DESIGN OF MICROPROGRAMMED CONTROL UNITS USING SEPARATE MICROPROGRAM FIELDS ENABLED BY STATES

In this report a method is outlined for the realisation of high-speed micro programmed control units. The processor is derived from the synchronous phase register structure. The organisation of the micoprogram storage is determined by the states (phases). It means that a separate field of the microprogram storage belongs to each state. In this way, the exponential growth of the number of the necessary memory units can be reduced significantly. This advantage is derived mainly from the separate handling of the storage fields, because each field mutually corresponds to one state, in which only a subset of the input and output signals is affected. The elements of these subsets are determined by the design procedure of the control unit. Thus, the minimization of the Boolean functions, defining the combinational part of the control unit, and the state reduction can be utilized in the simplification of a micro programmed realisation. In the paper, the minimal forms of the Boolean functions and the minimal number of states (phases) are assumed; the influence of the separate micoprogram storage fields on the number of the necessary memory units is examined; a rule is given for constructing the microprograms

SPECIFICATION AND REALISATION OF LOGIC CONTROL PROCEDURES ON THE BASIS OF PRESCRIBED INPUT-OUTPUT CHANGES

In this report, a method is outlined for handling the logic control procedures both in the specification level and on the hardware implementation level of the design. The heuristic and intuitive character of constructing the flow chart and defining the states has been reduced to a large extent. This method may result in several kinds of uniform hardware structures for either synchronous or asynchronous control units initially specified only by input-output sequences. Introducing differential mappings for the description of sequential operation, the prescribed sequences for input and output changes can be considered as the initial specification of a control unit. This specification yields a so-called B : K table and aB: K graph as representation of the required operation. The definition of the states is made by interpreting the compatibility relation between the prescribed output changes. . The procedure of the state definition results in the B: K : A set or graph which corresponds to the minimised flow table obtained from the state reduction of incompletely specified sequential circuits. The properties of the canonical B : K set and graph always ensure the existence of an optimal cover. If the fixed hardware structure contains flip-flops for storing the output combination, then the influence of these flip-flops on the state reduction are automatically taken into consideration by the method outlined in the report. Also, by the introduction of an optimal cover for the identifying functions related to the output changes, the logical expressions for the realisation of the hardware can be simplified. The specification and description method, outlined in this report, has the advantage of defining the prescribed sequences of input and output changes in separate fragments. Applying the prescribed input section changes. these separate fragments can be joined together and the B : K set can be calculated systematically. In this way, the specification for the synthesis procedure may become more rigorous than it was initially. However, it is not necessary to form a coherent specification by intuition

A COMPABILITY BASED ALLOCATION METHOD IN HIGH LEVEL SYNTHESIS

This paper presents a model and a method for the allocation during the high level datapath synthesis of pipelined ASIC architectures starting with a behavioral description of the system consisting of theoretical operational units with arbitrary operation duration. As a part of the Scheduling and Allocation Method (SAM), a compatibility relation is used for determining the operations to be allocated in one processor element. The aim of the procedure is to reduce the number of processors that are necessary for the realization of the theoretical operational units. The method presented in this paper can provide a better solution to the resource allocation problem in many cases by handling the conditional branches. The constraints for the types of processors to be applied can be different depending upon the hardware resources

Characteristics of allergic colitis in breast-fed infants in the absence of cow’s milk allergy

AIM: To investigate the characteristics of mucosal lesions and their relation to laboratory data and long-term follow up in breast-fed infants with allergic colitis. METHODS: In this study 31 breast-fed infants were prospectively evaluated (mean age, 17.4 wk) whose rectal bleeding had not ceased after a maternal elimination diet for cow's milk. Thirty-four age-matched and breast-fed infants (mean age, 16.9 wk) with no rectal bleeding were enrolled for laboratory testing as controls. Laboratory findings, colonoscopic and histological characteristics were prospectively evaluated in infants with rectal bleeding. Long-term follow-up with different nutritional regimes (L-amino-acid based formula or breastfeeding) was also included. RESULTS: Iron deficiency, peripheral eosinophilia and thrombocytosis were significantly higher in patients with allergic colitis in comparison to controls (8.4 ± 3.2 μmol/L vs 13.7 ± 4.7 μmol/L, P < 0.001; 0.67 ± 0.49 G/L vs 0.33 ± 0.17 G/L, P < 0.001; 474 ± 123 G/L vs 376 ± 89 G/L, P < 0.001, respectively). At colonoscopy, lymphonodular hyperplasia or aphthous ulceration were present in 83% of patients. Twenty-two patients were given L-amino acid-based formula and 8 continued the previous feeding. Time to cessation of rectal bleeding was shorter in the special formula feeding group (mean, 1.4 wk; range, 0.5-3 wk) when compared with the breast-feeding group (mean, 5.3 wk; range, 2-9 wk). Nevertheless, none of the patients exhibited rectal bleeding at the 3-mo visit irrespective of the type of feeding. Peripheral eosinophilia and cessation of rectal bleeding after administration of elemental formula correlated with a higher density of mucosal eosinophils. CONCLUSION: Infant hematochezia, after cow's milk allergy exclusion, is generally a benign and probably self-limiting disorder despite marked mucosal abnormality. Formula feeding results in shorter time to cessation of rectal bleeding; however, breast-feeding should not be discouraged in long-lasting hematochezia

Asymptotic behaviour of estimators of the parameters of nearly unstable INAR(1) models

A sequence of first-order integer-valued autoregressive type (INAR(1)) processes is investigated, where the autoregressive type coefficients converge to 1. It is shown that the limiting distribution of the joint conditional least squares estimators for this coefficient and for the mean of the innovation is normal. Consequences for sequences of Galton{Watson branching processes with unobservable immigration, where the mean of the offspring distribution converges to 1 (which is the critical value), are discussed

Acute lower limb compartment syndrome after Cesarean section: a case report

Abstract: Introduction Acute compartment syndrome of the lower limb is a rare but severe intra- and post-partum complication. Prompt diagnosis is essential to avoid permanent functional restriction or even the loss of the affected limb. Clinical signs and symptoms might be nonspecific, especially in the early stages; therefore, knowledge of predisposing risk factors can be helpful. Case presentation We present the case of a 32-year-old Caucasian woman with acute post-partum compartment syndrome. Conclusion: Acute compartment syndrome is an important differential diagnosis for the sudden onset of intra- or post-partum lower-limb pain. Predisposing factors for the manifestation of acute compartment syndrome in an obstetric environment are augmented intra-partum blood loss, prolonged hypotensive episodes and the use of oxytocin to support or induce labor because of its vasoconstrictive properties. Treatment is prompt surgical decompression by performing fasciotomy in any affected muscular compartments

In Vivo Preclinical Assessment of β-Amyloid–Affine [11C]C-PIB Accumulation in Aluminium-Induced Alzheimer’s Disease-Resembling Hypercholesterinaemic Rat Model

Aluminum (Al) excess and hypercholesterinaemia are established risks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The aim of this study was to establish an AD-resembling hypercholesterinaemic animal model—with the involvement of 8 week and 48 week-old Fischer-344 rats—by Al administration for the safe and rapid verification of β-amyloid-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals. Measurement of lipid parameters and β-amyloid–affine [11C]C-Pittsburgh Compound B ([11C]C-PIB) PET examinations were performed. Compared with the control, the significantly elevated cholesterol and LDL levels of the rats receiving the cholesterol-rich diet support the development of hypercholesterinaemia (p ≤ 0.01). In the older cohort, a notably increased age-related radiopharmaceutical accumulation was registered compared to in the young (p ≤ 0.05; p ≤ 0.01). A monotherapy-induced slight elevation of mean standardised uptake values (SUVmean) was statistically not significant; however, adult rats administered a combined diet expressed remarkable SUVmean increment compared to the adult control (SUVmean: from 0.78 ± 0.16 to 1.99 ± 0.28). One and two months after restoration to normal diet, the cerebral [11C]C-PIB accumulation of AD-mimicking animals decreased by half and a third, respectively, to the baseline value. The proposed in vivo Al-induced AD-resembling animal system seems to be adequate for the understanding of AD neuropathology and future drug testing and radiopharmaceutical development

PET Probes for Preclinical Imaging of GRPR-Positive Prostate Cancer: Comparative Preclinical Study of [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-AMBA and [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA

Gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) are overexpressed in prostate cancer (PCa). Since bombesin analogue aminobenzoic-acid (AMBA) binds to GRPR with high affinity, scandium-44 conjugated AMBA is a promising radiotracer in the PET diagnostics of GRPR positive tumors. Herein, the GRPR specificity of the newly synthetized [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA was investigated in vitro and in vivo applying PCa PC-3 xenograft. After the in-vitro assessment of receptor binding, PC-3 tumor-bearing mice were injected with [44Sc]Sc/[68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-AMBA (in blocking studies with bombesin) and in-vivo PET examinations were performed to determine the radiotracer uptake in standardized uptake values (SUV). 44Sc/68Ga-labelled NODAGA-AMBA was produced with high molar activity (approx. 20 GBq/&micro;moL) and excellent radiochemical purity. The in-vitro accumulation of [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA in PC-3 cells was approximately 25-fold higher than that of the control HaCaT cells. Relatively higher uptake was found in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo in the same tumor with the 44Sc-labelled probe compared to [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-AMBA. The GRPR specificity of [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA was confirmed by significantly (p &le; 0.01) decreased %ID and SUV values in PC-3 tumors after bombesin pretreatment. The outstanding binding properties of the novel [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA to GRPR outlines its potential to be a valuable radiotracer in the imaging of GRPR-positive PCa