A rapid computational filter for predicting the rate of human renal clearance

In silico models that predict the rate of human renal clearance for a diverse set of drugs, that exhibit both active secretion and net re-absorption, have been produced using three statistical approaches. Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Random Forests (RF) have been used to produce continuous models whereas Classification And Regression Trees (CART) has only been used for a classification model. The best models generated from either PLS or RF produce significant models that can predict acids/zwitterions, bases and neutrals with approximate average fold errors of 3, 3 and 4, respectively, for an independent test set that covers oral drug-like property space. These models contain additional information on top of any influence arising from plasma protein binding on the rate of renal clearance. Classification And Regression Trees (CART) has been used to generate a classification tree leading to a simple set of Renal Clearance Rules (RCR) that can be applied to man. The rules are influenced by lipophilicity and ion class and can correctly predict 60% of an independent test set. These percentages increase to 71% and 79% for drugs with renal clearances of < 0.1 ml/min/kg and > 1 ml/min/kg, respectively. As far as the authors are aware these are the first set of models to appear in the literature that predict the rate of human renal clearance and can be used to manipulate molecular properties leading to new drugs that are less likely to fail due to renal clearance.     

The along track scanning radiometer for ERS-1-scan geometry anddata simulation

The first European remote-sensing satellite (ERS-1) will carry the along track scanning radiometer (ATSR). which has been specifically designed to give accurate satellite measurements of sea surface temperature (SST). Details of the novel scanning technique used by the ATSR are given, and data from the NOAA-9 AVHRR instrument are used to simulate raw ATSR imagery. Because of the high precision of the onboard blackbodies, the active cooling of the detectors, 12-b digitization, and dual-angle capability, the ATSR promises to achieve higher-accuracy satellite-derived SSTs than are currently available     

A single regrowth integration platform for photonic circuits incorporating tunable SGDBR lasers and quantum-well EAMs

A monolithic integration platform is demonstrated for high functionality photonic circuits that include quantum-well electroabsorption modulators, semiconductor optical amplifiers, and widely tunable lasers. The platform is based on the selective removal of a set of active quantum wells located above an optical waveguide layer. The waveguide layer contains a second set of quantum wells to be used in modulator regions. Fabrication requires only a single blanket InP regrowth.     

Characterization and performance prediction for integral capacitorsin low temperature co-fired ceramic technology

This paper addresses the electrical characterization of integral capacitors in low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC). The technology also includes integrated resistors and inductors. It first discusses the geometry and fabrication of the capacitor technology, which uses a novel insert method in LTCC substrates. The structures of 300 special test vehicles made to analyze the technique are described. The samples include components in the range 140 pF to 9.6 nF, and single-layer and two-layer integral formats; structure fabrication capability is currently 7.8 nF/cm². Test vehicle variants, fabricated to analyze the effects of processing parameters such as lamination pressure, are discussed. Measurement systems, which were built to electrically characterize the integral capacitors, are described. The results of the analyzes are summarized with regard to the individual and combined impact of applied frequency, temperature, and DC voltage parameters. The effects of lamination pressure, capacitor size, and the number of dielectric layers are also evaluated. The paper then discusses the development of predictive functions for the induced electrical performance variations in the capacitors, functions that are necessary to enable designers to properly develop circuits for applications in various operating environments. The results of an analysis of the geometry of the capacitors are presented, and are employed by electrical models made using analytical methods, boundary element methods (BEM), and finite element methods (FEM). The models are a requirement for process engineers in optimizing the capacitor fabrication techniques, and for design engineers as means of defining the correct component geometries for their circuits     

A report on HIPERLAN standardization

HIPERLAN is the new European standard for radio LANs currently being formulated by ETSI RES10 for operation at 5 GHz and 17 GHz. It will be suitable for radio replacement of wired LANs and for ad hoc networking providing a user data rate of 10–20 Mbit/s. This paper is a review of the work of ETSI RES10 on the formulation of the HIPERLAN standard. The origins of ETSI RES10 are documented. The targets set for HIPERLAN and the problems in achieving these targets are discussed. The paper reviews the technical arguments for and against the proposed solutions to these problems, concentrating on the design of the transmission scheme and the channel access mechanism. The discussions leading to significant decisions about the standard are summarized. If the FCC in the United States of America allocate the equivalent 5 GHz band to unlicensed wireless LAN systems, many of these discussions will be revisited for future standards in this band. The paper will be of interest to anyone in academia or industry wishing to be brought quickly up to date with the state of the standard in order to focus their research or development activities. The paper also gives a general insight into the technical side of the standards formulation process in ETSI.     

Phase correcting zonal reflector incorporating rings

An array of conducting elements printed on a grounded dielectric substrate functions as an electromagnetic phase shifter. With a fixed substrate and a given operating frequency, the phase shift is determined by the array parameters. In the paper, the spectral domain moment method model for analyzing homogeneous reflective phase shifters with conducting rings as elements is presented, and numerical and experimental results are given. A novel phase correcting Fresnel zonal reflector based on this model is reported. A 43% maximum antenna efficiency and -22 dB sidelobe level were measured in X-band. The bandwidth of the reflector is estimated to be greater than 10%     

Integrable multimode interference distributed Bragg reflector laser all-optical flip-flops

A novel fully integrable all-optical flip-flop has been created using distributed Bragg reflector multimode interference bistable laser diodes. The single metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy regrowth offset quantum well structure active/passive integrated flip-flop lases in single mode at 1554 nm and is compatible with standard fabrication methods of InP photonic integrated circuits (PICs). All-optical reset switching through cross-gain saturation was demonstrated over a 52-nm range, at 1522-1574 nm. An optical set has been achieved with -3 dBm and optical reset with less than -5-dBm external light injection. The flip-flop will be useful for integration in PICs of future photonic systems for self-routing and optical memories or buffers.     

Signal processing hardware in a radio LAN demonstrator

In order to demonstrate the practicality of high speed radio LANs, such as HIPERLAN, a hardware demonstrator has been built. To overcome the inter-symbol interference caused by the dispersive nature of the indoor radio channel, a decision feedback equaliser has been included in the system. No central synchronisation is provided in a network and a node must be able to derive all synchronisation from a received packet. This paper describes all of the signal processing hardware built for the demonstrator. The demonstrator is not standards compliant but the physical layer parameters are very similar and the signal processing required in HIPERLAN equipment will be very similar to that in the demonstrator.     

Equaliser Performance for HIPERLAN in indoor channels

In order to accomplish practical deployment modelling for system performance evaluation and comparison for possible modulation and equalisation schemes to be used in HIPERLAN, a wide band tapped delay line (WTDL) channel model has been adopted by ETSI to characterise the multipath fading in the indoor radio environment. Based on this statistical channel model, and using Monte Carlo method, this paper evaluates the average probability of error for linear and decision feedback equaliser as a function of signal-to-noise ratio. It also evaluates the matched filter bound for this channel model. The results show the optimum performance levels achievable via the use of any equaliser.The work described in this paper was supported by the UK DTI/EPSRC LINK project: PC2011 High Throughput Radio Modem under EPSRC grant reference GR/K00318 in collaboration with Symbionics Networks limited.     

Performance study of high-speed asymmetric digital subscriber linestechnology

Computer simulation results are presented for the loop range coverage of an asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL) system that uses the quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signaling scheme, ADSL performance is evaluated in the presence of background additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), and crosstalk noise from existing services in the local telephone loop plant. It is shown that coverage of the extreme carrier serving area (CSA) is possible at transmission rates that are well above the existing T1 rate