SMT-Based Contention-Free Task Mapping and Scheduling on 2D/3D SMART NoC with Mixed Dimension-Order Routing

SMART NoCs achieve ultra-low latency by enabling single-cycle multiple-hop transmission via bypass channels. However, contention along bypass channels can seriously degrade the performance of SMART NoCs by breaking the bypass paths. Therefore, contention-free task mapping and scheduling are essential for optimal system performance. In this article, we propose an SMT (Satisfiability Modulo Theories)-based framework to find optimal contention-free task mappings with minimum application schedule lengths on 2D/3D SMART NoCs with mixed dimension-order routing. On top of SMT’s fast reasoning capability for conditional constraints, we develop efficient search-space reduction techniques to achieve practical scalability. Experiments demonstrate that our SMT framework achieves 10× higher scalability than ILP (Integer Linear Programming) with 931.1× (ranges from 2.2× to 1532.1×) and 1237.1× (ranges from 4× to 4373.8×) faster average runtimes for finding optimum solutions on 2D and 3D SMART NoCs and our 2D and 3D extensions of the SMT framework with mixed dimension-order routing also maintain the improved scalability with the extended and diversified routing paths, resulting in reduced application schedule lengths throughout various application benchmarks.

Bike-Sharing Fleet Allocation Optimization Based on Demand Gap and Cycle Rebalancing Strategies

In Bike-Sharing System (BSS), the initial number of bikes at station will affect the time interval and the amount of rebalancing, which is usually empirically determined and does not reflect the characteristics of consumer demand in finer time granularity, thus possibly leading to biased conclusions. In this paper, a fleet allocation method considering demand gap is first proposed to calculate the initial number of bikes at each station. Then, taking the number of demand gap periods as the decision variable, an optimization model is built to minimize the total rebalancing amount. Furthermore, the research periods are divided into multiple subcycles, the single-cycle and multicycle rebalancing strategies are presented, and the additional subcycle rebalancing method is introduced to amend the number of bikes between subcycles to decrease the rebalancing amount of the next subcycle. Finally, our methods are verified in effectively decreasing the rebalancing amount in a long-term rebalancing problem.

Benefits of smoothing backgrounds and radar reflectivity observations for multiscale data assimilation with an ensemble Kalman filter at convective scales: A proof of concept study

In the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), the covariance localization radius is usually small when assimilating radar observations because of high density of the radar observations. This makes the region away from precipitation difficult to correct if no other observations are available, as there is no reason to correct the background. To correct errors away from the innovating radar observations, a multiscale localization (MLoc) method adapted to dense observations like those from radar is proposed. In this method, different scales are corrected successively by using the same reflectivity observations, but with different degree of smoothing and localization radius at each step. In the context of observing system simulation experiments, single and multiple assimilation experiments are conducted with the MLoc method. Results show that the MLoc assimilation updates areas that are away from the innovative observations and improves on average the analysis and forecast quality in single cycle and cycling assimilation experiments. The forecast gains are maintained until the end of the forecast period, illustrating the benefits of correcting different scales.

Identify spin property of relativistic electrons in fully relativistic laser fields

A semiclassical method is developed to study the spin evolution of a relativistic electron in an fully relativistic laser pulse. Different from the previous classical method which is based on the direct generalization of nonrelativistic spin precession equation, we perform first-principle calculations on the mean values of various spin operators with respect to a relativistic electron wavepacket. It is demonstrated, via theoretical derivation and numerical simulation, that although the Foldy-Wouthuysen operator merits the single-particle interpretation, its mean value obviously deviates from the result of the classical method, which sheds light on not only the understanding of relativistic spin itself but also broad related applications. To achieve a direct observation of such effect, a feasible experimental setup utilizing the asymmetric field of a single-cycle laser is proposed. In such geometry, the deviation is evidenced in the total change of spin which can be easily measured after the interaction.

Development of a Single-cycle Infectious SARS-CoV-2 Virus Replicon Particle System for use in BSL2 Laboratories

Research activities with infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome associated coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are currently permitted only under biosafety level 3 (BSL3) containment. Here, we report the development of a single-cycle infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus replicon particle (VRP) system with a luciferase and green fluorescent protein (GFP) dual reporter that can be safely handled in BSL2 laboratories to study SARS-CoV-2 biology. The Spike (S) gene of SARS-CoV-2 encodes for the envelope glycoprotein, which is essential for mediating infection of new host cells. Through deletion and replacement of this essential S gene with a luciferase and GFP dual reporter, we have generated a conditional SARS-CoV-2 mutant (ΔS-VRP) that produces infectious particles only in cells expressing a viral envelope glycoprotein of choice. Interestingly, we observed more efficient production of infectious particles in cells expressing vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) glycoprotein G (ΔS-VRP(G)) as compared to cells expressing other viral glycoproteins including S. We confirmed that infection from ΔS-VRP(G) is limited to a single round and can be neutralized by anti-VSV serum. In our studies with ΔS-VRP(G), we observed robust expression of both luciferase and GFP reporters in various human and murine cell types, demonstrating that a broad variety of cells can support intracellular replication of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, treatment of ΔS-VRP(G) infected cells with anti-CoV drugs remdesivir (nucleoside analog) or GC376 (CoV 3CL protease inhibitor) resulted in a robust decrease in both luciferase and GFP expression in a drug-dose and cell-type dependent manner. Taken together, we have developed a single-cycle infectious SARS-CoV-2 VRP system that serves as a versatile platform to study SARS-CoV-2 intracellular biology and to perform high throughput screening of antiviral drugs under BSL2 containment. Importance Due to the highly contagious nature of SARS-CoV-2 and the lack of immunity in the human population, research on SARS-CoV-2 has been restricted to biosafety level 3 laboratories. This has greatly limited participation of the broader scientific community in SARS-CoV-2 research and thus has hindered the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. By deleting the essential Spike gene in the viral genome, we have developed a conditional mutant of SARS-CoV-2 with luciferase and fluorescent reporters, which can be safely used under biosafety level 2 conditions. Our single-cycle infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus replicon system can serve as a versatile platform to study SARS-CoV-2 intracellular biology and to perform high throughput screening of antiviral drugs under BSL2 containment.

Perturbations of the Depth of Liquid Penetration Into the Capillary During Bubble Departures

In the present paper, the influence of bubble size on liquid penetration into the capillary was experimentally and numerically studied. In the experiment, bubbles were generated from a glass capillary (with an inner diameter equal to 1 mm) in a glass tank containing distilled water, tap water or an aqueous solution of calcium carbonate. These liquids differ in the value of their surface tension, which influences the bubble size. During experimental investigations, air pressure fluctuations in the gas supply system were measured. Simultaneously, the videos showing the liquids’ penetration into the capillary were recorded. Based on the videos, the time series of liquid movements inside the capillary were recovered. The numerical models were used to study the influence of bubble size on the velocity of liquid flow above the capillary and the depth of liquid penetration into the capillary. It was shown that the air volume flow rate and the surface tension have the greatest impact on the changes of pressure during a single cycle of bubble departure (Δp). The changes in pressure during a single cycle of bubble departure determine the depth of liquid penetration into the capillary. Moreover, the values of Δp and, consequently, the depth of liquid penetration can be modified by perturbations in the liquid velocity above the capillary outlet.

Design of SRAM-based 8T-Cell for Memory Alias Table

Memory Alias Table exploits a major role in Register Renaming Unit (RRU) for maintaining the translation between logical registers to physical registers for the given instruction(s). This work presents the design of the memory Alias Table based on the 8TCell with multiport write, read, and content-addressable operation for 2-WAY three operands machine cycle. Results show that four read ports operate simultaneously within a half-cycle, while two-write ports operate simultaneously within the other half-cycle. The operation of content-addressable with two parallel ports is managed during the half-cycle of the read phase; thus, the three operations occur within a single cycle without latency. HSPICE simulations conduct 32-rows x 6-bit with 21T-Cell memory Alias Table that has 4- read ports, 2-write ports, and 2-content-addressable ports using a standard 65 nm/1V CMOS process. Simulations reveal that the proposed design operates within a one-cycle of 1 GHz consuming an average power of 0.87 mW