Measurement of Very Fast Exchange Rates of Individual Amide Protons in Proteins by NMR Spectroscopy

NMR spectroscopy is a pivotal technique to measure hydrogen exchange rates in proteins. However, currently available NMR methods to measure backbone exchange are limited to rates of up to a few per second. To raise this limit, we have developed an approach that is capable of measuring proton exchange rates up to approximately 10⁴ s⁻¹. Our method relies on the detection of signal loss due to the decorrelation of antiphase operators 2N_xH_z by exchange events that occur during a series of pi pulses on the ¹⁵N channel. In practice, signal attenuation was monitored in a series of 2D H(CACO)N spectra, recorded with varying pi-pulse spacing, and the exchange rate was obtained by numerical fitting to the evolution of the density matrix. The method was applied to the small calcium-binding protein Calbindin D_9k, where exchange rates up to 600 s⁻¹ were measured for amides, where no signal was detectable in ¹⁵N−¹H HSQC spectra. A temperature variation study allowed us to determine apparent activation energies in the range 47–69 kJ mol⁻¹ for these fast exchanging amide protons, consistent with hydroxide-catalyzed exchange.     

Price coordination in distribution channels: A dynamic perspective

In this study, we investigate two important questions related to dynamic pricing in distribution channels: (i) Are coordinated pricing decisions efficient in a context where prices have carry-over effects on demand? (ii) Should firms practice a skimming or a penetration strategy if they choose to coordinate or to decentralize their activities? To answer these questions, we consider a differential game that takes place in a bilateral monopoly where the past retail prices paid by consumers contribute to the building of a reference price. The latter is used by consumers as a benchmark to evaluate the value of the product, and by firms to decide whether to adopt a skimming or a penetration strategy.     

Selective epitaxy and lateral overgrowth of 3C-SiC on Si – A review

This review article attempts to present a comprehensive picture of the progress in selective epitaxial growth (SEG) of cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) to make it a cheap and practical material for high temperature and high power, high frequency and MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) applications. Selective epitaxial growth followed by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) is a suitable approach to minimize the interfacial defects and other planar defects in case of thin film growth. Different techniques of SEG and its application to Si, GaAs and III–V nitrides are reviewed briefly in the first section of this article. Various SEG techniques like epitaxial lateral overgrowth, pyramidal growth and pendeo epitaxial growth, etc. have been discussed extensively for growing 3C-SiC on Si, together with the characterization of the grown films. The influence of various experimental parameters such as temperature of growth, choice of mask material, influence of an etchant, pattern shape and size, etc. is also discussed. On the basis of these data, it is believed that SEG and related techniques are a promising approach for heteroepitaxial growth of 3C-SiC films useful for devices and MEMS applications.     

一种确定整周模糊度搜索空间的方法

模糊度搜索空间的大小是影响模糊度解算效率的关键因素之一.针对传统确定模糊度搜索空间的方法较为保守,致使搜索空间过大,提出了一种基于最小二乘模糊度降相关平差法(LAMBDA)的改进方法.首先对目前模糊度搜索空间确定方法给予了介绍和深入的分析比较,评价了这些经典方法的优缺点.在此基础上,定义了搜索空间的一个影响因子η,并结合LAMBDA方提出了确定模糊度搜索空间的修正公式.基于仿真和实测数据对修正方法进行实验,结果表明方法在保证获得期望模糊度组数的前提下,其确定的模糊度搜索空间包含的整数点个数更小,可保证90%以上实际模糊度组数接近于期望值.     

IMDD-OFDM系统的低开支、高准确度信道估计方法

提出一种应用于强度调制直接检测光正交频分复用(IMDD-OFDM)传输系统的低开支、高准确度的信道估计算法.该算法充分考虑系统噪声特性,利用梳状导频插入结构,结合符号间平均与子载波间频域线性插值的思想,在低开支导频条件下实现较高的估计准确度.仿真和理论推导结果表明:与传统平均算法和直接线性插值算法相比,基于梳状导频先平均后线性插值的算法估计出来的信道特性更能接近实际信道的.实验结果表明:在误码率为3.8×10~(-3)处,本文所提出的算法仅使用0.78%导频开支即可与使用20%导频开支的平均算法获得相同的接收灵敏度;同时,与传统估计算法相比,该算法与导频开支无关,能较好抗系统中的高斯噪声,获得与真实信道较为接近的估计性能.     

Colour quenching corrections on the measurement of 90Sr through Cerenkov counting

The determination of ⁹⁰Sr through the Cerenkov radiation emitted by its descendant ⁹⁰Y is a well-known method and firmly established in literature. Nevertheless, in order to obtain an accurate result based on a Cerenkov measurement, the experimental work must be extremely rigorous because the efficiency of Cerenkov counting is especially sensitive to the presence of colour. Any traces of colour in the sample produce a decrease in the number of photons detected in the photomultipliers and, therefore, this might cause a diminution in Cerenkov counting efficiency. It is essential not only to detect the effect of colour quenching in the sample but also to correct the decrease in counting efficiency. For this reason, colour quenching correction curves versus counting efficiency are usually done when measuring through Cerenkov counting. One of the most widely used techniques to evaluate colour quenching in these measurements is the channel ratio method, which consists of the measurement of the shift of the spectrum measuring the ratio of counts in two different windows. The selection of the windows for the application of the corrections might have an influence on the quality of the fitting parameters of the correction curves efficiency versus colour quenching degree and hence on the final ⁹⁰Sr result. This work is focused on the calculation of the counting efficiency decrease using the channel ratio method and on obtaining the best fitting correction curve. For this purpose, empirical curves obtained through artificial quenchers have been studied and the results have been tested in real samples. Additionally, given that the Packard Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL liquid scintillation counter is a novel detector for use in Cerenkov counting, the previous calibration of the Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL detector, necessary for the measurement of ⁹⁰Sr, is included.     

利用子波变换模拟人眼视觉信息提取过程的研究

由于人类视觉系统在对图象信息进行初级加工过程中表现出由粗到细且能使其局域化的特性,而子波变换恰恰正好具有这样的特性.本文提出了利用DOG函数作为子波基函数,模拟人眼视觉信息提取过程,并给出了两维模拟计算的结果.提出了基于子波变换理论的视觉信息提取通道模型.在文中讨论了这一模型的特点和潜在的应用前景.     

Routing multiterminal nets on a hexagonal grid

Channel routing is a vital task in the layout design of VLSI circuits. Multiterminal channel routing is different from two-terminal one. While the later is quite understood, the former still poses the difficulty. In this paper, we investigate the multiterminal channel routing problem in a hexagonal model, whose grid is composed of horizontal tracks, right tracks (with slope +60°), and left tracks (with slope −60°). We present an efficient algorithm for routing multiterminal nets on a channel of width d + 3, where d is the problem density. Furthermore, we can wire the layout produced by the router using four layers and there are no overlaps among different layers. This improves the previous known results [15, 19].     

Improved Gain Characteristics in Er3+-Doped Alumina (Al2O3) Channel Optical Waveguide Amplifiers for WDM Systems

Er3+-doped Al2O3 optical waveguides are analyzed both as single amplifiers and as elements of a 16-channel wavelength division multiplexing transmission system; their performance is compared with that from Er3+-doped SiO2 optical waveguide amplifiers. The amplifier model, based on propagation and population-rate equa tions, includes both uniform and pair-induced up-conversion mechanisms and is solved numerically by combining finite elements and the Runge-Kutta algorithm. The analysis showed that Er3+-doped Al2O3 waveguides exhibit much higher signal gains than Er3+-doped SiO2 waveguides and also that the use of Er3+-doped Al2O3 waveguides reduces the deleterious gain peaking effect, increasing the maximum transmission distance.     

Laser speckle decorrelation in NDT

The random noise of the laser speckle field which develops at the focusing plane of an imaging system, is, by now, efficiently used in several interferometric techniques as an information carrier of the macroscopic wavefront distortion induced by the surface displacement field of the object under investigation. The actual noise in this kind of techniques is represented by the speckle decorrelation at the image plane — i.e. the destruction of the carrier — which may be caused by the modification of the texture surface (e.g. by yielding under a severe stress state), but it is inherently produced by the same displacement field under measurement. In the paper the phenomenon of laser speckle decorrelation is numerically simulated and experimentally investigated with the aim of estimating its sensitivity to local deformation and assessing a possible field of application. Satisfactory results in the field of NDT of multilayer fiber-reinforced composites were obtained by reducing the diaphragm of the lens to increase the sensitivity of the imaging system to speckle decorrelation induced by local deformation; unfortunately this simple approach requires a considerable amount of laser power for illuminating the object. Different aperture shapes were therefore numerically simulated which provided improved efficiency and sensitivity and whereby a semi-quantitative analysis of the displacement field could be experimented.