Path-Based Error Coverage Prediction

We present an analytical technique that uses fault injection data for estimating the coverage of concurrent error detection mechanisms in microprocessors. A major problem in such estimations is that the coverage depends on the program executed by the microprocessor as well as the input sequence to the program. We propose a method that predicts the error coverage for a specified input sequence based on fault injection data obtained for another input sequence. Our results show that post-injection analysis is a promising approach for reducing the cost of coverage estimation.     

Delayed cytokine expression in rat brain following experimental contusion

Proinflammatory cytokines mediate brain injury in experimental studies. This study was undertaken to analyze the production of proinflammatory cytokines in experimental contusion. A brain contusion causing delayed edema was mimicked experimentally in rats using a weight-drop model. Intracerebral expression of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), IL-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) was studied by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. The animals were killed at 6 hours or 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 16 days postinjury. In the injured area, no messenger (m)RNA expression was seen during the first 2 days after the trauma. On Days 4 to 6 posttrauma, however, strong IL-1 beta, TNF alpha, and IL-6 mRNA expression was detected in mononuclear cells surrounding the contusion. Expression of IFN gamma was not detected. Immunohistochemical double labeling confirmed the in situ hybridization results and demonstrated that mononuclear phagocytes and astrocytes produced IL-1 beta and that mainly astrocytes produced TNF alpha. The findings showed, somewhat unexpectedly, a late peak of intracerebral cytokine production in the injured area and in the contralateral corpus callosum, allowing for both local and global effects on the brain. An unexpected difference in the cellular sources of TNF alpha and IL-1 beta was detected. The cytokine pattern differs from that seen in other central nervous system inflammatory diseases and trauma models, suggesting that the intracerebral immune response is not a uniform event. The dominance of late cytokine production indicates that many cytokine effects are late events in an experimental contusion: Different pathogenic mechanisms may thus be operative at different times after brain injury.     

ADAS at work: assessing professional bus drivers’ experience and acceptance of a narrow navigation system

Cognition, Technology & Work - Due to the argued benefits of passenger comfort, cost savings, and road safety, the bus sector is showing increasing interest in advanced driver-assistance...     

Defuzzification of spatial fuzzy sets by feature distance minimization

We present a novel defuzzification method, i.e., a mapping from the set of fuzzy sets to the set of crisp sets, and we suggest its application to image processing. Spatial fuzzy sets are, e.g., useful as information preserving representations of objects in images. Defuzzification of such a spatial fuzzy set can be seen as a crisp segmentation procedure. With the aim to provide preservation of selected quantitative features of the fuzzy set, we define the defuzzification of a fuzzy set to be a crisp set which is as close as possible to the fuzzy set, where the distance measure on the set of fuzzy sets, that we propose for defuzzification, incorporates selected local and global features of the fuzzy sets. The distance measure is based on the Minkowski distance between feature representations of the sets. The distance minimization, performed in the suggested defuzzification method, provides preservation of the selected quantitative features of the fuzzy set. The method utilizes the information contained in the fuzzy representation for defining a mapping from the set of fuzzy sets to the set of crisp sets. If the fuzzy set is a representation of an unknown crisp original set, such that the selected features of the original set are preserved in the fuzzy representation, then the defuzzified set may be seen as an approximate reconstruction of the crisp original. We present four optimization algorithms, exhibiting different properties, for finding the crisp set closest to a given discrete fuzzy set. A number of examples, using both synthetic and real images, illustrate the main properties of the proposed method. An evaluation of both theoretical aspects of the method, and its results, is given.     

Sediment depth attenuation of biogenic phosphorus compounds measured by 31P NMR

Being a major cause of eutrophication and subsequent loss of water quality, the turnover of phosphorus (P) in lake sediments is in need of deeper understanding. A major part of the flux of P to eutrophic lake sediments is organically bound or of biogenic origin. This P is incorporated in a poorly described mixture of autochthonous and allochthonous sediment and forms the primary storage of P available for recycling to the water column, thus regulating lake trophic status. To identify and quantify biogenic sediment P and assess its lability, we analyzed sediment cores from Lake Erken, Sweden, using traditional P fractionation, and in parallel, NaOH extracts were analyzed using 31P NMR. The surface sediments contain orthophosphates (ortho-P) and pyrophosphates (pyro-P), as well as phosphate mono- and diesters. The first group of compounds to disappear with increased sediment depth is pyrophosphate, followed by a steady decline of the different ester compounds. Estimated half-life times of these compound groups are about 10 yr for pyrophosphate and 2 decades for mono- and diesters. Probably, these compounds will be mineralized to ortho-P and is thus potentially available for recycling to the water column, supporting further growth of phytoplankton. In conclusion, 31P NMR is a useful tool to asses the bioavailability of certain P compound groups, and the combination with traditional fractionation techniques makes quantification possible.     

Properties of amylopectin/montmorillonite composite films containing a coupling agent

The addition of clay to polymers has the combined effects of enhancing both the strength/stiffness and the barrier properties. This investigation presents a novel approach to further enhance the strength/stiffness of cast plasticized amylopectin (AP)/Na⁺‐montmorillonite clay films using a water‐soluble coupling agent, poly[(isobutylene‐alt‐maleic acid, ammonium salt)‐co‐(isobutylene‐alt‐maleic anhydride)], between the filler and the matrix. The addition of clay increased the strength and stiffness of the film and the addition of 0.4 parts of a coupling agent per 1 part clay further increased these properties. The trends were the same after each treatment, and there were always significant differences in stiffness and strength between the films without clay and with clay with 0.4 parts of the coupling agent. The increase in stiffness/strength in the presence of a small amount of the coupling agent suggested that it had a bridging effect, presumably through strong secondary bonds to the clay and to the matrix. Infrared spectroscopy and moisture swelling experiments indicated that ester bonds were formed between the coupling agent and AP. X‐ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the clay‐particle/polymer structure was qualitatively independent of the presence of the coupling agent showing a mixture of intercalated clay stacks and exfoliated platelets. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 4160–4167, 2007     

User-defined schedulers for real-time concurrent objects

Scheduling concerns the allocation of processors to processes, and is traditionally associated with low-level tasks in operating systems and embedded devices. However, modern software applications with soft real-time requirements need to control application-level performance. High-level scheduling control at the application level may complement general purpose OS level scheduling to fine-tune performance of a specific application, by allowing the application to adapt to changes in client traffic on the one hand and to low-level scheduling on the other hand. This paper presents an approach to express and analyze application-specific scheduling decisions during the software design stage. For this purpose, we integrate support for application-level scheduling control in a high-level object-oriented modeling language, Real-Time ABS, in which executable specifications of method calls are given deadlines and real-time computational constraints. In Real-Time ABS, flexible application-specific schedulers may be specified by the user, i.e., developer, at the abstraction level of the high-level modeling language itself and associated with concurrent objects at creation time. Tool support for Real-Time ABS is based on an abstract interpreter that supports simulations and measurements of systems at the design stage.     

A regime map for the normal surface impact of wet and dry agglomerates

The normal surface impacts of wet and dry agglomerates are simulated in a discrete element modeling framework. While the impact behavior of dry agglomerates has been addressed previously, similar studies on wet agglomerate impact are missing. By adding a small amount of liquid to a dry agglomerate, the impact behavior changes significantly. The impact behavior of the agglomerates at different moisture contents and impact energies are analyzed through postimpact parameters and coupled to their microscopic and macroscopic properties. While increasing the impact energy breaks more interparticle bonds and intensifies damage and fragmentation, increasing the moisture content is found to provide the agglomerates with higher deformability and resistance against breakage. It is shown that the interplay of the two latter parameters together with the agglomerate structural strength creates various impact scenarios, which are classified into different regimes and addressed with a regime map. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1975–1985, 2018