Frequency notched printed slot antenna with parasitic open-circuit stub

A new frequency notched ultra-wideband microstrip slot antenna with a parasitic tuning stub is proposed. The antenna is similar in configuration to a conventional microstrip slot antenna; by introducing a parasitic open-circuit tuning stub, flexible frequency notched function is achieved. Several properties of the antenna, such as frequency notched function, antenna transfer function and gain, have been investigated. As is reported, the operation bandwidth of the antenna is 2.91-11.16 GHz, in which a frequency notched band of 5.10-5.85 GHz has been achieved. Furthermore, good ultra-wideband linear transmission performance over the entire operation frequency range has also been achieved.     

Interleukin-2 enhancement of cytotoxicity by humanized monoclonal antibody M195 (anti-CD33) in myelogenous leukemia

The mass childhood immunization programme has traditionally been viewed as a safe and effective preventative measure by health promoters, primary health care professionals and governments. This consensus has meant that immunization has rarely been viewed as ethically problematic. A number of recent changes in the context of the delivery of health care, particularly the emphasis on consumerism and the effect of the marketization of services, makes timely an examination of ethical, social and political issues. This article examines four main grounds for problematizing the mass childhood immunization programme. These are: clinical research evidence about the safety and efficacy of vaccines; the masking of wider social and political determinants of ill health; the contradictory strictures about collective and individual rights in relation to immunization; and the uniqueness of childhood immunization as a physical intrusion into a healthy body. The implications of these ethical issues are discussed in relation to informed consent and the need for a 'greenfield' review that includes the views of dissenting parents, lawyers and moral philosophers, as well as health professionals.     

品牌换标启示录

近几年国内外许多大品牌纷纷更换自己的标志，从柯达、富士到英特尔，从中国联通到腾讯网，从联想到创维，再到华为等，那么导致品牌换标的原因是什么？标志的再设计在其中起到一个怎样的作用？     

Image compression in digital mammography: effects on computerized detection of subtle microcalcifications

Our previous receiver operating characteristic (ROC) study indicated that the detection accuracy of microcalcifications by radiologists is significantly reduced if mammograms are digitized at 0.1 mm x 0.1 mm. Our recent study also showed that detection accuracy by computer decreases as the pixel size increases from 0.035 mm x 0.035 mm. It is evident that very large matrix sizes have to be used for digitizing mammograms in order to preserve the information in the image. Efficient compression techniques will be needed to facilitate communication and archiving of digital mammograms. In this study, we evaluated two compression techniques: full frame discrete cosine transform (DCT) with entropy coding and Laplacian pyramid hierarchical coding (LPHC). The dependence of their efficiency on the compression parameters was investigated. The techniques were compared in terms of the trade-off between the bit rate and the detection accuracy of subtle microcalcifications by an automated detection algorithm. The mean-square errors in the reconstructed images were determined and the visual quality of the error images was examined. It was found that with the LPHC method, the highest compression ratio achieved without a significant degradation in the detectability was 3.6:1. The full frame DCT method with entropy coding provided a higher compression efficiency of 9.6:1 at comparable detection accuracy. The mean-square errors did not correlate with the detection accuracy of the microcalcifications. This study demonstrated the importance of determining the quality of the decompressed images by the specific requirements of the task for which the decompressed images are to be used. Further investigation is needed for selection of optimal compression technique for digital mammograms.     

Interface potential of calcium phosphate in simulated body fluid

Calcium phosphate ceramics are used in the substitution of injured or damaged bones. Nevertheless, the behaviour of these materials, and in particular, the mechanisms guiding their interface response in physiological environment is still unknown. This work describes the construction of hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate electrodes used to determine the interface potential behaviour of these materials in a simulated body fluid, in a pH range corresponding to the variation observed in human body injuries, at ambient and physiological temperatures. These measurements are associated with the adsorption/desorption of ions from the materials. The results show that hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate have similar behaviour in that they reach an interface potential equilibrium state faster when the solution pH is decreased and the temperature increased. This behaviour may be attributed to their ability to form a calcium-rich layer and is relevant to their quality as implantable materials.     

High-breakdown-voltage AlInAs/GaInAs junction-modulated HEMT's(JHEMT's) with regrown ohmic contacts by MOCVD

A technology for increasing both the two-terminal gate-drain breakdown and subsequently the three-terminal-off-state breakdown of AlInAs/GaInAs high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) to record values without substantial impact on other parameters is presented. The breakdown in these structures is dependent on the multiplication of electrons injected from the source (channel current) and the gate (gate leakage) into the channel. In addition, holes are generated by high fields at the drain and are injected back into the gate and source electrodes. These phenomena can be suppressed by increasing the gate barrier height and alleviating the fields at the drain. Both have been achieved by incorporating a p⁺-2DEG junction as the gate that modulates the 2DEG gas and by utilizing selective regrowth of the source and drain regions by MOCVD. The 1-μm-gate-length devices fabricated have two-terminal gate-drain and three-terminal-off-state breakdown voltages of 31 V and 28 V, respectively     

The synthesis of symmetrical and unsymmetrical P1/P1' cyclic ureas as HIV protease inhibitors

Cyclic urea SD146, a potent HIV protease inhibitor bearing a flat resistance profile, possessed poor solubility and bioavailability, which precluded further development of the compound. In an effort to improve upon the pharmacokinetic profile of the compound, several analogs modified at the P1/P1' residues were prepared and evaluated. Several of those compounds displayed significant improvement of physical properties.     

Characterization of arylamine N-acetyltransferase in Enterobacter aerogenes

N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity was determined by incubation of purified Enterobacter aerogenes enzyme with 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) as the substrate, followed by high pressure liquid chromatography assays. The NAT activity from E. aerogenes was 0.58 +/- 0.08 nmol/min/mg protein for 2-AF. The values of apparent K(m) and Vmax were 0.72 +/- 0.14 mM and 2.45 +/- 0.29 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively, for 2-AF. The optimal pH value for the enzyme activity was 7.5 for the 2-AF tested. The optimal temperature for enzyme activity was 37 degrees C for the 2-AF substrate. The molecular weight of NAT from E. aerogenes was 44.9 kD. Among a series of divalent cations and salts, Zn2+, Ca2+, and Fe2+ were demonstrated to be the most potent protease inhibitors, and only ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid significantly protected the NAT. Iodoacetamide, in contrast to other agents, markedly inhibited NAT.     

Analysis of distribution time of multiple files in a P2P network

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing attracts much attention due to its scalability and robustness. One important metric in measuring the performance of a P2P file sharing system is the amount of time required for all peers to get the files. We refer this time as the file distribution time. Researchers have proposed protocols to minimize the file distribution time under different situation. However, most works are based on the single-file scenario. On the other hand, there are studies showing that in a file sharing application, users may download multiple files at the same time. In this paper, we analyze the minimum time needed to distribute multiple files. We develop an explicit expression for the minimum amount of time needed to distribute multiple files in a heterogeneous P2P fluid model. Unlike the single-file scenario, we demonstrate that the theoretical lower bound in multi-file is not always achievable. With a comprehensive consideration of all the configurations, we elaborate how to partition the bandwidth capacities of both seeds and leechers for a particular file such that the finish time is optimal.     

Analysis and scheduling of practical network coding in OFDMA relay networks

Network coding has become a prominent approach to improve throughput of wireless networks. However, most of work in the literature concentrates mainly on 802.11-like random access networks. New technologies such as OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access), offer new opportunities for employing network coding. This paper considers how to apply the practical network coding scheme in OFDMA relay networks via cross-layer optimization. Specifically, we aim to explore the following questions: (1) When and how can wireless nodes select relay paths in the presence of network coding? (2) How can an OFDMA relay system assign network resource such as subcarrier and power for all the transmitting nodes? (3) What are the impacts of OFDMA system parameters on the network coding gain? To answer these questions, two efficient coding-aware relay strategies are presented to select forwarding paths with fixed and dynamic power allocation. In order to exploit the network capacity in slow frequency selective fading channels, we formulate optimization frameworks and propose channel-aware coding-aware resource allocation algorithms for an arbitrary traffic pattern. Our studies show that the network coding (i.e. XOR) gain depends on the nodes’ powers, traffic patterns etc. Especially, OFDMA relay network with dynamic power possesses both coding gain and power gain. Extensive simulations are performed to verify our analysis and demonstrate the throughput improvement of our proposals in the presence of XOR coding.