Generation of Technology-Independent Retargetable Analog Blocks

This paper introduces a complete methodology for retargeting of analog cells to different sets of specifications. This methodology is technology-independent, thus allowing the migration, from one technology to another, of the circuit under retargeting. Careful integration of the device sizing and layout generation tasks via the incorporation of layout constraints during the sizing process allows to generate fully functional designs in a few minutes. The methodology is illustrated via the retargeting of a fully-differential Miller-compensated two-stage operational amplifier for a new set of specifications and two different technological processes.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Preparation, Characterisation and Catalytic Behaviour of a New TeVMoO Crystalline Phase

TeM_xMo_1.7O mixed oxides (M = V and/or Nb; x = 0-1.7) have been prepared by calcination of the corresponding salts at 600 °C in an atmosphere of N₂. A new crystalline phase, with a Te/V/Mo atomic ratio of 1/0.2-1.5/1.7, has been isolated and characterised by XRD and IR spectroscopy. This phase is observed in the TeVMo or TeVNbMo mixed oxide but not in the TeNbMo mixed oxide. The new crystalline phase shows an XRD pattern similar to Sb₄Mo₁₀O₃₁ and probably corresponds to the M1 phase recently proposed by Aouine et al. (Chem. Commun. 1180, 2001) to be present in the active and selective MoVTeNbO catalysts. Although these catalysts present a very low activity in the propane oxidation, they are active and selective in the oxidation of propene to acrolein and/or acrylic acid. However, the product distribution depends on the catalyst composition. Acrolein or acrylic acid can be selectively obtained from propene on Nb-free or Nb-containing TeVMo catalysts, respectively. The presence of both V and Nb, in addition to Mo and Te, appears to be important in the formation of acrylic acid from propene.     

Expectations about counseling in Yucatán, Mexico: Toward a "Mexican psychology."

Conducted a study of client expectations of psychological services in Yucatán, Mexico, under the sponsorship of a grant from the Organization of American States. The Expectations about Counseling–Brief form (EAC-B) questionnaire was translated and administered to 488 subjects across age, sex, and experience with psychological services. Subsequent analyses supported the reliability and robustness of the Spanish EAC-B, with factor structure similar to the EAC-B in English. Some relation was found among age, sex, prior counseling experience, and expectations about counseling. Implications of these data for future research and comparison with U.S. subjects are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of thermal comfort in a building during a cold spell

The comfort diagrams and the so-called PMV-PPD values are already used today directly and indirectly in a wide field in technical practice, even at a standard level. This theory is known also in Hungary, and the PMV-PPD values have been used by us for the solution of a design problem. The task was to elaborate a calculation method, an index number suitable for the determination of the thermal confort effect in the case of occasional underheating of residential and communal buildings in winter.The results of this work are presented in this paper.     

The spatial distribution and spectral characteristics of field-induced electron emission sites on broad-area high voltage electrodes

Instrumental techniques are described for displaying (a) the spatial distribution of field emission sites on planar high voltage electrodes and (b) the emission current pattern within an individual site. Typically, emission ‘sites‘ are generally composed of three or more ‘sub-sites’ that become temporally unstable at current > 10^?7 A. The electron energy spectra of sub-sites are characteristically single peaked, whose half-widths (FWHM) initially vary linearly with applied field: from changes in spectral area with field, substantially linear sub-site F-N plots have been obtained having β values in the range 300–500.     

High Pressure Conductivity and Photoconductivity of Polyveratrole

Summary Electropolymerization of o-(CH₃O)₂C₆H₄ (Veratrole) in dry acetonitrile/tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate at platinum electrode, yields a green polymeric conducting solid. As the pressure is increased, the material becomes more conductive, but sharp changes towards lower conductivity occur at 4.2 and 6.2 metric tons pressure, probably due to phase transitions. The photoconductivity shows an exponential increase as temperature is increased, but it shows reversible changes at 200 K, 225 K and 250 K during slow warming, also attributable to phase transitions. Photoconductivity of Polyveratrole increases with the radiation frequency, being higher under blue light than under red of infrared radiation and there is a linear increase of photoconductivity with radiation density. Conductivity transients show that the conductivity increases exponentially with time to the saturation point within few minutes, and it also decreases exponentially when the light is turned off and the circuit is open. This behaviour can be explained by formation and encounter of electron and hole as current carriers. A preliminary study indicates a piezoelectric effect for the material. absorption spectroscopy allowed the measurements of the material band gap.     

Simultaneous sulfide and acetate oxidation under denitrifying conditions using an inverse fluidized bed reactor

BACKGROUND: Simultaneous removal of sulfur, nitrogen and carbon compounds from wastewaters is a commercially important biological process. The objective was to evaluate the influence of the CH₃COO^?/NO₃^? molar ratio on the sulfide oxidation process using an inverse fluidized bed reactor (IFBR). RESULTS: Three molar ratios of CH₃COO^?/NO₃^? (0.85, 0.72 and 0.62) with a constant S^2?/NO₃^? molar ratio of 0.13 were evaluated. At a CH₃COO^?/NO₃^? molar ratio of 0.85, the nitrate, acetate and sulfide removal efficiencies were approximately 100%. The N₂ yield (g N₂ g^?1 NO₃^?‐N consumed) was 0.81. Acetate was mineralized, resulting in a yield of 0.65 g inorganic‐C g^?1 CH₃COO^?‐C consumed. Sulfide was partially oxidized to S⁰, and 71% of the S^2? consumed was recovered as elemental sulfur by a settler installed in the IFBR. At a CH₃COO^?/NO₃^? molar ratio of 0.72, the efficiencies of nitrate, acetate and sulfide consumption were of 100%, with N₂ and inorganic‐C yields of 0.84 and 0.69, respectively. The sulfide was recovered as sulfate instead of S⁰, with a yield of 0.92 g SO₄^2?‐S g^?1 S^2? consumed. CONCLUSIONS: The CH₃COO^?/NO₃^? molar ratio was shown to be an important parameter that can be used to control the fate of sulfide oxidation to either S⁰ or sulfate. In this study, the potential of denitrification for the simultaneous removal of organic matter, sulfide and nitrate from wastewaters was demonstrated, obtaining CO₂, S⁰ and N₂ as the major end products. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Grouped Approach for the Design of H.264/AVC Motion Estimation Architectures

This letter presents a novel approach for organizing computational resources into groups within H.264/AVC motion estimation architectures, leading to reductions of up to 75% in the equivalent gate count with respect to state‐of‐the‐art designs.