Improved approaches to the exact solution of the machine covering problem

For the basic problem of scheduling a set of n independent jobs on a set of m identical parallel machines with the objective of maximizing the minimum machine completion time—also referred to as machine covering—we propose a new exact branch-and-bound algorithm. Its most distinctive components are a different symmetry-breaking solution representation, enhanced lower and upper bounds, and effective novel dominance criteria derived from structural patterns of optimal schedules. Results of a comprehensive computational study conducted on benchmark instances attest to the effectiveness of our approach, particularly for small ratios of n to m.     

Enhanced ground support: lessons from work on reduced crew operations

Cognition, Technology & Work - From the 1950s through the 1980s, aircraft design was marked by an increase in reliability and automation, and, correspondingly, a decrease in the crew complement...     

An algorithm for generalizing topography to grids while preserving subscale morphologic characteristics—creating a glacier bed DEM for Jakobshavn trough as low-resolution input for dynamic ice-sheet models

The objective of this paper is to derive an algorithm for preserving important subscale morphologic characteristics at grids of lower-resolution, in particular for linear features such as canyons and ridge lines. The development of such an algorithm is necessitated by applications that require reduced spatial resolution, as is common in cartographic generalization, GIS applications, and geophysical modeling. Since any algorithm that results in weighted averages, including optimum interpolation and ordinary kriging, cannot reproduce correct depths, a new algorithm is designed based on principles of mathematical morphology. The algorithm described here is applied to derive a subglacial bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet that includes the trough of Jakobshavn Isbræ as a continuous canyon at correct depth in a low-resolution (5-km) digital elevation model (DEM). Data from recent airborne radar measurements of the elevation of the subglacial bed as part of the CReSIS project are utilized. The morphologic algorithm is designed with geophysical ice-sheet modeling in mind, in the following context. Currently occurring changes in the Earth's climate and the cryosphere cause changes in sea level, and the societal relevance of these natural processes motivates estimation of maximal sea-level rise in the medium-term future. The fast-moving outlet glaciers are more sensitive to climatic change than other parts of the Greenland ice sheet. Jakobshavn Isbrae, the fastest-moving ice stream in Greenland, follows a subglacial geologic trough. Since the existence of the trough causes the acceleration of the slow-moving inland ice in the Jakobshavn region and the formation of the ice stream, correct representation of the trough in a DEM is essential to model changes in the dynamics of the ice sheet and resultant sea-level predictions, even if current ice-sheet models can typically be run only at 5-km resolution. The DEM resultant from this study helps to bridge the conceptual gap between data analysis and geophysical modeling approaches. It is available as SeaRISE Greenland bed data set dev1.2 at http://websrv.cs.umt.edu/isis/index.php/SeaRISE_Assessment.     

Dynamic vs. Oblivious Routing in Network Design

Consider the robust network design problem of finding a minimum cost network with enough capacity to route all traffic demand matrices in a given polytope. We investigate the impact of different routing models in this robust setting: in particular, we compare oblivious routing, where the routing between each terminal pair must be fixed in advance, to dynamic routing, where routings may depend arbitrarily on the current demand. Our main result is a construction that shows that the optimal cost of such a network based on oblivious routing (fractional or integral) may be a factor of Ω(log n) more than the cost required when using dynamic routing. This is true even in the important special case of the asymmetric hose model. This answers a question in (Chekuri, SIGACT News 38(3):106–128, 2007), and is tight up to constant factors. Our proof technique builds on a connection between expander graphs and robust design for single-sink traffic patterns (Chekuri et al., Networks 50(1):50–54, 2007).     

A Class of Smoothers for Saddle Point Problems

In this paper smoothing properties are shown for a class of iterative methods for saddle point problems with smoothing rates of the order 1/m, where m is the number of smoothing steps. This generalizes recent results by Braess and Sarazin, who could prove this rates for methods where, in the context of the Stokes problem, the pressure correction equation is solved exactly, which is not needed here. Received December 4, 1998; revised April 14, 2000     

Analyzing the efficacy of using digital ink devices in a learning environment

There has been increased interest on the impact of mobile devices such as PDAs and Tablet PCs in introducing new pedagogical approaches and active learning experiences. We propose an intelligent system that efficiently addresses the inherent subjectivity in student perception of note taking and information retrieval. We employ the idea of cross indexing the digital ink notes with matching electronic documents in the repository. Latent Semantic Indexing is used to perform document and page level indexing. Thus for each retrieved document, the user can go over to the relevant pages that match the query. Techniques to handle problems such as polysemy (multiple meanings of a word) in large databases, document folding and no match for query are discussed. We tested our system for its performance, usability and effectiveness in the learning process. The results from the exploratory studies reveal that the proposed system provides a highly enhanced student learning experience, thereby facilitating high test scores.

Intermittent microclimate cooling during exercise-heat stress in US army chemical protective clothing

The effectiveness of intermittent, microclimate cooling for men who worked in US Army chemical protective clothing (modified mission-oriented protective posture level 3; MOPP 3) was examined. The hypothesis was that intermittent cooling on a 2 min on-off schedule using a liquid cooling garment (LCG) covering 72% of the body surface area would reduce heat strain comparably to constant cooling. Four male subjects completed three experiments at 30 degrees C, 30% relative humidity wearing the LCG under the MOPP 3 during 80 min of treadmill walking at 224 +/- 5 W . m(-2). Water temperature to the LCG was held constant at 21 degrees C. The experiments were; 1) constant cooling (CC); 2) intermittent cooling at 2-min intervals (IC); 3) no cooling (NC). Core temperature increased (1.6 +/- 0.2 degrees C) in NC, which was greater than IC (0.5 +/- 0.2 degrees C) and CC (0.5 +/- 0.3 degrees C) ( p < 0.05). Mean skin temperature was higher during NC (36.1 +/- 0.4 degrees C) than IC (33.7 +/- 0.6 degrees C) and CC (32.6 +/- 0.6 degrees C) and mean skin temperature was higher during IC than CC ( p < 0.05). Mean heart rate during NC (139 +/- 9 b . min(-1)) was greater than IC (110 +/- 10 b . min(-1)) and CC (107 +/- 9 b . min(-1)) ( p < 0.05). Cooling by conduction (K) during NC (94 +/- 4 W . m(-2)) was lower than IC (142 +/- 7 W . m(-2)) and CC (146 +/- 4 W . m(-2)) ( p < 0.05). These findings suggest that IC provided a favourable skin to LCG gradient for heat dissipation by conduction and reduced heat strain comparable to CC during exercise-heat stress in chemical protective clothing.     

The prediction of the wild-type telomerase RNA pseudoknot structure and the pivotal role of the bulge in its formation

In this study, the three-dimensional structure of the wild-type human telomerase RNA pseudoknot was predicted via molecular modeling. The wild-type pseudoknot structure is then compared to the recent NMR solution structure of the telomerase pseudoknot, which does not contain the U177 bulge. The removal of the bulge from the pseudoknot structure results in higher stability and significant reduction of activity of telomerase. We show that the effect of the bulge on the structure results in a significant transformation of the pseudoknot junction region where the starting base pairs are disrupted and unique triple base pairs are formed. We found that the formation of the junction region is greatly influenced by interactions of the U177 bulge with loop residues and rotation of residue A174. Moreover, this is the first study to our knowledge where a structure as complex as the pseudoknot has been solved by purely theoretical methods.     

Towards the implementation of text and discourse theory in computer-assisted textual analysis

Humanities computing (HC) has failed to integrate into its practices many of the key theoretical elements of contemporary text and discourse theory. This has in turn contributed to the marginalization of HC in research and teaching. Outdated theoretical models must be abandoned in order to develop a critical discourse based on the insights of HC. HC projects remain far too attached to micro-analyses and have not developed the theoretical and methodological tools necessary to undertake systemic macro-analyses on the level of discourse. Given that texts are a mixture of determinate and dynamic systems, recent developments in chaos theory may be of help in modelling the interrelationship of these elements at discourse level.Donald Bruce is Associate Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Alberta. His research interests include literary theory, XIXth century French literature, science and literature, and translation. He recently edited an issue ofRecherches Sémiotiques/Semiotic Inquiry on Literature and Ideology and is presently working on a project entitled,The Socio-semiotic Nexus: Jules Vallès and the Discourse of the Commune.     

On efficient deterministic simulation of turing machine computations below logaspace

It is shown that a bounded language accepted by a nondeterministic Turing machine in spaceS(n o(logn) can be accepted by a deterministic Turing machine in space MAX {(s(nn))², logn}. This can be interpreted as extending Savitch's algorithm below logspace. Results of Alt can be used to show that in the general case the indicated space bound cannot be improved. The result can also be interpreted as a sharpening in the special case of bounded languages of the results of Monien and Sudborough.