An accurate and practical buffer allocation model for the buffer cache based on marginal gains

A new dynamic buffer allocation strategy based on the notion of marginal gains is presented for the buffer cache that is used by the operating system to store frequently accessed disk blocks in main memory, and the performance of the proposed strategy is compared with those of previous allocation strategies. In the proposed strategy, marginal gain values are predicted by exploiting functions that approximate the expected number of buffer hits per unit time. Experimental results from both trace-driven simulation and an actual implementation in the FreeBSD operating system show that the proposed strategy accurately predicts the marginal gain values for various workloads resulting in significantly improved buffer hit ratios.     

Exact controllability for semilinear parabolic equations with Neumann boundary conditions

This paper studies the problem of exact boundary controllability of second-order semilinear parabolic equations when the control is under Neumann's boundary conditions. For a nonlinear term with a sublinear growth we prove the global null-controllability and for the superlinear growth case we prove the local exact controllability of the equations.     

Analysis of Electromagnetic Scattering from an Eccentric Multilayered Sphere

An exact analytic solution of a plane electromagnetic (EM) wave scattered by an eccentric multilayered sphere (EMS) is obtained. It is assumed that the layers are perfect dielectrics and that the innermost core is a perfectly conducting sphere. Each center of a layer is translated along the incident axis. All fields are expanded in terms of the spherical vector wave functions with unknown expansion coefficients. The addition theorem for spherical wave functions is used prior to applying the boundary conditions. The unknown coefficients are determined by solving a system of linear equations derived from the boundary conditions. Numerical results of the scattering cross sections are presented on the plane of φ=0 degrees and φ=90 degrees. The convergence of modal solutions and the characteristics of patterns are examined with various geometries and permittivity distributions     

Experimental observations on flow characteristics in an open two-phase natural circulation loop

The flow behavior in an open two-phase natural circulation loop was studied experimentally using Freon-113. The heat flux, inlet- and exit-restrictions, liquid charging level and inlet subcooling were taken as parameters. As a result, three basic circulation modes were observed with variation of the heat flux: periodic circulation (A), continuous circulation, and periodic circulation (B). Of these modes, only the continuous circulation mode was stable and the maximum circulation rate appeared with this mode. An increase in the inlet-restriction and/or decrease in the exit-restriction broadened the range of the continuous circulation mode and stabilized the system. When the liquid charging level was lowered or the inlet subcooling was decreased, the continuous circulation mode started at a lower heat flux and the system became stable. The results are summarized on instability maps in the plane of heat flux vs. inlet subcooling.     

Classification and prediction of the critical heat flux using fuzzy theory and artificial neural networks

A new method to predict the critical heat flux (CHF) is proposed, based on the fuzzy clustering and artificial neural network. The fuzzy clustering classifies the experimental CHF data into a few data clusters (data groups) according to the data characteristics. After classification of the experimental data, the characteristics of the resulting clusters are discussed with emphasis on the distribution of the experimental conditions and physical mechanism. The CHF data in each group are trained in an artificial neural network to predict the CHF. The artificial neural network adjusts the weight so as to minimize the prediction error within the corresponding cluster. Application of the proposed method to the KAIST CHF data bank shows good prediction capability of the CHF, better than other existing methods.     

A One‐Kilobit PQR‐CMOS Smart Pixel Array

The photonic quantum ring (PQR) laser is a three dimensional whispering gallery (WG) mode laser and has anomalous quantum wire properties, such as microampere to nanoampere range threshold currents and √T‐dependent thermal red shifts. We observed uniform bottom emissions from a 1‐kb smart pixel chip of a 32×32 InGaAs PQR laser array flip‐chip bonded to a 0.35 µm CMOS‐based PQR laser driver. The PQR‐CMOS smart pixel array, now operating at 30 MHz, will be improved to the GHz frequency range through device and circuit optimization.     

Extraction of penicillin G from simulated media by an emulsion liquid membrane process

The extraction of penicillin G from simulated media was performed by water/oil/water (w/o/w) emulsion liquid membranes (ELMs) and studied under various operational conditions in a batch system. The degree of extraction achieved was between 80% and 95% under specific conditions. A concentration of greater than nine times the initial concentration of penicillin G in the external phase was obtained in the internal phase. The pH of the internal aqueous solution, containing a basic salt, was theoretically calculated on the basis of the amount of penicillin G transported into the internal phase. The calculated results agreed with the experimental data well and were used to select a suitable type and concentration of a basic salt in the internal phase to give a pH within the range 5 to 8 where penicillin G was stable after the termination of extraction. The extraction of penicillin G was successfully performed by the ELM process with sodium carbonate in the internal phase.     

Monolithic SiGe Up‐/Down‐Conversion Mixers with Active Baluns

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of monolithically matching circuits, interface circuits, and RF core circuits to the same substrate. We designed and fabricated on‐chip 1 to 6 GHz up‐conversion and 1 to 8 GHz down‐conversion mixers using a 0.8 µm SiGe hetero‐junction bipolar transistor (HBT) process technology. To fabricate a SiGe HBT, we used a reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) system to grow a base epitaxial layer, and we adopted local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) isolation to separate the device terminals. An up‐conversion mixer was implemented on‐chip using an intermediate frequency (IF) matching circuit, local oscillator (LO)/radio frequency (RF) wideband matching circuits, LO/IF input balun circuits, and an RF output balun circuit. The measured results of the fabricated up‐conversion mixer show a positive power conversion gain from 1 to 6 GHz and a bandwidth of about 4.5 GHz. Also, the down‐conversion mixer was implemented on‐chip using LO/RF wideband matching circuits, LO/RF input balun circuits, and an IF output balun circuit. The measured results of the fabricated down‐conversion mixer show a positive power conversion gain from 1 to 8 GHz and a bandwidth of about 4.5 GHz.     

Shortest path algorithms: A computational study with the C programming language

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the computational efficiency of algorithms for calculating shortest paths when they are correctly coded by using the C programming language. The eight algorithms that we selected for this experiment are the most efficient, either measured in terms of worst-case bounds or marked as such from previous computational studies; they include the redistributive heap algorithm. We suggest computer implementations that use the full power of C. In particular, the network representation and the various data structures used to keep the scan eligible list may be managed by using only additions and no multiplications, while it is not possible with FORTRAN. These capabilities, unique to C, yield several interesting conclusions: one may expect to speed up a shortest path algorithm by a factor of 20%; in some cases, this factor may reach 30%. Interestingly, the level of programming difficulty required to achieve these benefits is not greater than that required by implementations using arrays.