EVMDD-based analysis and diagnosis methods of multi-state systems with multi-state components

A multi-state system with multi-state components is a model of systems, where performance, capacity, or reliability levels of the systems are represented as states. It usually has more than two states, and thus can be considered as a multi-valued function, called a structure function. Since many structure functions are monotone increasing, their multi-state systems can be represented compactly by edge-valued multi-valued decision diagrams (EVMDDs). This paper presents an analysis method of multi-state systems with multi-state components using EVMDDs. Experimental results show that, by using EVMDDs, structure functions can be represented more compactly than existing methods using ordinary MDDs. Further, EVMDDs yield comparable computation time for system analysis. This paper also proposes a new diagnosis method using EVMDDs, and shows that the proposed method can infer the most probable causes for system failures more efficiently than conventional methods based on Bayesian networks.Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)Hiroshima City UniversityGrant-in Aid No. 2500050 (MEXT)Grant no. 0206 (HCU)Grant in Aid for Scientific Research (JSPS

Minimization of average path length in BDDs by variable reordering

12th International Workshop on Logic and Synthesis, Laguna Beach, California, USA, May 28-30, 2003, pp.207-213.This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, may not be copyrighted.Minimizing the Average Path Length (APL) in a BDD reduces the time needed to evaluate Boolean functions represented by BDDs. This paper describes an efficient heuristic APL minimization procedure based on BDD variable reordering. The reordering algorithm is similar to classical variable sifting with the cost function equal to the APL rather than the number of BDD nodes. The main contribution of our paper is a fast way of updating the APL during the swap of two adjacent variables. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm effectively minimizing the APL of large MCNC benchmark functions, achieving reductions of up to 47%. For some benchmarks, minimizing APL also reduces the BDD node count

EVMDD-Based Analysis and Diagnosis Methods of Multi-State Systems with Multi-State Components *

A multi-state system with multi-state components is a model of systems, where performance, capacity, or reliability levels of the systems are represented as states. It usually has more than two states, and thus can be considered as a multi-valued function, called a structure function. Since many structure functions are monotone increasing, their multi-state systems can be represented compactly by edge-valued multivalued decision diagrams (EVMDDs). This paper presents an analysis method of multi-state systems with multi-state components using EVMDDs. Experimental results show that, by using EVMDDs, structure functions can be represented more compactly than existing methods using ordinary MDDs. Further, EVMDDs yield comparable computation time for system analysis. This paper also proposes a new diagnosis method using EVMDDs, and shows that the proposed method can infer the most probable causes for system failures more efficiently than conventional methods based on Bayesian networks

Trehalose solution viscosity at low temperatures measured by dynamic light scattering method : Trehalose depresses molecular transportation for ice crystal growth

The inhibitory effects of trehalose on ice crystal growth were discussed on the basis of the viscosity measurements of aqueous solutions via the dynamic light-scattering method. The temperature and concentration conditions of the solution were ranged between 268 and 343K and up to 50wt%, respectively, which were feasible for applying this novel technique and were useful in the indirect measurement of the macroscopic dynamic properties of the trehalose solutions. A comparison of the viscosity data with those reported in the literatures indicated the validity of this method for measuring the viscosity. The nonlinearity of the temperature and concentration dependences of the trehalose solutions suggested that two different hydrogen-bonding networks exist in the solutions within the investigated range. Dilute solutions of less than 10wt% of trehalose exhibited properties very similar to those of pure water. Higher concentration solutions had large viscosities with large temperature and concentration dependences. This was caused by the decrease in the free water in the solution and the development of hydrogen-bonding networks with hydrated trehalose clusters. Sucrose and maltose solutions had the same properties, so this would be the dominant inhibitory process of disaccharides on ice crystal growth

Temporal and spatial variations of lipid droplets during adipocyte division and differentiation

By capturing time-lapse images of primary stromal-vascular cells (SVCs) derived from rat mesenteric adipose tissue, we revealed temporal and spatial variations of lipid droplets (LDs) in individual SVCs during adipocyte differentiation. Numerous small LDs (a few micrometers in diameter) appeared in the perinuclear region at an early stage of differentiation; subsequently, several LDs grew to more than 10 µm in diameter and occupied the cytoplasm. We have developed a method for the fluorescence staining of LDs in living adipocytes. Time-lapse observation of the stained cells at higher magnification showed that nascent LDs (several 100 nm in diameter) grew into small LDs while moving from lamellipodia to the perinuclear region. We also found that adipocytes are capable of division and that they evenly distribute the LDs between two daughter cells. Immunofluorescence observations of LD-associated proteins revealed that such cell divisions of SVCs occurred even after LDs were coated with perilipin, suggesting that the "final" cell division during adipocyte differentiation occurs considerably later than that characterized in 3T3-L1 cells. Our time-lapse observations have provided a detailed account of the morphological changes that SVCs undergo during adipocyte division and differentiation

Systematic design method for two-variable numeric function generators using multiple-valued decision diagrams

IEICE Transactions on Information and Systems, Vol. E93-D No. 8 pp. 2059-2067, Aug. 2010.This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, may not be copyrighted.This paper proposes a high-speed architecture to realize two-variable numeric functions. It represents the given function as an edge valued multiple-valued decision diagram (EVMDD), and shows a systematic design method based on the EVMDD..