Scheduling and allocation in high-level synthesis using stochastic techniques

High-level synthesis is the process of automatically translating abstract behavioral models of digital systems to implementable hardware. Operation scheduling and hardware allocation are the two most important phases in the synthesis of circuits from behavioral specification. Scheduling and allocation can be formulated as an optimization problem. In this work, a unique approach to scheduling and allocation problem using the genetic algorithm (GA) is described. This approach is different from a previous attempt using GA (Wehn et al., IFIP Working Conference on Logic and Architecture Synthesis, Paris, 1990, pp. 47–56) in many respects. The main contributions include: (1) a new chromosomal representation for scheduling and for two subproblems of allocation; and (2) two novel crossover operators to generate legal schedules. In addition the application of tabu search (TS) to scheduling and allocation is also implemented and studied. Two implementations of TS are reported and compared. Both genetic scheduling and allocation (GSA) and tabu scheduling and allocation (TSA) have been tested on various benchmarks and results obtained for data-oriented control-data flow graphs are compared with other implementations in the literature. (A discussion on GSA was presented at the European Design Automation Conference Euro-DAC'94 in Grenoble, France, and TSA at the International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems — ICECS'94 in Cairo, Egypt.) A novel interconnect optimization technique using the GA is also realized.     

Unusual traits associated with Robinow syndrome

We report on some members of two unrelated families showing the characteristic features of Robinow syndrome. In a consanguineous Kuwaiti family, the index case with Robinow syndrome showed some unusual features including severe IUGR, laxity of ligaments, hyperextensible joints, redundant skin folds, severe normocytic anaemia, repeated infection, increased percentage of total T cells and CD4 positive population, reduced percentage of CD8 positive cells, and EMG abnormality. In a Pakistani family with a high degree of multigenerational consanguinity, a single case with the Robinow phenotype also had congenital heart disease, mainly involving the right side of the heart, with pulmonary stenosis, tricuspid atresia, ASD, VSD, double outlet right ventricle, and right atrial isomerism. This report suggests that the disease profile of Robinow syndrome may be extended to accommodate the unusual traits mentioned above. The association of the Robinow phenotype with congenital heart disease in case 2 of this report is consistent with the previously reported finding that congenital heart disease, particularly involving the right side of the heart, may be a prominent component of Robinow syndrome in a subset of patients.     

Is the category-specific deficit for living things spurious?

Urinary incontinence imposes a significant financial burden on individuals, their families, and healthcare organizations. For individuals 65 years of age and older these costs are substantial, increasing from $8.2 billion (1984 dollars) to $16.4 billion (1993 dollars). Both of these cost-of-illness estimates, however, relied on data and factors that have changed over time. This study updates these cost estimates. The 1995 societal cost of incontinence for individuals aged 65 years and older was $26.3 billion, or $3565 per individual with urinary incontinence. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are also discussed.     

Proximal femoral osteotomy as the primary operation for young adults who have osteoarthrosis of the hip

We report the results of proximal femoral osteotomy that was performed to treat osteoarthrosis in twenty-three consecutive young adults (twenty-five hips) who had a mean age of thirty-eight years (range, eighteen to fifty-three years). The mean duration of follow-up was seven years (range, two to twelve years). With conversion to a total hip replacement as the end point, the rate of survival at twelve years was 67 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval, 37 to 88 per cent). Four hips (16 per cent) were converted to a total hip replacement at a mean of eight years after the osteotomy. For the patients who did not have conversion to a total hip replacement, the mean score for pain, according to the system of Merle d'Aubigné and Postel as modified by Charnley, improved from 3.4 points preoperatively to 5.1 points postoperatively, the mean score for walking ability improved from 3.9 to 4.7 points, and the mean score for range of motion improved from 3.2 to 4.2 points. These results compare favorably with those following other forms of operative treatment of osteoarthrosis of the hip in young adults. In addition, the osteotomy does not preclude subsequent replacement arthroplasty if one is necessary.     

Chlorogenic acids and related compounds in medicinal plants and infusions

The consumption of plant infusions for prevention and treatment of health disorders is a worldwide practise. Various pharmacological activities inherent to medicinal plants have been attributed to their phenolic composition, including chlorogenic acids (CGA). Studies have shown potential beneficial properties of CGA to humans such as antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic. In the present study, the CGA composition of 14 dried medicinal plants was determined by HPLC-UV and LC-DAD–ESI-MS. The plants with the highest CGA contents were Ilex paraguariensis, Bacharis genistelloides, Pimpinella anisum, Achyrochine satureioides, Camellia sinensis, Melissa officinalis and Cymbopogon citratus, with 84.7 mg/100 g–9.7 g/100 g, dry weight. Plant infusions were prepared (at 0.5%) in order to evaluate the actual consumption of CGA through these beverages. Total CGA contents in the infusions were similar to those in the methanolic extracts and indicated that a satisfactory extraction occurs during the preparation of infusions. These CGA-rich plants deserve attention regarding the pharmacological properties attributed to CGA.     

Liquid‐Phase Aerobic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol Catalyzed by Pt/ZrO2

The oxidation of benzyl alcohol by molecular oxygen in the liquid phase and catalyzed by Pt/ZrO2 using n‐heptane as the solvent was studied. Pt/ZrO₂ was very active and 100 % selective for benzyl alcohol conversion to benzaldehyde. The catalyst can be separated by filtration and reused. No leaching of Pt or Zr into the solution was observed. Typical batch reactor kinetic data were obtained and fitted to the Langmuir‐Hinshelwood, Eley‐Rideal and Mars‐van Krevelen models of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions. The Langmuir‐Hinshelwood model was found to give a better fit. The rate‐determining step was proposed to involve direct interaction of an adsorbed oxidizing species with the adsorbed reactant or an intermediate product of the reactant. H₂O₂ was also proposed to be an intermediate product. n‐Heptane was found to be an appropriate solvent in this reaction system.     

Modelling of proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance based on semi-empirical equations

Using semi-empirical equations for modeling a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is proposed for providing a tool for the design and analysis of fuel cell total systems. The focus of this study is to derive an empirical model including process variations to estimate the performance of fuel cell without extensive calculations. The model take into account not only the current density but also the process variations, such as the gas pressure, temperature, humidity, and utilization to cover operating processes, which are important factors in determining the real performance of fuel cell. The modelling results are compared well with known experimental results. The comparison shows good agreements between the modeling results and the experimental data. The model can be used to investigate the influence of process variables for design optimization of fuel cells, stacks, and complete fuel cell power system.     

Semantic and perceptual priming: How similar are the underlying mechanisms?

Both semantic priming and perceptual priming consist of facilitation of the identification of primed stimuli and inhibition of the identification of nonprimed stimuli. The similarities between the two phenomena suggest that a common attentional mechanism underlies both, and this has been explicitly proposed by several attention theorists. In this article it is argued that the phenomena of semantic and perceptual priming are qualitatively different, perceptual priming reflecting a sensitivity change in the recognition process brought about by attention, and semantic priming reflecting a bias change in the recognition process brought about by attention. Because different mechanisms are required to produce sensitivity and bias changes, this implies that the attentional mechanisms responsible for semantic and perceptual priming are distinct. In terms of recent discussions of the modularity versus the unity of cognitive architecture, the present conclusion supports a modular architecture for attentional processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A computational analysis of mental image generation: Evidence from functional dissociations in split-brain patients.

Recent efforts to build computer simulation models of mental imagery have suggested that imagery is not a unitary phenomenon. Rather, such efforts have led to a modular analysis of the image-generation process, with separate modules that can activate visual memories, inspect parts of imaged patterns, and arrange separate parts into a composite image. This idea was supported by the finding of functional dissociations between the kinds of imagery tasks that could be performed in the left and right cerebral hemispheres of 2 patients (a 19-yr-old male and a 32-yr-old female) who had previously undergone surgical transection of their corpus callosa. The left hemisphere in both Ss could inspect imaged patterns and could generate single and multipart images. In contrast, although the right hemisphere could inspect imaged patterns and could generate images of overall shape, it had difficulty in generating multipart images. Results suggest a deficit in the module that arranges parts into a composite. The observed pattern of deficits and abilities implied that this module is not used in language, visual perception, or drawing. Findings also suggest that the basis for this deficit is not a difficulty in simply remembering visual details or engaging in sequential processing. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)