NASTRAN internal improvements for 1992 release

The 1992 NASTRAN release incorporates a number of improvements transparent to users. The NASTRAN executable was made smaller by 70 pct. for the RISC base Unix machines by linking NASTRAN into a single program, freeing some 33 megabytes of system disc space that can be used by NASTRAN for solving larger problems. Some basic matrix operations, such as forward-backward substitution (FBS), multiply-add (MPYAD), matrix transpose, and fast eigensolution extraction routine (FEER), have been made more efficient by including new methods, new logic, new I/O techniques, and, in some cases, new subroutines. Some of the improvements provide ground work ready for system vectorization. These are finite element basic operations, and are used repeatedly in a finite element program such as NASTRAN. Any improvements on these basic operations can be translated into substantial cost and cpu time savings. NASTRAN is also discussed in various computer platforms

NASTRAN migration to UNIX

COSMIC/NASTRAN, as it is supported and maintained by COSMIC, runs on four main-frame computers - CDC, VAX, IBM and UNIVAC. COSMIC/NASTRAN on other computers, such as CRAY, AMDAHL, PRIME, CONVEX, etc., is available commercially from a number of third party organizations. All these computers, with their own one-of-a-kind operating systems, make NASTRAN machine dependent. The job control language (JCL), the file management, and the program execution procedure of these computers are vastly different, although 95 percent of NASTRAN source code was written in standard ANSI FORTRAN 77. The advantage of the UNIX operating system is that it has no machine boundary. UNIX is becoming widely used in many workstations, mini's, super-PC's, and even some main-frame computers. NASTRAN for the UNIX operating system is definitely the way to go in the future, and makes NASTRAN available to a host of computers, big and small. Since 1985, many NASTRAN improvements and enhancements were made to conform to the ANSI FORTRAN 77 standards. A major UNIX migration effort was incorporated into COSMIC NASTRAN 1990 release. As a pioneer work for the UNIX environment, a version of COSMIC 89 NASTRAN was officially released in October 1989 for DEC ULTRIX VAXstation 3100 (with VMS extensions). A COSMIC 90 NASTRAN version for DEC ULTRIX DECstation 3100 (with RISC) is planned for April 1990 release. Both workstations are UNIX based computers. The COSMIC 90 NASTRAN will be made available on a TK50 tape for the DEC ULTRIX workstations. Previously in 1988, an 88 NASTRAN version was tested successfully on a SiliconGraphics workstation

Guide pin holes for blind mating of connectors

Portable electronics have a charging port to which a user can connect a power cable. In situations where a large number of devices are being charged, e.g., at airports, schools, etc., a clutch of cables forms near the charging station that causes visual clutter and inconvenience. Some devices have a female charging port that can be mated with a male charger without a cable, e.g., by visually aligning the male and female connectors before mating. However, when a user is visually impaired, or where there are several simultaneous devices being charged, the mating of connectors is a difficult task that can cause frustration and connector damage. This disclosure describes techniques that place a guide pin hole next to the charging port of a device. The charger has a male element that fits into the guide pin hole. The guide pin hole makes it convenient to slide a device into a charger

Improved performance in NASTRAN (R)

Three areas of improvement in COSMIC/NASTRAN, 1989 release, were incorporated recently that make the analysis program run faster on large problems. Actual log files and actual timings on a few test samples that were run on IBM, CDC, VAX, and CRAY computers were compiled. The speed improvement is proportional to the problem size and number of continuation cards. Vectorizing certain operations in BANDIT, makes BANDIT run twice as fast in some large problems using structural elements with many node points. BANDIT is a built-in NASTRAN processor that optimizes the structural matrix bandwidth. The VAX matrix packing routine BLDPK was modified so that it is now packing a column of a matrix 3 to 9 times faster. The denser and bigger the matrix, the greater is the speed improvement. This improvement makes a host of routines and modules that involve matrix operation run significantly faster, and saves disc space for dense matrices. A UNIX version, converted from 1988 COSMIC/NASTRAN, was tested successfully on a Silicon Graphics computer using the UNIX V Operating System, with Berkeley 4.3 Extensions. The Utility Modules INPUTT5 and OUTPUT5 were expanded to handle table data, as well as matrices. Both INPUTT5 and OUTPUT5 are general input/output modules that read and write FORTRAN files with or without format. More user informative messages are echoed from PARAMR, PARAMD, and SCALAR modules to ensure proper data values and data types being handled. Two new Utility Modules, GINOFILE and DATABASE, were written for the 1989 release. Seven rigid elements are added to COSMIC/NASTRAN. They are: CRROD, CRBAR, CRTRPLT, CRBE1, CRBE2, CRBE3, and CRSPLINE

Library as Scholarly Publishing Partner: Keys to Success

Many academic libraries are looking at new ways to add value when they deliver services to faculty, and one potential area where the library can provide new services is in partnering with academic staff to support the dissemination of faculty research. Librarians have traditionally helped faculty researchers at the beginning of the research cycle, with the discovery and delivery of information sources. However, they are now playing a role at the end of the research cycle, providing services that support scholarly publishing. This paper examines library participation in faculty-led publishing ventures. In particular, it explores the value that smaller research libraries can provide to faculty editors through journal hosting, which will be analysed through an examination of the successful migration of the Australian Journal of Teacher Education, a faculty-administered journal at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, to the University’s institutional repository. This transition provided library staff members at Edith Cowan University opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills in journal publishing, while meeting the journal’s need for a better way to manage a growing influx of article submissions. The resultant faculty-library partnership enabled more effective management of the journal and has contributed to its growing success. The evaluative framework developed to enable assessment of the success of this journal’s transition can help other libraries demonstrate the success of their own journal hosting ventures

EMP2 regulates angiogenesis in endometrial cancer cells through induction of VEGF.

Understanding tumor-induced angiogenesis is a challenging problem with important consequences for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this study, we define a novel function for epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) in the control of angiogenesis. EMP2 functions as an oncogene in endometrial cancer, and its expression has been linked to decreased survival. Using endometrial cancer xenografts, modulation of EMP2 expression resulted in profound changes to the tumor microvasculature. Under hypoxic conditions, upregulation of EMP2 promoted vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) expression through a HIF-1α-dependent pathway and resulted in successful capillary-like tube formation. In contrast, reduction of EMP2 correlated with reduced HIF-1α and VEGF expression with the net consequence of poorly vascularized tumors in vivo. We have previously shown that targeting of EMP2 using diabodies in endometrial cancer resulted in a reduction of tumor load, and since then we have constructed a fully human EMP2 IgG1. Treatment of endometrial cancer cells with EMP2-IgG1 reduced tumor load with a significant improvement in survival. These results support the role of EMP2 in the control of the tumor microenvironment and confirm the cytotoxic effects observed by EMP2 treatment in vivo

Exact solution (within a triple-zeta, double polarization basis set) of the electronic Schrödinger equation for water

Using a newly developed density matrix renormalization group algorithm, we have computed exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation for water at two geometries in a basis of 41 orbitals. Calculations of this size cannot be carried out using any other method. We compare our results with high-order coupled cluster and configuration interaction calculations

Experiences in deploying metadata analysis tools for institutional repositories

Current institutional repository software provides few tools to help metadata librarians understand and analyze their collections. In this article, we compare and contrast metadata analysis tools that were developed simultaneously, but independently, at two New Zealand institutions during a period of national investment in research repositories: the Metadata Analysis Tool (MAT) at The University of Waikato, and the Kiwi Research Information Service (KRIS) at the National Library of New Zealand. The tools have many similarities: they are convenient, online, on-demand services that harvest metadata using OAI-PMH; they were developed in response to feedback from repository administrators; and they both help pinpoint specific metadata errors as well as generating summary statistics. They also have significant differences: one is a dedicated tool wheres the other is part of a wider access tool; one gives a holistic view of the metadata whereas the other looks for specific problems; one seeks patterns in the data values whereas the other checks that those values conform to metadata standards. Both tools work in a complementary manner to existing Web-based administration tools. We have observed that discovery and correction of metadata errors can be quickly achieved by switching Web browser views from the analysis tool to the repository interface, and back. We summarize the findings from both tools' deployment into a checklist of requirements for metadata analysis tools