SINDA/SINFLO computer routine, volume 1, revision A

The SINFLO package was developed to modify the SINDA preprocessor to accept and store the input data for fluid flow systems analysis and adding the FLOSOL user subroutine to perform the flow solution. This reduced and simplified the user input required for analysis of flow problems. A temperature calculation method, the flow-hybrid method which was developed in previous VSD thermal simulator routines, was incorporated for calculating fluid temperatures. The calculation method accuracy was improved by using fluid enthalpy rather than specific heat for the convective term of the fluid temperature equation. Subroutines and data input requirements are described along with user subroutines, flow data storage, and usage of the plot program

Approximation Algorithms for the Max-Buying Problem with Limited Supply

We consider the Max-Buying Problem with Limited Supply, in which there are $n$ items, with $C_i$ copies of each item $i$, and $m$ bidders such that every bidder $b$ has valuation $v_{ib}$ for item $i$. The goal is to find a pricing $p$ and an allocation of items to bidders that maximizes the profit, where every item is allocated to at most $C_i$ bidders, every bidder receives at most one item and if a bidder $b$ receives item $i$ then $p_i \leq v_{ib}$. Briest and Krysta presented a 2-approximation for this problem and Aggarwal et al. presented a 4-approximation for the Price Ladder variant where the pricing must be non-increasing (that is, $p_1 \geq p_2 \geq \cdots \geq p_n$). We present an $e/(e-1)$-approximation for the Max-Buying Problem with Limited Supply and, for every $\varepsilon > 0$, a $(2+\varepsilon)$-approximation for the Price Ladder variant

An O(n^3)-Time Algorithm for Tree Edit Distance

The {\em edit distance} between two ordered trees with vertex labels is the minimum cost of transforming one tree into the other by a sequence of elementary operations consisting of deleting and relabeling existing nodes, as well as inserting new nodes. In this paper, we present a worst-case $O(n^3)$-time algorithm for this problem, improving the previous best $O(n^3\log n)$-time algorithm~\cite{Klein}. Our result requires a novel adaptive strategy for deciding how a dynamic program divides into subproblems (which is interesting in its own right), together with a deeper understanding of the previous algorithms for the problem. We also prove the optimality of our algorithm among the family of \emph{decomposition strategy} algorithms--which also includes the previous fastest algorithms--by tightening the known lower bound of $\Omega(n^2\log^2 n)$~\cite{Touzet} to $\Omega(n^3)$, matching our algorithm's running time. Furthermore, we obtain matching upper and lower bounds of $\Theta(n m^2 (1 + \log \frac{n}{m}))$ when the two trees have different sizes $m$ and~$n$, where $m < n$.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 5 .tex files where TED.tex is the main on

Discrete Self-Similarity in Type-II Strong Explosions

We present new solutions to the strong explosion problem in a non-power law density profile. The unperturbed self-similar solutions discovered by Waxman & Shvarts describe strong Newtonian shocks propagating into a cold gas with a density profile falling off as $r^{-\omega}$, where $\omega>3$ (Type-II solutions). The perturbations we consider are spherically symmetric and log-periodic with respect to the radius. While the unperturbed solutions are continuously self-similar, the log-periodicity of the density perturbations leads to a discrete self-similarity of the perturbations, i.e. the solution repeats itself up to a scaling at discrete time intervals. We discuss these solutions and verify them against numerical integrations of the time dependent hydrodynamic equations. Finally we show that this method can be generalized to treat any small, spherically symmetric density perturbation by employing Fourier decomposition

The Provable Virtue of Laziness in Motion Planning

The Lazy Shortest Path (LazySP) class consists of motion-planning algorithms that only evaluate edges along shortest paths between the source and target. These algorithms were designed to minimize the number of edge evaluations in settings where edge evaluation dominates the running time of the algorithm; but how close to optimal are LazySP algorithms in terms of this objective? Our main result is an analytical upper bound, in a probabilistic model, on the number of edge evaluations required by LazySP algorithms; a matching lower bound shows that these algorithms are asymptotically optimal in the worst case

Universal linear relations between susceptibility and Tc in cuprates

We developed an experimental method for measuring the intrinsic susceptibility \chi of powder of cuprate superconductors in the zero field limit using a DC-magnetometer. The method is tested with lead spheres. Using this method we determine \chi for a number of cuprate families as a function of doping. A universal linear (and not proportionality) relation between Tc and \chi is found. We suggest possible explanations for this phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR

Quark mass and condensate in HQCD

We extend the Sakai-Sugimoto holographic model of QCD (HQCD) by including the scalar bi-fundamental "tachyon" field in the 8-brane-anti-8-brane probe theory. We show that this field is responsible both for the spontaneous breaking of the chiral symmetry, and for the generation of (current algebra) quark masses, from the point of view of the bulk theory. As a by-product we show how this leads to the Gell-Mann- Oakes-Renner relation for the pion mass.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures; v2: corrected typos in eqs. (4.3), (4.4), (4.5), (4.9) and (4.11), and corrected figures 3, 4, 5 and 6; v3: section 5.3 on the pion mass rewritten in a clearer way, version published in JHE

Nonlinear Induction Detection of Electron Spin Resonance

We present a new approach to the induction detection of electron spin resonance (ESR) signals exploiting the nonlinear properties of a superconducting resonator. Our experiments employ a yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) superconducting stripline microwave (MW) resonator integrated with a microbridge. A strong nonlinear response of the resonator is thermally activated in the microbridge when exceeding a threshold in the injected MW power. The responsivity factor characterizing the ESR-induced change in the system's output signal is about 100 times larger when operating the resonator near the instability threshold, compared to the value obtained in the linear regime of operation. Preliminary experimental results, together with a theoretical model of this phenomenon are presented. Under appropriate conditions nonlinear induction detection of ESR can potentially improve upon the current capabilities of conventional linear induction detection ESR

Imaging Active Infection in vivo Using D-Amino Acid Derived PET Radiotracers.

Occult bacterial infections represent a worldwide health problem. Differentiating active bacterial infection from sterile inflammation can be difficult using current imaging tools. Present clinically viable methodologies either detect morphologic changes (CT/ MR), recruitment of immune cells (111In-WBC SPECT), or enhanced glycolytic flux seen in inflammatory cells (18F-FDG PET). However, these strategies are often inadequate to detect bacterial infection and are not specific for living bacteria. Recent approaches have taken advantage of key metabolic differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, allowing easier distinction between bacteria and their host. In this report, we exploited one key difference, bacterial cell wall biosynthesis, to detect living bacteria using a positron-labeled D-amino acid. After screening several 14C D-amino acids for their incorporation into E. coli in culture, we identified D-methionine as a probe with outstanding radiopharmaceutical potential. Based on an analogous procedure to that used for L-[methyl-11C]methionine ([11C] L-Met), we developed an enhanced asymmetric synthesis of D-[methyl-11C]methionine ([11C] D-Met), and showed that it can rapidly and selectively differentiate both E. coli and S. aureus infections from sterile inflammation in vivo. We believe that the ease of [11C] D-Met radiosynthesis, coupled with its rapid and specific in vivo bacterial accumulation, make it an attractive radiotracer for infection imaging in clinical practice

Strategic addition of an N-linked glycan to a monoclonal antibody improves its HIV-1-neutralizing activity

Ibalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds human CD4—a key receptor for HIV—and blocks HIV-1 infection. However, HIV-1 strains with mutations resulting in loss of an N-linked glycan from the V5 loop of the envelope protein gp120 are resistant to ibalizumab. Previous structural analysis suggests that this glycan fills a void between the gp120 V5 loop and the ibalizumab L chain, perhaps causing steric hindrance that disrupts viral entry. If this void contributes to HIV-1 resistance to ibalizumab, we reasoned that ‘refilling’ it by engineering an N-linked glycan into the ibalizumab L chain at a position spatially proximal to gp120 V5 may restore susceptibility to ibalizumab. Indeed, one such ibalizumab variant neutralized 100% of 118 tested diverse HIV-1 strains in vitro, including ten strains resistant to parental ibalizumab. These findings demonstrate that the strategic placement of a glycan in the variable region of a monoclonal antibody can substantially enhance its activity