Low-Voltage Ultra-Low-Power Current Conveyor Based on Quasi-Floating Gate Transistors

The field of low-voltage low-power CMOS technology has grown rapidly in recent years; it is an essential prerequisite particularly for portable electronic equipment and implantable medical devices due to its influence on battery lifetime. Recently, significant improvements in implementing circuits working in the low-voltage low-power area have been achieved, but circuit designers face severe challenges when trying to improve or even maintain the circuit performance with reduced supply voltage. In this paper, a low-voltage ultra-low-power current conveyor second generation CCII based on quasi-floating gate transistors is presented. The proposed circuit operates at a very low supply voltage of only ±0.4 V with rail-to-rail voltage swing capability and a total quiescent power consumption of mere 9.5 µW. Further, the proposed circuit is not only able to process the AC signal as it's usual at quasi-floating gate transistors but also the DC which extends the applicability of the proposed circuit. In conclusion, an application example of the current-mode quadrature oscillator is presented. PSpice simulation results using the 0.18 µm TSMC CMOS technology are included to confirm the attractive properties of the proposed circuit

Working of parliamentary institutions in Egypt 1924-1952

The foregoing study shows that the parliamentary system, as it functioned in Egypt between 1924 and 1952, was not a success. This failure was due to various inter-related factors. In spite of the fact that prior to the introduction of the parliamentary system in 1924, semi- parliamentary government had been found in Egypt, the democratic concept as emphasised by the 1923 Constitution was rather an advanced system in view of the political comprehension of the people and their social and economic conditions. The introduction of the parliamentary system in Egypt was the ultimate result of the 1919 Revolt. But this Revolt flared up with the aim of ridding the country of the British Occupation and without any conception whatever of the system of government to be applied in Egypt after the achievement of the objective of the Revolt. Accepting these facts, as well as the fact that the Revolt was an expression of the Egyptian national spirit, the failure of the 1919 Revolt is self evident. Instead of the struggle for the independence of Egypt being continued, a parliamentary system was imported from Europe. Democracy, which has developed and flourished in the West, is not a political doctrine for exportation to other countries. That system, in order to be successful, should evolve and develop within the community to which it is applied. Not only was the political structure in Egypt cursed with the application of a foreign political doctrine, but also the Constitution, which provided for the parliamentary system, was drawn up on the pattern of the Belgian Constitution:. No allowance was made in view of the great differences between the social, economic and political conditions of Egypt and Belgium. Therefore, the basic factor leading to the unsuccessful working of democracy in Egypt, is the unfitness of the parliamentary system, as described by the 1923 Constitution, to match the conditions of the country. The position of Britain with relation to the institutions of government in Egypt, supplies another cause of the failure of the working of parliamentary institutions. The continual interference of Britain in Egypt's internal political affairs, especially before the conclusion of the 1936 Treaty, is manifest. That interference did not stop with the conclusion of that treaty; the influence exerted by Britain on parliamentary institutions in Egypt continued, though in a disguised shape. The problem of the settlement of Anglo- Egyptian relations pushed all political potentialities in Egypt towards one object. All political activities were concentrated on attempts to settle Egypt's relation with Britain. Political parties and groups exploited the nationalist tendencies of the people by directing their attention to this one aspect of the political problem of Egypt. All efforts were made to solve a problem which did not concern Egypt only, while nothing was done for the promotion of democratic government. Politicians did not try to tackle the internal political and social problems, and the mass of the people found their interest and satisfaction in the question of the achievement of the national aspirations. There was no solid ground in Egyptian society for the development of varying political parties. Their programmes were alike, and they did not differ on matters of policy. Yloreover, they differed slightly in the methods they followed to achieve their ends. The challenge between different political parties was only motivated by their determination to reach the seats of the mighty. The Wafd, which enjoyed continuously the support of the mass of the people, originated with the 1919 Revolt. The activities and programmes of that party were mainly drawn on a pattern to satisfy the national sentiments of the people. Although it showed some democratic inclinations, the Wafd did not to ment of parliamentary government in Egypt. In their opposition to the Wafd, other political parties really derived their power from the King, and did not have much popular support. All political parties, including the Wafd, were an important factor in the failure of representative government in Egypt. They did not try to educate public opinion, promote the political consciousness of the people, and bring to their attention and understanding the different problems of the country. Although the King was non -responsible, and was not entitled to practice as full authority as he did, he was the point of focus of the political system in Egypt. This special position of the King was due not only to the fact that the Constitution itself was ambiguous and conferred on the sovereign an extensive authority, but to the fact that other political institutions did not check effectively the practice of the prerogatives of the King. If any of these institutions tried to exercise its constitutional rights to control the acts of the King, these attempts carne after too long a period of reluctance and revealed only the weakness of these institutions. The King's right to appoint and dismiss his ministers caused a relative weakness of the Cabinet. On the other hand, his right to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies gave some power to the Cabinet in its relation with Parliament. This means that the omnipotence of the Cabinet appeared only when it faced the people and their representatives. However, this power of the Cabinet was derived from the autocracy of the King. The Cabinet's weakest spot was its inability to frame far -seeing and stable policies. This was not due only to the inefficient party system, but was also the natural outcome of the short life of the Cabinet. This short life was the result of the interference of the King in dismissing or demanding the resignation of the Cabinet, or by foreign interference, but hardly by the will of the people expressed through their representatives. The Cabinet did not face any criticism from Parliament. Actually Parliament functioned to ratify the Cabinet's actions whether in the administrative or legislative fields. The weakness of Parliament was very obvious. The basic reason of that weakness is the electoral system according to which members of Parliament were elected. It resulted from the fact that Parliament did not constitute in miniature the society which it represented. No representatives of the working classes were found amongst members of Parliament. The so- called representatives of the people were mainly from social classes which had interests conflicting with the mass of the people. This situation was due not only to the social framework in Egypt, but it was also created by the interference of the administration in the running of the elections. Parliament failed to perform its legislative function and to enact laws meeting the social necessities of the country. Its task was merely to give consent to the bills prepared by the ,Cabinet, and to those private member's bills which gained the consent of the Cabinet. The Senate, however, succeeded in acquiring more legislative authority than it possessed under the Constitution, and its predominence over the Chamber of Deputies was manifest. In performing their function of controlling the Cabinet, both chambers of Parliament were incompetent. The Cabinet exerted influence on both chambers through the rights of the King to nominate two -fifths of the Senators and to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies. Sometimes the powerfal majority which the governing party had in Parliament, helped the Cabinet to keep both onambers under its influence

Theoretical study of the optical dispersion and anisotropy of the oxygen polarisability of PbTiO3 in the tetragonal phase

The optical anisotropy of the tetragonal phase of PbTiO3 is discussed according to the point-dipole approach. In this microscopic model, we have taking into account of the electronic polarization and the lattice deformation, and it is shown that anisotropic electronic polarizabilities are the dominant source of the optical properties of PbTiO3 . This anisotropy is attributed to the Oz oxygen ion and it is due to the Ti-Oz and Pb-Oz overlap in the tetragonal phase. By analyzing the optical refractive index data of PbTiO3 at 0.589 µm, we have determined the temperature dependence of the oxygen polarizabilities. Based on the dispersion data of the refractive index of PbTiO3 , the dispersion of the oxygen polarizabilities is similarly calculated at room temperature.The optical anisotropy of the tetragonal phase of PbTiO3 is discussed according to the point-dipole approach. In this microscopic model, we have taking into account of the electronic polarization and the lattice deformation, and it is shown that anisotropic electronic polarizabilities are the dominant source of the optical properties of PbTiO3 . This anisotropy is attributed to the Oz oxygen ion and it is due to the Ti-Oz and Pb-Oz overlap in the tetragonal phase. By analyzing the optical refractive index data of PbTiO3 at 0.589 µm, we have determined the temperature dependence of the oxygen polarizabilities. Based on the dispersion data of the refractive index of PbTiO3 , the dispersion of the oxygen polarizabilities is similarly calculated at room temperature

Clinical review: Liberation from mechanical ventilation

Mechanical ventilation is the defining event of intensive care unit (ICU) management. Although it is a life saving intervention in patients with acute respiratory failure and other disease entities, a major goal of critical care clinicians should be to liberate patients from mechanical ventilation as early as possible to avoid the multitude of complications and risks associated with prolonged unnecessary mechanical ventilation, including ventilator induced lung injury, ventilator associated pneumonia, increased length of ICU and hospital stay, and increased cost of care delivery. This review highlights the recent developments in assessing and testing for readiness of liberation from mechanical ventilation, the etiology of weaning failure, the value of weaning protocols, and a simple practical approach for liberation from mechanical ventilation

Pokefind: a novel topological filter for use with protein structure prediction

Motivation: Our focus has been on detecting topological properties that are rare in real proteins, but occur more frequently in models generated by protein structure prediction methods such as Rosetta. We previously created the Knotfind algorithm, successfully decreasing the frequency of knotted Rosetta models during CASP6. We observed an additional class of knot-like loops that appeared to be equally un-protein-like and yet do not contain a mathematical knot. These topological features are commonly referred to as slip-knots and are caused by the same mechanisms that result in knotted models. Slip-knots are undetectable by the original Knotfind algorithm. We have generalized our algorithm to detect them, and analyzed CASP6 models built using the Rosetta loop modeling method

Characterization and functional roles of paternal RNAs in 2–4 cell bovine embryos

Embryos utilize oocyte-donated RNAs until they become capable of producing RNAs through embryonic genome activation (EGA). The sperm\u2019s influence over pre-EGA RNA content of embryos remains unknown. Recent studies have revealed that sperm donate non-genomic components upon fertilization. Thus, sperm may also contribute to RNA presence in pre-EGA embryos. The first objective of this study was to investigate whether male fertility status is associated with the RNAs present in the bovine embryo prior to EGA. A total of 65 RNAs were found to be differentially expressed between 2\u20134 cell bovine embryos derived from high and low fertility sires. Expression patterns were confirmed for protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 36 (PPP1R36) and ataxin 2 like (ATXN2L) in three new biological replicates. The knockdown of ATXN2L led to a 22.9% increase in blastocyst development. The second objective of this study was to characterize the parental origin of RNAs present in pre-EGA embryos. Results revealed 472 sperm-derived RNAs, 2575 oocyte-derived RNAs, 2675 RNAs derived from both sperm and oocytes, and 663 embryo-exclusive RNAs. This study uncovers an association of male fertility with developmentally impactful RNAs in 2\u20134 cell embryos. This study also provides an initial characterization of paternally-contributed RNAs to pre-EGA embryos. Furthermore, a subset of 2\u20134 cell embryo-specific RNAs was identified

Basic skin surgery interactive simulation: system description and randomised educational trial

Background: Learning the skills required for open surgery is essential for trainee progression towards more advanced technical procedures. Simulation supports skill enhancement at a time when exposure to actual surgical procedures and traditional apprentice-based teaching has declined. The proliferation of smartphone and tablet devices with rich, touch sensitive displays and increasing processing power makes a compelling argument for expanding accessibility further by development of mobile virtual simulations for training on demand in any setting, at any time.We present a tablet-based mobile simulation App for educating surgical trainees in the planning and surgical procedures involved in facial lesion resection and local skin flap surgery. Methods: Novel algorithms were developed and modules included in a mobile simulation App to teach concepts required for three defect reconstruction techniques: elliptical closure, bilateral advancement (H flap) and the semi-circular rotation flap, with additional resources such as videos and formal guidelines made available at relevant points in the simulation. A randomised educational trial was conducted using the mobile simulation App with 18 medical students that were divided equally into two groups: the intervention group learning using the new mobile simulation App, and a control group, undergoing traditional text-based self-study. The students were then assessed on knowledge and skills' acquisition through an MCQ and a task analysis score. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the scores of students in the intervention group and the students in the non-intervention group in both forms of assessment, with an average multiple-choice assessment score of 62.95% points versus 56.73%, respectively (p = 0.0285), and an average task analysis score of 3.53 versus 2.58, respectively (p = 0.0139). Conclusions: Touch-based simulation provided an efficient and superior method of learning three different local flap techniques for facial soft tissue reconstruction, and helped recalling steps involved in the surgery in a fluid manner that also improved task performance

Double precision trajectory program /DPTRAJ 2.2C/

Four part program computes trajectory of space probe moving in solar system and subject to variety of forces

Study of aqueous extract of three medicinal plants on cell membrane–permeabilizing and their surface properties

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of three medicinal plants, Artemisia dracunculus L, Cuminum cyminum L and Heracleum persicum Desf, which contain saponins on biological membrane. Also in this study, some of their physicochemical properties were studied. At the first step, the aqueous extract of the plants were prepared, using maceration and then the extracts were lyophilized. 0.2 ml of RBC was added to 0.2 ml of different concentrations of each extract in McIvan’sbuffer, and then incubated in two different times and temperatures. The absorbance of the samples was determined by UV spectrophotometer. Among the three studied extracts, A. dracunculus L showed thehighest hemolytic effect and the Heracleum persicum Desf showed the lowest one. The values of emulsification Index (E24) and foam formation activity (Fh) showed for each extract the properties of surface activity. Regarding the results of this study, when considering the health of consumer, the use of aqueous extract of H. persicum Desf, with low hemolytic effect is preferred in pharmaceutical preparation. But if the hemolytic effect were considered, the use of aqueous extract of A. dracunculus L, with great hemolythc effect in comparison to the two other extract, is preferred

Shock tube study of the ignition and combustion of aluminum

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77231/1/AIAA-1984-1201-726.pd