Particle Detector for Low Energy Heavy Ions

The purpose of this research is to build, calibrate and test a parallel-plate avalanche counter (PPAC) detector, which can be used to detect low energy heavy ion particles. This detector will enable Texas A&M to conduct experiments using low energy heavy ions with the MDM magnetic spectrometer, which was not possible previously. It will be used primarily in experiments in nuclear astrophysics that utilize indirect methods such as the sub-Coulomb transfer reaction and the Trojan Horse method. The expected outcomes are that the detector can separate particles with equal magnetic rigidities, but different mass/charge ratios. It should be able to measure the time of flight for particles as they move from one end of the detector to the other. It should also be able to locate, with sufficient precision, the coordinates of the particle inside the detector so that the actual path which a particle takes can be found

Temperature Regulation in Multicore Processors Using Adjustable-Gain Integral Controllers

This paper considers the problem of temperature regulation in multicore processors by dynamic voltage-frequency scaling. We propose a feedback law that is based on an integral controller with adjustable gain, designed for fast tracking convergence in the face of model uncertainties, time-varying plants, and tight computing-timing constraints. Moreover, unlike prior works we consider a nonlinear, time-varying plant model that trades off precision for simple and efficient on-line computations. Cycle-level, full system simulator implementation and evaluation illustrates fast and accurate tracking of given temperature reference values, and compares favorably with fixed-gain controllers.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, IEEE Conference on Control Applications 2015, Accepted Versio

Improved approximation bounds for Vector Bin Packing

In this paper we propose an improved approximation scheme for the Vector Bin Packing problem (VBP), based on the combination of (near-)optimal solution of the Linear Programming (LP) relaxation and a greedy (modified first-fit) heuristic. The Vector Bin Packing problem of higher dimension (d \geq 2) is not known to have asymptotic polynomial-time approximation schemes (unless P = NP). Our algorithm improves over the previously-known guarantee of (ln d + 1 + epsilon) by Bansal et al. [1] for higher dimensions (d > 2). We provide a {\theta}(1) approximation scheme for certain set of inputs for any dimension d. More precisely, we provide a 2-OPT algorithm, a result which is irrespective of the number of dimensions d.Comment: 15 pages, 3 algorithm

A Study of Risk Factors for Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection

INTRODUCTION: CAUTI forms 30-40% of all nosocomial infection worldwide. Complications associated with CAUTI lead to prolonged hospital stay, increased cost and morbidity. Understanding the risk factors for catheter associated urinary tract infection is essential for implementing prevention strategies in daily care of our patients. AIM OF THE STUDY: To study the incidence of catheter associated urinary tract infection, its various risk factors and to document the microbiological profile of CAUTI in our hospital. METHODS: 210 recently catheterized (< 24 hours) patients were included. Serial urine culture was done in all patients. CDC criteria for defining CAUTI was used. Patients with positive cultures at the time of catheterization were excluded. The age, sex, indication for catheterization, any co morbid illness, duration of catheterization, breach in the closed system of drainage, catheter size, Hemoglobin and Renal function tests were recorded. RESULTS: Duration of catheterization ranged from a minimum 2 days to a maximum of 12 days (mean 4.85 days). The incidence of CAUTI in this study was 42.9%. Most significant risk factors for CAUTI were duration of catheterization and drainage system (p value < 0.0001). Female gender (OR 6.55) and Diabetes (OR 5.11) were associated with a significantly increased risk. CONCLUSION: The most significant risk factors for CAUTI include duration of catheterization, drainage system and diabetes. Gender of the patient is the only unalterable host factor. Hence an appropriate indication for catheterization, shorter duration, strict control of diabetes and implementing the best catheter care practice measures can help prevent catheter associated urinary tract infections

BORTEZOMIB INDUCED SUBCONJUNCTIVAL HEMORRHAGE

Many drugs are used in the treatment of multiple myeloma but Thalidomide, Lenalidomide, Bortezomib, dexamethasone and their combination remains the main stay of treatment. The molecular formula of bortezomib is C19H25BN4O4 and its chemical IUPAC name is [3-methyl-1-(3-phenyl-2-pyrazin-2-ylcarbonylamino-propanoyl) amino-butyl] boronic acid. Mechanisms by which it acts is usually by 26 SProteasome inhibition leading to degradation of anti-apoptotic proteins. Bortezomib is known to cause many side effects. So hence we report a rare case of Bortezomib induced subconjunctival hemorrhage in our tertiary care hospital.KEYWORDS: Bortezomib, Adverse effect, Proteosome inhibition, Subconjunctival Hemorrhag

The Analysis of Essential Factors Responsible for Loss of Labour Productivity in Building Construction Projects in India

The purpose of this paper is to find the essential factors influencing the loss of labour productivity (LP) in construction in India and substantiate these factors with naturalistic observation method in a building construction project. From the past studies, factors influencing the LP are specifically selected for the survey and statistically analyzed to form into defined group of factors. The influence of these factors is then correlated to the field level LP. For this, a case study is conducted using TMS technique to inspect factors influencing LP in an ongoing multi storied residential building construction site in Telangana State, India. The LP factors identified by survey analysis are quantitatively validated with the field study. It is noted that work characteristics, organizational characteristics, assured and safety work and workers management were responsible for 15% loss of LP in the field. Of these, major loss of about 11% is shown by work characteristics factors such as material delay and tools delay. This method can be utilized by construction personnel to measure the loss of LP with the data available from survey methods and also assists the construction personnel in making timely decisions towards the improvement of LP for various activities on the construction project sites

Investigation of structural, magnetic and optical properties of rare earth substituted bismuth ferrite

Polycrystalline BiFeO3 and rare earth substituted Bi 0.9R0.1FeO3 (BRFO, R=Y, Ho and Er) compounds were prepared by rapid solid state sintering technique. Structural phase analysis indicated that all the compounds stabilized in rhombohedral structure (R3c space group) and a small orthorhombic phase fraction was observed in BRFO compounds. From the Raman spectra results, the changes in the phonon frequencies (A1) and line widths suggested lattice distortion in the BRFO compounds as was evidenced in the XRD analysis. Compared to the linear variation of magnetization with magnetic field (M-H) shown by BFO, an obvious M-H loop was observed in BRFO compounds which could be due to the suppression of space modulated spin structure and was explained on the basis of weak ferromagnetism and field induced spin reorientation. UV-Vis spectroscopy evidenced a change in local FeO6 environment due to shift in the 6A 1g→4T2g energy transition band. BRFO compounds with improved remnant magnetization and coercive field are applicable for magnetoelectric devices

Coordinated management of the processor and memory for optimizing energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is a key design goal for future computing systems. With diverse components interacting with each other on the System-on-Chip (SoC), dynamically managing performance, energy and temperature is a challenge in 2D architectures and more so in a 3D stacked environment. Temperature has emerged as the parameter of primary concern. Heuristics based schemes have been employed so far to address these issues. Looking ahead into the future, complex multiphysics interactions between performance, energy and temperature reveal the limitations of such approaches. Therefore in this thesis, first, a comprehensive characterization of existing methods is carried out to identify causes for their inefficiency. Managing different components in an independent and isolated fashion using heuristics is seen to be the primary drawback. Following this, techniques based on feedback control theory to optimize the energy efficiency of the processor and memory in a coordinated fashion are developed. They are evaluated on a real physical system and a cycle-level simulator demonstrating significant improvements over prior schemes. The two main messages of this thesis are, (i) coordination between multiple components is paramount for next generation computing systems and (ii) temperature ought to be treated as a resource like compute or memory cycles.Ph.D