Analytical models for the wake-up receiver power budget for wireless sensor networks

In this paper analytical models of the energy consumption are presented which uses a real world radio model with two different low power modes. This model is used to compare energy consumption of different MAC protocols. The MAC protocols used for the comparison are chosen with sensor networks is mind. The energy consumption of the nodes in a sensor network needs to be minimized to maximize the lifetime of the network. Emphasis is placed on MAC protocols, since they have a big influence on the energy consumption. One of the MAC protocols uses a low power Wake Up Receiver (WURx) which is used to decrease the total energy dissipation. The WURx MAC protocol is compared with two other low power MAC protocols, namely the asynchronous X-MAC and synchronous TDMA protocol. The obtained model is used to derive the WURx power budget. The response time of the nodes is used as the main design requirement and the important application parameters are given that determine the WURx power budget

Analytical passive mixer power gain models

According to the well-known Friis equation the available power gain should be maximized to reduce the overall noise figure. Therefore, in receivers where an LNA is not present or its gain is low, the available power gain of the passive mixer is of interest. However, only the voltage gain is presented in many papers. In this paper an analytical model is presented for the power gain, voltage gain and input and output impedance of a passive mixer. The model is obtained using time-domain analysis since the mixer is periodically time variant. The validity of the models is checked using CMOS 90 nm transistor simulations

Periodic retinoic acid–STRA8 signaling intersects with periodic germ-cell competencies to regulate spermatogenesis

Mammalian spermatogenesis—the transformation of stem cells into millions of haploid spermatozoa—is elaborately organized in time and space. We explored the underlying regulatory mechanisms by genetically and chemically perturbing spermatogenesis in vivo, focusing on spermatogonial differentiation, which begins a series of amplifying divisions, and meiotic initiation, which ends these divisions. We first found that, in mice lacking the retinoic acid (RA) target gene Stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8), undifferentiated spermatogonia accumulated in unusually high numbers as early as 10 d after birth, whereas differentiating spermatogonia were depleted. We thus conclude that Stra8, previously shown to be required for meiotic initiation, also promotes (but is not strictly required for) spermatogonial differentiation. Second, we found that injection of RA into wild-type adult males induced, independently, precocious spermatogonial differentiation and precocious meiotic initiation; thus, RA acts instructively on germ cells at both transitions. Third, the competencies of germ cells to undergo spermatogonial differentiation or meiotic initiation in response to RA were found to be distinct, periodic, and limited to particular seminiferous stages. Competencies for both transitions begin while RA levels are low, so that the germ cells respond as soon as RA levels rise. Together with other findings, our results demonstrate that periodic RA–STRA8 signaling intersects with periodic germ-cell competencies to regulate two distinct, cell-type-specific responses: spermatogonial differentiation and meiotic initiation. This simple mechanism, with one signal both starting and ending the amplifying divisions, contributes to the prodigious output of spermatozoa and to the elaborate organization of spermatogenesis.Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Pre-doctoral Training Grant T32GM007287

Ten Misconceptions from the History of Analysis and Their Debunking

The widespread idea that infinitesimals were "eliminated" by the "great triumvirate" of Cantor, Dedekind, and Weierstrass is refuted by an uninterrupted chain of work on infinitesimal-enriched number systems. The elimination claim is an oversimplification created by triumvirate followers, who tend to view the history of analysis as a pre-ordained march toward the radiant future of Weierstrassian epsilontics. In the present text, we document distortions of the history of analysis stemming from the triumvirate ideology of ontological minimalism, which identified the continuum with a single number system. Such anachronistic distortions characterize the received interpretation of Stevin, Leibniz, d'Alembert, Cauchy, and others.Comment: 46 pages, 4 figures; Foundations of Science (2012). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1108.2885 and arXiv:1110.545

Custom Integrated Circuits

Contains reports on six research projects.U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR-86-0164)U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-80-C-0622)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS-83-10941

Custom Integrated Circuits

Contains reports on nine research projects.Analog Devices, Inc.International Business Machines, Inc.Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAALO03-86-K-0002)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR 86-0164)Rockwell International CorporationOKI SemiconductorU.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-81-K-0742)Charles Stark Draper LaboratoryDARPA/U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-80-C-0622)DARPA/U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-87-K-0825)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS-83-10941)AT&T Bell Laboratorie

Custom Integrated Circuits

Contains reports on seven research projects.U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract F49620-84-C-0004)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS81-18160)Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Contract NOO14-80-C-0622)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS83-10941

Custom Integrated Circuits

Contains reports on six research projects.U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract F49620-84-C-0004)Analog Devices, Inc.Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Contract N00014-80-C-0622)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS83-10941

Hyaluronic Acid in Synovial Fluid Prevents Neutrophil Activation in Spondyloarthritis

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients suffer from joint inflammation resulting in tissue damage, characterized by the presence of numerous neutrophils in the synovium and synovial fluid (SF). As it is yet unclear to what extent neutrophils contribute to the pathogenesis of SpA, we set out to study SF neutrophils in more detail. We analyzed the functionality of SF neutrophils of 20 SpA patients and 7 disease controls, determining ROS production and degranulation in response to various stimuli. In addition, the effect of SF on neutrophil function was determined. Surprisingly, our data show that SF neutrophils in SpA patients have an inactive phenotype, despite the presence of many neutrophil-activating stimuli such as GM-CSF and TNF in SF. This was not due to exhaustion as SF neutrophils readily responded to stimulation. Therefore, this finding suggests that one or more inhibitors of neutrophil activation may be present in SF. Indeed, when blood neutrophils from healthy donors were activated in the presence of increasing concentrations of SF from SpA patients, degranulation and ROS production were dose-dependently inhibited. This effect was independent of diagnosis, gender, age, and medication in the patients from which the SF was isolated. Treatment of SF with the enzyme hyaluronidase strongly reduced the inhibitory effect of SF on neutrophil activation, indicating that hyaluronic acid that is present in SF may be an important factor in preventing SF neutrophil activation. This finding provides novel insights into the role of soluble factors in SF regulating neutrophil function and may lead to the development of novel therapeutics targeting neutrophil activation via hyaluronic acid or associated pathways