From Bare Metal to Virtual: Lessons Learned when a Supercomputing Institute Deploys its First Cloud

As primary provider for research computing services at the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI) has long been responsible for serving the needs of a user-base numbering in the thousands. In recent years, MSI---like many other HPC centers---has observed a growing need for self-service, on-demand, data-intensive research, as well as the emergence of many new controlled-access datasets for research purposes. In light of this, MSI constructed a new on-premise cloud service, named Stratus, which is architected from the ground up to easily satisfy data-use agreements and fill four gaps left by traditional HPC. The resulting OpenStack cloud, constructed from HPC-specific compute nodes and backed by Ceph storage, is designed to fully comply with controls set forth by the NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy. Herein, we present twelve lessons learned during the ambitious sprint to take Stratus from inception and into production in less than 18 months. Important, and often overlooked, components of this timeline included the development of new leadership roles, staff and user training, and user support documentation. Along the way, the lessons learned extended well beyond the technical challenges often associated with acquiring, configuring, and maintaining large-scale systems.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, PEARC '18: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing, July 22--26, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA, US

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended Solids Concentrations in Tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary Watershed in 2010

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads to the Great Bay Estuary are a growing concern. The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) calculates the nitrogen load from tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary for its State of the Estuaries reports. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to collect representative data on nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment concentrations in tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary in 2010. The study design followed the tributary sampling design which was implemented by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services between 2001 and 2007 and by the University of New Hampshire in 2008 and 2009, so as to provide comparable data to the previous loading estimates

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended Solids Concentrations in Tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary Watershed in 2011

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads to the Great Bay Estuary are a growing concern. The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) calculates the nitrogen load from tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary for its State of the Estuaries reports. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to collect representative data on nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment concentrations in tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary in 2011. The study design followed the tributary sampling design which was implemented by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services between 2001 and 2007 and by the University of New Hampshire in 2008 and 2010, so as to provide comparable data to the previous loading estimates

Shellfish Tissue Monitoring in Piscataqua Region Estuaries 2010 and 2011

The goal of this project was to provide data for two PREP indicators of estuarine condition: TOX1 and TOX3. These two indicators report on “Shellfish tissue concentrations relative to FDA standards” and “Trends in shellfish tissue contaminant concentrations”, respectively. Both of these indicators depend on data from the Gulfwatch Program. In particular, TOX3 requires annual data at benchmark sites to assess trends. In 2010 and 2011, PREP supported the collection and analysis of tissue samples from benchmark mussel sites in Hampton-Seabrook Harbor and Dover Point

Introduction to the political economy of the sub-prime crisis in Britain : constructing and contesting competence

It is almost always inadvisable to try to second-guess the character of a General Election campaign before it begins in earnest. Yet, even in today’s shadow-boxing phase in advance of the British General Election due to be called in 2010, a number of important campaign contours are already in evidence. It is one of the unwritten laws of British electoral politics that governments unravel – particularly those of a certain longevity – as events appear ever more to have spiralled out of their control. The task for the Brown Government in the upcoming General Election campaign is to try to convince voters that there is still life left within Labour despite its current travails with the credit crunch and British banks’ self-imposed entrapment in the subprime crisis. Claim and counter-claim are likely to pass between the Government and the opposition parties as to where the blame lies for the current disarray of the banking sector, whose model of regulation is most responsible and who is best placed to ensure a successful clean-up operation. Whoever is perceived to have come out on top in this debate is likely to stand a very good chance of winning the election

The Experience of Money and Debt Problems in Rural Areas

This current paper is written on the behalf of the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) to partly address the shortfall in evidence concerning the advice needs of rural communities. Specifically the CRC was interested to gain insight in the following areas: (1) The type of debt problems experienced in rural areas; (2) The prevalence and response to such problems; (3) Issues concerning access to debt advice services in rural areas; and (4) Awareness of advice provision in rural areas

Is My Exercise Partner Similar Enough? Partner Characteristics as a Moderator of the Köhler Effect in Exergames

Objective: Recent research has shown the Köhler motivation gain effect (working at a task with a more capable partner where one's performance is indispensable to the group) leads to greater effort in partnered exercise videogame play. The purpose of this article was to examine potential moderators of the Köhler effect by exploring dissimilarities in one's partner's appearance, namely, having an older partner (compared with a same-age partner) and having a heavier-weight partner (compared with a same-weight partner). Subjects and Methods: One hundred fifty-three male and female college students completed a series of plank exercises using the “EyeToy: Kinetic™” for the PlayStation® 2 (Sony, Tokyo, Japan). Participants first completed the exercises individually and, after a rest, completed the same exercises with a virtually present partner. Exercise persistence, subjective effort, self-efficacy beliefs, enjoyment, and intentions to exercise were recorded and analyzed. Results: A significant Köhler motivation gain was observed in all partner conditions (compared with individual controls) such that participants with a partner held the plank exercises longer (P<0.001) and reported higher subjective effort (P<0.01). These results were unmoderated by partner's age and weight, with one exception: Males tended to persist longer when paired with an obese partner (P=0.08). Conclusions: These results suggest that differences in age and weight do not attenuate the Köhler effect in exergames and may even strengthen it

F = Finance

This paper gives notification of changes approved by CRIR which will be included i

Does Gender Discrimination Impact Regular Mammography Screening? Findings from the Race Differences in Screening Mammography Study

Objective: To determine if gender discrimination, conceptualized as a negative life stressor, is a deterrent to adherence to mammography screening guidelines. Methods: African American and white women (1451) aged 40–79 years who obtained an index screening mammogram at one of five urban hospitals in Connecticut between October 1996 and January 1998 were enrolled in this study. This logistic regression analysis includes the 1229 women who completed telephone interviews at baseline and follow-up (average 29.4 months later) and for whom the study outcome, nonadherence to age-specific mammography screening guidelines, was determined. Gender discrimination was measured as lifetime experience in seven possible situations. Results: Gender discrimination, reported by nearly 38% of the study population, was significantly associated with non-adherence to mammography guidelines in women with annual family incomes of $50,000 or greater (or 1.99, 95% CI 1.33, 2.98) and did not differ across racial/ethnic groups. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that gender discrimination can adversely influence regular mammography screening in some women. With nearly half of women nonadherent to screening mammography guidelines in this study and with decreasing mammography rates nationwide, it is important to address the complexity of nonadherence across subgroups of women. Life stressors, such as experiences of gender discrimination, may have considerable consequences, potentially influencing health prevention prioritization in women