Overlay networks for task allocation and coordination in large-scale networks of cooperative agents

This paper proposes a novel method for scheduling and allocating atomic and complex tasks in large-scale networks of homogeneous or heterogeneous cooperative agents. Our method encapsulates the concepts of searching, task allocation and scheduling seamlessly in a decentralized process where no accumulated or centralized knowledge or coordination is necessary. Efficient searching for agent groups that can facilitate the scheduling of tasks is accomplished through the use of a dynamic overlay structure of gateway agents and the exploitation of routing indices. The task allocation and the scheduling of complex tasks are accomplished by combining dynamic reorganization of agent groups and distributed constraint optimization methods. Experimental results display the efficiency of the proposed method.     

Evaluation of on-board diagnosis methods for three-way catalytic converters

On-board diagnosis (OBD) aims at detecting malfunctions of emission-related components of road vehicles. It is required by legislation in United States and the European Union, as it is considered to be beneficial for the reduction of vehicle-related air pollution. On-board diagnosis of the catalytic converter is a challenging task, as it relies on indirect assessments of catalyst activity. Several methods have been proposed for catalyst diagnosis, presenting a varying degree of correlation between the quantities used as OBD indexes and the actual tailpipe emissions. This paper evaluates two methods, with the support of mathematical modeling; in the first one, which is commonly used by vehicle manufacturers, malfunction detection relies on the oxygen storage properties of the catalyst, while in the second, detection relies on the heat released by the chemical reactions in the catalyst. Both are found to be sufficient for the diagnosis of catalytic converters for current legislation requirements. However, the thermal method presents higher sensitivity to low levels of catalyst deactivation and could therefore be more suitable for diagnosis of future, ultra-low-emitting vehicles.     

The effect of a GnRH agonist on cryopreserved human ovarian grafts in severe combined immunodeficient mice

This prospective study compares the effect of a GnRH agonist on the number of follicles in different developmental stages in cryopreserved human ovarian grafts transplanted into gonadotropin-stimulated or not stimulated severe combined immunodeficient mice (SCID mice). Human ovarian tissue from seven patients was cryopreserved with an open-freezing system and xenotransplanted in SCID mice. The SCID mice were then treated according to different stimulation protocols. The survival of the tissue after cryopreservation was examined by LIVE/DEAD viability staining or transplanted in the neck muscle of 41 SCID mice. Development of follicles, estradiol production, vaginal cytology, and uterus weight were assessed after 15 weeks with or without gonadotropin stimulation. Viable follicles were detected in all frozen/thawed specimens using the LIVE/DEAD assay. Triptorelin, a GnRH agonist, caused a significant reduction of follicles in all developmental stages in the non-gonadotropin-stimulated animals (P<0.001). In gonadotropin-stimulated animals, GnRH agonist treatment has no significant effect on primordial, primary and preantral follicle count, whereas the antral follicles were significantly fewer (P = 0.03). The GnRH agonist treatment is not able to prevent the primordial follicle depletion after the xenografting of ovarian tissue in SCID mice with or without gonadotropin stimulation. Furthermore, it causes an additional loss of follicles if administered during the critical neovascularization period after the transplantation.     

The politics and science behind GMO acceptance

The question of nutritional quality has arisen in the International Community over the last few years along with other important issues such as population aging, multipopulation societies, and political conflicts. The nutritional issue is questioned both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is well known that the planet faces enormous problems with food that is available. Nowadays 20% of the population consumes approximately 80% of the produced energy and natural resources. During the last 15 years, a series of food scares and crises (BSE, dioxin, foot and mouth disease, bird flu) have seriously undermined public confidence in food producers and operators and their capacity to produce safe food. As a result, food safety has become a top priority of the European legislative authorities. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is the new food safety concern which despite the intense reactions from Non Governmental Organizations and consumer organizations have entered our lives with inadequate legislative measures to protect consumers from their consumption. The GMO issue will be the issue for discussion in the long run not only for the European Community but also for the international community as far as scientific, economical, political, ideological, ethical, and human issues are concerned. These issues are discussed in this paper along with a case of study of GM fish.     

Thermal behaviour of a green vs. a conventional roof under Mediterranean climate conditions

The application of green roofs on urban buildings is considered to have a positive impact on their thermal behaviour and local microclimatic conditions. According to the literature, their ability for attenuation of storm water run-off as well as their contribution to the building's thermal protection is among the most important benefits of this technique. However, despite the development of computer models that can assist towards analysing the nature of their behaviour, there is still a relative gap in measured data representing long-term period thermal performance. In this paper, the results of a long-term experimental analysis are presented, which attempt to identify the thermal behaviour of a green roof in comparison with a bare flat roof. The results show that in Mediterranean countries, a green roof can contribute substantially to building's energy conservation mainly during the warm period of the year, while its influence during the cold period is negligible.     

Experimentelle und numerische Untersuchung des Tropfenaufstiegs

The results of an experimental and numerical investigation of an organic toluene droplet rising in a continuous aqueous phase are presented. The experiments were carried out in a small‐scale, high‐speed measuring unit. The numerical simulations were performed with the aid of the level set method implemented in the commercial CFD tool COMSOL Multiphysics 3.3a. Both measured and simulated terminal velocities are found to be in excellent agreement and match recent results. Moreover, the deviation from the spherical form is captured very well for different droplet sizes. Based on the experimental and numerical data obtained, an improvement of an existing terminal velocity correlation is suggested.     

The MoveOn database: motorcycle environment speech and noise database for command and control applications

The MoveOn speech and noise database was purposely designed and implemented in support of research on spoken dialogue interaction in a motorcycle environment. The distinctiveness of the MoveOn database results from the requirements of the application domain—an information support and operational command and control system for the two-wheel police force—and also from the specifics of the adverse open-air acoustic environment. In this article, we first outline the target application, motivating the database design and purpose, and then report on the implementation details. The main challenges related to the choice of equipment, the organization of recording sessions, and some difficulties that were experienced during this effort, are discussed. We offer a detailed account of the database statistics, the suggested data splits in subsets, and discuss results from automatic speech recognition experiments which illustrate the degree of complexity of the operational environment.     

The IA-64 Itanium processor cartridge

The Itanium processor cartridge is a packaging optimization for electrical and thermal performance in a server environment. The 3-in. x 5-in. cartridge contains the Itanium CPU, up to 4 megabytes of level-3 (L3) cache, an innovative power delivery scheme, and an integrated vapor chamber thermal spreading lid for removing power. Cartridges and a chip set can be ganged electrically by means of a glueless bidirectional, multidrop system bus. Power is delivered through a custom connection with separate voltages for the 0.18-micron CPU and 0.25-micron custom cache devices. An I²C serial connection provides access to system management features such as temperature monitoring and cartridge identification information     

A survey on multivariate adaptive control charts: Recent developments and extensions

In the world of business, quality improvement is of high importance for the manufacturing industries. Statistical process control via control charts provides an online monitoring of the product's characteristic. The adaptive feature is being widely used in the design parameters of a control chart, which allows at least one of them to change during the process monitoring. Specifically, a control chart is considered adaptive if at least one of the chart's parameters (sample size, sampling interval, or control limit coefficient) is allowed to change in real time on the basis of the actual values of the sample statistics. In this paper, recent developments in the design of multivariate adaptive control schemes are presented and discussed.