FFTPL: An Analytic Placement Algorithm Using Fast Fourier Transform for Density Equalization

We propose a flat nonlinear placement algorithm FFTPL using fast Fourier transform for density equalization. The placement instance is modeled as an electrostatic system with the analogy of density cost to the potential energy. A well-defined Poisson's equation is proposed for gradient and cost computation. Our placer outperforms state-of-the-art placers with better solution quality and efficiency

A QoS-Based Services Selected Method in Service-Oriented Architectures Using Ant Colony System - A Case Study of Airflights

Semantic web is becoming more and more popular these days, and it’s an opportune moment to look at the field’s current state and future opportunities. However, most researchers focus on only one single service recommend from semantic web inference. In some situations, the Multi-Services which are combined many complex services from various service providers are better than single service. The designed Multi-Services Semantic Search System (MS4), which provides the cooperation web-based platform for all related mobile users and service providers, could strengthen the ability of Multi-Services suggestion. In this research, MS4 chooses the adaptable airflight as a case study. MS4 is a five-components system composed of the Mobile Users (MUs), UDDI Registries (UDDIRs), Service Providers (SPs), Semantic Web Services Server (SWSS), and Database Server (DS). Using SOA, OWL-S to build semantic web environment to inference user’s requirements and search various web services which are published in UDDI through the communication networks include internet and 3G/GPRS/GSM mobile networks. In this airline case, we propose the Adaptive Airflights Inference Module (AAIM) combined QoS-Based Services Selected Method (QBSSM) using Ant Colony System (ACS) to reference the adaptable airflights to MUs

Thermoelectric effect in an Aharonov-Bohm ring with an embedded quantum dot

Thermoelectric effect is studied in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with an embedded quantum dot (QD) in the Coulomb blockade regime. The electrical conductance, electron thermal conductance, thermopower, and thermoelectric figure-of-merit are calculated by using the Keldysh Green's function method. It is found that the figure-of-merit ZT of the QD ring may be quite high due to the Fano effect originated from the quantum interference effect. Moreover, the thermoelectric efficiency is sensitive to the magnitude of the dot-lead and inter-lead coupling strengthes. The effect of intradot Coulomb repulsion on ZT is significant in the weak-coupling regime, and then large ZT values can be obtained at rather high temperature

Paxillin facilitates timely neurite initiation on soft-substrate environments by interacting with the endocytic machinery.

Neurite initiation is the first step in neuronal development and occurs spontaneously in soft tissue environments. Although the mechanisms regulating the morphology of migratory cells on rigid substrates in cell culture are widely known, how soft environments modulate neurite initiation remains elusive. Using hydrogel cultures, pharmacologic inhibition, and genetic approaches, we reveal that paxillin-linked endocytosis and adhesion are components of a bistable switch controlling neurite initiation in a substrate modulus-dependent manner. On soft substrates, most paxillin binds to endocytic factors and facilitates vesicle invagination, elevating neuritogenic Rac1 activity and expression of genes encoding the endocytic machinery. By contrast, on rigid substrates, cells develop extensive adhesions, increase RhoA activity and sequester paxillin from the endocytic machinery, thereby delaying neurite initiation. Our results highlight paxillin as a core molecule in substrate modulus-controlled morphogenesis and define a mechanism whereby neuronal cells respond to environments exhibiting varying mechanical properties

Age and growth of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) in waters off eastern Taiwan

Age and growth of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) in waters off eastern Taiwan were examined from counts of growth rings on cross sections of the fourth spine of the first dorsal fin. Length and weight data and the dorsal fin spines were collected monthly at the fishing port of Shinkang (southeast of Taiwan) from July 1998 to August 1999. In total, 1166 dorsal fins were collected, of which 1135 (97%) (699 males and 436 females) were aged successfully. Trends in the monthly mean marginal increment ratio indicated that growth rings are formed once a year. Two methods were used to back-calculate the length of presumed ages, and growth was described by using the standard von Bertalanffy growth function and the Richards function. The most reasonable and conservative description of growth assumes that length-at-age follows the Richards function and that the relationship between spine radius and lower jaw fork length (LJFL) follows a power function. Growth differed significantly between the sexes; females grew faster and reached larger sizes than did males. The maximum sizes in our sample were 232 cm LJFL for female and 221 cm LJFL for male

3,3′-Bis(4-fluoro­benz­yl)-1,1′-ethyl­enediimidazolium tribromidocuprate(I)

The title compound, (C22H22F2N4)[CuBr3], crystallizes with the cation situated on an inversion center and the anion on a twofold rotation axis along one Cu—Br bond. The two imidazole rings are in an anti configuration. The anion has a trigonal planar coordination geometry

3,3′-Bis(3-methoxy­benz­yl)-1,1′-ethyl­enediimidazolium dibromide

In the title compound, C24H28N4O2 2+·2Br−, the imidazolium cation is located on an inversion centre. The two imidazole rings are parallel to each other, whereas the imidazole and benzene rings make a dihedral angle of 77.25 (16)°. Non­classical inter­molecular C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds link the imidazolium cations and the bromide anions into a three-dimensional network