Quadrature Mismatch Shaping for Digital-to-Analog Converters

Quadrature sigma-delta analog-to-digital converters require a feedback path for both the I and the Q parts of the complex feedback signal. If two separate multibit feedback digital-to-analog converters (DACs) are used, mismatch among the unit DAC elements leads to additional mismatch noise in the output spectrum as well as an I/Q imbalance. This paper proposes new quadrature bandpass (QBP) mismatch shaping techniques. In our approach, the I and Q DACs are merged into one complex DAC, which leads to near-perfect I/Q balance. To select the unit DAC elements of the complex multibit DAC, the well-known butterfly shuffler and tree structure are generalized towards a complex structure, and necessary constraints for their correct functioning are derived. Next, a very efficient first-order QBP shaper implementation is proposed. Finally, the newly presented complex structures are simulated to prove their effectiveness and are compared with each other with respect to performance     

New Ferro Powder for Selective Laser Sintering of Dense Parts

The paper describes a new powder composition specially developed for selective laser sintering (SLS). The aim is to obtain a ferro powder that can be sintered without need for a (sacrificial) polymer binder and that results in quasi dense parts that do not need any post-processing like furnace sintering, infiltration or HIP. The powder is a mixture of different types of particles (Fe, Cu, Ni and Fe₃P). The composition and mixture ratio are justified by using phase diagrams. The powder has been tested using an own developed Nd: YAG SLS machine. The influence of process parameters (laser power, scan velocity, scan spacing and scan strategy) and the microstructural characteristics have been investigated. Attention is devoted to the binding mechanism (liquid phase sintering, through melting) and to the quality of resulting parts (density, balling effect,…).     

Visual association encoding activates the medial temporal lobe: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

The involvement of structures in the medial temporal lobe during the encoding of visual associations was studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging. In 11 out of 12 normal healthy volunteers this task resulted in activation in posterior portions of the parahippocampal region, close to the collateral sulcus. In seven subjects activation was encountered in the hippocampal formation. The visual association task as adapted for this study may provide a sensitive measure to study anterograde amnesia prevalent in Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the present paradigm enables the study of individual changes in learning and memory capacities over time.     

A log mining approach for process monitoring in SCADA

SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems are used for controlling and monitoring industrial processes. We propose a methodology to systematically identify potential process-related threats in SCADA. Process-related threats take place when an attacker gains user access rights and performs actions, which look legitimate, but which are intended to disrupt the SCADA process. To detect such threats, we propose a semi-automated approach of log processing. We conduct experiments on a real-life water treatment facility. A preliminary case study suggests that our approach is effective in detecting anomalous events that might alter the regular process workflow.     

Nuclear Receptor Nur77 Controls Cardiac Fibrosis through Distinct Actions on Fibroblasts and Cardiomyocytes

Fibrosis is a hallmark of adverse cardiac remodeling, which promotes heart failure, but it is also an essential repair mechanism to prevent cardiac rupture, signifying the importance of appropriate regulation of this process. In the remodeling heart, cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) differentiate into myofibroblasts (MyoFB), which are the key mediators of the fibrotic response. Additionally, cardiomyocytes are involved by providing pro-fibrotic cues. Nuclear receptor Nur77 is known to reduce cardiac hypertrophy and associated fibrosis; however, the exact function of Nur77 in the fibrotic response is yet unknown. Here, we show that Nur77-deficient mice exhibit severe myocardial wall thinning, rupture and reduced collagen fiber density after myocardial infarction and chronic isoproterenol (ISO) infusion. Upon Nur77 knockdown in cultured rat CFs, expression of MyoFB markers and extracellular matrix proteins is reduced after stimulation with ISO or transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β). Accordingly, Nur77-depleted CFs produce less collagen and exhibit diminished proliferation and wound closure capacity. Interestingly, Nur77 knockdown in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes results in increased paracrine induction of MyoFB differentiation, which was blocked by TGF-β receptor antagonism. Taken together, Nur77-mediated regulation involves CF-intrinsic promotion of CF-to-MyoFB transition and inhibition of cardiomyocyte-driven paracrine TGF-β-mediated MyoFB differentiation. As such, Nur77 provides distinct, cell-specific regulation of cardiac fibrosis.     

Validity and inter-observer reliability of subjective hand-arm vibration assessments

Exposure to mechanical vibrations at work (e.g., due to handling powered tools) is a potential occupational risk as it may cause upper extremity complaints. However, reliable and valid assessment methods for vibration exposure at work are lacking. Measuring hand-arm vibration objectively is often difficult and expensive, while often used information provided by manufacturers lacks detail. Therefore, a subjective hand-arm vibration assessment method was tested on validity and inter-observer reliability.     

TuLP: A Family of Lightweight Message Authentication Codes for Body Sensor Networks简

A wireless sensor network （WSN） commonly whilst a body sensor network （BSN） must be secured with requires lower level security for public information gathering, strong authenticity to protect personal health information. In this paper, some practical problems with the message authentication codes （MACs）, which were proposed in the popular security architectures for WSNs, are reconsidered. The analysis shows that the recommended MACs for WSNs, e.g., CBC- MAC （TinySec）, OCB-MAC （MiniSec）, and XCBC-MAC （SenSee）, might not be exactly suitable for BSNs. Particularly an existential forgery attack is elaborated on XCBC-MAC. Considering the hardware limitations of BSNs, we propose a new family of tunable lightweight MAC based on the PRESENT block cipher. The first scheme, which is named TukP, is a new lightweight MAC with 64-bit output range. The second scheme, which is named TuLP-128, is a 128-bit variant which provides a higher resistance against internal collisions. Compared with the existing schemes, our lightweight MACs are both time and resource efficient on hardware-constrained devices.     

Single-Site Calcium Initiators for the Controlled Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactides and Lactones

Summary Single-site calcium initiators containing chelating tmhd (H-tmhd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptane-33-dione) ligands [(THF)Ca(tmhd)_]2[-N(SiMe₃)₂](-tmhd) (2) and [(THF)Ca(tmhd)]₂[-OCH(Me)Ph](-tmhd) (3) have been synthesized and applied for the ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide and -caprolactone. Both 2 and 3 were highly reactive and promoted a fast polymerization of L-lactide and -caprolactone to high monomer conversions under mild conditions (THF as a solvent, room temperature). More importantly, results showed that the ring-opening polymerizations of lactides and lactones initiated by either 3 or 2 in the presence of equivalent 2-propanol are living, to provide polymers and block copolymers of controlled molecular weights and tailored end-groups. The polymerizations were first-order in monomer up to high conversions, in which the in situ initiating system 2/2-propanol revealed no induction period and much faster polymerization kinetics as compared to 3.     

Subsoil <Superscript>15</Superscript>N-N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O Concentrations in a Sandy Soil Profile After Application of <Superscript>15</Superscript>N-fertilizer

Studies on emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O) from agricultural soils mostly focus on fluxes between the soil and the atmosphere or are limited to the atmosphere in the topsoil. However, in soils with shallow water tables, significant N₂O formation may occur closer to the groundwater. The aims of this study were (i) to determine the importance of subsoil N₂O formation in a sandy soil; and (ii) to obtain a quantitative insight in the contribution of subsoil N₂O to the overall losses of N₂O to the environment. We applied ¹⁵N labeled fertilizer at a rate of 5.22 kg ¹⁵N ha⁻¹; 50% as Ca(NO₃)₂ and 50% as NH₄Cl, on a mesic typic Haplaquod seeded with potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), and traced soil N₂O concentrations and fluxes over a one-year period. Throughout the year, total N₂O and the amount of ¹⁵N recovered in soil N₂O were highest in the subsoil, with a maximum concentration at 48 cm depth in mid-February of 19900 μl m⁻³ and 24 μg ¹⁵N m⁻³, respectively. The maximum concentration coincided with the highest water-filled pore space of 71%. The cumulative flux of N₂O was 446 g N₂O-N ha⁻¹, the recovery of ¹⁵N in this flux was 0.06%. During the summer, maximum fluxes followed high soil N₂O concentrations. During winter, no such relation was found. We concluded that the formation of N₂O was the highest in the subsoil, largely controlled by water-filled pore space rather than NO₃⁻ concentration or temperature. Although high subsoil N₂O concentrations did not lead to high surface fluxes of N₂O in the winter, artificial draining may lead to high indirect N₂O emissions through supersaturated drainage water.