25,654 research outputs found
Efficient Resource Matching in Heterogeneous Grid Using Resource Vector
In this paper, a method for efficient scheduling to obtain optimum job
throughput in a distributed campus grid environment is presented; Traditional
job schedulers determine job scheduling using user and job resource attributes.
User attributes are related to current usage, historical usage, user priority
and project access. Job resource attributes mainly comprise of soft
requirements (compilers, libraries) and hard requirements like memory, storage
and interconnect. A job scheduler dispatches jobs to a resource if a job's hard
and soft requirements are met by a resource. In current scenario during
execution of a job, if a resource becomes unavailable, schedulers are presented
with limited options, namely re-queuing job or migrating job to a different
resource. Both options are expensive in terms of data and compute time. These
situations can be avoided, if the often ignored factor, availability time of a
resource in a grid environment is considered. We propose resource rank
approach, in which jobs are dispatched to a resource which has the highest rank
among all resources that match the job's requirement. The results show that our
approach can increase throughput of many serial / monolithic jobs.Comment: 10 page
Visualizing the Geology of Lake Trout Spawning Sites: Northern Lake Michigan
Geologists and biologists are working together to understand the links between lake floor geology (composition and shape) and the distribution of lake trout throughout their life cycle. Lake floor geology is one of the main factors determining where lake trout spawn, feed, and hide. In support of ongoing research to study Lake Michigan trout habitats, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mapped the morphology of principle lake trout spawning sites. Using the Army Corps of Engineer\u27s SHOALS airborne lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system we mapped six regions in Northern Lake Michigan in order to identify ideal spawning regions composed of shallow, clean, gravel/cobble substrate, adjacent to deeper water.
Lidar mapping systems, which use laser pulses to measure water depths from an airplane, are now available to map the nearshore lake morphology at meter-scale detail. Maps generated from the bathymetric data are used to define regions with smooth homogeneous substrate, regions with higher relief, and mixed regions with both smooth and rough relief. This morphologic information combined with sediment samples and direct bottom observations enable geologists to map areas with rougher relief composed of rock outcrop, boulders, and cobbles, as well as smooth regions covered with sand or mud. This information helps biologists, fishery managers, and ecologists visualize the lake floor in significant detail which promotes better fishery management, species protection, and habitat identification.
These maps present the maps and discuss the geology of the six lake trout spawning sites mapped by the lidar system. Where the mapping approached land, aerial photography of the land is combined with the bathymetric data to help visualize the scale of the offshore features. Map and perspective views of Boulder Reef, Hog Island Reef, and Little Traverse Bay are shown on sheet 1, whereas map and perspective views of Trout and High Island Shoal, Gull Island Reef, and Dahlia Shoal are shown on sheet 2. Additional information, bathymetric data, imagery, and metadata are available online athttp://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of03-120/
How mobile are dye adsorbates and acetonitrile molecules on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles? A quasi-elastic neutron scattering study
Motions of molecules adsorbed to surfaces may control the rate of charge transport within monolayers in systems such as dye sensitized solar cells. We used quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) to evaluate the possible dynamics of two small dye moieties, isonicotinic acid (INA) and bis-isonicotinic acid (BINA), attached to TiO2 nanoparticles via carboxylate groups. The scattering data indicate that moieties are immobile and do not rotate around the anchoring groups on timescales between around 10 ps and a few ns (corresponding to the instrumental range). This gives an upper limit for the rate at which conformational fluctuations can assist charge transport between anchored molecules. Our observations suggest that if the conformation of larger dye molecules varies with time, it does so on longer timescales and/or in parts of the molecule which are not directly connected to the anchoring group. The QENS measurements also indicate that several layers of acetonitrile solvent molecules are immobilized at the interface with the TiO2 on the measurement time scale, in reasonable agreement with recent classical molecular dynamics results
A modified parallel tree code for N-body simulation of the Large Scale Structure of the Universe
N-body codes to perform simulations of the origin and evolution of the Large
Scale Structure of the Universe have improved significantly over the past
decade both in terms of the resolution achieved and of reduction of the CPU
time. However, state-of-the-art N-body codes hardly allow one to deal with
particle numbers larger than a few 10^7, even on the largest parallel systems.
In order to allow simulations with larger resolution, we have first
re-considered the grouping strategy as described in Barnes (1990) (hereafter
B90) and applied it with some modifications to our WDSH-PT (Work and Data
SHaring - Parallel Tree) code. In the first part of this paper we will give a
short description of the code adopting the Barnes and Hut algorithm
\cite{barh86} (hereafter BH), and in particular of the memory and work
distribution strategy applied to describe the {\it data distribution} on a
CC-NUMA machine like the CRAY-T3E system. In the second part of the paper we
describe the modification to the Barnes grouping strategy we have devised to
improve the performance of the WDSH-PT code. We will use the property that
nearby particles have similar interaction list. This idea has been checked in
B90, where an interaction list is builded which applies everywhere within a
cell C_{group} containing a little number of particles N_{crit}. B90 reuses
this interaction list for each particle in the cell in turn.
We will assume each particle p to have the same interaction list.
Thus it has been possible to reduce the CPU time increasing the performances.
This leads us to run simulations with a large number of particles (N ~
10^7/10^9) in non-prohibitive times.Comment: 13 pages and 7 Figure
On the measurement of frequency and of its sample variance with high-resolution counters
A frequency counter measures the input frequency averaged over a
suitable time , versus the reference clock. High resolution is achieved
by interpolating the clock signal. Further increased resolution is obtained by
averaging multiple frequency measurements highly overlapped. In the presence of
additive white noise or white phase noise, the square uncertainty improves from
to .
Surprisingly, when a file of contiguous data is fed into the formula of the
two-sample (Allan) variance
of
the fractional frequency fluctuation , the result is the \emph{modified}
Allan variance mod . But if a sufficient number of contiguous
measures are averaged in order to get a longer and the data are fed into
the same formula, the results is the (non-modified) Allan variance. Of course
interpretation mistakes are around the corner if the counter internal process
is not well understood.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, 18 reference
Self-referential cognition and empathy in autism.
BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have profound impairments in the interpersonal social domain, but it is unclear if individuals with ASC also have impairments in the intrapersonal self-referential domain. We aimed to evaluate across several well validated measures in both domains, whether both self-referential cognition and empathy are impaired in ASC and whether these two domains are related to each other. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty adults aged 19-45, with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism and 30 age, sex, and IQ matched controls participated in the self-reference effect (SRE) paradigm. In the SRE paradigm, participants judged adjectives in relation to the self, a similar close other, a dissimilar non-close other, or for linguistic content. Recognition memory was later tested. After the SRE paradigm, several other complimentary self-referential cognitive measures were taken. Alexithymia and private self-consciousness were measured via self-report. Self-focused attention was measured on the Self-Focus Sentence Completion task. Empathy was measured with 3 self-report instruments and 1 performance measure of mentalizing (Eyes test). Self-reported autistic traits were also measured with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Although individuals with ASC showed a significant SRE in memory, this bias was decreased compared to controls. Individuals with ASC also showed reduced memory for the self and a similar close other and also had concurrent impairments on measures of alexithymia, self-focused attention, and on all 4 empathy measures. Individual differences in self-referential cognition predicted mentalizing ability and self-reported autistic traits. More alexithymia and less self memory was predictive of larger mentalizing impairments and AQ scores regardless of diagnosis. In ASC, more self-focused attention is associated with better mentalizing ability and lower AQ scores, while in controls, more self-focused attention is associated with decreased mentalizing ability and higher AQ scores. Increasing private self-consciousness also predicted better mentalizing ability, but only for individuals with ASC. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that individuals with ASC have broad impairments in both self-referential cognition and empathy. These two domains are also intrinsically linked and support predictions made by simulation theory. Our results also highlight a specific dysfunction in ASC within cortical midlines structures of the brain such as the medial prefrontal cortex
Question design in nurse-led and GP-led telephone triage for same-day appointment requests: a comparative investigation
Objective: To compare doctors’ and nurses’ communication with patients in primary care telephone triage consultations. Design: Qualitative comparative study of content and form of questions in 51 telephone triage encounters between practitioners (general practitioners (GPs)=29; nurses=22) and patients requesting a same-day appointment in primary care. Audio-recordings of nurse-led calls were synchronised with video recordings of nurse's use of computer decision support software (CDSS) during triage. Setting: 2 GP practices in Devon and Warwickshire, UK. Participants: 4 GPs and 29 patients; and 4 nurses and 22 patients requesting a same-day face-to-face appointment with a GP. Main outcome measure: Form and content of practitioner-initiated questions and patient responses during clinical assessment. Results: A total of 484 question–response sequences were coded (160 GP; 324 N). Despite average call lengths being similar (GP=4 min, 37 s, (SD=1 min, 26 s); N=4 min, 39 s, (SD=2 min, 22 s)), GPs and nurses differed in the average number (GP=5.51, (SD=4.66); N=14.72, (SD=6.42)), content and form of questions asked. A higher frequency of questioning in nurse-led triage was found to be due to nurses’ use of CDSS to guide telephone triage. 89% of nurse questions were oriented to asking patients about their reported symptoms or to wider-information gathering, compared to 54% of GP questions. 43% of GP questions involved eliciting patient concerns or expectations, and obtaining details of medical history, compared to 11% of nurse questions. Nurses using CDSS frequently delivered questions designed as declarative statements requesting confirmation and which typically preferred a ‘no problem’ response. In contrast, GPs asked a higher proportion of interrogative questions designed to request information. Conclusions: Nurses and GPs emphasise different aspects of the clinical assessment process during telephone triage. These different styles of triage have implications for the type of information available following nurse-led or doctor-led triage, and for how patients experience triage
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