The square lattice shuffle

We show that the operations of permuting columns and rows separately and independently mix a square matrix in constant time. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2006     

Approximate Inverse Preconditioners for Some Large Dense Random Electrostatic Interaction Matrices

A sparse mesh-neighbour based approximate inverse preconditioner is proposed for a type of dense matrices whose entries come from the evaluation of a slowly decaying free space Green’s function at randomly placed points in a unit cell. By approximating distant potential fields originating at closely spaced sources in a certain way, the preconditioner is given properties similar to, or better than, those of a standard least squares approximate inverse preconditioner while its setup cost is only that of a diagonal block approximate inverse preconditioner. Numerical experiments on iterative solutions of linear systems with up to four million unknowns illustrate how the new preconditioner drastically outperforms standard approximate inverse preconditioners of otherwise similar construction, and especially so when the preconditioners are very sparse. AMS subject classification (2000) 65F10, 65R20, 65F35, 78A30     

A virtual boundary method with improved computational efficiency using a multi‐grid method

The flow around spherical, solid objects is considered. The boundary conditions on the solid boundaries have been applied by replacing the boundary with a surface force distribution on the surface, such that the required boundary conditions are satisfied. The velocity on the boundary is determined by extrapolation from the flow field. The source terms are determined iteratively, as part of the solution. They are then averaged and are smoothed out to nearby computational grid points. A multi‐grid scheme has been used to enhance the computational efficiency of the solution of the force equations. The method has been evaluated for flow around both moving and stationary spherical objects at very low and intermediate Reynolds numbers. The results shows a second order accuracy of the method both at creeping flow and at Re=100. The multi‐grid scheme is shown to enhance the convergence rate up to a factor 10 as compared to single grid approach. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nanostructured Ion-Selective MCM-48 Membranes

Templated MCM-48 silica was prepared using CTAB as surfactant. The MCM-48 powders and thin films were characterized by different techniques. MCM-48 layers were deposited on macroporous α-alumina supports and silicon nitride microsieves. The water permeability of MCM-48 was compared with the permeability of conventional mesoporous γ-alumina membranes. The applicability of MCM-48 as ion-selective electric field-driven switchable interconnect for microfluidic devices was demonstrated.     

Integrated Smart Sensor Calibration

In many applications electronic sensors are used toimprove performance and reliability of measurement systems. Suchsensors should provide a correct transfer from the physical signalto be measured to the electrical output signal. One importantstep to achieve this, is to calibrate each sensor by applyingdifferent reference input signals and adjusting the sensor transferaccordingly. Besides expensive reference equipment the calibrationprocess takes much time and attention per individual sensor,which means a considerable increase in sensor production costs.By including at the sensor or sensor interface chip a programmablecalibration facility the calibration of such smart sensors caneasily be automated and can be executed for a batch of sensorsat a time, thus minimizing the calibration time and costs. Thispaper presents a calibration method and options for integrationin the smart sensor concept, in hardware as well as in software.An advantage of the proposed method is that it does not needa large matrix of calibration data, which needs to be storedin a look-up table or converted into a correction formula, butinstead it uses a step-by-step approach to correct the sensortransfer at each calibration measurement until the error is sufficientlysmall.     

Process development and adhesion behavior of electroless copper on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) for electronic packaging application

Liquid crystal polymer (LCP) has potentially a very wide application as substrate material in electronic packaging applications because of its unique advantages. The work in this paper was performed to realize the metallization of LCP for the purpose of board fabrication, and to study the adhesion between deposited copper and LCP. A homogenous electroless plated copper layer on LCP with 4 to 5 /spl mu/m thickness was achieved, while it increased up to 40 /spl mu/m with the subsequent electroplating. The timescale of etching, deposit ion rate, and pH value were gradually changing during the plating process and the influences on copper layer quality were investigated. The adhesion force of the copper-LCP layer system was measured by a shear-off-method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to check the surface morphology after etching and the interface after shearing on both the backside of the copper layer and the LCP side. The relationship between the shear-off adhesion of copper and the time of chemical etching before plating was examined, and the optimal etching time is discussed. Heat treatment after plating was used, and it was shown that this significantly improved the adhesion strength.     

On the advantage over a random assignment

We initiate the study of a new measure of approximation. This measure compares the performance of an approximation algorithm to the random assignment algorithm. This is a useful measure for optimization problems where the random assignment algorithm is known to give essentially the best possible polynomial time approximation. In this paper, we focus on this measure for the optimization problems Max‐Lin‐2 in which we need to maximize the number of satisfied linear equations in a system of linear equations modulo 2, and Max‐k‐Lin‐2, a special case of the above problem in which each equation has at most k variables. The main techniques we use, in our approximation algorithms and inapproximability results for this measure, are from Fourier analysis and derandomization. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2004     

Solutions of the WDVV Equations and Integrable Hierarchies of KP Type

We show that reductions of KP hierarchies related to the loop algebra of SL_n with homogeneous gradation give solutions of the Darboux-Egoroff system of PDE's. Using explicit dressing matrices of the Riemann-Hilbert problem generalized to include a set of commuting additional symmetries, we construct solutions of the Witten– Dijkgraaf–E. Verlinde–H. Verlinde equations.     

Spectral Analysis of the Differential Operator in Wavelet Bases

We analyze the spectral properties of the differential operator in wavelet bases. The problem is studied on a periodic domain, with periodized wavelets. An algorithm for finding the eigenvalue function of the differential operator is presented, and general conditions that ensure a "nicely behaving" eigenvalue function are derived.     

Comparisons of pharynx, source, formant, and pressure characteristics in operatic and musical theatre singing

Belting, a vocal technique typically cultivated in musical theatre singing, differs timbrally from operatic singing in many interesting respects. The underlying phonatory differences have not been previously investigated in detail. Yet, belting is frequently associated with disturbances of voice function. Articulatory and phonatory characteristics are investigated in a female subject who is a professional singer (co-author JL) trained in both the operatic and belting styles and in an intermediate vocal technique (“mixed”). This article presents data obtained from this subject by video-fiberoptic observation of the pharynx, inverse filtering of airflow, and measurement of subglottal pressure. The results reveal that belting was characterized by very high subglottal pressures and sound levels, and apparently also by a comparatively high degree of glottal adduction. Comparisons with other investigations of related aspects of belting and operatic singing support the assumption that the data obtained from our subject are representative for these vocal techniques.