A mini challenge: build a verifiable filesystem

We propose tackling a “mini challenge” problem: a nontrivial verification effort that can be completed in 2–3 years, and will help establish notational standards, common formats, and libraries of benchmarks that will be essential in order for the verification community to collaborate on meeting Hoare’s 15-year verification grand challenge. We believe that a suitable candidate for such a mini challenge is the development of a filesystem that is verifiably reliable and secure. The paper argues why we believe a filesystem is the right candidate for a mini challenge and describes a project in which we are building a small embedded filesystem for use with flash memory. The work described in this paper was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.     

Organised structures in wall turbulence as deduced from stability theory-based methods

In earlier work, we have explored the relevance of hydrodynamic stability theory to fully developed turbulent wall flows. Using an extended Orr-Sommerfeld Equation, based on an anisotropic eddy-viscosity model, it was shown that there exists a wide range of unstable wave numbers (wall modes), which mimic some of the key features of turbulent wall flows. Here we present experimental confirmation for the same. There is good qualitative and quantitative agreement between theory and experiment. Once the dominant coherent structure is obtained from stability theory, control of turbulence would be the next logical step. As shown, the use of a compliant wall shows considerable promise. We also present some theoretical work for bypass transition (Klebanoff/K-modes), wherein the receptivity of a laminar boundary layer to a vortex sheet in the freestream has been studied. Further, it is shown that triadic interaction between K-modes, 2D TS waves and 3D TS waves can lead to rapid algebraic growth. A similar mechanism seems to carry over to inner wall structures in wall turbulence and perhaps this is the “root cause” for sustenance of turbulence.     

Equity Metrics With Risk, Performance, and Cost Objectives for the Prioritization of Transportation Projects

Prioritizing and selecting a few critical transportation projects from several competing projects is a multiobjective combinatorial optimization problem (MOCO). Transportation planners and managers are always interested in analyzing and visualizing the tradeoffs involved, but equity issues in distribution of resources are given much less attention. This paper develops a methodology for integrating equity metrics with traditional metrics for planning and prioritizing a large and diverse portfolio of transportation investment projects. The methodology serves to help planners, managers, and engineers to visualize and compare measures of the distributed equity of the allocation along with cost-benefit tradeoffs. It is based on incorporating network-level equity metrics along with traditional metrics in formulating a generic multiobjective combinatorial optimization (MOCO) problem and visualizing multiobjective tradeoffs on the spatial network. A case study of a region demonstrates the use of the methodology in tradeoff analysis for prioritizing and selecting transportation projects. The approach is adaptable to other manufacturing and service industries where consideration of the distributed equity of allocation is an important issue.     

Ultra-Thin Si<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ge<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> Dislocation Blocking Layers for Ge/Strained Si CMOS Devices

We demonstrate ultra-thin (<150 nm) Si_1−x Ge _x dislocation blocking layers on Si substrates used for the fabrication of tensile-strained Si N channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) and Ge P channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) devices. These layers were grown using ultra high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD). The Ge mole fraction was varied in rapid, but distinct steps during the epitaxial layer growth. This results in several Si_1−x Ge _x interfaces in the epitaxially grown material with significant strain fields at these interfaces. The strain fields enable a dislocation blocking mechanism at the Si_1−x Ge _x interfaces on which we were able to deposit very smooth, atomically flat, tensile-strained Si and relaxed Ge layers for the fabrication of high mobility N and P channel metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) devices, respectively. Both N and P channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transister (MOSFETs) were successfully fabricated using high-k dielectric and metal gates on these layers, demonstrating that this technique of using ultra-thin dislocation blocking layers might be ideal for incorporating high mobility channel materials in a conventional CMOS process.     

Text extraction and document image segmentation using matched wavelets and MRF model.

In this paper, we have proposed a novel scheme for the extraction of textual areas of an image using globally matched wavelet filters. A clustering-based technique has been devised for estim ating globally matched wavelet filters using a collection of groundtruth images. We have extended our text extraction scheme for the segmentation of document images into text, background, and picture components (which include graphics and continuous tone images). Multiple, two-class Fisher classifiers have been used for this purpose. We also exploit contextual information by using a Markov random field formulation-based pixel labeling scheme for refinement of the segmentation results. Experimental results have established effectiveness of our approach.     

Enhanced SO2 concentrations observed over northern India: role of long-range transport

The combustion of fossil fuels (coal and petroleum products) constitutes a source of continuous release of anthropogenic SO₂ into the atmosphere. Furthermore, natural sources such as volcanoes can inject large amounts of SO₂ directly into the troposphere and sometimes even into the stratosphere. These event-based volcanic eruptions provide solitary opportunities to study the transport and transformation of atmospheric constituents. In this study, we present an episode of high SO₂ concentration over northern India as a result of long-range transport from Africa using multiple satellite observations. Monthly averaged column SO₂ values over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) were observed in the range of 0.6–0.9 Dobson units (DU) during November 2008 using observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). These concentrations were conspicuously higher than the background concentrations (<0.3 DU) observed during 2005–2010 over this region. The columnar SO₂ loadings were highest on 6 November over most of the IGP region and even exceeded 6 DU, a factor of 10–20 higher than background levels in some places. These enhanced SO₂ levels were not reciprocated in satellite-derived NO₂ or CO columns, indicating transport from a non-anthropogenic SO₂ source. As most of the local aerosols over the IGP region occur below 3 km, a well-separated layer at 4–5 km was observed from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite. Wind fields and back-trajectory analysis revealed a strong flow originating from the Dalaffilla volcanic eruption in Ethiopia during 4–6 November 2008. Although volcanic SO₂ plumes have been extensively studied over many parts of Asia, Europe, and the USA, analysis of such events for the IGP region is being reported for the first time in this study.     

Impact of variational assimilation of MODIS thermodynamic profiles in the simulation of western disturbance

The present study was carried out to examine the impact of temperature and humidity profiles from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the numerical simulation of western disturbance (WD) using the three-dimensional variational (3D-Var) assimilation technique in the nonhydrostatic version of the Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU–NCAR) fifth-generation Mesoscale Model (MM5). The WD that affected northwest India during 8–11 February 2007 was chosen for the numerical simulations. The results show that there are large differences between the initial meteorological fields from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) analysis (without satellite data; control experiment (CNT)) and the optimal initial conditions (with MODIS data; experiment (EXP)). The optimal initial condition showed that MM5 3D-Var had produced an analysis that fit the MODIS observations very well. The assimilation of the MODIS temperature and moisture profiles did not show much impact on the track of the WD but, more importantly, it showed evidence of impacting the rainfall intensity prediction by retarding the incorrect prediction of intense rainfall. The root mean square difference (RMSD) in predicted rainfall from EXP was lower than from CNT. The assimilation of MODIS data also showed a positive impact on the temperature prediction.     

Assessment of tectonic activity in a seismically locked segment of Himachal Himalaya

Bilaspur (31° 23′ 586′′ N; 76° 45′ 178′′ E) lies in the south-west Himachal close to the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). Neotectonic studies carried out in this region have revealed that the area is traversed by several faults, many of which may be active. GPS studies carried out in the entire Himalayan region indicate crustal shortening leading to strain accumulation. This is manifest in enhanced tectonic activity in the form of major and minor earthquakes. However, there are certain areas where stress release has not been witnessed and these areas can fail in large magnitude earthquakes in the future. Bilaspur lies in the zone of strain accumulation. This zone is building up a slip deficit at the rate of 14 ± 1 mm year^?1. In the light of these revelations and the fact that Bilaspur houses one of the biggest water reservoirs of the country an attempt has been made to assess the implications of these observations.     

An approach to regulating machine sharing in reconfigurable back-end semiconductor manufacturing

By complying with the operational philosophy of virtual production lines, a back-end semiconductor manufacturing system can be controlled and managed with better reconfigurability. However, due to the absence of a fully-integrated information system and the gaining popularity of distributed computing, machine reconfiguration decisions are made by machine controllers on the shop floor where heterarchical control architecture is typically used. This research investigates how non-cooperative game theory could be applied for facilitating the decision process reconfiguration decision-making at the machine controller level as machines are competed by multiple jobs streams. This paper presents how material flow traffic can be better regulated in a reconfigurable manufacturing environment. A study using an industrial pilot system is discussed to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach, in which heuristics are used to determine the game specification.     

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-ionic liquid functionalized graphene/reduced graphene oxide nanostructures: improved conduction and electrochromism

Nanocomposite assemblies of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), embedded with (a) fluoro alkyl phosphate based ionic liquid functionalized graphene (ILFG) and (b) reduced graphene oxide (RGO) prepared from a modified Hummers' method, have been synthesized. Defect free graphene nanosheets within the size of a few nanometers were achieved in the PEDOT-ILFG nanocomposite. In contrast, structures comprising graphene oxide wrinkles interspersed with the amorphous polymer were obtained in the PEDOT-RGO nanocomposite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that neat ILFG was considerably less oxidized as compared to the neat RGO, which ratified the superiority of the ionic liquid functionalization strategy over the conventional chemical approach, for exfoliating graphite. Substantially higher electrochemical activity, improved ionic/electronic conductivity, much faster switching rates, and an almost ballistic enhancement in the electrochromic coloration efficiency attained for the PEDOT-ILFG nanocomposite in comparison to PEDOT-RGO film were irrefutable proofs that demonstrated the ability of the ionic liquid to not only fortify the structure of graphene but also facilitate charge transport through the bulk of the film, by providing less impeded pathways. Since PEDOT-ILFG/-RGO nanocomposites of good uniformity have been achieved, this, to some extent, addresses the challenge associated with the processing of graphene based high performance materials for practical applications.