Filler Insertion Research Articles

Mixed-Cell-Height Placement With Complex Minimum-Implant-Area Constraints

Mixed-cell-height standard cells are prevailingly used in advanced technologies to achieve better design tradeoffs among timing, power, and routability. As feature size decreases, the placement of cells with multiple threshold voltages may violate the complex minimum-implant-area (MIA) layer rule arising from the limitations of patterning technologies. Existing works consider the mixed-cell-height placement problem only during legalization or handle the MIA constraints during detailed placement. In this article, we address the mixed-cell-height placement problem with MIA constraints in two major stages: 1) post-global placement (Post-GP) and 2) MIA-aware legalization. In the Post-GP stage, we first present a continuous and differentiable cost function to address the Vdd/Vss alignment constraints and add weighted pseudonets to MIA-violation cells dynamically. Then, we propose a proximal optimization method based on the given global placement result to simultaneously consider Vdd/Vss alignment constraints, MIA constraints, cell distribution, cell displacement, and total wirelength. In the MIA-aware legalization stage, we develop a graph-based method to cluster cells of specific threshold voltages and apply a strip-packing-based binary linear programming to reshape cells. Then, we propose a matching-based technique to resolve intrarow MIA violations and reduce filler insertion. Furthermore, we formulate inter-row MIA-aware legalization as a quadratic programming problem, which is efficiently solved by a modulus-based matrix splitting iteration method. Finally, MIA-aware cell allocation and refinement are performed to further improve the result. Experimental results show that without any extra area overhead, our algorithm still can achieve 5.4% shorter final total wirelength than the state-of-the-art work.

The perils of penile enhancement: case report of a fulminant penile infection

BackgroundPenile enhancement with injectable agents is a rising trend and yet has received little scientific attention despite the potential for serious complications. These include cosmetic, functional and systemic complications that may require complex penile reconstructive surgery. We report a case of delayed severe infection following penile filler insertion leading to multi-organ failure and intensive care support.Case presentationA 31-year-old man presented with fevers and progressive pain and swelling of the penile shaft, 3 days after unprotected sexual intercourse. The patient received subcutaneous hyaluronic filler injections at a cosmetic clinic for penile enlargement two months prior to presentation. Relevant social history include polysubstance abuse and multiple sexual partners. Physical examination revealed gross penile oedema and erythema, with a ventral curvature of the penile shaft and a superficial abrasion on the distal ventral penile shaft. Within 24 h the patient developed septic shock with anuria, hypotension and fevers to 40 °C, requiring transfer to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for vasopressor and inotropic support. Intraoperative penile exploration revealed multiple pus stained fillers which were drained and grew Streptococcus Pyogenes on cultures. There was no abscess or evidence of necrotising fasciitis intraoperatively. The patient improved with intravenous antibiotics and was stepped down from the ICU after four days and discharged on day eight. One month post admission there was significant superficial skin loss to both ventral and lateral aspect of the penis, with healthy granulation tissue at the base. The patient opted for conservative management with regular dressings. He reported normal sexual and urinary function three months post admission.ConclusionThis is the first published case of sepsis from a penile infection in the context of hyaluronic acid penile fillers. In an era of escalating demand for penile cosmetic procedures, there is an increasing need for early recognition and appropriate management of penile filler infections. We report an unusual case of a localised penile infection rapidly progressing to sepsis with multi-organ failure requiring intensive care support. The case demonstrates early surgical intervention with targeted antimicrobials can result in successful eradication of infection, with satisfactory cosmetic and functional outcomes for patients.

Apparatus methods in complex treatment of patients with atrophic scars

Atrophic scars are a common pathology that can have a negative impact on the patient’s quality of life. Methods for correcting atrophic scars include chemical peels, dermabrasion, ablative or non-ablative laser resurfacing, filler insertion, and surgical techniques. Depending on the type and severity of the scar, an individual approach is required to obtain satisfactory results. Material and methods. The study included 32 patients with atrophic scars. Depending on the therapy, the patients were divided into two groups in which they received microneedle radiofrequency therapy or fractional photothermolysis. The effectiveness of the methods of therapy was assessed using laser doppler fluometry and ultrasound scanning. Research results. The RF microneedle method and fractional photothermolysis have a positive effect on the epidermal-dermal structure of the skin, which is expressed in the approximation of the acoustic density and thickness of the epidermis and dermis to normal values, and also improve microcirculation. When analyzing the results of correction of atrophic scars, more pronounced positive dynamics was observed after the application of RF microneedles.

Mixed-Cell-Height Detailed Placement Considering Complex Minimum-Implant-Area Constraints

Mixed-cell-height circuits have prevailed in advanced technology to address various design requirements. Along with device scaling, complex minimum-implant-area (MIA) constraints arise as an emerging challenge in modern circuit designs, adding to the difficulties in mixed-cell-height placement. Existing MIA-aware detailed placement with single-row-height standard cells is insufficient for mixed-cell-height designs: 1) filler insertion, typically used to resolve MIA violations, might incur unaffordable area and wirelength overheads and 2) mixed-height-cell perturbation could cause severe inter-row MIA violations. This article addresses the mixed-cell-height detailed placement problem considering both intra- and inter-row MIA constraints. We first fix intrarow violations by clustering violating mixed-height cells of the same threshold voltage, and then perturb each cluster to obtain a desired cell permutation by applying an efficient, optimal dynamic-programming-based algorithm for a special case and Algorithm DLX for general ones, where a provably constant performance ratio for a mixed-cell-height reshaping problem can be achieved. With a network-flow-based formulation, remaining violating cells are placed in appropriate filler-insertion positions to fix cell violations and minimize area. After performing mixed-cell-height detailed placement, we finally fix inter-row violations by shifting violating cells in minimum displacement. Experimental results show that our algorithm can efficiently solve all MIA violations without any extra area overhead.

Dutch thetic and sentence-focus constructions on the semantics-pragmatics interface

Abstract This article studies the various uses of a Dutch thetic and sentence-focus construction, viz. the Syntactic Inversion with Filler Insertion Construction (henceforth: SIFIC), e.g. Er loopt een man over straat (‘There is a man walking across the street’). The article investigates whether theticity and sentence-focus are semantically encoded meanings of the SIFIC or pragmatically inferred senses. SIFIC tokens (N = 750) were extracted from the Dutch SoNaR Corpus and annotated for five factors. The analysis shows that the SIFIC can have information-structural uses that are diametrically opposed to theticity and sentence-focus, i.e. topic-comment structure, predicate-focus articulation and categorical judgment. It is argued that theticity and sentence-focus can therefore not be regarded as the encoded semantics of the SIFIC, but should rather be analyzed as default senses of the construction. Based on similar cross-linguistic findings the article takes issue with the assumption that most languages have dedicated thetic and sentence-focus constructions.

Innovative methods in treatment of patients with atrophic post-acne scars

Atrophic scars after acne are a widespread condition that can have a negative impact on the patient’s quality of life. Correction methods for acne scars include chemical peeling, dermabrasion, ablative or non-ablative laser resurfacing, filler insertion and surgical techniques. Depending on the type and severity of the scar, an individual approach is required to obtain satisfactory results.Material and methods. Under observation were 61 patients with various manifestations of post-acne. Among them 21 (34.44 %) men and 40 (65.57 %) women. Depending on the therapy, the patients were divided into two groups and two subgroups depending on the type of scar. Efficiency was evaluated using ultrasound scanning.Results. The RF microneedle method and fractional photothermolysis have a positive effect on the epidermo-dermal structure of the skin, which is expressed in the approximation of the acoustic density and thickness of the epidermis and dermis to normal values. The most pronounced positive effect in both methods was noted in the correction of post-acne hypertrophic scars. When analyzing the results of correction of atrophic scars, more pronounced positive dynamics was observed after the use of RF microneedles.

Electrospun core‐shell nanofibers based on polyethylene oxide reinforced by multiwalled carbon nanotube and silicon dioxide nanofillers: A novel and effective solvent‐free electrolyte for lithium ion batteries

Insertion of conductive fillers into solvent-free polymer electrolytes enhances electrochemical behavior of the electrolyte membranes leading to higher ionic conductivity, lower capacity fading, and so on. Although, the presence of the conductive fillers in the polymer matrixes increases the risk of electrical shorting, herein, polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based core-shell nanofibers were prepared via a simple electrospinning method. In the core-shell electrospun fibers, ethylene carbonate (EC) and lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) were used as a plasticizer and as a lithium salt, respectively. The core component was enwrapped by the PEO/EC/LiClO4 shell part incorporated with SiO2 nanoparticles. Various properties of the fabricated membranes were evaluated by changing the ratio of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the core part of the nanofibers. The morphology and core-shell structure of the electrospun fibers were studied by FESEM and TEM images. According to FTIR and XRD results, addition of the EC plasticizer and the fillers into the as-spun fibers increased the fraction of free ions and the amorphous regions. From electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies, the ionic conductivity enhanced by insertion of the plasticizer molecules and the filler particles into the core-shell structures. The highest ionic conductivities of 0.09 and 0.21 mS.cm−1 were obtained for the free-filler and the filler-loaded nanofibrous membranes, respectively. The prepared mats obeyed the Arrhenius behavior ( R2~1). Dielectric studies confirmed the obtained data from the ionic conductivities. Furthermore, the capacity residual was enhanced from 69% to 85% by incorporation of the MWCNTs filler into the core component of the electrospun nanofibers. The presented results may facilitate development of versatile nanofibrous membranes embedded with the conductive fillers as solvent-free electrolytes applicable in lithium-ion batteries.

The role of referential givenness in Dutch alternating presentational constructions

Abstract Presentational constructions are linguistic structures that can convey all-focus utterances with no topic constituent that serve to introduce a referentially new entity or event into the discourse. Like many other languages, Dutch has several presentational constructions, including a Prosodic Inversion Construction (PIC), a Syntactic Inversion with Filler Insertion Construction (SIFIC) and a Non-Prototypical Cleft Construction (NPC). This article investigates these structures as alternating presentational constructions and focuses on referential givenness as a possible factor influencing the alternation. Based on a data elicitation task, referential givenness is shown to play a role in the choice of alternant. The PIC is predominantly used with unused/inactive and accessible Mental Representations of Referents (MRRs), but it can also contain brand-new MRRs. The NPC is exclusively used with brand-new MRRs. The SIFIC is used mostly with brand-new MRRs, but it can also contain accessible MRRs, in particular in positions other than the syntactic subject. The data elicitation task yielded a number of additional Dutch linguistic structures that could also be considered presentational constructions, including a construction with a perception verb used in a weak verb-like fashion and a construction with an existential sentence combined with a coordinated canonical topic-comment clause.

Role of free volumes in conducting properties of GO and rGO filled PVA-PEDOT:PSS composite free standing films: A positron annihilation lifetime study

In this paper, we demonstrate the preparation of the polymer composite films of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) – poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) blend filled with synthesized Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced Graphene oxide (rGO) by solvent casting technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed the changes in crystallinity upon incorporation of the Graphene. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) depicted the variation in chain mobility and thermal stability of the GO/rGO filled composites. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) studies affirm the uniform dispersion of fillers in the polymer matrix. The mechanical properties such as the Young's modulus and tensile strength are enhanced after the insertion of fillers. The impedance data is fitted with the equivalent circuit model and the obtained impedance parameters execute the variation in bulk conductivity with increase in wt.% of filler and is maximum at 5 wt.% GO/rGO addition. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is effectively used to investigate the molecular packing and hence free volume properties of the composites. The o-Ps lifetime and hence, the size of the free volume is initially decreased due to shrinkage of free volume and enhanced at 10 wt.% loading, attributed to the increased agglomeration of the additives. The decrease in the lifetime τ2 and increase in the intensity I2 at lower filling is attributed to the created small size defects. The variation in the free volume is corroborated by other experimental observations such as XRD, DSC and electrical conductivity.

Thermally conductive adhesives from covalent-bonding of reduced graphene oxide to acrylic copolymer

ABSTRACTThis work reports about the enhancement of the thermal conductivity of an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) with the incorporation of functionalized and reduced graphene oxide (frGO) sheet in the composition. Bifunctional isocyanatoethylmetharcylate (IEMA) was intercalated (so-called ‘functionalization’) to the GO surface mainly at its –COOH sites. The remaining oxygenated groups on the GO surface were reduced by dimethyl hydrazine. The frGO was successfully incorporated into PSA matrix through in-situ polymerization of acrylic monomers and subsequently crosslinked under UV radiation. The conductivity and the peel strength of the PSA were studied as a function of filler content, filler modification (functionalization and/or reduction), UV-radiation dosage and mode of filler insertion (through in-situ polymerization or mechanical mixing). frGO/PSA showed much better properties than the PSA system with bare or IEMA-functionalized unreduced GO. In-situ polymerization was found to be more effective method for frGO insertion. Within the range of filler content (0.0–1.0) wt% and UV-radiation dosages of (400–3000) mJcm−2, the thermal conductivity and peel strength of the acrylic PSA-system under investigation varied in the range of 0.17–1.03 Wm−1K−1 and 2831–299 gf/25 mm. This is the first report on ‘reduced GO covalently bonded to polymer chain in an adhesive-composition’ providing novel idea to make PSA-system with balanced thermal conductivity and peel strength with perspective for application in miniature electronic industries.

(Invited) Endohedral Filling Effects for Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes As a Function of Filler Molecule and Nanotube Size

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with open ends can be readily filled with a wide variety of organic molecules through simple liquid exposure. Ingestion of such molecules affects the extrinsic environment experienced by the SWCNT, and holds promise for controlled modulation of intrinsic SWCNT properties. To date optical linewidth narrowing, transition energy shifts and fluorescence enhancement as well as density modulation have been demonstrated. However, the dependencies of the properties on the filler molecule properties is observed to be non-uniform across filler and SWCNT (n,m) combinations. Of particular note is the combination of filler molecules and SWCNT structures of similar size, for which sieving and non-bulk arrangements of the filler molecules can be anticipated. Results in the small-diameter (n,m) SWCNT limit will be presented isolating the effects of filler insertion on the nanotube properties as a function of diameter, and implications for filling-based nanotube property manipulation.

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene/Magnesium Hydroxide Composites

This paper presents a study of the mechanical and thermal properties of kenaf fiber (KF) reinforced polypropylene (PP)/magnesium hydroxide (MH) composites. Pure PP samples show low tensile, flexural and flame retardant properties. It was found that KF and MH filler insertion improved the properties of PP composites. The incremental addition of KF fiber between 0 and 20 weight percent in composites results in higher tensile modulus and decomposed mass loss at onset temperature, but lower tensile strength, elongation, flexural strength and onset temperature. Addition of 25 wt% KF produces slightly higher flexural strength. Increasing the volume of MH filler in the composites caused lower strength, tensile modulus and elongation, but higher onset temperature and 2ndpeak temperature in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) testing. Increasing the KF content in the PP matrix resulted in lower mass residue. Increasing the KF content in composites containing MH increased the mass residue at the end of the testing.

On the True Indium Content of In-Filled Skutterudites.

The incongruently melting single-filled skutterudite InxCo4Sb12 is known as a promising bulk thermoelectric material. However, the products of current bulk syntheses contain always impurities of InSb, Sb, CoSb, or CoSb2, which prevent an unbiased determination of its thermoelectric properties. We report a new two-step synthesis of high-purity InxCo4Sb12 with nominal compositions x = 0.12, 0.15, 0.18, and 0.20 that separates the kieftite (CoSb3) formation from the topotactic filler insertion. This approach allows conducting the reactions at lower temperatures with shorter reaction times and circumventing the formation of impurity phases. The synthesis can be extended to other filled skutterudites. High-density (>98%) pellets for thermoelectric characterization were prepared by current-assisted short-time sintering. Sample homogeneity was demonstrated by potential and Seebeck microprobe measurements of the complete pellet surfaces. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction showed a purity of 99.9% product with traces (≤0.1%) of InSb in samples of nominal composition In0.18Co4Sb12 and In0.20Co4Sb12. Rietveld refinements revealed a linear correlation between the true In occupancy and the lattice parameter a. This allows the determination of the true In filling in skutterudites and predicting the In content of unknown AxCo4Sb12. The high purity of InxCo4Sb12 allowed studying the transport properties without bias from side phases. A figure of merit close to unity at 420 °C was obtained for a sample of a true composition of In0.160(2)Co4Sb12 (nominal composition In0.18Co4Sb12). The lower degree of In filling has a dramatic effect on the thermoelectric properties as demonstrated by the sample of nominal composition In0.20Co4Sb12. The presence of InSb in amounts of ∼0.1 vol% led to a substantially lower degree of interstitial site filling of 0.144, and the figure of merit zT decreased by 18%, which demonstrates the significance of the true filler atom content in skutterudite materials.

Mechanical and electrical properties of the epoxy composites with graphite nanoplatelets and carbon nanotubes

The influence of various types of fillers – graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs), multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and additional boron nitride (BN) – on the mechanical properties of epoxy resins (ED20 and SEDM2) has been investigated. The content of carbon nanofiller in such composite materials (CMs) varies from 3 to 10 wt.%, while the content of BN was 27 wt.%. The mechanical properties were investigated by the uniaxial compression of cylindrical specimens of CMs. It was found that the values of elastic and plastic deformation, elastic modulus and compression strength depend on the type of epoxy resin, content of carbon filler and availability of BN in CM. Namely, the insertion of carbon fillers into the polymer matrix increases the plastic deformation of CMs, and the addition of BN increases the elastic properties of CMs. It was also shown that the compression of CM specimens leads to a significant decrease of the electrical resistance which is explained by the decrease of the contact resistance between carbon filler particles in conductive chains.

High performance graphene- and MWCNTs-based PS/PPO composites obtained via organic solvent dispersion

The concept of liquid-phase dispersion was applied for the preparation of well-dispersed suspensions of MWCNTs and graphene in chloroform, using long-time ultra-sonication without the use of surfactants. The dispersions with pre-defined filler concentration (0.5 mg/ml) were monitored via UV–Vis until the achievement of optimum exfoliation (6 h). PS/PPO polymer was dissolved in chloroform and graphene- and MWCNTs-based composite tablets were prepared via solution blending, subsequent drying and hot pressing. The well-dispersed organization of the fillers inside the polymer matrix, visualized with scanning electron microscopy, resulted in ultimate conductivities and percolation thresholds of 57 S/m and 0.2 wt.% for nanotubes composites, and 0.9 S/m and ∼1 wt.% for graphene composites, respectively. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that an increase in the storage moduli of the PS/PPO matrix could be gradually obtained by the insertion of fillers, e.g. reaching ∼30% of enhancement by the addition of 3 wt.% of graphene filler. The same trend in improvement, at lower augmentation, was observed for the corresponding nanotubes-based composites.

Mechanical Properties of Compression Molded Banana Pseudo-stem Filled Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC) Composites

Mechanical strengths of a banana pseudo-stem (BPS) fiber and unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (UPVC) composite were evaluated to assess the possibility of using it as a new material in engineering applications. Samples were fabricated by the compression molding process with reference to the effect of filler loading. The samples were submitted to mechanical tests to measure tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the composites. The nature of adhesion between the matrix and the reinforcement and information relating the structure of mechanical properties can be obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) assessment of the composite fracture surface. The mechanical properties show that the composites did not have good adhesion between filler and matrix; on the other hand, the filler insertion improved the flexural modulus and the material rigidity.

Experimental Study of Filler Insertion Effect on Mean Thermal Contact Conductance

A series of experiments have been performed to investigate the filler insertion effect on the temperature drop at the wavy contact interface ΔT and the mean thermal contact conductance hm, f. Representative behavior of ΔT against the mean nominal contact pressure pm is clarified, and the effect of an interval of time on ΔT is shown for the silicone filler with thickness δfo=2mm. The silicone elastomer is proved effective to increase hm, f despite its low thermal conductivity. Further, it is shown that hm, f of 0.5mm thick silicone filler becomes two to three times higher than that of bare contact under the unloading process. However, it is also shown that hm, f decreases with increasing δfo, therefore filler insertion with improper thickness results in a reverse effect on increase in hm, f. As for metallic filler insertion using an aluminum or a copper foil, only a little improvement in hm, f is obtained in spite of its high thermal conductivity.

407 うねりと粗さを有する固体表面間の接触熱抵抗に及ぼすフィラー挿入の影響(金属箔とシリコーンエラストマーの場合について)

407 うねりと粗さを有する固体表面間の接触熱抵抗に及ぼすフィラー挿入の影響(金属箔とシリコーンエラストマーの場合について)

A methodology for Cartesian braiding of three-dimensional shapes and special structures

Cartesian three-dimensional braiding as a method of preforming has been investigated. The design of complex and unusual 3-D braids was studied in three parts. These are the grouping of yarns, the fabrication of braids with a complex cross-section, and braids with surrogate material (replacing fibrous tows) added or removed. The grouping of yarns to potentially form hybrid composites was studied via an iterative simulation of the braiding process. Through further analysis of the braid cycles which produce specific yarn grouping, it was found that isolation/insertion rows and columns may be used to quarantine yarns within desired areas of preform cross-section and improve interlacing of the braided structure. In this study, the design of braided composite cross-sectional shape is accomplished through adaptation of the Universal Method. A computer algorithm has been developed which allows the desired cross-sectional shape to be specified and a braid plan for its fabrication automatically determined. A number of 3-D braids, the result of variations or extensions to Cartesian braiding, are also presented. These have been classified as those with axial and transverse yarn insertion, structures with voids, and fillers and fasteners. Braiding equipment has been developed to braid the designed structures. The machines have been used to fabricate four-step braids with transverse, fastener, and filler insertion, special hybrid structures from multiple row and column displacement and multi-step cycles, and uniquely shaped structures with constant and varying cross-sections along their lengths.

Prediction of the Dielectric Properties of Some Eco-composite Materials for Energy-related Applications

The study establishes a theoretical evaluation trough several models concerning the dielectric properties of some new eco-composites made of a cellulosic derivative matrix - hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) - in which distinct sorts of fillers (ceramic, metallic and bio-derived) were introduced. The investigation describes the impact of the filler addition on the dielectric constant, the dielectric breakdown, and finally how these two factors are contributing to the electric energy density of purposed eco-composites. After incorporation of the reinforcement agents, the dielectric constant significantly increases comparatively with the matrix, as a function of the type of filler used. Moreover, by assessing of the dielectric breakdown, it is observed that with the increase of filler quantity, this parameter slightly decreases for all samples. The data concerning the electric energy density reveal that, by filler insertion in the HPMC matrix, an improvement occurs, especially for the barium titanate system owing to its large dielectric constant. These data are promising for design of new eco-composites having improved dielectric features as demanded for green energy storage devices. Since the materials have biodegradable and biocompatible character, they also have importance in bio-related applications.