Postdetection diversity using differential phase detection forM-ary DPSK

Postdetection diversity that uses L differential phase detector outputs for data decision is described for M-ary differential phase shift keying (M-ary DPSK. Data decision is based on minimising the weighted sum of the errors of L DPD detector outputs. The squared geometric mean of the two consecutively received signal envelope samples is used as the branch weight. The simulation results on average bit error rate (BER) performances due to additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), multipath Doppler spread, and delay spread of π/4-shift 4DPSK are reported     

Performance of direct carbon fuel cell

A direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) is a variation of the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) which converts the chemical energy of carbon directly into electrical energy. Thus, the energy conversion efficiency is very high and correspondingly CO₂ emission is very low for given power output. DCFC as a high temperature fuel cell performs better at elevated temperatures (>800 °C) but because of the corrosive nature of the molten carbonates at elevated temperatures the degradation of cell components becomes an issue when DCFC is operated for an extended period of time.We explored the DCFC performance at lower temperatures (at 700 °C and less) using different sources of carbon, different compositions of electrolytes and some additives on the cathode surface to increase catalytic activity. Experiments showed that with petroleum coke as a fuel at low temperatures the ternary eutectic (43.4 mol % Li₂CO₃ - 31.2 mol% Na₂CO₃ - 25.4 mol % K₂CO₃) spiked by 20 wt % Cs₂CO₃ performed better than any binary or ternary eutectics described in the published work by other researchers. Maximum power output achieved at 700 °C was 49 mW/cm² at a current density of 78 mA/cm² when modified cathode was fed with O₂/CO₂ gases.     

Improvements in finite-element simulation for stamping and application to the forming of laser-welded blanks

During stamping-die design, the formability in sheet-metal forming process has been evaluated by the geometrical functions in ‘Die-Face CAD’, which has been developed and improved by Toyota Motor Corporation. When evaluation by these functions is difficult, formability has been estimated by performing experiments using test dies in which the forming defects are similar to those in the actual process.

A numerical method has been developed in order to substitute numerical analysis for experiments using test dies for the accurate prediction of defects in sheet-metal forming. The elastic-plastic FEM with the commercial code ‘JNIKE3D’ has been improved in the areas of: (1) the material constitutive equation; (2) the consideration of the pressure distribution on the blank-holder; and (3) the evaluation of breakage initiation. Using the improved method, the square-cup drawing process and the hemming process have been analyzed. Numerical results for strain, breakage initiation, and hemming deflection were in good agreement with experimental results. The formability of laser-welded blanks and the most efficient process to form them were evaluated also using the improved method.     

Postdetection phase combining diversity

We propose a postdetection phase combining (PC) scheme for the two branch diversity reception of differential phase shift keying (DPSK) over multipath fading channels. The receiver has a differential phase detector (DPD) in each diversity branch, and the combiner weights each detector output in proportion to the vth power of the signal envelope at the detector's input. For π/4-shift QDPSK over frequency-flat Rayleigh fading channels, we find via computer simulation that the optimum weight factor is v=2, and that our simple, practical combining scheme performs almost as well as postdetection maximal ratio combining (MRC). We demonstrate similar relative performances for frequency-selective fading channels and for channels with co-channel interference (CCI)     

Molecular mechanics of calcium-myristoyl switches

Many eukaryotic cellular and viral proteins have a covalently attached myristoyl group at the amino terminus. One such protein is recoverin, a calcium sensor in retinal rod cells, which controls the lifetime of photoexcited rhodopsin by inhibiting rhodopsin kinase. Recoverin has a relative molecular mass of 23,000 (M[r] 23K), and contains an amino-terminal myristoyl group (or related acyl group) and four EF hands. The binding of two Ca2+ ions to recoverin leads to its translocation from the cytosol to the disc membrane. In the Ca2+-free state, the myristoyl group is sequestered in a deep hydrophobic box, where it is clamped by multiple residues contributed by three of the EF hands. We have used nuclear magnetic resonance to show that Ca2+ induces the unclamping and extrusion of the myristoyl group, enabling it to interact with a lipid bilayer membrane. The transition is also accompanied by a 45-degree rotation of the amino-terminal domain relative to the carboxy-terminal domain, and many hydrophobic residues are exposed. The conservation of the myristoyl binding site and two swivels in recoverin homologues from yeast to humans indicates that calcium-myristoyl switches are ancient devices for controlling calcium-sensitive processes.     

Rapid transesterification of soybean oil with phase transfer catalysts

Biodiesel is a renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable alternative fuel for compression ignition engines. Biodiesel is produced mainly through base-catalyzed transesterification of animal fats or vegetable oils. However, the conventional base-catalyzed transesterification is characterized by slow reaction rates at both initial and final reaction stages limited by mass transfer between polar methanol/glycerol phase and non-polar oil phase.In our study we used phase transfer catalysts (PTCs) to facilitate anion transfer between polar methanol/glycerol phase and non-polar oil phase to speed up transesterification. The benefits of transesterification by PTCs include no need for expensive aprotic solvents, potentially simpler scaleup and higher activity (shorter reaction time). Various PTCs were investigated for base-catalyzed transesterification. Experimental results showed that base-catalyzed transesterification was enhanced with an effective PTC, indicated by the formation of high methyl ester (ME) content within a relatively short time. Individual operating variables such as molar ratios of methanol to oil, total OH⁻ to oil, PTC to base catalyst and agitation including ultrasound were investigated for transesterification with PTC. Product analyses showed that ME content higher than 96.5 wt.% was achieved after only 15 min of rapid transesterification with PTC (tetrabutylammonium hydroxide or tetrabutylammonium acetate as PTC, MeOH/oil molar ratio of 6, total OH⁻/oil molar ratio of 0.22, PTC/KOH molar ratio of 1 and 60 °C). Free and total glycerol contents in the final product from 15 min rapid transesterification with PTC were lower than maximum allowable limits in the standard specification for biodiesel.     

Baseband processing frequency-drift-compensation for QDPSK signal transmission

BER performance of differential detection severely degrades with carrier frequency drift. The authors propose a baseband processing frequency-drift-compensation (FDC) scheme that estimates the phase rotation of the differential detector output expressed in complex form and multiplies the complex conjugate of the estimate to cancel the phase rotation. 16 kbit/s QDPSK transmission experiments using a simulated Rayleigh fading channel show that a carrier frequency drift of up to about 3/64 times the bit rate can be tolerated with the use of the proposed baseband FDC.<>     

Identification of Mg2+-binding sites and the role of Mg2+ on target recognition by calmodulin

The binding of Mg2+ to calmodulin (CaM) and the effect of Mg2+ on the binding of Ca2+-CaM to target peptides were examined using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. We found that Mg2+ preferentially binds to Ca2+-binding sites I and IV of CaM in the absence of Ca2+ and that Ca2+-binding site III displays the lowest affinity for Mg2+. In contrast to the marked structural transitions induced by Ca2+ binding, Mg2+ binding causes only localized conformational changes within the four Ca2+-binding loops of CaM. Therefore, Mg2+ does not seem to be able to cause significant structural effects required for the interaction of CaM with target proteins. The presence of excess Mg2+ (up to 10 mM) does not change the order and cooperativity of Ca2+ binding to CaM, and as expected, the structure of Ca2+-saturated CaM is not affected by the presence of Mg2+. However, we found that the binding of Ca2+-saturated CaM to target peptides is affected by Mg2+ with the binding affinity decreasing as the Mg2+ concentration increases. Three different peptides, corresponding to the CaM binding domain of skeletal muscle myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK), CaM-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE), and smooth muscle caldesmon (CaD), were examined and show different reductions in their affinities toward CaM. The CaM-binding affinity of the MLCK peptide in the presence of 50 mM Mg2+ is approximately 40-fold lower than that seen in the absence of Mg2+, and a similar response was observed for the PDE peptide. The affinity of the CaD peptide for CaM also shows a Mg2+ dependence, though to a much lower magnitude. The Mg2+-dependent decrease in the affinities between CaM and its target peptides is an intrinsic property of Mg2+ rather than a nonspecific ionic effect, as other metal ions such as Na+ do not completely replicate the effect of Mg2+. The inhibitory effect of Mg2+ on the formation of complexes between CaM and its targets may contribute to the specificity of CaM in target activation in response to cellular Ca2+ concentration fluctuations.