177,068 research outputs found
A BDD based algorithm for detecting difficult faults
No full textThe aim of this paper is the presentation of a new method- ologyforfast testpattern generationfir difficultfaults. A BDD-based algorithm is applied as back-end of a standard A TPG (e.g. SOCRATES, FAN, PODEM) thusproviding a solution to their ineficiency in difficult faults analysis. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed approachon a number of benchmark circuits
Emergent Semantics and Cooperation in Multi-Knowledge Environments: the ESTEEM Architecture
No full textIn the present global society, information has to be exchangeable in open and dynamic environments, where interacting peers do not necessarily share a common understanding of the world at hand, and do not have a complete picture of the context where the interaction occurs. In this paper, we present the Esteem approach and the related peer architecture for emergent semantics in dynamic and multi-knowledge environments. In Esteem, semantic communities are built around declared interests in the form of manifesto ontologies, and their autonomous nature is preserved by allowing a shared semantics to naturally emerge from peer interactions
Nursing homes : engaging patients and staff in healing garden design through focus group interviews
No full textPatient-specific gardens can provide general benefits related to the restorative effects of nature and respond to the specific needs of a particular patient population. These needs are to be considered in the design of outdoor space for healthcare. Our goal was to design a patient-specific garden for elderly people who live in Nursing Homes and Adult Day Services (RSA Famagosta, Milano). A participatory design process was used through the organization of focus groups. A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about a topic. Focus groups allowed us to study residents and staff in a more natural setting than a one-to-one interview. With this approach, users work closely together to create a program that has been implemented by landscape architects to design a patient-specific garden. The participatory process involving designers and clinical staff and residents has been appreciated because the users felt involved in the decision process. Focus group approach has proved to be useful to provide information on healing garden user needs: the findings were useful to draw design guidelines that has been incorporated into the “garden design”
Fault detection and fault tolerance issues at CMOS level through AUED encoding
No full textA new CMOS gate structure tolerating all single transistor stuck-on faults and a large set of multiple faults is presented. Such technique is aimed at guaranteeing fault tolerance for a multiple output gate and the fault tolerance property is achieved through an AUED separated encoding of the output functions and the introduction of additional transistors which avoid fault propagation. As an example, Berger code will be discussed
Screening of Antioxidant Maillard Reaction Products Using HPLC-HRMS and Study of Reaction Conditions for Their Production as Food Preservatives
No full textThe Maillard reaction (MR) involves interactions between reducing sugars and amino acids or proteins during heating, producing Maillard reaction products (MRPs) that influence food flavour, aroma, and colour. Some MRPs exhibit antioxidant properties, prompting interest in their potential as natural food preservatives. This study aimed to develop a method for detecting and identifying antioxidant MRPs using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). By improving chromatographic conditions, the separation of antioxidant MRPs was optimised using known antioxidant MRPs as reference signals. This work also examined the effects of pH, reaction time, and different sugar–amino acid combinations on the production and composition of antioxidant MRPs. Results indicated that neutral to basic pH facilitated faster reactions, with pH 7 selected as optimal. A library of 50 m/z signals for potential antioxidant MRPs was created, and the best combinations of amino acids and sugars for their production were identified. These findings pave the way for more precise analyses of antioxidant MRPs, with future research focusing on isolating and characterising specific MRPs to understand their structures and mechanisms, ultimately contributing to the development of functional foods with natural antioxidant properties
Antioxidant Maillard reaction products from milk whey: a food by-product valorisation
No full textThe Maillard reaction (MR) is a key process in food science, producing bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties. This study evaluates the antioxidant potential of MR products (MRPs) from different dairy byproducts—cow cheese whey, goat cheese whey, and cow yoghurt whey—highlighting their applicability in food preservation and waste valorisation. Whey samples were subjected to the MR at 140 °C for 90 min, showing significant amino acid and sugar consumption, particularly arginine, histidine, and lactose. Using a library of potential antioxidant MRPs (molecular weight < 250 Da), 28 key compounds, including 2-pyrrolecarboxaldehyde and maltol isomer, were identified, primarily in cow cheese whey. A complementary high-molecular-weight MRP library (≥250 Da) identified 72 additional antioxidant compounds, with distinct production patterns linked to whey type. Multivariate analyses confirmed that whey type strongly influences MRP profiles. These results highlight the potential of MR to transform whey by-products into valuable sources of natural antioxidants. This approach offers sustainable strategies for enhancing food preservation, reducing food waste, and supporting the targeted use of MRPs in the food industr
A new switching-level approach to multiple-output functions synthesis
No full textA new methodology for multiple-output functions synthesis at transistor level is presented. The final network produces the defined output values by creating a set of connections among source, ground and output nodes not necessarily implementing specific subcircuits constituting each single function. Area minimization and timing constraints are figures of merit for the quality of the proposed solution. Application results for a set of randomly generated functions are also reporte
Innovative design of CMOS fault tolerant structures
No full textA CMOS gate structure tolerating all single transistor stuck-at faults and a large set of multiple faults is presented. Such structure is based on the simultaneous implementation of both the natural and the complemented form of the desired output; such implementation is easily modifiable to achieve fault tolerance and to obtain detectability of most of the faults which are not tolerated since they cause the two output lines to share the same value. This latter characteristic allows design of self-checking gates (with respect to faults that are not tolerated). Usually, production of the natural and complemented form of the output signal does not require to double the number of transistors, thus resulting more convenient (in terms of area) than other approaches; moreover the cost overhead due to the implementation of both the natural and the complemented form of the output decreases with the size of the gate. Therefore the proposed structure may be conveniently adopted in full-custom design of large fault tolerant systems, since in this case the gate size can be modified to achieve the best trade-off between speed and area overhea
CMOS Fault Tolerant Architectures for Switch level faults
No full textThree different CMOS gate structures tolerating all single transistor stuck-at (TSA) faults and a large set of multiple faults are presented
An Integrated Approach for Designing Self-Checking FPGAs
No full textThis paper proposes a methodology for designing FPGAs able to self-detect the occurrence of hardware failures, integrated in a standard, industrial design flow. The approach improves the results proposed in the past, by defining a testing environment which takes into account the peculiarities of FPGA platforms
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