Periodic scheduling of marked graphs using balanced binary words

This report presents an algorithm to statically schedule live and strongly connected Marked Graphs (MG). The proposed algorithm computes the best execution where the execution rate is maximal and place sizes are minimal. The proposed algorithm provides transition schedules represented as binary words. These words are chosen to be balanced. The contributions of this paper is the proposed algorithm itself along with the characterization of the best execution of any MG.Comment: No. RR-7891 (2012

Refining cellular automata with routing constraints

A cellular automaton (CA) is an infinite array of cells, each containing the same automaton. The dynamics of a CA is distributed over the cells where each computes its next state as a function of the previous states of its neighborhood. Thus, the transmission of such states between neighbors is considered as feasible directly, in no time. When considering the implementation of a cellular automaton on a many-cores System-on-Chip (SoC), this state transmission is no longer abstract and instantaneous, but has to follow the interconnection medium of the SoC. It is usually a grid or a mesh matching the underlying topology of the CA but finite. In order to consider such constraints at a higher level, we propose a refinement of the classical model of CA where the topology is considered as the communication medium. If the state of a cell depends on its neighbors up to a certain distance, then a given state must be broadcasted to all its neighbors at the same distance, as they all require it to compute their next state. It means routing and duplicating the state in the topology. We study the routing patterns needed to efficiently implement such state broadcasting algorithm. We provide a solution by which each router can locally predict where to redirect the states to correctly and efficiently implement this broadcasting algorithm.Un automate cellulaire (AC) est un tableau infini de cellules, chacune contenant le même automate. La dynamique d'un AC est distribuée entre les cellules, chacune calcule son prochain état comme une fonction des états de ses voisins. Donc, la transmission d'un état entre deux cellules est donc considérée comme faisable directement et instantanément. Quand on s'intéresse à l'implémentation d'un AC sur un système sur puce à plusieurs cores, on ne peut plus considérer la transmission d'un état comme une action abstraite et instantanée. Cette transmission doit suivre le medium d'interconnexion du système sur puce. Ce dernier est habituellement une grille ou un mesh (grille dans laquelle les extrémités opposées sont connectées) correspondant à la topologie logique de l'AC mais finie. Afin de prendre en compte la notion de medium d'interconnexion à un niveau d'abstraction supérieur, par rapport à l'implémentation, nous proposons un raffinement du modèle classique des AC dans lequel la topologie est considérée comme le medium d'interconnexion. Si l'état d'une cellule dépend de son entourage jusqu'à une certaine distance, alors cet état doit être diffusé à tous les voisins jusqu'à cette même distance puis ce que chacun d'eux en a besoin pour calculer son nouvel état. Cela signifie router et diffuser l'état en question dans la topologie. Nous étudions le schéma de routage nécessaire pour mettre en oeuvre efficacement cet algorithme de diffusion d'état. Dans cette solution, chaque router peut localement prédire où envoyer les états en transit afin de garantir la justesse de l'algorithme

Safe CCSL Specifications and Marked Graphs

International audienceThe Clock Constraint Specification Language (CCSL) proposes a rich polychronous time model dedicated to the specification of constraints on logical clocks: i.e., sequences of event occurrences. A priori independent clocks are progressively constrained through a set of clock operators that define when an event may occur or not. These operators can be described as labeled transition systems that can potentially have an infinite number of states. A CCSL specification can be scheduled by performing the synchronized product of the transition systems for each operator. Even when some of the composed transition systems are infinite, the number of reachable states in the product may still be finite: the specification is safe. The purpose of this paper is to propose a sufficient condition to detect that the product is actually safe. This is done by abstracting each CCSL constraint (relation and expression) as a marked graph. Detecting that some specific places, called counters, in the resulting marked graph are safe is sufficient to guarantee that the composition is safe

Refining cellular automata with routing constraints

A cellular automaton (CA) is an infinite array of cells, each containing the same automaton. The dynamics of a CA is distributed over the cells where each computes its next state as a function of the previous states of its neighborhood. Thus, the transmission of such states between neighbors is considered as feasible directly, in no time. When considering the implementation of a cellular automaton on a many-cores System-on-Chip (SoC), this state transmission is no longer abstract and instantaneous, but has to follow the interconnection medium of the SoC. It is usually a grid or a mesh matching the underlying topology of the CA but finite. In order to consider such constraints at a higher level, we propose a refinement of the classical model of CA where the topology is considered as the communication medium. If the state of a cell depends on its neighbors up to a certain distance, then a given state must be broadcasted to all its neighbors at the same distance, as they all require it to compute their next state. It means routing and duplicating the state in the topology. We study the routing patterns needed to efficiently implement such state broadcasting algorithm. We provide a solution by which each router can locally predict where to redirect the states to correctly and efficiently implement this broadcasting algorithm.Un automate cellulaire (AC) est un tableau infini de cellules, chacune contenant le même automate. La dynamique d'un AC est distribuée entre les cellules, chacune calcule son prochain état comme une fonction des états de ses voisins. Donc, la transmission d'un état entre deux cellules est donc considérée comme faisable directement et instantanément. Quand on s'intéresse à l'implémentation d'un AC sur un système sur puce à plusieurs cores, on ne peut plus considérer la transmission d'un état comme une action abstraite et instantanée. Cette transmission doit suivre le medium d'interconnexion du système sur puce. Ce dernier est habituellement une grille ou un mesh (grille dans laquelle les extrémités opposées sont connectées) correspondant à la topologie logique de l'AC mais finie. Afin de prendre en compte la notion de medium d'interconnexion à un niveau d'abstraction supérieur, par rapport à l'implémentation, nous proposons un raffinement du modèle classique des AC dans lequel la topologie est considérée comme le medium d'interconnexion. Si l'état d'une cellule dépend de son entourage jusqu'à une certaine distance, alors cet état doit être diffusé à tous les voisins jusqu'à cette même distance puis ce que chacun d'eux en a besoin pour calculer son nouvel état. Cela signifie router et diffuser l'état en question dans la topologie. Nous étudions le schéma de routage nécessaire pour mettre en oeuvre efficacement cet algorithme de diffusion d'état. Dans cette solution, chaque router peut localement prédire où envoyer les états en transit afin de garantir la justesse de l'algorithme

Inducing or suppressing the anisotropy in multilayers based on CoFeB

Controlling the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy is of practical interest to a wide variety of applications. We study Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$ single films grown on various crystalline orientations of LiNbO$_3$ substrates and on oxidized silicon. We identify the annealing conditions that are appropriate to induce or suppress uniaxial anisotropy. Anisotropy fields can be increased by annealing up to 11 mT when using substrates with anisotropic surfaces. They can be decreased to below 1 mT when using isotropic surfaces. In the first case, the observed increase of the anisotropy originates from the biaxial strain in the film caused by the anisotropic thermal contraction of the substrate when back at room temperature after strain relaxation during annealing. In the second case, anisotropy is progressively removed by applying successive orthogonal fields that are assumed to progressively suppress any chemical ordering within the magnetic film. The method can be applied to CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB synthetic antiferromagnets but the tuning of the anisotropy comes with a decrease of the interlayer exchange coupling and a drastic change of the exchange stiffness

Correlation of tunneling spectra with surface nano-morphology and doping in thin YBa2Cu3O7-delta films

Tunneling spectra measured on thin epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-delta films are found to exhibit strong spatial variations, showing U and V-shaped gaps as well as zero bias conductance peaks typical of a d-wave superconductor. A full correspondence is found between the tunneling spectra and the surface morphology down to a level of a unit-cell step. Splitting of the zero bias conductance peak is seen in optimally-doped and overdoped films, but not in the underdoped ones, suggesting that there is no transition to a state of broken time reversal symmetry in the underdoped regimeComment: accepted to ep

Abscisic acid transport in human erythrocytes

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone involved in the response to environmental stress. Recently, ABA has been shown to be present and active also in mammals, where it stimulates the functional activity of innate immune cells, of mesenchymal and hemopoietic stem cells, and insulin-releasing pancreatic \u3b2-cells. LANCL2, the ABA receptor in mammalian cells, is a peripheral membrane protein that localizes at the intracellular side of the plasma membrane. Here we investigated the mechanism enabling ABA transport across the plasmamembrane of human red blood cells (RBC). Both influx and efflux of [3H]ABA occur across intact RBC, as detected by radiometric and chromatographic methods. ABA binds specifically to Band 3 (the RBC anion transporter), as determined by labeling of RBC membranes with biotinylated ABA. Proteoliposomes reconstituted with human purified Band 3 transport [3H]ABA and [35S]sulfate, and ABA transport is sensitive to the specific Band 3 inhibitor 4,4\u2032-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2\u2032-disulfonic acid. Once inside RBC, ABA stimulates ATP release through the LANCL2-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase. As ATP released from RBC is known to exert a vasodilator response, these results suggest a role for plasma ABA in the regulation of vascular ton

Another glance at Relay Stations in Latency-Insensitive Designs

We revisit the formal modeling of relay stations, which are specific connection elements used in the theory of Latency-Insensitive Design of Globally-Asynchronous/Locally-Synchronous systems. Relay stations are in charge of taking into account the physical mandatory latencies, while handling the regulation of signal/data traffic so as to avoid starvation, deadlock and congestion of local IP synchronous computation blocks. Since proposed by Carloni et al, the structure and behaviors of these relay stations have been amply characterized and analysed. But previous works never provided a fully formal and cycle-accurate description of these mechanisms, amenable to formal verification for instance (instead, mainly simulation models were developed). Due to the needed precision of the whole scheme we feel such a formal description might be needed. We describe such an attempt here. On its way, this work also led us to a number of (hopefully insightful) remarks on favorable and disfavorable graph topologies and initialization features, that are also reported here

Safe CCSL Specifications and Marked Graphs

International audienceThe Clock Constraint Specification Language (CCSL) proposes a rich polychronous time model dedicated to the specification of constraints on logical clocks: i.e., sequences of event occurrences. A priori independent clocks are progressively constrained through a set of clock operators that define when an event may occur or not. These operators can be described as labeled transition systems that can potentially have an infinite number of states. A CCSL specification can be scheduled by performing the synchronized product of the transition systems for each operator. Even when some of the composed transition systems are infinite, the number of reachable states in the product may still be finite: the specification is safe. The purpose of this paper is to propose a sufficient condition to detect that the product is actually safe. This is done by abstracting each CCSL constraint (relation and expression) as a marked graph. Detecting that some specific places, called counters, in the resulting marked graph are safe is sufficient to guarantee that the composition is safe