A stereo multibit ΣΔ DAC with asynchronous master-clockinterface

A two-channel multibit ΣΔ audio digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with on-chip digital phase-locked loop and sample-rate converter is described. The circuit requires no over-sampled synchronous clocks to operate and rejects input sample clock jitter above 16 Hz at 6 dB/octave. A second-order modulator with a multibit quantizer, switched-capacitor (SC) DAC, and single-ended second-order SC filter provides a measured out-of-band noise of -63 dBr with less than 0.1° phase nonlinearity. Measured S/(THD+N) of the DAC channel including a 0-63 dB, 1 dB/step attenuator is greater than 90 dB unweighted. The circuit is implemented in 0.6-μm DPDM CMOS, dissipating 220 mW at 5 V. Die size is 3 mm×4 mm     

A comparison of the implementation and annual operating costs of IDR and TDMA in the intelsat system

The outcome of a preliminary systems cost study which compares the cost of operating INTELSAT intermediate data rate (IDR) and time division multiple access (TDMA) stations under various conditions is reported. The differences in the annual cost of operating the two candidate methods over the range of 1 to 1000 terrestrial channels are derived under the conditions of no CME, DSI only and the use of DCME. For DCME the effect of one, two, three and four destinations per DCME is considered. The results show that while the initial cost of the TDMA equipment is higher than with IDR, the annual cost of operating the systems is dominated by the space segment costs. For this reason the greater bandwidth efficiency, inherent multidestinational capability and ease of capacity expansion of the TDMA system give it a lower annual operating cost, even at fairly moderate earthstation capacities (e.g. for DCME with two destinations TDMA becomes cheaper than IDR for capacities in excess of about 300 channels). There are attributes of both systems which will also influence the network planners' decision. The IDR system is modular in that costs associated with implementation are incurred more gradually than with the TDMA system. Furthermore, IDR is to a great extent an extrapolation of the current FDM/FM/FDMA practice. However, since the equipment costs are small compared to the space segment charges, it may prove advantageous to adopt the lowercost system as soon as possible. In addition, the TDMA system offers significant long-term advantages of low-cost expansion and the ability to reconfigure the system with minimal or no loss of traffic.     

COMPUTATIONAL PROCESS MODELING OF HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL DECISIONS USING A GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

ABSTRACT Household travel behaviour entails interdependent deliberate decisions, as well as the execution of routines not preceded by deliberate decisions. Furthermore, travel decisions are dependent on choices to participate in activities. Because of the complexity of the decision making process in which individuals are engaged, computational process models (CPMs) are promising means of implementing behavioral principles, which, unlike other disaggregate modeling approaches do not rely on a utility maximizing framework. A conceptual framework is proposed as the basis of a CPM interfaced with the geographical information system Arc/Info . How to model household' travel behaviour is illustrated in a case study of a single household in which one member started telecommuting.     

Comparative studies of kinetic and optical properties of rabbit muscle, sturgeon muscle, and yeast pyruvate kinase

The kinetic and optical properties of pyruvate kinase isolated from rabbit muscle, sturgeon muscle, and yeast were compared using various activating divalent metal ions as probes for functional features and using ultraviolet circular dichroism (cd) measurements for conformational features, respectively. All three preparations of pyruvate kinase were similar in many aspects, such as activating efficiencies of the four activating metal ions, Mg(II), Co(II), Mn(II), and Ni(II) and pH-rate profiles, suggesting the presence of a similar metal binding locus of these enzymes as well as a common underlying mechanism of action. L-Phe inhibited the rabbit muscle enzyme and turned the hyperbolic kinetics into a sigmoidal kinetic with respect to phosphoenolpyruvate at alkaline pH, while fructose-1,6-biphosphate activated the sturgeon muscle and yeast enzymes and turned the sigmoidal kinetics into hyperbolic kinetics with respect to phosphoenolpyruvate. The ultraviolet cd spectral changes qualitatively correlated well with kinetic observations of all three native enzymes in the presence and absence of allosteric effectors. Our results suggested that there are at least two conformational states of pyruvate kinase which are inducible by the binding of substrate and (or) allosteric effectors. The conformational changes from one form to another in these enzymes are very similar, especially between the rabbit and sturgeon muscle enzymes.     

Vascular effects of selected antihypertensive drugs derived from traditional medicinal herbs

1. The pharmacological actions of the active ingredients extracted or purified from two selected traditional Chinese medicinal plants on vascular smooth muscles are briefly reviewed. The active ingredients of these herbal drugs include tetrandrine (TET) and total ginseng saponins (TGS). These natural products have been clinically used in China for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases due to their vasodilatory and antihypertensive actions. 2. Studies from this laboratory have confirmed previously reported characteristics of these drugs as Ca2+ antagonists in vascular tissues. On the other hand, they also elicited inhibitory effects in response to a wide variety of receptor stimulations as indicated by contractility studies using isolated vascular tissues and radioligand binding studies using isolated subcellular membranes. 3. TET has been demonstrated as an effective but not very selective Ca2+ antagonist. Other than the vasodilatory action on arteries and veins, TET also shows a vasoconstrictive effect in veins. 4. TGS from panax notoginseng may be acting as a novel and selective Ca2+ antagonist that does not interact with the L-type Ca2+ channel (e.g. in KCl-induced contraction) but may interact with the putative receptor operated Ca2+ channel (e.g. in phenylephrine-induced contraction). TGS from panax quinquefolium, on the other hand, enhanced the vasoconstrictor effect produced by phenylephrine, but not KCl.     

Use of urea by early postpartum Holstein cows

Thirty-nine lactating Holstein cows were fed high-energy complete rations ad libitum with crude protein: 1) 11.7% (negative control); 2) 13.9% (1% urea); 3) 16.6% (1% urea); or 4) 16.6% (positive control) in a continuous 12-wk study beginning at wk 5 postpartum. Milk production of 27.7, 31.8, 34.0, and 30.4 kg/day showed the use of urea nitrogen by groups 2 and probably 3. Two digestion-nitrogen balance trials with each cow also provided evidence that urea nitrogen was used for milk secretion. Energy digestibility averaged 59.4, 64.2, 65.4, and 65.8; and lower for the negative control diet. Nitrogen solubility in the diets was 28, 36, 32, and 21%, which reflects the objective of selecting ingredients with low nitrogen solubility for use in urea diets. Concentrations of ammonia nitrogen before and after feeding were 1.1, 3.3, 3.5, 4.2, and 2.2, 11.2, 11.9, and 9.3 mg/100 ml of rumen fluid. The prefeeding amounts were probably too low for maximum microbial growth. Urea-nitrogen concentrations in plasma were 8.65, 10.32, 18.00, and 17.03 mg/100 ml. These results lend support to the postulate that lactating cows in early lactation can use urea nitrogen when high-energy complete rations with ingredients of low nitrogen solubility are fed ad libitum.     

Computerized modular ratio design of reinforced concrete members subjected to axial load and biaxial bending

A computerized method of analysis and design of reinforced concrete members of arbitrary cross-sections subjected to axial load and biaxial bending is proposed. The design process has been computerized to full automation—in the sense that given the concrete section and the applied loading, the program directly evaluates the amount of reinforcement required and the corresponding stress envelope. The strength of concrete in tension is neglected in the analysis. An iterative process which successively adjusts the section properties according to the stress state is employed. The design process is basically an iterative process of gradually increasing the amount of reinforcement till the permissible stresses are not exceeded. Reinforcement is added at locations of highest mean sequare stress in order to utilize fully the reinforcement added. Multiple loading cases are considered.