Boolean comparison by simulation

The development of high speed, large capacity hardware systems for logic simulation makes boolean comparison of logic networks feasible for designs of practical importance. Boolean comparison provides a complete check of functional equivalence of two logic networks and is a valuable tool in design verification. This paper describes virtual logic that controls the boolean comparison process and provides large reductions in the required number of test cases for many prac-tical design problems. The virtual logic is simulated by the logic simulation system at the same time as the two models are simulated for test cases. The virtual logic has the task of generating new test cases such that the entire input space is covered but minimizing the number of test vectors required. Multivalued logic simulation and other techniques are used to achieve the reductions. Since the entire boolean comparison task is completed without assistance of a general purpose host system the usual communication overhead is avoided. The techniques described are suitable for high speed logic simulators. The simulation system for the work described here was the Engineering Verification Engine (EVE) developed by IBM but other simulation systems provide simi-lar capability. Index Terms Boolean comparison, exhaustive testing, logic partitioning, logic level simulation, multi-valued logic, ternary algebra, functional verification, logic verification. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission

ADAM: Analysis of Discrete Models of Biological Systems Using Computer Algebra

Background: Many biological systems are modeled qualitatively with discrete models, such as probabilistic Boolean networks, logical models, Petri nets, and agent-based models, with the goal to gain a better understanding of the system. The computational complexity to analyze the complete dynamics of these models grows exponentially in the number of variables, which impedes working with complex models. Although there exist sophisticated algorithms to determine the dynamics of discrete models, their implementations usually require labor-intensive formatting of the model formulation, and they are oftentimes not accessible to users without programming skills. Efficient analysis methods are needed that are accessible to modelers and easy to use. Method: By converting discrete models into algebraic models, tools from computational algebra can be used to analyze their dynamics. Specifically, we propose a method to identify attractors of a discrete model that is equivalent to solving a system of polynomial equations, a long-studied problem in computer algebra. Results: A method for efficiently identifying attractors, and the web-based tool Analysis of Dynamic Algebraic Models (ADAM), which provides this and other analysis methods for discrete models. ADAM converts several discrete model types automatically into polynomial dynamical systems and analyzes their dynamics using tools from computer algebra. Based on extensive experimentation with both discrete models arising in systems biology and randomly generated networks, we found that the algebraic algorithms presented in this manuscript are fast for systems with the structure maintained by most biological systems, namely sparseness, i.e., while the number of nodes in a biological network may be quite large, each node is affected only by a small number of other nodes, and robustness, i.e., small number of attractors

Prediction of temperature induced shape deviations in dry milling

In this paper a model for a simulation based prediction of temperature induced shape deviations in dry milling is presented. A closed loop between Boolean material removal, process forces, heat flux and thermoelastic deformation is established. Therefore, an efficient dexel based machining simulation is extended by a contact zone analysis to model the local workpiece load. Based on the computed contact zone the cutting forces and heat flux are calculated using a semi-empirical process model. For a detailed consideration of the loads they are discretized and localized on the dexel-represented workpiece surface. A projection of the localized workpiece loads on the boundary of the finite element domain, taking into account the Boolean material removal during the process, allows the calculation of the current temperature and deformation of the workpiece. By transforming these thermomechanical characteristics back to the dexel-model a consideration in the machining simulation is possible. An extended contact zone analysis is developed for the prediction of the localized shape deviations. Finally, the results of the simulation are compared with measured data. The comparison shows that workpiece temperatures, workpiece deformation and shape deviations in different workpiece areas are predicted accurately.DFG/DE 447/90-2DFG/MA 1657/21-

Formation of the frozen core in critical Boolean Networks

We investigate numerically and analytically the formation of the frozen core in critical random Boolean networks with biased functions. We demonstrate that a previously used efficient algorithm for obtaining the frozen core, which starts from the nodes with constant functions, fails when the number of inputs per node exceeds 4. We present computer simulation data for the process of formation of the frozen core and its robustness, and we show that several important features of the data can be derived by using a mean-field calculation

A novel haptic model and environment for maxillofacial surgical operation planning and manipulation

This paper presents a practical method and a new haptic model to support manipulations of bones and their segments during the planning of a surgical operation in a virtual environment using a haptic interface. To perform an effective dental surgery it is important to have all the operation related information of the patient available beforehand in order to plan the operation and avoid any complications. A haptic interface with a virtual and accurate patient model to support the planning of bone cuts is therefore critical, useful and necessary for the surgeons. The system proposed uses DICOM images taken from a digital tomography scanner and creates a mesh model of the filtered skull, from which the jaw bone can be isolated for further use. A novel solution for cutting the bones has been developed and it uses the haptic tool to determine and define the bone-cutting plane in the bone, and this new approach creates three new meshes of the original model. Using this approach the computational power is optimized and a real time feedback can be achieved during all bone manipulations. During the movement of the mesh cutting, a novel friction profile is predefined in the haptical system to simulate the force feedback feel of different densities in the bone