Shift-or string matching with super-alphabets

Given a text T[1…n] and a pattern P[1…m] over some alphabet Σ of size σ, we want to find all the (exact) occurrences of P in T. The well-known shift-or algorithm solves this problem in time O(n⌈m/w⌉), where w is the number of bits in machine word, using bit-parallelism. We show how to extend the bit-parallelism in another direction, using super-alphabets. This gives a speed-up by a factor s, where s is the number of characters processed simultaneously. The algorithm is implemented, and we show that it works well in practice too. The result is the fastest known algorithm for exact string matching for short patterns and small alphabets.     

Improved Soft-Output RAKE Receiver for CDMA Mobile Terminals with High Data Rates

In this paper we propose a soft-output RAKE receiver for CDMA mobile terminals using low spreading factor and/or high-order modulation constellations for high data rates. Based on the outputs of theRAKE correlator fingers, the receiver produces symbol or bit metrics for soft decision decoding. The formulation of these metrics is derived analytically taking into account the multipath propagation, interfering users and channel estimation errors. Simulations show thata performance gain is achieved when low spreading factors or high-order modulation constellations are used.     

Effects of thermal oxidation conditions of silicon electrodes on cathodic electrochemiluminescence of Ru(bpy)3 chelate

Hot electrons emitted from thin oxide film-coated heavily doped silicon electrodes by cathodic pulse polarization can induce electrochemiluminescence from luminophores. The intensity of electrochemiluminescence produced at the electrode surface is dependent on the features of thin oxide films formed by thermal oxidation. As a preliminary study, we investigated the effect of thermal oxide growth conditions on the intensity of electrochemiluminescence produced at these electrodes, such as oxidation atmospheres, oxidation temperature, oxidation time and pre-treatment of wafers, using ruthenium(II) tris-(2,2′-bipyridine) chelate as a model luminophore. Optimal oxidation conditions of heavily doped silicon electrodes were obtained for the generation of intense electrochemiluminescence at this kind of silicon electrodes.     

Metallocene‐based functionalized polyolefins as compatibilizers in polyolefin nanocomposites

This article reports a study of some functionalized polyolefins evaluated as compatibilizers in polyethylene nanocomposites. The functionalized polymers were prepared by direct metallocene‐mediated copolymerizations of ethylene and a functional comonomer. The prepared nanocomposites were evaluated for mechanical and barrier property enhancement. A good combination of mechanical and barrier properties was obtained with the metallocene‐based functionalized polyethylene. The toughness–stiffness balance was better than or comparable to that achieved with conventional functionalized polymers such as maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene. The results also indicated that these metallocene‐based functionalized polyolefins, when used as compatibilizers, could have relatively higher molar masses and lower functionality than those of conventional post‐reactor‐modified compatibilizers, and so the drawbacks associated with the latter could be avoided. Their inherent properties could also further improve the final nanocomposite properties. This was attributed to the more homogeneous nature of metallocene‐catalyzed polymers in comparison with post‐reactor‐modified products. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 1094–1100, 2004     

An industry experiment on the effects of test-driven development on external quality and productivity

Existing empirical studies on test-driven development (TDD) report different conclusions about its effects on quality and productivity. Very few of those studies are experiments conducted with software professionals in industry. We aim to analyse the effects of TDD on the external quality of the work done and the productivity of developers in an industrial setting. We conducted an experiment with 24 professionals from three different sites of a software organization. We chose a repeated-measures design, and asked subjects to implement TDD and incremental test last development (ITLD) in two simple tasks and a realistic application close to real-life complexity. To analyse our findings, we applied a repeated-measures general linear model procedure and a linear mixed effects procedure. We did not observe a statistical difference between the quality of the work done by subjects in both treatments. We observed that the subjects are more productive when they implement TDD on a simple task compared to ITLD, but the productivity drops significantly when applying TDD to a complex brownfield task. So, the task complexity significantly obscured the effect of TDD. Further evidence is necessary to conclude whether TDD is better or worse than ITLD in terms of external quality and productivity in an industrial setting. We found that experimental factors such as selection of tasks could dominate the findings in TDD studies.     

Optimization of the metakaolin geopolymer preparation for maximized ammonium adsorption capacity

Geopolymers are functional materials that can be used in various environmental applications such as adsorbents in pollutant removal from wastewaters. Metakaolin geopolymer (MK-GP) has been proven to be especially suitable for ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) removal. In this research, the optimal reagent and raw material ratios in the preparation of MK-GP in terms of NH₄ ⁺ adsorption capacity were investigated. The response surface methodology based on the face-centered central composite design was used to optimize the levels of three factors: the amounts of hydroxide, silicate, and metakaolin. In addition, the effect of Na or K as the charge-balancing cation was studied. Empirical models were fitted to the experimental data using multiple linear regression. The significance of the models was confirmed by means of analysis of variance. Optimal NH₄ ⁺ removal efficiency was achieved when the amounts of hydroxide and silicate were maximized, the amount of metakaolin was minimized, and Na-based reagents were used. These trends are most likely a result of optimized conversion of metakaolin into MK-GP.     

Levels of mycotoxins and sample cytotoxicity of selected organic and conventional grain-based products purchased from Finnish and Italian markets

The contamination levels of 16 different Fusarium- and Aspergillus-mycotoxins were chemically determined from randomly selected organic and conventional grain-based products purchased from Finnish and Italian markets. The cytotoxicity of the samples was analyzed with an in vitro test using feline fetal lung cells. Overall, the concentrations of the mycotoxins studied were low in all of the samples. Enniatins B and B1 as well as deoxynivalenol were the most predominant mycotoxins in the samples, being present in 97%, 97%, and 90% of the samples, respectively. The geographical origin or the agricultural practice had no influence on the mycotoxin concentrations of the samples. The babyfoods included in the samples had significantly lower concentrations of mycotoxins than the other products with a mean total mycotoxin content of 47 microg/kg compared with 99 microg/kg for the other kinds of food. All the samples evoked toxicity in the in vitro test, but no correlation between cytotoxicity and the mycotoxin concentrations was observed.     

Furan in the baby-food samples purchased from the Finnish markets – Determination with SPME–GC–MS

A method applying solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometric determination was in-house validated and used to study furan concentrations in baby-food samples purchased from the Finnish markets. The validation parameters showed that the method was well applicable for the reliable analysis of furan. Furan was analysed in 21 different baby-food samples as three independent replicates. The mean levels of furan varied between 4.7 and 90.3 μg kg⁻¹ being well in accordance with the levels reported in other studies. The mean concentrations of similar product formulas based on their ingredients were 9.2, 37.0 and 49.6 μg kg⁻¹ for fruit-, vegetables- and meat-containing baby-foods, respectively. According to the statistical analyses, fruit-based baby-food samples had significantly lower concentrations of furan as compared to other formulas. Based on our exercise, it seems that a low margin of safety exists between the extreme worst case infant exposures and the deduced NOAEL of furan on experimental animals, particularly for a clear rodent carcinogen.