Research in the design of high-performance reconfigurable systems

An initial design for the Bit Processor (BP) referred to in prior reports as the Processing Element or PE has been completed. Eight BP's, together with their supporting random-access memory, a 64 k x 9 ROM to perform addition, routing logic, and some additional logic, constitute the components of a single stage. An initial stage design is given. Stages may be combined to perform high-speed fixed or floating point arithmetic. Stages can be configured into a range of arithmetic modules that includes bit-serial one or two-dimensional arrays; one or two dimensional arrays fixed or floating point processors; and specialized uniprocessors, such as long-word arithmetic units. One to eight BP's represent a likely initial chip level. The Stage would then correspond to a first-level pluggable module. As both this project and VLSI CAD/CAM progress, however, it is expected that the chip level would migrate upward to the stage and, perhaps, ultimately the box level. The BP RAM, consisting of two banks, holds only operands and indices. Programs are at the box (high-level function) and system level. At the system level initial effort has been concentrated on specifying the tools needed to evaluate design alternatives

Green Criminology–Law Interdisciplinarity Towards Multispecies Justice: The Case of Wildlife Trafficking in Vietnam

Green criminology provides a significant opportunity for interdisciplinary engagement to address the many environmental problems of the twenty-first century that are too complex to be solved through a single disciplinary lens. Hall (2014) has called for increased collaboration between green criminologists and legal scholars while also acknowledging that this form of interdisciplinarity is more challenging than for more traditional forms of criminology. This paper adopts Hall’s call as a starting point for a critical exploration of two areas that offer ground for collaboration: positioning analyses of environmental harm within wider regulatory frameworks and considering the ways human and non-human victims interact with ‘the mechanisms of justice’ to exercise ‘environmental rights’ (Hall 2014: 105). We examine these areas drawing on the case of wildlife trafficking in Vietnam. We argue that ‘multispecies justice’ presents a useful framework to progress green criminology–law collaborations in the Vietnamese and other contexts

Verifying timestamps of occultation observation systems

We describe an image timestamp verification system to determine the exposure timing characteristics and continuity of images made by an imaging camera and recorder, with reference to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The original use was to verify the timestamps of stellar occultation recording systems, but the system is applicable to lunar flashes, planetary transits, sprite recording, or any area where reliable timestamps are required. The system offers good temporal resolution (down to 2 msec, referred to UTC) and provides exposure duration and interframe dead time information. The system uses inexpensive, off-the- shelf components, requires minimal assembly and requires no high-voltage components or connections. We also describe an application to load FITS (and other format) image files, which can decode the verification image timestamp. Source code, wiring diagrams and built applications are provided to aid the construction and use of the device.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA

Self-aligned 0.12mm T-gate In.53Ga.47As/In.52Al.48As HEMT Technology Utilising a Non Annealed Ohmic Contact Strategy

An InGaAs/InAlAs based HEMT structure, lattice matched to an InP substrate, is presented in which drive current and transconductance has been optimized through a double-delta doping strategy. Together with an increase in channel carrier density, this allows the use of a non-annealed ohmic contact process. HEMT devices with 120 nm standard and self-aligned T-gates were fabricated using the non-annealed ohmic process. At DC, self-aligned and standard devices exhibited transconductances of up to 1480 and 1100 mS/mm respectively, while both demonstrated current densities in the range 800 mA/mm. At RF, a cutoff frequency f/sub T/ of 190 GHz was extracted for the self-aligned device. The DC characteristics of the standard devices were then calibrated and modelled using a compound semiconductor Monte Carlo device simulator. MC simulations provide insight into transport within the channel and illustrate benefits over a single delta doped structure

The impact of a fast bowling spell on physiological, perceptual and performance responses in non-elite cricketers

Background: The demands placed on fast bowlers may elicit unique responses that contribute towards increased injury risk and comprised performance capabilities. Despite this, very few investigations have attempted to quantify these demands and their impact on performance in cricketers.Objective: This investigation attempted to quantify the effects of a fast bowling protocol on the musculoskeletal, physiological and perceptual responses of fast bowlers; as well as ball speed and accuracy.Methods: Eight young adult bowlers (20 ± 2 years) participated in a 10-over bowling protocol that had been separated by intermittent fielding drills into three bowling spells respectively (4-, 3- and 3- overs). Selected responses were collected throughout the protocol.Results: Functional strength was measured and showed no change. Heart rate responses increased significantly (p<0.05) at the start of the bowling protocol. Local ratings of perceived exertion increased significantly (p<0.05) as a function of exercise duration, while low to moderate intensities of perceived discomfort were noted in the anterior and posterior shoulder areas, upper portion of the lower limb musculature, as well as in the middle and lower back regions. Performance responses experienced no significant change.Conclusion: There was no significant change in ball release speed and accuracy across the bowling protocol. Lower limb muscle power remained consistent and heart rates reached a steady state after the first over. In comparison, local ratings of perceived effort and body discomfort increased over time, which could mean that those unchanged measures do not accurately reflect fatigue or that perceptions are a more effective indicator of impending fatigue. Keywords: accuracy, speed, heart rate, body discomfort, ratings of perceived exertio

Modelling of an Oesophageal Electrode for Cardiac Function Tomography

There is a need in critical care units for continuous cardiopulmonary monitoring techniques. ECG gated electrical impedance tomography is able to localize the impedance variations occurring during the cardiac cycle. This method is a safe, inexpensive and potentially fast technique for cardiac output imaging but the spatial resolution is presently low, particularly for central locations such as the heart. Many parameters including noise deteriorate the reconstruction result. One of the main obstacles in cardiac imaging at the heart location is the high impedance of lungs and muscles on the dorsal and posterior side of body. In this study we are investigating improvements of the measurement and initial conductivity estimation of the internal electrode by modelling an internal electrode inside the esophagus. We consider 16 electrodes connected around a cylindrical mesh. With the random noise level set near 0.05% of the signal we evaluated the Graz consensus reconstruction algorithm for electrical impedance tomography. The modelling and simulation results showed that the quality of the target in reconstructed images was improved by up to 5 times for amplitude response, position error, resolution, shape deformation and ringing effects with perturbations located in cardiac related positions when using an internal electrode

Theories of physical activity behaviour change:A history and synthesis of approaches

Rebar, A ORCiD: 0000-0003-3164-993XBackground: Most people in developed countries are not physically active enough to reap optimal health benefits so effective promotion strategies are warranted. Theories of behaviour change are essential to understand physical activity and provide an organizing framework for effective intervention. The purpose of this paper was to provide a narrative historical overview of four key theoretical frameworks (social cognitive, humanistic, dual process, socioecological) that have been applied to understand and change physical activity over the last three decades. Methods: Our synthesis of research included the brief history, basic efficacy, strengths, and potential weaknesses of these approaches when applied to physical activity. Results: The dominant framework for understanding physical activity has been in the social cognitive tradition, and it has provided valuable information on key constructs linked to physical activity. The humanistic framework for understanding physical activity has seen a surge in research in the last decade and has demonstrated initial effectiveness in both explaining and intervening on behaviour. The most recent and understudied framework for understanding physical activity is dual process models, which may have promise to provide a broader perspective of motivation by considering non-conscious and hedonic determinants of physical activity. Finally, the individual-level focus of all three of these approaches is contrasted by the socioecological framework, which has seen considerable research attention in the last 15 years and has been instrumental in understanding the role of the built environment in physical activity behaviour and critical to shaping public health policy in government. Conclusions: Despite the strengths of all four frameworks, we noted several weaknesses of each approach at present and highlight several newer applications of integrated models and dynamic models that may serve to improve our understanding and promotion of physical activity over the next decade. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Eighty years of targeting androgen receptor activity in prostate cancer: the fight goes on

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer in men in the West, other than skin cancer, accounting for over a quarter of cancer diagnoses in US men. In a seminal paper from 1941, Huggins and Hodges demonstrated that prostate tumours and metastatic disease were sensitive to the presence or absence of androgenic hormones. The first hormonal therapy for PCa was thus castration. In the subsequent eighty years, targeting the androgen signalling axis, where possible using drugs rather than surgery, has been a mainstay in the treatment of advanced and metastatic disease. Androgens signal via the androgen receptor, a ligand-activated transcription factor, which is the direct target of many such drugs. In this review we discuss the role of the androgen receptor in PCa and how the combination of structural information and functional screenings is continuing to be used for the discovery of new drug to switch off the receptor or modify its function in cancer cells

The Evolutionarily Conserved Mediator Subunit MDT-15/MED15 Links Protective Innate Immune Responses and Xenobiotic Detoxification

Metazoans protect themselves from environmental toxins and virulent pathogens through detoxification and immune responses. We previously identified a small molecule xenobiotic toxin that extends survival of Caenorhabditis elegans infected with human bacterial pathogens by activating the conserved p38 MAP kinase PMK-1 host defense pathway. Here we investigate the cellular mechanisms that couple activation of a detoxification response to innate immunity. From an RNAi screen of 1,420 genes expressed in the C. elegans intestine, we identified the conserved Mediator subunit MDT-15/MED15 and 28 other gene inactivations that abrogate the induction of PMK-1-dependent immune effectors by this small molecule. We demonstrate that MDT-15/MED15 is required for the xenobiotic-induced expression of p38 MAP kinase PMK-1-dependent immune genes and protection from Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. We also show that MDT-15 controls the induction of detoxification genes and functions to protect the host from bacteria-derived phenazine toxins. These data define a central role for MDT-15/MED15 in the coordination of xenobiotic detoxification and innate immune responses

Quality classification affects firmness of ground beef patties from the chuck roll

Consumers often use color as the main criteria in selecting meat products, and they associate a bright red color with freshness. Longer display life without discoloration can result in more opportunities to sell the product and greater potential for profit. Flavor, juiciness, and tenderness are also associated with consumer satisfaction. Although grinding offers an opportunity to mechanically minimize differences in tenderness, product quality can affect these sensory properties of ground beef. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of three quality classifications and their combinations on ground beef patty display color stability and sensory attributes evaluated by a trained sensory panel and consumer panel