An active-architecture approach to COTS integration

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products are increasingly used as standard components within integrated information systems. This creates challenges since both their developers and source code are not usually available, and the ongoing development of COTS cannot be predicted. The ArchWare Framework approach recognises COTS products as part of the ambient environment of an information system and therefore an important part of development is incorporating COTS as effective system components. This integration of COTS components, and the composition of components, is captured by an active architecture model which changes as the system evolves. Indeed the architecture modelling language used enables it to express the monitoring and evolution of a system. This active architecture model is structured using control system principles. By modelling both integration and evolution it can guide the system’s response to both predicted and emergent changes that arise from the use of COTS products.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Ancient mitochondrial genomes unveil the origins and evolutionary history of New Zealand's enigmatic takahē and moho.

Many avian species endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand were driven to extinction or reduced to relict populations following successive waves of human arrival, due to hunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of mammalian predators. Among the affected species were the large flightless South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) and the moho (North Island takahē; P. mantelli), with the latter rendered extinct and the former reduced to a single relictual population. Little is known about the evolutionary history of these species prior to their decline and/or extinction. Here we sequenced mitochondrial genomes from takahē and moho subfossils (12 takahē and 4 moho) and retrieved comparable sequence data from takahē museum skins (n = 5) and contemporary individuals (n = 17) to examine the phylogeny and recent evolutionary history of these species. Our analyses suggest that prehistoric takahē populations lacked deep phylogeographic structure, in contrast to moho, which exhibited significant spatial genetic structure, albeit based on limited sample sizes (n = 4). Temporal genetic comparisons show that takahē have lost much of their mitochondrial genetic diversity, likely due to a sudden demographic decline soon after human arrival (~750 years ago). Time-calibrated phylogenetic analyses strongly support a sister species relationship between takahē and moho, suggesting these flightless taxa diverged around 1.5 million years ago, following a single colonisation of New Zealand by a flighted Porphyrio ancestor approximately 4 million years ago. This study highlights the utility of palaeogenetic approaches for informing the conservation and systematic understanding of endangered species whose ranges have been severely restricted by anthropogenic impacts

Role of correlated two-pion exchange in K+NK^+ N scattering

A dynamical model for S-- and P--wave correlated $2 \pi$ (and $K \bar K$) exchange between a kaon and a nucleon is presented, starting from corresponding $N \bar N \rightarrow K \bar K$ amplitudes in the pseudophysical region, which have been constructed from nucleon, $\Delta$--isobar and hyperon ($\Lambda$, $\Sigma$) exchange Born terms and a realistic meson exchange model of the $\pi \pi \rightarrow K \bar K$ and $K \bar K \rightarrow K \bar K$ amplitude. The contribution in the s--channel is then obtained by performing a dispersion relation over the unitarity cut. In the $\rho$--channel, considerable ambiguities exist, depending on how the dispersion integral is performed. Our model, supplemented by short range interaction terms, is able to describe empirical $K^+ N$ data below pion production threshold in a satisfactory way.Comment: 24 pages, REVTEX, figures available from the author

Ionic Conductivities of Lithium Phosphorus Oxynitride Glasses, Polycrystals and Thin Films

Various lithium phosphorus oxynitrides have been prepared in the form of glasses, polycrystals, and thin films. The structures of these compounds were investigated by X-ray and neutron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The ac impedance measurements indicate a significant improvement of ionic conductivity as the result of incorporation of nitrogen into the structure. In the case of polycrystalline Li{sub 2.88}PO{sub 3.73}N{sub 0.14} with the {gamma}-Li{sub 3}PO{sub 4} structure, the conductivity increased by several orders of magnitude on small addition of nitrogen. The highest conductivities in the bulk glasses and thin films were found to be 3.0 {times} 10{sup -7} and 8.9 {times} 10{sup -7} S{center_dot}cm{sup -1} at 25{degrees}C, respectively

Application of Time Transfer Function to McVittie Spacetime: Gravitational Time Delay and Secular Increase in Astronomical Unit

We attempt to calculate the gravitational time delay in a time-dependent gravitational field, especially in McVittie spacetime, which can be considered as the spacetime around a gravitating body such as the Sun, embedded in the FLRW (Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker) cosmological background metric. To this end, we adopt the time transfer function method proposed by Le Poncin-Lafitte {\it et al.} (Class. Quant. Grav. 21:4463, 2004) and Teyssandier and Le Poncin-Lafitte (Class. Quant. Grav. 25:145020, 2008), which is originally related to Synge's world function $\Omega(x_A, x_B)$ and enables to circumvent the integration of the null geodesic equation. We re-examine the global cosmological effect on light propagation in the solar system. The round-trip time of a light ray/signal is given by the functions of not only the spacial coordinates but also the emission time or reception time of light ray/signal, which characterize the time-dependency of solutions. We also apply the obtained results to the secular increase in the astronomical unit, reported by Krasinsky and Brumberg (Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 90:267, 2004), and we show that the leading order terms of the time-dependent component due to cosmological expansion is 9 orders of magnitude smaller than the observed value of $d{\rm AU}/dt$, i.e., $15 \pm 4$ ~[m/century]. Therefore, it is not possible to explain the secular increase in the astronomical unit in terms of cosmological expansion.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Sputter deposition and characterization of lithium cobalt oxide thin films and their applications in thin-film rechargeable lithium batteries

Li Co oxide thin films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering of a LiCoO{sub 2} target in a 3:1 Ar/O{sub 2} mixture gas. From proton-induced gamma-ray emission analysis and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, the average composition of these films was determined to be Li{sub 1.15}CoO{sub 2.16}. X-ray powder diffraction patterns of films annealed in air at 500-700 C were consistent with regular rhombohedral structure of crystalline LiCoO{sub 2}. Discharge curves of thin film lithium cells with amoprohous LiCoO{sub 2} showed no obvious structural transition between 4.2 and 1.5 V. Shape of discharge curves of cells with polycrystalline cathodes were consistent with a two-phase voltage plateau at {similar_to}3.9 V with a relatively large capacity and two additional smaller plateaus at higher voltages. Cells with the 700 C annealed cathodes showed a capacity loss of {similar_to} after 1000 cycles between 4.2 and 3.0 V

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Relation and Bell Inequalities in High Energy Physics

An effective formalism is developed to handle decaying two-state systems. Herewith, observables of such systems can be described by a single operator in the Heisenberg picture. This allows for using the usual framework in quantum information theory and, hence, to enlighten the quantum feature of such systems compared to non-decaying systems. We apply it to systems in high energy physics, i.e. to oscillating meson-antimeson systems. In particular, we discuss the entropic Heisenberg uncertainty relation for observables measured at different times at accelerator facilities including the effect of CP violation, i.e. the imbalance of matter and antimatter. An operator-form of Bell inequalities for systems in high energy physics is presented, i.e. a Bell-witness operator, which allows for simple analysis of unstable systems.Comment: 17 page

Book Reviews

Book Review 1Book Title: Reproductive Energetics in MammalsBook Authors: A.S.I. Loudon & P.A. Racey (Eds.)Zoological Society of London Symposia 57, 1987 Clarendon. Press, Oxford. 371 pp.Book Review 2Book Title: Classification of Southern African MammalsBook Authors: J.A.J. Meester, I.L. Rautenbach, N.J. Dippenaar & C.M. BakerTransvaal Museum Monograph No.5. 359 pp.Book Review 3Book Title: Pesticide impact on stream fauna with special reference to macroinvertebratesBook Author: R.C. Muirhead-ThomsonCambridge University Press, 1987. 275 pp.Book Review 4Book Title: Evolution of sex determining mechanismsBook Author: James J. BullBenjamin-Cummings Publ. Company / Addison-Wesley Publishing Group, JohannesburgBook Review 5Book Title: The evolutionary ecology of ant-plant mutualismsBook Author: Andrew J. BeattieCambridge University Press 182 pp.Book Review 6Book Title: The Ecology of SexBook Authors: P.J. Greenwood & J. Adams Edward Arnold, London, 1987. 74 pagesBook Review 7Book Title: The Dinosaur Heresies - a revolutionary view of dinosaursBook Author: Robert BakkerPublished by Longman Scientific and Technical, 1987Book Review 8Book Title: Molecular Biology of the GeneBook Authors: Watson, Hopkins, Roberts, Steitz & WeinerVolumes I and II (Fourth Edition) (Benjamin/Cummings. Menlo Park); Addison-Wesley Publishing Group. Johannesburg 1163 pp.Book Review 9Book Title: Evolutionary BiologyBook Author: Eli C. MinkoffAddison-Wesley Publishing Company, Massachussets, 1983. 627pp.Book Review 10Book Title: An ecosystem approach to aquatic ecology. Mirror Lake and its environmentBook Author: Gene E. Likens (Ed.)Springer-Ver1ag, New York. xiv - 516 pages; 197 figuresBook Review 11Book Title: The Physiological Ecology of SeaweedsBook Authors: C.S. Lobban, P.J. Harrison & M.J. Duncan Cambridge University press, Cambridge, 1985. 242 pagesBook Review 12Book Title: Principles of ecologyBook Authors: R.J.Putman & S.D. WrattenCroom Helm, London, 1984. 388 pages

Complete solutions to the metric of spherically collapsing dust in an expanding spacetime with a cosmological constant

We present semi-analytical solutions to the background equations describing the Lema\^itre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) metric as well as the homogeneous Friedmann equations, in the presence of dust, curvature and a cosmological constant Lambda. For none of the presented solutions any numerical integration has to be performed. All presented solutions are given for expanding and collapsing phases, preserving continuity in time and radius. Hence, these solutions describe the complete space time of a collapsing spherical object in an expanding universe. In the appendix we present for completeness a solution of the Friedmann equations in the additional presence of radiation, only valid for the Robertson-Walker metric.Comment: 23 pages, one figure. Numerical module for evaluation of the solutions released at http://web.physik.rwth-aachen.de/download/valkenburg/ColLambda/ Matches published version, published under Open Access. Note change of titl

Detector Description and Performance for the First Coincidence Observations between LIGO and GEO

For 17 days in August and September 2002, the LIGO and GEO interferometer gravitational wave detectors were operated in coincidence to produce their first data for scientific analysis. Although the detectors were still far from their design sensitivity levels, the data can be used to place better upper limits on the flux of gravitational waves incident on the earth than previous direct measurements. This paper describes the instruments and the data in some detail, as a companion to analysis papers based on the first data.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures 17 Sept 03: author list amended, minor editorial change