An efficient optimistic message logging scheme for recoverable mobile computing systems

A number of checkpointing and message logging algorithms have been proposed to support fault tolerance of mobile computing systems. However, little attention has been paid to the optimistic message logging scheme. Optimistic logging has a lower failure-free operation cost compared to other logging schemes. It also has a lower failure recovery cost compared to the checkpointing schemes. This paper presents an efficient scheme to implement optimistic logging for the mobile computing environment. In the proposed scheme, the task of logging is assigned to the mobile support station so that volatile logging can be utilized. In addition, to reduce the message overhead, the mobile support station takes care of dependency tracking and the potential dependency between mobile hosts is inferred from the dependency between mobile support stations. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated by an extensive simulation study. The results show that the proposed scheme requires a small failure-free overhead and the cost of unnecessary rollback caused by the imprecise dependency is adjustable by properly selecting the logging frequency.     

A simple mathematical analysis on the effect of sand in Cr(VI) reduction using zero valent iron

A simple mathematical model was proposed to analyze the enhancement of Cr(VI) reduction when sand materials are added to the zero valent iron (ZVI). Natural decay of Cr(VI) in a control experiment was analyzed by using a zero-order decay reaction. Adsorption kinetics of Cr(VI) to sand was modeled as a first-order reversible process, and the reduction rate by ZVI was treated as a first-order reaction. Natural decay of Cr(VI) was also included in other experiments, i.e., the adsorption to sand, the reduction by ZVI, and both adsorption and reduction when sand and ZVI are present together. The model parameters were estimated by fitting the solution of each model to the corresponding experimental data. To observe the effect of sand addition to ZVI, both adsorption and reduction rate models were considered simultaneously including the natural decay. The solution of the combined model was fitted to the experimental data to determine the first-order adsorption and reduction rate constants when sand as well as ZVI is present. The first-order reduction rate constant in the presence of sand was about 35 times higher than that with ZVI only.     

Probing stress effects in HfO2 gate stacks with time dependent measurements

Effects of constant voltage stress (CVS) on gate stacks consisting of an ALD HfO₂ dielectric with various interfacial layers were studied with time dependent sensing measurements: DC I–V, pulse I–V, and charge pumping (CP) at different frequencies. The process of injected electron trapping/de-trapping on pre-existing defects in the bulk of the high-κ film was found to constitute the major contribution to the time dependence of the threshold voltage (V_t) shift during stress. The trap generation observed with the low frequency CP measurements is suggested to occur within the interfacial oxide layer or the interfacial layer/high-κ interface, with only a minor effect on V_t.     

Facile synthesis of nanocrystalline zinc ferrite via a self-propagating combustion method

Macroporous nanocrystalline zinc ferrite with single spinel-phase was prepared by a facile self-propagating combustion method using zinc nitrate, iron nitrate and glycine. The as-prepared ZnFe₂O₄ were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, N₂ adsorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS). The magnetic properties of the prepared ZnFe₂O₄ were also studied.     

An Area Optimization Method for Digital Filter Design

In this paper, we propose an efficient design method for area optimization in a digital filter. The conventional methods to reduce the number of adders in a filter have the problem of a long critical path delay caused by the deep logic depth of the filter due to adder sharing. Furthermore, there is such a disadvantage that they use the transposed direct form (TDF) filter which needs more registers than those of the direct form (DF) filter. In this paper, we present a hybrid structure of a TDF and DF based on the flattened coefficients method so that it can reduce the number of flip‐flops and full‐adders without additional critical path delay. We also propose a resource sharing method and sharing‐pattern searching algorithm to reduce the number of adders without deepening the logic depth. Simulation results show that the proposed structure can save the number of adders and registers by 22 and 26%, respectively, compared to the best one used in the past.     

Extraction of halide quaternary salts in an organic solvent/water system: Hydrodynamics and mass transfer

The hydrodynamic characteristics and mass transfers of halide quaternary salts between two immiscible phases in a stirred membrane permeation cell were investigated. The concentration of quaternary salt, temperature, solvent and the four kinds of halide quaternary salts were evaluated to achieve the extractive optimum condition. The diffusivity, overall mass‐transfer coefficients and individual mass‐transfer coefficients were determined and correlated in terms of the conventional Sh‐Re‐Sc relationship. The transfer time of quaternary salts across the membrane and the thickness of the hydrodynamic diffusion boundary layer were determined as well, so as to characterize the extractive phenomenon of quaternary salts between the two phases that is useful in phase‐transfer catalysis.     

Eigen filter to detect volitional EMG signals in autogenic EMG-controlled FES

Presented is an eigen filter to remove autogenic electrical stimulation artefacts and M-waves while preserving the volitional electromyographic signal. The optimality of the eigen filter is shown, along with simulated and measured data to indicate its superior performance over conventional prediction error filters.     

Pervaporation separation of aqueous mixtures using crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol), I. Characterization of the reaction between PVA and amic acid

For the purposes of new membrane material development for pervaporation separation based on crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), IR spectroscopy and DSC were used to characterize the crosslinking reaction and the imidization of the (PVA)-amic acid system. The IR spectra and the thermal analysis were performed on specimens that had been reacted for several different times at 150°C. The crosslinking reaction between the hydroxy groups of PVA and the carboxylic groups of amic acid was faster than the imidization of the amic acid. The best reaction times were about 30 min for the crosslinking reaction and 90 min for the imidization. The effects of the reaction time and the amic acid content on the thermal and mechanical properties have also been investigated.     

Structure and processability of iodinated poly(vinyl alcohol). IV. Drawability of the films iodinated at solution before casting

The drawability of iodinated at solution before casting (IBC) polyvinyl alcohol films prepared by casting aqueous solutions of 10 wt % PVA containing 15.2, 39.8, 83.2, 117.0, and 140.1% was examined with a tensile tester at 20–60°C. The tensile behavior of IBC films showed that the yield and breaking loads were much lower, and the breaking elongation was even higher than those of the unoriented iodinated after casting (IAC) films as well as the untreated PVA films. The maximum draw ratios of the films with the weight gain of 15.2, 39.8, 83.2, 117, and 140.1% were 4.5, 5.5, 8.5, 8.0, and 7.5, respectively, which were achieved at 20°C in all. The crystallinity of all films increased by the maximum draw, regardless of crystallinity before drawing. The crystalline structure was recovered to the original PVA crystalline lattice by deiodination. Amorphous orientation and initial moduli increased with the maximum draw ratio, while the orientation of crystals was constant. The orientation and moduli increased up to the weight gain of 83.2%, whose highest draw ratio and initial modulus were 8.5 and of 7.1 GPa, respectively, and then decreased. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008