Delay-optimal quorum consensus for distributed systems

Given a set of nodes S, a coterie is a set of pairwise intersecting subsets of S. Each element in a coterie is called a quorum. Mutual exclusion in a distributed system can be achieved if each request is required to gel consensus from a quorum of nodes. This technique of quorum consensus is also used for replicated distributed database systems, and bicoteries and wr-coteries have been defined to capture the requirements of read and write operations in user transactions. The author is interested in finding coteries, bicoteries, and wr-coteries with optimal communication delay. The protocols take into account the network topology. They design delay-optimal quorum consensus protocols for network topologies of trees, rings, and clustered networks     

Heterotopic replantation

In multidigital amputations, it is sometimes better to replant an amputated finger to a different proximal part if a better function can be expected in this position. In our clinical material between October 1991 and March 1994, heterotopic replantation was performed in twelve digits in eleven patients. Three fingers were replanted to the thumb, three to the index, four to the middle, and two to the ring fingers. The functional results were satisfying. The total active range of motion was on an average 24% of a normal finger. Static two-point discrimination was 8.5 mm on an average, and the values for the Semmes-Weinstein test ranged between 3.61 and 6.5. A heterotopic replantation is of special value for primary thumb reconstruction.     

Synthesis and activation of Pt nanoparticles with controlled size for fuel cell electrocatalysts

Well-dispersed Pt nanoparticles with controlled size and narrow size distribution were prepared by polyalcohol reduction of platinum acetylacetonate, using oleylamine as a capping agent. The particle size was varied from 3.5 nm to 11.5 nm by decreasing the amount of oleylamine added in the synthesis. Size selection of the as-prepared particles by solvent fractionation yielded nearly monodispersed Pt particles. The as-prepared particles were loaded on a carbon support by physical deposition, but showed no electrocatalytic activity due to the oleylamine bound to the particle surface. The particles were activated for electrocatalysis after heating the particles in air at 185 °C for 5 h, conditions that gave no particle-sintering and no oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry showed that the particles after the heat treatment in air were electrocatalytically active for methanol oxidation. The smaller 3.5 nm and 4.0 nm Pt particles had a higher intrinsic activity for methanol oxidation, but a lower tolerance to CO poisoning, compared with 6.0 nm, 9.5 nm and 11.5 nm particles. CO-stripping results suggest that CO is more easily oxidized on larger Pt particles.     

The pheromone of the eastern tent caterpillar,Malacosoma americanum (F.) (lepidoptera,Lasiocampidae)

The pheromone system of the eastern tent caterpillar,M. americanum, has been identified as a mixture of (E,Z)-5,7-dodecadienal and the corresponding alcohol. Field data on the attractiveness of the aldehyde alone were not consistent, but mixtures of aldehyde and alcohol in varying proportions were attractive to males. Addition of small amounts ofE,Z acetate toE,Z aldehyde had no effect on male response, but larger amounts reduced trap catch. Traps baited withZ,E, E,E, orZ,Z aldehydes were not more attractive than blank traps. Pherocon IC traps fortified with extra adhesive and baited with lures consisting of 500 µg (E,Z)-5,7-dodecadienal with either 250 or 100 µg of the corresponding alcohol trapped as many as 100 males/trap/night with means of 15–20. Lures prepared from purified (94%E,Z) aldehyde and alcohol were more attractive than those prepared from unpurified (58%E,Z) materials.DeceasedMention of a company name or proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.     

A multi-start tabu search method for a single-machine scheduling problem with periodic maintenance and sequence-dependent set-up times

In this paper we study a problem of sequencing jobs in a machine with programmed preventive maintenance and sequence-dependent set-up times. The problem combines two NP-hard problems, so we propose a heuristic method for solving it, which hybridizes multi-start strategies with Tabu Search. We compare our method with the only published metaheuristic algorithm for this problem on a set of 420 instances. The comparison favors the method developed in this work, showing that is able to find high quality solutions in very short computational times.     

Anonymization by Local Recoding in Data with Attribute Hierarchical Taxonomies

Individual privacy will be at risk if a published data set is not properly de-identified. k-anonymity is a major technique to de-identify a data set. Among a number of k-anonymisation schemes, local recoding methods are promising for minimising the distortion of a k-anonymity view. This paper addresses two major issues in local recoding k-anonymisation in attribute hierarchical taxonomies. Firstly, we define a proper distance metric to achieve local recoding generalisation with small distortion. Secondly, we propose a means to control the inconsistency of attribute domains in a generalised view by local recoding. We show experimentally that our proposed local recoding method based on the proposed distance metric produces higher quality k-anonymity tables in three quality measures than a global recoding anonymisation method, Incognito, and a multidimensional recoding anonymisation method, Multi. The proposed inconsistency handling method is able to balance distortion and consistency of a generalised view.     

Advanced networking services for distributed multimedia streaming applications

Increased network speeds coupled with new services delivered via the Internet have increased the demand for intelligence and flexibility in network systems. This paper argues that both can be provided by new hardware platforms comprised of heterogeneous multi-core systems with specialized communication support. We present and evaluate an experimental network service platform that uses an emergent class of devices—network processors—as its communication support, coupled via a dedicated interconnect to a host processor acting as a computational core. A software infrastructure spanning both enables the dynamic creation of application-specific services on the network processor, mediated by middleware and controlled by kernel-level communication support. Experimental evaluations use a Pentium IV-based computational core coupled with an IXP 2400 network processor. The sample application services run on both include an image manipulation application and application-level multicasting.

Study of thermal behavior of polyimides containing pendent-substituted azobenzene units

Thermal stability and degradation kinetic of the polyimides containing pendent-substituted azobenzene units were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis in nitrogen at different heating rates. Freeman–Carroll, Coats–Redfern and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa methods were utilized to obtain the kinetic parameters (activation energy E _a, pre-exponential factor A and order of reaction n) or variation of activation energy with conversion degree from thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric curves. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the decomposition of azopolyimides proceeds in three or four stages, regardless of heating rate.     

苏格兰威士忌的灵魂——麦卡伦

2009年8月6日，在英国格拉斯哥的一个拍卖会上，一瓶麦卡伦50年威士忌酒拍出了11750英镑的高价。苏格兰威士忌历史悠久，品牌也很多。想了解这些，首先应先了解苏格兰威土忌的产地分布，目前公认为苏格兰威士忌有四大产区，分别为：高地（Highlands）地区、低地（Lowlands）地区、艾拉岛（Islay）、康伯顿区（Campbeltown）。