Numerical analysis of laser transmitter nonlinearity compensation technique for radio over fiber system

The task of reducing the noise and distortion generated by a laser transmitter has always been a challenge to improve the performance of radio over fiber systems. This paper presents a compensation system for nonlinear distortion of a laser transmitter supporting 5.2 GHz radio transmission over fiber employing a feed‐forward linearization technique. The nonlinearity of the laser diode is modeled using Volterra series analysis. The proposed linearization system is also simulated using commercial optical system software. The novel design has achieved 30 dB nonlinearity reduction considering 800 MHz modulation bandwidth. As an addition, this work also analyzes the effect of transmission length towards distortion reduction of the proposed system. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extending Loffeld's bistatic formula for the general bistatic SAR configuration

This study derives an accurate bistatic point target reference spectrum based on a zeroth-order polynomial model. The spectrum contains only two hyperbolic square root terms that are very analogous in form to the analytical monostatic spectrum. The new formulation can be considered as an improvement of the Loffeld?s bistatic formula (LBF) and allows it to handle a wider range of bistatic configurations. The original LBF works well only in the case where the contributions of transmitter and receiver to the total Doppler modulation are approximately equal. An earlier paper on the extended LBF (EBLF) uses time bandwidth product (TBP) to weight the azimuth phase modulation from each platform. However, this extension is valid only in the low squint bistatic geometry. Both LBF and ELBF are expanded up to the quadratic term to derive an approximate bistatic spectrum; however, they do not show a good focusing performance in the more complex bistatic geometry, for example, the high squint case. This is due to the inaccurate individual time- Doppler correspondences. In this study, a norm in Euclidean space is defined to derive the optimal individual time-Doppler correspondences. Using the accurate individual time-Doppler correspondences, a zeroth-order polynomial model can be used to readily derive a more accurate bistatic spectrum. Two simulation experiments in the high squint geometry are used to verify the accuracy of this new formulation. The first experiment uses a parallel-track spaceborne/spaceborne configuration, and the second experiment involves an orthogonal-track airborne/airborne case.     

Some properties of thin aluminium nitride films formed in a glow discharge

The formation of thin AlN films and some of their electrical properties have been investigated. The films were prepared by exposing the surface of evaporated aluminium films to a glow discharge in pure nitrogen gas. It has been confirmed by transmission electron diffraction that the structure of the film is of the wurtzite type, as is that of the bulk material. It was observed that the thickness of the AlN films depends on the voltage of the glow discharge, the distance from the discharge electrode to the films and the treatment time. The electrical properties were measured in the form of a sandwich diode, i.e. Al-AlN-Au. The voltage-controlled negative resistance, which was first discovered in Al-Al₂O₃-metal diodes, has also been observed in this nitride film diode and shows very good reproducibility and stability.     

Small PWRs using coated particle fuel for district heating, PFPWR50

It has been said that nuclear energy is an important option for especially developing countries to satisfy their increasing energy demand. However, it will be difficult to deploy first of a kind nuclear power plant in developing countries because extensive safety demonstration has to be conducted in industrialized countries. On the other hand, it will be essential to present rigid proof of reliable operational experience to develop proper understanding of the safety features of new reactor systems among the people around the demonstration plant sites. One of the ways to solve the issue is to integrate existing technologies supported by a great deal of data and experience into a new reactor design. Based on the consideration, a small-sized district heating reactor system based on the pressurized water reactor (PWR) technologies combined with the fuel concept of high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs) has been studied. The purpose of the combination of these two existing concepts is to take the best advantages of both excellent operational experience of PWRs and the integrity of HTGR fuel, coated particle fuel, against fission products release even at high temperature. We expect that this approach will help create a breakthrough to the current stagnation of nuclear power deployment.     

11 GHz and 12 GHz multiwatt internal matching for power GaAs f.e.t.s

Multiwatt internal-matching techniques for multichip power GaAs f.e.t.s at 11 GHz and 12 GHz bands have been developed, adopting a lumped-element input circuit and a semidistributed output circuit. The internally matched device for the 11 GHz band exhibits 4 W power output with 3.4 dB associated gain, and the 12 GHz device 3.6 W power output with 3 dB associated gain.     

Analysis of field distributions in a GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. at large drain voltages

Electric-field distributions and carrier-density distributions in a GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. at large drain voltages are investigated with a new analytical model, which takes account of the electron-drift-velocity saturation with negative differential mobility and the extension of a depletion layer towards the drain electrode.     

Determination of oil palm fruit phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activities using spectrophotometric methods

There is scarce information on the phenolics of oil palm fruits (Elaeis guineensis). In this study, phenolics were extracted from oil palm fruits and analysed using spectrophotometry for information on the different types of palm phenolics and their antioxidative activities. Analyses of the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), o‐diphenols index, hydroxycinnamic acid index, flavonols index and phenol index showed ranges between 5.64 and 83.97 g L^?1 gallic acid equivalent (GAE), 0.31–7.53 g L^?1 catechin equivalent, 4.90–93.20 g L^?1 GAE, 23.74–77.46 g L^?1 ferulic acid equivalent, 3.62–95.33 g L^?1 rutin equivalent and 15.90–247.22 g L^?1 GAE, respectively. The antioxidant assay, 2,2‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay, showed antioxidative activities in all the extracts with results ranging from 4.41 to 61.98 g L^?1 trolox equivalent. The high antioxidant activities of the oil palm fruit phenolics were also found to increase with increasing TPC and TFC.     

Lysophosphatidylinositol Induced Morphological Changes and Stress Fiber Formation through the GPR55-RhoA-ROCK Pathway

We previously reported that lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) functions as an endogenous agonist of GPR55, a novel cannabinoid receptor. However, the physiological roles of LPI-GPR55 have not yet been elucidated in detail. In the present study, we found that LPI induced morphological changes in GPR55-expressing HEK293 cells. LPI induced the cell rounding of GPR55-expressing HEK293 cells but not of empty-vector-transfected cells. LPI also induced the activation of small GTP-binding protein RhoA and increased stress fiber formation in GPR55-expressing HEK293 cells. The inhibition of RhoA and Rho kinase ROCK by the C3 exoenzyme and the ROCK inhibitor reduced LPI-induced cell rounding and stress fiber formation. These results clearly indicated that the LPI-induced morphological changes and the assembly of the cytoskeletons were mediated through the GPR55-RhoA-ROCK pathway.     

Analysis of trans fatty acids in deep frying oils by three different approaches

Simulated frying experiments were performed on three different types of oils with French fries as the fried food. Comparison of frying oil samples was then made with their control counterparts (i.e. oil samples heated without food). Three different methods, gas chromatography (GC), attenuated total reflection (ATR) AOCS method Cd 14d-99 and attenuated total reflection negative second derivative absorbance (−2D ATR), were applied to quantify total trans fats. The total trans fats were found to be higher in the frying oil samples as compared to the control samples, which might be due to the presence of a high amount of trans fats in the pre-fried and frozen French fries. In general, the ATR AOCS method Cd 14d-99 produced lower amounts of trans fatty acids and the −2D ATR absorbance method produced higher amounts when compared with those obtained by gas chromatography.