A 43-Gbps Lithium Niobate Modulator Driver Module

This paper describes the realization of a 43-Gbps Lithium Niobate modulator driver module. The NRZ driver module utilizes four stages of GaAs p-HEMT MMIC amplifiers integrated with an output level detector and feedback loop to provide thermal stability and external control of the output swing. The bias and loop control circuitry are contained in the housing on a PC board external to the sealed MIC section. The integrated module (50.8 x 73.4 x 9.5 mm 3) provides 6.0 Vp-p controllable single-ended output voltage while dissipating only 4 watt

A cool starspot or a second transiting planet in the TrES-1 system?

We investigate the origin of a flux increase found during a transit of TrES-1, observed with the HST. This feature in the HST light curve cannot be attributed to noise and is supposedly a dark area on the stellar surface of the host star eclipsed by TrES-1 during its transit. We investigate the likeliness of two possible hypothesis for its origin: A starspot or a second transiting planet. We made use of several transit observations of TrES-1 from space with the HST and from ground with the IAC-80 telescope. On the basis of these observations we did a statistical study of flux variations in each of the observed events, to investigate if similar flux increases are present in other parts of the data set. The HST observation presents a single clear flux rise during a transit whereas the ground observations led to the detection of two such events but with low significance. In the case of having observed a starspot in the HST data, assuming a central impact between the spot and TrES-1, we would obtain a lower limit for the spot radius of 42000 km. For this radius the spot temperature would be 4690 K, 560 K lower then the stellar surface of 5250 K. For a putative second transiting planet we can set a lower limit for its radius at 0.37 R$_J$ and for periods of less than 10.5 days, we can set an upper limit at 0.72 R$_J$. Assuming a conventional interpretation, then this HST observation constitutes the detection of a starspot. Alternatively, this flux rise might also be caused by an additional transiting planet. The true nature of the origin can be revealed if a wavelength dependency of the flux rise can be shown or discarded with a higher certainty. Additionally, the presence of a second planet can also be detected by radial velocity measurements.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&

One Year of Alendronate Treatment Lowers Microstructural Stresses Associated with Trabecular Microdamage Initiation

Alendronate, an anti-remodeling agent, is commonly used to treat patients suffering from osteoporosis by increasing bone mineral density. Though fracture risk is lowered, an increase in microdamage accumulation has been documented in patients receiving alendronate, leading to questions about the potentially detrimental effects of remodeling suppression on the local tissue (material) properties. In this study, trabecular bone cores from the distal femur of beagle dogs treated for one year with alendronate, at doses scaled by weight to approximate osteoporotic and Paget's disease treatment doses in humans, were subjected to uniaxial compression to induce microdamage. Tissue level von Mises stresses were computed for alendronate-treated and non-treated controls using finite element analysis and correlated to microdamage morphology. Using a modified version of the Moore and Gibson classification for damage morphology, we determined that the von Mises stress for trabeculae exhibiting severe and linear microcrack patterns was decreased by approximately 25% in samples treated with alendronate compared with non-treated controls (p<0.01), whereas there was no reduction in the von Mises stress state for diffuse microdamage formation. Furthermore, an examination of the architectural and structural characteristics of damaged trabeculae demonstrated that severely damaged trabeculae were thinner, more aligned with the loading axis, and less mineralized than undamaged trabeculae in alendronate-treated samples (p<0.01). Similar relationships with damage morphology were found only with trabecular orientation in vehicle-treated control dogs. These results indicate that changes in bone's architecture and matrix properties associated with one year of alendronate administration reduce trabecular bone's ability to resist the formation of loading-induced severe and linear microcracks, both of which dissipate less energy prior to fracture than does diffuse damage

Surface Geometric and Electronic Structure of BaFe2As2(001)

BaFe2As2 exhibits properties characteristic of the parent compounds of the newly discovered iron (Fe)-based high-TC superconductors. By combining the real space imaging of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) with momentum space quantitative Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) we have identified the surface plane of cleaved BaFe2As2 crystals as the As terminated Fe-As layer - the plane where superconductivity occurs. LEED and STM/S data on the BaFe2As2(001) surface indicate an ordered arsenic (As) - terminated metallic surface without reconstruction or lattice distortion. It is surprising that the STM images the different Fe-As orbitals associated with the orthorhombic structure, not the As atoms in the surface plane.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Field Performance of a Ground-Coupled Heat Pump in Abilene, Texas

A nominal 10.6 kW (3 ton), vertical-configuration ground-coupled heat pump was installed in Abilene, Texas in December 1989 and was monitored until May 1993 using a remote data acquisition system. The unit was installed in the guest officer quarters at Dyes Air Force Base. Monitored data included: temperature and relative humidity of return and supply air, water temperature entering and leaving the condenser, power consumption of the individual system components, cycling rate, on-time, and soil temperatures at various depths and radial locations. Water and air flow rates were measured twice during the monitored period, and have remained constant. The measured quantities allow calculation of instantaneous capacity, power, coefficient of performance (COP), and ground-coil heat rejection. Data for operation in the cooling and heating mode are discussed here. Based on the experimental data, it was discovered that the water temperature entering the condenser (EWT) exhibited a prolonged minimum after start-up due to cooling of the water during the off-cycle when operating in the cooling mode. The decreased levels of EWT early in the cycle increased capacity and decreased power, both acting to increase the COP. Seasonal COPs for heating and cooling were estimated from the data and are presented

Development of a Texas Building Registry

The Texas Building Registry (TBR or Registry) provides data collection, storage, and analysis of above-code residential housing construction in Texas. The original system was developed to support the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP). Since 2005, the Energy Systems Laboratory (The Laboratory) has provided web-based, above code energy efficiency calculators for public use. The Registry can accept single entry and batch loading of data describing Energy Star™ homes, low-income weatherization programs, or data from municipal code enforcement systems. The Registry is independent of, and respectful of, other rating systems used by partners, thus it can accept data for homes measured against Energy Star, IECC 2000/2001, 2006, 2009, and specially amended Codes. Reports can be given summarized geographically against weather zones, county or cities, and even displayed on a map (i.e., thematic mapping). Additional reports on building characteristics can be analyzed and reported such as: HVAC tonnage per sq. ft; or average SHGC. Data provided by partners is kept secure database server located at the Texas A&M University. Individual results from the Registry will not be displayed to further respect the privacy of individuals who have provided the data.Energy Systems Laboratory, Texas A&M Universit

Genome scan of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera for genetic variation associated with crop rotation tolerance

Crop rotation has been a valuable technique for control of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera for almost a century. However, during the last two decades, crop rotation has ceased to be effective in an expanding area of the US corn belt. This failure appears to be due to a change in the insect's oviposition behaviour, which, in all probability, has an underlying genetic basis. A preliminary genome scan using 253 amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) markers sought to identify genetic variation associated with the circumvention of crop rotation. Samples of D. v. virgifera from east-central Illinois, where crop rotation is ineffective, were compared with samples from Iowa at locations that the behavioural variant has yet to reach. A single AFLP marker showed signs of having been influenced by selection for the circumvention of crop rotation. However, this marker was not diagnostic. The lack of markers strongly associated with the trait may be due to an insufficient density of marker coverage throughout the genome. A weak but significant general heterogeneity was observed between the Illinois and Iowa samples at microsatellite loci and AFLP markers. This has not been detected in previous population genetic studies of D. v. virgifera and may indicate a reduction in gene flow between variant and wild-type beetles

Expression of Extracellular Matrix Proteins in Human Periodontal Ligament Cells During Mineralization In Vitro

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142249/1/jper0320.pd

Origins of the slow and the ubiquitous fast solar wind

We present in this Letter the first coordinated radio occultation measurements and ultraviolet observations of the inner corona below 5.5 Rs, obtained during the Galileo solar conjunction in January 1997, to establish the origin of the slow solar wind. Limits on the flow speed are derived from the Doppler dimming of the resonantly scattered componentof the oxygen 1032 A and 1037 A lines as measured with the UltraViolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). White light images of the corona from the Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO) on SOHO taken simultaneously are used to place the Doppler radio scintillation and ultraviolet measurements in the context ofcoronal structures. These combined observations provide the first direct confirmation of the view recently proposed by Woo and Martin (1997) that the slow solar wind is associated with the axes, also known as stalks, of streamers. Furthermore, the ultraviolet observations also show how the fast solar wind is ubiquitous in the inner corona, and that a velocity shear between the fast and slow solar wind develops along the streamer stalks.Comment: 15 pages, LaTex, 6 jpg figures, accepted Aug. 28, 1997 for publication in the ApJ Letter