Dielectric constant characterization using a numerical method for the microstrip ring resonator

A new method of dielectric-constant measurement is developed. The dielectric constant epsilon(r) RF/microwave substrate is extracted by combining the microstrip ring resonator measurement with Ansoft HFSS electromagnetic simulation software. The developed method has two advantages: (i) characterization of dielectric constant versus multiple frequency points, and (ii) compatibility with electronics design automation (EDA) software tools. This characterization method can reduce the design cycle of microwave circuits and devices. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sustained release of proteins from a modified vaginal ring device

A new vaginal ring technology, the insert vaginal ring (InVR), is presented. The InVR overcomes the current shortfall of conventional vaginal rings (VRs) that are generally ineffectual for the delivery of hydrophilic and/or macromolecular actives, including peptides, proteins and antibodies, due to their poor permeation characteristics in the hydrophobic polymeric elastomers from which VRs are usually fabricated. Release of the model protein BSA from a variety of insert matrices for the InVR is demonstrated, including modified silicone rods, directly compressed tablets and lyophilised gels, which collectively provided controlled release profiles from several hours to beyond 4 weeks. Furthermore, the InVR was shown to deliver over 1 mg of the monoclonal antibody 2F5 from a single device, offering a potential means of protecting women against the transmission of HIV.

Japan’s Blair Witch: Restraint, Maturity, and Generic Canons in the British Critical Reception of Ring

This essay examines the British critical reception of the Japanese horror ? lm Ring. Critics claimed that Ring was representative of a non-graphic, suggestive tradition in horror, and used the ?lm rhetorically to present a sense of difference from teen horror ?lms such as Scream.

The Exotic Eclipsing Nucleus of the Ring Planetary Nebula SuWt 2

SuWt 2 is a planetary nebula (PN) consisting of a bright ionized thin ring seen nearly edge-on, with much fainter bipolar lobes extending perpendicularly to the ring. It has a bright (12th magnitude) central star, too cool to ionize the PN, which we discovered in the early 1990s to be an eclipsing binary. Although it was anticipated that there would also be an optically faint, hot, ionizing star in the system, a spectrum from the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) did not reveal a UV source. We present extensive ground-based photometry and spectroscopy of the central binary collected over the ensuing two decades, resulting in the determination that the orbital period of the eclipsing pair is 4.9 days, and that it consists of two nearly identical A1 V stars, each of mass ~2.7 M sun. The physical parameters of the A stars, combined with evolutionary tracks, show that both are in the short-lived "blue-hook" evolutionary phase that occurs between the main sequence and the Hertzsprung gap, and that the age of the system is about 520 Myr. One puzzle is that the stars' rotational velocities are different from each other, and considerably slower than synchronous with the orbital period. It is possible that the center-of-mass velocity of the eclipsing pair is varying with time, suggesting that there is an unseen third orbiting body in the system. We propose a scenario in which the system began as a hierarchical triple, consisting of a ~2.9 M sun star orbiting the close pair of A stars. Upon reaching the asymptotic giant branch stage, the primary engulfed the pair into a common envelope, leading to a rapid contraction of the orbit and catastrophic ejection of the envelope into the orbital plane. In this picture, the exposed core of the initial primary is now a white dwarf of ~0.7 M sun, orbiting the eclipsing pair, which has already cooled below the detectability possible by IUE at our derived distance of 2.3 kpc and a reddening of E(B - V) = 0.40. The SuWt 2 system may be destined to perish as a Type Ia supernova.

Vortex line and ring dynamics in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates

Vortex dynamics in inhomogeneous Bose-Einstein condensates are studied numerically in two and three dimensions. We simulate the precession of a single vortex around the center of a trapped condensate, and use the Magnus force to estimate the precession frequency. Vortex ring dynamics in a spherical trap are also simulated, and we discover that a ring undergoes oscillatory motion around a circle of maximum energy. The position of this locus is calculated as a function of the number of condensed atoms. In the presence of dissipation, the amplitude of the oscillation will increase, eventually resulting in self-annihilation of the ring.

Procaspase 8 overexpression in non-small-cell lung cancer promotes apoptosis induced by FLIP silencing

We found that procaspase 8 was overexpressed in non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) compared with matched normal tissues. The caspase 8 inhibitor FLICE-inhibitory protein (FLIP) was also overexpressed in the majority of NSCLCs. Silencing FLIP induced caspase 8 activation and apoptosis in NSCLC cell lines, but not in normal lung cell lines. Apoptosis induced by FLIP silencing was mediated by the TRAIL death receptors DR4 and DR5, but was not dependent on ligation of the receptors by TRAIL. Furthermore, the apoptosis induced by FLIP silencing was dependent on the overexpression of procaspase 8 in NSCLC cells. Moreover, in NSCLC cells, but not in normal cells, FLIP silencing induced co-localization of DR5 and ceramide, and disruption of this co-localization abrogated apoptosis. FLIP silencing supra-additively increased TRAIL-induced apoptosis of NSCLC cells; however, normal lung cells were resistant to TRAIL, even when FLIP was silenced. Importantly, FLIP silencing sensitized NSCLC cells but not normal cells to chemotherapy in vitro, and silencing FLIP in vivo retarded NSCLC xenograft growth and enhanced the anti-tumour effects of cisplatin. Collectively, our results suggest that due to frequent procaspase 8 overexpression, NSCLCs may be particularly sensitive to FLIP-targeted therapies.

Performance analysis of a metro WDM ring networks with variable-length packets under symmetric and asymmetric traffic

In this paper, we discuss and evaluate two proposed metro wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) ring network architectures for variable-length packet traffic in storage area networks (SANs) settings. The paper begins with a brief review of the relevant architectures and protocols in the literature. Subsequently, the network architectures along with their medium access control (MAC) protocols are described. Performance of the two network architectures is studied by means of computer simulation in terms of their queuing delay, node throughput and proportion of packets dropped. The network performance is evaluated under symmetric and asymmetric traffic scenarios with Poisson and self-similar traffic. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.