The preparation of flexible thin sections of rocks and coals

A method for the preparation of flexible thin sections is described, which allows their use for macro- and micro-examinations.     

Tracking performance of the RLS algorithm applied to an antennaarray in a realistic fading environment

In this paper, frequency domain techniques are used to derive the tracking properties of the recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm applied to an adaptive antenna array in a mobile fading environment, expanding the use of such frequency domain approaches for nonstationary RLS tracking to the interference canceling problem that characterizes the use of antenna arrays in mobile wireless communications. The analysis focuses on the effect of the exponential weighting of the correlation estimation filter and its effect on the estimations of the time variant autocorrelation matrix and cross-correlation vector. Specifically, the case of a flat Rayleigh fading desired signal applied to an array in the presence of static interferers is considered with an AR2 fading process approximating the Jakes' fading model. The result is a mean square error (MSE) performance metric parameterized by the fading bandwidth and the RLS exponential weighting factor, allowing optimal parameter selection. The analytic results are verified and demonstrated with a simulation example     

加拿大明托高级公寓

明托高级公寓位于临街商业区．是一个占地8．7hm2的地标性住宅开发综合项目,设计追求为城市人口密集区的居民达到一个为城市密集人口提供富足、多样的都市生活。该项目由一个中央室外庭院连接的两座塔楼（北座高53层．南座高38层）构成。     

Experimental results on the integration of copper and CVD ultra low k material

The integration of ultra low k materials in copper damascene architecture is one of the main issues in finding microelectronic-process-compatible dielectric materials. The aim of this paper is to show the integration conformity with common equipment and process steps using a PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) CF polymer ultra low k material in a Cu single damascene architecture (Proceedings of the Advanced Metallization Conference, 2002). The intermetal dielectric low k material used in the described structures has 2.1≤k≤2.3 (k depends on deposition process parameters [Microelectron. Eng. 50 (2000) 7–14]) and the copper was deposited by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition process. After chemical mechanical polishing the structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electrical measurements.     

Benign metastatic leiomyoma of the lung

The authors report on the case of a woman of 41 years of age presenting with asymptomatic multiple circular foci in the lung that were primarily suspected of being malignomas. Diagnosis of benign metastasising leiomyomas was confirmed for bilateral multiple circular foci suspected of lung metastasising originating from an unknown tumour of the lung. This diagnosis was achieved by open biopsy. The seemingly contradictory diagnosis of a benign but metastasising tumour is characteristic of a rare disease pattern that, however, is well documented in the literature. The course of the disease is compared with the data given in the literature.     

Studies of persistent infection by Chlamydia trachomatis serovar K in TPA-differentiated U937 cells and the role of IFN-gamma

To investigate the effects of adenosine A1 receptor activation on energy metabolism and RNA and protein biosynthesis in central neurons, cultured neurons from the rat forebrain were exposed for 1 hr to 72 hr to various concentrations (10 nM-100 microM) of the selective A1 receptor agonist 2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA) or the A1 receptor antagonist 8-cyclopentyltheophylline (CPT). At all concentrations tested, the adenosinergic compounds did not affect cell viability within 72 hr of treatment, except for CPT, which reduced viability by 19.7% when used at the concentration of 100 microM. Energy metabolism was analysed by studying the specific uptake of 2-D-[3H]deoxyglucose ([3H]2DG). Rates of RNA and protein biosynthesis were assessed by the measurement of [3H]uridine and [3H]leucine incorporation, respectively. Neuronal [3H]2DG uptake was increased by 16% (P < 0.01) after 8 hr in the presence of 100 microM CCPA, whereas 100 microM CPT for 24 hr also increased [3H]2DG uptake (8%, P < 0.01). At these concentrations, both ligands inhibited [3H]uridine incorporation after a 3-hr treatment by 92% and 30%, respectively. CCPA never altered [3H]leucine incorporation when compared to controls, and CPT significantly inhibited protein synthesis only at 10-100 microM. Additional experiments to analyse the influence of A1 ligands on the transport of [3H]2DG, [3H]leucine and [3H]uridine suggested that CCPA and CPT, which interact functionally with adenosine receptors by regulating cyclic AMP production in this model, are able to alter energy metabolism and RNA synthesis in central neurons in a nonspecific manner by interacting with glucose and uridine transporters.     

Feedback assisted transmission subspace tracking for MIMO systems

This paper describes a feedback assisted stochastic gradient algorithm for transmission tracking of the dominant channel subspaces for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communications systems. Subspace tracking is introduced as a means of tracking multiple transmission weights, being the MIMO generalization of beam steering in the familiar multiple-input-single-output case. The subspace solution approximates that of water filling (WF) in some cases, without the complete rate/power allocation required by WF. The gain of subspace tracking in low rank systems is demonstrated, particularly, in the case where the number of transmit antennas exceeds the number of receive antennas. Simulations of ergodic capacity show the utility of both subspace tracking in general and of the specific adaptation algorithm, and simulations of frame-error rates show the utility in a specific coding example.     

Propagation and recovery of intact, infectious Epstein-Barr virus from prokaryotic to human cells

With current techniques, genetic alterations of herpesviruses are difficult to perform, mostly because of the large size of their genomes. To solve this problem, we have designed a system that allows the cloning of any gamma-herpesvirus in Escherichia coli onto an F factor-derived plasmid. Immortalized B cell lines were readily established with recombinant Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), demonstrating that the F factor-cloned EBV genome has all the characteristics of wild-type EBV. Because any genetic modification is possible in E. coli, this experimental approach opens the way to the genetic analysis of all EBV functions. Moreover, it is now feasible to generate attenuated EBV strains in vitro such that vaccine strains can be designed. Because we incorporated the genes for hygromycin resistance and green fluorescent protein onto the E. coli cloned EBV genome, the still open question of the EBV target cells other than B lymphocytes will be addressed.