A Method for Skew-free Distribution of Digital Signals Using Matched Variable Delay Lines

The ability to distribute signals everywhere in a circuit with controlled and known delays is essential in large, high-speed digital systems. We present a technique by which a signal driver can adjust the arrival time of the signal at the end of the wire using a pair of matched variable delay lines. We show an implemention of this idea requiring no extra wiring, and how it can be extended to distribute signals skew-free to receivers along the signal run. We demonstrate how this scheme fits into the boundary scan logic of a VLSI chip

A Method for Eliminating Skew Introduced by Non-Uniform Buffer Delay and Wire Lengths in Clock Distribution Trees

The computation of a piecewise smooth function that approximates a finite set of data points is decomposed into two decoupled tasks: first, the computation of the locally smooth models, and hence, the segmentation of the data into classes that consist on the sets of points best approximated by each model, and second, the computation of the normalized discriminant functions for each induced class. The approximating function is then computed as the optimal estimator with respect to this measure field. Applications to image processing and time series prediction are presented as well

A systematic review of the sources of dietary salt around the world

Excess salt intake contributes to hypertension and increased cardiovascular disease risk. Efforts to implement effective salt-reduction strategies require accurate data on the sources of salt consumption. We therefore performed a systematic review to identify the sources of dietary salt around the world. We systematically searched peer-reviewed and gray literature databases for studies that quantified discretionary (salt added during cooking or at the table) and nondiscretionary sources of salt and those that provided information about the food groups contributing to dietary salt intake. Exploratory linear regression analysis was also conducted to assess whether the proportion of discretionary salt intake is related to the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of a country. We identified 80 studies conducted in 34 countries between 1975 and 2018. The majority (n = 44, 55%) collected data on dietary salt sources within the past 10 y and were deemed to have a low or moderate risk of bias (n = 75, 94%). Thirty-two (40%) studies were judged to be nationally representative. Populations in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Guatemala, India, Japan, Mozambique, and Romania received more than half of their daily salt intake from discretionary sources. A significant inverse correlation between discretionary salt intake and a country's per capita GDP was observed (P < 0.0001), such that for every $10,000 increase in per capita GDP, the amount of salt obtained from discretionary sources was lower by 8.7% (95% CI: 5.1%, 12%). Bread products, cereal and grains, meat products, and dairy products were the major contributors to dietary salt intake in most populations. There is marked variation in discretionary salt use around the world that is highly correlated with the level of economic development. Our findings have important implications for the type of salt-reduction strategy likely to be effective in a country

Meningococcal Disease in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: A Review of Cases Reported Through Active Surveillance in the United States, 2000-2008.

BackgroundAlthough human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is an established risk factor for several bacterial infections, the association between HIV infection and meningococcal disease remains unclear.MethodsExpanded chart reviews were completed on persons with meningococcal disease and HIV infection reported from 2000 through 2008 from 9 US sites participating in an active population-based surveillance system for meningococcal disease. The incidence of meningococcal disease among patients meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) surveillance criteria was estimated using data from the National HIV Surveillance System for the participating sites.ResultsThirty-three cases of meningococcal disease in individuals with HIV infection were reported from participating sites, representing 2.0% of all reported meningococcal disease cases. Most (75.8%) persons with HIV infection were adult males aged 25 to 64 years old. Among all meningococcal disease cases aged 25 to 64 years old, case fatality ratios were similar among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected persons (13.3% vs 10.6%; P = .6). The cumulative, mean incidence of meningococcal disease among patients aged 25 to 64 years old with HIV infection ever classified as AIDS was 3.5 cases per 100000 person years (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-5.6), compared with 0.3 cases per 100000 person years (95% CI, 0.3-0.3) for persons of the same age group not reported to have AIDS (relative risk = 12.9; 95% CI, 7.9-20.9).ConclusionsIndividuals with HIV infection meeting the AIDS surveillance case definition have a higher incidence of meningococcal disease compared with the general adult population

Charge transfer electrostatic model of compositional order in perovskite alloys

We introduce an electrostatic model including charge transfer, which is shown to account for the observed B-site ordering in Pb-based perovskite alloys. The model allows charge transfer between A-sites and is a generalization of Bellaiche and Vanderbilt's purely electrostatic model. The large covalency of Pb^{2+} compared to Ba^{2+} is modeled by an environment dependent effective A-site charge. Monte Carlo simulations of this model successfully reproduce the long range compositional order of both Pb-based and Ba-based complex A(BB^{'}B^{''})O_3 perovskite alloys. The models are also extended to study systems with A-site and B-site doping, such as (Na_{1/2}La_{1/2})(Mg_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3, (Ba_{1-x}La_{x})(Mg_{(1+x)/3}Nb_{(2-x)/3})O_3 and (Pb_{1-x}La_{x})(Mg_{(1+x)/3}Ta_{(2-x)/3})O_3. General trends are reproduced by purely electrostatic interactions, and charge transfer effects indicate that local structural relaxations can tip the balance between different B-site orderings in Pb based materials.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

HIFLUGCS: Galaxy cluster scaling relations between X-ray luminosity, gas mass, cluster radius, and velocity dispersion

We present relations between X-ray luminosity and velocity dispersion (L-sigma), X-ray luminosity and gas mass (L-Mgas), and cluster radius and velocity dispersion (r500-sigma) for 62 galaxy clusters in the HIFLUGCS, an X-ray flux-limited sample minimizing bias toward any cluster morphology. Our analysis in total is based on ~1.3Ms of clean X-ray XMM-Newton data and 13439 cluster member galaxies with redshifts. Cool cores are among the major contributors to the scatter in the L-sigma relation. When the cool-core-corrected X-ray luminosity is used the intrinsic scatter decreases to 0.27 dex. Even after the X-ray luminosity is corrected for the cool core, the scatter caused by the presence of cool cores dominates for the low-mass systems. The scatter caused by the non-cool-core clusters does not strongly depend on the mass range, and becomes dominant in the high-mass regime. The observed L-sigma relation agrees with the self-similar prediction, matches that of a simulated sample with AGN feedback disregarding six clusters with <45 cluster members with spectroscopic redshifts, and shows a common trend of increasing scatter toward the low-mass end, i.e., systems with sigma<500km/s. A comparison of observations with simulations indicates an AGN-feedback-driven impact in the low-mass regime. The best fits to the $L-M_{\rm gas}$ relations for the disturbed clusters and undisturbed clusters in the observational sample closely match those of the simulated samples with and without AGN feedback, respectively. This suggests that one main cause of the scatter is AGN activity providing feedback in different phases, e.g., during a feedback cycle. The slope and scatter in the observed r500-sigma relation is similar to that of the simulated sample with AGN feedback except for a small offset but still within the scatter.Comment: 45 pages, 28 figures, A&A proof-version, high-resolution figures in Appendix F can be found in the electronic version on the A&A we

A developmental transition in definitive erythropoiesis: erythropoietin expression is sequentially regulated by retinoic acid receptors and HNF4

The cytokine erythropoietin (Epo) promotes erythropoietic progenitor cell proliferation and is required for erythropoietic differentiation. We have found that the Epo gene is a direct transcriptional target gene of retinoic acid signaling during early erythropoiesis (prior to embryonic day E12.5) in the fetal liver. Mouse embryos lacking the retinoic acid receptor gene RXRα have a morphological and histological phenotype that is comparable with embryos in which the Epo gene itself has been mutated, and flow cytometric analysis indicates that RXRα-deficient embryos are deficient in erythroid differentiation. Epo mRNA levels are reduced substantially in the fetal livers of RXRα ^(−/−)embryos at E10.25 and E11.25, and genetic analysis shows that theRXRα and Epo genes are coupled in the same pathway. We furthermore show that the Epo gene is retinoic acid inducible in embryos, and that the Epo gene enhancer contains a DR2 sequence that represents a retinoic acid receptor-binding site and a retinoic acid receptor transcriptional response element. However, unlike Epo-deficient embryos that die from anemia, the erythropoietic deficiency in RXRα ^(−/−) embryos is transient; Epo mRNA is expressed at normal levels by E12.5, and erythropoiesis and liver morphology are normal by E14.5. We show that HNF4, like RXRα a member of the nuclear receptor family, is abundantly expressed in fetal liver hepatocytes, and is competitive with retinoic acid receptors for occupancy of the Epo gene enhancer DR2 element. We propose that Epo expression is regulated during the E9.5–E11.5 phase of fetal liver erythropoiesis by RXRα and retinoic acid, and that expression then becomes dominated by HNF_4 activity from E11.5 onward. This transition may be responsible for switching regulation of Epo expression from retinoic acid control to hypoxic control, as is found throughout the remainder of life

HD 17156b: A Transiting Planet with a 21.2 Day Period and an Eccentric Orbit

We report the detection of transits by the 3.1 M_Jup companion to the V=8.17 G0V star HD 17156. The transit was observed by three independant observers on Sept. 9/10, 2007 (two in central Italy and one in the Canary Islands), who obtained detections at confidence levels of 3.0 sigma, 5.3 sigma, and 7.9 sigma, respectively. The observations were carried out under the auspices of the Transitsearch.org network, which organizes follow-up photometric transit searches of known planet-bearing stars during the time intervals when transits are expected to possibly occur. Analyses of the 7.9 sigma data set indicates a transit depth d=0.0062+/-0.0004, and a transit duration t=186+/-5 min. These values are consistent with the transit of a Jupiter-sized planet with an impact parameter b=a*cos(i)/R_star ~ 0.8. This planet occupies a unique regime among known transiting extrasolar planets, both as a result of its large orbital eccentricity (e=0.67) and long orbital period (P=21.2 d). The planet receives a 26-fold variation in insolation during the course of its orbit, which will make it a useful object for characterization of exoplanetary atmospheric dynamics.Comment: Accepted for publication to A&A, 4 pages, 2 figure

System architecture for mode-matching a MEMS gyroscope

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-128).MEMS gyroscopes are used to detect rotation rates and have enabled a variety of motion-based technologies in a range of industries. They are composed of micro-machined polysilicon structures that resonate and deflect when a rotation is experienced. The topic of this thesis surrounds a system architecture to optimize the performance of a gyroscope. The MEMS gyroscope contains a resonator and an accelerometer, modeled as a two degree-of-freedom mass-spring system. When the resonant frequencies of each mode are matched, the mechanical output of the gyroscope is maximal. Feedback is used to match the two modes by automatically tuning the voltage on the poly-silicon structure until the accelerometer resonant frequency matches that of the resonator. A square wave dither signal is introduced as quadrature error and is used to track the phase across the gyroscope's accelerometer. At mode-match, the phase lag is 90°, so the feedback mechanism maintains this 90° of phase lag between the input acceleration and mechanical output to keep the modes matched. Two controllers were tried in the feedback mechanism, a linear controller and a bang-bang controller. The bang-bang controller was found to produce better results, and was able to bring a pre-fabricated sensor die to mode-match and achieve a resolution floor of 12°/hr.by Henry Wu.M.Eng