A built-in CMOS Total Ionization Dose smart sensor

Total Ionization Dose (TID) is traditionally measured by radiation sensitive FETs (RADFETs) that require a radiation hardened Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) stage. This work introduces a TID sensor based on a delay path whose propagation time is sensitive to the absorbed radiation. It presents the following advantages: it is a digital sensor able to be integrated in CMOS circuits and programmable systems such as FPGAs; it has a configurable sensitivity that allows to use this device for radiation doses ranging from very low to relatively high levels; its interface helps to integrate this sensor in a multidisciplinary sensor network; it is self-timed, hence it does not need a clock signal that can degrade its accuracy. The sensor has been prototyped in a 0.35μm technology, has an area of 0.047mm2, of which 22% is dedicated to measuring radiation, and an energy per conversion of 463pJ. Experimental irradiation tests have validated the correct response of the proposed TID sensor.

Study of zinc protein ligands in a halophilic enzyme

Glucose dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.47) from the halophilic Archaeon Haloferax mediterranei belongs to the medium-chain alcohol dehydrogenase superfamily and requires a zinc ion for catalysis. The zinc ion is coordinated by a histidine, a water molecule and two other ligands from the protein or the substrate, which vary during the catalytic cycle of the enzyme. In many enzymes of this superfamily one of the zinc ligands is commonly cysteine, which is replaced by an aspartate residue at position 38 in the halophilic enzyme. This change has been only observed in glucose dehydrogenases from extremely halophilic microorganisms belonging to the Archaea Domain. This paper describes biochemical studies and structural comparisons to analyze the role of sequence differences between thermophilic and halophilic glucose dehydrogenases which contain a zinc ion within the protein surrounded by three ligands. Whilst the catalytic activity of the D38C GlcDH mutant is reduced, its thermal stability is enhanced, consistent with the greater structural similarity between this mutant and the homologous thermophilic enzyme from Thermoplasma acidophilum.

Administrative Capacity for Effective Implementation of EU Law

Article 197 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union stipulates that effective implementation of Union law by the Member States shall be regarded as a matter of common interest. This article considers how Member States may improve their administrative capacity to apply EU law effectively. A law or policy is effectively implemented when it can be confirmed that its objectives, targets or results are actually achieved. It is proposed that effective implementation in the EU is a ‘collaborative project’. This is not only because Member States benefit when others correctly implement common rules, but also because they learn from the experiences of other Member States. It follows that the public authorities responsible for implementation of EU law need to benchmark their performance against that of their peers in other Member States and therefore need to develop the institutional capacity for assessing and adjusting their own performance.

The New Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II): Less Accession, More Assistance?. EIPA Working Paper 2014/W/01

The EU enlargement engine seems to have run out of political steam. Support within the member countries for future enlargement is at all-time low, while some of the candidate countries have also seemed to put the enlargement process on the backburner. However, at least rhetorically, the EU is still committed to the enlargement process and maintains its entire enlargement tool box, such as the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) – one of the most important EU external financial instruments. The new IPA regulation (IPA II), adopted in March 20141, clearly reflects the fact that the enlargement process is on a holding pattern.

A selected list of references on marine and aquatic radiobiology /

"Biology and Medicine ; Distributed according to TID-4500(15th Ed.)."

Bibliography on semiconductor nuclear radiation detectors /

"December 6, 1960."

Bibliography on semiconductor nuclear radiation detectors /

Included are 464 selected references on the theory, manufacture, properties, performance, and utliization of semiconductor materials for the detection of nuclear radiation. Reports and open literature references are covered through January 1962.

Terrestrial and freshwater radioecology : a selected bibliography (Supplement 2) /

"TID-3910 (Suppl. 2)."

Terrestrial and freshwater radioecology : a selected bibliography (Supplement 3) /

"TID-3910 (Suppl. 3)."

Thermoluminescence : bibliography /

AEC Report No. TID-3911 REV. 1.

A bibliography of articles pertinent to marine primary productivity /

"Contribution no. 167 from the Hawaii Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii."

Division of Isotopes Development and contractor publications /

"November 1964."

Reactor safety conference, jointly sponsored by American Nuclear Society, Atomic Industrial Forum [and] United States Atomic Energy Commission, New York City, October 31, 1957.

Cover title.

Summaries of the USAEC basic research program in chemistry : (off site) /

"TID-4500(46th Ed.)."

Unclassified U.S. Atomic Energy Commission reports on civilian power reactors and test reactors : a literature search /

"November 1956."