Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, we propose a low power register file architecture for embedded processors. The proposed architecture, "Value-Aware Partitioned Register File (VAP-RF)", employs a partitioning technique that divides the register file into two partitions such that the most frequently accessed registers are stored in the smaller register partition. In our partitioning algorithm, we introduce an aggressive clock-gating scheme based on narrow-value registers to furthermore reduce power. Experimental results on an ARM processor for selected MiBench workloads show that the proposed architecture has an average power saving of 70% over generic register file structure  

Over the past few years, the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 has caused the death of millions of people worldwide. Early diagnosis of the virus is essential to control its spread and provide timely treatment. Artificial intelligence methods are often used as powerful tools to reach a COVID-19 diagnosis via computed tomography (CT) samples. In this paper, artificial intelligence-based methods are introduced to diagnose COVID-19. At first, a network called CT6-CNN is designed, and then two ensemble deep transfer learning models are developed based on Xception, ResNet-101, DenseNet-169, and CT6-CNN to reach a COVID-19 diagnosis by CT samples. The publicly available SARS-CoV-2 CT dataset is... 

In this paper, we investigate the impact of mobility on the spread of COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran. We have performed a time series analysis between the indicators of public transit use and inter-city trips on the number of infected people. Our results showed a significant relationship between the number of infected people and mobility variables with both short-term and long-term lags. The long-term effect of mobility showed to have a consistent lag correlation with the weekly number of new COVID-19 positive cases. In our statistical analysis, we also investigated key non-transportation variables. For instance, the mandatory use of masks in public transit resulted in observing a 10% decrease in... 

Point Set Registration (PSR) of anatomic parts is used in different fields such as Patient Specific Implant (PSI) design in Computer Assisted Surgery (CAS) procedure. We designed a modified rigid PSR method based on student's-t mixture model. The proposed method is compared with Coherent Point Drift (CPD) registration method. Higher convergence speed and the lower error value are the advantages of the suggested algorithm in compare with CPD. In our method, the number of iterations decreases by about 69%, and the final error improvement was about 7% in comparison with CPD. The robustness of the proposed algorithm makes it beneficial to be used in the procedure of designing PSI in both... 

TiO2 nanofibres were prepared using a templating method with tetraisopropylorthotitanate (TiPT) as a precursor. The preparation comprises liquid phase deposition on cellulose fibres followed by thermal removal of the cellulose template. The obtained TiO2 fibrous substance consists of micron-size fibres with a microstructure of nanofibres. It was demonstrated that nanofibres are basically formed through the aggregation of TiO2 nanoparticles and nanorods into chain structures during the thermal treatment process. The measured surface area of the TiO2 fibres was about 250 m2 g-1. It was shown that the pore size distribution is multi-scale and a fractal morphology was demonstrated with two... 

Fault injection methods have been used for analyzing dependability characteristics of systems for years. In this paper we propose a practical mixed-signal fault injection flow that is fast as well as accurate. We described three classes of most common faults: i) Single event transients, ii) Electro-Magnetic interference and iii) Power disturbance faults. Fault models are implemented directly into circuit's devices using behavioral fault description in Verilog-A language. As an example for dependability evaluation, some test circuits have been prepared and the results of fault injection on their designs have been reported  

UMTS is the European standard of third generation of mobile communications and its air interface is called WCDMA. In this paper a simple WCDMA system in downlink and in FDD mode is simulated and results is presented. The simulation that is an execution of apart of physical layer functions as layer 1, is including data modulation, spreading multipath channel, AWGN noise, data demodulation, despreading and Rake receiver. It is obvious that transmission methods of data correspond with WCDMA standard. In the other word, frames and slots structure, data symbols setting and requiring parameters follow the defined standards  

Micro/Nano mechatronic systems might be defined as systems that include nano- or micro-scale components. These components can be sensors, actuators, and/or physical structures. Furthermore, the high-precision control laws for such small scales are important to ensure stability, accuracy, and precision in these systems. In this writing, four categories of such small-scale systems are considered by providing multifarious novel or key examples from the literature: control engineering and modeling, design and fabrication, measurement engineering, and sensor/actuator development. The applications discussed in the examples vary from nano-positioners, crucial in systems such as atomic force... 

This work presents a simple solvent-free route based on solid-state thermal decomposition approach to synthesize magnetic copper ferrite (CuFe2O4) microspheres and copper ferrite/metal oxide composites. For this purpose, [Cu(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2 complex (where en = ethylenediamine and ox = oxalate) was introduced as a new single-source precursor. Ferromagnetic property of the nanostructures was determined by alternating gradient force magnetometer. The effect of different ligands and temperatures on the morphology of the products was investigated. Solid-state thermal decomposition of the precursor at different temperatures in the range of 400–800 °C led to the fabrication of magnetic copper... 

The control and stabilization of resonant converters are essential problems in power electronics. The conventional controller design and stability analysis for these converters are based on the linearized averaged model. Nevertheless, the state variables in resonant converters have large ac variations and the validity of the linearized average model is violated. Hence, using large signal and nonaveraged models are necessary for controller design and stability analysis. In this paper, a new hybrid controller is presented that is applicable to dc-dc series resonant converters and use neither averaging nor small signal approximation. The dc-dc resonant converters are inherently switched affine... 

In this paper, static behavior and pull-in of micro tweezers is studied. The micro tweezer is modelled as two cantilever beams. Static behavior of the micro tweezer under the effect of electrostatic actuation is modelled using the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. In order to capture size effects on the behavior of micro tweezers, modified couple stress theory is utilized. It is shown when the voltage between two electrodes increased from some specific value, micro beams adhere to each other and it is observed that the pull-in voltage predicted by the modified couple stress theory considerably differs with that of the classical theory of elasticity. Results of this paper can be used for accurate... 

A dc-dc resonant converter has the advantage of overcoming switching losses and electromagnetic interference which are the main limitations of high frequency power converters. Nevertheless, the modeling and stability analysis of dc-dc resonant converters are considerably more complex than pulsewidth modulation counterparts. The conventional averaged linearized model of the resonant converter has limitations due to averaging and linearization. First of all, the linearized model has large modeling error in presence of large variations of reference voltage and input voltage. Furthermore, Converging area for stabilizing controllers is smaller in the averaged model. In order to overcome these... 

UMTS is the European standard of the third generation of mobile communications and its air interface is called WCDMA. In this paper a simple WCDMA system in downlink and FDD mode is simulated and results are presented. The simulation that is an execution, apart from physical layer functions as layer 1, includes data modulation, spreading multipath channel, AWGN noise, data demodulation, despreading and Rake receiver. It is obvious that transmission methods of data correspond to WCDMA standards. In other words, frames and slots structure, data symbols setting and required parameters follow the defined standards. © 2002 St. Petersburg State Poly Univ  

In this paper we propose two new attacks on UMTS network. Both attacks exploit the UMTS-GSM interworking and are possible in the GSM access area of UMTS network. The first attack allows the attacker to eavesdrop on the entire traffic of the victim UMTS subscriber in the GERAN coverage of the UMTS network. The second attack is an impersonation attack i.e. the attacker impersonates a genuine UMTS subscriber to a UMTS network and fools the network to provide services at the expense of the victim subscriber in its GERAN coverage. © 2009 IEEE  

The implementation of new techniques and design of new elements have been an important issues among finite element researchers. In this regard, a designed super element has been applied to analyze a series of dynamic problems. Findings indicate that in large structure analysis the same results as the conventional method can be obtained when applying a few super elements. The time required for dynamic analysis using a super element is significantly smaller than the regular finite element. In this paper, the forced vibration of laminated composite rectangular plates is analyzed. The dynamic response of the plate, using a four-super element, is obtained. In-plane deformation, as well as bending... 

Application of super-finite element method for eccentrically stiffened laminated plates in free vibration was studied. The super element method offers a relatively simple and efficient means of predicting the natural frequencies with shorter runtime. The results obtained from the extensive numerical evaluation show that the super-element method has an acceptable level of accuracy for stiffened laminated composite plates with a coarse mesh  

In this paper, we propose a very fast and accurate analytical approach to estimate the overall SER and to identify the most vulnerable gates,flip-flops, and paths of a circuit. Using such information, designers can selectively protect the vulnerable parts resulting in lower power and area overheads that are the most important factors in embedded systems. Unlike previous approaches, the proposed approach firstly does not rely on fault injection or fault simulation; secondly it measures the SER for multi cycles of circuit operation; thirdly, the proposed approach accurately computes all three masking factors, namely, logical, electrical, and timing masking; fourthly, the effects of error... 

Single-phase power factor correction (PFC) converter circuits are non-linear systems due to the contribution of their multiplier. This non-linearity causes difficulties in analysis and design. Models that reduce the system to a linear system involve considerable approximation, and produce results that are susceptible to instability problems. In this paper a piecewise affine (PWA) system is introduced for describing the nonlinear averaged model. Then robust output feedback controllers are established in terms of the linear matrix inequality (LMI). Simulation and experiments results show the effectiveness of the proposed control method  

A large number of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) security schemes have been proposed in the literature, relying primarily on symmetric key cryptography. To enable those, Random Key pre-Distribution (RKD) systems have been widely accepted. However, WSN nodes are vulnerable to physical compromise. Capturing one or more nodes operating with RKD would give the adversary keys to compromise communication of other benign nodes. Thus the challenge is to enhance resilience of WSN to node capture, while maintaining the flexibility and low-cost features of RKD. We address this problem, without any special-purpose hardware, proposing a new and simple idea: key splitting. Our scheme does not increase... 

Many Random Key Distribution (RKD) schemes have been proposed in the literature to enable security applications in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). A main security aspect of RKD schemes is their resistance against node capture attacks, since compromising the sensors and capturing their keys is a common risk in such networks. We propose a new method, based on a 2-Dimensional Hash Chain (2DHC), that can be applied on any RKD scheme to improve their resilience. Our method maintains the flexibility and low cost features of RKD schemes and it doesn't require any special-purpose hardware or extra memory to store keys in the sensors. We demonstrate that our approach significantly increases the...