Measurement of Resonant Frequency and Quality Factor of Microwave Resonators: Comparison of Methods

Precise microwave measurements of sample conductivity, dielectric, and magnetic properties are routinely performed with cavity perturbation measurements. These methods require the accurate determination of quality factor and resonant frequency of microwave resonators. Seven different methods to determine the resonant frequency and quality factor from complex transmission coefficient data are discussed and compared to find which is most accurate and precise when tested using identical data. We find that the nonlinear least-squares fit to the phase vs. frequency is the most accurate and precise when the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 65. For noisier data, the nonlinear least squares fit to a Lorentzian curve is more accurate and precise. The results are general and can be applied to the analysis of many kinds of resonant phenomena.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figure

A millimeter-wave antireflection coating for cryogenic silicon lenses

We have developed and tested an antireflection (AR) coating method for silicon lenses at cryogenic temperatures and millimeter wavelengths. Our particular application is a measurement of the cosmic microwave background. The coating consists of machined pieces of Cirlex glued to the silicon. The measured reflection from an AR coated flat piece is less than 1.5% at the design wavelength. The coating has been applied to flats and lenses and has survived multiple thermal cycles from 300 to 4 K. We present the manufacturing method, the material properties, the tests performed, and estimates of the loss that can be achieved in practical lenses

Design and fabrication of 3D-printed anatomically shaped lumbar cage for intervertebra disc (IVD) degeneration treatment

Spinal fusion is the gold standard surgical procedure for degenerative spinal conditions when conservative therapies have been unsuccessful in rehabilitation of patients. Novel strategies are required to improve biocompatibility and osseointegration of traditionally used materials for lumbar cages. Furthermore, new design and technologies are needed to bridge the gap due to the shortage of optimal implant sizes to fill the intervertebral disc defect. Within this context, additive manufacturing technology presents an excellent opportunity to fabricate ergonomic shape medical implants. The goal of this study is to design and manufacture a 3D-printed lumbar cage for lumbar interbody fusion. Optimisations of the proposed implant design and its printing parameters were achieved via in silico analysis. The final construct was characterised via scanning electron microscopy, contact angle, x-ray micro computed tomography (μCT), atomic force microscopy, and compressive test. Preliminary in vitro cell culture tests such as morphological assessment and metabolic activities were performed to access biocompatibility of 3D-printed constructs. Results of in silico analysis provided a useful platform to test preliminary cage design and to find an optimal value of filling density for 3D printing process. Surface characterisation confirmed a uniform coating of nHAp with nanoscale topography. Mechanical evaluation showed mechanical properties of final cage design similar to that of trabecular bone. Preliminary cell culture results showed promising results in terms of cell growth and activity confirming biocompatibility of constructs. Thus for the first time, design optimisation based on computational and experimental analysis combined with the 3D-printing technique for intervertebral fusion cage has been reported in a single study. 3D-printing is a promising technique for medical applications and this study paves the way for future development of customised implants in spinal surgical applications

Seasonal and spatial dynamics of the primary vector of plasmodium knowlesi within a major transmission focus in Sabah, Malaysia

Background The simian malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi is emerging as a public health problem in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysian Borneo where it now accounts for the greatest burden of malaria cases and deaths. Control is hindered by limited understanding of the ecology of potential vector species. Methodology/Principal Findings We conducted a one year longitudinal study of P. knowlesi vectors in three sites within an endemic area of Sabah, Malaysia. All mosquitoes were captured using human landing catch. Anopheles mosquitoes were dissected to determine, oocyst, sporozoites and parous rate. Anopheles balabacensis is confirmed as the primary vector of. P. knowlesi (using nested PCR) in Sabah for the first time. Vector densities were significantly higher and more seasonally variable in the village than forest or small scale farming site. However An. balabacensis survival and P. knowlesi infection rates were highest in forest and small scale farm sites. Anopheles balabacensis mostly bites humans outdoors in the early evening between 1800 to 2000hrs. Conclusions/Significance This study indicates transmission is unlikely to be prevented by bednets. This combined with its high vectorial capacity poses a threat to malaria elimination programmes within the region. Author Summary The first natural infection of Plasmodium knowlesi was reported 40 years ago. At that time it was perceived that the infection would not affect humans. However, now P. knowlesi is the predominant malaria species (38% of the cases) infecting people in Malaysia and is a notable obstacle to malaria elimination in the country. Plasmodium knowlesi has also been reported from all countries in Southeast Asia with the exception of Lao PDR and Timor Leste. In Sabah, Malaysian Borneo cases of human P. knowlesi are increasing. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the bionomics of the vectors is required so as to enable proper control strategies. Here, we conducted a longitudinal study in Kudat district, Sabah, to determine and characterize the vectors of P. knowlesi within this transmission foci. Anopheles balabacensis was the predominant mosquito in all study sites and is confirmed as vector for P. knowlesi and other simian malaria parasites. The peak biting time was in the early part of the evening between1800 to 2000. Thus, breaking the chain of transmission is an extremely challenging task for the malaria elimination programme

Robotic simulators for tissue examination training with multimodal sensory feedback

Tissue examination by hand remains an essential technique in clinical practice. The effective application depends on skills in sensorimotor coordination, mainly involving haptic, visual, and auditory feedback. The skills clinicians have to learn can be as subtle as regulating finger pressure with breathing, choosing palpation action, monitoring involuntary facial and vocal expressions in response to palpation, and using pain expressions both as a source of information and as a constraint on physical examination. Patient simulators can provide a safe learning platform to novice physicians before trying real patients. This paper reviews state-of-the-art medical simulators for the training for the first time with a consideration of providing multimodal feedback to learn as many manual examination techniques as possible. The study summarizes current advances in tissue examination training devices simulating different medical conditions and providing different types of feedback modalities. Opportunities with the development of pain expression, tissue modeling, actuation, and sensing are also analyzed to support the future design of effective tissue examination simulators

Sub-Nyquist Field Trial Using Time Frequency Packed DP-QPSK Super-Channel Within Fixed ITU-T Grid

Sub-Nyquist time frequency packing technique was demonstrated for the first time in a super channel field trial transmission over long-haul distances. The technique allows a limited spectral occupancy even with low order modulation formats. The transmission was successfully performed on a deployed Australian link between Sydney and Melbourne which included 995 km of uncompensated SMF with coexistent traffic. 40 and 100 Gb/s co-propagating channels were transmitted together with the super-channel in a 50 GHz ITU-T grid without additional penalty. The super-channel consisted of eight sub-channels with low-level modulation format, i.e. DP-QPSK, guaranteeing better OSNR robustness and reduced complexity with respect to higher order formats. At the receiver side, coherent detection was used together with iterative maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) detection and decoding. A 975 Gb/s DP-QPSK super-channel was successfully transmitted between Sydney and Melbourne within four 50GHz WSS channels (200 GHz). A maximum potential SE of 5.58 bit/s/Hz was achieved with an OSNR=15.8 dB, comparable to the OSNR of the installed 100 Gb/s channels. The system reliability was proven through long term measurements. In addition, by closing the link in a loop back configuration, a potential SE*d product of 9254 bit/s/Hz*km was achieved

Processing of strong flux trapping high T(subc) oxide superconductors: Center director's discretionary fund

Magnetic suspension effect was first observed in samples of YBa2Cu3O7/AgO(Y-123/AgO) composites. Magnetization measurements of these samples show a much larger hysteresis which corresponds to a large critical current density. In addition to the Y-123AgO composites, recently similar suspension effects in other RE-123/AgO, where RE stands for rare-Earth elements, were also observed. Some samples exhibit even stronger flux pinning than that of the Y-123/AgO sample. An interesting observation was that in order to form the composite which exhibits strong flux trapping effect the sintering temperature depends on the particular RE-123 compound used. The paper presents the detailed processing conditions for the formation of these RE-123/AgO composites, as well as the magnetization and critical field data

Electrochemical capacitance of a leaky nano-capacitor

We report a detailed theoretical investigation on electrochemical capacitance of a nanoscale capacitor where there is a DC coupling between the two conductors. For this ``leaky'' quantum capacitor, we have derived general analytic expressions of the linear and second order nonlinear electrochemical capacitance within a first principles quantum theory in the discrete potential approximation. Linear and nonlinear capacitance coefficients are also derived in a self-consistent manner without the latter approximation and the self-consistent analysis is suitable for numerical calculations. At linear order, the full quantum formula improves the semiclassical analysis in the tunneling regime. At nonlinear order which has not been studied before for leaky capacitors, the nonlinear capacitance and nonlinear nonequilibrium charge show interesting behavior. Our theory allows the investigation of crossover of capacitance from a full quantum to classical regimes as the distance between the two conductors is changed

Cost-benefit analysis for commissioning decisions in GEO600

Gravitational wave interferometers are complex instruments, requiring years of commissioning to achieve the required sensitivities for the detection of gravitational waves, of order 10^-21 in dimensionless detector strain, in the tens of Hz to several kHz frequency band. Investigations carried out by the GEO600 detector characterisation group have shown that detector characterisation techniques are useful when planning for commissioning work. At the time of writing, GEO600 is the only large scale laser interferometer currently in operation running with a high duty factor, 70%, limited chiefly by the time spent commissioning the detector. The number of observable gravitational wave sources scales as the product of the volume of space to which the detector is sensitive and the observation time, so the goal of commissioning is to improve the detector sensitivity with the least possible detector down time. We demonstrate a method for increasing the number of sources observable by such a detector, by assessing the severity of non-astrophysical noise contaminations to efficiently guide commissioning. This method will be particularly useful in the early stages and during the initial science runs of the aLIGO and adVirgo detectors, as they are brought up to design performance.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, 2 table

Simple Frameshifts in MIS Postoperative Pain Management Significantly Reduce Opiate Prescriptions

Aims for Improvement The intervention aimed to reduce narcotics provided to patients after MIS by reducing number of narcotic prescriptions and amount prescribed by 25% without affecting patientreported pain scores Usage measured in Morphine Equivalent Doses (MED) MED and pain score assessed at 3 time points: post-op day 1 (POD1), discharge (D/C) and follow-up (FU) apt Pre- and Post-intervention cohorts - Month 1 (Pre-intervention): 21 patients and Month 2 (Post-intervention): 30 patient