Abstract: Carbon nanotube growth is achieved in a high-yield process. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a carbon nanotube device includes a catalyst island, such as Fe2O3, and a carbon nanotube extending therefrom. In one implementation, the catalyst island is disposed on a top surface of a substrate. The carbon nanotube device is useful in a variety of implementations and applications, such as in an atomic force microscope (AFM), in resonators (e.g., where a free end of the carbon nanotube is adapted to vibrate) and in electronic circuits (e.g., where the carbon nanotube is electrically coupled between two nodes, such as between the catalyst island and a circuit node). In addition, growing carbon nanotubes with such a catalyst island is particularly useful in the high-yield growth of a large number of nanotubes.

Abstract: A system for designing and optimizing integrated circuits. Design objectives and constraints are described as posynomial functions of the design parameters. The circuit design problem is then expressed as a special form of optimization problem called geometric programming, to which very efficient global optimization methods are applied. The present invention can thereby efficiently determine globally optimal circuit designs, or globally optimal trade-offs among competing performance measures such as, for example for an operational amplifier (op-amp), power, open-loop gain, and bandwidth. The present invention therefore yields automated synthesis of globally optimal circuit designs for a given circuit topology library, directly from specifications.

Abstract: Plasmodium is shown to have an inhibition sensitive sphingomyelin synthase activity necessary for ring and early trophozoite maturation. Inhibitors can therefore be used to treat malarial infection which can differentiate between inhibition sensitive Plasmodium sphingomyelin synthase and mammalian synthase. Inhibitors of interest include 1-phenyl-3-morpholino-2-acylated-aminopropanol-1.