A bipolar load CMOS SRAM cell for embedded applications

This paper presents a new SRAM cell concept which offers cell scaling without requiring complicated, specialized processing technology. The proposed cell utilizes a bipolar transistor in an open-base (base is floating) configuration as a simple means of realizing a high impedance load element. The Bipolar Transistor Load (BTL) is designed such that its open base current (the holding current) is always large enough to compensate for the NMOS pull-down transistor leakage current. The load holding current and the pull-down transistor leakage current are based on the same physical mechanism, namely thermal generation, as a result the load exhibits current tracking properties over varying process and temperature conditions. The cell size is 72 μm² with typical 0.8 μm design rules, which is about a 60% reduction as compared to a standard 6-T full CMOS cell. The operating properties of the BTL cell were studied analytically and characterized experimentally. The BTL SRAM module can be easily integrated as part of any CMOS process with minimal additional processing steps     

Non-cooperative routing in loss networks

The paper studies routing in loss networks in the framework of a non-cooperative game with selfish users. Two solution concepts are considered: the Nash equilibrium, corresponding to the case of a finite number of agents (such as service providers) that take routing decisions, and the Wardrop equilibrium, in which routing decisions are taken by a very large number of individual users. We show that these equilibria do not fall into the standard frameworks of non-cooperative routing games. As a result, we show that uniqueness of equilibria or even of utilizations at equilibria may fail even in the case of simple topology of parallel links. However, we show that some of the problems disappear in the case in which the bandwidth required by all connections is the same. For the special case of a parallel link topology, we obtain some surprisingly simple way of solving the equilibrium for both cases of Wardrop as well as Nash equilibrium.     

Slotted Aloha as a game with partial information

This paper studies distributed choice of retransmission probabilities in slotted ALOHA. Both the cooperative team problem as well as the noncooperative game problem are considered. Unlike some previous work, we assume that mobiles do not know the number of backlogged packets at other nodes. A Markov chain analysis is used to obtain optimal and equilibrium retransmission probabilities and throughput. We then investigate the impact of adding retransmission costs (which may represent the disutility for power consumption) on the equilibrium and show how this pricing can be used to make the equilibrium throughput coincide with the optimal team throughput.     

Improved nuisance attribute projection for face recognition

Th e illumination variation is one of the well-known problems in face recognition under uncontrolled environments. Several techniques have been presented in the literature to cope up with this problem. Lately, a technique known as Nuisance Attribute Projection (NAP), originally developed for the speaker recognition field was introduced to image processing in order to compensate for luminance artifacts. This paper extends and improves the earlier work by exploring efficient methodologies for using NAP for face recognition under varied illumination conditions. In particular, we propose a modified NAP formulation and show that NAP training can be simplified for face recognition. Additionally, we suggested a compact framework merging between NAP compensation and eigenface recognition. A series of experiments using the extended YaleB database, and a cross-validation using the PIE CMU and the Oulo databases are performed to validate our proposals.     

Shape representation and classification using the poisson equation

We present a novel approach that allows us to reliably compute many useful properties of a silhouette. Our approach assigns, for every internal point of the silhouette, a value reflecting the mean time required for a random walk beginning at the point to hit the boundaries. This function can be computed by solving Poisson's equation, with the silhouette contours providing boundary conditions. We show how this function can be used to reliably extract various shape properties including part structure and rough skeleton, local orientation and aspect ratio of different parts, and convex and concave sections of the boundaries. In addition to this, we discuss properties of the solution and show how to efficiently compute this solution using multigrid algorithms. We demonstrate the utility of the extracted properties by using them for shape classification and retrieval     

Financial performance, ISO 9000 standard and safe driving practices effects on accident rate in the U.S. motor carrier industry

The question this research address is if voluntary certification with ISO 9000 standards can reduce the number of accidents large trucks have. Certification might have a positive effect depending upon the actions a company takes as a result of being certified, for instance, a company may change driver training and maintenance and how it carries out corrective action. We identified 40 ISO 9002: 1994 certified U.S. trucking companies and compared their safety performance before and after ISO certification. We also compared them to a group of motor carriers that had similar characteristics but were not certified. The safety performance of the certified carriers was significantly better after certification than before, and it also was significantly better than that of non-certified carriers, findings that we believe can be useful to carriers, shippers and regulators who wish to better understand the value of certification.     

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Restored Impaired Spermatogenesis and Fertility in an AML-Chemotherapy Mice Model

Leukemia and treatment of male patients with anticancer therapy (aggressive chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) may lead to infertility or even permanent male sterility. Their mechanisms of spermatogenesis impairment and the decrease in male fertility are not yet clear. We showed that under acute myeloid leukemia (AML) conditions, alone and in combination with cytarabine (CYT), there was significant damage in the histology of seminiferous tubules, a significant increase in apoptotic cells of the seminiferous tubules, and a reduction in spermatogonial cells (SALL and PLZF) and in meiotic (CREM) and post-meiotic (ACROSIN) cells. In addition, we showed a significant impairment in sperm parameters and fertilization rates and offspring compared to control. Our results showed a significant decrease in the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF) and stem cell factor (SCF) under AML conditions, but not under cytarabine treatment compared to control. In addition, our results showed a significant increase in the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) alpha in whole testis homogenates in all treatment groups compared to the control. Increase in IL-1 beta level was shown under AML conditions. We identified for the first time the expression of GCSF receptor (GCSFR) in sperm cells. We showed that GCSF injection in combination with AML and cytarabine (AML + CYT + GCSF) extended the survival of mice for a week (from 6.5 weeks to 7.5 weeks) compared to (AML + CYT). Injection of GCSF to all treated groups (post hoc), showed a significant impact on mice testis weight, improved testis histology, decreased apoptosis and increased expression of pre-meiotic, meiotic and post- meiotic markers, improved sperm parameters, fertility capacity and number of offspring compared to the controls (without GCSF). GCSF significantly improved the spermatogonial niche expressed by increased the expression levels of testicular GDNF, SCF and MCSF growth factors in AML-treated mice and (AML + CYT)-treated mice compared to those groups without GCSF. Furthermore, GCSF decreased the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-12, but increased the expression of IL-10 in the interstitial compartment compared to the relevant groups without GCSF. Our results show for the first time the capacity of post injection of GCSF into AML- and CYT-treated mice to improve the cellular and biomolecular mechanisms that lead to improve/restore spermatogenesis and male fertility. Thus, post injection of GCSF may assist in the development of future therapeutic strategies to preserve/restore male fertility in cancer patients, specifically in AML patients under chemotherapy treatments.     

Continuous monitoring of the fragmentation phenomenon in single fiber composite materials

A continuously monitored single-filament composite (CM-SFC) test was conducted to measure the stress at which successive fiber breaks occur in the single fiber fragmentation process. This exercise was performed with a limited number of samples of various types. The purpose was to explore the possibility of using this test as a simple alternative means of (i) measuring the size effect in single fibers, (ii) calculating the Weibull shape and scale parameters for fiber strength, (iii) calculating the fiber/matrix interfacial shear strength from the extrapolated value of fiber strength using the loading history of a single fragmentation test, rather than from the value of fiber strength extrapolated from extensive testing of single fibers at various gage lengths, as is usually done. These are aspects of the SFC test that have largely been ignored so far. The results presented here confirm the possibility of using the CM-SFC test for such purposes, with a certain degree of approximation, as discussed. Additional information supplied by this test as well as a possible effect of fiber pre-tensioning on fragmentation results (including the value of the interfacial shear strength) are also briefly discussed.