Identification and disruption of a plant shaker-like outward channel involved in K+ release into the xylem sap

SKOR, a K+ channel identified in Arabidopsis, displays the typical hydrophobic core of the Shaker channel superfamily, a cyclic nucleotide-binding domain, and an ankyrin domain. Expression in Xenopus oocytes identified SKOR as the first member of the Shaker family in plants to be endowed with outwardly rectifying properties. SKOR expression is localized in root stelar tissues. A knockout mutant shows both lower shoot K+ content and lower xylem sap K+ concentration, indicating that SKOR is involved in K+ release into the xylem sap toward the shoots. SKOR expression is strongly inhibited by the stress phytohormone abscisic acid, supporting the hypothesis that control of K+ translocation toward the shoots is part of the plant response to water stress.     

Response spectrum analysis of piping systems with elastic-plastic gap supports

A new seismic support device and its application in piping systems is described. The device, E-BAR (patented), can be cost effectively used for snubber replacement programs, mitigation of hydraulic transients, pipe whip and as a thermal stop. The device has pre-set gaps to allow free thermal movement. During a seismic or other dynamic load event, if the pipe movement exceeds the gap dimension, the device acts as an elastic or elastic-plastic restraint. The device also has a unique design feature for not exceeding the restraint force beyond a specified limit design value. To analyze piping systems with gap supports having elastic-plastic characteristics, modal analysis procedures for both response spectrum and time history methods are developed. The comparison of responses obtained from the procedures with nonlinear time history analysis and test results available in the literature shows excellent correlation. A pilot program conducted for snubber replacement with E-BARs demonstrates that the limit force feature of E-BAR makes them very attractive for snubber replacement. This is because a particular E-BAR with a specified limit design force can be selected, such that, the E-BAR replacing the snubber does not require any modifications be made to the existing support steel and hardware.     

Threshold voltage-minimum gate length trade-off in buried channelPMOS devices for scaled supply voltage CMOS technologies

The trade-off between threshold voltage (V_th) and the minimum gate length (L_min) is discussed for optimizing the performance of buried channel PMOS transistors for low voltage/low power high-speed digital CMOS circuits. In a low supply voltage CMOS technology it is desirable to scale V_th and L_min for improved circuit performance. However, these two parameters cannot be scaled independently due to the channel punch-through effect. Statistical process/device modeling, split lot experiments, circuit simulations, and measurements are performed to optimize the PMOS transistor current drive and CMOS circuit speed. We show that trading PMOS transistor V_th for a smaller L_min results in faster circuits for low supply voltage (3.3 to 1.8 V) n⁺-polysilicon gate CMOS technology, Circuit simulation and measurements are performed in this study. Approximate empirical expressions are given for the optimum buried channel PMOS transistor V _th for minimizing CMOS circuit speed for cases involving: (1) constant capacitive load and (2) load capacitance proportional to MOS gate capacitance. The results of the numerical exercise are applied to the centering of device parameters of a 0.5 μm 3.3 V CMOS technology that (a) matches the speed of our 0.5 μm 5 V CMOS technology, and (b) achieves good performance down to 1.8 V power supply. For this process the optimum PMOS transistor V_th (absolute value) is approximately 0.85-0.90 V     

Gestational choriocarcinoma metastatic to the brain treated successfully by stereotactic radiosurgery and chemotherapy

This report analyzes the intracorporal lengths of 236 consecutive organically impotent men who underwent insertion of a penile prosthesis. The average right or left intracorporal length in this series was 20.9 cm, with a standard deviation of 2.2 cm. Intracorporal length ranged from 14-27 cm. This data may be used as reference ranges for penile prosthesis manufacturers, and for Urologists who implant prostheses or perform penile lengthening procedures.     

Physical wavelets and radar: a variational approach to remotesensing

Physical wavelets are acoustic or electromagnetic waves, resulting from the emission of a time signal by a localized acoustic or electromagnetic source moving along an arbitrary trajectory in space. Thus, they are localized solutions of the wave equation or Maxwell's equations. Under suitable conditions, such wavelets can be used as “basis” functions, to construct general acoustic or electromagnetic waves. This gives a local alternative to the construction of such waves in terms of (nonlocal) plane waves, via Fourier transforms. We give a brief, self-contained introduction to physical wavelets, and apply them to remote sensing. We define the ambiguity functional, generalization of the radar and sonar ambiguity functions, which applies not only to wideband signals, but also to targets and radar platforms executing arbitrary nonlinear motions     

Restoration of masonry facades, renders and final coats in a severe climate

The restoration of relatively old masonry buildings, 1870-1920, represents about 119930 flats and offices in the 4-5 largest cities in Norway. Driving rain and a severe climate are the key factors for deterioration. The paper describes a case study at the city campus of the University of Oslo.     

Analysis and design-optimization of LCC resonant inverter forhigh-frequency AC distributed power system

The analysis and design of an LCC resonant inverter for a 20 kHz AC distributed power system are presented. Several resonant converter topologies are assessed to determine their suitability for high efficiency power conversion, under resistive and reactive loads. Two LCC-resonant inverter designs were implemented. One with all switches operating with zero voltage switching (ZVS), and another with two switches operating with ZVS and two switches with zero current switching (ZCS). The experimental results are presented along with a performance comparison of the two versions