A New Comb Circular Polarizer Suitable for Millimeter‐Band Application

This letter presents a new polarizer which has a simple comb structure inside a circular waveguide. The electrical performance of the proposed comb polarizer is optimized by a circular waveguide radius and by the physical parameters of the comb plates. This polarizer is suitable for providing good performance in millimeter‐band application because of its simple structure and low fabrication cost. In our experiments the dual‐band comb polarizer designed in band 1(K) and band 2(Ka) showed good electrical performance without any tuning elements.     

Microscale Patterning of Mesoscopic PZN-PT Single Crystal Films by Crystal ion Slicing and Laser-Induced Etching

Advances in the fabrication of solid-solution single crystal relaxor ferroelectrics have made it possible to produce highly efficient piezoelectric crystals, and have attracted renewed interest in the use of these crystals for a new generation of piezoelectric transducers, actuators and sensors. Of particular interest is their incorporation into micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). In this paper we report on the laser-induced wet chemical etching of lead zinc niobate-lead titanate (PZN-PT) in hydrochloric acid (HCl). Argon-ion laser radiation at power levels up to 4 W is focused to a spot diameter of about 15μm and results in the chemical etching of grooves at patterning speeds up to 5μm/sec. Crystal ion slicing, an ion-implant-based film separation technique, is used in combination with laser etching to form 5 to 10μm-thick patterned and freestanding films for incorporation into micro-electromechanical devices.     

Enterococcal bacteremia in a medical center

BACKGROUND: The enterococci have become important nosocomial pathogens. They can cause multiple site infections and enterococcal bacteremia becomes more frequently associated with a high mortality rate. Previous studies of enterococcal bacteremia showed a variety of results. To establish the significance and importance of enterococci as nosocomial pathogens in this hospital, to characterize their clinical pictures and to search for the risk factors for mortality, this retrospective study was performed. METHODS: There were 208 cases of enterococcal bacteremia which occurred from 1988 to 1992. Twenty-seven cases had no medical charts, dismissing possibility of evaluation. Finally, 181 cases of enterococcal bacteremia were analysed. RESULTS: One hundred and eighteen episodes were nosocomial infections. Polymicrobial bacteremia occurred in 68.5% of the patients and the most common co-isolate was Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Those patients (78.5%) with underlying diseases and malignancies were the most common underlying problems. The portal of entry could be found in 69.6 percent of patients, with the gastrointestinal tract the most common sources. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed high gentamicin resistance rate (89.5%), and ampicillin still had about 80 percent sensitivity rate. The group who received specific antibiotic therapy for enterococcus showed lower mortality (36.4% versus 47.6%). Only one case had infective endocarditis. Forty-nine patients suffered from septic shock, the cause of 30 deaths. Totally 75 patients died during hospitalization. Besides sepsis, another major cause of death was their underlying diseases itself. CONCLUSIONS: Enterococci have no doubt become important nosocomial pathogens and enterococcal bacteremia were associated with high mortality, especially in elderly patients with underlying diseases such as malignancy or diabetes. When clinically dealing with sepsis from the gastrointestinal or biliary tract, especially when previous cephalosporins therapy showed no response, the possibility of enterococcal bacteremia should always be considered.     

A study of CaCO3 fouling with a microscopic imaging technique

The present study introduces a new experimental method to visualize the fouling process of CaCO₃. A mini-channel heat exchanger system with a microscopic imaging technique was developed for real-time visualization of the fouling process. The present study discussed how scale started initially, how scale formed thick layers, and how a small crystal grew into a large one, touching the adjacent one. Detail microscopic images of scale crystals and corresponding fouling resistances were obtained over the entire fouling process. The microscopic observation indicated that the fouling process could be divided into three stages: an induction period, a period of uniform generation of nuclei, and a period of uniform growth of scale. Sudden appearance of numerous small nuclei indicated the end of the induction period, a key event before the rapid increase in the fouling resistance. The present experimental method using microscopic images of the wet fouling process provides a valuable insight on the fouling mechanism.     

Effect of microporosity on tensile properties of as-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy

In the present study, the effect of microporosity on the tensile properties of as-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy was investigated through experimental observation and numerical prediction. The test specimens were fabricated by die-casting and gravity-casting. For gravity-casting, the inoculation and use of various metallic moulds were applied to obtain a wide range of microporosity. The deficiency of the interdendritic feeding of the liquid phase acted as a dominant mechanism on the formation of the micropores in the Mg?Al-alloys, rather than the evolution of hydrogen gas. Although tensile strength and elongation has a nonlinear and very intensive dependence upon microporosity, the yield strength appeared to have a linear relationship with microporosity. However, it was possible to quantitatively estimate the linear contribution of microporosity on the individual tensile property for a range of microporosity, which was below about 1%. The numerical prediction suggests that the effect of microporosity on fractured strength and elongation decreased as the strain hardening exponent increased. Furthermore, the shape and distribution of micropores may play a more dominant role than local plastic deformation on the tensile behavior of AZ91D alloy.     

A 0.9 V 92 dB Double-Sampled Switched-RC Delta-Sigma Audio ADC

A 0.9 V third-order double-sampled delta-sigma audio ADC is presented. A new method using a combination of a switched-RC technique and a floating switched-capacitor double-sampling configuration enabled low-voltage operation without clock boosting or bootstrapping. A three-level quantizer with simple dynamic element matching was used to improve linearity. The prototype IC implemented in a 0.13 CMOS process achieves 92 dB DR, 91 dB SNR and 89 dB SNDR in a 24 kHz audio signal bandwidth, while consuming 1.5 mW from a 0.9 V supply. The prototype operates from 0.65 V to 1.5 V supply with minimal performance degradation.     

Poly(butylene terephthalate)–clay nanocomposites prepared by melt intercalation: morphology and thermomechanical properties

Nanocomposites based on poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and an organoclay (Cloisite 30B) were prepared by melt blending using a twin‐screw extruder. Two kinds of PBTs, ie PBT‐A and PBT‐B, with different inherent viscosities (η_inh), were used for this study (η_inh of PBT‐A and PBT‐B were 0.74 and 1.48, respectively). Dispersion of the clay layers in the PBT nanocomposites was characterized by using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tensile and dynamic mechanical properties and non‐isothermal crystallization temperatures of the nanocomposites were also examined. Nanocomposites based on the higher‐viscosity PBT (PBT‐B) showed a higher degree of exfoliation of the clay and a higher reinforcing effect when compared to the composites based on the lower‐viscosity PBT (PBT‐A). The clay nanolayers dispersed in PBT matrices lead to increases in the non‐isothermal crystallization temperatures of the PBTs, with such increases being more significant for the PBT‐B nanocomposites than for the PBT‐A nanoocomposites. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Holographic polymer‐dispersed liquid crystal fabrication under electric field

The transmission mode of holographic polymer‐dispersed liquid crystals (HPDLCs) was developed an under electric field. It is reported that orientation of LC molecules under an electric field induces orientation of oligomer molecules giving rise to low off‐state diffraction and small grating shrinkage. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

A simple handling technique for mammalian oocytes and embryos during preparation for transmission electron microscopy

Due to their small size, mammalian oocytes and embryos pose unique problems during preparation for transmission electron microscopy. This paper outlines a method which combines protein embedding with centrifugation to locate the specimens on the face of a Beem capsule mould. This method facilitates both the processing of oocytes with minimal loss and rapid location of the specimens within the block for simultaneous sectioning, staining and examination.     

Using ion implantation to adjust the transition temperature of superconducting films

We summarize a continuing investigation into using ion implantation to alter the transition temperature of superconducting thin films. The primary motivation for the work presented here was to study the feasibility of using magnetic ion doping to replace the bi-layer T_c control process currently used for certain cryogenic detector applications at National Institute for Standards and Technology. The results from work with various ion species implanted into aluminum, molybdenum, titanium and tungsten host films are presented.