New M6805 Microcomputers Aim at Automotive Applications

Several new additions to the MC6805 family of microcomputers include features particularly suited for automotive electronics. These devices feature application specific logic for automotive ignition systems and instrumentation designs. The MC6805S2, MC680S3, and MC68705S3 microcomputers are useful for engine ignition controls, where asynchronous events, such as engine speed and spark dwell time must be computed with high accuracy. The MC6805K2 microcomputer features EEPROM for critical data retention when the power source is disconnected. The instrumentation odometer is one such application where the EEPROM feature is mandatory. The MC68HC05C4 (ROM version) and M68HC805C4 (EEPROM version) are the latest general purpose MCU's that also offer many important features for automotive applications. The HCMOS silicon technology allows minimal power dissipation which means the devices can operate in an ambient temperature range of -55 to +125 degrees C. These two devices also feature SCI and SPI serial interface ports. The devices run at a fast 2.1-MHz internal bus speed.     

Feedback Threshold Control Extends Pulse Rate Measurements into the Pileup Region

By using feedback control of the discrimination threshold we have added 4-6 decades to the useful range of otherwise conventional pulse counting systems. The additional range is obtained at the high end by retarding saturation of the output count rate with higher threshold levels. We have implemented the method with low-power microcircuits that provide a 9-decade range (10-5 to 104 R/h) without the need for range or mode switching.     

The wetting of alumina by copper alloyed with titanium and other elements

The wettability of alumina by ternary alloys of copper, titanium and aluminium, gallium gold, indium, nickel or silver has been investigated using sessile drop tests conducted in vacuum at 1050–1250° C. Substantial additions of titanium are known to induce copper to wet alumina due to the formation of a titanium rich reaction product at the alloy/ ceramic interface, but the present work has shown that the concentration of titanium can be reduced by the addition of ternary alloying elements. Additions of indium are very beneficial, of aluminium, gold or silver are moderately beneficial, and of gallium or nickel are of negligible benefit or detrimental. These observations, and previous work with copper-tin-titanium alloys [1] can be interpreted in terms of effects on the activity of titanium which it is argued will be enhanced if the ternary alloying element has a low surface energy and is readily saturated by titanium. The correlation of the experimental wetting observations with the surface energy and titanium solubility data for the ternary alloying elements provides a basis for the rational development of reactive metal brazes for joining unmetallized ceramics.     

Weak Generalized Closed World Assumption

Explicit representation of negative information in logic programs is not feasible in many applications such as deductive databases and artificial intelligence. Defining default rules which allow implicit inference of negated facts from positive information encoded in a logic program has been an attractive alternative to the explicit representation approach. There is, however, a difficulty associated with implicit default rules. Default rules such as the CWA and the GCWA, which closely model logical negation, are in general computationally intractable. This has led to the development of weaker definitions of negation such as the Negation-As-Failure (NF) and the Support-For-Negation (SN) rules which are computationally simpler. These are sound implementations of the CWA and the GCWA, respectively. In this paper, we define an alternative rule of negation based upon the fixpoint definition of the GCWA. This rule, called the Weak Generalized Closed World Assumption (WGCWA), is a weaker definition of the GCWA that allows us to implement a sound negation rule, called the Negation-As-Finite-Failure (NAFF), similar to the NF-rule and less cumbersome than the SN-rule. We present three definitions of the NAFF. Two declarative definitions similar to those for the NF-rule and one procedural definition based on SLI-resolution.     

Quality assessment and improvement of temporally composited products of remotely sensed imagery by combination of VEGETATION 1 and 2 images

Global temporal composites of surface reflectances are among the most commonly used products of wide field-of-view satellite-borne instruments such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and VEGETATION. The multi-temporal and spatial consistencies of these composites are key elements for their usefulness. In this paper, we use two different criteria to evaluate the quality of existing and new temporal composite products in SPOT-VEGETATION imagery. The first criterion, based on variograms, analyses the spatial characteristics of composite images, and the second one evaluates the quality of the time series based on the analysis of simultaneous imagery from VEGETATION 1 and VEGETATION 2. Thanks to these criteria, we show that the standard deviation of the errors that affect the surface reflectances of current composite products can be reduced by a factor greater than 2 using improved algorithms detailed in this paper. Finally, we produce multi-instrument composites by integrating images from both VEGETATION instruments to further improve the composite products.     

Dietary control of exertional rhabdomyolysis in horses

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether feeding a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet would decrease severity of exercise-induced muscle injury in horses with exertional rhabdomyolysis. ANIMALS: 19 horses with a history of exertional rhabdomyolysis. DESIGN: Case series. PROCEDURE: Specimens of the semitendinosus or semimembranosus muscle were obtained for histologic examination, and serum creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate transaminase (AST) activities 4 hours after exercise were determined. Horses were then fed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, and serum CK and AST activities 4 hours after exercise were reevaluated at approximately monthly intervals for 3 to 6 months. RESULTS: Serum CK and AST activities 4 hours after exercise were high before any change in diet. All 19 horses had evidence of chronic myopathic change and abnormal glycogen accumulation in muscle biopsy specimens; 11 horses also had evidence of complex polysaccharide accumulation. Adaptation to diet change required approximately 3 to 6 months. Sixteen horses did not have any episodes of exertional rhabdomyolysis after 3 to 6 months of diet change, and 3 horses had mild episodes of exertional rhabdomyolysis following either a reduction in dietary fat intake or restriction in exercise. Postexercise serum CK and AST activities 3 to 6 months after the change in diet were significantly less than initial values. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Results indicated that exertional rhabdomyolysis may be a result of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism in some horses. Feeding a diet with low carbohydrate and high fat content may reduce severity of exercise-induced injury in some horses with exertional rhabdomyolysis.     

Resolving isomeric peptide mixtures: a combined HPLC/ion mobility-TOFMS analysis of a 4000-component combinatorial library.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation approach has been combined with ion mobility/time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry in order to characterize a combinatorial peptide library designed to contain 4000 peptides of the general form NH2-Xxx-Xxx-XXX-CO2H, NH2-Ala-Xxx-Xxx-Xxx-CO2H, NH2-Ser-Ala-Xxx-Xxx-Xxx-CO2H and NH2-Leu-Ser-Ala-Xxx-Xxx-Xxx-CO2H (where Xxx represents a randomization over 10 different amino acids: Ala, Arg, Asp, Glu, Gly, Leu, Lys, Phe, Ser, and Val). Addition of the gas-phase mobility separation between the HPLC separation and TOF measurement dimensions makes it possible to resolve many peptide isomers that have identical retention times (and masses).