Dielectric measurements using a rational function model

A recently proposed rational function model for the aperture admittance of 50 ohm Teflon filled coaxial lines in contact with a homogeneous dielectric is experimentally validated. A calibration technique of the automatic network analyzer utilizing standard terminations and time domain gating is used. Uncertainties in the dielectric properties of reference liquids do not enter the calibration procedure. Experimental results for water and methanol are compared with estimated values. A model expression for the sensitivity of the probe is validated. The sensitivities of two coaxial line probes for the measurements made are determined. Results obtained using the new model are compared with those of other workers     

Fast restoration of ATM networks

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is now well recognized as the fundamental switching and multiplexing technique for future broadband ISDN. As these networks will be increasingly relied upon for providing a multitude of integrated voice, data, and video services, network reliability is a key concern. There are several intrinsic features of ATM networks that could potentially be exploited to provide improved restoration techniques, beyond those established for synchronous transfer mode (STM) networks, such as digital cross-connect restoration or self-healing rings. These features include ATM cell level error detection, inherent rate adaptation and nonhierarchical multiplexing. The authors explore the use of these features in developing fast restoration strategies for ATM networks. In particular, they address: (1) ATM error detection capabilities for enhanced failure detection, (2) network rerouting strategies, (3) spare capacity allocation, and (4) network control architecture and related implementation aspects. Their findings suggest that fast network span failure detection and bandwidth-efficient rerouting capabilities can be combined to develop restoration strategies for ATM networks with significantly greater performance-cost ratios when compared to existing STM network restoration strategies     

Monte Carlo simulation of grain growth and recrystallization in polycrystalline materials

The prediction and control of metal grain structures during processing have been major objectives of materials science. However, methodologies that are accurate and can be easily generalized to a variety of processing conditions have been difficult to formulate due to the complexity of the grain interactions. A novel Monte Carlo-based approach that explicitly incorporates these interactions has been developed to simulate the microstructural evolution driven by the minimization of grain boundary energy and lattice defect density. The applicability of this procedure has been demonstrated by the good correspondence between simulation results and experimental observations. This article reviews recent advances in the application of this technique to the investigation of a variety of phenomena, including normal and abnormal grain growth as well as static and dynamic recrystallization.     

Forming the optimal union of multiple databases

Many organizations, best illustrated by libraries, have access to hundreds of databases possessing varying degrees of complimentary and overlapping records. While users may receive positive marginal benefits from data duplications, all databases and their services cannot be supported because of resource limitations. This paper attempts to conceptualize the problem of database collection in an environment of multiple databases, with differential content and performance characteristics, diverse users, and limited resources. It defines the database collection problem as a constrained zero-one integer programming problem and solves for the optimal combination or union of databases. Several extensions are shown, where special conditions are imposed on the relationships between databases and/or their availability.