Java based replicated server objects and their remote method invocations in a distributed environment

A distributed system is said to be fault‐tolerant if it is able to provide important services despite partial failures of the computers or software objects in the system. These systems are needed to support applications such as remote access and control, virtual mobile offices and wide area collaborative systems where there are chances of failures in the network and software objects. Fault‐tolerance is usually achieved by replicating the objects in the system. Traditional distributed applications constructed using Java RMI (remote method invocation) are not fault‐tolerant because of the lack of support of object replication. The objective of the present work is to design a remote method invocation that supports server object replication. To provide a fault‐tolerant service to the remote client objects, server objects are actively replicated. The problems associated with the method invocation in the context of active server object replication are presented and solutions are discussed and implemented. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictive optimal control for thermo-mechanical pulping processes with multi-stage low consistency refining

In this paper, we present a nonlinear model based dynamic optimization approach for optimal control for thermo-mechanical pulping (TMP) processes. The method is based on nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) technique with an economic objective function. In our previous work [1], an economically oriented NMPC (econNMPC) was presented for a two-stage TMP process with high consistency (HC) refiners. The two-stage TMP process was simulated up to the secondary refiner. In this study, we extend the previous study to multiple stages that include low consistency (LC) refining. Here we can exploit the complexity of interactions of multiple stage TMP for both performance and optimal operations. The first process is a conventional refining process with two stages of HC refining with a primary and a secondary refiner, followed by a latency chest and a third-stage LC refiner. The second TMP process has only a HC primary refiner, and the secondary stage HC refiner is replaced by multiple stages of LC refiners after the latency chest. Both TMP schemes are dynamically optimized against disturbances to produce the same target final pulp qualities while minimizing specific energy consumption of the processes. The simulation results show the potential economic benefits of the proposed method, through a reduction in total specific energy, about 24%, for the second TMP process.     

Ecological moral realism: An alternative theoretical framework for studying moral psychology.

The authors propose that the empirical study of human moral behavior as undertaken by positive psychologists, psychologists interested in the study of values, and experimental ethicists can be normative at its core, yet also remain truly scientific. To do this, those interested in the empirical study of human moral behavior should consider the concept of affordances, which is central to the Gibsonian ecological psychology tradition, as an approach to studying virtues and strengths. From this perspective, virtues can be better defined as part of moral analogues of affordances (MAAs). Just as the affordance "being-climbable" is a relation between climbing ability and height, so one can similarly define a MAA as an opportunity for moral behavior. Virtues, on this account, would be defined as abilities to behave appropriately in morally relevant situations. If one studies virtues as components of MAAs, virtues are only comprehensible in terms of morally relevant situations. Similarly, morally relevant situations are comprehensible only in terms of abilities to behave appropriately in them, that is, in terms of virtues. We believe that such an approach holds many advantages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A numerical study of vortex interactions with flames developing from ignition kernels in lean methane/air mixtures

In this work, the outcomes of interactions of counter-rotating vortex pairs with developing ignition kernels are studied. The conditions are selected to represent those in a lean-burn natural-gas engine with hot-jet ignition. The evolution of flame surface area during kernel–vortex interaction is quantitatively and qualitatively examined. It is observed that flame development is accelerated and the net flame surface area growth rate, i.e. heat release rate, increased with increasing vortex velocity. In general, increasing the vortex length scale increases the surface growth rate, i.e. increases heat release rates, but for small length scales, i.e. when the ratio of vortex length scale to kernel diameter is small, high flame curvature induced during the interaction leads to flame weakening and slower growth rates. When the vortex velocity is high relative to the flame speed and the length scale is comparable to the kernel diameter, the vortex breaks through the ignition kernel carrying with it hot products of combustion. This accelerates growth of the flame surface area and heat release rates compared to a kernel with no vortex interaction. On decreasing the vortex velocity and increasing the length scale, the wrinkling of the kernel becomes important. This also results in increased surface growth rates and higher heat release rates.     

Experimental and parametric studies of Nd:YAG laser drilling on austenitic stainless steel

To ensure overall quality of a precision large-scale component, a tool condition monitoring (TCM) technique for multi-step form milling is presented. The form milling of fir tree slots for a steam turbine rotor is an appropriate example that requires a fine surface finish and high dimensional accuracy. Therefore, we propose a novel TCM system based on a multi-sensor fusion strategy which utilises the combination of spindle motor current and acoustic emission (AE) as well as adaptive thresholding for multiple manufacturing steps (roughing, semi-finishing and finishing). To investigate the tool deterioration process, tool longevity tests using a test piece are carried out for each step. With the aid of qualitative inspection, it is found that AE signals provide comprehensive tool state information regarding tool flank wear, crack propagation and severe adhesive wear. In addition, by intentionally adding a bundle of chips to the surface, bursts of AE of large amplitudes occur in finishing, which provides the possibility of discovering anomalous events related to surface quality. By careful consideration of such characteristics, provisional alert levels are determined using a two-dimensional diagram with respect to both sensors. The strategy is verified throughout the actual manufacturing processes of the rotors. The proposed TCM system shows not only an excellent ability to prevent catastrophic tool failure and surface irregularities in form milling but also acceptable expendability for various groove specifications.     

Use of a thromboembolic risk score to improve thromboprophylaxis in surgical patients

OBJECTIVE: The correlations between steady-state plasma concentrations of mianserin and its active metabolite desmethylmianserin and those of trazodone and its active metabolite m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP) were examined in 19 depressed patients. METHODS: Ten patients received first mianserin (30 mg per day) and second trazodone (150 mg per day), while 9 patients received these treatments in the opposite sequence, with at least 2-week intervals between the two phases. Blood was sampled at steady state, 1-3 weeks after initiation of each treatment. Plasma concentrations of mianserin, the separate enantiomers S(+)- and R(-)-mianserin, desmethylmianserin, trazodone and m-CPP were measured by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between steady-state plasma concentrations of trazodone and total mianserin (r = 0.59) or S(+)-mianserin (r = 0.57), but not R(-)-mianserin (r = 0.33). CONCLUSION: The present study thus suggests that the metabolic capacity of mianserin, especially the more active S(+)-enantiomer, and that of trazodone correlate to each other. This finding supports the previous suggestions that cytochrome P4502D6 is involved in the metabolism of mianserin and trazodone.     

A novel microstrip antenna loaded with EBG and ELC for bandwidth enhancement

This paper proposes the design of three compact antennas for WiMAX, WLAN and ISM band applications. Antenna 1 consists of a monopole radiating element with an electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structured ground. By employing the EBG structure, an ultra-wide band frequency of 2.4–4.8 GHz (66.66%) is achieved. Antenna 2 is configured with an electric-LC (ELC) element, which achieved an ultra-wide band (UWB) frequency of 2.38–4.91 GHz (69.41%). Antenna 3 is integrated with ELC and EBG together, in which a UWB frequency of 2.3–5.3 GHz (78.94%) is obtained with improved impedance matching. The three antennas have omnidirectional radiation patterns which cover the ISM band at 2.4 GHz and WiMAX at 2.5/3.5 GHz over the operating bands. The radiation efficiency is?>?75% throughout the operating bands of all the antennas. In addition to the WiMAX and ISM bands, antenna 3 covers WLAN in the 5.2 GHz band. The proposed design can be applied to wireless mobile communication systems, which have the advantage of ease of fabrication and compactness.