Analysis of effective service time with age dependent interruptions and its application to optimal rollback policy for database management

A stochastic model is developed describing a service system subject to inhomogeneous Poisson interruptions with age dependent interruption periods. By studying the probabilistic flow of the underlying multivariate Markov process, the Laplace transform of the effective service time is explicitly obtained. For general renewal interruptions, only the expected effective service time is derived. As an application, an optimal checkpoint policy is examined for database management. It is shown that an optimal policy maximizing the ergodic availability of the database is to implement a checkpoint as soon as the cumulative uptime of the database reaches a prespecified constantk ^*. A computational procedure is then developed for findingk ^* and numerical results are exhibited.This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ECS-8600992 and by the IBM Program of Support for Education in the Management of Information Systems.     

A simple and general preparation of vinylic sulfides, selenides and tellurides

A general method for the synthesis of vinylic chalcogenides by nucleophilic and Ni-catalyzed vinylic substitution on vinylic halides by phenyl chalcogenolates is described. The reactions were regio and stereoselective for the nickel catalyzed substitution, and mixture of isomers was observed for some examples in the thermal process in DMF.     

Thionicotinamide SAM on Gold: Adsorption Studies and Electroactivity

STM and impedance results of the self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) formed with thionicotinamide (TNA) on gold indicate the presence of defects that increase with the immersion time of the electrode in the TNA solution affecting the SAM electroactivity toward the electron transfer reaction of the cytochrome c metalloprotein and [Fe(CN)₆]^4? and [Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺ complexes. It was observed that this electroactivity was also affected by the pH of the electrolyte solution. SERS and STM data indicate sulfur coordination to the surface with contribution of the NH₂ group. From the dependence of the TNA surface coverage on the temperature and concentration in solution, thermodynamic parameters of adsorption were determined.     

A convex analysis approach for convex multiplicative programming

Global optimization problems involving the minimization of a product of convex functions on a convex set are addressed in this paper. Elements of convex analysis are used to obtain a suitable representation of the convex multiplicative problem in the outcome space, where its global solution is reduced to the solution of a sequence of quasiconcave minimizations on polytopes. Computational experiments illustrate the performance of the global optimization algorithm proposed.      

Strong convergence rates for the estimation of a covariance operator for associated samples

Let X _n , n ≥ 1, be a strictly stationary associated sequence of random variables, with common continuous distribution function F. Using histogram type estimators we consider the estimation of the two-dimensional distribution function of (X ₁,X _k+1) as well as the estimation of the covariance function of the limit empirical process induced by the sequence X _n , n ≥ 1. Assuming a convenient decrease rate of the covariances Cov(X ₁,X _n+1), n ≥ 1, we derive uniform strong convergence rates for these estimators. The condition on the covariance structure of the variables is satisfied either if Cov(X ₁,X _n+1) decreases polynomially or if it decreases geometrically, but as we could expect, under the latter condition we are able to establish faster convergence rates. For the two-dimensional distribution function the rate of convergence derived under a geometrical decrease of the covariances is close to the optimal rate for independent samples.      

Evaluation of different rhodium modifiers and coatings on the simultaneous determination of As, Bi, Pb, Sb, Se and of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn in milk by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Different kinds of modifiers and coatings on the integrated platform of transversely heated graphite atomizer (THGA) have been tested for the simultaneous determination of two group of elements: the first, the more volatile, formed by arsenic, bismuth, lead, antimony and selenium; the second, the less volatile, formed by cobalt, chromium, cupper, iron and manganese in milk by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Different Rh-modifiers were studied, such as Rh-coated platforms (Rh), carbide plus rhodium coated platforms (W-Rh, Zr-Rh), carbide-coated platforms (W and Zr) with co-injection of RhCl₃, solutions and uncoated platforms with injection of solutions of Pd(NO₃)₂, Mg(NO₃)₂, and RhCl₃. Milk samples were diluted 1:10 in 1.0% HNO₃ and injected into the tube. The mass of modifier deposited and co-injected in the tube and the use of end capped tubes were also evaluated in order to improve the electrothermal behavior of analytes. Integrated platform pretreated with W plus co-injection RhCl₃ for first group and pretreated with W-Rh for second group were elected. For 20 μL injected samples the analytical curves in the 5.0–20.0 μg L⁻¹ concentration range have good linear correlation coefficients (r > 0.998). Relative standard deviations (n = 12) are <6% and the calculated characteristic masses are between 5 pg and 62 pg. Correspondence: Gian Paulo G. Freschi, Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, PO Box 332, 79.804-970, Dourados-MS, Brazil; Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual Paulista, PO Box 355, 14801-970 Araraquara-SP, Brazil     

Weierstrass points on certain non-classical curves

Archiv der Mathematik -     

Measurement of indoor Rn using CR-39 under a thin film geometry

In this work an assembly for indoor ²²²Rn measurement is presented. This assembly is made up of two acrylic plates (14 cm×14 cm) separated by a distance of 4 mm. To prevent radon daughters from outside entering the assembly (and produce alpha particle tracks striking the CR-39 detector placed in the central region of one of these plates), the borders of these plates were progressively closed, leaving open only a rectangular aperture of 5 mm×4 mm. The size of this opening was determined experimentally, by exposing in two indoor environments assemblies with different apertures as follows: (i) all borders open; (ii) two borders closed; (iii) three borders closed; (iv) four borders closed but one containing a 6 cm×4 mm opening; (v) four borders closed but one containing a 2.5 cm×4 mm opening and (vi) four borders closed but one containing a 0.5 cm×4 mm opening. Track density shows a noticeable decrease between assembly (i) and assembly (iii), remaining constant for smaller openings. Only ²²²Rn, a noble gas, should enter the assembly independently of the opening size.     

Experimental and modeling assessment of sulfur release from coal under low and high heating rates

Coal combustion releases elevated amounts of pollutants to the atmosphere including SO_X. During the pyrolysis step, sulfur present in the coal is released to the gas phase as many different chemical species such as H₂S, COS, SO₂, CS₂, thiols and larger tars, also called SO_X precursors, as they form SO_X during combustion. Understanding the sulfur release process is crucial to the development of reliable kinetic models, which support the design of improved reactors for cleaner coal conversion processes. Sulfur release from two bituminous coals, Colombian hard coal (K1) and American high sulfur coal (U2), were studied in the present work. Low heating rate (LHR) experiments were performed in a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with mass spectrometry (TG-MS), allowing to track the mass loss and the evolution of many volatile species (CO, CO₂, CH₄, SO₂, H₂S, COS, HCl and H₂O). High heating rate (HHR) experiments were performed in an entrained flow reactor (drop-tube reactor – DTR), coupled with MS and nondispersive infrared sensor (NDIR). HHR experiments were complemented with CFD simulation of the multidimentional reacting flow field. A kinetic model of coal pyrolysis is employed to reproduce the experiments allowing a comprehensive assessment of the process. The suitability of this model is confirmed for LHR. The combination of HHR experiments with CFD simulations and kinetic modeling revealed the complexity of sulfur chemistry in coal combustion and allowed to better understand of the individual phenomena resulting in the formation of the different SO_X precursors. LHR and HHR operating conditions lead to different distribution of sulfur species released, highly-dependent on the gas-phase temperature and residence time. Higher retention of total sulfur in char is observed at LHR (63%) when compared to HHR (37–44%), at 1273 K. These data support the development of reliable models with improved predictability.