Performance characteristics of parallel resonant convertor

Using a set of characteristic curves derived from the stateplane analysis, a novel approach to the design of the parallel resonant convertor (PRC) is presented. It will be shown that the steady-state response of the convertor can also be obtained from these characteristic curves     

Direct evaluation of singular integrals in elastoplastic analysis by the boundary element method

This paper presents a new method for the direct and accurate evaluation of strongly singular integrals in the sense of Cauchy principal values and weakly singular integrals over quadratic boundary elements in three-dimensional stress analysis and quadratic internal cells in two-dimensional elastoplastic analysis by the boundary element method. A quadratic triangle polar co-ordinate transformation technique is applied to reduce the order of singularity of the singular integrals. Next, a form of Stokes' theorem is introduced in order to remove the singularity in the Cauchy principal value integrals; therefore, the evaluation of these integrals can be carried out by standard Gaussian quadrature. Numerical examples of 2-D elastoplastic problems and a 3-D elastic problem show the effectiveness and efficiency of the method.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF Si_(1-x-y)Ge_xC_y FILMS GROWN BY ION IMPLANTATION AND SUBSEQUENT SOLID PHASE EPITAXY

Si1-x-yGexCy ternary alloy films were grown on monocrystalline silicon substrates by C ion implantation and subsequent solid phase epitaxy (SPE). Two-step anneal-ing technique was employed in the SPE. The structure and electrical properties of the alloy films were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and van der Pauw Hall measurements, respectively. With the optimization of two-step anneal-ing technique for the implanted Si1-x-yGexCy layers, a certain amount of C atoms occupied substitutional sites and no SiC was formed.     

Self-consistent calculation of the lasing eigenmode of thedielectrically apertured Fabry-Perot microcavity with idealized ordistributed Bragg reflectors

Optical confinement in the dielectrically apertured Fabry-Perot microcavity is investigated theoretically. The apertured region is first treated as embedded in an idealized planar waveguide to show that the confined eigenmode's resonant frequency can cut off parasitic waveguide modes existing outside the aperture, and lead to three-dimensional optical confinement. For more realistic cavities with nonunity mirror reflectivities, self-consistent calculations of the eigenmode characteristics are performed for the limit of an optically thin aperture to derive the lowest order confined eigenmode frequency, threshold susceptibility, and mode profile. The analysis is then extended to treat dielectric cavities based on Bragg reflectors     

Explicit robust schemes for implementation of a class of principal value-based constitutive models: Symbolic and numeric implementation

The issue of developing effective and robust schemes to implement a class of the Ogden-type hyperelastic constitutive models is addressed. To this end, special purpose functions (running under MACSYMA) are developed for the symbolic derivation, evaluation, and automatic FORTRAN code generation of explicit expressions for the corresponding stress function and material tangent stiffness tensors. These explicit forms are valid over the entire deformation range, since the singularities resulting from repeated principal-stretch values have been theorectically removed. The required computational algorithms are outlined, and the resulting FORTRAN computer code is presented.     

An error and sensitivity analysis of the atmospheric- andsoil-correcting variants of the NDVI for the MODIS-EOS

Several soil- and atmospheric-correcting variants of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) have been proposed to improve the accuracy in estimating biophysical plant parameters. In this study, a sensitivity analysis, utilizing simulated model data, was conducted on the NDVI and variants by analyzing the atmospheric- and soil-perturbed responses as a continuous function of leaf area index. Percent relative error and vegetation equivalent “noise” (VEN) were calculated for soil and atmospheric influences, separately and combined. The NDVI variants included the soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), the atmospherically resistant vegetation index (ARVI), the soil-adjusted and atmospherically resistant vegetation index (SARVI), the modified SAVI (MSAVI), and modified SARVI (MSARVI). Soil and atmospheric error were of similar magnitudes, but varied with the vegetation index. All new variants outperformed the NDVI. The atmospherically resistant versions minimized atmospheric noise, but enhanced soil noise, while the soil adjusted variants minimized soil noise, but remained sensitive to the atmosphere. The SARVI, which had both a soil and atmosphere calibration term, performed the best with a relative error of 10 percent and VEN of ±0.33 LAI. By contrast, the NDM had a relative error of 20 percent and VEN of ±0.97 LAI     

The effects of growth factors on Tenon''s capsule fibroblasts in serum-free culture

Recent studies from our laboratory have shown that in the mouse and rat nephron Ca2+ and Mg2+ are not reabsorbed in the medullary part of the thick ascending limb (mTAL) of Henle's loop. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the absence of transepithelial Ca2+ and Mg2+ transport in the mouse mTAL is due to its relative low permeability to divalent cations. For this purpose, transepithelial ion net fluxes were measured by electron probe analysis in isolated perfused mouse mTAL segments, when the transepithelial potential difference (PDte.) was varied by chemical voltage clamp, during active NaCl transport inhibition by luminal furosemide. The results show that transepithelial Ca2+ and Mg2+ net fluxes in the mTAL are not driven by the transepithelial PDte. At zero voltage, a small but significant net secretion of Ca2+ into the tubular lumen was observed. With a high lumen-positive PDte generated by creating a transepithelial bath-to-lumen NaCl concentration gradient, no Ca2+ and Mg2+ reabsorption was noted; instead significant and sustained Ca2+ and Mg2+ net secretion occurred. When a lumen-positive PDte was generated in the absence of apical furosemide, but in the presence of a transepithelial bath-to-lumen NaCl concentration gradient, a huge Ca2+ net secretion and a lesser Mg2+ net secretion, not modified by ADH, were observed. Replacement of Na+ by K+ in the lumen perfusate induced, in the absence of PDte changes, important but reversible net secretions of Ca2+ and Mg2+. In conclusion, our results indicate that the passive permeability of the mouse mTAL to divalent cations is very low and not influenced by ADH. This nephron segment can secrete Ca2+ and Mg2+ into the luminal fluid under conditions which elicit large lumen-positive transepithelial potential differences. Given the impermeability of this epithelium to Ca2+ and Mg2+, the secretory processes would appear to be of cellular origin.