Trace elements in particles of motor vehicle exhaust in Shanghai

A nuclear microprobe with high spatial resolution and high analytical sensitivity was applied to analyze trace elements,especially lead,in vehicle exhaust of Shanghai city.The result shows that the chemical composition and its corresponding x-ray relative intensity are different among different vehicle exhausts.There are many kinds of metal elements in particles of vehicle exhaust.most are harmful to people,such as Ti,Cr,Mn,Pb,etc.We found that the lead concentration was 6820μg/g and the bromine concentration was 5300μg/g in the exhaust from Santana using leaded gasoline(SULG).which is higher than any other kinds of vehicle exhausts.We have also detected the minimum lead in the particles of unleaded gasoline and its content varies from one to another.Its mean concentration was 450μg/g and the highest reached 6210μg/g.The unleaded gasoline‘s Pb existed in the whole particle while the leaded gasoline‘s enriched in the surface of the particle and was more harmful to the human beings.     

Epidemiology of hepatitis C and G in sporadic and familial porphyria cutanea tarda

From 1995 to 1997, we prospectively evaluated the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in 124 patients with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) from Northern France (83 sporadic and 41 familial PCT). Serum samples were analyzed for ferritin, transaminases, HCV antibodies, and HCV RNA. In addition, genotyping of HCV and searches for HCV infection risk factors (blood transfusion, iv drug abuse, and surgical intervention) were performed. Twenty-six of 124 patients (21%; 95% CI: 13.9-28) were positive for serum HCV antibodies. All of them were also positive for HCV RNA. The prevalence of HCV infection was higher in the sporadic PCT group (26.5%, 22 out of 83) than in the familial PCT group (9.7%, 4 out of 41). Risk factors for hepatitis C infection were found to be significantly increased in the HCV-positive group when compared with the HCV-negative PCT group. In all HCV-positive patients with a risk factor, the suspected date of exposure to the virus always preceded the clinical onset of PCT. The HCV genotype pattern in PCT patients was similar to that observed in nonporphyric HCV patients in western European countries. Serum ferritin level was increased in both HCV-positive and HCV-negative porphyric patients. Transaminase levels were significantly higher in HCV-infected PCT patients. Sixty-seven out of 124 patients were retrospectively studied for hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection. Six of these 67 patients (8.9%; 95% CI: 2.1-15.8) were positive for HGV RNA. None of the six HGV-infected patients were positive for HCV RNA. The HGV-infected patients did not differ statistically from those without HGV infection with regard to age, ferritin, transaminase levels, and PCT treatment. These results support the view that sporadic cases of HGV infection may occur frequently. This study of a large cohort of HCV and PCT patients further documents an increasing gradient in HCV prevalence from northern to southern Europe, and shows that HCV infection acts as a triggering factor of PCT. Finally, the HGV prevalence found in the PCT patients was comparable with that found in French blood donors, suggesting that HGV is not a PCT triggering factor.     

1.04 GBd low EMI digital video interface system using small swingserial link technique

In a high-resolution flat panel system, a conventional interface that directly connects a liquid crystal display (LCD) controller to a flat panel cannot overcome the problems of excess EMI (electromagnetic interference) and power caused by full-swing transmission signals in parallel lines. This paper presents a high-speed digital video interface system implemented with a low-cost standard CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor) technology that can mitigate EMI and power problems in high-resolution flat panel display systems. The combined architecture of the high-speed, small number of parallel lines and low-voltage swing serial interface can support resolutions from VGA (640×480 pixels) up to XGA (1024×768 pixels) with significant power improvement and drastic EMI reduction. To support high-speed, low-voltage swing signaling and overcome channel-to-channel skew problems, a robust data recovery system is required. The proposed digital phase-locked loop enables robust skew-insensitive data recovery of up to 1.04 GBd     

Inference, inquiry, evidence censorship, and explanation inconnectionist expert systems

The combination of the techniques of expert systems and neural networks has the potential of producing more powerful systems, for example, expert systems able to learn from experience. In this paper, we address the combinatorial neural model (CNM), a kind of fuzzy neural network able to accommodate in a simple framework the highly desirable property of incremental learning, as well as the usual capabilities of expert systems. We show how an interval-based representation for membership grades makes CNM capable of reasoning with several types of uncertainty: vagueness, ignorance, and relevance commonly found in practical applications. In addition, we show how basic functions of expert systems such as inference, inquiry, censorship of input information, and explanation may be implemented. We also report experimental results of the application of CNM to the problem of deforestation monitoring of the Amazon region using satellite images     

多时滞Lotka-Volterra互惠系统周期正解的存在性

用重合度理论研究具时滞非自治Lotka-Volterra互惠系统，获得了周期正解的存在性，推广了Gopalsamy及He(1997)的结果。     

Electrical and optical properties of fluorine-doped CdO films deposited by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

The CdO:F samples have been deposited onto microscope glass substrates at 250 °C by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. With the incorporation of fluorine into CdO, the direct optical transition has shifted towards the shorter wavelengths, and the transparency of the material has increased at a given wavelength above the fundamental absorption edge. The shift in the absorption edge is explained by means of the Moss–Burstein effect, which is also supported with the results of the current–voltage characteristics. Here, a correlation has been established between the band broadening and the increase in conductivity due to the increase in carrier density.     

Coupling GIS with Hydrologic and Hydraulic Flood Modelling

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been recognised as a powerful means to integrate and analyse data from various sources in the context of comprehensive floodplain management. As part of this comprehensive approach to floodplain management, it is very important to be able to predict the consequences of different scenarios in terms of flooded areas and associated risk. Hydrologic and hydraulic modelling plays a crucial role and there is much to gain in incorporating these modelling capabilities in GIS. This is still a rather complex task and research is being done on the full integration of these models. Interfacing between these models and GIS may be a very efficient way of overcoming the difficulties and getting very good results in terms of engineering practice. This paper presents results based on the use of Intergraph GIS coupled with Idrisi GIS. Using these two systems substantially increased the flexibility of using GIS as a tool for flood studies. A lumped (XSRAIN) and a distributed (OMEGA) hydrologic models were used to simulate flood hydrographs. The well known HEC-2 Hydraulic model was used to compute flooded areas. These models were applied in the Livramento catchment with very good results. The computation of flooded areas for different flood scenarios, and its representation in GIS, can be used in the assessment of affected property and associated damages. This is a very useful GIS-based approach to floodplain management.     

Multiresolution coding techniques for digital television: A review

Multiresolution decompositions for video coding are reviewed. Both nonrecursive and recursive coding schemes are considered. In nonrecursive schemes, it is shown that pyramid structures have certain advantages over subband or wavelet techniques, and a specific spatiotemporal pyramid coding of HDTV is discussed in some detail. It is shown that recursive, DPCM like schemes will incur a slight loss of optimality due to a restricted form of prediction if multiresolution decomposition with compatible decoding is required. Compatibility and transmission issues are also discussed. Multiresolution transmission for digital broadcast TV is introduced. This, when combined with multiresolution source coding, achieves spectrum efficiency, robustness and graceful degradation under channel impairments.Invited PaperWork supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grants ECD-88-11111, MIP-90-14189 and Bell Communications Research.Work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants ECD-88-11111. K.M. Uz is now with David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, NJ 08543.