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No description available.

Power dissipation is one of the major design issues of digital circuits. The power dissipated by a circuit affects its speed and performance. Multiplier is one of the most commonly used circuits in the digital devices. There are various types of multipliers available depending upon the application in which they are used. In the present thesis report, the importance of power dissipation in today's digital technology is discussed and the various types and sources of power dissipation have been elaborated. Different types of multipliers have been designed which vary in their structure and amount of power dissipation. The concept of pipelining is explained and the reduction in the power dissipation of the multipliers after pipelining is experimentally determined. Clock gating is a very important technique used in the design of digital circuits to reduce power dissipation. Various types of clock gating techniques have been presented as a case study. The technology used in the simulation of these circuits is 0.35µm CMOS and the simulator used is SPECTRE S.

GLIC är en pH-känslig pentamerisk ligandstyrd jonkanal (pLGIC) som finns i cellmembranet hos prokaryoten Gloeobacter violaceus. GLIC är en bakteriell homolog till flera receptorer som är viktiga i nervsystemet hos de flesta eukaryotiska organismer. Dessa receptorer fungerar som mallar för utvecklingen av målstyrda bedövnings- och stimulerande läkemedel som påverkar nervsystemet. Förståelsen av ett proteins mekanismer har därför hög prioritet inför läkemedelsutvecklingen. Eukaryota pLGICs är dock mycket komplexa eftersom några av de är heteromera, har flera domäner, och de pågår eftertranslationella ändringar. GLIC, å andra sidan, har en enklare struktur och det räcker att analysera strukturen av en subenhet - eftersom alla subenheter är helt lika. Flertalet möjliga grindmekanismer föreslogs av vetenskapen men riktiga öppningsmekanismen av GLIC är fortfarande oklar. Projektets mål är att genomföra maskininlärning (ML) för att upptäcka nya grindmekanismer med hjälp av datormetoder. Urspungsdatan togs från tidigare forskning där andra ML-redskap såsom molekyldynamik (MD), elastisk nätverksstyrd Brownsk dynamik (eBDIMS) och Markovstillståndsmodeller (MSM) användes. Utifrån dessa redskap simulerades proteinet som vildtyp samt med funktionsförstärkt mutation vid två olika pH värden. Fem makrotillstånd byggdes: två öppna, två stängda och ett mellanliggande. I projektet användes ett annat ML redskap: KL-divergens. Detta redskap användes för att hitta skillnader i avståndfördelning mellan öppet och stängt makrotillstånd. Utifrån ursprungsdatan byggdes en tensor som lagrade alla parvisa aminosyrornas avstånd. Varje aminosyrapar hade sin egen metadata som i sin tur användes för att frambringa alla fem avståndsfördelningar fråm MSMs som byggdes i förväg. Sedan bräknades medel-KL-divergens mellan två avståndfördelningar av intresse för att filtrera bort aminosyropar med överlappande avståndsfördelningar. För att se till att aminosyror inom aminosyrapar som låg kvar kan påverka varandra, filtrerades bort alla par vars minsta och medelavstånd var stora. De kvarvarande aminosyroparen utvärderades i förhållande till alla fem makrotillstånd Viktiga nya grindmekanismer som hittades genom både KL-divergens och makrotillståndsfördelningar innefattade loopen mellan M2-M3 helixarna av en subenhet och både loopen mellan sträckor β8 och β9 (Loop F)/N-terminal β9-sträckan och pre-M1/N-terminal M1 av närliggande subenheten. Loopen mellan sträckor β8 och β9 (Loop F) visade höga KL-värden också med loopen mellan sträckor β1 och β2 loop samt med loopen mellan sträckor β6 och β7 (Pro-loop) och avståndet mellan aminosyror minskade vid kanalens grind. Övriga intressanta grindmekanismer innefattade parning av aminosyror från loopen β4-β5 (Loop A) med aminosyror från sträckor β1 och β6 samt böjning av kanalen porangränsande helix. KL-divergens påvisades vara ett viktigt redskap för att filtrera tillgänglig data och de nya grindmekanismer kan bli användbara både för akademin, som vill reda ut GLIC:s fullständiga grindmekanismer, och läkemedelsföretag, som letar efter bindningsställen inom molekylen för att utveckla nya läkemedel. / GLIC is a transmembrane proton-gated pentameric ligand-gated ion channel (pLGIC) that is found in the prokaryote Gloeobacter violaceus. GLIC is the prokaryotic homolog to several receptors that are found in the nervous system of many eukaryotic organisms. These receptors are targets for the development of pharmaceutical drugs that interfere with the gating of these channels - such drugs involve anesthetics and stimulants. Understanding the mechanism of a drug’s target is a high priority for the development of a novel medicine. However, eukaryotic pLGICs are complex to analyse, because some of them are heteromeric, have more domains, and because of their post-translational modifications (PTMs). GLIC, on the other hand, has a simpler structure and it is enough to study the structure of only one subunit - since all subunits are identical. Several possible gating mechanisms have been proposed by the scientific community, but the complete gating of GLIC remains unclear. The goal of this project is to implement machine learning (ML) to discover novel gating mechanisms by computational approaches. The starting data was extracted from a previous research where computational tools like unbiased molecular dynamics (MD), elastic network-driven Brownian Dynamics (eBDIMS), and Markov state models (MSMs) were used. From those tools, the protein was simulated in wild-type and in a gain-of-function mutation at two different pH values. Five macrostates were constructed: two open, two closed, and an intermediate. In this project another ML tool was used: KL divergence. This tool was used to score the difference between the distance distributions of one open and one closed macrostate. The starting data was used to create a tensor that stored all residue-residue distances. Each residue pair had its own metadata, which in turn was used to yield the distance distributions of all five pre-build MSMs. Then the average KL scores between two states of interest were calculated and were used to filter out the residue pairs with overlapping distance distributions. To make sure that the residues within a pair can interact with each other, all residue pairs with very high minimum and average distance were filtered out as well. The residue pairs that remained were later evaluated across all five macrostates for further studies. Important novel mechanisms discovered in this project through both the KL divergence and the macrostate distributions involved the M2-M3 loop of one subunit and both the β8-β9 loop/N-terminal β9 strand and the preM1/N-terminal M1 region of the neighboring subunit. The β8-β9 loop (Loop F) showed high KL scores with the β1-β2 and β6-β7 (Pro-loop) loops as well with decreasing distances upon the channel’s opening. Other notable gating mechanisms involved are the pairing of residues from the β1-β2 loop (Loop A) with residues from the strands β1 and β6, as well as the kink of the pore-lining helix. KL divergence proved a valuable tool to filter available data and the novel mechanisms can prove useful both to the academic community that seeks to unravel the complete gating mechanism of GLIC and to the pharmaceutical companies that search for new binding sites within the molecule for new drugs.

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The gating system transfers the iron melt from the ladle to the void in the casting mould. The gating systems dimensions and designs are crucial for the success of a casting and a poor gating system is a leading cause of scraps. The main goal of this thesis is to improve the pouring basins and sprues at Norrlandsgjuteriet, an iron foundry located in northern Sweden. The step in the offset step basin and other variables that affect the gating system is explained, investigated and simulated in MAGMASOFT. Furthermore, put to practice at Norrlandsgjuteriet. Adding a step in the offset basin fills a very important function in the system, fending off air bubbles that might enter the mould and reduce the horizontal velocity of the melt. The basin’s height and the sprue’s cross-section control the casting time and simulations conducted in this thesis show that a step can create a beneficial rounding to the flow over the step, creating a laminar flow of the melt, down the sprue contributing to a lower casting time. A narrower sprue is better, in which the melt’s surface tension is maintained, creating an oxide pipe-layer that protects the flowing melt entering the mould and from entrainment defects. The results show that replacing the offset basins used today with offset step basins, which are 30% smaller in volume, together with a tighter sprue will not only reduce the annual material consumption by 1% or 13 000 kg but more importantly increase the quality of the casting. This due to lower melt velocity, a more homogenous temperature, better flow in the basin with less air entering the mould. / Ingjutsystemet   transporterar   det   smälta   järnet   från   skänken   till   gjutformens   hålrum. Ingjutsystemets dimensioner och utformning är avgörande för en lyckad gjutning och ett dåligt utformat ingjutsystem är den främsta orsaken till kassationer. Syftet med denna rapport är att förbättra  gjutskålarna  samt nedlopp  som  Norrlandsgjuteriet,  ett  järngjuteri  i  norra  Sverige, använder. Steget i den förskjutna gjutskålen och andra variabler som påverkar ingjutsystemet förklaras, undersöks och simuleras i MAGMASOFT. Utöver detta testas det även praktiskt hos Norrlandsgjuteriet.  Att  lägga  till  ett  steg  i gjutskålen  fyller  en  väldigt  viktig  funktion  i ingjutssystemet i och med att luftbubblor avvärjs från att följa med in i formen samt minskar även  smältans horisontella  hastighet.  Gjutskålens  höjd  och  nedloppets  tvärsnittsarea  avgör gjuttiden  och  simulationer  som  genomfördes  visade  också  att  stegets rundning  i  gjutskålen skapar ett fördelaktigt flöde över steget vilket skapar ett laminärt flöde ner i nedloppet vilket samtidigt bidrar till en minskad gjuttid. Ju smalare nedlopp desto bättre upprätthålls smältans ytspänning vilket skapar ett oxidskikt som skyddar den flytande smältan, som ska fylla formen, från inblandning  av  luft  och  oxider.  Resultaten  visar  att  genom  att  byta  ut  de förskjutna gjutskålarna som används idag med förskjutna steggjutskålar, som är 30% mindre i volym, tillsammans med en smalare nedlopp så kommer inte bara den årliga materialförbrukningen att minska med 1% eller 13 000 kg men ännu viktigare att höja kvaliteten på de gjutna detaljerna. Detta på grund av lägre smälthastighet, en mer homogen temperatur, bättre flöde i gjutskålen samt mindre luft som tränger in i formen.

In order to increase the power density, the discontinuous conducting mode (DCM) and small inductance is adopted for high power bidirectional dc-dc converter. The DCM related current ripple is minimized with multiphase interleaved operation. The turn-off loss caused by the DCM induced high peak current is reduced by snubber capacitor. The energy stored in the capacitor needs to be discharged before device is turned on. A complementary gating signal control scheme is employed to turn on the non-active switch helping discharge the capacitor and diverting the current into the anti-paralleled diode of the active switch. This realizes the zero voltage resonant transition (ZVRT) of main switches. This scheme also eliminates the parasitic ringing in inductor current. This work proposes an inductance and snubber capacitor optimization methodology. The inductor volume index and the inductor valley current are suggested as the optimization method for small volume and the realization of ZVRT. The proposed capacitance optimization method is based on a series of experiments for minimum overall switching loss. According to the suggested design optimization, a high power density hardware prototype is constructed and tested. The experimental results are provided, and the proposed design approach is verified. In this dissertation, a general-purposed power stage model is proposed based on complementary gating signal control scheme and derived with space-state averaging method. The model features a third-order system, from which a second-order model with resistive load on one side can be derived and a first-order model with a voltage source on both sides can be derived. This model sets up a basis for the unified controller design and optimization. The Δ-type model of coupled inductor is introduced and simplified to provide a more clearly physical meaning for design and dynamic analysis. These models have been validated by the Simplis ac analysis simulation. For power flow control, a unified controller concept is proposed based on the derived general-purposed power stage model. The proposed unified controller enables smooth bidirectional current flow. Controller is implemented with digital signal processing (DSP) for experimental verification. The inductor current is selected as feedback signal in resistive load, and the output current is selected as feedback signal in battery load. Load step and power flow step control tests are conducted for resistive load and battery load separately. The results indicate that the selected sensing signal can produce an accurate and fast enough feedback signal. Experimental results show that the transition between charging and discharging is very smooth, and there is no overshoot or undershoot transient. It presents a seamless transition for bidirectional current flow. The smooth transition should be attributed to the use of the complementary gating signal control scheme and the proposed unified controller. System simulations are made, and the results are provided. The test results have a good agreement with system simulation results, and the unified controller performs as expected. / Ph. D.

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Motion artefacts due to cardiac and respiratory motion present a daily challenge in cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and many different motion correction procedures are used in clinical routine imaging. To reduce motion artefacts further, patients are required to hold their breath during parts of the data acquisition, which is physically straining – especially when done repetitively. Self-Gating (SG) is a method that extracts cardiac and respiratory motion information from the MRI data in the form of signals, called SG signals, and uses them to divide the data into the specific cardiac and respiratory phases it was acquired from. This method both avoids motion artefacts and allow for free-breathing acquisition. This project’s goal was to find a method for extracting cardiac and respiratory SG signals from MRI data. The data was acquired with a golden angle radial acquisition method for 3-dimensional (3D) scans. Extraction of the raw signal was tested for both raw k-space data and high temporal resolution image series, where the images were reconstructed using a sliding window reconstruction. Filters were then applied to isolate the cardiac and respiratory information, to create separate cardiac and respiratory SG signals. Thereafter trigger points marking the beginning of the cardiac and respiratory cycles were generated. The trigger points were compared against ECG and respiratory trigger points provided by the MR scanner. The conclusion was that the SG signals based on k-space data was functional on the scans from the evaluated subjects and the most effective choice of the two options, but image based SG signals may prove to be functional after further studies. / Rörelseartefakter på grund av hjärt- och respirationsrörelser är idag vardagliga utmaningar inom magnetresonanstomografi (MR) av hjärtat, och många olika metoder används för att eliminera rörelseartefakterna. Patienterna behöver dessutom hålla andan under delar av dataupptagningen, vilket är fysiskt ansträngande – speciellt när det sker upprepade gånger. Self-Gating (SG) är en metod som extraherar information hjärt- och respirationsrytm från MR-datan i form av signaler, kallade SG signaler, och använder dem för att dela in datan i de specifika hjärt- respektive respirationsfaser som var när datan upptogs. Denna metod både undviker rörelseartefakter och tillåter fri andning under dataupptagningen. Målet med det här projektet var att hitta en metod för att extrahera SG signaler för hjärt- och respirationsrytm från MR-data. Datan samlades in med en golden angle radial-upptagning för 3- dimensionella (3D) scanningar. Extraheringen av den råa signalen testades på både rå k-space data och på bildserier av 3D-bilder med hög tidsupplösning, där bilderna var rekonstruerade med en sliding window rekonstruktion. Därefter applicerades filter för att isolera hjärt- och respirationsinformationen, för att få separata SG signaler med endast hjärt- respektive respirationsrytmer. Till slut genererades triggerpunkter för att markera början av hjärt- respektive respirationscyklerna. Dessa jämfördes med triggerpunkter uppmätta med EKG och andningskudde i magnetkameran. Slutsatsen för projektet var att SG signalerna som baserades på k-space data var funktionell för de scanningar som testades och det mest effektiva alternativet, men SG signalerna som baserades på bilder kan visa sig fungera efter mer studier.

Les peignes de longueurs d'onde, produisant des dizaines de porteuses optiques régulièrement espacées à partir d'une seule source laser, présentent un grand intérêt pour les systèmes de communication à haut débit. Ce travail de thèse porte sur les peignes générés par les diodes laser à blocage de modes basées sur des nanostructures semi-conductrices à basse dimensionnalité. Dans cette étude, les performances en verrouillage de modes de lasers Fabry-Pérot mono-section basés sur différents systèmes de matériaux sont comparées sur la base de la largeur du spectre optique d'émission et de la capacité à produire des impulsions courtes à faible gigue temporelle. En remarquant que les lasers à base de bâtonnets quantiques InAs sur InP présentent de meilleures caractéristiques par rapport aux autres matériaux examinés, leurs propriétés spécifiques en termes de stabilité des peignes de fréquences optiques et de chirp des impulsions sont étudiées plus en détail. Le chirp est d'abord étudié par la technique FROG (frequency-resolved optical gating). Ensuite, la dispersion chromatique du matériau laser est évaluée afin de vérifier si elle peut expliquer les grandes valeurs de chirp mesurées par FROG. Pour cela la technique de réflectométrie optique dans le domaine fréquentiel est utilisée et ses capacités uniques de mesure ont été étudiées et validées. Enfin, ces lasers sont employés avec succès pour les transmissions haut débit à l'aide de la technique de modulation optique OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) en détection directe. Débits de l'ordre du térabit par seconde, ainsi que le faible coût de l’architecture du système, sont très prometteurs pour les data centers / Optical frequency combs, generating tens of equally spaced optical carriers from a single laser source, are very attractive for next-generation wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication systems. This PhD thesis presents a study on the optical frequency combs generated by mode-locked laser diodes based on low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures. In this work, the mode-locking performances of single-section Fabry-Pérot lasers based on different material systems are compared on the basis of the optical spectrum width, the timing jitter and pulse generation capabilities. Then, noticing that InAs quantum dashes grown on InP exhibit on average better characteristics than other examined materials, their unique properties in terms of comb stability and pulse chirp are studied in more detail. Laser chirp, in particular, is first investigated by frequency resolved optical gating (FROG) characterizations. Then, chromatic dispersion of the laser material is assessed in order to verify whether it can account for the large chirp values measured by FROG. For that, a high sensitivity optical frequency-domain reflectometry setup is used and its measurement capabilities are extensively studied and validated. Finally, the combs generated by quantum dash mode-locked lasers are successfully employed for high data rate transmissions using direct-detection optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. Terabit per second capacities, as well as the low cost of this system architecture, appear to be particularly promising for future datacom applications