A spatial contrast retina with on-chip calibration for neuromorphic spike-based AER vision systems

We present a 32 32 pixels contrast retina microchip that provides its output as an address event representation (AER) stream. Spatial contrast is computed as the ratio between pixel photocurrent and a local average between neighboring pixels obtained with a diffuser network. This current-based computation produces an important amount of mismatch between neighboring pixels, because the currents can be as low as a few pico-amperes. Consequently, a compact calibration circuitry has been included to trimm each pixel. Measurements show a reduction in mismatch standard deviation from 57% to 6.6% (indoor light). The paper describes the design of the pixel with its spatial contrast computation and calibration sections. About one third of pixel area is used for a 5-bit calibration circuit. Area of pixel is 58 m 56 m, while its current consumption is about 20 nA at 1-kHz event rate. Extensive experimental results are provided for a prototype fabricated in a standard 0.35- m CMOS process.This work was supported by Spanish Research Grants TIC2003-08164-C03-01 (SAMANTA), TEC2006-11730-C03-01 (SAMANTA-II), and EU grant IST-2001-34124 (CAVIAR). JCS was supported by the I3P program of the Spanish Research Council. RSG was supported by a national grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.Peer reviewe

H2-reduction Behavior of FeS-CaO Mixture during Microwave Heating

[EN] Microwave irradiation is an energy-efficient and a rapid-heating method to decrease the activation energy of chemical reactions via both thermal and non-thermal effects of microwave photons 1). Recently, hydrogen-reduction during microwave heating has been proposed for magnetite reduction to combine the advantages of microwave irradiation and using H2 as a reducing agent during iron production 2). In the present study, as a novel idea, the traditional microwave heating system was equipped with thermobalance to investigate the kinetics of H2-reduction of FeS-CaO mixture (FeS(s) + CaO(s) + H2(g) = Fe(s) + CaS(s) + H2O(g)) under microwave heating at 2.45 GHz to further mitigate CO2 emission and prevent SO2 release during iron production from a sulfide mineral. Microscope observations revealed that the un-reacted core model can be employed for such a kinetic study. Linearity (R2) of different rate-controlling mechanisms after a 10-minute reduction reaction demonstrated that the gas diffusion in micropores of reduced metallic Fe is a dominant rate-controlling mechanism while the interfacial chemical reaction is progressed rapidly. This is attributed to extraordinary effects of microwave irradiation on speeding up the chemical reactions 3), while the formation of Fe shell on the surface of FeS/FeO particles decreases the accessibility of gas to un-reacted parts, resulting in a lower rate of gas diffusion in micropores. Moreover, the diffusion coefficients (De) at 460, 570, and 750 °C were calculated from the plot of the gas diffusion, as illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the X is reduction degree: where Wi (g) is the initial weight of the sample, Wt (g) is the weight of the sample after treatment for t seconds, Wht (g) is the weight change of the sample owing to the dehydration reaction, and WO (-) is the stoichiometric weight ratio of oxygen in the sample, which is 0.111. Consequently, the activation energy of 22.3 kJ.mol-1 was attained from the Arrhenius equation for the hydrogen-reduction reaction of FeS-CaO mixture under microwave heating.Amini, A.; Ohno, K.; Maeda, T.; Kunitomo, K.; Kashimura, K. (2019). H2-reduction Behavior of FeS-CaO Mixture during Microwave Heating. En AMPERE 2019. 17th International Conference on Microwave and High Frequency Heating. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 357-364. https://doi.org/10.4995/AMPERE2019.2019.9755OCS35736

Paracrine IL-33 Stimulation Enhances Lipopolysaccharide-Mediated Macrophage Activation

BACKGROUND: IL-33, a member of the IL-1 family of cytokines, provokes Th2-type inflammation accompanied by accumulation of eosinophils through IL-33R, which consists of ST2 and IL-1RAcP. We previously demonstrated that macrophages produce IL-33 in response to LPS. Some immune responses were shown to differ between ST2-deficient mice and soluble ST2-Fc fusion protein-treated mice. Even in anti-ST2 antibody (Ab)-treated mice, the phenotypes differed between distinct Ab clones, because the characterization of such Abs (i.e., depletion, agonistic or blocking Abs) was unclear in some cases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To elucidate the precise role of IL-33, we newly generated neutralizing monoclonal Abs for IL-33. Exogenous IL-33 potentiated LPS-mediated cytokine production by macrophages. That LPS-mediated cytokine production by macrophages was suppressed by inhibition of endogenous IL-33 by the anti-IL-33 neutralizing mAbs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that LPS-mediated macrophage activation is accelerated by macrophage-derived paracrine IL-33 stimulation

Detailed Modeling of Melt Dripping in Coke Bed by DEM – SPH

A high-resolution numerical model was performed for a detailed understanding of packed-bed structures constructed by actual scale cokes, and the molten slag (SiO2–CaO–Al2O3) trickle flow characteristics in the lower part of an actual blast furnace. Smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations can track the motion of liquids containing dispersed droplets, and the discrete element method (DEM) with a multisphere approach makes possible to simulate non-spherical solid-particle motion. We carried out high-resolution large-scale trickle flow simulations using more than 10 million particles, carried out case studies of statistical processing, and evaluated the effects of physical properties varied by the composition or temperature of slag samples. We clarified that there is a limitation to predict the holdup accurately based on the capillary number, which is a widely used approach. We analyzed the influence of melt viscosity on trickle flow, and clarified that an increase in viscosity increases holdup because limiting the effective flow path and suppressing the dispersion of the droplets promoted the enlargement of each stagnant droplet. This detailed direct dynamic model could explain the mechanism underlying different holdup tendencies in conventional research