Experiments on the practical I/O efficiency of geometric algorithms: Distribution sweep versus plane sweep

We present an extensive experimental study comparing the performance of four algorithms for the following orthogonal segment intersection problem: given a set of horizontal and vertical line segments in the plane, report all intersecting horizontal-vertical pairs. The problem has important applications in VLSI layout and graphics, which are large-scale in nature. The algorithms under evaluation are our implementations of distribution sweep and three variations of plane sweep. Distribution sweep is specifically designed for the situations in which the problem is too large to be solved in internal memory, and theoretically has optimal I/O cost. Plane sweep is a well-known and powerful technique in computational geometry, and is optimal for this particular problem in terms of internal computation. The three variations of plane sweep differ by the sorting methods (external versus internal sorting) used in the preprocessing phase and the dynamic data structures (B-tree versus 2-3-4-tree) used in the sweeping phase. We generate the test data by three programs that use a random number generator while producing some interesting properties that are predicted by our theoretical analysis. The sizes of the test data range from 250 thousand segments to 2.5 million segments. The experiments provide detailed quantitative evaluation of the performance of the four algorithms, and the observed behavior of the algorithms is consistent with their theoretical properties. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental algorithmic study comparing the practical performance between external-memory algorithms and conventional algorithms with large-scale test data.     

Smoothing estimation of rate function for recurrent event data with informative censoring

This paper proposes kernel estimation of the occurrence rate function for recurrent event data with informative censoring. An informative censoring model is considered with assumptions made on the joint distribution of the recurrent event process and the censoring time without modeling the censoring distribution. Under the validity of the informative censoring model, we also show that an estimator based on the assumption of independent censoring becomes inappropriate and is generally asymptotically biased. To investigate the asymptotic properties of the proposed estimator, the explicit form of its asymptotic mean squared risk and the asymptotic normality are derived. Meanwhile, the empirical consistent smoothing estimator for the variance function of the estimator is suggested. The performance of the estimators are also studied through Monte Carlo simulations. An epidemiological example of intravenous drug user data is used to show the influence of informative censoring in the estimation of the occurrence rate functions for inpatient cares over time.     

Network DEA pitfalls: Divisional efficiency and frontier projection under general network structures

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a method for measuring the efficiency of peer decision making units (DMUs). Recently network DEA models been developed to examine the efficiency of DMUs with internal structures. The internal network structures range from a simple two-stage process to a complex system where multiple divisions are linked together with intermediate measures. In general, there are two types of network DEA models. One is developed under the standard multiplier DEA models based upon the DEA ratio efficiency, and the other under the envelopment DEA models based upon production possibility sets. While the multiplier and envelopment DEA models are dual models and equivalent under the standard DEA, such is not necessarily true for the two types of network DEA models. Pitfalls in network DEA are discussed with respect to the determination of divisional efficiency, frontier type, and projections. We point out that the envelopment-based network DEA model should be used for determining the frontier projection for inefficient DMUs while the multiplier-based network DEA model should be used for determining the divisional efficiency. Finally, we demonstrate that under general network structures, the multiplier and envelopment network DEA models are two different approaches. The divisional efficiency obtained from the multiplier network DEA model can be infeasible in the envelopment network DEA model. This indicates that these two types of network DEA models use different concepts of efficiency. We further demonstrate that the envelopment model’s divisional efficiency may actually be the overall efficiency.     

Electron-hole coupling and the charge density wave transition in TiSe2

Angle-resolved photoemission is employed to measure the band structure of TiSe2 in order to clarify the nature of the ( 2 x 2 x 2) charge density wave transition. The results show a very small indirect gap in the normal phase transforming into a larger indirect gap at a different location in the Brillouin zone. Fermi surface topology is irrelevant in this case. Instead, electron-hole coupling together with a novel indirect Jahn-Teller effect drives the transition.     

光纤光栅力传感器的无源温漂补偿技术

将一光纤光栅沿轴向粘贴于两重叠等腰三角形悬臂梁的交界处进行力传感。理论和实验均证实该无源装置具有自动补偿布拉格波长温漂效应的功能。０￣０．３４Ｎ力范围内,实验表明其传感灵敏度ｎｍ／Ｎ。     

利用调谐滤波技术的光纤光栅复用传感器

采用光纤光栅悬臂梁线性调谐技术 ,提出了利用调谐滤波技术对光纤光栅复用传感信号进行检测的方案 ,在分析其基本工作原理的基础上 ,实验研究了其波分复用传感特性 ,传感测量的结果与光谱分析仪直接测量的结果基本一致。传感器的波长分辨率主要取决于系统的最小可探测光功率 ,由于采用了高灵敏度的光电测量系统 ,传感测量的波长分辨率可达 0 .0 0 5nm ,应变分辨率可达 5.7× 10 - 6 。     

Grating-Outcoupled Radiation in Second-Order Fiber Bragg Gratings

Abstract

The experimental results of the radiation for second-order fiber Bragg gratings, which are made of a single-mode photosensitive fiber (PS-1500; Fiber-Core Corp.) and a single-mode fiber (SMF-28; Corning Inc.), by a phase mask writing fabrication technique are explored. For PS-1500 fiber Bragg gratings, the maximum radiation efficiency of ?23.5 dB at resonance λ = 1,539.34 nm with a very narrow bandwidth (about 0.02 nm) are measured from a 10-mm-diameter photo-detector, while for SMF-28 fiber Bragg gratings, the maximum radiation efficiency is ?34.6 dB (λ = 1,538.03 nm) with a bandwidth of 0.06 nm. The total efficiencies of the radiation are about ?16.8 dB for PS-1500 fiber Bragg gratings and ?28.1 dB for SMF-28 fiber Bragg gratings.     

Effects of group-delay difference on ultrashort pulse propagation in an active nonlinear LPFG

The effects of group-delay difference in an active nonlinear long-period fiber grating (LPFG) made in an erbium-doped amplifying fiber (EDF) are investigated by proposing a general model that include the effects of detuning, group-delay difference, gain saturation, gain bandwidth and Kerr nonlinearity. In particular, we observe a new feature caused by the interaction between the group-delay difference and the gain bandwidth: the pulse breakup effect due to the group-delay difference can be suppressed by the finite bandwidth of the linear gain.     

Aligning one-dimensional arrays of nanoclusters on a thin film of Al2O3 grown on vicinal NiAl surfaces

We present a self-organised approach for the synthesis of one-dimensional (1D) arrays of supported nanoclusters. By oxidising NiAl surfaces vicinal to the (1 0 0) plane tilted along the crystallographic direction [0 1 0], we produced ordered thin films of θ-Al₂O₃ that exhibit uniform protrusion stripes propagating uniquely along direction [0 0 1] of the NiAl. These protrusions are preferential centres for nucleation of metal deposited from a vapour; the nanoclusters grown from such metal are aligned and form massive 1D cluster arrays along direction [0 0 1]. The arrays of Co nanoclusters exhibit a diameter as small as 3 nm and length exceeding a micrometer. The results imply prospective applications for which a patterned assembly of nanoclusters is desired.