Experimental investigation on low energy impact behavior of foam cored sandwich composites

This study focuses on an experimental investigation of damage tolerance of the foam cored sandwich composite subjected to low energy impact. Tests are performed to correlate delamination length with failure loads and loss of damage tolerance of the sandwich composite. The impact force history is used to determine momentum imparted to the specimen, the work done on the specimen, and the kinetic energy in order to gain an understanding of the mechanisms involved in damage due to impact loading.     

Parallel computational geometry of rectangles

Rectangles in a plane provide a very useful abstraction for a number of problems in diverse fields. In this paper we consider the problem of computing geometric properties of a set of rectangles in the plane. We give parallel algorithms for a number of problems usingn processors wheren is the number of upright rectangles. Specifically, we present algorithms for computing the area, perimeter, eccentricity, and moment of inertia of the region covered by the rectangles inO(logn) time. We also present algorithms for computing the maximum clique and connected components of the rectangles inO(logn) time. Finally, we give algorithms for finding the entire contour of the rectangles and the medial axis representation of a givenn × n binary image inO(n) time. Our results are faster than previous results and optimal (to within a constant factor).The work of Sung Kwan Kim was supported by NSF Grant CCR-87-03196 and the work of D. M. Mount was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grant CCR-89-08901.     

An electrically saturated anti-plane shear crack in a piezoelectric layer constrained between two elastic layers

Within the framework of linear elasticity and nonlinear electroelasticity, the electrical nonlinear behavior of an anti-plane shear crack in a piezoelectric ceramic layer constrained between two orthotropic layers is examined by using an electrical strip saturation model. The analysis is performed based on the electrical unified crack surface condition, which can describe all of the permeable, the impermeable, and the limited permeable ones. Fourier transforms are used to reduce the problem to the solutions of two pairs of dual integral equations, which are then expressed to two Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. Some numerical results for the energy release rates are presented to show the effects of the electrical crack condition parameter relating with elliptic flaw shape parameters and permittivity inside the crack, the electric field, the crack length, the electromechanical coupling coefficient, the crack position, and the bonded elastic materials.     

Novel Current Driving Circuit for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode

This paper describes a novel current driving circuit for an active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED). The proposed current driving circuit has a lower power consumption and higher chip density for the AMOLED display compared with the conventional one because all elements operate at a normal voltage and are shielded from the high voltage of the panel. The chip size and power consumption of the current driving circuit for an AMOLED can be improved by about 30 to 40% and 10 to 20%, respectively, compared with the conventional one.     

V-band harmonic injection-locked frequency divider using cross-coupled FETs

A V-band 1/2 frequency divider is developed using harmonic injection-locked oscillator. The cross-coupled field effect transistors (FETs) and low quality-factor microstrip resonator are employed as a wide-band oscillator to extend the locking bandwidth. The second harmonic of free-running oscillation signal is injected to the gates of cross-coupled FETs for high-sensitivity superharmonic injection locking. The fabricated microwave monolithic integrated circuit frequency divider using 0.15-/spl mu/m GaAs pHEMT process showed a maximum locking range of 7.4 GHz (from 65.1 to 72.5 GHz) under a low power dissipation of 100 mW. The maximum single-ended output power was as high as -3 dBm.     

Actinomycin D, C2 and VII, inhibitors of Grb2-SHC interaction produced by Streptomyces

Actinomycin D, C2 and VII, cyclic peptides, inhibited Grb2 SH2 domain association (IC50 5-7 microM) with a phosphotyrosine containing peptide derived from the Shc protein (pTyr317). Actinomycins are the first examples of nonphosphorylated natural ligands of SH2 domain.     

p35, the neuronal-specific activator of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) was originally isolated by its close homology to the human CDC2 gene, which is a key regulator of cell cycle progression. However, unlike other Cdks, the activity of Cdk5 is required in post-mitotic neurons. The neuronal-specific p35 protein, which shares no homology to cyclins, was identified by virtue of its association and activation of Cdk5. Gene targeting studies in mice have shown that the p35/Cdk5 kinase is required for the proper neuronal migration and development of the mammalian cortex. We have investigated the regulation of the p35/Cdk5 kinase. Here we show that p35, the activator of Cdk5, is a short-lived protein with a half-life (t1/2) of 20 to 30 min. Specific proteasome inhibitors such as lactacystin greatly stabilize p35 in vivo. Ubiquitination of p35 can be readily demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of Cdk5 activity by a specific Cdk inhibitor, roscovitine, or by overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of Cdk5 increases the stability of p35 by 2- to 3-fold. Furthermore, phosphorylation mutants of p35 also stabilize p35 2- to 3-fold. Together, these observations demonstrate that the p35/Cdk5 kinase can be subject to rapid turnover in vivo and suggest that phosphorylation of p35 upon Cdk5 kinase activation plays a autoregulatory role in p35 degradation mediated by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis.     

Anisotropic Conductive Film Bonding by Making Use of a High-Power Diode Laser

Anisotropic conductive film (ACF) bonding between liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and driver integrated circuits (ICs) is one of the key technologies for developing high-resolution LCDs. The bonding pitch between LCD and tape carrier package (TCP), which influences the total reliability of LCD modules, depends on the characteristics and bonding conditions of ACF used. So, the bonding process between TCP and a glass panel with ACF using a high-power diode laser as a heat source for curing is preliminarily tested in this experiment. Also, laser transient thermal simulation was performed to analyze the thermal response of the assembly process for a package using ACF. The temperature on the ACF layer goes up to 180 degC (ACF curing temperature) within 1 s after exposure to laser light. This paper reports an effective bonding method using a diode laser, which accomplishes a fine-pitch ACF bonding and determines the optimum ACF bonding condition effectively     

Trunk and lower extremity muscle activity in seated weight-moving tasks: Three-dimensional analyses of intersubject and intertask differences

A three-dimensional musculoskeletal model was used to predict the trunk and lower extremity muscle activity required to stabilize the body while performing dynamic tasks in the seated posture. We studied seven subjects performing four tasks consisting of cyclic or single-directional movements of a hand-held weight in the sagittal plane. Five different optimization schemes involving the minimization of muscle forces, muscle stresses, or joint force components were used to predict the 64 muscle force-time histories. A quantitative method was used to compare prediction schemes by correlating predicted muscle forces with measured myoelectric data and ranking the efficacy of each scheme for different tasks and subjects. The results showed that (1) the trunk and lower extremity muscles play an important role in stabilizing the seated posture in these tasks. (2) the most successful muscle force prediction scheme was not the same for all seven subjects performing a given task, or for a given subject performing all four tasks, and (3) these linear optimization techniques successfully predicted activity in up to 10 of the 15 muscles whose myoelectric signals were actually monitored.