Hello,

I am trying to import (in spectre) an spice model of a ceramic capacitor manufactured by Samsung EM. The link that includes the model is here :-

http://weblib.samsungsem.com/mlcc/mlcc-ec.do?partNumber=CL05A156MR6NWR

They proved static spice model and interactive spice model.

I had no problem while including the static model.

However, the interactive model which models voltage and temperature coefficients seems to not be an ordinary spice model. They provide HSPICE, LTSPICE, and PSPICE model files and I failed to include any of them.

Any suggestions ?

Hello,

I am using Virtuoso 6.1.7.

I am performing the parasitic extraction of a MOM cap array of 32 caps. I use Quantus QRC and I enable field solver. I select “QRCFS” for field solver type and “High” for field solver accuracy. The unit MOM cap is horizontally and vertically symmetric. The array looks like the sketch below and there are no other structures except the unit caps:

Rationally speaking, the capacitance values of the unit caps should be symmetric with respect to a vertical symmetry axis that is between cap16 and cap17 (shown with dashed red line). For example,

the capacitance of cap1 should be equal to the capacitance of cap32

the capacitance of cap2 should be equal to the capacitance of cap31

etc. as there are no other structures around the caps that might create some asymmetry.

Nevertheless, what I observe is the following after the parasitic extraction:

As it can be seen, the result is not symmetric contrary to what is expected. I should also add that I do not observe this when I perform parasitic extraction with no filed solver.

Why do I get this result? Is it an artifact resulting from the field solver tool (my conclusion was yes but still it must be verified)? If not, how can something like this happen?

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Can

Several tools can generate power reports based on libraries & stimulus. The issue is what's NEXT?

• Is there any scope to improve power consumption of my design?
• What is the best-case power?
• Pin-point hot spots in my design?
• How to recover wasted power?

And here is the solution in form of Joules RTL Power Exploration. Joules’ framework for power exploration and power implementation/recovery is stimulus based, where analysis is done by Joules and is explored/implemented by user.

Power Exploration capabilities include:

• Efficiency metrics
• Pin point RTL location
• Cross probe to stim
• Centralize all power data

 Do you want to explore more? What is the flow? What commands can be used?

There is a ONE-STOP solution to all these queries in the form of videos on Joules Power Exploration features on https://support.cadence.com (Cadence login required).

Video Links:

How to Analyze Ideal Power Using Joules RTL Power Solution GUI? (Video)

What is Ideal Power Analysis Flow in Joules RTL Power Solution? (Video)

How to Apply Observability Don’t Care (ODC) Technique in Joules? (Video)

How to Debug Wasted Power Using Ideal Power Analyzer Window in Joules GUI? (Video)

Related Resources

Enhance the Joules experience with videos: Joules RTL Power Solution: Video Library

For any questions, general feedback, or future blog topic suggestions, please leave a comment. 

According to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. electrical generating capacity by renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) has now - for the first time - surpassed that of coal.

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The U.S. land-based wind industry installed 7,588 MW of capacity last year, bringing the overall utility-scale total to more than 96 GW. 

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According to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. electrical generating capacity by renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) has now - for the first time - surpassed that of coal.

Tesla Inc. is planning a factory in China with a capacity for 500,000 vehicles a year, its biggest step beyond the U.S. so far, according to people familiar with the matter. Tesla is due to sign a memorandum of understanding with local entities in Shanghai, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was to be in the city for an event with the government on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported earlier. A Tesla representative in China didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. electrical generating capacity by renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) has now - for the first time - surpassed that of coal.

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Experiments have shown the ability to store ten-times the capacity of water, and for months on end. It is hoped the technology will help overcome any weather-related fluctuations in renewable generation from wind or solar.

Sweden’s ambitious plan to drastically cut emissions from transport by bringing millions of electric cars onto the road could be derailed by a lack of power capacity for new charging stations in major cities.

According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Office of Energy Projects, wind power provided over two-thirds (68.41 percent) of new U.S. electrical generating capacity in October 2014. Specifically, five wind farms in Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas came on line last month, accounting for 574 MW of new capacity.

Ending a year-long race that had been nip-and tuck every month, renewable energy sources cumulatively provided more new electric generating capacity in 2014 than did natural gas.

Analysts at Huajin Securities in China said they expect newly installed capacity nationwide for 2018 to be somewhere between 21 and 22 GW, and that the wind power curtailment rate would continue to drop. Newly installed capacity for wind power is expected to continue to grow steadily over the next two years, while the proportion of the country’s total power sourced from wind is expected to continue to increase as well.

As of the end of 2018, China’s renewable energy installation capacity had reached 728 GW, an increase of 12 percent from a year earlier, according to statistics released by China’s National Energy Administration. This breaks down into 352 GW (up 2.5 percent) for hydro, 184 GW (up 12.4 percent) for wind, 174 GW (up 34 percent) for photovoltaic (PV) and 17.8 GW (up 20.7 percent) for biomass. Renewable energy accounted for 38.3 percent of the country’s total installed power capacity, a rise of 1.7 percentage points.

Yesterday, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) unveiled the 14th edition of its Global Wind Report, which it says has been completely revamped.

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According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects, solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, and hydropower "units" provided 394 MW — or 100 percent — of all new electrical generation placed in-service in November 2013. There was no new capacity during the month from natural gas, coal, oil, or nuclear power. Renewable energy sources also provided 99 percent of all new electrical generating capacity in October.

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Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

LG International will expand its palm oil operations in Indonesia for the first time in six years. This is a move for the trading company to focus more on the food resource business. The company recently broke the ground for the palm oil plant. It plans to complete the construction by the end of the first half of next year and start producing 110,000 tons of palm oil a year. This is an increase of 30,000 tons from the current capacity. Back in 2009, LG International jumped into the food re...

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Acceptable worship demands that God be known—worship cannot occur where the true God is not believed in, adored, and obeyed. The object of our worship must be right if our worship is to be acceptable. We must consider the God we worship.

Prague Daily Monitor

The Ministry of Labor has prepared and made available to the public a study showing that the Czech Republic is not doing enough for kindergarten capacity according to EU norms. Pre-school care thus is not available to three in ten girls and boys up to the age of three years old, which parents need.

read more

Title: Psychopaths May Lack Capacity for Empathy
Category: Health News
Created: 4/26/2013 12:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2013 12:00:00 AM

ABSTRACT

This research analyzed six Aspergillus fumigatus genes encoding putative efflux proteins for their roles as transporters. The A. fumigatus genes abcA, abcC, abcF, abcG, abcH, and abcI were cloned into plasmids and overexpressed in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain in which the highly active endogenous ABC transporter gene PDR5 was deleted. The activity of each transporter was measured by efflux of rhodamine 6G and accumulation of alanine β-naphthylamide. The transporters AbcA, AbcC, and AbcF had the strongest efflux activities of these compounds. All of the strains with plasmid-expressed transporters had more efflux activity than did the PDR5-deleted background strain. We performed broth microdilution drug susceptibility testing and agar spot assays using an array of compounds and antifungal drugs to determine the transporter specificity and drug susceptibility of the strains. The transporters AbcC and AbcF showed the broadest range of substrate specificity, while AbcG and AbcH had the narrowest range of substrates. Strains expressing the AbcA, AbcC, AbcF, or AbcI transporter were more resistant to fluconazole than was the PDR5-deleted background strain. Strains expressing AbcC and AbcF were additionally more resistant to clotrimazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole, and posaconazole than was the background strain. Finally, we analyzed the expression levels of the genes by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in triazole-susceptible and -resistant A. fumigatus clinical isolates. All of these transporters are expressed at a measurable level, and transporter expression varied significantly between strains, demonstrating the high degree of phenotypic variation, plasticity, and divergence of which this species is capable.

IMPORTANCE One mechanism behind drug resistance is altered export out of the cell. This work is a multifaceted analysis of membrane efflux transporters in the human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus. Bioinformatics evidence infers that there is a relatively large number of genes in A. fumigatus that encode ABC efflux transporters. However, very few of these transporters have been directly characterized and analyzed for their potential role in drug resistance.

Our objective was to determine if these undercharacterized proteins function as efflux transporters and then to better define whether their efflux substrates include antifungal drugs used to treat fungal infections. We chose six A. fumigatus potential plasma membrane ABC transporter genes for analysis and found that all six genes produced functional transporter proteins. We used two fungal systems to look for correlations between transporter function and drug resistance. These transporters have the potential to produce drug-resistant phenotypes in A. fumigatus. Continued characterization of these and other transporters may assist in the development of efflux inhibitor drugs.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes B cell lymphomas and transforms B cells in vitro. The EBV protein EBNA3A collaborates with EBNA3C to repress p16 expression and is required for efficient transformation in vitro. An EBNA3A deletion mutant EBV strain was recently reported to establish latency in humanized mice but not cause tumors. Here, we compare the phenotypes of an EBNA3A mutant EBV (3A) and wild-type (WT) EBV in a cord blood-humanized (CBH) mouse model. The hypomorphic 3A mutant, in which a stop codon is inserted downstream from the first ATG and the open reading frame is disrupted by a 1-bp insertion, expresses very small amounts of EBNA3A using an alternative ATG at residue 15. 3A caused B cell lymphomas at rates similar to their induction by WT EBV but with delayed onset. 3A and WT tumors expressed equivalent levels of EBNA2 and p16, but 3A tumors in some cases had reduced LMP1. Like the WT EBV tumors, 3A lymphomas were oligoclonal/monoclonal, with typically one dominant IGHV gene being expressed. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed small but consistent gene expression differences involving multiple cellular genes in the WT EBV- versus 3A-infected tumors and increased expression of genes associated with T cells, suggesting increased T cell infiltration of tumors. Consistent with an impact of EBNA3A on immune function, we found that the expression of CLEC2D, a receptor that has previously been shown to influence responses of T and NK cells, was markedly diminished in cells infected with EBNA3A mutant virus. Together, these studies suggest that EBNA3A contributes to efficient EBV-induced lymphomagenesis in CBH mice.

IMPORTANCE The EBV protein EBNA3A is expressed in latently infected B cells and is important for efficient EBV-induced transformation of B cells in vitro. In this study, we used a cord blood-humanized mouse model to compare the phenotypes of an EBNA3A hypomorph mutant virus (3A) and wild-type EBV. The 3A virus caused lymphomas with delayed onset compared to the onset of those caused by WT EBV, although the tumors occurred at a similar rate. The WT EBV and EBNA3A mutant tumors expressed similar levels of the EBV protein EBNA2 and cellular protein p16, but in some cases, 3A tumors had less LMP1. Our analysis suggested that 3A-infected tumors have elevated T cell infiltrates and decreased expression of the CLEC2D receptor, which may point to potential novel roles of EBNA3A in T cell and NK cell responses to EBV-infected tumors.

The metabolic state of the brain can greatly impact neurologic function. Evidence of this includes the therapeutic benefit of a ketogenic diet in neurologic diseases, including epilepsy. However, brain lipid bioenergetics remain largely uncharacterized. The existence, capacity, and relevance of mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) in the brain are highly controversial, with few genetic tools available to evaluate the question. We have provided evidence for the capacity of brain FAO using a pan-brain-specific conditional knockout (KO) mouse incapable of FAO due to the loss of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2, the product of an obligate gene for FAO (CPT2^B–/–). Loss of central nervous system (CNS) FAO did not result in gross neuroanatomical changes or systemic differences in metabolism. Loss of CPT2 in the brain did not result in robustly impaired behavior. We demonstrate by unbiased and targeted metabolomics that the mammalian brain oxidizes a substantial quantity of long-chain fatty acids in vitro and in vivo. Loss of CNS FAO results in robust accumulation of long-chain acylcarnitines in the brain, suggesting that the mammalian brain mobilizes fatty acids for their oxidation, irrespective of diet or metabolic state. Together, these data demonstrate that the mammalian brain oxidizes fatty acids under normal circumstances with little influence from or on peripheral tissues.

Simon Tapper, Joseph J. Nocera, and Gary Burness

Climatic warming is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, which may reduce an individual's capacity for sustained activity due to thermal limits. We tested whether the risk of overheating may limit parental provisioning of an aerial insectivorous bird in population decline. For many seasonally breeding birds, parents are thought to operate close to an energetic ceiling during the 2-3 week chick-rearing period. The factors determining the ceiling remain unknown, although it may be set by an individual's capacity to dissipate body heat (the heat dissipation limitation hypothesis). Over two breeding seasons we experimentally trimmed the ventral feathers of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor, Vieillot, 1808) to provide a thermal window. We then monitored maternal and paternal provisioning rates, nestling growth rates, and fledging success. We found the effect of our experimental treatment was context-dependent. Females with an enhanced capacity to dissipate heat fed their nestlings at higher rates than controls when conditions were hot, but the reverse was true under cool conditions. Control females and their mates both reduced foraging under hot conditions. In contrast, male partners of trimmed females maintained a constant feeding rate across temperatures, suggesting attempts to match the feeding rate of their partners. On average, nestlings of trimmed females were heavier than controls, but did not have a higher probability of fledging. We suggest that removal of a thermal constraint allowed females to increase provisioning rates, but additionally provided nestlings with a thermal advantage via increased heat transfer during maternal brooding. Our data provide support for the heat dissipation limitation hypothesis and suggest that depending on temperature, heat dissipation capacity can influence reproductive success in aerial insectivores.

Flemming Dahlke, Magnus Lucassen, Ulf Bickmeyer, Sylke Wohlrab, Velmurugu Puvanendran, Atle Mortensen, Melissa Chierici, Hans-Otto Pörtner, and Daniela Storch

The vulnerability of fish embryos and larvae to environmental factors is often attributed to a lack of adult-like organ systems (gills) and thus insufficient homeostatic capacity. However, experimental data supporting this hypothesis are scarce. Here, by using Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) as a model, the relationship between embryo vulnerability (to projected ocean acidification and warming) and homeostatic capacity was explored through parallel analyses of stage-specific mortality and in vitro activity and expression of major ion pumps (ATP-Synthase, Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase, H⁺-ATPase) and co-transporters (NBC1, NKCC1). Immunolocalization of these transporters was used to study ionocyte morphology in newly-hatched larvae. Treatment-related embryo mortality until hatch (+20% due to acidification and warming) occurred primarily during an early period (gastrulation) characterized by extremely low ion transport capacities. Thereafter, embryo mortality decreased in parallel with an exponential increase in activity and expression of all investigated ion transporters. Significant changes in transporter activity and expression in response to acidification (+15% activity) and warming (-30% expression) indicate some potential for short-term acclimatization, although likely associated with energetic trade-offs. Interestingly, whole-larvae enzyme capacities (supported by abundant epidermal ionocytes) reached levels similar to those previously measured in gill tissue of adult cod, suggesting that early-life stages without functional gills are better equipped in terms of ion homeostasis than previously thought. This study implies that the gastrulation period represents a critical transition from inherited (maternal) defenses to active homeostatic regulation, which facilitates enhanced resilience of later stages to environmental factors.

Brad A. Seibel and Curtis Deutsch

The capacity to extract oxygen from the environment and transport it to respiring tissues in support of metabolic demand reportedly has implications for species’ thermal tolerance, body-size, diversity and biogeography. Here we derive a quantifiable linkage between maximum and basal metabolic rate and their oxygen, temperature and size dependencies. We show that, regardless of size or temperature, the physiological capacity for oxygen supply precisely matches the maximum evolved demand at the highest persistently available oxygen pressure and this is the critical PO₂ for the maximum metabolic rate. For most terrestrial and shallow-living marine species, this "P_crit-max" is the current atmospheric pressure, 21 kPa. Any reduction in oxygen partial pressure from current values will result in a calculable decrement in maximum metabolic performance. However, oxygen supply capacity has evolved to match demand across temperatures and body sizes and so does not constrain thermal tolerance or cause the well-known reduction in mass-specific metabolic rate with increasing body mass. The critical oxygen pressure for resting metabolic rate, typically viewed as an indicator of hypoxia tolerance, is, instead, simply a rate-specific reflection of the oxygen supply capacity. A compensatory reduction in maintenance metabolic costs in warm-adapted species constrains factorial aerobic scope and the critical PO₂ to a similar range, between ~2 and 6, across each species’ natural temperature range. The simple new relationship described here redefines many important physiological concepts and alters their ecological interpretation.

BACKGROUND:Patients with cystic fibrosis develop decreased exercise capacity. However, the main factors responsible for this decline are still unclear. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing exercise capacity assessed with the modified shuttle test (MST) in individuals with cystic fibrosis.METHODS:A cross-sectional study was carried out in subjects with a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis who were 6–26 y old and were regularly monitored at 2 cystic fibrosis reference centers in Brazil. Individuals who were unable to perform the tests or who exhibited hemodynamic instability and exacerbation of respiratory symptoms were excluded. Anthropometric, clinical, and genotype data were collected. In addition, lung function and exercise capacity were evaluated with the MST.RESULTS:73 subjects (mean age 12.2 ± 4.9 y and FEV1 76.8 ± 23.3%) were included. The mean distance achieved in the MST was 765 ± 258 m (71.6% of predicted). The distance achieved on the MST correlated significantly with age (r = 0.49, P < .001), body mass index (r = 0.41, P < .001), resting heart rate (r = −0.51, P < .001), and FEV1 (r = 0.24, P = .042). Subjects with FEV1 > 67% of predicted (P = .02) and those with resting heart rate < 100 beats/min (P = .01) had a greater exercise capacity. Resting heart rate, age, and FEV1 (%) were found as significant variables to explain the distance achieved on the MST (R2 = 0.48, standard error = 191.0 m).CONCLUSIONS:The main determinants of exercise capacity assessed with the MST in individuals with cystic fibrosis were resting heart rate, age, and lung function.