Test-Cost Modeling and Optimal Test-Flow Selection of 3D-Stacked ICs

Three-dimensional (3D) integration is an attractive technology platform for next-generation ICs. Despite the benefits offered by 3D integration, test cost remains a major concern, and analysis and tools are needed to understand test flows and minimize test cost.We propose a generic cost model to account for various test costs involved in 3D integration and present a formal representation of the solution space to minimize the overall cost. We present an algorithm based on A*—a best-first search technique—to obtain an optimal solution. An approximation algorithm with provable bounds on optimality is proposed to further reduce the search space. In contrast to prior work, which is based on explicit enumeration of test flows, we adopt a formal optimization approach, which allows us to select an effective test flow by systematically exploring an exponentially large number of candidate test flows. Experimental results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed method. Adopting a formal approach to solving the cost-minimization problem provides useful insights that cannot be derived via selective enumeration of a smaller number of candidate test flows.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant no. CCF-1017391, the Semiconductor Research Corporation under contract no. 2118, a grant from Intel Corporation, and a gift from Cisco Systems through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Design, Fabrication and Applications of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Systems

A simple and facile way to the fabrication of nano to micro scale organic-inorganic hybrid particles was demonstrated. A well known “template-assisted approach” was chosen for the preparation of these hybrid particles, in which the inorganic material of interest is templated against the template particles. A series of colloidal template particles including, polystyrene, poly (vinylcaprolactam) and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) was used for the deposition of a variety of metal oxides/hydroxide nanoparticles. A classical surfactant free co-polymerization process was employed for the synthesis of these template particles. To facilitate the deposition of inorganic nanoparticles in subsequent steps, these colloidal particles were functionalized with the suitable functional groups. For this purpose, polystyrene particles were synthesized in the presence of acetoacetoxyethylmethacrylate (AAEM) co-monomer. Similarly, poly (vinylcaprolactam) and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) particles were functionalized by adding AAEM and acrylic acid co-monomers, respectively, during their synthesis. It is thought that an effective interaction between these functionalities of employed template and metal oxide/hydroxide precursors is the driving force for the fabrication of organic-inorganic hybrid particles. A number of metal oxide/hydroxide nanoparticles including ZnO, TiO2, Ta2O5 and In(OH)3 were deposited on the surface of polystyrene colloidal particles. A systematic variation in the employed reaction conditions allowed a modulation in size, shape, morphology, shell thickness and inorganic contents of resulting hybrid particles. Similar effect of the employed Indium isopropoxide concentration on the morphology of PS-In(OH)3 hybrid particles was observed. In the case of PS-TiO2 and PS-Ta2O5 only core-shell morphology was observed. However, suitable surface chemistry and careful selection of reaction parameters allowed the deposition of as much thick as 130 nm TiO2/Ta2O5 shell on the polystyrene core. In addition, a controlled manipulation of the shell thickness with the employed concentration of inorganic salt was observed. Polystyrene colloidal particles coated with a high refractive index material such as TiO2, were employed as building blocks for the fabrication of self assembled colloidal crystals. The variation in particle size and TiO2 content of employed building blocks allowed the manipulation in stop band position and band width of resulting photonic structures. Furthermore, PS-ZnO hybrid particles with raspberry-like morphology were exploited as carrier for ZnO nanoparticles into a host polymer matrix to achieve a nanocomposite material. In addition, fabrication of a series of closed, intact and mechanically robust hollow spheres, composed of pure and mixed metal oxides was demonstrated. The removal of polystyrene core from PS-TiO2 and PS-Ta2O5 hybrid particles by chemical or thermal treatment resulted into the hollow TiO2 and Ta2O5 spheres, respectively. Templating of PVCL colloidal particles against ZnO nanoparticles was shown and variation in physical properties of the resulting hybrid microgels as a function of the loaded amount of ZnO nanoparticles was demonstrated. PVCL-ZnO hybrid microgels showed the temperature sensitivity of the template particles and the UV-absorbing property of the loaded ZnO nanoparticles. It was demonstrated that these hybrid materials can effectively be used in the preparation of a transparent UV-shielding material. In addition, the deposition of preformed and functionalized quantum dots (CdTe) on the surface of PNIPAm microgel particles was explored and a manipulation in the fluorescent properties of loaded quantum dots as a result of temperature induced swelling and deswelling of microgel template was investigated. It was found that the fluorescence of deposited quantum dots can be switched to “ON” or “OFF” by changing the temperature of the surrounding media. These hybrid particles are envisioned to be used in the fabrication of temperature nanosensors

Test-Delivery Optimization in Manycore SOCs

We present two test-data delivery optimization algorithms for system-on-chip (SOC) designs with hundreds of cores, where a network-on-chip (NOC) is used as the interconnection fabric. We first present an e ective algorithm based on a subsetsum formulation to solve the test-delivery problem in NOCs with arbitrary topology that use dedicated routing. We further propose an algorithm for the important class of NOCs with grid topology and XY routing. The proposed algorithm is the first to co-optimize the number of access points, access-point locations, pin distribution to access points, and assignment of cores to access points for optimal test resource utilization of such NOCs. Testtime minimization is modeled as an NOC partitioning problem and solved with dynamic programming in polynomial time. Both the proposed methods yield high-quality results and are scalable to large SOCs with many cores. We present results on synthetic grid topology NOC-based SOCs constructed using cores from the ITC’02 benchmark, and demonstrate the scalability of our approach for two SOCs of the future, one with nearly 1,000 cores and the other with 1,600 cores. Test scheduling under power constraints is also incorporated in the optimization framework

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF PHYTOSTEROLS FROM BIGNONIA VENUSTA (L.)

Objective: To isolate phytosterols from Bignonia venusta (L.) and its antimicrobial activity.Introduction: B. venusta is an important medicinal plant known for its vast potential. It is a valuable plant which is commonly used in traditional system of medicine for relieving pain and inflammation, as well as in a number of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity.Methods: In the present study, phytosterols from B. venusta was identified and quantified in vivo. Phytosterols were identified using chromatographic and spectral studies.Conclusion: B. venusta (L.) is an ideal source of phytosterols and act as antimicrobial agent.Â

Improving call quality by generation of replacement packets

Voice communications often suffer from lost packets due to, e.g., radio channel fades, network errors, etc., resulting in audio glitches and poor call quality. This disclosure describes machine learning techniques to replace lost packets. By masking audio glitches and providing continuity, the replacement packets improve call quality as perceived by call participants

Maytenus emarginata: A Folklore Ethnomedicinal Plant of Rajasthan

Tribal or folk medicines system is based on use of herbal medicines by tribal communities, which includes utilization of crude extract from local medicinal plants by medicine-men of community. The tribal communities dominated in various parts of Rajasthan harbors a vast diversity of vegetation. The surrounding plants form an integral part of culture of tribal people and the medicinal knowledge of plants is passed on from generation to generation through oral folklore and mythical stories. Ethno-botany is the study of plants and their practical uses through traditional knowledge by local inhabitants of a region. Maytenus emarginata Ding Hou is a Celesrtaceae family plant. It is locally known as ‘Kankero’ in hindi and Thorny staff tree in English. Various parts of this plant were used traditionally in folk culture for the treatment of various ailments. This review article includes therapeutic uses of crude extract of various parts of plant Maytenus emarginata and its phyto-chemical constituents. In this review article, we studied about anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, hepato-protective, anti-ulcerogenic activities of this plant. Keywords: folk medicines, medicine-men, folklore, anti-cancer, hepato-protective

BATTLE AGAINST PHISHING

Phishing is a model problem for illustrating usability concerns of privacy and security because both system designers and attackers battle using user interfaces to guide (or misguide) users. There are two novel interaction techniques to prevent spoofing. First, our browser extension provides a trusted window in the browser dedicated to username and password entry. We use a photographic image to create a trusted path between the user and this window to prevent spoofing of the window and of the text entry fields. Second, our scheme allows the remote server to generate a unique abstract image for each user and each transaction. This imag e creates a "skin" that automatica lly customizes the browser window or the user interface elements in the content of a remote web page. Our extension allows the users browser to independently compute the image that it expects to receive from the server. To authenticate cont ent from the se rver, the user can visually verify that the images match. We contrast our work with existing anti - phishing proposals. In contrast to other proposals, our scheme places a very low burden on the user in terms of effort, memory and time. To authenticate himse lf the user has to recognize only one image and remember one low entropy password, no matter how many servers he wishes to interact with. To authenticate content from an authenticated server, the us er only needs to perform one visual matching operation to compare two images. Furthermore, it places a high burden of effort on an attacker to spoof customized security indicators

Efficacy, tolerability and cost effectiveness of zotepine versus olanzapine in patients of acute schizophrenia

Background: Schizophrenia is a functional psychosis with severe personality changes and thought disorders without cerebral damage. No reports are available in literature regarding efficacy and tolerability of atypical antipsychotic drug zotepine over olanzapine a preferred drug worldwide for the treatment of schizophrenia. Therefore, present study is undertaken to evaluate efficacy, tolerability and cost effectiveness of zotepine over olanzapine in patients suffering from schizophrenia. Methods: A prospective, randomized, single blind, parallel, 6 weeks clinical study was conducted on a total of 112 patients, of schizophrenia attending psychiatry outpatient department at G. R. Medical College, Gwalior, India randomized into two groups (56 in each). Patients received either olanzapine (10-20mg) or zotepine (75-150mg) per day for a period of 6 week. Efficacy was measured by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale whereas tolerability was measured by dropout rate and frequency of adverse effects. Cost effectiveness was calculated in terms of cost incurred for improvement at the end of treatment period.Results: Both the drugs showed significant (P.0.05). Olanzapine showed significantly better (P0.05) between the two groups. Incidence of akathisia and drop out (16% and 23%) with zotepine were significant (P<0.05) as compared to olanzapine (2% and 11%) respectively.Conclusions: Though the efficacy of both the drugs is comparable, olanzapine appears to have better tolerability and cost effectiveness than zotepine in patients of schizophrenia

Etiopathogenesis of vaginal discharge among married women in reproductive age group residing in rural area of Bhojipura District, Western Uttar Pradesh

Background: Vaginitis is one of common medical problem in women that often results in frequent medical consultations. Aim was to study the clinico-epidemiological profile and etiopathogenesis of various causes of vaginal discharge among females in age group 18-45 years residing in rural area of Bhojipura district.Methods: This Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted over a period of one year (March 2011 to February 2012) among 150 females aged 18-45 years presenting with the complaint of vaginal discharge. Information on sociodemographic data was obtained with the aid of questionnaires. Samples were obtained with two dry cotton-wool tipped swabs from vaginal fornices and were sending to department of microbiology.Results: The prevalence rate of vaginal discharge was found to be 24.6% among females in reproductive age group attending the outpatient department from rural background. Out of 150 patients who were enrolled for study 86 (57.30%) were diagnosed with non-infective discharge while 64 (42.60%) patients with infective discharge. Bacterial vaginosis was detected in 25 (39.1%), Candida albicans was detected in 23 (35.9%), T. vaginalis in 4 (6.3%) and mixed infections were found in 12 (18.7%). According to vagina flora morphology 85 (56.6%) had normal morphology, 30 (20%) had shift from normal flora and 35 (23.3%) had definitive bacterial vaginosis. About 20.5% females with Candida based etiology were diabetic.Conclusions: Some common reproductive tract infections can be diagnosed and managed at primary level health facilities. This promotes community awareness through behavior change communication which includes safer sex practices, awareness of HIV and appropriate and timely health care seeking behavior

Development and evaluation of multi millet thresher

In tribal areas of India, traditional methods of threshing of minor millets like little millet (Panicum sumatrense), M1, kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), M2, foxtail millet (Setaria italica), M3, proso millet (P. miliaceum), M4, barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumantacea), M5, finger millet (Eleusine coracana), M6 is done of beating by sticks or treading out the crop panicle under the feet of oxen. This operation is most time consuming, labour intensive, drudgery prone, uneconomical, lower output and obtain low quality products. A thresher for these millet crops was developed and optimization of the operating parameters with little millet was done by using Response surface methodology (RSM). The optimized parameters were 7.79% (d.b) moisture content, 105 kgh-1 feed rate, 625 rpm cylinder speed, 5 mm threshing sieve size which gave maximum threshing efficiency of 95.13% and cleaning efficiency of 94.12%. After optimization of parameters the thresher was tested for threshing of all the six minor millets with proper adjustments of sieve. Threshing capacity of M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6 were obtained as 89, 137, 140, 91, 88 and 99 kg/h, respectively with more than 96% threshing efficiency and less than 2% broken grain