CMS software deployment on OSG

A set of software deployment tools has been developed for the installation, verification, and removal of a CMS software release. The tools that are mainly targeted for the deployment on the OSG have the features of instant release deployment, corrective resubmission of the initial installation job, and an independent web-based deployment portal with Grid security infrastructure login mechanism. We have been deploying over 500 installations and found the tools are reliable and adaptable to cope with problems with changes in the Grid computing environment and the software releases. We present the design of the tools, statistics that we gathered during the operation of the tools, and our experience with the CMS software deployment on the OSG Grid computing environment

Field-Induced Breakup of Emulsion Droplets Stabilized by Colloidal Particles

We simulate the response of a particle-stabilized emulsion droplet in an external force field, such as gravity, acting equally on all $N$ particles. We show that the field strength required for breakup (at fixed initial area fraction) decreases markedly with droplet size, because the forces act cumulatively, not individually, to detach the interfacial particles. The breakup mode involves the collective destabilization of a solidified particle raft occupying the lower part of the droplet, leading to a critical force per particle that scales approximately as $N^{-1/2}$.Comment: 4 pages, plus 3 pages of supplementary materia

VERTICALLY ALIGNED VS. OPEN MARKET COORDINATION: DOMINANCE OR CO-EXISTENCE?

Will a more tightly aligned system become the exclusive coordination or governance system in the pork industry? The analysis shows that the packer prefers to source hogs from both an aligned market and an independent market. This result is because the packer, facing variability in the demand for premium pork, must balance the cost of higher quality aligned hogs and independent hogs against the states of nature for demand for the premium product.Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Soil P Status and Nitrogen Fixation on Organic Dairy Farms in Ontario and Nova Scotia

Legumes are a key source of nitrogen (N) in organic production systems. However, there is evidence that reduced inputs may be leading to deficient soil phosphorus (P) on some organic dairy farms (Roberts et. al. 2008). This may affect crop performance and N fixation in forage legumes. This study aims to gauge the relationship between soil P dynamics in organic dairy systems and legume biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). The study has two main sub-projects: 1. A field survey of soil-test P and legume forage productivity and N fixation on dairy farms in Ontario and Nova Scotia, Canada. 2. Growth chamber and greenhouse studies examining: a) The role of P nutrition in legume growth and N fixation, and b) The P-supplying power of composts, struvite, and a rock P source. Field data was commenced in the 2008 season, and was completed in 2009. Growth chamber and greenhouse studies were conducted in 2009. Analyses of 2009 samples are not complete at the report date

A Receiver for Differential Space-Time -Shifted BPSK Modulation Based on Scalar-MSDD and the EM Algorithm

In this paper, we consider the issue of blind detection of Alamouti-type differential space-time (ST) modulation in static Rayleighfading channels. We focus our attention on a π/2-shifted BPSK constellation, introducing a novel transformation to the receivedsignal such that this binary ST modulation, which has a second-order transmit diversity, is equivalent to QPSK modulation withsecond-order receive diversity. This equivalent representation allows us to apply a low-complexity detection technique specificallydesigned for receive diversity, namely, scalar multiple-symbol differential detection (MSDD). To further increase receiver performance,we apply an iterative expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm which performs joint channel estimation and sequencedetection. This algorithm uses minimum mean square estimation to obtain channel estimates and the maximum-likelihood principleto detect the transmitted sequence, followed by differential decoding.With receiver complexity proportional to the observationwindow length, our receiver can achieve the performance of a coherent maximal ratio combining receiver (with differentialdecoding) in as few as a single EM receiver iteration, provided that the window size of the initialMSDD is sufficiently long. To furtherdemonstrate that the MSDD is a vital part of this receiver setup, we show that an initial ST conventional differential detectorwould lead to a strange convergence behavior in the EM algorithm

Tumor Biology and Racial Disparities in Reconstruction After Mastectomy: A SEER Database Analysis

Introduction: Significant disparities in immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy have persisted, and may even be increasing, despite large-scale efforts to minimize them, such as the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998. Immediate breast reconstruction has been shown to lead to higher rates of surgical satisfaction, minimize delay in post-operative cancer treatment, and improve the quality of life and overall well-being of mastectomy patients. However only 25-40% of eligible women in the United States receive reconstruction. The rate of reconstruction is even lower in African American and Hispanic women compared to White women. To better understand this disparity, this study uses national population-based data to examine how demographic factors, socioeconomic factors, and disease characteristics interact and affect the rate of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) after mastectomy. Methods: Women with AJCC7 Stage 0-III breast cancer who underwent mastectomy from 2010 to 2012 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER) database. Race, Hispanic ethnicity, age, marital status, insurance status, tumor grade, AJCC7 stage and hormone receptor/ Her2Neu profile were compared between women undergoing mastectomy with IBR and mastectomy alone using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: We identified 51,115 women who underwent mastectomy for Stage 0-III breast cancer from 2010-2012, of whom 15,389 (30.1%) received IBR. On multivariate analysis, age (p Conclusion: The decision to undergo reconstruction after mastectomy is influenced by many factors. Our results show that even after adjusting for tumor characteristics, socioeconomic factors are independently associated with receiving IBR after mastectomy. Further research is needed to elucidate the factors that influence the decision to undergo IBR in order to eliminate these persistent disparities

A Control Switch for Prothrombinase: Characterization of a Hirudin-Like Pentapeptide From the COOH Terminus of Factor VA Heavy Chain That Regulates the Rate and Pathway for Prothrombin Activation

Membrane-bound factor Xa alone catalyzes prothrombin activation following initial cleavage at Arg(271) and prethrombin 2 formation (pre2 pathway). Factor Va directs prothrombin activation by factor Xa through the meizothrombin pathway, characterized by initial cleavage at Arg(320) (meizo pathway). We have shown previously that a pentapeptide encompassing amino acid sequence 695-699 from the COOH terminus of the heavy chain of factor Va (Asp-Tyr-Asp-Tyr-Gln, DYDYQ) inhibits prothrombin activation by prothrombinase in a competitive manner with respect to substrate. To understand the mechanism of inhibition of thrombin formation by DYDYQ, we have studied prothrombin activation by gel electrophoresis. Titration of plasma-derived prothrombin activation by prothrombinase, with increasing concentrations of peptide, resulted in complete inhibition of the meizo pathway. However, thrombin formation still occurred through the pre2 pathway. These data demonstrate that the peptide preferentially inhibits initial cleavage of prothrombin by prothrombinase at Arg(320). These findings were corroborated by studying the activation of recombinant mutant prothrombin molecules rMZ-II (R155A/R284A/R271A) and rP2-II (R155A/R284A/R320A) which can be only cleaved at Arg(320) and Arg(271), respectively. Cleavage of rMZ-II by prothrombinase was completely inhibited by low concentrations of DYDYQ, whereas high concentrations of pentapeptide were required to inhibit cleavage of rP2-II. The pentapeptide also interfered with prothrombin cleavage by membrane-bound factor Xa alone in the absence of factor Va increasing the rate for cleavage at Arg(271) of plasma-derived prothrombin or rP2-II. Our data demonstrate that pentapeptide DYDYQ has opposing effects on membrane-bound factor Xa for prothrombin cleavage, depending on the incorporation of factor Va in prothrombinase

Validation of the Korean Version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences in General Population

OBJECTIVE: The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences has been widely translated and commonly used as a measure for psychotic experiences and psychosis proneness in clinical and research environments worldwide. This study aimed to establish the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) and factor structure of a Korean version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (K-CAPE) in the general population. METHODS: A total of 1,467 healthy participants completed K-CAPE and other psychiatric symptom-related scales (Paranoia scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Dissociative Experiences Scale-II, and Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences) via online survey. K-CAPE's internal reliability was analyzed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to investigate whether the original three-factor model (positive, negative, and depressive) and other hypothesized multidimensional models (including positive and negative subfactors) were suitable for our data. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to explore better alternative factor solutions with a follow-up CFA. To assess convergent and discriminant validity, we examined correlations between KCAPE subscales with other established measures of psychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: K-CAPE showed good internal consistency in all original three subscales (all greater than α=0.827). The CFA demonstrated that the multidimensional models exhibited relatively better quality than the original three-dimensional model. Although the model fit indices did not reach their respective optimal thresholds, they were within an acceptable range. Results from the EFA indicated 3-5 factor solutions. In 3-factor solution, "negative-avolition" items were founded to be loaded more consistently with depressive items than with the negative dimension. In 4-factor solution, positive items were divided into two subfactors: "positive-bizarre experiences" and "positive-delusional thoughts," while negative symptoms were separated into two distinct subfactors in 5-factor solution: "negative-avolition (expressive)," and "negative-social (experiential)." The correlation coefficients between K-CAPE subscales and corresponding measurements were significant (p<0.001), confirming the convergent and discriminant validity. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence to support the reliability and validity of the K-CAPE and its use as a measure of psychotic symptoms in the Korean population. Although alternative factor structures did not improve the model fit, our EFA findings implicate the use of subfactors to investigate more specific domains of positive and negative symptoms. Given the heterogeneous nature of psychotic symptoms, this may be useful in capturing their different underlying mechanisms