Stress sensitivity of inductance in NiMgCuZn ferrites and development of a stress insensitive ferrite composition for microinductors

Three series of NiMgCuZn ferrites were prepared by conventional sintering process. The formation of single phase in these ferrites was confirmed by x-ray diffraction. Initial permeability measurements on these samples were carried out in the temperature range of 30–400°C. The effect of the external applied stress on the open magnetic circuit type coil with these ferrites was studied by applying uniaxial compressive stress parallel to magnetizing direction and the change in the inductance was measured. The variation of ratio of inductance (ΔL/L)% increases upto certain applied compressive stress and there after it decreases, showing different stress sensitivities for different compositions of ferrites studied in the present work. With a view to develop stress insensitive NiMgCuZn ferrite, a low stress sensitivity composition among all the ferrites studied was chosen and different amounts of SiO₂ were added to it and a series of ferrite compositions were prepared. The variation of ratio of inductance (ΔL/L)% with external applied compressive stress was examined. These results show that, 0.05 wt% SiO₂ added Ni_0.3Mg_0.3Cu_0.1Zn_0.3Fe₂O₄ ferrite exhibited stress insensitivity. It was noticed that addition of SiO₂ was found to be effective in reducing the stress sensitivity. This was confirmed from the elastic behaviour studies at room temperature on these ferrite samples. These studies were carried out to develop a ferrite composition for its use as core material for microinductor applications.     

Manipulation of a cooled beam for future heavy ion therapy

In order to deliver a high-quality beam for biophysics experiments, an electron cooler, a wideband rf system, and an extraction kicker have been installed in the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS). A demonstration of beam manipulation during cooling and fast extraction is presented in this paper.     

A knowledge-based system for nondestructive testing of polymeric composite components

This paper presents a formalization of the knowledge domain of nondestructive quality control of polymeric composite components. The formalization scheme presented in this paper has been implemented in a prototype knowledge-based expert system (KBES), called NICC for nondestructive inspection of composite components, to help in the quality assurance of these parts. Geometric and bonding characteristics of individual and assembled components are taken into account, as opposed to the better understood evaluation of well-behaved test specimens. The use of nondestructive techniques in the inspection of plastic and polymeric composites is fairly recent and hence, the knowledge required to develop a KBES is still very scattered and not yet fully covered in the literature. This study demonstrates both the feasibility of compiling and representing this knowledge domain and the possibility of translating it into an efficient automated tool capable of giving reliable expert-like advice at low cost. The reasoning process is divided into three stages. In the first stage, a polymetric composite component is completely defined according to features that are relevant for nondestructive inspection. In the second stage, all the discontinuities that may be present in the component are determined. Finally, in the third stage, appropriate nondestructive testing procedures are identified to detect each of the possible discontinuities.     

An exploratory study of factors affecting single trial P300 detection

A threshold detector for single-trial P300 detection has been evaluated. The detector operates on the 0-4 Hz band, isolated from the raw electroencephalogram using low-pass filtering, wavelet transforms, or the piecewise prony method (PPM). A detection rate around 70% was found, irregardless of stimulus type, interstimulus interval (ISI), probability of occurrence (Pr) of the target stimuli, intrasession and intersession effects, or filtering method. This suggests that P300-based brain-machine interfaces can use an ISI as short as 1 s and a Pr of 45%, to increase throughput.     

The yeast telomere length regulator TEL2 encodes a protein that binds to telomeric DNA

TEL2 is required for telomere length regulation and viability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To investigate the mechanism by which Tel2p regulates telomere length, the majority (65%) of the TEL2 ORF was fused to the 3'-end of the gene for maltose binding protein, expressed in bacteria and the purified protein used in DNA binding studies. Rap1p, the major yeast telomere binding protein, recognizes a 13 bp duplex site 5'-GGTGTGTGGGTGT-3' in yeast telomeric DNA with high affinity. Gel shift experiments revealed that the MBP-Tel2p fusion binds the double-stranded yeast telomeric Rap1p site in a sequence-specific manner. Analysis of mutated sites showed that MBP-Tel2p could bind 5'-GTGTGTGG-3' within this 13 bp site. Methylation interference analysis revealed that Tel2p contacts the 5'-terminal guanine in the major groove. MBP-Tel2p did not bind duplex telomeric DNA repeats from vertebrates, Tetrahymena or Oxytricha. These results suggest that Tel2p is a DNA binding protein that recognizes yeast telomeric DNA.     

Sliding Wear of Al2O3–SiC–(Al,Si) Composites against a Steel Counterface

The sliding-wear behavior of Al₂O₃–SiC–Al composites prepared by melt oxidation against a steel counterface has been recorded in a pin-on-disk machine. At high speeds and pressures (10 m/s, 20 MPa), friction and wear appear to be principally controlled by the in-situ formation of an interfacial film that consists of a layer of Fe₃O₄. The formation of this film is examined as a function of sliding speed, lubrication, and composite microstructure. A model is proposed in which high surface temperatures cause the preferential extrusion of aluminum from the composite onto the pin/disk interface. This promotes the adhesive pickup of iron and its oxidation to form a stable tribologically beneficial layer of Fe₃O₄.     

Challenges in the Verification of Mobile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ad Hoc</Emphasis> Networking Systems

Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) techniques are critical to the success of emerging modern warfare concepts and are required to support communications for mobile military platforms, including ships, aircrafts, and ground vehicles operating in a highly dynamic and mobile tactical communications network without fixed infrastructure. Research in Mobile Ad Hoc Networking has increased dramatically over the last few years with significant work in hardware architectures, media access and routing protocols. Until now, most of the work has been in simulation and small-scale laboratory demonstrations due to the significant resources required to implement an actual network with sufficient nodes to fully exercise the capabilities of both the hardware and software. There is significant need to develop testbeds to fully understand the behavior of ad hoc networks, performance under real-world application scenarios. This paper describes a testbed for a real system application exercised in an outdoor environment which approximates very closely the physical operational environment. The ad hoc network performance results include throughput and delay under conditions of mobility and foliage.