Microarchitecture-Independent Workload Characterization

For computer designers, understanding the characteristics of workloads running on current and future computer systems is of utmost importance during microprocessor design a microarchitecture-independent method ensures an accurate characterization of inherent program behavior and avoids the weaknesses of microarchitecture-dependent metrics.     

Langmuir films of polycyclic molecules on mercury

Langmuir films (LFs) of biphenyl and anthracene derivatives on the surface of liquid mercury were studied by surface-specific X-ray and surface tension measurements. Phases of lying-down, side-lying and standing-up molecules were found, some of which exhibit long-range lateral order. The molecular symmetry and the position and nature of the side-, end-, and headgroups are shown to dominate the structural evolution of the LFs with surface coverage.     

Interlaboratory ring test of time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays for zeranol and alpha-zearalenol and comparison with zeranol test kits.

Many zeranol immunoassay test kits cross-react with toxins formed by naturally occurring Fusarium spp. fungi, leading to false-positive screening results. This paper describes the evaluation and application of recently published, dry reagent time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays (TR-FIA) for zeranol and the toxin alpha-zearalenol. A ring test of bovine urine fortified with zeranol and/or alpha-zearalenol in four European Union National Reference Laboratories demonstrated that the TR-FIA tests were accurate and robust. The alpha-zearalenol TR-FIA satisfactorily quantified alpha-zearalenol in urine fortified at 10-30 ng ml(-1). The specificity-enhanced zeranol TR-FIA accurately quantified zeranol in the range 2-5 ng ml(-1) and gave no false-positive results in blank urine, even in the presence of 30 ng ml(-1) alpha-zearalenol. Zeranol TR-FIA specificity was demonstrated further by analysing incurred zeranol-free urine samples containing natural Fusarium spp. toxins. The TR-FIA yielded no false-positive results in the presence of up to 22 ng ml(-1) toxins. The performance of four commercially available zeranol immunoassay test kits was more variable. Three kits produced many false-positive results. One kit produced only one potential false-positive using a protocol that was longer than that of the TR-FIA. These TR-FIAs will be valuable tools to develop inspection criteria to distinguish illegal zeranol abuse from contamination arising from in vivo metabolism of Fusarium spp. toxins.     

Thin-film nickel coatings on fiber materials

Vacuum deposition of thin films onto fiber materials is a promising method of obtaining electromagnetic screens. We have studied the structure and the electromagnetic properties of machine-knitted fabric coated with nickel by means of magnetron sputtering. When the fabric is irradiated from the metal-coated side, the reflection coefficient is higher by a factor of 1.4 as compared to the case when the same source of electromagnetic radiation is situated on the opposite side (facing the uncoated surface), while the absorption coefficient in both cases is the same.     

Surface Films on Zinc-Plated Steel Formed on Holding in Aqueous Extracts of Anticorrosion Pigments

The methods of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger spectroscopy are used to study surface films formed on zinc and zinc-plated steel in the process of holding in aqueous extracts of mixtures of phosphate and calcium-containing pigments. It is shown that protective films formed mainly of zinc and calcium phosphates of different chemical structure are deposited in inhibited solutions on specimens of pure zinc and zinc-plated steel. The protective properties of these films are much better than the protective properties of the surface layers formed on the metal in the extracts of a single phosphate (or calcium-containing) pigment. The mixture of these pigments may serve as a promising substitution of chromate inhibitors in anticorrosive organic coatings.     

A statistical model for estimating the trend of electrical quantities in power systems

A statistical approach to estimate the trend, over a long time interval, of electrical parameters is proposed in this paper. The trend is determined by processing a limited number of parameter values measured at instants randomly chosen. Experimental results are reported, which show the good performance of the method proposed when it is applied to estimate customers' loads profiles and the trend of some parameters providing information on power quality.     

QMTool: an XML-based management platform for QoS-aware IP networks

Technological and human factors have contributed to the increasing complexity of the network management problem. Heterogeneity and globalization of network resources have, on one hand, increased user expectations for flexible and easy-to-use environments and, on the other, propounded entirely novel ways to face the management problem. Several research efforts recognize the need for integrated solutions to manage both network resources and services in open and global environments. Undoubtedly, these solutions should permit the coexistence of different management models and should interoperate with legacy systems. The presented management system, QoS management tool (QMTool), aspires to address the heterogeneity, complexity, and dynamic behavior of QoS-enabled IP networks by taking advantage of the optimum fit of a number of novel technologies. A layered framework architecture, including element, network management, and visualization service, is provided, and a high level of information abstraction in network configuration and monitoring is introduced mainly based on the capabilities of the Extensible Markup Language (XML). Moreover, the functional components for providing (re-)configuration, fault management monitoring, and network visualization facilities are also presented, followed by notes of implementation issues.     

Photoreactivation of Escherichia coli following medium-pressure ultraviolet disinfection and its control using chloramination.

Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative disinfection technology to chlorination in recent years. In this study, we investigated the photoreactivation of Escherichia coli following medium-pressure (MP) UV disinfection of synthetic water by a bench-scale collimated beam apparatus. The UV doses ranged from 1.6 -19.7 mWs/cm2 and photoreactivation was investigated for 6 hours under fluorescent light. In addition, chloramination was applied after UV disinfection to investigate its ability to control photoreactivation. It was found that photoreactivation occurred for all UV doses tested and the increase in bacteria numbers ranged from 0.04 to 1.35 log10. However, the degree of photoreactivation decreased with increased UV doses. Chloramination experiments revealed that the addition of 0.5 mg/l of monochloramine resulted in suppression of photoreactivation for 1 hour only. An increased monochloramine dose of 1 mg/l was found to prevent photoreactivation for the entire duration of the experiment. The results of this study have shown that photoreactivation occurs even after MP UV disinfection, although it is of a lesser extent at higher UV doses. This study has also established that secondary chloramination can effectively suppress and eliminate photoreactivation with a chloramine dose of 1 mg/l.