A generational scheme for partitioning graphs

Graph partitioning divides a graph into several pieces by cutting edges. Very effective heuristic partitioning algorithms have been developed which run in real-time, but it is unknown how good the partitions are since the problem is, in general, NP-complete. This paper reports an evolutionary search algorithm for finding benchmark partitions. Distinctive features are the transmission and modification of whole subdomains (the partitioned units) that act as genes, and the use of a multilevel heuristic algorithm to effect the crossover and mutations. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by improvements on previously established benchmarks.

Domain decomposition using a 2-level correction scheme

The PHYSICA software was developed to enable multiphysics modelling allowing for interaction between Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Solid Mechanics (CSM) and Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA). PHYSICA uses the finite volume method with 3-D unstructured meshes to enable the modelling of complex geometries. Many engineering applications involve significant computational time which needs to be reduced by means of a faster solution method or parallel and high performance algorithms. It is well known that multigrid methods serve as a fast iterative scheme for linear and nonlinear diffusion problems. This papers attempts to address two major issues of this iterative solver, including parallelisation of multigrid methods and their applications to time dependent multiscale problems.

Implementation of a proactive load sharing scheme

This paper presents a proactive approach to load sharing and describes the architecture of a scheme, Concert, based on this approach. A proactive approach is characterized by a shift of emphasis from reacting to load imbalance to avoiding its occurrence. In contrast, in a reactive load sharing scheme, activity is triggered when a processing node is either overloaded or underloaded. The main drawback of this approach is that a load imbalance is allowed to develop before costly corrective action is taken. Concert is a load sharing scheme for loosely-coupled distributed systems. Under this scheme, load and task behaviour information is collected and cached in advance of when it is needed. Concert uses Linux as a platform for development. Implemented partially in kernel space and partially in user space, it achieves transparency to users and applications whilst keeping the extent of kernel modifications to a minimum. Non-preemptive task transfers are used exclusively, motivated by lower complexity, lower overheads and faster transfers. The goal is to minimize the average response-time of tasks. Concert is compared with other schemes by considering the level of transparency it provides with respect to users, tasks and the underlying operating system.

An explicit scheme for coupling temperature and concentration fields in solidification models

A numerical scheme for coupling temperature and concentration fields in a general solidification model is presented. A key feature of this scheme is an explicit time stepping used in solving the governing thermal and solute conservation equations. This explicit approach results in a local point-by-point coupling scheme for the temperature and concentration and avoids the multi-level iteration required by implicit time stepping schemes. The proposed scheme is validated by predicting the concentration field in a benchmark solidification problem. Results compare well with an available similarity solution. The simplicity of the proposed explicit scheme allows for the incorporation of complex microscale models into a general solidification model. This is demonstrated by investigating the role of dendrite coarsening on the concentration field in the solidification benchmark problem.

A fully polynomial approximation scheme for the single machine weighted total tardiness problem with a common due date

We develop a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme (FPTAS) for minimizing the weighted total tardiness on a single machine, provided that all due dates are equal. The FPTAS is obtained by converting an especially designed pseudopolynomial dynamic programming algorithm.

Minor impact of ocean acidification to the composition of the active microbial community in an Arctic sediment

Effects of ocean acidification on the composition of the active bacterial and archaeal community within Arctic surface sediment was analysed in detail using 16S rRNA 454 pyrosequencing. Intact sediment cores were collected and exposed to one of five different pCO(2) concentrations [380 (present day), 540, 750, 1120 and 3000 atm] and RNA extracted after a period of 14 days exposure. Measurements of diversity and multivariate similarity indicated very little difference between pCO(2) treatments. Only when the highest and lowest pCO(2) treatments were compared were significant differences evident, namely increases in the abundance of operational taxonomic units most closely related to the Halobacteria and differences to the presence/absence structure of the Planctomycetes. The relative abundance of members of the classes Planctomycetacia and Nitrospira increased with increasing pCO(2) concentration, indicating that these groups may be able to take advantage of changing pH or pCO(2) conditions. The modest response of the active microbial communities associated with these sediments may be due to the low and fluctuating pore-water pH already experienced by sediment microbes, a result of the pH buffering capacity of marine sediments, or due to currently unknown factors. Further research is required to fully understand the impact of elevated CO2 on sediment physicochemical parameters, biogeochemistry and microbial community dynamics.

Environmental hypoxia but not minor shell damage affects scope for growth and body condition in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis (L.)

The effects of short-term (7 d) exposure to environmental hypoxia (2.11 mg O-2 L-1; control: 6.96 mg O-2 L-1) and varying degrees of shell damage (1 or 2, 1 mm diameter holes; control: no holes) on respiration rate, clearance rate, ammonia excretion rate, scope for growth (SFG) and body condition index were investigated in adult blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). There was a significant hypoxia-related reduction in SFG (>6.70 to 0.92J g(-1) h(-1)) primarily due to a reduction in energy acquisition as a result of reduced clearance rates during hypoxia. Shell damage had no significant affect on any of the physiological processes measured or the SFG calculated. Body condition was unaffected by hypoxia or shell damage. In conclusion, minor physical damage to mussels had no effect on physiological energetics but environmental hypoxia compromised growth, respiration and energy acquisition presumably by reducing feeding rates.