The Solar System Modeler

The authors undertook the Solar System Modeler project to improve comprehension and appreciation of the size, complexity, and splendor of the solar system. To do so, the Solar System Modeler must (1) accurately portray the orbital behavior of satellites, planets, comets, and other celestial bodies, and (2) function in a distributed virtual environment. Additionally, the system needs to: provide a flexible, 3D graphical user interface for immersive operation; assist the user in comprehending the state of the virtual environment; accurately portray the stars and their locations; graphically model all bodies throughout the solar system in 3D and to the same scale; and maintain an interactive frame rate. They describe how they met these requirements     

The combined use of ultrasound and densitometry in the prediction of vertebral fracture

Measurement of ultrasonographic parameters provides information concerning not only bone density but also bone architecture. We investigated the usefulness of ultrasonographic parameters and bone mineral density for evaluating the probability of vertebral fracture. 397 postmenopausal women (59.1 +/- 6.0 years) with (n = 178) or without (n = 219) atraumatic vertebral fractures were studied. In all women, bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine was evaluated by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and speed of sound (SOS); broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and Stiffness in the calcaneus were evaluated by an Achilles unit (Lunar Corporation). Ultrasonographic parameters and BMD were compared by examining the magnitude of the odds ratios, to determine which produces the highest estimate of the probability of odds of fracture, and by examining widths of the respective confidence intervals (CI) to show which estimate of odd ratio is the most precise. The relative risk of vertebral fracture, after adjusting for potential confounders, was 3.5 (CI 2.6-4.8) for BUA; 4.5 (CI 3.2-6.2) for SOS; 5.8 (CI 4.0-8.4) for Stiffness and 7.5 (CI 4.8-11.5) for BMD. Ultrasound (US) parameters were still significant independent predictors of vertebral fracture, even after adjusting for BMD. The relative risk of fracture for a simultaneous decrease by 1 SD of BMD and by 1 SD of each ultrasound parameter was 17.3 (CI 9.4-39.6) for BMD and SOS; 18.3 (CI 8.4-30.6) for BMD and BUA and 22.1 (CI 8.9-52.7) for BMD and Stiffness. Our data suggest that US and BMD provide complementary information which can be combined to improve estimates of vertebral fracture risk.     

Nonlinear Kerr interactions between modulated waves propagating ina single-mode fiber

The interactions induced by the nonlinear refractive index in a single-mode optical fiber (Kerr effect) between a modulated wave and a carrier wave have been investigated for amplitude shift keying (ASK), frequency shift keying (FSK), and phase shift keying (PSK). The theoretical analysis, based on a time-domain solution, exploits the well-known formalism of self-phase modulation to describe the propagation of the input electric field in the fiber. The theoretical results were validated experimentally for amplitude- and phase-modulated waves with heterodyne detection techniques. These experiments mimic a coherent transmission system and allow the measurement of the spectrum of each of the waves that participate in the nonlinear interaction     

Penalty interference of nonlinear intra-channel effects and PMD inultra high-speed TDM systems

Penalty interference of nonlinear propagation impairments and polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) caused signal distortions is experimentally investigated     

IEEE standard 802.16: a technical overview of theWirelessMANTM air interface for broadband wirelessaccess

The broadband wireless access industry, which provides high-rate network connections to stationary sites, has matured to the point at which it now has a standard for second-generation wireless metropolitan area networks. The IEEE standard 802.16, with its WirelessMAN^TM air interface, sets the stage for widespread and effective deployments worldwide. This article overviews the technical medium access control and physical layer features of this new standard     

Mechanism of current transfer in oxidized iron ore minerals

Mining Institute, Krivoi Rog. Translated from Fiziko-Technicheskie Problemy Razrabotki Poleznykh Iskopaemykh, No. 2, pp. 107-116, March-April, 1992.     

High-reliability GaAs-AlGaAs HBTs by MBE with Be base doping andInGaAs emitter contacts

The authors have developed a modified MBE growth process to produce high-gain n-p-n GaAs-AlGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with a mean time to failure (MTTF) of 1.5×10⁸ h at 125°C. Beryllium incorporation and diffusion are controlled through a combination of reduced substrate temperature and increased As/Ga flux ratio during MBE growth, resulting in extremely stable HBT profiles. The authors also demonstrate graded InGaAs surface layers with nonalloyed refractory metal contacts that significantly improve ohmic reliability compared to alloyed AuGe contacts. The ability to produce robust HBTs by MBE is critically important to this technology     

Synthetic resins: XV. Chelation ion exchange properties of 2,4- dinitrophenylhydrazone of resacetophenone-formaldehyde resin

A number of copolymers were synthesised by condensing the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone of resacetophenone with substituted benzoic acids/ phenols and formaldehyde in the presence of sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid. The decomposition temperature, solubility and viscosity of the polymers have been determined. The ion-exchange properties have been studied by using a batch equilibrium method. The distribution of a number of metal ions between an aqueous solution and the resin have been measured. A wide range of pH and variable ionic strengths have been investigated.     

Relating blow moldability to large amplitude oscillatory shear behavior

The large amplitude oscillatory shear test has been used to discriminate subtle differences in nonlinear viscoelasticity between two high density polyethyene blow molding resins with different processability. Structural network theory was used to explain the subtle differences in terms of entanglement kinetics with remarkable accuracy. The resin with better shape retention characteristics in programmed parison blow molding was found to have a higher kinetic rate constant for molecular re-entanglement.