用FPGA设计引擎安全监测仪实现创业

并非只有宇宙才诞生于大爆炸。目前硅谷最火的汽车电子新创企业PLX Devices也诞生于创始人的引擎爆炸。PLX最新的产品是一款能够监测汽油使用状况，鼓励节油驾驶的插入式器件。它源自公司28岁的首席执行官Paul Lowchareonkul在驾车与奔驰赛车跑坏了引擎后发明的一个空气燃油比测量仪。这两款器件均采用了赛灵思FPGA平台。     

Activation of microcomponents with light for micro-electro-mechanical systems and micro-optical-electro-mechanical systems applications

We examine the light-activation properties of micrometer-sized gear structures fabricated with polysilicon surface micromachining techniques. The gears are held in place on a substrate through a capped anchor post and are free to rotate about the post. The light-activation technique is modeled on photon radiation pressure, and the equation of motion of the gear is solved for this activation technique. Experimental measurements of torque and damping are found to be consistent with expected results for micrometer-scale devices. Design optimization for optically actuated microstructures is discussed.     

In vivo synchrotron study of thallium speciation and compartmentation in Iberis intermedia

Thallium (TI) is a metal of great toxicological concern and its prevalence in the natural environment has steadily increased as a result of manufacturing and combustion practices. Due to its low natural abundance and increasing demand, TI is the fourth most expensive metal, thus, recovery and reuse could be a profitable endeavor. The hyperaccumulator Iberis intermedia was examined via in vivo micro-X-ray absorption near edge (micro-XANES) and micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) spectroscopies to determine the speciation and distribution of TI within leaves of the plant. I. intermedia plants were cultivated under controlled conditions in 0, 10, and 20 mg TI kg(-1) soil leading to a shoot concentration of up to 13 430 mg TI kg(-1) dry weight plant mass during 10 weeks of growth. Live plant leaves were examined by micro-XANES and micro-XRF which determined aqueous TI(I) to be the model species distributed primarily throughout the vascular network. A direct relationship of vein size to TI concentration was observed. The high uptake of TI and high potential biomass of I. intermedia, combined with knowledge of TI speciation and compartmentation within the plant, are discussed in terms of accumulation/tolerance mechanisms, consequences for potential food chain contamination, and phytomining strategies to reclaim TI-contaminated soils, sediments, and waters.     

Microcomputers in public investment planning: Harnessing the potential—the introduction of microcomputers into the central planning division,ministry of finance,government of Meridian*

Abstract

This paper describes a project designed to improve planning procedures, through the introduction of microcomputers into the Central Planning Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Meridian. The first section places the logic of the computerization project within the context of a wider programme to upgrade skills and methodologies in Meridian, and the paper then discusses the background to the computerization proposal by way of explaining its aims and objectives.

The third section focuses on technical issues, and examines the particular virtues of microcomputers in this type of centralized planning division. The hardware, software and training requirements are considered, and the schedule and milestones of this particular project explained. Organizational issues are then examined, from which the sources of many of the problems encountered in this project can be identified. Actual progress to date is described in the light of both technical and organizational issues, and an attempt made to assess the effectiveness of the project as a whole. The paper ends by pointing to some broader conclusions on the potential of microcomputers in development planning and to issues which critically determine the effectiveness of their value in central planning agencies, such as that described here.     

PI k mass production and an optimal circuit for the Nečiporuk slice

Letf: {0,1} ⁿ {0,1} ^m be anm-output Boolean function inn variables.f is called ak-slice iff(x) equals the all-zero vector for allx with Hamming weight less thank andf(x) equals the all-one vector for allx with Hamming weight more thank. Wegener showed that PI _k -set circuits (set circuits over prime implicants of lengthk) are at the heart of any optimum Boolean circuit for ak-slicef. We prove that, in PI _k -set circuits, savings are possible for the mass production of anyFX, i.e., any collectionF ofm output-sets given any collectionX ofn input-sets, if their PI _k -set complexity satisfiesSC _m (FX)3n+2m. This PI _k mass production, which can be used in monotone circuits for slice functions, is then exploited in different ways to obtain a monotone circuit of complexity 3n+o(n) for the Neiporuk slice, thus disproving a conjecture by Wegener that this slice has monotone complexity (n ^3/2). Finally, the new circuit for the Neiporuk slice is proven to be asymptotically optimal, not only with respect to monotone complexity, but also with respect to combinational complexity.     

Litterfall production and associated carbon and nitrogen fluxes of seven woody species grown in indigenous agroforestry systems in the south-eastern Rift Valley escarpment of Ethiopia

We compared the litterfall production and associated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes for seven woody species grown in three agroforestry systems practiced on the slopes of the south eastern Rift Valley escarpment of Ethiopia. Five of the species were native (Coffea arabica L., Cordia africana Lam., Croton macrostachyus Del., Erythrina brucei Schweinf. and Millettia ferruginea (Hochst.) Bak) and two were non-native fruit tree species (Mangifera indica L. and Persea americana Mill.). Together, these species accounted 85 % or more of the crown area of each agroforestry system: the Enset system (occurring at 2,100–2,400 m asl), the Enset-Coffee system (1,900–2,200 m asl), and the Fruit-Coffee system (1,500–1,900 m asl). Enset or false banana [Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman] is a staple food crop in this region of Ethiopia and coffee and fruit trees are grown as cash crops. Monthly litterfall was collected from 4 to 6 trees of each species during 2010 and dry mass, carbon and nitrogen contents determined. The annual litterfall production per unit area of crown decreased in the order: C. macrostachyus (1,014 g m^?2), E. brucei (929), C. africana (917), P. americana (809), M. indica (807), C. arabica (446) and M. ferruginea (362). The simple linear regression equation using breast height diameter explained 95 % of the variation in the litterfall production of M. ferruginea, but only 55 % for C. africana. The annual litterfall production of the seven species combined per unit area of land was the highest for the Fruit-Coffee system (average 12,938 kg ha^?1), followed by the Enset-Coffee system (10,187) and the Enset system (7,430). The associated annual C fluxes (kg ha^?1) were 5,145 (Fruit-Coffee system), 3,928 (Enset-Coffee system) and 2,803 (Enset system), and corresponding N fluxes 278 (kg ha^?1), 257 and 190. The combined litterfall production of the seven species in our study was higher than has been reported for other agroforestry systems and tropical forests.