Stardust is but a modest fraction of the condensed cosmic dust, forming less than 0.1% of the mass of total interstellar solids.

"Best Laid Plans" covers only a modest fraction of "America's war against terrorism."

These additional assembled pieces, although constituting a modest fraction of the sequence, constitute a large percentage of the number of scaffolds and contigs.

It says that the 43 companies it took on represent a meager 0.3 percent of the firm's 15,000 public and private clients and a modest fraction of its revenues.

By finding new ways to integrate and coordinate the military's weapons systems, he said, the Pentagon may be able to "change some modest fraction of your force, with the effect being transformational."

And even at just $500 to 750 per student, $3 billion a year would only cover a modest fraction of the school-age population.

The cost of redoing these piers would be about $70 million, a modest fraction of the $1.2 billion provided earlier by Washington to help revive the city.

That forecast may come as a surprise to some people, the professors concede, because 401(k)'s now represent only a modest fraction of a typical retiree's total wealth.

But by Mr. Newhouse's calculation, the surplus gleaned by this medical and surgical royalty is a modest fraction of total expenditures.

"We invest in companies with superior fundamental strengths, and we buy them when they're selling at a modest fraction of their real asset value."