Electrically reconfigurable logic array

To compose the complicated systems using algorithmically specialized logic circuits or processors, one solution is to perform relational computations such as union, division and intersection directly on hardware. These relations can be pipelined efficiently on a network of processors having an array configuration. These processors can be designed and implemented with a few simple cells. In order to determine the state-of-the-art in Electrically Reconfigurable Logic Array (ERLA), a survey of the available programmable logic array (PLA) and the logic circuit elements used in such arrays was conducted. Based on this survey some recommendations are made for ERLA devices

Medical Negligence: Law and Interpretation

Negligence by doctors has to be determined by judges who are not trained in medical science. They rely on experts’ opinion and decide on the basis of basic principles of reasonableness and prudence. This brings into a lot of subjectivity into the decision and the effort is to reduce it and have certain objective criteria. This may sound simple but is tremendously difficult as medical profession evolves and experimentation helps in its evolution. Thus, there is a constant tussle between the established procedures and innovative methods. But, innovation simply for the sake of being different, without any reason is not acceptable. And, these issues make it extremely challenging to decide negligence by doctors. The paper examines the concept of negligence in medical profession in the light of interpretation of law by the Supreme Court of India and the idea of the ‘reasonable man’.

Generating aerosols for laser velocimeter seeding

The laser velocimeter (LV) is a unique tool for fluid flow measurements. In such measurements, even though the fluid velocity is of primary interest, the LV signal originates from seed particles present in the fluid and the LV actually measures the velocity of these particles. Thus it is important that a sufficient number of seed particles be present in the fluid and they scatter sufficient light to produce LV signals. Also, the seed particles should follow the fluid with high fidelity. Aerodynamic diameter is the true measure of a particle's ability to follow the flow. The aerodynamic diameter of a particle is defined as the diameter of a unit density sphere with same settling velocity as the particle in question. It is affected by geometric diameter, density and shape of the particle. For LV seeding, particles with smaller aerodynamic diameter are desirable because they follow the flow more readily. On the other hand, in general, the particle's ability to scatter light increases with its geometric diameter and its refractive index

An Efficient Algorithm for Computing High-Quality Paths amid Polygonal Obstacles

We study a path-planning problem amid a set $\mathcal{O}$ of obstacles in $\mathbb{R}^2$, in which we wish to compute a short path between two points while also maintaining a high clearance from $\mathcal{O}$; the clearance of a point is its distance from a nearest obstacle in $\mathcal{O}$. Specifically, the problem asks for a path minimizing the reciprocal of the clearance integrated over the length of the path. We present the first polynomial-time approximation scheme for this problem. Let $n$ be the total number of obstacle vertices and let $\varepsilon \in (0,1]$. Our algorithm computes in time $O(\frac{n^2}{\varepsilon ^2} \log \frac{n}{\varepsilon})$ a path of total cost at most $(1+\varepsilon)$ times the cost of the optimal path.Comment: A preliminary version of this work appear in the Proceedings of the 27th Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithm

Experimental study of two separating turbulent boundary layers

A detailed study of two strong adverse pressure gradient flows, one with a free-stream velocity of 35 m/sec, at throat (producing a Re sub theta of 27000 at detachment) and another with free-stream velocity of 22 m/sec, at throat (producing a Re sub theta of 19000 at detachment) is presented. In these examples flows separate slowly and reattach very rapidly over a very short distance in a streamwise direction. In the backflow region, there appears to be a semi-logarithmically flat region in the streamwise fluctuating velocity component, u', which spreads over a definite range of y/delta. In power spectra, the flow variables phi sub upsilon upsilon (kappa sub 1 delta)/ -uv bar sub max vs. kappa sub 1 delta forms a unique set of scaling parameters for adverse pressure gradient flows. Experimental results show good agreement with previous studies