Getting a handle on MATLAB graphics

Among engineers and scientists, MATLAB is one of the most popular computational packages. Part of MATLAB's popularity stems from its simple, yet sophisticated, graphics capabilities. While basic plots are relatively easy to obtain, specialized plots require a little more effort to produce. This article introduces MATLAB's Handle Graphics, which provides a mechanism to fully control and customize graphics objects in MATLAB. With a basic understanding of Handle Graphics, users can produce plots that meet the unique needs and quality standards commonly required by the profession, several examples are presented to illustrate the concepts.     

Experience in testing the Motif interface

The testing and quality assurance of the Motif 1.0 graphical user-interface software are described. The testing goals, which fell into three general categories (code coverage, defect-density, and defect-arrival rate), and a deliverable formal test suite are examined. The three phases of the testing process-evaluation, test development, and regression testing-and the tools used in testing are discussed     

Comments on `Semianalytic BER evaluation by simulation for noisynonlinear bandpass channels'

Pent et al. (see ibid., vol.SAC-6, no.1, p.34-41, 1988) proposed a semianalytic method for performance evaluation of communication channels with a bandpass nonlinearity. This method is based on a decomposition of the composite signal at the output of the nonlinear device which leads to the definition of an equivalent nonlinearity. In Pent et al. such an equivalent model is evaluated via numerical integration. In the present comment it is shown that a suitable series expansion of the nonlinearity characteristic yields to an evaluation of the equivalent nonlinearity in closed form     

Computerized facility layout design

The paper describes a computerized facility layout designer, COMLAD II, for plant layout development. Besides developing an efficient layout, COMLAD II has useful features which allow fixing the departments, changing the shape of the departments and changing the length and width dimensions of the overall layout.     

IBM RISC System/6000: architecture and performance

The IBM RISC System/6000, a superscalar microprocessor, is presented. The architecture of this processor has its instruction set specifically designed for a superscalar machine containing three independent units-branch, fixed-point, and floating-point. The design also emphasizes high-performance floating-point operations. The design principles are to offer maximum overlap of the three functional units, avoid dead cycles, and define instructions that can (for the most part) be completed at a rate of one per cycle. The branch cycle, fixed- and floating-point units, cache management, and performance are described. Benchmark results are given     

The glass fibre-polymer interface: II—Work of fracture and shear stresses

Pull-out experiments have been carried out on single production fibres under carefully controlled conditions. Four parameters were determined. The interfacial yield stresses, of about 9–14 MPa, were very much smaller than the shear strengths of the bulk polymers in the case of an epoxy, whether post-cured or not, and a non-post-cured polyester. Values for the work of fracture of the interface varied from 140 to 300 Jm^?2, and again were less than those of the polymer. Interface failure sometimes took place in the epoxy rather than at the fibre surface, whereas with the polyester it always took place at the fibre surface. After interface failure, pull-out was governed by friction, with maximum shear stresses of 7–10 MPa for polyester, and 21–34 MPa for epoxy, the higher values being obtained for the post-cured resins. Average frictional shear stresses were sometimes less than a half of the maximum shear stress, indicating that the fibre Poisson's shrinkage was playing an important role in the pull-out process. A silicone release agent reduced the frictional shear stresses to 2·5 MPa, with both resins.     

Hypercoagulability and chronic atrial fibrillation: the role of markers of thrombin generation

BACKGROUND: We have studied 64 patients with congestive heart failure, half of them also with chronic nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients were also stratified according to a history of prior stroke. METHODS: The generation of thrombin was investigated by means of the molecular markers prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2) and thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), because AF patients may have a hypercoagulable state. There was only a trend toward higher values of TAT and F1 + 2 for AF patients, while subjects with previous stroke (irrespective of AF) had increased levels of the markers of thrombin generation (TAT stroke+ 18.95 +/- 5.15 vs TAT stroke- 8.34 +/- 2.41; F1 + 2 stroke+ 2.22 +/- 0.29 vs F1 + 2 stroke- 1.32 +/- 0.12). The presence of spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) within left atrium was also investigated in 32 AF patients by transesophageal echocardiography. RESULTS: TAT were significantly higher in subjects (n = 11) with SEC (TAT sec+ 37.5 +/- 13.41 vs TAT sec- 8.7 +/- 2.51, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Finally, when we grouped into 1) those with both AF and stroke, 2) AF alone, 3) stroke alone and 4) sinus rhythm without stroke, levels of F1 + 2 were higher (and marginally higher TAT) in patients with AF and stroke than in those without stroke, revealing that there is a true clotting activation state in these subjects.