Stream VByte: Faster Byte-Oriented Integer Compression

Arrays of integers are often compressed in search engines. Though there are many ways to compress integers, we are interested in the popular byte-oriented integer compression techniques (e.g., VByte or Google's Varint-GB). They are appealing due to their simplicity and engineering convenience. Amazon's varint-G8IU is one of the fastest byte-oriented compression technique published so far. It makes judicious use of the powerful single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) instructions available in commodity processors. To surpass varint-G8IU, we present Stream VByte, a novel byte-oriented compression technique that separates the control stream from the encoded data. Like varint-G8IU, Stream VByte is well suited for SIMD instructions. We show that Stream VByte decoding can be up to twice as fast as varint-G8IU decoding over real data sets. In this sense, Stream VByte establishes new speed records for byte-oriented integer compression, at times exceeding the speed of the memcpy function. On a 3.4GHz Haswell processor, it decodes more than 4 billion differentially-coded integers per second from RAM to L1 cache

Embedded Librarianship at the University of Michigan’s Business Library

Overview of Kresge Business Administration Library's support of the MAP action-based learning program at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86726/1/Rupp_Action_Based_Learning_SLA_Michigan_Newsletter.pd

Exploring root rot pathogens in wheat-pea rotations in Kansas

In 2018, over 277,000 bushels of wheat were produced on 7.7 million acres of land in Kansas alone. Based on the price of wheat by the end of 2018, this accounted for $1.44 million. This wheat is normally rotated with soybeans or fallow, but recent interest has arisen regarding the growth of peas in northern Kansas. As of 2019, there are both research and commercial growing operations underway. Many plant diseases have been especially prevalent during the summer because of the high rainfall and heat. In order to assess the severity of pea disease in Kansas, as well as explore potential interconnectivity between wheat and pea pathogens, a survey was conducted, and efforts were made to isolate and culture fungal pathogens of both wheat and pea

Capture Latch Assembly for the NASA Docking System

Final Paper and not the abstract is attached. a summary of the Design, Development, and Qualification of the Capture Latch Assembly (CLA) for the NASA Docking System Block 1 (NDSB1). The CLA is an integral part of the Soft Capture System (SCS) of the NDSB1, serving the purpose of connecting the mating SCS Rings of two docking vehicles. The paper will present an overview of the function of the CLA and its basic concept of operations, including a summary of the major components of the CLA. The development, qualification, and production of the CLA will then be described. Particular focus will be provided on two major issues that occurred during production and qualification of the CLA. The first issue was failures of the CLA Motor (CLM) during acceptance testing (AT). The failures of the CLM were ultimately determined to be due to design defects and manufacturing errors in the motor commutation sensor assembly. The second issue was failure of the secondary release mechanism, or Contingency Capture Latch Release (CCLR) mechanism during development and qualification testing. The CCLR failures were found to be a result of excess free play in the release mechanism, resulting in wear leading to galling inside the release mechanism. An overview of each failure will be provided, along with a summary of the failure investigation and recovery process. Finally, Lessons Learned from each of the major issues and the overall development of the Capture Latch will be presented

Developing a Web Site to Provide Geologic Data and Map Products for Allen County, Indiana

This poster was presented at the 2007 meeting of the Digital Mapping Techniques Conference in Columbia, South Carolina, May 20-23, 2007.The Internet is becoming the medium of choice for delivering geologic information to both technical users and the general public. The Indiana Geological Survey (IGS) is currently creating a Web-based glacial and bedrock geologic map site for Allen County in northeastern Indiana. Allen County is the site of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s second largest city, and lies within IGS mapping and outreach priority areas based on population density and transportation corridors. This Web site provides detailed geologic information in an area that continues to experience pressure on natural resources by a large population and expanding transportation network. It is anticipated that the information from the Web site will be widely used by the general public and by industry and government entities. The Allen County Web site includes an Internet map server (IMS), as well as illustrations, educational summaries, and discussions of geologic maps, terrain images, and databases that complement the IMS. The site provides a front-end to the IGS enterprise geodatabases, which contain information used simultaneously for research and for viewing by the general public. The geodatabase systems allow maps and data to be efficiently created, managed, updated, and distributed. Maps provided on the Allen County Web site include: (1) digital elevation model terrain, (2) Landsat imagery, (3) surficial geology, (4) drift thickness, (5) bedrock topography, (6) bedrock geology, and (7) water-table elevation. Technical database information includes: (1) lithologic information compiled from water-well information in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water well records, (2) natural gamma-ray geophysical log data, (3) stratigraphic test hole data, and (4) petroleum-well data. The development of the Web site was funded by the IGS and the Central Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition.U.S. Geological Surve

Outstanding Business Reference Sources: The 2010 Selection of Recent Titles

Each year at the ALA Annual Conference, the Business Reference Sources Committee of RUSA’s Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) meets to select the outstanding business reference sources published since May of the previous year. With all due respect to the familiar and longstanding column title, committee members have come to think of our charge more broadly as finding the most outstanding business information sources, the better to reflect the evolving nature of the formats and means of accessing business information to meet reference needs. For 2010, the committee weeded titles proposed during 2009–10 down to fifteen that made the final review. Among those, the committee selected three as outstanding business information titles and an additional six as noteworthy titles. The works reviewed below cover such areas as economics, the music industry, corporate sustainability, retailing, brand valuation, the current and historical U.S. role in international trade, and an innovative new vehicle for affordable (or free) online access to premier instructional resources in business and economics

Outstanding Business Reference Sources: The 2011 Selection of Recent Titles

Each year, the Business Reference Sources Committee of BRASS selects the outstanding business reference sources published since May of the previous year. The committee reviewed 31 entries; 3 were designated as “outstanding,” and 7 were placed into the other noteworthy titles category. Of the 7 noteworthy titles, 2 were labeled as significant new editions. These works cover a variety of topics: industrial/organizational psychology, leadership, law and finance, economic history, marketing and demographics, as well as operations research and management science

A reference genome for the Chinese hamster based on a hybrid assembly strategy

Accurate and complete genome sequences are essential in biotechnology, especially to facilitate genome-based cell engineering efforts for the main production host of biotherapeutic proteins, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. While genome-enabled CHO cell engineering efforts promise to enhance drug production, the current genome assemblies for Cricetulus griseus, the Chinese hamster, are highly fragmented and replete with gap sequences and misassemblies, consistent with most short-read based assemblies. Here we have completely re-sequenced the Chinese hamster, C. griseus, using Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) long-read technology and merged this assembly with Illumina-based assemblies. Please download the file below for full content

Differential macrophage function in Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian cattle

AbstractThere is strong evidence that high yielding dairy cows are extremely susceptible to infectious diseases, and that this has severe economic consequences for the dairy industry and welfare implications. Here we present preliminary functional evidence showing that the innate immune response differs between cow breeds. The ability of macrophages (MØ) to kill pathogens depends in part on oxygen-dependent and independent mechanisms. The oxygen-dependent mechanisms rely on the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS, respectively). ROS production has been shown to activate the inflammasome complex in MØ leading to increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Conversely RNS inhibits inflammasome mediated IL-1β activation, indicating a division between inflammasome activation and RNS production. In the present study MØ from Brown Swiss (BS) cattle produce significantly more RNS and less IL-1β when compared to cells from Holstein Friesian (HF) cattle in response to bacterial or fungal stimuli. Furthermore, BS MØ killed ingested Salmonella typhimurium more efficiently, supporting anecdotal evidence of increased disease resistance of the breed. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) stimulated IL-1β secretion in cells from both breeds, but was more pronounced in HF MØ. Blocking RNS production by l-arginase completely abolished RNS production but increased IL-1β secretion in BS MØ. Collectively these preliminary data suggest that the dichotomy of inflammasome activation and RNS production exists in cattle and differs between these two breeds. As pattern recognition receptors and signaling pathways are involved in the assessed functional differences presented herein, our data potentially aid the identification of in vitro predictors of appropriate innate immune response. Finally, these predictors may assist in the discovery of candidate genes conferring increased disease resistance for future use in combination with known production traits

Vaccine development in Staphylococcus aureus: taking the biofilm phenotype into consideration

Vaccine development against pathogenic bacteria is an imperative initiative as bacteria are gaining resistance to current antimicrobial therapies and few novel antibiotics are being developed. Candidate antigens for vaccine development can be identified by a multitude of high-throughput technologies that were accelerated by access to complete genomes. While considerable success has been achieved in vaccine development against bacterial pathogens, many species with multiple virulence factors and modes of infection have provided reasonable challenges in identifying protective antigens. In particular, vaccine candidates should be evaluated in the context of the complex disease properties, whether planktonic (e.g. sepsis and pneumonia) and/or biofilm associated (e.g. indwelling medical device infections). Because of the phenotypic differences between these modes of growth, those vaccine candidates chosen only for their efficacy in one disease state may fail against other infections. This review will summarize the history and types of bacterial vaccines and adjuvants as well as present an overview of modern antigen discovery and complications brought about by polymicrobial infections. Finally, we will also use one of the better studied microbial species that uses differential, multifactorial protein profiles to mediate an array of diseases, Staphylococcus aureus, to outline some of the more recently identified problematic issues in vaccine development in this biofilm-forming species