Layout Driven Selection and Chaining of Partial Scan Flip-Flops

In an era of sub-micron technology, routing is becoming a dominant factor in area, timing, and power consumption. In this paper, we study the problem of selection and chaining of scan flip-flops with the objective of achieving minimum routing area overhead. Most of previous work on partial scan has put emphasis on selecting as few scan flip-flops as possible to break all cycles in S-graph. However, the flip-flops that break more cycles are often the ones that have more fanins and fanouts. The area adjacent to these nodes is often crowded in layout. Such selections will cause layout congestion and increase the number of tracks to chain the scan flip-flops. To take layout information into consideration, we propose a matching-based algorithm to solve the problem. First, an initial placement will be performed before scan flip-flops are selected. Then, iteratively, a matching-based algorithm taking the current layout into account is proposed to select and chain the scan flip-flops. Experimental results show that, on the average, our algorithm can reduce 8.1% area overhead as compared with the previously proposed methods that do not utilize the layout information in flip-flop selection.     

Polymeric 2/spl times/2 electrooptic switch consisting of asymmetric Y junctions and Mach-Zehnder interferometer

2/spl times/2 electrooptic switches consisting of a pair of asymmetric Y junctions and Mach-Zehnder interferometer have been demonstrated in polymeric waveguides. The switching voltage is 15 V with 1.5 cm long electrode for TM polarized light at 1.3 /spl mu/m. When the branching angle of the asymmetric Y junction is 0.2/spl deg/, crosstalk of -27 to -22 dB are obtained for both input arms. The measured insertion loss by the lens coupling is about 9-10 dB.     

Detecting corrupted pages in M replicated large files

A file in a distributed database system is replicated on M sites and may contain corrupted pages. Abdel-Ghafiar and El Abbadi gave a detection scheme assuming that the number of corrupted pages f相似文献   

Specific recognition of thymic self-peptides induces the positive selection of cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Congenital alveolar proteinosis is a recently described cause of lung dysfunction and respiratory distress in term neonates. In several cases a deficiency or insufficiency of surfactant apoprotein B (SP-B) has been caused by a frameshift mutation in the gene encoding SP-B. Five full-term children in three unrelated families from The Netherlands are reported. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated large amounts of surfactant proteins A and C (SP-A and SP-C) and precursors in alveolar cells and in intra-alveolar material. Results were positive for antibovine SP-B antibody but negative for antipig SP-B1 antibody, most probably reflecting differences in the antibody specificity. The findings suggest abnormal SP-B function. In two sibs, no pre-SP-C was demonstrated in the alveoli, although it was found in considerable amounts in alveolar cells. One such case has previously been reported. In two families, the parents were heterozygous for the 121 ins 2 mutation in the SP-B gene. Our findings suggest that congenital alveolar proteinosis may result from abnormalities in one or more of the surfactant proteins.     

Measurements and Statistical Modeling of 900 MHz Radio Propagation Channels for Microcellular and Personal Communications in Tunnels

This paper reports the results of measurements of 900 MHz narrow-band radio wave propagation in four tunnels with pedestrians and vehicles. Analysis of the measured data files shows that the power distance factor ranges from 1.87 to 4.44. The power attenation rate with distance is insensitive to the location of the transmit antenna in the cross section of a tunnel, but the transmit antenna insertion loss is. The log-normal distribution fits slow variation of the received signals. The Racian distribution closely describes fast fading in the straight sections of tunnels. However, the Rayleigh distribution does not fit the fast fading in the curved sections of tunnels, as expected.     

End-to-End Security Protocol for Mobile Communications with End-User Identification/Authentication

As great progress has been made in mobile communications, many related researches on this topic have been proposed. In most of the proposed protocols so far, it has been assumed that the person using the mobile station is the registrar of the SIM card; as a matter of, the previous protocols for authentication and session key distribution are built upon this assumption. This way, the mobile user can only verify the identity of the owner of the SIM card. This means that the mobile user can only know that who registers the SIM card with which he communicates. Note that the human voice can be forged. To make sure that the speaker at the other end is the right owner of the SIM card, concept of the password is involved to construct the end-to-end security authentication protocol. In the proposed protocol, each mobile user can choose a password. When two mobile users want to communicate with each other, either user can request to perform a end-user identification process. Only when both of the end users input the correct passwords can the correct common session key be established.     

Influence of an oligodendroglial component on the survival of patients with anaplastic astrocytomas: a report of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 83-02

PURPOSE: Seven percent of patients with high grade gliomas enrolled in RTOG 83-02 had mixed astrocytoma/oligodenroglial elements on central pathology review. It has often been assumed that the most aggressive histologic component of a tumor determines biologic behavior; however in this trial, the survival of patients who had mixed glioblastomas/oligodenrogliomas was significantly longer than that of patients with pure glioblastomas (GBM). We therefore evaluated the effect of an oligodendroglial component on the survival of patients who had anaplastic astrocytomas (AAF) treated in the same trial. METHODS AND MATERIALS: One hundred nine patients who had AAF and 24 patients with mixed AAF/oligodendrogliomas (AAF/OL) were enrolled in a Phase I/II trial of randomized dose-escalation hyperfractioned radiotherapy plus BCNU. AAF/OL patients were older and more likely to have had more aggressive surgery than AAF patients. Other pretreatment characteristics were balanced between groups, as was assigned treatment. RESULTS: The median survival time for AAF was 3.0 years versus 7.3 years for AAF/OL (p = 0.019). In a multivariate analysis, adjusting for extent of surgical resection and age, an oligodendroglial component was an independent prognostic factor for survival. CONCLUSION: The results support the concept that AAFs with an oligodendroglial component have a better prognosis than pure AAF tumors, similar to the effect seen among patients with glioblastoma multiforme tumors. This better survival outcome should be taken into consideration in the design and stratification of future trials. Additionally, in contrast to patients with GBMs, patients who have AAF/OL have the potential for prolonged survival; therefore, late sequelae of treatment (both radiation and chemotherapy) must be weighed more heavily in the benefits to risks analysis.     

The normal anterior commissure of the glottis

OBJECTIVE: We characterized the normal width of the anterior commissure of the glottis by measuring its dimensions on CT scans obtained in patients who had no laryngeal disorders. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: CT scans of patients referred for cervical CT myelography were prospectively reviewed by a single board-certified radiologist. Axial images through the anterior commissure (localized by vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage, the vocal muscle, or both) were magnified on the viewing console of the CT scanner. Window and level were chosen to simulate our routine settings for CT scans of the neck. Anteroposterior width of the anterior commissure was measured using an electronic ruler with 1-mm marks. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients were prospectively evaluated. Nine patients were excluded because of substantial motion artifact, and another 18 were excluded because CT images did not include the entire larynx. Thus, the final study group included 38 patients. The average width of the anterior commissure was 1.02 +/- 0.56 mm. The width was less than or equal to 1.1 mm in 22 (58%) of 38 patients. The width was less than or equal to 1.7 mm in 35 (92%) of 38 patients. Forty-two percent (16 of 38 patients) had anterior commissures wider than 1.0 mm. The maximum width of 2.2 mm was seen in only one patient. CONCLUSION: The mean width of the anterior commissure was approximately 1.0 mm. However, 42% of patients had anterior commissures wider than 1.0 mm. In our series, using an upper limit of 1.6 mm as a normal measurement for the anterior commissure would have included 92% of patients, and an upper limit of 2.1 mm would have encompassed the mean plus two SDs.     

Magnetic source imaging of abnormal low-frequency magnetic activity in presurgical evaluations of epilepsy

PURPOSE: Regional cortical dysfunction associated with epileptogenic activity was predicted from interictal localized abnormal low frequency neuromagnetic activity (ALFMA) using Magnetic Source Imaging (MSI). ALFMA can be detected in patients who show no interictal spikes. METHODS: A large array biomagnetometer was used in a blinded, rapid screening protocol. The MSI procedure required no alteration in epileptic medications. MSI results were compared with the presumed epileptogenic region as determined by a consensus of standard techniques, which included MR and electroclinical monitoring. RESULTS: One or more sites of localized abnormality were detected by MSI ALFMA in 29 of the 33 epileptic patients. ALFMA mapped with MSI showed a 48.5% specificity with respect to the presumed epileptogenic region. MSI ALFMA was in agreement with the final consensus as often as was ictal noninvasive video EEG monitoring, and was exceeded in specificity overall only by invasive ictal video EEG monitoring, which was required for conventional localization in 21 of the 33 patients tested with MSI. CONCLUSIONS: ALFMA measurements with MSI may augment the array of noninvasive methods used for reaching a consensus for epilepsy surgery.