A Case Study on Multi-Softcore Aided Hardware Architectures for Powerline MAC-Layer

Powerline communication is a promising technology for connecting Internet of Things (IoT) applications, where devices have strict limitations regarding available installation space and power dissipation. Especially the wiring of these devices benefits from not having additional cables for network connection. Thus, saving costs and additional installation effort. In this paper a very resource-efficient implementation of a HomePlug 1.0.1 [5] compatible powerline MAC layer, which is used to control the data flow and link status of a powerline connection, is presented. The MAC layer is implemented in two variants, using state machines and softcore processors. A comparison of the two approaches shows that the softcore design used up to 78 % less FPGA ressources and is superior in terms of flexibility and maintainability

The Hubbard model within the equations of motion approach

The Hubbard model has a special role in Condensed Matter Theory as it is considered as the simplest Hamiltonian model one can write in order to describe anomalous physical properties of some class of real materials. Unfortunately, this model is not exactly solved except for some limits and therefore one should resort to analytical methods, like the Equations of Motion Approach, or to numerical techniques in order to attain a description of its relevant features in the whole range of physical parameters (interaction, filling and temperature). In this manuscript, the Composite Operator Method, which exploits the above mentioned analytical technique, is presented and systematically applied in order to get information about the behavior of all relevant properties of the model (local, thermodynamic, single- and two- particle ones) in comparison with many other analytical techniques, the above cited known limits and numerical simulations. Within this approach, the Hubbard model is shown to be also capable to describe some anomalous behaviors of the cuprate superconductors.Comment: 232 pages, more than 300 figures, more than 500 reference

Phase 1 Trials of rVSV Ebola Vaccine in Africa and Europe.

BACKGROUND: The replication-competent recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV)-based vaccine expressing a Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) glycoprotein was selected for rapid safety and immunogenicity testing before its use in West Africa. METHODS: We performed three open-label, dose-escalation phase 1 trials and one randomized, double-blind, controlled phase 1 trial to assess the safety, side-effect profile, and immunogenicity of rVSV-ZEBOV at various doses in 158 healthy adults in Europe and Africa. All participants were injected with doses of vaccine ranging from 300,000 to 50 million plaque-forming units (PFU) or placebo. RESULTS: No serious vaccine-related adverse events were reported. Mild-to-moderate early-onset reactogenicity was frequent but transient (median, 1 day). Fever was observed in up to 30% of vaccinees. Vaccine viremia was detected within 3 days in 123 of the 130 participants (95%) receiving 3 million PFU or more; rVSV was not detected in saliva or urine. In the second week after injection, arthritis affecting one to four joints developed in 11 of 51 participants (22%) in Geneva, with pain lasting a median of 8 days (interquartile range, 4 to 87); 2 self-limited cases occurred in 60 participants (3%) in Hamburg, Germany, and Kilifi, Kenya. The virus was identified in one synovial-fluid aspirate and in skin vesicles of 2 other vaccinees, showing peripheral viral replication in the second week after immunization. ZEBOV-glycoprotein-specific antibody responses were detected in all the participants, with similar glycoprotein-binding antibody titers but significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers at higher doses. Glycoprotein-binding antibody titers were sustained through 180 days in all participants. CONCLUSIONS: In these studies, rVSV-ZEBOV was reactogenic but immunogenic after a single dose and warrants further evaluation for safety and efficacy. (Funded by the Wellcome Trust and others; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT02283099, NCT02287480, and NCT02296983; Pan African Clinical Trials Registry number, PACTR201411000919191.)

The neoTRNG V2 - A Tiny and Platform-Independent True Random Number Generator for any FPGA.

<p>All-new design </p> <ul> <li>smaller hardware footprint</li> <li>simpler configuration (less generics)</li> <li>better documentation</li> <li>improved random quality</li> </ul>If you use this project, please cite it as below

The NEORV32 RISC-V Processor

<h2>What's Changed</h2> <ul> <li>Update software framework to gcc-13.2.0 by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/705</li> <li>[cpu] minor cleanups and optimizations by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/707</li> <li>⚠️ remove Zifencei generic - Zifencei ISA extension is now always enabled by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/709</li> <li>[sw/lib] add nerov32-flavored vprintf funtion by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/711</li> <li>[sim] Add GHDL run flags variable by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/715</li> <li>Move FreeRTOS port & demo into new repository by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/716</li> <li>Fix bug in neorv32_slink_available() function by @Unike267 in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/717</li> <li>[rtl] cleanups and code beautification by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/718</li> <li>[sw] update crt0's early-boot trap handler by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/719</li> <li>[rtl] upgrade neoTRNG to version 3 by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/721</li> <li>Fix-up the litex wrapper by @Unike267 in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/722</li> <li>minor rtl code cleanups by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/723</li> <li> provide full hardware reset for all FFs by @stnolting in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/724</li> </ul> <h2>New Contributors</h2> <ul> <li>@Unike267 made their first contribution in https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/pull/717</li> </ul> <p><strong>Full Changelog</strong>: https://github.com/stnolting/neorv32/compare/v1.9.0...v1.9.1</p>If you are using this project, please cite it as below

Evaluation of Different Processor Architecture Organizations for On-Site Electronics in Harsh Environments

Microcontroller units used in harsh environmental conditions are manufactured using large semiconductor technology nodes in order to provide reliable operation, even at high temperatures or increased radiation exposition. These large technology nodes imply high gate propagation delays, drastically reducing the system’s performance. When reducing area costs and power consumption, the actual processor architecture becomes a major design point. Depending on the application characteristics (i.e., inherent data parallelisms, type of arithmetic,..), several parameters like data path width, instruction execution paradigm, or other architectural design mechanisms have to be considered. This paper presents a design space exploration of five different architectures implemented for a 0.18µm SOI CMOS technology for high temperature using an exemplary case study from the fields of communication, i.e., Reed-Solomon encoder. For this algorithm, an application-specific configuration of a transport-triggered architecture has 37.70x of the performance of a standard 8-bit microcontroller while the silicon area is increased by 4.10x.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Do patient characteristics predict outcome of psychodynamic psychotheraphie for social anxiety disorder?

Objectives Little is known about patient characteristics as predictors for outcome in manualized short term psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT). No study has addressed which patient variables predict outcome of PDT for social anxiety disorder. Research Design and Methods In the largest multicenter trial on psychotherapy of social anxiety (SA) to date comparing cognitive therapy, PDT and wait list condition N = 230 patients were assigned to receive PDT, of which N = 166 completed treatment. Treatment outcome was assessed based on diverse parameters such as endstate functioning, remission, response, and drop-out. The relationship between patient characteristics (demographic variables, mental co-morbidity, personality, interpersonal problems) and outcome was analysed using logistic and linear regressions. Results Pre-treatment SA predicted up to 39 percent of variance of outcome. Only few additional baseline characteristics predicted better treatment outcome (namely, lower comorbidity and interpersonal problems) with a limited proportion of incremental variance (5.5 to 10 percent), while, e.g., shame, self-esteem or harm avoidance did not. Conclusions We argue that the central importance of pre-treatment symptom severity for predicting outcomes should advocate alternative treatment strategies (e.g. longer treatments, combination of psychotherapy and medication) in those who are most disturbed. Given the relatively small amount of variance explained by the other patient characteristics, process variables and patient-therapist interaction should additionally be taken into account in future research

Do Patient Characteristics Predict Outcome of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Social Anxiety Disorder?

OBJECTIVES:Little is known about patient characteristics as predictors for outcome in manualized short term psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT). No study has addressed which patient variables predict outcome of PDT for social anxiety disorder. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:In the largest multicenter trial on psychotherapy of social anxiety (SA) to date comparing cognitive therapy, PDT and wait list condition N = 230 patients were assigned to receive PDT, of which N = 166 completed treatment. Treatment outcome was assessed based on diverse parameters such as endstate functioning, remission, response, and drop-out. The relationship between patient characteristics (demographic variables, mental co-morbidity, personality, interpersonal problems) and outcome was analysed using logistic and linear regressions. RESULTS:Pre-treatment SA predicted up to 39 percent of variance of outcome. Only few additional baseline characteristics predicted better treatment outcome (namely, lower comorbidity and interpersonal problems) with a limited proportion of incremental variance (5.5 to 10 percent), while, e.g., shame, self-esteem or harm avoidance did not. CONCLUSIONS:We argue that the central importance of pre-treatment symptom severity for predicting outcomes should advocate alternative treatment strategies (e.g. longer treatments, combination of psychotherapy and medication) in those who are most disturbed. Given the relatively small amount of variance explained by the other patient characteristics, process variables and patient-therapist interaction should additionally be taken into account in future research. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN53517394

Reliability, validity and responsiveness of the EQ-5D in assessing and valuing health status in patients with social phobia

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the EQ-5D in patients with social phobia. Methods: We used a sample of 445 patients with social phobia with five measurement points over a 30 month period. The discriminative ability of the EQ-5D was analysed by comparing the patients' responses with the general population and between different disease severity levels. For test-retest reliability we assessed the level of agreement in patients' responses over time, when there was no change in the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Construct validity was analysed by identifying correlations of the EQ-5D with more specific instruments. For responsiveness we compared the means of EQ VAS/EQ-5D index anchored on improved (deteriorated) health status and computed effect sizes as well as a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: Compared to the general population, patients with social phobia reported more problems in the dimensions "usual activities", "pain/discomfort", and "anxiety/depression" and less problems in "mobility" and "self-care". The EQ-5D was able to distinguish between different disease severity levels. The test-retest reliability was moderate (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.6). Correlations between the EQ-5D and other instruments were mostly small except for correlations with Beck Depression Inventory. The EQ-5D index seemed to be more responsive than the EQ VAS, but with only medium effect sizes (0.5 < effect size < 0.8) in the British EQ-5D index and only significant in patients with improved health status. The ROC analysis revealed no significant results. Conclusions: The EQ-5D was moderately reliable and responsive in patients with improved health status. Construct validity was limited. Trial registration: Current controlled trials ISRCTN53517394