Modeling and analysis of semiconductor manufacturing processes using petri nets

This thesis addresses the issues in modeling and analysis of multichip module (MCM) manufacturing processes using Petri nets. Building such graphical and mathematical models is a crucial step to understand MCM technologies and to enhance their application scope. In this thesis, the application of Petri nets is presented with top-down and bottom-up approaches. The theory of Petri nets is summarized with its basic notations and properties at first. After that, the capability of calculating and analyzing Petri nets with deterministic timing information is extended to meet the requirements of the MCM models. Then, using top-down refining and system decomposition, MCM models are built from an abstract point to concrete systems with timing information. In this process, reduction theory based on a multiple-input-single-output modules for deterministic Petri nets is applied to analyze the cycle time of Petri net models. Besides, this thesis is of significance in its use of the reduction theory which is derived for timed marked graphs - an important class of Petri nets

Investigation of effect of fullerenol on viscoelasticity properties of human hepatocellular carcinoma by AFM-Based creep tests

Cellular elasticity is frequently measured to investigate the biomechanical effects of drug treatment, diseases and aging. In light of cellular viscosity property exhibited by filament actin networks, this study investigates the viscoelasticity alterations of human hepatocellular carcinoma (SMMC-7721) cell subjected to fullerenol treatment by means of creep tests realized by AFM indentation. An SMMC-7721 cell was first modeled as a sphere and then a flattened layer with finite thickness. Both Sneddon’s solutions and Dimitriadis model have been modified to adapt for viscoelastic situation, which are used to fit the same indentation depth – time curves obtained by creep tests. We find that the SMMC-7721 cell’s creep behavior is well described by the two modified models, and the divergence of parameters determined by the two models is justified. By fullerenol treatment, the SMMC-7721 cell exhibits a significant decrease of elastic modulus and viscosity, which is presumably due to the disruption of actin filaments. This work represents a new attempt to understand the alternation of the viscoelastic properties of cancerous cells under the treatment of fullerenol, which has the significance of comprehensively elucidating the biomechanical effects of anticancer agents (such as fullerenol) on cancer cells

UPIR: Toward the Design of Unified Parallel Intermediate Representation for Parallel Programming Models

The complexity of heterogeneous computing architectures, as well as the demand for productive and portable parallel application development, have driven the evolution of parallel programming models to become more comprehensive and complex than before. Enhancing the conventional compilation technologies and software infrastructure to be parallelism-aware has become one of the main goals of recent compiler development. In this paper, we propose the design of unified parallel intermediate representation (UPIR) for multiple parallel programming models and for enabling unified compiler transformation for the models. UPIR specifies three commonly used parallelism patterns (SPMD, data and task parallelism), data attributes and explicit data movement and memory management, and synchronization operations used in parallel programming. We demonstrate UPIR via a prototype implementation in the ROSE compiler for unifying IR for both OpenMP and OpenACC and in both C/C++ and Fortran, for unifying the transformation that lowers both OpenMP and OpenACC code to LLVM runtime, and for exporting UPIR to LLVM MLIR dialect.Comment: Typos corrected. Format update

Axisymmetric contact problem for a flattened cell : contributions of substrate effect and cell thickness to the determination of viscoelastic properties by using AFM indentation

Nanoindentation technology has proven an effective method to investigate the viscoelastic properties of biological cells. The experimental data obtained by nanoindentation are frequently interpreted by Hertz contact model. However, in order to facilitate the application of Hertz contact model, a mass of studies assume cells have infinite thickness which does not necessarily represent the real situation. In this study, a rigorous contact model based upon linear elasticity is developed for the interpretation of indentation tests of flattened cells which represent a factual morphology. The cell, normally bonded to the petri dish, is initially treated as an elastic layer of finite thickness perfectly fixed to a rigid substrate, and the conic indenter is assumed to be frictionless. The theory of linear elasticity is utilized to solve this contact issue and then the solutions are extended to viscoelastic situation which is regarded as a good indicator for mechanical properties of biological cells. To test the present model, an AFM-based creep test has been conducted on living human hepatocellular carcinoma cell (SMMC-7721 cell) and its fullerenol-treated counterpart. The results indicate that the present model could not only describe very well the creep behavior of SMMC-7721 cells, but can also curb overestimation of the mechanical properties due to substrate effect. Moreover, the present model could identify the difference between the control and treated SMMC-7721 cells in terms of the extracted viscoelastic parameters, suggesting its potential in revealing the biomechanical effects of fullerenol-like drug treatment on cancerous cells

Investigation of work of adhesion of biological cell (human hepatocellular carcinoma) by AFM nanoindentation

In this study, we presented an investigation of mechanical properties by AFM nanoindentation on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells treated with fullerenol for 24, 48 and 72 hours. AFM nanoindentation was routinely applied to investigate the morphology and biomechanical properties of living carcinoma cells, and adhesion phenomena (negative force) were detected in the obtained force-displacement curves. Conventionally, Hertz contact model has been widely used for determination of cell elasticity, however this contact model cannot account for adhesion. Alternatively, JKR contact model, as expected for adhesion circumstance, has been applied to fit the obtained force-displacement curves. In this investigation, we have derived both the work of adhesion and the elastic modulus of biological cells (human hepatocellular carcinoma) under fullerenol treatment. The results show that the chosen JKR model can provide better fitting results than Hertz contact model. The results show that both Young’s modulus and work of adhesion exhibit significant variation as the treatment time increases. The calculated mechanical properties of elastic modulus and work of adhesion can be used as an effective bio-index to evaluate the effects of fullerenol or other anticancer agents on cancer cells and thus to provide insight into cancer progression in the treatment

Meaning of 'Science' and 'Religion' Related to Indigenous Knowledge of Human Origin and Life Course Among Indonesian and Chinese Students

By means of the open-ended questions inquiry this study try explore how the meaning of 'science' and 'religion' constructed culturally by Indonesian (n=204) and Chinese (n=125) university student in term of to deepen cross-cultural understanding. All of respondents are students in major of psychology and behavioral science. This study also demonstrate how this indigenous knowledge contributes implicitly to their preconception on human following three categories: (a) Origin of human; (b) Events in humans life span (i.e. Birth, mental activity, and death); and (c) The meaning of human existence. In this research science learning viewed as cultural 'crossing-border' (Aikenhead&Jegede, 1999). This research proves that students indigenous knowledge on religion and science has an influence on science learning, since they are systems of meaning that offer different answers to the same problem. Both group of respondents mostly see religion as a belief; but Indonesian students tend to interpret science as 'information and knowledge,' while the Chinese students tend to interpret it as 'the truth'. Related to the explanation of human originsand lifecourse, Indonesian students tendto involve theological explanation than Chinese students that rely more on science or other sources as the answer Beside this, Indonesian students are more prone to 'compartemerztized answer' (or 'parallel collatera llearning' according to Aikenhead & Jegede) rather than Chinese students in the topic of human origi

Effects of Xinwei granule on expression levels of cyclin D1 and its upstream genes in gastric intraepithelial neoplasia tissues

Purpose: To explore the effects of Xinwei granule (XWG) on low-grade gastric intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: To establish LGIN model, Wistar rats were treated with N-methyl-N'-nitrosoguanidine for 3 months. LGIN model rats were randomly grouped into five groups (n = 15), viz, negative control (NC), normal saline (NS) group, Xinwei granule (XWG) group, Weifuchun tablet (WFCT) group, and vatacoenayme tablet (VT) group. Normal rats (n = 17) served as negative control. Histological evaluation of gastric mucosa was undertaken using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot, and immunohistochemical assays were performed to determine mRNA expressions, protein expression, and the distribution of cyclin D1, kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), and p21-WAF1-CIP1, respectively. Results: Compared with LGIN group, the body weight of the rats increased in XWG, WFCT, and VT groups. The pathological characteristics of LGIN group were alleviated by XWG, WFCT and VT treatments. The positive expression of cyclin D1 was enhanced in LGIN group, but reduced in XWG, WFCT and VT groups. The expression levels of KLF4 and p21-WAF1-CIP1, upstream regulators of cyclin D1 reduced in LGIN groups. However, administration of XWG, WFCT and VT strengthened the expressions of KLF4 and p21-WAF1-CIP1. More importantly, the protective effects of XWG against LGIN were superior to those of WFCT and VT. Conclusion: Xinwei granules alleviate LGIN in vivo by inhibiting cyclin D1 expression and enhancing KLF4 and p21-WAF1-CIP1 expression