Case studies on lithography-friendly vlsi circuit layout

Moore’s Law has driven a continuous demand for decreasing feature sizes used in Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) technology which has outpaced the solutions offered by lithography hardware. Currently, a light wavelength of 193nm is being used to print sub-65nm features. This introduces process variations which cause mismatches between desired and actual wafer feature sizes. However, the layout which affects the printability of a circuit can be modified in a manner which can make it more lithography-friendly. In this work, we intend to implement these modifications as a series of perturbations on the initial layout generated by the CAD tool for the circuit. To implement these changes we first calculate the feature variations offline on the boundaries of all possible standard cell pairs used in the circuit layout and record them in a Look-Up Table (LUT). After the CAD tool generates the initial placement of the circuit, we use the LUT to estimate the variations on the boundaries of all the standard cells. Depending on the features which may have the highest feature variations we assign a cost to the layout and our aim is now to reduce the cost of the layout after implementing perturbations which could be a simple cell flip or swap with a neighboring cell. The algorithm used to generate a circuit placement with a low cost is Simulated Annealing which allows a high probability for a solution with a higher cost to be selected during the initial iterations and as time goes on it tends closer to the greedy algorithm. The idea here is to avoid a locally optimum solution. It is also essential to minimize the impact of the iterations performed on the initial solution in terms of wirelength, vias and routing congestion. We validate our procedure on ISCAS85 benchmark circuits by simulating dose and defocus variations using the Mentor tool Calibre LFD. We obtain a reduction of greater 20% in the number of instances with the highest cell boundary feature variations. The wirelength and the number of vias showed an increase of roughly 2.2-8.8% and 1.2- 7.8% respectively for different circuits. The routing congestion by and large remains unaffected

Case studies on lithography-friendly vlsi circuit layout

Moore’s Law has driven a continuous demand for decreasing feature sizes used in Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) technology which has outpaced the solutions offered by lithography hardware. Currently, a light wavelength of 193nm is being used to print sub-65nm features. This introduces process variations which cause mismatches between desired and actual wafer feature sizes. However, the layout which affects the printability of a circuit can be modified in a manner which can make it more lithography-friendly. In this work, we intend to implement these modifications as a series of perturbations on the initial layout generated by the CAD tool for the circuit. To implement these changes we first calculate the feature variations offline on the boundaries of all possible standard cell pairs used in the circuit layout and record them in a Look-Up Table (LUT). After the CAD tool generates the initial placement of the circuit, we use the LUT to estimate the variations on the boundaries of all the standard cells. Depending on the features which may have the highest feature variations we assign a cost to the layout and our aim is now to reduce the cost of the layout after implementing perturbations which could be a simple cell flip or swap with a neighboring cell. The algorithm used to generate a circuit placement with a low cost is Simulated Annealing which allows a high probability for a solution with a higher cost to be selected during the initial iterations and as time goes on it tends closer to the greedy algorithm. The idea here is to avoid a locally optimum solution. It is also essential to minimize the impact of the iterations performed on the initial solution in terms of wirelength, vias and routing congestion. We validate our procedure on ISCAS85 benchmark circuits by simulating dose and defocus variations using the Mentor tool Calibre LFD. We obtain a reduction of greater 20% in the number of instances with the highest cell boundary feature variations. The wirelength and the number of vias showed an increase of roughly 2.2-8.8% and 1.2- 7.8% respectively for different circuits. The routing congestion by and large remains unaffected

Analysis of kidney and liver exchange transplantation in India (2000–2025): a multicentre, retrospective cohort studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: In India, where deceased organ donation rates are relatively low, living donor transplantation programmes face challenges due to ABO incompatibility and sensitisation. Approximately one-third of healthy, willing living donors are incompatible with their intended recipients due to these factors. No large-scale data are currently available on kidney exchange (KE) or liver exchange (LE) transplants in low- and middle-income countries, including India. Methods: We conducted a multicentre, retrospective cohort study including KE (2000–2024) from 65 centres and LE (2007–2025) from 7 centres across India. The living donors were near-related donors without altruistic and deceased donors. Demographic and clinical data of both donors and recipients were included in the study. The reasons for KE/LE, post-transplant outcomes with respect to patient and graft survival, rejection episodes, and donor outcomes were analysed. Kidney allocation system guidelines were: (i) Thorough pre-transplant work-up of DRP was completed before allocation to avoid chain collapse. (ii) A policy of non-anonymous allocation was practised (in contrast to anonymous allocation in high-income countries), where pairs can create a rapport during evaluation and surgery. (iii) Simple two-way exchanges, and simultaneous surgeries were considered for less experienced transplant centres in order to avoid donor renege. Findings: A total of 1839 KE and 259 LE transplants were included in the study. The distribution of KE transplants included, 1594 (87%), 147 (8%), 44 (2%), 20 (1%), 24 (1%), and 10 (0.5%) transplants from 2-way, 3-way, 4-way, 5-way, 6-way and 10-way KE, respectively. Reasons for joining KE in transplanted pairs were ABO incompatibility 1610 (87%), compatible pairs 126 (7%), and sensitisation 103 (6%). There was notable gender imbalance, as more males were KE recipients 1504 (82%) and more females were donors 1469 (80%). The majority of LE were 2-way swaps (125 two-way vs. 3 three-way swaps), predominately involving male recipients (222 male vs. 37 females) and for ABO incompatibility. Interpretation: Our largest-to-date cohort study supports that swap transplants are medically simple, but logistically complex. Access to KE or LE was unequally distributed and likely under-used. If replicated, our experience could increase access to transplants and help combat the looming threat of commercial transplants. Funding: None

Abstracts of National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020

This book presents the abstracts of the papers presented to the Online National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020 (RDMPMC-2020) held on 26th and 27th August 2020 organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Science in Association with the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Conference Title: National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020Conference Acronym: RDMPMC-2020Conference Date: 26–27 August 2020Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology JamshedpurCo-organizer: Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, IndiaConference Sponsor: TEQIP-

Ticagrelor in patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease with a history of previous percutaneous coronary intervention (THEMIS-PCI) : a phase 3, placebo-controlled, randomised trial

Background: Patients with stable coronary artery disease and diabetes with previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), particularly those with previous stenting, are at high risk of ischaemic events. These patients are generally treated with aspirin. In this trial, we aimed to investigate if these patients would benefit from treatment with aspirin plus ticagrelor. Methods: The Effect of Ticagrelor on Health Outcomes in diabEtes Mellitus patients Intervention Study (THEMIS) was a phase 3 randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, done in 1315 sites in 42 countries. Patients were eligible if 50 years or older, with type 2 diabetes, receiving anti-hyperglycaemic drugs for at least 6 months, with stable coronary artery disease, and one of three other mutually non-exclusive criteria: a history of previous PCI or of coronary artery bypass grafting, or documentation of angiographic stenosis of 50% or more in at least one coronary artery. Eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either ticagrelor or placebo, by use of an interactive voice-response or web-response system. The THEMIS-PCI trial comprised a prespecified subgroup of patients with previous PCI. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (measured in the intention-to-treat population). Findings: Between Feb 17, 2014, and May 24, 2016, 11 154 patients (58% of the overall THEMIS trial) with a history of previous PCI were enrolled in the THEMIS-PCI trial. Median follow-up was 3·3 years (IQR 2·8–3·8). In the previous PCI group, fewer patients receiving ticagrelor had a primary efficacy outcome event than in the placebo group (404 [7·3%] of 5558 vs 480 [8·6%] of 5596; HR 0·85 [95% CI 0·74–0·97], p=0·013). The same effect was not observed in patients without PCI (p=0·76, p interaction=0·16). The proportion of patients with cardiovascular death was similar in both treatment groups (174 [3·1%] with ticagrelor vs 183 (3·3%) with placebo; HR 0·96 [95% CI 0·78–1·18], p=0·68), as well as all-cause death (282 [5·1%] vs 323 [5·8%]; 0·88 [0·75–1·03], p=0·11). TIMI major bleeding occurred in 111 (2·0%) of 5536 patients receiving ticagrelor and 62 (1·1%) of 5564 patients receiving placebo (HR 2·03 [95% CI 1·48–2·76], p<0·0001), and fatal bleeding in 6 (0·1%) of 5536 patients with ticagrelor and 6 (0·1%) of 5564 with placebo (1·13 [0·36–3·50], p=0·83). Intracranial haemorrhage occurred in 33 (0·6%) and 31 (0·6%) patients (1·21 [0·74–1·97], p=0·45). Ticagrelor improved net clinical benefit: 519/5558 (9·3%) versus 617/5596 (11·0%), HR=0·85, 95% CI 0·75–0·95, p=0·005, in contrast to patients without PCI where it did not, p interaction=0·012. Benefit was present irrespective of time from most recent PCI. Interpretation: In patients with diabetes, stable coronary artery disease, and previous PCI, ticagrelor added to aspirin reduced cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, although with increased major bleeding. In that large, easily identified population, ticagrelor provided a favourable net clinical benefit (more than in patients without history of PCI). This effect shows that long-term therapy with ticagrelor in addition to aspirin should be considered in patients with diabetes and a history of PCI who have tolerated antiplatelet therapy, have high ischaemic risk, and low bleeding risk