An investigation into the interference rejection capability of a linear array in a wireless communications system

The suitable use of an array antenna at the base station of a wireless communications system can result in improvement in the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR). In general, the SIR is a function of the direction of arrival of the desired signal and depends on the configuration of the array, the number of elements, and their spacing. In this paper, we consider a uniform linear array antenna and study the effect of varying the number of its elements and inter-element spacing on the SIR performance. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cadmium levels in the lung, liver, kidney cortex, and urine samples from Australians without occupational exposure to metals

The authors undertook this study to assess levels of cadmium exposure in the general population. Samples of lung, liver, and kidney were obtained from 61 cadavers (43 males, 18 females; 2-89 yr of age, mean age = 38.5 yr) who died from accidental causes and who were subject to postmortem examinations at the John Tonge Centre for Forensic Sciences, Queensland Health Scientific Services, Brisbane, Australia, in 1997 and 1998. Samples of bladder urine were also obtained from 22 cadavers. Tissue and urine samples were analyzed for cadmium, zinc, and copper with inductively coupled plasm (ICP) mass spectrometry. The overall mean values for cadmium in the lung, liver, and kidney cortex samples were 0.13, 0.95, and 15.45 mug/gm wet tissue weight. The average renal cadmium level in subjects with high lung-cadmium levels (n = 13) was 6 mug/gm wet tissue weight higher than that of similarly aged subjects who had medium lung-cadmium levels (n = 30). In females, the average level of cadmium in the liver was 74% greater than in males, and the average liver cadmium in females with high lung-cadmium levels was 100% higher than in males in the same age range who had the same high lung-cadmium levels. Renal cadmium accumulation tended to be greater in females than in males who were in the same age range and who had similar lung-cadmium levels, a result that suggested that there was a higher absorption rate of cadmium in females. The mean value for a urinary cadmium excretion of 2.30 mug/gm creatinine was found in a subset of samples that had a mean age of 39 yr and a renal cortex cadmium concentration of 18.6 mug/gm wet tissue weight. Urinary cadmium excretion rates were correlated more strongly with lung and kidney cadmium content than with age or liver cadmium levels. The results suggest that urinary cadmium excretion may be increased in smokers and could provide some estimate of body cadmium burdens in future Australian epidemiological studies.

A Pilot Randomized Trial Comparing CD-34Selected Versus Unmanipulated Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Severe, Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective. Evidence from animal studies, case reports, and phase I studies suggests that hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can be effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is unclear, however, if depletion of T cells in the stem cell product infused after high-dose chemotherapy is beneficial in prolonging responses by reducing the number of infused autoreactive T cells. This pilot multicenter, randomized trial was undertaken to obtain feasibility data on whether CD34 selection (as a form of T cell depletion) of an autologous stem cell graft is of benefit in the HSCT procedure in patients with severe, refractory RA. Methods. Thirty-three patients with severe RA who had been treated unsuccessfully with methotrexate and at least 1 other disease-modifying agent were enrolled in the trial. The patients received high-dose immunosuppressive treatment with 200 mg/kg cyclophosphamide followed by an infusion of autologous stem cells that were CD34 selected or unmanipulated. Safety, efficacy (based on American College of Rheumatology [ACR] response criteria), and time to recurrence of disease were assessed on a monthly basis for up to 12 months. Results. All patients were living at the end of the study, with no major unexpected toxicities. Overall, on an intent-to-treat basis, ACR 20% response (ACR20) was achieved in 70% of the patients. An ACR70 response was attained in 27.7% of the 18 patients who had received CD34-selected cells and 53.3% of the 15 who had received unmanipulated cells (P = 0.20). The median time to disease recurrence was 147 days in the CD34-selected cell group and 201 days in the unmanipulated cell group (P = 0.28). There was no relationship between CD4 lymphopenia and response, but 72% of rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive patients had an increase in RF titer prior to recurrence of disease. Conclusion. HSCT can be performed safely in patients with RA, and initial results indicate significant responses in patients with severe, treatment-resistant disease. Similar outcomes were observed in patients undergoing HSCT with unmanipulated cells and those receiving CD34-selected cells. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Stock discrimination and movements of narrow-barred Spanish mackerel across northern Australia as indicated by parasites

The parasite fauna of Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson from 10 sites across northern Australia and one site in Indonesia, was examined to evaluate the degree of movement and subsequent stock structure of the fish. Kupang fish (Indonesia) had very few Terranova spp.. Grillotia branchi, Otobothrium cysticum or Pterobothrium sp. compared to Australian fish, indicating that no Australian fish enter the Kupang fishery. Univariate and discriminant function analysis of four 'temporary' parasite species, the copepod Pseudocyenoides armatus and the monogeneans Gotocotyla bivaginalis, Pricea multae and Pseudothoracocotyla ovalis, demonstrated little similarity between areas of northern Australia, indicating minimal short-term exchange between neighbouring groups of S. commerson. Analyses of five 'permanent' parasite species, the larval helminths G. branchi, O. cysticum, Pterobothrium sp., Callitetrarhynchus gracilis and Paranybelinia balli, also revealed large differences between areas thus indicating long-term separation. There are at least six parasitological stocks across northern Australia: Fog Bay/Bathurst Island, Cape Wessel. Groote/Sir Edward Pellew. Mornington Island, Weipa. and the Torres Strait. The occurrence of a few irregular fish in the samples suggested that LIP to 5% of fish moved between stocks during their lifetime. The similarity of within-school variability to that between schools showed that the fish do not form long-term school associations. (C) 2003 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Discovering the Law Again: John Grisham, Ed Stevens and the Postmaterial Lawyer

This paper uses three films adapted from the novels of John Grisham, The Firm, The Rainmaker and A Time To Kill, as well as associated television series like Ed to map a vernacular theory of what I have termed the 'postmaterial' lawyer. Grisham's work has been the focus of much critique by legal scholars who suggests he hates lawyers, is critical of the concept of law, and provides 'outlandishly' happy endings. I will challenge these critiques and, in tracing the history of legal thrillers and trial movies, suggest that Grisham and the related texts' explorations of how a just practitioner can operate in an unjust system constitute a powerful interrogation of what law can be.

John Rawls e a educação : contribuições para análise do direito à educação da Constituição Federal de 1988 e da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo abordar a relação entre justiça e educação, mais especificadamente, entre a teoria da justiça como equidade que foi desenvolvida por John Rawls, na obra Uma Teoria da Justiça, e a Constituição Federal de 1988 e a Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional – LDBEN que regem o direito à educação no Brasil. O trabalho foi desenvolvido por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, em que analisamos as duas principais legislações que dirigem a educação nacional e os escritos da teoria rawlsiana. Com este processo analítico percebemos que a teoria da justiça de Rawls foi fundamentada pela teoria do contrato social e, buscava estabelecer-se como alternativa à doutrina utilitarista. E, por ser uma teoria de grande amplitude, que buscava intervir nas sociedades democráticas, foi possível encontrar ideais educacionais nos escritos de John Rawls. Além disso, conseguimos estabelecer a relação entre os estágios de aplicação dos princípios da justiça e a importância das leis para os Estados democráticos. Por fim, percebemos que há relação direta entre diversas partes das duas legislações estudadas e os ideais de John Rawls, o que demonstra a influência que o liberalismo político anglo-saxão exerce sobre nossas normativas educacionais.

Princípios de Economia Política John Stuart Mill

Revista Lusófona de Ciência Política e Relações Internacionais

Beyond time and oblivion : Sir Robert Sidney’s autograph manuscript

Dealing with ancient manuscript or old printed texts often constitutes a difficult task, especially to philologists and editors, for two main reasons: the precarious state of preservation of the documents and the uncertainty regarding their origin, authenticity and authorship. These problems are aggravated by spurious versions, due to the publication of truncated works, poorly supervised miscellanies and non-authorised editions. Sir Robert Sidney’s literary text constitutes an exception amidst such vicissitudes, once the original corpus is wholly contained in a notebook exhibiting the organisation and unity conceived by the author himself. Today, there is no evidence that any loose poems, either autograph or copied by amanuenses, were in circulation among members of the Elizabethan court society. The notebook was kept in private collections for four centuries, which probably explains why it was so well preserved. In fact, only in 1984 would P.J. Croft’s fine edition bring the youngest Sidney’s Poems into light. In this work, I approach Croft’s perceptive, accurate philological study that eventually rescued from oblivion a remarkable piece both of the Elizabethan lyric poetry and of the English Renaissance, and, at the same time, look into Robert Sidney’s peculiar, careful and original formatting of his own autograph manuscript.