Porosity distribution in highly compressible cake: Experimental and theoretical verification of the dense skin

The rate of filtration and the water content of cake are influenced by the existence of a dense skin in a highly compressible cake. The phenomenon of the dense skin has been rarely studied, and its existence has not been verified experimentally. In this study, the porosity variation in a very compressible cake is measured by using a new experimental apparatus, and with this the existence of dense skin has been established experimentally. ‘Unified theory on solid-liquid separation’, a recently developed theory, is utilized for calculating the porosity variation in a very compressible cake.     

A new synthesis procedure for titanium-containing zeolites under strong alkaline conditions and the catalytic activity for partial oxidation and photocatalytic decomposition

A new synthesis procedure for titanium-containing aluminosilicate zeolites has been obtained using a clear colloidal dispersion (sol) which was prepared with titanium isopropoxide, water, hydrochloric acid and colloidal silica, Ludox. When NaY, KL, offretite, mordenite and ZSM-5 zeolites were crystallized from the sol following conventional hydrothermal crystallization procedures, all the aluminosilicate zeolites showed the same X-ray absorption fine structure at the Ti K edge indicating framework Ti. The zeolites showed remarkable catalytic activity for the partial oxidation of cyclohexene using H₂O₂ as an oxidant and the photocatalytic decomposition of trichloroethene using water.     

A 6 GHz 68 mW BiCMOS phase-locked loop

The design of a 6 GHz fully monolithic phase-locked loop fabricated in a 1 μm, 20 GHz BiCMOS technology is described. The circuit incorporates a voltage-controlled oscillator that senses and combines the transitions in a ring oscillator to achieve a period equal to two ECL gate delays. A mixer topology is also used that exhibits full symmetry with respect to its inputs and operates with supply voltages as low as 1.5 V. Dissipating 60 mW from a 2 V supply, the circuit has a tracking range of 300 MHz, an rms jitter of 3.1 ps, and phase noise of -75 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset     

Effects of changes in strain path on the anisotropy of yield stresses of low-carbon steel and 70-30 brass sheets

Uniaxial tensile tests in various directions following uniaxial extension, equibiaxial stretching or plane strain rolling have been performed to study the effects of changes in strain path on the anisotropy of yield stresses of aluminium-killed low-carbon steel and 70-30 brass sheets. The anisotropy could be predicted from the specimen textures, if dislocation structure were equiaxed, as in the case of equibiaxial stretching. However, elongated dislocation cell structures, developed in the steel specimens prestrained in uniaxial tension or plane strain rolling, gave rise to the second-stage yield stresses higher than predicted from textures in the directions different from the maximum prestrain direction. Planar dislocation structures in the brass specimens prestrained in uniaxial tension or plane strain rolling gave the second-stage yield stresses lower than predicted from the textures in the directions different from the maximum prestrain direction. The phenomena are discussed based on textures and dislocation structures.     

Function of yeast Rad52 protein as a mediator between replication protein A and the Rad51 recombinase

The RAD51 and RAD52 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are key members of the RAD52 epistasis group required for genetic recombination and the repair of DNA double-stranded breaks. The RAD51 encoded product mediates the DNA strand exchange reaction. Efficient strand exchange is contingent upon the addition of the heterotrimeric single-stranded DNA binding factor replication protein A (RPA) after Rad51 has nucleated onto the single-stranded DNA. However, if the single-stranded DNA is incubated with Rad51 and RPA simultaneously to mimic what may be expected to occur in vivo, the efficiency of strand exchange decreases dramatically, revealing an inhibitory effect of RPA that is distinct from its stimulatory function. Interestingly, the inclusion of Rad52 protein, which has been purified in this study from yeast cells, restores the efficiency of strand exchange. Thus, Rad52 functions as a co-factor for the Rad51 recombinase, acting specifically to overcome the apparent competition by RPA for binding to single-stranded DNA.     

A linear minimum mean square error multiuser receiver inRayleigh-fading channels

We generalize the multiuser (CDMA spread spectrum) communication systems to the fading environments. We first extend Verdu's (1986) conventional optimum receiver to Rayleigh-fading environments and then evaluate its performance. Having no knowledge of the received power at the receiving end, we therefore need an estimator to efficiently estimate the received signal strength of each user in fading environments. A linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) unbiased estimator is proposed to attain this goal. By using the minimum mean square error (MMSE) Bayesian estimation, we further propose the LMMSE bit estimator for efficient demodulation. Its performance is close to the optimum multiuser receiver but with a much simpler polynomial complexity. To further reduce the complexity, we extend the LMMSE estimator to the sequential LMMSE estimator. In sequential estimation, we do not need to implement the matched filter banks and to perform the matrix inversion when estimating. In addition, it converges after approximately 2k iterations, where k is the number of users. With this fast convergence property and the simple structure, the sequential LMMSE estimator provides an attractive alternative to the implementation of a multiuser system     

Phase transformation of calcia-alumina-magnesia fibres produced by inviscid melt spinning

CaO-Al₂O₃-MgO (CAM) ceramic fibre produced via inviscid melt spinning (IMS) was investigated for phase transformation. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) on the as-spun CAM fibre gave two transformation peaks, one for exothermic peak at around 927°C and the other for endothermic one at around 1100°C. In order to identify each phase transformation x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed on the CAM fibres heat-treated to each phase transformation completion temperature. The exothermic peak was determined to represent crystallization of remaining amorphous phase in the as-spun CAM fibre. The endothermic peak was determined to correspond to transformation of non-equilibrium CaO · Al₂O₃ phase to equilibrium 3CaO· 5Al₂O₃ phase.     

Cryptanalysis of an involutional block cipher using cellular automata

In 2006, an involutional block cipher using cellular automata was proposed. A self-invertible CA-based structure allows for an efficient hardware implementation. This paper analyzes the insecurity of the cipher due to its conjugate property. The results of this study will make it possible to construct a decryption process without knowledge of the secret key.