A 76-mm2 8-Mb chain ferroelectric memory

This paper demonstrates the first 8-Mb chain ferroelectric RAM (chain FeRAM) with 0,25-μm 2-metal CMOS technology. A small die of 76 mm² and a high average cell/chip area efficiency of 57.4 % have been realized by introducing not only chain architecture but also four new techniques: 1) a one-pitch shift cell realizes small cell size of 5.2 μm²; 2) a new hierarchical wordline architecture reduces row-decoder and plate-driver areas without an extra metal layer; 3) a small-area dummy cell scheme reduces dummy capacitor size to 1/3 of the conventional one; and 4) a new array activation scheme reduces dataline and second amplifier areas. As a result, the chain architecture with these new techniques reduces die size to 65% of that of the conventional FeRAM. Moreover a ferroelectric capacitor overdrive scheme enables sufficient polarization switching, without overbias memory cell array. This scheme lowers the minimum operation voltage by 0.23 V, and enables 2.5-V V_dd operation. Thanks to fast cell plateline drive of chain architecture, the 8-Mb chain FeRAM has achieved the fastest random access time, 40 ns, and read/write cycle time, 70 ns, at 3.0 V so far reported     

Dehydroepiandrosterone decreases serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha and restores insulin sensitivity: independent effect from secondary weight reduction in genetically obese Zucker fatty rats

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester are the most abundant circulating adrenal steroids in humans. Administration of DHEA has been reported to have beneficial effects on obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and atherosclerosis in obese rodents, although its effects on insulin resistance have not been fully elucidated. In this study, the effects of DHEA treatment on insulin sensitivity were investigated in genetically obese Zucker rats, an animal model of insulin resistance, using the euglycemic clamp technique. After 0.4% DHEA was administered for 10 days to female obese Zucker rats aged 16 weeks, body weight and plasma insulin decreased and glucose disposal rate (GDR), which was normally reduced in obese rats, rose significantly compared with age- and sex-matched control obese rats. On the other hand, although the pair-fed obese rats also showed levels of weight reduction similar to those of DHEA-treated rats, the increase in GDR of DHEA-treated rats was significantly greater than in pair-fed rats, suggesting a direct ameliorating effect of DHEA on insulin sensitivity of obese rats. Serum concentration of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, one of cytokines causing insulin resistance, was also reduced significantly in DHEA-treated, but not in pair-fed obese rats. In conclusion, our results suggest that DHEA treatment reduces body weight and serum TNF-alpha independently, and that both may ameliorate insulin resistance in obese Zucker fatty rats.     

Surgical treatment for lung cancer invading thoracic aorta

There are two situations when antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended. The first is associated with procedures known to be followed by high rates of bacteraemia, involving organisms prone to cause endocarditis. These include oesophageal dilatation, variceal sclerotherapy and laser therapy in the upper gastrointestinal tract. As bacteraemia following these procedures is usually harmless in average risk patients antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended only for a patient with a lesion susceptible to endocarditis or one who is at increased risk of symptomatic bacteraemia due to neutropenia or immunosuppression. In most cases parenteral amoxycillin and gentamicin is recommended plus metronidazole for neutropenic patients. Vancomycin or teicoplanin replace amoxycillin in a case of allergy. The second situation concerns procedures with a high incidence of local infection or which may lead to serious sepsis. These include therapeutic retrograde cholangiopancratography and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy where antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended even in average risk patients. Several antibiotics are recommended including oral ciprofloxacin or parenteral gentamicin or quinolone for ERCP and amoxycillin for PEG or cephalosporin or ureidopenicillin for both.     

Slip casting of sialon for pressureless sintering

The properties of aqueous slips of sialon were studied. Ammonium polyacrylate was used as a deflocculant. It was shown that the apparent viscosity for slips with solid content 40 vol % was low and the slip resulting from this is almost Newtonian. This slip proved sufficiently fluid for casting. However, the apparent viscosity for slips with solid content 45 vol % increased significantly. The slips resulting from this exhibited dilatant flow and were difficult to cast. The viscosity, fluidity, and pH of the slips were studied and tiles were cast and fired in nitrogen at 1740 °C for 3 h to a bulk density of 3.20 g cm^–3.     

Acquired amylase production induced by radiotherapy in a myeloma patient

A 55-year-old patient with multiple myeloma (IgG-lambda) diagnosed in November 1988 was admitted because of bone pain throughout the body. After plasmapheresis and several courses of chemotherapy, a massive tumor of the left thoracic wall involving the rib appeared. Radiotherapy was performed to ameliorate the severe chest pain, after which myelomatous pleural effusion appeared on the left side. The serum, urine and pleural effusion revealed increased activity of amylase of the salivary type. Amylase activity was also detected in the supernatant of myeloma cells cultured from pleural effusion. We reviewed 12 cases of ectopic amylase-producing multiple myeloma. All the cases except one have been reported from Japan, and hyperamylasemia in these cases was detected at diagnosis or during course of the illness. Moreover, cytogenetic analysis of myeloma cells of previous reports revealed structural abnormalities including chromosome 1, near the amylase gene locus. This case also showed t (1; 10) (q 21?; q 26) by examination of 8 metaphase derived from bone marrow. These observations suggested that ectopic amylase production was induced by irradiation to the plasmacytoma of thoracic wall.     

Growth of zinc aluminate on the surfaces normal to the various crystal axes of an alumina single crystal

The growth of a zinc aluminate layer on the surfaces normal to the various crystal axes of an alumina single crystal was determined and the microstructure of the reaction layer observed. The microstructure of the thermally etched reaction layer showed in the grain structure that the reaction proceeded by the counter diffusion of cations as proposed by Wagner. The diffusion constant controlling the growth of the reaction layer was calculated. The diffusion constant showed a high activation energy of c.a. 400 kJ mol⁻¹ which corresponded to the highest group of that of diffusion controlled zinc aluminate formation from zinc oxide and alumina of various physical natures. The high activation energy is also evidence of the counter diffusion of cations.     

Fuzzy inference on an analog fuzzy chip

Our analog fuzzy processor features an inference speed of more than 1 million fuzzy logical inferences per second, excluding defuzzification. A rule chip processes fuzzy inferences while a second chip handles defuzzification, a functional division that facilitates flexible system configuration. The chips are compact fuzzy systems that save chip area and are suitable for built-in applications. They process high-speed fuzzy logic operations in parallel mode and, during execution of fuzzy inferences, feature an adaptable fuzzy system based on a rule set     

Fully‐automated hex‐dominant mesh generation with directionality control via packing rectangular solid cells

A new fully automatic hex‐dominant mesh generation technique of an arbitrary 3D geometric domain is presented herein. The proposed method generates a high‐quality hex‐dominant mesh by: (1) controlling the directionality of the output hex‐dominant mesh; and (2) avoiding ill‐shaped elements induced by nodes located too closely to each other. The proposed method takes a 3D geometric domain as input and creates a hex‐dominant mesh consisting mostly of hexahedral elements, with additional prism and tetrahedral elements. Rectangular solid cells are packed on the boundary of and inside the input domain to obtain ideal node locations for a hex‐dominant mesh. Each cell has a potential energy field that mimics a body‐centred cubic (BCC) structure (seen in natural substances such as NaCl) and the cells are moved to stable positions by a physically based simulation. The simulation mimics the formation of a crystal pattern so that the centres of the cells provide ideal node locations for a hex‐dominant mesh. Via the advancing front method, the centres of the packed cells are then connected to form a tetrahedral mesh, and this is converted to a hex‐dominant mesh by merging some of the tetrahedrons. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.