A Framework for Succinct Labeled Ordinal Trees over Large Alphabets

We consider succinct representations of labeled ordinal trees that support a rich set of operations. Our new representations support a much broader collection of operations than previous work. In our approach, labels of nodes are stored in a preorder label sequence, which can be compressed using any succinct representation of strings that supports \(\mathtt{{access}}\) , \({\mathtt{{rank}}}\) and \(\mathtt{{select}}\) operations. Thus, we present a framework for succinct representations of labeled ordinal trees that is able to handle large alphabets. This answers an open problem presented by Geary et al., which asks for representations of labeled ordinal trees that remain space-efficient for large alphabets. We further extend our work and present the first succinct representations for dynamic labeled ordinal trees that support several label-based operations including finding the level ancestor with a given label.     

Rate of radical polymerization of N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate in cyclohexane

Summary Anions of propene, isobutylene and cycloheptatriene have been prepared using Lochmann's Base. Star polymers in the form of one arm star, two arm star and three arm star polymers of styrene have been synthesized from the allyl anion (2), 2-methylenepropylenyl dianion (4) and the cycloheptatrienyl trianion (6) respectively, with acid end groups by quenching the living polymers with carbon dioxide. The number average molecular weight has been determined by stoichiometry, HPSEC and end group analysis by titration.     

An evaluation of tablet binding agents part II. Pressure binders

Tablet binding agents added during dry granulation or direct compression techniques are termed ‘pressure binders’. Paracetamol is chosen as the substrate for the evaluation of five potential pressure binders. Relative tablet strengths of powder formulations containing binder levels of 80, 50 and 20 wt.% incorporated by dry mixing, are monitored. Binder pressure cohesion, as measured by energy/tablet strength profiles, is the major determinant of binder efficiency at a level of 80 wt.%. At 20 wt.%, the ability of the binder to adhere to the substrate under pressure, as quantitated by an adhesive index A, is the most significant influence on binder efficiency; whilst at a binder level of 50 wt.%, tablet strength is dependent upon both binder pressure cohesion and binder—substrate pressure adhesion.     

QoS-based Task Group Deployment on Grid by Learning the Performance Data

Overhead of executing fine-grain tasks on computational grids led to task group or batch deployment in which a batch is resized according to the characteristics of the tasks, designated resource, and the interconnecting network. An economic grid demands an application to be processed within the given budget and deadline, referred to as the quality of service (QoS) requirements. In this paper, we increase the task success rate in an economic grid by optimally mapping the tasks to the resources prior to the batch deployment. The task-resource mapping (Advance QoS Planning) is decided based on QoS requirement and by mining the historical performance data of the application tasks using a genetic algorithm. The mapping is then used to assist in creating the task groups. Practical experiments are conducted to validate the proposed method and suggestions are given to implement our method in a cloud environment as well as to process real-time tasks.     

Innovative technologies for high performance textiles

Increasing global competition in textiles has created many challenges for European dyers and finishers. The rapid growth in technical textiles and in their end-uses has generated many opportunities for the application of innovative chemical finishes. Novel finishes of high added value for apparel fabrics are also greatly appreciated by a more discerning and demanding consumer market. This review will concentrate on some of the new approaches to producing high added value textiles that provide consumers with greater levels of comfort, safety, aesthetics and functional performance. Some of the technologies to be described are developed to the commercial exploitation stage, while others are still in development but offer potential for the future. Textile finishing personnel and companies must be active in keeping abreast of the developments in chemical finishing that are emerging globally, in order to survive and prosper in this very competitive and cost-conscious sector of the textile industry. The future of textile finishing within Europe depends upon rapid adoption of high performance, high added value finishes that provide innovation and novelty to the consumer, and in seeking out new end-uses and markets for such finishes.     

Improved oxidative stability of veal lipids and cholesterol through dietary vitamin E supplementation

The influence of dietary vitamin E supplementation on the α-tocopherol content of muscle membranes and on the resultant oxidative stability of veal was investigated. Daily supplementation of veal calves with 500 mg vitamin E in the form of α-tocopherol acetate for 12 weeks after birth increased muscle and membranal α-tocopherol concentrations approximately 6-fold over those of control animals. Oxidative stability of mitochondrial and microsomal lipids was enhanced by dietary supplementation as indicated by the results of an oxidative assay using hydrogen peroxide-activated metmyoglobin as the catalyst of oxidation. Muscle lipid and cholesterol stability was also improved by supplementation.     

Reference in 160 Characters or Less: The Role of Text Messaging in Virtual Reference Services

This study focuses on how and why academic library patrons choose text message reference, particularly when other mediums are available. Researchers evaluated three years of text reference data to assess the peak usage times, types of questions received, the number of unique and repeat users, and the complexity of questions. Our analysis of data shows that text reference can fill a role within virtual reference services. We further identify reasons why text message services have not seen greater use, including students’ lack of awareness, limitations of the medium, and patron satisfaction with other modes of reference.     

Fine-Grain Interoperability of Scientific Workflows in Distributed Computing Infrastructures

Today there exist a wide variety of scientific workflow management systems, each designed to fulfill the needs of a certain scientific community. Unfortunately, once a workflow application has been designed in one particular system it becomes very hard to share it with users working with different systems. Portability of workflows and interoperability between current systems barely exists. In this work, we present the fine-grained interoperability solution proposed in the SHIWA European project that brings together four representative European workflow systems: ASKALON, MOTEUR, WS-PGRADE, and Triana. The proposed interoperability is realised at two levels of abstraction: abstract and concrete. At the abstract level, we propose a generic Interoperable Workflow Intermediate Representation (IWIR) that can be used as a common bridge for translating workflows between different languages independent of the underlying distributed computing infrastructure. At the concrete level, we propose a bundling technique that aggregates the abstract IWIR representation and concrete task representations to enable workflow instantiation, execution and scheduling. We illustrate case studies using two real-workflow applications designed in a native environment and then translated and executed by a foreign workflow system in a foreign distributed computing infrastructure.     

Enhanced size-dependent trapping of particles using microvortices

Inertial microfluidics has been attracting considerable interest for size-based separation of particles and cells. The inertial forces can be manipulated by expanding the microchannel geometry, leading to formation of microvortices for selective isolation and trapping of particles or cells from a mixture. In this work, we aim to enhance our understanding of particle trapping in such microvortices by developing a model of selective particle entrapment. Design and operational parameters including flow conditions, size of the trapping region, and target particle concentration are explored to elucidate their influence on trapping behavior. Our results show that the size dependence of trapping is characterized by a threshold Reynolds number, which governs the selective entry of particles into microvortices from the main flow. We show that concentration enhancement on the order of 100,000× and isolation of targets at concentrations as low as 1/mL is possible. Ultimately, the insights gained from our systematic investigation suggest optimization solutions that enhance device performance (efficiency, size selectivity, and yield) and are applicable to selective isolation and trapping of large rare cells as well as other applications.