workload across an arbitrary set of devices, generates kernels to execute the partial workloads, and efficiently merges the partial outputs together. The goal is performance improvement by maximally utilizing all available resources to execute the kernel. SKMD handles the difficult challenges of exposed data transfer costs and the performance variations GPUs have with respect to input size. On real hardware, SKMD achieves an average speedup of 28% on a system with one multicore CPU and two asymmetric GPUs compared to a fastest device execution strategy for a set of popular OpenCL kernels.
Quantum XOR Games
Authors: Regev Oded , Vidick Thomas
Published: September 2015

We introduce quantum XOR games, a model of two-player, one-round games that extends the model of XOR games by allowing the referee’s questions to the players to be quantum states. We give examples showing that quantum XOR games exhibit a wide range of behaviors that are known not to exist for standard XOR games, such as cases in which the use of entanglement leads to an arbitrarily large advantage over the use of no entanglement. By invoking two deep extensions of Grothendieck’s inequality, we present an efficient algorithm that gives a constant-factor approximation to the best performance that players can obtain in a given game, both in the case that they have no shared entanglement and that they share unlimited entanglement. As a byproduct of the algorithm, we prove some additional interesting properties of quantum XOR games, such as the fact that sharing a maximally entangled state of arbitrary dimension gives only a small advantage over having no entanglement at all.
On Approximate Decidability of Minimal Programs
Authors: Teutsch Jason , Zimand Marius
Published: September 2015

An index
e
in a numbering of partial-recursive functions is called minimal if every lesser index computes a different function from
e
. Since the 1960s, it has been known that, in any reasonable programming language, no effective procedure determines whether or not a given index is minimal. We investigate whether the task of determining minimal indices can be solved in an approximate sense. Our first question, regarding the set of minimal indices, is whether there exists an algorithm that can correctly label 1 out of
k
indices as either minimal or nonminimal. Our second question, regarding the function that computes minimal indices, is whether one can compute a short list of candidate indices that includes a minimal index for a given program. We give negative answers to both questions for the important case of numberings with linearly bounded translators.
Input-Oblivious Proof Systems and a Uniform Complexity Perspective on P/poly
Authors: Goldreich Oded , Meir Or
Published: September 2015

An input-oblivious proof system is a proof system in which the proof does not depend on the claim being proved. Input-oblivious versions of
NP
and
MA
were introduced in passing by Fortnow, Santhanam, and Williams, who also showed that those classes are related to questions on circuit complexity.

In this article, we wish to highlight the notion of input-oblivious proof systems and initiate a more systematic study of them. We begin by describing in detail the results of Fortnow et al. and discussing their connection to circuit complexity. We then extend the study to input-oblivious versions of
IP
, and
PCP
, and
ZK
and present few preliminary results regarding those versions.
Isn't it time to change the way we think about time?
Authors: Pschetz Larissa
Published: September 2015

We live in a world where everyday objects, digital services, and human beings are increasingly interconnected. This forum aims to offer and promote a rich discussion on the challenges of designing for a broader ecology of materials, artifacts, and practices.
--- Elisa Giaccardi, Editor
Recent advances in thermoregulation
Authors: Tansey Etain A. , Johnson Christopher D.
Published: September 2015

Thermoregulation is the maintenance of a relatively constant core body temperature. Humans normally maintain a body temperature at 37°C, and maintenance of this relatively high temperature is critical to human survival. This concept is so important that control of thermoregulation is often the principal example cited when teaching physiological homeostasis. A basic understanding of the processes underpinning temperature regulation is necessary for all undergraduate students studying biology and biology-related disciplines, and a thorough understanding is necessary for those students in clinical training. Our aim in this review is to broadly present the thermoregulatory process taking into account current advances in this area. First, we summarize the basic concepts of thermoregulation and subsequently assess the physiological responses to heat and cold stress, including vasodilation and vasoconstriction, sweating, nonshivering thermogenesis, piloerection, shivering, and altered behavior. Current research is presented concerning the body's detection of thermal challenge, peripheral and central thermoregulatory control mechanisms, including brown adipose tissue in adult humans and temperature transduction by the relatively recently discovered transient receptor potential channels. Finally, we present an updated understanding of the neuroanatomic circuitry supporting thermoregulation.
The p66Shc protein controls redox signaling and oxidation-dependent DNA damage in human liver cells
Authors: Perrini Sebastio , Tortosa Federica , Natalicchio Annalisa , Pacelli Consiglia , Cignarelli Angelo , Palmieri Vincenzo O. , Caccioppoli Cristina , De Stefano Francesca , Porro Stefania , Leonardini Anna , Ficarella Romina , De Fazio Michele , Cocco Tiziana , Puglisi Francesco , Laviola Luigi , Palasciano Giuseppe , Giorgino Francesco
Published: September 2015

The p66Shc protein mediates oxidative stress-related injury in multiple tissues. Steatohepatitis is characterized by enhanced oxidative stress-mediated cell damage. The role of p66Shc in redox signaling was investigated in human liver cells and alcoholic steatohepatitis. HepG2 cells with overexpression of wild-type or mutant p66Shc, with Ser36 replacement by Ala, were obtained through infection with recombinant adenoviruses. Reactive oxygen species and oxidation-dependent DNA damage were assessed by measuring dihydroethidium oxidation and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine accumulation into DNA, respectively. mRNA and protein levels of signaling intermediates were evaluated in HepG2 cells and liver biopsies from control and alcoholic steatohepatitis subjects. Exposure to H2O2 increased reactive oxygen species and phosphorylation of p66Shc on Ser36 in HepG2 cells. Overexpression of p66Shc promoted reactive oxygen species synthesis and oxidation-dependent DNA damage, which were further enhanced by H2O2. p66Shc activation also resulted in increased Erk-1/2, Akt, and FoxO3a phosphorylation. Blocking of Erk-1/2 activation inhibited p66Shc phosphorylation on Ser36. Increased p66Shc expression was associated with reduced mRNA levels of antioxidant molecules, such as NF-E2-related factor 2 and its target genes. In contrast, overexpression of the phosphorylation defective p66Shc Ala36 mutant inhibited p66Shc signaling, enhanced antioxidant genes, and suppressed reactive oxygen species and oxidation-dependent DNA damage. Increased p66Shc protein levels and Akt phosphorylation were observed in liver biopsies from alcoholic steatohepatitis compared with control subjects. In human alcoholic steatohepatitis, increased hepatocyte p66Shc protein levels may enhance susceptibility to DNA damage by oxidative stress by promoting reactive oxygen species synthesis and repressing antioxidant pathways.