Frequency properties of on-die power distribution network in VLSI circuits

The local voltage fluctuations in the supply and ground grids triggered by on-die logic cell switching in VLSI devices have been experimentally studied. The results show that these fluctuations have a resonant-like form i.e., the on-die power grid should be described as an RLC circuit. The studies reveal that the active element (i.e., CMOS logic cell) affects the frequency properties of power supply and ground grids during its switching (as opposed to before or after switching). It is demonstrated that the frequency properties of the both grids are inter-related via the interconnecting active elements.     

Four-week short chain fructo-oligosaccharides ingestion leads to increasing fecal bifidobacteria and cholesterol excretion in healthy elderly volunteers

Background  

Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) are increasingly used in human diet for their prebiotic properties. We aimed at investigating the effects of scFOS ingestion on the colonic microflora and oro-fecal transit time in elderly healthy humans.     

An agile production network enabled by reconfigurable manufacturing systems

Emergencies, and efforts to address them, create disruptions to local and global supply chains and surges in demand of emergency resources, which substantially affect global production. Reconfigurable manufacturing systems are promising solutions to improve flexibility and to reduce the effort needed to adapt supply chains and production networks to fit a perturbed environment. This paper proposes a method for coordination of reconfigurable manufacturing resources from multiple enterprises to structure ad-hoc production networks for critical products required in emergencies. Network optimization models and interaction algorithms are integrated to evolve the production network through synchronous machine-level and network-level reconfiguration driven by data.     

Genes Involved in the Endoplasmic Reticulum N-Glycosylation Pathway of the Red Microalga Porphyridium sp.: A Bioinformatic Study

N-glycosylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications that influence protein polymorphism, including protein structures and their functions. Although this important biological process has been extensively studied in mammals, only limited knowledge exists regarding glycosylation in algae. The current research is focused on the red microalga Porphyridium sp., which is a potentially valuable source for various applications, such as skin therapy, food, and pharmaceuticals. The enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and processing of N-glycans remain undefined in this species, and the mechanism(s) of their genetic regulation is completely unknown. In this study, we describe our pioneering attempt to understand the endoplasmic reticulum N-Glycosylation pathway in Porphyridium sp., using a bioinformatic approach. Homology searches, based on sequence similarities with genes encoding proteins involved in the ER N-glycosylation pathway (including their conserved parts) were conducted using the TBLASTN function on the algae DNA scaffold contigs database. This approach led to the identification of 24 encoded-genes implicated with the ER N-glycosylation pathway in Porphyridium sp. Homologs were found for almost all known N-glycosylation protein sequences in the ER pathway of Porphyridium sp.; thus, suggesting that the ER-pathway is conserved; as it is in other organisms (animals, plants, yeasts, etc.).     

An Autonomous Spacecraft Agent Prototype

This paper describes the New Millennium Remote Agent (NMRA) architecture for autonomous spacecraft control systems. The architecture supports challenging requirements of the autonomous spacecraft domain not usually addressed in mobile robot architectures, including highly reliable autonomous operations over extended time periods in the presence of tight resource constraints, hard deadlines, limited observability, and concurrent activity. A hybrid architecture, NMRA integrates traditional real-time monitoring and control with heterogeneous components for constraint-based planning and scheduling, robust multi-threaded execution, and model-based diagnosis and reconfiguration. Novel features of this integrated architecture include support for robust closed-loop generation and execution of concurrent temporal plans and a hybrid procedural/deductive executive.We implemented a prototype autonomous spacecraft agent within the architecture and successfully demonstrated the prototype in the context of a challenging autonomous mission scenario on a simulated spacecraft. As a result of this success, the integrated architecture has been selected to fly as an autonomy experiment on Deep Space One (DS-1), the first flight of NASA';s New Millennium Program (NMP), which will launch in 1998. It will be the first AI system to autonomously control an actual spacecraft.     

2019 closure,reviewers gratitude,and an invitation

Research in Engineering Design -     

Ferroelectric Exchange Bias Affects Interfacial Electronic States

In polar oxide interfaces phenomena such as superconductivity, magnetism, 1D conductivity, and quantum Hall states can emerge at the polar discontinuity. Combining controllable ferroelectricity at such interfaces can affect the superconducting properties and sheds light on the mutual effects between the polar oxide and the ferroelectric oxide. Here, the interface between the polar oxide LaAlO₃ and the ferroelectric Ca-doped SrTiO₃ is studied by means of electrical transport combined with local imaging of the current flow with the use of scanning a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Anomalous behavior of the interface resistivity is observed at low temperatures. The scanning SQUID maps of the current flow suggest that this behavior originates from an intrinsic bias induced by the polar LaAlO₃ layer. Such intrinsic bias combined with ferroelectricity can constrain the possible structural domain tiling near the interface. The use of this intrinsic bias is recommended as a method of controlling and tuning the initial state of ferroelectric materials by the design of the polar structure. The hysteretic dependence of the normal and the superconducting state properties on gate voltage can be utilized in multifaceted controllable memory devices.     

Adherence rates to ferric citrate as compared to active control in patients with end stage kidney disease on dialysis

Introduction: Oral phosphate binders are the main stay of treatment of hyperphosphatemia. Adherence rates to ferric citrate, a recently approved phosphate binder, are unknown. Methods: We conducted a post‐hoc analysis to evaluate whether adherence rates were different for ferric citrate vs. active control in 412 subjects with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) who were randomized to ferric citrate vs. active control (sevelamer carbonate and/or calcium acetate). Adherence was defined as percent of actual number of pills taken to total number of pills prescribed. Findings: There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, and age between the ferric citrate and active control groups. Baseline phosphorus, calcium, and parathyroid hormone levels were similar. Mean (SD) adherence was 81.4% (17.4) and 81.7% (15.9) in the ferric citrate and active control groups, respectively (P = 0.88). Adherence remained similar between both groups after adjusting for gender, race/ethnicity, age, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and diabetic nephropathy (mean [95% CI]: 81.4% [78.2, 84.6] and 81.5% [77.7, 85.2] for ferric citrate and active control, respectively). Gender, race/ethnicity, age, and diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy did not influence adherence to the prescribed phosphate binder. Subjects with CVD had lower adherence rates to phosphate binder; this was significant only in the active control group. Discussion: Adherence rates to the phosphate binder, ferric citrate, were similar to adherence rates to active control. Similar adherence rates to ferric citrate are notable since tolerance to active control was an entry criteria and the study was open label. Gender, race/ethnicity, nor age influenced adherence.     

Robotic deposition of 3d nanocomposite and ceramic fiber architectures via UV curable colloidal inks

A novel approach for producing predetermined, complex 3d ceramic architectures by robotic deposition where UV radiation is used for solidification is presented. Homogeneous, highly loaded, solvent free colloidal inks with controlled viscoelastic properties are achieved by proper selection of monomers and surfactants. Room temperature deposition of complex 3d fiber networks having filaments in the 100 μm range is demonstrated for Al₂O₃ and hydroxyapatite model particles for structural and biomedical applications. Solidification of the structures by UV radiation allows additional shaping of the structures by post-printing processes such as cutting, folding and bonding. 2d and 3d architectures with high aspect ratios retain their shape and transform to macroscopic ceramics after thermal debinding and sintering procedures. Sintered alumina fiber networks functionalized with a 3-5 μm layer of TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of formaldehyde as a similar weight of loose powder, indicating possible applications in catalytic reactors prototypes.     

The effect of daily-activity patterns on crash involvement

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of daily-activity and travel patterns on the risk of crash involvement. To this end, we develop a model that integrates daily-activity and travel choices in a single framework, recognizing that these variables affect the risk of crashes. This model can therefore provide predictions of the expected changes in risk levels from the implementation of measures that affect the daily-activity patterns and the socio-economic characteristics of the population.The empirical analysis makes use of data collected during a household survey that includes crash information and trip diaries. The model is applied in a case study of an Arab town in Israel to analyze various transportation policies. The results of this research show that in addition to individuals’ demographic and socio-economic characteristics, their daily-activity and travel patterns also have an impact on the risk of being involved in car crashes. The case study showed the potential of this framework for analyzing the effect of various social and transportation policies on road safety. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such relationships have been tested by using a disaggregate model and the first time activity-based models have been used to analyze exposure to the risk of road crashes.