A 24-GHz Patch Array with a Power Amplifier/Low-Noise Amplifier MMIC

This paper presents an active patch array designed at 24 GHz. It can be used as a front-end component for a phased array. A series resonant array structure is chosen which is compact and easy excite. With 5 elements, the array proved a 12-dB antenna gain. A power amplifier and a low noise amplifier are designed on a single GaAs chip (PALNA). Bias switch is used in the PALNA, which greatly reduces the switch loss in a transceiver and increases the efficiency. 20-dB small signal gain is achieved in both power amplifier and low noise amplifier. The active patch array is built by the combination of the patch array and PALNA. The measured active gain of this antenna is 35-dB for the PA mode and 31-dB for the LNA mode. This active patch array can obtain an EIRP of 34 dBm with a total radiated power of 22dBm and a maximum PAE of 32%. To check the noise performance, we applied sources at both normal temperature and 77K (liquid nitrogen) and extracted the noise figure (3.5 dB) of the active antenna by the Y factor method. The results proved that the active antenna is working efficiently as both a transmitting and receiving antenna.     

Large area bolometers for millimeter-wave power calibration

An accurate monolithic power meter has been developed for millimeter-wave applications. The detector is a large-area Bismuth bolometer, integrated on a fused-Quartz substrate. It simply measures the temperature change caused by the absorption of millimeter-wave radiation. The power meter is simple to fabricate, inexpensive, and can be easily calibrated using a low-frequency network. The measured responsivity for a 50 bolometer, with an area of 1×1cm, at a bias of 1V. and a video modulation of 100Hz, is 1mV/W. The noise spectrum exhibits a 1/f rolloff till 1KHz, and is limited by the Johnson noise for higher frequencies. The NEP of the detector is 3WHz^–1/2 at a video modulation of 1KHz. It is possible to decrease the current NEP by fabricating bolometers with higher responsivities. Possible application areas are absolute power calibration and localized power density measurements at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths.     

Reductive claisen rearrangements of anthraquinone allyl ethers

Gentle heating of allyloxyanthraquinones with sodium dithionite in dimethylformanide - water effects a rapid and controlled rearrangement to give high yields of 2-allyanthraquinones.     

Study of the behaviour of amino acids in aqueous solution by time-domain NMR and high-resolution NMR

The study of protein hydration by time-domain NMR is complicated by the great number of interactions involved, resulting from the presence of several amino acids and the possible modifications produced by the various structures. Moreover, a good comprehension of the molecular interactions of the simple amino acids in solution is essential to elucidate the mechanism of the biological functions of proteins. Measurements of transverse relaxation rates of the protons of water (R(2) = 1/T(2)) in aqueous solutions of amino acids such as L-glycine, L-asparagine, L-arginine and L-tryptophan were carried out in order to study the effects of chemical exchange and molecular diffusion on the amplitude of R(2). The values of R(2) measured by the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence were studied while varying the solution pH and the parameters of the CPMG sequence. The dependence of R(2) on pH and tau (inter-pulse delay between the first and the second pulses of the CPMG sequence) is interpreted in terms of chemical exchange between the protons of water and those of the labile amino acid groups. This interpretation was confirmed by the analysis of the proton spectra acquired using a 300 MHz NMR spectrometer.     

Fluorescence spectroscopy for monitoring deterioration of extra virgin olive oil during heating

The potential of fluorescence spectroscopy for characterizing the deterioration of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) during heating was investigated. Two commercial EVOO were analysed by HPLC to determine changes in EVOO vitamin E and polyphenols as a result of heating at 170°C for 3 h. This thermal oxidation of EVOO caused an exponential decrease in hydroxytyrosol and vitamin E (R²=0.90 and 0.93, respectively) whereas the tyrosol content was relatively stable. At the same time, amounts of preformed hydroperoxides (ROOH), analysed by an indirect colorimetric method, decreased exponentially during the heating process (R²=0.94), as a result of their degradation into secondary peroxidation products. Fluorescence excitation spectra with emission at 330 and 450 nm were recorded to monitor polyphenols and vitamin E evolution and ROOH degradation, respectively. Partial least-squares calibration models were built to predict these indicators of EVOO quality from oil fluorescence spectra. A global approach was then proposed to monitor the heat charge from the overall fluorescence fingerprint. Different data pretreatment methods were tested. This study indicates that fluorescence spectroscopy is a promising, rapid, and cost-effective approach for evaluating the quality of heat-treated EVOO, and is an alternative to time-consuming conventional analyses. In future work, calibration models will be developed using a wide range of EVOO samples.     

The hydrogen bonding properties of cytosine: a computational study of cytosine complexed with hydrogen fluoride, water, and ammonia

Density functional theory is used to study the hydrogen bonding pattern in cytosine, which does not contain alternating proton donor and acceptor sites and therefore is unique compared with the other pyrimidines. Complexes between various small molecules (HF, H(2)O, and NH(3)) and four main binding sites in (neutral and (N1) anionic) cytosine are considered. Two complexes (O2(N1) and N3(N4)) involve neighboring cytosine proton acceptor and donor sites, which leads to cooperative interactions and bidendate hydrogen bonds. The third (less stable) complex (N4) involves a single cytosine donor. The final (O2-N3) complex involves two cytosine proton acceptors, which leads to an anticooperative hydrogen bonding pattern for H(2)O and NH(3). On the neutral surface, the anticooperative O2-N3 complex is less stable than those involving bidentate hydrogen bonds, and the H(2)O complex cannot be characterized when diffuse functions are included in the (6-31G(d,p)) basis set. On the contrary, the anionic O2-N3 structure is the most stable complex, while the HF and H(2)O N3(N4) complexes cannot be characterized with diffuse functions. B3LYP and MP2 potential energy surface scans are used to consider the relationship between the water N3(N4) and O2-N3 complexes. These calculations reveal that diffuse functions reduce the conversion barrier between the two complexes on both the neutral and anionic surfaces, where the reduction leads to a (O2-N3) energy plateau on the neutral surface and complete (N3(N4)) complex destabilization on the anionic surface. From these complexes, the effects of hydrogen bonds on the (N1) acidity of cytosine are determined, and it is found that the trends in the effects of hydrogen bonds on the (N1) acidity are similar for all pyrimidines.     

Durbin-Watson statistic as a morphological estimator of information content

The present work proposes a new approach for the evaluation of the information content in latent variables, and therefore, for the determination of the regression model dimensionality. Several examples are provided, using simulated, real-world, and reference datasets. The results showed that the application of the Durbin-Watson (DW) criterion could be used for the determination of the number of latent variables. Moreover, the method is straightforward in its implementation and could help in the understanding of model behaviour, particularly in complex datasets. A comparison is made with cross-validation techniques for the case of reference datasets, showing the potential of the Durbin-Watson criterion in the characterisation of the regression model. The advantages and disadvantages of this procedure (compared to cross-validation) are discussed. The properties of the information content of the regression vectors (loadings p, w and b vectors) are shown as well as how to use them for the current purpose.