89-GHz fT room-temperature silicon MOSFETs

The authors report the implementation of deep-submicrometer Si MOSFETs that at room temperature have a unity-current-gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 89 GHz, for a drain-to-source bias of 1.5 V, a gate-to-source bias of 1 V, a gate oxide thickness of 40 Å, and a channel length of 0.15 μm. The fabrication procedure is mostly conventional, except for the e-beam defined gates. The speed performance is achieved through an intrinsic transit time of only 1.8 ps across the active device region     

PAC-learnability of probabilistic deterministic finite state automata in terms of variation distance

We consider the problem of PAC-learning distributions over strings, represented by probabilistic deterministic finite automata (PDFAs). PDFAs are a probabilistic model for the generation of strings of symbols, that have been used in the context of speech and handwriting recognition, and bioinformatics. Recent work on learning PDFAs from random examples has used the KL-divergence as the error measure; here we use the variation distance. We build on recent work by Clark and Thollard, and show that the use of the variation distance allows simplifications to be made to the algorithms, and also a strengthening of the results; in particular that using the variation distance, we obtain polynomial sample size bounds that are independent of the expected length of strings.     

Acculturation, Familism, Parental Monitoring, and Knowledge as Predictors of Marijuana and Inhalant Use in Adolescents.

The authors investigated relationships between marijuana and inhalant use and several cultural and demographic factors in Anglo American and Hispanic American adolescents (N=1,094). Outcome measures assessed lifetime and 30-day marijuana and inhalant use. Predictors and covariates used in logistic regression analyses were region, grade, gender, knowledge, acculturation, familism, and parental monitoring. Hispanic Americans exhibited higher usage across all measures. In this group, high acculturation was associated with low marijuana, but high inhalant, use. Across all participants, positive family relations and parental monitoring were strongly associated with attenuated marijuana use hut only among those most knowledgeable about drugs. Familism and monitoring were not associated with diminished usage among the less knowledgeable. For inhalants, monitoring combined with high knowledge or high familism was associated with diminished usage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

PVT Measurements on tetrafluoroethane (R134a) along the vapor-liquid equilibrium boundary between 288 and 373 K and in the liquid state from the triple point to 265 K

For the investigations of the gas-liquid phase equilibria, a new apparatus has been developed capable of simultaneously determining the pressure and the liquid and vapor densities using Archimedes' principle. The relative measurement uncertainties of the liquid and vapor densities of R134a (purity, 99.999%) at 313 K are 2×10^–4 and 7×10^–4, respectively (95% confidence level). For the measurements in the liquid region along nine quasi-isochores at pressures up to 5 MPa, an isochoric apparatus was used. The relative measurement uncertainty ofpv/(RT) is less than 1×10^–3. In addition to the investigation of the (p, v, T) properties, the temperature and pressure at the triple point and the vapor pressure between the triple point and 265 K were measured. On the basis of these data, a vapor pressure correlation has been developed that reproduces the measured vapor pressures within the uncertainty of measurement. The results of our measurements are compared with a fundamental equation for R134a, which is based on the measurements of other research groups.Paper presented at the Twelfth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 19–24, 1994, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

Chromaticity contour map of the RGB cube: A simple algorithm

A simple algorithm (amenable to spreadsheets) is described for plotting a luminance contour map of the color gamut of an additive‐primary display given the chromaticities of its primaries and screen white. Each contour of the plot represents (in either r,g or x,y coordinates) the polygon of intersection of the RGB cube with a plane of constant Y. Each vertex on a contour is an intersection of 1 of the 12 edges of the RGB cube with the constant‐Y plane. Feasibility of an edge as a vertex of the polygon is tested through comparison of the computed r,g coordinates with functions of the luminosity coefficients of the primaries. By ordering the RGB‐cube edges in a particular way prior to scanning them for feasibility, one is guaranteed to retrieve the vertices of any constant‐Y polygon in convex order. This fact facilitates plotting of the polygons.     

Single-Step Granulation Method with Microwaves: Preliminary Studies and Pilot Scale Results

Common pharmaceutical excipients and compounds were dried either by a simple convection method or by a combined convection and microwave method in a static bed or by a combined microwave and vacuum method in a mixed bed. A simple placebo granulation was dried by an exclusive vacuum method and by a combined microwave and vacuum method in a mixed bed. The results were compared.     

Screening and characterization of microorganisms with glutaryl-7ADCA acylase activity

A screening of microorganisms producing glutaryl-7ADCA acylase, an enzyme able to hydrolyse glutaric acid selectively from glutaryl-3-deacetoxy-7-aminocephalosporanic acid (glutaryl-7ADCA), has been carried out in soil samples. Five microorganisms expressing acylase activity were isolated and classified as Bacillus cereus, Achromobacter xylosooxidans, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Pseudomonas paucimobilis. The screening was carried out by preparing enrichment cultures containing glutaryl-7-ADCA or cephalosporin C as the selective carbon source. Four model compounds (adipoyl-, glutamyl- and glutaryl-p-nitroanilide and glutarylcoumarin), mimicking the glutaryl-7ADCA beta-lactam moiety, were synthesized as substrates suitable for the rapid screening of the microorganisms (2500) isolated from the enrichment cultures. A total of 300 strains were active on the model substrates and only 5 displayed acylase activity on glutaryl-7ADCA. The fermentation parameters, such as pH and inducer concentration, for the optimal acylase expression and acylase specificity towards the model substrates were different for each strain.     

Multiagent learning using a variable learning rate

Learning to act in a multiagent environment is a difficult problem since the normal definition of an optimal policy no longer applies. The optimal policy at any moment depends on the policies of the other agents. This creates a situation of learning a moving target. Previous learning algorithms have one of two shortcomings depending on their approach. They either converge to a policy that may not be optimal against the specific opponents' policies, or they may not converge at all. In this article we examine this learning problem in the framework of stochastic games. We look at a number of previous learning algorithms showing how they fail at one of the above criteria. We then contribute a new reinforcement learning technique using a variable learning rate to overcome these shortcomings. Specifically, we introduce the WoLF principle, “Win or Learn Fast”, for varying the learning rate. We examine this technique theoretically, proving convergence in self-play on a restricted class of iterated matrix games. We also present empirical results on a variety of more general stochastic games, in situations of self-play and otherwise, demonstrating the wide applicability of this method.     

A fast-settling GaAs-enhanced frequency synthesizer

An indirect, phase-locked-loop (PLL), GaAs-enhanced frequency synthesizer with 700 ns loop settling time has been developed. The two-chip GaAs insertion reduced the size of an existing synthesizer from 90 in³ to only 30 in³. The 6.0 in×5.5 in.×0.9 in module contains a 400 gate GaAs programmable divider and a sample and hold (S/H) which improved the settling time by 77% and reduced the size by 67% over the current state-of-the-art synthesizer. Furthermore, the divider reduced power dissipation by 9.7 W and the S/H reduced power dissipation by 1.3 W