A perturbative approach to predict eye diagram degradation in differential interconnects subject to asymmetry and nonuniformity

This paper proposes a novel framework for the signal integrity (SI) analysis of differential interconnects affected by nonuniformity and geometrical asymmetry. The pertinent nonuniform transmission-line (TL) equations are solved in the frequency domain by means of a perturbation technique, which allows interpreting the resulting response degradation as a perturbation with respect to the response of a reference uniform differential line (DL) with averaged per-unit-length (p.u.l.) parameters. Following this interpretation, the problem is recast as a standard TL equation for the reference uniform line with additional equivalent distributed sources that account for the perturbative effect of asymmetric nonuniformity. This equivalent perturbation problem is solved iteratively in the frequency domain, and the corresponding time-domain behavior is obtained via inverse Fourier transform. Moreover, upon consideration that local perturbations negligibly impact on far-end differential mode (DM) quantities, the uniform DL model with averaged p.u.l. parameters is used for the SI performance evaluation of transmitted DM voltages in SPICE, showing that comparable results can be obtained while avoiding the cumbersome implementation of a nonuniform transmission line topology. The methodology is applied to the prediction of the eye diagram degradation for a 20 Gbps transmission through a microstrip DL subject to geometrical asymmetry and nonuniformity

Compensating mode conversion due to bend discontinuities through intentional trace asymmetry

In this letter, a comparative analysis is carried out between the mechanism of mode conversion in differential microstrip lines due to bend discontinuities on one side and trace asymmetry on the other side. With the help of equivalent modal circuits, a theoretical basis is provided for the idea to compensate the undesired common mode (CM), due to the presence of the bend, by intentionally designing asymmetric traces. As an application example, the proposed CM-reduction strategy is used in conjunction with another recently-presented wideband CM suppression filter for differential microstrip lines. It is shown that the proposed solution enhances the overall CM-reduction performance of the filter by some decibels, while preserving its transmission properties

Analysis of errors in verbal fluency tasks in patients with chronic schizophrenia

Background and Objectives: Even if verbal fluency deficits have been described in Schizophrenia, error pattern in this test has not been analyzed in detail in the literature. The pattern analysis of such errors could contribute to the understanding of the factors that influence poor task performance in schizophrenia. In this study we analyzed the intrusion and perseveration errors in verbal fluency tasks in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods: 87 patients diagnosed with Chronic Schizophrenia and 87 healthy controls were included in this investigation and were assessed with four Phonological and Semantic Verbal Fluency tasks. Results The results of this study showed that at least half of schizophrenic patients produced perseverative errors on verbal fluency and about made intrusion errors. The severity of negative symptoms, the severity of Formal Thought Disorder and pharmacological variables were significant moderators to errors in Verbal Fluency performance. Conclusions Errors in Verbal Fluency can be explained by the interaction of different variables in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychological pathology with great phenomenological complexity and its particularities can only be explained by the consideration of the multiple factors involved in its manifestation.Fil: Galaverna, Flavia Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Bueno, Adrián Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Morra, Carlos A.. Prof. León S. Morra Sanitarium; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Roca, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Torralva, Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentin

A fifty year record of winter glacier melt events in southern Chile, 38°–42°S

Little is known about the frequency and potential mass balance impact of winter glacier melt events. In this study, daily atmospheric temperature soundings from the Puerto Montt radiosonde (41.43°S) are used to reconstruct winter melting events at the glacier equilibrium line altitude in the 38°–42°S region of southern Chile, between 1960 and 2010. The representativeness of the radiosonde temperatures to near-surface glacier temperatures is demonstrated using meteorological records from close to the equilibrium line on two glaciers in the region over five winters. Using a degree-day model we estimate an average of 0.28 m of melt and 21 melt days in the 15 June–15 September period each year, with high inter-annual variability. The majority of melt events are associated with midlatitude migratory high pressure systems crossing Chile and northwesterly flows, that force adiabatic compression and warm advection, respectively. There are no trends in the frequency or magnitude of melt events over the period of record, but the annual frequency of winter melt days shows a significant, although rather weak and probably non-linear, relationship to late winter and early spring values of a multivariate El Niño Southern Oscillation Index (MEI)

A Qualitative Analysis of Slot Clubs as Drivers of Casino Loyalty

The slot club is a very common type of loyalty program in the casino industry. In this research, the authors look at the deep meanings and emotions of a slot club for tourists and frequent local customers at a Las Vegas mega casino resort using an in-depth interview technique, the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET). Results indicate that the opportunities for casino loyalty programs to establish emotional bonds with the customer lie in the capacity of reflecting human qualities in the slot club service delivery process, such as memory, creativity, and flexibility. The results also indicate that the slot club brings different meanings to different customer groups and that these emotional connections (or lack thereof) are best elucidated via this qualitative research technique that uses images, rather than words, to guide the in-depth interview. The authors discuss the implications of the results for loyalty programs as well as how this research technique might be used in other sectors of the hospitality industry

Paleobathymetric and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Oligocene and Miocene deposits of southern Caribbean (Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia) based on benthic foraminifera

Abstrac

Bio-Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy Preface

Non peer reviewe

Single-Crystal Organic Charge-Transfer Interfaces probed using Schottky-Gated Heterostructures

Organic semiconductors based on small conjugated molecules generally behave as insulators when undoped, but the hetero-interfaces of two such materials can show electrical conductivity as large as in a metal. Although charge transfer is commonly invoked to explain the phenomenon, the details of the process and the nature of the interfacial charge carriers remain largely unexplored. Here we use Schottky-gated heterostructures to probe the conducting layer at the interface between rubrene and PDIF-CN2 single crystals. Gate-modulated conductivity measurements demonstrate that interfacial transport is due to electrons, whose mobility exhibits band-like behavior from room temperature to ~ 150 K, and remains as high as ~ 1 cm2V-1s-1 at 30 K for the best devices. The electron density decreases linearly with decreasing temperature, an observation that can be explained quantitatively based on the heterostructure band diagram. These results elucidate the electronic structure of rubrene-PDIF-CN2 interfaces and show the potential of Schottky-gated organic heterostructures for the investigation of transport in molecular semiconductors.Comment: 37 pages, 9 Figures (including supplementary information