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This paper presents the first fully integrated SONET OC-192 transmitter and receiver fabricated in a standard 0.18-m CMOS process. The transmitter consists of an input data register, 16-b-wide first-in-first-out (FIFO) circuit, clock multiplier unit (CMU), and 16 : 1 multiplexer to give a 10-Gb/s serial output. The receiver integrates an input amplifier for 10-Gb/s data, clock and data recovery circuit (CDR), 1 : 16 demultiplexer, and drivers for low-voltage differential signal (LVDS) outputs. An on-chip LC-type voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is employed by both the transmitter and receiver. The chipset operates at multiple data rates (9.95-10.71 Gb/s) with functionality compatible with the multisource agreement (MSA) for 10-Gb transponders. Both chips demonstrate SONET-compliant jitter characteristics. The transmitter 10.66-GHz output clock jitter is 0.065 UI (unit interval, peak-to-peak) over a 50-kHz-80-MHz bandwidth. The receiver jitter tolerance is more than 0.4 UI at high frequencies (4-80 MHz). A high level of integration and low-power consumption is achieved by using a standard CMOS process. The transmitter and receiver dissipate a total power of 1.32 W at 1.8 V and are packaged in a plastic ball grid array with a footprint of 11 11 mm 2 .

BackgroundScar tissue formation is the major cause of failure in peripheral nerve surgery. Use of a hyaluronic acid-carboxymethylcellulose (HA-CMC) membrane (Seprafilm) as a solid anti-adhesion barrier agent is one of the therapeutic approaches to reduce postoperative scar tissue formation. However, a solid membrane may not be suitable for repair of a weak peripheral nerve site. This study examined the effect of HA-CMC solution on perineural scar formation after peripheral nerve repair in rats.MethodsThe sciatic nerves of 40 rats were transected and then immediately repaired using 10-0 nylon. The nerves were divided randomly into two groups. Saline and HA-CMC solution were applied topically to the nerve repair sites in the control and experimental groups, respectively. Reoperation was performed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks to assess scar tissue formation. The assessment included the quality of wound healing, presence of perinueral adhesion, cellular components of the scar tissue, thickness of the scar tissue and histomorphological organization of the repair site.ResultsTopical application of the HA-CMC solution significantly decreased the macroscopic nerve adherence score and the numbers of the cellular components such as fibroblasts and inflammatory cells (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U-test). The scar tissue formation index was significantly lower in the experimental group at 12 weeks than that in the control group (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U-test). The grading scores of the histomorphological axonal organization at the repair site were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the control group at 12 weeks (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U-test). No evidence of wound dehiscence or inflammatory reactions against the HA-CMC solution was noted.ConclusionsTopical application of a HA-CMC solution is effective in reducing the perineural scar formation and adhesion after sciatic nerve repair in rats, and is effective in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration at the repair site.

Designing and Modeling for Power Integrity / Swaminathan M.; Chung D.; Grivet-Talocia S.; Bharath K.; Laddha V.; Xie J.Abstract-After providing an overview of the state-of-the-art in power distribution design and modeling, this paper focuses on return path discontinuities (RPDs) for I/O signaling. After briefly describing their importance in the context of simultaneous switching noise, a specific case of RPD based on via discontinuities is discussed in detail in the context of both the frequency-and timedomain waveforms using a test vehicle. The modeling of RPD in practical packages and printed circuit boards is addressed along with substrate coupling due to nonideal reference planes. Finally, a high-impedance power distribution scheme for I/O signaling is presented that can potentially solve a number of RPD-related problems, followed by future challenges.Index Terms-Macro-modeling, passivity, power distribution, power integrity, return path discontinuity, signal integrity.

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The purpose of this study was to report the clinical outcomes of wrist arthroplasty with a free vascularized fibular head graft (FVFHG) and to highlight some considerations that may affect outcomes. FVFHG was performed on 12 patients with giant cell tumors of the distal radius between April 1984 and July 2005. The mean age of patients was 33 years. All 12 patients were classified as Enneking stage 2. Outcomes were evaluated with radiographic and functional assessments, including the scale of Enneking. The mean follow-up period was 6.26 years. Bone union was achieved in all patients at a mean of 15.7 weeks after surgery. Skin grafting was performed at the recipient site in 5 patients and had good skin healing. Subluxation in the wrist joint was observed in 5 patients and was related to the length of the transplanted fibula. The 5 patients with subluxation experienced considerable osteoarthritic change. The mean arc of flexion-extension and rotation of the wrist joint was 73.1° and 102.9°, respectively. The mean grip strength was 57.25% of the contralateral side. The mean functional score was 26.4 points. Wrist arthroplasty with a FVFHG is a useful option to treat Enneking stage 2 giant cell tumors of the distal radius. We believe that wrist instability is not determined by the choice of laterality of the fibula, which can be minimized by transplanting a short fibula with the anterior tibial artery as a donor artery. The recipient sites can be successfully resurfaced by skin grafting.

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