A generic architecture model based-methodology for an efficient design of hardware/software application-specific multiprocessor System-on-Chip

In this paper, we describe a methodology and flow for systematic design of application specific multiprocessor system-on-chip (mp-SoC). Our approach is based on a generic architecture platform which is used as a model throughout the design process. This model is modular, flexible and scalable, making it possible to cover a large application field. A complete design flow from system specification to register transfer level (rtl) consists of two principal stages. The first stage is architecture exploration where the system-level performance estimation method is required to find the best system architecture. The goal of this stage is to fix the optimal architectural parameters specific to the application. The second stage is the systematic design flow. The architectural parameters are used in this stage to produce thertl architecture. This paper focuses on the definition of the architecture model and the systematic design flow that was now automated. The feasibility and effectiveness of this approach are illustrated by several telecommunication applications.     

A Computer-Aided Rule-Based Mamluk Madrasa Plan Generator

A computer-aided rule-based framework that restructures the unstructured information embedded in precedent designs is introduced. Based on a deductive analysis of a corpus of sixteen case studies from Mamluk architecture, the framework is represented as a generative system that establishes systematic links between the form of a case study, its visual properties, its composition syntax and the processes underlying its design. The system thus formulated contributes to the areas of design research and practice with a theoretical construct about design logic, an interactive computerized plan generator and a combination of a top-down approach for case study analysis and a bottom-up methodology for the derivation of artifacts.     

Fault-Secure Multidetector Fire Protection System for Trains

This paper presents the design of a low-cost, robust, and fault-secure fire protection system for trains. This system consists of three temperature detectors and three smoke detectors, whose outputs are connected to a controller. The system produces three warning signals: fire, alarm, and cigarette. The system takes into account the presence or absence of wind and is expected to be extremely useful in cargo trains in developing countries. Also, the probability of false alarms is minimized. Finally, fault-tolerance is introduced into the system, and the increase in reliability is calculated     

Application level framing applied to image compression

Two well-known wavelet zerotree encoding algorithms, Embedded Zerotree Encoding (Ezw) and Set Partitioning in Hierarchical Trees (Spiht), provide excellent progressive display when images are transmitted over reliable networks. However, both algorithms are state-dependent and can perform poorly over unreliable networks. We apply the concept of network-conscious image compression to theSpiht wavelet zerotree encoding algorithm, to improve its performance over unreliable networks. Experimental results confirm the utility of network-conscious image compression concept.     

Iterative model-based binarization algorithm for cheque images

Binarization of document images with poor contrast, strong noise, complex patterns, and variable modalities in the gray-scale histograms is a challenging problem. A new binarization algorithm has been developed to address this problem for personal cheque images. The main contribution of this approach is optimizing the binarization of a part of the document image that suffers from noise interference, referred to as the Target Sub-Image (TSI), using information easily extracted from another noise-free part of the same image, referred to as the Model Sub-Image (MSI). Simple spatial features extracted from MSI are used as a model for handwriting strokes. This model captures the underlying characteristics of the writing strokes, and is invariant to the handwriting style or content. This model is then utilized to guide the binarization in the TSI. Another contribution is a new technique for the structural analysis of document images, which we call “Wavelet Partial Reconstruction” (WPR). The algorithm was tested on 4,200 cheque images and the results show significant improvement in binarization quality in comparison with other well-established algorithms. Received: October 10, 2001 / Accepted: May 7, 2002 This research was supported in part by NCR and NSERC's industrial postgraduate scholarship No. 239464. A simplified version of this paper has been presented at ICDAR 2001 [3].     

Pharmacokinetics of carboplatin in a patient with cervical cancer with ureteric obstruction before, during, and after hemodialysis

The pharmacokinetics of total and free (ultrafilterable) platinum were investigated in a patient with cervical cancer with ureteric obstruction who, at the time of carboplatin administration, appeared to have a mild renal impairment (i.e., creatinine clearance 1 mL/s), but developed an acute renal failure shortly thereafter, which required hemodialysis. The decline in the concentration of total or free Pt in plasma as function of time correlated well (P < 0.0098) with that of serum creatinine concentration. The elimination half-lives (t1/2) of total and free Pt in this patient were eight- and nine-fold longer than those observed earlier for patients with normal renal function, and the total body clearance was 12.4% and 18.4%, respectively. Although t1/2 of Pt during dialysis was two to three times (total Pt) and eight times (free Pt) shorter than those observed before and after dialysis, three sessions of hemodialysis removed only 5.6% of total Pt and 9.3% of free Pt. Because the pre- and post-dialysis t1/2 values were similar, hemodialysis apparently had no impact on the intrinsic elimination of Pt in this patient.     

Stretchable,mechanically resilient,and high electromagnetic shielding polymer/MXene nanocomposites

The increasingly disturbing electromagnetic wave pollution has intensified research for high-performance shielding materials to protect humans and the environment. It remains a great challenge to combine high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance with mechanical robustness and stretchability. These crucial features have been simultaneously achieved in this work by using a facile method to prepare elastomer/MXene nanocomposites. An EMI shielding effectiveness of 49 dB was obtained from a 1-mm thick nanocomposite film at 19.6 vol% of MXene; the film has a density of 1.25 g/cm³. The outstanding electrical conductivity of MXene – 4350 ± 125 S·cm⁻¹ – provided free charge carriers in the matrix to absorb electromagnetic signals, leading to the dominance of absorption mechanism over reflection mechanism. Owing to a nanofiller modification step, the nanocomposite films demonstrated not only outstanding EMI shielding but sufficient strength and stretchability. A nanocomposite at 14.0 vol% exhibited Young's modulus of 15.85 ± 0.75 MPa and tensile strength 25.94 ± 0.81 MPa with elongation at break of 170 ± 5.6%, which relates to high stretchability. These impressive properties make our nanocomposites suitable for use in harsh environments as well as applications in stretchable devices, protective clothing, aerospace, aircraft, and automotive industries.     

An adaptive memetic algorithm for feature selection using proximity graphs

We propose a multivariate feature selection method that uses proximity graphs for assessing the quality of feature subsets. Initially, a complete graph is built, where nodes are the samples, and edge weights are calculated considering only the selected features. Next, a proximity graph is constructed on the basis of these weights and different fitness functions, calculated over the proximity graph, to evaluate the quality of the selected feature set. We propose an iterative methodology on the basis of a memetic algorithm for exploring the space of possible feature subsets aimed at maximizing a quality score. We designed multiple local search strategies, and we used an adaptive strategy for automatic balancing between the global and local search components of the memetic algorithm. The computational experiments were carried out using four well‐known data sets. We investigate the suitability of three different proximity graphs (minimum spanning tree, k‐nearest neighbors, and relative neighborhood graph) for the proposed approach. The selected features have been evaluated using a total of 49 classification methods from an open‐source data mining and machine learning package (WEKA). The computational results show that the proposed adaptive memetic algorithm can perform better than traditional genetic algorithms in finding more useful feature sets. Finally, we establish the competitiveness of our approach by comparing it with other well‐known feature selection methods.     

Concurrent Multipath Transfer during path failure

We investigate how path failure influences Concurrent Multipath Transfer (CMT) using SCTP multihoming. We show that CMT suffers from significant “receive buffer blocking” which degrades performance during both permanent and short-term failure. To improve performance, we introduce a new “Potentially-Failed” (PF) destination state, and revise CMT’s failure detection and (re)transmission policies to include the PF state. Using simulation, we demonstrate that the modification called CMT-PF outperforms CMT during failure – even with aggressive failure detection thresholds and varying receive buffer constraints. In non-failure scenarios, CMT-PF performs on par or better but never worse than CMT. Finally, we confirm these simulation results using FreeBSD implementations of CMT and CMT-PF. Based on our findings, we recommend CMT-PF be used in existing and future CMT implementations and RFCs.