bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study of the volatile composition of tomato during storage by a combination sampling method coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
Authors: Zhang Zhuo‐Min , Zeng Dan‐Dan , Li Gong‐Ke
Published: September 2007

BACKGROUND: The volatile compositions of common tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. commune) and cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme) during storage were studied by a combination sampling method, including headspace solid phase microextraction (HSSPME), simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) and steam distillation (SD), coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) detection.

RESULTS: Twenty‐one and 14 volatile compounds of fresh and stale common tomatoes and 27 and 17 volatile compounds of fresh and stale cherry tomatoes were identified with various degrees of certainty. The main identified volatile compounds of common and cherry tomatoes were C6 alcohols and aldehydes. During storage, saturated hexanal increased gradually whereas unsaturated (E)‐2‐hexenal decreased. Different volatile compositional characteristics at the fresh and stale storage phases obtained by HSSPME were specified by principal component analysis (PCA). Different metabolic pathways and enzyme catalyses resulted in the various volatile compositional characteristics during tomato storage. Five typical volatile compounds contributing greatly to the difference in volatile compositional characteristics of common and cherry tomatoes at the fresh and stale storage phases were distilled by a common model strategy. These compounds are potential biomarkers for tomato degradation, but further study is needed.

CONCLUSION: The preliminary results suggest that the combination of HSSPME and conventional sampling methods would yield more representative information on changes in tomato volatile composition during storage. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
Resistance to aerobic deterioration of total mixed ration silage: effect of ration formulation, air infiltration and storage period on fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability
Authors: Wang Fujin , Nishino Naoki
Published: September 2007

BACKGROUND: High aerobic stability can be expected when wet brewers' grains are stored as a total mixed ration (TMR) silage. To understand the factors affecting the stability, the effects of ration formulation, air infiltration and storage period were studied.

RESULTS: A TMR containing wet brewers' grains, hay, maize, wheat bran, beet pulp and molasses was ensiled in laboratory silos for 14 and 56 days. The effects of hay species (lucerne or sudangrass) and air infiltration (Exp. 1) and of excluding one, two or three items from the six ingredients (Exp. 2) were examined. Ethanol was the main fermentation product in all TMR silages in this study. Aerobic deterioration occurred in 14 day silages prepared with sudangrass hay along with air infiltration (Exp. 1), and with the simplest recipe where three items (hay, maize and wheat bran) were excluded (Exp. 2). No deterioration occurred in 56 day silages regardless of ration formulation and air infiltration. Yeasts receded in 56 day silages, except with the simplest recipe, to the 102 cfu g−1 level and remained undetectable in the presence of air (Exp. 2).

CONCLUSION: TMR silage can resist aerobic deterioration provided that a sufficient ensiling period has elapsed. Silages stored for only a few weeks may be susceptible to deterioration when air is infiltrated or where fewer ingredients are used in the TMR mixture. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
Chemical characteristics of Śliwowica Łącka and other plum brandies
Authors: Satora Paweł , Tuszyński Tadeusz
Published: September 2007

BACKGROUND:Śliwowica Łącka is a strong, distilled, home‐made plum brandy produced in a submontane region of Poland. The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition of this alcoholic beverage (samples from the years 2001–2004) and compare it with that of other plum brandies. Gas chromatography and spectrophotometry methods were used to detect major volatile components.

RESULTS:Home‐made Polish plum brandies generally contained more ethanol (64.7–72.5% v/v), methanol (5.59–8.74 g L−1100°) and butanol (32–335 mg L−1100°) and less isobutanol (406–491 mg L−1100°), pentanol (4.3–14.9 mg L−1100°) and 2‐phenylethanol (61–68 mg L−1100°) than other samples. The amyl alcohols/1‐propanol and isobutanol/1‐propanol ratios might be used as indices to distinguish spontaneously fermented plum brandies from those produced by monoculture. Statistically significant differences (P< 0.01) were found in the plum brandy sensory characteristics examined. Total sensory scores of Polish plum brandies ranged between 12.0 and 14.3, while Slovakian Slivovica received the highest score (16.7).

CONCLUSION:The results showed that plum brandies produced in the Łącko area are characterised by a similar and original chemical composition that results mainly from spontaneous fermentation as well as traditional production technology. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
Distribution of fatty acids in edible organs and seed fractions of borage (Borago officinalis L.)
Authors: Río‐Celestino Mercedes del , Font Rafael , de Haro‐Bailón Antonio
Published: September 2007

BACKGROUND: Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is currently used as a vegetable in the north of Spain. The edible parts of the plant are the petioles, leaves and stems. The objective of this study was to determine the oil and fatty acids content in the edible tissues (leaves, petioles and stems) and seed fractions (endosperm + cotyledon, seed coat and elaiosome) of white‐ and blue‐flowered borage accessions.

RESULTS: Leaves showed higher mean values of oil content (2.7%) than petioles and stems (1.1% and 1.4%, respectively) in both, blue‐ and white‐flowered material. The most abundant fatty acids in leaves were palmitic, linoleic, α‐linolenic and stearidonic acids (about 75% of the total fatty acids), while in petioles and stems myristic and linoleic acids were most abundant (about 60% of the total fatty acids). Palmitic, oleic, linoleic and γ‐linolenic (GLA) acids were the major fatty acids of seed coat and endosperm + cotyledon in borage seeds (85% of the total fatty acids), while palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids were the most abundant fatty acids of elaisome in borage seeds (80% of the total fatty acids).

CONCLUSION: This paper shows that green parts of borage contain substantial amounts of omega‐3 and omega‐6 fatty acids, which are essential fatty acids for animal and human nutrition. Thus, borage could be a ‘power food’ of the future because of its content of unsaturated fatty acids, particularly the essential fatty acids, which have great potential to prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer and infectious diseases. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
Carbonic anhydrase IX: A new druggable target for the design of antitumor agents
Authors: Winum Jean‐Yves , Rami Marouan , Scozzafava Andrea , Montero Jean‐Louis , Supuran Claudiu
Published: September 2007

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1) are a family of enzymes widespread in all life kingdoms. In mammals, isozyme CA IX is highly overexpressed in many cancer types being present in few normal tissues. Its expression is strongly induced by hypoxia present in many tumors, being regulated by the HIF transcription factor and correlated with a poor response to classical chemo‐ and radiotherapies. CA IX was recently shown to contribute to acidification of the tumor environment, by efficiently catalyzing the hydration of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate and protons with its extracellularly situated active site, leading both to the acquisition of metastasic phenotypes and to chemoresistance with weakly basic anticancer drugs. Inhibition of this enzymatic activity by specific and potent inhibitors was shown to revert these acidification processes, establishing a clear‐cut role of CA IX in tumorigenesis. The development of a wide range of potent and selective CA IX inhibitors belonging to diverse chemical classes, such as membrane‐impermeant, fluorescent or metal‐containing such agents, could thus provide useful tools for highlighting the exact role of CA IX in hypoxic cancers, to control the pH (im)balance of tumor cells, and to develop novel diagnostic or therapeutic applications for the management of tumors. Indeed, both fluorescent inhibitors or positively charged, membrane impermeant sulfonamides have been recently developed as potent CA IX inhibitors and used as proof‐of‐concept tools for demonstrating that CA IX constitutes a novel and interesting target for the anticancer drug development. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 28, No. 3, 445–463, 2008
Symmetry group classification of ordinary differential equations: Survey of some results
Authors: Mahomed F. M.
Published: September 2007

After the initial seminal works of Sophus Lie on ordinary differential equations, several important results on point symmetry group analysis of ordinary differential equations have been obtained. In this review, we present the salient features of point symmetry group classification of scalar ordinary differential equations: linear nth‐order, second‐order equations as well as related results. The main focus here is the contributions of Peter Leach, in this area, in whose honour this paper is written on the occasion of his 65th birthday celebrations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The influence of olive oil on human health: not a question of fat alone
Authors: Pérez‐Jiménez Francisco , Ruano Juan , Perez‐Martinez Pablo , Lopez‐Segura Fernando , Lopez‐Miranda Jose
Published: September 2007

Olive oil is the most representative food in the traditional Mediterranean diet and its most important source of MUFA. The healthy benefits of MUFA‐rich diets on plasma cholesterol levels, were the first to generate interest in this dietary model. In addition to the benefits conferred by its lipids, olive oil has other biological effects, some of them also related to MUFA. However, most recent studies have shown that there are a number of properties that depend on, or are potentiated by, the consumption of olive oil, such as virgin olive oil, that is rich in microcomponents. This foodstuff, thanks to its double set of benefits, thus tends to produce a better lipid profile and a less prothrombotic environment, promoting antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects, with a greater endothelial protective capacity. In view of these effects, it would appear that when olive oil is the basic source of dietary alimentary fat it has a major antiatherogenic capacity, which is not shared to the same extent by other oils that are rich in oleic acid but lack its characteristic micronutrients.
Mediterranean diet and the metabolic syndrome
Authors: Esposito Katherine , Ciotola Miryam , Giugliano Dario
Published: September 2007

The metabolic syndrome (also referred to as syndrome X or the insulin resistance syndrome) has emerged as an important cluster of risk factors for atherosclerotic disease. Patients with the syndrome also are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Common features are central (abdominal) obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Weight reduction deserves first priority in individuals with abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Both weight reduction and maintenance of a lower weight are best achieved by a combination of reduced caloric intake and increased physical activity. Dietary patterns close to the Mediterranean diet and rich in fruit and vegetables, and high in monounsaturated fats are negatively associated with features of the metabolic syndrome. Some recent studies dealing specifically with the effect of interventions on the resolution of the metabolic syndrome have demonstrated a 25% net reduction in the prevalence of the syndrome following lifestyle changes mainly based on nutritional recommendations. Similar rates of resolution have been obtained with drugs, such as rosiglitazone and rimonabant. The favourable benefit/hazard ratio makes Mediterranean‐style diets particularly promising to reduce the cardiovascular burden associated with the metabolic syndrome.
Olive oil and the haemostatic system
Authors: Lopez‐Miranda Jose , Delgado‐Lista Javier , Perez‐Martinez Pablo , Jimenez‐Gómez Yolanda , Fuentes Francisco , Ruano Juan , Marin Carmen
Published: September 2007

Interest in the Mediterranean diet (MD) has grown worldwide due to its link with greater longevity and lower cardiovascular disease rate, cancer and age cognitive decline. Despite the high complexity of its nutrients composition, olive oil emerges as its principal food, since it provides the higher percent of energy and a lot of bioactive compounds. In this review we will discuss the benefits of diets enriched in virgin olive oil, whose effects are probably due not only to its oleic acid content but also to its other potentially health‐promoting components. Traditionally, the benefits of MD were linked to its effect on lipoprotein metabolism but today we realise that there exists a whole sheaf of other benefits, including the components of haemostasis: platelet function, thrombogenesis and fibrinolysis. A diet enriched in virgin olive oil can reduce the sensitivity of platelets to aggregation, decreasing von Willebrand and tromboxane B2plasma levels. Moreover a particular interest has arisen about its capacity to decrease fasting Factor VII plasma levels and to avoid or modulate its postprandial activation. Also Tissue Factor expression in mononuclear cells could be reduced with the chronic intake of virgin olive oil and finally, studies performed in different experimental situation have shown that it could also increase fibrinolytic activity, reducing plasma concentration of Plasma Activator Inhibitor type‐1.
Intervention studies on Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk
Authors: Lairon Denis
Published: September 2007

The traditional Mediterranean diet, as studied in the 1950s to 1960s in the South of Europe, is characterized by moderate energy intake, low animal fat, high olive oil, high cereals, high legumes, nuts and vegetables, and regular and moderate wine. A Mediterranean‐type diet is being developed to mimic the traditional one and fit with present life style. While numerous epidemiological studies have supported the concept that adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is beneficial for health and particularly protects against cardiovascular disease, the limited number of intervention studies in this field have not yet provided major support. Nevertheless, the dietary interventions performed until now have demonstrated that adoption of a Mediterranean‐type diet reduces several cardiovascular risk factors in subjects at risk (primary prevention) and/or cardiovascular events or mortality in patients after a first cardiac event (secondary prevention). Among numerous foodstuffs characterizing the Mediterranean diet, virgin olive oil has been shown to display beneficial effects on a wide range of risk factors.
Olive oil and longevity
Authors: Trichopoulou Antonia , Dilis Vardis
Published: September 2007

Several lines of evidence point to olive oil and the olive oil‐centered Mediterranean diet as conducive to longevity. The evidence stems from ecological, as well as analytic epidemiological studies assessing olive oil, monounsaturated lipids or the Mediterranean dietary pattern in relation to the incidence of, or mortality from, major common diseases, or overall mortality. Mechanistic considerations are addressed by biochemical studies, whereas randomized clinical trials provide further support to the evidence generated from observational investigations. The content of olive oil in several microcomponents with antioxidant potential, as well as its high content in monounsaturated lipids appear to be essential for the beneficial effect of this food.
Molecular mechanisms of the effects of olive oil and other dietary lipids on cancer
Authors: Escrich Eduard , Moral Raquel , Grau Laura , Costa Irmgard , Solanas Montserrat
Published: September 2007

Cancer is one of the main causes of mortality worldwide. Geographical differences in incidence rates suggest a key effect of environmental factors, especially diet, in its aetiology. Epidemiologic and experimental studies have found a role of dietary lipids in cancer, particularly breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers. Their incidence in the Mediterranean countries, where the main source of fat is olive oil, is lower than in other areas of the world. Human studies about the effects of dietary lipids are little conclusive, probably due to methodological issues. On the other hand, experimental data have clearly demonstrated that the influence of dietary fats on cancer depends on the quantity and the type of lipids. Whereas a high intake of n‐6 PUFA and saturated fat has tumor‐enhancing effects, n‐3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acid and γ‐linolenic acid have inhibitory effects. Data regarding MUFA have not always been conclusive, but high olive oil diets seem to have protective effects. Such effects can be due to oleic acid, the main MUFA in olive oil, and to certain minor compounds such as squalene and phenolic compounds. This work aims to review the current knowledge about the relationship between dietary lipids and cancer, with a special emphasis on olive oil, and the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects: modifications on the carcinogenesis stages, hormonal status, cell membrane structure and function, signal transduction pathways, gene expression, and immune system.
Erratum: Dual and triple‐band PIFA design for WLAN applications
Authors: Sim Chow‐Yen‐Desmond
Published: September 2007

Originally published Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2159–2162, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3192, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22885
Effect of a finite ground plane on Peano fractal loaded monopole antenna
Authors: Yan‐min Yu , Yi‐ming Tang , Wen Wu
Published: September 2007

The effect of a finite ground plane on Peano monopole antenna is investigated. Simulated and measured data indicate that when the size of ground plane decreases, impedance bandwidth and gain of the antenna will decrease, H‐plane pattern will change little, 3‐dB beam width will become wider and elevation angle will be smaller in E‐plane. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3087–3090, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22891
A compact ultra‐wideband slot antenna with multiple notch frequency bands
Authors: Ding Jiechen , Lin Zhili , Ying Zhinong , He Sailing
Published: September 2007

A compact printed ultra‐wideband slot antenna with superior multiple band‐notched characteristics is presented. The size of the UWB slot antenna is minimized, and multiple split ring resonators are printed inside the inner patch to achieve multiple notch frequency bands. As a practical example, a UWB antenna (working from 2.4 to 10.1 GHz) etched with two sets of split ring resonators are fabricated and its VSWR and radiation patterns are measured. The measured results agree well with the simulation, and the two notch frequency bands are centered at 3.65 and 5.75 GHz. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3056–3060, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22892
An extremely compact dual‐band branch‐line coupler
Authors: Yuan Shih‐Yi , Shiau Miin‐Shyue , Liao Shry‐Sann , Sun Pou‐Tou , Ho Chia‐Tai
Published: September 2007

In this article, an extremely compact dual‐band branch‐line coupler is presented. The miniaturized design saved 74% circuit dimension comparing to the original dual‐band branch‐line coupler. Several design methods and miniaturization techniques were involved in this study to achieve the criteria, including stepped‐impedance resonators (SIR) structure, symmetrical T‐shape structure, bended and folded of transmission lines, and the coupling effect of microstrip‐lines. Good agreements between the simulated and measured results were also observed. Furthermore, no lumped elements, via‐holes, and bonding wires are necessary for this miniaturized coupler, making it very useful for the modern wireless communication systems. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3011–3014, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22895
Harmonics suppression microstrip diplexer for 3G wireless communication system using fractal‐shaped geometry
Authors: Liang Jian‐Gang , Chen Wen‐Ling , Wang Guang‐Ming
Published: September 2007

Microstrip diplexer using Koch fractal shape is proposed for the first time. By constructing the microstrip coupled‐lines in Koch fractal shapes, the second harmonic of the fractal microstrip diplexer can be significantly suppressed and, higher the iteration order of the fractals, the more apparent this effect becomes. In this paper, a fractal‐shaped microstrip diplexer for 3G wireless communication system is designed, fabricated, and measured; the measurement results verified the proposed method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2973–2975, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22897
Stimulated Brillouin scattering and Rayleigh cooperative process in 300 km optical transmission
Authors: Zhang Dechao , Zhang Xiaoru , Li Xiaolin , Xu Anshi , Wang Ziyu , Zhang Fan , Chen Zhangyuan
Published: September 2007

The generation of high‐order Brillouin Stokes is experimentally demonstrated in 300 km all‐Raman transmission with normal Raman pumps and without mirror reflection, and a longest ever fiber laser is implemented at the same time. The OSNRs of the two Brillouin Stokes after 300 km are both higher than 29 dB. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2939–2941, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22899
Millimetre wave signal generation using resonant tunneling diodes NLTL‐resonators
Authors: Jaeger Irina , Kalinowski D. , Stöhr A. , Stiens Johan , Vounckx Roger , Jäger Dieter
Published: September 2007

We present a novel approach of millimetre wave power generation using active microstructured nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) oscillators consisting of a periodic array of resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs). RTD‐NLTLs resonators have been measured to operate as distributed oscillators up to 50 GHz with power output up to −10 dBm. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2907–2909, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22902
Fast all modes (FAM) method combined with NMSP for evaluating spatial domain layered medium Green's functions of moderate thickness
Authors: Wu Boping , Tsang Leung , Ong Chong‐Jin
Published: September 2007

An efficient and novel approach, the fast all modes (FAM) method, was developed to locate all modes precisely on the entire complex plane for a single layered media. The modes include surface wave modes, leaky wave modes, and improper modes. For the case where the layer thickness is 1 wavelength, the pre‐processing FAM requires 0.34 s for computing 500 mode locations of both TE and TM modes using a Pentium IV 3.2 GHz PC running Matlab. To justify our FAM method, we use the numerical modified steepest‐descent path (NMSP) method to evaluate spatial domain Green's functions for mixed potentials GA and GV. The NMSP method computes the steepest descent integral with all the pole proximities extracted and replaced by incomplete error functions. The CPU per distance point based on the FAM/NMSP method takes less than 6 mss for all distance ranges. All computed results are accurate to within 0.2% of the conventional half space extraction method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3112–3118, 2007; Published online in Wiley Inter‐Science (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22907
Transmission characteristics of multiple ellipticle ridge wavequide
Authors: Li Guojian , Xu Fuyong , Ma Aning
Published: September 2007

A new kind of multiple elliptical ridge waveguide is presented. The design data for the air‐filled and dielectric‐loaded double, quadruple, and sextuple elliptical ridge waveguide are presented by finite element method for the first time. Variations of the cut‐off wavelength, single‐mode bandwidth with the ridge dimensions for different values of dielectric constant are investigated in detail. The correctness of the numerical results is verified. The results provide an extension to the existing design data for ridge waveguide and considered helpful in practical applications. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3082–3085, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22909
Second‐order accurate FDTD equations at dielectric interfaces
Authors: Chu Qing‐Xin , Ding Hai
Published: September 2007

The rigorous second‐order accurate finite‐difference time‐domain method equations at dielectric interfaces are straightforwardly derived though the discretization of the integral forms of Maxwell's curl equations on the nonuniform Yee's lattice and Taylor series extending of continuous field components over finite volumes including the interfaces. It is shown that to obtain second‐order accuracy, we not only require to construct proper effective permittivities in the grids containing the dielectric interfaces, but also to choose nonuniform Yee's grids available in the vicinity of the interface. The attempts in the past are not appropriate for this purpose based on the uniform Yee's lattice. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3007–3011, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22912
Dual butler matrix active antenna system
Authors: Rahim Sharul Kamal Abdul , Gardner Peter
Published: September 2007

This article describes a smart antenna system that employs low noise amplifiers and two cascaded Butler Matrices. The output signals from the first Butler Matrix, which acts as a beamforming network, have high gain and narrowbeam width for long distance communication while the outputs from the second Butler Matrix, which acts as a mirror of the first Butler Matrix, reconstructing the antenna patterns of the individual radiating elements, have high linearity and broad beam width that can be used for short distance communication. Switching or selecting between the two sets of beams allows reception to be optimized for either vehicle to vehicle or vehicle to roadside beacon communications. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3004–3007, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22913
SNR measurement in a beamforming network
Authors: Rahim Sharul Kamal Abdul , Gardner Peter
Published: September 2007

Array antennas with integrated low noise amplifiers have been combined with a butler matrix (BM) to form a beamforming network that can improve the performance of wireless communication systems. The performance of a four‐element array with and without the low noise amplifiers and with and without the BM have been evaluated, in terms of the measured signal to noise ratio (SNR) at each output port. These SNR output signals are then combined to calculate and compare the diversity gains available with selection combining and maximal ratio combining. The results show that selecting the strongest output from the BM gives SNR performance comparable with that of maximal ratio combining, when LNAs are used to compensate for the BM loss. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2968–2973, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22914
Calculation of optimized parameters of rectangular microstrip patch antenna using particle swarm optimization
Authors: Yilmaz A. Egemen , Kuzuoglu Mustafa
Published: September 2007

In this letter, the particle swarm optimization has been applied to calculate the optimized length and width of rectangular microstrip antennas. The inputs to the problem are the dielectric constant and thickness of the substrate; together with the desired resonant frequency; the outputs are the optimized length and width; where the antennas are considered to be electrically thin. The results are in good agreement with the results (experimental and calculated by other heuristics) in the literature. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2905–2907, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22918
Characterization of on‐chip miniature multilayer spiral inductors for RFICS
Authors: Xie Jian‐Yong , Yin Wen‐Yan , Shi Jinglin , Kang Kai , Chen Zhizhang David
Published: September 2007

Several existing closed‐form equations for calculating DC inductance and resistance of single‐spiral inductors are examined at first, and the most accurate formula is chosen for characterizing the DC inductance of multilayer spiral inductors. The partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) method is implemented for computing their frequency‐dependent (AC) resistance and inductance. To validate our calculated results, we designed and fabricated some multilayer spiral inductors using standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The on‐chip measurements are carried out so as to obtain two‐port S‐parameters of these inductors. Excellent agreements are obtained between the calculated and experimental results, which include DC and low‐frequency inductances of three‐, four‐, and fiver‐layer spiral inductors, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3180–3184, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).DOI 10.1002/mop.22920
Dual‐mode bandpass filter using triangular patch resonator with inverted T‐shaped slot
Authors: Serrano Ariana L. C. , Correra Fatima Salete
Published: September 2007

This article presents a miniaturized dual‐mode narrow bandpass filter using an equilateral triangular patch resonator with an inverted T‐shaped slot, which exhibited a size reduction of 37% compared with a single‐mode equilateral triangular patch at the same frequency. Two‐ and four‐pole dual‐mode bandpass filters were designed and fabricated with this new resonator. Experimental results with the two‐pole filter centred at 7.76 GHz showed a fractional bandwidth of 4.5%, return loss better than 17.8 dB, and minimum insertion loss of 2.2 dB. The results of the four‐pole filter showed a fractional bandwidth of 3.5%, return loss better than 16 dB, minimum insertion loss of 2.6 dB, and a good second harmonic band rejection. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2897–2902, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22927
A compact Ku‐band MMIC subharmonic image rejection mixer using an active filter
Authors: Hou Jian‐An , Chiu Jui‐Chieh , Wang Yeong‐Her
Published: September 2007

A subharmonic diode mixer with high image rejection and linearity for Ku‐band applications is realized. It is fabricated on a 4‐mil substrate using 2.0 μm HBT‐based MMIC processes. In the design, an active filter in front of the mixer is used to cancel the image interference and to achieve the goal of higher isolation with a smaller chip area. The measured results show the conversion loss of 16 dB, input third‐order intercept point of 4.1 dBm and the image rejection ratio of 30.7 dBc at 14 GHz. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3136–3139, 2007; Published online in Wiley Inter‐Science (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22930
A novel and efficient subgridding scheme in FDTD method using the Crank‐Nicolson algorithm
Authors: Lin Ting‐Chun , Kuo Chih‐Wen
Published: September 2007

Subgridding algorithms in the finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) method are applicable and efficient in handling problems containing fine structural features. Only regions surrounding the fine features need to be discretized with a finer spatial grid to avoid finely discretizing the whole computation domain but still maintaining the desired accuracy. A novel subgridding scheme using the Crank‐Nicolson (CN) method to update the field components in the fine grid region is proposed in this article. Combined with the Douglas‐Gunn algorithm to convert the block tri‐diagonal matrix of the CN method into pure tri‐diagonal form, the proposed method is efficient at solving circuit problems and scattering problems. Accuracy of the proposed method is verified by comparison with results from a conventional FDTD method with fine spatial increment. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3103–3106, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22932
Design of wideband circularly polarized stacked microstrip antennas with dielectric cover using single coaxial feed
Authors: Nasimuddin Nasimuddin
Published: September 2007

A theoretical design of single coaxial‐feed wideband circular polarized rectangular stacked microstrip antennas (CPSMAs) with dielectric cover is present by using optimization of feed location and other parameters. The location of the single coaxial feed, foam thickness between driven and parasitic patches and aspect‐ratio of parasitic patch is optimized for wideband and quality of circular polarization (CP). Prototype antenna designed, fabricated, and measured its performance. The antenna has measured 3‐dB AR bandwidth of 13.5%, minimum AR of 0.5 dB, a 10‐dB return loss bandwidth of 21.5%. The gain of antenna is more than 7.5 dBic over the 3‐dB AR bandwidth and peak gain about 9 dBic at 5.6 GHz. The total antenna height is 8.583 mm or 0.157 λ0 at 5.5 GHz, where λ0 is the free space wavelength. The proposed techniques simplify the design of wideband circularly polarized antennas with cover for medium to high gain applications. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3027–3033, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22937
An exact lumped‐element equivalent circuit model for transmission‐line transformers formed from coupled microstrip lines
Authors: Post John
Published: September 2007

This paper introduces an exact lumped‐element equivalent circuit model for Ruthroff transmission‐line transformers (TLTs) constructed from coupled microstrip lines. Measured results are compared with model predictions from 0.01 GHz up to 16.7 GHz for the case of three spiral TLTs fabricated in a silicon multichip‐module‐deposited (MCM‐D) process. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2983–2988, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22939
Design and prototype of a 12‐GHz transmit‐array
Authors: Padilla de la Torre P. , Sierra‐Castañer M.
Published: September 2007

The aim of the paper below is to present a particular antenna structure, working as a transmit‐array structure (reception/transmission lens). Because of its working function, the structure consists of a patch array in the reception part, a phase delay for each patch and another patch array in the transmission part. The idea in using this lens is to place it in front of a particular antenna to modify the radiation pattern of the feeding antenna. The architecture which is being applied implies the use of patches with probe feeding. To avoid undesired coupling between the reception and the transmission arrays, ground planes (that isolate the reception array, the phase delay line, and the transmission array) are placed. In this article, the phase delay part, the radiation part, and the whole structure are analyzed, designed, simulated, and prototyped. Finally, measurements of these prototypes are shown. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3020–3026, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22950
Effects of superstrates on the resonant frequency of rectangular microstrip antennas
Authors: Kumar Raj , Malathi P.
Published: September 2007

This article presents the extended expression to calculate the environmental effect on resonant frequency of multilayer rectangular microstrip antennas. The expression has been investigated for effective dielectric constant εeff and resonant frequency fr. The effective dielectric constant εeff of Present Method has been compared with full wave numerical technique with and without loading. These are in good agreement within 1% accuracy. It has been observed that % change in fr due to cover and substrate thickness is around 3.2% and 20%, respectively, as their thickness is varying 19 times of its initial value. This variation is drastic for h3/h2 = 0.01. The maximum % variation in fr for one substrate and two superstrate is around 5% as h4 varies from 1 mm to 5 mm. In case of unwanted air (h3), the % variation in fr of present method in comparison to experimental value is less than 1.0% for small air‐gap and 0.4% for large air‐gap for various spaced dielectric (εr4), which reveals that the effect of superstrate in fr is small than substrate above the ground plane. The resonant frequency in suspended substrate microstrip antenna with and without superstrate is 21.8% and 28.15%, respectively, as h1/h2 varies from 0.065 to 1.94. The resonant frequency of all the possible configuration is in good agreement with the experimental results. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2946–2950, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22954
Novel triple‐mode resonators using split‐ring resonator
Authors: Zhao Hui , Cui Tie Jun
Published: September 2007

Novel and compact triple‐mode resonators have been investigated and designed using split‐ring resonator (SRR) to obtain three controllable resonant frequencies. An even/odd‐mode method is proposed. The current distributions are computed by commercial software. Several triple‐mode resonators are designed and fabricated. Both simulation and measurement results are presented to show the good performance of the resonators, which have excellent agreements. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 2918–2922, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22955
A 1.9‐GHz CMOS power amplifier using an interdigitated transmission line transformer
Authors: Park Changkun , Baek Sang‐Hyun , Ku Bon‐Hyun , Hong Songcheol
Published: September 2007

A 1.9‐GHz CMOS differential power amplifier for polar transmitter applications is designed using a 0.25‐μm RF CMOS process. The input transformer and output transformer are fully integrated on the chip. The transmission line transformer is used as an output power combiner and an output matching component. To increase the coupling factor of the transformer, an interdigitated transmission line transformer is used and it achieves a drain efficiency of 28% at the maximum output power. The maximum output power is 28.2 dBm with a 1.8‐V supply voltage. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3162–3166, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).DOI 10.1002/mop.22957
Convolutional perfectly matched layer for weakly conditionally stable hybrid implicit and explicit‐FDTD method
Authors: Ahmed Iftikhar , Li Er‐Ping
Published: September 2007

In this article, we developed and implemented the convolutional perfectly matched layer (CPML) for the hybrid implicit explicit finite‐difference time‐domain (HIE‐FDTD) method. The method is validated against the conventional FDTD‐PML method and is found promising. The development of CPML is able to extend the HIE‐FDTD to open surface problems, which works at higher CFL numbers in comparing to the conventional FDTD method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3106–3109, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22962
Ultrasonographic measurements in cubital tunnel syndrome
Authors: Yoon Joon Shik , Kim Byung‐Jo , Kim Sei Joo , Kim Jae Min , Sim Kyu Hun , Hong Suk Joo , Walker Francis O. , Cartwright Michael S.
Published: September 2007

The cubital tunnel is the most common site of ulnar nerve entrapment. Previous ultrasound studies have demonstrated enlargement of the ulnar nerve in cubital tunnel syndrome but did not report on the cubital tunnel itself. Twenty‐two individuals with cubital tunnel syndrome were evaluated with nerve conduction studies and ultrasound. The ultrasound measurement that most strongly correlated with conduction velocity was the ratio of ulnar nerve to cubital tunnel cross‐sectional area with the elbow flexed. Measurement of this ratio may improve the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in cubital tunnel syndrome, although further investigation is needed. Muscle Nerve, 2007
Drug–drug interactions with systemic antifungals in clinical practice
Authors: Depont Fanny , Vargas Frédéric , Dutronc Hervé , Giauque Emmanuelle , Ragnaud Jean‐Marie , Galpérine Tatiana , Abouelfath Abdelilah , Valentino Ruddy , Dupon Michel , Hébert Guillaume , Moore Nicholas
Published: September 2007

Purpose

We describe drug–drug interactions (DDIs) encountered with antifungals in clinical practice.

Methods

Retrospective observational study of hospitalized adults receiving systemic antifungal treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and in the infectious diseases unit (IDU) of the University Hospital of Bordeaux, France between 1996 and 2001. All treatment episodes with antifungal agent were examined and all prescribed concomitant medication identified for potential drug–drug interactions (PDDI)‐serious events occurring during treatment were adjudicated for clinical DDI.

Results

There were 150 treatment episodes with antifungal agent in 105 patients. Fluconazole was used in 48% of the treatment episodes, amphotericin B in 46%, itraconazole in 4.7% and flucytosine in 1.3%. One hundred and sixteen PDDIs were identified related to the use of amphotericin B (81.0%), fluconazole (17.2%) or itraconazole (1.7%). Of these, 22 were associated with a clinical evidence of adverse interaction (hypokalemia, increased creatininemia or nephrotoxicity). All these clinical drug–drug interactions (CDDIs) were with amphotericin B. They were due to furosemide (36.4%), cyclosporine (31.8%) and hydrocortisone (18.2%). PDDIs were mostly associated with leukaemia (40.4%), HIV infection (24.6%) and cancer (10.5%).

Conclusions

In ICU and IDU, systemic antifungal treatments lead to many PDDIs, mainly related to the type of antifungal used and to the pathology treated. Clinical DDI seem more common with amphotericin. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A pilot study on generic medicine substitution practices among community pharmacists in the State of Penang, Malaysia
Authors: Ping Chong Chee , Bahari Mohd Baidi , Hassali Mohamed Azmi
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the generic substitution (GS) practices undertaken by community pharmacists in the State of Penang, Malaysia with a focus on the extent of communication between pharmacists and prescribers on issues related to GS, consumer's acceptance on the GS and estimation of cost saving achieved for patients opted for GS.

Method

A cross‐sectional descriptive study for a period of 2 months using a specific questionnaire as a data collection tool was undertaken with a random sample of 40 community pharmacies located in the State of Penang.

Results

By the end of the study period, 34 out of 40 pharmacies contacted participated in the study. Forty‐seven per cent of pharmacists consulted prescribers while promoting GS to their consumers. Majority of the prescribers (84.4%) when contacted by the pharmacists accepted the suggestion for substitution. From consumers' perspective, 88% (n = 156) of the consumers involved in this study accepted pharmacist's recommendation to generically substitute their prescribed medications. Through acceptance of GS, it has been estimated that the overall consumers' expenses on drugs can be reduced to a total of RM6137 (US$1615; US$ 1 = RM3.80) and this corresponds to a cost saving of 61.1%.

Conclusions

The outcome of the present study showed that through GS recommendation by community pharmacist, consumers can save the expenditure of their prescribed medications. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge concerning antibiotic use and self‐medication: a comparative European study
Authors: Grigoryan Larissa , Burgerhof Johannes G. M. , Degener John E. , Deschepper Reginald , Lundborg Cecilia Stålsby , Monnet Dominique L. , Scicluna Elizabeth A. , Birkin Joan , Haaijer‐Ruskamp Flora M. ,   on behalf of the SAR consortium
Published: September 2007

Purpose

Although the relevance of cultural factors for antibiotic use has been recognized, few studies exist in Europe. We compared public attitudes, beliefs and knowledge concerning antibiotic use and self‐medication between 11 European countries.

Methods

In total, 1101 respondents were interviewed on their attitudes towards appropriateness of self‐medication with antibiotics and situational use of antibiotics, beliefs about antibiotics for minor ailments, knowledge about the effectiveness of antibiotics on viruses and bacteria and awareness about antibiotic resistance. To deal with the possible confounding effect of both use of self‐medication and education we performed stratified analyses, i.e. separate analyses for users and non‐users of self‐medication, and for respondents with high and low education. The differences between countries were considered relevant when regression coefficients were significant in all stratum‐specific analyses.

Results

Respondents from the UK, Malta, Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia, Israel and Lithuania had significantly less appropriate attitudes, beliefs or knowledge for at least one of the dimensions compared with Swedish respondents. The Dutch, Austrian and Belgian respondents did not differ from Swedish for any dimension.

Conclusions

The most pronounced differences were for awareness about resistance, followed by attitudes towards situational use of antibiotics. Awareness about antibiotic resistance was the lowest in countries with higher prevalence of resistance. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.