Stochastic Testing Simulator for Integrated Circuits and MEMS: Hierarchical and Sparse Techniques

Process variations are a major concern in today's chip design since they can significantly degrade chip performance. To predict such degradation, existing circuit and MEMS simulators rely on Monte Carlo algorithms, which are typically too slow. Therefore, novel fast stochastic simulators are highly desired. This paper first reviews our recently developed stochastic testing simulator that can achieve speedup factors of hundreds to thousands over Monte Carlo. Then, we develop a fast hierarchical stochastic spectral simulator to simulate a complex circuit or system consisting of several blocks. We further present a fast simulation approach based on anchored ANOVA (analysis of variance) for some design problems with many process variations. This approach can reduce the simulation cost and can identify which variation sources have strong impacts on the circuit's performance. The simulation results of some circuit and MEMS examples are reported to show the effectiveness of our simulatorComment: Accepted to IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference in June 2014. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1407.302

Salmonella Serotyping Using Whole Genome Sequencing

Until recently, traditional serology and the Kauffmann White Scheme (KWS) have been the gold standard for Salmonella serotyping. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) has now emerged as an alternative in this field. Serotype information remains a cornerstone in food safety and public health activities to reduce the burden of salmonellosis. At the same time, recent advances in WGS have improved the ability to perform advanced pathogen characterization while improving trace back investigations to determine the source of foodborne illness during outbreaks. Serovar prediction based on WGS can be performed using in silico data analysis tools. Three such tools have been developed: (a). Salmonella in silico Typing Resource (SISTR), (b). SeqSero, and (c). in silico 7-gene MLST ST (Multilocus Sequence Typing Sub-Typing) which was generated using the SISTR platform. Public health officials around the world are diligently working to validate these tools for replacing traditional surveillance methods to provide a more powerful approach for molecular epidemiology in support of public health investigations. In this study, we report a retrospective analysis of our laboratory inventory of 1,041 Salmonella isolates collected between 1999 and 2017. These isolates are of public health significance since they all came from either food, feed or environmental swabs. They were all serotyped by both traditional serology and WGS using an in silico SeqSero tool for serovar prediction. Both predicted identical Salmonella serotypes in 899 isolates (86.4% of the 1,041 Salmonella isolates). SeqSero assignments differed from traditional serological testing in 80 isolates (7.7%) and no serotype prediction was ascertained from 62 isolates (5.9%). This retrospective study is an excellent example of using WGS and SeqSero as a data analysis tool to predict Salmonella serotypes that can provide numerous advantages including molecular and genetic details regarding the characteristics of the Salmonella isolates compared to traditional KWS serotyping. In conclusion, it is evident that using WGS and in silico tools for Salmonella serotyping might someday replace traditional serotyping

Synthesis, structure and electrochemical characterization of the isopolytungstate (W4O16) held by MnII anchors within a superlacunary crown heteropolyanion {P8W48}

An isopolyanion {W4O16} within archetypal {P8W48} heteropolyanion assembly [(P8W48O184)(W4O16)K10Li4Mn10Na(H2O)50Cl2] 15- (Mn10W4-P8W48) has been synthesized by the reaction of the cyclic superlacunary anion [H7P8W48O184] 33− and Mn(ClO4)2.6H2O in I M LiCl soultion medium at pH 8. The isolated compound has been characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. Electrochemical studies were also performed on Mn10W4-P8W48 confirmed the presence of Mn centres bonded to the tunsgtic framework. The novel polyanion [(P8W48O184)(W4O16)K10Li4Mn10Na(H2O)50Cl2] 15- is the first example of macrocyclic complex where an isopolyanion (W4O16) 8- is embedded within in the inner cavity of the {P8W48} and is placed in position by six MnII cations as anchors. Whereas, the exocyclic coordination of the four MnII atoms to {P8W48} yields extended structure by linking neighbouring polyanions through {W−O−Mn−O−W} bridges. Further, the polyanion Mn10W4-P8W48 is the first derivative of {P8W48} with six MnII ions (largest) coordinated to the inner side the crown ring as anchors

The use of high frequency oscillations to guide neocortical resections in children with medically-intractable epilepsy: How do we ethically apply surgical innovations to patient care?

AbstractPurposeResective surgical strategies are increasingly applied to treat medically-intractable epilepsy in children as uncontrolled seizures are associated with poor cognitive, developmental and behavioral outcomes. Innovative surgical strategies are, however, needed to improve outcomes and minimize the morbidity of such procedures.MethodThe current article utilizes an axiological approach to explore and highlight ethical issues in the use of high frequency oscillations (HFOs) to guide surgical resections in children with medically-intractable epilepsy. We frame our discussion in the context of the broader challenges in the application of surgical innovation to patient care.ResultsDespite a paucity of knowledge regarding their pathogenesis, limited evidence suggests the use of HFOs as biomarkers of epileptogenicity in resective procedures can improve seizure outcome. Clinicians must therefore weigh deficiencies in knowledge against the limited evidence supporting the utility of HFOs and make ethical decisions for the treatment of individual patients. Important ethical considerations for clinicians include the extent of deviation from established practice, the extent of evidence required to establish clinical validity, and the impact of technique implementation on equitable distribution of healthcare.ConclusionThe use of HFO signatures to guide neocortical resections represents a novel approach for the treatment of epilepsy. It is hoped that the issues discussed herein will contribute to and advance meaningful dialog on the ethical application of this surgical innovation to the treatment of a very vulnerable patient population

Evaluating the stability of disulfide bridges in proteins: a torsional potential energy surface for diethyl disulfide

Disulfide bonds formed by the oxidation of cysteine residues in proteins are the major form of intra- and inter-molecular covalent linkages in the polypeptide chain. To better understand the conformational energetics of this linkage, we have used the MP2(full)/6-31G(d) method to generate a full potential energy surface (PES) for the torsion of the model compound diethyl disulfide (DEDS) around its three critical dihedral angles (&chi;2, &chi;3, &chi;2&prime;). The use of ten degree increments for each of the parameters resulted in a continuous, fine-grained surface. This allowed us to accurately predict the relative stabilities of disulfide bonds in high resolution structures from the Protein Data Bank. The MP2(full) surface showed significant qualitative differences from the PES calculated using the Amber force field. In particular, a different ordering was seen for the relative energies of the local minima. Thus, Amber energies are not reliable for comparison of the relative stabilities of disulfide bonds. Surprisingly, the surface did not show a minimum associated with &chi;2 &minus; 60&deg;, &chi;390, &chi;2&prime; &minus; 60&deg;. This is due to steric interference between H&alpha; atoms. Despite this, significant populations of disulfides were found to adopt this conformation. In most cases this conformation is associated with an unusual secondary structure motif, the cross-strand disulfide. The relative instability of cross-strand disulfides is of great interest, as they have the potential to act as functional switches in redox processes.<br /

Uganda and COVID-19: Macroeconomic Policy Responses to the Pandemic

CoMPRACoMPRACOVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization. In Uganda, as of 8 June 2021, there have been 53 964 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 383 deaths, while 768 434 vaccines have been administered. This policy briefing looks at the Ugandan government’s macroeconomic policy decisions to contain the spread of COVID-19, and the impact of these policies on the macroeconomy.IDRC | CRD