CMOS foveal image sensor chip

A foveal image sensor integrated circuit comprising a plurality of CMOS active pixel sensors arranged both within and about a central fovea region of the chip. The pixels in the central fovea region have a smaller size than the pixels arranged in peripheral rings about the central region. A new photocharge normalization scheme and associated circuitry normalizes the output signals from the different size pixels in the array. The pixels are assembled into a multi-resolution rectilinear foveal image sensor chip using a novel access scheme to reduce the number of analog RAM cells needed. Localized spatial resolution declines monotonically with offset from the imager's optical axis, analogous to biological foveal vision

Hardware Design Rule Checker Using a CAM Architecture

This paper presents a hardware implementation of design rule checker using a specialized Content Addressable Memory(CAM) for the Manhattan geometric designs. Two dimensional relationships between rectangular objects in a design are checked with one dimensional design rules. The input data is processed by the pixel pre-processor in such a way that direct comparison between the input data and the stored rules in the CAM is possible. The comparison by the CAM reduces the number of memory references and logic operations of pattern matching and the simple architecture of the system enables a low cost implementation

Gamma, X-ray and neutron shielding properties of boron polymers

271-276We have studied the X-ray and gamma radiation shielding parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, Half Value Layer (HVL), Tenth Value Layer (TVL), effective atomic number and electron density in some boron polymers of different boron based polymers [ Polymer A-PolyBorazylene (B3N3H4), Polymer B- 4-Vinylphenyl Boronic acid (C8H9O2B), Polymer C- Borazine (B3N3H6), Polymer D- 3-Acrylamidophenylboronic acid (C9H10BNO3) Polymer E-Phenylethenylboronic acid (C14H19BO2), Polymer F- 4-Aminophenylboronic acid (C12H18BNO2) and Polymer G- 3- Aminophenylboronic acid (C6H8BNO2)]. We have also studied the neutron shielding properties such as coherent neutron scattering length, incoherent neutron scattering lengths, coherent neutron scattering cross section, incoherent neutron scattering cross sections, total neutron scattering cross section and neutron absorption cross sections in the boron polymers. We have compared the shielding properties among the studied different boron polymers. From the detail study, it is clear that the boron polymer Phenylethenylboronic acid is good absorber for X-ray, gamma radiation and neutron. Hence, we suggest that the boron polymer Phenylethenylboronic acid is good shielding material for X-ray, gamma and neutrons

Induction Heating for Variably Sized Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Materials through Load Modulation

Induction heating (IH) is a process of heating the electrically conducting materials especially ferromagnetic materials with the help of electromagnetic induction through generating heat in an object by eddy currents. A well-entrenched way of IH is to design a heating system pertaining to the usage of ferromagnetic materials such as stainless steel, iron, etc., which restricts the end user’s choice of using utensils made of ferromagnetic only. This research article proposes a new scheme of induction heating that is equally effective for heating ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic materials such as aluminium and copper. This is achieved by having a competent IH system that embodies a series resonant inverter and controller where a competent flexible load modulation (FLM) is deployed. FLM facilitates change in operating frequency in accordance with the type of material chosen for heating. The recent attempts by researchers on all metal IH have not addressed much on the variable shapes and sizes of the material, whereas this research attempts to address that issue as well. The proposed induction heating system is verified for a 2 kW system and is compatible with both industrial and domestic applications

A single-coil multi-tapped PDM-based induction heating system for domestic applications

The conventional heating system is inefficient as the major part of the heating coil lies out-side the vessel it is placed on. This research article proposes a new single-coil multi-tapped induction heating system. This novel induction heating system is facilitated by a half-bridge resonant converter controlled by zero-voltage switching (ZVS). The multi-tapping winding system ensures an effective heat transfer between the coil and the working vessel with the windings of the induction coil segmented to an equivalent size of the vessel. The pulse density modulation (PDM) scheme employed here as the control proves to be the most versatile one. The whole system is duly simulated for an 850 W IH setup in MATLAB Simulink and implemented as a hardware prototype using a half-bridge resonant converter. The control pulses are developed through the PDM in a PIC16F877A controller. The simulation and experimental results prove the credibility of the proposed induction heating (IH) scheme, and during heavy loading conditions, it outperforms the single-coil IH system by gaining an efficiency of 89.29

A single-coil multi-tapped PDM-based induction heating system for domestic applications

The conventional heating system is inefficient as the major part of the heating coil lies out-side the vessel it is placed on. This research article proposes a new single-coil multi-tapped induction heating system. This novel induction heating system is facilitated by a half-bridge resonant converter controlled by zero-voltage switching (ZVS). The multi-tapping winding system ensures an effective heat transfer between the coil and the working vessel with the windings of the induction coil segmented to an equivalent size of the vessel. The pulse density modulation (PDM) scheme employed here as the control proves to be the most versatile one. The whole system is duly simulated for an 850 W IH setup in MATLAB Simulink and implemented as a hardware prototype using a half-bridge resonant converter. The control pulses are developed through the PDM in a PIC16F877A controller. The simulation and experimental results prove the credibility of the proposed induction heating (IH) scheme, and during heavy loading conditions, it outperforms the single-coil IH system by gaining an efficiency of 89.29

Gamma, X-ray and neutron shielding properties of boron polymers

We have studied the X-ray and gamma radiation shielding parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, Half Value Layer (HVL), Tenth Value Layer (TVL), effective atomic number and electron density in some boron polymers of different boron based polymers [ Polymer A-PolyBorazylene (B3N3H4), Polymer B- 4-Vinylphenyl Boronic acid (C8H9O2B), Polymer C- Borazine (B3N3H6), Polymer D- 3-Acrylamidophenylboronic acid (C9H10BNO3) Polymer E-Phenylethenylboronic acid (C14H19BO2), Polymer F- 4-Aminophenylboronic acid (C12H18BNO2) and Polymer G- 3- Aminophenylboronic acid (C6H8BNO2)]. We have also studied the neutron shielding properties such as coherent neutron scattering length, incoherent neutron scattering lengths, coherent neutron scattering cross section, incoherent neutron scattering cross sections, total neutron scattering cross section and neutron absorption cross sections in the boron polymers. We have compared the shielding properties among the studied different boron polymers. From the detail study, it is clear that the boron polymer Phenylethenylboronic acid is good absorber for X-ray, gamma radiation and neutron. Hence, we suggest that the boron polymer Phenylethenylboronic acid is good shielding material for X-ray, gamma and neutrons

Scalable noninvasive amplicon-based precision sequencing (SNAPseq) for genetic diagnosis and screening of β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease using a next-generation sequencing platform

β-hemoglobinopathies such as β-thalassemia (BT) and Sickle cell disease (SCD) are inherited monogenic blood disorders with significant global burden. Hence, early and affordable diagnosis can alleviate morbidity and reduce mortality given the lack of effective cure. Currently, Sanger sequencing is considered to be the gold standard genetic test for BT and SCD, but it has a very low throughput requiring multiple amplicons and more sequencing reactions to cover the entire HBB gene. To address this, we have demonstrated an extraction-free single amplicon-based approach for screening the entire β-globin gene with clinical samples using Scalable noninvasive amplicon-based precision sequencing (SNAPseq) assay catalyzing with next-generation sequencing (NGS). We optimized the assay using noninvasive buccal swab samples and simple finger prick blood for direct amplification with crude lysates. SNAPseq demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity, having a 100% agreement with Sanger sequencing. Furthermore, to facilitate seamless reporting, we have created a much simpler automated pipeline with comprehensive resources for pathogenic mutations in BT and SCD through data integration after systematic classification of variants according to ACMG and AMP guidelines. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the NGS-based high throughput SNAPseq approach for the detection of both BT and SCD in a single assay with high sensitivity in an automated pipeline