The Expected Competitive Ratio for Weighted Completion Time Scheduling

A set of n independent jobs is to be scheduled without preemption on m identical parallel machines. For each job j, a diffuse adversary chooses the distribution Fj of the random processing time Pj from a certain class of distributions Fj. The scheduler is given the expectation μj = E[Pj], but the actual duration is not known in advance. A positive weight wj is associated with each job j and all jobs are ready for execution at time zero. The scheduler determines a list of the jobs, which is then scheduled in a non-preemptive manner. The objective is to minimise the total weighted completion time ∑j wj Cj. The performance of an algorithm is measured with respect to the expected competitive ratio maxF ∈ F E[∑j wj Cj/OPT], where Cj denotes the completion time of job j and OPT the offline optimum value. We show a general bound on the expected competitive ratio for list scheduling algorithms, which holds for a class of so-called new-better-than-used processing time distributions. This class includes, among others, the exponential distribution. As a special case, we consider the popular rule weighted shortest expected processing time first (WSEPT) in which jobs are processed according to the non-decreasing μj/wj ratio. We show that it achieves E[WSEPT/OPT] ≤ 3 - 1/m for exponential distributed processing time

A systems model of vesicle trafficking in Arabidopsis pollen tubes

A systems model that describes vesicle trafficking during pollen tube growth in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) was constructed. The model is composed of ordinary differential equations that connect the molecular functions of genes expressed in pollen. The current model requires soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) and small GTPases, Arf or Rab, to reasonably predict tube growth as a function of time. Tube growth depends on vesicle trafficking that transports phospholipid and pectin to the tube tip. The vesicle trafficking genes identified by analyzing publicly available transcriptome data comprised 328 genes. Fourteen of them are up-regulated by the gibberellin signaling pathway during pollen development, which includes the SNARE genes SYP124 and SYP125 and the Rab GTPase gene RABA4D. The model results adequately fit the pollen tube growth of both previously reported wild-type and raba4d knockout lines. Furthermore, the difference of pollen tube growth in syp124/syp125 single and double mutations was quantitatively predicted based on the model analysis. In general, a systems model approach to vesicle trafficking arguably demonstrated the importance of the functional connections in pollen tube growth and can help guide future research directions. © 2009 American Society of Plant Biologists

Systematic Spatial Bias in DNA Microarray Hybridization Is Caused by Probe Spot Position-Dependent Variability in Lateral Diffusion

Background The hybridization of nucleic acid targets with surface-immobilized probes is a widely used assay for the parallel detection of multiple targets in medical and biological research. Despite its widespread application, DNA microarray technology still suffers from several biases and lack of reproducibility, stemming in part from an incomplete understanding of the processes governing surface hybridization. In particular, non-random spatial variations within individual microarray hybridizations are often observed, but the mechanisms underpinning this positional bias remain incompletely explained. Methodology/Principal Findings This study identifies and rationalizes a systematic spatial bias in the intensity of surface hybridization, characterized by markedly increased signal intensity of spots located at the boundaries of the spotted areas of the microarray slide. Combining observations from a simplified single-probe block array format with predictions from a mathematical model, the mechanism responsible for this bias is found to be a position-dependent variation in lateral diffusion of target molecules. Numerical simulations reveal a strong influence of microarray well geometry on the spatial bias. Conclusions Reciprocal adjustment of the size of the microarray hybridization chamber to the area of surface-bound probes is a simple and effective measure to minimize or eliminate the diffusion-based bias, resulting in increased uniformity and accuracy of quantitative DNA microarray hybridization.Austrian Science Fund (P18836-B17)Austrian Science Fund (P20185-B17 )Austrian Science Fund (P16566-B14)Austria. Federal Ministry of Science and Research (GEN-AU III InflammoBiota)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (1-R21-EB008844 to RS)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE-0744641-CAREER

Clinical outcomes after reverse shoulder arthroplasty in patients 60 years old and younger; Medium-term results

BACKGROUND: Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has been well-described as a surgical solution to manage rotator cuff tear arthropathy in elderly, low demand paitents. As experience has increased along with improvements in technique and implant design, RTSA has become increasingly used to manage more varied pathologic conditions of the shoulder in younger, more active patients. This study evaluates outcomes in a consecutive series of patients aged 60 years old and younger after undergoing RTSA. METHODS: There were 94 shoulders in 89 patients enrolled. Mean age of the cohort was 54.8 (range 18-60 years). Surgical indications included rotator cuff tear arthropathy, irreparable rotator cuff tear without arthritis, glenohumeral arthritis with erosive glenoid deformity, inflammatory arthropathy, proximal humerus fracture nonunion/malunion and failed prior shoulder arthroplasty. Sixty-one shoulders (70%) had undergone at least one prior surgery. Of these, 6 shoulders (6% of total cohort) had a prior failed arthroplasty. Clinical outcomes (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Western Ontario Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder index; visual analog scale pain), radiographic outcomes and complications were analyzed and assessed for correlation with patient demographic factors. RESULTS: The mean follow-up for this cohort was 4.9 years (range 2-12 years). Subjects experienced improvements in ASES score and pain ( CONCLUSION: With medium-term follow-up, RTSA is a reliable and predictable operation to manage various pathologic conditions in patients aged 60 years or less. Patients predictably experience significant improvements in pain and range of motion while assuming a modest complication risk. Long-term study is needed to understand potential for late complications or implant failure

Wirksame Sozialhilfe benötigt ein koordinierts Vorgehen

Der Fokus aktueller Sozialhilfereformen liegt in vielen Kantonen auf der Ausgestaltung von Anreizsystemen. Das Ziel solcher finanzieller Anreizsysteme ist es, Sozialhilfebeziehende möglichst rasch zu wirtschaftlicher Eigenständigkeit zu verhelfen. Wie Studien des BFH-Zentrums Soziale Sicherheit zeigen, greift dieser Fokus jedoch zu kurz. Vielmehr gilt es, die Wirksamkeit verschiedener Massnahmen in der Sozialhilfe umfassend zu betrachten und Massnahmen auf verschiedenen sozialpolitischen Ebenen einzuleiten. Anreize sind dabei nur eines von mehreren Handlungsfeldern, die es zu berücksichtigen gilt

Focusing dielectric slabs for the optimization of heating patterns in single mode microwave applicators

[EN] A new approach based on dielectric slabs with adjustable position is proposed as near-field focusing lenses inside a single-mode microwave applicator to provide specific temperature distributions within a material heated by microwaves. Numerical and experimental results in a TE101 rectangular cavity at 915 MHz have been used to evaluate the capability of these focusing dielectrics to optimize the temperature profile of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) preforms. Measurements of the temperature profile on the preforms verified the strong effect of the slabs on the electric field distribution, allowing the optimization of the heating patterns with great flexibility. The successful application applied to PET preforms with different sizes and geometries showed the versatility of this approach which can be extended to the application of other type of loads and microwave cavities.García-Baños, B.; Plaza González, PJ.; Sánchez-Marín, JR.; Steger, S.; Feigl, A.; Penaranda-Foix, FL.; Catalá Civera, JM. (2022). Focusing dielectric slabs for the optimization of heating patterns in single mode microwave applicators. Applied Thermal Engineering. 201:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.11784511020

Conferencing the international at the World Pacifist Meeting in India, 1949

This paper considers how the act of conferencing was central to imagining, negotiating and contesting post-war pacifism as an internationalist project. The paper contends that internationalism and the international conference are inexorably entwined. Through studying the conference geographers can explore the situated historical and political geographies of internationalism which belies its otherwise transcendent or universalist claims. A reading of the 1949 World Pacifist Meeting in India is used to make two key arguments. Firstly, it shows how conferences operate as stage-managed events through which to script and perform an alternative vision of internationalism. Half conference, half pilgrimage, the global composition of delegates was arranged to suggest a space ‘singularly free from any sense of geographical limitation’. Yet total immersion in the rich cultural and historical context of India marked an uneven internationalist arena, where the ‘Land of Gandhi’ was held with unparalleled revere. Secondly, whilst geographers and others have turned to conferencing in recent years, this has largely been contained to ‘summitry’ and high-end diplomacy. This paper calls for geographers to consider a wider range of conferencing spaces and practices, and argues that studying ‘other conferences’ by necessity opens up consideration of other forms of internationalism. The paper concludes that the World Pacifist Meeting’s delegates imagined an alternative form of internationalism, exemplified by an alternative form of international conference, which sought to challenge state-centric readings of global power relations

Comprehensive comparison of the interaction of the E2 master regulator with its cognate target DNA sites in 73 human papillomavirus types by sequence statistics

Mucosal human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are etiological agents of oral, anal and genital cancer. Properties of high- and low-risk HPV types cannot be reduced to discrete molecular traits. The E2 protein regulates viral replication and transcription through a finely tuned interaction with four sites at the upstream regulatory region of the genome. A computational study of the E2–DNA interaction in all 73 types within the alpha papillomavirus genus, including all known mucosal types, indicates that E2 proteins have similar DNA discrimination properties. Differences in E2–DNA interaction among HPV types lie mostly in the target DNA sequence, as opposed to the amino acid sequence of the conserved DNA-binding alpha helix of E2. Sequence logos of natural and in vitro selected sites show an asymmetric pattern of conservation arising from indirect readout, and reveal evolutionary pressure for a putative methylation site. Based on DNA sequences only, we could predict differences in binding energies with a standard deviation of 0.64 kcal/mol. These energies cluster into six discrete affinity hierarchies and uncovered a fifth E2-binding site in the genome of six HPV types. Finally, certain distances between sites, affinity hierarchies and their eventual changes upon methylation, are statistically associated with high-risk types