An Interconnect Strategy for a Heterogeneous, Reconfigurable SoC

Editor's note:The diversification of the SoC market has increased the need for domain-specific programmable platforms that can be tailored to postfabrication products. This article presents a design case study on the interconnect for such a programmable platform, as part of the Morpheus project.—Li-Shiuan Peh, Princeton University     

Benign intracranial hypertension: a non-thrombotic complication of the primary antiphospholipid syndrome?

Benign intracranial hypertension is a rare complication of systemic lupus erythematosus often attributed to cerebral sinus thrombosis which impairs venous drainage and cerebrospinal fluid outflow. We report the case of a woman with a primary antiphospholipid syndrome who developed benign intracranial hypertension with no actual evidence of venous cerebral thrombosis and with no other possible cause for this clinical manifestation than high titres of anticardiolipin antibodies and a lupus anticoagulant.     

Method for measuring the refractive index and the thickness of transparent plates with a lateral-shear,wavelength-scanning interferometer

A new method for measuring simultaneously the thickness and the refractive index of a transparent plate is proposed. The method is based on a simple, variable lateral-shear, wavelength-scanning interferometer. To achieve highly accurate measurements of both refractive index n and thickness d we use several means to determine these two quantities. We finely tune a distributed-feedback diode laser light source to introduce a phase shift into the detected signal, whereas we make the sample rotate to produce variable lateral shearing. Phase shifting permits precise determination of the optical thickness, nd, whereas refractive index n is obtained from the retrieved phase of the overall interference signal for all incidence angles.     

Taming the All-Equipment Reliability Test

As currently used, the all-equipment reliability test provides unequal risks favoring the producer for short test periods and favoring the consumer for long test periods. This paper describes the empirical derivation of a method for modifying the test to provide equal producer and consumer risks over a range of test lengths. With the formulas provided in the paper, the user can structure an all-equipment test with equals-risks for discrimination ratios of 2.0:1, 1.5:1, or 3.0:1, as desired.     

Fast silicon-on-silicon optoelectronic router based on a BMFETdevice

In this paper, a new configuration for an optoelectronic router is presented. The device is composed by a single-mode input waveguide, a two-mode active section where the light steering by means of mode mixing between the fundamental and the first higher order mode is achieved. A terminal Y-branch is placed to separate the output channels. Active modulation is achieved by means of a three-terminal electronic device, which injects and controls the free carrier plasma inside the active region. The usage of a three-terminal device allows extremely fast dynamic response. Switching times of few nanoseconds are obtained together with an average crosstalk of -11 dB     

Light logics and optimal reduction: Completeness and complexity

Typing of lambda-terms in elementary and light affine logic (EAL and LAL, respectively) has been studied for two different reasons: on the one hand the evaluation of typed terms using LAL (EAL, respectively) proof-nets admits a guaranteed polynomial (elementary, respectively) bound; on the other hand these terms can also be evaluated by optimal reduction using the abstract version of Lamping’s algorithm. The first reduction is global while the second one is local and asynchronous. We prove that for LAL (EAL, respectively) typed terms, Lamping’s abstract algorithm also admits a polynomial (elementary, respectively) bound. We also give a proof of its soundness and completeness (for EAL and LAL with type fixpoints), by using a simple geometry of interaction model (context semantics).     

Multidimensional Vascularized Polymers using Degradable Sacrificial Templates

Complex multidimensional vascular polymers are created, enabled by sacrificial template materials of 0D to 3D. Sacrificial material consisting of the commodity biopolymer poly(lactic acid) is treated with a tin catalyst to accelerate thermal depolymerization, and formed into sacrificial templates across multiple dimensions and spanning several orders of magnitude in scale: spheres (0D), fibers (1D), sheets (2D), and 3D printed. Templates are embedded in a thermosetting polymer and removed using a thermal treatment process, vaporization of sacrificial components (VaSC), leaving behind an inverse replica. The effectiveness of VaSC is verified both ex situ and in situ, and the resulting structures are validated via flow rate testing. The VaSC platform is expanded to create vascular and porous architectures across a wide range of size and geometry, allowing engineering applications to take advantage of vascular designs optimized by biology.     

Innovative Caciocavallo cheeses made from a mixture of cow milk with ewe or goat milk

This study assessed and compared the physicochemical, microbiological, and sensorial characteristics of Caciocavallo cheeses, made from cow milk and a mixture of cow with ewe or goat milk, during ripening. Different cheese-making trials were carried out on an industrial scale following the standard procedure of pasta filata cheeses, with some modifications. The percentage of the different added milk to cow milk influenced compositional and nutritional characteristics of the innovative products, leading to a satisfactory microbiological and sensorial quality.