Personal Computer (PC)

One of the most valuable properties of the carbon nanotubes materials is its high thermal conductivity with 2000 W/m.K (compared to thermal conductivity of Ag 419 W/m.K). It suggested an approach in applying the CNTs in thermal dissipation media to improve the performance of computer processors and other high power electronic devices. In this research, the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) made by thermal chemical vapour deposition (CVD) at our laboratory was employed as the heat dissipation media in a microprocessor a Personal Computer with configuration: Intel Pentium IV 3.066 GHz, 512Mb of RAM and Windows XP Service Pack 2 Operating System. We directly measured the temperature of the microprocessor during the operation of the computer in two modes: 100% usage CPU mode and over-clocking mode. The measured results showed that when using our thermal dissipation media (a mixture of the mentioned commercial thermal compound and 2 wt.%. MWCNTs), the temperature of the microprocessor decreased 5 o C, and the time for increasing the temperature of the microprocessor was three times longer than that when using commercial thermal compound. In over-clocking mode, the processor speed reached 3.8 GHz with 165 MHz of system bus clock speed; it was 1.24 times higher than that in non over-clocking mode. The results confirmed a promising way of using MWCNTs as the thermal dissipation media for microprocessor and high power electronic devices.

Network security is in a daily evolving domain. Every day, new attacks, virus or intrusion techniques are released. Hence, network devices, enterprise servers or personal computers are potential targets of these attacks. Current security solutions like firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS) and virtual private networks (VPN) are centralized solutions which rely mostly on the analyze of inbound network connections. This approach notably forgets the effects of a rogue station, whose communications cannot be easily controlled unless the administrators establish a global authentication policy using methods like 802.1x to control all network communications among each device. To the best of our knowledge, a distributed and easily manageable solution for the global security of an enterprise network does not exist. In this paper, we present a new approach to deploy a distributed security solution where communication between each device can be control in a collaborative manner. Indeed, each device has its own security rules, who can be shared and improved through exchanges with others devices. With this new approach, called grid of security, a community of devices ensures that a device is trustworthy and that communications between devices progress in respect of the control of the system policies. To support this approach, we present a new communication model that helps structuring the distribution of security services among the devices. Like this, we can secure both ad-hoc, local-area or enterprise networks in a decentralized manner, preventing the risk of a security breach in the case of a failure.

This paper uses published indicators of IT development projects performance, including recent projects, as the basis for an analysis of the relationship between two key aspects: project's effort and duration. The analysis results in mathematical models of that relationship which may be used as a guide for project duration planning and forecasting. The models are based on the analysis of empirical data contained in the 1997 release of the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) repository. Duration models are built for the entire data set and for subsets of projects developed on personal computer, mid-range and mainframe platforms. Duration models are also constructed for projects requiring fewer than 400 person-hours of effort and for projects requiring more than 400 person-hours of effort. The usefulness of adding the maximum number of assigned resources as a second independent variable to explain duration is also analyzed.

This paper presents a confirmatory analysis of empirical models that predict software engineering project duration based on project effort, based on a more recent and much larger sample. The models are based on the analysis of project data provided by release 4 of the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) repository. Duration models are built for subsets of projects using personal computer, mid-range and mainframe development platforms.

Virtualization and live migration techniques have long been used in the enterprise server space and have been tuned to address data center usages. These capabilities are now expanding to personal computers including desktops and laptops and more recently into smaller mobile devices such as Netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices (MID). Hardware support for virtualization in these platforms, such as that offered by Intel® Atom™ processor, enables the use of existing operating systems and virtualization software. Our experiments demonstrate that live migration can be used to dynamically offload computation to a nearby desktop computer from a Netbook, taking only 25 seconds over a 100Mbps Ethernet network and approximately 100 seconds over an 802.11n interface with a measured throughput of 70Mbps. Additionally, these experiments highlight the limitations of existing virtualization solutions for migrating computation between small form-factor mobile devices and desktop computers which have widely varying resources and processing capabilities. Finally, we discuss the challenges observed in these early experiments and raise key questions that need to be resolved to enable the design of effective systems that support this use model.

A number of tools and techniques have been developed to assist students with blindness and visual impairment who are studying in secondary and post-secondary science laboratories. Commercial electronic probes and their associated software packages allow real-time viewing and collection of data using a personal computer; however, until now, these data have been inaccessible to students with blindness or visual impairment because of the incompatibility of the data acquisition software with screen-reading software. Recent programming modifications now allow a new level of compatibility, which promotes a greater degree of independence and accessibility to laboratory science for people with visual impairments.

In recent history the volume of electronic parts and goods purchased by consumers has dramatically escalated. As a result this has produced an ever-increasing obsolete electronic products waste stream (E-waste) and this has generated concerns regarding the Ewaste's potential for adverse impact on the environment. The leaching of toxic substances from obsolete personal computers (PCs) and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) of televisions and monitors, which are the most significant components in E-waste stream, was studied using landfill simulation columns. In this study five columns were employed. One column served as a control in which only municipal solid waste (MSW) was loaded, two columns were loaded with a mixture of CRTs and MSW, and two columns were loaded with MSW and computer components (printed wire boards, hard drives, floppy drives, CD/DVD drives, and power supply). The leachatesgenerated by the columns were monitored for toxic substances throughout the two year duration of the study. Results indicate that Pb (one of the metals of highest concern) as well as various other heavy metals was not detected in the leachate. In addition, samples of the solids were also collected from underneath the E-waste layers contained in the columns. In contrast to the leachate samples, analysis of the solid samples revealed significant amount of Pb. This indicates that Pb leached from the E-waste but was absorbed by the solid waste. While Pb was not observed in the leachate in this study, it is probable that the Pb would enter the leachate with time.

One of the most valuable properties of the carbon nanotubes materials is its high thermal conductivity with 2000 W/m.K (compared to thermal conductivity of Ag 419 W/m.K). It suggested an approach in applying the CNTs in thermal dissipation media to improve the performance of computer processors and other high power electronic devices. In this research, the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) made by thermal chemical vapour deposition (CVD) at our laboratory was employed as the heat dissipation media in a microprocessor a Personal Computer with configuration: Intel Pentium IV 3.066 GHz, 512Mb of RAM and Windows XP Service Pack 2 Operating System. We directly measured the temperature of the microprocessor during the operation of the computer in two modes: 100% usage CPU mode and over-clocking mode. The measured results showed that when using our thermal dissipation media (a mixture of the mentioned commercial thermal compound and 2 wt.%. MWCNTs), the temperature of the microprocessor decreased 5 o C, and the time for increasing the temperature of the microprocessor was three times longer than that when using commercial thermal compound. In over-clocking mode, the processor speed reached 3.8 GHz with 165 MHz of system bus clock speed; it was 1.24 times higher than that in non over-clocking mode. The results confirmed a promising way of using MWCNTs as the thermal dissipation media for microprocessor and high power electronic devices.

Desde hace varios años el uso del computador ha venido en aumento y en la actualidad aproximadamente el 50% de los hogares tienen un computador, y un gran número de personas que usan este tipo de tecnología presentan síntomas visuales como: irritación ocular, ardor, visión borrosa, epifora, prurito y ojo rojo; que en conjunto con otros síntomas menos frecuentes dan lugar al síndrome de visión por computador (SVC). La causa de estos síntomas es multifactorial y se ha relacionado con alteraciones propias del ojo (cambios en la superficie ocular y en la acomodación) y factores ambientales (iluminación, la calidad de la imagen y el ángulo de visión). En este síndrome no solo se pueden presentar síntomas oculares sino también algunos extra oculares. El tratamiento del SVC es multidireccional y abarca varios parámetros como: el manejo sintomático, la instauración de medidas que establezcan ambientes laborales adecuados y cambios en los hábitos al usar el computador; siendo estos dos últimos indispensables para la prevención de los síntomas. En este artículo se abordara sistemáticamente y a profundidad este tema.

Représentation compacte permettant une analyse mathématique, le squelette doit être homotope, fin et centré par rapport à l'objet qu'il représente. De nombreuses approches existent pour le calculer, et les auteurs s'attachent en particulier à présenter des algorithmes efficaces. Cependant, dans le cas de grands volumes de données, qu'il n'est pas possible de conserver dans la mémoire d'un ordinateur personnel, ces approches ne sont pas directement applicables. Nous présentons ici, dans le cadre d'une application visant à étudier la microvascularisation du cerveau, un algorithme de squelettisation travaillant localement (sur des sous-images) mais qui garde des propriétés globales (localisation). Nous montrerons les résultats obtenus sur une mosaïque d'images 3D acquises à l'aide d'un microscope confocal.

Pesquisa exploratória descritiva realizada em um hospital público de Curitiba. A população foi composta por 173 trabalhadores de enfermagem do turno noturno, com objetivo de identificar os principais agravos à saúde desses trabalhadores. Responderam ao questionário 66,5% dos trabalhadores, sendo 84% do sexo feminino. O processo de morbidade expresso pelos trabalhadores do noturno comprova o desgaste no processo saúde e doença. Os sintomas mais expressivos foram varizes, fadiga, cervicodorsolombalgia e irritabilidade acima de 50%. Os sintomas registrados após o descanso confirmam que o trabalhador ainda sente-se cansado e desanimado e permanece ainda com sono excessivo, o que confirma que o trabalhador retorna ao trabalho em situação de fadiga. As consequências acarretadas à saúde são vistas como um grande problema e medidas de intervenção devem ser estudadas para intervir no processo saúde doença dos trabalhadores de enfermagem. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Serviço hospitalar de enfermagem; Saúde do trabalhador; Trabalho noturno; Recursos humanos em saúde.

Introdução: O conceito de cargas de trabalho vem sendo usado pela enfermagem com vários significados, entre eles o de dependência do paciente e intensidade do trabalho. Propomos acrescentar a compreensão de cargas de trabalho como processos biopsíquicos com reflexos no corpo do trabalhador. Desenvolvimento: Trazemos uma discussão teórica sobre esse conceito, tendo como base a contribuição latinoamericana para este campo conceitual. Reflexão final: Essa discussão possibilita novos caminhos teóricos para operacionalizar esse conceito na pesquisa e na prática profissional com enfoque na saúde do trabalhador. Igualmente, essa concepção na pesquisa em enfermagem contribui para aprofundar o estudo do processo de trabalho e sua relação com a saúde, de modo a analisar a contribuição dos seus componentes na saúde dos trabalhadores de enfermagem.

This paper presents some works made in the development of communications software for an embedded open core system. By using a Linux-based processor implemented on a FPGA, we are developing the appropriate software in order to implement a remote unit to be used in a telecontrol network. We present an analysis of the physical devices needed and a performance report of them. After that, we analyze the requirements of the telecontrol network and the possibility of reusing already implemented protocols in Linux instead of using standard telecontrol protocols.

Skeletons are compact representations that allow mathematical analysis of objects. A skeleton must be homotopic, thin and medial in relation to the object it represents. Numerous approaches already exist which focus on computational efficiency. However, when dealing with data too large to be loaded into the main memory of a personal computer, such approaches can no longer be used. We present in this article a skeletonization algorithm that processes the data locally (in sub-images) while preserving global properties (medial localization). Our privileged application is the study of the cerebral micro-vascularisation, and we show some results obtained on a mosaic of 3-D images acquired by confocal microscopy.

Current clinical methods for the separation of whole blood into blood cells and cell-free plasma are currently based on large facility equipment, such as centrifuges. The disadvantage of this process is that the patients must have assays performed at the hospital or laboratory where the separation facility is located. The present study presents a design for microfluidic chips with different microchannel structures, which utilizes backward facing step geometry and centrifugal force to extract the cell-free plasma from whole blood samples at the branch of the microchannel for further assay, avoiding the influence of blood cells. Numerical simulation was performed on a personal computer to analyze the effects of inlet velocity and the structures of the microchannel on the flow field and back-flow in the microchannel, as well as the efficiency of separation and the volumetric fraction of the flowrate of plasma extraction. The minimum radius of particles (R) that can be excluded from the side channel, and fraction of the volumetric flowrate were obtained to evaluate the efficiency of plasma extraction. Based on the numerical simulations, the design with both converging and bending channels was the best design among the four layouts proposed. In this design, the value of R could be set to less than the critical value (set as 1 mm because of the radius of platelets), and the volumetric fraction of the extraction flowrate was approximately 8.4% when Re was about 20. The preliminary experiments indicated the fluorescent particles with 2.5 mm in radius were successfully excluded from side (plasma outlet) channel of the microfluidic chip with converging a inlet channel and the bent microchannel, when the Reynolds number of the inlet flowrate equals 50.

A computer-controlled, automated sample collection from a 0.5-m lysimeter, designed to give superior temporal and spatial resolution for monitoring the movement of chemical tracers through a large undisturbed soil block, is described. The soil block, 0.520.520.5 m, was monitored for saturation using eight time domain reflectometry probes. Rainfall was applied at approximately 1600 ml hm1 using a 12212 array of 23-gauge (0.318 mm internal diameter) hypodermic needles. Soil leachates were collected at the base of the soil block using a machined aluminium collection plate with a 10210 grid of funnels that passed leachates to sample collection palettes. Sample collection was automated using a personal computer equipped with National Instruments LabVIEW™ software and linked to sensors for palette tracking. The automation of the lysimeter allowed sample collection and storage over a user-defined period with no human interaction. As an example of the use of the automated lysimeter, results...

Positron emission tomography (PET) systems employ mixed-signal front-end to carry out relatively simple, and ad hoc, processing of the charge pulses generated upon event detection. To obtain, and maintain over time, proper calibrations of the mixed-signal circuitry for generating accurate event information is a challenging task due to the simplicity of the event processing, and the huge number of channels and multiplexing of the input signals found in modern PET systems. It is also difficult to modify or extend the event-processing technologies when needs arise because it would involve making changes to the circuitry. These limitations can be circumvented by applying digital signal-processing technologies for analyzing event pulses generated in PET. With digital technologies, optimized event-processing algorithms can be implemented and they can be modified or extended with ease when needed. The resulting PET data-acquisition (DAQ) system is easier to calibrate and maintain, can generate more accurate event information, and has better extendibility. In this paper, we present our work toward developing a scalable all-digital DAQ system for PET, built upon a personal-computer platform for reducing cost. We will present the overall architecture of this digital DAQ system, and describe our implementations of several components of the system.

Mobile Internet technology (MIT) is an extension of the Internet beyond the static terminal of the personal computer or television. It has been forecasted that by the end of 2005, there will be almost 500 million users of mobile m‐commerce, generating more than $200 billion in revenues. Contributes to the body of knowledge on how to approach the study of MIT products. Proposes that consumer perceptions of MIT products can lead to dichotomous decision making and argues that the challenge for marketers is to harness and fit this dichotomy to the MIT product continuum through an understanding of consumer psychological and attribution factors. The overall findings indicate that technology anxiety correlates with demographic variables such as age, gender and academic qualifications. Therefore, the implications of the study are that technology product engineering and marketing should recognise the importance of: study of the psychosocial needs of technology products, human factors in engi...

Automation is the process of handling various parameters of process like temperature, flow, level etc. without presence of responsible person. In industrial field, Automation and control have greatly improve in industrial manufacturing in the world Technological advancement in automation and control over the past decades have contributed greatly to improve the productivity of virtually all manufacturing industries throughout the world. In the development of automation controllers the trend has been to move towards soft controllers so as to provide better control, more flexibility and more reliability with intelligent diagnostics of machine faults. So industries have gradually moved from conventional relay logic control to programmable logic control and then to computerized numeric control. In this paper all the required control and motor performance data will be taken to a personal computer via PLC for further analysis. Various results are obtained and discussed.

Wireless internet access based on Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), such as a wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), or Bluetooth networks will become popular with the next few years. New services will be offered that make use of the location and personal profiles to filter internet access. This paper presents security system for indoor location between two devices the mobile device and computer based (Laptop Computer) on Bluetooth technology. The system programmed by visual basic using the Microsoft® Comm (MSComm) control in combination with the others controls to control too many different USB ports. The Bluetooth access points of a network through using the port USB in the laptop computer for the location system and want to access a Global Services Mobile (GSM) Mobile device attached to the computer through a communication Port. It can send, receive a file or write a simple message or long message into input to a textbox and, then perform hash operation through using special algorithm to generate and then send it with systemic key.

ENWATBAL, a mechanistic energy, water balance model originally written in the CSMP simulation language, was largely incompatible with personal computers (PCs). ENWATBAL.BAS was developed to extend the model application to PCs using BASIC which is widely available. BASIC functions or subprograms were provided to emulate CSMP language commands including integration, implicit root finding and generation of dependent variable values from tables of dependent-independent variable data pairs. The BASIC version is highly modular and thus easier to read and maintain. The verification of ENWATBAL.BAS against ENWATBAL, using identical input data, discretization and time integration steps, indicated no appreciable differences between the two versions. Runtimes for a seasonal simulation (100 days) were nearly the same (about 5 hours) for the compiled BASIC version using a 20 MHz, 80386 based PC and the CSMP version using a MicroVAX II, and four times faster for a 33 MHz, 80486 based PC. Discretization analysis showed that soil layer thickness should be no larger than 0.002 m for the surface layer although thickness may increase to as much as 0.2 m for subsurface layers. Parameter sensitivity analysis showed that evapotranspiration estimates changed as expected in response to changes in parameter values for surface roughness length, maximum crop water potential, soil albedo, and crop hydraulic resistance. execute in a computer language which is more accessible, Many model changes were made to the BASIC version subsequent to the speed comparisons resulting in a more advanced and flexible model. ENWATBAL.BAS is a useful tool for investigating the complex mechanisms of evapotranspiration. This paper was prepared by a USDA employee as part of the employee's official duties and cannot legally be copyrighted. The fact that the private publication in which the paper may appear is itself copyrighted does not affect the material of the U.S. Government, which can be reproduced by the public at will.

ENWATBAL, a mechanistic energy, water balance model originally written in the Continuous System Modeling Program (CSMP) simulation language, was largely incompatible with personal computers (PCs). ENWATBAL.BAS was developed to extend the model application to PCs using BASIC, which is widely available. BASIC functions or subprograms were provided to emulate CSMP language commands including integration, implicit root finding, and generation of dependent variable values from tables of dependent‐independent variable data pairs. The BASIC version is highly modular and thus easier to read and maintain. The verification of ENWATBAL.BAS against ENWATBAL, with identical input data, discretization, and time integration steps, indicated no appreciable differences between the two versions. Runtimes for a seasonal simulation (100 d) were nearly the same (about 5 h) for the compiled BASIC version with a 20 MHz, 80386‐based PC and the CSMP version with a MicroVAX II, and four times faster for a 33...

As the amount of electronic information explodes, hierarchies to handle this information become huge and complex. Visualizing and interacting with these hierarchies become daunting tasks. The problem is exacerbated if the visualization is to be done on massmarket personal computers, with limited processing power and visual resolution. Many of the current visualization techniques work effectively for hierarchies of 1000 nodes. But as the number of nodes increases toward 5000 nodes, these techniques tend to break down. Hierarchies above 5000 nodes usually require special modifications such as clustering, which can affect visual stability. This paper introduces Cheops. a novel approach to the representation, browsing and exploration of huge, complex information hierarchies such as the Dewey Decimal system, which can contain between I million and I billion nodes. The Cheops approach maintains context within a huge hierarchy, while simultaneously providing easy access to details. This paper will also present some preliminary results from usability tests performed on an 8 wide by 9 deep classification hierarchy, which if fully populated would contain over I9 million nodes.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the main characteristics of a system created to study, in a community, the evolution of people suffering cardiac disease or people prone to suffer it. The system has two main components: a portable device for ECG acquisition, henceforth Recorder, and Windows-compatible software, named Analyzer, to storage and study the signals acquired by the recorders. The Register acquires the twelve leads of the standard electrocardiogram (ECG) simultaneously. These signals and the mean heart rate are displayed on the device screen. When the operator requests, the Recorder measures the amplitude and duration of all ECG waves and other relevant electrocardiographic event. All the information is stored on the Recorder; this data is then transmitted, via USB, to a personal computer running the Analyzer. The received information is stored in a SQL database and the trend of the following ECG parameters is computed for each patient: spatial dispersion of QT interval is studied to predict dangerous arrhythmias; the Sokolow Index is analyzed due to its relationship with ventricular dilatation and hypertrophy. Also, the progression of R wave amplitude in chest leads is studied in patients who have suffered a heart attack. The Recorders are able to connect to a Telecardiology system, developed by the authors, in order to ask for advice in a sudden urgency. Five prototype Recorders have been manufactured and evaluated successfully according to the IEC 60601-2-51 standard. The CSE database was used to test the ECG processing algorithms. The average error in the measurements of the QT interval length was 7,62 milliseconds; all the mean errors in measurements of the ECG waves met the tolerances described in the IEC 60601-2-51 standard.

We investigate the solution of constraint-based configuration problems in which the preference function over outcomes is unknown or incompletely specified. The aim is to configure a system, such as a personal computer, so that it will be optimal for a given user. The goal of this project is to develop algorithms that generate the most preferred feasible configuration by posing preference queries to the user. In order to minimize the number and the complexity of preference queries posed to the user, the algorithm reasons about the ...

This study examines how uncertainty about rival firm’s behavior affects the equilibrium and its dynamics under heterogenous competition. A differentiated mixed duopoly is considered in which one firm sets a quantity and the other firm charges a price. It is demonstrated that behavioral uncertainty stabilizes the unstable dynamic process in comparison to behavioral certainty and generates Pareto-improvement in the sense that the firms can earn larger profits.

This paper presents the development and testing of an open and flexible embedded system applied to positioning and telecontrol (OFESAPO) for outdoor applications. The system is composed of a control center (CC) and a set of remote terminal units (RTUs); the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60870-5 series has been chosen for communication among them. This is a standard protocol of real-time telecontrol applications. The CC is a personal computer, and the RTUs are based on open hardware and software. The RTU hardware is an embedded system, i.e., a system-on-chip-type design using fieldprogrammable gate array that has been programmed with the open-core LEON running Linux operating system. For prototyping, the GR-XC3S-1500 board has been used. As there is no open source code available for the IEC standard protocols, an open source code has also been implemented. Hence, both the hardware and the software are open source in OFESAPO. Several tests have been made to show the system's limitations and the suitability for real-time applications. A prototype has also been tested in a real environment, where the real position of two moving RTUs was shown by a CC using Google Map.