An occam Style Communications System for UNIX Networks

This document describes the design of a communications system which provides occam style communications primitives under a Unix environment, using TCP/IP protocols, and any number of other protocols deemed suitable as underlying transport layers. The system will integrate with a low overhead scheduler/kernel without incurring significant costs to the execution of processes within the run time environment. A survey of relevant occam and occam3 features and related research is followed by a look at the Unix and TCP/IP facilities which determine our working constraints, and a description of the T9000 transputer's Virtual Channel Processor, which was instrumental in our formulation. Drawing from the information presented here, a design for the communications system is subsequently proposed. Finally, a preliminary investigation of methods for lightweight access control to shared resources in an environment which does not provide support for critical sections, semaphores, or busy waiting, is made. This is presented with relevance to mutual exclusion problems which arise within the proposed design. Future directions for the evolution of this project are discussed in conclusion

Change in fluoride content of Maltese tapwaters : implications for oral health

Dietary intake of fluoride is believed to be largely derived from drinking water. In Malta, tap water presently contains less fluoride than is found in naturally occurring ground water obtained from aquifers. Over 55% of water production comes from reverse osmosis and such water is practically fluoride-free. Before the introduction of reverse osmosis water into the water budget, fluoride levels measured from 10 different tap waters averaged 0.51 ppm F-. Now, fluoride content measured from 19 tap water sources averaged 0.21 ppm F- and more than a third of these sources are practically fluoride-free. The incidence of dental caries in Malta has so far been low according to the international standards. We suggest that the lowering of the fluoride level in the water supplies may favour an escalation in the incidence of tooth decay in the future.peer-reviewe

Charcot neuroarthropathy : pathogenesis, diagnosis and medical management

Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) is a progressive degenerative arthropathy which rarely complicates diabetes mellitus. Most commonly, though not exclusively affecting the foot, it seems to be determined by the interaction of neuropathy, osteopaenia and proinflammatory cytokines on a calcified peripheral vasculature that maintains its ability to vasodilate despite widespread arteriosclerosis. Although often unrecalled, this arthropathy is probably triggered by trauma. Diagnosis is essentially clinical, given the paucity and non-specificity of radiological and biochemical findings at the acute stage. CN should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any diabetic patient presenting with a warm swollen lower extremity. Bone turnover markers, magnetic resonance imaging and radioisotope scanning may be useful diagnostic aids. Offloading is essential and improves limb survival. There is considerable interest, though limited data, on the benefits of bisphosphonates and calcitonin. The possible roles of ultrasound and radiotherapy need to be assessed in larger trials. Failure to institute corrective measures at an early stage results in a foot that is prone to deformity, ulceration, amputation and loss of function. It is hoped that a better understanding of the aetiopathogenesis at a cytokine level will allow the targeting of new effective agents.peer-reviewe

Environmental forensic evidence from perchlorate in dust fall

Summer in Malta is accompanied by fireworks as part of the numerous (about 85) religious festivals (festa) that occur throughout the period. We attempted to establish whether firework activity is truly following official trade statistics, which imply a decreasing trend, or otherwise. Firework manufacture critically depends on the availability of oxidising agents, two of which (KNO3, KClO3) being controlled by permits but not potassium perchlorate (KClO4) which is freely available. Recent changes in legislation have slightly decreased the quantity of KClO3 and increased that of KNO3 and according to official trade statistics, consumption of KClO4 has decreased from 17 t/a in 2010 to ≈ 2.5 t/a during 2011--2014. However, from levels of perchlorate in dust fall and rate of total deposition we calculated the quantity of KClO4 used during 2012 and obtained ≥ 90 t/a, 36 times the official figure. This situation is serious since the danger of accidental explosion during manufacture escalates as production intensifies. Also, contamination of the environment by firework-waste appears destined to remain high with possible consequent effects on human health.peer-reviewe

Epidemiology of AIDS in Malta

The occurrence, frequency, distribution and determinants of HIV and AIDS are described for Maltese residents. Up to 30 June 1996, 38 notifications of AIDS were received by the Public Health Department (36 in males), 35 died. The overall mean survival between notification date and death was calculated using data for 28 reported cases as 216.71 days. Mean age at notification was 30.5 years (range: 2 to 48; median 31). Occurrence in males was highest for homosexuals/bisexuals (52.8%), followed by recipients of contaminated blood products (30.6 %) and heterosexual contact (5.6%). The two females acquired HIV through mother-to-child transmission (abroad) and heterosexual intercourse respectively. Mode of transmission was unrecognised in 7.9% of cases. Epidemiological data on AIDS cases usually reflects the situation of HIV transmission some twelve to fifteen years previously. Sero-surveillance studies are now indicated to clarify the actual prevalence of HIV infection.peer-reviewe

Switch on, switch off: stiction in nanoelectromechanical switches

We present a theoretical investigation of stiction in nanoscale electromechanical contact switches. We develop a mathematical model to describe the deflection of a cantilever beam in response to both electrostatic and van der Waals forces. Particular focus is given to the question of whether adhesive van der Waals forces cause the cantilever to remain in the ‘ON’ state even when the electrostatic forces are removed. In contrast to previous studies, our theory accounts for deflections with large slopes (i.e. geometrically nonlinear). We solve the resulting equations numerically to study how a cantilever beam adheres to a rigid electrode: transitions between free, ‘pinned’ and ‘clamped’ states are shown to be discontinuous and to exhibit significant hysteresis. Our findings are compared to previous results from linearized models and the implications for nanoelectromechanical cantilever switch design are discussed

The Liquid Blister Test

We consider a thin elastic sheet adhering to a stiff substrate by means of the surface tension of a thin liquid layer. Debonding is initiated by imposing a vertical displacement at the centre of the sheet and leads to the formation of a delaminated region, or `blister'. This experiment reveals that the perimeter of the blister takes one of three different forms depending on the vertical displacement imposed. As this displacement is increased, we observe first circular, then undulating and finally triangular blisters. We obtain theoretical predictions for the observed features of each of these three families of blisters. The theory is built upon the F\"{o}ppl-von K\'{a}rm\'{a}n equations for thin elastic plates and accounts for the surface energy of the liquid. We find good quantitative agreement between our theoretical predictions and experimental results, demonstrating that all three families are governed by different balances between elastic and capillary forces. Our results may bear on micrometric tapered devices and other systems where elastic and adhesive forces are in competition.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figs approx published versio

The sensitivity of Graphene ‘Snap-through’ to substrate\ud geometry

We study theoretically the deposition of Few Layer Graphene sheets onto a grooved substrate incorporating adhesion between substrate and sheet. We develop a model to understand the equilibrium of the sheet allowing for partial conformation of sheet to substrate. This model gives new insight into recent observations of ‘snap-through’ from flat to conforming states and emphasizes the crucial role of substrate shape in determining the nature of this transition. Our analytical results are consistent with numerical simulations using a van der Waals-like interaction . Finally we propose a novel substrate shape that should exhibit a continuous, rather than ‘snap-through’, transition

Floating carpets and the delamination of elastic sheets

We investigate the deformation of a thin elastic sheet floating on a liquid surface and subject to a uniaxial compression. We show that at a critical compression the sheet delaminates from the liquid over a finite region forming a delamination ‘blister’. This blistering regime adds to the wrinkling and localized folding regimes that have been studied previously. The transition from wrinkled to blistered states occurs when delamination becomes energetically favourable compared to wrinkling. We determine the initial blister size and the evolution of blister size with continuing compression before verifying our theoretical results with experiments at a macroscopic scale

Bio-Inspired Active Skins for Surface Morphing.

Mechanical metamaterials that leverage precise geometrical designs and imperfections to induce unique material behavior have garnered significant attention. This study proposes a Bio-Inspired Active Skin (BIAS) as a new class of instability-induced morphable structures, where selective out-of-plane material deformations can be pre-programmed during design and activated by in-plane strains. The deformation mechanism of a unit cell geometrical design is analyzed to identify how the introduction of hinge-like notches or instabilities, versus their pristine counterparts, can pave way for controlling bulk BIAS behavior. Two-dimensional arrays of repeating unit cells were fabricated, with notches implemented at key locations throughout the structure, to harvest the instability-induced surface features for applications such as camouflage, surface morphing, and soft robotic grippers