This paper presents a 9T multi-threshold (MTCMOS) SRAM macro with equalized bitline leakage and a Content-Addressable-Memory-assisted (CAM-assisted) write performance boosting technique for energy efficiency improvement. A 3T-based read port is proposed to equalize read bitline (RBL) leakage and to improve RBL sensing margin by eliminating data-dependence on bitline leakage current. A miniature CAM-assisted circuit is integrated to conceal the slow data development with HVT devices after data flipping in write operation and therefore enhance the write performance for energy efficiency. A 16 kb SRAM test chip is fabricated in 65 nm CMOS technology. The operating voltage of the test chip is scalable from 1.2 V down to 0.26 V with the read access time from 6 ns to 0.85 µs. Minimum energy of 2.07 pJ is achieved at 0.4 V with 40.3% improvement compared to the SRAM without the aid of the CAM. Energy efficiency is enhanced by 29.4% between 0.38 V ~ 0.6 V by the proposed CAM-assisted circuit. Index Terms-Bitline leakage equalization, content addressable memory, energy efficiency improvement, ultra-low voltage SRAM design I. INTRODUCTION TATE-OF-THE-ART DSP cores and advanced healthcare SoCs [1],[2] benefit from availability of on-chip SRAMs with substantially reduced power dissipation and improved energy efficiency. Integrated SRAMs play a crucial role in providing the required density, performance, power, and energy Manuscript

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of enzymes involved in the detoxification of noxious agents. Genes encoding for GSTA1, GSTP1, GSTT1, and GSTM1 proteins are polymorphic in humans, which can result in (partial) loss of enzyme activity. Previous epidemiologic studies have associated dysfunction of these GST genes with a higher risk of cancer, but this is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the susceptibility to gastric cancer in relation to the above-mentioned GST polymorphisms. Patients visiting the Can Tho General Hospital in Vietnam between January 2004 and August 2004 for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, who were diagnosed with gastric cancer, were compared with a control group of endoscoped dyspepsia patients with no history of malignancy. Genotypes of the GSTs mentioned above were assessed by multiplex PCR. Fifty-nine patients with gastric cancer (mean age: 63 years, 80% males), and 109 dyspeptic controls (mean age: 46 years, 69% males) were included in this study. The frequencies of the combined heterozygote and homozygote mutant GSTA1 and GSTP1 genotypes were 10% and 48% in patients with gastric cancer versus 28% and 40% in dyspeptic controls, respectively. GSTT1 and GSTM1 were deleted in 42% and 73% of patients with gastric cancer and in 35% and 69% of the controls, respectively. The GSTA1 homozygous wild-type genotype was significantly more often present in patients with gastric cancer compared with controls (odds ratio 4.3, 95% CI 1.2-17), which was even more apparent after adjustment for age, gender, current smoking, current alcohol consumption, and polymorphisms in GSTP1, GSTT1, or GSTM1 (odds ratio 5.0, 95% CI 1.2-25). The present work shows that the homozygous wild-type GSTA1 genotype is associated with gastric cancer in a Vietnamese population, whereas there was no relationship with polymorphisms in GSTP1, GSTT1, or GSTM1.

The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is reportedly high in Vietnamese Americans (VAs), but most previous studies did not assess full HBV serology, and not the prevalence of HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection simultaneously. The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of different HBV serologies and HCV infection in VAs. This study was based on the data collected by testing for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb IgG), anti-HBs antibody (HBsAb), and anti-HCV antibody (anti-HCV) in a series of community screening in VAs in Orange County, California. In 1,405 VA participants, the mean age was 51 (17-87) years, 45.1% were males; 68.2%, married; 97.2%, born in Vietnam. Most of the participants were non-US born with their primary language being non-English and with limited access to health care. Of the 1,405 cases, 124 (8.8%) were confirmed HBV infection by HBsAg+; 81 (5.8%), HCV infection by anti-HCV+; including four (0.3%) with HBV/HCV coinfection. Twelve percent of the participants with confirmed HBV infection thought they were previously tested negative, while 29.7% of the participants with confirmed HCV infection thought they were previously tested negative. In this cohort, 15.4% were HBsAg-/HBsAb-/HBcAb IgG-, i.e. being susceptible to HBV infection. In HCV infected participants, 65.4% were born between 1945 and 1965. This large serial survey and screening in the Vietnamese American community confirmed the rates of HBV and HCV infection to be as high as 8.8% and 5.8%, respectively. We have also identified factors related to HBV and HCV infection in this high-risk population.

Pangolins are ant specialists which are under intense threat from the illegal wildlife trade. Nutrition has notoriously been their downfall in captivity and is still an issue in regards to rescue and rehabilitation. We analyzed the nutrient content of diets used by institutions that are successfully keeping Asian pangolins and to assess the variety of the ingredients and nutrients, compared these with the nutritional requirements of potential nutritional model species. We performed intake studies at five institutions and also had data from three other institutions. We also analyzed five different wild food items to use as a proxy of wild diet. We observed two categories of captive diets: those mostly or completely composed of insects and those high in commercial feeds or animal meat. Nutrient values were broad and there was no clear rule. The non-protein energy to protein energy ratio of the diets were much higher than the wild food items, more so for those which receive less insects. The average contribution of carbohydrate, fat and protein energy were also further away from the wild samples the less insects they contained. The previously suggested nutritional model for pangolins is the domestic dog which is supported by our relatively large nutrient ranges of apparently successful diets, however due to their highly carnivorous nature; the upper most nutrient intake data are not consistent with this and favor the feline nutrient recommendations. We are unable to render a conclusion of what model is more appropriate based on our data collected.

The paper introduces an adaptive strategy to effectively control a nonlinear dual arm robot under external disturbances and uncertainties. By the use of the backstepping sliding mode control (BSSMC) method, the proposed algorithm first allows the manipulators to be able to robustly track the desired trajectories. Furthermore, due to the nonlinear, uncertain and unmodelled dynamics of the dual arm robot, it is proposed to employ the radial basis function network (RBFN) to adaptively estimate the robot's dynamic model. Though the estimation of the dynamics is approximate, the adaptation law is derived from the Lyapunov theory, which provides the controller with ability to guarantee stability of the whole system in spite of its nonlinearities, parameter uncertainties and external load variations. The effectiveness of the proposed RBFN-BSSMC approach is demonstrated by implementation in a simulation environment with realistic parameters, where the obtained results are highly promising.