A Generalized Technique for Register Counting and its Application to Cost-Optimal DSP Architecture Synthesis

In this paper we propose a generalized technique to count the required number of registers in a schedule which supports overlapped scheduling and can be applied to the case where a general digit-serial data format is used. This technique is integrated into an integer linear programming (ILP) model for time-constrained scheduling. In the ILP model, appropriate processors of certain data formats are chosen from a library of processors and data format converters are automatically inserted between processors of different data formats if necessary. Then the required number of registers for each data format is evaluated correctly by the proposed technique. Hence an optimal architecture for a given digital signal processing algorithm is synthesized where the cost of registers as well as the cost of processors and data format converters are minimized. It is shown that by including the cost of registers in the synthesis task as proposed in this paper leads to up to 12.8% savings in the total cost of the synthesized architecture when compared with synthesis performed without including the register cost in the total cost.     

Athermal silica-based arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexer

A temperature dependent channel wavelength shift in a silica-based arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexer is successfully suppressed from 0.95 to 0.05 nm in the 0-85°C temperature range, which means that it can be used in practical WDM systems without the need for temperature control     

IRISTER - magneto-optical disk for magnetically inducedSuperResolution

IRISTER (IRIS Thermal Eclipse Reading) is a remarkable technique for achieving superresolution in optical disks. Two applications of IRISTER are Magnetically induced SuperResolution (MSR) and Premastered optical disk by SuperResolution (PSR). Magnetically induced SuperResolution (MSR) has been realized in magneto-optical disks using exchange-coupled magnetic multilayer films. Two new detection methods have been developed. In the front aperture detection (FAD) method, the heated area in the light spot works as an optical mask so that the signal is read out only from the remaining crescent-shaped area in the spot. In the rear aperture detection (RAD) method, the signal is read out only from the heated area. The cutoff spatial frequency for both types of detection is more than two times higher than that in conventional detection. A high C/N of 42 dB is obtained in the MSR disks by both methods for a mark length of 0.3 μm, which is much shorter than the optical limit. Premastered optical disk by SuperResolution (PSR) has been realized in read-only optical disks using phase-change materials. In the front aperture detection (FAD) method for PSR, the prerecorded signal is read out only from the high reflective crescent-shaped area in the light spot, because the reflectance of the heated area is too low. A C/N of 51 dB for a mark length of 0.3 μm has been obtained for the PSR disk     

High performance 35 nm gate length CMOS with NO oxynitride gate dielectric and Ni salicide

The 35 nm gate length CMOS devices with oxynitride gate dielectric and Ni salicide have been fabricated to study the feasibility of higher performance operation. Nitrogen concentration in gate oxynitride was optimized to reduce gate current I/sub g/ and to prevent boron penetration in the pFET. The thermal budget in the middle of the line (MOL) process was reduced enough to realize shallower junction depth in the S/D extension regions and to suppress gate poly-Si depletion. Finally, the current drives of 676 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m in nFET and 272 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m in pFET at V/sub dd/=0.85 V (at I/sub off/=100 nA//spl mu/m) were achieved and they are the best values for 35 nm gate length CMOS reported to date.     

Thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-3-acetic acids. A new class of nonpeptide endothelin receptor antagonists

On the basis of structural information for the cyclic hexapeptide endothelin (ET) receptor antagonist, TAK-044, a series of thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4-dione derivatives bearing a carboxyl group and aromatic rings that were important for receptor binding were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for ET receptor binding affinities and inhibitory activities against ET-induced vasoconstriction. Optimization of each substituent in the thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine ring led to the discovery of a novel and potent nonpeptide ET receptor antagonist, 6-(4-methoxymethoxyphenyl)-5-methylsulfonylaminomethyl-1-(2- methylthiobenzyl)-2,4-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrothieno[2,3-d]p yrimidine-3- acetic acid (32 g), which binded to human ETA and ETB receptor subtypes with affinities (IC50) of 7.6 and 100 nM, respectively. Compound 32 g effectively antagonized ET-induced vasoconstriction and the inhibitory effect mediated by the ETB receptor was more potent than that of bosentan, while the inhibitory effect mediated by the ETA receptor was slightly less potent than that of bosentan.     

Effect of sex hormones on rat liver cytosolic alcohol dehydrogenase activity

A large public service organization was concerned with protection of its customers against hazards associated with furniture tipping in public use concourses. Because no injury experience was available for analysis, hazard patterns for tipping accidents were developed from an observational study of public interaction with the furniture. For each hazard pattern, anthropometric models were used to find the probability of the furniture being safe from tipping, for different age and gender combinations. A safety criterion was developed from this modeling, and used to change the weights of some furniture items to resist tipping. These modifications have now been implemented and are in widespread use. Implications for broader application of these models to the development of valid tipping standards for furniture are discussed.     

Oxyphilic cell variant of endometrioid adenocarcinoma

A case of oxyphilic cell variant of endometrioid adenocarcinoma is presented. To the best of our knowledge, there have been only three such cases reported in the English literature. The patient was a 35-year-old Japanese female (gravida 0, para 0). She was slightly obese with profuse vaginal bleeding. Histological examination of the resected uterus revealed endometrioid adenocarcinoma with an exclusive oxyphilic cell component. There was no evidence of myometrial invasion nor lymph node metastases. Reported cases of oxyphilic cell variant of endometrioid adenocarcinoma, including the present case, were stages 0-1 and grades 1-2. Although further study is necessary to evaluate this variant, oxyphilic cell variant seems to be an early stage of adenocarcinoma and should be differentiated from eosinophilic metaplasia and other types of adenocarcinoma of the endometrium.     

Aprotinin reduces homologous blood transfusions when pediatric cardiac surgery must be redone

The hemostatic effect of aprotinin in pediatric cardiac surgery is controversial. This study demonstrated the usefulness of aprotinin in cases undergoing additional surgery. In a retrospective study, three groups of children were investigated. In group I (n = 10), no aprotinin or Cell saver was used (control). In group II (n = 12), Cell saver was used intraoperatively. In group III (n = 14), aprotinin 30,000 KIU/kg was added to the prime of cardiopulmonary bypass, and another 10,000 KIU/kg was given every hour during extracorporeal circulation. Both blood loss and use of homologous blood during operation were significantly (p < 0.01) reduced in group III compared to those in the other two groups. In group III, blood loss both 12 and 48 hours postoperatively were one-third less than those in group I (no significant difference). The use of homologous blood 48 hours postoperatively was significantly reduced in group III compared to that in group I (p < 0.01) or group II (p < 0.05). We conclude that aprotinin administration during cardiopulmonary bypass reduced blood loss and homologous blood requirements both operatively and postoperatively when pediatric cardiac surgery must be redone.     

Mechanical stretch induces hypertrophic responses in cardiac myocytes of angiotensin II type 1a receptor knockout mice

Many lines of evidence have suggested that angiotensin II (AngII) plays an important role in the development of cardiac hypertrophy through AngII type 1 receptor (AT1). To determine whether AngII is indispensable for the development of mechanical stress-induced cardiac hypertrophy, we examined the activity of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family and the expression of the c-fos gene as hypertrophic responses after stretching cultured cardiac myocytes of AT1a knockout (KO) mice. When cardiac myocytes were stretched by 20% for 10 min, extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERKs) were strongly activated in KO cardiomyocytes as well as wild type (WT) myocytes. Both basal and stimulated levels of ERKs were higher in cardiomyocytes of KO mice than in those of WT mice. Activation of another member of the MAPK family, p38(MAPK), and expression of the c-fos gene were also induced by stretching cardiac myocytes of both types of mice. An AT1 antagonist attenuated stretch-induced activation of ERKs in WT cardiomyocytes but not in KO cardiomyocytes. Down-regulation of protein kinase C inhibited stretch-induced ERK activation in WT cardiomyocytes, whereas a broad spectrum tyrosine kinase inhibitor (genistein) and selective inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (tyrphostin, AG1478, and B42) suppressed stretch-induced activation of ERKs in KO cardiac myocytes. Epidermal growth factor receptor was phosphorylated at tyrosine residues by stretching cardiac myocytes of KO mice. These results suggest that mechanical stretch could evoke hypertrophic responses in cardiac myocytes that lack the AT1 signaling pathway possibly through tyrosine kinase activation.