Techniques for high-frequency integrated test and measurement

This paper describes techniques for the on-chip measurement of high-frequency and/or high-bandwidth electrical phenomena in ultra large-scale integration environments. The techniques rely on the integration of multiple compact and robust electronic test devices, or cores, at various locations within an integrated circuit. The cores consist primarily of signal generators that approximate the output of a sigma-delta modulator using finite repetitious bit patterns and a small set of highly robust analog components. They are capable of digitizing on-chip signals at gigahertz rates even using low-cost manufacturing processes. Simple communication between the multiple cores enables the migration of many "board-level" type measurements down to the chip level.     

In vivo study of hybrid biomaterial scaffold bioactive glass–chitosan after incorporation of Ciprofloxacin

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of bioactive glass as well as the presence of Ciprofloxacin drug (%Cip) into bioactive glass–chitosan composite on the in vivo behavior of these scaffolds. These scaffolds were implanted in the femoral condyl of an ovariectomized rat. The serum and organs (liver and kidney) of the under investigated rats were analyzed. Also the physicochemical properties of the prepared implants were assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) before and after implantation (at different periods of implantation). Biochemical and histological analyses of the under investigated rats proved the biocompatibility of the prepared scaffolds. The hydroxyapatite like layer was significantly precipitated on the surface of BG–CH scaffold than BG–CH–20Cip. In this same period, FT-IR of BG–CH shows complete disappearance of Si–O–Si. Their characteristics bands were replaced by P–O group arisen form bone apatite bands. Physicochemical results show progressive degradation of BG–CH and BG–CH–20Cip that occurred at the same time as replacement of the implant by an apatite layer. However, the bioresorbability and bioactivity of BG–CH are faster than those of BG–CH–20Cip. Therefore, the incorporation of the Ciprofloxacin in the BG–CH induces a retarding effect on the formation of the hydroxyapatite, and consequently on the ossification, without any side effects on the liver–kidney.     

Oversampled multi-phase time-domain bit-error rate processing for transmitter testing

High speed serial interfaces (HSSI) are continually pushed toward operating at higher speed to meet the demand for higher bandwidth. As a result, the timing constraints for HSSI devices get tighter. Consequently, HSSI devices experience issues such as timing jitter and bit-errors. This paper investigates techniques to speed up HSSI bit-error rate and jitter testing. The proposed oversampling-based transmitter test scheme accelerates transmitter jitter and eye diagram testing by means of a multi-phase bit-error rate test circuit (BERT). The proposed scheme creates parallel BERT elements working in conjunction that are able to digitize the input signal jitter behavior in a multi-phase manner. The more phases we deploy the faster the test is completed. We accurately extract the transmitter jitter in time domain and finish the whole transmitter test within tens of milliseconds, exceeding the current norm of 100 ms.     

Chitosan-based bioglass composite for bone tissue healing : Oxidative stress status and antiosteoporotic performance in a ovariectomized rat model

Tissue engineering has opened up a new therapeutic avenue promising a revolution in regenerative medicine. Considerable attention has been given to chitosan composite materials and their applications in the field of the bone graft substitutes. We evaluated the antioxidative properties of chitosan-doped bioactive glass (BG-CH) with 17 wt% chitosan, and their applications in the guided bone regeneration. BG-CH was produced by a freeze-drying process and implanted in the femoral condyles of ovariectomized rats. Grafted bone tissues were carefully removed to evaluate the oxidative stress analysis, histomorphometric profile and mineral bone distribution by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). A significant decrease of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) was observed after BG-CH implantation. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities significantly increased in ovariectomized group implanted with chitosan-doped bioactive glass (OVXBG-CH) as compared to ovariectomized group implanted with bioactive glass (OVX-BG). The histomorphometric analysis showed that bone/tissue volume (BV/TV), osteoblast number (N.Ob) and osteoblast surface/bone surface (Ob.S/BS) were significantly higher in OVX-BG-CH group than in OVX-BG group. On the other hand, a rise in Ca and P ion concentrations in the implanted microenvironment was shown to lead to the formation/deposition of Ca-P phases. Trace elements such as Sr and Fe were detected in the newly formed bone and involved in bone healing. These results suggested that BG-CH composites could become clinically useful as a therapeutic and implantable material.     

Substitution mechanism of alkali metals for strontium in strontium hydroxyapatite

Strontium hydroxyapatites substituted by alkali metals are synthesized by double decomposition method in basic medium. Structures of Sr_9.50Na_0.30(PO₄)₆(OH)_1.30 (SrNaHAp) and Sr_9.81K_0.12(PO₄)₆(OH)_1.74 (SrKHAp) are determined by X-ray powder diffraction. Both compounds are isotypic and crystallize in hexagonal system (space group P63/m) with the following cells: a=9.751(3) Å and c=7.279(3) Å for SrNaHAp and a=9.755(4) Å and c=7.284(3) Å for SrKHAp. Results are compared to those of Sr₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂. According to the site occupancy factors, in SrNaHAp sodium is localized in site (I) and in SrKHAp potassium in site (II). Both structures contain vacancies in hydroxyl and metal sites. The mechanism of alkali metals substitution for strontium proposed explains the vacancies formation.     

A 4-GHz effective sample rate integrated test core for analog andmixed-signal circuits

An area-efficient and robust integrated test core for mixed-signal circuits is described. The core consists of a completely digital implementation, except for a simple reconstruction filter and a comparator. It is capable of both generating arbitrary band-limited waveforms (for excitation purposes) and coherently digitizing arbitrary periodic analog waveforms (for DSP-based test and measurement). Several prototypes were fabricated in a triple-metal 3.3-V 0.35-μm CMOS process, and were demonstrated to perform various curve tracing, oscilloscope, and spectrum analysis tasks at a clock rate of 20 MHz (limited by our experimental setup). Designed for 8 bits of quantization, a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of 65 dB at 500 KHz and 61 dB at Nyquist (20.001 MHz) was demonstrated using our prototypes. High-frequency narrow-band signals (extending into the gigahertz range) have been captured through subsampling and the use of a high-bandwidth front-end sampling network. Similarly, circuit phenomena that are broadband in nature were measured by using a delayed-clock subsampling mechanism in which the digitizer sample clock is consistently delayed over multiple runs of the periodic test signal. Delaying the clock is performed using a voltage-controlled delay line tuned by a self-biased delay-locked loop, which allowed for a timing resolution of about one gate delay (~200 ps). The proposed test core occupies an area equivalent to only about 7000 standard-cell 2-input NAND gates     

Antibacterial and in vivo reactivity of bioactive glass and poly(vinyl alcohol) composites prepared by melting and sol-gel techniques

Bioactive glass particle is used in the repair of bone defects. This material undergoes a series of surface in vivo reactions, which leads to osteointegration. We evaluated the effect of the bioactive glass synthesis, sol-gel (BG(S)) versus melting (BG(M)), associated with polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) on in vivo bioactivity with biochemical parameters, liver-kidney histological structure and antibacterial in vitro activity. These composites were testified in many bacteria and implanted in ovariectomized rat. The serum and organs (liver and kidney) of all groups, control and treated rats, were collected to investigate the side effects of our composites, BG(S)-PVA and BG(M)-PVA, in comparison with control and ovariectomized rats. Also, the implants, before and after implantation, were prepared for analysis using physicochemical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Our results have shown the stability of natremia, kaliemia, calcemia and phosphoremia. The histological structures of liver and kidney in implanted rats are intact compared to control and ovariectomized rats. BG(S)-PVA is characterized by a higher antibacterial effect on negative and positive gram bacteria than BG(M)-PVA. The physicochemical results have confirmed a progressive degradation of BG(S)-PVA and BG(M)-PVA, while replacing the implant by an apatite layer. But this bioactivity of BG(S)-PVA is faster than BG(M)-PVA. We can therefore confirm, on the one hand, the biocompatibility of our two implants and, on the other hand, the beneficial effect of sol-gel synthesis technique versus melting, both on the antibacterial effect and on the rapid formation of layer hydroxyapatite, and consequently on osteogenesis.     

Bending analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric plates via quasi-3D trigonometric theory

Abstract

This work is devoted to the bending analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) material plate by using a simple quasi-3D sinusoidal shear deformation theory under simply supported edge conditions. The governing equations and boundary conditions are derived by using the principle of virtual work. The impact of piezoelectric, electric loading, and gradient index on the displacement, electric displacement, electric potential, and stresses are explored numerically presented and discussed in detail. To check the accuracy and validity of bending results obtained from this analysis of FGP plates, results are compared with the analytical solution obtained by 3D, quasi-3D, and higher order shear deformation theories. Parametric studies are then performed to examine the effects of the thickness of the plate and the electric field on the overall electro-mechanical response of the FGP plates. The presented results are useful in design processes of smart structures and analysis from piezoelectric materials.     

Synthesis and distribution of cations in substituted lead phosphate lacunar apatites

Synthesis of apatites, Pb_7.4Bi_0.3Na_2.3(PO₄)₆ (I), Pb_7.36Bi_0.32Na_2.08Li_0.24(PO₄)₆ (II) and Pb_5.78Bi_0.81Ca_0.60Na_2.81(PO₄)₆ (III), with anion vacancy were carried out during solid state reactions. The three compounds of apatite-type structure crystallize in the hexagonal system, space group P6₃/m. In every compound, a preferential occupation of the (6h) site by Pb and Bi cations is shown revealing the influence of their lone electronic pair. The introduction of calcium increases the quantity of bismuth in these apatites. Alkaline metals occupy mainly the (4f) site. Infrared spectroscopy is correlated to the bonding scheme. A connection between the cations occupying (4f) sites and the c cell parameters is presented.