Web cache replacement policies: a pragmatic approach

Research involving Web cache replacement policy has been active for at least a decade. In this-article we would like to claim that there is a sufficient number of good policies, and further proposals would only produce minute improvements. We argue that the focus should be fitness for purpose rather than proposing any new policies. Up to now, almost all policies were purported to perform better than others, creating confusion as to which policy should be used. Actually, a policy only performs well in certain environments. Therefore, the goal of this article is to identify the appropriate policies for proxies with different characteristics, such as proxies with a small cache, limited bandwidth, and limited processing power, as well as suggest policies for different types of proxies, such as ISP-level and root-level proxies.     

Adaptive antennas at the mobile and base stations in an OFDM/TDMAsystem

Several smart antenna systems have been proposed and demonstrated at the base station (BS) of wireless communications systems, and these have shown that significant system performance improvement is possible. We consider the use of adaptive antennas at the BS and mobile stations (MS), operating jointly, in combination with orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing. The advantages of the proposed system includes reductions in average error probability and increases in capacity compared to conventional systems. Multiuser access, in space, time, and through subcarriers, is also possible and expressions for the exact joint optimal antenna weights at the BS and MS under cochannel interference conditions for fading channels are derived. To demonstrate the potential of our proposed system, analytical along with Monte Carlo simulation results are provided     

Serial communication circuit with optimized skew characteristics

This letter highlights features of an optimized serial communication system, including an oversampling technique of data recovery, issues related to off-board communications and a modified universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) implemented in a programmable logic device (PLD). The resulting system provides high skew tolerance at 44 Mb/s data rate and has achieved a transmission distance of 130 m, at this rate, with the aid of an enhanced differential transceiver circuit. The principal application is for embedded systems with medium distance communication requirements. This UART can be integrated with other communication functions, such as packet routing switches, in a PLD device     

高性能有源混频器克服射频发射器设计挑战

下一代蜂窝基站发射器设计给射频设计师带来了极大挑战。这些无线系统严格要求传送具有低噪声和低互调及低谐波失真的纯净信号。因为在传送多载波信号的同时要求更高阶调制，所以就使这些系统的设计更具有挑战性了。设计这些系统对混频器线性性能要求很高。过去，无源二极管环形混频器一直是满足这些要求的首选方案。今天，新一代有源混频器在节省成本、功耗和空间方面具有极大的优势，同时解决了一些与高性能发射器设计有关的技术难题。     

Understanding Boosted Selective CO2-to-CO Photoreduction with Pure Water Vapor over Hierarchical Biomass-Derived Carbon Matrix

Solar-driven CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) with water into carbon-neutral fuels is of great significance but remains challenging due to thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness of CO₂. Biomass-derived nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C_b) have been considered as promising earth-abundant photocatalysts for CO₂RR, although their activities are not ideal and the reaction mechanism is still unclear. Herein, an efficient catalyst is developed for CO₂-to-CO conversion realized on diverse N-C_b materials with hierarchical pore structures. It is demonstrated that the CO₂-to-CO conversion preferentially takes place on positively charged carbon atoms next to pyridinic-N using two representatives treated pollens with the largest difference in pyridinic-N density and N content as model photocatalysts. Systematic experimental results indicate that surface local electric field originating from charge separation can be boosted by hierarchical pore structures, doped N, as well as pyridinic-N. Mechanistic studies reveal that positively charged carbon atoms next to pyridinic-N serve as active sites for CO₂RR, reduce the energy barrier on the formation of CO*, and facilitate the CO₂RR performance. All these benefits cooperatively contribute to treated chrysanthemum pollen catalyst exhibiting excellent CO formation rate of 203.2 µmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ with 97.2% selectivity in pure water vapor. These results provide a new perspective into CO₂RR on N-C_b, which shall guide the design of nature-based photocatalysts for high-performance solar-fuel generation.     

Smart Skin-Adhesive Patches: From Design to Biomedical Applications

With the advancement of medical and digital technologies, smart skin adhesive patches have emerged as a key player for complex medical purposes. In particular, skin adhesive patches with integrated electronics have created an excellent platform for monitoring health conditions and intelligent medication. However, the efficient design of the adhesive patches is still challenging as it requires a strong combination of network structure, adhesion, physical properties, and biocompatibility. To design an assimilated device, one must have a deep knowledge of various skin adhesive patches. This article provides a comprehensive review of the recent advances in skin-adhesive patches, including hydrogel-based adhesive patches, transdermal patches, and electronic skin (E-skin) patches, for various biomedical applications such as wound healing, drug delivery, biosensing, and health monitoring. Furthermore, the key challenges, implementable strategies, and future designs that can potentially provide researchers in designing innovative multipurpose smart skin patches are discussed. These advanced approaches are promising for managing the health and fitness of patients who require regular medical care.     

常用投影大地线的高效展绘及Mathematica实现

针对大地线方程的复杂性及高效展绘难以实现的问题,以第三扁率n 改化大地问题正反解的计算公式,根据法截线方位角与大地方位角的数学关系提高大地方位角计算精度,并提出了等间距内插的大地线展绘方法;利用Mathematica 建立了精度自适应控制模型,提高了等间距内插的效率和精度;利用Mathematica 强大的绘图功能实现了不同距离和应用场景下不同地图投影的大地线展绘,挖掘了大地线展绘的应用价值。实验结果表明：该方法在精度可控的条件下能实现对任意长度大地线的高效率展绘,不同地图投影的大地线展绘在不同的应用场景下具有独特的意义。     

Performance of large-size superconducting coil in 0.21T MRI system

A high-temperature superconductor (HTS) was used on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) receiver coils to improve image quality because of its intrinsic low electrical resistivity. Typical HTS coils are surface coils made of HTS thin-film wafers. Their applications are severely limited by the field of view (FOV) of the surface coil configuration, and the improvement in image quality by HTS coil is also reduced as the ratio of sample noise to coil noise increases. Therefore, previous HTS coils are usually used to image small in vitro samples, small animals, or peripheral human anatomies. We used large-size HTS coils (2.5-, 3.5-, and 5.5-in mean diameter) to enhance the FOV and we evaluated their performance through phantom and human MR images. Comparisons were made among HTS surface coils, copper surface coils, and cool copper surface coils in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity profile of the images. A theoretical model prediction was also used to compare against the experimental result. We then selected several human body parts, including the wrist, feet, and head, to illustrate the advantage of HTS coil over copper coil when used in human imaging. The results show an SNR gain of 200% for 5.5-in HTS coil versus same size copper coils, while for 2.5- and 3.5-in coils it is 250%. We also address the various factors that affect the performance of large size HTS coils, including the coil-to-sample spacing due to cryogenic probe and the coil-loading effect.     

Training Signal Design for Estimation of Correlated MIMO Channels With Colored Interference

In this paper, we study the problem of estimating correlated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels in the presence of colored interference. The linear minimum mean square error (MMSE) channel estimator is derived and the optimal training sequences are designed based on the MSE of channel estimation. We propose an algorithm to estimate the long-term channel statistics needed for the construction of the optimal training sequences. We also design an efficient scheme to feed back the required information to the transmitter where we can approximately construct the optimal sequences. Numerical results show that the optimal training sequences provide substantial performance gain for channel estimation when compared with other training sequences     

A Composite Circuit Model for NDR Devices in Random Access Memory Cells

Devices exhibiting negative differential resistance (NDR), such as resonant tunneling diodes and Esaki-type diodes, offer the promise of converting a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell to operate like a static random access memory cell with potentially lower dynamic power dissipation and faster read and write operations than a conventional DRAM. However, a circuit model that describes the operation of the resulting novel memory cell and is of use for both hand analysis and design, and circuit simulation as has yet been developed due to the non-analytical current-voltage curve of the two NDR devices in the cell. In this paper, a "composite" circuit model is presented that describes the relationship between current and voltage at the common node of connection of the two NDR devices. The composite model is analytical and can easily be implemented in SPICE or any circuit simulator. It is also useful for hand analysis of the read/write performance metrics. Finally, comparisons of composite models are presented