Data center operators face a bewildering set of choices when considering how to provision resources on machines with complex I/O subsystems. Modern I/O subsystems often have a rich mix of fast, high performing, but expensive SSDs sitting alongside with cheaper but relatively slower (for random accesses) traditional hard disk drives. The data center operators need to determine how to provision t...

We hypothesised that trotters during an extended trot have lower energetic costs of locomotion (CT) than horses not bred for this behaviour. VO2 was measured as a function of speed in 7 Arabian horses (3 trained to extend their trotting speeds) and in 2 horses, of similar mass, bred to trot (Hackney). Both oxygen consumption and CT increased with speed and there was, contrary to our hypothesis,...

This paper reports on the experiences with the program verification competition held during the FoVeOOS conference in October 2011. There were 6 teams participating in this competition. We discuss the three different challenges that were posed and the solutions developed by the teams. We conclude with a discussion about the value of such competitions and lessons learned from them.

In a cooperative coding scheme, network nodes work together to achieve higher transmission rates. To obtain a better understanding of cooperation, we consider a model in which two transmitters send rate-limited descriptions of their messages to a “cooperation facilitator”, a node that sends back rate-limited descriptions of the pair to each transmitter. This model includes the conferencing enco...

Generative type abstractions – present in Haskell, OCaml, and other languages – are useful concepts to help prevent programmer errors. They serve to create new types that are distinct at compile time but share a run-time representation with some base type. We present a new mechanism that allows for zero-cost conversions between generative type abstractions and their representations, even when s...

This study uses a questionnaire to assess the costs and benefits of a course to teach the extended roles of cannulation, venepuncture and intravenous drug administration. The course had a positive influence on nurses' uptake of venepuncture and IV drug administration, but not cannulation. The cost of 916 pounds to successfully train a single nurse in all three practices leads to the suggestion ...

In this paper we study the network design game when the underlying network is a ring. In a network design game we have a set of players, each of them aims at connecting nodes in a network by installing links and sharing the cost of the installation equally with other users. The ring design game is the special case in which the potential links of the network form a ring. It is well known that in...

The usual Euclidean distance may be generalized to extended objects such as polymers or membranes. Here this distance is used for the first time as a cost function to align structures. We examined the alignment of extended strands to idealized beta-hairpins of various sizes using several cost functions, including RMSD, MRSD, and the minimal distance. We find that using minimal distance as a cos...

The aim of this paper is to propose a robust reliable bi-objective supply chain network design (SCND) model that is capable of controlling different kinds of uncertainties, concurrently. In this regard, stochastic bi-level scenario based programming approach which is used to model various scenarios related to strike of disruptions. The well-known method helps to overcome adverse effects of disr...

conclusions our study showed that the prevalence of esbl-producing k. pneumoniae at king khalid hospital was significantly high. routine detection of esbl-producing microorganisms is required by each of the laboratory standard detection methods to control the spread of these infections and allow a proper therapeutic strategy. for detection, the phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test is sim...