A Pressure-Stabilized Lagrange-Galerkin Method in a Parallel Domain Decomposition System

A pressure-stabilized Lagrange-Galerkin method is implemented in a parallel domain decomposition system in this work, and the new stabilization strategy is proved to be effective for large Reynolds number and Rayleigh number simulations. The symmetry of the stiffness matrix enables the interface problems of the linear system to be solved by the preconditioned conjugate method, and an incomplete balanced domain preconditioner is applied to the flow-thermal coupled problems. The methodology shows good parallel efficiency and high numerical scalability, and the new solver is validated by comparing with exact solutions and available benchmark results. It occupies less memory than classical product-type solvers; furthermore, it is capable of solving problems of over 30 million degrees of freedom within one day on a PC cluster of 80 cores

ColdNAS: Search to Modulate for User Cold-Start Recommendation

Making personalized recommendation for cold-start users, who only have a few interaction histories, is a challenging problem in recommendation systems. Recent works leverage hypernetworks to directly map user interaction histories to user-specific parameters, which are then used to modulate predictor by feature-wise linear modulation function. These works obtain the state-of-the-art performance. However, the physical meaning of scaling and shifting in recommendation data is unclear. Instead of using a fixed modulation function and deciding modulation position by expertise, we propose a modulation framework called ColdNAS for user cold-start problem, where we look for proper modulation structure, including function and position, via neural architecture search. We design a search space which covers broad models and theoretically prove that this search space can be transformed to a much smaller space, enabling an efficient and robust one-shot search algorithm. Extensive experimental results on benchmark datasets show that ColdNAS consistently performs the best. We observe that different modulation functions lead to the best performance on different datasets, which validates the necessity of designing a searching-based method

A moving least square immersed boundary method for SPH with thin-walled structures

This paper presents a novel method for smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) with thin-walled structures. Inspired by the direct forcing immersed boundary method, this method employs a moving least square method to guarantee the smoothness of velocity near the structure surface. It simplifies thin-walled structure simulations by eliminating the need for multiple layers of boundary particles, and improves computational accuracy and stability in three-dimensional scenarios. Supportive three-dimensional numerical results are provided, including the impulsively started plate and the flow past a cylinder. Results of the impulsively started test demonstrate that the proposed method obtains smooth velocity and pressure in the, as well as a good match to the references results of the vortex wake development. In addition, results of the flow past cylinder test show that the proposed method avoids mutual interference on both side of the boundary, remains stable for three-dimensional simulations while accurately calculating the forces acting on structure.Comment: 15 pages,11 figure

Mutations in TUBB8 and Human Oocyte Meiotic Arrest

BACKGROUND Human reproduction depends on the fusion of a mature oocyte with a sperm cell to form a fertilized egg. The genetic events that lead to the arrest of human oocyte maturation are unknown. METHODS We sequenced the exomes of five members of a four-generation family, three of whom had infertility due to oocyte meiosis I arrest. We performed Sanger sequencing of a candidate gene, TUBB8, in DNA samples from these members, additional family members, and members of 23 other affected families. The expression of TUBB8 and all other β-tubulin isotypes was assessed in human oocytes, early embryos, sperm cells, and several somatic tissues by means of a quantitative reverse- transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assay. We evaluated the effect of the TUBB8 mutations on the assembly of the heterodimer consisting of one α-tubulin polypeptide and one β-tubulin polypeptide (α/β-tubulin heterodimer) in vitro, on microtubule architecture in HeLa cells, on microtubule dynamics in yeast cells, and on spindle assembly in mouse and human oocytes. RESULTS We identified seven mutations in the primate-specific gene TUBB8 that were responsible for oocyte meiosis I arrest in 7 of the 24 families. TUBB8 expression is unique to oocytes and the early embryo, in which this gene accounts for almost all the expressed β-tubulin. The mutations affect chaperone-dependent folding and assembly of the α/β-tubulin heterodimer, disrupt microtubule behavior on expression in cultured cells, alter microtubule dynamics in vivo, and cause catastrophic spindle-assembly defects and maturation arrest on expression in mouse and human oocytes. CONCLUSIONS TUBB8 mutations have dominant-negative effects that disrupt microtubule behavior and oocyte meiotic spindle assembly and maturation, causing female infertility. (Funded by the National Basic Research Program of China and others.

A High Resolution Genetic Map Anchoring Scaffolds of the Sequenced Watermelon Genome

As part of our ongoing efforts to sequence and map the watermelon (Citrullus spp.) genome, we have constructed a high density genetic linkage map. The map positioned 234 watermelon genome sequence scaffolds (an average size of 1.41 Mb) that cover about 330 Mb and account for 93.5% of the 353 Mb of the assembled genomic sequences of the elite Chinese watermelon line 97103 (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus). The genetic map was constructed using an F8 population of 103 recombinant inbred lines (RILs). The RILs are derived from a cross between the line 97103 and the United States Plant Introduction (PI) 296341-FR (C. lanatus var. citroides) that contains resistance to fusarium wilt (races 0, 1, and 2). The genetic map consists of eleven linkage groups that include 698 simple sequence repeat (SSR), 219 insertion-deletion (InDel) and 36 structure variation (SV) markers and spans ∼800 cM with a mean marker interval of 0.8 cM. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with 11 BACs that produced chromosome-specifc signals, we have depicted watermelon chromosomes that correspond to the eleven linkage groups constructed in this study. The high resolution genetic map developed here should be a useful platform for the assembly of the watermelon genome, for the development of sequence-based markers used in breeding programs, and for the identification of genes associated with important agricultural traits

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Stability Analysis of Pseudo-Almost Periodic Solution for a Class of Cellular Neural Network with D Operator and Time-Varying Delays

Cellular neural networks with D operator and time-varying delays are found to be effective in demonstrating complex dynamic behaviors. The stability analysis of the pseudo-almost periodic solution for a novel neural network of this kind is considered in this work. A generalized class neural networks model, combining cellular neural networks and the shunting inhibitory neural networks with D operator and time-varying delays is constructed. Based on the fixed-point theory and the exponential dichotomy of linear equations, the existence and uniqueness of pseudo-almost periodic solutions are investigated. Through a suitable variable transformation, the globally exponentially stable sufficient condition of the cellular neural network is examined. Compared with previous studies on the stability of periodic solutions, the global exponential stability analysis for this work avoids constructing the complex Lyapunov functional. Therefore, the stability criteria of the pseudo-almost periodic solution for cellular neural networks in this paper are more precise and less conservative. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our obtained theoretical results

Numerical Simulation of the Hydrogen Dispersion Behavior by a Parallel Characteristic Curve Method

A parallel characteristic curve method is applied in domain decomposition system to simulate the dispersion behavior of hydrogen in this work. The characteristic curve method is employed to approximate the Navier-Stokes equations and the convection diffusion equation, and the feasibility of solving complex multicomponent flow problems is demonstrated by the numerical simulation of hydrogen dispersion in a partially open space. An analogy of the Boussinesq approximation is applied and numerical results are validated by comparing them with the experimental data. The dilution effect of ventilation is investigated. The transient behavior of hydrogen and the process of accumulation in the partially open space are discussed

Predicting the Price of Second-Hand Housing Based on Lambda Architecture and KD Tree

In this paper a system is designed and implemented to predict the price of second-hand housing. This system based on Lambda architecture can execute prediction in both real-time and batch modes so it can give two kinds of different price predictions that reflect current and historical conditions respectively. The kNN related algorithms are used for price prediction. By comparing the performance of brute kNN, kd tree and ball tree, kd tree is selected as the price prediction model of the system. In system implementation the kd tree model is chosen to predict prices in both real-time and batch services. The kd tree model can also recommend housings to user besides price prediction. The experiment shows the effectiveness of our system. Time and space performance of brute kNN, kd tree and ball tree are compared by experiments. And the evaluation metrics of other available maching learning models are compared. The reason of choosing the kd tree model is also explained by the experimental results

A Parametric Study and Optimization of an Air Conditioning System for a Heat-Loaded Room

Optimization of an air conditioning system is critical in terms of the transient and steady state behavior of the air distribution along the room and the temperature of the equipment themselves. In this paper, three computational techniques, namely, the standard k-ε, RNG k-ε, and the k-ω model, are used to numerically simulate and determine the air distribution in an air-conditioned room. The simulation results for all three methods are verified via a comparison with an experiment involving a room that contains a computer server which generates up to 6 kW of heat. In doing so and by additionally performing an error analysis, it is determined that the k-ω model produces the most accurate results. The results also indicated that the direction of air supply from the air conditioners has a strong impact on the velocity field and temperature distribution along the room and on the computer server. Hence, many candidate directions of air supply options were selected for study and by conducting a performance evaluation in terms of air temperature around the server, the optimal solution was obtained