Generating synchronizable test sequences based on finite-statemachine with distributed ports

In the area of testing communication systems, the interfaces between systems to be tested and their testers have great impact on test generation and fault detectability. Several types of such interfaces have been standardized by the International Standardization Organization (ISO). A general distributed test architecture, containing distributed interfaces, has been presented in the literature for testing distributed systems based on the Open Distributing Processing (ODP) Basic Reference Model (BRM), which is a generalized version of ISO distributed test architecture. We study in this paper the issue of test selection with respect to such an test architecture. In particular, we consider communication systems that can be modeled by finite state machines with several distributed interfaces, called ports. A test generation method is developed for generating test sequences for such finite state machines, which is based on the idea of synchronizable test sequences. Starting from the initial effort by Sarikaya, a certain amount of work has been done for generating test sequences for finite state machines with respect to the ISO distributed test architecture, all based on the idea of modifying existing test generation methods to generate synchronizable test sequences. However, none studies the fault coverage provided by their methods. We investigate the issue of fault coverage and point out a fact that the methods given in the literature for the distributed test architecture cannot ensure the same fault coverage as the corresponding original testing methods. We also study the limitation of fault detectability in the distributed test architecture.

NUcache: A Multicore Cache Organization Based on Next-Use Distance

In this work, we propose a new organization for the last level shared cache of a rnulticore system. Our design is based on the observation that the Next-Use distance, measured in terms of intervening misses between the eviction of a line and its next use, for lines brought in by a given delinquent PC falls within a predictable range of values. We exploit this correlation to improve the performance of shared caches in multi-core architectures by proposing the NUcache organization.

Molecular organization of the gene encoding Xenopus laevis transforming growth factor-beta 5

Transforming growth factor-beta s (TGF-beta 5) are multifunctional polypeptides, known to influence proliferation and differentiation of many cell types. TGF-beta 5 cDNA was cloned from Xenopus laevis and this isoform is unique to the amphibians. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of the TGF-beta 5 genomic clones to determine the structure of TGF-beta 5 gene. The gene consists of seven exons and all intron-exon boundaries follow the GT-AG consensus. The organization of TGF-beta 5 gene was identical to that of the mammalian TGF-beta isoforms, with the exception of position of the first splice junction. We determined the size of TGF-beta 5 gene to be approximately 20 kb.

Tamarind orchards: Agroforestry for dry lands

Agroforestry has a potential for sequestering as much carbon if not more than forests. Massive benefits can be channeled to small farmers and landless labourers through cultivation of Tamarind and other fast growing and fruit yielding trees. This paper describes a project started by small farmers and landless labourers in a semiarid areas of south India. The aim is to upgrade dryland holdings of the member families through economically sound dry land horticulture, community woodlots, and planting of fast growing species along orchard and field boundaries. The small farmers invest massive labour inputs and project gives economic benefits to change their land use practices and improve environmental quality. This paper describes the planning. processes of the project, hurdles in finding AIJ partners, current monitoring procedures and costs of C sequestration. This shows this project is economically viable on its own, but initially needed, and continues to need Carbon credit investment in order to spread rapidly across the geopolitical region covered by the organization. It argues that economic gains to small farmers and landless labourers are the most certain way of achieving massive biomass increase and soil carbon replenishment, and that multiple holistic benefits are achieved through this kind of project.

NUcache: an efficient multicore cache organization based on next-use distance

The effectiveness of the last-level shared cache is crucial to the performance of a multi-core system. In this paper, we observe and make use of the DelinquentPC - Next-Use characteristic to improve shared cache performance. We propose a new PC-centric cache organization, NUcache, for the shared last level cache of multi-cores. NUcache logically partitions the associative ways of a cache set into MainWays and DeliWays. While all lines have access to the MainWays, only lines brought in by a subset of delinquent PCs, selected by a PC selection mechanism, are allowed to enter the DeliWays. The PC selection mechanism is an intelligent cost-benefit analysis based algorithm that utilizes Next-Use information to select the set of PCs that can maximize the hits experienced in DeliWays. Performance evaluation reveals that NUcache improves the performance over a baseline design by 9.6%, 30% and 33% respectively for dual, quad and eight core workloads comprised of SPEC benchmarks. We also show that NUcache is more effective than other well-known cache-partitioning algorithms.

SELF-ORGANIZATION AND FRICTION DURING SLIDING

In self-organized sliding processes, the surfaces align to each other during sliding. This alignment leads to a more ordered contact state and significantly influences the frictional behavior. To understand the self-organization sliding processes, experiments were conducted on a pin-on-plate reciprocating sliding tester for various numbers of cycles. In the experiments, soft magnesium pins were slid against hard steel plates of various surface textures (undirectional, 8-ground, and random). Experimental results showed that the transfer layer formation on the steel plates increased with increasing number of cycles for all surfaces textures under both dry and lubricated conditions. The friction also increased with the number of cycles under dry conditions for all of the textures studied. During lubricated conditions, the friction decreased for unidirectional and 8-ground surfaces and increased for random surfaces with the number of cycles. Furthermore, the friction and transfer layer formation depend on the surface textures under both dry and lubricated conditions during the first few sliding cycles. Later on, it is less dependent of surface textures. The variation in the coefficient of friction under both dry and lubrication conditions were attributed to the self-organization process that occurred during repeated sliding.