Magnetic Field and Displacement sensor based on Giant Magneto-impedance effect

A two-core transducer assembly using a Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 ribbon to detect a change of magnetic field is proposed and tested for displacement (linear and angular) and current sensor. Two identical inductors, with the ribbon as core, are a part of two series resonance network, and are in high impedance state when excited by a small a.c field of 1MHz in absence of d.c biasing field (Hdc). When the magnetic state of one inductor is altered by biasing field, produced by a bar magnet or current carrying coil, an ac signal proportional to Hdc is generated by transducer. The results for the sensitivity and linearity with displacement (linear and angular) of a magnet and with field from the current carrying coil are presented for two particular configurations of the transducer. High sensitivities of voltage response as much as 12micro-volt/micro-meter and 3mV/degree have been obtained for the transducer as a linear and angular displacement sensor respectively in the transverse configuration of exciting a.c and biasing d.c fields.Comment: 16 pages,7 figure

Citron binds to PSD-95 at glutamatergic synapses on inhibitory neurons in the hippocampus

Synaptic NMDA-type glutamate receptors are anchored to the second of three PDZ (PSD-95/Discs large/ZO-1) domains in the postsynaptic density (PSD) protein PSD-95. Here, we report that citron, a protein target for the activated form of the small GTP-binding protein Rho, preferentially binds the third PDZ domain of PSD-95. In GABAergic neurons from the hippocampus, citron forms a complex with PSD-95 and is concentrated at the postsynaptic side of glutamatergic synapses. Citron is expressed only at low levels in glutamatergic neurons in the hippocampus and is not detectable at synapses onto these neurons. In contrast to citron, p135 SynGAP, an abundant synaptic Ras GTPase-activating protein that can bind to all three PDZ domains of PSD-95, and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) are concentrated postsynaptically at glutamatergic synapses on glutamatergic neurons. CaM kinase II is not expressed and p135 SynGAP is expressed in less than half of hippocampal GABAergic neurons. Segregation of citron into inhibitory neurons does not occur in other brain regions. For example, citron is expressed at high levels in most thalamic neurons, which are primarily glutamatergic and contain CaM kinase II. In several other brain regions, citron is present in a subset of neurons that can be either GABAergic or glutamatergic and can sometimes express CaM kinase II. Thus, in the hippocampus, signal transduction complexes associated with postsynaptic NMDA receptors are different in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons and are specialized in a way that is specific to the hippocampus

Anisotropic Dependence of Giant Magneto-Impedance of Amorphous Ferromagnetic Ribbon on Biasing Field

The magneto-impedance (MI) in amorphous ribbon of nominal composition Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 has been measured at 1MHz and at room temperature for different configurations of exciting a.c and biasing d.c. fields. A large drop in both resistance and reactance is observed as a function of d.c magnetic field. When the d.c and a.c fields are parallel but normal to the axis of ribbon, smaller magnetic field is needed to reduce the impedance to its small saturated value compared to the situation when fields are along the axis of ribbon. Larger d.c. field is required to lower the impedance when the d.c field acts perpendicular to the plane of the ribbon. Such anisotropy in magneto-impedance is related to the anisotropic response of the magnetization of ribbon. The large change of impedance is attributed to large variation of a.c permeability on the direction and magnitude of the dc biasing field.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to be published in "International Journal of Modern Physics B

Bounds on Quantiles in the Presence of Full and Partial Item Nonresponse

Microeconomic surveys are usually subject to the problem of item nonresponse, typically associated with variables like income and wealth, where confidentiality and/or lack of accurate information can affect the response behavior of the individual. Follow up categorical questions can reduce item nonresponse and provide additional partial information on the missing value, hence improving the quality of the data. In this paper we allow item nonresponse to be non-random and extend Manski’s approach of estimating bounds to identify an upper and lower limit for the parameter of interest (the distribution function or its quantiles). Our extension consists of deriving bounding intervals taking into account all three types of response behavior: full response, partial (categorical) response and full nonresponse. We illustrate the theory by estimating bounds for the quantiles of the distribution of amounts held in savings accounts. We consider worst case bounds which cannot be improved upon without additional assumptions, as well as bounds that follow from different assumptions of monotonicity.item nonresponse;bracket response;bounds and identification

Nonparametric Bounds in the Presence of Item Nonresponse, Unfolding Brackets and Anchoring

Household surveys often suffer from nonresponse on variables such as income, savings or wealth.Recent work by Manski shows how bounds on conditional quantiles of the variable of interest can be derived, allowing for any type of nonrandom item nonresponse.The width between these bounds can be reduced using follow up questions in the form of unfolding brackets for initial item nonrespondents.Recent evidence, however, suggests that such a design is vulnerable to anchoring effects.In this paper Manski's bounds are extended to incorporate the information provided by the bracket respondents allowing for different forms of anchoring.The new bounds are applied to earnings in the 1996 wave of the Health and Retirement Survey.The results show that the categorical questions can be useful to increase precision of the bounds, even if anchoring is allowed for.microeconomics;nonresponse

Nonparametric Modeling of the Anchoring Effect in an Unfolding Bracket Design

Household surveys are often plagued by item non-response on economic variables of interest like income, savings or the amount of wealth. Manski (1989,1994, 1995) shows how, in the presence of such non-response, bounds on conditional quantiles of the variable of interest can be derived, allowing for any type of non-random response behavior. Including follow up categorical questions in the form of unfolding brackets for initial item non-respondents, is an effective way to reduce complete item non-response. Recent evidence, however, suggests that such design is vulnerable to a psychometric bias known as the anchoring effect. In this paper, we extend the approach by Manski to take account of the information provided by the bracket respondents. We derive bounds which do and do not allow for the anchoring effect. These bounds are applied to earnings in the 1996 wave of the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS). The results show that the categorical questions can be useful to increase precision of the bounds, even if anchoring is allowed for.unfolding bracket design;anchoring effect;item nonresponse;bounding intervals;nonparametrics

Nonparametric Bounds on the Income Distribution in the Presence of Item Nonresponse

Item nonresponse in micro surveys can lead to biased estimates of the parameters of interest if such nonresponse is nonrandom. Selection models can be used to correct for this, but parametric and semiparametric selection models require additional assumptions. Manski has recently developed a new approach, showing that, without additional assumptions, the parameters of interest are identified up to some bounding interval. In this paper, we apply Manski’s approach to estimate the distribution function and quantiles of personal income, conditional on given covariates, taking account of item nonresponse on income. Nonparametric techniques are used to estimate the bounding intervals. We consider worst case bounds, as well as bounds which are valid under nonparametric assumptions on monotonicity or under exclusion restrictions.nonparametrics;bounds and identification;sample non-response

A Minimalist Model of Characteristic Earthquakes

In a spirit akin to the sandpile model of self-organized criticality, we present a simple statistical model of the cellular-automaton type which produces an avalanche spectrum similar to the characteristic-earthquake behavior of some seismic faults. This model, that has no parameter, is amenable to an algebraic description as a Markov Chain. This possibility illuminates some important results, obtained by Monte Carlo simulations, such as the earthquake size-frequency relation and the recurrence time of the characteristic earthquake.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Stanilov-Tsankov-Videv Theory

We survey some recent results concerning Stanilov-Tsankov-Videv theory, conformal Osserman geometry, and Walker geometry which relate algebraic properties of the curvature operator to the underlying geometry of the manifold.Comment: This is a contribution to the Proceedings of the 2007 Midwest Geometry Conference in honor of Thomas P. Branson, published in SIGMA (Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications) at http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA