In order to reduce costs, computer manufacturers try to use commodity parts as much as possible. Mainframes using proprietary processors are being replaced by high performance RISC microprocessor-based workstations, which are further being replaced by the commodity microprocessor used in personal computers. Highly reliable disks for mainframes are also being replaced by disk arrays, which are c...

Prostacyclin is an antithrombotic hormone produced by the endothelium, whose production is dependent on cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes of which two isoforms exist. It is widely believed that COX-2 drives prostacyclin production and that this explains the cardiovascular toxicity associated with COX-2 inhibition, yet the evidence for this relies on indirect evidence from urinary metabolites. Here w...

Solid-state drives are becoming increasingly popular in enterprise storage systems, playing the role of large caches and permanent storage. Although SSDs provide faster random access than hard-drives, their performance under read/write workloads is highly variable to the point that it becomes worse than that of hard-drives (e.g., taking 100ms for a single read). Many systems with read/write wor...

This chapter seeks to make some contributions to the literature on firm-level innovation in Africa by attempting to identify the significant factors that explain the capability of firms in Nigeria to innovate using the results of an industry-wide study. We focused on the product and process innovation activities of firms between 2003 and 2006 and found differences in the factors that drive them...

Music is becoming more and more of an issue in the cognitive neurosciences. A major finding in this research area is that musical practice is associated with structural and functional plasticity of the brain. In this brief review, I will give an overview of the most recent findings of this research area.

Rab35 drives exosome secretion T he GTPase Rab35 regulates the release of small vesi-cles called exosomes from the surface of glial cells, say Hsu et al. Exosomes are formed in the lumen of specialized endosomes called multivesicular bodies (MVBs), which fuse with the plasma membrane to secrete the vesicles extracellularly. The process was fi rst described as a way for differentiating reticuloc...

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Over the last two decades, the available computer has become both increasingly powerful and affordable. This, in turn, has led to the emergence of highly sophisticated applications that not only enable high-fidelity simulation of dynamic systems but also automatic code generates for implementation in real time control of electric machine-drives. Today, electric drives, power electronic systems ...

Hope drives antiaging hype EDITORIAL S THE 75 MILLION baby boomers see their parents facing age-related problems (and begin to experience some of their own), this segment of our population is spending billions of dollars in response to enticing but often misleading marketing. And because we live in a world of medical revolutions and cures, many people accept antiaging claims as fact, particular...

The search for general mechanisms of community assembly is a major focus of community ecology. The common practice so far has been to examine alternative assembly theories using dichotomist approaches of the form neutrality versus niche, or compensatory dynamics versus environmental forcing. In reality, all these mechanisms will be operating, albeit with different strengths. While there have be...