On the convergence of the conjugate gradient method in Hilbert space

A proof of convergence of the conjugate gradient method of Hestenes and Stiefel in a Hilbert space setting for Fréchet differentiable functionals is given. The proof is based upon uniform continuity of the gradient and is similar to that used by Goldstein for the steepest descent method.     

Phenylpyrazole insecticide fipronil induces male infertility in the estuarine meiobenthic crustacean Amphiascus tenuiremis

Copepods are the most abundant arthropods on earth and are often the most important secondary producers in estuarine/marine food webs. The new GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)-disrupting insecticide fipronil (FP) induces unique sex-specific reproductive dysfunction in male meiobenthic copepods, leading to trans-generational population depression at environmentally realistic concentrations (0.63 microg/L). Using a newly developed 96-well microplate lifecycle bioassay, more than 700 individual Stage-I juveniles were reared to adulthood in as short as 12 days in only 200 microL of control (CTL) or 0.63 microg-FP/L seawater solution. Individual virgin male: female pairs were then cross-mated for all possible combinations within and across rearing treatments and allowed to mate for an additional 12 days in CTL or 0.63 microg-FP/L solution. FP at 0.63 microg/L caused no significant lethality to any mating combinations but evoked 73% or 89% inhibition of reproduction when FP-reared males were mated with either a control- or FP-reared female in FP solution, respectively. In contrast, when CTL-reared males were mated with FP-reared females in FP solution, there was no difference in reproductive success compared to FP-free controls. When FP-reared males were mated with either female group in FP-free solution, these mating pairs displayed a 3-day delay in time to brood sac extrusion but ultimately did reproduce. As fipronil (1) has a high K(ow), (2) is persistent in sediments where meiobenthic copepods live, and (3) has been detected in estuarine waters >0.7 microg/L, it may pose high risk to copepod production in estuarine systems.     

Performance Improvement of IS-95 CDMA Uplink Using Decision Feedback and Sub-Optimal Viterbi Decoding

This paper presents a methodology designed to improve the effectiveness of a non-iterative decision feedback (DF) receiver/decoder for IS-95 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) uplink in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and Rayleigh fading. The effectiveness of the DF receiver/decoder is linked to the interleaver specification and the decoding delay of the convolutional decoder. Using sub-optimal convolutional decoding the average decoding delay is reduced resulting in more effective decision feedback decoding (DFD). Simulation results of average decoding delay, bit error rate (BER) and frame error rate (FER) are presented for coherent and noncoherent detection of unfaded single-path and Rayleigh fading multipath signals. Instead of the usual performance degradation these results show that the DF receiver/decoder benefits from some forms of sub-optimal Viterbi decoding. The additional performance gain can further improve the quality of service and/or capacity of a cellular IS-95 system.     

Edge-based compartmental modelling for infectious disease spread

The primary tool for predicting infectious disease spread and intervention effectiveness is the mass action susceptible–infected–recovered model of Kermack & McKendrick. Its usefulness derives largely from its conceptual and mathematical simplicity; however, it incorrectly assumes that all individuals have the same contact rate and partnerships are fleeting. In this study, we introduce edge-based compartmental modelling, a technique eliminating these assumptions. We derive simple ordinary differential equation models capturing social heterogeneity (heterogeneous contact rates) while explicitly considering the impact of partnership duration. We introduce a graphical interpretation allowing for easy derivation and communication of the model and focus on applying the technique under different assumptions about how contact rates are distributed and how long partnerships last.     

Improved Heat Spreading Performance of Functionalized Graphene in Microelectronic Device Application

It is demonstrated that a graphene‐based film (GBF) functionalized with silane molecules strongly enhances thermal performance. The resistance temperature detector results show that the inclusion of silane molecules doubles the heat spreading ability. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations show that the thermal conductivity (κ) of the GBF increased by 15%–56% with respect to the number density of molecules compared to that with the nonfunctionalized graphene substrate. This increase in κ is attributed to the enhanced in‐plane heat conduction of the GBF, resulting from the simultaneous increase of the thermal resistance between the GBF and the functionalized substrate limiting cross‐plane phonon scattering. Enhancement of the thermal performance by inserting silane‐functionalized molecules is important for the development of next‐generation electronic devices and proposed application of GBFs for thermal management.     

Investigation and modeling of the avalanche effect in MOSFETs with non-uniform finger spacing

This paper investigates the effect of a non-uniform gate-finger spacing layout structure on the avalanche breakdown performance of RF CMOS technology.Compared with a standard multi-finger device with uniform gate-finger spacing,a device with non-uniform gate-finger spacing represents an improvement of 8.5%for the drain-source breakdown voltage(BV_ds) and of 20%for the thermally-related drain conductance.A novel compact model is proposed to accurately predict the variation of B V_ds with the total area of devices,which is dependent on the different finger spacing sizes.The model is verified and validated by the excellent match between the measured and simulated avalanche breakdown characteristics for a set of uniform and non-uniform gate-finger spacing arranged nMOSFETs.     

Disease transmission in territorial populations: the small-world network of Serengeti lions

Territoriality in animal populations creates spatial structure that is thought to naturally buffer disease invasion. Often, however, territorial populations also include highly mobile, non-residential individuals that potentially serve as disease superspreaders. Using long-term data from the Serengeti Lion Project, we characterize the contact network structure of a territorial wildlife population and address the epidemiological impact of nomadic individuals. As expected, pride contacts are dominated by interactions with neighbouring prides and interspersed by encounters with nomads as they wander throughout the ecosystem. Yet the pride–pride network also includes occasional long-range contacts between prides, making it surprisingly small world and vulnerable to epidemics, even without nomads. While nomads increase both the local and global connectivity of the network, their epidemiological impact is marginal, particularly for diseases with short infectious periods like canine distemper virus. Thus, territoriality in Serengeti lions may be less protective and non-residents less important for disease transmission than previously considered.     

Selective Inhibition of Heparan Sulphate and Not Chondroitin Sulphate Biosynthesis by a Small,Soluble Competitive Inhibitor

The glycosaminoglycan, heparan sulphate (HS), orchestrates many developmental processes. Yet its biological role has not yet fully been elucidated. Small molecule chemical inhibitors can be used to perturb HS function and these compounds provide cheap alternatives to genetic manipulation methods. However, existing chemical inhibition methods for HS also interfere with chondroitin sulphate (CS), complicating data interpretation of HS function. Herein, a simple method for the selective inhibition of HS biosynthesis is described. Using endogenous metabolic sugar pathways, Ac₄GalNAz produces UDP-GlcNAz, which can target HS synthesis. Cell treatment with Ac₄GalNAz resulted in defective chain elongation of the polymer and decreased HS expression. Conversely, no adverse effect on CS production was observed. The inhibition was transient and dose-dependent, affording rescue of HS expression after removal of the unnatural azido sugar. The utility of inhibition is demonstrated in cell culture and in whole organisms, demonstrating that this small molecule can be used as a tool for HS inhibition in biological systems.     

The Dornier-Lithotripter U30. First clinical experience

The rational design of novel proteins offers a new method of studying structure and function, and makes possible the construction of new biomaterials. The richness of metal chemistry, the relative ease of creating stable complexes, and the remarkable degree of subtle, highly specific control of reactivity imposed by the protein matrix upon the metal center make metalloprotein design a very fruitful area for the exploration and application of design techniques. So far, most designs have concentrated on the exploration of simple metal-chelation properties. Even so, this has led to the development of new methods for protein stabilization and affinity purification, of metal biosensors, of novel strategies for control of protein activity, and of model systems for the exploration of fundamental principles of molecular recognition.