Wideband Planar Folded Dipole Antenna With Self-balanced Impedance Property

A planar folded dipole antenna that exhibits wideband characteristics is proposed. The antenna has simple planar construction without a ground plane and is easy to be assembled. Parameter values are adjusted in order to obtain wideband properties and compactness by using an electromagnetic simulator based on the method of moments. An experimental result centered at 1.7 GHz for 50 impedance matching shows that the antenna has bandwidth over 55% . The gains of the antenna are almost constant (2 dBi) in this frequency band and the radiation patterns are very similar to those of a normal dipole antenna. It is also shown that the antenna has a self-balanced impedance property in this frequency band.     

Parallel programming in MIMD type parallel systems using transputer and i860 in physical simulations

Parallel programming and calculation performance were examined by using two types of MIMD parallel systems, that is, a transputer (T800) network and iPSC/860. Some interface subroutines were developed to apply the programs parallelized by using a transputer network to iPSC/860. Compatibility and performance of parallelized programs are discussed.     

Multilocular thymic cysts associated with thymoma. A case report

The association of multilocular thymic cysts (MTC) with thymoma is exceedingly rare, and the pathogenesis of this combination is controversial. We describe the case of a 42-year-old man with an anterior mediastinal mass found to contain MTC and thymoma. A multilocular cystic mass, measuring 13 x 6.5 x 2 cm, was found in the right lobe of the thymus, and contained a 4.7 x 2 cm thymoma in its center. Microscopic thymomas, lipomatously involuted remaining thymic tissue, and lymphoid follicles with germinal centers were found in the walls of MTC as well as in the left thymic lobe. Non-specific chronic inflammation was also present in the walls. In addition, microcysts, which were only found at the periphery of the thymoma and covered with epithelium, might have been formed secondarily by dilatation of the perivascular spaces and of Hassall's corpuscles. These findings suggest that a chronic inflammatory process was responsible for the early formation and enlargement of this patient's MTC, and that while the cavities of the MTC expanded to various degrees, the thymoma, which originated from one of the microscopic thymomas in the walls of MTC, increased in size, and grew to involve the remaining thymic tissue.     

Multi-agent learning and the descriptive value of simple models

Behavioral research suggests that human learning in some multi-agent systems can be predicted with surprisingly simple “foresight-free” models. The current note discusses the implications of this research, and its relationship to the observation that social interactions tend to complicate learning.     

Risk attitude in small timesaving decisions.

Four experiments are presented that explore situations in which a decision maker has to rely on personal experience in an attempt to minimize delays. Experiment 1 shows that risk-attitude in these timesaving decisions is similar to risk-attitude in money-related decisions from experience: A risky prospect is more attractive than a safer prospect with the same expected value only when it leads to a better outcome most of the time. Experiment 2 highlights a boundary condition: It suggests that a difficulty in ranking the relevant delays moves behavior toward random choice. Experiments 3 and 4 show that when actions must be taken during the delay (thereby helping compare delays), this increases the similarity of timesaving decisions to money-related decisions. In these settings the results reflect an increase in risk aversion with experience. The relationship of the results to the study of non-human time-related decisions, human money-related decisions and human time perception is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison Between Amylose-free and Amylose Containing Potato Starches

This paper describes the comparison of potato amylose-free starches obtained by two different approaches: mutation induction of the gene encoding the key-enzyme in amylose biosynthesis Granule Bound Starch Synthase (GBSS) and antisense inhibition of the expression of GBSS, with that of normal amylose containing potato starch. One of the most prominent differences between the amylose-free and amylose-containing starches was their phenotype after staining with iodine. The amylose-free starch obtained via mutation induction stained completely red whereas the amylose-free starch obtained by the antisense approach always had a very small dark-blue staining core in a further entirely red staining granule. Amylose-containing starch stained blue with iodine. Differences were also observed with regard to the absence of GBSS protein and activity in the amylose-free potatoes. Furthermore the lambda max and the blue value of the amylose-free starches was markedly different as would be expected since they almost completely lacked (< 0.1%) amylose in both types of amylose-free starches. Determination of a number of different chemical parameters including particle size distribution, ion content, as well as phosphate levels of the starch indicated that these were not different in the amylose-free containing starches as compared to the normal amylose containing starches. The absence of amylose resulted in improved gel stability and paste clarity of gels even after prolonged durations at 5°C and at room temperature.     

The Effects of Nectar–Nicotine on Colony Fitness of Caged Honeybees

Nectar of many bee flowers contains secondary compounds, which are considered toxic for honeybees on repeated exposure. Although many anecdotal reports indicate the toxicity of secondary compounds to bees, only a few studies have tested the extent of toxicity at different honeybee ages, especially at the larval stages. Honeybees encounter nicotine at trace concentrations (between 0.1 and 5 ppm) in floral nectar of a few Nicotiana spp. and in Tilia cordata. Adult honeybee workers tolerate these nicotine concentrations. In controlled nonchoice feeding experiments with caged bees, we investigated the effect of nicotine on hatching success and larval and forager survival. Naturally occurring concentrations of nectar–nicotine did not affect hatching success of larvae or their survival, but the latter was negatively affected by higher concentrations of nicotine (50 ppm). Concentrations of nicotine in fresh honey samples from the hives were 90% lower than the concentrations in the offered experimental sucrose solutions. Our results indicate that honeybees can cope with naturally occurring concentrations of nicotine, without notable mortality, even when consumed in large quantities for more than 3 weeks.     

Ice-binding proteins that accumulate on different ice crystal planes produce distinct thermal hysteresis dynamics

Ice-binding proteins that aid the survival of freeze-avoiding, cold-adapted organismsby inhibiting the growth of endogenous ice crystals are called antifreeze proteins(AFPs). The binding of AFPs to ice causes a separation between the melting point andthe freezing point of the ice crystal (thermal hysteresis, TH). TH produced byhyperactive AFPs is an order of magnitude higher than that produced by a typical fishAFP. The basis for this difference in activity remains unclear. Here, we havecompared the time dependence of TH activity for both hyperactive and moderatelyactive AFPs using a custom-made nanolitre osmometer and a novel microfluidics system.We found that the TH activities of hyperactive AFPs were time-dependent, and that theTH activity of a moderate AFP was almost insensitive to time. Fluorescence microscopymeasurement revealed that despite their higher TH activity, hyperactive AFPs from twoinsects (moth and beetle) took far longer to accumulate on the ice surface than did amoderately active fish AFP. An ice-binding protein from a bacterium that functions asan ice adhesin rather than as an antifreeze had intermediate TH properties.Nevertheless, the accumulation of this ice adhesion protein and the two hyperactiveAFPs on the basal plane of ice is distinct and extensive, but not detectable formoderately active AFPs. Basal ice plane binding is the distinguishing feature ofantifreeze hyperactivity, which is not strictly needed in fish that require onlyapproximately 1°C of TH. Here, we found a correlation between the accumulationkinetics of the hyperactive AFP at the basal plane and the time sensitivity of themeasured TH.     

Two-photon 3D FIONA of individual quantum dots in an aqueous environment

We report the first two-photon (2P) microscopy of individual quantum dots (QDs) in an aqueous environment with both widefield and point-scan excitations at nanometer accuracy. Thiol-containing reductants suppress QD blinking and enable measurement of the 36 nm step size of individual Myosin V motors in vitro. We localize QDs with an accuracy of 2-3 nm in all three dimensions by using a 9 × 9 matrix excitation hologram and an array detector, which also increases the 3D scan imaging rate by 80-fold. With this 3D microscopy we validate the LamB receptor distribution on E. coli and the endocytosis of EGF-receptors in breast cancer cells.