Novel high-precision current-mode multiplier/divider

In this paper, a method to reduce the second order effects on the circuit performances caused by the small sized MOS transistors is proposed. A current mode square-root circuit, a squarer/divider circuit and a multiplier/divider circuit are designed using this method. Proposed circuits have been simulated with SPICE simulator using 0.35 μm CMOS technology parameters. The main advantages of the proposed circuit are reduced errors of the output current function, a smaller area on the chip, possibility of controlling the output current with the control voltage, operation at higher frequencies and more efficient power consumption. As a result, it can be considered as a useful building block for IC designer.     

Diversity and Software Development

Scott E. Page's diversity framework provides useful insights regarding software engineering research, practice, and education. This editorial discusses the concepts and implications of diversity in this context.     

Episodic memory and metamemory in Parkinson’s disease patients.

This study investigated episodic memory and metamemory for verbs and nouns in patients who have cognitive impairments associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD patients and healthy control participants were asked to recall word pairs and provide feeling-of-knowing (FOK) judgments for the items they were unable to recall. This was followed by a 4-alternative recognition test. PD patients were impaired in both recall and recognition, compared with controls. In terms of metamemory, PD patients were less confident in their ability to recognize the unrecalled items in a future recognition test. Most important, accuracy of PD patients’ FOK judgments was not above chance and was lower than that of control participants. The PD group correctly recognized fewer verbs than nouns, but type of material (verb vs. noun) had no impact on recall or FOK judgments. In addition, contribution of executive functions to FOK accuracy was different in PD patients and controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

TN approximation on the critical size of time-dependent,one-speed and one-dimensional neutron transport problem with anisotropic scattering

The criticality problem is studied based on one-speed time-dependent neutron transport theory, for a uniform and finite slab, using the Marshak boundary condition. The time-dependent neutron transport equation is reduced to a stationary equation. The variation of the critical thickness of the time-dependent system is investigated by using the linear anisotropic scattering kernel together with the combination of forward and backward scattering. Numerical calculations for various combinations of the scattering parameters and selected values of the time decay constant and the reflection coefficient are performed by using the Chebyshev polynomials approximation method. The results are compared with those previously obtained by other methods which are available in the literature.     

Forecasting of entropy production due to buoyant convection using support vector machines (SVM) in a partially cooled square cross-sectional room

Forecasting of entropy generation of laminar natural convection in a partially cooled square cross-sectional room has been performed using support vector machines (SVM). The two-dimensional room was modeled as floor heating story with a window. Values of temperature and velocities were obtained by solving governing equations of natural convection with finite difference technique and using these values entropy generation was calculated with its definition. Forecasting of entropy generation due to fluid friction irreversibility (FFI) and heat transfer irreversibility (HTI) were made with known values for unknown parameters using SVM. Thus, calculation time was extremely reduced and values were obtained even for non-convergence cases. It was observed that the SVM was a strong method to predict the entropy generation without computational fluid dynamic analysis for all cases.     

The impact of a realistic packet traffic model on the performance of surveillance wireless sensor networks

It is quite common to see that classical periodic or Poisson packet traffic models are used for evaluating the performance of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). However, these models may not be appropriate for modeling the data traffic resulting from a particular application. Furthermore, they may be overestimating the performance of a WSN. In this paper, we show the significance of using a realistic and application-specific packet traffic model by comparing the performance of a well-known WSN protocol under the Surveillance WSN packet traffic model (SPTM), as well as under periodic and binomial traffic models. A packet traffic framework specific to surveillance applications is proposed which is then used for deriving SPTM analytically. In order to be adaptable and flexible, SPTM incorporates a probabilistic and parametric sensor detection model. Simulation results show that to employ an application-specific packet traffic model has significant impact on the performance evaluation of the WSN and ordinary traffic models may overestimate the capacity of the WSN.     

Sustainable energy production and consumption in Turkey: A review

In this century, energy has been the driving force of the global economy and it will, for sure, continue to be one of the most important element for the sustainable socio-economic development for the coming centuries. Therefore, energy producers and governors have a vital duty to provide enough energy in good quality continuously with low cost for the sustainable development. The subject of energy production and energy politics in Turkey generally comes at first privilege. Ahead of the 21st century, Turkish energy diplomacy started to affect the future course of Turkey’s relations with the Eurasian countries as well as the Western countries. This paper describes energy production and consumption strategies in Turkey and criticizes Turkish energy policies. If the present pattern of energy production and consumption in Turkey is maintained, there will be serious problems to meet future energy demands due to shortages of resources and low financial inputs, combined with the environmental care for the country. As a result, major components of Turkey’s strategy for sustainable development should include changing the present energy production and consumption patterns, expanding energy sources and the structure of power production, and creating an energy structure that is less or not at all risky to the environment.     

A Comparison of Nonlinear Stochastic Self-Exciting Threshold Autoregressive and Chaotic <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-Nearest Neighbour Models in Daily Streamflow Forecasting

A nonlinear stochastic self-exciting threshold autoregressive (SETAR) model and a chaotic k-nearest neighbour (k-nn) model, for the first time, were compared in one and multi-step ahead daily flow forecasting for nine rivers with low, medium, and high flows in the western United States. The embedding dimension and the number of nearest neighbours of the k-nn model and the parameters of the SETAR model were identified by a trial-and-error process and a least mean square error estimation method, respectively. Employing the recursive forecasting strategy for the first time in multi-step forecasting of SETAR and k-nn, the results indicated that SETAR is superior to k-nn by means of performance indices. SETAR models were found to be more efficient in forecasting flows in one and multi-step forecasting. SETAR is less sensitive to the propagated error variances than the k-nn model, particularly for larger lead times (i.e., 5 days). The k-nn model should carefully be used in multi-step ahead forecasting where peak flow forecasting is important by considering the risk of error propagation.     

Packet Reservation Window Multiple Access for Microcellular Voice/Data Transmission

We propose a new packet reservation multiple access (PRMA) scheme for the joint transmission of voice and data traffics in a microcellular medium. The collision resolution protocol within the system is based on a modification of the window random access algorithm, which has superior properties compared to the conventional slotted Aloha. The proposed algorithm, which we call packet reservation window multiple access (PRWMA), works in distinct modes for voice and data without prioritization, and the user performs slightly different operations depending on the information type. Simulation results show that PRWMA outperforms PRMA by a significant margin in terms of voice user capacity.