New field measurement system for single-mode fibre dispersion utilising wavelength division multiplexing technique

A new system designed to measure the chromatic dispersion of installed single-mode fibres is presented. This system utilises the modulation phase technique but eliminates the reference laser and fibre. A large dynamic range was demonstrated by the measurement of an 81.1 km length of fibre.     

Real-time palmprint acquisition system design

Capturing high quality palmprint images in a very short time period is a fundamental step in palmprint research. While a palmprint scanner capable of this function is especially important for developing a real-time online palmprint identification system, limited research effort has been put into designing and implementing palmprint acquisition systems. A novel palmprint acquisition system is presented, which is designed for various civilian applications such as access control, ATM, etc. The novel contactless design on the user interface prevents the distortion of the palm skin introduced by the traditional glass plate of a palm scanner. The system is designed to have the best performance at reasonable price. It has a resolution of 150 dpi that is able to obtain palmprint features, including the principal lines, wrinkles and ridge texture. The proposed system provides an important step for implementing a personal identification system using palmprint. Over 9,400 palmprint images were collected by the proposed system. An online palmprint identification system was then developed based on the proposed acquisition system.     

Problems associated with interferences in the analysis of serum for polychlorinated biphenyls

During a recent survey to determine serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) among people living around New Bedford, MA, U.S.A., an unidentified contaminant precluded the quantification of some early eluting Webb and McCall peaks. Loss of data is estimated to have reduced reported serum levels by 12%. Efforts to identify the contaminant by gas chromatography with an electron-capture detector, a Hall electrolytic condutivity detector, and mass spectrometer were not successful. Researchers ascertained, however, that the contaminant is not a PCB, it does not contain halogens, but it may contain phthalates. Vacutainer tubes and closures for serum storage bottles are suspected sources of contamination.     

Preparative separation and analysis of the enantiomers of [3H]Abbott-69992, an HIV anti-infective nucleoside, by ligand-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography.

Several chiral stationary phases (CSPs) were examined to separate the enantiomers of A-69992, a chiral HIV anti-infective nucleoside. The only CSP found to be effective was Nucleosil Chiral-1, a ligand-exchange CSP, which was used to prepare microgram amounts of the enantiomers of high optical purity. This appears to be the first separation of the enantiomers of a nucleoside by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography.     

The Shapley value for cooperative games under precedence constraints

Cooperative games are considered where only those coalitions of players are feasible that respect a given precedence structure on the set of players. Strengthening the classical symmetry axiom, we obtain three axioms that give rise to a unique Shapley value in this model. The Shapley value is seen to reflect the expected marginal contribution of a player to a feasible random coalition, which allows us to evaluate the Shapley value nondeterministically. We show that every exact algorithm for the Shapley value requires an exponential number of operations already in the classical case and that even restriction to simple games is #P-hard in general. Furthermore, we outline how the multi-choice cooperative games of Hsiao and Raghavan can be treated in our context, which leads to a Shapley value that does not depend on pre-assigned weights. Finally, the relationship between the Shapley value and the permission value of Gilles, Owen and van den Brink is discussed. Both refer to formally similar models of cooperative games but reflect complementary interpretations of the precedence constraints and thus give rise to fundamentally different solution concepts.     

Band structures in73Se

Excited states of⁷³Se have been investigated up to spin, 21/2 using techniques of in-beamγ-ray spectroscopy in connection with the⁷⁰Ge(α, n) reaction. Mean lifetimes of 12 levels have been determined applying Doppler-shift andγ-RF-methods. Five different bands have been identified that reflect a variety of different excitation modes. The decoupled 9/2⁺ band is likely to correspond to an oblate deformation while the 5/2⁺ band is interpreted as a strongly coupled prolate band built on the Nilsson configuration [422] 5/2⁺. The 3/2^? band is a strongly coupled band built on the [301] 3/2^} configuration.Nuclear reactions:⁷⁰Ge(α,n),E=14, 16, 18, 19, 20MeV; measuredE _γ,I _γ,σ(E _γ,θ),γγ-coin, linear polarization, DSA,γ(t).⁷⁵Se deduced levels,I, π, τ, δ(E2/M1), B(σλ). Enriched targets, Ge detectors.     

Surface enhanced Raman scattering from mildly roughened surfaces: variation of signal with metal grain size

The intensity of surface enhanced Raman scattering from benzoic acid derivatives on mildly roughened, thermally evaporated Ag films shows a remarkably strong dependence on metal grain size. Large grained (slowly deposited) films give a superior response, by up to a factor of 10, to small grained (quickly deposited) films, with films of intermediate grain size yielding intermediate results. The optical field amplification underlying the enhancement mechanism is due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Since surface roughness characteristics, as determined by STM, remain relatively constant as a function of deposition rate, it is argued that the contrast in Raman scattering is due to differences in elastic grain boundary scattering of SPPs (leading to different degrees of internal SPP damping), rather than differences in the interaction of SPPs with surface inhomogeneities.     

Design, modeling, and hardware correlation of a 3.2Gb/s/pair memory channel

With the rapid advance of silicon process technology, it is now possible to design input/output (I/O) circuits that operate at multigigabit data rates. As a result, accurate modeling and analysis of high-speed interconnect systems is essential to optimize the performance of the overall system. This paper describes the interconnect design, modeling, simulation, and characterization methodologies that are essential to achieve multigigabit data rates. It focuses on the physical layer verification and hardware correlation of functional systems and silicon to ensure robust system operation over 3.2Gb/s data rate using conventional low-cost packaging and printed circuit board (PCB) technologies. In order to capture conductor and dielectric losses, as well as other high-frequency effects of three-dimensional structures, accurate measurement-based simulation techniques that directly incorporate frequency-domain parameters from measurement or electromagnetic solver parameters into circuit simulation tools using fast Fourier transform (FFT) and bandlimiting windowing techniques are developed. Finally, simulation waveforms are correlated with prototypes at both component and system levels in both time and frequency domains.