Nanosecond Peak Detect And Hold Circuit With Adjustable Dynamic Range

This article presents a novel peak detect and hold (PDH) circuit for the measurement of the peak voltage of electromagnetic-field probes. These probes are used to capture the fields generated by electrostatic discharge (ESD) events in nongrounded portable devices. Therefore, a circuit combining small size, low power consumption, and nanosecond operation is needed. A topology using a discrete bipolar transistor structure with operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) and common-base storage capacitor charge control optimally meets the requirements. The circuit performance is demonstrated for different bias point settings. The error between the captured value and the actual pulse peak value is shown as a function of rise time, pulse length, amplitude, and bias settings. A comparison with the literature shows unmatched performance with respect to speed and power consumption. Using the bias settings, the PDH circuit can be adjusted to the sensor\u27s frequency response to minimize power consumption in a multichannel system containing sensors of different bandwidths

Rigid Polyethylene Terephthalate Packaging Waste: An Investigation of Waste Composition and Its Recycling Potential in Austria

The need for increased recycling of plastic packaging waste (PPW) is apparent from a legal and waste management perspective and, therefore, further waste streams need to be investigated in detail in terms of their recycling potential. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) PW is already closed-loop recyclable (bottle-to-bottle recycling); however, other rigid PET PW is mainly thermally recovered. Explicit quantitative and qualitative data on rigid PET packaging waste are limited. Therefore, this study investigates the composition and packaging characteristics of rigid PET packaging waste contained in separate waste collection as well as in the mixed PET sorting stream in Austria by conducting a manual sorting analysis. Furthermore, the waste volume is projected, and the recycling potential is extrapolated according to new European recycling rate reporting formats. The results show that approximately 11% of separate collection represents rigid PET packaging waste. Most PW derives from food packaging and is transparent. Contained residues with more than 1% of the total packaging weight might negatively impact the sortability. The applicable net quantity indicator (ALR) amounts to 0.888 at the stage of sorting. The volume of rigid PET PW is extrapolated to 26–36 kt in 2020 with a high-quality recycling rate of 25%, which contributes 2.6% to the Austrian PPW recycling target of 50%

Metas de inflação em perspectiva: a influência do trinômio reputação-credibilidade-transparência sobre a economia Inflation targets in perspective: the influence of the reputation-credibility-transparency trinomial on economics

<abstract language="eng">Although inflation target regime seeks to serve as a reference for the expectation formation process of the agents, its implementation does not necessarily imply the acquisition or the best result in terms of economic growth. The present article aims the development of a model that explains, by firms' investment decisions, the product path behavior, undertaking monetary authority may present distinct situations associated with the reputation-credibility-transparency trinomial. The article also detaches different kinds of reputation and its degrees

Reputação, credibilidade e transparência da autoridade monetária e o estado de expectativa Reputation, credibility and transparency of the monetary authority and the state of expectations

Para se desenvolver uma teoria que busca explicar como a política monetária afeta a economia é necessário entender como os indivíduos tomam decisões com base em suas expectativas e na confiança. Nesse sentido, torna-se fundamental conhecer os elementos determinantes das expectativas e da confiança dos agentes e como são afetados pela autoridade monetária. Tendo como referenciais teóricos (i) o esquema desenvolvido por Dequech (1999a) relacionado aos determinantes das expectativas e da confiança dos agentes; (ii) os pressupostos que fundamentam a não-neutralidade da moeda; e (iii) a literatura que aborda a influência da reputação, da credibilidade e da transparência sobre a economia, o artigo tem como objetivo demonstrar a influência do trinômio credibilidade-reputação-transparência para o "estado de expectativa" dos indivíduos, e, assim, para a capacidade da política monetária em afetar emprego e renda, mantendo a estabilidade de preços.<br>For the development of a theory that looks for an explanation about how monetary policy affects the economy it is necessary to understand how economic agents make decisions based on their expectations and confidence. Therein, it is important to know the determinants of expectations and confidence and how these are affected by monetary authority. Using as theoretical references (i) the scheme developed by Dequech (1999a) about the determinants of expectations and confidence; (ii) the assumptions that support the non-neutrality of money; and (iii) the literature about reputation, credibility and transparency, the article seeks to demonstrate the influences of reputation-credibility-transparency trinomial for the state of expectations of the agents, and, consequently, for the monetary policy capacity to affect employment and income keeping prices stability