A comparison between different PMD compensation techniques

We quantify the benefits of using different techniques for compensation of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in fiber-optic communication systems by means of numerical simulations. This is done both with respect to PMD-induced pulse broadening and in terms of system outage probability for different data formats [nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) and return-to-zero (RZ)]. Attention is focused on simple and relevant single- and double-stage post-transmission compensators with a few degrees of freedom (DOF). It is generally believed that a PMD compensator with a polarization controller and a variable delay line can only compensate the PMD to the first order. We show, from analytical results, the counterintuitive fact that this scheme can also partially compensate for higher order PMD. We also investigate the benefit of using a polarizer as compensation element where the optical average power can be used as a feedback signal     

Fast internal dynamics in polyelectrolyte gels measured by dynamic light scattering

Summary Dynamic light scattering was used to investigate the dynamics of sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) and fully neutralized poly(acrylic acid) gels as a function of the degree of swelling and weight ratio of cross-linking agent. It was shown that the collective diffusion coefficient increases with increasing degree of swelling and that the diffusion coefficient shows stronger concentration dependence than predicted by scaling arguments. For gel samples measured at the swelling equilibrium, the diffusion coefficient increases with increasing gel concentration for both gel systems.     

History of the stiffness method

This paper presents a brief history of the development of the stiffness method. We start by tracing the evolution of the method to solve discrete‐type problems such as trusses and frames composed of two node members. We then describe the method as it is applied to solve continuum problems modelled by finite‐difference and finite‐element methods. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Service life planning and performance requirements

Service life planning comprises a model for the determination of a reasonable expected service life for buildings and components, and it establishes a routine for the assessment of design alternatives. A design option is considered reasonable when it meets or exceeds performance requirements over time that have been drawn up specifically for the specific project. Due to this assessment reference, there is a very evident link to the concept of performance-based building. Any stakeholder involved in the value chain or in the design process of the building, as well as regulators and building users, can express performance requirements. Identified requirements, both in relevance and in quality, will vary with the stakeholder and his/her perspective of interest. As building sector manufacturers develop most products with reference to standards rather than with reference to specific requirements, there is no direct link from user requirements to the product design. Instead, the building designer has the responsibility to ensure performance requirements are met by the performance of products integrated into the design. As these design decisions also have to be made at the material and component level, a performance-based building would benefit from an established rationale that enables the communication of performance requirements across the relevant system levels in the relevant design processes. A path for the connection of the established concepts of service life planning and performance-based building is presented. The aim is to identify key elements that need to be developed for the successful linkage of performance-based building with service life planning.     

Influence of adrenergic agonists on the release of amino acids from rat skeletal muscle studied by microdialysis

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been considered to be a candidate for neurotrophic factors on the basis of the results of several in vitro studies. However, the in vivo effect of EGF on ischemic neurons as well as its mechanism of action have not been fully understood. In the present in vivo study using a gerbil ischemia-model, we examined the effects of EGF on ischemia-induced learning disability and hippocampal CA1 neuron damage. Cerebroventricular infusion of EGF (24 or 120 ng/d) for 7 days to gerbils starting 2 hours before or immediately after transient forebrain ischemia caused a significant prolongation of response latency time in a passive avoidance task in comparison with the response latency of vehicle-treated ischemic animals. Subsequent histologic examinations showed that EGF effectively prevented delayed neuronal death of CA1 neurons in the stratum pyramidale and preserved synapses intact within the strata moleculare, radiatum, and oriens of the hippocampal CA1 region. In situ detection of DNA fragmentation (TUNEL staining) revealed that ischemic animals infused with EGF contained fewer TUNEL-positive neurons in the hippocampal CA1 field than those infused with vehicle alone at the seventh day after ischemia. In primary hippocampal cultures, EGF (0.048 to 6.0 ng/mL) extended the survival of cultured neurons, facilitated neurite outgrowth, and prevented neuronal damage caused by the hydroxyl radical-producing agent FeSO4 and by the peroxynitrite-producing agent 3-morpholinosydnonimine in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, EGF significantly attenuated FeSO4-induced lipid peroxidation of cultured neurons. These findings suggest that EGF has a neuroprotective effect on ischemic hippocampal neurons in vivo possibly through inhibition of free radical neurotoxicity and lipid peroxidation.     

Decision making with a fuzzy ontology

Knowledge mobilisation is a transition from the prevailing knowledge management technology that has been widely used in industry for the last 20?years to a new methodology and some innovative methods for knowledge representation, formation and development and for knowledge retrieval and distribution. Knowledge mobilisation aims at coming to terms with some of the problems of knowledge management and at the same time to introduce new theory, new methods and new technology. More precisely, this paper presents an outline of a fuzzy ontology as an enhanced version of classical ontology and demonstrates some advantages for practical decision making. We show that a number of soft computing techniques, e.g. aggregation functions and interval valued fuzzy numbers, will support effective and practical decision making on the basis of the fuzzy ontology. We demonstrate the knowledge mobilisation methods with the construction of a support system for finding the best available wine for a number of wine drinking occasions using a fuzzy wine ontology and fuzzy reasoning methods; the support system has been implemented for a Nokia N900 smart phone.     

Pheromonal secretions from glands on the 5th abdominal sternite of hydropsychid and rhyacophilid caddisflies (Trichoptera)

Extracts of different body parts of adult Trichoptera were tested for electrophysiological activity. Extracts of the IVth and Vth abdominal sternites of femaleHydropsyche angustipennis, Rhyacophila nubila, andR. fasciata, containing a paired exocrine gland, elicited significant electroan-tennographic responses when tested on conspecific male antennae. The paired gland occurs also in males of all the species, and inH. angustipennis, extracts from males were more active than female extracts when tested on male antennae. Female and male extracts from all species were analyzed by gas chromatography with simultaneous flame ionization and electroantennographic detection (EAD). EAD-active peaks in female extracts, stimulating male antennae, were identified inH. angustipennis as nonan-2-one; and inR. nubila andR. fasciata as heptan-2-one, heptan-2-ol, nonan-2-one, and nonan-2-ol. EAD-active components from maleH. angustipennis stimulating male antennae were octan-2-one, nonan-2-one (major peak), (Z)-6-nonen-2-one, decan-2-one, and a methylbranched decan-2-one. Female extracts and synthetic mixtures of compounds identified from femaleH. angustipennis andR. fasciata were tested for attractivity in the field. High catches with control traps obscured the results, but a synthetic mixture of the four identified compounds was significantly attractive and not different from female extracts for attracting maleR. fasciata. InH. angustipennis, a synthetic six-component male blend, in which nonan-2-one was the major component, attracted significant numbers of male and femaleH. angustipennis. Extracts of maleR. nubila andR. fasciata contained acetophenone and hexanoic and octanoic acids but did not have any electrophysiological or behavioral activity on either male or female antennae of conspecifics. The occurrence of a female sex pheromone inRhyacophila and an aggregation pheromone inHydropsyche corresponds to earlier described differences in mating behaviors in the Rhyacophilidae and Hydropsychidae.     

Friction of linerboard based on recycled fiber

The purpose of this investigation was to study the origin of the differences in paper‐to‐paper friction of linerboards based on old corrugated containers (OCC). The sheets were subjected to two extraction stages and analyzed with respect to, surface roughness, and their content of low‐molecular‐mass lipophilic compounds (LLC). Friction was measured using a friction tester based on the horizontal plane principle. The surface roughness was measured using a Perthometer profiler and the low molecular mass lipophilic constituent of the paper sheets was determined by gas chromatography‐mass spectroscopy. The sheets were imaged using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and the relative compositions of inorganic ions on the paper surfaces were determined by energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that a high amount of LLC in the sheets lead to low friction, due to lubrication. It was also observed that large CaCO₃ particles on the surface had a friction‐increasing effect, and that there was no relationship between the surface roughness and the friction. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1511–1520, 2002     

A method for predicting the probability of business network profitability

In the design phase of business collaboration, it is desirable to be able to predict the profitability of the business-to-be. Therefore, techniques to assess qualities such as costs, revenues, risks, and profitability have been previously proposed. However, they do not allow the modeler to properly manage uncertainty with respect to the design of the considered business collaboration. In many real collaboration projects today, uncertainty regarding the business’ present or future characteristics is so significant that ignoring it becomes problematic. In this paper, we propose an approach based on the predictive, probabilistic architecture modeling framework (P²AMF), capable of advanced and probabilistically sound reasoning about profitability risks. The P²AMF-based approach for profitability risk prediction is also based on the e³-value modeling language and on the object constraint language. The paper introduces the prediction and modeling approach, and a supporting software tool. The use of the approach is illustrated by means of a case study originated from the Stockholm Royal Seaport smart city project.     

Pheromone specificity inEriocrania semipurpurella (Stephens) andE. sangii (Wood) (Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae) based on chirality of semiochemicals

The fifth abdominal segment of femaleEriocrania semipurpurella (Stephens) andE. sangii (Wood) contains a pair of exocrine glands. Hexane extracts of this segment were prepared from both species and analyzed by gas chromatography with simultaneous flame ionization and electroantennographic detection (EAD). For both species, the EAD active peaks were identified as nonan-2-one, (Z)-6-nonen-2-one, and (Z)-6-nonen-2-ol by means of mass spectrometry and comparison of retention indices with those of synthetic standards. Enantiomeric separation of chiral alcohols from the female extracts was achieved by gas chromatographic analysis on a cyclodextrin column. InE. semipurpurella, a mixture of (2S,6Z)-nonen-2-ol and (2R,6Z)-nonen-2-ol (2: I) was found, whereas inE. sangii (2S,6Z)-nonen-2-ol was the predominant enantiomer and only traces of theR enantiomer were indicated by the antennal response. In field tests, a blend of the three compounds was not attractive to conspecific males. A subtractive assay showed that the alcohol in various enantiomeric mixtures was the only attractive compound, whereas addition of (Z)-6-nonen-2-one to the alcohol completely inhibited the attraction of both species. A trapping experiment including a wide range of ratios between theR andS enantiomers showed that baits containing 95–100% of theS enantiomer were attractive to maleE. sangii, whereas males ofE. semipurpurella were attracted to all tested ratios of the enantiomers. However, the response profiles of maleE. semipurpurella differed between populations from southern Sweden, south Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. In south Sweden males were maximally attracted to a racemic mixture of the alcohols. At the Kola PeninsulaE. semipurpurella was attracted to baits containing 95–100% of theR enantiomer. In south Finland all tested ratios between 0 and 100%R enantiomer trappedE. semipurpurella, but the trap catches appeared to be bimodally distributed with peaks around 15 and 70%R enantiomer. The trapping results suggest the existence of pheromone races or sibling species among the specimens identified asE. semipurpurella.Dedicated to Prof. H. J. Bestmann on the occasion of his 70th birthday.