Broadband CDMA for personal communications systems

Multipath propagation in a broadband CDMA environment is described. A propagation model for broadband spread-spectrum signals is presented. Experimental results relating to the sharing of the band by fixed service microwave users and mobile personal communications network (PCN) users are discussed. Field tests indicate that PCN systems can provide high-quality communications when sharing the spectrum with fixed-service microwave systems in suburban and urban areas     

Metabolic changes in blood and liver of dairy cows during either feed restriction or administration of 1,3-butanediol.

Previous research has shown that a combination of feed restriction and dietary 1,3-butanediol starting at 14 d post-partum resulted in fatty liver and ketosis. Sixteen multiparous Holstein cows were used to determine effects of feed restriction or 1,3-butanediol as separate treatments. Treatments during d 14 to 42 postpartum were 1) control (ad libitum intake), 2) 20% feed restriction, or 3) control plus dietary 1,3-butanediol (5.5% of DM). From d 43 to 56, cows assigned to treatments 2 and 3 received a combination of feed restriction and butanediol. One cow on treatment 2 developed ketosis, but not fatty liver, after only 4 d of feed restriction. No other cows developed fatty liver or ketosis. Both treatments decreased milk production compared with controls. Feed restriction increased the extent of negative energy balance and caused transient increases in concentrations of NEFA, acetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate in plasma. Concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate and insulin in plasma were increased by butanediol, which is a potent ketone body precursor. Concentration of glycogen in liver was less in feed-restricted cows, whereas glycogen and total lipid were greater in cows given butanediol separately. Gluconeogenic capacity of liver slices was not different among groups. Addition of 1,3-butanediol to in vitro incubation media decreased oxidation of propionate to CO2. Neither feed restriction nor dietary 1,3-butanediol as separate treatments induced the fatty liver and ketosis observed in earlier experiments in which the two treatments were given together.     

Impurity induced disordering of GaInAs quantum wells with barriers of AlGaInAs or of GaInAsP

Impurity induced disordering of GaInAs quantum well structures with barriers of AlGaInAs and of GaInAsP has been investigated using boron and fluorine. The impurities were introduced by ion implantation followed by thermal annealing. Annealing unimplanted P-based quaternary material at temperatures greater than 500° C caused a blue shift of the exciton peak. At annealing temperatures greater than 650° C red shifts in the exciton peak of unimplanted Al-based quaternary material were observed. Boron implantation caused small blue shifts of the exciton peak in both material systems at low annealing temperatures. Much larger blue shifts were observed in the fluorine implanted samples.     

Ultrafast all-optical switching in GaAlAs integrated interferometer in 1.55 mu m spectral region

The first observation is reported of ultrafast all-optical switching in an integrated asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer, using the nonresonant nonlinearity in Ga/sub 0.82/Al/sub 0.18/As below half the bandgap. A relative switching fraction of more than 80% has been achieved using 330 fs pulses at around 1.55 mu m from a coupled-cavity mode-locked colour centre laser.<>     

Time and frequency in fundamental metrology

The author shows that because time and frequency are the most accurately measured physical quantities, it is desirable to tie other physical quantities to time and frequency measurements. A review of the progress that has been made in this direction along with speculation on possibilities for the future are given. The role of time and frequency in a wide range of measurements is discussed, particularly those involving the International System of Units (SI) and fundamental physical constants     

Minimum mean-squared error decision-feedback equalization fordigital subscriber line transmission with possibly correlated line codes

The author presents a theory on MMSE (minimum mean-squared error) decision-feedback equalization which augments previously published results by allowing both a correlated symbol sequence and a fractionally spaced DFE (decision-feedback equalizer) forward filter. This theory facilitates calculating the potential DSL (digital subscriber line) transmission performance in cases of correlated line codes, especially for situations where one or both of the DFE filters are infinite in length. The situation of an infinite-length DFE is of interest because it provides information on the limit of MMSE equalization and can thus serve as a benchmark against which the performance of a finite-length DFE may be compared. The author also presents a few numerical examples of the performance of MMSE decision-feedback equalization in DSL transmission at ISDN (integrated services digital network) basic access rates with several well-known line codes     

Addressing the special concerns of landfill closures: VLDPE and textured geomembranes

Landfill closures often require a somewhat different set of properties for synthetic liners than do landfill bottom liner installations. In particular, cap design usually presents the geotechnical engineer with greater concerns regarding long-term slope stability and accommodation of differential settlement. Friction between synthetic liners and materials contacting those liners, multiaxial elongation, and flexibility increase in importance. Since leachate does not contact the liners, chemical resistance becomes less important. Resistance to the components of landfill gas is, in most cases, all that is necessary.

As a result, synthetic liners with a textured surface to improve friction angles, and very low density polyethylene (VLDPE) geomembranes are becoming very attractive to geotechnical engineers. They provide considerable improvement in those areas which are important for cap installation. These materials, however, behave differently in standard index and performance testing of geomembranes, when compared with traditional polyethylene liners. These behaviors and differences are important for geotechnical engineers to understand. They are discussed in this paper.     

Role of Milk Fat Globule Membrane in Autoxidation of Milk Fat

The influence of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) on oxidation of milk fat under various conditions was monitored by fatty acid analysis and oxygen consumption at 50°C. The rate of copper-catalyzed oxidation of cream containing the membrane was faster than when the membrane was removed. In the dry state, the isolated MFGM, membrane lipids (ML) and the nonlipid membrane solids (NLMS) inhibited oxidation at 50°C and 95°C. In the presence of water, however, all membrane components enhanced oxidation at 50°C. The balance between the accelerating effects of membrane components and the inhibiting influence of other factors appeared to depend on processing conditions.