A VHDL-AMS Based Time Domain Skin Depth Model for Edge Coupled Lossy Transmission Stripline

This contribution presents a time-domain model of the skin depth effect in a lossy transmission line. The model was developed and implemented in VHDL-AMS for a two wire edge coupled line but it is general and can be used for other types of lossy transmission line and high-frequency applications with skin depth effect. The salient feature of the model is the use of signal variation rate instead of frequency in the signal dependent resistance that models the skin depth losses. VHDL-AMS simulation experiments are presented to validate the model

Mark IVA microprocessor support

The requirements and plans for the maintenance support of microprocessor-based controllers in the Deep Space Network Mark IVA System are discussed. Additional new interfaces and 16-bit processors have introduced problems not present in the Mark III System. The need for continuous training of maintenance personnel to maintain a level of expertise consistent with the sophistication of the required tools is also emphasized

Automated Transit Networks (ATN): A Review of the State of the Industry and Prospects for the Future, MTI Report 12-31

The concept of Automated Transit Networks (ATN) - in which fully automated vehicles on exclusive, grade-separated guideways provide on-demand, primarily non-stop, origin-to-destination service over an area network – has been around since the 1950s. However, only a few systems are in current operation around the world. ATN does not appear “on the radar” of urban planners, transit professionals, or policy makers when it comes to designing solutions for current transit problems in urban areas. This study explains ATN technology, setting it in the larger context of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT); looks at the current status of ATN suppliers, the status of the ATN industry, and the prospects of a U.S.-based ATN industry; summarizes and organizes proceedings from the seven Podcar City conferences that have been held since 2006; documents the U.S./Sweden Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Transport; discusses how ATN could expand the coverage of existing transit systems; explains the opportunities and challenges in planning and funding ATN systems and approaches for procuring ATN systems; and concludes with a summary of the existing challenges and opportunities for ATN technology. The study is intended to be an informative tool for planners, urban designers, and those involved in public policy, especially for urban transit, to provide a reference for history and background on ATN, and to use for policy development and research

Conceptualising Doctoral Writing as an Affective-political Practice

Aim/Purpose: This article offers a conceptual summary and critique of existing literature on doctoral writing and emotion. The article seeks to intervene in current debates about doctoral writing by re-positioning it as an affective-political practice Background: Over recent decades public interest in the doctorate has expanded as it has become re-framed as a key component of national success in the global knowledge economy. It is within this context that the practice of doctoral writing has crystallised as an object of interest. While researchers have examined the increased regulation, surveillance, and intensification of doctoral writing, often this work is motivated to develop pedagogies that support students to meet these new expectations. At this point, there has been limited attention to what broad changes to the meanings and practices of doctoral writing feel like for students. Methodology: The paper offers a conceptual review that examines the ways in which doctoral writing tends to be understood. A review of literature in the areas of doctoral writing, doctoral emotion, and critical studies of academic labour was undertaken in order to produce a more comprehensive understanding of the political and emotional dynamics of doctoral writing. Contribution: It is intended that this conceptual research paper help researchers attend to the emotional context of doctoral writing in the current university context. Critical studies of academic work and life are identified as a possible platform for the development of future doctoral education research, and the conceptual tool of “affective-politics” is advanced as a novel frame for approaching doctoral writing research

Car Concierge

Finalist in the 2018 Pacific Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit (PIES) Pacific Pitch event at University of the Pacific

The effects of BDNF Knockdown on Neuroinflammation in the Male and Female rat brain

Since Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor’s (BDNF) discovery in 1982, we know that it plays a critical role in both cell survival and cell death within the central nervous system (CNS). It has been established that BDNF, serves as a regulatory body in the CNS, from development to adulthood by promoting neuronal health, survival, and maintenance. However, little is known about BDNF’s role in the pathogenesis of neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Therefore, in this study, we used western blots analysis, to examine the effects of global BDNF knockdown on the protein expression of multiple inflammasome and glial cell markers in healthy male and female rat brains. We hypothesize that BDNF heterozygous rats (BDNF+/- KD), will have altered protein expression of inflammatory markers due to BDNF loss, and that this may occur in a sex specific manner. To test this hypothesis, we examined the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in male and female rat hippocampal tissue. When compared to wildtype (WT) controls, only BDNF+/- KD males showed a significant increased protein level expression of reactive oxygen species (TXNIP), and inflammasome marker Caspase-1. When taken together, all four inflammasome markers (NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, IL1-β) showed a visual pattern of increase only in the male hippocampi (HPC) and not in the females after BDNF+/- KD. In conclusion our results compel us to believe that BDNF reduction leads to priming of the inflammation in the brain and not a full-blown inflammatory state. This is observed in a sex specific manner, with effects seen only in the male HPC. These findings contribute information about BDNF’s involvement in neuroinflammation and will aid in the development of more effective treatment options for neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders in the future