Layered Working-Set Trees

The working-set bound [Sleator and Tarjan in J. ACM 32(3), 652–686, 1985] roughly states that searching for an element is fast if the element was accessed recently. Binary search trees, such as splay trees, can achieve this property in the amortized sense, while data structures that are not binary search trees are known to have this property in the worst case. We close this gap and present a binary search tree called a layered working-set tree that guarantees the working-set property in the worst case. The unified bound [B?doiu et al. in Theor. Comput. Sci. 382(2), 86–96, 2007] roughly states that searching for an element is fast if it is near (in terms of rank distance) to a recently accessed element. We show how layered working-set trees can be used to achieve the unified bound to within a small additive term in the amortized sense while maintaining in the worst case an access time that is both logarithmic and within a small multiplicative factor of the working-set bound.     

Effect of magnesium and nickel coatings on the wetting behavior of alumina toughened zirconia by molten Al-Mg ahoy

The wettability of alumina toughened zirconia (ZTA) by Al-Mg alloy was investigated using the sessile drop technique.The effects of nickel coating,magnesium content,nitrogen atmosphere,and processing temperature on the contact angle between the molten alloy and the substrate were determined.Likewise,the effect of these factors on the wetting properties was studied.The results showed that the nickel coating on the ceramic substrate caused a significant reduction in solid/liquid surface energy and the contact angle decreased obviously.The presence of magnesium in the molten aluminum alloy in nitrogen atmosphere reduced the contact angle effectively.The presence of magnesium in the alloy must be at a minimum amount of 2wt％-3wt％.Moreover,it was suggested that some chemical reactions in the Al-Mg-N system led to the production of Mg3N2 and A1N compositions.These compositions improved the wetting properties of the systems by reducing the surface energy of the molten.It was shown that increasing the temperature is also an effective factor for the enhancement of wetting properties.     

Effect of magnesium and nickel coatings on the wetting behavior of alumina toughened zirconia by molten Al-Mg alloy

The wettability of alumina toughened zirconia (ZTA) by Al-Mg alloy was investigated using the sessile drop technique. The effects of nickel coating, magnesium content, nitrogen atmosphere, and processing temperature on the contact angle between the molten alloy and the substrate were determined. Likewise, the effect of these factors on the wetting properties was studied. The results showed that the nickel coating on the ceramic substrate caused a significant reduction in solid/liquid surface energy and the contact angle decreased obvi-ously. The presence of magnesium in the molten aluminum alloy in nitrogen atmosphere reduced the contact angle effectively. The presence of magnesium in the alloy must be at a minimum amount of 2wt%-3wt%. Moreover, it was suggested that some chemical reactions in the Al-Mg-N system led to the production of Mg3N2 and AlN compositions. These compositions improved the wetting properties of the systems by reducing the surface energy of the molten. It was shown that increasing the temperature is also an effective factor for the enhancement of wetting properties.     

Optimistic Personality and Psychosocial Well-Being During Treatment Predict Psychosocial Well-Being Among Long-Term Survivors of Breast Cancer.

In considering well-being among survivors of life-threatening illnesses such as breast cancer, 2 important questions are whether there is continuity between initial adjustment and longer term adjustment and what role personality plays in long-term adjustment. In this research, a sample of 163 early stage breast cancer patients whose psychosocial adjustment was first assessed during the year after surgery completed the same measures 5-13 years after surgery. Initial reports of well-being were relatively strong predictors of follow-up well-being on the same measures. Initial optimism and marital status also predicted follow-up adjustment, even controlling for earlier adjustment, which exerted a substantial unique effect in multivariate analyses. In contrast, initial medical variables played virtually no predictive role. There is substantial continuity of subjective well-being across many years among survivors of breast cancer, rooted partly in personality and social connection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Energy Efficient Cloud Service Provisioning: Keeping Data Center Granularity in Perspective

The cost of power and its associated delivery are becoming significant factors in the total expenditure of large-scale data centers. Numerous techniques have been proposed to address the energy efficiency issue in cloud systems. Recently, some efforts have been made to decentralize the cloud via distributing data centers in diverse geographical positions, at different scales. In this paper, we elaborate on the energy effectiveness of service provisioning on different cloud architectures, from a mega-data center to a nano data center, which provides the extreme decentralization in terms of cloud architecture, as well as P2P-clouds or community network clouds. We study the energy consumption through an analytical and simulation framework for video streaming and MapReduce applications.     

A Numerical Method for Microstructure Generation of a Binary Aluminum Alloy and Study of Its Mechanical Properties Using the Finite Element Method

A numerical method for the generation of the microstructure of a binary aluminum copper alloy is presented. This method is based on the repeated addition of some basic grain shapes into a representative volume element. Depending of the orientation of adjacent grains, different type of grain boundaries can be formed. The primary and secondary phases are distinguishable in our model and have distinct properties, reflecting the heterogeneous nature of the microstructure. The digital microstructure was then transformed into a finite element model. Using the finite element software ABAQUS, the stress distribution inside our heterogeneous material model has been studied and its mechanical properties have been found. That also makes possible to study and to visualize the cracks generated during the loading of the material where the local stress was sufficiently high. As a result of these analyses, the elastic modulus of such a heterogeneous domain and the effect of crack formation on ductility were evaluated.     

Finding the solution of nonlinear equations by a class of optimal methods

This paper is devoted to the study of an iterative class for numerically approximating the solution of nonlinear equations. In fact, a general class of iterations using two evaluations of the first order derivative and one evaluation of the function per computing step is presented. It is also proven that the class reaches the fourth-order convergence. Therefore, the novel methods from the class are Jarratt-type iterations, which agree with the optimality hypothesis of Kung–Traub. The derived class is further extended for multiple roots. That is to say, a general optimal quartic class of iterations for multiple roots is contributed, when the multiplicity of the roots is available. Numerical experiments are employed to support the theory developed in this work.     

Process Optimization,Physical Properties,and Environmental Stability of an α-Tocopherol Nanocapsule Preparation Using Complex Coacervation Method and Full Factorial Design

α-Tocopherol (α-Toc) has valuable biological activity, but its activity is limited when exposed to environmental factors. Nanocapsules can be used to overcome this problem. Using nanocapsules in the range of 100–200 nm is more beneficial. A 2⁴ full factorial design was carried out to optimize the size of nanocapsules using the complex coacervation method. The four factors were the amount of the wall material, the ratio of core material to wall material, the pH of the solution, and the speed of the homogenizer. The smallest nanocapsules (176 nm) were obtained at a wall content (gelatine and pectin) of 0.8 mg, a percentage of core material (α-Toc) to wall material of 20%, a pH = 4.5, and a homogenizer speed of 12,000 rpm. The encapsulation efficiency was 90.6 ± 1.1%, and the encapsulation yield was 83.4 ± 1.6%. Assessment of the stability of α-Toc after 1 month showed that encapsulation could improve its stability in the presence of three influential factors: humidity, light, and temperature.