Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Toolkit For Specializing Production Operating System Code, Crispin Cowan, Dylan Mcnamee, Andrew P. Black, Calton Pu, Jonathan Walpole, Charles Krasic, Perry Wagle, Qian Zhang

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Specialization has been recognized as a powerful technique for optimizing operating systems. However, specialization has not been broadly applied beyond the research community because the current techniques, based on manual specialization, are time-consuming and error-prone. This paper describes a specialization toolkit that should help broaden the applicability of specializing operating systems by assisting in the automatic generation of specialized code, and {\em guarding} the specialized code to ensure the specialized system continues to be correct. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the toolkit by describing experiences we have had applying it in real, production environments. We report on our experiences with …

Syntheses And Characterizations Of Unsymmetrical Porphyrins As Photosensitizers For A Solid-State Solar Cell, Yinping Zhao

Dissertations and Theses

Solar light is the most important source of regenerative energy and represents mankind's only inexhaustible energy source. One of today's most promising tools to make use of solar energy is its direct conversion into electrical energy in a photovoltaic cell. The practical use of these solar cells depends on the price of the devices and therefore of the obtained energy. The conventional silicon cells, although efficient, are expensive for common consumer applications. The Grätzel cell is a photovoltaic system for harvesting the sun's energy that operates at about 10-15% overall efficiency, like a conventional solar cell, but does it at …

Settlements Due To Arid Collapsible Soils, Heather L. Devine

Dissertations and Theses

The arid alluvial deposits common to the western United States frequently undergo moderate to severe collapse when wetted that can threaten or destroy the stability of structures that are founded on such soils. Additionally, in some areas collapse has been known to occur due to overburden stresses alone. As development expands in these areas a method to estimate the degree of this collapse is essential.

Current settlement methods are reviewed and evaluated as they apply to collapsible soils, providing a basis for the development of a proposed settlement method for determining collapse. To aid in the determining the basis for …

Geochemistry, Stratigraphy And Provenance Of The Portland Hills Silt In The Tualatin Mountains, Portland, Oregon, John L. Lawes Iii

Dissertations and Theses

Soil morphology and geochemistry of loess were investigated at nine sites in the Tualatin Mountains west of Portland and at additional sites in The Dalles, eastern Washington and Puget Sound. A total of forty samples were examined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA).

Stratigraphic relationships and soil development suggest that the PHS ages of Lentz (1977) be revised. The age of the Portland Hills Silt (PHS) ranges from 12,000 to at least 960,000 years before present.

The geochemistry of the PHS supports the Lentz (1977) hypothesis of the PHS as a loess of continental origin. Thorium/scandium ratios in the PHS …

Molecular Fluorescence At A Rough Surface: The Orientation Effects, William Lee Blacke

Dissertations and Theses

The interaction between an emitting molecular dipole and a conducting substrate with a periodic surface roughness is looked at with particular interest in the different orientations of the dipole with respect to the substrate surface. A previous dynamical, perturbative theory for the effects of perpendicular dipole is extended to treat a dipole oriented parallel to the surface of the substrate. The results are then applied to study the modified fluorescence characteristics of the emitting dipoles. Numerical results demonstrate that some fluorescence characteristics are extremely sensitive to the molecular orientation with the dipole oriented along the grating (x direction) exhibiting unique …

Early To Middle Pleistocene Catastrophic Flood Deposits, The Dalles, Oregon, David Irving Cordero

Dissertations and Theses

A roadcut on Highway 197, three kilometers southeast of The Dalles, Oregon, exposes a sequence of Quaternary sediments and five buried paleosols. The sediments, paleosols, and associated tephras at this site provide evidence of a Quaternary history of catastrophic flooding in the Columbia Basin extending back at least 700 ka and of an early eruption (ca. 600 ka) of Mount Adams. Four sedimentary units are exposed in this cut: Holocene loess, late Wisconsin Missoula Flood slackwater deposits, five pre-late Wisconsin catastrophic flood slackwater deposits bearing well developed paleosols, and late Tertiary Dalles Formation volcaniclastics. All but the oldest are predominantly …

Post-Middle Miocene Geologic History Of The Tualatin Basin, Oregon With Hydrogeologic Implications, Doyle Coley Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

The geologic history and sedimentary till of the Tualatin Basin after Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) emplacement is assessed and related to groundwater characteristics. The 334 m deep HBD-1 core from the Hillsboro Airport, provides the primary information for sediment characterization and is supported by over 2400 well logs and cores, and four seismic lines. The sedimentary section above the 26 m thick paleosol on the CRBG in HBD-I is divided into two main groups: a 25 m thick section of Missoula flood sediments called the Willamette Silt overlies a 263 m thick finegrained sequence of fluvial Neogene sediments.

Pollen, …

Geochemical Characteristics And Correlations Within The Triassic-Jurassic Age Gabbs And Sunrise Formations Of West Central Nevada, Karen Elizabeth Boelling

Dissertations and Theses

Trace and minor element geochemistry was determined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis for ninety-six (96) limestone and calcareous siltstone samples from four stratigraphic sections in the Triassic-Jurassic age Gabbs and Sunrise formations of west central Nevada. Geochemical data support lithologic and faunal interpretations of relative basin positions of the Sunrise Formation stratigraphic sections, as well as basin development (including transgressive­-regressive sequences) during deposition of the Gabbs and Sunrise formations at New York Canyon (Gabbs Valley Range). All sections show characteristics of both oceanic and continental island arc sources. Rare positive Eu anomalies relative to chondrites suggest that the Gabbs Formation …

Predictable File Access Latency For Multimedia, Dan Revel, Crispin Cowan, Dylan Mcnamee, Calton Pu, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multimedia applications are sensitive to I/O latency and jitter when accessing data in secondary storage. Transparent adaptive prefetching (TAP) uses software feedback to provide multimedia applications with file system quality of service (QoS) guarantees. We are investigating how QoS requirements can be communicated and how they can be met by adaptive resource management. A preliminary test of adaptive prefetching is presented.

Distribution Of Heavy Metals And Trace Elements In Soils Of Southwest Oregon, Rafiqul Alam Khandoker

Dissertations and Theses

Soil samples from 118 sites on 71 geologic units in southwest Oregon were collected and analyzed to determine the background concentrations of metals in soils of the region. Sites were chosen in areas that were relatively undisturbed by human activities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved total-recoverable method was used to recover metals from samples for analysis. The twenty six metals analyzed were: Ag, AI, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Tl, V and Zn.

The Klamath Mountains followed by the Coast Range contain the …

The Columbia Slough, Scott A. Wells

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report was written in an attempt to provide the public and Bureau of Environmental Services Staff with a summary of work accomplished on the Columbia Slough system by Portland State University and other consultants working on the Slough over the last 6 years. An attempt was made to create an easy-to-read report with important overviews of the "big picture", glossary of definitions, index, and further details to assist in technology transfer.

A Telescopic Approach To Modeling Leachate Dynamics And Migration At The St. Johns Landfill, Portland, Oregon, Thomas Stephen Lowry

Dissertations and Theses

The St. Johns Landfill is a 225-acre site that lies near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, in the North Portland Industrial District of Portland, Oregon. A slough system surrounds the landfill on three sides with the fourth side adjacent to a shallow lake. The landfill first opened in 1930 when it was operated as an open dump. It operated as an open dump until 1969 when it was converted to a sanitary landfill, employing daily cover and compaction. The landfill was closed in 1991.

The landfill sits directly on top of a thick layer of silty overbank …

Complexity Theory And Systems Theory, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

I use the label, “complexity theory,” for the research program which studies nonlinear dynamics, “complexity,” “complex adaptive systems,” “artificial life,” etc., and whose intellectual Mecca in the United States is the Santa Fe Institute. I use the label, “systems theory,” for the research program which crystallized after World War II under the names of “general systems theory” and “cybernetics,” and which subsumed such postwar scientific developments as information theory, game theory, feedback control theory, and the beginnings of computer science and artificial intelligence. The central thesis of this paper is that complexity theory is a continuation and revitalization of systems …

Potential For Coastal Flooding Due To Coseismic Subsidence In The Central Cascadia Margin, Elson T. Barnett

Dissertations and Theses

Interpretations made from compilation of existing core and cutbank data for Oregon and Washington are used to evaluate the potential flooding impact from regional coseismic subsidence. Estimates of regional subsidence are based on tidal level indicators including plant macrofossils, peat development, and diatoms. A compilation of existing late Holocene stratigraphic records shows multiple burial events in all bays of Oregon, however some coastal sites in central Oregon show continuous submergence. Tests of tidal level indicators using modern Cascadia wetlands indicate that paleosubsidence can be estimated to 0.0 ± 0.5m, 1.0 ±0.5m, and 2 m ± 0.5m. An AMS date from …

The Interaction Of Naphthoquinones With The Calcium Release Channel Of Skeletal Muscle Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, Ruohong Xia

Dissertations and Theses

The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) is an intracellular membrane system which regulates cytoplasmic calcium concentration in muscle and controls the contractile state of muscle. In this thesis, the interaction between naphthoquinone and the Ca²⁺ release mechanism of SR is described. 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4NQ) is shown to stimulate Ca²⁺ release and to modify high-affinity ryanodine binding to skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. The interaction between 1,4NQ and the SR involves the oxidation ofcritical sulfhydryl groups associated with the Ca²⁺ release mechanism. The modulation of ryanodine binding by 1,4NQ is biphasic. At low concentrations of 1,4NQ (<10 >μM) ryanodine binding is stimulated, …

General Remarks On Spectral Entropy Vs. Statistical Entropy, John D. Ramshaw

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Crepeau and Herzel [1] (CH) have recently compared the spectral entropy of Powell and Percival [2] with the standard statistical (Boltzmann-Gibbs-Shannon) entropy in three simple physical systems. Here we compare and contrast these two entropies in a more general way by considering their values for an arbitrary stationary process X(t).

Optical Imaging Of Carrier Dynamics In Silicon With Subwavelength Resolution, Andres H. La Rosa, B. I. Yakobson, H. D. Hallen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Characteristic rate variations of carrier processes are imaged using near-field scanning optical microscopy. We couple both a visible pump and an infrared probe light through a subwavelength aperture to investigate the interband recombination and intraband diffusion of excess carriers in oxidized silicon. Typical values of the locally measured life time constants agree well with those obtained by conventional space-averaged techniques. Moreover, the images locate defects, reveal variations, and can map the regions in which a recombination process is active.

A Migratable User-Level Process Package For Pvm, Ravi Kunuru, Steve Otto, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Shared, multi-user, workstation networks are characterized by unpredictable variability in system load. Further, the concept of workstation ownership is typically present. For efficient and unobtrusive computing in such environments, applications must not only overlap their computation with communication but also redistribute their computations adaptively based on changes in workstation availability and load. Managing these issues at application level leads to programs that are difficult to write and debug. In this paper, we present a system that manages this dynamic multi-processor environment while exporting a simple message-based programming model of a dedicated, distributed memory multiprocessor to applications. Programmers are thus insulated …

Microlanguages For Operating System Specialization, Calton Pu, Andrew P. Black, Crispin Cowan, Jonathan Walpole, Charles Consel

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Specialization is a technique that has the potential to provide operating system clients with the performance and functionality that they need, while still retaining the advantages of a simple generic code base for the operating system maintainer. However, at present the specialization process is labor-intensive and requires the knowledge of an expert in the domain of application behavior. In order to realize the full advantages of specialization, we believe that the process must be automated. This means building tools for specialization, and also making the domain knowledge explicit in some form or other. A specialization toolkit has been developed jointly …

Physical Media Independence: System Support For Dynamically Available Network Interfaces, Jon Inouye, Jim Binkley, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Advances in hardware technology has fueled the proliferation of dynamically configurable network interface cards. This empowers mobile laptop users to select the most appropriate interface for their current environment. Unfortunately, the majority of system software remains "customized" for a particular network configuration, and assumes many network characteristics remain invariant over the runtime of the software. Physical Media Independence (PMI) is the concept of making assumptions about a particular device explicit, detecting events which invalidate these assumptions, and recovering once events are detected. This paper presents a model supporting PMI. Based on device availablilty, the model identifies implicit device-related assumptions made …

Weak Bands Within Ice Stream B, West Antarctica, Christina L. Hulbe, I. M. Whillans

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Kilometer-scale variations in ice velocity and surface topography are used to investigate the style of glacier deformation in the main body of Ice Stream B, West Antarctica. The pattern is very different from that reported for other glaciers. For the 250 km2 area studied on Ice Stream B, most of the observed deformation occurs within two narrow bands, in which there is large across-flow compression and slow lateral shearing. The bands underlie valleys in the ice-surface topography. Measured upward displacement of ice adjacent to the rapidly compressing bands appears to be linked to the creation of the ice stream's topography. …

Resolution Of Local Inconsistency In Identification, Douglas Ray Anderson, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reports an algorithm for the resolution of local inconsistency in information-theoretic identification. This problem was first pointed out by Klir as an important research area in reconstructability analysis. Local inconsistency commonly arises when an attempt is made to integrate multiple data sources, i.e., contingency tables, which have differing common margins. For example, if one ha)s an AB table and a BC table, the B margins obtained from the two tables may disagree. If the disagreement can be assigned to sampling error, then one can arrive at a compromise B margin, adjust the original AB and BC tables to …

Hausdorff Dimension Of Boundaries Of Self-Affine Tiles In R N, J. J. P. Veerman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a new method to calculate the Hausdorff dimension of a certain class of fractals: boundaries of self-affine tiles. Among the interesting aspects are that even if the affine contraction underlying the iterated function system is not conjugated to a similarity we obtain an upper- and and lower-bound for its Hausdorff dimension. In fact, we obtain the exact value for the dimension if the moduli of the eigenvalues of the underlying affine contraction are all equal (this includes Jordan blocks). The tiles we discuss play an important role in the theory of wavelets. We calculate the dimension for a …

Efficient Implementation Of Image Compression-Postprocessing Algorithm Using A Digital Signal Processor, Nadir Sinaceur

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis, an attempt has been made to develop a fast way to implement a post-processing algorithm for image compression. All the previous tests for this postprocessing algorithm, which we will present, have been only software based and did not consider the time parameter.

For this purpose a new algorithm is used to compute the 2-D DCT transform. This change made the process a lot faster on a Spare 5 workstation. We have then decided to further increase the speed of the post-processing scheme by implementing it on the ADSP21020 chip.

The results show that such a chip can …

A Strategy For Monitoring Glaciers, Andrew G. Fountain, Robert M. Krimmel, Dennis C. Trabant

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Glaciers are important features in the hydrologic cycle and affect the volume, variability, and water quality of runoff. Assessing and predicting the effect of glaciers on water resources require a monitoring program to provide basic data for this understanding. The monitoring program of the U.S. Geological Survey employs a nested approach whereby an intensively studied glacier is surrounded by less intensively studied glaciers and those monitored solely by remote sensing. Ideally, each glacierized region of the United States would have such a network of glaciers. The intensively studied glacier provides a detailed understanding of the physical processes and their temporal …

A Specialization Toolkit To Increase The Diversity Of Operating Systems, Calton Pu, Andrew P. Black, Crispin Cowan, Jonathan Walpole, Charles Consel

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Virus and worm attacks that exploit system implementation details can be countered with a diversified set of implementations. Furthermore, immune systems show that attacks from previously unknown organisms require effective dynamic response. In the Synthetix project, we have been developing a specialization toolkit to improve the performance of operating system kernels. The toolkit helps programmers generate and manage diverse specialized implementations of software modules. The Tempo-C specializer tool generates different versions for both compile-time and run-time specialization. We are now adapting the toolkit to improve operating system survivability against implementations attacks.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Sf5 Containing Fluoroalkyl Iodides And Derivatives, Julia Anne Renn

Dissertations and Theses

Preparation of four SF5-containing fluoroalkyl iodides and derivatives thereof was accomplished beginning with a simplified synthesis of ICF2CF2I. Characterization of the products followed using a variety of spectroscopic and physical methods. The simplified method for preparing ICF2CF2I from iodine and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) involved a reaction temperature of approximately 54°C and pressures of less than two atmospheres for the TFE. The synthesized ICF2CF2I was reacted with S2F1o and tetrafluoroethylene to give SF5CF2CF2I. The subsequent synthesis of the SFs containing fluoroalkyl iodides and derivatives were carried out using SFsCF2CF2I as the starting material in a Carius tube reaction vessel. The synthesized SFs …

Effects Of The Cardioprotective Drugs Dexrazoxane And Adr-925 On Doxorubicin Induced Ca2+-Release From The Sarcoplasmic Reticulum, Thomas Andreas Herzinger

Dissertations and Theses

The sarcoplasmic reticulum is the intramuscular organelle responsible for the regulation of cytoplasmic calcium levels in muscle. This thesis investigates the effects of the cardioprotective drug, dexrazoxane, and its metabolite ADR-925 on doxorubicin induced calcium release from skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum. Doxorubicin is a widely used antineoplastic agent. One of the major side effects of doxorubicin usage is chronic cardiotoxicity. Doxorubicin is a potent activator of the calcium release mechanism from the SR. The interaction between doxorubicin and the calcium release channel has been proposed as the possible underlying mechanism behind cardiotoxicity. A short overview of different hypotheses describing doxorubicin induced …

Multimedia Applications Require Adaptive Cpu Scheduling, Veronica Baiceanu, Crispin Cowan, Dylan Mcnamee, Calton Pu, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

CPU scheduling and admission testing for multimedia applications have been extensively studied, and various solutions have been proposed using assorted simplifying assumptions. However, we believe that the complexity and dynamic behavior of multimedia applications and systems make static solutions hard to apply in real-world situations. We are analyzing the difficulties that arise when applying the rate-monotonic (RM) scheduling algorithm and the corresponding admission tests for CPU management, in the context of real multimedia applications running on real systems. RM requires statically predictable, periodic workloads, and while multimedia applications appear to be periodic, in practice they exhibit numerous variabilities in workload. …

Ecological Economics: Reintegrating The Study Of Humans And Nature, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary effort to link the natural and social sciences broadly, and especially ecology and economics. The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of the complex linkages between ecological and economic systems, and to use that understanding to develop effective policies that will lead to a world that is ecologically sustainable, has a fair distribution of resources (both among groups and generations of humans and between humans and other species), and efficiently allocates scarce resources including natural capital. This will require new approaches that are comprehensive, adaptive, integrative, multi-scale, and pluralistic, and that acknowledge the huge …