Microprocessor testability

As the level of microprocessor complexity increases to several hundred thousand transistors for a single-chip machine, it is becoming very difficult to test commercially available designs to the level of fault coverage desired by some customers. In order to achieve near 100-percent coverage of single stuck-at faults, future microprocessors must be designed with special testing features (designed for testability). The authors describe the testing problem for microprocessors, including the various methods of generating test sets and their application by the user. A survey of the testability features of some of today's commercially available microprocessors is presented. Suggestions for testability features for future-generation microprocessors are also discussed     

StoryGrid [educational computing]

The StoryGrid project undertook studying the role new interface technologies might play in education, particularly at the high school level. Unfortunately, technology often seizes center stage in high school classrooms; i.e., it becomes the topic of instruction. We believe that learning about technology would be most successful when technology is not the topic, but simply a tool used during instruction. StoryGrid, therefore, was designed to support and to enhance existing narrative activity in classrooms by adhering to the following goals: trigger reflection and interpretation, accommodate individual expression and encourage student discourse.     

Some modifications of the classification tree construction algorithm

The paper describes a few modifications of the classification tree construction algorithm that have proved to be useful for solving tasks of noise spectra processing with reference to NPP diagnostics. The article was translated by the authors.     

Characteristics of tunneling and impact ionization in ZnS:Mn-based thin-film electroluminescent structures

A method for measuring the characteristics of tunneling and impact ionization in thin-film electroluminescent emitters is suggested. This method makes it possible to find time dependences of the space-charge layer thickness near the anode and the length of the impact ionization region, to determine more exactly the time dependence of the field in the potential barrier at the cathode interface, the maximum depth of the surface states from which electron tunneling occurs, the minimum thickness of the barrier, and the electron tunneling probability, as well as the impact ionization rate for the deep centers related to structural defects of the phosphor layer.     

Left-handed transmission lines at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths

Co-planar strip (CPS) transmission lines, aimed at operating up to sub-millimetre wavelengths, were periodically loaded by lumped capacitances and inductances in series and shunt configuration, respectively. Under this condition, propagation on the line is backward with group and phase velocities of opposite signs. The transmission lines were fabricated onto a quartz substrate by e-beam patterning and thin film deposition, silicon nitride and gold layers, on a deep sub-micron scale (~200 nm). A direct evidence of left-handedness between 160 and 380 GHz was achieved via the tracking of phase advance in a differential phase experiment using electro-optic sampling. The comparison between modelling results by electromagnetic full wave circuit analysis and experiment was performed in the time and frequency domains. It shows a good agreement in the dispersion characteristics and ultra-fast variations in the transmitted signals. At last, we took benefit of a lumped element fitting approach in order to discuss of the frequency capability of this non-resonant approach     

The Bragg law modified for X-ray diffraction from a bent crystal in the backscattering mode

It is demonstrated for X-ray diffraction from a bent crystal in the backscattering mode that the Bragg angle in the crystal can differ from the value in vacuum by ∼10⁻². This difference exceeds the angular width of the region of total reflection for the CuKα radiation backscattered from the (220) plane of a silicon single crystal. The Bragg law modified with allowance for the refraction and crystal bending is presented.     

A model for bilayer membrane electroporation based on resultant electromechanical stress

Reconsideration of the effect of an electrical field applied across a phospholipid bilayer membrane shows that, in addition to a compressive stress normal to the membrane plane, transverse traction stresses are generated in the lateral plane of the membrane. In the fields usually employed for electroporation these transverse stresses are likely to be sufficient to reduce the membrane tension considerably, causing electroporation and rupture. This mode of field-induced change in the membrane provides a natural model for the various forms of electroporation.     

Interlaboratory ring test of time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays for zeranol and alpha-zearalenol and comparison with zeranol test kits.

Many zeranol immunoassay test kits cross-react with toxins formed by naturally occurring Fusarium spp. fungi, leading to false-positive screening results. This paper describes the evaluation and application of recently published, dry reagent time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays (TR-FIA) for zeranol and the toxin alpha-zearalenol. A ring test of bovine urine fortified with zeranol and/or alpha-zearalenol in four European Union National Reference Laboratories demonstrated that the TR-FIA tests were accurate and robust. The alpha-zearalenol TR-FIA satisfactorily quantified alpha-zearalenol in urine fortified at 10-30 ng ml(-1). The specificity-enhanced zeranol TR-FIA accurately quantified zeranol in the range 2-5 ng ml(-1) and gave no false-positive results in blank urine, even in the presence of 30 ng ml(-1) alpha-zearalenol. Zeranol TR-FIA specificity was demonstrated further by analysing incurred zeranol-free urine samples containing natural Fusarium spp. toxins. The TR-FIA yielded no false-positive results in the presence of up to 22 ng ml(-1) toxins. The performance of four commercially available zeranol immunoassay test kits was more variable. Three kits produced many false-positive results. One kit produced only one potential false-positive using a protocol that was longer than that of the TR-FIA. These TR-FIAs will be valuable tools to develop inspection criteria to distinguish illegal zeranol abuse from contamination arising from in vivo metabolism of Fusarium spp. toxins.