Watermarking FPGA Bitfile for Intellectual Property Protection

Intellectual property protection (IPP) of hardware designs is the most important requirement for many Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) intellectual property (IP) vendors. Digital watermarking has become an innovative technology for IPP in recent years. Existing watermarking techniques have successfully embedded watermark into IP cores. However, many of these techniques share two specific weaknesses: 1) They have extra overhead, and are likely to degrade performance of design; 2) vulnerability to removing attacks. We propose a novel watermarking technique to watermark FPGA bitfile for addressing these weaknesses. Experimental results and analysis show that the proposed technique incurs zero overhead and it is robust against removing attacks

Using Swing Resistance and Assistance to Improve Gait Symmetry in Individuals Post-Stroke

A major characteristic of hemiplegic gait observed in individuals post-stroke is spatial and temporal asymmetry, which may increase energy expenditure and the risk of falls. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of swing resistance/assistance applied to the affected leg on gait symmetry in individuals post-stroke. We recruited 10 subjects with chronic stroke who demonstrated a shorter step length with their affected leg in comparison to the non-affected leg during walking. They participated in two test sessions for swing resistance and swing assistance, respectively. During the adaptation period, subjects counteracted the step length deviation caused by the applied swing resistance force, resulting in an aftereffect consisting of improved step length symmetry during the post-adaptation period. In contrast, subjects did not counteract step length deviation caused by swing assistance during adaptation period and produced no aftereffect during the post-adaptation period. Locomotor training with swing resistance applied to the affected leg may improve step length symmetry through error-based learning. Swing assistance reduces errors in step length during stepping; however, it is unclear whether this approach would improve step length symmetry. Results from this study may be used to develop training paradigms for improving gait symmetry of stroke survivors

Evaluating the Role of Confucian Tradition in the Prospects and Limits of Political Change in Four East Asian Societies

Abstract Confucian society is one of the major cultural and social systems of East Asia. There have been long-standing scholarly debates about whether Confucian societies can produce or maintain a democratic regime; and in more recent years discussion of why there are several Confucian societies that can democratise yet some of them cannot. In order to contribute to these debates, this thesis conducts an analysis of China, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea to explore and explain the following issues by comparative strategy: why have some Confucian societies democratised yet some of them have not? What is the role of traditional legacies from the pre-democratic dynasties and how does this political culture shape contemporary Confucian societies and their capacity to produce and sustain democratic politics? What is the role of economic and social modernisation in contemporary Confucian societies in the development of democracy? What role is played by ruling parties and leader’s attitudes and choices when they face claims for democracy from society? How do these three factors - legacies, modernisation and ruler’s choices - shape successful and unsuccessful cases of democratic change in East Asia? Evaluating these factors by comparative qualitative and quantitative strategy, this thesis concludes: the ruling parties and leaders strategies for democracy are quite different between successful and unsuccessful cases. In China and Singapore, the leadership can unite and deploy a pseudo-democracy to respond to democratic claims of society; yet in Taiwan and South Korea, non-democratic leaderships could not sustain their rule, and they even chose to cooperate with opponents for survival. Secondly, the traditional legacies that emerged from the pre-democratic imperial system are the elements to hinder development of democracy rather than Confucianism itself. In China and Singapore, these legacies are selectively chosen by leaders to serve their official ideologies, yet in Taiwan and South Korea, rulers could not sustain their ability to manipulate these legacies. Modernisation in China and Singapore is controlled officially so it serves and consolidates non-democratic rule; but in Taiwan and Singapore, the modernisation process was not totally controlled by non-democratic rulers and instead promoted democratisation in these societies. Comparing these factors, the attitude and unity of rulers seems the influential factor for this debate. If non-democratic rulers can remain united in their strategy, traditional legacies for serving non-democratic rule will be strengthened, and the effects of modernisation for democracy will continue to be limited. However, because the younger generation demonstrates positive attitudes to democratic values and against traditional legacies, this situation could still change in the long run

Dynamic analysis of flexible mechanical systems using LATDYN

A 3-D, finite element based simulation tool for flexible multibody systems is presented. Hinge degrees-of-freedom is built into equations of motion to reduce geometric constraints. The approach avoids the difficulty in selecting deformation modes for flexible components by using assumed mode method. The tool is applied to simulate a practical space structure deployment problem. Results of examples demonstrate the capability of the code and approach