Thread-Modular Static Analysis for Relaxed Memory Models

We propose a memory-model-aware static program analysis method for accurately analyzing the behavior of concurrent software running on processors with weak consistency models such as x86-TSO, SPARC-PSO, and SPARC-RMO. At the center of our method is a unified framework for deciding the feasibility of inter-thread interferences to avoid propagating spurious data flows during static analysis and thus boost the performance of the static analyzer. We formulate the checking of interference feasibility as a set of Datalog rules which are both efficiently solvable and general enough to capture a range of hardware-level memory models. Compared to existing techniques, our method can significantly reduce the number of bogus alarms as well as unsound proofs. We implemented the method and evaluated it on a large set of multithreaded C programs. Our experiments showthe method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in terms of accuracy with only moderate run-time overhead.Comment: revised version of the ESEC/FSE 2017 pape

Geological indicators for impact: The anomalous case of the Vredefort structure, South Africa

The Vredefort Dome is located within and almost central to the Witwatersrand basin in its presently known extent. It exposes a central Archean granite core which is surrounded by a collar of supracrustal rocks. These collar rocks outline a strong polygonal geometry. The Archean core is comprised of two concentric zones, the Outer Granite Gneiss (OGG), and the core central Inlandsee Leucogranofels (ILG). The rocks of the inner core display granulite facies metamorphism, while the OGG is in amphibolite facies. The inner core is believed from recent drill hole information to be underlain by mafic and ultramafic gneisses, the extent of which cannot be assessed at present. A fairly broad zone of charnockites separates the OGG and ILG domains. This zone is characterized by a high concentration of pseudotachylite and ductile shearing. Whereas a number of other domical structures are located within or surrounding the Witwatersrand basin, the Vredefort structure is anomalous, in that it has: a partly polygonal geometry; extensive alkali intrusives in the northwestern sector; granophyre dykes (ring-dykes peripheral to the contact collar-basement and NW-SE or NE-SW trending dykes within the Archean basement); contact metamorphism of the collar supracrustal rocks; the overturning of collar supracrustals in the northern sectors; deformation phenomena widely regarded as representing shock metamorphism (pseudotachylite, (sub)planar microdeformation features in quartz, shatter cones and occurrences of high-P quartz polymorphs); a positive 30 mgal gravity anomaly; and high amplitude magnetic anomalies. Recent geophysical, structural and petrological evidence pertinent for the identification of the processes that led to the formation of the Vredefort structure are summarized

Sol–gel synthesis and characterization of barium (magnesium) aluminosilicate glass sealants for solid oxide fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) correspond to efficient energy conversion systems coupled with low emissions of pollutants. In the aim to fabricate high temperature planar SOFC, glass and glass-ceramic sealants are developed to associate several criteria and properties : high thermal expansion (11.0 to 12.0 ⋅ 10− 6 K− 1), high electrical resistance > 2 kΩ/cm2, good thermochemical compatibility with the other active materials of the fuel cell, and stability under H2 and H2O atmospheres at an operation temperature of 800 °C for a long time. According to these requirements, new BAS (BaO–Al2O3–SiO2) and BMAS (BaO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2) glass-ceramic sealants have been developed by sol–gel route which is a non-conventional process for such applications. By this soft chemistry process, we anticipate a decrease in the glasses processing temperature due to a better homogeneity between cationic precursors in the mixture and a more important reactivity of materials. Experimental results in terms of thermomechanical properties, thermal expansion coefficient, crystalline phase content, and microstructure were discussed. In particular, the influence of the %BaO on the thermomechanical properties of glass-ceramics was described. Changes in properties of glass-ceramics were closely related to the microstructure. The influence of MgO on glass processing temperatures, on the structure and on the microstructure is evaluated in order to confirm that these glass-ceramics are promising candidates to SOFC applications. So, after performing a systematic investigation to the various systems, the properties of suitable glass were proposed

Construction of a Complete Set of States in Relativistic Scattering Theory

The space of physical states in relativistic scattering theory is constructed, using a rigorous version of the Dirac formalism, where the Hilbert space structure is extended to a Gel'fand triple. This extension enables the construction of ``a complete set of states'', the basic concept of the original Dirac formalism, also in the cases of unbounded operators and continuous spectra. We construct explicitly the Gel'fand triple and a complete set of ``plane waves'' -- momentum eigenstates -- using the group of space-time symmetries. This construction is used (in a separate article) to prove a generalization of the Coleman-Mandula theorem to higher dimension.Comment: 30 pages, Late

Creating Positive School Culture on Social Media - School Culture on the Go

Schools across America have created policies to address school culture. School culture today must be able to adjust and adapt to the changing times that are brought on by technology. Technology has continued to change citizens across the globe; this change has made communication look, feel, and operate differently than ever before. Technology has grown, with its platforms embedded in schools, these changes have gifts such as cultural inclusiveness, vast options for instructional resources, and even options for feedback and evaluation. Technology has also challenged many schools in ways of distracting students, bullying through social media, and gangs today have evolved to use social media for advertising and threatening students and schools. Schools must find innovative ways to create a culture that is strong at school, extends to the cyber world, and can transition to communities and homes

A quasi-Hertzian stress field from an internal source: A possible working model for the Vredefort structure

The Vredefort structure is a large domal feature about 110 km southeast of Johannesburg, South Africa, situated within and almost central to the large intracratonic Witwatersrand Basin. This structure consists of an Archean core of ca. 45 km in diameter, consisting largely of granitic gneiss, surrounded by a collar of metasedimentary and metavolcanic supracrustal rocks of the Dominian Group, Witwatersrand and Ventersdorp Supergroups, and Transvaal Sequence. The interpretation of images of the gravity and magnetic fields over Vredefort has permitted the delineation of several important features of the structure and of its environment. The outline of the collar strata is a prominent feature of both the gravity and the magnetic fields. The Vredefort structure shares this distinctive geometry with other structures (e.g., Manicouagan, Decaturville, Sierra Madera) of debated impact origin. In all these, successively older strata with steep outward dips are encountered while traversing inward to the center of the structure. A further attribute of these structures is the shortening of the outcrop of a particular stratigraphic unit compared to the original perimeter of that unit. To account for the geometric attributes of the Vredefort structure a mechanical scheme is required where there is radial movement of horizontal strata toward, with uplift in, the center of the Vredefort structure. Two models can be proposed: (1) one in which there is a rapid rise and violent disruption of cover rocks in response to expansion of a fluid accumulation; and (2) one in which there is, in contrast, a nonexplosive, quasi-Hertzian stress field resulting from a diapiric process. Both models can accommodate the geometry and structural components of Vredefort

Rapport annuel 1996. Projet Cordet. Valorisation des produits de la pêche à Ouvéa

Le travail a porté sur le salage-séchage-fumage de poissons du lagon d'Ouvéa en Nouvelle Calédonie. Une unité pilote de salage-séchage-fuma ge a tout d'abord été mis en place et validée sur des filets de saumons. Les protocoles permettant de caractériser le degré de traitement des produits en terme de salage-séchage-fumage ont été mis au point. Des essais préliminaires ont ensuite été réalisés sur trois espèces du lagon : loches, bossus et becs de cane. Les premiers résultats obtenus sont encourageants et permettent de penser que ce procédé est une alternative prometteuse pour la valorisation des poissons d'Ouvéa