bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Capillary permeability and extracellular volume fraction in uterine cervical cancer as patient outcome predictors: Measurements by using dynamic MRI spin‐lattice relaxometry
Authors: Dedieu Véronique , Bailly Corinne , Vincent Catherine , Achard Jean‐Louis , Le Bouedec Guillaume , Penault‐Llorca Frédérique , Verrelle Pierre , Vincensini Dominique
Published: March 2008

Purpose

To improve the outcome prediction of uterine cervical carcinoma by measuring the vascular permeability (kep) and the extracellular volume fraction (ve) of the tumor from Dynamic T1‐ IRM Relaxometry.

Materials and Methods

Twenty‐six patients with proven cervical carcinoma were divided into good outcome and poor outcome groups. Classic tumor prognostic factors, the longest diameter L and the volume V of the tumor, were measured from morphologic MR images. The tumor parameters kep and ve were determined from the relaxometry time‐curve acquired during the contrast uptake after a bolus intravenous injection of an extracellular contrast agent.

Results

All “small” tumors (L<35 mm or V<11 cm3) were good outcome with 100% sensitivity but a rather low specificity (36% and 43% for L and V, respectively). With regard to the physiopathological parameter kep, “large” tumors (L ≥ 35mm) can also be classified as good outcome on the condition that kep ≥ 2.2 min−1 with 100% sensitivity and 89% specificity. Regarding the extracellular volume fraction (ve), no significant difference was observed between the two groups.

Conclusion

Measurement of the tumor vascular permeability might be useful to predict prognostic, to evaluate the treatment efficacy, and to adapt a proper therapy schedule. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;27:846–853. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Antagonistic effects of Pseudomonas jessenii against Pythium aphanidermatum: morphological, ultrastructural and cytochemical aspects
Authors: Deora Abhinandan , Hashidoko Yasuyuki , Tahara Satoshi
Published: March 2008

Pseudomonas jessenii isolate EC‐S101, an antagonistic rhizobacterium, induces morphological abnormalities such as topical swelling and excessive lateral branching in phytopathogenic Peronosporomycetes Pythium aphanidermatum hyphae as a result of radial growth inhibition in a dual culture assay. Rhodamine‐phalloidin staining revealed that these abnormalities were associated with disorganization of actin cytoskeleton. Both the morphological forms of actin, filaments and plaques, were affected progressively. At early stage of interaction (in less affected hyphae), the filaments were either eliminated or disarrayed. At advance stage of interaction (in severely affected hyphae), even the plaques population was decreased or disappeared. The effects of P. jessenii on actin architecture of Py. aphanidermatum were comparable to latrunculin B, a known actin assembly inhibitor. In addition, at early stage of interaction, the quantities of nuclei, lipid bodies and mitochondria became higher than those in control. At advance stage of interaction, the quantities of these organelles were almost similar, higher and lower, respectively, compare to those in control. Scanning electron microscopy exhibited cell wall disruption and accumulation of extracellular material associated with severely affected hyphae. Ultrastructural observations of the affected hyphae displayed additional features of considerable thickening of cell wall, enlargement of vacuoles, sinking of redundant lipid bodies into the enlarged vacuoles and wall appositions. We conclude that in addition to interference in morphogenesis and growth of Py. aphanidermatum, P. jessenii suppresses the pathogen through sub‐cellular disorganization, specifically the actin architecture. This is the first report on disruption of cytoskeleton in a eukaryotic phytopathogen by an antagonistic rhizobacterium. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
gAn improved interface for universal acoustic flame detection in modified supercritical fluid chromatography
Authors: Mah Christine , Thurbide Kevin B.
Published: March 2008

A novel method of interfacing the acoustic flame detector (AFD) with modified supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is presented. By applying resistive heating directly to the burner region between the restrictor outlet and the acoustic flame, infrequent severe noise, baseline drifting, and peak deformations that can occasionally be observed with the AFD are eliminated. For example, by increasing the interface temperature only a few hundred degrees Celsius, such sporadic noise in the detector can be reduced nearly ten‐fold resulting in smooth stable operation of the AFD. Further, for various levels of methanol modified supercritical carbon dioxide mobile phase examined, the interface was observed to reduce detector noise in each to a common minimal range near 10–25 Hz when an appropriate temperature was achieved. The method is simply assembled, inexpensive to construct, and robust in its daily operation. Overall, the heated interface developed and presented facilitates reliable AFD operation in modified SFC, and supports further exploration and implementation of this sensor as an alternative universal detector in separations requiring an organic cosolvent in the mobile phase.
In vivo Degradation and Histocompatibility of a Novel Class of Fluorescent Copolyanhydrides, Poly{[di(p‐carboxyphenyl) succinate]‐co‐(sebacic anhydride)}
Authors: Fan Jun , Li Yan , Jiang Hongliang , Tang Guping , Wang Liqun
Published: March 2008

In this work, the in vivo degradation and tissue compatibility of a novel class of inherently fluorescent copolyanhydrides, P(dCPS:SA), were investigated. It was found that the degradation of the copolyanhydrides increased with the increase of SA content in the copolymers. The in vivo degradation rate of the copolymers was slower than that studied in vitro. A surface erosion characteristic of the copolyanhydrides was revealed by SEM and fluorescent microscopy. Mild inflammatory reactions were observed on days 6 and 10 after implantation for all the studied copolymers. By the end of 30 d, there were almost no inflammation reactions taking place.

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To coat or not to coat? The maintenance of Cor‐Ten® sculptures
Authors: Decker P. , Brüggerhoff S. , Eggert G.
Published: March 2008

Since the mid sixties Cor‐Ten® steel became one of the most famous materials for outdoor sculptures until today. This material was used by many artists because of its good weather resistance. Due to not always suitable ranges of application many significant problems in the field of conservation appeared.

These were surveyed in a project of the study programme ‘Object Conservation’ at the State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart with special focus on the material and its protective rust layers, the premises for its protection, different cases of significant damage and their causes, the potential of preventive conservation and practised interventive methods.

Although it seems to be in some way a contradiction in itself to coat a weathering steel, this has often been done in hands‐on conservation to overcome corrosion problems. Therefore different coating materials already in use for outdoor metal sculptures were tested on Cor‐Ten coupons in the framework of the CONSIST project in the Deutsches Bergbau‐Museum Bochum (DBM). Cor‐Ten B samples were covered with different coating materials such as: microcrystalline waxes, waxes used in technical corrosion protection, an acrylic resin and a polyurethane resin. The sheets were then weathered for 2 months in a climate chamber with a relative high humidity (but also drying cycles) and a climate chamber with a periodic changing relative high rate of SO2 gas and humidity using standard protocols developed at DBM in earlier projects. The effectiveness of the protective function of each coating materials is compared, consequences for practical applications discussed.
Modern corrosion protection on historical buildings
Authors: Schütz A. , Gehrke J.
Published: March 2008

Different possibilities for restoration of historical buildings have been studied and presented in this paper. The alternative of a ‘historical restoration’ is shown for the example of a hall of a former slaughterhouse in Berlin (‘Alten Schlachthof’), after detecting the actual corrosion conditions of the hall's steel construction. The reconstruction of an over 100 year old building by using modern coating materials according to DIN EN ISO 12944 is visualised by the example of the Dresden main station.
In Situ Coacervated Microcapsules with Filled Polyelectrolytes and Charge‐Controlled Permeation for Dye Molecules
Authors: Wang Feng , Tong Weijun , Li Jun , Gao Changyou
Published: March 2008

Microcapsules with charge‐controlled permeation for electrolytes were fabricated by an in situ coacervation method in the presence of polyelectrolyte during core removal. A layer of PAH was adsorbed onto PSS‐doped CaCO3 microparticles, followed by crosslinking of the PAH layer with GA and core removal in a solution of EDTA with or without PAH. In the presence of PAH, microcapsules with a larger size, weight and PSS content than with PAH were obtained. Microcapsules produces without PAH showed a unique feature of charge‐controlled permeation for electrolytes: negatively charged probes were completely rejected, but positively charged ones were attracted.

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Third Virial Coefficient for 4‐Arm and 6‐Arm Star Polymers
Authors: Caracciolo Sergio , Mognetti Bortolo Matteo , Pelissetto Andrea
Published: March 2008

We discuss the computation of the third virial coefficient in polymer systems, focusing on an additional contribution absent in the case of monoatomic fluids. We determine the interpenetration ratio and several quantities that involve the third virial coefficient for star polymers with 4 and 6 arms in the good‐solvent regime, in the limit of a large degree of polymerization.

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Performance study of fixed value inductors and their optimization using electromagnetic simulator
Authors: Haobijam Genemala , Paily Roy
Published: March 2008

In this article, we present an extensive analysis of the dependence of quality factor, peak frequency, self resonance frequency, and area of a spiral inductor on its layout parameters, while keeping the inductance value constant as opposed to various studies reported. This performance trend study establishes the optimum metal width and number of turns for a specified inductance value and desired operating frequency. We propose here an algorithm for accurate design and optimization of spiral inductors using a 3D electromagnetic simulator with minimum number of inductor structure simulations, and thereby reducing its long computation time. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1205–1210, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23310
Parallel ANI‐FDTD implementation for electromagnetic scattering by both electric and magnetic anisotropic medium
Authors: Yang L. X. , Wang G. , Yan S.
Published: March 2008

A three‐dimensional anisotropic medium FDTD (ANI‐FDTD) of dyadic constitutive parameters ε, μ, σ, and σm is discussed. A 28 field component grid model is given showing the relation of computation grid of a field component in ANI‐FDTD with its neighboring grids. Based on this model, an FDTD parallel computing algorithm for lossy anisotropic medium is proposed. Some numerical results are given to exemplify the feasibility of presented algorithm. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1165–1168, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23318
Low‐power fully‐differential 3.5‐GHz wideband CMOS LNA
Authors: Wei M. D. , Chang S. F.
Published: March 2008

This article presents a low‐power fully‐differential 3.5‐GHz wideband complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) low‐noise amplifier (LNA) based on the LC‐ladder match network approach. To have low power consumption and high power gain, two common‐source stages are cascaded for reusing the bias current. To have wideband low noise figure, the gate width of the input transistor is determined from the wideband optimization of noise contribution. The implemented 0.18‐μm CMOS differential LNA achieves a power gain of 12 dB, a minimum noise figure of 3.0 dB, an input‐referred third‐order intercept point of −3.2 dBm, and a 3‐dB bandwidth of 2.5–4.5 GHz, while consuming 12.9 mW. Compared with the other wideband differential LNAs tailored for the same frequency range, a very high figure‐of‐merit of 0.36 is achieved. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1196–1198, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23321
Optical mm‐wave DWDM signal generation with photonic frequency quadruple by only one external modulator
Authors: Li Ying , Chen Lin , Wen Shuangchun , Fan Dianyuan
Published: March 2008

We have proposed a novel scheme to generate optical mm‐wave DWDM signals with four time frequency of the local oscillator by using only one external modulator. By incorporating the proper direct current (DC) bias on the external modulator to suppress the first order sideband in central office (CO), and using optical filtering technique to separate the optical mm‐wave and optical carrier in the base station, the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical millimeter‐wave (mm‐wave) signals are generated with four times frequency of the LO signal. We have experimentally demonstrated four‐channel DWDM optical mm‐wave signal generation with a repetitive frequency up to 40 GHz by 10 GHz LO, and down‐stream signal delivery over 20‐km fiber with 0.7‐dB power penalty. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1152–1155, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23328
A K‐band low‐noise amplifier using shunt RC‐feedback and series inductive‐peaking techniques
Authors: Chen Chi‐Chen , Lin Yo‐Sheng , Chang Jin‐Fa , Lee Jen‐How
Published: March 2008

A 28.2 GHz (K‐band) low‐noise amplifier (LNA) using standard 0.18‐μm CMOS technology was designed and implemented. To achieve sufficient gain, this LNA was composed of three cascaded common‐source stages, and a peaking inductor (Lg3) was added in the input terminal of the third stage to boost the peak gain (S21) of 34.9% (simulation). Shunt RC feedback was adopted in the second and the third stage, respectively, for achieving good input and output impedance matching. At 28.2 GHz, this LNA achieved input return loss (S11) of −13.4 dB, output return loss (S22) of −20.5 dB, forward gain (S21) of 12.9 dB, reverse isolation (S12) of −50.2 dB, noise figure of 6.07 dB and input‐referred 1‐dB compression point (P1dB‐in) of −10.8 dBm. The minimum noise figure was 5.75 dB at 28.8 GHz. The chip area was only 950 μm × 590 μm excluding the test pads. The power consumption was 30.56 mW from a 1.8‐V power supply. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1148–1152, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23332
A high‐performance wideband cmos low‐noise amplifier using inductive series and parallel peaking techniques
Authors: Lee Jen‐How , Chen Chi‐Chen , Lin Yo‐Sheng
Published: March 2008

A 1–11 GHz wideband low‐noise amplifier (LNA) with good phase linearity properties (group‐delay variation is only ±35.56 ps across the 3.1–10.6 GHz band of interest) using standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology is reported. To enhance the bandwidth for achieving both high and flat gain and small group‐delay variation, the inductive shunt‐peaking technique is adopted in the load of the input stage, while the inductive series‐peaking technique is adopted in the input terminal of the output stage. The wideband LNA dissipates 29.46 mW power and achieves input return loss (S11) of −9.32 to −9.98 dB, flat forward gain (S21) of 11 ± 1 dB, reverse isolation (S12) of −46 to −60 dB, and noise figure of 4.15–4.85 dB over the 3.1–10.6 GHz band of interest. Good 1‐dB compression point (P1 dB) of −14 dBm and input third‐order inter‐modulation point (IIP3) of −3 dBm are achieved at 6.4 GHz. The chip area is only 675 μm × 632 μm excluding the test pads. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1240–1244, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23338
Miniaturized microstrip cross‐coupled bandpass filter using novel stepped impedance resonators with a desirable upper stopband
Authors: Zhao Guohua , Liu Changjun
Published: March 2008

A miniaturized microstrip cross‐coupling bandpass filter using new stepped impedance resonators (SIRs) with simultaneous suppression of the 2nd harmonic passband response is presented. Four improved and miniaturized SIRs constitute the compact filter, which exhibits a sharp transition band due to two transmission zeros at both sides of the passband. Two quarter‐wavelength open‐ended stub resonators are applied to provide extra transmission zeros for suppressing the 2nd harmonic passband. A bandpass filter with a center frequency at 2.5 GHz was designed and fabricated, of which experimental results validated the proposed filter design. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1270–1273, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23343
Analysis of frequency division in microstrip circuits by using the FDTD method
Authors: González Oscar , Pereda José A. , Suárez Almudena , Grande Ana , Vegas Ángel
Published: March 2008

The accurate time‐domain simulation of the nonlinear dynamics of circuits containing distributed elements is of great interest. Specially at high frequencies, it is essential to consider phenomena, such as crosstalk, packaging effects, and electromagnetic interaction between active and passive elements. These effects are mainly due to the distribute components of the circuit. Therefore, the accuracy in the instability or oscillation analysis of nonlinear circuits is often limited by the models used for such elements. Commercial simulators based on the equivalent‐circuit approach hardly take into account the mentioned effects. In this work, the finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) method is applied to the nonlinear simulation of a diode‐based microstrip circuit exhibiting a parametric frequency division by two. The FDTD method rigorously solves Maxwell's curl equations in the time domain providing a full‐wave characterization of the distributed elements of the circuit. In the example considered, a relatively low operating frequency has been selected to allow a reliable comparison between the results obtained by the proposed technique and those provided by a circuit‐based commercial simulator. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1300–1302, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23352
New compact microstrip stacked slotted resonators bandpass filter with transmission zeros using high‐permittivity ceramics substrate
Authors: Huang Cheng‐Liang , Chen Yuan‐Bin , Tasi Chia‐Feng
Published: March 2008

The miniaturization of hairpin band‐pass filters by employing two high‐permittivity ceramic substrates (with respective dielectric constants of 9.7 and 26.1) are investigated. Microwave dielectric ceramics with high permittivity are commonly applied in several microwave communication components. With the advantages of compact size, high‐permittivity ceramics can be used as the substrate for band‐pass filters. Moreover, the fundamental characteristics of newly developed slotted resonators. In this article, the designed vertically stacked slotted resonators structures are simulated using an IE3D simulator. The responses of the fabricated filters using Al2O3 (εr = 9.7, Q × f = 350,000 GHz) and 0.8(Mg0.95Zn0.05)TiO3‐0.2Ca0.61Nd0.26TiO3 (εr = 26.1, Q × f = 46,000 GHz) ceramic substrates are designed at a center frequency of 2.45 GHz. This vertically stacked slotted resonators and sharp cutoff frequency response band‐pass filter should be useful in many wireless communication systems. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1377–1379, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23366
Erratum: A compact ultrawideband slot antenna with multiple frequency bands
Authors: Ding Jiechen , Lin Zhili , Ying Zhinong , He Sailing
Published: March 2008

© 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1446, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23370
Dual‐band omni‐directional antenna for WLAN application
Authors: Wu Y.‐J. , Fan J.‐W. , Sun B.‐H.
Published: March 2008

A dual‐band omni‐directional antenna that comprises two pairs of dipoles placed back‐to‐back and printed on a dielectric substrate is presented. A prototype is constructed and tested. The experimental results show that the 10‐dB return loss bandwidths (VSWR < 2.0) reach as much as 120 MHz at the lower band and 1750 MHz at the upper band. Moreover, the radiation patterns are almost omni‐directional in the azimuthal plane. Peak antenna gain is 1.45, 3.89, and 4.36 dBi at 2.4, 5.2, and 5.8 GHz, which indicates that the proposed antenna can be used as a dual‐band antenna for the wireless local area networks (WLAN) application. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1328–1330, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23376
A clonal selection algorithm with varying order finite elements for the optimization of microwave devices
Authors: Paul Prakash , Guimarães Frederico G. , Nair D. , Lowther David A.
Published: March 2008

A real‐coded clonal selection algorithm (RCSA), which is a global search method based on the artificial immune systems paradigm, is applied for optimizing microwave devices. We couple RCSA with varying high‐order finite elements (FEs) to control the balance between the global and local search efforts in the algorithm. In this scheme, low‐order FEs are used in the global search, whereas varying high‐order FEs are used in the local search. The proposed technique is investigated in the designs of an E‐plane miter bend and a rectangular waveguide impedance transformer. The results illustrate the accuracy and computational savings of this method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1392–1397, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23387
Implementation of connection boundary for HIE‐FDTD method
Authors: Chen Juan , Wang Jianguo
Published: March 2008

The implementation of connection boundary for the hybrid implicit‐explicit finite‐difference time‐domain (HIE‐FDTD) method is discussed in this article. It shows that the incident field of the HIE‐FDTD method must be split into two time steps. Compared with the implementation method commonly used in the conventional FDTD scheme, this method is weakly conditionally stable and has higher accuracy. The theory proposed in this article is validated through numerical examples. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1347–1352, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23390
A novel dual‐band bandpass filter using stepped impedance resonators with transmission zeros
Authors: Chu Qing‐Xin , Chen Fu‐Chang
Published: March 2008

A novel dual‐band bandpass filter using stepped impedance resonator is proposed in this letter. New coupling structures are illustrated to replace the normal counterparts, the circuit size is reduced about 40% compared with the conventional BPF with the same specifications, while the new structure can generate two transmission zeros in the insertion loss response, to validate the design and analysis, two dual‐band bandpass filters centered at 2.4 GHz/5.2 GHz and 2.4 GHz/5.7 GHz for WLAN application were fabricated and measured, it is shown that the measured and simulated performance are in good agreement. The bandpass filters achieved insertion loss of less than 2 dB and return loss of greater than 16 dB in each band. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1466–1468, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23394
A high efficiency 40‐W Ku‐band spatially power combined solid‐state amplifier
Authors: Dang Zhang , Zou Yongquan , Zhang Yuxing , Deng Li
Published: March 2008

This article presents a compact, high‐efficiency, spatially power‐combining system based on WR‐140 waveguide power dividers/combiners and microstrip probe transitions. Using four GaAs MMIC driver amplifiers and four MFET power amplifiers, the combining circuit produced up to 45‐W maximum power output with a gain variation of ±1 dB within the band of 13.8–14.8 GHz. The passive combining efficiency within the operating band was measured over 87%, and PAE was up to 22%. An effective design and tuning method was adopted, and so a high combining efficiency was achieved. The results suggest the efficacy of the design and a strong potential for higher powers by connecting waveguide power dividers/combiners to these combining modules. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1471–1476, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23404
Characterization of a first‐resonance CPW‐fed slot as an array element
Authors: Joubert J. , Odendaal J. W.
Published: March 2008

The self‐impedance and radiation properties of a first‐resonance CPW‐fed slot are characterized for possible use as an array element. It is shown that an interdigital capacitor in the center feed line of the CPW allows excellent control over the resonant resistance of the slot, and allows one to realize a wide range of impedances. Simulations are validated by measured results. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1523–1527, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23411
Design of a triple‐band coplanar‐waveguide bandpass filter
Authors: Ye Chang‐Sin , Su Yan‐Kuin , Weng Min‐Hang , Huang Chun‐Yueh
Published: March 2008

A novel compact and high‐isolation triple‐band coplanar‐waveguide bandpass filter designed at 1.30, 2.03, and 2.74 GHz is presented. More than one transmission zero between the three passbands is realized to improve the selectivity of the filter and to achieve a high isolation higher than 30 dB. Good agreements between the simulated and measured results demonstrate our proposed structure. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1545–1547, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23417
Dual‐band bandpass filter by using square‐loop dual‐mode resonator
Authors: Balalem Atallah , Machac Jan , Omar Abbas
Published: March 2008

This paper presents a dual‐band bandpass filter by introducing transmission zeroes in the passband of a broadband bandpass filter using square‐loop dual‐mode resonators. The transmission zeroes are achieved by using a dual‐mode resonator. The dual‐mode resonator is attached to two transmission lines of same length. These lines are coupled to similar transmission lines that are attached to the I/O ports. The filter has a compact size, low losses, and good rejection between the two bands. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1567–1570, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23427
A novel method of detecting cervical cancer using microwaves
Authors: Lonappan Anil , Thimothy V. O. , Rajasekaran C. , Thomas Vinu , Jacob Joe , Mathew K. T.
Published: March 2008

This article communicates a new method of detecting cervical cancer based on the measurement of the dielectric properties of smear at microwave frequencies. The microwave measurements were performed by rectangular cavity perturbation in the S‐band of microwave frequency with the smear samples from healthy persons as well as from cancerous patients. It is observed an appreciable change in the dielectric properties of cancerous samples with the normal healthy samples and these measurements were in good agreement with clinical analysis. This measurement technique is simple and the collection of smear is painless and nonsurgical in nature. The results show a new method of diagnosing cervical cancer using microwave measurement without any surgical procedures and suggest an alternative to Papanikolaou test or Papanicolaou test. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1552–1554, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23433
Discrete‐time notch filter and its application to microwave filter
Authors: Hsue Ching‐Wen , Ling Chih‐Wei , Hung Wan‐Ting
Published: March 2008

A discrete‐time, second‐order notch filter is employed to study the microwave bandstop filter. By equating the system function of the second‐order notch filter to the transfer function of a serial line shunted with an equal‐length, two‐section open stub, simple and explicit expressions dictating the bandwidth and center frequency of a microwave bandstop filter are obtained. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the validity of this design method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1596–1600, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23439
Channel pre‐emphasis equalization for a 270 km 40 × 40 GBIT/S WDM system
Authors: Yang Aiying , Qiao Yaojun , Sun Yu‐Nan
Published: March 2008

Optical channel pre‐emphasis equalization is experimentally researched for a 270 km 40 × 40 Gbit/s WDM transmission system with three EDFAs concatenated as booster amplifier. The channel imbalance of the overall system changes with different sets of power launched into EDFAs. Appropriately choosing the power input to concatenated EDFAs can make the output spectrum of 40‐channel signal be equalized to the most extent. The merit of benefit can be around 5.5 dB by this pre‐emphasis equalization. The requirement for the gain equalizer is therefore greatly released although still necessary. To take the channel imbalance of transmitter signal into account, the gain imbalance of the overall system almost matches the power imbalance of 40 channels, but the significant difference lies at some channels. Finally, the pump power into Raman amplifier is also optimized, and another 1.3‐dB improvement of channel balance can be further achieved. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1632–1634, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23450
Design and implementation of microwave dual‐band bandpass filters using microstrip composite resonators
Authors: Ma Zhewang , Shimizu Taichi , Kobayashi Yoshio , Anada Tetsuo , Hagiwara Gen
Published: March 2008

In this article, a novel type of dual‐band bandpass filter (DBBPF) is proposed by using microstrip composite resonators, and its design method is developed based on the lumped‐element equivalent circuit of the filter. Both the midband frequencies and the passband widths of the dual bands of the filter can be controlled separately. Four DBBPFs with different specifications are designed, fabricated, and tested, and the measured frequency responses agree favorably with theoretical predictions, validating sufficiently the proposed design theory and filter structures. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1628–1632, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23451
Resonant frequency calculation of meander dipole antennas by TLM
Authors: Puente David , Valderas Daniel , García Joseba , Meléndez Juan , Gómez Javier , Sancho Juan Ignacio
Published: March 2008

A new method for calculating the resonance frequency of an arbitrary meander dipole antenna (MDA) is proposed by making use of a full transmission line model approach. Once the current distribution of MDA is analyzed, a theoretical formula is obtained for input voltage and resonance frequency calculation. The model is compared with simulations and prototype measurements on three MDA families: those which exhibit an increasing number of meanders, variable meander sizes, and locations within MDA, respectively. The error is below 7.8% in all cases. Conclusions are drawn on optimal meanders for miniaturization. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1707–1712, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23463
Wideband monopole antenna with WLAN (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) dual band‐stop function
Authors: Lee Heejun , Jang Yohan , Kim Jeongpyo , Choi Jaehoon
Published: March 2008

A wideband monopole antenna with dual band‐stop function for WLAN (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) is presented. By cutting away an arched slot from the radiation patch and inserting spur‐lines into the ground, dual band‐stop functions for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WLAN bands are obtained. The proposed antenna operates over 1.9–11 GHz for VSWR <2, while providing a band‐stop function in the frequency bands of 2.2–2.5 GHz and 5.15–6.1 GHz. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1646–1649, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23570
Magnitude least squares optimization for parallel radio frequency excitation design demonstrated at 7 Tesla with eight channels
Authors: Setsompop K. , Wald L.L. , Alagappan V. , Gagoski B.A. , Adalsteinsson E.
Published: March 2008

Spatially tailored radio frequency (RF) excitations accelerated with parallel transmit systems provide the opportunity to create shaped volume excitations or mitigate inhomogeneous B1 excitation profiles with clinically relevant pulse lengths. While such excitations are often designed as a least‐squares optimized approximation to a target magnitude and phase profile, adherence to the target phase profile is usually not important as long as the excitation phase is slowly varying compared with the voxel dimension. In this work, we demonstrate a method for a magnitude least squares optimization of the target magnetization profile for multichannel parallel excitation to improve the magnitude profile and reduce the RF power at the cost of a less uniform phase profile. The method enables the designer to trade off the allowed spatial phase variation for the improvement in magnitude profile and reduction in RF power. We validate the method with simulation studies and demonstrate its performance in fourfold accelerated two‐dimensional spiral excitations, as well as for uniform in‐plane slice selective parallel excitations using an eight‐channel transmit array on a 7T human MRI scanner. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulations, which show significant improvement in the magnitude profile and reductions in the required RF power while still maintaining negligible intravoxel phase variation. Magn Reson Med 59:908–915, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Observation of microscopic diffusion anisotropy in the spinal cord using double‐pulsed gradient spin echo MRI
Authors: Komlosh M.E. , Lizak M.J. , Horkay F. , Freidlin R.Z. , Basser P.J.
Published: March 2008

A double‐pulsed gradient spin echo (d‐PGSE) filtered MRI sequence is proposed to detect microscopic diffusion anisotropy in heterogeneous specimen. The technique was developed, in particular, to characterize localmicroscopicanisotropy in specimens that aremacroscopicallyisotropic, such as gray matter. In such samples, diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) produces an isotropic or nearly isotropic diffusion tensor despite the fact that the medium may be anisotropic at a microscopic length scale. Using d‐PGSE filtered MRI, microscopic anisotropy was observed in a “gray matter” phantom consisting of randomly oriented tubes filled with water, as well as in fixed pig spinal cord, within a range of b‐values that can be readily achieved on clinical and small animal MR scanners. These findings suggest a potential use for this new contrast mechanism in clinical studies and biological research applications. Magn Reson Med 59:803–809, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In vivo quantification of T1, T2, and apparent diffusion coefficient in the mouse retina at 11.74T
Authors: Chen Junjie , Wang Qing , Zhang Huiying , Yang Xiaoxia , Wang Jian , Berkowitz Bruce A. , Wickline Samuel A. , Song Sheng‐Kwei
Published: March 2008

MRI has recently been used for noninvasive examination of retinal structure and function in rats and cats. However, the advantages of quantitative high‐resolution MRI of retina from mice have not yet been explored. In the present study, T1 and T2 relaxation time constants and the directional apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the retina of C57/BL6 mice were measured. Three MR‐detected retina layers and a MR‐detected choroid layer were observed on both T1‐ and T2‐weighted images at an image resolution of 47 × 47 × 400 μm3. The significantly higher ADC parallel to than that perpendicular to the optic nerve in the MR‐detected outer retina layer at the central retina reflects the known cellular organization of the photoreceptor cells. This study establishes, for the first time, normative metrics of T1, T2, and ADC of the mouse retina. These MR parameters are expected to be useful in future evaluation of developmental and pathological alterations of retinal cell layers in mice. Magn Reson Med 59:731–738, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characterization of C‐glycosyl quinochalcones in Carthamus tinctorius L. by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry
Authors: Jin Yu , Zhang Xiu‐li , Shi Hui , Xiao Yuan‐sheng , Ke Yan‐xiong , Xue Xing‐ya , Zhang Fei‐fang , Liang Xin‐miao
Published: March 2008

C‐Glycosyl quinochalcones are unique components in Carthamus tinctorius L. The reported C‐glycosyl quinochalcones have the same quinochalcone skeleton with a hydroxyl group at the 5'‐position and a glucose linked to this position with a carbon–carbon bond. In this study, the standard hydroxysafflor yellow A and water‐extracted fraction of Carthamus tinctorius L. were analyzed by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q‐TOFMS) in both positive and negative ion modes. The fragmentation pathways of C‐glycosyl quinochalcones were interpreted and validated by accurate mass measurement. Their fragmentation showed a special cleavage at the C–C bond except for the typical internal cleavage at the sugar moiety of other C‐glycosyl flavonoids. In positive ion mode, cleavage of the 5'‐glucose produced an [M+H–162]+ ion by a neutral loss, while cleavage of the 5'‐glucose in negative ion mode led to an [MH–163]−. ion by radical cleavage. The cleavage from the carbonyl group produced fragment ions containing an A or a B ring. The fragment ions containing an A ring were common product ions of seven compounds in both ion modes, and fragment ions containing the B ring were used to judge the different substituent groups at the 3'‐position. The fragmentation patterns of seven structurally related C‐glycosyl quinochalcones were analyzed systematically and the formation of the fragment ions in two modes is explained in detail in this report. UPLC/Q‐TOFMS is an effective tool for characterizing a complex sample, which gives higher resolution separation and generates accurate mass measurement of the product ions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sheathless Focusing of Microbeads and Blood Cells Based on Hydrophoresis
Authors: Choi Sungyoung , Song Seungjeong , Choi Chulhee , Park Je‐Kyun
Published: March 2008

This paper presents a microfluidic device for sheathless focusing of microbeads and blood cells based on a hydrophoretic platform comprising a V‐shaped obstacle array (VOA). The VOA generates lateral pressure gradients that induce helical recirculations. Following the focusing flow particles passing through the VOA are focused in the center of the channel. In the device, the focusing pattern can be modulated by varying the gap height of the VOA. To achieve complete focusing within 4.4% coefficient of variation, the relative size differences between the gap and the particle were 3 and 4 µm for 10 and 15 µm beads, respectively. Red blood cells were used to study the hydrophoretic focusing pattern of biconcave, disk‐shaped particles.
Onset of puberty and the inflection point of the growth curve in sheep – Brody's Law revisited
Authors: PITTROFF W. , DAHM F. , BLANC F. , KEISLER D. , CARTWRIGHT T. C.
Published: March 2008

Brody (1945) concluded that the inflection point of the growth curve of domestic animals coincides with the onset of puberty and is coupled with an increase in proportion of fat gain at that time. This purported coincidence of growth inflection and onset of puberty has been termed the ‘Brody Law’. Recent findings suggesting a pivotal role of body energy reserves, communicated by the metabolic hormone leptin, on the onset of puberty led to the hypothesis that sheep must reach the inflection point of growth (AIP) considerably before the onset of puberty (AOP). In order to test this hypothesis, growth curves were fitted for ewe lambs on different growth trajectories from two experiments. Both experiments examined the effect of growth trajectory on AOP in ewe lambs. One data set was developed in France with Merino sheep; the other came from two distinct genetic lines of Targhee sheep in the USA. The French experiment subjected ewe lambs to two different feeding levels, while the USA experiment compared two nutritional regimens differing in both energy and protein concentration.

Several non-linear models described in the literature as potentially useful for modelling weight–age relationships were fitted. TheLogisticfunction was identified as the superior model for all datasets. All animals in both experiments reached AIP considerably before AOP. AOP was defined using two criteria threshold levels of progesterone as AOP1 ⩾0·5 ng/ml and AOP2 ⩾1 ng/ml progesterone. For the USA data, multivariate analysis of AIP, AOP1 and AOP2 demonstrated that nutritional treatment was highly significant; this was also the case for the multivariate analysis of AIP, degree of maturity at AOP1 (DOM1) and DOM2. The correlation between AIP and DOM was highly negative. In contrast, the feeding treatment in the French experiments had no effect on any of the response variables except estimated mature weight. However, AIP was negatively correlated with DOM1 and DOM2. AOP was highly positively correlated with DOM. Most notably, AIP was not correlated with AOP1 or AOP2 in either experiment, and all animals reached AIP considerably before AOP1. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that growing female sheep must reach a certain minimum level of body fatness before the onset of puberty. Genetic group and nutritional treatment significantly affect growth curve parameters; hence, the age at which this (currently unknown) level is reached must strongly depend on nutritional regimen. It is concluded that growth modellingper secannot be used to infer onset of puberty, and that endocrine thresholds do not necessarily demarcate distinct phases of the growth curve.
Psychology supports independence of phenomenal consciousness
Authors: Burge Tyler
Published: March 2008

Inference-to-best-explanation from psychological evidence supports the view that phenomenal consciousness in perceptual exposures occurs before limited aspects of that consciousness are retained in working memory. Independently of specific neurological theory, psychological considerations indicate that machinery producing phenomenal consciousness is independent of machinery producing working memory, hence independent of access to higher cognitive capacities.
A plug for generic phenomenology
Authors: Grush Rick
Published: March 2008

I briefly sketch a notion of generic phenomenology, and what I call the wave-collapse illusion – a less radical cousin of the refrigerator light illusion – to the effect that transitions from generic to detailed phenomenology are not noticed as phenomenal changes. Change blindness and inattentional blindness can be analyzed as cases where certain things are phenomenally present, but generically so.
What is “cognitive accessibility” accessibility to?
Authors: Jacob Pierre
Published: March 2008

I first argue that some of Block's formulations may misleadingly suggest that the function of mechanisms of so-called cognitive accessibility is to make one aware, not of visible features of the visible world, but of one's own psychological life. I then ask whether Block's view of phenomenology in the present target article is consistent with his endorsement of non-representationalism elsewhere.
Sue Ned Block!: Making a better case for P-consciousness
Authors: Lamme Victor A. F.
Published: March 2008

Block makes a case for the existence of conscious experience without access. His case would have been much stronger, however, if he had woven fully unconscious processing into the “mesh argument,” and considered arguments that are intrinsic to neuroscience.
Broken telephone in the brain: The need for metacognitive measures
Authors: Lau Hakwan , Persaud Navindra
Published: March 2008

The fact that early visual processing has a larger capacity than later visual processing can be explained without positing distinct systems for phenomenology and cognitive accessibility. While phenomenology may overflow forced-choice reports, the later can also overestimate the former, as in the case of blindsight. Metacognitive measures of awareness offer a way to address the “methodological puzzle” of consciousness research.
Access for what? Reflective consciousness
Authors: Snodgrass Michael , Lepisto Scott A.
Published: March 2008

Can phenomenality without access occur? We suggest that the crucial issue is not to show phenomenality that cannot be accessed, but whether phenomenality sometimes simply is not accessed. Considering this question leads to positing a distinct, second form of consciousness: Reflective consciousness. The most important form of access is then from phenomenal (first-order) to reflective (second-order) consciousness.
Phenomenal consciousness and cognitive accessibility
Authors: Tye Michael
Published: March 2008

Block tries to show that the results of the Sperling experiment lend support to the view that phenomenology outstrips cognitive accessibility. I argue that Block fails to make a compelling case for this general claim on the basis of the Sperling data.
The challenge of disentangling reportability and phenomenal consciousness in post-comatose states
Authors: Vanhaudenhuyse Audrey , Bruno Marie-Aurélie , Brédart Serge , Plenevaux Alain , Laureys Steven
Published: March 2008

Determining whether or not noncommunicative patients are phenomenally conscious is a major clinical and ethical challenge. Clinical assessment is usually limited to the observation of these patients' motor responses. Recent neuroimaging technology and brain computer interfaces help clinicians to assess whether patients are conscious or not, and to avoid diagnostic errors.