Computer-aided programming for multiprocessing systems

As both the number of processors and the complexity of problems to be solved increase, programming multiprocessing systems becomes more difficult and error-prone. This report discusses parallel models of computation and tools for computer-aided programming (CAP). Program development tools are necessary since programmers are not able to develop complex parallel programs efficiently. In particular, a CAP tool, named Hypertool, is described here. It performs scheduling and handles the communication primitive insertion automatically so that many errors are eliminated. It also generates the performance estimates and other program quality measures to help programmers in improving their algorithms and programs. Experiments have shown that up to a 300% performance improvement can be achieved by computer-aided programming

Understanding the drivers of value creation for biopharmaceuticals around the time of drug launch

Thesis (S.M.)--Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 41).The purpose of this research is to investigate potential strategic variables that executives at small to mid-sized biopharmaceutical companies should consider during the period of a drug launch. Bringing a product to market is a critical event for any biopharmaceutical company. It marks a major turning point within the biopharmaceutical's lifecycle and the company that can successfully launch a product will be viewed as a different asset class. Therefore, it is critical to understand potential drivers of the value and to encourage executives to raise probing questions when they are considering the next round of financing or whether to provide guidance. This study analyzed forty-six non-generic, therapeutic drugs launched in the US during January 2000- December 2009 by small to mid-sized biopharmaceutical companies with market capitalizations less than $20 billion at the time of launch. Predictor variables that were initially considered in the analysis are the following: management providing a sales guidance (binary), partnership (binary), market size of the partner(s) at the time of launch, specialty/primary care indication (binary), difference between year two actual sales number and that of pre-launch estimate, difference between year two actual sales number and that of post-launch estimate, financing activity prior to launch (binary), financing activity after launch (binary), average prelaunch file-to-offer discount, average post-launch file-to-offer discount, number of drugs launched by the same company (control variable) and NBI performance (control variable). Multiple linear regression analyses were then performed to determine which of these parameters were predictive of changes in stock price and changes in market capitalization. Those companies that did not provide guidance at the time of launch and raised additional capital within two years after launch performed better than those that did otherwise. Neither a partnership nor the market size of the partner contributed to either of the outcome measures. Whether or not the product is a specialty product also did not make any significant contribution to the models. The results from this study suggest several possible strategic and actionable items that can guide management to ask the right questions during the period around a drug launch.by Sung Min You.S.M

Quantum dense coding scheme via cavity decay

We investigate a secure scheme for implementing quantum dense coding via cavity decay and liner optics devices. Our scheme combines two distinct advantages: atomic qubit sevres as stationary bit and photonic qubit as flying bit, thus it is suitable for long distant quantum communication.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure. A revised version, accept for publication in Journal of Modern Optc

Chinese DE constructions in secondary predication: Historical and typological perspectives

This dissertation investigates the history of Chinese DE [tə] constructions in light of the typology of secondary predication. A secondary predicate, such as hot in He drank the tea hot, is a predicate that provides subsidiary information to a substructure (the participant tea) of the more salient primary event (drank). Mandarin DE features in two strategies: (i) a DE-marked primary event elaborated by a predicate following it, and (ii) a DE-marked secondary predicate preposed to the primary predicate. Focusing on Late Medieval Chinese (7th to mid-13th c.), the study examines the evolution of the DE-marked strategies from three distinctive constructions: resultative [V DE1 VP] by DE1 (得), nominal modification by DE2 (底/的), and secondary predication by DE3 (地). The first theme concerns the interactions between DE2-marked nominalization and DE3-marked secondary predicate constructions. Results show that DE2 and DE3 developed from opposite poles of the attribution vs. predication continuum, overlapping in categories intermediate between prototypical restrictive modification and secondary predication. Their distinctive information-packaging functions are consistently mapped to different construals of a property’s time-stability, which are reflected in their collocational preferences. The second theme of the study deals with the merger of DE1 and DE2 constructions and the creation of the [V DE Pred] topic-comment schema, where [V DE] represents an event as the topic, and Pred makes an assertion about a substructure of V. The discussion focuses on the structural and semantic changes of the [V DE1 VP] construction that facilitate its alignment with the DE2-marked topic-comment construction. The development of DE constructions mirrors semantic shifts between temporally anterior vs. simultaneous relations and conceptual fluidity between event- vs. participant-orientation, parameters that feature in the encoding of secondary predication crosslinguistically (Verkerk 2009, Himmelmann and Schultze-Berndt 2005, van der Auwera and Malchukov 2005, Loeb-Diehl 2005). The findings also suggest a reevaluation of the typology. Notably, semantic orientation is not crucial to whether a semantic relation is encoded by a DE construction, or which DE construction is selected. Instead, it is information-packaging functions, construals of time-stability, and iconic principles that play a dominant role