Polynomial-Time Verification and Testing of Implementations of the Snapshot Data Structure

We analyze correctness of implementations of the snapshot data structure in terms of linearizability. We show that such implementations can be verified in polynomial time. Additionally, we identify a set of representative executions for testing and show that the correctness of each of these executions can be validated in linear time. These results present a significant speedup considering that verifying linearizability of implementations of concurrent data structures, in general, is EXPSPACE-complete in the number of program-states, and testing linearizability is NP-complete in the length of the tested execution. The crux of our approach is identifying a class of executions, which we call simple, such that a snapshot implementation is linearizable if and only if all of its simple executions are linearizable. We then divide all possible non-linearizable simple executions into three categories and construct a small automaton that recognizes each category. We describe two implementations (one for verification and one for testing) of an automata-based approach that we develop based on this result and an evaluation that demonstrates significant improvements over existing tools. For verification, we show that restricting a state-of-the-art tool to analyzing only simple executions saves resources and allows the analysis of more complex cases. Specifically, restricting attention to simple executions finds bugs in 27 instances, whereas, without this restriction, we were only able to find 14 of the 30 bugs in the instances we examined. We also show that our technique accelerates testing performance significantly. Specifically, our implementation solves the complete set of 900 problems we generated, whereas the state-of-the-art linearizability testing tool solves only 554 problems

Performance assessment of real-time data management on wireless sensor networks

Technological advances in recent years have allowed the maturity of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which aim at performing environmental monitoring and data collection. This sort of network is composed of hundreds, thousands or probably even millions of tiny smart computers known as wireless sensor nodes, which may be battery powered, equipped with sensors, a radio transceiver, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and some memory. However due to the small size and the requirements of low-cost nodes, these sensor node resources such as processing power, storage and especially energy are very limited. Once the sensors perform their measurements from the environment, the problem of data storing and querying arises. In fact, the sensors have restricted storage capacity and the on-going interaction between sensors and environment results huge amounts of data. Techniques for data storage and query in WSN can be based on either external storage or local storage. The external storage, called warehousing approach, is a centralized system on which the data gathered by the sensors are periodically sent to a central database server where user queries are processed. The local storage, in the other hand called distributed approach, exploits the capabilities of sensors calculation and the sensors act as local databases. The data is stored in a central database server and in the devices themselves, enabling one to query both. The WSNs are used in a wide variety of applications, which may perform certain operations on collected sensor data. However, for certain applications, such as real-time applications, the sensor data must closely reflect the current state of the targeted environment. However, the environment changes constantly and the data is collected in discreet moments of time. As such, the collected data has a temporal validity, and as time advances, it becomes less accurate, until it does not reflect the state of the environment any longer. Thus, these applications must query and analyze the data in a bounded time in order to make decisions and to react efficiently, such as industrial automation, aviation, sensors network, and so on. In this context, the design of efficient real-time data management solutions is necessary to deal with both time constraints and energy consumption. This thesis studies the real-time data management techniques for WSNs. It particularly it focuses on the study of the challenges in handling real-time data storage and query for WSNs and on the efficient real-time data management solutions for WSNs. First, the main specifications of real-time data management are identified and the available real-time data management solutions for WSNs in the literature are presented. Secondly, in order to provide an energy-efficient real-time data management solution, the techniques used to manage data and queries in WSNs based on the distributed paradigm are deeply studied. In fact, many research works argue that the distributed approach is the most energy-efficient way of managing data and queries in WSNs, instead of performing the warehousing. In addition, this approach can provide quasi real-time query processing because the most current data will be retrieved from the network. Thirdly, based on these two studies and considering the complexity of developing, testing, and debugging this kind of complex system, a model for a simulation framework of the real-time databases management on WSN that uses a distributed approach and its implementation are proposed. This will help to explore various solutions of real-time database techniques on WSNs before deployment for economizing money and time. Moreover, one may improve the proposed model by adding the simulation of protocols or place part of this simulator on another available simulator. For validating the model, a case study considering real-time constraints as well as energy constraints is discussed. Fourth, a new architecture that combines statistical modeling techniques with the distributed approach and a query processing algorithm to optimize the real-time user query processing are proposed. This combination allows performing a query processing algorithm based on admission control that uses the error tolerance and the probabilistic confidence interval as admission parameters. The experiments based on real world data sets as well as synthetic data sets demonstrate that the proposed solution optimizes the real-time query processing to save more energy while meeting low latency.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

Faculty Publications and Creative Works 2001

One of the ways in which we recognize our faculty at the University of New Mexico is through Faculty Publications & Creative Works. An annual publication, it highlights our faculty\u27s scholarly and creative activities and achievements and serves as a compendium of UNM faculty efforts during the 2001 calendar year. Faculty Publications & Creative Works strives to illustrate the depth and breadth of research activities performed throughout our University\u27s laboratories, studios and classrooms. We believe that the communication of individual research is a significant method of sharing concepts and thoughts and ultimately inspiring the birth of new ideas. In support of this, UNM faculty during 2001 produced over 2,299* works, including 1,685 scholarly papers and articles, 69 books, 269 book chapters, 184 reviews, 86 creative works and 6 patented works. We are proud of the accomplishments of our faculty which are in part reflected in this book, which illustrates the diversity of intellectual pursuits in support of research and education at the University of New Mexico

Marine Engines Performance and Emissions

This book contains a collection of peer-review scientific papers about marine engines’ performance and emissions. These papers were carefully selected for the “Marine Engines Performance and Emissions” Special Issue of the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. Recent advancements in engine technology have allowed designers to reduce emissions and improve performance. Nevertheless, further efforts are needed to comply with the ever increased emission legislations. This book was conceived for people interested in marine engines. This information concerning recent developments may be helpful to academics, researchers, and professionals engaged in the field of marine engineering

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 1546 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system from April 1, 1981 through June 30, 1981

Desarrollo y versatilidad del algoritmo de discretización Ameva.

Esta tesis presentada como un compendio de artículos, analiza el problema de reconocimiento de actividades y detección de caídas en dispositivos móviles donde el consumo de batería y la precisión del sistema son las principales áreas de investigación. Estos problemas se abordan mediante el establecimiento de un nuevo algoritmo de selección, discretización y clasificación basado en el núcleo del algoritmo Ameva. Gracias al proceso de discretización, se obtiene un sistema eficiente en términos de energía y precisión. El nuevo algoritmo de reconocimiento de actividad ha sido diseñado para ejecutarse en dispositivos móviles y smartphones, donde el consumo de energía es la característica más importante a tener en cuenta. Además, el algoritmo es eficiente en términos de precisión dando un resultado en tiempo real. Estas características se probaron tanto en una amplia gama de dispositivos móviles utilizando diferentes datasets del estado del arte en reconocimiento de actividades así como en escenarios reales como la competición EvAAL donde personas no relacionadas con el equipo de investigación llevaron un smartphone con el sistema desarrollado. En general, ha sido posible lograr un equilibrio entre la precisión y el consumo de energía. El algoritmo desarrollado se presentó en el track de reconocimiento de actividades de la competición EvAAL (Evaluation of Ambient Assisted Living Systems through Competitive Benchmarking), que tiene como objetivo principal la medición del rendimiento de hardware y software. El sistema fue capaz de detectar las actividades a través del conjunto establecido de puntos de referencia y métricas de evaluación. Se desarrolló para varias clases de actividades y obtiene una gran precisión cuando hay aproximadamente el dataset está balanceado en cuanto al número de ejemplos para cada clase durante la fase de entrenamiento. La solución logró el primer premio en la edición de 2012 y el tercer premio en la edición de 2013.This thesis, presented as a set of research papers, studies the problem of activity recognition and fall detection in mobile systems where the battery draining and the accuracy are the main areas of researching. These problems are tackled through the establishment of a new selection, discretization and classification algorithm based on the core of the algorithm Ameva. Thanks to the discretization process, it allows to get an efficient system in terms of energy and accuracy. The new activity recognition algorithm has been designed to be run in mobile systems, smartphones, where the energy consumption is the most important feature to take into account. Also, the algorithm had to be efficient in terms of accuracy giving an output in real time. These features were tested both in a wide range of mobile devices by applying usage data from recognized databases and in some real scenarios like the EvAAL competition where non-related people carried a smartphone with the developed system. In general, it had therefore been possible to achieve a trade-off between accuracy and energy consumption. The developed algorithm was presented in the Activity Recognition track of the competition EvAAL (Evaluation of Ambient Assisted Living Systems through Competitive Benchmarking), which has as main objective the measurement of hardware and software performance. The system was capable of detecting some activities through the established set of benchmarks and evaluation metrics. It has been developed for multi-class datasets and obtains a good accuracy when there is approximately the same number of examples for each class during the training phase. The solution achieved the first award in 2012 competition and the third award in 2013 edition

Co-ocurrencia de dos dinoflagelados tóxicos en la Bahía de Acapulco, Guerrero, México: una oportunidad para cuantificar su biología y ecología

Background and Aims: Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) commonly occur in the Mexican Pacific, being important HABs of Gymnodinium catenatum (Gc) and of Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum (Pbc) for being saxitoxin-producing dinoflagellates that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. The latter is a taxon that sporadically occurs in the tropical Mexican Pacific. This study describes the behavior of both taxa throughout the annual cycle and analyzes their morphology, abundance, distribution, and their bloom dynamics, in relation to environmental and climatological parameters. Methods: Phytoplankton collections were made ten times from October 2009 to January 2011 within Acapulco Bay and its surroundings, together with measurements of physicochemical parameters. Climatic data were obtained from Acapulco weather station. Abundance of phytoplankton was evaluated with the Utermöhl method. Statistical analyses were carried out to investigate the relationship of Gc and Pbc abundances with environmental and climatic parameters. Key results: Gc was present throughout the year 2010 in low densities and in November 2010 it reached a maximum of 189×103 cells l-1, associated with several species of diatoms and dinoflagellates, including Pbc. Gc bloom coincides with decrease in ammonium and decrease in water temperature with respect to the average. Pyrodinium bahamense morphometry from Acapulco corresponds to var. compressum. Pbc formed an intense HAB in July 2010 (reaching a maximum abundance of 773×103 cells l-1), causing significant toxicity and had an upturn in November. Conclusions: Pbc HABs in Acapulco require the occurrence of a previous HAB in the central Pacific or Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico, horizontal transportation of their cysts, as well as high water temperature conditions, abundant rainfall that increased the concentration of phosphates, which is propitiated in the periods of transition "El Niño"-"La Niña" events. Gc HABs in Acapulco are related to "La Niña" events, with an abrupt change in water temperature and an increase in nitrogenous forms.Antecedentes y Objetivos: Los florecimientos algales nocivos (FAN) ocurren comúnmente en el Pacífico mexicano, siendo importantes los de Gymnodinium catenatum (Gc) y Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum (Pbc), dinoflagelados productores de saxitoxina que causan envenenamiento paralítico por mariscos. Pbc se presenta esporádicamente en el Pacifico tropical mexicano. El estudio describe el comportamiento de ambos taxa en un ciclo anual y analiza su morfología, abundancia, distribución y dinámica del FAN en relación con parámetros ambientales y climatológicos. Métodos: Se realizaron diez recolectas de fitoplancton, (octubre 2009-enero 2011) en la Bahía de Acapulco y zona costera adyacente, y mediciones de parámetros fisicoquímicos. Los datos climáticos se obtuvieron de la estación meteorológica de Acapulco. La abundancia del fitoplancton se evaluó con el método de Utermöhl. Se realizaron análisis estadísticos para investigar la relación de las abundancias de Gc y Pbc con parámetros ambientales y climáticos. Resultados clave: Gc estuvo presente durante todo el año 2010 con densidades bajas; en noviembre de 2010 alcanzó un máximo de 189×103 células l-1, asociado con especies de diatomeas y dinoflagelados, incluyendo Pbc. El florecimiento de Gc coincidió con disminución de amonio, y disminución de temperatura del agua con respecto al promedio. La morfometría de Pb de Acapulco correspondió con la var. compressum. Pbc formó un intenso FAN en julio de 2010 (abundancia máxima de 773×103 células l-1), causando una toxicidad significativa y tuvo un repunte en noviembre. Conclusiones: Los FAN de Pbc en Acapulco requieren un FAN previo en el Pacífico central o en el Golfo de Tehuantepec, transporte horizontal de sus quistes, alta temperatura del agua y abundante precipitación que aumente la concentración de fosfatos; condiciones que propician en los períodos de transición"El Niño"-"La Niña". Los FAN de Gc en Acapulco están relacionados con eventos "La Niña", siendo importantes el cambio abrupto de temperatura del agua y el aumento de formas nitrogenadas

Aeronautical engineering, a continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 823 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in November 1984

Effect of curing conditions and harvesting stage of maturity on Ethiopian onion bulb drying properties

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of curing conditions and harvesting stageson the drying quality of onion bulbs. The onion bulbs (Bombay Red cultivar) were harvested at three harvesting stages (early, optimum, and late maturity) and cured at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 oC) and relative humidity (30, 50 and 70%). The results revealed that curing temperature, RH, and maturity stage had significant effects on all measuredattributesexcept total soluble solids