Squeeziness: An information theoretic measure for avoiding fault masking

Copyright @ 2012 ElsevierFault masking can reduce the effectiveness of a test suite. We propose an information theoretic measure, Squeeziness, as the theoretical basis for avoiding fault masking. We begin by explaining fault masking and the relationship between collisions and fault masking. We then define Squeeziness and demonstrate by experiment that there is a strong correlation between Squeeziness and the likelihood of collisions. We conclude with comments on how Squeeziness could be the foundation for generating test suites that minimise the likelihood of fault masking

The value of a breast care nurse in supporting rural and remote cancer patients in Queensland

The role of the Breast Care Nurse in Queensland's Supporting Rural Women with Breast Cancer Project was evaluated by mixed methodology. Through questionnaire and interview patients provided views about the nurse's role under categories of Awareness, Access, Coordination, Information and Psychosocial, Emotional and Practical support. Of the 51 participants 37 resided in rural and remote areas with 18 living between 100 and 500 miles from specialised breast care services. The BCN met with patients at their regular hospital visits and was available by telephone at any time. There was overwhelming agreement among the participants that the timing of contact, ease of accessibility, information provided and support offered were extremely valuable in making their treatment and recovery easier. The vast majority of participants would recommend hospitals with a BCN to their friends. Members of the multidisciplinary care team provided views on Awareness of the BCN, Influence on Care Management, Communication and Patient Outcomes. They recognised the benefits of the BCN to patients and to coordination and liaison of the team. The findings concur with unpublished Australian reports that demonstrate the success of dedicated Breast Care Nurses. The BCN model of care could be used successfully to support other medical conditions

A cryogenic surface-electrode elliptical ion trap for quantum simulation

Two-dimensional crystals of trapped ions are a promising system with which to implement quantum simulations of challenging problems such as spin frustration. Here, we present a design for a surface-electrode elliptical ion trap which produces a 2-D ion crystal and is amenable to microfabrication, which would enable higher simulated coupling rates, as well as interactions based on magnetic forces generated by on-chip currents. Working in an 11 K cryogenic environment, we experimentally verify to within 5% a numerical model of the structure of ion crystals in the trap. We also explore the possibility of implementing quantum simulation using magnetic forces, and calculate J-coupling rates on the order of 10^3 / s for an ion crystal height of 10 microns, using a current of 1 A

A high-throughput screen identifies that CDK7 activates glucose consumption in lung cancer cells.

Elevated glucose consumption is fundamental to cancer, but selectively targeting this pathway is challenging. We develop a high-throughput assay for measuring glucose consumption and use it to screen non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines against bioactive small molecules. We identify Milciclib that blocks glucose consumption in H460 and H1975, but not in HCC827 or A549 cells, by decreasing SLC2A1 (GLUT1) mRNA and protein levels and by inhibiting glucose transport. Milciclib blocks glucose consumption by targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) similar to other CDK7 inhibitors including THZ1 and LDC4297. Enhanced PIK3CA signaling leads to CDK7 phosphorylation, which promotes RNA Polymerase II phosphorylation and transcription. Milciclib, THZ1, and LDC4297 lead to a reduction in RNA Polymerase II phosphorylation on the SLC2A1 promoter. These data indicate that our high-throughput assay can identify compounds that regulate glucose consumption and that CDK7 is a key regulator of glucose consumption in cells with an activated PI3K pathway

Small Cells, Big Problems: The Increasing Precision of Cell Site Location Information and the Need for Fourth Amendment Protections

The past fifty years has witnessed an evolution in technology advancement in police surveillance. Today, one of the essential tools of police surveillance is something most Americans carry with them in their pockets every day, the cell phone. Cell phones not only contain a huge repository of personal data, they also provide continuous surveillance of a person’s movement known as cell site location information (CSLI). In 1986, Congress sought to provide some privacy protections to CSLI in the Stored Communication Act. Although this solution may have struck the proper balance in an age when cell phones were a mere novelty in the hands of a comparative few, we now live in an age where, as the U.S. Supreme Court recently recognized, cell phones could be seen “an important feature of human anatomy.” In 1986, there were only an estimated 681,825 subscribers serviced by 1531, cell sites. By 2013, there were 335 million subscribers and over 340,000 cell sites. Recently, cell phone service providers have begun to use small cell technologies, miniature cell phone towers that can provide additional coverage and bandwidth support to overburdened cellular networks. Small cells, known variously as femtocells, picocells, and microcells, are already installed throughout the United States, in particular in urban areas. As small cells overtake traditional cell phone towers as the most common means of transmitting cellular signals, CSLI will transform from a means of placing a person’s phone in a general area within a matter of miles to a precise location tracking tool charting a person’s movements down to a matter of feet. The late Justice Scalia in his 2001 majority opinion in Kyllo v. U.S., a case involving thermal imaging, opined that “while the technology used in the present case was relatively crude, the rule we adopt must take account of more sophisticated systems that are already in use or in development.” This Article explores the evolution of CSLI by focusing on the rise of small cell technologies. It also canvasses decisions in the circuits involving CSLI. It points out that the third-party exception to the Fourth Amendment is inapplicable to CSLI. Following Justice Scalia’s admonition, we believe that CSLI will only grow more precise as small cells infiltrate cellular networks and we therefore adopt an approach that incorporates the Fourth Amendment requirements for a search warrant particularly describing the place to be searched and items to be seized as well as the requirement for probable cause. Placing CSLI under the Fourth Amendment would make a major section of the Stored Communication Act unconstitutional

The Real Party in Interest

Ever since the adoption of the original New York Code of i848 it has been a fundamental requirement of code pleading that every action should be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest, with an exception in favor of an executor or administrator, a trustee of an express trust or a person expressly authorized by statute. The framers of the Code, in explaining the occasion for the provision, referred to the common law prohibition against the assignment of a thing in action and stated this to be the condition of the parties: If the assignee sues at law, he is turned out of court, and if the assignor sues in equity, he is turned out also. They added: The true rule undoubtedly is that which prevails, in the courts of equity, that he who has the right, is the person to pursue the remedy. We have adopted that rule. The provision in question has received comparatively little attention from commentators, but has been the subject of widely diverse opinion in the courts. It is believed that a discussion of the problems raised by it in perhaps its two most striking aspects-assignments of choses in action and subrogation-in relation to its historical background and to its connection with the general purpose of the code may serve to clarify it

Transcriptome profiling of a spirodiclofen susceptible and resistant strain of the European red mite Panonychus ulmi using strand-specific RNA-seq

Background: The European red mite, Panonychus ulmi, is among the most important mite pests in fruit orchards, where it is controlled primarily by acaricide application. However, the species rapidly develops pesticide resistance, and the elucidation of resistance mechanisms for P. ulmi has not kept pace with insects or with the closely related spider mite Tetranychus urticae. The main reason for this lack of knowledge has been the absence of genomic resources needed to investigate the molecular biology of resistance mechanisms. Results: Here, we provide a comprehensive strand-specific RNA-seq based transcriptome resource for P. ulmi derived from strains susceptible and resistant to the widely used acaricide spirodiclofen. From a de novo assembly of the P. ulmi transcriptome, we manually annotated detoxification enzyme families, target-sites of commonly used acaricides, and horizontally transferred genes implicated in plant-mite interactions and pesticide resistance. In a comparative analysis that incorporated sequences available for Panonychus citri, T. urticae, and insects, we identified radiations for detoxification gene families following the divergence of Panonychus and Tetranychus genera. Finally, we used the replicated RNA-seq data from the spirodiclofen susceptible and resistant strains to describe gene expression changes associated with resistance. A cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, as well as multiple carboxylcholinesterases, were differentially expressed between the susceptible and resistant strains, and provide a molecular entry point for understanding resistance to spirodiclofen, widely used to control P. ulmi populations. Conclusions: The new genomic resources and data that we present in this study for P. ulmi will substantially facilitate molecular studies of underlying mechanisms involved in acaricide resistance