Linear transmitter design for MSAT terminals

One of the factors that will undoubtedly influence the choice of modulation format for mobile satellites, is the availability of cheap, power-efficient, linear amplifiers for mobile terminal equipment operating in the 1.5-1.7 GHz band. Transmitter linearity is not easily achieved at these frequencies, although high power (20W) class A/AB devices are becoming available. However, these components are expensive and require careful design to achieve a modest degree of linearity. In this paper an alternative approach to radio frequency (RF) power amplifier design for mobile satellite (MSAT) terminals using readily-available, power-efficient, and cheap class C devices in a feedback amplifier architecture is presented

Reconsidering \u3cem\u3eIn re Technology Licensing Corporation\u3c/em\u3e and the Right to Jury Trial in Patent Invalidity Suits

Over the past decade, the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court have lessened the role of the jury in patent cases, both by classifying patent issues as questions of law for the judge, and by limiting the situations in which jury trial is available as of right. Recently, In re Technology Licensing Corporation, the Federal Circuit held that there is no right to a jury trial in a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration of patent invalidity, where the defendant counterclaims with alleged infringement and seeks an injunction as the sole remedy. In line with Supreme Court precedent, the Technology Licensing majority applied a two-pronged historical analog test: (1) compare the statutory action to eighteenth-century actions from England, as they existed prior to the merger of the courts of law and equity; and (2) determine whether the remedy sought is legal or equitable in nature. Under the first prong, the Federal Circuit majority determined that the closest historical analog to the declaratory judgment action for patent invalidity was the inverted form of the action: a patent infringement suit where the defendant alleges patent invalidity. A review of eighteenth-century English patent law, however, in combination with a closer look at the nature of the present-day patent invalidity action, suggests that the writ of scire facias—a legal action-is a more appropriate historical analog to the declaratory judgment action for patent invalidity, and that the right to jury trial should therefore attach. At a minimum, the uncertainty as to what the appropriate analog might be suggests that the Federal Circuit should have followed the Supreme Court\u27s approach in Markman v. Westview Instruments. In Markman, the Court had recognized that there was no clear historical analog to patent claim construction, and therefore looked instead to functional considerations and policy concerns. Under that approach, the highly fact-intensive nature of patent invalidity issues dictates that the right to jury trial should be preserved

On issues of equalization with the decorrelation algorithm : fast converging structures and finite-precision

To increase the rate of convergence of the blind, adaptive, decision feedback equalizer based on the decorrelation criterion, structures have been proposed which dramatically increase the complexity of the equalizer. The complexity of an algorithm has a direct bearing on the cost of implementing the algorithm in either hardware or software. In this thesis, more computationally efficient structures, based on the fast transversal filter and lattice algorithms, are proposed for the decorrelation algorithm which maintain the high rate of convergence of the more complex algorithms. Furthermore, the performance of the decorrelation algorithm in a finite-precision environment will be studied and compared to the widely used LMS algorithm

Fusogenic membrane glycoproteins as a gene therapy for cancer

Gene therapy strategies hold great promise for the treatment of cancer. This work tests the hypothesis that viral fusogenic membrane glycoproteins (FMG) have potential as cytotoxic gene therapy agents. The truncated, hyperfusogenic form of a C-type retrovirus envelope gene: the Gibbon ape leukaemia virus envelope (GALV), and the F and H genes of the paramyxovirus Measles, were the predominate FMG investigated. Initial studies demonstrated the cytotoxicicty of expressing FMG in tumour cells in vitro. Extensive cell death occured following cell-cell fusion and syncitia formation. Comparison with suicide genes indicated superior cell killing with FMG due to a greater bystander effect. FMG killing induced a stress response with induction and upregulation of heat shock proteins. Detailed analysis of cell death following FMG expression and syncitia formation suggested a non-apoptotic, necrotic mechanism. This was independent of the cell cycle. Viral vectors expressing FMG were developed. There was inefficient production of retroviral vectors based on the Moloney murine leukaemia virus expressing GALV. Improved titre was seen from a lentiviral vector expressing GALV. This vector, when injected intratumourally, was able to eradicate small tumours in nude mice. Adenoviral vectors expressing F and H were produced. Intratumoural injection of these vectors resulted in syncitia formation in vivo. Direct intratumoural injection of an H expressing adenoviral vector into human xenograft tumours expressing Measles F resulted in tumour eradication in 30% of mice. Production of an adenoviral vector expressing GALV required a strategy involving Cre recombinase and a transcriptional silencer to overcome the direct cytotoxicity to producer cells. Co-expression of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) with FMG by a number of mechanisms was developed. Their particular in vitro properties were analysed in detail. In summary this thesis represents the initial studies of a group of genes with their novel application as gene therapy agents for the treatment of cancer. Incorporation of FMG in the development of cytotoxic and immunomodulatory gene therapy strategies hold significant promise and merit further development

Reconsidering \u3cem\u3eIn re Technology Licensing Corporation\u3c/em\u3e and the Right to Jury Trial in Patent Invalidity Suits

Over the past decade, the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court have lessened the role of the jury in patent cases, both by classifying patent issues as questions of law for the judge, and by limiting the situations in which jury trial is available as of right. Recently, In re Technology Licensing Corporation, the Federal Circuit held that there is no right to a jury trial in a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration of patent invalidity, where the defendant counterclaims with alleged infringement and seeks an injunction as the sole remedy. In line with Supreme Court precedent, the Technology Licensing majority applied a two-pronged historical analog test: (1) compare the statutory action to eighteenth-century actions from England, as they existed prior to the merger of the courts of law and equity; and (2) determine whether the remedy sought is legal or equitable in nature. Under the first prong, the Federal Circuit majority determined that the closest historical analog to the declaratory judgment action for patent invalidity was the inverted form of the action: a patent infringement suit where the defendant alleges patent invalidity. A review of eighteenth-century English patent law, however, in combination with a closer look at the nature of the present-day patent invalidity action, suggests that the writ of scire facias—a legal action-is a more appropriate historical analog to the declaratory judgment action for patent invalidity, and that the right to jury trial should therefore attach. At a minimum, the uncertainty as to what the appropriate analog might be suggests that the Federal Circuit should have followed the Supreme Court\u27s approach in Markman v. Westview Instruments. In Markman, the Court had recognized that there was no clear historical analog to patent claim construction, and therefore looked instead to functional considerations and policy concerns. Under that approach, the highly fact-intensive nature of patent invalidity issues dictates that the right to jury trial should be preserved

The saga of the 708 Railway Grand Division

Beginning of Chapter 7, Conclusion: In this book, the author has not attempted to give a complete history of the Military Railway Service. And in a sense, the task of the author has been a painful one. Limitations of space have precluded the inclusion of many episodes, vignettes, descriptions and analyses. Consequently, most of the personnel concerned have had to remain anonymous. War is not only a matter of facts and statistics. It is experience, and no others can quite understand that experience. The author has tried to tell the story of the war as it came to our organization how it looked and felt, and what our activities were during the fighting. The splendid performance of the 708th reflected credit on all of our personnel rather than on any individual or small group of individuals. This book is intended primarily for personnel of our immediate headquarters, and I trust they will understand and forgive me for not including their individual chapters.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/1098/thumbnail.jp

Refining pathological evaluation of neoadjuvant therapy for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus

AIM: To assess tumour regression grade (TRG) and lymph node downstaging to help define patients who benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy.METHODS: Two hundred and eighteen consecutive patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus or gastro-esophageal junction treated with surgery alone or neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery between 2005 and 2011 at a single institution were reviewed. Triplet neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of platinum, fluoropyrimidine and anthracycline was considered for operable patients (World Health Organization performance status ? 2) with clinical stage T2-4 N0-1. Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was assessed using TRG, as described by Mandard et al. In addition lymph node downstaging was also assessed. Lymph node downstaging was defined by cN1 at diagnosis: assessed radiologically (computed tomography, positron emission tomography, endoscopic ultrasonography), then pathologically recorded as N0 after surgery; ypN0 if NAC given prior to surgery, or pN0 if surgery alone. Patients were followed up for 5 years post surgery. Recurrence was defined radiologically, with or without pathological confirmation. An association was examined between t TRG and lymph node downstaging with disease free survival (DFS) and a comprehensive range of clinicopathological characteristics.RESULTS: Two hundred and eighteen patients underwent esophageal resection during the study interval with a mean follow up of 3 years (median follow up: 2.552, 95%CI: 2.022-3.081). There was a 1.8% (n = 4) inpatient mortality rate. One hundred and thirty-six (62.4%) patients received NAC, with 74.3% (n = 101) of patients demonstrating some signs of pathological tumour regression (TRG 1-4) and 5.9% (n = 8) having a complete pathological response. Forty four point one percent (n = 60) had downstaging of their nodal disease (cN1 to ypN0), compared to only 15.9% (n = 13) that underwent surgery alone (pre-operatively overstaged: cN1 to pN0), (P < 0.0001). Response to NAC was associated with significantly increased DFS (mean DFS; TRG 1-2: 5.1 years, 95%CI: 4.6-5.6 vs TRG 3-5: 2.8 years, 95%CI: 2.2-3.3, P < 0.0001). Nodal down-staging conferred a significant DFS advantage for those patients with a poor primary tumour response to NAC (median DFS; TRG 3-5 and nodal down-staging: 5.533 years, 95%CI: 3.558-7.531 vs TRG 3-5 and no nodal down-staging: 1.114 years, 95%CI: 0.961-1.267, P < 0.0001).CONCLUSION: Response to NAC in the primary tumour and in the lymph nodes are both independently associated with improved DFS

Out of Africa: a typology for analysing open educational resources initiatives

This paper describes how a typology was developed and used between 2008 and 2010 to investigate three different open educational resources (OER) initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The typology was first developed by careful scrutiny of the many OER and OER-related initiatives both globally and in Sub Saharan Africa. The typology was then both tested and further developed and refined by applying it to the TESSA, Thutong Portal and Rip-Mix-Learn initiatives. The typology uses four main categories – creation, organisation, dissemination and utilisation – and 18 sub categories to examine and analyse each initiative, with each sub category having a number of properties and possible dimensions. This typology was used to distinguish one type of OER initiative from another while grounding each in a wider context. As there are different levels of categorisation the typology is simple at the highest level, with just four elements, for use by practitioners; but is detailed enough at other levels to enable researchers to generate research questions. Furthermore the typology is flexible enough to evolve over time as it is applied to more and more OER initiatives both within and outside Africa and also as existing initiatives change and develop over time and while new initiatives emerge

An emerging typology for analysing OER initiatives

The investigation of OER initiatives requires rigorous appraisal based on theory as well as descriptions based on practice if we are to understand them and how they might be sustained. A robust typology or flexible classification scheme will enable better comparison of common elements over widely different OER initiatives and help inform and improve praxis at all levels and across all socio-economic and cultural systems. This in turn will help the variety of stakeholders to better understand what is happening and why. This paper describes how a typology was used between 2008 and 2010 to investigate three different OER initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa. The typology was first developed by careful scrutiny of the many OER and OER-related initiatives both globally and in Sub Saharan African. The typology was then both tested and further developed and refined by applying it to the TESSA, Thutong Portal and Rip, Mix, Learn initiatives. The typology uses four main categories – creation, organisation, dissemination and utilisation – and 18 sub categories to examine and analyse each initiative, with each sub category having a number of properties and possible dimensions. The data that informed this process included interviews with key personnel and the coding of a large body of white and grey literature and documentation produced by the initiatives themselves. This typology can thus be used to distinguish one type of OER initiative from another while grounding each in a wider context. For example, initially TESSA concentrated almost entirely on the ‘creation of OER’ while the Thutong Portal concentrated on the ‘Organisation of OER’ in that it spent a great deal of time and energy on the portal storage mechanisms. In other words the elements included in the Typology can be used to describe or ‘profile’ initiatives regardless of their particular emphasis or approach. None of the initiatives need possess all of the elements contained in the typology as long as they have all been considered. As there are different levels of categorisation the typology is simple at the highest level, with just four elements, for use by practitioners; but is detailed enough at other levels to enable researchers to generate research questions. Furthermore the typology is flexible enough to evolve over time as it is applied to more and more OER initiatives both within and outside Africa and also as existing initiatives change and develop over time and while new initiatives emerge. Indeed the relative immaturity of the case study initiatives used to test and refine the typology was a concern for both practitioners and researchers and it is no surprise that the studies main findings were that (a) greater investment was needed in capacity building, (b) more attention given to appropriate use of technology and pedagogy in higher educational systems and (c) more contextual research applicable to sub Saharan Africa to inform those decisions

The Dysexecutive Questionnaire Revised (DEX-R): An extended measure of everyday dysexecutive problems after acquired brain injury.

The Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX) is a tool for measuring everyday problems experienced with the dysexecutive syndrome. This study investigated the psychometric properties of a revised version of the measure (DEX-R), a comprehensive tool, grounded in current theoretical conceptualisations of frontal lobe function and dysexecutive problems. The aim was to improve measurement of dysexecutive problems following acquired brain injury (ABI). Responses to the DEX-R were collected from 136 men and women who had experienced an ABI (the majority of whom had experienced a stroke or subarachnoid haemorrhage) and where possible, one of their carers or family members (n = 71), who acted as an informant. Rasch analysis techniques were employed to explore the psychometric properties of four newly developed, theoretically distinct subscales based on Stuss model of frontal lobe function and to evaluate the comparative validity and reliability of self and informant ratings of these four subscales. The newly developed subscales were well targeted to the range of dysexecutive problems reported by the current sample and each displayed a good level of internal validity. Both self- and independent-ratings were found to be performing reliably as outcome measures for at least a group-level. This new version of the tool could help guide selection of interventions for different types of dysexecutive problems and provide accurate measurement in neurorehabilitation services.National Institute for Health ResearchThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2015.112188