Timing verification of dynamically reconfigurable logic for Xilinx Virtex FPGA series

This paper reports on a method for extending existing VHDL design and verification software available for the Xilinx Virtex series of FPGAs. It allows the designer to apply standard hardware design and verification tools to the design of dynamically reconfigurable logic (DRL). The technique involves the conversion of a dynamic design into multiple static designs, suitable for input to standard synthesis and APR tools. For timing and functional verification after APR, the sections of the design can then be recombined into a single dynamic system. The technique has been automated by extending an existing DRL design tool named DCSTech, which is part of the Dynamic Circuit Switching (DCS) CAD framework. The principles behind the tools are generic and should be readily extensible to other architectures and CAD toolsets. Implementation of the dynamic system involves the production of partial configuration bitstreams to load sections of circuitry. The process of creating such bitstreams, the final stage of our design flow, is summarized

Morphometric approach to many-body correlations in hard spheres

We model the thermodynamics of local structures within the hard sphere liquid at arbitrary volume fractions through the \textit{morphometric} calculation of $n$-body correlations. We calculate absolute free energies of local geometric motifs in excellent quantitative agreement with molecular dynamics simulations across the liquid and supercooled liquid regimes. We find a bimodality in the density library of states where five-fold symmetric structures appear lower in free energy than four-fold symmetric structures, and from a single reaction path predict a relaxation barrier which scales linearly in the compressibility factor. The method provides a new route to assess changes in the free energy landscape at volume fractions dynamically inaccessible to conventional techniques.Comment: 6+17 pages, 3 figure

The Classification of Dirac Homogeneous Spaces

A well known result of Drinfeld classifies Poisson Lie groups $(H,\Pi)$ in terms of Lie algebraic data in the form of Manin triples $(\mathfrak{d},\mathfrak{g},\mathfrak{h})$; he also classified compatible Poisson structures on $H$-homogeneous spaces $H/K$ in terms of Lagrangian subalgebras $\mathfrak{l}\subset\mathfrak{d}$ with $\mathfrak{l}\cap\mathfrak{h}=\mathfrak{k}=\mathrm{Lie}(K)$. Using the language of Courant algebroids and groupoids, Li-Bland and Meinrenken formalized the notion of \emph{Dirac Lie groups} and classified them in terms of so-called "$H$-equivariant Dirac Manin triples" $(\mathfrak{d}, \mathfrak{g}, \mathfrak{h})_\beta$; this generalizes the first result of Drinfeld, as each Poisson Lie group gives a unique Dirac Lie group structure. In this thesis, we consider a notion of homogeneous space for Dirac Lie groups, and classify them in terms of $K$-invariant coisotropic subalgebras $\mathfrak{c}\subset\mathfrak{d}$, with $\mathfrak{c}\cap\mathfrak{h} = \mathfrak{k}$. The relation between Poisson and Dirac morphisms makes Drinfeld's second result a special case of this classification.Comment: 110 pages, PhD Thesi

An investigation into the relationship between Notch and Ero1

Ero1 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein responsible for PDI oxidation in disulphide bond formation. Recent work has shown a link between Ero1 and Notch pathway proteins. We wished to see if the oxidative folding of Notch was directly catalysed by the Ero-PDI pathway or if Ero1 was involved in transcriptional modulation of Notch signalling. Using western blot analysis, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence analysis we were able to characterise and localise relevant proteins within cells. The range of cell lines and conditions under which the Ero1 antibody 2G4 were confirmed and extended. A novel link between Ero1 and Jagged1, a notch ligand was found. In immunoprecipitation studies Ero1α was able to retrieve Jagged 1 and the opposite was also true, with Jagged 1 pulling down Ero1α as well. This suggests a novel and important link between the Ero1 and the function of the notch signalling pathway

The Interaction Of Legal Systems In The Work Of The International Criminal tribunal For The Former Yugoslavia

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Tribunal) where I work is a court with a mandate to try individuals for the most serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflict that engulfed Yugoslavia in the 1990s

Children's eating behaviours: The importance of the family setting

Childhood obesity has become a major public health challenge. Whilst it is accepted that the aetiology of obesity is complex, there is very little that targets the home environment and specifically looks at the family setting and how this influences children's eating behaviours. This research aimed to redress the balance by alerting people to the importance of the family environment as a contributory factor for childhood obesity. Using a grounded theory approach, 'Ordering of eating' highlights the importance of the family setting and demonstrates how micro and macro order influences the development of children's eating behaviours. © Journal compilation © 2008 Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)

Linking Snake Behavior to Nest Predation in a Midwestern Bird Community

Nest predators can adversely affect the viability of songbird populations, and their impact is exacerbated in fragmented habitats. Despite substantial research on this predator-prey interaction, however, almost all of the focus has been on the birds rather than their nest predators, thereby limiting our understanding of the factors that bring predators and nests into contact. We used radiotelemetry to document the activity of two snake species (rat snakes, Elaphe obsoleta; racers, Coluber constrictor) known to prey on nests in Midwestern bird communities and simultaneously monitored 300 songbird nests and tested the hypothesis that predation risk should increase for nests when snakes were more active and in edge habitat preferred by both snake species. Predation risk increased when rat snakes were more active, for all nests combined and for two of the six bird species for which we had sufficient nests to allow separate analyses. This result is consistent with rat snakes being more important nest predators than racers. We found no evidence, however, that nests closer to forest edges were at greater risk. These results are generally consistent with the one previous study that investigated rat snakes and nest predation simultaneously. The seemingly paradoxical failure to find higher predation risk in the snakes\u27 preferred habitat (i.e., edge) might be explained by the snakes using edges at least in part for non-foraging activities. We propose that higher nest predation in fragmented habitats (at least that attributable to snakes) results indirectly from edges promoting larger snake populations, rather than from edges directly increasing the risk of nest predation by snakes. If so, the notion of edges per se functioning as ecological traps merits further study