Incorporation of covariates in simultaneous localization of two linked loci using affected relative pairs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many dichotomous traits for complex diseases are often involved more than one locus and/or associated with quantitative biomarkers or environmental factors. Incorporating these quantitative variables into linkage analysis as well as localizing two linked disease loci simultaneously could therefore improve the efficiency in mapping genes. We extended the robust multipoint Identity-by-Descent (IBD) approach with incorporation of covariates developed previously to simultaneously estimate two linked loci using different types of affected relative pairs (ARPs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We showed that the efficiency was enhanced by incorporating a quantitative covariate parametrically or non-parametrically while localizing two disease loci using ARPs. In addition to its help in identifying factors associated with the disease and in improving the efficiency in estimating disease loci, this extension also allows investigators to account for heterogeneity in risk-ratios for different ARPs. Data released from the collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (COGA) for Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW 14) were used to illustrate the application of this extended method.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The simulation studies and example illustrated that the efficiency in estimating disease loci was demonstratively enhanced by incorporating a quantitative covariate and by using all relative pairs while mapping two linked loci simultaneously.</p

Statistical screening for IC Trojan detection

We present statistical screening of test vectors for detecting a Trojan, malicious circuitry hidden inside an integrated circuit (IC). When applied a test vector, a Trojan-embedded chip draws extra leakage current that is unfortunately too small for the detector in most cases and concealed by process variation related to chip fabrication. To remedy the problem, we formulate a statistical approach that can screen and select test vectors in detecting Trojans. We validate our approach analytically and with gate-level simulations and show that our screening method leads to a substantial reduction in false positives and false negatives when detecting IC Trojans of various sizes.Engineering and Applied Science

The correlation between the capacity fade of LiFePO4 batteries and cycle life

A new model is developed by fitting the capacity of LiFePO$_4$ batteries, which can be used to investigate the relationship between capacity fade, state of health (SoH), electrochemical reactions and the number of cycles. The equation for the proposed model based on modified Thevenin circuit, Butler-Volmer kinetics and regression analysis consists of a constant term, a sine-exponential term and an exponential term. The constant term represents the rated capacity of a battery, while the sine-exponential term represents the variation in capacity in the active status and the exponential term represents the variation in capacity in the stable status. The model is divided into two parts. The first part is represented by the sine-exponential term, responsive to the activation of electrolyte and electrodes in the first 180 cycles; the second part can be described by the exponential term, estimating the capacity from cycle 180 to cycle 2000. In addition, the comparison between the model and mean absolute percentage error (mape) is able to predict the serious decay of capacity. The MAPE is only 0.47% for the tested battery. The proposed model also successfully estimates the capacity of a tested battery where the number of cycles is 2000 with the error of 0.90%. The results mean that the model is able to closely describe the correlation between capacity and the cycle numbers. References M. Zhao, G. Huang, W. Zhang, H. Zhang and X. Song, Electrochemical behaviors of limn1-xfexpo4$/$c cathode materials in an aqueous electrolyte with/without dissolved oxygen, Energy and Fuels 27 (2013), 2:1162-1167. doi:10.1021/ef301893b Y.-C. Wang, F.-M. Ni and T.-L. Lee, Hybrid modulation of bidirectional three-phase dual-active-bridge dc converters for electric vehicles, Energies 9 (2016), no. 7, 492. doi:10.3390/en9070492 A. H. N. Galapitage and P. Pudney, Scheduling electric vehicles with shared charging stations, ANZIAM Journal 57 (2016), 208. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v57i0.10443 T. Zhu, H. T. Min, Y. B. Yu, Z. M. Zhao, T. Xu, Y. Chen, X. Y. Li and C. Zhang, An optimized energy management strategy for preheating vehicle-mounted li-ion batteries at subzero temperatures, Energies 10 (2017), no. 2. doi:24310.3390/en10020243 K. M. Tsang and W. L. Chan, State of health detection for lithium ion batteries in photovoltaic system, Energ Convers Manage 65 (2013), 7-12. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2012.07.006 Z. Rao, S. Wang, M. Wu, Z. Lin and F. Li, Experimental investigation on thermal management of electric vehicle battery with heat pipe, Energ Convers Manage 65 (2013), 92-97. doi:0.1016/j.enconman.2012.08.014 A. Nikolian, Y. Firouz, R. Gopalakrishnan, J.-M. Timmermans, N. Omar, P. van den Bossche and J. van Mierlo, Lithium ion batteries-development of advanced electrical equivalent circuit models for nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion, Energies 9 (2016), no. 5, 360. doi:10.3390/en9050360 Z. Gao, C. Chin, W. Woo and J. Jia, Integrated equivalent circuit and thermal model for simulation of temperature-dependent lifepo_4 battery in actual embedded application, Energies 10 (2017), no. 1, 85. doi:10.3390/en10010085 S.-Y. Lee, W.-L. Chiu, Y.-S. Liao, K.-Y. Lee, J.-H. Chen, H.-J. Lin and K. Li, Modified empirical fitting of the discharge behavior of lifepo_4 batteries under various conditions, ANZIAM Journal textbf55 (2014), 368. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v55i0.8182 C.-Y. Chung, K.-Y. Lee, T.-J. Kuo, Z.-Y. Lin, S.-D. Wu, C. Fu, Mathematical fitting for the variation in capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries corresponding to cycles, ANZIAM Journal 57 (2016), 291. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v57i0.10436 T. Zahid and W. Li, A comparative study based on the least square parameter identification method for state of charge estimation of a lifepo_4 battery pack using three model-based algorithms for electric vehicles, Energies 9 (2016), no. 9, 720. doi:10.3390/en9090720 T. Sasaki, Y. Ukyo and P. Novak, Memory effect in a lithium-ion battery, Nat Mater 12 (2013), no. 6, 569-575. doi:10.1038/nmat3623 B. R. Tiwari and M. M. Ghangrekar, Enhancing electrogenesis by pretreatment of mixed anaerobic sludge to be used as inoculum in microbial fuel cells, Energy $and$ Fuels 29 (2015), no. 5, 3518-3524. doi:10.1021/ef5028197 P. Bai and M. Z. Bazant, Charge transfer kinetics at the solid-solid interface in porous electrodes, Nat Commun 5 (2014), 3585. doi:10.1021/ef990039t A. Eddahech, O. Briat and J.-M. Vinassa, Determination of lithium-ion battery state-of-health based on constant-voltage charge phase, Journal of Power Sources 258 (2014), 218-227. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.02.020 R. Castaing, Y. Reynier, N. Dupre, D. Schleich, S. J. S. Larbi, D. Guyomard and P. Moreau Degradation diagnosis of aged li4ti5012-lifepo_4 batteries, Journal of Power Sources 267 (2014), 744-752. doi:10.1016/jpowsour.2014.06.002 H. Bulter, F. Peters, J. Schwenzel and G. Wittstock, In situ quantification of the swelling of graphite composite electrodes by scanning electrochemical microscopy, J Electrochem Soc 163 (2016), no. 2, A27-A34. doi:10.1149/2.1061514je

A Chip Architecture for Compressive Sensing Based Detection of IC Trojans

We present a chip architecture for a compressive sensing based method that can be used in conjunction with the JTAG standard to detect IC Trojans. The proposed architecture compresses chip output resulting from a large number of test vectors applied to a circuit under test (CUT). We describe our designs in sensing leakage power, computing random linear combinations under compressive sensing, and piggybacking these new functionalities on JTAG. Our architecture achieves approximately a 10× speedup and 1000× reduction in output bandwidth while incurring a small area overhead.Engineering and Applied Science

3510-V 390-m Omega . cm(2) 4H-SiC Lateral JFET on a Semi-Insulating Substrate

The performance of high-voltage 4H-SiC lateral JFETs on a semi-insulating substrate is reported in this letter. The design of the voltage-supporting layers is based on the charge compensation of p- and n-type epilayers. The best measured breakdown voltage is 3510 V, which, to the authors\u27 knowledge, is the highest value ever reported for SiC lateral switching devices. The R-on of this device is 390 m Omega . cm(2), in which 61% is due to the drift-region resistance. The BV2/R-on is 32 MW/cm(2), which is typical among other reported SiC lateral devices

Modified empirical fitting of the discharge behavior of LiFePO4_4 batteries under various conditions

A mathematical model is developed by fitting the discharge curve of a new LiFePO$_4$ battery and then used to investigate the relationship between the discharge time and the closed-circuit voltage. This model consists of exponential and polynomial terms where the exponential term dominates the discharge time of a battery and the polynomial term dominates the change in the closed-circuit voltage. Time shift and time scale processes modify the exponential and polynomial terms, respectively, so that the model is suitable for batteries under various conditions. References W. Su, H. Eichi, W. Zeng and M.-Y. Chow, A survey on the electrification of transportation in a smart grid environment, IEEE Intl. Conf. Ind. I. 8:1&ndash;10, 2012. doi:10.1109/TII.2011.2172454 J. Wang, Z. Sun and X. Wei, Performance and characteristic research in LiFePO$_4$ battery for electric vehicle applications, IEEE Vehicle Power 1657&ndash;1661, 2009. doi:10.1109/VPPC.2009.5289664 A. Shafiei, A. Momeni and S. S. Williamson, Battery modeling approaches and management techniques for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, IEEE Vehicle Power 1&ndash;5, 2011. doi:10.1109/VPPC.2011.6043191 P. Bai, D. A. Cogswell and M. Z. Bazant, Suppression of phase separation in LiFePO$_4$ nanoparticles during battery discharge, Nano Lett. 11:4890&ndash;4896, 2011. doi:10.1021/nl202764f H. L. Chan and D. Sutanto, A new battery model for use with battery energy storage systems and electric vehicle power systems, IEEE Power Eng. Soc. 1:470&ndash;475, 2000. doi:10.1109/PESW.2000.850009 T. Kim and W. Qiao, A hybrid battery model capable of capturing dynamic circuit characteristics and nonlinear capacity effects, IEEE T. Energy Conver. 26:1172&ndash;1180, 2011. doi:10.1109/TEC.2011.2167014 D. N. Rakhmatov and S. B. K. Vrudhula, An analytical high-level battery model for use in energy management of portable electronic systems, IEEE ICCAD 488&ndash;493, 2001. doi:10.1109/ICCAD.2001.968687 V. Srinivasan and J. Newman, Discharge model for the lithium iron-phosphate electrode, J. Electrochem. Soc. 151:A1517&ndash;A1529, 2004. doi:10.1149/1.1785012 V. Rao, G. Singhal, A. Kumar and N. Navet, Battery model for embedded systems, VLSI Des. 105&ndash;110, 2005. doi:10.1109/ICVD.2005.61 S. Dargavillez and T. W. Farrell, Predicting active material utilization in LiFePO$_4$ electrodes using a multiscale mathematical model, J. Electrochem. Soc. 157:A830&ndash;A840, 2010. doi:10.1149/1.3425620 R. Rao, S. Vrudhula and D. N. Rakhmatov, Battery modeling for energy-aware system design, Computer 36:77&ndash;87, 2003. doi:10.1109/MC.2003.1250886 M. Chen and G. A. Rincon-Mora, Accurate electrical battery model capable of predicting runtime and i-v performance, IEEE T. Energy Conver. 21:504&ndash;511, 2006. doi:10.1109/TEC.2006.874229 L. Gao, S. Liu and R. A. Dougal, Dynamic lithium-ion battery model for system simulation, IEEE T. Compon. Pack. T. 25:495&ndash;505, 2002. doi:10.1109/TCAPT.2002.803653 V. Agarwal, K. Uthaichana, R. A. DeCarlo and L. H. Tsoukalas, Development and validation of a battery model useful for discharging and charging power control and lifetime estimation, IEEE T. Energy Conver. 25:821&ndash;835, 2010. doi:10.1109/TEC.2010.2043106 B. Schweighofer, K. M. Raab and G. Brasseur, Modeling of high power automotive batteries by the use of an automated test system, IEEE T. Instrum. Meas. 52:1087&ndash;1091, 2003. doi:10.1109/TIM.2003.81482

Analysis of Surgically Treated Intraspinal Tumors in Southern Taiwan

The medical records of 117 patients with spinal tumors who underwent surgery with pathologic confirmation from January 1999 to April 2004 at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital were reviewed. Data from this review were compared with those obtained from the same institution 10 years earlier (covering the period 1988-1995) and from other reported series. There were 69 male and 48 female patients aged from 13 to 87 years old (mean age, 51.9). The most common pathologic findings were metastasis in 45.3% (53/117), nerve sheath tumors in 28.2% (33/117), menin-giomas in 12% (14/117) and neuroepithelial tumors in 6% (7/117). The peak ages at diagnosis were 41-50 years and 61–70 years. A slight male predominance was noted for all tumors, except meningiomas. Motor weakness, even paralysis, was the major clinical presentation (64–86%), followed by sensory deficits (50%) and pain (42%). The location of tumors was most often in the thoracic (50.4%; 59/117), lumbosacral (27.4%; 32/117) and cervical spine (22.2%; 26/117) segments. Among the metastatic tumors, the lung (22.6%) and breast (15.1%) were the most common primary sites of origin, followed by unknown origin, the liver (hepatocellular carcinoma), the gastrointestinal tract and the nasopharynx (nasopharyngeal cancer)

Physical ergonomics in peripheral nerve block

The understanding of ergonomics is a vital competency for all peripheral nerve block operators. The essence of physical ergonomics for peripheral nerve block procedures can be summarised into three significant components: brain, musculoskeletal and needling. The first component includes strategies to optimise visuospatial neuroprocessing using equipment configuration. The second component reflects the careful planning of posture and position to improve procedural technique and reduce physical fatigue. The final component focuses on strategies to achieve needle beam alignment for optimal needle visualisation

Ultrasmall all-optical plasmonic switch and its application to superresolution imaging

Because of their exceptional local-field enhancement and ultrasmall mode volume, plasmonic components can integrate photonics and electronics at nanoscale, and active control of plasmons is the key. However, all-optical modulation of plasmonic response with nanometer mode volume and unity modulation depth is still lacking. Here we show that scattering from a plasmonic nanoparticle, whose volume is smaller than 0.001 μm3, can be optically switched off with less than 100 μW power. Over 80% modulation depth is observed, and shows no degradation after repetitive switching. The spectral bandwidth approaches 100 nm. The underlying mechanism is suggested to be photothermal effects, and the effective single-particle nonlinearity reaches nearly 10−9 m2/W, which is to our knowledge the largest record of metallic materials to date. As a novel application, the non-bleaching and unlimitedly switchable scattering is used to enhance optical resolution to λ/5 (λ/9 after deconvolution), with 100-fold less intensity requirement compared to similar superresolution techniques. Our work not only opens up a new field of ultrasmall all-optical control based on scattering from a single nanoparticle, but also facilitates superresolution imaging for long-term observation