We consider the problem of scheduling operations in a robotic cell processing a single part type. Each machine in the cell has a one-unit input buffer and a one-unit output buffer. The machines and buffers are served by one single gripper robot. The domain considered is free-pickup cells with additive intermachine travel time. The processing constraints specify the cell to be a flow shop. The o...

The aggregation of the intrinsically disordered protein alpha-synuclein (αS) into amyloid fibrils is thought to play a central role in the pathology of Parkinson's disease. Using a combination of techniques (AFM, UV-CD, XRD, and amide-I 1D- and 2D-IR spectroscopy) we show that the structure of αS fibrils varies as a function of ionic strength: fibrils aggregated in low ionic-strength buffers ([...

DNA aptamers RT5, RT6 and RT47 form a group of related sequences that inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). The essential inhibitory structure is identified here as bimodular, with a 5' stem-loop module physically connected to a 3'-guanosine quadruplex module. The stem-loop tolerates considerable sequence plasticity. Connections between the guanosine triplets in the quadruplex could be simp...

Microinjection of calcium buffers into the two-cell Xenopus laevis embryo delays cell division in a dose-dependent manner. Four calcium buffers in the BAPTA series with different affinities for calcium were used to distinguish between a localized calcium gradient regulating cleavage and the global calcium concentration regulating this event. DibromoBAPTA (Kd = 1.5 microM) was found to delay cle...

Evaluation of Coastal Plain Conservation Buffers using the Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (In Press, Journal of the American Water Resources Association) Richard Lowrance*, Randall G. Williams, Shreeram P. Inamdar, David D. Bosch, and Joseph M. Sheridan. ABSTRACT Riparian buffers are increasingly important as watershed management tools and are cost-shared by programs such as Conservation R...

This paper presents a theoretical throughput analysis of two buffered-crossbar switches, called shared-memory crosspoint buffered (SMCB) switches, in which crosspoint buffers are shared by two or more inputs. In one of the switches, the sharedcrosspoint buffers are dynamically partitioned and assigned to the sharing inputs, and memory is sped up. In the other switch, inputs are arbitrated to de...

Variability in construction projects usually leads to schedule delays, cost overruns and productivity losses. Among the different techniques and tools employed to manage a construction project the use of buffers is a common approach to handle variability and to protect production processes from its negative impact. Time float, resource inventories and budget contingencies are examples of buffer...

BACKGROUND The primary study objective was to examine whether the presence of food retailers surrounding schools was associated with students' lunchtime eating behaviours. The secondary objective was to determine whether measures of the food retail environment around schools captured using road network or circular buffers were more strongly related to eating behaviours while at school. METHOD...

High throughput analyses in biochemical assays are gaining popularity in the post-genomic era. Multiple label-free detection methods are especially of interest, as they allow quantitative monitoring of biomolecular interactions. It is assumed that the sensor surface is stable to the surrounding medium while the biochemical processes are taking place. Using the Interferometric Reflectance Imagin...

With the falling price of the memory, an increasing number of multimedia servers and proxies are now equipped with a large memory space. Caching media objects in the memory of a proxy helps to reduce the network traffic, the disk I/O bandwidth requirement, and the data delivery latency. The running buffer approach and its alternatives are representative techniques to cache streaming data in the...