281 research outputs found
A varactor tuned low-cost 24 GHz harmonic VCO
We present a low-cost 24 GHz VCO that is based on a microstrip design combined with discrete packaged devices. The output frequency is generated by a harmonic oscillator. The tunabilty was reached using a varactor diode. Two versions of the VCO were built, one has a wide tuning range of 1.1 GHz and the other one has a high output power of 3.7 dBm
Quantifying structure in networks
We investigate exponential families of random graph distributions as a
framework for systematic quantification of structure in networks. In this paper
we restrict ourselves to undirected unlabeled graphs. For these graphs, the
counts of subgraphs with no more than k links are a sufficient statistics for
the exponential families of graphs with interactions between at most k links.
In this framework we investigate the dependencies between several observables
commonly used to quantify structure in networks, such as the degree
distribution, cluster and assortativity coefficients.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Spin polarized electric currents in semiconductor heterostructures induced by microwave radiation
We report on microwave (mw) radiation induced electric currents in
(Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mg)Te and InAs/(In,Ga)As quantum wells subjected to an external
in-plane magnetic field. The current generation is attributed to the
spin-dependent energy relaxation of electrons heated by mw radiation. The
relaxation produces equal and oppositely directed electron flows in the spin-up
and spin-down subbands yielding a pure spin current. The Zeeman splitting of
the subbands in the magnetic field leads to the conversion of the spin flow
into a spin-polarized electric current.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
A planar hybrid transceiving mixer at 76.5GHz for automotive radar applications
A growing number of applications for radar systems in automobiles demands for low-cost radar front-ends. A planar monostatic radar front-end is particularly suited for low cost applications as it uses only one antenna for transmission and reception and, thus, minimizes the needed chip area. Generally, in a standard homodyne radar a radio-frequency (RF) signal generated by an oscillator is used for both, the transmitted signal and the local oscillator (LO). Well controlled distribution of the input power between antenna and mixer is crucial. A transceiving mixer at 76.5GHz is presented, where this distribution is done by use of a rat-race coupler. In a conventional transceiver the oscillator signal is split into the transmitted and in the LO signal by a directional coupler. A second directional coupler is needed in order to merge the received and the LO signal at the mixer. In our design the purpose of splitting and merging the signals is realized with only one coupler. Elimination of the second coupler reduces losses significantly. The received signal is down-converted to the intermediate frequency (IF) by use of a balanced mixer. For small relative speed in a CW-Doppler-radar or short distance in a FMCWradar the IF is very small. Therefore 1/f noise is a significant value. In order to achieve good 1/f noise characteristics, Schottky diodes were used. The diodes were flip-chip bonded onto a microstrip circuit on a Al2O3 substrate. The assembled transceiver was measured on-waver. An input power of 7 dBm was applied. The measured output power was 3 dBm and the conversion loss 9 dB. A noise figure of 15.3 dB was measured at 100 kHz
Structure Factor and Electronic Structure of Compressed Liquid Rubidium
We have applied the quantal hypernetted-chain equations in combination with
the Rosenfeld bridge-functional to calculate the atomic and the electronic
structure of compressed liquid-rubidium under high pressure (0.2, 2.5, 3.9, and
6.1 GPa); the calculated structure factors are in good agreement with
experimental results measured by Tsuji et al. along the melting curve. We found
that the Rb-pseudoatom remains under these high pressures almost unchanged with
respect to the pseudoatom at room pressure; thus, the effective ion-ion
interaction is practically the same for all pressure-values. We observe that
all structure factors calculated for this pressure-variation coincide almost
into a single curve if wavenumbers are scaled in units of the Wigner-Seitz
radius although no corresponding scaling feature is observed in the
effective ion-ion interaction.This scaling property of the structure factors
signifies that the compression in liquid-rubidium is uniform with increasing
pressure; in absolute Q-values this means that the first peak-position ()
of the structure factor increases proportionally to ( being the
specific volume per ion), as was experimentally observed by Tsuji et al.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure
A lattice model for the kinetics of rupture of fluid bilayer membranes
We have constructed a model for the kinetics of rupture of membranes under
tension, applying physical principles relevant to lipid bilayers held together
by hydrophobic interactions. The membrane is characterized by the bulk
compressibility (for expansion), the thickness of the hydrophobic part of the
bilayer, the hydrophobicity and a parameter characterizing the tail rigidity of
the lipids. The model is a lattice model which incorporates strain relaxation,
and considers the nucleation of pores at constant area, constant temperature,
and constant particle number. The particle number is conserved by allowing
multiple occupancy of the sites. An equilibrium ``phase diagram'' is
constructed as a function of temperature and strain with the total pore surface
and distribution as the order parameters. A first order rupture line is found
with increasing tension, and a continuous increase in proto-pore concentration
with rising temperature till instability. The model explains current results on
saturated and unsaturated PC lipid bilayers and thicker artificial bilayers
made of diblock copolymers. Pore size distributions are presented for various
values of area expansion and temperature, and the fractal dimension of the pore
edge is evaluated.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure
Membranes by the Numbers
Many of the most important processes in cells take place on and across
membranes. With the rise of an impressive array of powerful quantitative
methods for characterizing these membranes, it is an opportune time to reflect
on the structure and function of membranes from the point of view of biological
numeracy. To that end, in this article, I review the quantitative parameters
that characterize the mechanical, electrical and transport properties of
membranes and carry out a number of corresponding order of magnitude estimates
that help us understand the values of those parameters.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Helicity sensitive terahertz radiation detection by field effect transistors
Terahertz light helicity sensitive photoresponse in GaAs/AlGaAs high electron
mobility transistors. The helicity dependent detection mechanism is interpreted
as an interference of plasma oscillations in the channel of the
field-effect-transistors (generalized Dyakonov-Shur model). The observed
helicity dependent photoresponse is by several orders of magnitude higher than
any earlier reported one. Also linear polarization sensitive photoresponse was
registered by the same transistors. The results provide the basis for a new
sensitive, all-electric, room-temperature and fast (better than 1 ns)
characterisation of all polarization parameters (Stokes parameters) of
terahertz radiation. It paves the way towards terahertz ellipsometry and
polarization sensitive imaging based on plasma effects in
field-effect-transistors.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Study of an extended family with CTLA-4 deficiency suggests a CD28/CTLA-4 independent mechanism responsible for differences in disease manifestations and severity
The CTLA-4 checkpoint regulates the activation of T cells. Individuals with heterozygous mutations in CTLA-4 have a complex phenotype typically characterized by antibody deficiency alongside variable autoimmunity. Despite severe disease in some individuals, others remain largely unaffected with reasons for this variation unknown. We studied a large family carrying a single point mutation in CTLA-4 leading to an amino acid change R75W and compared both unaffected with affected individuals. We measured a variety of features pertaining to T cell and CTLA-4 biology and observed that at the cellular level there was complete penetrance of CTLA-4 mutations. Accordingly, unaffected individuals were indistinguishable from those with disease in terms of level of CTLA-4 expression, percentage of Treg, upregulation of CTLA-4 upon stimulation and proliferation of CD4 T cells. We conclude that the wide variation in disease phenotype is influenced by immune variation outside of CTLA-4 biology
Preparation and Characterization of Cationic PLA-PEG Nanoparticles for Delivery of Plasmid DNA
The purpose of the present work was to formulate and evaluate cationic poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA-PEG) nanoparticles as novel non-viral gene delivery nano-device. Cationic PLA-PEG nanoparticles were prepared by nanoprecipitation method. The gene loaded nanoparticles were obtained by incubating the report gene pEGFP with cationic PLA-PEG nanoparticles. The physicochemical properties (e.g., morphology, particle size, surface charge, DNA binding efficiency) and biological properties (e.g., integrity of the released DNA, protection from nuclease degradation, plasma stability, in vitro cytotoxicity, and in vitro transfection ability in Hela cells) of the gene loaded PLA-PEG nanoparticles were evaluated, respectively. The obtained cationic PLA-PEG nanoparticles and gene loaded nanoparticles were both spherical in shape with average particle size of 89.7 and 128.9 nm, polydispersity index of 0.185 and 0.161, zeta potentials of +28.9 and +16.8 mV, respectively. The obtained cationic PLA-PEG nanoparticles with high binding efficiency (>95%) could protect the loaded DNA from the degradation by nuclease and plasma. The nanoparticles displayed sustained-release properties in vitro and the released DNA maintained its structural and functional integrity. It also showed lower cytotoxicity than Lipofectamine 2000 and could successfully transfect gene into Hela cells even in presence of serum. It could be concluded that the established gene loaded cationic PLA-PEG nanoparticles with excellent properties were promising non-viral nano-device, which had potential to make cancer gene therapy achievable
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