Toroidal transformers procedure 902.66-01 Final report

Qualification tests of multi-secondary toroidal transformers and open-construction ratio toroidal transformer

Catalase and peroxiredoxin 5 protect Xenopus embryos against alcohol-induced ocular anomalies

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Wettability conundrum: Discrepancies of soft contact lens performance in vitro and in vivo

The recognition and appreciation of soft contact lenses as simple, efficient and aesthetically gratifying vision-correction devices is ever growing, especially among younger population. Stable thin tear film uniformly spread over corrective lens surface is essential for acute vision, and also for comfortable and safe contact lens wear. The significant efforts have been invested by the contact lens industry to develop soft lens surface that is completely wet by tear aqueous in the ocular environment. Number of the publications dedicated to the wettability properties of the soft hydrogel lenses is on the steady rise. However, the clinical results show that no unambiguous correlation emerges when lens surface wettability in vitro is judged against tear film stability evaluated in vivo. This paper assesses and compares the modern techniques used for evaluation of soft contact lens surface wettability and reports some findings regarding relations between lens surface wettability in vitro and in vivo. © 2011 EDP Sciences and Springer

5' Guanylylimidodiphosphate, a potent activator of adenylate cyclase systems in eukaryotic cells

5' Guanylylimidodiphosphate (Gpp(NH)p) stimulates adenylate cyclase [ATP pyrophosphate lyase (cyclizing), EC 4.6.1.1] activity in plasma membranes isolated from frog and salmon erythrocytes, from rat adrenal, hepatic, and fat cells, and from bovine thyroid cells. The nucleotide acts cooperatively with the various hormones (glucagon, secretin, ACTH, thyrotropin, and catecholamines) that stimulate these adenylate cyclase systems with resultant activities that equal or exceed those obtained with hormone plus GTP or with fluoride ion. In the absence of hormones, Gpp(NH)p is a considerably more effective activator than GTP, and, under certain conditions of incubation, stimulates rat fat cell adenylate cyclase to levels of activity (about 20 nmoles of 3',5' adenosine monophosphate mg protein per min) far higher than reported hitherto for any adenylate cyclase system examined. The nucleotide activates frog erythrocyte adenylate cyclase when the catecholamine receptor is blocked by the competitive antagonist, propranolol, and activates the enzyme from an adrenal tumor cell line which lacks functional ACTH receptors. In contrast, Gpp(NH)p does not stimulate adenylate cyclase in extracts from Escherichia coli B. Gpp(NH)p appears to be a useful probe for investigating the mechanism of hormone and nucleotide action on adenylate cyclase systems in eukaryotic cells.published_or_final_versio

Circularly polarized electrically small antennas for emerging wireless applications

© Institution of Engineering and Technology.All Rights Reserved. This paper introduces three circularly-polarized (CP) electrically small antennas for emerging wireless applications including wireless power transfer (WPT), Internet-of-Things (IoT), and Device-to-Device (D2D) communications in future fifth generation (5G) systems. First, an electrically small Huygens CP (HCP) antenna operating at L-band frequencies is presented that is facilitated by two near-field resonant parasitic (NFRP) elements, a crossed Egyptian axe dipole (EAD) pair and a crossed capacitively loaded loop (CLL) pair. The HCP antenna is electrically small (ka = 0.73), low profile (~ 0.04°0), and has decent cardioid-shaped radiation patterns with a broad half power beamwidth (>120°). It is attractive for many WPT and body-centric wireless sensor network applications. Second, with the rapid development of 5G wireless networks, a corresponding 28 GHz electrically small HCP antenna is reported. The overall size of this antenna is only p (1.5)2 × 1 ˜ 7 mm3 (ka = 0.94), which can be readily integrated into the various compact platforms anticipated for 5G IoT devices. Third, unlike the above two antennas that radiate uni-directional patterns, a compact 28 GHz omni-directional CP (OCP) antenna is presented for D2D communications in future 5G systems. It is electrically small (ka = 0.95), easy to fabricate, and its performance characteristics cover the entire FCC-specified 5G, 27.5 to 28.35 GHz band

Abnormally high content of free glucosamine residues identified in a preparation of commercially available porcine intestinal heparan sulfate

Heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides are ubiquitous in animal tissues as components of proteoglycans, and they participate in many important biological processes. HS carbohydrate chains are complex and can contain rare structural components such as N-unsubstituted glucosamine (GlcN). Commercially available HS preparations have been invaluable in many types of research activities. In the course of preparing microarrays to include probes derived from HS oligosaccharides, we found an unusually high content of GlcN residue in a recently purchased batch of porcine intestinal mucosal HS. Composition and sequence analysis by mass spectrometry of the oligosaccharides obtained after heparin lyase III digestion of the polysaccharide indicated two and three GlcN in the tetrasaccharide and hexasaccharide fractions, respectively. (1)H NMR of the intact polysaccharide showed that this unusual batch differed strikingly from other HS preparations obtained from bovine kidney and porcine intestine. The very high content of GlcN (30%) and low content of GlcNAc (4.2%) determined by disaccharide composition analysis indicated that N-deacetylation and/or N-desulfation may have taken place. HS is widely used by the scientific community to investigate HS structures and activities. Great care has to be taken in drawing conclusions from investigations of structural features of HS and specificities of HS interaction with proteins when commercial HS is used without further analysis. Pending the availability of a validated commercial HS reference preparation, our data may be useful to members of the scientific community who have used the present preparation in their studies

Measurement of post-lens tear thickness.

PURPOSE: A method to measure the tear film beneath a soft contact lens, referred to as post-lens tear thickness (PLTT), would have many applications to contact lens research. In this study a noninvasive technique for measuring the PLTT is presented. METHODS: The feasibility of measuring the tear layer by optical pachometry was first assessed using a model eye. The baseline corneal thickness (B) of both eyes of 21 subjects was measured, etafilcon-A ionic disposable soft contact lenses (58% water) were inserted, and the total thickness (T) of the cornea, contact lens, and PLTT were measured. After the pachometry readings the lenses were removed and their center thickness (C) determined. The PLTT was calculated using the equation: PLTT = T-(B+C). Two sets of measurements of T were performed at 15 and 25 minutes after lens insertion. The entire procedure was repeated at a second visit. RESULTS: The pachometry measurements of the small aqueous reservoir between the model eye and the lens closely matched those obtained by direct microscopic measurement. For human PLTT, the mean values (and 95% confidence intervals) for right eyes on visits 1 and 2 were 11 (8, 13) and 12 (10, 15) microm, respectively, and for left eyes were 12 (10, 15) and 11 microm (8, 14) microm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to measure the post-lens tear thickness using optical pachometry. The variability between repeated measurements suggests that with careful sample size planning, the technique is sufficiently precise to be useful in group assessments of PLTT

Assessment of sensory neuropathy in patients with diabetic foot problems

Our aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of three different modalities for testing sensory neuropathy in diabetic patients with and without diabetic foot problems. The three devices used included the pin-prick testing using the Neurotip® (PPT), the Semmes–Weinstein 5.07/10 g monofilament testing (SWMT), and the rapid-current perception threshold (R-CPT) measurements using the Neurometer® testing. Our study population consisted of 54 patients (108 feet) with diabetic foot problems treated at the National University Hospital in Singapore by our multi-disciplinary diabetic foot care team. Our results showed no difference in sensory neuropathy detected by PPT and 5.07/10 g SWMT in both the pathological and normal foot. In the pathological foot, there was significant increase in sensory neuropathy detected by the Neurometer® device at both the big toe and ankle sites as compared to PPT and 5.07/10 g SWMT. In the normal foot, there was a significant increase in sensory neuropathy detected by the Neurometer® device at the big toe site only as compared to PPT and 5.07/10 g SWMT. Finally, the Neurometer® measurements detected a statistically higher proportion of feet with sensory neuropathy as compared to detection by the PPT or 5.07/10 g SWMT

Unit Interval Editing is Fixed-Parameter Tractable

Given a graph~$G$ and integers $k_1$, $k_2$, and~$k_3$, the unit interval editing problem asks whether $G$ can be transformed into a unit interval graph by at most $k_1$ vertex deletions, $k_2$ edge deletions, and $k_3$ edge additions. We give an algorithm solving this problem in time $2^{O(k\log k)}\cdot (n+m)$, where $k := k_1 + k_2 + k_3$, and $n, m$ denote respectively the numbers of vertices and edges of $G$. Therefore, it is fixed-parameter tractable parameterized by the total number of allowed operations. Our algorithm implies the fixed-parameter tractability of the unit interval edge deletion problem, for which we also present a more efficient algorithm running in time $O(4^k \cdot (n + m))$. Another result is an $O(6^k \cdot (n + m))$-time algorithm for the unit interval vertex deletion problem, significantly improving the algorithm of van 't Hof and Villanger, which runs in time $O(6^k \cdot n^6)$.Comment: An extended abstract of this paper has appeared in the proceedings of ICALP 2015. Update: The proof of Lemma 4.2 has been completely rewritten; an appendix is provided for a brief overview of related graph classe

Dual-linearly polarized, electrically small, low-profile, broadside radiating, huygens dipole antenna

© 1963-2012 IEEE. A dual-linearly polarized, electrically small, low-profile, broadside radiating Huygens dipole antenna is presented, that is, an advanced combination of electric and magnetic near-field resonant parasitic elements. Its prototype was fabricated and tested. The measured results are in good agreement with their simulated values. At 1.515 GHz, the prototype is electrically small ( ka = 0.904 ) and low profile ( 0.0483\lambda -{0} ). It exhibits high port isolation and a large front-to-back ratio (FTBR). The isolation between its two ports is demonstrated to be over 25.8 dB within its -10 dB fractional impedance bandwidth, 0.46%. When port 1 (port 2) is excited, the peak realized gain is 2.03 dBi (2.15 dBi) strictly along the broadside direction with a 12.4 dB (12.1 dB) FTBR