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

Mitigating the contractor's risks due to community involvement and behavioral issues in hazardous waste remediation projects

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-149).by Sumul Jitendra Shah.M.S

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

Stevens Johnson syndrome following paraquat poisoning: a case report

Paraquat is a herbicidal agent used extensively, mainly in developing countries where there is a high incidence of its poisoning. It causes damage to kidneys, lungs and liver. Reports of mucocutaneous manifestations following paraquat ingestion are rare. Here we describe a case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome(SJS) presenting in a case of paraquat ingestion. A 22 year old male was admitted to our hospital for difficulty in swallowing and micturation since ingestion of 10-15 ml of paraquat 7 days before. He had multiple hemorrhagic crusted erosions over lips and left maxillary area with diffuse erythematous erosions over bilateral buccal mucosa, palate, labial mucosa and urethral mucosa with whitish slough over them. Upper GI endoscopy revealed oral, esophageal and fundal sloughing. Patient was treated with oral corticosteroids and antibiotics which caused complete resolution of skin lesions within 15 days.Paraquat dichloride exerts its toxicity by generation of reactive oxygen species. Skin lesions following topical application of paraquat are common, but very few cases have been reported of the same after oral ingestion. SJS is caused by a variety of drugs and commonly presents with muco-cutaneous tenderness, hemorrhagic erosions and erythematous macules with 90% developing oral, genital and gastrointestinal mucosal involvement. As the oral and genital manifestations in our patient developed the day after paraquat ingestion, possibility of SJS developing due to the same are the highest. Paraquat should not be ruled out as a drug causality if mucocutaneous manifestations of SJS/TEN appear in a patient of paraquat ingestion.

Using Matching “Smarts” and Interest to Successfully Address Depression Caused by Existential Crisis

This chapter outlines the background, nature, and explanations of existential crises. An unresolved existential crisis commonly causes depression. Crises occur in periods throughout the life cycle. They usually involve careers, relationships, or identity. The resolution often requires a development of a new stage of intellectual functioning, through which people can reflect on their interests and stage. The Existential Crisis Assessment measures severity of an existential crisis. A factor analysis showed the most important items in a person’s existential crisis. My life, life in the universe, and relationships were the most important factors determining the severity of a person’s existential crisis. The first solution is to match a person to a career. Another solution is to match one person to another. Three scales are used to match people to careers and partners: (1) decision-making measures how well a person addresses tasks of increasing difficulty; (2) perspective-taking predicts how well a person understands behavior of self and others; (3) core complexity interest scale identifies the reinforcement value of engaging. A further solution is that of cognitive behavioral therapy that can be used to both treat depression and offer training on social perspective-taking, a key ingredient to resolving one’s crisis

Impact of oral contraceptives on periodontal health

Background: Oral contraceptives pills (OCPs) are common and a convenient form of contraception. The use of hormonal contraceptives by women has been considered to influence gingival and periodontal disease progression.Aim: This study was conducted to assess the effect of oral contraceptive pills on the periodontal health.Materials and method: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 200 females aged 18 years and above of Jaipur city. The study subjects were divided into two groups i.e. contraceptive users and non-contraceptive users, each group consisted 100 females. Data was collected using Modified WHO Performa (1997). Periodontal status was examined using Com- munity Periodontal Index (CPI) and Loss of Attachment (LOA). Chi-square test and one sample t-test was used for statistical analysis and P value was set (p< 0.05) as significant.Results: Mean CPI score in subjects and non-contraceptive users was 2.34+ 0.81 and 1.16+ 0.89 respectively. Mean LOA score in each group was 0.28+ 0.45 and 0.19+ 0.50 respectively.Conclusion: Oral Contraceptive pills had adverse effects on periodontal health.Keywords: Oral contraceptive, community periodontal index, loss of attachment, periodontal healt

Elemental carbon concentrations: Estimation of an historical data base

While recent advances in instrumentation permit routine determination of elemental carbon concentrations in atmospheric aerosol samples, historical data on elemental C concentrations are absent. Two methods are available for the estimation of an historical data base for elemental C concentrations: calibration of reflectance-based tape samplers and analysis of archived high volume sampler filters. These methods are described and applied to the problem of reconstructing an historical data base for elemental C concentrations in Los Angeles. Twenty-four year average elemental C concentrations at seven monitoring sites in the Los Angeles area are estimated to range from 6.4 μg m^(−3) at Downtown Los Angeles to 4.5 μg m^(−3) at West Los Angeles. At most monitoring sites studied, elemental C concentrations were lower in recent years than during the late 1950s and early 1960s

Knowledge and Attitude of Early Childhood Caries among Pediatricians and Gynecologists

ABSTRACT Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) damages the tooth, adversely affects oral cavity and general health. Gynecologists and pediatricians regularly visited by mothers during antenatal and after childbirth have important role in prevention of ECC. Methods: A cross sectional quantitative study was conducted among gynecologists and pediatricians working in various hospitals of Nepal form January 15 to March 15, 2020. The self-validated questionnaire consisted questions on demographic details, knowledge, attitude, and practices of respondents on ECC. The responses were tabulated and analyzed. Results: Total 205 out of which 132 gynecologists and 73 pediatricians participated in the study. Seventy-four percent of pediatricians examined teeth for cavities, 88 % suggest brushing twice daily and 83% referred children with oral diseases and dental caries to pediatric dentist. Majority (78%) of the respondents knew dental caries as an infectious disease and 91% thought untreated dental disease could cause systemic complications. About half (54.7%) answered first year to be ideal for the first dental visit, 51.3% thought dental visit should be every six monthly and 71.2% counselled children and parents on the importance of tooth brushing. Only 24% and 34% participants were aware of vertical transmission of bacteria and child born to a pregnant woman with dental caries could have ECC respectively. Ninety-four percent of the practitioners feel that they have a role in prevention of oral diseases.  Realizing the importance, 83% of pediatricians and gynecologists desire to take oral health training. Conclusions: Moderate knowledge and attitude about childhood caries is reported among a sample of Nepalese gynecologists and pediatricians which signifies the importance of oral health training among these groups of practitioners

GOAT: GO to Any Thing

In deployment scenarios such as homes and warehouses, mobile robots are expected to autonomously navigate for extended periods, seamlessly executing tasks articulated in terms that are intuitively understandable by human operators. We present GO To Any Thing (GOAT), a universal navigation system capable of tackling these requirements with three key features: a) Multimodal: it can tackle goals specified via category labels, target images, and language descriptions, b) Lifelong: it benefits from its past experience in the same environment, and c) Platform Agnostic: it can be quickly deployed on robots with different embodiments. GOAT is made possible through a modular system design and a continually augmented instance-aware semantic memory that keeps track of the appearance of objects from different viewpoints in addition to category-level semantics. This enables GOAT to distinguish between different instances of the same category to enable navigation to targets specified by images and language descriptions. In experimental comparisons spanning over 90 hours in 9 different homes consisting of 675 goals selected across 200+ different object instances, we find GOAT achieves an overall success rate of 83%, surpassing previous methods and ablations by 32% (absolute improvement). GOAT improves with experience in the environment, from a 60% success rate at the first goal to a 90% success after exploration. In addition, we demonstrate that GOAT can readily be applied to downstream tasks such as pick and place and social navigation