Near-field gain calibration for large spherical antennas

In the near field of the Arecibo spherical antenna radar system, i.e., at ranges less than about 260 km, the gain is a function of range and a knowledge of gain is necessary for deducing electron-density information from the power backscattered from the ionosphere. A method of obtaining the phase taper across the aperture (and hence the near-field on-axis and backscatter gains versus range), given a knowledge of the far-field on-axis gain versus frequency, and the amplitude of the illumination over the aperture is suggested. Our studies show that measurements of on-axis far-field gain over a bandwidth ofpm7MHz are adequate to give an accurate indication of on-axis gain versus range in the near field, while apm15MHz frequency spread is needed to give accurate information on the backscatter gain versus range. The near-field correction for the antenna has also been estimated from measurements made on a model of the new line feed. Confidence in the validity of this approach has been obtained by comparing the measured far-field on-axis gain versus frequency with that calculated using the data from the model feed.     

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease with intermediate motor nerve conduction velocities: characterization of 14 Cx32 mutations in 35 families

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease can be inherited either autosomal dominantly or recessively or linked to the X chromosome. X-linked dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMTX) is a sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy in which males have usually more severe clinical symptoms and decreased nerve conduction velocities than do females. CMTX is usually associated with mutations in exon 2 of the connexin 32 (Cx32) gene. DNA from 35 unrelated CMT patients, without the 17p11.2 duplication, but with median nerve conduction between 30 and 40 m/s, were tested for the presence of Cx32 mutations. The entire coding sequence of the Cx32 gene was explored using a rapid nonradioactive technique to detect single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCP) on large PCR fragments. Thirteen abnormal SSCP profiles were detected and characterized by sequencing. In addition, systematic sequencing of the entire Cx32 coding region in the remaining index cases revealed another mutation that was not detected by SSCP. A total of 14 mutations were found, five of which were not previously reported. These results demonstrate the high frequency (40%) of mutations in the coding region of the Cx32 gene in CMT patients with intermediate MNCV, without 17p11.2 duplications. Most of these mutations (93%) can be detected by SSCP.     

Paramagnetic silica-coated gold nanoparticles

Water soluble gold nanoparticles, obtained by the reduction of the gold (III) chloride with sodium borohydride in the presence of citric acid or thioctic acid, were covered with a paramagnetic silica layer using the Stober method, yielding a hybrid metallic-inorganic nanomaterial (gold nanoparticles, with an average size of 5 nm, embedded into silica nanoparticles, with an average size of 100 nm). The paramagnetic silica layer was formed by copolymerization of a paramagnetic silica precursor (derived from 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane) with tetramethyorthosilicate. The paramagnetic silica precursor was obtained by coupling 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane with 3-carboxy-proxyl free radical. TEM pictures show that each silica nanoparticle of about 100 nm in size embedded about 10 gold nanoparticles. These hybrid nanoparticles are quite stable and exhibit the expected paramagnetic characteristics, as seen by electron paramagnetic resonance. The accessibility of methanol through the silica layer was also studied. Depending on the capping ligands of the gold nanoparticles (citric or thioctic acid), different silica networks are formed, as seen by the mobility of the spin-label inside the silica layer. The EPR spectra showed that the paramagnetic silica layer is very robust and the mobility of the spin-probe inside the silica layer is very little affected by methanol. However, if spin-labeled thioctic acid protected gold nanoparticles were used in the material synthesis, the mobility of the spins attached to the gold surface is quite high in the presence of methanol, while the spins embedded into the silica layer remains immobilized.     

Review of user parameter-free robust adaptive beamforming algorithms

This paper provides a comprehensive review of user parameter-free robust adaptive beamforming algorithms. We present the ridge regression Capon beamformers (RRCBs), the mid-way (MW) algorithm, and the convex combination (CC) as well as the general linear combination (GLC) approaches. The purpose of these methods is to mitigate the effect of small sample size and steering vector errors on the standard Capon beamformer (SCB). We also present sparsity based iterative beamforming algorithms, namely the iterative adaptive approach (IAA), maximum likelihood based IAA (referred to as IAA-ML) and M-SBL (multi-snapshot sparse Bayesian learning), which exploit sparsity to estimate the signal parameters. We provide a thorough evaluation of these beamforming methods in terms of power and spatial spectrum estimation accuracies, output signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and resolution under various scenarios including coherent, non-coherent and distributed sources, steering vector mismatches, snapshot limitations and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels. Furthermore, we discuss the computational complexities of the algorithms and provide insights into which algorithm is the best choice under which circumstances.     

Phosphors’ lifetime measurement employing the Time Between Photons method

The Time Between Photons theory (hereafter TBP) is applied to the evaluation of the lifetime of phosphors employed in the Ion Photon Emission Microscope (IPEM). IPEM allows Radiation Effects Microscopy (REM) without focused ion beams and appears to be the best tool for the radiation hardness assessment of modern integrated circuit at cyclotron energies. IPEM determines the impact point of a single ion onto the sample by measuring the light spot produced on a thin phosphor layer placed on the sample surface. The spot is imaged by an optical microscope and projected at high magnification onto a Position Sensitive Detector (PSD). Phosphors, when excited by an ion, emit photons with a particular lifetime, which is important to evaluate. We measured the statistical distribution of the Time Between consecutive detected Photons (TBP) for several phosphors and have been able to link it to their lifetime employing a theory that is derived in this paper. The single-photon signals are provided by the IPEM-PSD, or faster photomultipliers when high-speed materials had to be assessed.