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Monopulse is an established technique for radar angle estimation. One can show that monopulse estimation is based on a general approximation derived from maximum likelihood (ML) estimation. This tutorial provides a derivation of this relation and presents extensions of this monopulse principle to multi-dimensional array and parameter estimation problems, in particular to space-time adaptive processing (STAP) with reduced dimension, subarrays and generalized sidelobe canceller (GSLC) configurations. The performance of these monopulse applications can be predicted by exploiting the distribution of the monopulse ratio. It is demonstrated that this distribution is more realistic than the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB). Several examples of performance of monopulse estimators are given for thinned and fully filled planar arrays, adaptive beamforming with and without low sidelobes, GSLC, and STAP. Finally, conditions for estimates with low variance are discussed [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A single-center, open-label, and dose-escalation clinical trial has been performed using a novel electrochemical transdermal patch comprising a drug-loaded hydrogel sandwiched between two silver electrodes. The lower electrode is attached flatly to skin via an adhesive layer. This noniontophoretic device produces flux enhancement via voltage-induced electrolysis of the water in the hydrogel. A voltage application of 2 V over 60 s produced release of approximately 315 to 340 μg of fentanyl from a patch. A single-voltage application at t = 16 h produced a maximum plasma level of approximately 200 pg/mL before patch removal at t = 41 h. Consecutive voltage applications at t = 16 h and t = 40 h produced a maximum plasma level of approximately 730 pg/mL. The lag time between voltage application and achievement of a plasma profile plateau is longer than that reported for an iontophoretic patch. The patch's advantage is production of an on-demand plasma profile without the use of potentially irritating iontophoresis. In contrast to a passive transdermal system, it is possible to adjust the plasma profile by using voltage application. It is not necessary to apply a continual current, in contrast to iontophoretic systems., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

A new type of electrochemical transdermal patch has been investigated using release/permeation experiments with excised nude mouse skin. The patch comprises a drug-containing hydrogel sandwiched between two electrodes that are arranged parallel to the skin surface. The objective was to determine the mechanism of working of enhanced flux for the drug fentanyl when low voltages are applied. The results indicate that a voltage-induced hydrolysis of the water present in the patch's hydrogel occurs. This causes a pH shift that results in deprotonization of the fentanyl and hence enhanced release/permeation. The enhanced flux is up to approximately 30 μg/(cm(2) h) over 20 h and requires only a low-voltage application over a duration of just 60 s. Because the enhancement mechanism occurs in the patch and not in the skin, the potential for substantially reduced skin irritation compared with iontophoresis is given., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Charging of common resist materials during electron beam (e-beam) writing leads to deflection of the electron beam path, which can result in significant pattern displacement. Here we report a new conducting polymer to eliminate charging. A common approach is to place the conducting layer underneath the e-beam resist layer. Conductivity equal or greater than 10(-4) S cm(-1) has been reported to prevent pattern displacement. Some other properties such as a flat surface layer, chemical inertness and insolubility in both the top resist solvent and the developer are also necessary. The way to achieve all these properties consisted in synthesizing a conducting polymer inside an insulating polymer to form an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) which could combine their properties. Novolak was used as the host polymer and terthiophene (3T) as the monomer to polymerize. Cu(ClO(4))(2) initiates simultaneously the oxidative polymerization of the 3T and its subsequent doping inside Novolak during the bake step in a one-step reaction. Solvent-resistant and homogeneous conducting films with smooth surfaces were achieved. The conductivity was of the order of 10(-2) S cm(-1). Patterning of the top resist was carried out without disturbing its lithographic performance.

We recently reported perceptual correlates of long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic strength within the nociceptive system demonstrating the functional relevance of LTP for human pain sensation. LTP is generally classified as NMDA-receptor dependent or independent. Here we show that low doses of the NMDA-receptor antagonist ketamine (0.25 mg/kg) prevented the long-term increase in perceived pain to electrical test stimuli, which was induced by high-frequency electrical stimulation (HFS) of nociceptive afferents. Whereas in a control experiment HFS led to a stable increase in perceived pain by 51% for the entire observation period of 1h HFS given 4 min after i.v. ketamine was ineffective. In contrast, HFS induced a two-fold increase of pinprick-evoked pain surrounding the HFS site (secondary neurogenic hyperalgesia) in both experiments. Pain evoked by light tactile stimuli (allodynia) was also unaffected by ketamine. These data support the concept that homotopic hyperalgesia to electrical stimulation of the conditioned pathway is a perceptual correlate of NMDA-receptor sensitive homosynaptic LTP in the nociceptive system, e.g. in the spinal cord. Although secondary neurogenic hyperalgesia and allodynia are induced by the same HFS protocol, they involve additional NMDA-receptor insensitive mechanisms of heterosynaptic facilitation.

The analytical potential of the redox reactions between N, N-dimethyl- or N, N, N', N'-tetramethyl- p-phenylenediamine (DMPPD or TMPPD, respectively) and peroxodisulfate in acidic media for kinetic spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of ascorbic acid (AA) has been investigated. The goal was to explore reaction conditions ensuring an excess or a deficit of S(2)O(8)(2-), and to identify some kinetic features of the global process for the purpose of calibration. Because the induction period of the overall reaction increases significantly in the presence of micromolar amounts of AA, the most suitable calibration graphs are generated by plots of induction period against the analyte concentration. The best sensitivity was achieved for oxidation of DMPPD with a deficit of S(2)O(8)(2-). The calibration line obtained has an RSD of 2.6% for 4 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) AA (n=3) and the detection limit is 4 x 10(-8) mol L(-1) (7 micro g L(-1)), a value comparable with the best mentioned by the literature. No systematic study of interferents was performed. Instead, the effect of buffer reagents (phosphate, phthalate, citrate) and dissolved oxygen on the results is discussed. Experiments were performed under closely controlled conditions. This is the first report of ascorbic acid analysis in which "contamination" by environmental oxygen was prevented by rinsing all vessels and saturating all solutions with argon, an approach which enables determination of the actual ascorbic acid content. Because of the effort involved, however, the method might not be suitable for routine analysis. Analysis of a commercially available vitamin C pellet gave good results when a "special" calibration graph, obtained in the presence of all other constituents of the sample except AA, was employed. The AA was "removed" from the pellet by oxidation with environmental air. Although it seems rather elaborate, this procedure did not require prior preparation of the sample nor extraction and/or concentration of ascorbic acid from it.

A study of the reaction between ninhydrin and alanine has been carried out taking into account that, adhered on the surface of a dry porous medium such as paper, a quasi-heterogeneous reaction has to take place. Instead of amino acids released from human sweat glands, aqueous solutions of alanine were taken to deliver a given amount of amino acid to the sample. The dye density, obtained after using a standard development process, could noticeably be increased by setting a drop of water on the dye dot, thus indicating that not all the alanine had been used for dye formation during the usually applied process. The incomplete reaction can be explained by the problem of bringing the reactants into contact with each other when both are in the solid phase in the porous surrounding. The temporary presence of water allows a reorientation of the insoluble reactants. With fingerprints an increase in both the rate of development and the final dye density could be obtained when the sample was post treated after the developing process with the blank solvent, thus also the background coloration could be decreased. The ideas presented in this paper may form the basis for a modification of developing processes with ninhydrin in order to increase the proportion of amino acids present (in the sample) used in dye formation without data loss.

The synthesis, complete spectroscopic characterization, cyclic voltammetry, and photophysical measurements of a new o-phenylenediamine-C(60) dyad are described. By using a tether strategy, only a single regioisomer was obtained. Cyclic voltammetry measurements indicate that the two electroactive groups do not interact in their singlet ground states. Photophysical investigations reveal a rapid photoinduced electron transfer between the singlet excited state of the fullerene acceptor and the o-phenylenediamine donor, yielding a charge-separated radical pair.

Silver colloids are useful as substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The results are, however, seldom quantitative as the distribution of particle sizes in silver suspensions can vary from sample to sample and thus the SERS spectra can vary in intensity. Monodisperse silver sols are relatively difficult to prepare compared with gold or latex colloids as the nucleation process is difficult to control. Previous workers have used a system where small particles are formed in one process and grown in a second reaction. In this paper a simple procedure is outlined by which the small, "seed" particles (starter sols) can be prepared; this method is simpler and more reproducible than that used in the past. The process by which the sols can be grown is not discussed in detail here as it is the subject of a forthcoming publication. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

An Arabidopsis 14-3-3 protein, AFT1, was used as a 'bait' in the two-hybrid system to identify its interacting proteins. One of the candidate proteins, APX3, was identified as a putative peroxisomal membrane-bound ascorbate peroxidase. Ascorbate peroxidases are important defense enzymes that protect plant cells from oxidative stress damage. DNA blot analysis indicates that APX3 is encoded by a single-copy gene in the Arabidopsis genome. RNA blot analyses show that APX3 transcript levels increase slightly in response to cold, UV light, and treatments with hydrogen peroxide and paraquat. The activity of APX3 in Arabidopsis may be controlled in two ways: its enzymatic activity through protein-protein interactions and its transcription by transcriptional or posttranscriptional regulation.