Search

This is the first study to monitor anesthetic pollution in veterinary operating rooms (VOR) and assess the toxicological impact of the inhalational anesthetic isoflurane (exposed group) compared to matched volunteers (control group). DNA damage was evaluated in mononuclear cells by the comet assay while genetic instability (including micronucleus-MN), cell proliferation, and cell death markers were assessed by the buccal MN cytome assay. Residual isoflurane concentrations in VOR (air monitoring) lacking the scavenging system were assessed by infrared spectrophotometry; the mean concentration was 11 ppm (≥ 5 times above the international recommended threshold). Comet assay results did not differ between groups; however, both younger exposed professionals (with higher week workload) compared to older individuals exposed for the same period and older professionals with greater time of exposure (years) compared to those in the same age group with fewer years of exposure presented higher DNA damage. The exposed group had a higher frequency of MN, nuclear buds, binucleated cells, karyorrhexis, and karyolysis and a lower frequency of basal cells than the control group. Exposed women were more vulnerable to genetic instability and proliferative index; exposed men presented more cytotoxicity. High WAG exposure has deleterious effects on exposed professionals.

In today's highly globalised world, protecting human security is a core challenge for political leaders who are simultaneously dealing with terrorism, refugee and migration crises, disease epidemics, and climate change. Promoting universal health coverage (UHC) will help prevent another disease outbreak similar to the recent Ebola outbreak in west Africa, and create robust health systems, capable of withstanding future shocks. Robust health systems, in turn, are the prerequisites for achieving UHC. We propose three areas for global health action by the G7 countries at their meeting in Japan in May, 2016, to protect human security around the world: restructuring of the global health architecture so that it enables preparedness and responses to health emergencies; development of platforms to share best practices and harness shared learning about the resilience and sustainability of health systems; and strengthening of coordination and financing for research and development and system innovations for global health security. Rather than creating new funding or organisations, global leaders should reorganise current financing structures and institutions so that they work more effectively and efficiently. By making smart investments, countries will improve their capacity to monitor, track, review, and assess health system performance and accountability, and thereby be better prepared for future global health shocks.

Valid assessment of interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) is challenging. The number of instruments that measure various aspects of IPECP, or in various sites is growing, however. The Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment (IPA) measures observable behaviors of health care professionals-in-training that demonstrate professionalism and collaboration when working with other health care providers in the context of people-centered care. The IPA instrument was created by the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative (IPC), a national group representing 12 entry-level health professions and one medical education assessment organization. The instrument was created and evaluated over several years through a comprehensive, multi-phasic process: 1) development of construct and observable behaviors, 2) instrument design, expert review and cognitive interviews, and 3) psychometric testing. The IPA contains 26 items representing six domains of professionalism (altruism and caring, excellence, ethics, respect, communication, accountability), and was tested by 233 preceptors rating health profession learners in the final year of their practical training. These preceptors represented 30 different academic institutions across the U.S., worked in various types of practice sites, and evaluated learners representing 10 different entry-level health professions. Exploratory factor analysis suggested four factors (communication, respect, excellence, altruism and caring) using 21 items with the least amount of missing data, and confirmed, for the most part, a priori expectations. Internal consistency reliability coefficients for the entire instrument and its four subscales were high (all greater than 0.9). Psychometric results demonstrate aspects of the IPA's reliability and validity and its use across multiple health professions and in various practice sites.

Letter, The MIMO system can meet the growing demand for higher capacity in wireless communication fields. So far, the authors have reported that, based on channel measurements, uncoded performance of narrowband MIMO spatial multiplexing in indoor line-of-sight (LOS) environments generally outperforms that in non-LOS (NLOS) ones under the same transmit power condition. In space-frequency coded MIMO-OFDM spatial multiplexing, however, we cannot expect high space-frequency diversity gain in LOS environments because of high fading correlations and low frequency selectivity of channels so that the performance may degrade unlike uncoded cases. In this letter, we present the practical performance of coded MIMO-OFDM spatial multiplexing based on indoor channel measurements. The results show that an LOS environment tends to provide lower space-frequency diversity effect whereas the MIMO-OFDM spatial multiplexing performance is still better in the environment compared with an NLOS environment.

Frequency domain equalization (FDE) has been studied for reducing inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by frequency selective fading in single carrier systems. When a high-mobility terminal exists in the system, the channel state may change within a DFT block. Then, the ISI reduction performance of FDE degrades since cyclicity of the channel matrix is lost. We propose to divide a received data block into multiple subblocks to decrease the channel transition within the DFT block in fast fading environments. Also, to satisfy periodicity of the received signal in each subblock, we introduce a pseudo cyclic prefix technique. The results of numerical analysis show that the proposed method can effectively decrease the error floor in fast fading environments.

MIMO systems using a space division multiplexing (SDM) technique in which each transmit antenna sends an independent signal substream have been studied as one of the successful applications to increase data rates in wireless communications. The throughput of a MIMO channel can be maximized by using an eigenbeam-SDM (E-SDM) technique, and this paper investigates the practical performance of 2 x 2 and 4 x 4 MIMO E-SDM based on indoor measurements. The channel capacity and bit error rate obtained in various uniform linear array configurations are evaluated and are compared with the corresponding values for conventional SDM. Analysis results show that the bit error rate performance of E-SDM is better than that of SDM and that E-SDM gives better performance in line-of-sight (LOS) conditions than in non-LOS ones. They also show that the performance of E-SDM in LOS conditions depends very much on the array configuration.

This paper describes the effect of the solenoid dimensions in an electromagnetic launcher on the height of projection. The height of projection is calculated by combining the circuit equation and the equation of motion. The magnetic force is carried by the finite element method. The calculation errors of the height of projection are respectively 5.5%. In conditions where the charging voltage V = 68 V and capacity C = 3.66 mF (input power W = 8.46 J), the height of projection of a solenoid with an outer radius ro = 19 mm and length l = 22 mm reaches a maximum.

Four hundred seventy-three substance-abusing women were assessed for histories of sexual abuse. The results of bivariate analysis indicated that Sexual Abuse Survivors (SAS) had higher levels of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. A greater number of SAS reported histories of emotional and physical abuse. They also had greater severity on ASI scales of alcohol, drug, medical, and family/social difficulty. Logistic regression analysis indicated that women who were survivors of sexual abuse were more likely to have histories of emotional and physical abuse, higher levels of addiction severity, and more family members who used drugs. Implications for research and treatment are discussed.

The amino-carbonyl reaction (The Maillard reaction) of bovine lens crystallin, serum albumin or skin collagen with glucose was investigated to find effective means to prevent the formation of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE) and induce the reversible solubilization of polymerized glycated proteins. The organic germanium compounds (Ge-132, 373, 385), derivatives of amino acids containing germanium as the linker of framework, were combined by the box titration method to determine the dose that would be most effective, compared with Aminoguanidine-HCl (AMG),α-tocopherol (VE), and pirenoxine (Catalin-K, CK). Although AMG suppressed the formation of AGE, effective concentrations were higher than 20 mM. Ge-385, when administered by itself at a low dose, induced the reversible solubilization of AGE made from crystallin, and albumin. The addition of any two reagents such as AMG, VE, CK and Ge-132 or 385 together to proteins lessened the effective range, and the peaks of smaller molecules in the profiles of HPLC and PAGE were quite remarkable. Examination was made of the effects of Ge-132 on the eyes of SAM mice, which show senescence accelerated cataracts at a relatively young age. The prevention of cataract-genesis and induction of reversible transparency of turbid lenses became evident following the administration of Ge-132 to the eyes 4 times a day. The mode of action of organic germanium compounds was demonstrated quite capable of disconnecting the sugar-parts from AGE by decarbonylation, resulting in the formation of glucosone and amino residues, and further leading subsequently to fewer AGE.

Two-dimensional band structures of single-crystalline 1T-TaS2 have been directly observed by using a new version of two-dimensional display-type spherical mirror analyzer. The intensity distribution patterns for linearly-polarized synchrotron radiation normally incident on the cleaved surface have shown unusual angular distributions. The non three-fold symmetry is discussed by considering the angular dependence of the dipole transition probability for the s-polarized synchrotron radiation from each atomic orbital with particular symmetry, as well as the tight-binding initial state and a free electron like final state. In addition, circular dichroism in angular distribution (CDAD) of the photoemission pattern from the valence band is predicted for 1T-TaS2.

Two-dimensional patterns of angle-resolved photoemission are measured on Kish graphite and 1T-TaS 2 for s -polarized synchrotron radiation. Observed symmetry-broken patterns are theoretically discussed. The effect of the dipole selection rules by the s -polarized light is clarified. It is found for the first time that an interference of photoelectron waves from non-equivalent sites provides uneven intensity distribution in different Brillouin zones. The patterns of 1T-TaS 2 measured at 40 eV are remarkably different from those at 22 eV, which is explained by the resonant photoemission in the Ta 5 p core excitation region breaking the dipole selection rule due to the direct recombination type Auger transition.

Two-dimensional band structures of single-crystalline graphite have been directly observed by using a new version of a two-dimensional display-type spherical mirror analyser. The intensity distribution patterns at various binding energies below the Fermi level for the excitation by linearly polarized synchrotron radiation normally incident on the cleaved surface have shown crystal-symmetry-broken angular distributions. The non-sixfold symmetry can be understood as being the result of the angular dependence of the probability of the electric dipole transition from each atomic orbital with a particular symmetry or s) for the s-polarized synchrotron radiation. In order to understand the uneven intensity in different Brillouin zones, we consider a model including the tight-binding initial state and a free-electron-like final state. It is found that such unusual distribution patterns are explained by the new concept of a `photoemission structure factor' with consideration of the phase of the coefficients of the atomic orbitals of inequivalent atoms in a unit cell in the initial-state Bloch function.

Two-dimensional angular distribution of photoelectrons from valence band was analyzed using a tight-binding initial state. In simple cases, the angular distribution can be understood as a product of “ one-dimensional density of states (ODDOS)”, “ photoemission structure factor ”, and “ angular distribution from atomic orbital ”. This newly introduced “ photoemission structure factor ” is an intensity distribution in a reciprocal space similar to the X-ray or electron diffraction structure factor replacing scattering factor by the coefficient for each atomic orbital in the LCAO wavefunction. The remarkable symmetry-broken patterns observed from π band of single-crystalline graphite was clearly explained. The two-fold symmetry was obvious as the result of the “angular distribution from the pz atomic orbital” for the s- and linearly-polarized synchrotron radiation. The difference of the intensity in different BZs was clearly explained by the photoemission structure factor . Hence, the two-dimensional measurement can give us information not only (1)about the ODDOS, but also (2)about the symmetry of the initial state, and even more (3)about the coefficients in the initial state wavefunction.

A high-capacity (128-line) photonic space-division switching system prototype has been developed. All of the developments on polarization-independent LiNbO/sub 3/ matrix switches, semiconductor optical amplifiers for network loss compensation and three-dimensional optical interconnections for multi-stage switching networks combine to enlarge line capacity. The system is devised to provide both HDTV distribution services that require nonblocking connections and TV phone services that do not necessarily require these connections. It is confirmed that the system has been operating in providing 150 Mbps TV phone services and 600 Mbps HDTV distribution services with high stability. Thus, the system proves to be promising for STM broadband switching systems capable of providing high-speed continuous dense bit-stream services. The system, in concert with an ATM broadband switching system, could provide a full range of cost-effective broadband services from POTS (plain old telephone services) to HDTV. >

We have embodied a new version of two‐dimensional display‐type spherical mirror analyzer [H. Daimon and S. Ino, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61, 57(1990)]. A couple of concentric hemispherical small grids and 12 pairs of obstacle rings have been attached to the original type of analyzer in order to operate with a constant pass‐energy mode and improve the uniformity of the energy resolution of the analyzer all over the detection area, respectively. We performed a test on the resolution of the analyzer, and applied it to the simultaneous angle‐resolved photoelectron spectroscopy on the band structures of single‐crystal graphite (Kish graphite) within the acceptance cone of ±50°. The observed band structure is in good agreement with those reported by other investigators. We observed a ring‐like pattern which enlarged as the binding energy approached the Fermi level. This ring is ascribed to the cross section of the π band. Although the designed energy resolution is 1% of the pass energy, the minimum value realized rea...

The majority of cancers affect older persons disproportionately and the probability of developing cancer increases dramatically with age. We compared psychological and functional adaptation as well as psychosocial coping resources and service use between two age cohorts: patients under 65 and patienis 65 and over with a diagnosis of breast, colorectal or lung cancer. Older patients were not seriously disadvantaged in terms of adaptation or coping resources, although results suggest that they may be underutilizers of supportive community services. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

The possibility of a 128-line photonic space division switching system incorporating LiNbO/sub 3/ switch matrices and semiconductor traveling wave amplifiers (TWAs) is discussed. System design is considered in terms of the most suitable location for the TWA devices that gives the most practical power margin. Design requirements for a 128-line photonic switching system suitable for a small-sized private branch exchange requirement are presented along with experimental results. It has been shown that a five-stage switch cascade, suitable for such a high-capacity switching system with a power margin of greater than 5 dB in the highest switch loss situation is possible, using low-facet-reflection TWAs. Such TWA devices have been developed in the 1.3- mu m wavelength region with maximum fiber-to-fiber gain values of 15 dB. With maximum gain-polarization dependencies of 3 dB, switch losses can be compensated even under TM mode operation. >

The problems associated with introducing traveling wave amplifiers (TWAs) to photonic space-division (SD) switching systems are examined. Experiments were carried out to clarify the TWA noise effect and interference between cascaded TWAs, using about 10-dB gain TWA modules. Possibility of a 128-line photonic SD switching system, using current polarization-independent LiNbO/sub 3/ 8*8 switch matrices, has been shown through the experiments. The possible line capacity value of the photonic SD switching system with TWAs is examined theoretically. It is shown that the expected line capacity value for such a switching system exceeds 10/sup 3/. >

Recently, a multiuser MIMO system has attracted much attention. In the downlink of the multiuser MIMO system, since the base station simultaneously transmits signals to terminals, there is inter-user interference (IUI) at each terminal. Block diagonalization, which can achieve perfect IUI suppression, has been extensively studied to solve the issue. However, with the scheme we cannot obtain extra diversity gain due to the null steering at the base station. In this paper, we propose imperfect block diagonalization based on maximum eigenvectors of users and Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization, and its error rate performance is evaluated using computer simulations. The result shows that, despite its low complexity, the proposed scheme provides excellent performance, especially in many-user environments.

Special Section on Radio Access Techniques for 3G Evolution, Frequency-domain equalization (FDE) has been studied for suppressing inter-symbol interference (ISI) due to frequency selective fading in single carrier systems. When a high-mobility terminal is assumed in the system, channel transition within an FDE block cannot be ignored. The ISI reduction performance of FDE degrades since the cyclicity of the channel matrix is lost. To solve this problem, a method of dividing the received data block into multiple subblocks has been proposed, where pseudo cyclic prefix (CP) processing is introduced to realize periodicity in each subblock. In this method, the performance is degraded by the inherently-inaccurate pseudo CP. In this paper, we study the application of frequency-domain turbo equalization (FDTE) to subblock processing for improving the accuracy of pseudo CP. The simulation results show that FDTE with subblock processing yields remarkable performance improvements.

In this paper, we examine some channel characteristics of SISO and MIMO systems based on the measured channel data in our measurement campaigns. We confirm that due to the mutual coupling between antennas, patterns of antenna elements are changed and different from an omnidirectional one of a single antenna. Results also show that received power, channel auto-correlation, and Doppler spectrum are much dependent not only on the direction of the RX motion, but also on the array orientation. In the NLOS environment, observed Doppler spectrum is quite different from the theoretical U-shaped Jakespsila one.

The performance of MIMO-OFDM E-SDM systems may be seriously degraded in time-varying fading environments due to a channel transition. In the paper, we propose two methods of channel extrapolation to compensate for the channel change. Futhermore, we also consider a method to reduce the amount of header signal and the computational complexity for the systems. We conducted MIMO measurement campaigns at a 5.2 GHz frequency band to evaluate the system performance. Simulation results based on the measured channel data show that robust bit-error rate performance can be obtained by using our channel prediction methods in both line-of-sight (LOS) and non- LOS environments. It is also shown that the method of reducing the amount of header signal and the computational complexity may be used in the practical implementation point of view.

In a frequency-selective MIMO channel, the optimum beamforming is achieved by using eigenvectors, i.e., eigenbeam-space division multiplexing (E-SDM), in the frequency domain. However, the calculation load of eigenvalue decomposition increases in proportion to the number of FFT points. In addition, eigenvectors without consideration of frequency continuity increase the delay spread of the effective channel observed at the receiver. To solve these issues, a pseudo eigenvector technique has been proposed. It has also been reported that a pseudo E-SDM (PE-SDM) technique can provide almost the same or better performance compared with the E-SDM when the receiver employs a simple channel estimator with time windowing. In this paper, focusing on the calculating process of pseudo eigenvectors, we propose a spatial windowing scheme improving the accuracy of the effective channel estimates. The simulation results show that the accuracy in the PE-SDM can be improved by combining the proposed scheme with the conventional time windowing scheme.

MIMO measurement campaigns were conducted in indoor environments. Based on the measured data, this paper examines the channel auto-correlation and Doppler spectrum in a case where a receiver is moving with respect to a fixed transmitter in the propagation environments with static scatterers. The bit error rate (BER) performance of 4 times 4 MIMO eigenbeam-space division multiplexing(E-SDM) system was evaluated in time-varying fading environments.

Performance of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems applying the eigenbeam-space division multiplexing (E-SDM) technique may be degraded in time-varying fading environments due to a channel change during the time interval between the transmit weight matrix determination and the actual data transmission. We have proposed some channel prediction methods to compensate for the channel change. Simulation results based on computer generated channels showed better performance when using the prediction methods in rich scatterer environments assuming the Jakes model. However, actual MIMO systems may be used in line-of-sight (LOS) environments, and even in a non-LOS (NLOS) case scatterers may not be uniformly distributed around a receiver and/or a transmitter. In addition, mutual coupling between antenna elements should be considered in actual implementation since it affects the system performance. We conducted MIMO measurement campaigns at a 5.2 GHz frequency band to evaluate the channel prediction techniques. In this paper, we present the experiment and simulation results using the measured channel data. It is shown that robust BER performance is obtained when using the channel prediction methods, and that the performance in LOS environments is better than that in NLOS ones.

Frequency domain equalization (FDE) has been studied for suppressing inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by frequency selective fading in single carrier systems. When a high-mobility terminal exists in the system, channel state changes within a DFT block. Then, the ISI reduction performance of FDE degrades since cyclicity of the channel matrix is lost. Here, we propose to divide received data block into multiple subblocks to decrease the channel transition within the DFT block in fast fading environments. Also, to satisfy periodicity of the received signal in each subblock, we introduce a pseudo cyclic prefix technique. The results of numerical analysis show that the proposed method provides 1.3-fold increase in tolerable Doppler frequency for FER of 0.01.

In a frequency-selective MIMO channel, the optimum transmission is beamforming based on eigenvectors, i.e., eigenbeam-space division multiplexing (E-SDM), at each frequency point. However, the calculation load of eigenvalue decomposition at the transmitter increases in proportion to the number of frequency points. In addition, frequency-independent eigenvectors increase the delay spread of the effective channel observed at the receiver. In this paper, we propose pseudo eigenvectors for the purpose of reducing the calculation load at the transmitter and maintaining frequency continuity of the effective channel. First, we demonstrate that pseudo eigenvectors decrease the delay spread of the effective channels. Next, the practical performance of the pseudo E-SDM (PE-SDM) transmission in MIMO-OFDM systems is evaluated. The simulation results show that PE-SDM with an interference canceller provides better performance than E-SDM when an estimated effective channel is used to detect the substreams at the receiver.

MIMO channel characteristics and spatial multiplexing are investigated from the viewpoint of antennas and propagation in this paper. We conducted 4x4 MIMO channel measurement campaigns in an indoor propagation environment. Using the measured data, we examined the detail of the MIMO channels. The MIMO channels and eigenvalues are largely different for MIMO array orientations in an LOS environment. This is due to the effect of mutual coupling between antenna elements. Then, the bit error rate (BER) of eigenbeam space division multiplexing (E-SDM) in a quasi-static environment is examined using the measured MIMO channel data. It is shown that the BER performance in an LOS environment is affected by the mutual coupling. Furthermore, we obtained time-varying MIMO channel data, and calculated the channel auto-correlation and Doppler spectrum. The BER performance is evaluated for different maximum Doppler frequencies and different (LOS/NLOS) environments. (11 pages)

In a frequency-selective MIMO channel, the optimum beam- forming is achieved by using eigenvectors, i.e., eigenbeam- space division multiplexing (E-SDM), in the frequency domain. However, the calculation load of eigenvalue decomposition increases in proportion to the number of FFT points. In addition, eigenvectors without consideration of frequency continuity increase the delay spread of the effective channel observed at the receiver. Addressing these issues, we have proposed a pseudo eigenvector scheme for the purpose of mitigating the calculation load and maintaining frequency continuity (or decreasing the delay spread). In this paper, we present the PE-SDM performance in a MIMO single-carrier system with MMSE-FDE. The simulation results show that PE-SDM single-carrier transmission provides almost the same or better throughput performance with less complexity in comparison to E-SDM.

Spatial multiplexing in a MIMO system can achieve high speed transmission in i.i.d. Rayleigh channels. However, actual communications can be conducted in LOS environments where we have higher received signal power, whereas channels may be correlated. Although many MIMO measurement cam- paigns have been conducted so far, conventional investigations are not considered to be sufficient from wireless engineering view- point. In this paper, we examine bit error rate (BER) of spatial multiplexing as a function of total transmit power in indoor LOS environments. This consideration is done using 4 × 4 MIMO channel measurements. We compare the BER performance with the one in NLOS environments. Then, we investigate also the BER performance for a case where the channel state information is available also at a transmitter. It has been shown that the BER performance is generally better in the LOS environments than in the NLOS ones despite higher fading correlations, and that the performance in the LOS environments tends to change largely depending on a MIMO system configuration. We have also considered the effect of mutual coupling in antennas to the performance, and relations between eigenvalue distributions and the performance. I. INTRODUCTION Spatial multiplexing using a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system can achieve high speed transmission with- out increasing a frequency bandwidth. When channel state information is available only at a receiver, each transmit antenna sends an independent signal with equal power. This is a space division multiplexing (SDM) technique. Many simulations assume independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) Rayleigh channels. The i.i.d. Rayleigh channels give excellent performance. This implies that the channels exist in nonline-of-sight (NLOS) environments with many scatterers. However, actual communications can be conducted in line- of-sight (LOS) environments. In LOS environments, we have higher received signal power, whereas channels may be corre- lated. So far, many MIMO measurement campaigns have been conducted, and channel capacities have been examined for a given average SNR value at a receiver end. It has been shown that the channel capacity is higher in NLOS situations than in LOS ones (1), (2). However, there are two problems. First, in NLOS environments, we need higher transmit power to have the same average SNR at a receiver comparing with LOS environments. The performance should be compared under conditions with the same transmit power. Second, the channel capacity is the uppermost limit given by the information theory. Bit error rate (BER) performance is more practical from wireless engineering viewpoint. In this paper, we examine the BER performance of 4 × 4 MIMO SDM as a function of transmit power in indoor LOS environments. The BER is obtained by computer simulations using MIMO channel measurements. We compare the per- formance with the one in NLOS environments. Furthermore, we investigate the BER performance of an eigenbeam-space division multiplexing (E-SDM) system also known as a SVD- based MIMO system (3), (4) where the channel state infor- mation is available also at a transmitter end. We consider also the effect of mutual coupling in antennas, and relations between BER performance and eigenvalue distributions of channel related matrices. II. MEASUREMENT SETUP

A two module electron beam source operating over a wide range of output parameters has been designed and fabricated to be used in conjunction with a pair of electron beam sustained CO/sub 2/ lasers. Each module comprised a grid-controlled thermionic electron beam gun including a compact grid pulser for control of the electron beam, a 250 kV thyratron switched modulator for acceleration of the electron beam, 1 kHz filament heater and a complex computerized control system. Table 1 summarizes the overall system specifications.

A practical 32-line photonic space-division switching system a fabricated using the world first 8x8 polarization independent LiNbO3 matrix switches. Owing to their polarization independence, the switching system can employ ordinary single-made optical fibers for subscriber access lines, which greatly contributes to make a photonic switching system practical and competent for broadband communications services. A three-stage switching network, with specially designed optical matrix switches in the third stage, is developed to provide HDTV- program distribution services as well as TV phone services. The overall insertion loss and crosstalk characteristics of the matrix switches, and the feasibility of the system is proved. The constructed 32-fine photonic switching system is now successfully operating. To extend the line capacity so over one hundred laser diode optical amplifier employment is investigated as well. Some 128-line switching networks including one optical amplifier stage are presented and requirements for optical amplifier gain and matrix switch insertion loss to implement the networks are clearly indicated. Those requirements are almost within reach of the current intensive research activities on the LiNbO3 matrix switches and laser diode amplifiers. Owing to the experiment and investigations described above, it is concluded that a practical 128 more line photonic switching system can be fabricated in the near future.

This paper describes a way of the seismic ovservation and a system for the earthquake prediction by using the data of electric field, magnetic field,light and gravitation propagated from the seismic center of the earth to a satellite.

Starting in 1984, studies have been made of 15-65 MV, 4 MJ, 9-16 ns ion drivers for the LIBRA ICF reactor. The Helia approach was adopted. Design options and general design considerations are discussed. A recent 30 MV design is described that consists of 16 modules, each of 28 1.3 MV Metglas induction cells, powered by thyratron-switched capacitor banks through magnetic pulse compressors.

PACS is a system designed mainly for an intra -hospital digital image management. In addition, with the evolution of PACS, Local Area Medical Information Control System (LAMICS) will be required in pursuit of an improved efficiency of the diagnosis through an image transmission. Also Personal Health Data Recording System (PHDRS). which will be given an off-line connection of the above -mentioned systems is now under evaluation. A global integration of these systems will represent "Imaq and Communication System in Patient Care", which is exactly, I think, the theme of this international conference. We are designing, for further study, a Hybrid PACS which is a combined database of Analogue information and Digital information and which will support an organic operation of the IMAC system.

Based on the indoor measurement campaign, the performance of MIMO spatial multiplexing in the LOS environments has been compared with that in the NLOS ones. It has been shown that the average BER performance in the LOS environments is better than that in the NLOS ones despite higher fading correlations. The BER is obtained by computer simulations using MIMO channel measurements. We compare the performance with the one in NLOS environments. Furthermore, we investigate the BER performance of an eigenbeam-space division multiplexing (E-SDM) system where the channel state information is known also at the TX end.

The ZR refurbishment project [1] at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) required a set of diverter switches to protect the Marx generators and intermediate storage (IS) capacitors from Marx pre-fire and/or laser triggered output switch (LTS) no-fire. Thirty-six such diverters, one for each Marx-IS set, will need to operate reliably over the full range of Marx charge voltages and LTS anticipated closure times. Operating voltage is up to 6 MV. A self-closing oil switch diverter was selected and design work began in late 2002. The first diverter (Phase I or just PI) was delivered in the summer of 2003 and tested on SNL's Z20 test-bed. Based on test results, operational experience and overall project budgetary concerns, it was decided to re-design the diverter, resulting a simpler, less costly switch. This new self- closing oil switch (Phase II or P2) was fielded at SNL on the Z20 test-bed in late 2004. Both designs include adjustable electrodes to control the closure time. Also incorporated is a mechanical clamp that minimizes or shorts the oil gap until Marx charge is complete. Both diverters feature liquid resistors sized to safely absorb the energy stored in the Marx or IS. This paper describes the design and test results from these diverters.

Mercury is a nominal 6-MV, 360-kA, 2.2-TW magnetically-insulated inductive voltage adder that is being assembled at the Naval Research Laboratory. Mercury, originally known as KALIF-HELA, was located at the Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe, Germany. Once assembled, Mercury will be used as a testbed for development of high-power electron- and ion-beam diodes. Applications include source development for high-resolution flash radiography, nuclear weapons effects simulation, and particle-beam transport research. This paper highlights the progress of the Mercury assembly and supporting activities, including modifications from the original design, circuit modeling to optimize the Mercury circuit, power-flow simulations to understand and optimize Mercury power flow and load coupling, and MITL theory and modeling to develop a transmission-line code capability for modeling transient effects in MITLs.

Hydrocephalus induces interstitial brain edema, which causes neurological deficits, even if the intracranial pressure is maintained within the normal range, and the cerebral blood flow (CBF) does not decline to an ischemic level. The precise mechanisms underlying such edema-induced neuronal dysfunction remain unclear. In the present study, in an attempt to elucidate the metabolic derangements in brain tissue with interstitial edema, we evaluated the changes in CBF and oxidative/glucose metabolism using a rat model of kaolin-induced hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus was produced in male Wistar rats by intrathecal injection of 0.1 ml aluminum silicate suspension (200 mg/ml) via the cisterna magna. CBF was determined by 14[C]-iodoantipyrine autoradiography. Oxidative metabolism was evaluated by cytochrome oxidase (CYO) histochemistry, and glucose metabolism by hexokinase (HK) histochemistry. CBF declined with the development of hydrocephalus, but did not reach an ischemic level. The CYO activity was diffusely depressed in both the cortex and hippocampus. The HK activity was preserved at the early stage of hydrocephalus. At the advanced stage, the HK activity was reduced in the hippocampal CA3 region first, and diffusely thereafter. In conclusion, interstitial brain edema impairs oxidative metabolism even at the early stage of hydrocephalus, and shifts the metabolism to anaerobic glycolysis despite a preserved CBF. Impairment of glucose metabolism was first observed in the CA3 region, suggesting that the CA3 is metabolically vulnerable, and CA3 dysfunction may contribute to the memory deficits seen in hydrocephalus.

Many power electronic equipments are successfully employed in various fields due to their high efficiency operation, energy saving, etc. However, these produce some harmonic current, which flow into electric power systems. As a result, it is evident that large harmonic currents make the quality of electric power inferior and it is important to take a measure to meet a reasonable quality level. Estimating of harmonic equivalent circuit including harmonic source will be useful to do it. In this paper, we propose a new approach to estimate the harmonic sources using many operating data of an active filter installed for suppressing harmonic current, and a method to separate the inflow and outflow harmonic currents from the upstream side and downstream side harmonic sources, respectively, at the installing point of the active filter. The usefulness of the proposed methods are experimentally confirmed using two types of rectifier circuits.

The injector for the second axis of the dual-axis radiographic hydrotest facility (DARHT II) is now undergoing commissioning tests at Los Alamos national laboratory. A Marx generator develops a 3.2 MV, 2 /spl mu/s pulse that is applied to the diode through a high voltage (or Marx) dome, current stalk and high voltage insulator column. The 2 kA electron beam source is a 165-mm-diameter thermionic dispenser cathode operating near 120 kV/cm. The extracted beam enters a series of eight pulsed power-driven injector induction cells that accelerate the beam to approximately 4.5 MeV. The beam then passes through a beamhead clean-up zone (BCUZ) to "scrape off" the off-energy portion of the beam (the beam leading edge and, to a lesser extent, the beam trailing edge). A crowbar switch fired at the end of 2 /spl mu/s produces a short fall time. This paper focuses on the electrical and mechanical design and testing of the Marx generator. The Marx consists of 88 stages, each half stage of which is a +/- 50 kV type EPFN. The Marx was tested for over 8000 shots before shipment to Los Alamos and demonstrated 6 ns jitter and good reliability with only 8 prefires out of 5000 shots. At the end of December 2002, nearly 800 shots have been fired in the process of commissioning the DARHT machine. The results of both series of these tests are given in this paper.

The prototypes for the nominally 300-kV pulsed power supply and acceleration cell were built and tested in order to determine critical design parameters needed for their final designs. The pulsed power supply produced a 73-ns-long trapezoidal pulse rising in 3 ns (10-90%) and having high frequency ripple of less than 2%. The power supply's throughput jitter was 1.5 ns (1a). The cell was driven by the power supply and had a resistor taking the place of the beam loading. The cell tests showed that the ferrite had a useful flux swing of 0.45 T (20.7 mV-s) before the magnetization current pulled the cell voltage down by more than a few percent. >

Summary form only given. Cygnus is a prototype of a radiographic X-ray source leveraging existing hardware and designs to drive a rod-pinch diode at 2.2 MV. This high-resolution X-ray source is being developed to support the Sub-Critical Experiments Program at the Nevada Test Site, and as such employs a modular technology that is scaleable to higher voltages and can be readily deployed underground. The diode is driven by three Induction Voltage Adder (IVA) cells from the Sandia SABRE accelerator; threaded by a positive polarity vacuum coax that extends 2 in to the diode and is designed to operate below electron emission on the anodized outer electrode. The /spl sim/40 ohm diode impedance requires a 40/(3*3)/spl sim/4.5 ohm source to drive the three IVA cavities in parallel, a convenient impedance for a single water coax. The water coax is further designed to serve as a long, passive water cable accommodating several bends to allow independent positioning of the pulse generator that drives the coax, the IVA, and diode X-ray source at the far end. This long water coax is driven by a water pulse-forming line originally developed for Sandia's Radiographic Integrated Test Stand (RITS). A low inductance commercial Marx charges the single PFL in times similar to the charge-times of parallel sets of PFLs driven by intermediate stores in larger IVA systems such as RITS, Hermes-III. The paper describes the Cygnus accelerator design and presents test results for some components.

Cygnus is a radiographic x-ray source developed for support of the Sub-Critical Experiments Program at the Nevada Test Site. Major requirements for this application are: a dramatically reduced spot size as compared to both Government Laboratory and existing commercial alternatives, layout flexibility, and reliability. Cygnus incorporates proven pulsed power technology (Marx Generator, Pulse Forming Line, Water Transmission Line, and Inductive Voltage Adder sub-components) to drive a high voltage vacuum diode. In the case of Cygnus, a relatively new approach (the rod pinch diode [1]) is employed to achieve a small source diameter. Design specifications are: 2.25 MeV endpoint energy, < 1 mm source diameter, and >3 rads dose at 1 meter. The pulsed power and system architecture design plan has been previously presented [2]. The first set of Cygnus shots were geared to verification of electrical parameters and, therefore, used a large area diode configuration offering increased shot rate as compared to that of the rod pinch diode. In this paper we present results of initial rod pinch operation in terms of electrical and radiation parameters.