Frequency Insertion Strategy for Channel Assignment Problem

This paper presents a new heuristic method for quickly finding a good feasible solution to the channel assignment problem (CAP). Like many other greedy-type heuristics for CAP, the proposed method also assigns a frequency to a call, one at a time. Hence, the method requires computational time that increases only linear to the number of calls. However, what distinguishes the method from others is that it starts with a narrow enough frequency band so as to provoke violations of constraints that we need to comply with in order to avoid radio interference. Each violation is then resolved by inserting frequencies at the most appropriate positions so that the band of frequencies expands minimally. An extensive computational experiment using a set of randomly generated problems as well as the Philadelphia benchmark instances shows that the proposed method perform statistically better than existing methods of its kind and even yields optimum solutions to most of Philadelphia benchmark instances among which two cases are reported for the first time ever, in this paper. Won-Young Shin was born in Busan, Korea in 1978. He received B.S. in industrial engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in 2001 and M.S in operation research and applied statistics from POSTECH in 2003. Since 2003 he has been a researcher of Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in Korea. He is interested in optimization of communication system and applied statistics. Soo Y. Chang is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea. He teaches linear programming, discrete optimization, network flows and operations research courses. His research interests include mathematical programming and scheduling. He has published in several journals including Discrete Applied Mathematics, Computers and Mathematics with Application, IIE Transactions, International Journal of Production Research, and so on. He is a member of Korean IIE, and ORMSS. Jaewook Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea. He received the B.S. degree in mathematics with honors from Seoul National University, and the Ph.D. degree from Cornell University in applied mathematics in 1993 and 1999, respectively. He is currently an assistant professor in the department of industrial engineering at the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). His research interests include nonlinear systems, neural networks, nonlinear optimization, and their applications to data mining and financial engineering. Chi-Hyuck Jun was born in Seoul, Korea in 1954. He received B.S. in mineral and petroleum engineering from Seoul National University in 1977, M.S. in industrial engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 1979 and Ph.D. in operations research from University of California, Berkeley, in 1986. Since 1987 he has been with the department of industrial engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and he is now a professor and the department head. He is interested in performance analysis of communication and production systems. He has published in several journals including IIE Transactions, IEEE Transactions, Queueing Systems and Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems. He is a member of IEEE, INFORMS and ASQ.     

Comparison of total and faecal coliforms as faecal indicator in eutrophicated surface water.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of total coliforms (TC) and faecal coliforms (FC) using a membrane filtration method for precise monitoring of faecal pollution in Korean surface water. The samples were collected in Korea from both main rivers and their tributaries. Presumptive TC * FC were enumerated. The ratios of presumptive FC to TC were not constant, but varied widely, and TC were difficult to enumerate because of overgrowth by background colonies. For FC this was not the case. Seven hundred and three purified strains of presumptive TC * FC and their background colonies were biotyped using API 20E. Among 272 presumptive TC, non-faecal related species, Aeromonas hydrophila dominated (34.6%) and E. coli accounted for only 5.1%. In contrast, E. coli made up 89% of the 209 presumptive FC. Furthermore, of 164 background colonies on Endo Agar LES, 54.9% was A. hydrophila, while background colonies on m-FC Agar were few (58 strains), and despite their atypical colony appearance, most of them were biotyped as enteric bacteria. These results reveal that the detection of FC rather than TC using m-FC Agar is more appropriate for faecal pollution monitoring in eutrophicated surface water located in a temperate region.     

Measurement and numerical simulation of three‐dimensional fiber orientation states in injection‐molded short‐fiber‐reinforced plastics

To determine three‐dimensional fiber orientation states in injection‐molded short‐fiber composites, a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) is used. Since the CLSM optically sections the specimen, more than two images of the cross sections on and below the surface of the composite can be obtained. Three‐dimensional fiber orientation states can be determined by using geometric parameters of fiber images obtained from two parallel cross sections. For experiments, carbon‐fiber‐reinforced polystyrene is examined by the CLSM and geometric parameters of fibers on each cross‐sectional plane are measured by an image analysis. In order to describe fiber orientation states compactly, orientation tensors are determined at different positions of the prepared specimen. Three‐dimensional orientation states are obtained without any difficulty by determining the out‐of‐plane angles utilizing fiber images on two parallel planes acquired by the CLSM. Orientation states are different at different positions and show the shell–core structure along the thickness of the specimen. Fiber orientation tensors are predicted by a numerical analysis and the numerically predicted orientation states show good agreement with measured ones. However, some differences are found at the end of cavity. They may result from the fountain flow effects, which are not considered in the numerical analysis. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 500–509, 2003     

Wireless-adaptive fair scheduling for multimedia stream

As packet cellular networks are expected to support multimedia services, the authors incorporate the multimedia QoS requirements into the design of a new scheduling algorithm. The proposed wireless-adaptive fair scheduling tries to allocate time slots for each user with fair share by considering the varying channel condition while reflecting the stream requirements and achieving high throughput.     

Abnormal junction profile of silicided p+/n shallowjunctions: a leakage mechanism

The leakage mechanism in p⁺/n shallow junctions fabricated using Co silicidation and shallow trench isolation processes has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with selective chemical etching. TEM and TSUPREM-4 simulation results show that dopant profiles bend upward near the edge of the active region. The formation of the abnormal profile is attributed to transient enhanced diffusion induced by source/drain implantation. Based on the TEM and simulation results, it is suggested that the shallower junctions formed near the active edge can serve as a source for leakage current in the silicided p+ /n shallow junctions     

C-t analysis of MOS capacitors under constant current stress

The effect of high oxide field stress is studied using capacitance-time (C-t) measurements of MOS capacitors. The stress results in parallel shifts of the C-t curve along the time axis. The flatband voltage shift ΔV_FB obtained from the initial deep depletion capacitance C(t=0⁺) follows the same trend as that from the high-frequency C-V characteristics. However, the discrepancy between the two flatband voltages becomes larger as the stress increases due to the effect of interface charges on C-t characteristics. The flatband voltage difference is converted to interface trap density, showing a steady increase of interface trap density with stress, similar to that from low-frequency C-V measurements     

Cell-mediated immunological responses in cervical and vaginal cancer patients immunized with a lipidated epitope of human papillomavirus type 16 E7

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been causally associated with cervical cancer. We tested the effectiveness of an HLA-A*0201-restricted, HPV-16 E7 lipopeptide vaccine in eliciting cellular immune responses in vivo in women with refractory cervical cancer. In a nonrandomized Phase I clinical trial, 12 women expressing the HLA-A2 allele with refractory cervical or vaginal cancer were vaccinated with four E786-93 lipopeptide inoculations at 3-week intervals. HLA-A2 subtyping was also performed, and HPV typing was assessed on tumor specimens. Induction of epitope-specific CD8+ T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses was analyzed using peripheral blood leukapheresis specimens obtained before and after vaccination. CTL specificity was measured by IFN-gamma release assay using HLA-A*0201 matched target cells. Clinical responses were assessed by physical examination and radiographic images. All HLA-A*0201 patients were able to mount a cellular immune response to a control peptide. E786-93-specific CTLs were elicited in 4 of 10 evaluable HLA-A*0201 subjects before vaccination, 5 of 7 evaluable HLA-A*0201 patients after two vaccinations, and 2 of 3 evaluable HLA-A*0201 cultures after all four inoculations. Two of three evaluable patients' CTLs converted from unreactive to reactive after administration of all four inoculations. There were no clinical responses or treatment toxicities. The ability to generate specific cellular immune responses is retained in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Vaccination with a lipidated HPV peptide epitope appears capable of safely augmenting CTL reactivity. Although enhancements of cellular immune responses are needed to achieve therapeutic utility in advanced cervical cancer, this approach might prove useful in treating preinvasive disease.     

Overview of ship-design expert systems

Expert systems constitute a branch of artificial intelligence, and their unique characteristics enable computer systems to perform at the level of a human expert by the use of algorithms that can capture domain-specific knowledge. Through an extensive survey of research about ship-design expert systems, we conclude that although development and implementation of expert systems for ship design offer substantial barriers, the shipbuilding industry needs them nonetheless. We examine the major reasons that use of expert systems in this industry has lagged behind. These include the problems of integration with existing computer-aided design systems, problems of knowledge representation and sizable development costs. We discuss in detail some key factors that can lead to the solution of these problems.     

NO emission characteristics in counterflow diffusion flame of blended fuel of H2/CO2/Ar

Flame structure and NO emission characteristics in counterflow diffusion flame of blended fuel of H₂/CO₂/Ar have been numerically simulated with detailed chemistry. The combination of H₂, CO₂ and Ar as fuel is selected to clearly display the contribution of hydrocarbon products to flame structure and NO emission characteristics due to the breakdown of CO₂. A radiative heat loss term is involved to correctly describe the flame dynamics especially at low strain rates. The detailed chemistry adopts the reaction mechanism of GRI 2.11, which consists of 49 species and 279 elementary reactions. All mechanisms including thermal, NO₂, N₂O and Fenimore are taken into account to separately evaluate the effects of CO₂ addition on NO emission characteristics. The increase of added CO₂ quantity causes flame temperature to fall since at high strain rates a diluent effect is prevailing and at low strain rates the breakdown of CO₂ produces relatively populous hydrocarbon products and thus the existence of hydrocarbon products inhibits chain branching. It is also found that the contribution of NO production by N₂O and NO₂ mechanisms are negligible and that thermal mechanism is concentrated on only the reaction zone. As strain rate and CO₂ quantity increase, NO production is remarkably augmented. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The onset of vortex instability in laminar forced convection flow through a horizontal porous channel

The onset of convective instability in a fluid-saturated porous layer between the two horizontal plates heated isothermally from below has been analyzed theoretically by using propagation theory. In the analysis the thermal dispersion coefficient is assumed to be proportional to the streamwise velocity. The results show that both inertia and thermal dispersion stabilize the system.