1,136 research outputs found
Interdigital Resonators in Wideband Ridged-Waveguide Filters
An interdigital resonator approach for wideband filter applications in ridged-waveguide technology is presented. The interdigital arrangement of the ridged-waveguide resonators ensures stronger coupling between the resonators. As the coupling sections are consequently enlarged by the interdigital arrangement of the resonators, more feasible filter structures are possible at increasing frequencies.
The approach itself can be easily implemented with conventional filter synthesis formulas, which is demonstrated by two 20âGHz examples with a bandwidth of 2âGHz and 100âMHz, respectively. The designed filters are subsequently compared to the standard implementation of ridged-waveguide filters.</p
Striatal glucose metabolism and dopamine D2 receptor binding in asymptomatic gene carriers and patients with Huntington's disease
We used PET scans with the tracers [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and [11C]raclopride (RACLO) to study glucose metabolism and dopamine D2 receptor binding in the caudate nucleus and putamen of 18 carriers of the Huntington's disease gene mutation (10 asymptomatic subjects and eight untreated symptomatic Huntington's disease patients in an early disease stage). We also performed MR1 scans and measured the bicaudate ratio (BCR) in the same subjects. Data were compared with those from nine mutation-negative members of Huntington's disease families and separate groups of age matched controls. The PET scans were repeated 1.5-3 years later in six of the asymptomatic gene carriers. Symptomatic Huntington's disease patients showed a marked reduction of FDG and RACLO uptake in the caudate nucleus and putamen and a significant increase of BCR. Asymptomatic mutation carriers revealed significant hypometabolism in the caudate nucleus and putamen. The RACLO binding was significantly decreased in the putamen. Decrements of caudate nucleus tracer uptake, particularly RACLO, correlated significantly with BCR increases in both symptomatic and asymptomatic gene carriers. In asymptomatic carriers, metabolic and receptor binding decreases were also significantly associated with the CAG repeat number but not with the individual's age. Discriminant function analysis correctly classified clinical and genetic status in 24 of 27 subjects on the basis of their striatal PET values (83% sensitivity and 100% specificity). Three asymptomatic mutation carriers were classified/grouped together with mutation-negative subjects, indicating that these individuals had normal striatal RACLO and FDG uptake. Follow-up PET data from gene-positive subjects showed a significant reduction in the mean striatal RACLO binding of 6.3% per year. Striatal glucose metabolism revealed an overall non significant 2.3% decrease per year These data indicate that asymptomatic Huntington's disease mutation carriers may show normal neuronal function for a long period of life. These findings also suggest that it may be possible to predict when an asymptomatic gene carrier will develop clinical symptoms from serial PET measurements of striatal functio
The wavefront of the radio signal emitted by cosmic ray air showers
Analyzing measurements of the LOPES antenna array together with corresponding
CoREAS simulations for more than 300 measured events with energy above
eV and zenith angles smaller than , we find that the radio
wavefront of cosmic-ray air showers is of approximately hyperbolic shape. The
simulations predict a slightly steeper wavefront towards East than towards
West, but this asymmetry is negligible against the measurement uncertainties of
LOPES. At axis distances m, the wavefront can be approximated by
a simple cone. According to the simulations, the cone angle is clearly
correlated with the shower maximum. Thus, we confirm earlier predictions that
arrival time measurements can be used to study the longitudinal shower
development, but now using a realistic wavefront. Moreover, we show that the
hyperbolic wavefront is compatible with our measurement, and we present several
experimental indications that the cone angle is indeed sensitive to the shower
development. Consequently, the wavefront can be used to statistically study the
primary composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. At LOPES, the
experimentally achieved precision for the shower maximum is limited by
measurement uncertainties to approximately g/cm. But the simulations
indicate that under better conditions this method might yield an accuracy for
the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, , better than
g/cm. This would be competitive with the established air-fluorescence
and air-Cherenkov techniques, where the radio technique offers the advantage of
a significantly higher duty-cycle. Finally, the hyperbolic wavefront can be
used to reconstruct the shower geometry more accurately, which potentially
allows a better reconstruction of all other shower parameters, too.Comment: accepted by JCA
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