Adding laziness in BnB-ADOPT+

In distributed constraint optimization, agents executing BnB-ADOPT+ react eagerly to cost changes: they send non-redundant COST messages to their parents as soon as they receive new messages. We have observed that a lazier reaction (not sending COST messages until a condition is met) substantially decrements the number of messages sent and causes only a small variation in ENCCCs. This approach combines nicely with soft arc consistency maintenance during search. We provide experimental evidence of the benefits of this approach on several benchmarks.This research has been supported by the following grants: CUHK413808, CUHK413710 and CUHK413713 from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR, the CSIC / RGC Joint Research Scheme grants S-HK003/12 and 2011HK0017, TIN2013-45732-C4-4-P from Spanish MINECO, and Generalitat de Catalunya SGR- 2014-118Peer Reviewe

Structural engineering for northern Pakistan : indigenous architecture and earthquake resistance

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-152).In the Fall of 1993, a joint project began between architectural designers and engineers, for the design of houses in Karimabad, located in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. This thesis records the author's involvement as structural engineer, and how quantitative engineering work was shaped by qualitative considerations of architectural design issues, and the unique culture of Karimabad. The broad range of structural design challenges in the area was assessed, and included earthquake loading, cultural precedents for building types and spatial use (i.e. live loads on the roofs), material availability, and appropriate technologies. Seismic loads were the main structural concern, and the behavior of single story, masonry buildings under seismic loads was investigated. Houses constructed from reinforced stone masonry with a timber roofing system were selected as the most appropriate technology for the region. Processes to quantify the necessary wall reinforcement were found and developed, and one architectural design was engineered to illustrate these processes, and to gain a general idea of how much steel would be needed in one house. Construction guidelines for all parts of a house, including roofs and foundations, were also researched and developed. The teamwork between architects and engineers throughout this project was evaluated and discussed. Principles of effective interaction that were learned, and the exchanges that occurred between the architects and engineers in the course of this project, are presented. The purpose of this record is to help future projects, between architects and engineers, to achieve a working relationship which effectively synthesizes the two professions, and produces better designs.by Jimmy Chi-yi Su.M.S

Buoyant AGN bubbles in the quasi-isothermal potential of NGC 1399

The Fornax Cluster is a low-mass cool-core galaxy cluster. We present a deep {\sl Chandra} study of NGC 1399, the central dominant elliptical galaxy of Fornax. The cluster center harbors two symmetric X-ray cavities coincident with a pair of radio lobes fed by two collimated jets along a north-south axis. A temperature map reveals that the AGN outburst has created a channel filled with cooler gas out to a radius of 10 kpc. The cavities are surrounded by cool bright rims and filaments that may have been lifted from smaller radii by the buoyant bubbles. X-ray imaging suggests a potential ghost bubble of $\gtrsim$ 5\,kpc diameter to the northwest. We find that the amount of gas lifted by AGN bubbles is comparable to that which would otherwise cool, demonstrating that AGN driven outflow is effective in offsetting cooling in low-mass clusters. The cluster cooling time scale is $>30$ times longer than the dynamical time scale, which is consistent with the lack of cold molecular gas at the cluster center. The X-ray hydrostatic mass is consistent within 10\% with the total mass derived from the optical data. The observed entropy profile rises linearly, following a steeper slope than that observed at the centers of massive clusters; gas shed by stars in NGC 1399 may be incorporated in the hot phase. However, it is far-fetched for supernova-driven outflow to produce and maintain the thermal distribution in NGC 1399 and it is in tension with the metal content in the hot gas.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, Matches the version published in Ap

Combined ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging of metal objects

Methods of combined ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging are provided. In some embodiments, the methods may be used to determine the location or positioning of a metal object in a sample. In other embodiments, the methods may be used to determine the composition of a sample surrounding a metal object. Other methods are also provided.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Superresolution Pattern Recognition Reveals the Architectural Map of the Ciliary Transition Zone

The transition zone (TZ) of primary cilia serves as a diffusion barrier to regulate ciliogenesis and receptor localization for key signaling events such as sonic hedgehog signaling. Its gating mechanism is poorly understood due to the tiny volume accommodating a large number of ciliopathy-associated molecules. Here we performed stimulated emission depletion (STED) imaging of collective samples and recreated superresolved relative localizations of eight representative species of ciliary proteins using position averages and overlapped with representative electron microscopy (EM) images, defining an architectural foundation at the ciliary base. Upon this framework, transmembrane proteins TMEM67 and TCTN2 were accumulated at the same axial level as MKS1 and RPGRIP1L, suggesting that their regulation roles for tissue-specific ciliogenesis occur at a specific level of the TZ. CEP290 is surprisingly localized at a different axial level bridging the basal body (BB) and other TZ proteins. Upon this molecular architecture, two reservoirs of intraflagellar transport (IFT) particles, correlating with phases of ciliary growth, are present: one colocalized with the transition fibers (TFs) while the other situated beyond the distal edge of the TZ. Together, our results reveal an unprecedented structural framework of the TZ, facilitating our understanding in molecular screening and assembly at the ciliary base

Japanese Encephalitis, Singapore

10.3201/eid1203.051251Emerging Infectious Diseases123525-52