The continuing advances in the field of electrical engineering, in areas like cellular communications, fiber optics, mobile and multigigahertz electronics have necessitated a computer-assisted design approach to the complex electromagnetic interactions and problems that arise. Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) Analysis is a very powerful tool for the modeling of electromagnetic phenomena. The algorithm is computationally intensive and simulations can run for a few hours to several days. Increasing the computation speed and decreasing the run times of this algorithm would bring greater productivity and new avenues of research to many facets of electrical engineering.The algorithm is transferred to custom FPGA-based hardware using a pipelined bit-serial arithmetic architecture. A onedimensional resonator is used to verify the implementation and explore the hardware speed and costs. The computational speed is extremely fast and is not related to the number of computational cells in the simulation. Finally, a discussion of future research is presented.

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Omaha System problem concepts describe a comprehensive, holistic view of health in simple terms that have been represented in a set of prototype icons intended for universal use by consumers and clinicians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Omaha System prototype icons internationally across ten languages through an on-line survey and in-person focus groups. The icons were generally rated above 3 on a scale of 1 to 5 by 1568 survey respondents, with notable exceptions for some of the more abstract concepts. Overall, the icons were rated 3.49 on a scale of 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree, with a range of 3.09 (Japanese language) to 3.88 (Norwegian language). A pattern of differential agreement was noted among respondents from Asiatic languages compared to all other languages. Feedback from survey respondents and focus group participants was used to refine the icons. General themes related to icon development were synthesized from focus group interviews. Further research should continue to refine and evaluate the icons in different languages for international use to support health literacy through visual literacy.

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