Dependence of mechanical and tribological performance on the microstructure of (CrAlTiNbV)Nx high-entropy nitride coatings in aviation lubricant

The (CrAlTiNbV)N_x coatings are fabricated by controlling the substrate bias via magnetron sputtering method. Under low substrate bias, the coating tends to form a loose columnar crystal structure with (200) preferred orientation. However, when the substrate bias increases, the coating transforms into a dense nanocrystalline structure, and the (111) orientation is enhanced. As the substrate bias increases, the residual stress and hardness of the coating gradually increase, while the adhesion strength decreases slightly. Friction tests show that the coating possesses the lowest average friction coefficient (about 0.06) and wear rate (8.7 × 10^-9 mm³/N·m) in 4050# aviation lubricant, which is achieved under the substrate bias of -96 V and -126 V, respectively.     

Automated network management and configuration using Probabilistic Trans-Algorithmic Search

Online configuration of large-scale systems such as networks requires parameter optimization within a limited amount of time, especially when configuration is needed as a response to recover from a failure in the system. To quickly configure such systems in an online manner, we propose a Probabilistic Trans-Algorithmic Search (PTAS) framework which leverages multiple optimization search algorithms in an iterative manner. PTAS applies a search algorithm to determine how to best distribute available experiment budget among multiple optimization search algorithms. It allocates an experiment budget to each available search algorithm and observes its performance on the system-at-hand. PTAS then probabilistically reallocates the experiment budget for the next round proportional to each algorithm’s performance relative to the rest of the algorithms. This “roulette wheel” approach probabilistically favors the more successful algorithm in the next round. Following each round, the PTAS framework “transfers” the best result(s) among the individual algorithms, making our framework a trans-algorithmic one. PTAS thus aims to systematize how to “search for the best search” and hybridize a set of search algorithms to attain a better search. We use three individual search algorithms, i.e., Recursive Random Search (RRS) (Ye and Kalyanaraman, 2004), Simulated Annealing (SA) (Laarhoven and Aarts, 1987), and Genetic Algorithm (GA) (Goldberg, 1989), and compare PTAS against the performance of RRS, GA, and SA. We show the performance of PTAS on well-known benchmark objective functions including scenarios where the objective function changes in the middle of the optimization process. To illustrate applicability of our framework to automated network management, we apply PTAS on the problem of optimizing link weights of an intra-domain routing protocol on three different topologies obtained from the Rocketfuel dataset. We also apply PTAS on the problem of optimizing aggregate throughput of a wireless ad hoc network by tuning datarates of traffic sources. Our experiments show that PTAS successfully picks the best performing algorithm, RRS or GA, and allocates the time wisely. Further, our results show that PTAS’ performance is not transient and steadily improves as more time is available for search.     

抗真菌蛋白Rs-AFP2基因定点突变及其对大肠杆菌中表达的影响

为了研究遗传密码子对表达调控的影响,利用PCR重叠延伸法,对萝卜抗真菌蛋白Rs-AFP2基因编码序列区的部分核苷酸进行沉默突变,构建突变体Rs-AFPm.序列分析表明,PCR产物全长240bp,有一个阅读框,编码的蛋白由29个氨基酸的信号肽和51个氨基酸的抗真菌蛋白组成.突变体与突变前的Rs-AFP2基因相比,在编码区第3号氨基酸Lys相差一个碱基(TTG→TTA),第5号氨基酸Gln相差一个碱基(CAG→CAA),第6号稀有密码子Arg相差两个碱基(CAG→CGA).重新合成引物,将切除信号肽的Rs-AFP2基因和Rs-AFPm基因与原核表达载体pET-21b(+)分别重组到大肠杆菌BL21菌株.IPTG诱导后,二者均得到了表达.软件分析显示,突变前pETAFPo表达产物占全菌蛋白的3%,突变后pETAFPm的表达产物占全菌蛋白含量的8%;表达蛋白主要以包涵体的形式存在,包涵体经超声波破碎后,蛋白质复性,抑菌结果表明,pETAFPm表达产物的抑菌半径大于pETAFP2表达产物的抑菌半径.这些都说明改造后的Rs-AFPm基因与Rs-AFP2基因相比,已有效地提高表达量.     

Life is pleasant--and memory helps to keep it that way!

People's recollections of the past are often positively biased. This bias has 2 causes. The 1st cause lies in people's perceptions of events. The authors review the results of several studies and present several new comparative analyses of these studies, all of which indicate that people perceive events in their lives to more often be pleasant than unpleasant. A 2nd cause is the fading affect bias: The affect associated with unpleasant events fades faster than the affect associated with pleasant events. The authors review the results of several studies documenting this bias and present evidence indicating that dysphoria (mild depression) disrupts such bias. Taken together, this evidence suggests that autobiographical memory represents an important exception to the theoretical claim that bad is stronger than good. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

一类Feistel密码的线性分析

该文提出一种新的求取分组密码线性偏差上界的方法，特别适用于密钥线性作用的Feistel密码．该分析方法的思路是，首先对密码体制线性偏差进行严格的数学描述，分别给出密码线性偏差与轮函数F及S盒的线性偏差的数学关系；然后通过求取线性方程组最小重量解，确定密码线性偏差的上界．     

Biases of Success Rate Differences Shown in Binomial Effect Size Displays.

The intent of a binomial effect size display (BESD) is to show "the [real-world] importance of [an] effect indexed by a correlation [r]" (R. Rosenthal, 1994, p. 242) by reexpressing this correlation as a success rate difference (SRD) (e.g., treatment group success rate - control group success rate). However, SRDs displayed in BESDs generally overestimate real-world SRDs implied by correlations of (a) dichotomous X and Y variables (φ coefficients), (b) dichotomous X and continuous Y variables (point-biserial coefficients [rphs]). and (c) continuous X and Y variables (rxys). Furthermore, overestimation biases are larger for rxys than for rphs. Differences in the sizes of biases linked to different correlations suggest that BESD SRDs reported for different correlations are not comparable. The stochastic difference index (N. Cliff, 1993: A. Vargha & H. D. Delaney, 2000) is recommended as an alternative to the BESD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A novel compact circuit for 4-PAM energy-efficient high speed interconnect data transmission and reception

Transmission of signals, whether on-chip or off-chip, places severe constraints on timing and extracts a large price in energy. New silicon device technologies, such as back-plane CMOS, provide a programmable and adaptable threshold voltage as an additional tool that can be used for low power design. We show that one particularly desirable use of this freedom is energy-efficient high-speed transmission across long interconnects using multi-valued encoding. Our multi-valued CMOS circuits take advantage of the threshold voltage control of the transistors, by using the signal-voltage-to-threshold-voltage span, in order to make area-efficient implementations of 4-PAM (pulse amplitude modulation) transceivers operating at high speed. In a comparison of a variety of published technologies, for signal transmission with interconnects of 10-15 mm length, we show up to 50% improvement in energy for on-chip signal transmission over binary encoding together with higher limits for operating speeds without a penalty in circuit noise margin.     

智能电动机控制器在电收尘通风机上的应用

对智能电动机控制器的情况作了介绍，结合工作实践提出了维护要点和建议，并对该控制器的参数设置进行了说明，这对使用该设备的工业企业有一定的指导意义。     

Halo effects in grading student projects.

Halo effects in rating specific pieces of work, as in educational grading, have received little attention. Grades awarded by 2 independent graders to undergraduate projects were analyzed with a correlated uniqueness model. Grades showed substantial halo despite being awarded by expert assessors at the time of reading the work. There was greater halo between different grades applying to the same section of the project than between grades applying to different sections. Supervisors who had regular contact with the student whose work they were grading showed no more halo than other graders. More reliable graders showed less within-section halo than graders of lower reliability but equal between-sections halo. The halo effects observed cannot be entirely attributable to a unitary general impression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)