Dependability is an essential attribute for microfluidic biochips that are being developed for safety-critical applications such as point-of-care health assessment, air-quality monitoring, and food-safety testing. Therefore, these devices must be adequately tested after manufacture and during bioassay operations. This paper describes testing and diagnosis techniques for droplet-based "digital" ...

We report anti-cancer activity of ZnO thin-film-coated chips by sustained release of zinc ions. ZnO chips were fabricated by precisely tuning ZnO thickness using atomic layer deposition, and their potential to release zinc ions relative to the number of deposition cycles was evaluated. ZnO chips exhibited selective cytotoxicity in human B lymphocyte Raji cells while having no effect on human pe...

AIM To evaluate histologically the morphology and characteristics of bone chips harvested intraorally by Safescraper, a specially designed cortical bone collector. MATERIAL AND METHODS Bone chips harvested near a bone defect or in other intraoral sites were grafted into a post-extractive socket or applied in procedures for maxillary sinus floor augmentation or guided bone regeneration. Core b...

Abstract: Tamper resistance of LSI chips against physical attacks is studied from the viewpoint of LSI failure analysis. Laying stress on the basic physical phenomena generated in LSI chips under operating conditions, we outline today’s failure analysis techniques with application to evaluating or testing tamper resistance of LSI chips. We give some results from our case study on inactivation o...

Implantable RFID chips are being seen as a potential security device in near future with the application oriented availability of these chips in marketplace. The applications are seen in a wide domain from health monitoring to emergency solutions, but there is a darker side with erosion of privacy and breach in the bodily integrity with implantation of such chips. The applications of the implan...

Large scale analysis of gene expression using DNA arrays shows great promise in enhancing our understanding of how the genome constructs the brain. This technology has been employed to analyze gene expression variations in the brain resulting from genetic polymorphisms, drug abuse, aging, and the neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Although the data from DN...

This paper explores the concept of micro-architectural loops and discusses their impact on processor pipelines. In particular, we establish the relationship between loose loops and pipeline length and configuration, and show their impact on performance. We then evaluate the load resolution loop in detail and propose the distributed register algorithm (DRA) as a way of reducing this loop. It dec...

.......This issue features articles on the resurgence and many implications of big chips—from cache-core tradeoffs to power to on-chip networks to clock networks and more. Guest Editors Andrew Kahng and Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan have done an excellent job of pulling together key work related to big chips. However, after a period of some consolidation in microarchitecture, big chips are but one o...