Space Station communications and tracking systems modeling and RF link simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsang, Chit-Sang; Chie, Chak M.; Lindsey, William C.

1986-01-01

In this final report, the effort spent on Space Station Communications and Tracking System Modeling and RF Link Simulation is described in detail. The effort is mainly divided into three parts: frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system simulation modeling and software implementation; a study on design and evaluation of a functional computerized RF link simulation/analysis system for Space Station; and a study on design and evaluation of simulation system architecture. This report documents the results of these studies. In addition, a separate User's Manual on Space Communications Simulation System (SCSS) (Version 1) documents the software developed for the Space Station FDMA communications system simulation. The final report, SCSS user's manual, and the software located in the NASA JSC system analysis division's VAX 750 computer together serve as the deliverables from LinCom for this project effort.

Reconfigurable RF Systems Using Commercially Available Digital Capacitor Arrays

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

for changing antenna loading. Note that for the receiver circuitry, the path through the FEM is reversed and the wideband RF engine is given...Network A tunable impedance-matching network is commonly used to match variable antenna impedance to the transmitter output or receiver input [1...2]. There are multiple utilities for this device. In one, the so-called static mode, the antenna can be matched to the rest of the system before

Focused electron and ion beam systems

DOEpatents

Leung, Ka-Ngo; Reijonen, Jani; Persaud, Arun; Ji, Qing; Jiang, Ximan

2004-07-27

An electron beam system is based on a plasma generator in a plasma ion source with an accelerator column. The electrons are extracted from a plasma cathode in a plasma ion source, e.g. a multicusp plasma ion source. The beam can be scanned in both the x and y directions, and the system can be operated with multiple beamlets. A compact focused ion or electron beam system has a plasma ion source and an all-electrostatic beam acceleration and focusing column. The ion source is a small chamber with the plasma produced by radio-frequency (RF) induction discharge. The RF antenna is wound outside the chamber and connected to an RF supply. Ions or electrons can be extracted from the source. A multi-beam system has several sources of different species and an electron beam source.

Concurrent recording of RF pulses and gradient fields - comprehensive field monitoring for MRI.

PubMed

Brunner, David O; Dietrich, Benjamin E; Çavuşoğlu, Mustafa; Wilm, Bertram J; Schmid, Thomas; Gross, Simon; Barmet, Christoph; Pruessmann, Klaas P

2016-09-01

Reconstruction of MRI data is based on exact knowledge of all magnetic field dynamics, since the interplay of RF and gradient pulses generates the signal, defines the contrast and forms the basis of resolution in spatial and spectral dimensions. Deviations caused by various sources, such as system imperfections, delays, eddy currents, drifts or externally induced fields, can therefore critically limit the accuracy of MRI examinations. This is true especially at ultra-high fields, because many error terms scale with the main field strength, and higher available SNR renders even smaller errors relevant. Higher baseline field also often requires higher acquisition bandwidths and faster signal encoding, increasing hardware demands and the severity of many types of hardware imperfection. To address field imperfections comprehensively, in this work we propose to expand the concept of magnetic field monitoring to also encompass the recording of RF fields. In this way, all dynamic magnetic fields relevant for spin evolution are covered, including low- to audio-frequency magnetic fields as produced by main magnets, gradients and shim systems, as well as RF pulses generated with single- and multiple-channel transmission systems. The proposed approach permits field measurements concurrently with actual MRI procedures on a strict common time base. The combined measurement is achieved with an array of miniaturized field probes that measure low- to audio-frequency fields via (19) F NMR and simultaneously pick up RF pulses in the MRI system's (1) H transmit band. Field recordings can form the basis of system calibration, retrospective correction of imaging data or closed-loop feedback correction, all of which hold potential to render MRI more robust and relax hardware requirements. The proposed approach is demonstrated for a range of imaging methods performed on a 7 T human MRI system, including accelerated multiple-channel RF pulses. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multipolar hepatic radiofrequency ablation using up to six applicators: preliminary results.

PubMed

Bruners, P; Schmitz-Rode, T; Günther, R W; Mahnken, A

2008-03-01

To evaluate the clinical feasibility and safety of hepatic radiofrequency (RF) ablation using a multipolar RF system permitting the simultaneous use of up to six electrodes. Ten patients (3 female, 7 male, mean age 61) suffering from 29 hepatic metastases (range: 1 - 5) of different tumors were treated with a modified multipolar RF system (CelonLab Power, Celon Medical Instruments, Teltow, Germany) operating four to six needle-shaped internally cooled RF applicators. The procedure duration, applied energy and generator output were recorded during the intervention. The treatment result and procedure-related complications were analyzed. The achieved coagulation volume was calculated on the basis of contrast-enhanced CT scans 24 hours after RF ablation. Complete tumor ablation was achieved in all cases as determined by the post-interventional lack of contrast enhancement in the target region using four applicators in five patients, five applicators in one patient and six applicators in four patients. A mean energy deposition of 353.9 +/- 176.2 kJ resulted in a mean coagulation volume of 115.9 +/- 79.5 cm (3). The mean procedure duration was 74.9 +/- 21.2 minutes. Four patients showed an intraabdominal hemorrhage which necessitated further interventional treatment (embolization; percutaneous histoacryl injection) in two patients. Multipolar RF ablation of hepatic metastasis with up to six applicators was clinically feasible. In our patient population it was associated with an increased risk of intraabdominal bleeding probably due to the multiple punctures associated with the use of multiple applicators.

PEEL-AND-STICK SENSORS POWERED BY DIRECTED RF ENERGY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lalau-Keraly, Chrisopher; Daniel, George; Lee, Joseph

PARC, a Xerox Company, is developing a low-cost system of peel-and-stick wireless sensors that will enable widespread building environment sensor deployment with the potential to deliver up to 30% energy savings. The system is embodied by a set of RF hubs that provide power to automatically located sensor nodes, and relay data wirelessly to the building management system (BMS). The sensor nodes are flexible electronic labels powered by rectified RF energy transmitted by an RF hub and can contain multiple printed and conventional sensors. The system design overcomes limitations in wireless sensors related to power delivery, lifetime, and cost bymore » eliminating batteries and photovoltaic devices. Sensor localization is performed automatically by the inclusion of a programmable multidirectional antenna array in the RF hub. Comparison of signal strengths while the RF beam is swept allows for sensor localization, reducing installation effort and enabling automatic recommissioning of sensors that have been relocated, overcoming a significant challenge in building operations. PARC has already demonstrated wireless power and temperature data transmission up to a distance of 20m with less than one minute between measurements, using power levels well within the FCC regulation limits in the 902-928 MHz ISM band. The sensor’s RF energy harvesting antenna achieves high performance with dimensions below 5cm x 9cm.« less

Peel-and-Stick Sensors Powered by Directed RF Energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lalau-Keraly, Christopher; Daniel, George; Lee, Joseph

PARC, a Xerox Company, is developing a low-cost system of peel-and-stick wireless sensors that will enable widespread building environment sensor deployment with the potential to deliver up to 30% energy savings. The system is embodied by a set of RF hubs that provide power to automatically located sensor nodes, and relay data wirelessly to the building management system (BMS). The sensor nodes are flexible electronic labels powered by rectified RF energy transmitted by an RF hub and can contain multiple printed and conventional sensors. The system design overcomes limitations in wireless sensors related to power delivery, lifetime, and cost bymore » eliminating batteries and photovoltaic devices. Sensor localization is performed automatically by the inclusion of a programmable multidirectional antenna array in the RF hub. Comparison of signal strengths while the RF beam is swept allows for sensor localization, reducing installation effort and enabling automatic recommissioning of sensors that have been relocated, overcoming a significant challenge in building operations. PARC has already demonstrated wireless power and temperature data transmission up to a distance of 20m with less than one minute between measurements, using power levels well within the FCC regulation limits in the 902-928 MHz ISM band. The sensor’s RF energy harvesting antenna achieves high performance with dimensions below 5cm x 9cm« less

RF Energy Harvesting Peel-and-Stick Sensors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lalau-Keraly, Christopher; Schwartz, David; Daniel, George

PARC, a Xerox Company, is developing a low-cost system of peel-and-stick wireless sensors that will enable widespread building environment sensor deployment with the potential to deliver up to 30% energy savings. The system is embodied by a set of RF hubs that provide power to the automatically located sensor nodes, and relays data wirelessly to the building management system (BMS). The sensor nodes are flexible electronic labels powered by rectified RF energy transmitted by a RF hub and can contain multiple printed and conventional sensors. The system design overcomes limitations in wireless sensors related to power delivery, lifetime, and costmore » by eliminating batteries and photovoltaic devices. The sensor localization is performed automatically by the inclusion of a programmable multidirectional antenna array in the RF hub. Comparison of signal strengths when the RF beam is swept allows for sensor localization, further reducing installation effort and enabling automatic recommissioning of sensors that have been relocated, overcoming a significant challenge in building operations. PARC has already demonstrated wireless power and temperature data transmission up to a distance of 20m with a duty cycle less than a minute between measurements, using power levels well within the FCC regulation limits in the 902-928 MHz ISM band. The sensor’s RF energy harvesting antenna dimensions was less than 5cmx9cm, demonstrating the possibility of small form factor for the sensor nodes.« less

[Cerebrovascular risk factors seen in a university hospital].

PubMed

Hernández Chávez, M; Samsó Zepeda, C; López Espejo, M; Escobar Henríquez, R; Mesa Latorre, T

2014-09-01

Risk factors (RF) in pediatric stroke differ from those of adults, and they include a wide range of diseases such as heart disease, infections, leukemias, and inborn errors of metabolism. To describe RF for ischemic stroke in a pediatric population, and to examine the relationship of RF with age, sex and type of stroke. An analysis was made of database of 114 children and adolescents with ischemic stroke from January 2003 to July 2012. Risk factors were stratified into 6 categories and ischemic strokes were classified as arterial and venous. We compared the RF with age, sex, and type of stroke (chi2 and OR). The median age was 2.5 years, with 74 (62.2%) males. No RF was identified in 7.9% of patients, and 67% had more than one RF. The most common RF were acute systemic diseases (56.1%), heart disease (35.1%), and chronic systemic diseases (29.8%). There was a statistically significant association between acute systemic disease and age less than 5 years (P<.001), and between chronic systemic disease and age 5 years or more (P<.02). The RF of heart disease was associated with arterial infarction (P<.05), and the acute head and neck disease RF was associated with venous infarction (P<.05). The RF for ischemic stroke are multiple in the pediatric population, and some of them are associated with a specific age and type of stroke. The detection of these factors may help in the primary prevention of people at risk, an early diagnosis, and treatment and prevention of recurrences. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

A Cascaded Self-Similar Rat-Race Hybrid Coupler Architecture and its Compact Ka-Band Implementation

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

real-estate and limit the system-level performance, including bandwidth, gain, and energy - efficiency. These many challenges are positioning passive...and are used in numerous RF/mm-wave systems for radar and wireless communications. Although a Marchand balun covers a large bandwidth, it is...requires multiple λ/4 transmission lines (t-lines), making its on-chip designs very costly even for RF/mm-wave bands. Reported miniaturized rat-race

On the estimation of the worst-case implant-induced RF-heating in multi-channel MRI.

PubMed

Córcoles, Juan; Zastrow, Earl; Kuster, Niels

2017-06-21

The increasing use of multiple radiofrequency (RF) transmit channels in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems makes it necessary to rigorously assess the risk of RF-induced heating. This risk is especially aggravated with inclusions of medical implants within the body. The worst-case RF-heating scenario is achieved when the local tissue deposition in the at-risk region (generally in the vicinity of the implant electrodes) reaches its maximum value while MRI exposure is compliant with predefined general specific absorption rate (SAR) limits or power requirements. This work first reviews the common approach to estimate the worst-case RF-induced heating in multi-channel MRI environment, based on the maximization of the ratio of two Hermitian forms by solving a generalized eigenvalue problem. It is then shown that the common approach is not rigorous and may lead to an underestimation of the worst-case RF-heating scenario when there is a large number of RF transmit channels and there exist multiple SAR or power constraints to be satisfied. Finally, this work derives a rigorous SAR-based formulation to estimate a preferable worst-case scenario, which is solved by casting a semidefinite programming relaxation of this original non-convex problem, whose solution closely approximates the true worst-case including all SAR constraints. Numerical results for 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 RF channels in a 3T-MRI volume coil for a patient with a deep-brain stimulator under a head imaging exposure are provided as illustrative examples.

On the estimation of the worst-case implant-induced RF-heating in multi-channel MRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Córcoles, Juan; Zastrow, Earl; Kuster, Niels

2017-06-01

The increasing use of multiple radiofrequency (RF) transmit channels in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems makes it necessary to rigorously assess the risk of RF-induced heating. This risk is especially aggravated with inclusions of medical implants within the body. The worst-case RF-heating scenario is achieved when the local tissue deposition in the at-risk region (generally in the vicinity of the implant electrodes) reaches its maximum value while MRI exposure is compliant with predefined general specific absorption rate (SAR) limits or power requirements. This work first reviews the common approach to estimate the worst-case RF-induced heating in multi-channel MRI environment, based on the maximization of the ratio of two Hermitian forms by solving a generalized eigenvalue problem. It is then shown that the common approach is not rigorous and may lead to an underestimation of the worst-case RF-heating scenario when there is a large number of RF transmit channels and there exist multiple SAR or power constraints to be satisfied. Finally, this work derives a rigorous SAR-based formulation to estimate a preferable worst-case scenario, which is solved by casting a semidefinite programming relaxation of this original non-convex problem, whose solution closely approximates the true worst-case including all SAR constraints. Numerical results for 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 RF channels in a 3T-MRI volume coil for a patient with a deep-brain stimulator under a head imaging exposure are provided as illustrative examples.

Study of RF breakdown and multipacting in accelerator components

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pande, Manjiri; Singh, P., E-mail: manjiri@barc.gov.in, E-mail: psingh@barc.gov.in

2014-07-01

Radio frequency (RF) structures that are part of accelerators and energy sources, operate with sinusoidally varying electromagnetic fields under high RF energy. Here, RF breakdown and multipacting take place in RF structures and limit their performance. Electron field emission processes in a RF structure are precursors for breakdown processes. RF breakdown is a major phenomena affecting and causing the irreversible damage to RF structures. Breakdown rate and the damage induced by the breakdowns are its important properties. The damage is related to power absorbed during breakdown, while the breakdown rate is determined by the amplitudes of surface electric and magneticmore » fields, geometry, metal surface preparation and conditioning history. It limits working power and produces irreversible surface damage. The breakdown limit depends on the RF circuit, structure geometry, RF frequency, input RF power, pulse width, materials used, surface processing technique and surface electric and magnetic fields. Multipactor (MP) is a low power, electron multiplication based resonance breakdown phenomenon in vacuum and is often observed in RF structures. A multipactor discharge is undesirable, as it can create a reactive component that detunes the resonant cavities and components, generates noise in communication system and induces gas desorption from the conductor surfaces. In RF structures, certain conditions are required to generate multipacting. (author)« less

Ion Source Development for a Compact Proton Beam Writing System III

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-28

to yield ion beam with energies up to 3 keV. The electrical power required to operate multiple components (like RF Valve , Probe and Extraction...they are powered through an isolation transformer. The required gas, to be ionized in the RF ion source, is fed through a coarse needle valve ...connector, the system can be pumped down to 3×10-2 mbar using an oil roughing pump. Nitrogen gas is feed in by adjusting the gas regulating valve

RF Exposure Analysis for Multiple Wi-Fi Devices In Enclosed Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hwu, Shian U.; Rhodes, Bryan A.; deSilva, B. Kanishka; Sham, Catherine C.; Keiser, James R.

2013-01-01

Wi-Fi devices operated inside a metallic enclosure have been investigation in the recent years. A motivation for this study is to investigate wave propagation inside an enclosed environment such as elevator, car, aircraft, and spacecraft. There are performances and safety concerned that when the RF transmitters are used in the metallic enclosed environments. In this paper, the field distributions inside a confined room were investigated with multiple portable Wi-Fi devices. Computer simulations were performed using the rigorous computational electromagnetics (CEM). The method of moments (MoM) was used to model the mutual coupling among antennas. The geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) was applied for the multiple reflections off the ground and walls. The prediction of the field distribution inside such environment is useful for the planning and deployment of a wireless radio and sensor system. Factors that affect the field strengths and distributions of radio waves in confined space were analyzed. The results could be used to evaluate the RF exposure safety in confined environment. By comparing the field distributions for various scenarios, it was observed that the Wi-Fi device counts, spacing and relative locations in the room are important factors in such environments. The RF Keep Out Zone (KOZ), where the electric field strengths exceed the permissible RF exposure limit, could be used to assess the RF human exposure compliance. As shown in this study, it s possible to maximize or minimize field intensity in specific area by arranging the Wi-Fi devices as a function of the relative location and spacing in a calculated manner.

Radio-frequency energy quantification in magnetic resonance imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alon, Leeor

Mapping of radio frequency (RF) energy deposition has been challenging for 50+ years, especially, when scanning patients in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. As result, electromagnetic simulation software is often used for estimating the specific absorption rate (SAR), the rate of RF energy deposition in tissue. The thesis work presents challenges associated with aligning information provided by electromagnetic simulation and MRI experiments. As result of the limitations of simulations, experimental methods for the quantification of SAR were established. A system for quantification of the total RF energy deposition was developed for parallel transmit MRI (a system that uses multiple antennas to excite and image the body). The system is capable of monitoring and predicting channel-by-channel RF energy deposition, whole body SAR and capable of tracking potential hardware failures that occur in the transmit chain and may cause the deposition of excessive energy into patients. Similarly, we demonstrated that local RF power deposition can be mapped and predicted for parallel transmit systems based on a series of MRI temperature mapping acquisitions. Resulting from the work, we developed tools for optimal reconstruction temperature maps from MRI acquisitions. The tools developed for temperature mapping paved the way for utilizing MRI as a diagnostic tool for evaluation of RF/microwave emitting device safety. Quantification of the RF energy was demonstrated for both MRI compatible and non-MRI-compatible devices (such as cell phones), while having the advantage of being noninvasive, of providing millimeter resolution and high accuracy.

8.0-Tesla human MR system: temperature changes associated with radiofrequency-induced heating of a head phantom.

PubMed

Kangarlu, Allahyar; Shellock, Frank G; Chakeres, Donald W

2003-02-01

To investigate if the heat induced in biological tissues by typical radio frequency (RF) energy associated with an 8.0-Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) system causes excessive temperature changes. Fluoroptic thermometry was used to measure temperatures in multiple positions in a head phantom made of ground turkey breast. A series of experiments were conducted with measurements obtained at RF power levels ranging from a specific absorption rate (SAR) of up to 4.0 W/kg for 10 minutes. The highest temperature increases were up to 0.7 degrees C. An inhomogeneous heating pattern was observed. In general, the deep regions within the phantom registered higher temperature increases compared to the peripheral sites. The expectation of an inhomogeneous RF distribution in ultra high field systems (> 4 T) was confirmed. At a frequency of 340 MHz and in-tissue RF wave length of about 10 cm, the RF inhomogeneity was measured to create higher temperatures in deeper regions of a human head phantom compared to peripheral tissues. Our results agree with the computational electromagnetic calculations for such frequencies. Importantly, these experiments indicated that there were no regions of heating that exceeded the current FDA guidelines. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Effects of simultaneous combined exposure to CDMA and WCDMA electromagnetic fields on serum hormone levels in rats

PubMed Central

Jin, Yeung Bae; Choi, Hyung-Do; Kim, Byung Chan; Pack, Jeong-Ki; Kim, Nam; Lee, Yun-Sil

2013-01-01

Despite more than a decade of research on the endocrine system, there have been no published studies about the effects of concurrent exposure of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on this system. The present study investigated the several parameters of the endocrine system including melatonin, thyroid stimulating hormone, stress hormone and sex hormone after code division multiple access (CDMA, 849 MHz) and wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA, 1.95 GHz) signals for simultaneous exposure in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to RF-EMF signals for 45 min/day, 5 days/week for up to 8 weeks. The whole-body average specific absorption rate (SAR) of CDMA or WCDMA was 2.0 W/kg (total 4.0 W/kg). At 4 and 8 weeks after the experiment began, each experimental group's 40 rats (male 20, female 20) were autopsied. Exposure for 8 weeks to simultaneous CDMA and WCDMA RF did not affect serum levels in rats of melatonin, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen) as assessed by the ELISA method. PMID:23239176

Vehicle-mounted high-power microwave systems and health risk communication in a deployed environment.

PubMed

Westhoff, John L; Roberts, Brad J; Erickson, Kristin

2013-01-01

Vehicle-mounted high-power microwave systems have been developed to counter the improvised explosive device threat in southwest Asia. Many service members only vaguely comprehend the nature of these devices and the nonionizing radio frequency (RF) radiation they emit. Misconceptions about the health effects of RF radiation have the potential to produce unnecessary anxiety. We report an incident in which concern for exposure to radiation from a high-power microwave device thought to be malfunctioning led to an extensive field investigation, multiple evaluations by clinicians in theater, and subsequent referrals to an Occupational Health clinic upon return from deployment. When acute exposure to RF does occur, the effects are thermally mediated and immediately perceptible--limiting the possibility of injury. Unlike ionizing radiation, RF radiation is not known to cause cancer and the adverse health effects are not cumulative. Medical officers counseling service members concerned about potential RF radiation exposure should apply established principles of risk communication, attend to real and perceived risks, and enlist the assistance of technical experts to properly characterize an exposure when appropriate.

Anti-Ig autoantibody and complement-mediated destruction of neoplastic cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Towmey, J. J.

1976-01-01

Some immune response are effected through immunoglobulins (Ig), of which five classes have been recognized, namely, IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM. Auto-antibodies associated with rheumatoid arthritis, termed rheumatoid factors (RF) react with antigenic determinants on IgG heavy chains. RF has predominant but not complete IgM specificity. This auto-antibody response was not detected in treated patients with primary brain tumors (where tissue is sequestered from the immune system by an intact bloodbrain barrier) or with multiple myeloma where humoral immunity is usually impaired. In addition, the prevalence of RF is not increased with solid tumors prior to initiation of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. It is proposed that RF is related to prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy of tumors anatomically accessible to immunologic tissues capable of antibody responses. A primary IgG response occurs, antigen-antibody complexes form, complexed IgG becomes immunologic, and an RF response results.

Miniature EVA Software Defined Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pozhidaev, Aleksey

2012-01-01

As NASA embarks upon developing the Next-Generation Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Radio for deep space exploration, the demands on EVA battery life will substantially increase. The number of modes and frequency bands required will continue to grow in order to enable efficient and complex multi-mode operations including communications, navigation, and tracking applications. Whether conducting astronaut excursions, communicating to soldiers, or first responders responding to emergency hazards, NASA has developed an innovative, affordable, miniaturized, power-efficient software defined radio that offers unprecedented power-efficient flexibility. This lightweight, programmable, S-band, multi-service, frequency- agile EVA software defined radio (SDR) supports data, telemetry, voice, and both standard and high-definition video. Features include a modular design, an easily scalable architecture, and the EVA SDR allows for both stationary and mobile battery powered handheld operations. Currently, the radio is equipped with an S-band RF section. However, its scalable architecture can accommodate multiple RF sections simultaneously to cover multiple frequency bands. The EVA SDR also supports multiple network protocols. It currently implements a Hybrid Mesh Network based on the 802.11s open standard protocol. The radio targets RF channel data rates up to 20 Mbps and can be equipped with a real-time operating system (RTOS) that can be switched off for power-aware applications. The EVA SDR's modular design permits implementation of the same hardware at all Network Nodes concept. This approach assures the portability of the same software into any radio in the system. It also brings several benefits to the entire system including reducing system maintenance, system complexity, and development cost.

Narrow field electromagnetic sensor system and method

DOEpatents

McEwan, Thomas E.

1996-01-01

A narrow field electromagnetic sensor system and method of sensing a characteristic of an object provide the capability to realize a characteristic of an object such as density, thickness, or presence, for any desired coordinate position on the object. One application is imaging. The sensor can also be used as an obstruction detector or an electronic trip wire with a narrow field without the disadvantages of impaired performance when exposed to dirt, snow, rain, or sunlight. The sensor employs a transmitter for transmitting a sequence of electromagnetic signals in response to a transmit timing signal, a receiver for sampling only the initial direct RF path of the electromagnetic signal while excluding all other electromagnetic signals in response to a receive timing signal, and a signal processor for processing the sampled direct RF path electromagnetic signal and providing an indication of the characteristic of an object. Usually, the electromagnetic signal is a short RF burst and the obstruction must provide a substantially complete eclipse of the direct RF path. By employing time-of-flight techniques, a timing circuit controls the receiver to sample only the initial direct RF path of the electromagnetic signal while not sampling indirect path electromagnetic signals. The sensor system also incorporates circuitry for ultra-wideband spread spectrum operation that reduces interference to and from other RF services while allowing co-location of multiple electronic sensors without the need for frequency assignments.

Narrow field electromagnetic sensor system and method

DOEpatents

McEwan, T.E.

1996-11-19

A narrow field electromagnetic sensor system and method of sensing a characteristic of an object provide the capability to realize a characteristic of an object such as density, thickness, or presence, for any desired coordinate position on the object. One application is imaging. The sensor can also be used as an obstruction detector or an electronic trip wire with a narrow field without the disadvantages of impaired performance when exposed to dirt, snow, rain, or sunlight. The sensor employs a transmitter for transmitting a sequence of electromagnetic signals in response to a transmit timing signal, a receiver for sampling only the initial direct RF path of the electromagnetic signal while excluding all other electromagnetic signals in response to a receive timing signal, and a signal processor for processing the sampled direct RF path electromagnetic signal and providing an indication of the characteristic of an object. Usually, the electromagnetic signal is a short RF burst and the obstruction must provide a substantially complete eclipse of the direct RF path. By employing time-of-flight techniques, a timing circuit controls the receiver to sample only the initial direct RF path of the electromagnetic signal while not sampling indirect path electromagnetic signals. The sensor system also incorporates circuitry for ultra-wideband spread spectrum operation that reduces interference to and from other RF services while allowing co-location of multiple electronic sensors without the need for frequency assignments. 12 figs.

ADRF experiments using near n.pi pulse strings. [Adiabatic Demagnetization due to Radio Frequency pulses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhim, W. K.; Burum, D. P.; Elleman, D. D.

1977-01-01

Adiabatic demagnetization (ADRF) can be achieved in a dipolar coupled nuclear spin system in solids by applying a string of short RF pulses and gradually modulating the pulse amplitudes or pulse angles. This letter reports an adiabatic inverse polarization effect in solids and a rotary spin echo phenomenon observed in liquids when the pulse angle is gradually changed across integral multiples of pi during a string of RF pulses. The RF pulse sequence used is illustrated along with the NMR signal from a CaF2 single crystal as observed between the RF pulses and the rotary spin echo signal observed in liquid C6F6 for n = 2. The observed effects are explained qualitatively on the basis of average Hamiltonian theory.

Signal Processing for Wireless Communication MIMO System with Nano- Scaled CSDG MOSFET based DP4T RF Switch.

PubMed

Srivastava, Viranjay M

2015-01-01

In the present technological expansion, the radio frequency integrated circuits in the wireless communication technologies became useful because of the replacement of increasing number of functions, traditional hardware components by modern digital signal processing. The carrier frequencies used for communication systems, now a day, shifted toward the microwave regime. The signal processing for the multiple inputs multiple output wireless communication system using the Metal- Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect-Transistor (MOSFET) has been done a lot. In this research the signal processing with help of nano-scaled Cylindrical Surrounding Double Gate (CSDG) MOSFET by means of Double- Pole Four-Throw Radio-Frequency (DP4T RF) switch, in terms of Insertion loss, Isolation, Reverse isolation and Inter modulation have been analyzed. In addition to this a channel model has been presented. Here, we also discussed some patents relevant to the topic.

Sci-Fri PM: Radiation Therapy, Planning, Imaging, and Special Techniques - 09: Impact of the distance of reflective markers from linac isocenter on the positional accuracy of an infrared tracking system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ali, Elsayed; Nyiri, Balazs

Purpose: The HexaPOD™ six degree of freedom couchtop is equipped with an optical tracking system, consisting of a stereoscopic camera and a reference frame (RF) carrying infrared reflective markers. The manufacturer recommends placing the RF within 50 cm from linac isocenter (ISO), which is a serious limitation since the RF does not fit around the shoulders of most brain patients. This study quantifies the impact of extended RF distances from ISO on positional accuracy. Methods: An in-house tool with an estimated resolution of 0.3 mm and 0.1° was used. It is a large cube and a mathematical model of HexaPODmore » motion to determine the intersection of room lasers with the ruled cube edges. Combinations of translations (±1 and ±3 cm) and rotations (±2.5°) were executed on two HexaPOD couchtops for multiple RF distances from ISO (35 to 77 cm). For each combination, ten laser readings were fed into a least squares algorithm to determine the executed translations and rotations while minimizing operator reading errors. Results: The usable tracking volume is up to an RF distance of 82 cm from ISO. Positional accuracy of the HexaPOD/iGuide system is 0.6 mm and 0.1° (95% confidence). Positional accuracy variations versus RF distance from ISO are statistically insignificant (p = 0.05). Our results generally confirm recent internal estimates by the manufacturer (for future release). Conclusions: RF distances up to 77 cm from ISO are clinically acceptable, provided performing a patient safety study with a verification scan.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hayes, T.; Smith, K.S.; Severino, F.

A critical capability of the new RHIC low level rf (LLRF) system is the ability to synchronize signals across multiple locations. The 'Update Link' provides this functionality. The 'Update Link' is a deterministic serial data link based on the Xilinx RocketIO protocol that is broadcast over fiber optic cable at 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). The link provides timing events and data packets as well as time stamp information for synchronizing diagnostic data from multiple sources. The new RHIC LLRF was designed to be a flexible, modular system. The system is constructed of numerous independent RF Controller chassis. To providemore » synchronization among all of these chassis, the Update Link system was designed. The Update Link system provides a low latency, deterministic data path to broadcast information to all receivers in the system. The Update Link system is based on a central hub, the Update Link Master (ULM), which generates the data stream that is distributed via fiber optic links. Downstream chassis have non-deterministic connections back to the ULM that allow any chassis to provide data that is broadcast globally.« less

RF Single Electron Transistor Readout Amplifiers for Superconducting Astronomical Detectors for X-Ray to Sub-mm Wavelengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevenson, Thomas; Aassime, Abdelhanin; Delsing, Per; Frunzio, Luigi; Li, Li-Qun; Prober, Daniel; Schoelkopf, Robert; Segall, Ken; Wilson, Chris; Stahle, Carl

2000-01-01

We report progress on using a new type of amplifier, the Radio-Frequency Single-Electron Transistor (RF-SET), to develop multi-channel sensor readout systems for fast and sensitive readout of high impedance cryogenic photodetectors such as Superconducting Tunnel Junctions and Single Quasiparticle Photon Counters. Although cryogenic, these detectors are desirable because of capabilities not other-wise attainable. However, high impedances and low output levels make low-noise, high-speed readouts challenging, and large format arrays would be facilitated by compact, low-power, on-chip integrated amplifiers. Well-suited for this application are RF-SETs, very high performance electrometers which use an rf readout technique to provide 100 MHz bandwidth. Small size, low power, and cryogenic operation allow direct integration with detectors, and using multiple rf carrier frequencies permits simultaneous readout of 20-50 amplifiers with a common electrical connection. We describe both the first 2-channel demonstration of this wavelength division multiplexing technique for RF-SETs, and Charge-Locked-Loop operation with 100 kHz of closed-loop bandwidth.

Interoperation of an UHF RFID Reader and a TCP/IP Device via Wired and Wireless Links

PubMed Central

Lee, Sang Hoon; Jin, Ik Soo

2011-01-01

A main application in radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks is the function that processes real-time tag information after gathering the required data from multiple RFID tags. The component technologies that contain an RFID reader, called the interrogator, which has a tag chip, processors, coupling antenna, and a power management system have advanced significantly over the last decade. This paper presents a system implementation for interoperation between an UHF RFID reader and a TCP/IP device that is used as a gateway. The proposed system consists of an UHF RFID tag, an UHF RFID reader, an RF end-device, an RF coordinator, and a TCP/IP I/F. The UHF RFID reader, operating at 915 MHz, is compatible with EPC Class-0/Gen1, Class-1/Gen1 and 2, and ISO18000-6B. In particular, the UHF RFID reader can be combined with the RF end-device/coordinator for a ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) interface, which is a low-power wireless standard. The TCP/IP device communicates with the RFID reader via wired links. On the other hand, it is connected to the ZigBee end-device via wireless links. The web based test results show that the developed system can remotely recognize information of multiple tags through the interoperation between the RFID reader and the TCP/IP device. PMID:22346665

Interoperation of an UHF RFID reader and a TCP/IP device via wired and wireless links.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Hoon; Jin, Ik Soo

2011-01-01

A main application in radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks is the function that processes real-time tag information after gathering the required data from multiple RFID tags. The component technologies that contain an RFID reader, called the interrogator, which has a tag chip, processors, coupling antenna, and a power management system have advanced significantly over the last decade. This paper presents a system implementation for interoperation between an UHF RFID reader and a TCP/IP device that is used as a gateway. The proposed system consists of an UHF RFID tag, an UHF RFID reader, an RF end-device, an RF coordinator, and a TCP/IP I/F. The UHF RFID reader, operating at 915 MHz, is compatible with EPC Class-0/Gen1, Class-1/Gen1 and 2, and ISO18000-6B. In particular, the UHF RFID reader can be combined with the RF end-device/coordinator for a ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) interface, which is a low-power wireless standard. The TCP/IP device communicates with the RFID reader via wired links. On the other hand, it is connected to the ZigBee end-device via wireless links. The web based test results show that the developed system can remotely recognize information of multiple tags through the interoperation between the RFID reader and the TCP/IP device.

Development of ROACH firmware for microwave multiplexed X-ray TES microcalorimeters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madden, T. J.; Cecil, T. W.; Gades, L. M.

We are developing room temperature electronics based upon the ROACH platform for reading out microwave multiplexed X-ray TES. ROACH is an open-source hardware and software platform featuring a large Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Power PC processor, several 10GB Ethernet SFP+ interfaces, and a collection of daughter boards for analog signal generation and acquisition. The combination of a ROACH board, ADC/DAC conversion daughter boards, and hardware for RF mixing allows for the generation and capture of multiple RF tones for reading out microwave multiplexed x-ray TES microcalorimeters. The FPGA is used to generate multiple tones in base band, frommore » 10MHz to 250MHz, which are subsequently mixed to RF in the multiple GHz range and sent through the microwave multiplexer. The tones are generated in the FPGA by storing a large lookup table in Quad Data Rate (QDR) SRAM modules and playing out the waveform to a DAC board. Once the signal has been modulated to RF, passed through the microwave multiplexer, and has been modulated back to base band, the signal is digitized by an ADC board. The tones are modulated to 0Hz by using a FPGA circuit consisting of a polyphase filter bank, several Xilinx FFT blocks, Xilinx CORDIC blocks (for converting to magnitude and phase), and special phase accumulator circuit for mixing to exactly 0Hz. Upwards of 256 channels can be simultaneously captured and written into a bank of 256 First-In-First-Out (FIFO) memories, with each FIFO corresponding to a channel. Individual channel data can be further processed in the FPGA before being streamed through a 10GB Ethernet fiber-optic interface to a Linux system. The Linux system runs software written in Python and QT C++ for controlling the ROACH system, capturing data, and processing data.« less

Analog and digital transport of RF channels over converged 5G wireless-optical networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Binh, Le Nguyen

2016-02-01

Under the exponential increase demand by the emerging 5G wireless access networking and thus data-center based Internet, novel and economical transport of RF channels to and from wireless access systems. This paper presents the transport technologies of RF channels over the analog and digital domain so as to meet the demands of the transport capacity reaching multi-Tbps, in the followings: (i) The convergence of 5G broadband wireless and optical networks and its demands on capacity delivery and network structures; (ii) Analog optical technologies for delivery of both the information and RF carriers to and from multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna sites so as to control the beam steering of MIMO antenna in the mmW at either 28.6 GHz and 56.8 GHz RF carrier and delivery of channels of aggregate capacity reaching several Tbps; (ii) Transceiver employing advanced digital modulation formats and digital signal processing (DSP) so as to provide 100G and beyond transmission rate to meet the ultra-high capacity demands with flexible spectral grids, hence pay-on-demand services. The interplay between DSP-based and analog transport techniques is examined; (iii) Transport technologies for 5G cloud access networks and associate modulation and digital processing techniques for capacity efficiency; and (iv) Finally the integrated optic technologies with novel lasers, comb generators and simultaneous dual function photonic devices for both demultiplexing/multiplexing and modulation are proposed, hence a system on chip structure can be structured. Quantum dot lasers and matrixes of micro ring resonators are integrated on the same Si-on-Silica substrate are proposed and described.

An investigation of errors and data processing techniques for an RF multilateration system. [position and velocity measurements of vertical takeoff aircraft during landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Britt, C. L., Jr.

1975-01-01

The development of an RF Multilateration system to provide accurate position and velocity measurements during the approach and landing phase of Vertical Takeoff Aircraft operation is discussed. The system uses an angle-modulated ranging signal to provide both range and range rate measurements between an aircraft transponder and multiple ground stations. Range and range rate measurements are converted to coordinate measurements and the coordinate and coordinate rate information is transmitted by an integral data link to the aircraft. Data processing techniques are analyzed to show advantages and disadvantages. Error analyses are provided to permit a comparison of the various techniques.

Low temperature probe for dynamic nuclear polarization and multiple-pulse solid-state NMR.

PubMed

Cho, HyungJoon; Baugh, Jonathan; Ryan, Colm A; Cory, David G; Ramanathan, Chandrasekhar

2007-08-01

Here, we describe the design and performance characteristics of a low temperature probe for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) experiments, which is compatible with demanding multiple-pulse experiments. The competing goals of a high-Q microwave cavity to achieve large DNP enhancements and a high efficiency NMR circuit for multiple-pulse control lead to inevitable engineering tradeoffs. We have designed two probes-one with a single-resonance RF circuit and a horn-mirror cavity configuration for the microwaves and a second with a double-resonance RF circuit and a double-horn cavity configuration. The advantage of the design is that the sample is in vacuum, the RF circuits are locally tuned, and the microwave resonator has a large internal volume that is compatible with the use of RF and gradient coils.

Estimation of RF energy absorbed in the brain from mobile phones in the Interphone Study.

PubMed

Cardis, E; Varsier, N; Bowman, J D; Deltour, I; Figuerola, J; Mann, S; Moissonnier, M; Taki, M; Vecchia, P; Villegas, R; Vrijheid, M; Wake, K; Wiart, J

2011-09-01

The objective of this study was to develop an estimate of a radio frequency (RF) dose as the amount of mobile phone RF energy absorbed at the location of a brain tumour, for use in the Interphone Epidemiological Study. We systematically evaluated and quantified all the main parameters thought to influence the amount of specific RF energy absorbed in the brain from mobile telephone use. For this, we identified the likely important determinants of RF specific energy absorption rate during protocol and questionnaire design, we collected information from study subjects, network operators and laboratories involved in specific energy absorption rate measurements and we studied potential modifiers of phone output through the use of software-modified phones. Data collected were analysed to assess the relative importance of the different factors, leading to the development of an algorithm to evaluate the total cumulative specific RF energy (in joules per kilogram), or dose, absorbed at a particular location in the brain. This algorithm was applied to Interphone Study subjects in five countries. The main determinants of total cumulative specific RF energy from mobile phones were communication system and frequency band, location in the brain and amount and duration of mobile phone use. Though there was substantial agreement between categorisation of subjects by cumulative specific RF energy and cumulative call time, misclassification was non-negligible, particularly at higher frequency bands. Factors such as adaptive power control (except in Code Division Multiple Access networks), discontinuous transmission and conditions of phone use were found to have a relatively minor influence on total cumulative specific RF energy. While amount and duration of use are important determinants of RF dose in the brain, their impact can be substantially modified by communication system, frequency band and location in the brain. It is important to take these into account in analyses of risk of brain tumours from RF exposure from mobile phones.

Estimation of RF energy absorbed in the brain from mobile phones in the Interphone Study

PubMed Central

Varsier, N; Bowman, J D; Deltour, I; Figuerola, J; Mann, S; Moissonnier, M; Taki, M; Vecchia, P; Villegas, R; Vrijheid, M; Wake, K; Wiart, J

2011-01-01

Objectives The objective of this study was to develop an estimate of a radio frequency (RF) dose as the amount of mobile phone RF energy absorbed at the location of a brain tumour, for use in the Interphone Epidemiological Study. Methods We systematically evaluated and quantified all the main parameters thought to influence the amount of specific RF energy absorbed in the brain from mobile telephone use. For this, we identified the likely important determinants of RF specific energy absorption rate during protocol and questionnaire design, we collected information from study subjects, network operators and laboratories involved in specific energy absorption rate measurements and we studied potential modifiers of phone output through the use of software-modified phones. Data collected were analysed to assess the relative importance of the different factors, leading to the development of an algorithm to evaluate the total cumulative specific RF energy (in joules per kilogram), or dose, absorbed at a particular location in the brain. This algorithm was applied to Interphone Study subjects in five countries. Results The main determinants of total cumulative specific RF energy from mobile phones were communication system and frequency band, location in the brain and amount and duration of mobile phone use. Though there was substantial agreement between categorisation of subjects by cumulative specific RF energy and cumulative call time, misclassification was non-negligible, particularly at higher frequency bands. Factors such as adaptive power control (except in Code Division Multiple Access networks), discontinuous transmission and conditions of phone use were found to have a relatively minor influence on total cumulative specific RF energy. Conclusions While amount and duration of use are important determinants of RF dose in the brain, their impact can be substantially modified by communication system, frequency band and location in the brain. It is important to take these into account in analyses of risk of brain tumours from RF exposure from mobile phones. PMID:21659468

Improvements in Technique of NMR Imaging and NMR Diffusion Measurements in the Presence of Background Gradients.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lian, Jianyu

In this work, modification of the cosine current distribution rf coil, PCOS, has been introduced and tested. The coil produces a very homogeneous rf magnetic field, and it is inexpensive to build and easy to tune for multiple resonance frequency. The geometrical parameters of the coil are optimized to produce the most homogeneous rf field over a large volume. To avoid rf field distortion when the coil length is comparable to a quarter wavelength, a parallel PCOS coil is proposed and discussed. For testing rf coils and correcting B _1 in NMR experiments, a simple, rugged and accurate NMR rf field mapping technique has been developed. The method has been tested and used in 1D, 2D, 3D and in vivo rf mapping experiments. The method has been proven to be very useful in the design of rf coils. To preserve the linear relation between rf output applied on an rf coil and modulating input for an rf modulating -amplifying system of NMR imaging spectrometer, a quadrature feedback loop is employed in an rf modulator with two orthogonal rf channels to correct the amplitude and phase non-linearities caused by the rf components in the rf system. The modulator is very linear over a large range and it can generate an arbitrary rf shape. A diffusion imaging sequence has been developed for measuring and imaging diffusion in the presence of background gradients. Cross terms between the diffusion sensitizing gradients and background gradients or imaging gradients can complicate diffusion measurement and make the interpretation of NMR diffusion data ambiguous, but these have been eliminated in this method. Further, the background gradients has been measured and imaged. A dipole random distribution model has been established to study background magnetic fields Delta B and background magnetic gradients G_0 produced by small particles in a sample when it is in a B_0 field. From this model, the minimum distance that a spin can approach a particle can be determined by measuring and <{bf G}_sp{0 }{2}>. From this model, the particle concentration in a sample can be determined by measuring the lineshape of a free induction decay (fid).

RF control hardware design for CYCIAE-100 cyclotron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Zhiguo; Fu, Xiaoliang; Ji, Bin; Zhao, Zhenlu; Zhang, Tianjue; Li, Pengzhan; Wei, Junyi; Xing, Jiansheng; Wang, Chuan

2015-11-01

The Beijing Radioactive Ion-beam Facility project is being constructed by BRIF division of China Institute of Atomic Energy. In this project, a 100 MeV high intensity compact proton cyclotron is built for multiple applications. The first successful beam extraction of CYCIAE-100 cyclotron was done in the middle of 2014. The extracted proton beam energy is 100 MeV and the beam current is more than 20 μA. The RF system of the CYCIAE-100 cyclotron includes two half-wavelength cavities, two 100 kW tetrode amplifiers and power transmission line systems (all above are independent from each other) and two sets of Low Level RF control crates. Each set of LLRF control includes an amplitude control unit, a tuning control unit, a phase control unit, a local Digital Signal Process control unit and an Advanced RISC Machines based EPICS IOC unit. These two identical LLRF control crates share one common reference clock and take advantages of modern digital technologies (e.g. DSP and Direct Digital Synthesizer) to achieve closed loop voltage and phase regulations of the dee-voltage. In the beam commission, the measured dee-voltage stability of RF system is better than 0.1% and phase stability is better than 0.03°. The hardware design of the LLRF system will be reviewed in this paper.

Neurostimulation systems for deep brain stimulation: in vitro evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging-related heating at 1.5 tesla.

PubMed

Rezai, Ali R; Finelli, Daniel; Nyenhuis, John A; Hrdlicka, Greg; Tkach, Jean; Sharan, Ashwini; Rugieri, Paul; Stypulkowski, Paul H; Shellock, Frank G

2002-03-01

To assess magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-related heating for a neurostimulation system (Activa Tremor Control System, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) used for chronic deep brain stimulation (DBS). Different configurations were evaluated for bilateral neurostimulators (Soletra Model 7426), extensions, and leads to assess worst-case and clinically relevant positioning scenarios. In vitro testing was performed using a 1.5-T/64-MHz MR system and a gel-filled phantom designed to approximate the head and upper torso of a human subject. MRI was conducted using the transmit/receive body and transmit/receive head radio frequency (RF) coils. Various levels of RF energy were applied with the transmit/receive body (whole-body averaged specific absorption rate (SAR); range, 0.98-3.90 W/kg) and transmit/receive head (whole-body averaged SAR; range, 0.07-0.24 W/kg) coils. A fluoroptic thermometry system was used to record temperatures at multiple locations before (1 minute) and during (15 minutes) MRI. Using the body RF coil, the highest temperature changes ranged from 2.5 degrees-25.3 degrees C. Using the head RF coil, the highest temperature changes ranged from 2.3 degrees-7.1 degrees C.Thus, these findings indicated that substantial heating occurs under certain conditions, while others produce relatively minor, physiologically inconsequential temperature increases. The temperature increases were dependent on the type of RF coil, level of SAR used, and how the lead wires were positioned. Notably, the use of clinically relevant positioning techniques for the neurostimulation system and low SARs commonly used for imaging the brain generated little heating. Based on this information, MR safety guidelines are provided. These observations are restricted to the tested neurostimulation system.

Mobile phone base station radiation does not affect neoplastic transformation in BALB/3T3 cells.

PubMed

Hirose, H; Suhara, T; Kaji, N; Sakuma, N; Sekijima, M; Nojima, T; Miyakoshi, J

2008-01-01

A large-scale in vitro study focusing on low-level radiofrequency (RF) fields from mobile radio base stations employing the International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) cellular system was conducted to test the hypothesis that modulated RF fields affect malignant transformation or other cellular stress responses. Our group previously reported that DNA strand breaks were not induced in human cells exposed to 2.1425 GHz Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) radiation up to 800 mW/kg from mobile radio base stations employing the IMT-2000 cellular system. In the current study, BALB/3T3 cells were continuously exposed to 2.1425 GHz W-CDMA RF fields at specific absorption rates (SARs) of 80 and 800 mW/kg for 6 weeks and malignant cell transformation was assessed. In addition, 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA)-treated cells were exposed to RF fields in a similar fashion, to assess for effects on tumor promotion. Finally, the effect of RF fields on tumor co-promotion was assessed in BALB/3T3 cells initiated with MCA and co-exposed to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). At the end of the incubation period, transformation dishes were fixed, stained with Giemsa, and scored for morphologically transformed foci. No significant differences in transformation frequency were observed between the test groups exposed to RF signals and the sham-exposed negative controls in the non-, MCA-, or MCA plus TPA-treated cells. Our studies found no evidence to support the hypothesis that RF fields may affect malignant transformation. Our results suggest that exposure to low-level RF radiation of up to 800 mW/kg does not induce cell transformation, which causes tumor formation. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Simulated Assessment of Interference Effects in Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) QPSK Receiver

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

bit error rate BPSK binary phase shift keying CDMA code division multiple access CSI comb spectrum interference CW continuous wave DPSK differential... CDMA ) and GPS systems which is a Gold code. This code is generated by a modulo-2 operation between two different preferred m-sequences. The preferred m...10 SNR Sim (dB) S N R O ut ( dB ) SNR RF SNR DS Figure 3.26: Comparison of input S NRS im and S NROut of the band-pass RF filter (S NRRF) and

Novel multi-source phase-controlled radiofrequency technology for non-ablative and micro-ablative treatment of wrinkles, lax skin and acne scars.

PubMed

Elman, Monica; Harth, Yoram

2011-01-01

The basic properties of lasers and pulsed light sources limit their ability to deliver high energy to the dermis and subcutaneous tissues without excessive damage to the epidermis. Radiofrequency was shown to penetrate deeper than optical light sources independent of skin color. The early RF-based devices used single source bipolar RF, which is safe but limited in use due to the superficial flow of energy between the two bipolar electrodes. Another type of single source RF employs a single electrode (monopolar) in which the RF energy flows from one electrode on the surface of the skin through the entire body to a plate under the body. Although more effective than bipolar, this devices require intense active cooling of the skin and may be associated with considerable pain and other systemic and local safety concerns. Latest generation of RF technology developed by EndyMed Medical Ltd. (Caesarea, Israel) utilizes simultaneously six or more phase controlled RF generators (3DEEP technology). The multiple electrical fields created by the multiple sources "repel" or "attract" each other, leading to the precise 3 dimensional delivery of RF energy to the dermal and sub-dermal targets minimizing the energy flow through the epidermis without the need for active cooling. Confocal microscopy of the skin has shown that 6 treatment sessions of Multisource RF technology improve skin structure features. The skin after treatment had longer and narrower dermal papilla and denser and finer collagen fiber typical to younger skin as compared to pre treatment skin. Ultrasound of the skin showed after 6 treatment sessions reduction of 10 percent in the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer. Non ablative facial clinical studies showed a significant reduction of wrinkles after treatment further reduced at 3 months follow-up. Body treatment studies showed a circumference reduction of 2.9 cm immediately after 6 treatments, and 2 cm at 12 months after the end of treatment, proving long term collagen remodeling effect. Clinical studies of the multisource fractional RF application have shown significant effects on wrinkles reduction and deep atrophic acne scars after 1-3 treatment sessions.

Novel multi-source phase-controlled radiofrequency technology for non-ablative and micro-ablative treatment of wrinkles, lax skin and acne scars

PubMed Central

Elman, Monica; Harth, Yoram

2011-01-01

The basic properties of lasers and pulsed light sources limit their ability to deliver high energy to the dermis and subcutaneous tissues without excessive damage to the epidermis. Radiofrequency was shown to penetrate deeper than optical light sources independent of skin color. The early RF-based devices used single source bipolar RF, which is safe but limited in use due to the superficial flow of energy between the two bipolar electrodes. Another type of single source RF employs a single electrode (monopolar) in which the RF energy flows from one electrode on the surface of the skin through the entire body to a plate under the body. Although more effective than bipolar, this devices require intense active cooling of the skin and may be associated with considerable pain and other systemic and local safety concerns. Latest generation of RF technology developed by EndyMed Medical Ltd. (Caesarea, Israel) utilizes simultaneously six or more phase controlled RF generators (3DEEP technology). The multiple electrical fields created by the multiple sources “repel” or “attract” each other, leading to the precise 3 dimensional delivery of RF energy to the dermal and sub-dermal targets minimizing the energy flow through the epidermis without the need for active cooling. Confocal microscopy of the skin has shown that 6 treatment sessions of Multisource RF technology improve skin structure features. The skin after treatment had longer and narrower dermal papilla and denser and finer collagen fiber typical to younger skin as compared to pre treatment skin. Ultrasound of the skin showed after 6 treatment sessions reduction of 10 percent in the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer. Non ablative facial clinical studies showed a significant reduction of wrinkles after treatment further reduced at 3 months follow-up. Body treatment studies showed a circumference reduction of 2.9 cm immediately after 6 treatments, and 2 cm at 12 months after the end of treatment, proving long term collagen remodeling effect. Clinical studies of the multisource fractional RF application have shown significant effects on wrinkles reduction and deep atrophic acne scars after 1–3 treatment sessions. PMID:24155523

Multi-Channel RF System for MRI-Guided Transurethral Ultrasound Thermal Therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yak, Nicolas; Asselin, Matthew; Chopra, Rajiv; Bronskill, Michael

2009-04-01

MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound thermal therapy is an approach to treating localized prostate cancer which targets precise deposition of thermal energy within a confined region of the gland. This treatment requires a system incorporating a heating applicator with multiple planar ultrasound transducers and associated RF electronics to control individual elements independently in order to achieve accurate 3D treatment. We report the design, construction, and characterization of a prototype multi-channel system capable of controlling 16 independent RF signals for a 16-element heating applicator. The main components are a control computer, microcontroller, and a 16-channel signal generator with 16 amplifiers, each incorporating a low-pass filter and transmitted/reflected power detection circuit. Each channel can deliver from 0.5 to 10 W of electrical power and good linearity from 3 to 12 MHz. Harmonic RF signals near the Larmor frequency of a 1.5 T MRI were measured to be below -30 dBm and heating experiments within the 1.5 T MR system showed no significant decrease in SNR of the temperature images. The frequency and power for all 16 channels could be changed in less than 250 ms, which was sufficiently rapid for proper performance of the control algorithms. A common backplane design was chosen which enabled an inexpensive, modular approach for each channel resulting in an overall system with minimal footprint.

Drone based measurement system for radiofrequency exposure assessment.

PubMed

Joseph, Wout; Aerts, Sam; Vandenbossche, Matthias; Thielens, Arno; Martens, Luc

2016-03-10

For the first time, a method to assess radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure of the general public in real environments with a true free-space antenna system is presented. Using lightweight electronics and multiple antennas placed on a drone, it is possible to perform exposure measurements. This technique will enable researchers to measure three-dimensional RF-EMF exposure patterns accurately in the future and at locations currently difficult to access. A measurement procedure and appropriate measurement settings have been developed. As an application, outdoor measurements are performed as a function of height up to 60 m for Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900 MHz base station exposure. Bioelectromagnetics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Enhanced Decision Analysis Support System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-03-01

autorrares "i., the method for determining preferences when multiple and competing attributes are involved. Worth assessment is used as the model which...1967 as a method for determining preferenoe when multiple and competing attributes are involved (Rf 10). The tern worth can be - equated to other... competing objectives. After some discussion, the group decided that the problem could best be decided using the worth assessment procedure. They

Propagation of modulated electron and X-ray beams through matter and interactions with radio-frequency structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, J. R.; Miller, R. B.

2018-02-01

The generation and evolution of modulated particle beams and their interactions with resonant radiofrequency (RF) structures are of fundamental interest for both particle accelerator and vacuum electronic systems. When the constraint of propagation in a vacuum is removed, the evolution of such beams can be greatly affected by interactions with matter including scattering, absorption, generation of atmospheric plasma, and the production of multiple generations of secondary particles. Here, we study the propagation of 21 MeV and 25 MeV electron beams produced in S-band and L-band linear accelerators, and their interaction with resonant RF structures, under a number of combinations of geometry, including transmission through both air and metal. Both resonant and nonresonant interactions were observed, with the resonant interactions indicating that the RF modulation on the electron beam is at least partially preserved as the beam propagates through air and metal. When significant thicknesses of metal are placed upstream of a resonant structure, preventing any primary beam electrons from reaching the structure, RF signals could still be induced in the structures. This indicated that the RF modulation present on the electron beam was also impressed onto the x-rays generated when the primary electrons were stopped in the metal, and that this RF modulation was also present on the secondary electrons generated when the x-rays struck the resonant structures. The nature of these interactions and their sensitivities to changes in system configurations will be discussed.

Retrieving Coherent Receiver Function Images with Dense Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, M.; Zhan, Z.

2016-12-01

Receiver functions highlight converted phases (e.g., Ps, PpPs, sP) and have been widely used to study seismic interfaces. With a dense array, receiver functions (RFs) at multiple stations form a RF image that can provide more robust/detailed constraints. However, due to noise in data, non-uniqueness of deconvolution, and local structures that cannot be detected across neighboring stations, traditional RF images are often noisy and hard to interpret. Previous attempts to enhance coherence by stacking RFs from multiple events or post-filtering the RF images have not produced satisfactory improvements. Here, we propose a new method to retrieve coherent RF images with dense arrays. We take advantage of the waveform coherency at neighboring stations and invert for a small number of coherent arrivals for their RFs. The new RF images contain only the coherent arrivals required to fit data well. Synthetic tests and preliminary applications on real data demonstrate that the new RF images are easier to interpret and improve our ability to infer Earth structures using receiver functions.

A compact linear accelerator based on a scalable microelectromechanical-system RF-structure

DOE PAGES

Persaud, A.; Ji, Q.; Feinberg, E.; ...

2017-06-08

Here, a new approach for a compact radio-frequency (RF) accelerator structure is presented. The new accelerator architecture is based on the Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerator (MEQALAC) structure that was first developed in the 1980s. The MEQALAC utilized RF resonators producing the accelerating fields and providing for higher beam currents through parallel beamlets focused using arrays of electrostatic quadrupoles (ESQs). While the early work obtained ESQs with lateral dimensions on the order of a few centimeters, using a printed circuit board (PCB), we reduce the characteristic dimension to the millimeter regime, while massively scaling up the potential number ofmore » parallel beamlets. Using Microelectromechanical systems scalable fabrication approaches, we are working on further red ucing the characteristic dimension to the sub-millimeter regime. The technology is based on RF-acceleration components and ESQs implemented in the PCB or silicon wafers where each beamlet passes through beam apertures in the wafer. The complete accelerator is then assembled by stacking these wafers. This approach has the potential for fast and inexpensive batch fabrication of the components and flexibility in system design for application specific beam energies and currents. For prototyping the accelerator architecture, the components have been fabricated using the PCB. In this paper, we present proof of concept results of the principal components using the PCB: RF acceleration and ESQ focusing. Finally, ongoing developments on implementing components in silicon and scaling of the accelerator technology to high currents and beam energies are discussed.« less

A compact linear accelerator based on a scalable microelectromechanical-system RF-structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persaud, A.; Ji, Q.; Feinberg, E.; Seidl, P. A.; Waldron, W. L.; Schenkel, T.; Lal, A.; Vinayakumar, K. B.; Ardanuc, S.; Hammer, D. A.

2017-06-01

A new approach for a compact radio-frequency (RF) accelerator structure is presented. The new accelerator architecture is based on the Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerator (MEQALAC) structure that was first developed in the 1980s. The MEQALAC utilized RF resonators producing the accelerating fields and providing for higher beam currents through parallel beamlets focused using arrays of electrostatic quadrupoles (ESQs). While the early work obtained ESQs with lateral dimensions on the order of a few centimeters, using a printed circuit board (PCB), we reduce the characteristic dimension to the millimeter regime, while massively scaling up the potential number of parallel beamlets. Using Microelectromechanical systems scalable fabrication approaches, we are working on further reducing the characteristic dimension to the sub-millimeter regime. The technology is based on RF-acceleration components and ESQs implemented in the PCB or silicon wafers where each beamlet passes through beam apertures in the wafer. The complete accelerator is then assembled by stacking these wafers. This approach has the potential for fast and inexpensive batch fabrication of the components and flexibility in system design for application specific beam energies and currents. For prototyping the accelerator architecture, the components have been fabricated using the PCB. In this paper, we present proof of concept results of the principal components using the PCB: RF acceleration and ESQ focusing. Ongoing developments on implementing components in silicon and scaling of the accelerator technology to high currents and beam energies are discussed.

A compact linear accelerator based on a scalable microelectromechanical-system RF-structure.

PubMed

Persaud, A; Ji, Q; Feinberg, E; Seidl, P A; Waldron, W L; Schenkel, T; Lal, A; Vinayakumar, K B; Ardanuc, S; Hammer, D A

2017-06-01

A new approach for a compact radio-frequency (RF) accelerator structure is presented. The new accelerator architecture is based on the Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerator (MEQALAC) structure that was first developed in the 1980s. The MEQALAC utilized RF resonators producing the accelerating fields and providing for higher beam currents through parallel beamlets focused using arrays of electrostatic quadrupoles (ESQs). While the early work obtained ESQs with lateral dimensions on the order of a few centimeters, using a printed circuit board (PCB), we reduce the characteristic dimension to the millimeter regime, while massively scaling up the potential number of parallel beamlets. Using Microelectromechanical systems scalable fabrication approaches, we are working on further reducing the characteristic dimension to the sub-millimeter regime. The technology is based on RF-acceleration components and ESQs implemented in the PCB or silicon wafers where each beamlet passes through beam apertures in the wafer. The complete accelerator is then assembled by stacking these wafers. This approach has the potential for fast and inexpensive batch fabrication of the components and flexibility in system design for application specific beam energies and currents. For prototyping the accelerator architecture, the components have been fabricated using the PCB. In this paper, we present proof of concept results of the principal components using the PCB: RF acceleration and ESQ focusing. Ongoing developments on implementing components in silicon and scaling of the accelerator technology to high currents and beam energies are discussed.

Power supply and impedance matching to drive technological radio-frequency plasmas with customized voltage waveforms.

PubMed

Franek, James; Brandt, Steven; Berger, Birk; Liese, Martin; Barthel, Matthias; Schüngel, Edmund; Schulze, Julian

2015-05-01

We present a novel radio-frequency (RF) power supply and impedance matching to drive technological plasmas with customized voltage waveforms. It is based on a system of phase-locked RF generators that output single frequency voltage waveforms corresponding to multiple consecutive harmonics of a fundamental frequency. These signals are matched individually and combined to drive a RF plasma. Electrical filters are used to prevent parasitic interactions between the matching branches. By adjusting the harmonics' phases and voltage amplitudes individually, any voltage waveform can be approximated as a customized finite Fourier series. This RF supply system is easily adaptable to any technological plasma for industrial applications and allows the commercial utilization of process optimization based on voltage waveform tailoring for the first time. Here, this system is tested on a capacitive discharge based on three consecutive harmonics of 13.56 MHz. According to the Electrical Asymmetry Effect, tuning the phases between the applied harmonics results in an electrical control of the DC self-bias and the mean ion energy at almost constant ion flux. A comparison with the reference case of an electrically asymmetric dual-frequency discharge reveals that the control range of the mean ion energy can be significantly enlarged by using more than two consecutive harmonics.

Electron Gun For Multiple Beam Klystron Using Magnetic Focusing

DOEpatents

Ives, R. Lawrence; Miram, George; Krasnykh, Anatoly

2004-07-27

An RF device comprising a plurality of drift tubes, each drift tube having a plurality of gaps defining resonant cavities, is immersed in an axial magnetic field. RF energy is introduced at an input RF port at one of these resonant cavities and collected at an output RF port at a different RF cavity. A plurality of electron beams passes through these drift tubes, and each electron beam has an individual magnetic shaping applied which enables confined beam transport through the drift tubes.

ECCD-induced tearing mode stabilization in coupled IPS/NIMROD/GENRAY HPC simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas; Kruger, S. E.; Held, E. D.; Harvey, R. W.; Elwasif, W. R.

2012-03-01

We summarize ongoing developments toward an integrated, predictive model for determining optimal ECCD-based NTM stabilization strategies in ITER. We demonstrate the capability of the SWIM Project's Integrated Plasma Simulator (IPS) framework to choreograph multiple executions of, and data exchanges between, physics codes modeling various spatiotemporal scales of this coupled RF/MHD problem on several thousand HPC processors. As NIMROD evolves fluid equations to model bulk plasma behavior, self-consistent propagation/deposition of RF power in the ensuing plasma profiles is calculated by GENRAY. Data from both codes is then processed by computational geometry packages to construct the RF-induced quasilinear diffusion tensor; moments of this tensor (entering as additional terms in NIMROD's fluid equations due to the disparity in RF/MHD spatiotemporal scales) influence the dynamics of current, momentum, and energy evolution as well as the MHD closures. Initial results are shown to correctly capture the physics of magnetic island stabilization; we also discuss the development of a numerical plasma control system for active feedback stabilization of tearing modes.

Heart rate, multiple body temperature, long-range and long-life telemetry system for free-ranging animals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lund, G. F.; Westbrook, R. M.; Fryer, T. B.

1980-01-01

The design details and rationale for a versatile, long-range, long-life telemetry data acquisition system for heart rates and body temperatures at multiple locations from free-ranging animals are presented. The design comprises an implantable transmitter for short to medium range transmission, a receiver retransmitter collar to be worn for long-range transmission, and a signal conditioner interface circuit to assist in signal discrimination and demodulation of receiver or tape-recorded audio outputs. Implanted electrodes are used to obtain an ECG, from which R-wave characteristics are selected to trigger a short RF pulse. Pulses carrying heart rate information are interrupted periodically by a series of pulse interval modulated RF pulses conveying temperature information sensed at desired locations by thermistors. Pulse duration and pulse sequencing are used to discriminate between heart rate and temperature pulses as well as radio frequency interference. The implanted transmitter may be used alone for medium and short-range tracking, or with a receiver-transmitter collar that employs commercial tracking equipment for transmissions of up to 12 km. A system prototype has been tested on a dog.

A 2×1 Coplanar Monopole Antenna Structure for Wireless RF Energy Harvesting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathur, Monika; Agarwal, Ankit; Singh, Ghanshyam; Bhatnagar, S. K.

2018-03-01

The objective of this paper is to design an efcient wireless energy harvesting (WEH) system to eliminate the problem to continuous charging of a battery operated electronics devices. Most of the devices are battery operated so charging of a battery time to time is serious issue. This WEH system receives the Radio Frequency (RF) and Microwave frequency signals present in the atmosphere and converting it into DC signal so that it can stores in Capacitor or charges a battery for utilize the power. For this RF energy harvesting purposes 21 antenna array structure of the coplanar monopole antenna is presented. This structure shows the gain of 10.2 dBi and 83% efciency. This structure is designed for resonating on multiple bands (Radio, GSM, ISM, and UWB). It is useful for this application because it covers almost all useful bands in the maximum capturing area. The antenna can be connected directly to an RF-DC converter module and it uses about 60% of the total PCB area. And RF to DC convertor circuit can be implemented in that remaining 40% area on the same substrate so it eliminates the need of port connectors and impedance matching circuit between them. This design is worked in receiving mode only when used for energy harvesting purposes. This may be useful for the biomedical and satellite applications.

The Multiple Gyrotron System on the DIII-D Tokamak

DOE PAGES

Lohr, J.; Anderson, J.; Brambila, R.; ...

2015-08-28

A major component of the versatile heating systems on the DIII-D tokamak is the gyrotron complex. This system routinely operates at 110 GHz with 4.7 MW generated rf power for electron cyclotron heating and current drive. The complex is being upgraded with the addition of new depressed collector potential gyrotrons operating at 117.5 GHz and generating rf power in excess of 1.0 MW each. The long term upgrade plan calls for 10 gyrotrons at the higher frequency being phased in as resources permit, for an injected power near 10 MW. This article presents a summary of the current status ofmore » the DIII-D gyrotron complex, its performance, individual components, testing procedures, operational parameters, plans, and a brief summary of the experiments for which the system is currently being used.« less

Integrating Nano-patterned Ferromagnetic and Ferroelectric Thin Films for Electrically Tunable RF Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Tengxing; Peng, Yujia; Jiang, Wei

Tunable radio frequency (RF) components are pivotal elements in frequency-agile and multifunctional systems. However, there is a technical barrier to achieve miniaturized fully electrically tunable RF components. This paper provides and demonstrates the efficacy of a first unique design methodology in developing fully electrically tunable RF components by integrating ferromagnetic (e.g., Permalloy) and ferroelectric (e.g., Lead Zirconate Titanate: PZT) thin films patterns. Permalloy thin film has been patterned in nanometer scale to improve its ferromagnetic resonance frequency (FMR) for RF applications. Tunable inductors are developed with the utilization of different thickness of Permalloy thin film, which show over 50% incrementmore » in inductance and over 4% in tunability with DC current. More tunability can be achieved with multiple layers of Permalloy thin film and optimized thickness. A fully electrically tunable slow wave RF transmission line with simultaneously variable inductance and capacitance density has been implemented and thoroughly investigated for the first time. Measured results show that a fixed phase shift of 90° can be achieved from 1.5 GHz to 1.85 GHz continuously by applying external DC current from 0 to 200 mA and external DC voltage from 0 to 15 Volts, respectively.« less

Integrating Nano-patterned Ferromagnetic and Ferroelectric Thin Films for Electrically Tunable RF Applications

DOE PAGES

Wang, Tengxing; Peng, Yujia; Jiang, Wei; ...

2016-10-31

Tunable radio frequency (RF) components are pivotal elements in frequency-agile and multifunctional systems. However, there is a technical barrier to achieve miniaturized fully electrically tunable RF components. This paper provides and demonstrates the efficacy of a first unique design methodology in developing fully electrically tunable RF components by integrating ferromagnetic (e.g., Permalloy) and ferroelectric (e.g., Lead Zirconate Titanate: PZT) thin films patterns. Permalloy thin film has been patterned in nanometer scale to improve its ferromagnetic resonance frequency (FMR) for RF applications. Tunable inductors are developed with the utilization of different thickness of Permalloy thin film, which show over 50% incrementmore » in inductance and over 4% in tunability with DC current. More tunability can be achieved with multiple layers of Permalloy thin film and optimized thickness. A fully electrically tunable slow wave RF transmission line with simultaneously variable inductance and capacitance density has been implemented and thoroughly investigated for the first time. Measured results show that a fixed phase shift of 90° can be achieved from 1.5 GHz to 1.85 GHz continuously by applying external DC current from 0 to 200 mA and external DC voltage from 0 to 15 Volts, respectively.« less

Measured performance of the GTA rf systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Denney, P.M.; Jachim, S.P.

1993-06-01

This paper describes the performance of the RF systems on the Ground Test Accelerator (GTA). The RF system architecture is briefly described. Among the RF performance results presented are RF field flatness and stability, amplitude and phase control resolution, and control system bandwidth and stability. The rejection by the RF systems of beam-induced disturbances, such as transients and noise, are analyzed. The observed responses are also compared to computer-based simulations of the RF systems for validation.

Measured performance of the GTA rf systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Denney, P.M.; Jachim, S.P.

1993-01-01

This paper describes the performance of the RF systems on the Ground Test Accelerator (GTA). The RF system architecture is briefly described. Among the RF performance results presented are RF field flatness and stability, amplitude and phase control resolution, and control system bandwidth and stability. The rejection by the RF systems of beam-induced disturbances, such as transients and noise, are analyzed. The observed responses are also compared to computer-based simulations of the RF systems for validation.

Detection of Metallic and Electronic Radar Targets by Acoustic Modulation of Electromagnetic Waves

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-07-01

reradiated wave is captured by the radar’s receive antenna. The presence of measurable EM energy at any discrete multiple of the audio frequency away...the radar receiver (Rx). The presence of measurable EM energy at any discrete multiple of faudio away from the original RF carrier fRF (i.e., at any n

Integrated Multiple Device CMOS-MEMS IMU Systems and RF MEMS Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-12-17

microstructures [7]~[9]. The success of the surface-micromachined electrostatic micromotor in the late 80’s [10] stimulated the industry and government...processed electrostatic synchronous micromotors ,” Sensors Actuators, vol. 20, pp. 48-56, 1989. [11] “ADXL05-monolithic accelerometer with signal

Rf Feedback free electron laser

DOEpatents

Brau, Charles A.; Swenson, Donald A.; Boyd, Jr., Thomas J.

1981-01-01

A free electron laser system and electron beam system for a free electron laser which use rf feedback to enhance efficiency. Rf energy is extracted from an electron beam by decelerating cavities and returned to accelerating cavities using rf returns such as rf waveguides, rf feedthroughs, etc. This rf energy is added to rf klystron energy to lower the required input energy and thereby enhance energy efficiency of the system.

Comparison of Radio Frequency Distinct Native Attribute and Matched Filtering Techniques for Device Discrimination and Operation Identification

DTIC Science & Technology

identification. URE from ten MSP430F5529 16-bit microcontrollers were analyzed using: 1) RF distinct native attributes (RF-DNA) fingerprints paired with multiple...discriminant analysis/maximum likelihood (MDA/ML) classification, 2) RF-DNA fingerprints paired with generalized relevance learning vector quantized

Multiple conversion between the genes encoding bacterial class-I release factors

PubMed Central

Ishikawa, Sohta A.; Kamikawa, Ryoma; Inagaki, Yuji

2015-01-01

Bacteria require two class-I release factors, RF1 and RF2, that recognize stop codons and promote peptide release from the ribosome. RF1 and RF2 were most likely established through gene duplication followed by altering their stop codon specificities in the common ancestor of extant bacteria. This scenario expects that the two RF gene families have taken independent evolutionary trajectories after the ancestral gene duplication event. However, we here report two independent cases of conversion between RF1 and RF2 genes (RF1-RF2 gene conversion), which were severely examined by procedures incorporating the maximum-likelihood phylogenetic method. In both cases, RF1-RF2 gene conversion was predicted to occur in the region encoding nearly entire domain 3, of which functions are common between RF paralogues. Nevertheless, the ‘direction’ of gene conversion appeared to be opposite from one another—from RF2 gene to RF1 gene in one case, while from RF1 gene to RF2 gene in the other. The two cases of RF1-RF2 gene conversion prompt us to propose two novel aspects in the evolution of bacterial class-I release factors: (i) domain 3 is interchangeable between RF paralogues, and (ii) RF1-RF2 gene conversion have occurred frequently in bacterial genome evolution. PMID:26257102

Rf feedback free electron laser

DOEpatents

Brau, C.A.; Swenson, D.A.; Boyd, T.J. Jr.

1979-11-02

A free electron laser system and electron beam system for a free electron laser are provided which use rf feedback to enhance efficiency. Rf energy is extracted from an electron beam by decelerating cavities and returned to accelerating cavities using rf returns such as rf waveguides, rf feedthroughs, etc. This rf energy is added to rf klystron energy to lower the required input energy and thereby enhance energy efficiency of the system.

Implementing Audio Digital Feedback Loop Using the National Instruments RIO System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, G.; Byrd, J. M.

2006-11-20

Development of system for high precision RF distribution and laser synchronization at Berkeley Lab has been ongoing for several years. Successful operation of these systems requires multiple audio bandwidth feedback loops running at relatively high gains. Stable operation of the feedback loops requires careful design of the feedback transfer function. To allow for flexible and compact implementation, we have developed digital feedback loops on the National Instruments Reconfigurable Input/Output (RIO) platform. This platform uses an FPGA and multiple I/Os that can provide eight parallel channels running different filters. We present the design and preliminary experimental results of this system.

The effect of heartburn and acid reflux on the severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

PubMed Central

Gill, Simerpal Kaur; Maltepe, Caroline; Koren, Gideon

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Heartburn (HB) and acid reflux (RF) in the non-pregnant population can cause nausea and vomiting; therefore, it is plausible that in women with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), HB/RF may increase the severity of symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether HB/RF during pregnancy contribute to increased severity of NVP. METHODS: A prospectively collected cohort of women who were experiencing NVP and HB, RF or both (n=194) was studied. The Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea (PUQE) scale and its Well-being scale was used to compare the severity of the study cohort’s symptoms. This cohort was compared with a group of women experiencing NVP but no HB/RF (n=188). Multiple linear regression was used to control for the effects of confounding factors. RESULTS: Women with HB/RF reported higher PUQE scores (9.6±2.6) compared with controls (8.9±2.6) (P=0.02). Similarly, Well-being scores for women experiencing HB/RF were lower (4.3±2.1) compared with controls (4.9±2.0) (P=0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that increased PUQE scores (P=0.003) and decreased Well-being scores (P=0.005) were due to the presence of HB/RF as opposed to confounding factors such as pre-existing gastrointestinal conditions/symptoms, hyperemesis gravidarum in previous pregnancies and comorbidities. CONCLUSION: The present cohort study is the first to demonstrate that HB/RF are associated with increased severity of NVP. Managing HB/RF may improve the severity of NVP. PMID:19373420

Responsive feeding and child undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Bentley, Margaret E; Wasser, Heather M; Creed-Kanashiro, Hilary M

2011-03-01

Growth faltering and nutritional deficiencies continue to be highly prevalent in infants and young children (IYC) living in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries. There is increasing recognition that feeding behaviors and styles, particularly responsive feeding (RF), could influence acceptance of food and dietary intake and thus the growth of IYC. This paper presents the evolution of RF research and the strength of the evidence for RF on child undernutrition in LAMI countries. Multiple approaches were used to identify studies, including keyword searches in many databases, hand searches of retrieved articles, and consultation with experts in the field. Articles were included if they contained a RF exposure and child undernutrition outcome. In total, we identified 21 studies: 15 on child growth, 4 on dietary intake, 3 on disease, and 8 on eating behaviors. Most studies were conducted among children <36 mo of age and were published in the last 10 y. Cross-study comparisons were difficult due to multiple definitions of RF. One-half of the studies were observational with cross-sectional designs and few interventions were designed to isolate the effect of RF on child undernutrition. Overall, few studies have demonstrated a positive association between RF and child undernutrition, although there is promising evidence that positive caregiver verbalizations during feeding increase child acceptance of food. Recommendations for future research include consensus on the definition and measurement of RF, longitudinal studies that begin early in infancy, and randomized controlled trials that isolate the effect of RF on child undernutrition.

Single electron beam rf feedback free electron laser

DOEpatents

Brau, C.A.; Stein, W.E.; Rockwood, S.D.

1981-02-11

A free electron laser system and electron beam system for a free electron laser which uses rf feedback to enhance efficiency are described. Rf energy is extracted from a single electron beam by decelerating cavities and energy is returned to accelerating cavities using rf returns, such as rf waveguides, rf feedthroughs, resonant feedthroughs, etc. This rf energy is added to rf klystron energy to reduce the required input energy and thereby enhance energy efficiency of the system.

Analysis of Satellite Communications Antenna Patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rahmat-Samii, Y.

1985-01-01

Computer program accurately and efficiently predicts far-field patterns of offset, or symmetric, parabolic reflector antennas. Antenna designer uses program to study effects of varying geometrical and electrical (RF) parameters of parabolic reflector and its feed system. Accurate predictions of far-field patterns help designer predict overall performance of antenna. These reflectors used extensively in modern communications satellites and in multiple-beam and low side-lobe antenna systems.

TMS communications hardware. Volume 2: Bus interface unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, J. S.; Hopkins, G. T.

1979-01-01

A prototype coaxial cable bus communication system used in the Trend Monitoring System to interconnect intelligent graphics terminals to a host minicomputer is described. The terminals and host are connected to the bus through a microprocessor-based RF modem termed a Bus Interface Unit (BIU). The BIU hardware and the Carrier Sense Multiple Access Listen-While-Talk protocol used on the network are described.

RF tomography of metallic objects in free space: preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jia; Ewing, Robert L.; Berdanier, Charles; Baker, Christopher

2015-05-01

RF tomography has great potential in defense and homeland security applications. A distributed sensing research facility is under development at Air Force Research Lab. To develop a RF tomographic imaging system for the facility, preliminary experiments have been performed in an indoor range with 12 radar sensors distributed on a circle of 3m radius. Ultra-wideband pulses are used to illuminate single and multiple metallic targets. The echoes received by distributed sensors were processed and combined for tomography reconstruction. Traditional matched filter algorithm and truncated singular value decomposition (SVD) algorithm are compared in terms of their complexity, accuracy, and suitability for distributed processing. A new algorithm is proposed for shape reconstruction, which jointly estimates the object boundary and scatter points on the waveform's propagation path. The results show that the new algorithm allows accurate reconstruction of object shape, which is not available through the matched filter and truncated SVD algorithms.

RF Photonic Technology in Optical Fiber Links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, William S. C.

2007-06-01

List of contributors; Introduction and preface; 1. Figures of merit and performance analysis of photonic microwave links Charles Cox and William S. C. Chang; 2. RF subcarrier links in local access networks Xiaolin Lu; 3. Analog modulation of semiconductor lasers Joachim Piprek and John E. Bowers; 4. LiNbO3 external modulators and their use in high performance analog links Gary E. Betts; 5. Broadband traveling wave modulators in LiNbO3 Marta M. Howerton and William K. Burns; 6. Multiple quantum well electroabsorption modulators for RF photonic links William S. C. Chang; 7. Polymer modulators for RF photonics Timothy Van Eck; 8. Photodiodes for high performance analog links P. K. L. Yu and Ming C. Wu; 9. Opto-electronic oscillators X. Steve Yao; 10. Photonic link techniques for microwave frequency conversion Stephen A. Pappert, Roger Helkey and Ronald T. Logan Jr; 11. Antenna-coupled millimeter-wave electro-optical modulators William B. Bridges; 12. System design and performance of wideband photonic phased array antennas Greg L. Tangonan, Willie Ng, Daniel Yap and Ron Stephens; Acknowledgements; References; Index.

Multi-Center Pilot Study to Evaluate the Safety Pro le of High Energy Fractionated Radiofrequency With Insulated Microneedles to Multiple Levels of the Dermis.

PubMed

Cohen, Joel L; Weiner, Steven F; Pozner, Jason N; Ibrahimi, Omar A; Vasily, David B; Ross, E Victor; Gabriel, Zena

2016-11-01

In this multi-center pilot study, the safety pro le of high intensity focused radiofrequency (RF) delivered to the dermis was evaluated for safety in the treatment of the aging neck and face. A newly designed insulated microneedle system delivers a signi cant coagulative thermal injury into the dermis while sparing the epidermis from RF injury. Thirty- ve healthy subjects from seven aesthetic practices were evaluated, and data from each were incorporated in this case report. The subjects received a single treatment using settings that delivered the highest RF energies suggested from the new recommended protocols. The depth of thermal delivery was adjusted before each pass and all subjects received a minimum of two to three passes to the treated areas. Before and after photographs along with adverse effects were recorded. This case report demonstrates the ability to deliver significant RF thermal injury to several layers of the dermis with insulated microneedles safely with little injury to the epidermis and minimum downtime. J Drugs Dermatol. 2016;15(11):1308-1312..

ECCD-induced tearing mode stabilization in coupled IPS/NIMROD/GENRAY HPC simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas; Kruger, S. E.; Held, E. D.; Harvey, R. W.; Elwasif, W. R.; Schnack, D. D.; SWIM Project Team

2011-10-01

We present developments toward an integrated, predictive model for determining optimal ECCD-based NTM stabilization strategies in ITER. We demonstrate the capability of the SWIM Project's Integrated Plasma Simulator (IPS) framework to choreograph multiple executions of, and data exchanges between, physics codes modeling various spatiotemporal scales of this coupled RF/MHD problem on several thousand HPC processors. As NIMROD evolves fluid equations to model bulk plasma behavior, self-consistent propagation/deposition of RF power in the ensuing plasma profiles is calculated by GENRAY. A third code (QLCALC) then interfaces with computational geometry packages to construct the RF-induced quasilinear diffusion tensor from NIMROD/GENRAY data, and the moments of this tensor (entering as additional terms in NIMROD's fluid equations due to the disparity in RF/MHD spatiotemporal scales) influence the dynamics of current, momentum, and energy evolution. Initial results are shown to correctly capture the physics of magnetic island stabilization [Jenkins et al., PoP 17, 012502 (2010)]; we also discuss the development of a numerical plasma control system for active feedback stabilization of tearing modes. Funded by USDoE SciDAC.

A proposed adjustable RF cable connector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stringer, E. J.; Doyle, J. D.

1973-01-01

In system that requires negligible loss, it may be necessary to adjust cable length to exact multiple of transmitted wavelength. Adjustable cable connector saves time and cost by eliminating need to add to or cut from cable. Device was especially designed for use with high frequencies. For particular application, connector of suitable dimensions should be used.

Protecting Against Damage from Refraction of High Power Microwaves in the DIII-D Tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohr, John; Brambila, Rigo; Cengher, Mirela; Chen, Xi; Gorelov, Yuri; Grosnickle, William; Moeller, Charles; Ponce, Dan; Prater, Ron; Torrezan, Antonio; Austin, Max; Doyle, Edward; Hu, Xing; Dormier, Calvin

2017-07-01

Several new protective systems are being installed on the DIII D tokamak to increase the safety margins for plasma operations with injected ECH power at densities approaching cutoff. Inadvertent overdense operation has previously resulted in reflection of an rf beam back into a launcher causing extensive arcing and melt damage on one waveguide line. Damage to microwave diagnostics, which are located on the same side of the tokamak as the ECH launchers, also has occurred. Developing a reliable microwave based interlock to protect the many vulnerable systems in DIII-D has proved to be difficult. Therefore, multiple protective steps have been taken to reduce the risk of damage in the future. Among these is a density interlock generated by the plasma control system, with setpoint determined by the ECH operators based on rf beam trajectories and plasma parameters. Also installed are enhanced video monitoring of the launchers, and an ambient light monitor on each of the waveguide systems, along with a Langmuir probe at the mouth of each launcher. Versatile rf monitors, measuring forward and reflected power in addition to the mode content of the rf beams, have been installed as the last miter bends in each waveguide line. As these systems are characterized, they are being incorporated in the interlock chains, which enable the ECH injection permits. The diagnostics most susceptible to damage from the ECH waves have also been fitted with a variety of protective devices including stripline filters, thin resonant notch filters tuned to the 110 GHz injected microwave frequency, blazed grating filters and shutters. Calculations of rf beam trajectories in the plasmas are performed using the TORAY ray tracing code with input from kinetic profile diagnostics. Using these calculations, strike points for refracted beams on the vacuum vessel are calculated, which allows evaluation of the risk of damage to sensitive diagnostics and hardware.

Protecting against damage from refraction of high power microwaves in the DIII-D tokamak

DOE PAGES

Lohr, John; Brambila, Rigo; Cengher, Mirela; ...

2017-07-24

Here, several new protective systems are being installed on the DIII D tokamak to increase the safety margins for plasma operations with injected ECH power at densities approaching cutoff. Inadvertent overdense operation has previously resulted in reflection of an rf beam back into a launcher causing extensive arcing and melt damage on one waveguide line. Damage to microwave diagnostics, which are located on the same side of the tokamak as the ECH launchers, also has occurred. Developing a reliable microwave based interlock to protect the many vulnerable systems in DIII-D has proved to be difficult. Therefore, multiple protective steps havemore » been taken to reduce the risk of damage in the future. Among these is a density interlock generated by the plasma control system, with setpoint determined by the ECH operators based on rf beam trajectories and plasma parameters. Also installed are enhanced video monitoring of the launchers, and an ambient light monitor on each of the waveguide systems, along with a Langmuir probe at the mouth of each launcher. Versatile rf monitors, measuring forward and reflected power in addition to the mode content of the rf beams, have been installed as the last miter bends in each waveguide line. As these systems are characterized, they are being incorporated in the interlock chains, which enable the ECH injection permits. The diagnostics most susceptible to damage from the ECH waves have also been fitted with a variety of protective devices including stripline filters, thin resonant notch filters tuned to the 110 GHz injected microwave frequency, blazed grating filters and shutters. Calculations of rf beam trajectories in the plasmas are performed using the TORAY ray tracing code with input from kinetic profile diagnostics. Using these calculations, strike points for refracted beams on the vacuum vessel are calculated, which allows evaluation of the risk of damage to sensitive diagnostics and hardware.« less

Protecting against damage from refraction of high power microwaves in the DIII-D tokamak

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lohr, John; Brambila, Rigo; Cengher, Mirela

Here, several new protective systems are being installed on the DIII D tokamak to increase the safety margins for plasma operations with injected ECH power at densities approaching cutoff. Inadvertent overdense operation has previously resulted in reflection of an rf beam back into a launcher causing extensive arcing and melt damage on one waveguide line. Damage to microwave diagnostics, which are located on the same side of the tokamak as the ECH launchers, also has occurred. Developing a reliable microwave based interlock to protect the many vulnerable systems in DIII-D has proved to be difficult. Therefore, multiple protective steps havemore » been taken to reduce the risk of damage in the future. Among these is a density interlock generated by the plasma control system, with setpoint determined by the ECH operators based on rf beam trajectories and plasma parameters. Also installed are enhanced video monitoring of the launchers, and an ambient light monitor on each of the waveguide systems, along with a Langmuir probe at the mouth of each launcher. Versatile rf monitors, measuring forward and reflected power in addition to the mode content of the rf beams, have been installed as the last miter bends in each waveguide line. As these systems are characterized, they are being incorporated in the interlock chains, which enable the ECH injection permits. The diagnostics most susceptible to damage from the ECH waves have also been fitted with a variety of protective devices including stripline filters, thin resonant notch filters tuned to the 110 GHz injected microwave frequency, blazed grating filters and shutters. Calculations of rf beam trajectories in the plasmas are performed using the TORAY ray tracing code with input from kinetic profile diagnostics. Using these calculations, strike points for refracted beams on the vacuum vessel are calculated, which allows evaluation of the risk of damage to sensitive diagnostics and hardware.« less

Technique for Predicting the RF Field Strength Inside an Enclosure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hallett, M.; Reddell, J.

1998-01-01

This Memorandum presents a simple analytical technique for predicting the RF electric field strength inside an enclosed volume in which radio frequency radiation occurs. The technique was developed to predict the radio frequency (RF) field strength within a launch vehicle's fairing from payloads launched with their telemetry transmitters radiating and to the impact of the radiation on the vehicle and payload. The RF field strength is shown to be a function of the surface materials and surface areas. The method accounts for RF energy losses within exposed surfaces, through RF windows, and within multiple layers of dielectric materials which may cover the surfaces. This Memorandum includes the rigorous derivation of all equations and presents examples and data to support the validity of the technique.

Error Measurements in an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor System

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-05-01

for an ideal AOTF, at 833 and 838 nm using a TeO2 crystal ............................ 33 Figure 3.12. Frequency characteristics of Equation (3.43...multiple channels in an AOTF requires the presence of multiple RF frequencies to establish the complex grating. Since the crystal used in the AOTF ( TeO2 ) is...in germano- silicate glass . This index modulation, Bragg grating, acts as an optical band rejection filter for those wavelengths that meet the Bragg

Link Correlation Based Transmit Sector Antenna Selection for Alamouti Coded OFDM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahn, Chang-Jun

In MIMO systems, the deployment of a multiple antenna technique can enhance the system performance. However, since the cost of RF transmitters is much higher than that of antennas, there is growing interest in techniques that use a larger number of antennas than the number of RF transmitters. These methods rely on selecting the optimal transmitter antennas and connecting them to the respective. In this case, feedback information (FBI) is required to select the optimal transmitter antenna elements. Since FBI is control overhead, the rate of the feedback is limited. This motivates the study of limited feedback techniques where only partial or quantized information from the receiver is conveyed back to the transmitter. However, in MIMO/OFDM systems, it is difficult to develop an effective FBI quantization method for choosing the space-time, space-frequency, or space-time-frequency processing due to the numerous subchannels. Moreover, MIMO/OFDM systems require antenna separation of 5 ∼ 10 wavelengths to keep the correlation coefficient below 0.7 to achieve a diversity gain. In this case, the base station requires a large space to set up multiple antennas. To reduce these problems, in this paper, we propose the link correlation based transmit sector antenna selection for Alamouti coded OFDM without FBI.

Hybrid wireless-over-fiber transmission system based on multiple injection-locked FP LDs.

PubMed

Li, Chung-Yi; Lu, Hai-Han; Chu, Chien-An; Ying, Cheng-Ling; Lu, Ting-Chien; Peng, Peng-Chun

2015-07-27

A hybrid wireless-over-fiber (WoF) transmission system based on multiple injection-locked Fabry-Perot laser diodes (FP LDs) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Unlike the traditional hybrid WoF transmission systems that require multiple distributed feedback (DFB) LDs to support different kinds of services, the proposed system employs multiple injection-locked FP LDs to provide different kinds of applications. Such a hybrid WoF transmission system delivers downstream intensity-modulated 20-GHz microwave (MW)/60-GHz millimeter-wave (MMW)/550-MHz cable television (CATV) signals and upstream phase-remodulated 20-GHz MW signal. Excellent bit error rate (BER), carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), composite second-order (CSO), and composite triple-beat (CTB) are observed over a 40-km single-mode fiber (SMF) and a 4-m radio frequency (RF) wireless transport. Such a hybrid WoF transmission system has practical applications for fiber-wireless convergence to provide broadband integrated services, including telecommunication, data communication, and CATV services.

Formation Flight of Multiple UAVs via Onboard Sensor Information Sharing.

PubMed

Park, Chulwoo; Cho, Namhoon; Lee, Kyunghyun; Kim, Youdan

2015-07-17

To monitor large areas or simultaneously measure multiple points, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must be flown in formation. To perform such flights, sensor information generated by each UAV should be shared via communications. Although a variety of studies have focused on the algorithms for formation flight, these studies have mainly demonstrated the performance of formation flight using numerical simulations or ground robots, which do not reflect the dynamic characteristics of UAVs. In this study, an onboard sensor information sharing system and formation flight algorithms for multiple UAVs are proposed. The communication delays of radiofrequency (RF) telemetry are analyzed to enable the implementation of the onboard sensor information sharing system. Using the sensor information sharing, the formation guidance law for multiple UAVs, which includes both a circular and close formation, is designed. The hardware system, which includes avionics and an airframe, is constructed for the proposed multi-UAV platform. A numerical simulation is performed to demonstrate the performance of the formation flight guidance and control system for multiple UAVs. Finally, a flight test is conducted to verify the proposed algorithm for the multi-UAV system.

Formation Flight of Multiple UAVs via Onboard Sensor Information Sharing

PubMed Central

Park, Chulwoo; Cho, Namhoon; Lee, Kyunghyun; Kim, Youdan

2015-01-01

To monitor large areas or simultaneously measure multiple points, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must be flown in formation. To perform such flights, sensor information generated by each UAV should be shared via communications. Although a variety of studies have focused on the algorithms for formation flight, these studies have mainly demonstrated the performance of formation flight using numerical simulations or ground robots, which do not reflect the dynamic characteristics of UAVs. In this study, an onboard sensor information sharing system and formation flight algorithms for multiple UAVs are proposed. The communication delays of radiofrequency (RF) telemetry are analyzed to enable the implementation of the onboard sensor information sharing system. Using the sensor information sharing, the formation guidance law for multiple UAVs, which includes both a circular and close formation, is designed. The hardware system, which includes avionics and an airframe, is constructed for the proposed multi-UAV platform. A numerical simulation is performed to demonstrate the performance of the formation flight guidance and control system for multiple UAVs. Finally, a flight test is conducted to verify the proposed algorithm for the multi-UAV system. PMID:26193281

Simultaneous radiofrequency (RF) heating and magnetic resonance (MR) thermal mapping using an intravascular MR imaging/RF heating system.

PubMed

Qiu, Bensheng; El-Sharkawy, Abdel-Monem; Paliwal, Vaishali; Karmarkar, Parag; Gao, Fabao; Atalar, Ergin; Yang, Xiaoming

2005-07-01

Previous studies have confirmed the possibility of using an intravascular MR imaging guidewire (MRIG) as a heating source to enhance vascular gene transfection/expression. This motivated us to develop a new intravascular system that can perform MR imaging, radiofrequncy (RF) heating, and MR temperature monitoring simultaneously in an MR scanner. To validate this concept, a series of mathematical simulations of RF power loss along a 0.032-inch MRIG and RF energy spatial distribution were performed to determine the optimum RF heating frequency. Then, an RF generator/amplifier and a filter box were built. The possibility for simultaneous RF heating and MR thermal mapping of the system was confirmed in vitro using a phantom, and the obtained thermal mapping profile was compared with the simulated RF power distribution. Subsequently, the feasibility of simultaneous RF heating and temperature monitoring was successfully validated in vivo in the aorta of living rabbits. This MR imaging/RF heating system offers a potential tool for intravascular MR-mediated, RF-enhanced vascular gene therapy.

Airborne RF Measurement System (ARMS) and Analysis of Representative Flight RF Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koppen, Sandra V.; Ely, Jay J.; Smith, Laura J.; Jones, Richard A.; Fleck, Vincent J.; Salud, Maria Theresa; Mielnik, John J.

2007-01-01

Environmental radio frequency (RF) data over a broad band of frequencies (30 MHz to 1000 MHz) were obtained to evaluate the electromagnetic environment in airspace around several airports. An RF signal measurement system was designed utilizing a spectrum analyzer connected to the NASA Lancair Columbia 300 aircraft's VHF/UHF navigation antenna. This paper presents an overview of the RF measurement system and provides analysis of sample RF signal measurement data. This aircraft installation package and measurement system can be quickly returned to service if needed by future projects requiring measurement of an RF signal environment or exploration of suspected interference situations.

ACCELERATORS: RF system design and measurement of HIRF-CSRe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhe; Zhao, Hong-Wei; Wang, Chun-Xiao; Xia, Jia-Wen; Zhan, Wen-Long; Bian, Zhi-Bin

2009-05-01

An RF system for the CSRe (cooling storage experimental ring) is designed and manufactured domestically. The present paper mainly describes the RF system design in five main sections: ferrite ring, RF cavity, RF generator, low level system and cavity cooling. The cavity is based on a type of coaxial resonator which is shorted at the end with one gap and loaded with domestic ferrite rings. The RF generator is designed in the push-pull mode and the low level control system is based on a DSP+FGPA+DDS+USB interface and has three feedback loops. Finally we give the results of the measurement on our system.

System and method for inventorying multiple remote objects

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis L.; Gilbert, Ronald W.

2007-10-23

A system and method of inventorying multiple objects utilizing a multi-level or a chained radio frequency identification system. The system includes a master tag and a plurality of upper level tags and lower level tags associated with respective objects. The upper and lower level tags communicate with each other and the master tag so that reading of the master tag reveals the presence and absence of upper and lower level tags. In the chained RF system, the upper and lower level tags communicate locally with each other in a manner so that more remote tags that are out of range of some of the upper and lower level tags have their information relayed through adjacent tags to the master tag and thence to a controller.

System and method for inventorying multiple remote objects

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis L [Morgan Hill, CA; Gilbert, Ronald W [Morgan Hill, CA

2009-12-29

A system and method of inventorying multiple objects utilizing a multi-level or a chained radio frequency identification system. The system includes a master tag and a plurality of upper level tags and lower level tags associated with respective objects. The upper and lower level tags communicate with each other and the master tag so that reading of the master tag reveals the presence and absence of upper and lower level tags. In the chained RF system, the upper and lower level tags communicate locally with each other in a manner so that more remote tags that are out of range of some of the upper and lower level tags have their information relayed through adjacent tags to the master tag and thence to a controller.

RF verification tasks underway at the Harris Corporation for multiple aperture reflector system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gutwein, T. A.

1982-01-01

Mesh effects on gain and patterns and adjacent aperture coupling effects for "pie" and circular apertures are discussed. Wire effects for Harris model with Langley scale model results included for assessing D/lamda effects, and wire effects with adjacent aperture coupling were determined. Reflector surface distortion effects (pillows and manufacturing roughness) were studied.

Airborne RF Measurement System and Analysis of Representative Flight RF Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koppen, Sandra V.; Ely, Jay J.; Smith, Laura J.; Jones, Richard A.; Fleck, Vincent J.; Salud, Maria Theresa; Mielnik, John

2007-01-01

Environmental radio frequency (RF) data over a broad band of frequencies were needed to evaluate the airspace around several airports. An RF signal measurement system was designed using a spectrum analyzer connected to an aircraft VHF/UHF navigation antenna installed on a small aircraft. This paper presents an overview of the RF measurement system and provides analysis of a sample of RF signal measurement data over a frequency range of 30 MHz to 1000 MHz.

Information-Theoretic Limits on Broadband Multi-Antenna Systems in the Presence of Mutual Coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taluja, Pawandeep Singh

2011-12-01

Multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems have received considerable attention over the last decade due to their ability to provide high throughputs and mitigate multipath fading effects. While most of these benefits are obtained for ideal arrays with large separation between the antennas, practical devices are often constrained in physical dimensions. With smaller inter-element spacings, signal correlation and mutual coupling between the antennas start to degrade the system performance, thereby limiting the deployment of a large number of antennas. Various studies have proposed transceiver designs based on optimal matching networks to compensate for this loss. However, such networks are considered impractical due to their multiport structure and sensitivity to the RF bandwidth of the system. In this dissertation, we investigate two aspects of compact transceiver design. First, we consider simpler architectures that exploit coupling between the antennas, and second, we establish information-theoretic limits of broadband communication systems with closely-spaced antennas. We begin with a receiver model of a diversity antenna selection system and propose novel strategies that make use of inactive elements by virtue of mutual coupling. We then examine the limits on the matching efficiency of a single antenna system using broadband matching theory. Next, we present an extension to this theory for coupled MIMO systems to elucidate the impact of coupling on the RF bandwidth of the system, and derive optimal transceiver designs. Lastly, we summarize the main findings of this dissertation and suggest open problems for future work.

A System-Level Pathway-Phenotype Association Analysis Using Synthetic Feature Random Forest

PubMed Central

Pan, Qinxin; Hu, Ting; Malley, James D.; Andrew, Angeline S.; Karagas, Margaret R.; Moore, Jason H.

2015-01-01

As the cost of genome-wide genotyping decreases, the number of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has increased considerably. However, the transition from GWAS findings to the underlying biology of various phenotypes remains challenging. As a result, due to its system-level interpretability, pathway analysis has become a popular tool for gaining insights on the underlying biology from high-throughput genetic association data. In pathway analyses, gene sets representing particular biological processes are tested for significant associations with a given phenotype. Most existing pathway analysis approaches rely on single-marker statistics and assume that pathways are independent of each other. As biological systems are driven by complex biomolecular interactions, embracing the complex relationships between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and pathways needs to be addressed. To incorporate the complexity of gene-gene interactions and pathway-pathway relationships, we propose a system-level pathway analysis approach, synthetic feature random forest (SF-RF), which is designed to detect pathway-phenotype associations without making assumptions about the relationships among SNPs or pathways. In our approach, the genotypes of SNPs in a particular pathway are aggregated into a synthetic feature representing that pathway via Random Forest (RF). Multiple synthetic features are analyzed using RF simultaneously and the significance of a synthetic feature indicates the significance of the corresponding pathway. We further complement SF-RF with pathway-based Statistical Epistasis Network (SEN) analysis that evaluates interactions among pathways. By investigating the pathway SEN, we hope to gain additional insights into the genetic mechanisms contributing to the pathway-phenotype association. We apply SF-RF to a population-based genetic study of bladder cancer and further investigate the mechanisms that help explain the pathway-phenotype associations using SEN. The bladder cancer associated pathways we found are both consistent with existing biological knowledge and reveal novel and plausible hypotheses for future biological validations. PMID:24535726

International Classification of Primary Care-2 coding of primary care data at the general out-patients' clinic of General Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.

PubMed

Olagundoye, Olawunmi Abimbola; van Boven, Kees; van Weel, Chris

2016-01-01

Primary care serves as an integral part of the health systems of nations especially the African continent. It is the portal of entry for nearly all patients into the health care system. Paucity of accurate data for health statistics remains a challenge in the most parts of Africa because of inadequate technical manpower and infrastructure. Inadequate quality of data systems contributes to inaccurate data. A simple-to-use classification system such as the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) may be a solution to this problem at the primary care level. To apply ICPC-2 for secondary coding of reasons for encounter (RfE), problems managed and processes of care in a Nigerian primary care setting. Furthermore, to analyze the value of selected presented symptoms as predictors of the most common diagnoses encountered in the study setting. Content analysis of randomly selected patients' paper records for data collection at the end of clinic sessions conducted by family physicians at the general out-patients' clinics. Contents of clinical consultations were secondarily coded with the ICPC-2 and recorded into excel spreadsheets with fields for sociodemographic data such as age, sex, occupation, religion, and ICPC elements of an encounter: RfE/complaints, diagnoses/problems, and interventions/processes of care. Four hundred and one encounters considered in this study yielded 915 RfEs, 546 diagnoses, and 1221 processes. This implies an average of 2.3 RfE, 1.4 diagnoses, and 3.0 processes per encounter. The top 10 RfE, diagnoses/common illnesses, and processes were determined. Through the determination of the probability of the occurrence of certain diseases beginning with a RfE/complaint, the top five diagnoses that resulted from each of the top five RfE were also obtained. The top five RfE were: headache, fever, pain general/multiple sites, visual disturbance other and abdominal pain/cramps general. The top five diagnoses were: Malaria, hypertension uncomplicated, visual disturbance other, peptic ulcer, and upper respiratory infection. From the determination of the posterior probability given the top five RfE, malaria, hypertension, upper respiratory infection, refractive error, and conjuctivitis were the five most frequent diagnoses that resulted from a complaint of a headache. The study demonstrated that ICPC-2 can be applied to primary care data in the Nigerian context to generate information about morbidity and services provided. It also provided an empirical basis to support diagnosis and prognostication in a primary care setting. In developing countries where the transition to electronic health records is still evolving and fraught with limitations, more reliable data collection can be achieved from paper records through the application of the ICPC-2.

Noninvasive radio frequency for skin tightening and body contouring.

PubMed

Weiss, Robert A

2013-03-01

The medical use of radio frequency (RF) is based on an oscillating electrical current forcing collisions between charged molecules and ions, which are then transformed into heat. RF heating occurs irrespective of chromophore or skin type and is not dependent on selective photothermolysis. RF can be delivered using monopolar, bipolar, and unipolar devices, and each method has theoretical limits of depth penetration. A variant of bipolar delivery is fractional RF delivery. In monopolar configurations, RF will penetrate deeply and return via a grounding electrode. Multiple devices are available and are detailed later in the text. RF thermal stimulation is believed to result in a microinflammatory process that promotes new collagen. By manipulating skin cooling, RF can also be used for heating and reduction of fat. Currently, the most common uses of RF-based devices are to noninvasively manage and treat skin tightening of lax skin (including sagging jowls, abdomen, thighs, and arms), as well as wrinkle reduction, cellulite improvement, and body contouring.

rf power system for thrust measurements of a helicon plasma source.

PubMed

Kieckhafer, Alexander W; Walker, Mitchell L R

2010-07-01

A rf power system has been developed, which allows the use of rf plasma devices in an electric propulsion test facility without excessive noise pollution in thruster diagnostics. Of particular importance are thrust stand measurements, which were previously impossible due to noise. Three major changes were made to the rf power system: first, the cable connection was changed from a balanced transmission line to an unbalanced coaxial line. Second, the rf power cabinet was placed remotely in order to reduce vibration-induced noise in the thrust stand. Finally, a relationship between transmission line length and rf was developed, which allows good transmission of rf power from the matching network to the helicon antenna. The modified system was tested on a thrust measurement stand and showed that rf power has no statistically significant contribution to the thrust stand measurement.

High Efficiency push-pull class E amplifiers for fusion rocket engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaitan, Gabriel; Ham, Eric; Cohen, S. A.; Swanson, Charles; Chen, Minjie; Brunkhorst, Christopher

2017-10-01

In a Field Reversed Configuration fusion reactor, ions in the plasma are heated by an antenna operating at RF frequencies. This paper presents how push-pull class E amplifiers can be used to efficiently drive this antenna in the MHz range, from 0.5MHz to 4 MHz, while maintaining low harmonic content in the output signal. We offer four different configurations that present a trade-off between efficiency and low harmonic content. The paper presents theoretical values and breadboard results from these configurations, which operate at a power of around 100W. For a practical design, multiple amplifiers would be linked in parallel and would power the RF antenna at around 1MW. These designs provide multiple different options for reactor systems that could be used in a variety of applications, from power plants on the ground to rocket engines in space. This work was supported, in part, by DOE Contract Number DE-AC02-09CH11466 and Princeton Environmental Institute.

Wireless Video System for Extra Vehicular Activity in the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Orbiter Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loh, Yin C.; Boster, John; Hwu, Shian; Watson, John C.; deSilva, Kanishka; Piatek, Irene (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

The Wireless Video System (WVS) provides real-time video coverage of astronaut extra vehicular activities during International Space Station (ISS) assembly. The ISS wireless environment is unique due to the nature of the ISS structure and multiple RF interference sources. This paper describes how the system was developed to combat multipath, blockage, and interference using an automatic antenna switching system. Critical to system performance is the selection of receiver antenna installation locations determined using Uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD) techniques.

CEBAF Superconducting Cavity RF Drive System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fugitt, Jock; Moore, Thomas

1987-03-01

The CEBAR RF system consists of 418 individual RF amplifier chains. Each superconducting cavity is phase locked to the master drive reference line to within 1 degree, and the cavity field gradient is regulated to within 1 part in 10 by a state-of-the-art RF control module. Precision, continuously adjustable, modulo 360 phase shifters are used to generate the individual phase references, and a compensated RF detector is used for level feedback. The close coupled digital system enhances system accuracy, provides self-calibration, and continuously checks the system for malfunction. Calibration curves, the operating program, and system history are stored in anmore » on board EEPROM. The RF power is generated by a 5Kw, water cooled, permanent magnet focused klystorn. The klystons are clustered in groups of 8 and powered from a common supply. RF power is transmitted to the accelerator sections by semiflexible waveguide.« less

The effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields on T cell function during development

PubMed Central

Ohtani, Shin; Ushiyama, Akira; Maeda, Machiko; Ogasawara, Yuki; Wang, Jianqing; Kunugita, Naoki; Ishii, Kazuyuki

2015-01-01

With the widespread use of radio-frequency devices, it is increasingly important to understand the biological effects of the associated electromagnetic fields. Thus, we investigated the effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on T cell responses during development due to the lack of science-based evidence for RF-EMF effects on developmental immune systems. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were exposed to 2.14-GHz wideband code division multiple-access (W-CDMA) RF signals at a whole-body specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0.2 W/kg. Exposures were performed for a total of 9 weeks spanning in utero development, lactation and the juvenile period. Rats were continuously exposed to RF-EMF for 20 h/day, 7 days/week. Comparisons of control and exposed rats using flow cytometry revealed no changes in the numbers of CD4/CD8 T cells, activated T cells or regulatory T cells among peripheral blood cells, splenocytes and thymocytes. Expression levels of 16 genes that regulate the immunological Th1/Th2 paradigm were analyzed using real-time PCR in the spleen and thymus tissues of control and RF-EMF–exposed rats. Although only the Il5 gene was significantly regulated in spleen tissues, Il4, Il5 and Il23a genes were significantly upregulated in thymus tissues following exposure to RF-EMF. However, ELISAs showed no changes in serum IL-4 protein concentrations. These data indicate no adverse effects of long-term RF-EMF exposure on immune-like T cell populations, T cell activation, or Th1/Th2 balance in developing rats, although significant transcriptional effects were observed. PMID:25835473

Transmission of RF Signals Over Optical Fiber for Avionics Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slaveski, Filip; Sluss, James, Jr.; Atiquzzaman, Mohammed; Hung, Nguyen; Ngo, Duc

2002-01-01

During flight, aircraft avionics transmit and receive RF signals to/from antennas over coaxial cables. As the density and complexity of onboard avionics increases, the electromagnetic interference (EM) environment degrades proportionately, leading to decreasing signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and potential safety concerns. The coaxial cables are inherently lossy, limiting the RF signal bandwidth while adding considerable weight. To overcome these limitations, we have investigated a fiber optic communications link for aircraft that utilizes wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to support the simultaneous transmission of multiple signals (including RF) over a single optical fiber. Optical fiber has many advantages over coaxial cable, particularly lower loss, greater bandwidth, and immunity to EM. In this paper, we demonstrate that WDM can be successfully used to transmit multiple RF signals over a single optical fiber with no appreciable signal degradation. We investigate the transmission of FM and AM analog modulated signals, as well as FSK digital modulated signals, over a fiber optic link (FOL) employing WDM. We present measurements of power loss, delay, SNR, carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), total harmonic distortion (THD), and bit error rate (BER). Our experimental results indicate that WDM is a fiber optic technology suitable for avionics applications.

Selective RF pulses in NMR and their effect on coupled and uncoupled spin systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slotboom, J.

1993-10-01

This thesis describes various aspects of the usage of shaped RF-pulses for volume selection and spectral editing. Contents: Introduction--The History of Magnetic Resonance in a Nutshell, and The Usage of RF Pulses in Contemporary MRS and MRI; Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Localized NMR Spectroscopy; The Effects of RF Pulse Shape Discretization on the Spatially Selective Performance; Design of Frequency-Selective RF Pulses by Optimizing a Small Number of Pulse Parameters; A Single-Shot Localization Pulse Sequence Suited for Coils with Inhomogeneous RF Fields Using Adiabatic Slice-Selective RF Pulses; The Bloch Equations for an AB System and the Design of Spin State Selective RF Pulses for Coupled Spin Systems; The Effects of Frequency Selective RF Pulses on J Coupled Spin-1/2 Systems; A Quantitative (1)H MRS in vivo Study of the Effects of L-Ornithine-L-Aspartate on the Development of Mild Encephalopathy Using a Single Shot Localization Technique Based on SAR Reduced Adiabatic 2(pi) Pulses.

Spectrally resolved, broadband frequency response characterization of photodetectors using continuous-wave supercontinuum sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhury, Vishal; Prakash, Roopa; Nagarjun, K. P.; Supradeepa, V. R.

2018-02-01

A simple and powerful method using continuous wave supercontinuum lasers is demonstrated to perform spectrally resolved, broadband frequency response characterization of photodetectors in the NIR Band. In contrast to existing techniques, this method allows for a simple system to achieve the goal, requiring just a standard continuous wave(CW) high-power fiber laser source and an RF spectrum analyzer. From our recent work, we summarize methods to easily convert any high-power fiber laser into a CW supercontinuum. These sources in the time domain exhibit interesting properties all the way down to the femtosecond time scale. This enables measurement of broadband frequency response of photodetectors while the wide optical spectrum of the supercontinuum can be spectrally filtered to obtain this information in a spectrally resolved fashion. The method involves looking at the RF spectrum of the output of a photodetector under test when incident with the supercontinuum. By using prior knowledge of the RF spectrum of the source, the frequency response can be calculated. We utilize two techniques for calibration of the source spectrum, one using a prior measurement and the other relying on a fitted model. Here, we characterize multiple photodetectors from 150MHz bandwidth to >20GHz bandwidth at multiple bands in the NIR region. We utilize a supercontinuum source spanning over 700nm bandwidth from 1300nm to 2000nm. For spectrally resolved measurement, we utilize multiple wavelength bands such as around 1400nm and 1600nm. Interesting behavior was observed in the frequency response of the photodetectors when comparing broadband spectral excitation versus narrower band excitation.

Design and Calibration of an RF Actuator for Low-Level RF Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geng, Zheqiao; Hong, Bo

2016-02-01

X-ray free electron laser (FEL) machines like the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC require high-quality electron beams to generate X-ray lasers for various experiments. Digital low-level RF (LLRF) systems are widely used to control the high-power RF klystrons to provide a highly stable RF field in accelerator structures for beam acceleration. Feedback and feedforward controllers are implemented in LLRF systems to stabilize or adjust the phase and amplitude of the RF field. To achieve the RF stability and the accuracy of the phase and amplitude adjustment, low-noise and highly linear RF actuators are required. Aiming for the upgrade of the S-band Linac at SLAC, an RF actuator is designed with an I/Qmodulator driven by two digital-to-analog converters (DAC) for the digital LLRF systems. A direct upconversion scheme is selected for RF actuation, and an on-line calibration algorithm is developed to compensate the RF reference leakage and the imbalance errors in the I/Q modulator, which may cause significant phase and amplitude actuation errors. This paper presents the requirements on the RF actuator, the design of the hardware, the calibration algorithm, and the implementation in firmware and software and the test results at LCLS.

rf power system for thrust measurements of a helicon plasma source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kieckhafer, Alexander W.; Walker, Mitchell L. R.

2010-07-15

A rf power system has been developed, which allows the use of rf plasma devices in an electric propulsion test facility without excessive noise pollution in thruster diagnostics. Of particular importance are thrust stand measurements, which were previously impossible due to noise. Three major changes were made to the rf power system: first, the cable connection was changed from a balanced transmission line to an unbalanced coaxial line. Second, the rf power cabinet was placed remotely in order to reduce vibration-induced noise in the thrust stand. Finally, a relationship between transmission line length and rf was developed, which allows goodmore » transmission of rf power from the matching network to the helicon antenna. The modified system was tested on a thrust measurement stand and showed that rf power has no statistically significant contribution to the thrust stand measurement.« less

Microwave ablation versus radiofrequency ablation in the kidney: high-power triaxial antennas create larger ablation zones than similarly sized internally cooled electrodes.

PubMed

Laeseke, Paul F; Lee, Fred T; Sampson, Lisa A; van der Weide, Daniel W; Brace, Christopher L

2009-09-01

To determine whether microwave ablation with high-power triaxial antennas creates significantly larger ablation zones than radiofrequency (RF) ablation with similarly sized internally cooled electrodes. Twenty-eight 12-minute ablations were performed in an in vivo porcine kidney model. RF ablations were performed with a 200-W pulsed generator and either a single 17-gauge cooled electrode (n = 9) or three switched electrodes spaced 1.5 cm apart (n = 7). Microwave ablations were performed with one (n = 7), two (n = 3), or three (n = 2) 17-gauge triaxial antennas to deliver 90 W continuous power per antenna. Multiple antennas were powered simultaneously. Temperatures 1 cm from the applicator were measured during two RF and microwave ablations each. Animals were euthanized after ablation and ablation zone diameter, cross-sectional area, and circularity were measured. Comparisons between groups were performed with use of a mixed-effects model with P values less than .05 indicating statistical significance. No adverse events occurred during the procedures. Three-electrode RF (mean area, 14.7 cm(2)) and single-antenna microwave (mean area, 10.9 cm(2)) ablation zones were significantly larger than single-electrode RF zones (mean area, 5.6 cm(2); P = .001 and P = .0355, respectively). No significant differences were detected between single-antenna microwave and multiple-electrode RF. Ablation zone circularity was similar across groups (P > .05). Tissue temperatures were higher during microwave ablation (maximum temperature of 123 degrees C vs 100 degrees C for RF). Microwave ablation with high-power triaxial antennas created larger ablation zones in normal porcine kidneys than RF ablation with similarly sized applicators.

Design, development and manufacture of a breadboard radio frequency mass gauging system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The feasibility of the RF gauging mode, counting technique was demonstrated for gauging liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen under all attitude conditions. With LH2, it was also demonstrated under dynamic fluid conditions, in which the fluid assumes ever changing positions within the tank, that the RF gauging technique on the average provides a very good indication of mass. It is significant that the distribution of the mode count data at each fill level during dynamic LH2 and LOX orientation testing does approach a statistical normal distribution. Multiple space-diversity probes provide better coupling to the resonant modes than utilization of a single probe element. The variable sweep rate generator technique provides a more uniform mode versus time distribution for processing.

Reduced electrical bandwidth receivers for direct detection 4-ary PPM optical communication intersatellite links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davidson, Frederic M.; Sun, Xiaoli

1993-01-01

One of the major sources of noise in a direct detection optical communication receiver is the shot noise due to the quantum nature of the photodetector. The shot noise is signal dependent and is neither Gaussian nor wide sense stationary. When a photomultiplier tube (PMT) or an avalanche photodiode (APD) is used, there is also a multiplicative excess noise due to the randomness of the internal photodetector gain. Generally speaking, the radio frequency (RF) communication theory cannot be applied to direct detection optical communication systems because noise in RF communication systems is usually additive and Gaussian. A receiver structure which is mathematically optimal for signal dependent shot noise is derived. Several suboptimal receiver structures are discussed and compared with the optimal receiver. The objective is to find a receiver structure which is easy to implement and gives close to optimal performance.

It's a Trap! A Review of MOMA and Other Ion Traps in Space or Under Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arevalo, R., Jr.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Mahaffy, P. R.; van Amerom, F. H. W.; Danell, R. M.; Pinnick, V. T.; Li, X.; Hovmand, L.; Getty, S. A.; Goesmann, F.;

Multichannel Doppler Processing for an Experimental Low-Angle Tracking System

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

estimation techniques at sea. Because of clutter and noise, it is necessary to use a number of different processing algorithms to extract the required...a number of different processing algorithms to extract the required information. Consequently, the ELAT radar system is composed of multiple...corresponding to RF frequencies, f, and f2. For mode 3, the ambiguities occur at vbi = 15.186 knots and vb2 = 16.96 knots. The sea clutter, with a spectrum

Investigation of Readout RF Pulse Impact on the Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Spectrum

PubMed Central

Huang, Sheng-Min; Jan, Meei-Ling; Liang, Hsin-Chin; Chang, Chia-Hao; Wu, Yi-Chun; Tsai, Shang-Yueh; Wang, Fu-Nien

2015-01-01

Chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging (CEST-MRI) is capable of both microenvironment and molecular imaging. The optimization of scanning parameters is important since the CEST effect is sensitive to factors such as saturation power and field homogeneity. The aim of this study was to determine if the CEST effect would be altered by changing the length of readout RF pulses. Both theoretical computer simulation and phantom experiments were performed to examine the influence of readout RF pulses. Our results showed that the length of readout RF pulses has unremarkable impact on the Z-spectrum and CEST effect in both computer simulation and phantom experiment. Moreover, we demonstrated that multiple refocusing RF pulses used in rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) sequence induced no obvious saturation transfer contrast. Therefore, readout RF pulse has negligible effect on CEST Z-spectrum and the optimization of readout RF pulse length can be disregarded in CEST imaging protocol. PMID:26455576

Compact Power Conditioning and RF Systems for a High Power RF Source

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

RF systems have increasing potential for application by the Army. High power RF, or high power microwave ( HPM ), systems can disrupt or disable...that are small, lightweight, portable, and use an independent energy source. The resulting system will be able to produce HPM from a compact package...The consortium was formed to advance the technology of the components required for a compact HPM source with the final goal of full system

Efficacy and Safety of Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Prospective Multicenter Study

PubMed Central

Jung, So Lyung; Lee, Jeong Hyun; Shong, Young Kee; Sung, Jin Yong; Kim, Kyu Sun; Lee, Ducky; Kim, Ji-hoon; Baek, Seon Mi; Sim, Jung Suk; Na, Dong Gyu

2018-01-01

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of thyroid radiofrequency (RF) ablation for benign thyroid nodules by trained radiologists according to a unified protocol in a multi-center study. Materials and Methods From 2010 to 2011, 345 nodules from 345 patients (M:F = 43:302; mean age ± SD = 46.0 ± 12.7 years, range = 15–79) who met eligibility criteria were enrolled from five institutions. At pre-ablation, the mean volume was 14.2 ± 13.2 mL (1.1–80.8 mL). For 12 months or longer after treatment, 276 lesions, consisting of 248 solid and 28 predominantly cystic nodules, were followed. All operators performed RF ablation with a cool-tip RF system and two standard techniques (a transisthmic approach and the moving-shot technique). Volume reduction at 12 months after RF ablation (the primary outcome), therapeutic success, improvement of symptoms as well as of cosmetic problems, and complications were evaluated. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to identify factors that were independently predictive of volume reduction. Results The mean volume reduction at 12 months was 80.3% (n = 276) and at the 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-month follow-ups 84.3% (n = 198), 89.2% (n = 128), 91.9% (n = 57), and 95.3% (n = 6), respectively. Our therapeutic success was 97.8%. Both mean symptom and cosmetic scores showed significant improvements (p < 0.001). The rate of major complications was 1.0% (3/276). Solidity and applied energy were independent factors that predicted volume reduction. Conclusion Radiofrequency ablation performed by trained radiologists from multiple institutions using a unified protocol and similar devices was effective and safe for treating benign thyroid nodules. PMID:29354014

Heart Rate Detection During Sleep Using a Flexible RF Resonator and Injection-Locked PLL Sensor.

PubMed

Kim, Sung Woo; Choi, Soo Beom; An, Yong-Jun; Kim, Byung-Hyun; Kim, Deok Won; Yook, Jong-Gwan

2015-11-01

Novel nonintrusive technologies for wrist pulse detection have been developed and proposed as systems for sleep monitoring using three types of radio frequency (RF) sensors. The three types of RF sensors for heart rate measurement on wrist are a flexible RF single resonator, array resonators, and an injection-locked PLL resonator sensor. To verify the performance of the new RF systems, we compared heart rates between presleep time and postsleep onset time. Heart rates of ten subjects were measured using the RF systems during sleep. All three RF devices detected heart rates at 0.2 to 1 mm distance from the skin of the wrist over clothes made of cotton fabric. The wrist pulse signals of a flexible RF single resonator were consistent with the signals obtained by a portable piezoelectric transducer as a reference. Then, we confirmed that the heart rate after sleep onset time significantly decreased compared to before sleep. In conclusion, the RF system can be utilized as a noncontact nonintrusive method for measuring heart rates during sleep.

Joint Channel and Phase Noise Estimation in MIMO-OFDM Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngebani, I. M.; Chuma, J. M.; Zibani, I.; Matlotse, E.; Tsamaase, K.

2017-05-01

The combination of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), MIMO-OFDM, is a promising way of achieving high spectral efficiency in wireless communication systems. However, the performance of MIMO-ODFM systems is highly degraded by radio frequency (RF) impairments such as phase noise. Similar to the single-input single-output (SISO) case, phase noise in MIMO-OFDM systems results in a common phase error (CPE) and inter carrier interference (ICI). In this paper the problem of joint channel and phase noise estimation in a system with multiple transmit and receive antennas where each antenna is equipped with its own independent oscillator is tackled. The technique employed makes use of a novel placement of pilot carriers in the preamble and data portion of the MIMO-OFDM frame. Numerical results using a 16 and 64 quadrature amplitude modulation QAM schemes are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme for MIMO-OFDM systems.

Zeroth-order design report for the next linear collider. Volume 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raubenheimer, T.O.

This Zeroth-Order Design Report (ZDR) for the Next Linear Collider (NLC) has been completed as a feasibility study for a TeV-scale linear collider that incorporates a room-temperature accelerator powered by rf microwaves at 11.424 GHz--similar to that presently used in the SLC, but at four times the rf frequency. The purpose of this study is to examine the complete systems of such a collider, to understand how the parts fit together, and to make certain that every required piece has been included. The ``design`` presented here is not fully engineered in any sense, but to be assured that the NLCmore » can be built, attention has been given to a number of critical components and issues that present special challenges. More engineering and development of a number of mechanical and electrical systems remain to be done, but the conclusion of this study is that indeed the NLC is technically feasible and can be expected to reach the performance levels required to perform research at the TeV energy scale. Volume II covers the following: collimation systems; IP switch and big bend; final focus; the interaction region; multiple bunch issues; control systems; instrumentation; machine protection systems; NLC reliability considerations; NLC conventional facilities. Also included are four appendices on the following topics: An RF power source upgrade to the NLC; a second interaction region for gamma-gamma, gamma-electron; ground motion: theory and measurement; and beam-based feedback: theory and implementation.« less

tRF2Cancer: A web server to detect tRNA-derived small RNA fragments (tRFs) and their expression in multiple cancers.

PubMed

Zheng, Ling-Ling; Xu, Wei-Lin; Liu, Shun; Sun, Wen-Ju; Li, Jun-Hao; Wu, Jie; Yang, Jian-Hua; Qu, Liang-Hu

2016-07-08

tRNA-derived small RNA fragments (tRFs) are one class of small non-coding RNAs derived from transfer RNAs (tRNAs). tRFs play important roles in cellular processes and are involved in multiple cancers. High-throughput small RNA (sRNA) sequencing experiments can detect all the cellular expressed sRNAs, including tRFs. However, distinguishing genuine tRFs from RNA fragments generated by random degradation remains a major challenge. In this study, we developed an integrated web-based computing system, tRF2Cancer, to accurately identify tRFs from sRNA deep-sequencing data and evaluate their expression in multiple cancers. The binomial test was introduced to evaluate whether reads from a small RNA-seq data set represent tRFs or degraded fragments. A classification method was then used to annotate the types of tRFs based on their sites of origin in pre-tRNA or mature tRNA. We applied the pipeline to analyze 10 991 data sets from 32 types of cancers and identified thousands of expressed tRFs. A tool called 'tRFinCancer' was developed to facilitate the users to inspect the expression of tRFs across different types of cancers. Another tool called 'tRFBrowser' shows both the sites of origin and the distribution of chemical modification sites in tRFs on their source tRNA. The tRF2Cancer web server is available at http://rna.sysu.edu.cn/tRFfinder/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Hybrid RF / Optical Communication Terminal with Spherical Primary Optics for Optical Reception

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charles, Jeffrey R.; Hoppe, Daniel H.; Sehic, Asim

2011-01-01

Future deep space communications are likely to employ not only the existing RF uplink and downlink, but also a high capacity optical downlink. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is currently investigating the benefits of a ground based hybrid RF and deep space optical terminal based on limited modification of existing 34 meter antenna designs. The ideal design would include as large an optical aperture as technically practical and cost effective, cause minimal impact to RF performance, and remain cost effective even when compared to a separate optical terminal of comparable size. Numerous trades and architectures have been considered, including shared RF and optical apertures having aspheric optics and means to separate RF and optical signals, plus, partitioned apertures in which various zones of the primary are dedicated to optical reception. A design based on the latter is emphasized in this paper, employing spherical primary optics and a new version of a "clamshell" corrector that is optimized to fit within the limited space between the antenna sub-reflector and the existing apex structure that supports the subreflector. The mechanical design of the hybrid accommodates multiple spherical primary mirror panels in the central 11 meters of the antenna, and integrates the clamshell corrector and optical receiver modules with antenna hardware using existing attach points to the maximum extent practical. When an optical collection area is implemented on a new antenna, it is possible to design the antenna structure to accommodate the additional weight of optical mirrors providing an equivalent aperture of several meters diameter. The focus of our near term effort is to use optics with the 34 meter DSS-13 antenna at Goldstone to demonstrate spatial optical acquisition and tracking capability using an optical system that is temporarily integrated into the antenna.

Multiple components of surround modulation in primary visual cortex: multiple neural circuits with multiple functions?

PubMed Central

Nurminen, Lauri; Angelucci, Alessandra

2014-01-01

The responses of neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) to stimulation of their receptive field (RF) are modulated by stimuli in the RF surround. This modulation is suppressive when the stimuli in the RF and surround are of similar orientation, but less suppressive or facilitatory when they are cross-oriented. Similarly, in human vision surround stimuli selectively suppress the perceived contrast of a central stimulus. Although the properties of surround modulation have been thoroughly characterized in many species, cortical areas and sensory modalities, its role in perception remains unknown. Here we argue that surround modulation in V1 consists of multiple components having different spatio-temporal and tuning properties, generated by different neural circuits and serving different visual functions. One component arises from LGN afferents, is fast, untuned for orientation, and spatially restricted to the surround region nearest to the RF (the near-surround); its function is to normalize V1 cell responses to local contrast. Intra-V1 horizontal connections contribute a slower, narrowly orientation-tuned component to near-surround modulation, whose function is to increase the coding efficiency of natural images in manner that leads to the extraction of object boundaries. The third component is generated by topdown feedback connections to V1, is fast, broadly orientation-tuned, and extends into the far-surround; its function is to enhance the salience of behaviorally relevant visual features. Far- and near-surround modulation, thus, act as parallel mechanisms: the former quickly detects and guides saccades/attention to salient visual scene locations, the latter segments object boundaries in the scene. PMID:25204770

MEMS-based, RF-driven, compact accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persaud, A.; Seidl, P. A.; Ji, Q.; Breinyn, I.; Waldron, W. L.; Schenkel, T.; Vinayakumar, K. B.; Ni, D.; Lal, A.

2017-10-01

Shrinking existing accelerators in size can reduce their cost by orders of magnitude. Furthermore, by using radio frequency (RF) technology and accelerating ions in several stages, the applied voltages can be kept low paving the way to new ion beam applications. We make use of the concept of a Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerator (MEQALAC) and have previously shown the implementation of its basic components using printed circuit boards, thereby reducing the size of earlier MEQALACs by an order of magnitude. We now demonstrate the combined integration of these components to form a basic accelerator structure, including an initial beam-matching section. In this presentation, we will discuss the results from the integrated multi-beam ion accelerator and also ion acceleration using RF voltages generated on-board. Furthermore, we will show results from Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabricated focusing wafers, which can shrink the dimension of the system to the sub-mm regime and lead to cheaper fabrication. Based on these proof-of-concept results we outline a scaling path to high beam power for applications in plasma heating in magnetized target fusion and in neutral beam injectors for future Tokamaks. This work was supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy through the ARPA-e ALPHA program under contracts DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Measurement of electron density transients in pulsed RF discharges using a frequency boxcar hairpin probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, David; Coumou, David; Shannon, Steven

2015-11-01

Time resolved electron density measurements in pulsed RF discharges are shown using a hairpin resonance probe using low cost electronics, on par with normal Langmuir probe boxcar mode operation. Time resolution of 10 microseconds has been demonstrated. A signal generator produces the applied microwave frequency; the reflected waveform is passed through a directional coupler and filtered to remove the RF component. The signal is heterodyned with a frequency mixer and rectified to produce a DC signal read by an oscilloscope. At certain points during the pulse, the plasma density is such that the applied frequency is the same as the resonance frequency of the probe/plasma system, creating reflected signal dips. The applied microwave frequency is shifted in small increments in a frequency boxcar routine to determine the density as a function of time. A dc sheath correction is applied for the grounded probe, producing low cost, high fidelity, and highly reproducible electron density measurements. The measurements are made in both inductively and capacitively coupled systems, the latter driven by multiple frequencies where a subset of these frequencies are pulsed. Measurements are compared to previous published results, time resolved OES, and in-line measurement of plasma impedance. This work is supported by the NSF DOE partnership on plasma science, the NSF GOALI program, and MKS Instruments.

Synergistic retention strategy of RGD active targeting and radiofrequency-enhanced permeability for intensified RF & chemotherapy synergistic tumor treatment.

PubMed

Zhang, Kun; Li, Pei; He, Yaping; Bo, Xiaowan; Li, Xiaolong; Li, Dandan; Chen, Hangrong; Xu, Huixiong

2016-08-01

Despite gaining increasing attention, chelation of multiple active targeting ligands greatly increase the formation probability of protein corona, disabling active targeting. To overcome it, a synergistic retention strategy of RGD-mediated active targeting and radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field-enhanced permeability has been proposed here. It is validated that such a special synergistic retention strategy can promote more poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)-based capsules encapsulating camptothecin (CPT) and solid DL-menthol (DLM) to enter and retain in tumor in vitro and in vivo upon exposure to RF irradiation, receiving an above 8 fold enhancement in HeLa retention. Moreover, the PLGA-based capsules can respond RF field to trigger the entrapped DLM to generate solid-liquid-gas (SLG) tri-phase transformation for enhancing RF ablation and CPT release. Therefore, depending on the enhanced RF ablation and released CPT and the validated synergistic retention effect, the inhibitory outcome for tumor growth has gained an over 10-fold improvement, realizing RF ablation & chemotherapy synergistic treatment against HeLa solid tumor, which indicates a significant promise in clinical RF ablation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MulRF: a software package for phylogenetic analysis using multi-copy gene trees.

PubMed

Chaudhary, Ruchi; Fernández-Baca, David; Burleigh, John Gordon

2015-02-01

MulRF is a platform-independent software package for phylogenetic analysis using multi-copy gene trees. It seeks the species tree that minimizes the Robinson-Foulds (RF) distance to the input trees using a generalization of the RF distance to multi-labeled trees. The underlying generic tree distance measure and fast running time make MulRF useful for inferring phylogenies from large collections of gene trees, in which multiple evolutionary processes as well as phylogenetic error may contribute to gene tree discord. MulRF implements several features for customizing the species tree search and assessing the results, and it provides a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) with tree visualization. The species tree search is implemented in C++ and the GUI in Java Swing. MulRF's executable as well as sample datasets and manual are available at http://genome.cs.iastate.edu/CBL/MulRF/, and the source code is available at https://github.com/ruchiherself/MulRFRepo. ruchic@ufl.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Microelectronic bioinstrumentation systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ko, W. H.

1976-01-01

Progress was made in the development of an RF cage, a single channel RF powered ECG telemetry system, and a three channel RF powered ECG, aortic blood pressure, and body temperature telemetry system. Encapsulation materials for chronic implantation of electronic circuits in the body were also evaluated.

Low Energy Dissipation Nano Device Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jenny

2015-03-01

The development of research on energy dissipation has been rapid in energy efficient area. Nano-material power FET is operated as an RF power amplifier, the transport is ballistic, noise is limited and power dissipation is minimized. The goal is Green-save energy by developing the Graphene and carbon nantube microwave and high performance devices. Higher performing RF amplifiers can have multiple impacts on broadly field, for example communication equipment, (such as mobile phone and RADAR); higher power density and lower power dissipation will improve spectral efficiency which translates into higher system level bandwidth and capacity for communications equipment. Thus, fundamental studies of power handling capabilities of new RF (nano)technologies can have broad, sweeping impact. Because it is critical to maximizing the power handling ability of grephene and carbon nanotube FET, the initial task focuses on measuring and understanding the mechanism of electrical breakdown. We aim specifically to determine how the breakdown voltage in graphene and nanotubes is related to the source-drain spacing, electrode material and thickness, and substrate, and thus develop reliable statistics on the breakdown mechanism and probability.

Design and Analysis of a Hyperspectral Microwave Receiver Subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, W.; Galbraith, C.; Hancock, T.; Leslie, R.; Osaretin, I.; Shields, M.; Racette, P.; Hillard, L.

2012-01-01

Hyperspectral microwave (HM) sounding has been proposed to achieve unprecedented performance. HM operation is achieved using multiple banks of RF spectrometers with large aggregate bandwidth. A principal challenge is Size/Weight/Power scaling. Objectives of this work: 1) Demonstrate ultra-compact (100 cm3) 52-channel IF processor (enabler); 2) Demonstrate a hyperspectral microwave receiver subsystem; and 3) Deliver a flight-ready system to validate HM sounding.

Booster Synchrotron RF System Upgrade for SPEAR3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Park, Sanghyun; /SLAC; Corbett, Jeff

2012-07-06

Recent progress at the SPEAR3 includes the increase in stored current from 100 mA to 200 mA and top-off injection to allow beamlines to stay open during injection. Presently the booster injects 3.0 GeV beam to SPEAR3 three times a day. The stored beam decays to about 150 mA between the injections. The growing user demands are to increase the stored current to the design value of 500 mA, and to maintain it at a constant value within a percent or so. To achieve this goal the booster must inject once every few minutes. For improved injection efficiency, all RFmore » systems at the linac, booster and SPEAR3 need to be phase-locked. The present booster RF system is basically a copy of the SPEAR2 RF system with 358.5 MHz and 40 kW peak RF power driving a 5-cell RF cavity for 1.0 MV gap voltage. These requirements entail a booster RF system upgrade to a scaled down version of the SPEAR3 RF system of 476.3 MHz with 1.2 MW cw klystron output power capabilities. We will analyze each subsystem option for their merits within budgetary and geometric space constraints. A substantial portion of the system will come from the decommissioned PEP-II RF stations.« less

An analog RF gap voltage regulation system for the Advanced Photon Source storage ring.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horan, D.

1999-04-13

An analog rf gap voltage regulation system has been designed and built at Argonne National Laboratory to maintain constant total storage ring rf gap voltage, independent of beam loading and cavity tuning effects. The design uses feedback control of the klystron mod-anode voltage to vary the amount of rf power fed to the storage ring cavities. The system consists of two independent feedback loops, each regulating the combined rf gap voltages of eight storage ring cavities by varying the output power of either one or two rf stations, depending on the mode of operation. It provides full operator control andmore » permissive logic to permit feedback control of the rf system output power only if proper conditions are met. The feedback system uses envelope-detected cavity field probe outputs as the feedback signal. Two different methods of combining the individual field probe signals were used to generate a relative DC level representing one-half of the total storage ring rf voltage, an envelope-detected vector sum of the field probe rf signals, and the DC sum of individual field probe envelope detector outputs. The merits of both methods are discussed. The klystron high-voltage power supply (HVPS) units are fitted with an analog interface for external control of the mod-anode voltage level, using a four-quadrant analog multiplier to modulate the HVPS mod-anode voltage regulator set-point in response to feedback system commands.« less

Active high-power RF switch and pulse compression system

DOEpatents

Tantawi, Sami G.; Ruth, Ronald D.; Zolotorev, Max

1998-01-01

A high-power RF switching device employs a semiconductor wafer positioned in the third port of a three-port RF device. A controllable source of directed energy, such as a suitable laser or electron beam, is aimed at the semiconductor material. When the source is turned on, the energy incident on the wafer induces an electron-hole plasma layer on the wafer, changing the wafer's dielectric constant, turning the third port into a termination for incident RF signals, and. causing all incident RF signals to be reflected from the surface of the wafer. The propagation constant of RF signals through port 3, therefore, can be changed by controlling the beam. By making the RF coupling to the third port as small as necessary, one can reduce the peak electric field on the unexcited silicon surface for any level of input power from port 1, thereby reducing risk of damaging the wafer by RF with high peak power. The switch is useful to the construction of an improved pulse compression system to boost the peak power of microwave tubes driving linear accelerators. In this application, the high-power RF switch is placed at the coupling iris between the charging waveguide and the resonant storage line of a pulse compression system. This optically controlled high power RF pulse compression system can handle hundreds of Megawatts of power at X-band.

Fast shut-down protection system for radio frequency breakdown and multipactor testing.

PubMed

Graves, T P; Hanson, P; Michaelson, J M; Farkas, A D; Hubble, A A

2014-02-01

Radio frequency (RF) breakdown such as multipactor or ionization breakdown is a device-limiting phenomenon for on-orbit spacecraft used for communication, navigation, or other RF payloads. Ground testing is therefore part of the qualification process for all high power components used in these space systems. This paper illustrates a shut-down protection system to be incorporated into multipactor/ionization breakdown ground testing for susceptible RF devices. This 8 channel system allows simultaneous use of different diagnostic classes and different noise floors. With initiation of a breakdown event, diagnostic signals increase above a user-specified level, which then opens an RF switch to eliminate RF power from the high power amplifier. Examples of this system in use are shown for a typical setup, illustrating the reproducibility of breakdown threshold voltages and the lack of multipactor conditioning. This system can also be utilized to prevent excessive damage to RF components in tests with sensitive or flight hardware.

Instrumentation and test methods of an automated radiated susceptibility system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, M. W.; Deere, J.

1983-09-01

The instrumentation and test methods of an automated electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) system for performing radiated susceptibility tests from 14 kHz to 1000 MHz is described. Particular emphasis is given to the effectiveness of the system in the evaluation of electronic circuits for susceptibility to RF radiation. The system consists of a centralized data acquisition/control unit which interfaces with the equipment under test (EUT), the RF isolated field probes, and RF amplifier ALC output; four broadband linear RF amplifiers; and a frequency synthesizer with drive level increments in steps of 0.1 dB. Centralized control of the susceptibility test system is provided by a desktop computer. It is found that the system can reduce the execution time of RF susceptibility tests by as much as 70 percent. A block diagram of the system is provided.

Effects of mobile phone exposure (GSM 900 and WCDMA/UMTS) on polysomnography based sleep quality: An intra- and inter-individual perspective.

PubMed

Danker-Hopfe, Heidi; Dorn, Hans; Bolz, Thomas; Peter, Anita; Hansen, Marie-Luise; Eggert, Torsten; Sauter, Cornelia

2016-02-01

Studies on effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on the macrostructure of sleep so far yielded inconsistent results. This study investigated whether possible effects of RF-EMF exposure differ between individuals. In a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled cross-over study possible effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by pulsed Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900 and Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (WCDMA/UMTS) devices on sleep were analysed. Thirty healthy young men (range 18-30 years) were exposed three times per exposure condition while their sleep was recorded. Sleep was evaluated according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine standard and eight basic sleep variables were considered. Data analyses at the individual level indicate that RF-EMF effects are observed in 90% of the individuals and that all sleep variables are affected in at least four subjects. While sleep of participants was affected in various numbers, combinations of sleep variables and in different directions, showing improvements but also deteriorations, the only consistent finding was an increase of stage R sleep under GSM 900MHz exposure (9 of 30 subjects) as well as under WCDMA/UMTS exposure (10 of 30 subjects). The results underline that sleep of individuals can be affected differently. The observations found here may indicate an underlying thermal mechanism of RF-EMF on human REM sleep. Nevertheless, the effect of an increase in stage R sleep in one third of the individuals does not necessarily indicate a disturbance of sleep. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Separated-orbit bisected energy-recovered linear accelerator

DOEpatents

Douglas, David R.

2015-09-01

A separated-orbit bisected energy-recovered linear accelerator apparatus and method. The accelerator includes a first linac, a second linac, and a plurality of arcs of differing path lengths, including a plurality of up arcs, a plurality of downgoing arcs, and a full energy arc providing a path independent of the up arcs and downgoing arcs. The up arcs have a path length that is substantially a multiple of the RF wavelength and the full energy arc includes a path length that is substantially an odd half-integer multiple of the RF wavelength. Operation of the accelerator includes accelerating the beam utilizing the linacs and up arcs until the beam is at full energy, at full energy executing a full recirculation to the second linac using a path length that is substantially an odd half-integer of the RF wavelength, and then decelerating the beam using the linacs and downgoing arcs.

Optimal Discrete Spatial Compression for Beamspace Massive MIMO Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Zhiyuan; Zhou, Sheng; Niu, Zhisheng

2018-05-01

Deploying massive number of antennas at the base station side can boost the cellular system performance dramatically. Meanwhile, it however involves significant additional radio-frequency (RF) front-end complexity, hardware cost and power consumption. To address this issue, the beamspace-multiple-input-multiple-output (beamspace-MIMO) based approach is considered as a promising solution. In this paper, we first show that the traditional beamspace-MIMO suffers from spatial power leakage and imperfect channel statistics estimation. A beam combination module is hence proposed, which consists of a small number (compared with the number of antenna elements) of low-resolution (possibly one-bit) digital (discrete) phase shifters after the beamspace transformation to further compress the beamspace signal dimensionality, such that the number of RF chains can be reduced beyond beamspace transformation and beam selection. The optimum discrete beam combination weights for the uplink are obtained based on the branch-and-bound (BB) approach. The key to the BB-based solution is to solve the embodied sub-problem, whose solution is derived in a closed-form. Based on the solution, a sequential greedy beam combination scheme with linear-complexity (w.r.t. the number of beams in the beamspace) is proposed. Link-level simulation results based on realistic channel models and long-term-evolution (LTE) parameters are presented which show that the proposed schemes can reduce the number of RF chains by up to $25\\%$ with a one-bit digital phase-shifter-network.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vorogushin, M.F.

Principle and experimental analysis of RF power feed system, based on 3 db directional couplers, for undesirable modes eliminating, divided power coupling with the RFQ accelerating structure, endotron type RF power source matching, are presented. The structure fine tuning and the system adjustment results and high-speed RF autocontrol system design are considered also.

Modular open RF architecture: extending VICTORY to RF systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melber, Adam; Dirner, Jason; Johnson, Michael

2015-05-01

Radio frequency products spanning multiple functions have become increasingly critical to the warfighter. Military use of the electromagnetic spectrum now includes communications, electronic warfare (EW), intelligence, and mission command systems. Due to the urgent needs of counterinsurgency operations, various quick reaction capabilities (QRCs) have been fielded to enhance warfighter capability. Although these QRCs were highly successfully in their respective missions, they were designed independently resulting in significant challenges when integrated on a common platform. This paper discusses how the Modular Open RF Architecture (MORA) addresses these challenges by defining an open architecture for multifunction missions that decomposes monolithic radio systems into high-level components with welldefined functions and interfaces. The functional decomposition maximizes hardware sharing while minimizing added complexity and cost due to modularization. MORA achieves significant size, weight and power (SWaP) savings by allowing hardware such as power amplifiers and antennas to be shared across systems. By separating signal conditioning from the processing that implements the actual radio application, MORA exposes previously inaccessible architecture points, providing system integrators with the flexibility to insert third-party capabilities to address technical challenges and emerging requirements. MORA leverages the Vehicular Integration for Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)/EW Interoperability (VICTORY) framework. This paper concludes by discussing how MORA, VICTORY and other standards such as OpenVPX are being leveraged by the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Communications Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) to define a converged architecture enabling rapid technology insertion, interoperability and reduced SWaP.

A noncontact RF-based respiratory sensor: results of a clinical trial.

PubMed

Madsen, Spence; Baczuk, Jordan; Thorup, Kurt; Barton, Richard; Patwari, Neal; Langell, John T

2016-06-01

Respiratory rate (RR) is a critical vital signs monitored in health care setting. Current monitors suffer from sensor-contact failure, inaccurate data, and limited patient mobility. There is a critical need for an accurate and reliable and noncontact system to monitor RR. We developed a contact-free radio frequency (RF)-based system that measures movement using WiFi signal diffraction, which is converted into interpretable data using a Fourier transform. Here, we investigate the system's ability to measure fine movements associated with human respiration. Testing was conducted on subjects using visual cue, fixed-tempo instruction to breath at standard RRs. Blinded instruction-based RRs were compared to RF-acquired data to determine measurement accuracy. The RF-based technology was studied on postoperative ventilator-dependent patients. Blinded ventilator capnographic RR data were collected for each patient and compared to RF-acquired data to determine measurement accuracy. Respiratory rate data collected from 10 subjects breathing at a fixed RR (14, 16, 18, or 20) demonstrated 95.5% measurement accuracy between the patient's actual rate and that measured by our RF technology. Ten patients were enrolled into the clinical trial. Blinded ventilator capnographic RR data were compared to RF-based acquired data. The RF-based data showed 88.8% measurement accuracy with ventilator capnography. Initial clinical pilot trials with our contact-free RF-based monitoring system demonstrate a high degree of RR measurement accuracy when compared to capnographic data. Based on these results, we believe RF-based systems present a promising noninvasive, inexpensive, and accurate tool for continuous RR monitoring. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

System integration of RF based negative ion experimental facility at IPR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bansal, G.; Bandyopadhyay, M.; Singh, M. J.; Gahlaut, A.; Soni, J.; Pandya, K.; Parmar, K. G.; Sonara, J.; Chakraborty, A.

2010-02-01

The setting up of RF based negative ion experimental facility shall witness the beginning of experiments on the negative ion source fusion applications in India. A 1 MHz RF generator shall launch 100 kW RF power into a single driver on the plasma source to produce a plasma of density ~5 × 1012 cm-3. The source can deliver a negative ion beam of ~10 A with a current density of ~30 mA/cm2 and accelerated to 35 kV through an electrostatic ion accelerator. The experimental system is similar to a RF based negative ion source, BATMAN, presently operating at IPP. The subsystems for source operation are designed and procured principally from indigenous resources, keeping the IPP configuration as a base line. The operation of negative ion source is supported by many subsystems e.g. vacuum pumping system with gate valves, cooling water system, gas feed system, cesium delivery system, RF generator, high voltage power supplies, data acquisition and control system, and different diagnostics. The first experiments of negative ion source are expected to start at IPR from the middle of 2009.

Direct coupling of pulsed radio frequency and pulsed high power in novel pulsed power system for plasma immersion ion implantation.

PubMed

Gong, Chunzhi; Tian, Xiubo; Yang, Shiqin; Fu, Ricky K Y; Chu, Paul K

2008-04-01

A novel power supply system that directly couples pulsed high voltage (HV) pulses and pulsed 13.56 MHz radio frequency (rf) has been developed for plasma processes. In this system, the sample holder is connected to both the rf generator and HV modulator. The coupling circuit in the hybrid system is composed of individual matching units, low pass filters, and voltage clamping units. This ensures the safe operation of the rf system even when the HV is on. The PSPICE software is utilized to optimize the design of circuits. The system can be operated in two modes. The pulsed rf discharge may serve as either the seed plasma source for glow discharge or high-density plasma source for plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The pulsed high-voltage glow discharge is induced when a rf pulse with a short duration or a larger time interval between the rf and HV pulses is used. Conventional PIII can also be achieved. Experiments conducted on the new system confirm steady and safe operation.

Commissioning and Early Operation Experience of the NSLS-II Storage Ring RF System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, F.; Rose, J.; Cupolo, J.

2015-05-03

The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) is a 3 GeV electron X-ray user facility commissioned in 2014. The storage ring RF system, essential for replenishing energy loss per turn of the electrons, consists of digital low level RF controllers, 310 kW CW klystron transmitters, CESR-B type superconducting cavities, as well as a supporting cryogenic system. Here we will report on RF commissioning and early operation experience of the system for beam current up to 200mA.

Study of spread spectrum multiple access systems for satellite communications with overlay on current services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ha, Tri T.; Pratt, Timothy

1989-01-01

The feasibility of using spread spectrum techniques to provide a low-cost multiple access system for a very large number of low data terminals was investigated. Two applications of spread spectrum technology to very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite communication networks are presented. Two spread spectrum multiple access systems which use a form of noncoherent M-ary FSK (MFSK) as the primary modulation are described and the throughput analyzed. The analysis considers such factors as satellite power constraints and adjacent satellite interference. Also considered is the effect of on-board processing on the multiple access efficiency and the feasibility of overlaying low data rate spread spectrum signals on existing satellite traffic as a form of frequency reuse is investigated. The use of chirp is examined for spread spectrum communications. In a chirp communication system, each data bit is converted into one or more up or down sweeps of frequency, which spread the RF energy across a broad range of frequencies. Several different forms of chirp communication systems are considered, and a multiple-chirp coded system is proposed for overlay service. The mutual interference problem is examined in detail and a performance analysis undertaken for the case of a chirp data channel overlaid on a video channel.

FERMILAB CRYOMODULE TEST STAND RF INTERLOCK SYSTEM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petersen, Troy; Diamond, J. S.; McDowell, D.

2016-10-12

An interlock system has been designed for the Fermilab Cryo-module Test Stand (CMTS), a test bed for the cryo- modules to be used in the upcoming Linac Coherent Light Source 2 (LCLS-II) project at SLAC. The interlock system features 8 independent subsystems, one per superconducting RF cavity and solid state amplifier (SSA) pair. Each system monitors several devices to detect fault conditions such as arcing in the waveguides or quenching of the SRF system. Additionally each system can detect fault conditions by monitoring the RF power seen at the cavity coupler through a directional coupler. In the event of amore » fault condition, each system is capable of removing RF signal to the amplifier (via a fast RF switch) as well as turning off the SSA. Additionally, each input signal is available for re- mote viewing and recording via a Fermilab designed digitizer board and MVME 5500 processor.« less

RF Power Transfer, Energy Harvesting, and Power Management Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abouzied, Mohamed Ali Mohamed

Energy harvesting is the way to capture green energy. This can be thought of as a recycling process where energy is converted from one form (here, non-electrical) to another (here, electrical). This is done on the large energy scale as well as low energy scale. The former can enable sustainable operation of facilities, while the latter can have a significant impact on the problems of energy constrained portable applications. Different energy sources can be complementary to one another and combining multiple-source is of great importance. In particular, RF energy harvesting is a natural choice for the portable applications. There are many advantages, such as cordless operation and light-weight. Moreover, the needed infra-structure can possibly be incorporated with wearable and portable devices. RF energy harvesting is an enabling key player for Internet of Things technology. The RF energy harvesting systems consist of external antennas, LC matching networks, RF rectifiers for ac to dc conversion, and sometimes power management. Moreover, combining different energy harvesting sources is essential for robustness and sustainability. Wireless power transfer has recently been applied for battery charging of portable devices. This charging process impacts the daily experience of every human who uses electronic applications. Instead of having many types of cumbersome cords and many different standards while the users are responsible to connect periodically to ac outlets, the new approach is to have the transmitters ready in the near region and can transfer power wirelessly to the devices whenever needed. Wireless power transfer consists of a dc to ac conversion transmitter, coupled inductors between transmitter and receiver, and an ac to dc conversion receiver. Alternative far field operation is still tested for health issues. So, the focus in this study is on near field. The goals of this study are to investigate the possibilities of RF energy harvesting from various sources in the far field, dc energy combining, wireless power transfer in the near field, the underlying power management strategies, and the integration on silicon. This integration is the ultimate goal for cheap solutions to enable the technology for broader use. All systems were designed, implemented and tested to demonstrate proof-of concept prototypes.

Performance Analysis of Transmit Diversity Systems with Multiple Antenna Replacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Ki-Hong; Yang, Hong-Chuan; Ko, Young-Chai

Transmit diversity systems based on orthogonal space-time block coding (OSTBC) usually suffer from rate loss and power spreading. Proper antenna selection scheme can help to more effectively utilize the transmit antennas and transmission power in such systems. In this paper, we propose a new antenna selection scheme for such systems based on the idea of antenna switching. In particular, targeting at reducing the number of pilot channels and RF chains, the transmitter now replaces the antennas with the lowest received SNR with unused ones if the output SNR of space time decoder at the receiver is below a certain threshold. With this new scheme, not only the number of pilot channels and RF chains to be implemented is decreased, the average amount of feedback information is also reduced. To analyze the performance of this scheme, we derive the exact integral closed form for the probability density function (PDF) of the received SNR. We show through numerical examples that the proposed scheme offers better performance than traditional OSTBC systems using all available transmitting antennas, with a small amount of feedback information. We also examine the effect of different antenna configuration and feedback delay.

Precise Interval Timer for Software Defined Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pozhidaev, Aleksey (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A precise digital fractional interval timer for software defined radios which vary their waveform on a packet-by-packet basis. The timer allows for variable length in the preamble of the RF packet and allows to adjust boundaries of the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) Slots of the receiver of an SDR based on the reception of the RF packet of interest.

Real-time positioning in logging: Effects of forest stand characteristics, topography, and line-of-sight obstructions on GNSS-RF transponder accuracy and radio signal propagation.

PubMed

Zimbelman, Eloise G; Keefe, Robert F

2018-01-01

Real-time positioning on mobile devices using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology paired with radio frequency (RF) transmission (GNSS-RF) may help to improve safety on logging operations by increasing situational awareness. However, GNSS positional accuracy for ground workers in motion may be reduced by multipath error, satellite signal obstruction, or other factors. Radio propagation of GNSS locations may also be impacted due to line-of-sight (LOS) obstruction in remote, forested areas. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of forest stand characteristics, topography, and other LOS obstructions on the GNSS accuracy and radio signal propagation quality of multiple Raveon Atlas PT GNSS-RF transponders functioning as a network in a range of forest conditions. Because most previous research with GNSS in forestry has focused on stationary units, we chose to analyze units in motion by evaluating the time-to-signal accuracy of geofence crossings in 21 randomly-selected stands on the University of Idaho Experimental Forest. Specifically, we studied the effects of forest stand characteristics, topography, and LOS obstructions on (1) the odds of missed GNSS-RF signals, (2) the root mean squared error (RMSE) of Atlas PTs, and (3) the time-to-signal accuracy of safety geofence crossings in forested environments. Mixed-effects models used to analyze the data showed that stand characteristics, topography, and obstructions in the LOS affected the odds of missed radio signals while stand variables alone affected RMSE. Both stand characteristics and topography affected the accuracy of geofence alerts.

Real-time positioning in logging: Effects of forest stand characteristics, topography, and line-of-sight obstructions on GNSS-RF transponder accuracy and radio signal propagation

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Real-time positioning on mobile devices using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology paired with radio frequency (RF) transmission (GNSS-RF) may help to improve safety on logging operations by increasing situational awareness. However, GNSS positional accuracy for ground workers in motion may be reduced by multipath error, satellite signal obstruction, or other factors. Radio propagation of GNSS locations may also be impacted due to line-of-sight (LOS) obstruction in remote, forested areas. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of forest stand characteristics, topography, and other LOS obstructions on the GNSS accuracy and radio signal propagation quality of multiple Raveon Atlas PT GNSS-RF transponders functioning as a network in a range of forest conditions. Because most previous research with GNSS in forestry has focused on stationary units, we chose to analyze units in motion by evaluating the time-to-signal accuracy of geofence crossings in 21 randomly-selected stands on the University of Idaho Experimental Forest. Specifically, we studied the effects of forest stand characteristics, topography, and LOS obstructions on (1) the odds of missed GNSS-RF signals, (2) the root mean squared error (RMSE) of Atlas PTs, and (3) the time-to-signal accuracy of safety geofence crossings in forested environments. Mixed-effects models used to analyze the data showed that stand characteristics, topography, and obstructions in the LOS affected the odds of missed radio signals while stand variables alone affected RMSE. Both stand characteristics and topography affected the accuracy of geofence alerts. PMID:29324794

History and Technology Developments of Radio Frequency (RF) Systems for Particle Accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nassiri, A.; Chase, B.; Craievich, P.; Fabris, A.; Frischholz, H.; Jacob, J.; Jensen, E.; Jensen, M.; Kustom, R.; Pasquinelli, R.

2016-04-01

This article attempts to give a historical account and review of technological developments and innovations in radio frequency (RF) systems for particle accelerators. The evolution from electrostatic field to the use of RF voltage suggested by R. Wideröe made it possible to overcome the shortcomings of electrostatic accelerators, which limited the maximum achievable electric field due to voltage breakdown. After an introduction, we will provide reviews of technological developments of RF systems for particle accelerators.

Reaffirming normal: the high risk of pathologizing healthy adults when interpreting the MMPI-2-RF.

PubMed

Odland, Anthony P; Lammy, Andrew B; Perle, Jonathan G; Martin, Phillip K; Grote, Christopher L

2015-01-01

Monte Carlo simulations were utilized to determine the proportion of the normal population expected to have scale elevations on the MMPI-2-RF when multiple scores are interpreted. Results showed that when all 40 MMPI-2-RF scales are simultaneously considered, approximately 70% of normal adults are likely to have at least one scale elevation at or above 65 T, and as many as 20% will have five or more elevated scales. When the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales are under consideration, 34% of normal adults have at least one elevated score. Interpretation of the Specific Problem Scales and Personality Psychopathology Five Scales--Revised also yielded higher than expected rates of significant scores, with as many as one in four normal adults possibly being miscategorized as having features of a personality disorder by the latter scales. These findings are consistent with the growing literature on rates of apparently abnormal scores in the normal population due to multiple score interpretation. Findings are discussed in relation to clinical assessment, as well as in response to recent work suggesting that the MMPI-2-RF's multiscale composition does not contribute to high rates of elevated scores.

HIMAC RF system with a digital synthesizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanazawa, M.; Sato, K.; Itano, A.; Sudou, M.; Noda, K.; Takada, E.; Kumada, M.; Yamazaki, C.; Yamagishi, T.; Morii, Y.; Toyoda, E.; Tsuzuki, N.; Yagi, T.

2000-04-01

An RF acceleration system, in which digital control with a direct digital synthesizer (DDS) is applied, has been developed for the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) synchrotron. This digital system allows us to obtain stable operation of the acceleration system over a wide frequency range from 1.04 to 7.9 MHz. In this paper the designed digital RF control system and its performance are described.

Technical Digest of the 1998 Summer Topical Meeting on Organic Optics and Optoelectronics

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-07-01

substantially larger voltages (~2x), however, signal distortion and inter- symbol interference due to multiple RF reflections limit their...technology as data page composers. Texas Instrument’s DMD 0-7803-4953-9/98$10.00©1998 IEEE system has already been used in this capacity in several... lithography for fabricating and integrating the heads and sliders. The application of MEMS components and micromachined optical bench packaging techniques

Advanced millimeter wave imaging systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuchardt, J. M.; Gagliano, J. A.; Stratigos, J. A.; Webb, L. L.; Newton, J. M.

1980-01-01

Unique techniques are being utilized to develop self-contained imaging radiometers operating at single and multiple frequencies near 35, 95 and 183 GHz. These techniques include medium to large antennas for high spatial resolution, lowloss open structures for RF confinemnt and calibration, wide bandwidths for good sensitivity plus total automation of the unit operation and data collection. Applications include: detection of severe storms, imaging of motor vehicles, and the remote sensing of changes in material properties.

Socio-economic deprivation associated with acute rheumatic fever. A hospital-based case-control study in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Zaman, M M; Yoshiike, N; Chowdhury, A H; Jalil, M Q; Mahmud, R S; Faruque, G M; Rouf, M A; Haque, K M; Tanaka, H

1997-07-01

There are few studies on the relationship between socio-economic factors and rheumatic fever (RF) in the populations where the burden of both socio-economic deprivation and RF is still very high. The aim of this study is to assess the association between some socio-economic factors and RF by examining data available from a RF hospital in Bangladesh. We have reviewed the medical records of patients presenting with manifestations suggestive of RF during a 1-year period. From the patients who showed group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal upper respiratory infection (ABHS infection), 44 RF cases defined by the Jones criteria and 86 control subjects, who did not satisfy the criteria, were identified for analysis. The median age was 12 years and 60% were female. RF was significantly associated with low income (odds ratio [OR] 2.37; P = 0.04); poor living conditions: substandard (kacha) house (OR 2.93, P = 0.02); and poor nutritional status: low height for age (OR 2.68, P = 0.02). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed an increased OR for kacha house (OR 3.18, P = 0.02) but the same estimate for low height for age (OR 2.68; P = 0.04). Our analysis shows that, among the patients presenting to the RF hospital with proven ABHS infection, acute RF is associated with socio-economic deprivation.

Repetitively Pulsed High Power RF Solid-State System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Chris; Ziemba, Timothy; Miller, Kenneth E.; Prager, James; Quinley, Morgan

2017-10-01

Eagle Harbor Technologies, Inc. (EHT) is developing a low-cost, fully solid-state architecture for the generation of the RF frequencies and power levels necessary for plasma heating and diagnostic systems at validation platform experiments within the fusion science community. In Year 1 of this program, EHT has developed a solid-state RF system that combines an inductive adder, nonlinear transmission line (NLTL), and antenna into a single system that can be deployed at fusion science experiments. EHT has designed and optimized a lumped-element NLTL that will be suitable RF generation near the lower-hybrid frequency at the High Beta Tokamak (HBT) located at Columbia University. In Year 2, EHT will test this system at the Helicity Injected Torus at the University of Washington and HBT at Columbia. EHT will present results from Year 1 testing and optimization of the NLTL-based RF system. With support of DOE SBIR.

Electron bunch energy and phase feed-forward stabilization system for the Mark V RF-linac free-electron laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hadmack, M. R.; Kowalczyk, J. M. D.; Lienert, B. R.

2013-06-15

An amplitude and phase compensation system has been developed and tested at the University of Hawai'i for the optimization of the RF drive system to the Mark V free-electron laser. Temporal uniformity of the RF drive is essential to the generation of an electron beam suitable for optimal free-electron laser performance and the operation of an inverse Compton scattering x-ray source. The design of the RF measurement and compensation system is described in detail and the results of RF phase compensation are presented. Performance of the free-electron laser was evaluated by comparing the measured effects of phase compensation with themore » results of a computer simulation. Finally, preliminary results are presented for the effects of amplitude compensation on the performance of the complete system.« less

Development of a dual-pulse RF driver for an S-band (= 2856 MHz) RF electron linear accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cha, Sungsu; Kim, Yujong; Lee, Byeong-No; Lee, Byung Cheol; Cha, Hyungki; Ha, Jang Ho; Park, Hyung Dal; Lee, Seung Hyun; Kim, Hui Su; Buaphad, Pikad

2016-04-01

The radiation equipment research division of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has developed a Container Inspection System (CIS) using a Radio Frequency (RF) electron linear accelerator for port security. The primary purpose of the CIS is to detect nuclear materials and explosives, as well country-specific prohibited substances, e.g., smuggled. The CIS consists of a 9/6 MeV dualenergy electron linear accelerator for distinguishing between organic and inorganic materials. The accelerator consists of an electron gun, an RF accelerating structure, an RF driver, a modulator, electromagnets, a cooling system, a X-ray generating target, X-ray collimator, a detector, and a container moving system. The RF driver is an important part of the configuration because it is the RF power source: it supplies the RF power to the accelerating structure. A unique aspect of the RF driver is that it generates dual RF power to generate dual energy (9/6 MeV). The advantage of this RF driver is that it can allow the pulse width to vary and can be used to obtain a wide range of energy output, and pulse repetition rates up to 300 Hz. For this reason, 140 W (5 MW - 9 MeV) and 37 W (3.4 MW - 6 MeV) power outputs are available independently. A high power test for 20 minutes demonstrate that stable dual output powers can be generated. Moreover, the dual power can be applied to the accelerator which has stable accelerator operation. In this paper, the design, fabrication and high power test of the RF driver for the RF electron linear accelerator (linac) are presented.

Synthesis of ultrafine Si3N4 powder in RF-RF plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sato, Michitaka; Nishio, Hiroaki

1991-10-01

A newly designed plasma-CVD apparatus mounted with the RF-RF type plasma torch was introduced to synthesize ultrafine powders of silicon nitride (Si3N4). The RF-RF plasma system (the combination of a main (lower) and controlling (upper) RF plasma) improved the stability of simple RF plasma and solved the impurity problem of dc-RF hybrid plasma. The reaction of SiCl4 and NH3, which were radially injected into the tail flames of the upper and lower plasmas, respectively, yielded near-stoichiometric amorphous powders of Si3N4. The nitrogen content in the products largely depended on the flow rate of the quenching gas, a mixture of NH3more » (reactant) and H2. The oxygen content and metal impurities are 2-3 wt pct and less than 200 ppm, respectively. The powder particles had an average diameter of about 15 nm with a narrow size distribution, and showed extreme air sensitivity. Conspicuous crystallazation and particle growth occurred when heated at temperatures above 1400 C. These results suggested that the RF-RF system was a potential reactor for the synthesis of ultrafine powders with excellent sinterability at relatively low temperatures. 9 refs.« less

PUBLIC EXPOSURE TO MULTIPLE RF SOURCES IN GHANA.

PubMed

Deatanyah, P; Abavare, E K K; Menyeh, A; Amoako, J K

2018-03-16

This paper describes an effort to respond to the suggestion in World Health Organization (WHO) research agenda to better quantify potential exposure levels from a range of radiofrequency (RF) sources at 200 public access locations in Ghana. Wide-band measurements were performed-with a spectrum analyser and a log-periodic antenna using three-point spatial averaging method. The overall results represented a maximum of 0.19% of the ICNIRP reference levels for public exposure. These results were generally lower than found in some previous but were 58% (2.0 dB) greater, than found in similar work conducted in the USA. Major contributing sources of RF fields were identified to be FM broadcast and mobile base station sites. Three locations with the greatest measured RF fields could represent potential areas for epidemiological studies.

10 GHz dual loop opto-electronic oscillator without RF-amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Weimin; Okusaga, Olukayode; Nelson, Craig; Howe, David; Carter, Gary

2008-02-01

We report the first demonstration of a 10 GHz dual-fiber-loop Opto-Electronic Oscillator (OEO) without RF-amplifiers. Using a recently developed highly efficient RF-Photonic link with RF-to-RF gain facilitated by a high power laser, highly efficient optical modulator and high power phototectectors, we have built an amplifier-less OEO that eliminates the phase noise produced by the electronic amplifier. The dual-loop approach can provide additional gain and reduce unwanted multi-mode spurs. However, we have observed RF phase noise produced by the high power laser include relative intensity noise (RIN) and noise related to the laser's electronic control system. In addition, stimulated Brillouin scattering limits the fiber loop's length to ~2km at the 40mW laser power needed to provide the RF gain which limits the system's quality factor, Q. We have investigated several different methods for solving these problems. One promising technique is the use of a multi-longitudinal-mode laser to carry the RF signal, maintaining the total optical power but reducing the optical power of each mode to eliminate the Brillouin scattering in a longer fiber thereby reducing the phase noise of the RF signal produced by the OEO. This work shows that improvement in photonic components increases the potential for more RF system applications such as an OEO's with higher performance and new capabilities.

Local gate control in carbon nanotube quantum devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biercuk, Michael Jordan

This thesis presents transport measurements of carbon nanotube electronic devices operated in the quantum regime. Nanotubes are contacted by source and drain electrodes, and multiple lithographically-patterned electrostatic gates are aligned to each device. Transport measurements of device conductance or current as a function of local gate voltages reveal that local gates couple primarily to the proximal section of the nanotube, hence providing spatially localized control over carrier density along the nanotube length. Further, using several different techniques we are able to produce local depletion regions along the length of a tube. This phenomenon is explored in detail for different contact metals to the nanotube. We utilize local gating techniques to study multiple quantum dots in carbon nanotubes produced both by naturally occurring defects, and by the controlled application of voltages to depletion gates. We study double quantum dots in detail, where transport measurements reveal honeycomb charge stability diagrams. We extract values of energy-level spacings, capacitances, and interaction energies for this system, and demonstrate independent control over all relevant tunneling rates. We report rf-reflectometry measurements of gate-defined carbon nanotube quantum dots with integrated charge sensors. Aluminum rf-SETs are electrostatically coupled to carbon nanotube devices and detect single electron charging phenomena in the Coulomb blockade regime. Simultaneous correlated measurements of single electron charging are made using reflected rf power from the nanotube itself and from the rf-SET on microsecond time scales. We map charge stability diagrams for the nanotube quantum dot via charge sensing, observing Coulomb charging diamonds beyond the first order. Conductance measurements of carbon nanotubes containing gated local depletion regions exhibit plateaus as a function of gate voltage, spaced by approximately 1e2/h, the quantum of conductance for a single (non-degenerate) mode. Plateau structure is investigated as a function of bias voltage, temperature, and magnetic field. We speculate on the origin of this surprising quantization, which appears to lack band and spin degeneracy.

Different clinical response to interferon beta and glatiramer acetate related to the presence of oligoclonal IgM bands in CSF in multiple sclerosis patients.

PubMed

Casanova, Bonaventura; Lacruz, Laura; Villar, María Luisa; Domínguez, José Andrés; Gadea, María Carcelén; Gascón, Francisco; Mallada, Javier; Hervás, David; Simó-Castelló, María; Álvarez-Cermeño, José Carlos; Calles, Carmen; Olascoaga, Javier; Ramió-Torrentà, Lluís; Alcalá, Carmen; Cervelló, Angeles; Boscá, Isabel; Pérez-Mirallles, Francisco Carlos; Coret, Francisco

2018-06-07

To study the efficacy of interferon beta (IFNβ) and glatiramer acetate (GA) related to the presence of oligoclonal M bands (OCMB) in the cerebrospinal fluid in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This is an observational, multicenter and retrospective study with prospectively collected data of patients that started treatment with IFNβ or GA. Treatment decision was made blinded to the OCMB status. Time to first attack after starting therapy was compared by using Kaplan-Meier curves, and adjustment by Cox regression analysis was performed. Two hundred and fifty-six patients entered in the study (141-55% received IFNβ; 115-45% received GA). After a mean follow-up of 41 and 65 months, 54.7% of patients remained free from further attacks (RF). The proportion of RF patients was higher in the GA group than in the IFNβ group (72.2 vs. 40.4%, p < 0.001). The IFNβ patients with OCMB+ presented the poorest response, 31.3% RF vs. 48.1% in IFNβ without OCMB, p = 0.03. OCMB in CSF could be a biomarker of treatment response in multiple sclerosis.

Performance Evaluation of Analog Beamforming with Hardware Impairments for mmW Massive MIMO Communication in an Urban Scenario.

PubMed

Gimenez, Sonia; Roger, Sandra; Baracca, Paolo; Martín-Sacristán, David; Monserrat, Jose F; Braun, Volker; Halbauer, Hardy

2016-09-22

The use of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques for communication at millimeter-Wave (mmW) frequency bands has become a key enabler to meet the data rate demands of the upcoming fifth generation (5G) cellular systems. In particular, analog and hybrid beamforming solutions are receiving increasing attention as less expensive and more power efficient alternatives to fully digital precoding schemes. Despite their proven good performance in simple setups, their suitability for realistic cellular systems with many interfering base stations and users is still unclear. Furthermore, the performance of massive MIMO beamforming and precoding methods are in practice also affected by practical limitations and hardware constraints. In this sense, this paper assesses the performance of digital precoding and analog beamforming in an urban cellular system with an accurate mmW channel model under both ideal and realistic assumptions. The results show that analog beamforming can reach the performance of fully digital maximum ratio transmission under line of sight conditions and with a sufficient number of parallel radio-frequency (RF) chains, especially when the practical limitations of outdated channel information and per antenna power constraints are considered. This work also shows the impact of the phase shifter errors and combiner losses introduced by real phase shifter and combiner implementations over analog beamforming, where the former ones have minor impact on the performance, while the latter ones determine the optimum number of RF chains to be used in practice.

RF control at SSCL — an object oriented design approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dohan, D. A.; Osberg, E.; Biggs, R.; Bossom, J.; Chillara, K.; Richter, R.; Wade, D.

1994-12-01

The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) in Texas, the construction of which was stopped in 1994, would have represented a major challenge in accelerator research and development. This paper addresses the issues encountered in the parallel design and construction of the control systems for the RF equipment for the five accelerators comprising the SSC. An extensive analysis of the components of the RF control systems has been undertaken, based upon the Schlaer-Mellor object-oriented analysis and design (OOA/OOD) methodology. The RF subsystem components such as amplifiers, tubes, power supplies, PID loops, etc. were analyzed to produce OOA information, behavior and process models. Using these models, OOD was iteratively applied to develop a generic RF control system design. This paper describes the results of this analysis and the development of 'bridges' between the analysis objects, and the EPICS-based software and underlying VME-based hardware architectures. The application of this approach to several of the SSCL RF control systems is discussed.

Directional Networking in GPS Denied Environments - Time Synchronization

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-14

RF-based measurements to synchronize time and measure node range.  Satellite Doppler: Using Doppler measurements from multiple satellites along...with satellite catalog data to determine time and position.  LTE : Use existing LTE base-stations for time and position.  Differential GPS: A...Opportunistic Signals: Opportunistically take advantage of existing RF signals (i.e., FM radio, DTV, LTE , etc.) transmitted from known locations

Effect of fatigue on force production and force application technique during repeated sprints.

PubMed

Morin, Jean-Benoit; Samozino, Pierre; Edouard, Pascal; Tomazin, Katja

2011-10-13

We investigated the changes in the technical ability of force application/orientation against the ground vs. the physical capability of total force production after a multiple-set repeated sprints series. Twelve male physical education students familiar with sprint running performed four sets of five 6-s sprints (24s of passive rest between sprints, 3min between sets). Sprints were performed from a standing start on an instrumented treadmill, allowing the computation of vertical (F(V)), net horizontal (F(H)) and total (F(Tot)) ground reaction forces for each step. Furthermore, the ratio of forces was calculated as RF=F(H)F(Tot)(-1), and the index of force application technique (D(RF)) representing the decrement in RF with increase in speed was computed as the slope of the linear RF-speed relationship. Changes between pre- (first two sprints) and post-fatigue (last two sprints) were tested using paired t-tests. Performance decreased significantly (e.g. top speed decreased by 15.7±5.4%; P<0.001), and all the mechanical variables tested significantly changed. F(H) showed the largest decrease, compared to F(V) and F(Tot). D(RF) significantly decreased (P<0.001, effect size=1.20), and the individual magnitudes of change of D(RF) were significantly more important than those of F(Tot) (19.2±20.9 vs. 5.81±5.76%, respectively; P<0.01). During a multiple-set repeated sprint series, both the total force production capability and the technical ability to apply force effectively against the ground are altered, the latter to a larger extent than the former. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-time 2D spatially selective MRI experiments: Comparative analysis of optimal control design methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maximov, Ivan I.; Vinding, Mads S.; Tse, Desmond H. Y.; Nielsen, Niels Chr.; Shah, N. Jon

2015-05-01

There is an increasing need for development of advanced radio-frequency (RF) pulse techniques in modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems driven by recent advancements in ultra-high magnetic field systems, new parallel transmit/receive coil designs, and accessible powerful computational facilities. 2D spatially selective RF pulses are an example of advanced pulses that have many applications of clinical relevance, e.g., reduced field of view imaging, and MR spectroscopy. The 2D spatially selective RF pulses are mostly generated and optimised with numerical methods that can handle vast controls and multiple constraints. With this study we aim at demonstrating that numerical, optimal control (OC) algorithms are efficient for the design of 2D spatially selective MRI experiments, when robustness towards e.g. field inhomogeneity is in focus. We have chosen three popular OC algorithms; two which are gradient-based, concurrent methods using first- and second-order derivatives, respectively; and a third that belongs to the sequential, monotonically convergent family. We used two experimental models: a water phantom, and an in vivo human head. Taking into consideration the challenging experimental setup, our analysis suggests the use of the sequential, monotonic approach and the second-order gradient-based approach as computational speed, experimental robustness, and image quality is key. All algorithms used in this work were implemented in the MATLAB environment and are freely available to the MRI community.

rf improvements for Spallation Neutron Source H- ion sourcea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Y. W.; Fuja, R.; Goulding, R. H.; Hardek, T.; Lee, S.-W.; McCarthy, M. P.; Piller, M. C.; Shin, K.; Stockli, M. P.; Welton, R. F.

2010-02-01

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is ramping up the accelerated proton beam power to 1.4 MW and just reached 1 MW. The rf-driven multicusp ion source that originates from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been delivering ˜38 mA H- beam in the linac at 60 Hz, 0.9 ms. To improve availability, a rf-driven external antenna multicusp ion source with a water-cooled ceramic aluminum nitride (AlN) plasma chamber is developed. Computer modeling and simulations have been made to analyze and optimize the rf performance of the new ion source. Operational statistics and test runs with up to 56 mA medium energy beam transport beam current identify the 2 MHz rf system as a limiting factor in the system availability and beam production. Plasma ignition system is under development by using a separate 13 MHz system. To improve the availability of the rf power system with easier maintenance, we tested a 70 kV isolation transformer for the 80 kW, 6% duty cycle 2 MHz amplifier to power the ion source from a grounded solid-state amplifier.

rf improvements for Spallation Neutron Source H- ion source.

PubMed

Kang, Y W; Fuja, R; Goulding, R H; Hardek, T; Lee, S-W; McCarthy, M P; Piller, M C; Shin, K; Stockli, M P; Welton, R F

2010-02-01

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is ramping up the accelerated proton beam power to 1.4 MW and just reached 1 MW. The rf-driven multicusp ion source that originates from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been delivering approximately 38 mA H(-) beam in the linac at 60 Hz, 0.9 ms. To improve availability, a rf-driven external antenna multicusp ion source with a water-cooled ceramic aluminum nitride (AlN) plasma chamber is developed. Computer modeling and simulations have been made to analyze and optimize the rf performance of the new ion source. Operational statistics and test runs with up to 56 mA medium energy beam transport beam current identify the 2 MHz rf system as a limiting factor in the system availability and beam production. Plasma ignition system is under development by using a separate 13 MHz system. To improve the availability of the rf power system with easier maintenance, we tested a 70 kV isolation transformer for the 80 kW, 6% duty cycle 2 MHz amplifier to power the ion source from a grounded solid-state amplifier.

Analog Techniques in CEBAF's RF Control System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hovater, J.; Fugitt, Jock

1988-01-01

Recent developments in high-speed analog technology have progressed into the areas of traditional RF technology.Diode-related devices are being replaced by analog IC's in the CEBAF RF control system.Complex phase modulators and attenuators have been successfully tested at 70 MHz.They have three advantages over existing technology: lower cost, less temperature sensitivity, and more linearity.RF signal conditioning components and how to implement the new analog IC's will be covered in this paper.

rf design of a pulse compressor with correction cavity chain for klystron-based compact linear collider

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ping; Zha, Hao; Syratchev, Igor; Shi, Jiaru; Chen, Huaibi

2017-11-01

We present an X-band high-power pulse compression system for a klystron-based compact linear collider. In this system design, one rf power unit comprises two klystrons, a correction cavity chain, and two SLAC Energy Doubler (SLED)-type X-band pulse compressors (SLEDX). An rf pulse passes the correction cavity chain, by which the pulse shape is modified. The rf pulse is then equally split into two ways, each deploying a SLEDX to compress the rf power. Each SLEDX produces a short pulse with a length of 244 ns and a peak power of 217 MW to power four accelerating structures. With the help of phase-to-amplitude modulation, the pulse has a dedicated shape to compensate for the beam loading effect in accelerating structures. The layout of this system and the rf design and parameters of the new pulse compressor are described in this work.

Integrated Inductors for RF Transmitters in CMOS/MEMS Smart Microsensor Systems

PubMed Central

Kim, Jong-Wan; Takao, Hidekuni; Sawada, Kazuaki; Ishida, Makoto

2007-01-01

This paper presents the integration of an inductor by complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible processes for integrated smart microsensor systems that have been developed to monitor the motion and vital signs of humans in various environments. Integration of radio frequency transmitter (RF) technology with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor/micro electro mechanical systems (CMOS/MEMS) microsensors is required to realize the wireless smart microsensors system. The essential RF components such as a voltage controlled RF-CMOS oscillator (VCO), spiral inductors for an LC resonator and an integrated antenna have been fabricated and evaluated experimentally. The fabricated RF transmitter and integrated antenna were packaged with subminiature series A (SMA) connectors, respectively. For the impedance (50 Ω) matching, a bonding wire type inductor was developed. In this paper, the design and fabrication of the bonding wire inductor for impedance matching is described. Integrated techniques for the RF transmitter by CMOS compatible processes have been successfully developed. After matching by inserting the bonding wire inductor between the on-chip integrated antenna and the VCO output, the measured emission power at distance of 5 m from RF transmitter was -37 dBm (0.2 μW).

RF/optical shared aperture for high availability wideband communication RF/FSO links

DOEpatents

Ruggiero, Anthony J; Pao, Hsueh-yuan; Sargis, Paul

2014-04-29

An RF/Optical shared aperture is capable of transmitting and receiving optical signals and RF signals simultaneously. This technology enables compact wide bandwidth communications systems with 100% availability in clear air turbulence, rain and fog. The functions of an optical telescope and an RF reflector antenna are combined into a single compact package by installing an RF feed at either of the focal points of a modified Gregorian telescope.

RF/optical shared aperture for high availability wideband communication RF/FSO links

DOEpatents

Ruggiero, Anthony J; Pao, Hsueh-yuan; Sargis, Paul

2015-03-24

An RF/Optical shared aperture is capable of transmitting and receiving optical signals and RF signals simultaneously. This technology enables compact wide bandwidth communications systems with 100% availability in clear air turbulence, rain and fog. The functions of an optical telescope and an RF reflector antenna are combined into a single compact package by installing an RF feed at either of the focal points of a modified Gregorian telescope.

Single frequency RF powered ECG telemetry system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ko, W. H.; Hynecek, J.; Homa, J.

1979-01-01

It has been demonstrated that a radio frequency magnetic field can be used to power implanted electronic circuitry for short range telemetry to replace batteries. A substantial reduction in implanted volume can be achieved by using only one RF tank circuit for receiving the RF power and transmitting the telemetered information. A single channel telemetry system of this type, using time sharing techniques, was developed and employed to transmit the ECG signal from Rhesus monkeys in primate chairs. The signal from the implant is received during the period when the RF powering radiation is interrupted. The ECG signal is carried by 20-microsec pulse position modulated pulses, referred to the trailing edge of the RF powering pulse. Satisfactory results have been obtained with this single frequency system. The concept and the design presented may be useful for short-range long-term implant telemetry systems.

Staging of RF-accelerating Units in a MEMS-based Ion Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persaud, A.; Seidl, P. A.; Ji, Q.; Feinberg, E.; Waldron, W. L.; Schenkel, T.; Ardanuc, S.; Vinayakumar, K. B.; Lal, A.

Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerators (MEQALACs) provide an opportunity to realize compact radio- frequency (RF) accelerator structures that can deliver very high beam currents. MEQALACs have been previously realized with acceleration gap distances and beam aperture sizes of the order of centimeters. Through advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication, MEQALACs can now be scaled down to the sub-millimeter regime and batch processed on wafer substrates. In this paper we show first results from using three RF stages in a compact MEMS-based ion accelerator. The results presented show proof-of-concept with accelerator structures formed from printed circuit boards using a 3 × 3 beamlet arrangement and noble gas ions at 10 keV. We present a simple model to describe the measured results. We also discuss some of the scaling behaviour of a compact MEQALAC. The MEMS-based approach enables a low-cost, highly versatile accelerator covering a wide range of currents (10 μA to 100 mA) and beam energies (100 keV to several MeV). Applications include ion-beam analysis, mass spectrometry, materials processing, and at very high beam powers, plasma heating.

Staging of RF-accelerating Units in a MEMS-based Ion Accelerator

DOE PAGES

Persaud, A.; Seidl, P. A.; Ji, Q.; ...

2017-10-26

Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerators (MEQALACs) provide an opportunity to realize compact radio- frequency (RF) accelerator structures that can deliver very high beam currents. MEQALACs have been previously realized with acceleration gap distances and beam aperture sizes of the order of centimeters. Through advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication, MEQALACs can now be scaled down to the sub-millimeter regime and batch processed on wafer substrates. In this paper we show first results from using three RF stages in a compact MEMS-based ion accelerator. The results presented show proof-of-concept with accelerator structures formed from printed circuit boards using a 3more » × 3 beamlet arrangement and noble gas ions at 10 keV. We present a simple model to describe the measured results. We also discuss some of the scaling behaviour of a compact MEQALAC. The MEMS-based approach enables a low-cost, highly versatile accelerator covering a wide range of currents (10 μA to 100 mA) and beam energies (100 keV to several MeV). Applications include ion-beam analysis, mass spectrometry, materials processing, and at very high beam powers, plasma heating.« less

Staging of RF-accelerating Units in a MEMS-based Ion Accelerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Persaud, A.; Seidl, P. A.; Ji, Q.

Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerators (MEQALACs) provide an opportunity to realize compact radio- frequency (RF) accelerator structures that can deliver very high beam currents. MEQALACs have been previously realized with acceleration gap distances and beam aperture sizes of the order of centimeters. Through advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication, MEQALACs can now be scaled down to the sub-millimeter regime and batch processed on wafer substrates. In this paper we show first results from using three RF stages in a compact MEMS-based ion accelerator. The results presented show proof-of-concept with accelerator structures formed from printed circuit boards using a 3more » × 3 beamlet arrangement and noble gas ions at 10 keV. We present a simple model to describe the measured results. We also discuss some of the scaling behaviour of a compact MEQALAC. The MEMS-based approach enables a low-cost, highly versatile accelerator covering a wide range of currents (10 μA to 100 mA) and beam energies (100 keV to several MeV). Applications include ion-beam analysis, mass spectrometry, materials processing, and at very high beam powers, plasma heating.« less

A demonstration of beam intensity modulation without loss of charge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mackenzie, G.H.; Rawnsley, W.R.; Lee, R.

1995-09-01

The large acceptance and the simplicity of H{sup {minus}} extraction makes practical unusual modes of cyclotron operation. RF equipment, initially installed for H{sup {minus}} extraction at TRIUMF, has been used to modulate the beam intensity at the extraction radius. This equipment consists of a 92 MHz, 150 kV cavity (AAC) and an RFD (11.5 MHz, 20 kV). The AAC augments the acceleration provided by the main 23 MHz, RF system; the RFD excites radial betatron oscillations. These devices may be operated at frequencies slightly different from their design multiple; their effect then beats with the main RF. In this modemore » the AAC, for example, alternately reduces the rate of acceleration, thus increasing the overlap of turns, then enhances it, sweeping the clustered turns onto a probe or foil. Operating the AAC or RFD in this manner gathers the bulk of the charge into peaks a few microseconds wide and spaced between 6 and 50 {micro}s. Changing the frequency offset alters the spacing. The peak to valley ratio was 23:1 and all beam was transmitted to the extraction radius.« less

A 20fs synchronization system for lasers and cavities in accelerators and FELs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilcox, R. B.; Byrd, J. M.; Doolittle, L. R.; Huang, G.; Staples, J. W.

2010-02-01

A fiber-optic RF distribution system has been developed for synchronizing lasers and RF plants in short pulse FELs. Typical requirements are 50-100fs rms over time periods from 1ms to several hours. Our system amplitude modulates a CW laser signal, senses fiber length using an interferometer, and feed-forward corrects the RF phase digitally at the receiver. We demonstrate less than 15fs rms error over 12 hours, between two independent channels with a fiber path length difference of 200m and transmitting S-band RF. The system is constructed using standard telecommunications components, and uses regular telecom fiber.

An Overview of the MaRIE X-FEL and Electron Radiography LINAC RF Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bradley, Joseph Thomas III; Rees, Daniel Earl; Scheinker, Alexander

The purpose of the Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes (MaRIE) facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory is to investigate the performance limits of materials in extreme environments. The MaRIE facility will utilize a 12 GeV linac to drive an X-ray Free-Electron Laser (FEL). Most of the same linac will also be used to perform electron radiography. The main linac is driven by two shorter linacs; one short linac optimized for X-FEL pulses and one for electron radiography. The RF systems have historically been the one of the largest single component costs of a linac. We will describe the details of themore » different types of RF systems required by each part of the linacs. Starting with the High Power RF system, we will present our methodology for the choice of RF system peak power and pulselength with respect to klystron parameters, modulator parameters, performance requirements and relative costs. We will also present an overview of the Low Level RF systems that are proposed for MaRIE and briefly describe their use with some proposed control schemes.« less

Tunable Q-Factor RF Cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Balcazar, Mario D.; Yonehara, Katsuya; Moretti, Alfred

Intense neutrino beam is a unique probe for researching beyond the standard model. Fermilab is the main institution to produce the most powerful and widespectrum neutrino beam. From that respective, a radiation robust beam diagnostic system is a critical element in order to maintain the quality of the neutrino beam. Within this context, a novel radiation-resistive beam profile monitor based on a gasfilled RF cavity is proposed. The goal of this measurement is to study a tunable Qfactor RF cavity to determine the accuracy of the RF signal as a function of the quality factor. Specifically, measurement error of themore » Q-factor in the RF calibration is investigated. Then, the RF system will be improved to minimize signal error.« less

Pneumothorax as a complication of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for lung neoplasms.

PubMed

Yamagami, Takuji; Kato, Takeharu; Hirota, Tatsuya; Yoshimatsu, Rika; Matsumoto, Tomohiro; Nishimura, Tsunehiko

2006-10-01

The present study was performed to determine the frequency of the complication of pneumothorax after radiofrequency (RF) ablation for lung neoplasms and risk factors affecting such pneumothoraces. The study was based on 129 consecutive sessions of percutaneous RF ablation of lung neoplasms under real-time computed tomographic fluoroscopic guidance performed in a single institution between May 2003 and November 2005 in 41 patients (17 women, 24 men; mean age, 63 years; age range, 29-82 y). Correlation was determined between the incidence of pneumothorax after RF ablation and multiple factors: sex, age, presence of emphysema, lesion size, lesion depth, contact of tumor with pleura, number of punctures, maximum power of RF generator, period of ablation, tissue temperature at the end of the RF ablation session, and patient position during the procedure. Management of each case of iatrogenic pneumothorax was reviewed. Pneumothorax after RF ablation occurred in 38 of 129 RF ablation sessions (29.5%). Fourteen of the 38 cases were treated by manual aspiration, and 24 were simply observed. In five cases (3.9%), chest tube placement was required as therapy for pneumothorax. The risk of pneumothorax was significantly increased in patients with pulmonary emphysema. The frequency of pneumothorax after RF ablation in our experience is similar to the frequency of pneumothorax after lung biopsy reported in the literature. Various conditions for RF ablation did not influence the incidence of pneumothorax. Emphysema was the only individual factor that correlated significantly with the development of iatrogenic pneumothorax.

Short-term nanostructural effects of high radiofrequency treatment on the skin tissues of rabbits.

PubMed

Choi, Samjin; Cheong, Youjin; Shin, Jae-Ho; Lee, Hui-Jae; Lee, Gi-Ja; Choi, Seok Keun; Jin, Kyung-Hyun; Park, Hun-Kuk

2012-09-01

The aim of this study is to quantitatively investigate the short-term effects of RF tissue-tightening treatment in in vivo rabbit dermal collagen fibrils. These effects were measured at different energy levels and at varying pass procedures on the nanostructural response level using histology and AFM analysis. Each rabbit was divided into one of seven experimental groups, which included the following: control group, and six RF group according to RF energy (20 W and 40 W) and three RF pass procedures. The progressive changes in the diameter and D-periodicity of rabbit dermal collagen fibrils were investigated in detail over a 7-day post-treatment period. The dermal tissues treated with the RF tissue-tightening device showed more prominent inflammatory responses with inflammatory cell ingrowth compared to the control. This effect showed more prominent with the passage of day after treatment. Although an increase in the diameter and D-periodicity of dermal collagen fibrils was identified immediately after the RF treatment, a decrease in the morphology of dermal collagen fibrils continued until post-operative day 7. Furthermore, RF treatment led to the loss of distinct borders. Increases in RF energy with the same pass procedure, as well as an increase in the number of RF passes, increased the occurrence of irreversible collagen fibril injury. A multiple-pass treatment at low energy rather than a single-pass treatment at high energy showed a large amount of collagen fibrils contraction at the nanostructural level.

Association between the MMPI-2 restructured form (MMPI-2-RF) and malingered neurocognitive dysfunction among non-head injury disability claimants.

PubMed

Tarescavage, Anthony M; Wygant, Dustin B; Gervais, Roger O; Ben-Porath, Yossef S

2013-01-01

The current study examined the over-reporting Validity Scales of the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) in relation to the Slick, Sherman, and Iverson (1999) criteria for the diagnosis of Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction in a sample of 916 consecutive non-head injury disability claimants. The classification of Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction was based on scores from several cognitive symptom validity tests and response bias indicators built into traditional neuropsychological tests. Higher scores on MMPI-2-RF Validity Scales, particularly the Response Bias Scale (Gervais, Ben-Porath, Wygant, & Green, 2007), were associated with probable and definite Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction. The MMPI-2-RF's Validity Scales classification accuracy of Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction improved when multiple scales were interpreted. Additionally, higher scores on MMPI-2-RF substantive scales measuring distress, internalizing dysfunction, thought dysfunction, and social avoidance were associated with probable and definite Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction. Implications for clinical practice and future directions are noted.

RF and Optical Communications: A Comparison of High Data Rate Returns From Deep Space in the 2020 Timeframe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, W. Dan; Collins, Michael; Boroson, Don M.; Lesh, James; Biswas, Abihijit; Orr, Richard; Schuchman, Leonard; Sands, O. Scott

2007-01-01

As NASA proceeds with plans for increased science data return and higher data transfer capacity for science missions, both RF and optical communications are viable candidates for significantly higher-rate communications from deep space to Earth. With the inherent advantages, smaller apertures and larger bandwidths, of optical communications, it is reasonable to expect that at some point in time and combination of increasing distance and data rate, the rapidly emerging optical capabilities would become more advantageous than the more mature and evolving RF techniques. This paper presents a comparison of the burden to a spacecraft by both RF and optical communications systems for data rates of 10, 100, and 1000 Mbps and large distances. Advanced technology for RF and optical communication systems have been considered for projecting capabilities in the 2020 timeframe. For the comparisons drawn, the optical and RF ground terminals were selected to be similar in cost. The RF system selected is composed of forty-five 12-meter antennas, whereas the selected optical system is equivalent to a 10-meter optical telescope. Potential differences in availability are disregarded since the focus of this study is on spacecraft mass and power burden for high-rate mission data, under the assumption that essential communications will be provided by low-rate, high availability RF. For both the RF and optical systems, the required EIRP, for a given data rate and a given distance, was achieved by a design that realized the lowest possible communications subsystem mass (power + aperture) consistent with achieving the lowest technology risk. A key conclusion of this paper is that optical communications has great potential for high data rates and distances of 2.67 AU and beyond, but requires R&D and flight demonstrations to prove out technologies.

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2003

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Topics include: Tool for Bending a Metal Tube Precisely in a Confined Space; Multiple-Use Mechanisms for Attachment to Seat Tracks; Force-Measuring Clamps; Cellular Pressure-Actuated Joint; Block QCA Fault-Tolerant Logic Gates; Hybrid VLSI/QCA Architecture for Computing FFTs; Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes as RF Filters in Waveguides; Carbon Nanotubes as Resonators for RF Spectrum Analyzers; Software for Viewing Landsat Mosaic Images; Updated Integrated Mission Program; Software for Sharing and Management of Information; Optical-Quality Thin Polymer Membranes; Rollable Thin Shell Composite-Material Paraboloidal Mirrors; Folded Resonant Horns for Power Ultrasonic Applications; Touchdown Ball-Bearing System for Magnetic Bearings; Flux-Based Deadbeat Control of Induction-Motor Torque; Block Copolymers as Templates for Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes; Throttling Cryogen Boiloff To Control Cryostat Temperature; Collaborative Software Development Approach Used to Deliver the New Shuttle Telemetry Ground Station; Turbulence in Supercritical O2/H2 and C7H16/N2 Mixing Layers; and Time-Resolved Measurements in Optoelectronic Microbioanal.

Photonic beamforming network for multibeam satellite-on-board phased-array antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piqueras, M. A.; Cuesta-Soto, F.; Villalba, P.; Martí, A.; Hakansson, A.; Perdigués, J.; Caille, G.

2017-11-01

The implementation of a beamforming unit based on integrated photonic technologies is addressed in this work. This integrated photonic solution for multibeam coverage will be compared with the digital and the RF solution. Photonic devices show unique characteristics that match the critical requirements of space oriented devices such as low mass/size, low power consumption and easily scalable to big systems. An experimental proof-of-concept of the photonic beamforming structure based on 4x4 and 8x8 Butler matrices is presented. The proof-of-concept is based in the heterodyne generation of multiple phase engineered RF signals for the conformation of 8-4 different beams in an antenna array. Results show the feasibility of this technology for the implementation of optical beamforming with phase distribution errors below σ=10o with big savings in the required mass and size of the beamforming unit.

Modeling Multi-Bunch X-band Photoinjector Challenges

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marsh, R A; Anderson, S G; Gibson, D J

An X-band test station is being developed at LLNL to investigate accelerator optimization for future upgrades to mono-energetic gamma-ray technology at LLNL. The test station will consist of a 5.5 cell X-band rf photoinjector, single accelerator section, and beam diagnostics. Of critical import to the functioning of the LLNL X-band system with multiple electron bunches is the performance of the photoinjector. In depth modeling of the Mark 1 LLNL/SLAC X-band rf photoinjector performance will be presented addressing important challenges that must be addressed in order to fabricate a multi-bunch Mark 2 photoinjector. Emittance performance is evaluated under different nominal electronmore » bunch parameters using electrostatic codes such as PARMELA. Wake potential is analyzed using electromagnetic time domain simulations using the ACE3P code T3P. Plans for multi-bunch experiments and implementation of photoinjector advances for the Mark 2 design will also be discussed.« less

RF signal detection by a tunable optoelectronic oscillator based on a PS-FBG.

PubMed

Shao, Yuchen; Han, Xiuyou; Li, Ming; Zhao, Mingshan

2018-03-15

Low-power radio frequency (RF) signal detection is highly desirable for many applications, ranging from wireless communication to radar systems. A tunable optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) based on a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating for detecting low-power RF signals is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. When the frequency of the input RF signal is matched with the potential oscillation mode of the OEO, it is detected and amplified. The frequency of the RF signal under detection can be estimated simultaneously by scanning the wavelength of the laser source. The RF signals from 1.5 to 5 GHz as low as -91  dBm are detected with a gain of about 10 dB, and the frequency is estimated with an error of ±100  MHz. The performance of the OEO system for detecting an RF signal with different modulation rates is also investigated.

Development of Internal Controls for the Luminex Instrument as Part of a Multiplex Seven-Analyte Viral Respiratory Antibody Profile

PubMed Central

Martins, Thomas B.

2002-01-01

The ability of the Luminex system to simultaneously quantitate multiple analytes from a single sample source has proven to be a feasible and cost-effective technology for assay development. In previous studies, my colleagues and I introduced two multiplex profiles consisting of 20 individual assays into the clinical laboratory. With the Luminex instrument’s ability to classify up to 100 distinct microspheres, however, we have only begun to realize the enormous potential of this technology. By utilizing additional microspheres, it is now possible to add true internal controls to each individual sample. During the development of a seven-analyte serologic viral respiratory antibody profile, internal controls for detecting sample addition and interfering rheumatoid factor (RF) were investigated. To determine if the correct sample was added, distinct microspheres were developed for measuring the presence of sufficient quantities of immunoglobulin G (IgG) or IgM in the diluted patient sample. In a multiplex assay of 82 samples, the IgM verification control correctly identified 23 out of 23 samples with low levels (<20 mg/dl) of this antibody isotype. An internal control microsphere for RF detected 30 out of 30 samples with significant levels (>10 IU/ml) of IgM RF. Additionally, RF-positive samples causing false-positive adenovirus and influenza A virus IgM results were correctly identified. By exploiting the Luminex instrument’s multiplexing capabilities, I have developed true internal controls to ensure correct sample addition and identify interfering RF as part of a respiratory viral serologic profile that includes influenza A and B viruses, adenovirus, parainfluenza viruses 1, 2, and 3, and respiratory syncytial virus. Since these controls are not assay specific, they can be incorporated into any serologic multiplex assay. PMID:11777827

Development of internal controls for the Luminex instrument as part of a multiplex seven-analyte viral respiratory antibody profile.

PubMed

Martins, Thomas B

2002-01-01

The ability of the Luminex system to simultaneously quantitate multiple analytes from a single sample source has proven to be a feasible and cost-effective technology for assay development. In previous studies, my colleagues and I introduced two multiplex profiles consisting of 20 individual assays into the clinical laboratory. With the Luminex instrument's ability to classify up to 100 distinct microspheres, however, we have only begun to realize the enormous potential of this technology. By utilizing additional microspheres, it is now possible to add true internal controls to each individual sample. During the development of a seven-analyte serologic viral respiratory antibody profile, internal controls for detecting sample addition and interfering rheumatoid factor (RF) were investigated. To determine if the correct sample was added, distinct microspheres were developed for measuring the presence of sufficient quantities of immunoglobulin G (IgG) or IgM in the diluted patient sample. In a multiplex assay of 82 samples, the IgM verification control correctly identified 23 out of 23 samples with low levels (<20 mg/dl) of this antibody isotype. An internal control microsphere for RF detected 30 out of 30 samples with significant levels (>10 IU/ml) of IgM RF. Additionally, RF-positive samples causing false-positive adenovirus and influenza A virus IgM results were correctly identified. By exploiting the Luminex instrument's multiplexing capabilities, I have developed true internal controls to ensure correct sample addition and identify interfering RF as part of a respiratory viral serologic profile that includes influenza A and B viruses, adenovirus, parainfluenza viruses 1, 2, and 3, and respiratory syncytial virus. Since these controls are not assay specific, they can be incorporated into any serologic multiplex assay.

Characterizing stand-level forest canopy cover and height using Landsat time series, samples of airborne LiDAR, and the Random Forest algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Oumer S.; Franklin, Steven E.; Wulder, Michael A.; White, Joanne C.

2015-03-01

Many forest management activities, including the development of forest inventories, require spatially detailed forest canopy cover and height data. Among the various remote sensing technologies, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) offers the most accurate and consistent means for obtaining reliable canopy structure measurements. A potential solution to reduce the cost of LiDAR data, is to integrate transects (samples) of LiDAR data with frequently acquired and spatially comprehensive optical remotely sensed data. Although multiple regression is commonly used for such modeling, often it does not fully capture the complex relationships between forest structure variables. This study investigates the potential of Random Forest (RF), a machine learning technique, to estimate LiDAR measured canopy structure using a time series of Landsat imagery. The study is implemented over a 2600 ha area of industrially managed coastal temperate forests on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. We implemented a trajectory-based approach to time series analysis that generates time since disturbance (TSD) and disturbance intensity information for each pixel and we used this information to stratify the forest land base into two strata: mature forests and young forests. Canopy cover and height for three forest classes (i.e. mature, young and mature and young (combined)) were modeled separately using multiple regression and Random Forest (RF) techniques. For all forest classes, the RF models provided improved estimates relative to the multiple regression models. The lowest validation error was obtained for the mature forest strata in a RF model (R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 2.39 m and bias = -0.16 for canopy height; R2 = 0.72, RMSE = 0.068% and bias = -0.0049 for canopy cover). This study demonstrates the value of using disturbance and successional history to inform estimates of canopy structure and obtain improved estimates of forest canopy cover and height using the RF algorithm.

Interferometric imaging of crustal structure from wide-angle multicomponent OBS-airgun data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiraishi, K.; Fujie, G.; Sato, T.; Abe, S.; Asakawa, E.; Kodaira, S.

2015-12-01

In wide-angle seismic surveys with ocean bottom seismograph (OBS) and airgun, surface-related multiple reflections and upgoing P-to-S conversions are frequently observed. We applied two interferometric imaging methods to the multicomponent OBS data in order to highly utilize seismic signals for subsurface imaging.First, seismic interferometry (SI) is applied to vertical component in order to obtain reflection profile with multiple reflections. By correlating seismic traces on common receiver records, pseudo seismic data are generated with virtual sources and receivers located on all original shot positions. We adopt the deconvolution SI because source and receiver spectra can be canceled by spectral division. Consequently, gapless reflection images from just below the seafloor to the deeper are obtained.Second, receiver function (RF) imaging is applied to multicomponent OBS data in order to image P-to-S conversion boundary. Though RF is commonly applied to teleseismic data, our purpose is to extract upgoing PS converted waves from wide-angle OBS data. The RF traces are synthesized by deconvolution of radial and vertical components at same OBS location for each shot. Final section obtained by stacking RF traces shows the PS conversion boundaries beneath OBSs. Then, Vp/Vs ratio can be estimated by comparing one-way traveltime delay with two-way traveltime of P wave reflections.We applied these methods to field data sets; (a) 175 km survey in Nankai trough subduction zone using 71 OBSs with from 1 km to 10 km intervals and 878 shots with 200 m interval, and (b) 237 km survey in northwest pacific ocean with almost flat layers before subduction using 25 OBSs with 6km interval and 1188 shots with 200 m interval. In our study, SI imaging with multiple reflections is highly applicable to OBS data even in a complex geological setting, and PS conversion boundary is well imaged by RF imaging and Vp/Vs ratio distribution in sediment is estimated in case of simple structure.

An experimental system for symmetric capacitive rf discharge studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godyak, V. A.; Piejak, R. B.; Alexandrovich, B. M.

1990-09-01

An experimental system has been designed and built to comprehensively study the electrical and plasma characteristics in symmetric capacitively coupled rf discharges at low gas pressures. Descriptions of the system concept, the discharge chamber, the vacuum-gas control system, and the rf matching and electrical measurement system are presented together with some results of electrical measurements carried out in an argon discharge at 13.56 MHz. The system has been specifically designed to facilitate external discharge parameter measurements and probe measurements and to be compatible with a wide variety of other diagnostics. External electrical measurements and probe measurements within the discharge show that it is an ideal vehicle to study low-pressure rf discharge physics. Measurements from this system should be comparable to one-dimensional rf symmetric capacitive discharge theories and may help to verify them. Although only a few results are given here, the system has been operated reliably over a wide range of gas pressures and should give reproducible and accurate results for discharge electrical characteristics and plasma parameters over a wide range of driving frequency and gas components.

A z-gradient array for simultaneous multi-slice excitation with a single-band RF pulse.

PubMed

Ertan, Koray; Taraghinia, Soheil; Sadeghi, Alireza; Atalar, Ergin

2018-07-01

Multi-slice radiofrequency (RF) pulses have higher specific absorption rates, more peak RF power, and longer pulse durations than single-slice RF pulses. Gradient field design techniques using a z-gradient array are investigated for exciting multiple slices with a single-band RF pulse. Two different field design methods are formulated to solve for the required current values of the gradient array elements for the given slice locations. The method requirements are specified, optimization problems are formulated for the minimum current norm and an analytical solution is provided. A 9-channel z-gradient coil array driven by independent, custom-designed gradient amplifiers is used to validate the theory. Performance measures such as normalized slice thickness error, gradient strength per unit norm current, power dissipation, and maximum amplitude of the magnetic field are provided for various slice locations and numbers of slices. Two and 3 slices are excited by a single-band RF pulse in simulations and phantom experiments. The possibility of multi-slice excitation with a single-band RF pulse using a z-gradient array is validated in simulations and phantom experiments. Magn Reson Med 80:400-412, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

An RF amplifier for ICRF studies in the LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, M. J.; Pribyl, P.; Gekelman, W.; Lucky, Z.

2015-12-01

An RF amplifier system was designed and is under construction at the UCLA Basic Plasma Science Facility. The system is designed to output 200 kW peak RMS power at 1% duty cycle with a 1 Hz rep rate at frequencies of 2-6 MHz. This paper describes the RF amplifier system with preliminary benchmarks. Current design challenges and future work are discussed.

Rf system for the NSLS coherent infrared radiation source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Broome, W.; Biscardi, R.; Keane, J.

1995-05-01

The existing NSLS X-ray Lithography Source (XLS Phase I) is being considered for a coherent synchrotron radiation source. The existing 211 MHz warm cavity will be replaced with a 5-cell 2856 MHz superconducting RF cavity, driven by a series of 2 kW klystrons. The RF system will provide a total V{sub RF} of 1.5 MV to produce {sigma}{sub L} = 0.3 mm electron bunches at an energy of 150 MeV. Superconducting technology significantly reduces the required space and power needed to achieve the higher voltage. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the superconducting RF system and cavity,more » power requirements, and cavity design parameters such as input coupling, Quality Factor, and Higher Order Modes.« less

RF cavity using liquid dielectric for tuning and cooling

DOEpatents

Popovic, Milorad [Warrenville, IL; Johnson, Rolland P [Newport News, VA

2012-04-17

A system for accelerating particles includes an RF cavity that contains a ferrite core and a liquid dielectric. Characteristics of the ferrite core and the liquid dielectric, among other factors, determine the resonant frequency of the RF cavity. The liquid dielectric is circulated to cool the ferrite core during the operation of the system.

Optimization of a RF-generated CF4/O2 gas plasma sterilization process.

PubMed

Lassen, Klaus S; Nordby, Bolette; Grün, Reinar

2003-05-15

A sterilization process with the use of RF-generated (13.56 MHz) CF(4)/O(2) gas plasma was optimized in regards to power, flow rate, exposure time, and RF-system type. The dependency of the sporicidal effect on the spore inoculum positioning in the chamber of the RF systems was also investigated. Dried Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 7953 endospores were used as test organisms. The treatments were evaluated on the basis of survival curves and corresponding D values. The only parameter found to affect the sterilization process was the power of the RF system. Higher power resulted in higher kill. Finally, when the samples were placed more than 3-8 cm away from a centrally placed electrode in System 2, the sporicidal effect was reduced. The results are discussed and compared to results from the present literature. The RF excitation source is evaluated to be more appropriate for sterilization processes than the MW source. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 65B: 239-244, 2003

Ecological mechanisms underlying the sustainability of the agricultural heritage rice-fish coculture system.

PubMed

Xie, Jian; Hu, Liangliang; Tang, Jianjun; Wu, Xue; Li, Nana; Yuan, Yongge; Yang, Haishui; Zhang, Jiaen; Luo, Shiming; Chen, Xin

2011-12-13

For centuries, traditional agricultural systems have contributed to food and livelihood security throughout the world. Recognizing the ecological legacy in the traditional agricultural systems may help us develop novel sustainable agriculture. We examine how rice-fish coculture (RF), which has been designated a "globally important agricultural heritage system," has been maintained for over 1,200 y in south China. A field survey demonstrated that although rice yield and rice-yield stability are similar in RF and rice monoculture (RM), RF requires 68% less pesticide and 24% less chemical fertilizer than RM. A field experiment confirmed this result. We documented that a mutually beneficial relationship between rice and fish develops in RF: Fish reduce rice pests and rice favors fish by moderating the water environment. This positive relationship between rice and fish reduces the need for pesticides in RF. Our results also indicate a complementary use of nitrogen (N) between rice and fish in RF, resulting in low N fertilizer application and low N release into the environment. These findings provide unique insights into how positive interactions and complementary use of resource between species generate emergent ecosystem properties and how modern agricultural systems might be improved by exploiting synergies between species.

Cardiac imaging at 7 Tesla: Single- and two-spoke radiofrequency pulse design with 16-channel parallel excitation.

PubMed

Schmitter, Sebastian; DelaBarre, Lance; Wu, Xiaoping; Greiser, Andreas; Wang, Dingxin; Auerbach, Edward J; Vaughan, J Thomas; Uğurbil, Kâmil; Van de Moortele, Pierre-François

2013-11-01

Higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) and improved contrast have been demonstrated at ultra-high magnetic fields (≥7 Tesla [T]) in multiple targets, often with multi-channel transmit methods to address the deleterious impact on tissue contrast due to spatial variations in B1 (+) profiles. When imaging the heart at 7T, however, respiratory and cardiac motion, as well as B0 inhomogeneity, greatly increase the methodological challenge. In this study we compare two-spoke parallel transmit (pTX) RF pulses with static B1 (+) shimming in cardiac imaging at 7T. Using a 16-channel pTX system, slice-selective two-spoke pTX pulses and static B1 (+) shimming were applied in cardiac CINE imaging. B1 (+) and B0 mapping required modified cardiac triggered sequences. Excitation homogeneity and RF energy were compared in different imaging orientations. Two-spoke pulses provide higher excitation homogeneity than B1 (+) shimming, especially in the more challenging posterior region of the heart. The peak value of channel-wise RF energy was reduced, allowing for a higher flip angle, hence increased tissue contrast. Image quality with two-spoke excitation proved to be stable throughout the entire cardiac cycle. Two-spoke pTX excitation has been successfully demonstrated in the human heart at 7T, with improved image quality and reduced RF pulse energy when compared with B1 (+) shimming. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electromagnetic assessment of embedded micro antenna for a novel sphincter in the human body.

PubMed

Zan, Peng; Liu, Jinding; Ai, Yutao; Jiang, Enyu

2013-05-01

This paper presents a wireless, miniaturized, bi-directional telemetric artificial anal sphincter system that can be used for controlling patients' anal incontinence. The artificial anal sphincter system is mainly composed of an executive mechanism, a wireless power supply system and a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system consists of an internal RF transceiver, an internal RF antenna, a data transmission pathway, an external RF antenna and an external RF control transceiver. A micro NMHA (Normal Mode Helical Antenna) has been used for the transceiver of the internal wireless communication system and a quarter wave-length whip antenna of 7.75 cm has been used for the external wireless communication system. The RF carrier frequency of wireless communication is located in a license-free 433.1 MHz ISM (Industry, Science, and Medical) band. The radiation characteristics and SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) are evaluated using the finite difference time-domain method and 3D human body model. Results show that the SAR values of the antenna satisfy the ICNIRP (International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection) limitations.

The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation on sperm function.

PubMed

Houston, B J; Nixon, B; King, B V; De Iuliis, G N; Aitken, R J

2016-12-01

Mobile phone usage has become an integral part of our lives. However, the effects of the radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted by these devices on biological systems and specifically the reproductive systems are currently under active debate. A fundamental hindrance to the current debate is that there is no clear mechanism of how such non-ionising radiation influences biological systems. Therefore, we explored the documented impacts of RF-EMR on the male reproductive system and considered any common observations that could provide insights on a potential mechanism. Among a total of 27 studies investigating the effects of RF-EMR on the male reproductive system, negative consequences of exposure were reported in 21. Within these 21 studies, 11 of the 15 that investigated sperm motility reported significant declines, 7 of 7 that measured the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) documented elevated levels and 4 of 5 studies that probed for DNA damage highlighted increased damage due to RF-EMR exposure. Associated with this, RF-EMR treatment reduced the antioxidant levels in 6 of 6 studies that discussed this phenomenon, whereas consequences of RF-EMR were successfully ameliorated with the supplementation of antioxidants in all 3 studies that carried out these experiments. In light of this, we envisage a two-step mechanism whereby RF-EMR is able to induce mitochondrial dysfunction leading to elevated ROS production. A continued focus on research, which aims to shed light on the biological effects of RF-EMR will allow us to test and assess this proposed mechanism in a variety of cell types. © 2016 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.

Advancement of In-Flight Alumina Powder Spheroidization Process with Water Droplet Injection Using a Small Power DC-RF Hybrid Plasma Flow System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Juyong; Takana, Hidemasa; Park, Sangkyu; Nishiyama, Hideya

2012-09-01

The correlation between plasma thermofluid characteristics and alumina powder spheroidization processes with water droplet injection using a small power DC-RF hybrid plasma flow system was experimentally clarified. Micro-sized water droplets with a low water flow rate were injected into the tail of thermal plasma flow so as not to disturb the plasma flow directly. Injected water droplets were vaporized in the thermal plasma flow and were transported upstream in the plasma flow to the torch by the backflow. After dissociation of water, the production of hydrogen was detected by the optical emission spectroscopy in the downstream RF plasma flow. The emission area of the DC plasma jet expanded and elongated in the vicinity of the RF coils. Additionally, the emission area of RF plasma flow enlarged and was visible as red emission in the downstream RF plasma flow in the vicinity below the RF coils due to hydrogen production. Therefore, the plasma flow mixed with produced hydrogen increased the plasma enthalpy and the highest spheroidization rate of 97% was obtained at a water flow rate of 15 Sm l/min and an atomizing gas flow rate of 8 S l/min using a small power DC-RF hybrid plasma flow system.

A guide to onboard checkout. Volume 7: RF communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

The radio frequency communications subsystem for a space station is considered, with respect to onboard checkout requirements. The subsystem comprises all equipment necessary for transmitting and receiving, tracking and ranging, command, multiple voice and television information, and broadband experiment data. The communications subsystem provides a radio frequency interface between the space station and ground stations, either directly or indirectly, through a data relay satellite system, independent free-flying experiment modules, and logistics vehicles. Reliability, maintenance, and failure analyses are discussed, and computer programming techniques are presented.

The design and implementation of a broadband digital low-level RF control system for the cyclotron accelerators at iThemba LABS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duckitt, W. D.; Conradie, J. L.; van Niekerk, M. J.; Abraham, J. K.; Niesler, T. R.

2018-07-01

iThemba LABS has successfully designed a new broadband digital low-level RF control system for cyclotrons, that operates over the wide frequency range of 2-100 MHz and can achieve peak-peak amplitude and phase stabilities of 0.01% and 0.01°, respectively. The presented system performs direct digital synthesis (DDS) to directly convert the digital RF signals to analog RF and local-oscillator (LO) signals with 16-bit amplitude accuracy, programmable in steps of 1 μHz and 0.0001°. Down-conversion of the RF pick-up signals to an optimal intermediate frequency (IF) of 1 MHz and sampling of the IF channels by 16-bit, single sample-latency 10 MHz ADCs was implemented to allow digital high-speed low-latency in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) demodulation of the IF channels within the FPGA. This in turn allows efficient real-time digital closed-loop control of the amplitude and phase of the RF drive-signal to be achieved. The systems have been successfully integrated at iThemba LABS into the K = 8 and K = 10 injector cyclotrons (SPC1, and SPC2), the K = 200 separated sector cyclotron (SSC), the SSC flat-topping system, the pulse-selector system and the AX , J, and K-line RF bunchers. The systems have led to a substantial improvement in the beam quality of the SSC at iThemba LABS with a reduction in beam losses by more than 90%. The design, implementation and performance is discussed.

Broadband MAS NMR spectroscopy in the low-power limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Kevin J.; Pell, Andrew J.; Wegner, Sebastian; Grey, Clare P.; Pintacuda, Guido

2018-04-01

We investigate the performance of broadband adiabatic inversion pulses in the high-power (short high-powered adiabatic pulse, SHAP) and low-power (single-sideband-selective adiabatic pulse, S3AP) RF regimes on a spin system subjected to large anisotropic interactions. We show by combined experimental results and spin dynamics simulations that when the magic-angle spinning rate exceeds 100 kHz S3APs begin outperforming SHAPs. This is especially true for low-gamma nuclei, such as 6 Li in paramagnetic Li-ion battery materials. Finally, we show how S3APs can be improved by combining multiple waveforms sweeping over multiple sidebands simultaneously, in order to produce inverted sideband profiles free from intensity biasing.

A novel scaling law relating the geometrical dimensions of a photocathode radio frequency gun to its radio frequency properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lal, Shankar; Pant, K. K.; Krishnagopal, S.

2011-12-01

Developing a photocathode RF gun with the desired RF properties of the π-mode, such as field balance (eb) ˜1, resonant frequency fπ = 2856 MHz, and waveguide-to-cavity coupling coefficient βπ ˜1, requires precise tuning of the resonant frequencies of the independent full- and half-cells (ff and fh), and of the waveguide-to-full-cell coupling coefficient (βf). While contemporary electromagnetic codes and precision machining capability have made it possible to design and tune independent cells of a photocathode RF gun for desired RF properties, thereby eliminating the need for tuning, access to such computational resources and quality of machining is not very widespread. Therefore, many such structures require tuning after machining by employing conventional tuning techniques that are iterative in nature. Any procedure that improves understanding of the tuning process and consequently reduces the number of iterations and the associated risks in tuning a photocathode gun would, therefore, be useful. In this paper, we discuss a method devised by us to tune a photocathode RF gun for desired RF properties under operating conditions. We develop and employ a simple scaling law that accounts for inter-dependence between frequency of independent cells and waveguide-to-cavity coupling coefficient, and the effect of brazing clearance for joining of the two cells. The method has been employed to successfully develop multiple 1.6 cell BNL/SLAC/UCLA type S-band photocathode RF guns with the desired RF properties, without the need to tune them by a tiresome cut-and-measure process. Our analysis also provides a physical insight into how the geometrical dimensions affect the RF properties of the photo-cathode RF gun.

An Introduction to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent-Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF).

PubMed

Handel, Richard W

2016-12-01

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent-Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF; Archer, Handel, Ben-Porath, & Tellegen, 2016) is a new broadband measure of adolescent psychopathology and personality. The MMPI-A-RF is the adolescent counterpart of the MMPI-2-RF (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011). The goal of the MMPI-2-RF development project was to capture the clinically significant substance of the MMPI-2 item pool with a psychometrically sound measure linked to contemporary models of personality and psychopathology (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011). Using the MMPI-2-RF scales and development methods as models, Archer et al. (2016) developed a 241-item adolescent self-report inventory-in contrast to the 478-items of the MMPI-A-that includes 48 new and revised scales. In this manuscript, I provide an overview of the rationale for the development of the MMPI-A-RF, an abbreviated review of its development process, brief descriptions of its 48 scales, and a subset of analyses bearing on reliability and validity. As with the MMPI-2-RF, one of our primary goals was to develop scales with improved discriminant validity relative to the heterogeneous Clinical Scales of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A. The MMPI-A-RF development process employed a large sample of 15,128 adolescents (9,286 boys and 5,842 girls) drawn from a variety of settings. In addition to the development sample, subsequent validation analyses were conducted in multiple independent samples including numerous external criterion measures. The MMPI-A-RF is designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of adolescent psychopathology and personality in a wide array of clinical and forensic settings.

Preliminary Assessment of Detection Efficiency for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper Using Intercomparisons with Ground-Based Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bateman, Monte; Mach, Douglas; Blakeslee, Richard J.; Koshak, William

2018-01-01

As part of the calibration/validation (cal/val) effort for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) on GOES-16, we need to assess instrument performance (detection efficiency and accuracy). One major effort is to calculate the detection efficiency of GLM by comparing to multiple ground-based systems. These comparisons will be done pair-wise between GLM and each other source. A complication in this process is that the ground-based systems sense different properties of the lightning signal than does GLM (e.g., RF vs. optical). Also, each system has a different time and space resolution and accuracy. Preliminary results indicate that GLM is performing at or above its specification.

Up gradation of LHCD system for rf power level up to 2MW for SST1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, P. K.; Ambulkar, K. K.; Parmar, P. R.; Virani, C. G.; Thakur, A. L.; Kulkarni, S. V.; Lhcd Group

2010-02-01

To operate superconducting steadystate tokamak (SST1) for 1000 seconds, lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) system has been designed at a frequency of 3.7 GHz., which would couple 1.0 MW CW of microwave power to the shaped plasma. The system consists of various rf passive components and transmission line, employing which the rf power from the source is transported to the antenna. During calibration of transmission line, it was observed that the losses in the transmission line is substantial and eventually would lead to less coupled power to the plasma. Further it is anticipated that more LH power would be required for advanced operation of SST1 machine. Thus it is decided to upgrade the existing LHCD system to 2 MW CW power level. The proposed up gradation would demand several infra structural changes and needs to be addressed. Due to lack of space, we have proposed a scheme in which additional two klystrons, along with existing two klystrons would be accommodated in the existing space. The low rf power requirements have also been increased to cater the new needs. Accordingly additional cooling requirements have been proposed to accommodate the two new klystrons. The DAC and auxiliary power supplies have been also designed. The new up graded LHCD system would address several key technological issues. Firstly it would establish the operation of four klystrons at rated power in parallel employing single RHVPS (80kV, 70A). Secondly it would establish the operation of two high power klystrons operation at rated power when their collectors are cooled in series. In this paper we would present the various requirements for up-gradation of LHCD system to 2MW. The main requirements like high power rf source, along with modified support structure, low power rf systems to drive the high power rf source, auxiliary power supplies required for high power rf source, DAC system improvement, cooling improvements, etc. would be discussed.

[Bony injuries of the thoracic cage in multiple trauma : Incidence, concomitant injuries, course and outcome].

PubMed

Schulz-Drost, S; Oppel, P; Grupp, S; Krinner, S; Langenbach, A; Lefering, R; Mauerer, A

2016-12-01

Thoracic trauma is considered to be responsible for 25 % of fatalities in multiple trauma and is a frequent injury with an incidence of 50 %. In addition to organ injuries, severe injuries to the bony parts of the thorax also occur and these injuries are described very differently mostly based on single center data. The focus of this study was on a holistic presentation of the prevalence and the incidence of thoracic trauma in patients with multiple trauma from the data of the large collective of the TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU) with the objective of an analysis of concomitant injuries, therapy options and outcome parameters. A retrospective analysis was carried out based on the data set of the TR-DGU from the years 2009-2013. Inclusion criteria were an injury severity scale (ISS) score ≥ 16 and primary admission to a trauma center but isolated craniocerebral injury was an exclusion criterium. Patients were separated into two groups: those with rib fractures (RF) and those with flail chest (FC). A total of 21,741 patients met the inclusion criteria including 10,474 (48.2 %) suffering from either RF or FC. The mean age was 49.8 ± 19.9 years in the RF group and 54.1 ± 18.2 years in the FC group. Approximately 25 % were female in both groups, 98.1 % were blunt force injuries and the median ISS was 28.0 ± 11.2 in RF and 35.1 ± 14.2 in FC. Shock, insertion of a chest tube, (multi) organ failure and fatality rates were significantly higher in the FC group as were concomitant thoracic injuries, such as pneumothorax and hemothorax. Sternal fractures without rib fractures were less common (3.8 %) than concomitant in the RF (10.1 %) and FC (14 %) groups, as were concomitant fractures of the clavicle and the scapula. Out of all patients 32.6 % showed fractures of the thoracolumbar spine, 26.5 % without rib fractures, 36.6-38.6 % with rib fractures or monolateral FC and 48.6 % concomitant to bilateral FC. Thoracotomy was carried out only in isolated cases in RF and in 10.2 % of the FC group. Operative stabilization of the thoracic cage was carried out in 3.9-9.1 % of patients in the RF group and in 17.9-23.9 % in the FC group.

Integrated Parallel Reception, Excitation, and Shimming (iPRES) with multiple shim loops per RF coil element for improved B0 shimming

PubMed Central

Darnell, Dean; Truong, Trong-Kha; Song, Allen W.

2016-01-01

Purpose Integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming (iPRES) coil arrays allow radio-frequency (RF) currents and direct currents (DC) to flow in the same coils, which enables excitation/reception and localized B0 shimming with a single coil array. The purpose of this work was to improve their shimming performance by adding the capability to shim higher-order local B0 inhomogeneities that are smaller than the RF coil elements. Methods A novel design was proposed in which each RF/shim coil element is divided into multiple DC loops, each using an independent DC current, to increase the number of magnetic fields available for shimming while maintaining the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the coil. This new design is termed iPRES(N), where N represents the number of DC loops per RF coil element. Proof-of-concept phantom and human experiments were performed with an 8-channel body coil array to demonstrate its advantages over the original iPRES(1) design. Results The average B0 homogeneity in various organs before shimming and after shimming with the iPRES(1) or iPRES(3) coil arrays was 0.24, 0.11, and 0.05 ppm, respectively. iPRES(3) thus reduced the B0 inhomogeneity by 53% and further reduced distortions in echo-planar images of the abdomen when compared to iPRES(1). Conclusion iPRES(N) can correct for localized B0 inhomogeneities more effectively than iPRES(1) with no SNR loss, resulting in a significant improvement in image quality. PMID:27174387

Self-Healing of Microcracks in Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) Under a Natural Environment

PubMed Central

Herbert, Emily N.; Li, Victor C.

2013-01-01

This paper builds on previous self-healing engineered cementitious composites (ECC) research by allowing ECC to heal outdoors, in the natural environment, under random and sometimes extreme environmental conditions. Development of an ECC material that can heal itself in the natural environment could lower infrastructure maintenance costs and allow for more sustainable development in the future by increasing service life and decreasing the amount of resources and energy needed for repairs. Determining to what extent current ECC materials self-heal in the natural environment is the first step in the development of an ECC that can completely heal itself when exposed to everyday environmental conditions. This study monitored outdoor ECC specimens for one year using resonant frequency (RF) and mechanical reloading to determine the rate and extent of self-healing in the natural environment. It was found that the level of RF, stiffness, and first cracking strength recovery increased as the duration of natural environment exposure increased. For specimens that underwent multiple damage cycles, it was found that the level of recovery was highly dependent on the average temperature and amount of precipitation between each damage event. However, RF, stiffness, and first cracking strength recovery data for specimens that underwent multiple loading cycles suggest that self-healing functionality can be maintained under multiple damage events. PMID:28811411

The rf coil as a sensitive motion detector for magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Buikman, D; Helzel, T; Röschmann, P

1988-01-01

A new sensor principle for detection of patient movement in magnetic resonance imaging has been successfully applied for the reduction of motion artifacts. It uses a device that is already present in every MRI system, namely the rf coil. Patient movement within the coil causes changes in the rf impedance match of the coil, which can be measured as variations in the reflected rf power. The principle used for the detection of respiratory and cardiac motion is described, and experimental results measured with several coil arrangements are given. Images are presented which were acquired with respiratory gating derived from the rf body coil of a 2 Tesla whole body MRI system.

A modified quadrupole mass spectrometer with custom RF link rods driver for remote operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tashbar, P. W.; Nisen, D. B.; Moore, W. W., Jr.

1973-01-01

A commercial quadrupole residual gas analyzer system has been upgraded for operation at extended cable lengths. Operation inside a vacuum chamber for the standard quadrupole nude head is limited to approximately 2 m from its externally located rf/dc generator because of the detuning of the rf oscillator circuits by the coaxial cable reactance. The advance of long distance remote operation inside a vacuum chamber for distances of 45 and 60 m was made possible without altering the quadrupole's rf/dc generator circuit by employing an rf link to drive the quadrupole rods. Applications of the system have been accomplished for in situ space simulation thermal/vacuum testing of sophisticated payloads.

Ferroelectric Based High Power Components for L-Band Accelerator Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kanareykin, Alex; Jing, Chunguang; Kostin, Roman

2018-01-16

We are developing a new electronic device to control the power in particle accelerators. The key technology is a new nanostructured material developed by Euclid that changes its properties with an applied electric field. Both superconducting and conventional accelerating structures require fast electronic control of the input rf power. A fast controllable phase shifter would allow for example the control of the rf power delivered to multiple accelerating cavities from a single power amplifier. Nonlinear ferroelectric microwave components can control the tuning or the input power coupling for rf cavities. Applying a bias voltage across a nonlinear ferroelectric changes itsmore » permittivity. This effect can be used to cause a phase change of a propagating rf signal or change the resonant frequency of a cavity. The key is the development of a low loss highly tunable ferroelectric material.« less

Differential receptive field organizations give rise to nearly identical neural correlations across three parallel sensory maps in weakly electric fish

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Understanding how neural populations encode sensory information thereby leading to perception and behavior (i.e., the neural code) remains an important problem in neuroscience. When investigating the neural code, one must take into account the fact that neural activities are not independent but are actually correlated with one another. Such correlations are seen ubiquitously and have a strong impact on neural coding. Here we investigated how differences in the antagonistic center-surround receptive field (RF) organization across three parallel sensory maps influence correlations between the activities of electrosensory pyramidal neurons. Using a model based on known anatomical differences in receptive field center size and overlap, we initially predicted large differences in correlated activity across the maps. However, in vivo electrophysiological recordings showed that, contrary to modeling predictions, electrosensory pyramidal neurons across all three segments displayed nearly identical correlations. To explain this surprising result, we incorporated the effects of RF surround in our model. By systematically varying both the RF surround gain and size relative to that of the RF center, we found that multiple RF structures gave rise to similar levels of correlation. In particular, incorporating known physiological differences in RF structure between the three maps in our model gave rise to similar levels of correlation. Our results show that RF center overlap alone does not determine correlations which has important implications for understanding how RF structure influences correlated neural activity. PMID:28863136

Methods and devices based on brillouin selective sideband amplification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yao, X. Steve (Inventor)

2003-01-01

Opto-electronic devices and techniques using Brillouin scattering to select a sideband in a modulated optical carrier signal for amplification. Two lasers respectively provide a carrier signal beam and a Brillouin pump beam which are fed into an Brillouin optical medium in opposite directions. The relative frequency separation between the lasers is adjusted to align the frequency of the backscattered Brillouin signal with a desired sideband in the carrier signal to effect a Brillouin gain on the sideband. This effect can be used to implement photonic RF signal mixing and conversion with gain, conversion from phase modulation to amplitude modulation, photonic RF frequency multiplication, optical and RF pulse generation and manipulation, and frequency-locking of lasers.

A new RF window designed for high-power operation in an S-band LINAC RF system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Youngdo; Kim, Seung-Hwan; Hwang, Woonha; Ryu, Jiwan; Roh, Sungjoo

2016-09-01

A new RF window is designed for high-power operation at the Pohang Light Source-II (PLSII) S-band linear accelerator (LINAC) RF system. In order to reduce the strength of the electric field component perpendicular to the ceramic disk, which is commonly known as the main cause of most discharge breakdowns in ceramic disk, we replace the pill-box type cavity in the conventional RF window with an overmoded cavity. The overmoded cavity is coupled with input and output waveguides through dual side-wall coupling irises to reduce the electric field strength at the iris and the number of possible mode competitions. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation, CST MWS, was used in the design process. The simulated maximum electric field component perpendicular to the ceramic for the new RF window is reduced by an order of magnitude compared with taht for the conventional RF window, which holds promise for stable high-power operation.

Seven-tesla time-of-flight angiography using a 16-channel parallel transmit system with power-constrained 3-dimensional spoke radiofrequency pulse design.

PubMed

Schmitter, Sebastian; Wu, Xiaoping; Auerbach, Edward J; Adriany, Gregor; Pfeuffer, Josef; Hamm, Michael; Uğurbil, Kâmil; van de Moortele, Pierre-François

2014-05-01

Ultrahigh magnetic fields of 7 T or higher have proven to significantly enhance the contrast in time-of-flight (TOF) imaging, one of the most commonly used non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography techniques. Compared with lower field strength, however, the required radiofrequency (RF) power is increased at 7 T and the contrast obtained with a conventional head transmit RF coil is typically spatially heterogeneous.In this work, we addressed the contrast heterogeneity in multislab TOF acquisitions by optimizing the excitation flip angle homogeneity while constraining the RF power using 3-dimensional tailored RF pulses ("spokes") with a 16-channel parallel transmission system and a 16-channel transceiver head coil. We investigated in simulations and in vivo experiments flip angle homogeneity and angiogram quality with a same 3-slab TOF protocol for different excitations including 1-, 2-, and 3-spoke parallel transmit RF pulses and compared the results with a circularly polarized (CP) phase setting similar to a birdcage excitation. B1 and B0 calibration maps were obtained in multiple slices, and the RF pulse for each slab was designed on the basis of 3 calibration slices located at the bottom/middle/top of each slab, respectively. By design, all excitations were computed to generate the same total RF power for the same flip angle. In 8 subjects, we quantified the excitation homogeneity and the distribution of the RF power to individual channels. In addition, we investigated the consequences of local flip angle variations at the junction between adjacent slabs as well as the impact of ΔB0 on image quality. The flip angle heterogeneity, expressed as the coefficient of variation, averaged over all volunteers and all slabs could be reduced from 29.4% for CP mode excitation to 14.1% for a 1-spoke excitation and to 7.3% for 2-spoke excitations. A separate detailed analysis shows only a marginal improvement for 3-spoke compared with the 2-spoke excitation. The strong improvement in flip angle homogeneity particularly impacted the junction between adjacent TOF slabs, where significant residual artifacts observed with 1-spoke excitation could be efficiently mitigated using a 2-spoke excitation with same RF power and same average flip angle. Although the total RF power is maintained at the same level than that in CP mode excitation, the energy distribution is fairly heterogeneous through the 16 transmit channels for 1- and 2-spoke excitations, with the highest energy for 1 channel being a factor of 2.4 (1 spoke) and 2.2 (2 spokes) higher than that in CP mode. In vivo experiments demonstrated the necessity for including ΔB0 spatial variations during 2-spoke RF pulse design, particularly in areas with strong local susceptibility variations such as the lower frontal lobe. Significant improvement in excitation fidelity leading to improved TOF contrast, particularly in the brain periphery, as well as smooth slab transitions can be achieved with 2-spoke excitation while maintaining the same excitation energy as that in CP mode. These results suggest that expanding parallel transmit methods, including the use of multidimensional spatially selective excitation, will also be very beneficial for other techniques, such as perfusion imaging.

Seven-tesla time-of-flight angiography using a 16-channel parallel transmit system with power-constrained 3-dimensional spoke radiofrequency pulse design

PubMed Central

Schmitter, Sebastian; Wu, Xiaoping; Auerbach, Edward J.; Adriany, Gregor; Pfeuffer, Josef; Hamm, Michael; Ugurbil, Kamil; Van de Moortele, Pierre-Francois

2015-01-01

Objectives Ultra high magnetic fields of ≥7 Tesla have proven to significantly enhance the contrast in time-of-flight (TOF) imaging, one of the most commonly used non-contrast enhanced MR angiography techniques. Compared to lower field strength, however, the required RF power is increased at 7 Tesla and the contrast obtained with a conventional head transmit RF coil is typically spatially heterogeneous. In this work we address the contrast heterogeneity in multi-slab TOF acquisitions by optimizing the excitation flip angle homogeneity while constraining the RF power using 3D tailored RF pulses (“spokes”) with a 16 channel parallel transmission system and a 16 channel transceiver head coil. Material and Methods We investigate in simulations and in-vivo experiments flip angle homogeneity and angiogram quality with a same 3-slab TOF protocol for different excitations including 1-, 2- and 3-spoke parallel transmit RF pulses and compare the results with a circularly polarized (CP) phase setting similar to a birdcage excitation. B1 and B0 calibration maps were obtained in multiple slices and the RF pulse for each slab was designed based on 3 calibration slices located at the bottom/middle/top of each slab respectively. By design, all excitations were computed to generate the same total RF power for the same flip angle. In 8 subjects we quantify the excitation homogeneity and the distribution of the RF power to individual channels. In addition, we investigate the consequences of local flip angle variations at the junction between adjacent slabs as well as the impact of ΔB0 on image quality. Results The flip angle heterogeneity, expressed as the coefficient of variation, averaged over all volunteers and all slabs could be reduced from 29.4% for CP mode excitation to 14.1% for a 1-spoke excitation and to 7.3% for a 2-spoke excitations. A separate detailed analysis shows only a marginal improvement for 3-spoke compared to the 2-spoke excitation. The strong improvement in flip angle homogeneity particularly impacted the junction between adjacent TOF slabs, where significant residual artifacts observed with 1-spoke excitation could be efficiently mitigated using a 2-spoke excitation with same RF power and same average flip angle. Even though the total RF power is maintained at the same level than in CP mode excitation, the energy distribution is fairly heterogeneous through the 16 transmit channels for 1- and 2-spoke excitation, with the highest energy for one channel being a factor of 2.4 (1-spoke) and 2.2 (2-spoke) higher than in CP mode. In vivo experiments demonstrate the necessity of including ΔB0 spatial variations during 2-spoke RF pulse design, in particular in areas with strong local susceptibility variations such as the lower frontal lobe. Conclusion Significant improvement in excitation fidelity leading to improved TOF contrast, particularly in the brain periphery, as well as smooth slab transitions can be achieved with 2-spoke excitation while maintaining the same excitation energy as in CP mode. These results suggest that expanding parallel transmit methods, including the use of multi-dimensional spatially selective excitation, will also be very beneficial for other techniques, such as perfusion imaging. PMID:24598439

Real-time 2D spatially selective MRI experiments: Comparative analysis of optimal control design methods.

PubMed

Maximov, Ivan I; Vinding, Mads S; Tse, Desmond H Y; Nielsen, Niels Chr; Shah, N Jon

2015-05-01

There is an increasing need for development of advanced radio-frequency (RF) pulse techniques in modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems driven by recent advancements in ultra-high magnetic field systems, new parallel transmit/receive coil designs, and accessible powerful computational facilities. 2D spatially selective RF pulses are an example of advanced pulses that have many applications of clinical relevance, e.g., reduced field of view imaging, and MR spectroscopy. The 2D spatially selective RF pulses are mostly generated and optimised with numerical methods that can handle vast controls and multiple constraints. With this study we aim at demonstrating that numerical, optimal control (OC) algorithms are efficient for the design of 2D spatially selective MRI experiments, when robustness towards e.g. field inhomogeneity is in focus. We have chosen three popular OC algorithms; two which are gradient-based, concurrent methods using first- and second-order derivatives, respectively; and a third that belongs to the sequential, monotonically convergent family. We used two experimental models: a water phantom, and an in vivo human head. Taking into consideration the challenging experimental setup, our analysis suggests the use of the sequential, monotonic approach and the second-order gradient-based approach as computational speed, experimental robustness, and image quality is key. All algorithms used in this work were implemented in the MATLAB environment and are freely available to the MRI community. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Helical structures in vertically aligned dust particle chains in a complex plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyde, Truell W.; Kong, Jie; Matthews, Lorin S.

2013-05-01

Self-assembly of structures from vertically aligned, charged dust particle bundles within a glass box placed on the lower, powered electrode of a Gaseous Electronics Conference rf reference cell were produced and examined experimentally. Self-organized formation of one-dimensional vertical chains, two-dimensional zigzag structures, and three-dimensional helical structures of triangular, quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, and heptagonal symmetries are shown to occur. System evolution is shown to progress from a one-dimensional chain structure, through a zigzag transition to a two-dimensional, spindlelike structure, and then to various three-dimensional, helical structures exhibiting multiple symmetries. Stable configurations are found to be dependent upon the system confinement, γ2=ω0h/ω0v2 (where ω0h,v are the horizontal and vertical dust resonance frequencies), the total number of particles within a bundle, and the rf power. For clusters having fixed numbers of particles, the rf power at which structural phase transitions occur is repeatable and exhibits no observable hysteresis. The critical conditions for these structural phase transitions as well as the basic symmetry exhibited by the one-, two-, and three-dimensional structures that subsequently develop are in good agreement with the theoretically predicted configurations of minimum energy determined employing molecular dynamics simulations for charged dust particles confined in a prolate, spheroidal potential as presented theoretically by Kamimura and Ishihara [Kamimura and Ishihara, Phys. Rev. EPLEEE81063-651X10.1103/PhysRevE.85.016406 85, 016406 (2012)].

RF pulse compression for future linear colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Perry B.

1995-07-01

Future (nonsuperconducting) linear colliders will require very high values of peak rf power per meter of accelerating structure. The role of rf pulse compression in producing this power is examined within the context of overall rf system design for three future colliders at energies of 1.0-1.5 TeV, 5 TeV, and 25 TeV. In order to keep the average AC input power and the length of the accelerator within reasonable limits, a collider in the 1.0-1.5 TeV energy range will probably be built at an x-band rf frequency, and will require a peak power on the order of 150-200 MW per meter of accelerating structure. A 5 TeV collider at 34 GHz with a reasonable length (35 km) and AC input power (225 MW) would require about 550 MW per meter of structure. Two-beam accelerators can achieve peak powers of this order by applying dc pulse compression techniques (induction linac modules) to produce the drive beam. Klystron-driven colliders achieve high peak power by a combination of dc pulse compression (modulators) and rf pulse compression, with about the same overall rf system efficiency (30-40%) as a two-beam collider. A high gain (6.8) three-stage binary pulse compression system with high efficiency (80%) is described, which (compared to a SLED-II system) can be used to reduce the klystron peak power by about a factor of two, or alternatively, to cut the number of klystrons in half for a 1.0-1.5 TeV x-band collider. For a 5 TeV klystron-driven collider, a high gain, high efficiency rf pulse compression system is essential.

Impact of a radio frequency management information system on the process and timing of providing respiratory care services.

PubMed

Stoller, James K; Kester, Lucy; Orens, Douglas K; McCarthy, Kevin

2002-08-01

Although radio frequency (RF) systems have proliferated and are designed to simplify care delivery in many clinical settings, little information is available on the impact of such RF systems on the delivery of patient care. Having used a hand-held-device-based management information system in our Respiratory Therapy Section for 16 years, we assessed the impact of an RF system on the delivery of respiratory therapy (RT) services. A single nursing unit dedicated to pulmonary and ear, nose, and throat care was selected for the RF system trial. Baseline (pre-RF) data were collected over 2 separate 1-month intervals (February 1999 and February 2000). The main outcome measures were (1) the amount of time needed at the beginning of the shift to organize and assign orders for RT services, (2) the time interval between notification of an RT consult order and completion of the RT consult, and (3) the time interval between notification of an RT treatment order and completion of the RT treatment. The activities required for organizing and assigning the orders were manually timed. Starting 6 weeks after therapists were trained to use the RF system, similar data were collected while using the RF system for two 1-month intervals (February and March 2001). The mean +/- SD time interval between receiving an RT consult order and completing the consult was reduced from 7.8 +/- 18.9 h to 2.8 +/- 2.4 h (p = 0.002). The percentage of patients who waited longer than 8 hours between receipt of a consult order and completion of the consult decreased from 18% to 4.7% (p = 0.026). The total time required for organizing and assigning RT work was reduced from 81.6 min to 43.6 min. The RF system had several advantages over the hand-held-device-based system: (1) shorter interval between the order for and completion of an RT consult, (2) lower percentage of patients for whom the interval between the order and the consult exceeded 8 hours, and (3) less time required to make shift assignments. These results invite assessment of whether accelerated delivery of RT services confers clinical benefits.

Fundamental cavity impedance and longitudinal coupled-bunch instabilities at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baudrenghien, P.; Mastoridis, T.

2017-01-01

The interaction between beam dynamics and the radio frequency (rf) station in circular colliders is complex and can lead to longitudinal coupled-bunch instabilities at high beam currents. The excitation of the cavity higher order modes is traditionally damped using passive devices. But the wakefield developed at the cavity fundamental frequency falls in the frequency range of the rf power system and can, in theory, be compensated by modulating the generator drive. Such a regulation is the responsibility of the low-level rf (llrf) system that measures the cavity field (or beam current) and generates the rf power drive. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) rf was designed for the nominal LHC parameter of 0.55 A DC beam current. At 7 TeV the synchrotron radiation damping time is 13 hours. Damping of the instability growth rates due to the cavity fundamental (400.789 MHz) can only come from the synchrotron tune spread (Landau damping) and will be very small (time constant in the order of 0.1 s). In this work, the ability of the present llrf compensation to prevent coupled-bunch instabilities with the planned high luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC) doubling of the beam current to 1.1 A DC is investigated. The paper conclusions are based on the measured performances of the present llrf system. Models of the rf and llrf systems were developed at the LHC start-up. Following comparisons with measurements, the system was parametrized using these models. The parametric model then provides a more realistic estimation of the instability growth rates than an ideal model of the rf blocks. With this modeling approach, the key rf settings can be varied around their set value allowing for a sensitivity analysis (growth rate sensitivity to rf and llrf parameters). Finally, preliminary measurements from the LHC at 0.44 A DC are presented to support the conclusions of this work.

NASA Advanced Refrigerator/Freezer Technology Development Project Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cairelli, J. E.

1995-01-01

NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) has recently initiated a three-year project to develop the advanced refrigerator/freezer (R/F) technologies needed to support future life and biomedical sciences space experiments. Refrigerator/freezer laboratory equipment, most of which needs to be developed, is enabling to about 75 percent of the planned space station life and biomedical science experiments. These experiments will require five different classes of equipment; three storage freezers operating at -20 C, -70 C and less than 183 C, a -70 C freeze-dryer, and a cryogenic (less than 183 C) quick/snap freezer. This project is in response to a survey of cooling system technologies, performed by a team of NASA scientists and engineers. The team found that the technologies, required for future R/F systems to support life and biomedical sciences spaceflight experiments, do not exist at an adequate state of development and concluded that a program to develop the advanced R/F technologies is needed. Limitations on spaceflight system size, mass, and power consumption present a significant challenge in developing these systems. This paper presents some background and a description of the Advanced R/F Technology Development Project, project approach and schedule, general description of the R/F systems, and a review of the major R/F equipment requirements.

FPGA-based RF interference reduction techniques for simultaneous PET–MRI

PubMed Central

Gebhardt, P; Wehner, J; Weissler, B; Botnar, R; Marsden, P K; Schulz, V

2016-01-01

Abstract The combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a multi-modal imaging technique is considered very promising and powerful with regard to in vivo disease progression examination, therapy response monitoring and drug development. However, PET–MRI system design enabling simultaneous operation with unaffected intrinsic performance of both modalities is challenging. As one of the major issues, both the PET detectors and the MRI radio-frequency (RF) subsystem are exposed to electromagnetic (EM) interference, which may lead to PET and MRI signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) deteriorations. Early digitization of electronic PET signals within the MRI bore helps to preserve PET SNR, but occurs at the expense of increased amount of PET electronics inside the MRI and associated RF field emissions. This raises the likelihood of PET-related MRI interference by coupling into the MRI RF coil unwanted spurious signals considered as RF noise, as it degrades MRI SNR and results in MR image artefacts. RF shielding of PET detectors is a commonly used technique to reduce PET-related RF interferences, but can introduce eddy-current-related MRI disturbances and hinder the highest system integration. In this paper, we present RF interference reduction methods which rely on EM field coupling–decoupling principles of RF receive coils rather than suppressing emitted fields. By modifying clock frequencies and changing clock phase relations of digital circuits, the resulting RF field emission is optimised with regard to a lower field coupling into the MRI RF coil, thereby increasing the RF silence of PET detectors. Our methods are demonstrated by performing FPGA-based clock frequency and phase shifting of digital silicon photo-multipliers (dSiPMs) used in the PET modules of our MR-compatible Hyperion IID PET insert. We present simulations and magnetic-field map scans visualising the impact of altered clock phase pattern on the spatial RF field distribution, followed by MRI noise and SNR scans performed with an operating PET module using different clock frequencies and phase patterns. The methods were implemented via firmware design changes without any hardware modifications. This introduces new means of flexibility by enabling adaptive RF interference reduction optimisations in the field, e.g. when using a PET insert with different MRI systems or when different MRI RF coil types are to be operated with the same PET detector. PMID:27049898

FPGA-based RF interference reduction techniques for simultaneous PET-MRI.

PubMed

Gebhardt, P; Wehner, J; Weissler, B; Botnar, R; Marsden, P K; Schulz, V

2016-05-07

The combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a multi-modal imaging technique is considered very promising and powerful with regard to in vivo disease progression examination, therapy response monitoring and drug development. However, PET-MRI system design enabling simultaneous operation with unaffected intrinsic performance of both modalities is challenging. As one of the major issues, both the PET detectors and the MRI radio-frequency (RF) subsystem are exposed to electromagnetic (EM) interference, which may lead to PET and MRI signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) deteriorations. Early digitization of electronic PET signals within the MRI bore helps to preserve PET SNR, but occurs at the expense of increased amount of PET electronics inside the MRI and associated RF field emissions. This raises the likelihood of PET-related MRI interference by coupling into the MRI RF coil unwanted spurious signals considered as RF noise, as it degrades MRI SNR and results in MR image artefacts. RF shielding of PET detectors is a commonly used technique to reduce PET-related RF interferences, but can introduce eddy-current-related MRI disturbances and hinder the highest system integration. In this paper, we present RF interference reduction methods which rely on EM field coupling-decoupling principles of RF receive coils rather than suppressing emitted fields. By modifying clock frequencies and changing clock phase relations of digital circuits, the resulting RF field emission is optimised with regard to a lower field coupling into the MRI RF coil, thereby increasing the RF silence of PET detectors. Our methods are demonstrated by performing FPGA-based clock frequency and phase shifting of digital silicon photo-multipliers (dSiPMs) used in the PET modules of our MR-compatible Hyperion II (D) PET insert. We present simulations and magnetic-field map scans visualising the impact of altered clock phase pattern on the spatial RF field distribution, followed by MRI noise and SNR scans performed with an operating PET module using different clock frequencies and phase patterns. The methods were implemented via firmware design changes without any hardware modifications. This introduces new means of flexibility by enabling adaptive RF interference reduction optimisations in the field, e.g. when using a PET insert with different MRI systems or when different MRI RF coil types are to be operated with the same PET detector.

FPGA-based RF interference reduction techniques for simultaneous PET-MRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebhardt, P.; Wehner, J.; Weissler, B.; Botnar, R.; Marsden, P. K.; Schulz, V.

2016-05-01

The combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a multi-modal imaging technique is considered very promising and powerful with regard to in vivo disease progression examination, therapy response monitoring and drug development. However, PET-MRI system design enabling simultaneous operation with unaffected intrinsic performance of both modalities is challenging. As one of the major issues, both the PET detectors and the MRI radio-frequency (RF) subsystem are exposed to electromagnetic (EM) interference, which may lead to PET and MRI signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) deteriorations. Early digitization of electronic PET signals within the MRI bore helps to preserve PET SNR, but occurs at the expense of increased amount of PET electronics inside the MRI and associated RF field emissions. This raises the likelihood of PET-related MRI interference by coupling into the MRI RF coil unwanted spurious signals considered as RF noise, as it degrades MRI SNR and results in MR image artefacts. RF shielding of PET detectors is a commonly used technique to reduce PET-related RF interferences, but can introduce eddy-current-related MRI disturbances and hinder the highest system integration. In this paper, we present RF interference reduction methods which rely on EM field coupling-decoupling principles of RF receive coils rather than suppressing emitted fields. By modifying clock frequencies and changing clock phase relations of digital circuits, the resulting RF field emission is optimised with regard to a lower field coupling into the MRI RF coil, thereby increasing the RF silence of PET detectors. Our methods are demonstrated by performing FPGA-based clock frequency and phase shifting of digital silicon photo-multipliers (dSiPMs) used in the PET modules of our MR-compatible Hyperion II D PET insert. We present simulations and magnetic-field map scans visualising the impact of altered clock phase pattern on the spatial RF field distribution, followed by MRI noise and SNR scans performed with an operating PET module using different clock frequencies and phase patterns. The methods were implemented via firmware design changes without any hardware modifications. This introduces new means of flexibility by enabling adaptive RF interference reduction optimisations in the field, e.g. when using a PET insert with different MRI systems or when different MRI RF coil types are to be operated with the same PET detector.

Diagnostic study of multiple double layer formation in expanding RF plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Shamik; Paul, Manash Kumar; Roy, Jitendra Nath; Nath, Aparna

2018-03-01

Intensely luminous double layers develop and then expand in size in a visibly glowing RF discharge produced using a plasma source consisting of a semi-transparent cylindrical mesh with a central electrode, in a linear plasma chamber. Although RF discharge is known to be independent of device geometry in the absence of magnetic field, the initiation of RF discharge using such a plasma source results in electron drift and further expansion of the plasma in the vessel. The dynamics of complex plasma structures are studied through electric probe diagnostics in the expanding RF plasma. The measurements made to study the parametric dependence of evolution of double layer structures are analyzed and presented here. The plasma parameter measurements suggest that the complex potential structures initially form with low potential difference between the layers and then gradually expand producing burst oscillations. The present study provides interesting information about the stability of plasma sheath and charge particle dynamics in it that are important to understand the underlying basic sheath physics along with applications in plasma acceleration and propulsion.

Suppressed Superconductivity on the Surface of Superconducting RF Quality Niobium for Particle Accelerating Cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sung, Z. H.; Polyanskii, A. A.; Lee, P. J.; Gurevich, A.; Larbalestier, D. C.

2011-03-01

Significant performance degradation of superconducting RF (radio frequency) niobium cavities in high RF field is strongly associated with the breakdown of superconductivity on localized multi-scale surface defects lying within the 40 nm penetration depth. These defects may be on the nanometer scale, like grain boundaries and dislocations or even at the much larger scale of surface roughness and welding pits. By combining multiple superconducting characterization techniques including magneto-optical (MO) imaging and direct transport measurement with non-contact characterization of the surface topology using scanning confocal microscopy, we were able to show clear evidence of suppression of surface superconductivity at chemically treated RF-quality niobium. We found that pinning of vortices along GBs is weaker than pinning of vortices in the grains, which may indicate suppressed superfluid density on GBs. We also directly measured the local magnetic characteristics of BCP-treated Nb sample surface using a micro-Hall sensor in order to further understanding of the effect of surface topological features on the breakdown of superconducting state in RF mode.

Development for a supercompact X -band pulse compression system and its application at SLAC

DOE PAGES

Wang, Juwen W.; Tantawi, Sami G.; Xu, Chen; ...

2017-11-09

Here, we have successfully designed, fabricated, installed, and tested a super compact X -band SLAC Energy Doubler system at SLAC. It is composed of an elegant 3 dB coupler–mode converter–polarizer coupled to a single spherical energy storage cavity with high Q 0 of 94000 and a diameter less than 12 cm. The available rf peak power of 50 MW can be compressed to a peak average power of more than 200 MW in order to double the kick for the electron bunches in a rf transverse deflector system and greatly improve the measurement resolution of both the electron bunches andmore » the x-ray free-electron laser pulses. The design physics and fabrication as well as the measurement results will be presented in detail. High-power operation has demonstrated the excellent performance of this rf compression system without rf breakdown, sign of pulse heating, and rf radiation.« less

Development for a supercompact X -band pulse compression system and its application at SLAC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Juwen W.; Tantawi, Sami G.; Xu, Chen

Here, we have successfully designed, fabricated, installed, and tested a super compact X -band SLAC Energy Doubler system at SLAC. It is composed of an elegant 3 dB coupler–mode converter–polarizer coupled to a single spherical energy storage cavity with high Q 0 of 94000 and a diameter less than 12 cm. The available rf peak power of 50 MW can be compressed to a peak average power of more than 200 MW in order to double the kick for the electron bunches in a rf transverse deflector system and greatly improve the measurement resolution of both the electron bunches andmore » the x-ray free-electron laser pulses. The design physics and fabrication as well as the measurement results will be presented in detail. High-power operation has demonstrated the excellent performance of this rf compression system without rf breakdown, sign of pulse heating, and rf radiation.« less

Two-way wireless-over-fibre and FSO-over-fibre communication systems with an optical carrier transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xu-Hong; Lu, Hai-Han; Donati, Silvano; Li, Chung-Yi; Wang, Yun-Chieh; Jheng, Yu-Bo; Chang, Jen-Chieh

2018-07-01

Two-way wireless-over-fiber and free-space optical (FSO)-over-fiber communication systems, with an optical carrier transmission for a hybrid 10 Gbps baseband data stream, are proposed and practically demonstrated. 10 Gbps/50 GHz and 10 Gbps/100 GHz millimeter-wave data signal transmissions are also proposed and practically demonstrated. An optical carrier with a 10 Gbps baseband data stream is delivered via a 50 km single-mode fiber transportation to effectively lower dispersion-induced limitation due to fiber links and distortion produced by beating among multiple optical sidebands. To our understanding, this experiment is foremost in employing an optical carrier transmission approach to a two-way wireless-over-fiber and FSO-over-fiber communication system to suppress fiber dispersion and distortion effectively. Bit error rate performs well for downlink and uplink deliveries via a 50 km single-mode fiber transportation with a 100 m FSO link/5 m RF wireless delivery. The offered two-way wireless-over-fiber and FSO-over-fiber communication system with an optical carrier transmission is a promising option. It should be interesting for signifying the progress in the integration of long-haul fiber-based trunks and short-range RF/optical wireless link-based branches.

Intelligent signal analysis and recognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levinson, Robert; Helman, Daniel; Oswalt, Edward

1987-01-01

Progress in the research and development of self-organizing database system that can support the identification and characterization of signals in an RF environment is described. As the radio frequency spectrum becomes more crowded, there are a number of situations that require a characterization of the RF environment. This database system is designed to be practical in applications where communications and other instruments encounter a time varying and complex RF environment. The primary application of this system is the guidance and control of NASA's SETI Microwave Observing Project. Other possible applications include selection of telemety bands for communication with spacecraft, and the scheduling of antenna for radio astronomy are two examples where characterization of the RF environment is required. In these applications, the RF environment is constantly changing, and even experienced operators cannot quickly identify the multitude of signals that can be encountered. Some of these signals are repetitive, others appear to occur sporadically.

Commissioning and Early Operation for the NSLS-II Booster RF System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marques, C.; Cupolo, J.; Davila, P.

2015-05-03

The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a third generation 3GeV, 500mA synchrotron light source. We discuss the booster synchrotron RF system responsible for providing power to accelerate an electron beam from 200MeV to 3GeV. The RF system design and construction are complete and is currently in the operational phase of the NSLS-II project. Preliminary operational data is also discussed.

Moving Beyond 3D Hetero-Integration and Towards Monolithic Integration of Phase-Change RF Switches with SiGe BiCMOS

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-31

Corporation, Linthicum, Maryland *Corresponding author: Pavel.Borodulin@ngc.com Abstract: A chip -scale, highly-reconfigurable transmitter and...the technology has been used in a chip -scale, reconfigurable receiver demonstration and ongoing efforts to increase the level of performance and...circuit (RF-FPGA). It consists of a heterogeneous assembly of a SiGe BiCMOS chip with multiple 3D-integrated, low-loss, phase-change switch chiplets

Development and performance test of a new high power RF window in S-band PLS-II LINAC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Woon-Ha; Joo, Young-Do; Kim, Seung-Hwan; Choi, Jae-Young; Noh, Sung-Ju; Ryu, Ji-Wan; Cho, Young-Ki

2017-12-01

A prototype of RF window was developed in collaboration with the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) and domestic companies. High power performance tests of the single RF window were conducted at PAL to verify the operational characteristics for its application in the Pohang Light Source-II (PLS-II) linear accelerator (Linac). The tests were performed in the in-situ facility consisting of a modulator, klystron, waveguide network, vacuum system, cooling system, and RF analyzing equipment. The test results with Stanford linear accelerator energy doubler (SLED) have shown no breakdown up to 75 MW peak power with 4.5 μs RF pulse width at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. The test results with the current operation level of PLS-II Linac confirm that the RF window well satisfies the criteria for PLS-II Linac operation.

Sub-micron resolution rf cavity beam position monitor system at the SACLA XFEL facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maesaka, H.; Ego, H.; Inoue, S.; Matsubara, S.; Ohshima, T.; Shintake, T.; Otake, Y.

2012-12-01

We have developed and constructed a C-band (4.760 GHz) rf cavity beam position monitor (RF-BPM) system for the XFEL facility at SPring-8, SACLA. The demanded position resolution of the RF-BPM is less than 1 μm, because an electron beam and x-rays must be overlapped within 4 μm precision in the undulator section for sufficient FEL interaction between the electrons and x-rays. In total, 57 RF-BPMs, including IQ demodulators and high-speed waveform digitizers for signal processing, were produced and installed into SACLA. We evaluated the position resolutions of 20 RF-BPMs in the undulator section by using a 7 GeV electron beam having a 0.1 nC bunch charge. The position resolution was measured to be less than 0.6 μm, which was sufficient for the XFEL lasing in the wavelength region of 0.1 nm, or shorter.

PGRP-LB homolog acts as a negative modulator of immunity in maintaining the gut-microbe symbiosis of red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier.

PubMed

Dawadi, Bishnu; Wang, Xinghong; Xiao, Rong; Muhammad, Abrar; Hou, Youming; Shi, Zhanghong

2018-09-01

Many notorious insect pests live in the symbiotic associations with gut microbiota. However, the mechanisms underlying how they host their gut microbiota are unknown. Most gut bacteria can release peptidoglycan (PGN) which is an important antigen to activate the immune response. Therefore, how to keep the appropriate gut immune intensity to host commensals while to efficiently remove enteropathogens is vital for insect health. This study is aimed at elucidating the roles of an amidase PGRP, Rf PGRP-LB, in maintaining the gut-microbe symbiosis of Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier. RfPGRP-LB is a secreted protein containing a typical PGRP domain. The existence of five conservative amino acid residues, being required for amidase activity, showed that RfPGRP-LB is a catalytic protein. Expression analysis revealed abundance of RfPGRP-LB transcripts in gut was dramatically higher than those in other tissues. RfPGRP-LB could be significantly induced against the infection of Escherichia coli. In vitro assays revealed that rRfPGRP-LB impaired the growth of E. coli and agglutinated bacteria cells obviously, suggesting RfPGRP-LB is a pathogen recognition receptor and bactericidal molecule. RfPGRP-LB knockdown reduced the persistence of E. coli in gut and load of indigenous gut microbiota significantly. Furthermore, the community structure of indigenous gut microbiota was also intensively altered by RfPGRP-LB silence. Higher levels of the antimicrobial peptide, attacin, were detected in guts of RfPGRP-LB silenced larvae than controls. Collectively, RfPGRP-LB plays multiple roles in modulating the homeostasis of RPW gut microbiota not only by acting as a negative regulator of mucosal immunity through PGN degradation but also as a bactericidal effector to prevent overgrowth of commensals and persistence of noncommensals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new slip stacking RF system for a twofold power upgrade of Fermilab's Accelerator Complex

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madrak, Robyn

2014-05-15

Fermilab's Accelerator Complex has been recently upgraded, in order to increase the 120 GeV proton beam power on target from about 400 kW to over 700 kW for NOvA and other future intensity frontier experiments. One of the key ingredients of the upgrade is the offloading of some Main Injector synchrotron operations - beam injection and RF manipulation called ''slip stacking'' - to the 8GeV Recycler Ring, which had until recently been used only for low-intensity antiproton storage and cooling. This required construction of two new 53 MHz RF systems for the slip-stacking manipulations. The cavities operate simultaneously at Vmore » peak ≲150 kV, but at slightly different frequencies (Δf=1260 Hz). Their installation was completed in September 2013. This article describes the novel solutions used in the design of the new cavities, their tuning system, and the associated high power RF system. First results showing effective operation of the RF system, beam capture and successful slip-stacking in the Recycler Ring are presented.« less

The NASA data systems standardization program - Radio frequency and modulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, W. L.

1983-01-01

The modifications being considered by the NASA-ESA Working Group (NEWG) for space-data-systems standardization to maximize the commonality of the NASA and ESA RF and modulation systems linking spaceborne scientific experiments with ground stations are summarized. The first phase of the NEWG project shows that the NASA MK-IVA Deep Space Network and Shuttle Interrogator (SI) systems in place or planned for 1985 are generally compatible with the ESA Network, but that communications involving the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) are incompatible due to its use of spread-spectrum modulation, pseudonoise ranging, multiple-access channels, and Mbit/s data rates. Topics under study for the post-1985 period include low-bit-rate capability for the ESA Network, an optional 8-kHz command subcarrier for the SI, fixing the spacecraft-transponder frequency-multiplication ratios for possible X-band uplinks or X-band nondeep-space downlinks, review of incompatible TDRS features, and development of the 32-GHz band.

High-powered microwave ablation with a small-gauge, gas-cooled antenna: initial ex vivo and in vivo results.

PubMed

Lubner, Meghan G; Hinshaw, J Louis; Andreano, Anita; Sampson, Lisa; Lee, Fred T; Brace, Christopher L

2012-03-01

To evaluate the performance of a gas-cooled, high-powered microwave system. Investigators performed 54 ablations in ex vivo bovine livers using three devices-a single 17-gauge cooled radiofrequency(RF) electrode; a cluster RF electrode; and a single 17-gauge, gas-cooled microwave (MW) antenna-at three time points (n = 6 at 4 minutes, 12 minutes, and 16 minutes). RF power was applied using impedance-based pulsing with maximum 200 W generator output. MW power of 135 W at 2.45 GHz was delivered continuously. An approved in vivo study was performed using 13 domestic pigs. Hepatic ablations were performed using single applicators and the above-mentioned MW and RF generator systems at treatment times of 2 minutes (n = 7 MW, n = 6 RF), 5 minutes (n = 23 MW, n = 8 RF), 7 minutes (n = 11 MW, n = 6 RF), and 10 minutes (n = 7 MW, n = 9 RF). Mean transverse diameter and length of the ablation zones were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc t tests and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Single ex vivo MW ablations were larger than single RF ablations at all time points (MW mean diameter range 3.5-4.8 cm 4-16 minutes; RF mean diameter range 2.6-3.1 cm 4-16 minutes) (P < .05). There was no difference in mean diameter between cluster RF and MW ablations (RF 3.3-4.4 cm 4-16 minutes; P = .4-.9). In vivo lesion diameters for MW (and RF) were as follows: 2.6 cm ± 0.72 (RF 1.5 cm ± 0.14), 3.6 cm ± 0.89 (RF 2.0 cm ± 0.4), 3.4 cm ± 0.87 (RF 1.8 cm ± 0.23), and 3.8 cm ± 0.74 (RF 2.1 cm ± 0.3) at 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes (P < .05 all time points). Gas-cooled, high-powered MW ablation allows the generation of large ablation zones in short times. Copyright © 2012 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of an Outdoor Ambient Radio Frequency Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-16

radio frequency noise ”) prior to testing of a specific system under test (SUT). With this characterization, locations can be selected to avoid RF...spectrum analyzer, ambient RF noise floor, RF interference 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18...environment (sometimes referred to as “radio frequency noise ”) prior to testing of a specific system under test (SUT). With this characterization

Overview of High Power Vacuum Dry RF Load Designs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krasnykh, Anatoly

2015-08-27

A specific feature of RF linacs based on the pulsed traveling wave (TW) mode of operation is that only a portion of the RF energy is used for the beam acceleration. The residual RF energy has to be terminated into an RF load. Higher accelerating gradients require higher RF sources and RF loads, which can stably terminate the residual RF power. RF feeders (from the RF source though the accelerating section to the load) are vacuumed to transmit multi-megawatt high power RF. This overview will outline vacuumed RF loads only. A common method to terminate multi-MW RF power is tomore » use circulated water (or other liquid) as an absorbing medium. A solid dielectric interface (a high quality ceramic) is required to separate vacuum and liquid RF absorber mediums. Using such RF load approaches in TW linacs is troubling because there is a fragile ceramic window barrier and a failure could become catastrophic for linac vacuum and RF systems. Traditional loads comprising of a ceramic disk have limited peak and average power handling capability and are therefore not suitable for high gradient TW linacs. This overview will focus on ''vacuum dry'' or ''all-metal'' loads that do not employ any dielectric interface between vacuum and absorber. The first prototype is an original design of RF loads for the Stanford Two-Mile Accelerator.« less

Performance evaluation of hybrid VLC using device cost and power over data throughput criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, C. C.; Tan, C. S.; Wong, H. Y.; Yahya, M. B.

2013-09-01

Visible light communication (VLC) technology has attained its attention in both academic and industry lately. It is determined by the development of light emitting diode (LED) technology for solid-state lighting (SSL).It has great potential to gradually replace radio frequency (RF) wireless technology because it offers unregulated and unlicensed bandwidth to withstand future demand of indoor wireless access to real-time bandwidth-demanding applications. However, it was found to provide intrusive uplink channel that give rise to unpleasant irradiance from the user device which could interfere with the downlink channel of VLC and hence limit mobility to users as a result of small coverage (field of view of VLC).To address this potential problem, a Hybrid VLC system which integrates VLC (for downlink) and RF (for uplink) technology is proposed. It offers a non-intrusive RF back channel that provides high throughput VLC and maintains durability with conventional RF devices. To deploy Hybrid VLC system in the market, it must be energy and cost saving to attain its equivalent economical advantage by comparing to existing architecture that employs fluorescent or LED lights with RF technology. In this paper, performance evaluation on the proposed hybrid system was carried out in terms of device cost and power consumption against data throughput. Based on our simulation, Hybrid VLC system was found to reduce device cost by 3% and power consumption by 68% when compares to fluorescent lights with RF technology. Nevertheless, when it is compared to LED lights with RF technology, our proposed hybrid system is found to achieve device cost saving as high as 47% and reduced power consumption by 49%. Such promising results have demonstrated that Hybrid VLC system is a feasible solution and has paved the way for greater cost saving and energy efficient compares with the current RF architecture even with the increasing requirement of indoor area coverage.

Multi-level RF identification system

DOEpatents

Steele, Kerry D.; Anderson, Gordon A.; Gilbert, Ronald W.

2004-07-20

A radio frequency identification system having a radio frequency transceiver for generating a continuous wave RF interrogation signal that impinges upon an RF identification tag. An oscillation circuit in the RF identification tag modulates the interrogation signal with a subcarrier of a predetermined frequency and modulates the frequency-modulated signal back to the transmitting interrogator. The interrogator recovers and analyzes the subcarrier signal and determines its frequency. The interrogator generates an output indicative of the frequency of the subcarrier frequency, thereby identifying the responding RFID tag as one of a "class" of RFID tags configured to respond with a subcarrier signal of a predetermined frequency.

Development and Validation of MMPI-2-RF Scales for Indexing Triarchic Psychopathy Constructs.

PubMed

Sellbom, Martin; Drislane, Laura E; Johnson, Alexandria K; Goodwin, Brandee E; Phillips, Tasha R; Patrick, Christopher J

2016-10-01

The triarchic model characterizes psychopathy in terms of three distinct dispositional constructs of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The model can be operationalized through scales designed specifically to index these domains or by using items from other inventories that provide coverage of related constructs. The present study sought to develop and validate scales for assessing the triarchic model domains using items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). A consensus rating approach was used to identify items relevant to each triarchic domain, and following psychometric refinement, the resulting MMPI-2-RF-based triarchic scales were evaluated for convergent and discriminant validity in relation to multiple psychopathy-relevant criterion variables in offender and nonoffender samples. Expected convergent and discriminant associations were evident very clearly for the Boldness and Disinhibition scales and somewhat less clearly for the Meanness scale. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that all MMPI-2-RF triarchic scales incremented standard MMPI-2-RF scale scores in predicting extant triarchic model scale scores. The widespread use of MMPI-2-RF in clinical and forensic settings provides avenues for both clinical and research applications in contexts where traditional psychopathy measures are less likely to be administered. © The Author(s) 2015.

Loran digital phase-locked loop and RF front-end system error analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccall, D. L.

1979-01-01

An analysis of the system performance of the digital phase locked loops (DPLL) and RF front end that are implemented in the MINI-L4 Loran receiver is presented. Three of the four experiments deal with the performance of the digital phase locked loops. The other experiment deals with the RF front end and DPLL system error which arise in the front end due to poor signal to noise ratios. The ability of the DPLLs to track the offsets is studied.

Radio Frequency Microelectromechanical Systems [Book Chapter Manuscript

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nordquist, Christopher; Olsson, Roy H.

2014-12-15

Radio frequency microelectromechanical system (RF MEMS) devices are microscale devices that achieve superior performance relative to other technologies by taking advantage of the accuracy, precision, materials, and miniaturization available through microfabrication. To do this, these devices use their mechanical and electrical properties to perform a specific RF electrical function such as switching, transmission, or filtering. RF MEMS has been a popular area of research since the early 1990s, and within the last several years, the technology has matured sufficiently for commercialization and use in commercial market systems.

Process control monitoring systems, industrial plants, and process control monitoring methods

DOEpatents

Skorpik, James R [Kennewick, WA; Gosselin, Stephen R [Richland, WA; Harris, Joe C [Kennewick, WA

2010-09-07

A system comprises a valve; a plurality of RFID sensor assemblies coupled to the valve to monitor a plurality of parameters associated with the valve; a control tag configured to wirelessly communicate with the respective tags that are coupled to the valve, the control tag being further configured to communicate with an RF reader; and an RF reader configured to selectively communicate with the control tag, the reader including an RF receiver. Other systems and methods are also provided.

Superconductor Digital-RF Receiver Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhanov, Oleg A.; Kirichenko, Dmitri; Vernik, Igor V.; Filippov, Timur V.; Kirichenko, Alexander; Webber, Robert; Dotsenko, Vladimir; Talalaevskii, Andrei; Tang, Jia Cao; Sahu, Anubhav; Shevchenko, Pavel; Miller, Robert; Kaplan, Steven B.; Sarwana, Saad; Gupta, Deepnarayan

Digital superconductor electronics has been experiencing rapid maturation with the emergence of smaller-scale, lower-cost communications applications which became the major technology drivers. These applications are primarily in the area of wireless communications, radar, and surveillance as well as in imaging and sensor systems. In these areas, the fundamental advantages of superconductivity translate into system benefits through novel Digital-RF architectures with direct digitization of wide band, high frequency radio frequency (RF) signals. At the same time the availability of relatively small 4K cryocoolers has lowered the foremost market barrier for cryogenically-cooled digital electronic systems. Recently, we have achieved a major breakthrough in the development, demonstration, and successful delivery of the cryocooled superconductor digital-RF receivers directly digitizing signals in a broad range from kilohertz to gigahertz. These essentially hybrid-technology systems combine a variety of superconductor and semiconductor technologies packaged with two-stage commercial cryocoolers: cryogenic Nb mixed-signal and digital circuits based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) technology, room-temperature amplifiers, FPGA processing and control circuitry. The demonstrated cryocooled digital-RF systems are the world's first and fastest directly digitizing receivers operating with live satellite signals in X-band and performing signal acquisition in HF to L-band at ˜30GHz clock frequencies.

An optically coupled system for quantitative monitoring of MRI-induced RF currents into long conductors.

PubMed

Zanchi, Marta G; Venook, Ross; Pauly, John M; Scott, Greig C

2010-01-01

The currents induced in long conductors such as guidewires by the radio-frequency (RF) field in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are responsible for potentially dangerous heating of surrounding media, such as tissue. This paper presents an optically coupled system with the potential to quantitatively measure the RF currents induced on these conductors. The system uses a self shielded toroid transducer and active circuitry to modulate a high speed light-emitting-diode transmitter. Plastic fiber guides the light to a photodiode receiver and transimpedance amplifier. System validation included a series of experiments with bare wires that compared wire tip heating by fluoroptic thermometers with the RF current sensor response. Validations were performed on a custom whole body 64 MHz birdcage test platform and on a 1.5 T MRI scanner. With this system, a variety of phenomena were demonstrated including cable trap current attenuation, lossy dielectric Q-spoiling and even transverse electromagnetic wave node patterns. This system should find applications in studies of MRI RF safety for interventional devices such as pacemaker leads, and guidewires. In particular, variations of this device could potentially act as a realtime safety monitor during MRI guided interventions.

A low-level rf control system for a quarter-wave resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jongwon; Hwang, Churlkew

2012-06-01

A low-level rf control system was designed and built for an rf deflector, which is a quarter wave resonator, and was designed to deflect a secondary electron beam to measure the bunch length of an ion beam. The deflector has a resonance frequency near 88 MHz, its required phase stability is approximately ±1° and its amplitude stability is less than ±1%. The control system consists of analog input and output components and a digital system based on a field-programmable gate array for signal processing. The system is cost effective, while meeting the stability requirements. Some basic properties of the control system were measured. Then, the capability of the rf control was tested using a mechanical vibrator made of a dielectric rod attached to an audio speaker system, which could induce regulated perturbations in the electric fields of the resonator. The control system was flexible so that its parameters could be easily configured to compensate for the disturbance induced in the resonator.

Stereo-EEG: Diagnostic and therapeutic tool for periventricular nodular heterotopia epilepsies.

PubMed

Mirandola, Laura; Mai, Roberto F; Francione, Stefano; Pelliccia, Veronica; Gozzo, Francesca; Sartori, Ivana; Nobili, Lino; Cardinale, Francesco; Cossu, Massimo; Meletti, Stefano; Tassi, Laura

2017-11-01

Periventricular nodular heterotopias (PNHs) are malformations of cortical development related to neuronal migration disorders, frequently associated with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) is considered a very effective step of the presurgical evaluation, providing the recognition of the epileptogenic zone (EZ). At the same time, via the intracerebral electrodes it is possible to perform radiofrequency thermocoagulation (SEEG-guided RF-TC) with the aim of ablating and/or disrupting the EZ. The purpose of this study was to evaluate both the relationships between PNH and the EZ, and the efficacy of SEEG-guided RF-TC. Twenty patients with DRE related to PNHs were studied. Inclusion criteria were the following: (1) patients with epilepsy and PNHs (unilateral or bilateral, single or multiple nodules) diagnosed on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); (2) SEEG recordings available as part of the presurgical investigations, with at least one intracerebral electrode inside the heterotopia; (3) complete surgical workup with SEEG-guided RF-TC and/or with traditional neurosurgery, with a follow-up of at least 12 months. Complex and heterogenic epileptic networks were found in these patients. SEEG-guided RF-TC both into the nodules and/or the cortex was efficacious in the 76% of patients. Single or multiple, unilateral or bilateral PNHs are the most suitable for this procedure, whereas patients with PNHs associated with complex cortical malformations obtained excellent outcome only with traditional resective surgery. Each patient had a specific epileptogenic network, independent from the number, size, or location of nodules and from the cortical malformation associated with. SEEG-guided RF-TC appears as a new and very effective diagnostic and therapeutic approach for DRE related to PNHs. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International League Against Epilepsy.

No adverse effects detected for simultaneous whole-body exposure to multiple-frequency radiofrequency electromagnetic fields for rats in the intrauterine and pre- and post-weaning periods

PubMed Central

Shirai, Tomoyuki; Wang, Jianqing; Kawabe, Mayumi; Wake, Kanako; Watanabe, So-ichi; Takahashi, Satoru; Fujiwara, Osamu

2017-01-01

In everyday life, people are exposed to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) with multiple frequencies. To evaluate the possible adverse effects of multifrequency RF EMFs, we performed an experiment in which pregnant rats and their delivered offspring were simultaneously exposed to eight different communication signal EMFs (two of 800 MHz band, two of 2 GHz band, one of 2.4 GHz band, two of 2.5 GHz band and one of 5.2 GHz band). Thirty six pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) 10-week-old rats were divided into three groups of 12 rats: one control (sham exposure) group and two experimental (low- and high-level RF EMF exposure) groups. The whole body of the mother rats was exposed to the RF EMFs for 20 h per day from Gestational Day 7 to weaning, and F1 offspring rats (46–48 F1 pups per group) were then exposed up to 6 weeks of age also for 20 h per day. The parameters evaluated included the growth, gestational condition and organ weights of the dams; the survival rates, development, growth, physical and functional development, memory function, and reproductive ability of the F1 offspring; and the embryotoxicity and teratogenicity in the F2 rats. No abnormal findings were observed in the dams or F1 offspring exposed to the RF EMFs or to the F2 offspring for any of the parameters evaluated. Thus, under the conditions of the present experiment, simultaneous whole-body exposure to eight different communication signal EMFs at frequencies between 800 MHz and 5.2 GHz did not show any adverse effects on pregnancy or on the development of rats. PMID:27694283

Quantitative evaluation of anatomical noise in chest digital tomosynthesis, digital radiography, and computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, D.; Choi, S.; Lee, H.; Kim, D.; Choi, S.; Kim, H.-J.

2017-04-01

Lung cancer is currently the worldwide leading cause of death from cancer. Thus, detection of lung cancer at its early stages is critical for improving the survival rate of patients. Chest digital tomosynthesis (CDT) is a recently developed imaging modality, combining many advantages of digital radiography (DR) and computed tomography (CT). This method has the potential to be widely used in the clinical setting. In this study, we introduce a developed CDT R/F system and compare its image quality with those of DR and CT, especially with respect to anatomical noise and lung nodule conspicuity, for LUNGMAN phantoms. The developed CDT R/F system consists of a CsI scintillator flat panel detector, X-ray tube, and tomosynthesis data acquisition geometry. For CDT R/F imaging, 41 projections were acquired at different angles, over the ± 20° angular range, in a linear translation geometry. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the CDT R/F system, the acquired images were compared with CT (Philips brilliance CT 64, Philips healthcare, U.S.) and DR (ADR-M, LISTEM, Korea) phantom images in terms of the anatomical noise power spectrum (aNPS). DR images exhibited low conspicuity for a small-size lung nodule, while CDT R/F and CT exhibited relatively high sensitivity for all lung nodule sizes. The aNPS of the CDT R/F system was better than that of DR, by resolving anatomical overlapping problems. In conclusion, the developed CDT R/F system is likely to contribute to early diagnosis of lung cancer, while requiring a relatively low patient dose, compared with CT.

IBS and expected luminosity performance for RHIC beams at top energy with 56 MHz SRF cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fedotov,A.

The purpose of RF system in RHIC is to capture injected bunches, accelerate them to the top energy, and store bunches at the top energy for many hours. The accelerating RF system operates at harmonic number h=360 of the particle revolution frequency f=78.196 kHz, which corresponds to 28.15MHz. The storage RF system accepts the shortened bunches at top energy and provides longitudinal focusing to keep these bunches short during the store time (collision mode). The storage system operates at harmonic number h=7x360=2520, which corresponds to an RF frequency of 197.05 MHz [1]. Recently, an upgrade of storage RF system withmore » a superconducting 56 MHz cavity was proposed [2]. This upgrade will provide significant increase in the acceptance of storage RF bucket. Presently, the short bunch length for collisions is obtained via RF gymnastics with bunch rotation (called re-bucketing), because the length of 197MHz bucket of 5 nsec is too short to accommodate long bunches otherwise. However, due to bucket non-linearity and hardware complications some increase in the longitudinal emittance occurs during re-bucketing. The 56MHz cavity will produce sufficiently short bunches which would allow one to operate without re-bucketing procedure. This Note summarizes simulation of beam evolution due to Intra-beam scattering (IBS) for beam parameters expected with the 56 MHz SRF cavity upgrade. Expected luminosity improvement is shown both for Au ions at 100 GeV/nucleon and for protons at 250 GeV.« less

Effects of short-term radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones on teenagers and adults

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background With the rapid increasing use of third generation (3 G) mobile phones, social concerns have arisen concerning the possible health effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) mobile phones in humans. The number of people, who complain of various symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue, has also increased. Recently, the importance of researches on teenagers has been on the rise. However, very few provocation studies have examined the health effects of WCDMA mobile phone radiation on teenagers. Methods In this double-blind study, two volunteer groups of 26 adults and 26 teenagers were simultaneously investigated by measuring physiological changes in heart rate, respiration rate, and heart rate variability for autonomic nervous system (ANS), eight subjective symptoms, and perception of RF-EMFs during sham and real exposure sessions to verify its effects on adults and teenagers. Experiments were conducted using a dummy phone containing a WCDMA module (average power, 250 mW at 1950 MHz; specific absorption rate, 1.57 W/kg) within a headset placed on the head for 32 min. Results Short-term WCDMA RF-EMFs generated no significant changes in ANS, subjective symptoms or the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed in either group. Conclusions Considering the analyzed physiological data, the subjective symptoms surveyed, and the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed, 32 min of RF radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones demonstrated no effects in either adult or teenager subjects. PMID:24886241

Development of new S-band RF window for stable high-power operation in linear accelerator RF system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Youngdo; Lee, Byung-Joon; Kim, Seung-Hwan; Kong, Hyung-Sup; Hwang, Woonha; Roh, Sungjoo; Ryu, Jiwan

2017-09-01

For stable high-power operation, a new RF window is developed in the S-band linear accelerator (Linac) RF systems of the Pohang Light Source-II (PLS-II) and the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free-Electron Laser (PAL-XFEL). The new RF window is designed to mitigate the strength of the electric field at the ceramic disk and also at the waveguide-cavity coupling structure of the conventional RF window. By replacing the pill-box type cavity in the conventional RF window with an overmoded cavity, the electric field component perpendicular to the ceramic disk that caused most of the multipacting breakdowns in the ceramic disk was reduced by an order of magnitude. The reduced electric field at the ceramic disk eliminated the Ti-N coating process on the ceramic surface in the fabrication procedure of the new RF window, preventing the incomplete coating from spoiling the RF transmission and lowering the fabrication cost. The overmoded cavity was coupled with input and output waveguides through dual side-wall coupling irises to reduce the electric field strength at the waveguide-cavity coupling structure and the possibility of mode competitions in the overmoded cavity. A prototype of the new RF window was fabricated and fully tested with the Klystron peak input power, pulse duration and pulse repetition rate of 75 MW, 4.5 μs and 10 Hz, respectively, at the high-power test stand. The first mass-produced new RF window installed in the PLS-II Linac is running in normal operation mode. No fault is reported to date. Plans are being made to install the new RF window to all S-band accelerator RF modules of the PLS-II and PAL-XFEL Linacs. This new RF window may be applied to the output windows of S-band power sources like Klystron as wells as the waveguide windows of accelerator facilities which operate in S-band.

A flexible telecom satellite repeater based on microwave photonic technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sotom, Michel; Benazet, Benoît; Maignan, Michel

2017-11-01

Future telecom satellite based on geo-stationary Earth orbit (GEO) will require advanced payloads in Kaband so as to receive, route and re-transmit hundreds of microwave channels over multiple antenna beams. We report on the proof-of-concept demonstration of a analogue repeater making use of microwave photonic technologies for supporting broadband, transparent, and flexible cross-connectivity. It has microwave input and output sections, and features a photonic core for LO distribution, frequency down-conversion, and cross-connection of RF channels. With benefits such as transparency to RF frequency, infinite RF isolation, mass and volume savings, such a microwave photonic cross-connect would compare favourably with microwave implementations, and based on optical MEMS switches could grow up to large port counts.

High power RF solid state power amplifier system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, III, William Herbert (Inventor); Chavers, Donald Gregory (Inventor); Richeson, James J. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A high power, high frequency, solid state power amplifier system includes a plurality of input multiple port splitters for receiving a high-frequency input and for dividing the input into a plurality of outputs and a plurality of solid state amplifier units. Each amplifier unit includes a plurality of amplifiers, and each amplifier is individually connected to one of the outputs of multiport splitters and produces a corresponding amplified output. A plurality of multiport combiners combine the amplified outputs of the amplifiers of each of the amplifier units to a combined output. Automatic level control protection circuitry protects the amplifiers and maintains a substantial constant amplifier power output.

Functional and Expression Analysis of the Metal-Inducible dmeRF System from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae

PubMed Central

Rubio-Sanz, L.; Prieto, R. I.; Imperial, J.; Brito, B.

2013-01-01

A gene encoding a homolog to the cation diffusion facilitator protein DmeF from Cupriavidus metallidurans has been identified in the genome of Rhizobium leguminosarum UPM791. The R. leguminosarum dmeF gene is located downstream of an open reading frame (designated dmeR) encoding a protein homologous to the nickel- and cobalt-responsive transcriptional regulator RcnR from Escherichia coli. Analysis of gene expression showed that the R. leguminosarum dmeRF genes are organized as a transcriptional unit whose expression is strongly induced by nickel and cobalt ions, likely by alleviating the repressor activity of DmeR on dmeRF transcription. An R. leguminosarum dmeRF mutant strain displayed increased sensitivity to Co(II) and Ni(II), whereas no alterations of its resistance to Cd(II), Cu(II), or Zn(II) were observed. A decrease of symbiotic performance was observed when pea plants inoculated with an R. leguminosarum dmeRF deletion mutant strain were grown in the presence of high concentrations of nickel and cobalt. The same mutant induced significantly lower activity levels of NiFe hydrogenase in microaerobic cultures. These results indicate that the R. leguminosarum DmeRF system is a metal-responsive efflux mechanism acting as a key element for metal homeostasis in R. leguminosarum under free-living and symbiotic conditions. The presence of similar dmeRF gene clusters in other Rhizobiaceae suggests that the dmeRF system is a conserved mechanism for metal tolerance in legume endosymbiotic bacteria. PMID:23934501

Fiber-Optic Network Architectures for Onboard Avionics Applications Investigated

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Ngo, Duc H.

2003-01-01

This project is part of a study within the Advanced Air Transportation Technologies program undertaken at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The main focus of the program is the improvement of air transportation, with particular emphasis on air transportation safety. Current and future advances in digital data communications between an aircraft and the outside world will require high-bandwidth onboard communication networks. Radiofrequency (RF) systems, with their interconnection network based on coaxial cables and waveguides, increase the complexity of communication systems onboard modern civil and military aircraft with respect to weight, power consumption, and safety. In addition, safety and reliability concerns from electromagnetic interference between the RF components embedded in these communication systems exist. A simple, reliable, and lightweight network that is free from the effects of electromagnetic interference and capable of supporting the broadband communications needs of future onboard digital avionics systems cannot be easily implemented using existing coaxial cable-based systems. Fiber-optical communication systems can meet all these challenges of modern avionics applications in an efficient, cost-effective manner. The objective of this project is to present a number of optical network architectures for onboard RF signal distribution. Because of the emergence of a number of digital avionics devices requiring high-bandwidth connectivity, fiber-optic RF networks onboard modern aircraft will play a vital role in ensuring a low-noise, highly reliable RF communication system. Two approaches are being used for network architectures for aircraft onboard fiber-optic distribution systems: a hybrid RF-optical network and an all-optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network.

Box truss analysis and technology development. Task 1: Mesh analysis and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachtell, E. E.; Bettadapur, S. S.; Coyner, J. V.

1985-01-01

An analytical tool was developed to model, analyze and predict RF performance of box truss antennas with reflective mesh surfaces. The analysis system is unique in that it integrates custom written programs for cord tied mesh surfaces, thereby drastically reducing the cost of analysis. The analysis system is capable of determining the RF performance of antennas under any type of manufacturing or operating environment by integrating together the various disciplines of design, finite element analysis, surface best fit analysis and RF analysis. The Integrated Mesh Analysis System consists of six separate programs: The Mesh Tie System Model Generator, The Loadcase Generator, The Model Optimizer, The Model Solver, The Surface Topography Solver and The RF Performance Solver. Additionally, a study using the mesh analysis system was performed to determine the effect of on orbit calibration, i.e., surface adjustment, on a typical box truss antenna.

Initial operation of high power ICRF system for long pulse in EAST

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qin, C. M., E-mail: chmq@ipp.ac.cn; Zhao, Y. P.; Zhang, X. J.

2015-12-10

The ICRF heating system on EAST upgraded by active cooling aims for long pulse operation. In this paper, the main technical features of the ICRF system are described. One of a major challenges for long pulse operation is RF-edge interactions induced impurity production and heat loading. In EAST, ICRF antenna protections and Faraday screen bars damaged due to LH electron beam are found. Preliminary results for the analysis of the interaction between LHCD and ICRF antenna are discussed. Increase of metal impurities in the plasma during RF pulse and in a larger core radiation are also shown. These RF-edge interactionsmore » at EAST and some preliminary results for the optimizing RF performance will be presented.« less

Advances in gallium arsenide monolithic microwave integrated-circuit technology for space communications systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Connolly, D. J.

1986-01-01

Future communications satellites are likely to use gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) technology in most, if not all, communications payload subsystems. Multiple-scanning-beam antenna systems are expected to use GaAs MMIC's to increase functional capability, to reduce volume, weight, and cost, and to greatly improve system reliability. RF and IF matrix switch technology based on GaAs MMIC's is also being developed for these reasons. MMIC technology, including gigabit-rate GaAs digital integrated circuits, offers substantial advantages in power consumption and weight over silicon technologies for high-throughput, on-board baseband processor systems. In this paper, current developments in GaAs MMIC technology are described, and the status and prospects of the technology are assessed.

The development of data acquisition and processing application system for RF ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaodan; Wang, Xiaoying; Hu, Chundong; Jiang, Caichao; Xie, Yahong; Zhao, Yuanzhe

2017-07-01

As the key ion source component of nuclear fusion auxiliary heating devices, the radio frequency (RF) ion source is developed and applied gradually to offer a source plasma with the advantages of ease of control and high reliability. In addition, it easily achieves long-pulse steady-state operation. During the process of the development and testing of the RF ion source, a lot of original experimental data will be generated. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a stable and reliable computer data acquisition and processing application system for realizing the functions of data acquisition, storage, access, and real-time monitoring. In this paper, the development of a data acquisition and processing application system for the RF ion source is presented. The hardware platform is based on the PXI system and the software is programmed on the LabVIEW development environment. The key technologies that are used for the implementation of this software programming mainly include the long-pulse data acquisition technology, multi-threading processing technology, transmission control communication protocol, and the Lempel-Ziv-Oberhumer data compression algorithm. Now, this design has been tested and applied on the RF ion source. The test results show that it can work reliably and steadily. With the help of this design, the stable plasma discharge data of the RF ion source are collected, stored, accessed, and monitored in real-time. It is shown that it has a very practical application significance for the RF experiments.

Fiber-Bragg-Grating-Based Optical Code-Division Multiple Access Passive Optical Network Using Dual-Baseband Modulation Scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Wen-Piao; Wu, He-Long

2005-08-01

We propose a fiber-Bragg-grating (FBG)-based optical code-division multiple access passive optical network (OCDMA-PON) using a dual-baseband modulation scheme. A mathematical model is developed to study the performance of this scheme. According to the analyzed results, this scheme can allow a tolerance of the spectral power distortion (SPD) ratio of 25% with a bit error rate (BER) of 10-9 when the modified pseudorandom noise (PN) code length is 16. Moreover, we set up a simulated system to evaluate the baseband and radio frequency (RF) band transmission characteristics. The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed OCDMA-PON can provide a cost-effective and scalable fiber-to-the-home solution.

Special Technology Area Review on Vacuum Electronics Technology for RF Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-12-12

systems. QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED AT THE STAR: 1. What are the RF applications and systems that will benefit from advances in Vacuum Electronic...technologies? What are the status and prospects of early insertion efforts? What is the impact if technology efforts are successful? 2. What are the RF...technical barriers best addressed by Vacuum Electronic technologies? What are the technology advancement needs and opportunities? Can the barriers

Handheld microwave bomb-detecting imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorwara, Ashok; Molchanov, Pavlo

2017-05-01

Proposed novel imaging technique will provide all weather high-resolution imaging and recognition capability for RF/Microwave signals with good penetration through highly scattered media: fog, snow, dust, smoke, even foliage, camouflage, walls and ground. Image resolution in proposed imaging system is not limited by diffraction and will be determined by processor and sampling frequency. Proposed imaging system can simultaneously cover wide field of view, detect multiple targets and can be multi-frequency, multi-function. Directional antennas in imaging system can be close positioned and installed in cell phone size handheld device, on small aircraft or distributed around protected border or object. Non-scanning monopulse system allows dramatically decrease in transmitting power and at the same time provides increased imaging range by integrating 2-3 orders more signals than regular scanning imaging systems.

A Model-Based Fast Protection System for High-Power RF Tube Amplifiers Used at the European XFEL Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butkowski, Łukasz; Vogel, Vladimir; Schlarb, Holger; Szabatin, Jerzy

2017-06-01

The driving engine of the superconducting accelerator of the European X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) is a set of 27 radio frequency (RF) stations. Each of the underground RF stations consists of a multibeam horizontal klystron that can provide up to 10 MW of power at 1.3 GHz. Klystrons are sensitive devices with a limited lifetime and a high mean time between failures. In real operation, the lifetime of the tube can be significantly reduced because of failures. The special fast protection klystron lifetime management (KLM) system has been developed to minimize the influence of service conditions on the lifetime of klystrons. The main task of this system is to detect all events which can destroy the tube as quickly as possible, and switch off the driving RF signal or the high voltage. Detection of events is based on a comparison of the value of the real signal obtained at the system output with the value estimated on the basis of a high-power RF amplifier model and input signals. The KLM system has been realized in field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and implemented in XFEL. Implementation is based on the standard low-level RF micro telecommunications computing architecture (MTCA.4 or xTCA). The main part of the paper focuses on an estimation of the klystron model and the implementation of KLM in FPGA. The results of the performance of the KLM system will also be presented.

Aeronautical audio broadcasting via satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tzeng, Forrest F.

1993-01-01

A system design for aeronautical audio broadcasting, with C-band uplink and L-band downlink, via Inmarsat space segments is presented. Near-transparent-quality compression of 5-kHz bandwidth audio at 20.5 kbit/s is achieved based on a hybrid technique employing linear predictive modeling and transform-domain residual quantization. Concatenated Reed-Solomon/convolutional codes with quadrature phase shift keying are selected for bandwidth and power efficiency. RF bandwidth at 25 kHz per channel, and a decoded bit error rate at 10(exp -6) with E(sub b)/N(sub o) at 3.75 dB are obtained. An interleaver, scrambler, modem synchronization, and frame format were designed, and frequency-division multiple access was selected over code-division multiple access. A link budget computation based on a worst-case scenario indicates sufficient system power margins. Transponder occupancy analysis for 72 audio channels demonstrates ample remaining capacity to accommodate emerging aeronautical services.

A programmable microsystem using system-on-chip for real-time biotelemetry.

PubMed

Wang, Lei; Johannessen, Erik A; Hammond, Paul A; Cui, Li; Reid, Stuart W J; Cooper, Jonathan M; Cumming, David R S

2005-07-01

A telemetry microsystem, including multiple sensors, integrated instrumentation and a wireless interface has been implemented. We have employed a methodology akin to that for System-on-Chip microelectronics to design an integrated circuit instrument containing several "intellectual property" blocks that will enable convenient reuse of modules in future projects. The present system was optimized for low-power and included mixed-signal sensor circuits, a programmable digital system, a feedback clock control loop and RF circuits integrated on a 5 mm x 5 mm silicon chip using a 0.6 microm, 3.3 V CMOS process. Undesirable signal coupling between circuit components has been investigated and current injection into sensitive instrumentation nodes was minimized by careful floor-planning. The chip, the sensors, a magnetic induction-based transmitter and two silver oxide cells were packaged into a 36 mm x 12 mm capsule format. A base station was built in order to retrieve the data from the microsystem in real-time. The base station was designed to be adaptive and timing tolerant since the microsystem design was simplified to reduce power consumption and size. The telemetry system was found to have a packet error rate of 10(-3) using an asynchronous simplex link. Trials in animal carcasses were carried out to show that the transmitter was as effective as a conventional RF device whilst consuming less power.

Bioengineered riboflavin in nanotechnology.

PubMed

Beztsinna, N; Solé, M; Taib, N; Bestel, I

2016-02-01

Riboflavin (RF) is an essential water-soluble vitamin with unique biological and physicochemical properties such as transporterspecific cell internalization, implication in redox reactions, fluorescence and photosensitizing. Due to these features RF attracted researchers in various fields from targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering to optoelectronics and biosensors. In this review we will give a brief reminder of RF chemistry, its optical, photosensitizing properties, RF transporter systems and its role in pathologies. We will point a special attention on the recent findings concerning RF applications in nanotechnologies such as RF functionalized nanoparticles, polymers, biomolecules, carbon nanotubes, hydrogels and implants for tissue engineering. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spacecraft-level verification of the Van Allen Probes' RF communication system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowne, M. J.; Srinivasan, D.; Royster, D.; Weaver, G.; Matlin, D.; Mosavi, N.

This paper presents the verification process, lessons learned, and selected test results of the radio frequency (RF) communication system of the Van Allen Probes, formerly known as the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP). The Van Allen Probes mission is investigating the doughnut-shaped regions of space known as the Van Allen radiation belts where the Sun interacts with charged particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field. Understanding this dynamic area that surrounds our planet is important to improving our ability to design spacecraft and missions for reliability and astronaut safety. The Van Allen Probes mission features two nearly identical spacecraft designed, built, and operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The RF communication system features the JHU/APL Frontier Radio. The Frontier Radio is a software-defined radio (SDR) designed for spaceborne communications, navigation, radio science, and sensor applications. This mission marks the first spaceflight usage of the Frontier Radio. RF ground support equipment (RF GSE) was developed using a ground station receiver similar to what will be used in flight and whose capabilities provided clarity into RF system performance that was previously not obtained until compatibility testing with the ground segments. The Van Allen Probes underwent EMC, acoustic, vibration, and thermal vacuum testing at the environmental test facilities at APL. During this time the RF communication system was rigorously tested to ensure optimal performance, including system-level testing down to threshold power levels. Compatibility tests were performed with the JHU/APL Satellite Communication Facility (SCF), the Universal Space Network (USN), and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Successful completion of this program as described in this paper validated the design of the system and demonstrated that it will be able to me- t all of the Van Allen Probes's communications requirements with its intended ground segments.

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2003

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Topics covered include: Tool for Bending a Metal Tube Precisely in a Confined Space; Multiple-Use Mechanisms for Attachment to Seat Tracks; Force-Measuring Clamps; Cellular Pressure-Actuated Joint; Block QCA Fault-Tolerant Logic Gates; Hybrid VLSI/QCA Architecture for Computing FFTs; Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes as RF Filters in Waveguides; Carbon Nanotubes as Resonators for RF Spectrum Analyzers; Software for Viewing Landsat Mosaic Images; Updated Integrated Mission Program; Software for Sharing and Management of Information; Update on Integrated Optical Design Analyzer; Optical-Quality Thin Polymer Membranes; Rollable Thin Shell Composite-Material Paraboloidal Mirrors; Folded Resonant Horns for Power Ultrasonic Applications; Touchdown Ball-Bearing System for Magnetic Bearings; Flux-Based Deadbeat Control of Induction-Motor Torque; Block Copolymers as Templates for Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes; Throttling Cryogen Boiloff To Control Cryostat Temperature; Collaborative Software Development Approach Used to Deliver the New Shuttle Telemetry Ground Station; Turbulence in Supercritical O2/H2 and C7H16/N2 Mixing Layers; and Time-Resolved Measurements in Optoelectronic Microbioanal.

Exposure system to study hypotheses of ELF and RF electromagnetic field interactions of mobile phones with the central nervous system.

PubMed

Murbach, Manuel; Christopoulou, Maria; Crespo-Valero, Pedro; Achermann, Peter; Kuster, Niels

2012-09-01

A novel exposure system for double-blind human electromagnetic provocation studies has been developed that satisfies the precision, control of fields and potential artifacts, and provides the flexibility to investigate the response of hypotheses-driven electromagnetic field exposure schemes on brain function, ranging from extremely low frequency (ELF) to radio frequency (RF) fields. The system can provide the same exposure of the lateral cerebral cortex at two different RF frequencies (900 and 2140 MHz) but with different exposure levels at subcortical structures, and also allows uniform ELF magnetic field exposure of the brain. The RF modulation and ELF signal are obtained by a freely programmable arbitrary signal generator allowing a wide range of worst-case exposure scenarios to be simulated, including those caused by wireless devices. The maximum achievable RF exposure is larger than 60 W/kg peak spatial specific absorption rate averaged over 10 g of tissue. The maximum ELF magnetic field exposure of the brain is 800 A/m at 50 Hz with a deviation from uniformity of 8% (SD). Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Design and Implementation of RF Energy Harvesting System for Low-Power Electronic Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uzun, Yunus

2016-08-01

Radio frequency (RF) energy harvester systems are a good alternative for energizing of low-power electronics devices. In this work, an RF energy harvester is presented to obtain energy from Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900 MHz signals. The energy harvester, consisting of a two-stage Dickson voltage multiplier circuit and L-type impedance matching circuits, was designed, simulated, fabricated and tested experimentally in terms of its performance. Simulation and experimental works were carried out for various input power levels, load resistances and input frequencies. Both simulation and experimental works have been carried out for this frequency band. An efficiency of 45% is obtained from the system at 0 dBm input power level using the impedance matching circuit. This corresponds to the power of 450 μW and this value is sufficient for many low-power devices. The most important parameters affecting the efficiency of the RF energy harvester are the input power level, frequency band, impedance matching and voltage multiplier circuits, load resistance and the selection of diodes. RF energy harvester designs should be optimized in terms of these parameters.

Development progresses of radio frequency ion source for neutral beam injector in fusion devices.

PubMed

Chang, D H; Jeong, S H; Kim, T S; Park, M; Lee, K W; In, S R

2014-02-01

A large-area RF (radio frequency)-driven ion source is being developed in Germany for the heating and current drive of an ITER device. Negative hydrogen ion sources are the major components of neutral beam injection systems in future large-scale fusion experiments such as ITER and DEMO. RF ion sources for the production of positive hydrogen (deuterium) ions have been successfully developed for the neutral beam heating systems at IPP (Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics) in Germany. The first long-pulse ion source has been developed successfully with a magnetic bucket plasma generator including a filament heating structure for the first NBI system of the KSTAR tokamak. There is a development plan for an RF ion source at KAERI to extract the positive ions, which can be applied for the KSTAR NBI system and to extract the negative ions for future fusion devices such as the Fusion Neutron Source and Korea-DEMO. The characteristics of RF-driven plasmas and the uniformity of the plasma parameters in the test-RF ion source were investigated initially using an electrostatic probe.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rowe, Nathan C; Younkin, James R; Pickett, Chris A

Radio-Frequency (RF) devices have revolutionized many aspects of modern industrial processes. RF technology can enable wireless communication for tag identification, sensor communication, and asset tracking. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that utilizes wireless communication to interrogate and identify an electronic tag attached to an item in order to identify the item. The technology can come in many forms: passive or active tags, low to ultra-wideband frequencies, small paper-thin tags to brick-sized units, and simple tags or highly integrated sensor packages. RF technology, and specifically RFID, has been applied widely in commercial markets for inventory, supply chain management, and assetmore » tracking. Several recent studies have demonstrated the safeguards benefits of utilizing RFID versus conventional inventory tagging methods for tracking nuclear material. These studies have indicated that the RF requirements for safeguards functions are more stringent than the RF requirements for other inventory tracking and accounting applications. Additionally, other requirements must be addressed, including environmental and operating conditions, authentication, and tag location and attachment. Facility restrictions on radio spectrum, method of tag attachment, and sensitivity of the data collected impact the tag selection and system design. More important, the intended use of the system must be considered. The requirements for using RF to simply replace or supplement container identifiers such as bar codes that facilitate the inventory function will differ greatly from the requirements for deploying RF for unattended monitoring applications. Several studies have investigated these considerations to advance commercial RF devices for safeguards use, and a number of system concepts have been developed. This paper will provide an overview of past studies and current technologies, and will investigate the requirements, existing gaps, and several potential next steps for advancing RF techniques for safeguards use.« less

NLC Special Projects

Science.gov Websites

Measurement (with NLC RF group) LCLS and related technologies (LCLS work related to NLC work) Collimation Systems (with Beam Delivery group) Combined Laser System (with NLC sources group) Polarized Positron Sources (with NLC sources group) Crab Cavity Phase Control System Timing and RF distribution System (with

Phosphorylation and gene expression of p53 are not affected in human cells exposed to 2.1425 GHz band CW or W-CDMA modulated radiation allocated to mobile radio base stations.

PubMed

Hirose, H; Sakuma, N; Kaji, N; Suhara, T; Sekijima, M; Nojima, T; Miyakoshi, J

2006-09-01

A large-scale in vitro study focusing on low-level radiofrequency (RF) fields from mobile radio base stations employing the International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) cellular system was conducted to test the hypothesis that modulated RF fields induce apoptosis or other cellular stress response that activate p53 or the p53-signaling pathway. First, we evaluated the response of human cells to microwave exposure at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 80 mW/kg, which corresponds to the limit of the average whole-body SAR for general public exposure defined as a basic restriction by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. Second, we investigated whether continuous wave (CW) and wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) modulated signal RF fields at 2.1425 GHz induced apoptosis or any signs of stress. Human glioblastoma A172 cells were exposed to W-CDMA radiation at SARs of 80, 250, and 800 mW/kg, and CW radiation at 80 mW/kg for 24 or 48 h. Human IMR-90 fibroblasts from fetal lungs were exposed to both W-CDMA and CW radiation at a SAR of 80 mW/kg for 28 h. Under the RF field exposure conditions described above, no significant differences in the percentage of apoptotic cells were observed between the test groups exposed to RF signals and the sham-exposed negative controls, as evaluated by the Annexin V affinity assay. No significant differences in expression levels of phosphorylated p53 at serine 15 or total p53 were observed between the test groups and the negative controls by the bead-based multiplex assay. Moreover, microarray hybridization and real-time RT-PCR analysis showed no noticeable differences in gene expression of the subsequent downstream targets of p53 signaling involved in apoptosis between the test groups and the negative controls. Our results confirm that exposure to low-level RF signals up to 800 mW/kg does not induce p53-dependent apoptosis, DNA damage, or other stress response in human cells.

Relativistic Navigation: A Theoretical Foundation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turyshev, Slava G.

1996-01-01

We present a theoretical foundation for relativistic astronomical measurements in curved space-time. In particular, we discuss a new iterative approach for describing the dynamics of an isolated astronomical N-body system in metric theories of gravity. To do this, we generalize the Fock-Chandrasekhar method of the weak-field and slow-motion approximation (WFSMA) and develop a theory of relativistic reference frames (RF's) for a gravitationally bounded many-extended-body problem. In any proper RF constructed in the immediate vicinity of an arbitrary body, the N-body solutions of the gravitational field equations are formally presented as a sum of the Riemann-flat inertial space-time, the gravitational field generated by the body itself, the unperturbed solutions for each body in the system transformed to the coordinates of this proper RF, and the gravitational interaction term. We develop the basic concept of a general WFSMA theory of the celestial RF's applicable to a wide class of metric theories of gravity and an arbitrary model of matter distribution. We apply the proposed method to general relativity. Celestial bodies are described using a perfect fluid model; as such, they possess any number of internal mass and current multipole moments that explicitly characterize their internal structures. The obtained relativistic corrections to the geodetic equations of motion arise because of a coupling of the bodies' multiple moments to the surrounding gravitational field. The resulting relativistic transformations between the different RF's extend the Poincare group to the motion of deformable self-gravitating bodies. Within the present accuracy of astronomical measurements we discuss the properties of the Fermi-normal-like proper RF that is defined in the immediate vicinity of the extended compact bodies. We further generalize the proposed approximation method and include two Eddington parameters (gamma, Beta). This generalized approach was used to derive the relativistic equations of satellite motion in the vicinity of the extended bodies. Anticipating improvements in radio and laser tracking technologies over the next few decades, we apply this method to spacecraft orbit determination. We emphasize the number of feasible relativistic gravity tests that may be performed within the context of the parameterized WFSMA. Based on the planeto-centric equations of motion of a spacecraft around the planet, we suggested a new null test of the Strong Equivalence Principle (SEP). The experiment to measure the corresponding SEP violation effect could be performed with the future Mercury Orbiter mission. We discuss other relativistic effects, including the perihelion advance and the redshift and geodetic precession of the orbiter's orbital plane about Mercury, as well as the possible future implementation of the proposed formalism in software codes developed for solar-system orbit determination. All the important calculations are completely documented, and the references contain an extensive list of cited literature.

UWB dual burst transmit driver

DOEpatents

Dallum, Gregory E [Livermore, CA; Pratt, Garth C [Discovery Bay, CA; Haugen, Peter C [Livermore, CA; Zumstein, James M [Livermore, CA; Vigars, Mark L [Livermore, CA; Romero, Carlos E [Livermore, CA

2012-04-17

A dual burst transmitter for ultra-wideband (UWB) communication systems generates a pair of precisely spaced RF bursts from a single trigger event. An input trigger pulse produces two oscillator trigger pulses, an initial pulse and a delayed pulse, in a dual trigger generator. The two oscillator trigger pulses drive a gated RF burst (power output) oscillator. A bias driver circuit gates the RF output oscillator on and off and sets the RF burst packet width. The bias driver also level shifts the drive signal to the level that is required for the RF output device.

RF tumour ablation: computer simulation and mathematical modelling of the effects of electrical and thermal conductivity.

PubMed

Lobo, S M; Liu, Z-J; Yu, N C; Humphries, S; Ahmed, M; Cosman, E R; Lenkinski, R E; Goldberg, W; Goldberg, S N

2005-05-01

This study determined the effects of thermal conductivity on RF ablation tissue heating using mathematical modelling and computer simulations of RF heating coupled to thermal transport. Computer simulation of the Bio-Heat equation coupled with temperature-dependent solutions for RF electric fields (ETherm) was used to generate temperature profiles 2 cm away from a 3 cm internally-cooled electrode. Multiple conditions of clinically relevant electrical conductivities (0.07-12 S m-1) and 'tumour' radius (5-30 mm) at a given background electrical conductivity (0.12 S m-1) were studied. Temperature response surfaces were plotted for six thermal conductivities, ranging from 0.3-2 W m-1 degrees C (the range of anticipated clinical and experimental systems). A temperature response surface was obtained for each thermal conductivity at 25 electrical conductivities and 17 radii (n=425 temperature data points). The simulated temperature response was fit to a mathematical model derived from prior phantom data. This mathematical model is of the form (T=a+bRc exp(dR) s(f) exp(g)(s)) for RF generator-energy dependent situations and (T=h+k exp(mR)+n?exp(p)(s)) for RF generator-current limited situations, where T is the temperature (degrees C) 2 cm from the electrode and a, b, c, d, f, g, h, k, m, n and p are fitting parameters. For each of the thermal conductivity temperature profiles generated, the mathematical model fit the response surface to an r2 of 0.97-0.99. Parameters a, b, c, d, f, k and m were highly correlated to thermal conductivity (r2=0.96-0.99). The monotonic progression of fitting parameters permitted their mathematical expression using simple functions. Additionally, the effect of thermal conductivity simplified the above equation to the extent that g, h, n and p were found to be invariant. Thus, representation of the temperature response surface could be accurately expressed as a function of electrical conductivity, radius and thermal conductivity. As a result, the non-linear temperature response of RF induced heating can be adequately expressed mathematically as a function of electrical conductivity, radius and thermal conductivity. Hence, thermal conductivity accounts for some of the previously unexplained variance. Furthermore, the addition of this variable into the mathematical model substantially simplifies the equations and, as such, it is expected that this will permit improved prediction of RF ablation induced temperatures in clinical practice.

Langmuir probes for SPIDER (source for the production of ions of deuterium extracted from radio frequency plasma) experiment: Tests in BATMAN (Bavarian test machine for negative ions)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brombin, M.; Spolaore, M.; Serianni, G.; Pomaro, N.; Taliercio, C.; Palma, M. Dalla; Pasqualotto, R.; Schiesko, L.

2014-11-01

A prototype system of the Langmuir probes for SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) was manufactured and experimentally qualified. The diagnostic was operated in RF (Radio Frequency) plasmas with cesium evaporation on the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) test facility, which can provide plasma conditions as expected in the SPIDER source. A RF passive compensation circuit was realised to operate the Langmuir probes in RF plasmas. The sensors' holder, designed to better simulate the bias plate conditions in SPIDER, was exposed to a severe experimental campaign in BATMAN with cesium evaporation. No detrimental effect on the diagnostic due to cesium evaporation was found during the exposure to the BATMAN plasma and in particular the insulation of the electrodes was preserved. The paper presents the system prototype, the RF compensation circuit, the acquisition system (as foreseen in SPIDER), and the results obtained during the experimental campaigns.

Langmuir probes for SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Radio Frequency plasma) experiment: tests in BATMAN (BAvarian Test Machine for Negative ions).

PubMed

Brombin, M; Spolaore, M; Serianni, G; Pomaro, N; Taliercio, C; Dalla Palma, M; Pasqualotto, R; Schiesko, L

2014-11-01

A prototype system of the Langmuir probes for SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) was manufactured and experimentally qualified. The diagnostic was operated in RF (Radio Frequency) plasmas with cesium evaporation on the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) test facility, which can provide plasma conditions as expected in the SPIDER source. A RF passive compensation circuit was realised to operate the Langmuir probes in RF plasmas. The sensors' holder, designed to better simulate the bias plate conditions in SPIDER, was exposed to a severe experimental campaign in BATMAN with cesium evaporation. No detrimental effect on the diagnostic due to cesium evaporation was found during the exposure to the BATMAN plasma and in particular the insulation of the electrodes was preserved. The paper presents the system prototype, the RF compensation circuit, the acquisition system (as foreseen in SPIDER), and the results obtained during the experimental campaigns.

RF Guns for Generation of Polarized Electron Beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clendenin, J.E.; Brachmann, A.; Dowell, D.H.

2005-11-09

Several accelerators, including the SLC, JLAB, Mainz, Bates/MIT, and Bonn have successfully operated for medium and high energy physics experiments using polarized electron beams generated by dc-biased guns employing GaAs photocathodes. Since these guns have all used a bias on the order of 100 kV, the longitudinal emittance of the extracted bunch is rather poor. Downstream rf bunching systems increase the transverse emittance. An rf gun with a GaAs photocathode would eliminate the need for separate rf bunchers, resulting in a simpler injection system. In addition, the thermal emittance of GaAs-type cathodes is significantly lower than for other photocathode materials.more » The environmental requirements for operating activated GaAs photocathodes cannot be met by rf guns as currently designed and operated. These requirements, including limits on vacuum and electron back bombardment, are discussed in some detail. Modifications to actual and proposed rf gun designs that would allow these requirements to be met are presented.« less

Ultra High-Speed Radio Frequency Switch Based on Photonics.

PubMed

Ge, Jia; Fok, Mable P

2015-11-26

Microwave switches, or Radio Frequency (RF) switches have been intensively used in microwave systems for signal routing. Compared with the fast development of microwave and wireless systems, RF switches have been underdeveloped particularly in terms of switching speed and operating bandwidth. In this paper, we propose a photonics based RF switch that is capable of switching at tens of picoseconds speed, which is hundreds of times faster than any existing RF switch technologies. The high-speed switching property is achieved with the use of a rapidly tunable microwave photonic filter with tens of gigahertz frequency tuning speed, where the tuning mechanism is based on the ultra-fast electro-optics Pockels effect. The RF switch has a wide operation bandwidth of 12 GHz and can go up to 40 GHz, depending on the bandwidth of the modulator used in the scheme. The proposed RF switch can either work as an ON/OFF switch or a two-channel switch, tens of picoseconds switching speed is experimentally observed for both type of switches.

Microfluidic stretchable RF electronics.

PubMed

Cheng, Shi; Wu, Zhigang

2010-12-07

Stretchable electronics is a revolutionary technology that will potentially create a world of radically different electronic devices and systems that open up an entirely new spectrum of possibilities. This article proposes a microfluidic based solution for stretchable radio frequency (RF) electronics, using hybrid integration of active circuits assembled on flex foils and liquid alloy passive structures embedded in elastic substrates, e.g. polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This concept was employed to implement a 900 MHz stretchable RF radiation sensor, consisting of a large area elastic antenna and a cluster of conventional rigid components for RF power detection. The integrated radiation sensor except the power supply was fully embedded in a thin elastomeric substrate. Good electrical performance of the standalone stretchable antenna as well as the RF power detection sub-module was verified by experiments. The sensor successfully detected the RF radiation over 5 m distance in the system demonstration. Experiments on two-dimensional (2D) stretching up to 15%, folding and twisting of the demonstrated sensor were also carried out. Despite the integrated device was severely deformed, no failure in RF radiation sensing was observed in the tests. This technique illuminates a promising route of realizing stretchable and foldable large area integrated RF electronics that are of great interest to a variety of applications like wearable computing, health monitoring, medical diagnostics, and curvilinear electronics.

500-Watt Solid-State RF Power Amplifier AM-7209( )/VRC.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-18

AD-A127 462 580-WRATT SOLID-STATE RF POWER AMPLIFIER AM-7289( )/VRC 1/2 (U) E- SYSTEMS INC ST PETERSBURG FL ECI DIV N HARRIS 18 MAR 83 60-6±289 CECOM...AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNICAL REPORT CECOM-82-C-J23 1 500-WATT SOLID-STATE RF POWER AMPLIFIER AM-7209( )/VRC M. Harris E- SYSTEMS , INC., ECI DIVISION 1502...CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMSER(t) M. Harris DAABO7-82-C-J231 9m PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS II. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT TASK E- SYSTEMS , INC

Scaling of Multimillion-Atom Biological Molecular Dynamics Simulation on a Petascale Supercomputer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schulz, Roland; Lindner, Benjamin; Petridis, Loukas

2009-01-01

A strategy is described for a fast all-atom molecular dynamics simulation of multimillion-atom biological systems on massively parallel supercomputers. The strategy is developed using benchmark systems of particular interest to bioenergy research, comprising models of cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass in an aqueous solution. The approach involves using the reaction field (RF) method for the computation of long-range electrostatic interactions, which permits efficient scaling on many thousands of cores. Although the range of applicability of the RF method for biomolecular systems remains to be demonstrated, for the benchmark systems the use of the RF produces molecular dipole moments, Kirkwood G factors,more » other structural properties, and mean-square fluctuations in excellent agreement with those obtained with the commonly used Particle Mesh Ewald method. With RF, three million- and five million atom biological systems scale well up to 30k cores, producing 30 ns/day. Atomistic simulations of very large systems for time scales approaching the microsecond would, therefore, appear now to be within reach.« less

Scaling of Multimillion-Atom Biological Molecular Dynamics Simulation on a Petascale Supercomputer.

PubMed

Schulz, Roland; Lindner, Benjamin; Petridis, Loukas; Smith, Jeremy C

2009-10-13

A strategy is described for a fast all-atom molecular dynamics simulation of multimillion-atom biological systems on massively parallel supercomputers. The strategy is developed using benchmark systems of particular interest to bioenergy research, comprising models of cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass in an aqueous solution. The approach involves using the reaction field (RF) method for the computation of long-range electrostatic interactions, which permits efficient scaling on many thousands of cores. Although the range of applicability of the RF method for biomolecular systems remains to be demonstrated, for the benchmark systems the use of the RF produces molecular dipole moments, Kirkwood G factors, other structural properties, and mean-square fluctuations in excellent agreement with those obtained with the commonly used Particle Mesh Ewald method. With RF, three million- and five million-atom biological systems scale well up to ∼30k cores, producing ∼30 ns/day. Atomistic simulations of very large systems for time scales approaching the microsecond would, therefore, appear now to be within reach.

Toward high fidelity spectral sensing and RF signal processing in silicon photonic and nano-opto-mechanical platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddiqui, Aleem; Reinke, Charles; Shin, Heedeuk; Jarecki, Robert L.; Starbuck, Andrew L.; Rakich, Peter

2017-05-01

The performance of electronic systems for radio-frequency (RF) spectrum analysis is critical for agile radar and communications systems, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) operations in challenging electromagnetic (EM) environments, and EM-environment situational awareness. While considerable progress has been made in size, weight, and power (SWaP) and performance metrics in conventional RF technology platforms, fundamental limits make continued improvements increasingly difficult. Alternatively, we propose employing cascaded transduction processes in a chip-scale nano-optomechanical system (NOMS) to achieve a spectral sensor with exceptional signal-linearity, high dynamic range, narrow spectral resolution and ultra-fast sweep times. By leveraging the optimal capabilities of photons and phonons, the system we pursue in this work has performance metrics scalable well beyond the fundamental limitations inherent to all electronic systems. In our device architecture, information processing is performed on wide-bandwidth RF-modulated optical signals by photon-mediated phononic transduction of the modulation to the acoustical-domain for narrow-band filtering, and then back to the optical-domain by phonon-mediated phase modulation (the reverse process). Here, we rely on photonics to efficiently distribute signals for parallel processing, and on phononics for effective and flexible RF-frequency manipulation. This technology is used to create RF-filters that are insensitive to the optical wavelength, with wide center frequency bandwidth selectivity (1-100GHz), ultra-narrow filter bandwidth (1-100MHz), and high dynamic range (70dB), which we will present. Additionally, using this filter as a building block, we will discuss current results and progress toward demonstrating a multichannel-filter with a bandwidth of < 10MHz per channel, while minimizing cumulative optical/acoustic/optical transduced insertion-loss to ideally < 10dB. These proposed metric represent significant improvements over RF-platforms.

Relative bioavailability and comparative clinical efficacy of different ivermectin oral formulations in lambs

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Several oral ivermectin (IVM) formulations for use in sheep are available in the pharmaceutical veterinary market in different countries. All of them are indicated at the same dose rate to treat the gastrointestinal nematodes. However, there is a lack of information on the relative systemic exposure (plasma bioavailability) and clinical efficacy among oral formulations routinely used in sheep. The main goal of the work reported here was to perform a pharmaco-parasitological assessment of three different IVM oral formulations in lambs infected with multiple resistant gastrointestinal nematodes. The comparative drug systemic exposure (IVM plasma concentrations) and nematodicidal efficacies (clinical efficacy) in lambs were determined for a reference (RF) and two different test (T1, T2) IVM oral formulations. One hundred and fifty six (n= 156) healthy Corriedale lambs, naturally infected with multiple resistant gastrointestinal nematodes were allocated into four experimental groups (n=39). Animals in each group received treatment (200 μg/kg) with either the RF, one of the test IVM formulations or were kept as untreated control. Blood samples were collected over 15 days post-treatment (n=8). The IVM plasma concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The faecal nematode egg count reduction test (FECRT) (n=39) and evaluation of the clinical efficacy were performed at day 14 post-treatment (n=6), where a predominance of IVM highly resistant nematodes was observed. Results and conclusions Neither the overall kinetic behaviour nor the IVM systemic exposure differed among all the tested oral formulations. Equivalent efficacy results were obtained for the different preparations, with an evident therapeutic failure to control Haemonchus spp. and Teladorsagia circumcincta, which correlates with a high degree of nematode resistance to IVM. PMID:23398629

PPM-based System for Guided Waves Communication Through Corrosion Resistant Multi-wire Cables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trane, G.; Mijarez, R.; Guevara, R.; Pascacio, D.

Novel wireless communication channels are a necessity in applications surrounded by harsh environments, for instance down-hole oil reservoirs. Traditional radio frequency (RF) communication schemes are not capable of transmitting signals through metal enclosures surrounded by corrosive gases and liquids. As an alternative to RF, a pulse position modulation (PPM) guided waves communication system has been developed and evaluated using a corrosion resistant 4H18 multi-wire cable, commonly used to descend electronic gauges in down-hole oil applications, as the communication medium. The system consists of a transmitter and a receiver that utilizes a PZT crystal, for electrical/mechanical coupling, attached to each extreme of the multi-wire cable. The modulator is based on a microcontroller, which transmits60 kHz guided wave pulses, and the demodulator is based on a commercial digital signal processor (DSP) module that performs real time DSP algorithms. Experimental results are presented, which were obtained using a 1m corrosion resistant 4H18multi-wire cable, commonly used with downhole electronic gauges in the oil sector. Although there was significant dispersion and multiple mode excitations of the transmitted guided wave energy pulses, the results show that data rates on the order of 500 bits per second are readily available employing PPM and simple communications techniques.

System-Level Integrated Circuit (SLIC) Technology Development for Phased Array Antenna Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Windyka, John A.; Zablocki, Ed G.

1997-01-01

This report documents the efforts and progress in developing a 'system-level' integrated circuit, or SLIC, for application in advanced phased array antenna systems. The SLIC combines radio-frequency (RF) microelectronics, digital and analog support circuitry, and photonic interfaces into a single micro-hybrid assembly. Together, these technologies provide not only the amplitude and phase control necessary for electronic beam steering in the phased array, but also add thermally-compensated automatic gain control, health and status feedback, bias regulation, and reduced interconnect complexity. All circuitry is integrated into a compact, multilayer structure configured for use as a two-by-four element phased array module, operating at 20 Gigahertz, using a Microwave High-Density Interconnect (MHDI) process. The resultant hardware is constructed without conventional wirebonds, maintains tight inter-element spacing, and leads toward low-cost mass production. The measured performances and development issues associated with both the two-by-four element module and the constituent elements are presented. Additionally, a section of the report describes alternative architectures and applications supported by the SLIC electronics. Test results show excellent yield and performance of RF circuitry and full automatic gain control for multiple, independent channels. Digital control function, while suffering from lower manufacturing yield, also proved successful.

Mobile phone base station-emitted radiation does not induce phosphorylation of Hsp27.

PubMed

Hirose, H; Sakuma, N; Kaji, N; Nakayama, K; Inoue, K; Sekijima, M; Nojima, T; Miyakoshi, J

2007-02-01

An in vitro study focusing on the effects of low-level radiofrequency (RF) fields from mobile radio base stations employing the International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) cellular system was conducted to test the hypothesis that modulated RF fields act to induce phosphorylation and overexpression of heat shock protein hsp27. First, we evaluated the responses of human cells to microwave exposure at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 80 mW/kg, which corresponds to the limit of the average whole-body SAR for general public exposure defined as a basic restriction in the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. Second, we investigated whether continuous wave (CW) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) modulated signal RF fields at 2.1425 GHz induced activation or gene expression of hsp27 and other heat shock proteins (hsps). Human glioblastoma A172 cells were exposed to W-CDMA radiation at SARs of 80 and 800 mW/kg for 2-48 h, and CW radiation at 80 mW/kg for 24 h. Human IMR-90 fibroblasts from fetal lungs were exposed to W-CDMA at 80 and 800 mW/kg for 2 or 28 h, and CW at 80 mW/kg for 28 h. Under the RF field exposure conditions described above, no significant differences in the expression levels of phosphorylated hsp27 at serine 82 (hsp27[pS82]) were observed between the test groups exposed to W-CDMA or CW signal and the sham-exposed negative controls, as evaluated immediately after the exposure periods by bead-based multiplex assays. Moreover, no noticeable differences in the gene expression of hsps were observed between the test groups and the negative controls by DNA Chip analysis. Our results confirm that exposure to low-level RF field up to 800 mW/kg does not induce phosphorylation of hsp27 or expression of hsp gene family.

Non-GPS Geolocation for Space and Terrestrial Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, Daryl C.

2004-01-01

Some near and far term space missions involve formation flying, which requires that the positions of multiple spacecraft be accurately known relative to a hub spacecraft. Many such missions will be located far outside the radius of the GPS constellation. So in such missions it will not be possible to derive position knowledge through the capabilities afforded by the GPS service. Consequently, in such missions, it is necessary to determine relative positions by other means. Depending on how well a position must be known, thus far it has appeared necessary to use means other than RF ranging, due to technical limitations. Once spacecraft have been crudely positioned using RF ranging, other tools such as star trackers, ccd cameras, and laser ranging are to be used for precise and accurate ranging. NASA Glenn is investigating an innovation in RF ranging that could be very useful for extending the capabilities of RF ranging in many circumstances. Currently, this innovation is a technical secret, but this paper will discuss the possibility of using RF triangulation for the purposes stated in its title, without disclosing any proprietary information. This paper includes a simulation that successfully illustrates how this technology could be used to perform vehicle tracking.

Analysis of RF emissions from laser induced breakdown of atmospheric air and metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paturi, Prem Kiran; Lakshmi, Vinoth Kumar; Elle, Manikanta; Chelikani, Leela

2013-10-01

The low frequency (RF, microwave) emissions from laser produced plasma (LPP) are of great interest because of their variety of applications. The RF waves emitted by the nanosecond LPP of atmospheric air and metal (Al, Cu) targets were detected using antennas over frequency ranges (30 MHz-18 GHz) and were monitored using a spectrum analyzer (3 Hz-50 GHz). With different target materials, the dominant emission lines were observed to fall in different specific frequency ranges within the detection limit. The emissions from Cu were in the higher frequency range (100-200 MHz) than that of Al (30-100 MHz) may be due to the higher electron density of Cu, which contributes to the LPP conductivity. From the LPP of atmospheric air, the RF output was found to be increasing with the input laser energy up to certain value, beyond which almost no emission was observed. This effect is attributed to the modification in the net induced dipole moment due to the multiple plasma sources in the LPP at higher input laser energies. The detected radiation was observed to be dependent on laser and antenna polarization. Further studies may lead to an efficient technique for material identification from the RF characteristic peaks.

Development of an accurate fluid management system for a pediatric continuous renal replacement therapy device

PubMed Central

SANTHANAKRISHNAN, ARVIND; NESTLE, TRENT T.; MOORE, BRIAN L.; YOGANATHAN, AJIT P.; PADEN, MATTHEW L.

2013-01-01

Acute kidney injury is common in critically ill children and renal replacement therapies provide a life saving therapy to a subset of these children. However, there is no Food and Drug Administration approved device to provide pediatric continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). Consequently, clinicians adapt approved adult CRRT devices for use in children due to lack of safer alternatives. Complications occur using adult CRRT devices in children due to inaccurate fluid balance (FB) between the volumes of ultrafiltrate (UF) removed and replacement fluid (RF) delivered. We demonstrate the design and validation of a pediatric fluid management system for obtaining accurate instantaneous and cumulative FB. Fluid transport was achieved via multiple novel pulsatile diaphragm pumps. The conservation of volume principle leveraging the physical property of fluid incompressibility along with mechanical coupling via a crankshaft was used for FB. Accuracy testing was conducted in vitro for 8-hour long continuous operation of the coupled UF and RF pumps. The mean cumulative FB error was <1% across filtration flows from 300 mL/hour to 3000 mL/hour. This approach of FB control in a pediatric specific CRRT device would represent a significant accuracy improvement over currently used clinical implementations. PMID:23644618

A Freehand Ultrasound Elastography System with Tracking for In-vivo Applications

PubMed Central

Foroughi, Pezhman; Kang, Hyun-Jae; Carnegie, Daniel A.; van Vledder, Mark G.; Choti, Michael A.; Hager, Gregory D.; Boctor, Emad M.

2012-01-01

Ultrasound transducers are commonly tracked in modern ultrasound navigation/guidance systems. In this paper, we demonstrate the advantages of incorporating tracking information into ultrasound elastography for clinical applications. First, we address a common limitation of freehand palpation: speckle decorrelation due to out-of-plane probe motion. We show that by automatically selecting pairs of radio frequency (RF) frames with minimal lateral and out-of-plane motions combined with a fast and robust displacement estimation technique greatly improves in-vivo elastography results. We also use tracking information and image quality measure to fuse multiple images with similar strain that are taken roughly from the same location to obtain a high quality elastography image. Finally, we show that tracking information can be used to give the user partial control over the rate of compression. Our methods are tested on tissue mimicking phantom and experiments have been conducted on intra-operative data acquired during animal and human experiments involving liver ablation. Our results suggest that in challenging clinical conditions, our proposed method produces reliable strain images and eliminates the need for a manual search through the ultrasound data in order to find RF pairs suitable for elastography. PMID:23257351

A software controllable modular RF signal generator with multichannel transmission capabilities.

PubMed

Shaw, Z; Feilner, W; Esser, B; Dickens, J C; Neuber, A A

2017-09-01

A software controllable system which generates and transmits user defined RF signals is discussed. The system is implemented with multiple, modular transmitting channels that allow the user to easily replace parts such as amplifiers or antennas. Each channel is comprised of a data pattern generator (DPG), a digital to analog converter (DAC), a power amplifier, and a transmitting antenna. All channels are controlled through a host PC and synchronized through a master clock signal provided to each DAC by an external clock source. Signals to be transmitted are generated through the DPG control software on the PC or can be created by the user in a numerical computing environment. Three experiments are discussed using a two- and four-channel antenna array incorporating Chebyshev tapered TEM horn antennas. Transmitting distinct sets of nonperiodic bipolar impulses through each of the antennas in the array enabled synthesizing a sinusoidal signal of specific frequency in free space. Opposite to the standard phased array approach, each antenna radiates a distinctly different signal rather than the same signal simply phase shifted. The presented approach may be employed as a physical layer of encryption dependent on the position of the receiving antenna.

Exploring channeling optimized radiofrequency energy: a review of radiofrequency history and applications in esthetic fields.

PubMed

Belenky, Inna; Margulis, Ariel; Elman, Monica; Bar-Yosef, Udi; Paun, Silviu D

2012-03-01

Because of its high efficiency and safety, radiofrequency (RF) energy is widely used in the dermatological field for heating biological tissue in various esthetic applications, including skin tightening, skin lifting, body contouring, and cellulite reduction. This paper reviews the literature on the use of nonablative RF energy in the esthetic field and its scientific background. The purpose of this article is to describe in detail the extensive use of medical devices based on RF technology, the development of these medical devices over the years, and recent developments and trends in RF technology. The authors conducted a systematic search of publications that address safety and efficacy issues, technical system specifications, and clinical techniques. Finally, the authors focused on their own clinical experiences with the use of patented Channeling Optimized RF Energy technique and mechanical massage. An in-vivo study was conducted in domestic pigs, with a thermal video camera. Twenty-seven female patients participated in a cellulite and body shaping study. The treatments were conducted according to a three-phase protocol. An additional 16 females participated in a skin tightening case study. All of the patients underwent three treatment sessions at 3-week intervals, each according to a protocol specific to the area being treated. The review of the literature on RF-based systems revealed that these systems are safe, with low risks for potential side effects, and effective for cellulite, body contouring, and skin tightening procedures. The in-vivo measurements confirmed the theory that the penetration depth of RF is an inverse function of its frequency, and using a vacuum mechanism makes an additional contribution to the RF energy penetration. The heating effect of RF was also found to increase blood circulation and to induce collagen remodeling. The results from the cellulite and body shaping treatments showed an overall average improvement of 55% in the appearance of cellulite, with an average circumferential reduction of 3.31 cm in the buttocks, 2.94 cm in the thighs, and 2.14 cm in the abdomen. The results from the skin tightening procedure showed moderate improvement of skin appearance in 50% and significant improvement in 31%. At the follow-up visits the results were found to be sustained without any significant side effects. Of all tissue heating techniques, RF-based technologies appear to be the most established and clinically proven. The design and specifications of the described vacuumassisted bipolar RF device fall within the range of the specifications currently prescribed for esthetic, nonablative RF systems.

Thermal and dynamic range characterization of a photonics-based RF amplifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noque, D. F.; Borges, R. M.; Muniz, A. L. M.; Bogoni, A.; Cerqueira S., Arismar, Jr.

2018-05-01

This work reports a thermal and dynamic range characterization of an ultra-wideband photonics-based RF amplifier for microwave and mm-waves future 5G optical-wireless networks. The proposed technology applies the four-wave mixing nonlinear effect to provide RF amplification in analog and digital radio-over-fiber systems. The experimental analysis from 300 kHz to 50 GHz takes into account different figures of merit, such as RF gain, spurious-free dynamic range and RF output power stability as a function of temperature. The thermal characterization from -10 to +70 °C demonstrates a 27 dB flat photonics-assisted RF gain over the entire frequency range under real operational conditions of a base station for illustrating the feasibility of the photonics-assisted RF amplifier for 5G networks.

A validation study of the 2003 American College of Cardiology/European Society of Cardiology and 2011 American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association risk stratification and treatment algorithms for sudden cardiac death in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

PubMed

O'Mahony, Constantinos; Tome-Esteban, Maite; Lambiase, Pier D; Pantazis, Antonios; Dickie, Shaughan; McKenna, William J; Elliott, Perry M

2013-04-01

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a common mode of death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), but identification of patients who are at a high risk of SCD is challenging as current risk stratification guidelines have never been formally validated. The objective of this study was to assess the power of the 2003 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and 2011 ACC Foundation (ACCF)/American Heart Association (AHA) SCD risk stratification algorithms to distinguish high risk patients who might be eligible for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) from low risk individuals. We studied 1606 consecutively evaluated HCM patients in an observational, retrospective cohort study. Five risk factors (RF) for SCD were assessed: non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, severe left ventricular hypertrophy, family history of SCD, unexplained syncope and abnormal blood pressure response to exercise. During a follow-up period of 11 712 patient years (median 6.6 years), SCD/appropriate ICD shock occurred in 20 (3%) of 660 patients without RF (annual rate 0.45%), 31 (4.8%) of 636 patients with 1 RF (annual rate 0.65%), 27 (10.8%) of 249 patients with 2 RF (annual rate 1.3%), 7 (13.7%) of 51 patients with 3 RF (annual rate 1.9%) and 4 (40%) of 10 patients with ≥4 RF (annual rate 5.0%). The risk of SCD increased with multiple RF (2 RF: HR 2.87, p≤0.001; 3 RF: HR 4.32, p=0.001; ≥4 RF: HR 11.37, p<0.0001), but not with a single RF (HR 1.43 p=0.21). The area under time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves (representing the probability of correctly identifying a patient at risk of SCD on the basis of RF profile) was 0.63 at 1 year and 0.64 at 5 years for the 2003 ACC/ESC algorithm and 0.61 at 1 year and 0.63 at 5 years for the 2011 ACCF/AHA algorithm. The risk of SCD increases with the aggregation of RF. The 2003 ACC/ESC and 2011 ACCF/AHA guidelines distinguish high from low risk individuals with limited power.

Power amplifier linearization technique with IQ imbalance and crosstalk compensation for broadband MIMO-OFDM transmitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregorio, Fernando; Cousseau, Juan; Werner, Stefan; Riihonen, Taneli; Wichman, Risto

2011-12-01

The design of predistortion techniques for broadband multiple input multiple output-OFDM (MIMO-OFDM) systems raises several implementation challenges. First, the large bandwidth of the OFDM signal requires the introduction of memory effects in the PD model. In addition, it is usual to consider an imbalanced in-phase and quadrature (IQ) modulator to translate the predistorted baseband signal to RF. Furthermore, the coupling effects, which occur when the MIMO paths are implemented in the same reduced size chipset, cannot be avoided in MIMO transceivers structures. This study proposes a MIMO-PD system that linearizes the power amplifier response and compensates nonlinear crosstalk and IQ imbalance effects for each branch of the multiantenna system. Efficient recursive algorithms are presented to estimate the complete MIMO-PD coefficients. The algorithms avoid the high computational complexity in previous solutions based on least squares estimation. The performance of the proposed MIMO-PD structure is validated by simulations using a two-transmitter antenna MIMO system. Error vector magnitude and adjacent channel power ratio are evaluated showing significant improvement compared with conventional MIMO-PD systems.

SITE project. Phase 1: Continuous data bit-error-rate testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fujikawa, Gene; Kerczewski, Robert J.

1992-01-01

The Systems Integration, Test, and Evaluation (SITE) Project at NASA LeRC encompasses a number of research and technology areas of satellite communications systems. Phase 1 of this project established a complete satellite link simulator system. The evaluation of proof-of-concept microwave devices, radiofrequency (RF) and bit-error-rate (BER) testing of hardware, testing of remote airlinks, and other tests were performed as part of this first testing phase. This final report covers the test results produced in phase 1 of the SITE Project. The data presented include 20-GHz high-power-amplifier testing, 30-GHz low-noise-receiver testing, amplitude equalization, transponder baseline testing, switch matrix tests, and continuous-wave and modulated interference tests. The report also presents the methods used to measure the RF and BER performance of the complete system. Correlations of the RF and BER data are summarized to note the effects of the RF responses on the BER.

Two non-allelic nuclear genes restore fertility in a gametophytic pattern and enhance abiotic stress tolerance in the hybrid rice plant.

PubMed

Huang, Wenchao; Hu, Jun; Yu, Changchun; Huang, Qi; Wan, Lei; Wang, Lili; Qin, Xiaojian; Ji, Yanxiao; Zhu, Renshan; Li, Shaoqing; Zhu, Yingguo

2012-03-01

In indica rice, the HongLian (HL)-type combination of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and fertility restoration (Rf) is widely used for the production of commercial hybrid seeds in China, Laos, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Generally, any member of the gametophytic fertility restoration system, 50% of the pollen in hybrid F(1) plants displays recovered sterility. In this study, however, a HL-type hybrid variety named HongLian You6 had approximately 75% normal (viable) pollen rather than the expected 50%. To resolve this discrepancy, several fertility segregation populations, including F(2) and BC(1)F(1) derived from the HL-CMS line Yuetai A crossed with the restorer line 9311, were constructed and subjected to genetic analysis. A gametophytic restoration model was discovered to involve two non-allelic nuclear restorer genes, Rf5 and Rf6. The Rf5 had been previously identified using a positional clone strategy. The Rf6 gene represents a new restorer gene locus, which was mapped to the short arm of chromosome 8. The hybrid F(1) plants containing one restorer gene, either Rf5 or Rf6, displayed 50% normal pollen grains with I(2)-KI solution; however, those with both Rf5 and Rf6 displayed 75% normal pollens. We also established that the hybrid F(1) plants including both non-allelic restorer genes exhibited an increased stable seed setting when subjected to stress versus the F(1) plants with only one restorer gene. Finally, we discuss the breeding scheme for the plant gametophytic CMS/Rf system.

Planting Patterns and Deficit Irrigation Strategies to Improve Wheat Production and Water Use Efficiency under Simulated Rainfall Conditions

PubMed Central

Ali, Shahzad; Xu, Yueyue; Ma, Xiangcheng; Ahmad, Irshad; Kamran, Muhammad; Dong, Zhaoyun; Cai, Tie; Jia, Qianmin; Ren, Xiaolong; Zhang, Peng; Jia, Zhikuan

2017-01-01

The ridge furrow (RF) rainwater harvesting system is an efficient way to enhance rainwater accessibility for crops and increase winter wheat productivity in semi-arid regions. However, the RF system has not been promoted widely in the semi-arid regions, which primarily exist in remote hilly areas. To exploit its efficiency on a large-scale, the RF system needs to be tested at different amounts of simulated precipitation combined with deficit irrigation. Therefore, in during the 2015–16 and 2016–17 winter wheat growing seasons, we examined the effects of two planting patterns: (1) the RF system and (2) traditional flat planting (TF) with three deficit irrigation levels (150, 75, 0 mm) under three simulated rainfall intensity (1: 275, 2: 200, 3: 125 mm), and determined soil water storage profile, evapotranspiration rate, grain filling rate, biomass, grain yield, and net economic return. Over the two study years, the RF treatment with 200 mm simulated rainfall and 150 mm deficit irrigation (RF2150) significantly (P < 0.05) increased soil water storage in the depth of (200 cm); reduced ET at the field scale by 33%; increased total dry matter accumulation per plant; increased the grain-filling rate; and improved biomass (11%) and grain (19%) yields. The RF2150 treatment thus achieved a higher WUE (76%) and RIWP (21%) compared to TF. Grain-filling rates, grain weight of superior and inferior grains, and net economic profit of winter wheat responded positively to simulated rainfall and deficit irrigation under both planting patterns. The 200 mm simulated rainfall amount was more economical than other precipitation amounts, and led to slight increases in soil water storage, total dry matter per plant, and grain yield; there were no significant differences when the simulated rainfall was increased beyond 200 mm. The highest (12,593 Yuan ha−1) net income profit was attained using the RF system at 200 mm rainfall and 150 mm deficit irrigation, which also led to significantly higher grain yield, WUE, and RIWP than all other treatments. Thus, we recommend the RF2150 treatment for higher productivity, income profit, and improve WUE in the dry-land farming system of China. PMID:28878787

Exposure time-dependent thermal effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on the whole body of rats.

PubMed

Ohtani, Shin; Ushiyama, Akira; Maeda, Machiko; Hattori, Kenji; Kunugita, Naoki; Wang, Jianqing; Ishii, Kazuyuki

2016-01-01

We investigated the thermal effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) on the variation in core temperature and gene expression of some stress markers in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 2.14 GHz wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) RF signals at a whole-body averaged specific absorption rate (WBA-SAR) of 4 W/kg, which causes behavioral disruption in laboratory animals, and 0.4 W/kg, which is the limit for the occupational exposure set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guideline. It is important to understand the possible in vivo effects derived from RF-EMF exposures at these intensities. Because of inadequate data on real-time core temperature analyses using free-moving animal and the association between stress and thermal effects of RF-EMF exposure, we analyzed the core body temperature under nonanesthetic condition during RF-EMF exposure. The results revealed that the core temperature increased by approximately 1.5°C compared with the baseline and reached a plateau till the end of RF-EMF exposure. Furthermore, we analyzed the gene expression of heat-shock proteins (Hsp) and heat-shock transcription factors (Hsf) family after RF-EMF exposure. At WBA-SAR of 4 W/kg, some Hsp and Hsf gene expression levels were significantly upregulated in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum following exposure for 6 hr/day but were not upregulated after exposure for 3 hr/day. On the other hand, there was no significant change in the core temperature and gene expression at WBA-SAR of 0.4 W/kg. Thus, 2.14-GHz RF-EMF exposure at WBA-SAR of 4 W/kg induced increases in the core temperature and upregulation of some stress markers, particularly in the cerebellum.

Ping-pong modes and higher-periodicity multipactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kishek, R. A.

Multipactor is a vacuum discharge driven by secondary electron emission. Multiple period multipactors have long been known to exist but have been studied less extensively. In a period-n multipactor, electrons undergo multiple impacts in one rf period, with the synchronous phase alternating periodically between multiple values. A novel resonant form is proposed that combines one- and two-surface impacts within a single period, provided the total transit time is an odd number of rf half-periods and the product of secondary yields exceeds unity. For low fD products, the simplest such mode is shown to significantly increase the upper electric field boundarymore » of the multipacting region and lead to overlap of higher-order bands. The results agree nicely with 3-D particle-in-cell code simulations. An alternative, map-based method is introduced for analyzing higher-periodicity multipactor. Practical implications of the findings are discussed, including consequences for multipactor suppression strategies using a dc magnetic field.« less

Three-dimension finite-element analyses of multiple electrodes bipolar RF global endometrial ablation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Tao; Panhao, Tang; Xiao, Jiahua

2015-03-01

Radio-frequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure to thermally ablate the targeted diseased tissue. There have been many finite-element method (FEM) studies of cardiac and hepatic RFA, but hardly find any FEM study on endometrial ablation for abnormal uterine bleeding. In this paper, a FEM model was generated to analyze the temperature distribution of bipolar RF global endometrial ablation with three pairs of bipolar electrodes placed at the perimeter of the uterine cavity. COMSOL was utilized to calculate the RF electric fields and temperature fields by numerically solving the bioheat equation in the triangle uterine cavity range. The 55°C isothermal surfaces show the shape of the ablation dimensions (depth and width), which reasonably matched the experimental results.

A low-loss, single-pole, four-throw RF MEMS switch driven by a double stop comb drive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, S.; Kim, H. C.; Chun, K.

2009-03-01

Our goal was to develop a single-pole four-throw (SP4T) radio frequency microelectromechanical system (RF MEMS) switch for band selection in a multi-band, multi-mode, front-end module of a wireless transceiver system. The SP4T RF MEMS switch was based on an arrangement of four single-pole single-throw (SPST) RF MEMS switches. The SP4T RF MEMS switch was driven by a double stop (DS) comb drive, with a lateral resistive contact, and composed of single crystalline silicon (SCS) on glass. A large contact force at a low-drive voltage was achieved by electrostatic actuation of the DS comb drive. Good RF characteristics were achieved by the large contact force and the lateral resistive Au-to-Au contact. Mechanical reliability was achieved by using SCS which has no residual stress as a structure material. The developed SP4T RF MEMS switch has a drive voltage of 15 V, an insertion loss below 0.31 dB at 6 GHz after more than one million cycles under a 10 mW signal, a return loss above 20 dB and an isolation value above 36 dB.

Standard/Handbook for RF Ionization Breakdown Prevention in Spacecraft Components

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-19

localized glow discharge of the plasma ( corona ) while RF power is being applied. 8.4.3 RF Performance Changes If a breakdown occurs and damages the...in spacecraft components and systems. Ionization breakdown is a high-energy radio frequency (RF) discharge that can occur when the insulating media...energy can be discharged in a small volume, releasing large amounts of heat, melting local surfaces, and generating debris, all of which will likely

Standard/Handbook for RF Ionization Breakdown Prevention in Spacecraft Components

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-19

localized glow discharge of the plasma ( corona ) while RF power is being applied. 8.4.3 RF Performance Changes If a breakdown occurs and damages the part...in spacecraft components and systems. Ionization breakdown is a high-energy radio frequency (RF) discharge that can occur when the insulating media...energy can be discharged in a small volume, releasing large amounts of heat, melting local surfaces, and generating debris, all of which will likely

Fluoroscopic-guided radiofrequency ablation of the basivertebral nerve: application and analysis with multiple imaging modalities in an ovine model (Invited Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergeron, Jeffrey A.; Eskey, Cliff J.; Attawia, Mohammed; Patel, Samit J.; Ryan, Thomas P.; Pellegrino, Richard; Sutton, Jeffrey; Crombie, John; Paul, B. T.; Hoopes, P. J.

2005-04-01

Pathologic involvement of the basivertebral nerve, an intraosseous vertebral nerve found in humans and most mammalian species, may play a role in some forms of back pain. This study was designed to assess the feasibility and effects of the percutaneous delivery of radiofrequency (RF) energy to thermally ablate the basivertebral nerve in the lumbar vertebrae of mature sheep. Using fluoroscopic guidance, a RF bipolar device was placed and a thermal dose delivered to lumbar vertebral bodies in sheep. Post-treatment assessment included multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and computed tomography (CT). These data were analyzed and correlated to histopathology and morphometry findings to describe the cellular and boney structural changes resulting from the treatment. Imaging modalities MRI and CT can be implemented to non-invasively describe treatment region and volume, marrow cellular effects, and bone density alterations immediately following RF treatment and during convalescence. Such imaging can be utilized to assess treatment effects and refine the thermal dose to vertebral body volume ratio used in treatment planning. This information will be used to improve the therapeutic ratio and develop a treatment protocol for human applications.

Stereo electroencephalography-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (SEEG-guided RF-TC) in drug-resistant focal epilepsy: Results from a 10-year experience.

PubMed

Bourdillon, Pierre; Isnard, Jean; Catenoix, Hélène; Montavont, Alexandra; Rheims, Sylvain; Ryvlin, Philippe; Ostrowsky-Coste, Karine; Mauguiere, François; Guénot, Marc

2017-01-01

Stereo electroencephalography (SEEG)-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (SEEG-guided RF-TC) has been proposed since 2004 as a possible treatment of some focal drug-resistant epilepsy. The aim of this study is to provide extensive data about efficacy and safety of SEEG-guided RF-TC. Over a 10-year period, 162 patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy were eligible for SEEG-guided RF-TG during phase II invasive investigation by SEEG. All follow-up and safety data were collected prospectively. The primary outcome was seizure freedom at 2 months and at 1 year after SEEG-guided RF-TC. Secondary outcomes were the responders' rate (patient with at least 50% decrease in seizure frequency) and their long-term follow-up. Twenty-five percent of patients were seizure-free at 2 months and 7% at 1 year. We reported 67% of responders at 2 months and 48% at 1 year; 58% of responders maintained their status during the long-term follow-up. The seizure outcome was significantly better when the SEEG-guided RF-TC involved the occipital region (p = 0.007). When surgery followed an SEEG-guided RF-TC, the positive predictive value of being a responder 2 months after an SEEG-guided RF-TC and to be Engel's class I or II after surgery was 93%. We reported 1.1% of permanent deficit and 2.4% of transient side effects. Our results, gathered in a large population over a 10-year period, confirm that SEEG-guided RF-TC is a safe technique, being efficient in many cases. More than two thirds of patients showed a short-term improvement, and almost half of them were responders at 1-year follow-up. The technique appears to be especially interesting for limited epileptic zone inaccessible to surgery and when epilepsy is related to a large unilateral network (network disruption by multiple RF-TC). Furthermore, SEEG-guided RF-TC effect is a predictor of outcome after conventional cortectomy in patients eligible for surgery. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International League Against Epilepsy.

Joint design of large-tip-angle parallel RF pulses and blipped gradient trajectories.

PubMed

Cao, Zhipeng; Donahue, Manus J; Ma, Jun; Grissom, William A

2016-03-01

To design multichannel large-tip-angle kT-points and spokes radiofrequency (RF) pulses and gradient waveforms for transmit field inhomogeneity compensation in high field magnetic resonance imaging. An algorithm to design RF subpulse weights and gradient blip areas is proposed to minimize a magnitude least-squares cost function that measures the difference between realized and desired state parameters in the spin domain, and penalizes integrated RF power. The minimization problem is solved iteratively with interleaved target phase updates, RF subpulse weights updates using the conjugate gradient method with optimal control-based derivatives, and gradient blip area updates using the conjugate gradient method. Two-channel parallel transmit simulations and experiments were conducted in phantoms and human subjects at 7 T to demonstrate the method and compare it to small-tip-angle-designed pulses and circularly polarized excitations. The proposed algorithm designed more homogeneous and accurate 180° inversion and refocusing pulses than other methods. It also designed large-tip-angle pulses on multiple frequency bands with independent and joint phase relaxation. Pulses designed by the method improved specificity and contrast-to-noise ratio in a finger-tapping spin echo blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging study, compared with circularly polarized mode refocusing. A joint RF and gradient waveform design algorithm was proposed and validated to improve large-tip-angle inversion and refocusing at ultrahigh field. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Systems Analysis of Alternative Architectures for Riverine Warfare in 2010

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

propose system of systems improvements for the RF in 2010. With the RF currently working to establish a command structure, train and equip its forces...opposing force. Measures of performance such as time to first enemy detection and loss exchange ratio were collected from MANA. A detailed statistical

Efficient Direct-Matching Rectenna Design for RF Power Transfer Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keyrouz, Shady; Visser, Huib

2013-12-01

This paper presents the design, simulation, fabrication and measurements of a 50 ohm rectenna system. The paper investigates each part (in terms of input impedance) of the rectenna system starting from the antenna, followed by the matching network, to the rectifier. The system consists of an antenna, which captures the transmitted RF signal, connected to a rectifier which converts the AC captured signal into a DC power signal. For maximum power transfer, a matching network is designed between the rectifier and the antenna. At an input power level of -10 dBm, the system is able to achieve an RF/DC power conversion efficiency of 49.7%.

VLF Radio Field Strength Measurement of power line carrier system in San Diego, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mertel, H. K.

1981-01-01

The radio frequency interference (RFI) potential was evaluated for a Powerline Carriet (PLC) installed in San Diego which monitors the performance of an electrical power system. The PLC system generated 30 amperes at 5.79 kHz. The RF radiations were measured to be (typically) 120 dBuV/m at the beginning of the 12 kV powerline and 60 dBuV/m at the end of the powerline. The RF fields varied inversely as the distance squared. Measurements were also performed with a 45 kHz PLC system. The RF fields were of similar amplitude.

Painless, safe, and efficacious noninvasive skin tightening, body contouring, and cellulite reduction using multisource 3DEEP radiofrequency.

PubMed

Harth, Yoram

2015-03-01

In the last decade, Radiofrequency (RF) energy has proven to be safe and highly efficacious for face and neck skin tightening, body contouring, and cellulite reduction. In contrast to first-generation Monopolar/Bipolar and "X -Polar" RF systems which use one RF generator connected to one or more skin electrodes, multisource radiofrequency devices use six independent RF generators allowing efficient dermal heating to 52-55°C, with no pain or risk of other side effects. In this review, the basic science and clinical results of body contouring and cellulite treatment using multisource radiofrequency system (Endymed PRO, Endymed, Cesarea, Israel) will be discussed and analyzed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Shuttle STS-2 mission communication systems RF coverage and performance predictions. Volume 1: Ascent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, J. A.; Gibson, J. S.; Kroll, Q. D.; Loh, Y. C.

1981-01-01

The RF communications capabilities and nominally expected performance for the ascent phase of the second orbital flight of the shuttle are provided. Predicted performance is given mainly in the form of plots of signal strength versus elapsed mission time for the STDN (downlink) and shuttle orbiter (uplink) receivers for the S-band PM and FM, and UHF systems. Performance of the NAV and landing RF systems is treated for RTLS abort, since in this case the spacecraft will loop around and return to the launch site. NAV and landing RF systems include TACAN, MSBLS, and C-band altimeter. Signal strength plots were produced by a computer program which combines the spacecraft trajectory, antenna patterns, transmit and receive performance characteristics, and system mathematical models. When available, measured spacecraft parameters were used in the predictions; otherwise, specified values were used. Specified ground station parameter values were also used. Thresholds and other criteria on the graphs are explained.

RF Coupling into the Fuel Tank of a Large Transport Aircraft from Intentionally Transmitting Peds in the Passenger Cabin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Dudley, Kenneth L.; Scearce, Stephen A.; Ely, Jay J.; Richardson, Robert E.; Hatfield, Michael O.

2000-01-01

An investigation was performed to study the potential for radio frequency (RF) power radiated from Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) to create an arcing/sparking event within the fuel tank of a large transport aircraft. This paper describes the experimental methods used for measuring RF coupling to the fuel tank and Fuel Quantity Indication System (FQIS) wiring from PED sources located in the passenger cabin. To allow comparison of voltage/current data obtained in a laboratory chamber FQIS installation to an actual aircraft FQIS installation, aircraft fuel tank RF reverberation characteristics were also measured. Results from the measurements, along with a survey of threats from typical intentional transmitting PEDs are presented. The resulting worst-case power coupled onto fuel tank FQIS wiring is derived. The same approach can be applied to measure RF coupling into various other aircraft systems.

Method of phase space beam dilution utilizing bounded chaos generated by rf phase modulation

DOE PAGES

Pham, Alfonse N.; Lee, S. Y.; Ng, K. Y.

2015-12-10

This paper explores the physics of chaos in a localized phase-space region produced by rf phase modulation applied to a double rf system. The study can be exploited to produce rapid particle bunch broadening exhibiting longitudinal particle distribution uniformity. Hamiltonian models and particle-tracking simulations are introduced to understand the mechanism and applicability of controlled particle diffusion. When phase modulation is applied to the double rf system, regions of localized chaos are produced through the disruption and overlapping of parametric resonant islands and configured to be bounded by well-behaved invariant tori to prevent particle loss. The condition of chaoticity and themore » degree of particle dilution can be controlled by the rf parameters. As a result, the method has applications in alleviating adverse space-charge effects in high-intensity beams, particle bunch distribution uniformization, and industrial radiation-effects experiments.« less

Airborne characterization of smoke marker ratios from prescribed burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, A. P.; May, A. A.; Lee, T.; McMeeking, G. R.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Akagi, S. K.; Yokelson, R. J.; Urbanski, S. P.; Collett, J. L., Jr.

2014-05-01

A Particle-into-Liquid Sampler - Total Organic Carbon and fraction collector system was flown aboard aTwin Otter aircraft sampling prescribed burning emissions in South Carolina in November2011 to obtain smoke marker measurements. The fraction collector provided 2 min time-integrated off-line samples for carbohydrate (i.e., smoke markers levoglucosan, mannosan, galactosan) analysis by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. Each fire location appeared to have aunique Δ levoglucosan / Δ water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) ratio (RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05 = 0.163 ± 0.007 μg C μg C-1, RF08 = 0.115 ± 0.011 μg C μg C-1, RF09A = 0.072 ± 0.028 μg C μg C-1, RF09B = 0.042 ± 0.008 μg C μg C-1). These ratios were comparable to those obtained from controlled laboratory burns and suggested that the emissions sampled during RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05 were dominated by the burning of grasses, RF08 by leaves, RF09A by needles, and RF09B by marsh grasses. These findings were further supported by the Δ galactosan / Δ levoglucosan ratios (RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05 = 0.067 ± 0.004 μg μg-1, RF08 = 0.085 ± 0.009 μg μg-1, RF09A = 0.101 ± 0.029 μg μg-1) obtained as well as by the ground-based fuel and filter sample analyses during RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05. Differences between Δ potassium / Δ levoglucosan ratios obtained for these prescribed fires vs. laboratory-scale measurements suggest that some laboratory burns may not accurately represent potassium emissions from prescribed burns. The Δ levoglucosan / Δ WSOC ratio had no clear dependence on smoke age or fire dynamics suggesting that this ratio is more dependent on the type of fuel being burned. Levoglucosan was stable over a timescale of at least 1.5 h and could be useful to help estimate the air quality impacts of biomass burning.

The Hyper-X Antenna Radiation Pattern Tests and Radio Frequency System Redesign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hodge, Mark W.; Kelley, John W.

2006-01-01

Testing was performed to determine the antenna radiation pattern measurements of the Hyper-X, X-43 ship 2 aircraft. One test was conducted at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF) on January 24-January 27, 2000. A second test was done at MicroCraft in Tullahoma Tennessee by the Naval Air Weapons Center (NAWC) China Lake, California on September 8, 2001. The overall test objective was to gather qualitative antenna radiation pattern data from installed antennas on the HXRV. This objective was accomplished by collecting antenna radiation patterns at selected elevations of the HXRV. The test data was used to identify areas of RF coverage and assist in positioning the P-3 aircraft for best RF reception. The antenna pattern data presented nulls and possible low RF reception areas around the aircraft. This led to a redesign of the RF system. The redesigned system provided redundancy in case a telemetry transmitter should fail. The redesign provided more complete RF coverage within the antenna's capabilities. A second look at the flight path and necessary data collection led to a change in the beacon transponder system.

MEMS based ion beams for fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persaud, A.; Seidl, P. A.; Ji, Q.; Waldron, W. L.; Schenkel, T.; Ardanuc, S.; Vinayakumar, K. B.; Schaffer, Z. A.; Lal, A.

2016-10-01

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication provides an exciting opportunity to shrink existing accelerator concepts to smaller sizes and to reduce cost by orders of magnitude. We revisit the concept of a Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerator (MEQALAC) and show how, with current technologies, the concept can be downsized from gap distances of several cm to distances in the sub-mm regime. The basic concept implements acceleration gaps using radio frequency (RF) fields and electrostatic quadrupoles (ESQ) on silicon wafers. First results from proof-of-concept experiments using printed circuit boards to realize the MEQALAC structures are presented. We show results from accelerating structures that were used in an array of nine (3x3) parallel beamlets with He ions at 15 keV. We will also present results from an ESQ focusing lattice using the same beamlet layout showing beam transport and matching. We also will discuss our progress in fabricating MEMS devices in silicon wafers for both the RF and ESQ structures and integration of necessary RF-circuits on-chip. The concept can be scaled up to thousands of beamlets providing high power beams at low cost and can be used to form and compress a plasma for the development of magnetized target fusion approaches. This work was supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy through the ARPA-e ALPHA program under contracts DE-AC0205CH11231 (LBNL).

The Value Estimation of an HFGW Frequency Time Standard for Telecommunications Network Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harper, Colby; Stephenson, Gary

2007-01-01

The emerging technology of gravitational wave control is used to augment a communication system using a development roadmap suggested in Stephenson (2003) for applications emphasized in Baker (2005). In the present paper consideration is given to the value of a High Frequency Gravitational Wave (HFGW) channel purely as providing a method of frequency and time reference distribution for use within conventional Radio Frequency (RF) telecommunications networks. Specifically, the native value of conventional telecommunications networks may be optimized by using an unperturbed frequency time standard (FTS) to (1) improve terminal navigation and Doppler estimation performance via improved time difference of arrival (TDOA) from a universal time reference, and (2) improve acquisition speed, coding efficiency, and dynamic bandwidth efficiency through the use of a universal frequency reference. A model utilizing a discounted cash flow technique provides an estimation of the additional value using HFGW FTS technology could bring to a mixed technology HFGW/RF network. By applying a simple net present value analysis with supporting reference valuations to such a network, it is demonstrated that an HFGW FTS could create a sizable improvement within an otherwise conventional RF telecommunications network. Our conservative model establishes a low-side value estimate of approximately 50B USD Net Present Value for an HFGW FTS service, with reasonable potential high-side values to significant multiples of this low-side value floor.

A reprogrammable receiver architecture for wireless signal interception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Timothy S.

2003-09-01

In this paper, a re-programmable receiver architecture, based on software-defined-radio concept, for wireless signal interception is presented. The radio-frequency (RF) signal that the receiver would like to intercept may come from a terrestrial cellular network or communication satellites, which their carrier frequency are in the range from 800 MHz (civilian mobile) to 15 GHz (Ku band). To intercept signals from such a wide range of frequency in these variant communication systems, the traditional way is to deploy multiple receivers to scan and detect the desired signal. This traditional approach is obviously unattractive due to the cost, efficiency, and accuracy. Instead, we propose a universal receiver, which is software-driven and re-configurable, to intercept signals of interest. The software-defined-radio based receiver first intercepts RF energy of wide spectrum (25MHz) through antenna, performs zero-IF down conversion (homodyne architecture) to baseband, and digital channelizes the baseband signal. The channelization module is a bank of high performance digital filters. The bandwidth of the filter bank is programmable according to the wireless communication protocol under watch. In the baseband processing, high-performance digital signal processors carry out the detection process and microprocessors handle the communication protocols. The baseband processing is also re-configurable for different wireless standards and protocol. The advantages of the software-defined-radio architecture over traditional RF receiver make it a favorable technology for the communication signal interception and surveillance.

Implementation of RF Circuitry for Real-Time Digital Beam-Forming SAR Calibration Schemes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horst, Stephen J.; Hoffman, James P.; Perkovic-Martin, Dragana; Shaffer, Scott; Thrivikraman, Tushar; Yates, Phil; Veilleux, Louise

2012-01-01

The SweepSAR architecture for space-borne remote sensing applications is an enabling technology for reducing the temporal baseline of repeat-pass interferometers while maintaining near-global coverage. As part of this architecture, real-time digital beam-forming would be performed on the radar return signals across multiple channels. Preserving the accuracy of the combined return data requires real-time calibration of the transmit and receive RF paths on each channel. This paper covers several of the design considerations necessary to produce a practical implementation of this concept.

Simplified correction of B1 inhomogeneity for chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI measurement with surface transceiver coil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Phillip Z.; Zhou, Iris Y.; Igarashi, Takahiro; Guo, Yingkun; Xiao, Gang; Wu, Renhua

2015-03-01

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI is sensitive to dilute exchangeable protons and local properties such as pH and temperate, yet its susceptibility to field inhomogeneity limits its in vivo applications. Particularly, CEST measurement varies with RF irradiation power, the dependence of which is complex due to concomitant direct RF saturation (RF spillover) effect. Because the volume transmitters provide relatively homogeneous RF field, they have been conventionally used for CEST imaging despite of their elevated specific absorption rate (SAR) and relatively low sensitivity than surface coils. To address this limitation, we developed an efficient B1 inhomogeneity correction algorithm that enables CEST MRI using surface transceiver coils. This is built on recent work that showed the inverse CEST asymmetry analysis (CESTRind) is not susceptible to confounding RF spillover effect. We here postulated that the linear relationship between RF power level and CESTRind can be extended for correcting B1 inhomogeneity induced CEST MRI artifacts. Briefly, we prepared a tissue-like Creatine gel pH phantom and collected multiparametric MRI including relaxation, field map and CEST MRI under multiple RF power levels, using a conventional surface transceiver coil. The raw CEST images showed substantial heterogeneity due to B1 inhomogeneity, with pH contrast to noise ratio (CNR) being 8.8. In comparison, pH MRI CNR of the fieldinhomogeneity corrected CEST MRI was found to be 17.2, substantially higher than that without correction. To summarize, our study validated an efficient field inhomogeneity correction that enables sensitive CEST MRI with surface transceiver, promising for in vivo translation.

Random forests ensemble classifier trained with data resampling strategy to improve cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis.

PubMed

Ozçift, Akin

2011-05-01

Supervised classification algorithms are commonly used in the designing of computer-aided diagnosis systems. In this study, we present a resampling strategy based Random Forests (RF) ensemble classifier to improve diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia. Random forests is an ensemble classifier that consists of many decision trees and outputs the class that is the mode of the class's output by individual trees. In this way, an RF ensemble classifier performs better than a single tree from classification performance point of view. In general, multiclass datasets having unbalanced distribution of sample sizes are difficult to analyze in terms of class discrimination. Cardiac arrhythmia is such a dataset that has multiple classes with small sample sizes and it is therefore adequate to test our resampling based training strategy. The dataset contains 452 samples in fourteen types of arrhythmias and eleven of these classes have sample sizes less than 15. Our diagnosis strategy consists of two parts: (i) a correlation based feature selection algorithm is used to select relevant features from cardiac arrhythmia dataset. (ii) RF machine learning algorithm is used to evaluate the performance of selected features with and without simple random sampling to evaluate the efficiency of proposed training strategy. The resultant accuracy of the classifier is found to be 90.0% and this is a quite high diagnosis performance for cardiac arrhythmia. Furthermore, three case studies, i.e., thyroid, cardiotocography and audiology, are used to benchmark the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results of experiments demonstrated the efficiency of random sampling strategy in training RF ensemble classification algorithm. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Novel Cost-effective OFDM WDM-PON Radio Over Fiber System Employing FBG to Generate Optical mm-wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, HoangViet

2015-03-01

We have investigated and demonstrated a novel scheme to generate 2.5 Gbit/s 64 QAM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals for Radio Over Fiber (ROF) systems. We employ Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) because the repetitive frequency of the RF source and the bandwidth of the optical modulator are largely reduced and the architecture of the ROF system is simpler. Wavelength-Division-Multiplexed Passive Optical Network (WDM-PON) has been considered as a promising solution for future broadband access networks. Principle of WDM-PON access network compatible with OFDM-ROF systems is investigated. This novel scheme which has multiple double-frequency technique to generate mm-wave signal to carry OFDM signals is a practical scheme to be applied for future broadband access networks.

Radar Scattering and Block Size Properties of Lunar Crater Ejecta From Mini-RF and LROC NAC Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spudis, P. D.; Baloga, S. M.; Glaze, L. S.; Dixit, V.; Pantone, S. M.; Juvanescu, I.

2012-01-01

A major objective of the Mini-RF experiment is to distinguish lunar surfaces that may contain water/ice deposits [1,2]. Better understanding of the backscattering properties of craters of varying age and size is crucial for interpreting data received from the Mini-RF. The Mini-RF transmits a circularly polarized RF electromagnetic energy and coherently receives orthogonal linear polarization echoes [1]. The Mini- RF maps in two separate bands ( =12.6 and 4.5 cm) at a high resolution mode of 30 m/pixel [1]. Given the variables mentioned, the four stokes parameters are reconstructed. The Circular Polarization Ratio (CPR) is calculated for the purposes of understanding subsurface and surface roughness. The CPR is determined from reflections acquired from the ratio of power of the transmitted radio wave in same sense to the reflected radio wave in the opposite sense [1]. Ice in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) would be transparent to radar, but the inclusions of materials and imperfections would cause the radio wave to reflect multiple times [3], enhancing the number of same sense reflections and increasing the CPR. In addition, ice also displays the coherent backscatter opposition effect (CBOE), an interferrometric addition of same sense backscatter that further increases the CPR of ice targets [7]. High CPR values also correlate to multiple reflections and are typically associated with very rough surfaces [3]. The average dry lunar surface has a CPR in the range of 0.2-0.4 at 48deg incidence [3]. The purpose of this study is to begin to quantify degrees of surface wavelength-scale roughness with CPR and to understand how such surface roughness is created and gradually destroyed by erosion on the lunar surface. Another goal is to identify and isolate the possible causes of high CPR within the shadowed areas of anomalous polar craters [3]. All the studied craters are non-polar, so that we can see into their interiors in NAC images. The idea is to understand what controls blockiness in these craters so that we can rule out rocks (and rule in ice) for the anomalous polar dark ones [3].

Capture, acceleration and bunching rf systems for the MEIC booster and storage rings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Shaoheng; Guo, Jiquan; Lin, Fanglei

2015-09-01

The Medium-energy Electron Ion Collider (MEIC), proposed by Jefferson Lab, consists of a series of accelerators. The electron collider ring accepts electrons from CEBAF at energies from 3 to 12 GeV. Protons and ions are delivered to a booster and captured in a long bunch before being ramped and transferred to the ion collider ring. The ion collider ring accelerates a small number of long ion bunches to colliding energy before they are re-bunched into a high frequency train of very short bunches for colliding. Two sets of low frequency RF systems are needed for the long ion bunch energymore » ramping in the booster and ion collider ring. Another two sets of high frequency RF cavities are needed for re-bunching in the ion collider ring and compensating synchrotron radiation energy loss in the electron collider ring. The requirements from energy ramping, ion beam bunching, electron beam energy compensation, collective effects, beam loading and feedback capability, RF power capability, etc. are presented. The preliminary designs of these RF systems are presented. Concepts for the baseline cavity and RF station configurations are described, as well as some options that may allow more flexible injection and acceleration schemes.« less

Concurrent System Engineering and Risk Reduction for Dual-Band (RF/optical) Spacecraft Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fielhauer, Karl, B.; Boone, Bradley, G.; Raible, Daniel, E.

2012-01-01

This paper describes a system engineering approach to examining the potential for combining elements of a deep-space RF and optical communications payload, for the purpose of reducing the size, weight and power burden on the spacecraft and the mission. Figures of merit and analytical methodologies are discussed to conduct trade studies, and several potential technology integration strategies are presented. Finally, the NASA Integrated Radio and Optical Communications (iROC) project is described, which directly addresses the combined RF and optical approach.

Mobile phones, mobile phone base stations and cancer: a review.

PubMed

Moulder, J E; Foster, K R; Erdreich, L S; McNamee, J P

2005-03-01

There have been reports in the media and claims in the courts that radiofrequency (RF) emissions from mobile phones are a cause of cancer, and there have been numerous public objections to the siting of mobile phone base antennas because of a fear of cancer. This review summarizes the current state of evidence concerning whether the RF energy used for wireless communication might be carcinogenic. Relevant studies were identified by searching MedLine with a combination of exposure and endpoint terms. This was supplemented by a review of the over 1700 citations assembled by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety as part of their updating of the IEEE C95.1 RF energy safety guidelines. Where there were multiple studies, preference was given to recent reports, to positive reports of effects and to attempts to confirm such positive reports. Biophysical considerations indicate that there is little theoretical basis for anticipating that RF energy would have significant biological effects at the power levels used by modern mobile phones and their base station antennas. The epidemiological evidence for a causal association between cancer and RF energy is weak and limited. Animal studies have provided no consistent evidence that exposure to RF energy at non-thermal intensities causes or promotes cancer. Extensive in vitro studies have found no consistent evidence of genotoxic potential, but in vitro studies assessing the epigenetic potential of RF energy are limited. Overall, a weight-of-evidence evaluation shows that the current evidence for a causal association between cancer and exposure to RF energy is weak and unconvincing. However, the existing epidemiology is limited and the possibility of epigenetic effects has not been thoroughly evaluated, so that additional research in those areas will be required for a more thorough assessment of the possibility of a causal connection between cancer and the RF energy from mobile telecommunications.

Radiofrequency Electric Field Heating of Conductive Media: Understanding Aqueous and Nanoparticle Heating Mechanisms and a Method for Heating Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lara, Nadia Chantal

Use of radiofrequency (RF) electric fields coupled with nanoparticles to enhance non-invasive hyperthermia in cancer cells and tumors sparked debate over the RF heating mechanisms of nanoparticles and the role of salts in heating. Under RF field exposure at 13.56 MHz, aqueous systems including electrolyte solutions, buffers, and blood, were shown to heat according to bulk material properties, regardless of composition. This universal aqueous heating behavior extended to suspensions of nanoparticles such as gold nanoparticles, full-length and ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotubes, and water-soluble fullerene derivatives. These suspensions displayed the same RF heating properties as saline solutions of the same conductivity, indicating that these nanoparticles themselves do not contribute to RF heating by any unique mechanism; rather, they modulate bulk conductivity, which in turn affects bulk RF heating. At 13.56 MHz, peak heating for an aqueous system occurs at a conductivity of 0.06 S/m, beyond which increases in conductivity result in reduced heating rates. Biologically relevant materials, such as blood, intra- and extracellular fluids, and most human tissues, exceed this peak heating conductivity, precluding the use of conductive materials for RF heating rate enhancement. Instead, kosmotropic or water-structuring materials, including sugars, glycols, zwitterionic molecules, and a water-soluble fullerene derivative, when added to blood or phosphate buffered saline reduced the bulk conductivity of these materials and enhanced their heating rates accordingly. A dielectric heating rate model taking into account the geometry of the sample under RF exposure was used to explain the experimental RF heating behavior of aqueous solutions and semi-aqueous materials, which generated distinct RF heating curves due to differences in bulk dielectric and physical properties.

46 CFR 111.60-2 - Specialty cable for communication and RF applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Wiring Materials and Methods § 111.60-2 Specialty cable for communication and RF applications. Specialty cable such as certain coaxial cable that cannot pass the... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Specialty cable for communication and RF applications...

46 CFR 111.60-2 - Specialty cable for communication and RF applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Wiring Materials and Methods § 111.60-2 Specialty cable for communication and RF applications. Specialty cable such as certain coaxial cable that cannot pass the... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Specialty cable for communication and RF applications...

46 CFR 111.60-2 - Specialty cable for communication and RF applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Wiring Materials and Methods § 111.60-2 Specialty cable for communication and RF applications. Specialty cable such as certain coaxial cable that cannot pass the... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Specialty cable for communication and RF applications...

46 CFR 111.60-2 - Specialty cable for communication and RF applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Wiring Materials and Methods § 111.60-2 Specialty cable for communication and RF applications. Specialty cable such as certain coaxial cable that cannot pass the... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Specialty cable for communication and RF applications...

46 CFR 111.60-2 - Specialty cable for communication and RF applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Wiring Materials and Methods § 111.60-2 Specialty cable for communication and RF applications. Specialty cable such as certain coaxial cable that cannot pass the... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Specialty cable for communication and RF applications...

A flow cytometry-based strategy to identify and express IgM from VH1-69+ clonal peripheral B cells.

PubMed

Charles, Edgar D; Orloff, Michael I M; Dustin, Lynn B

2011-01-05

Pathologic rheumatoid factor (RF) levels are hallmarks of several human diseases. Production of monoclonal RF in vitro is essential for studies of the antigenic specificities of RF, as well as for a dissection of the mechanisms of aberrant RF+ B cell activation. We have expanded upon previous methods to develop a flow cytometry-based method to efficiently clone monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from humans with expansions of RF-like, immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IgVH) 1-69 gene segment-containing B cells. The cloned variable regions are expressed as IgM and produced during culture at concentrations between 5 and 20 μg/ml. Using this system, we show that clonal Igs from patients with HCV-related mixed cryoglobulinemia, when expressed as IgM, have RF activity. We anticipate that this system will be useful for the cloning and expression of mAbs partially encoded by VH1-69 and for determination of the reactivity patterns of polyspecific, low-affinity IgMs of human pathogenic importance. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langmuir probes for SPIDER (source for the production of ions of deuterium extracted from radio frequency plasma) experiment: Tests in BATMAN (Bavarian test machine for negative ions)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brombin, M., E-mail: matteo.brombin@igi.cnr.it; Spolaore, M.; Serianni, G.

2014-11-15

A prototype system of the Langmuir probes for SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) was manufactured and experimentally qualified. The diagnostic was operated in RF (Radio Frequency) plasmas with cesium evaporation on the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) test facility, which can provide plasma conditions as expected in the SPIDER source. A RF passive compensation circuit was realised to operate the Langmuir probes in RF plasmas. The sensors’ holder, designed to better simulate the bias plate conditions in SPIDER, was exposed to a severe experimental campaign in BATMAN with cesium evaporation.more » No detrimental effect on the diagnostic due to cesium evaporation was found during the exposure to the BATMAN plasma and in particular the insulation of the electrodes was preserved. The paper presents the system prototype, the RF compensation circuit, the acquisition system (as foreseen in SPIDER), and the results obtained during the experimental campaigns.« less

Considerations for an Earth Relay Satellite with RF and Optical Trunklines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, David J.

2016-01-01

Support for user platforms through the use of optical links to geosynchronous relay spacecraft are expected to be part of the future space communications architecture. The European Data Relay Satellite System (EDRS) has its first node, EDRS-A, in orbit. The EDRS architecture includes space-to-space optical links with a Ka-Band feeder link or trunkline. NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) mission, originally baselined to support a space-to-space optical link relayed with an optical trunkline, has added an Radio Frequency (RF) trunkline. The use of an RF trunkline avoids the outages suffered by an optical trunkline due to clouds, but an RF trunkline will be bandwidth limited. A space relay architecture with both RF and optical trunklines could relay critical realtime data, while also providing a high data volume capacity. This paper considers the relay user scenarios that could be supported, and the implications to the space relay system and operations. System trades such as the amount of onboard processing and storage required, the use of link layer switching vs. network layer routing, and the use of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) are discussed.

Thermal magnetic resonance: physics considerations and electromagnetic field simulations up to 23.5 Tesla (1GHz).

PubMed

Winter, Lukas; Oezerdem, Celal; Hoffmann, Werner; van de Lindt, Tessa; Periquito, Joao; Ji, Yiyi; Ghadjar, Pirus; Budach, Volker; Wust, Peter; Niendorf, Thoralf

2015-09-22

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive malign brain tumor. The 5-year survival rate after tumor resection and adjuvant chemoradiation is only 10 %, with almost all recurrences occurring in the initially treated site. Attempts to improve local control using a higher radiation dose were not successful so that alternative additive treatments are urgently needed. Given the strong rationale for hyperthermia as part of a multimodal treatment for patients with glioblastoma, non-invasive radio frequency (RF) hyperthermia might significantly improve treatment results. A non-invasive applicator was constructed utilizing the magnetic resonance (MR) spin excitation frequency for controlled RF hyperthermia and MR imaging in an integrated system, which we refer to as thermal MR. Applicator designs at RF frequencies 300 MHz, 500 MHz and 1GHz were investigated and examined for absolute applicable thermal dose and temperature hotspot size. Electromagnetic field (EMF) and temperature simulations were performed in human voxel models. RF heating experiments were conducted at 300 MHz and 500 MHz to characterize the applicator performance and validate the simulations. The feasibility of thermal MR was demonstrated at 7.0 T. The temperature could be increased by ~11 °C in 3 min in the center of a head sized phantom. Modification of the RF phases allowed steering of a temperature hotspot to a deliberately selected location. RF heating was monitored using the integrated system for MR thermometry and high spatial resolution MRI. EMF and thermal simulations demonstrated that local RF hyperthermia using the integrated system is feasible to reach a maximum temperature in the center of the human brain of 46.8 °C after 3 min of RF heating while surface temperatures stayed below 41 °C. Using higher RF frequencies reduces the size of the temperature hotspot significantly. The opportunities and capabilities of thermal magnetic resonance for RF hyperthermia interventions of intracranial lesions are intriguing. Employing such systems as an alternative additive treatment for glioblastoma multiforme might be able to improve local control by "fighting fire with fire". Interventions are not limited to the human brain and might include temperature driven targeted drug and MR contrast agent delivery and help to understand temperature dependent bio- and physiological processes in-vivo.

TMAP - A Versatile Mobile Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, Joel A.; Simmons, Richard K.

1989-03-01

TMAP, the Teleoperated Mobile All-purpose Platform, provides the Army with a low cost, light weight, flexibly designed, modularly expandable platform for support of maneuver forces and light infantry units. The highly mobile, four wheel drive, diesel-hydraulic platform is controllable at distances of up to 4km from a portable operator control unit using either fiber optic or RF control links. The Martin Marietta TMAP system is based on a hierarchical task decomposition Real-time Control System architecture that readily supports interchange of mission packages and provides the capability for simple incorporation of supervisory control concepts leading to increased system autonomy and resulting force multiplication. TMAP has been designed to support a variety of missions including target designation, anti-armor, anti-air, countermine, and reconnaissance/surveillance. As a target designation system TMAP will provide the soldier with increased survivability and effectiveness by providing substantial combat standoff, and the firepower effectiveness of several manual designator operators. Force-on-force analysis of simulated TMAP engagements indicate that TMAP should provide significant force multiplication for the Army in Air-Land Battle 2000.

RF low-level control for the Linac4 H{sup −} source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Butterworth, A., E-mail: andrew.butterworth@cern.ch; Grudiev, A.; Lettry, J.

2015-04-08

The H{sup −} source for the Linac4 accelerator at CERN uses an RF driven plasma for the production of H{sup −}. The RF is supplied by a 2 MHz RF tube amplifier with a maximum power output of 100 kW and a pulse duration of up to 2 ms. The low-level RF signal generation and measurement system has been developed using standard CERN controls electronics in the VME form factor. The RF frequency and amplitude reference signals are generated using separate arbitrary waveform generator channels. The frequency and amplitude are both freely programmable over the duration of the RF pulse, which allowsmore » fine-tuning of the excitation. Measurements of the forward and reverse RF power signals are performed via directional couplers using high-speed digitizers, and permit the estimation of the plasma impedance and deposited power via an equivalent circuit model. The low-level RF hardware and software implementations are described, and experimental results obtained with the Linac4 ion sources in the test stand are presented.« less

The RF Probe: providing space situational awareness through broad-spectrum detection and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zenick, Raymond; Kohlhepp, Kimberly; Partch, Russell

2004-09-01

AeroAstro's patented RF Probe is a system designed to address the needs of spacecraft developers and operators interested in measuring and analyzing near-field RF emissions emanating from a nearby spacecraft of interest. The RF Probe consists of an intelligent spectrum analyzer with digital signal processing capabilities combined with a calibrated, wide-bandwidth antenna and RF front end that covers the 50 kHz to 18 GHz spectrum. It is capable of acquiring signal level and signal vector information, classifying signals, assessing the quality of a satellite"s transponders, and characterizing near-field electromagnetic emissions. The RF Probe is intended for either incorporation as part of a suite of spacecraft sensors, or as a stand-alone sensor on spacecraft or other platforms such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The RF Probe was initially conceived as a tool to detect and aid in diagnosis of malfunctions in a spacecraft of interest. However, the utility of the RF Probe goes far beyond this initial concept, spanning a wide range of military applications. Most importantly, the RF Probe can provide space situational awareness for critical on-orbit assets by detecting externally induced RF fields, aiding in protection against potentially devastating attacks.

Report on the technical review workshop on the reference dose for Aroclor 1016. Held in Washington, DC on May 24-25, 1994

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1994-11-01

The report includes information and material from a technical review workshop organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) Risk Assessment Forum for EPA`s Reference Dose/Reference Concentration (RfD/RfC) Work Group. The meeting was held in Washington, DC, at the Barcelo Washington Hotel on May 24-25, 1994. The subject of the technical review was the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) RfD entry for Aroclor 1016, a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). The expert technical review panel was convened to independently evaluate whether the RfD for Aroclor 1016 is based on a scientifically responsible analysis that represents full consideration of the available data andmore » clean articulation of that analysis in the IRIS RfD entry. EPA also requested panel members to consider four broad options for the Aroclor 1016 RfD as potential recommendations to the RfD/RfC Work Group.« less

Ultrananocrystalline diamond films with optimized dielectric properties for advanced RF MEMS capacitive switches

DOEpatents

Sumant, Anirudha V.; Auciello, Orlando H.; Mancini, Derrick C.

2013-01-15

An efficient deposition process is provided for fabricating reliable RF MEMS capacitive switches with multilayer ultrananocrystalline (UNCD) films for more rapid recovery, charging and discharging that is effective for more than a billion cycles of operation. Significantly, the deposition process is compatible for integration with CMOS electronics and thereby can provide monolithically integrated RF MEMS capacitive switches for use with CMOS electronic devices, such as for insertion into phase array antennas for radars and other RF communication systems.

Reverse flexing as a physical/mechanical treatment to mitigate fouling of fine bubble diffusers.

PubMed

Odize, Victory O; Novak, John; De Clippeleir, Haydee; Al-Omari, Ahmed; Smeraldi, Joshua D; Murthy, Sudhir; Rosso, Diego

2017-10-01

Achieving energy neutrality has shifted focus towards aeration system optimization, due to the high energy consumption of aeration processes in modern advanced wastewater treatment plants. A study on fine bubble diffuser fouling and mitigation, quantified by dynamic wet pressure (DWP), oxygen transfer efficiency and alpha was carried out in Blue Plains, Washington, DC. Four polyurethane fine bubble diffusers were installed in a pilot reactor column fed with high rate activated sludge from a full scale system. A mechanical cleaning method, reverse flexing (RF), was used to treat two diffusers (RF1, RF2), while two diffusers were kept as a control (i.e., no reverse flexing). There was a 45% increase in DWP of the control diffuser after 17 months of operation, an indication of fouling. RF treated diffusers (RF1 and RF2) did not show significant increase in DWP, and in comparison to the control diffuser prevented about 35% increase in DWP. Hence, reverse flexing potentially saves blower energy, by reducing the pressure burden on the air blower which increases blower energy requirement. However, no significant impact of the RF treatment in preventing a decrease in alpha-fouling (αF) of the fine pore diffusers, over time in operation was observed.

Transmit-reference methods in software defined radio platforms for communication in harsh propagation environments and systems thereof

DOEpatents

Dowla, Farid U; Nekoogar, Faranak

2015-03-03

A method for adaptive Radio Frequency (RF) jamming according to one embodiment includes dynamically monitoring a RF spectrum; detecting any undesired signals in real time from the RF spectrum; and sending a directional countermeasure signal to jam the undesired signals. A method for adaptive Radio Frequency (RF) communications according to another embodiment includes transmitting a data pulse in a RF spectrum; and transmitting a reference pulse separated by a predetermined period of time from the data pulse; wherein the data pulse is modulated with data, wherein the reference pulse is unmodulated. A method for adaptive Radio Frequency (RF) communications according to yet another embodiment includes receiving a data pulse in a RF spectrum; and receiving a reference pulse separated in time from the data pulse, wherein the data pulse is modulated with data, wherein the reference pulse is unmodulated; and demodulating the pulses.

Transmit-reference methods in software defined radio platforms for communication in harsh propagation environments and systems thereof

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dowla, Farid; Nekoogar, Faranak

A method for adaptive Radio Frequency (RF) jamming according to one embodiment includes dynamically monitoring a RF spectrum; detecting any undesired signals in real time from the RF spectrum; and sending a directional countermeasure signal to jam the undesired signals. A method for adaptive Radio Frequency (RF) communications according to another embodiment includes transmitting a data pulse in a RF spectrum; and transmitting a reference pulse separated by a predetermined period of time from the data pulse; wherein the data pulse is modulated with data, wherein the reference pulse is unmodulated. A method for adaptive Radio Frequency (RF) communications accordingmore » to yet another embodiment includes receiving a data pulse in a RF spectrum; and receiving a reference pulse separated in time from the data pulse, wherein the data pulse is modulated with data, wherein the reference pulse is unmodulated; and demodulating the pulses.« less

Biological indicators in response to radiofrequency/microwave exposure.

PubMed

Marjanović, Ana Marija; Pavičić, Ivan; Trošić, Ivančica

2012-09-01

Over the years, due to rapid technological progress, radiation from man-made sources exceeded that of natural origin. There is a general concern regarding a growing number of appliances that use radiofrequency/ microwave (RF/MW) radiation with particular emphasis on mobile communication systems. Since nonthermal biological effects and mechanisms of RF/MW radiation are still uncertain, laboratory studies on animal models, tissues, cells, and cell free system are of extraordinary importance in bioelectromagnetic research. We believe that such investigations play a supporting role in public risk assessment. Cellular systems with the potential for a clear response to RF/MW exposures should be used in those studies. It is known that organism is a complex electrochemical system where processes of oxidation and reduction regularly occur. One of the plausible mechanisms is connected with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Depending on concentration, ROS can have both beneficial and deleterious effects. Positive effects are connected with cell signalling, defence against infectious agents, and proliferative cell ability. On the other hand, excessive production, which overloads antioxidant defence mechanism, leads to cellular damage with serious potential for disease development. ROS concentration increase within the cell caused by RF/MW radiation seems to be a biologically relevant hypothesis to give clear insight into the RF/MW action at non-thermal level of radiation. In order to better understand the exact mechanism of action and its consequences, further research is needed in the field. We would like to present current knowledge on possible biological mechanisms of RF/MW actions.

Radio-frequency-modulated Rydberg states in a vapor cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, S. A.; Anderson, D. A.; Raithel, G.

2016-05-01

We measure strong radio-frequency (RF) electric fields using rubidium Rydberg atoms prepared in a room-temperature vapor cell as field sensors. Electromagnetically induced transparency is employed as an optical readout. We RF-modulate the 60{{{S}}}1/2 and 58{{{D}}}5/2 Rydberg states with 50 and 100 MHz fields, respectively. For weak to moderate RF fields, the Rydberg levels become Stark-shifted, and sidebands appear at even multiples of the driving frequency. In high fields, the adjacent hydrogenic manifold begins to intersect the shifted levels, providing rich spectroscopic structure suitable for precision field measurements. A quantitative description of strong-field level modulation and mixing of S and D states with hydrogenic states is provided by Floquet theory. Additionally, we estimate the shielding of DC electric fields in the interior of the glass vapor cell.

Can You Hear Me Now? Come in Loud and Clear with a Wireless Classroom Audio System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Mark

2006-01-01

As school performance under NCLB becomes increasingly important, districts can not afford to have barriers to learning. That is where wireless sound-field amplification systems come into play. Wireless sound-field amplification systems come in two types: radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR). RF systems are based on FCC-approved FM and UHF bands…

Characterization Of Superconducting Samples With SIC System For Thin Film Developments: Status And Recent Results

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, H. Lawrence; Reece, Charles E.; Valente-Feliciano, Anne-Marie

2014-02-01

Within any thin film development program directed towards SRF accelerating structures, there is a need for an RF characterization device that can provide information about RF properties of small samples. The current installation of the RF characterization device at Jefferson Lab is Surface Impedance Characterization (SIC) system. The data acquisition environment for the system has recently been improved to allow for automated measurement, and the system has been routinely used for characterization of bulk Nb, films of Nb on Cu, MgB{sub 2}, NbTiN, Nb{sub 3}Sn films, etc. We present some of the recent results that illustrate present capabilities and limitationsmore » of the system.« less

Computer network environment planning and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalphin, John F.

1989-01-01

The GSFC Computer Network Environment provides a broadband RF cable between campus buildings and ethernet spines in buildings for the interlinking of Local Area Networks (LANs). This system provides terminal and computer linkage among host and user systems thereby providing E-mail services, file exchange capability, and certain distributed computing opportunities. The Environment is designed to be transparent and supports multiple protocols. Networking at Goddard has a short history and has been under coordinated control of a Network Steering Committee for slightly more than two years; network growth has been rapid with more than 1500 nodes currently addressed and greater expansion expected. A new RF cable system with a different topology is being installed during summer 1989; consideration of a fiber optics system for the future will begin soon. Summmer study was directed toward Network Steering Committee operation and planning plus consideration of Center Network Environment analysis and modeling. Biweekly Steering Committee meetings were attended to learn the background of the network and the concerns of those managing it. Suggestions for historical data gathering have been made to support future planning and modeling. Data Systems Dynamic Simulator, a simulation package developed at NASA and maintained at GSFC was studied as a possible modeling tool for the network environment. A modeling concept based on a hierarchical model was hypothesized for further development. Such a model would allow input of newly updated parameters and would provide an estimation of the behavior of the network.

Precision vector control of a superconducting RF cavity driven by an injection locked magnetron

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chase, Brian; Pasquinelli, Ralph; Cullerton, Ed

The technique presented in this paper enables the regulation of both radio frequency amplitude and phase in narrow band devices such as a Superconducting RF (SRF) cavity driven by constant power output devices i.e. magnetrons [1]. The ability to use low cost high efficiency magnetrons for accelerator RF power systems, with tight vector regulation, presents a substantial cost savings in both construction and operating costs - compared to current RF power system technology. An operating CW system at 2.45 GHz has been experimentally developed. Vector control of an injection locked magnetron has been extensively tested and characterized with a SRFmore » cavity as the load. Amplitude dynamic range of 30 dB, amplitude stability of 0.3% r.m.s, and phase stability of 0.26 degrees r.m.s. has been demonstrated.« less

Extraction chromatography of the Rf homologs, Zr and Hf, using TEVA and UTEVA resins in HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4 media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alfonso, M. C.; Bennett, M. E.; Folden, C. M.

2015-06-20

The extraction behavior of the Rf homologs, Zr and Hf, has been studied in HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4 media using TEVA (R) (a trioctyl and tridecyl methyl ammonium-based resin) and UTEVA (R) (a diamyl amylphosphonate-based resin). All six systems were considered for the future chemical characterization of Rf. Batch uptake studies were first performed to determine which systems could separate Zr and Hf and these results were used to determine what acid concentration range to focus on for the column studies. The batch uptake studies showed that UTEVA separates Zr and Hf in all media, while the intergroup separation wasmore » only observed in HCl media with TEVA. Both HCl systems showed viability for potential extraction chromatographic studies of Rf.« less

Precision vector control of a superconducting RF cavity driven by an injection locked magnetron

DOE PAGES

Chase, Brian; Pasquinelli, Ralph; Cullerton, Ed; ...

2015-03-01

The technique presented in this paper enables the regulation of both radio frequency amplitude and phase in narrow band devices such as a Superconducting RF (SRF) cavity driven by constant power output devices i.e. magnetrons [1]. The ability to use low cost high efficiency magnetrons for accelerator RF power systems, with tight vector regulation, presents a substantial cost savings in both construction and operating costs - compared to current RF power system technology. An operating CW system at 2.45 GHz has been experimentally developed. Vector control of an injection locked magnetron has been extensively tested and characterized with a SRFmore » cavity as the load. Amplitude dynamic range of 30 dB, amplitude stability of 0.3% r.m.s, and phase stability of 0.26 degrees r.m.s. has been demonstrated.« less

A Response to Odland et al.'s Misleading, Alarmist Estimates of Risk for Overpathologizing when Interpreting the MMPI-2-RF.

PubMed

Tarescavage, Anthony M; Ben-Porath, Yossef S

2015-01-01

In a recently published article in this journal, Odland, Lammy, Perle, Martin, and Grote report Monte Carlo-simulated normative base rates of scale elevations on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). Their primary conclusion--reflected in the title of their article--is that MMPI-2-RF interpretation is associated with "high risk of pathologizing healthy adults" when the 40 substantive scales of the test are simultaneously interpreted. In this paper, we describe how their conclusion follows from several faulty premises, three of which were already debunked in an earlier article and remain false despite counterarguments proposed by Odland and colleagues. We also address these authors' misinterpretation of their analyses and, furthermore, their premise that MMPI-2-RF interpretive guidelines are flawed because they "currently do not account for a basic statistical principle: Type I (or alpha) error inflation" (p. 1). This premise is irrelevant to psychological test interpretation and misaligned with neuropsychological testing literature cited in support of it. Consistent with suggestions by some of the authors they cite, we reiterate MMPI-2-RF interpretive guidelines designed to mitigate the impact of measurement error (not alpha error) by way of a scientific assessment approach that relies on integration of information derived from multiple sources.

Random Forests for Global and Regional Crop Yield Predictions.

PubMed

Jeong, Jig Han; Resop, Jonathan P; Mueller, Nathaniel D; Fleisher, David H; Yun, Kyungdahm; Butler, Ethan E; Timlin, Dennis J; Shim, Kyo-Moon; Gerber, James S; Reddy, Vangimalla R; Kim, Soo-Hyung

2016-01-01

Accurate predictions of crop yield are critical for developing effective agricultural and food policies at the regional and global scales. We evaluated a machine-learning method, Random Forests (RF), for its ability to predict crop yield responses to climate and biophysical variables at global and regional scales in wheat, maize, and potato in comparison with multiple linear regressions (MLR) serving as a benchmark. We used crop yield data from various sources and regions for model training and testing: 1) gridded global wheat grain yield, 2) maize grain yield from US counties over thirty years, and 3) potato tuber and maize silage yield from the northeastern seaboard region. RF was found highly capable of predicting crop yields and outperformed MLR benchmarks in all performance statistics that were compared. For example, the root mean square errors (RMSE) ranged between 6 and 14% of the average observed yield with RF models in all test cases whereas these values ranged from 14% to 49% for MLR models. Our results show that RF is an effective and versatile machine-learning method for crop yield predictions at regional and global scales for its high accuracy and precision, ease of use, and utility in data analysis. RF may result in a loss of accuracy when predicting the extreme ends or responses beyond the boundaries of the training data.

Object-Based Random Forest Classification of Land Cover from Remotely Sensed Imagery for Industrial and Mining Reclamation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Luo, M.; Xu, L.; Zhou, X.; Ren, J.; Zhou, J.

2018-04-01

The RF method based on grid-search parameter optimization could achieve a classification accuracy of 88.16 % in the classification of images with multiple feature variables. This classification accuracy was higher than that of SVM and ANN under the same feature variables. In terms of efficiency, the RF classification method performs better than SVM and ANN, it is more capable of handling multidimensional feature variables. The RF method combined with object-based analysis approach could highlight the classification accuracy further. The multiresolution segmentation approach on the basis of ESP scale parameter optimization was used for obtaining six scales to execute image segmentation, when the segmentation scale was 49, the classification accuracy reached the highest value of 89.58 %. The classification accuracy of object-based RF classification was 1.42 % higher than that of pixel-based classification (88.16 %), and the classification accuracy was further improved. Therefore, the RF classification method combined with object-based analysis approach could achieve relatively high accuracy in the classification and extraction of land use information for industrial and mining reclamation areas. Moreover, the interpretation of remotely sensed imagery using the proposed method could provide technical support and theoretical reference for remotely sensed monitoring land reclamation.

The urogenital-hypogastric sheath: an anatomical observation on the relationship between the inferomedial extension of renal fascia and the hypogastric nerves.

PubMed

Yang, X F; Luo, G H; Ding, Z H; Li, G X; Chen, X W; Zhong, S Z

2014-11-01

The study aimed to perform an anatomical observation on the inferomedial extension of the renal fascia (RF) to the pelvis and explore its relationship with the hypogastric nerves (HGNs). Gross anatomy was performed on 12 formalin-fixed and 12 fresh cadavers. Sectional anatomy was performed on four formalin-fixed cadavers. Different from the traditional concept, both the anterior and posterior RF included the outer and inner layer with different inferomedial extensions. The multiple layers of RF extended downward to form a sandwich-like and compound fascia sheath with potential and expandable spaces which was named as "the urogenital-hypogastric sheath." Below the level of the origin of the inferior mesenteric artery, the bilateral urogenital-hypogastric sheath communicated with the counterpart in front of the great vessels in the midline and the superior hypogastric plexus ran into the urogenital-hypogastric sheath which carried the HGNs, ureters, and genital vessels downward to their terminations in the pelvis. In the retrorectal space, the urogenital-hypogastric sheath surrounded the fascia propria of the rectum posterolaterally as a layer of coat containing HGNs. The multiple layers of RF with different extensions are the anatomical basis of the formation of the urogenital-hypogastric sheath. As a special fascial structure in the retroperitoneal space and the pelvis, emphasis on its formation and morphology may be helpful for not only unifying the controversies about the relationship between the pelvic fascia and HGNs but also improving the intraoperative preservation of the HGNs by dissecting in the correct surgical plane.

Precision phase control for the radio frequency system of K500 superconducting cyclotron at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Som, Sumit; Ghosh, Surajit; Seth, Sudeshna

2013-11-15

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) has commissioned K500 Superconducting cyclotron (SCC) based on MSU and Texas A and M university cyclotrons. The radio frequency (RF) system of SCC has been commissioned with the stringent requirement of various RF parameters. The three-phase RF system of Superconducting cyclotron has been developed in the frequency range 9–27 MHz with amplitude and phase stability of 100 ppm and ±0.1°, respectively. The phase control system has the option to change the relative phase difference between any two RF cavities and maintain the phase stability within ±0.1° during round-the-clock cyclotron operation. The said precision phase loopmore » consists of both analogue In-phase/Quadrature modulator to achieve faster response and also Direct Digital Synthesis based phase shifter to achieve wide dynamic range as well. This paper discusses detail insights into the various issues of phase control for the K500 SCC at VECC, Kolkata.« less

Space Network IP Services (SNIS): An Architecture for Supporting Low Earth Orbiting IP Satellite Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, David J.

2005-01-01

The NASA Space Network (SN) supports a variety of missions using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), which includes ground stations in White Sands, New Mexico and Guam. A Space Network IP Services (SNIS) architecture is being developed to support future users with requirements for end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) communications. This architecture will support all IP protocols, including Mobile IP, over TDRSS Single Access, Multiple Access, and Demand Access Radio Frequency (RF) links. This paper will describe this architecture and how it can enable Low Earth Orbiting IP satellite missions.

A Target Region Amplified Polymorphism (TRAP) Marker for Fertility Restorer Gene Rf1 and Chromosomal Localization of Rf1 and Rf2 in Cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), a maternally inherited trait and characterized as an inability to produce functional pollen , is an important biological system for economically producing hybrid seed to enhance crop yield and studying cytoplasmic and nuclear gene interactions. In cultivated tetrapl...

Cluster ensemble based on Random Forests for genetic data.

PubMed

Alhusain, Luluah; Hafez, Alaaeldin M

2017-01-01

Clustering plays a crucial role in several application domains, such as bioinformatics. In bioinformatics, clustering has been extensively used as an approach for detecting interesting patterns in genetic data. One application is population structure analysis, which aims to group individuals into subpopulations based on shared genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms. Advances in DNA sequencing technology have facilitated the obtainment of genetic datasets with exceptional sizes. Genetic data usually contain hundreds of thousands of genetic markers genotyped for thousands of individuals, making an efficient means for handling such data desirable. Random Forests (RFs) has emerged as an efficient algorithm capable of handling high-dimensional data. RFs provides a proximity measure that can capture different levels of co-occurring relationships between variables. RFs has been widely considered a supervised learning method, although it can be converted into an unsupervised learning method. Therefore, RF-derived proximity measure combined with a clustering technique may be well suited for determining the underlying structure of unlabeled data. This paper proposes, RFcluE, a cluster ensemble approach for determining the underlying structure of genetic data based on RFs. The approach comprises a cluster ensemble framework to combine multiple runs of RF clustering. Experiments were conducted on high-dimensional, real genetic dataset to evaluate the proposed approach. The experiments included an examination of the impact of parameter changes, comparing RFcluE performance against other clustering methods, and an assessment of the relationship between the diversity and quality of the ensemble and its effect on RFcluE performance. This paper proposes, RFcluE, a cluster ensemble approach based on RF clustering to address the problem of population structure analysis and demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. The paper also illustrates that applying a cluster ensemble approach, combining multiple RF clusterings, produces more robust and higher-quality results as a consequence of feeding the ensemble with diverse views of high-dimensional genetic data obtained through bagging and random subspace, the two key features of the RF algorithm.

No adverse effects detected for simultaneous whole-body exposure to multiple-frequency radiofrequency electromagnetic fields for rats in the intrauterine and pre- and post-weaning periods.

PubMed

Shirai, Tomoyuki; Wang, Jianqing; Kawabe, Mayumi; Wake, Kanako; Watanabe, So-Ichi; Takahashi, Satoru; Fujiwara, Osamu

2017-01-01

In everyday life, people are exposed to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) with multiple frequencies. To evaluate the possible adverse effects of multifrequency RF EMFs, we performed an experiment in which pregnant rats and their delivered offspring were simultaneously exposed to eight different communication signal EMFs (two of 800 MHz band, two of 2 GHz band, one of 2.4 GHz band, two of 2.5 GHz band and one of 5.2 GHz band). Thirty six pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) 10-week-old rats were divided into three groups of 12 rats: one control (sham exposure) group and two experimental (low- and high-level RF EMF exposure) groups. The whole body of the mother rats was exposed to the RF EMFs for 20 h per day from Gestational Day 7 to weaning, and F 1 offspring rats (46-48 F1 pups per group) were then exposed up to 6 weeks of age also for 20 h per day. The parameters evaluated included the growth, gestational condition and organ weights of the dams; the survival rates, development, growth, physical and functional development, memory function, and reproductive ability of the F 1 offspring; and the embryotoxicity and teratogenicity in the F 2 rats. No abnormal findings were observed in the dams or F 1 offspring exposed to the RF EMFs or to the F 2 offspring for any of the parameters evaluated. Thus, under the conditions of the present experiment, simultaneous whole-body exposure to eight different communication signal EMFs at frequencies between 800 MHz and 5.2 GHz did not show any adverse effects on pregnancy or on the development of rats. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japan Radiation Research Society and Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology.

Accuracy of Voltage Signal Measurement During Radiofrequency Delivery Through the SMARTTOUCH Catheter.

PubMed

Safavi-Naeini, Payam; Zafar-Awan, Dreema; Zhu, Hongjian; Zablah, Gerardo; Ganapathy, Anand V; Rasekh, Abdi; Saeed, Mohammad; Razavi, Joanna Esther Molina; Razavi, Mehdi

2017-01-01

Current methods for measuring voltage during radiofrequency (RF) ablation (RFA) necessitate turning off the ablation catheter. If voltage could be accurately read without signal attenuation during RFA, turning off the catheter would be unnecessary, allowing continuous ablation. We evaluated the accuracy of the Thermocool SMARTTOUCH catheter for measuring voltage while RF traverses the catheter. We studied 26 patients undergoing RFA for arrhythmias. A 7.5F SMARTTOUCH catheter was used for sensing voltage and performing RFA. Data were collected from the Carto-3 3-dimensional mapping system. Voltages were measured during ablation (RF-ON) and immediately before or after ablation (RF-OFF). In evaluating the accuracy of RF-ON measurements, we utilized the RF-OFF measure as the gold standard. We measured 465 voltage signals. The median values were 0.2900 and 0.3100 for RF-ON and RF-OFF, respectively. Wilcoxon signed rank testing showed no significant difference in these values (P = 0.608). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.96, indicating that voltage measurements were similarly accurate during RF-OFF versus RF-ON. Five patients had baseline atrial fibrillation (AF), for whom 82 ablation points were measured; 383 additional ablation points were measured for the remaining patients. The voltages measured during RF-ON versus RF-OFF were similar in the presence of AF (P = 0.800) versus non-AF rhythm (P = 0.456) (ICC, 0.96 for both). Voltage signal measurement was similarly accurate during RF-ON versus RF-OFF independent of baseline rhythm. Physicians should consider not turning off the SMARTTOUCH ablation catheter when measuring voltage during RFA. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Liquid Methane Conditioning Capabilities Developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center's Small Multi- Purpose Research Facility (SMiRF) for Accelerated Lunar Surface Storage Thermal Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bamberger, Helmut H.; Robinson, R. Craig; Jurns, John M.; Grasl, Steven J.

2011-01-01

Glenn Research Center s Creek Road Cryogenic Complex, Small Multi-Purpose Research Facility (SMiRF) recently completed validation / checkout testing of a new liquid methane delivery system and liquid methane (LCH4) conditioning system. Facility checkout validation was conducted in preparation for a series of passive thermal control technology tests planned at SMiRF in FY10 using a flight-like propellant tank at simulated thermal environments from 140 to 350K. These tests will validate models and provide high quality data to support consideration of LCH4/LO2 propellant combination option for a lunar or planetary ascent stage.An infrastructure has been put in place which will support testing of large amounts of liquid methane at SMiRF. Extensive modifications were made to the test facility s existing liquid hydrogen system for compatibility with liquid methane. Also, a new liquid methane fluid conditioning system will enable liquid methane to be quickly densified (sub-cooled below normal boiling point) and to be quickly reheated to saturation conditions between 92 and 140 K. Fluid temperatures can be quickly adjusted to compress the overall test duration. A detailed trade study was conducted to determine an appropriate technique to liquid conditioning with regard to the SMiRF facility s existing infrastructure. In addition, a completely new roadable dewar has been procured for transportation and temporary storage of liquid methane. A new spherical, flight-representative tank has also been fabricated for integration into the vacuum chamber at SMiRF. The addition of this system to SMiRF marks the first time a large-scale liquid methane propellant test capability has been realized at Glenn.This work supports the Cryogenic Fluid Management Project being conducted under the auspices of the Exploration Technology Development Program, providing focused cryogenic fluid management technology efforts to support NASA s future robotic or human exploration missions.

Airborne characterization of smoke marker ratios from prescribed burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, A. P.; May, A. A.; Lee, T.; McMeeking, G. R.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Akagi, S. K.; Yokelson, R. J.; Urbanski, S. P.; Collett, J. L., Jr.

2014-10-01

A Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler - Total Organic Carbon (PILS-TOC) and fraction collector system was flown aboard a Twin Otter aircraft sampling prescribed burning emissions in South Carolina in November 2011 to obtain smoke marker measurements. The fraction collector provided 2 min time-integrated offline samples for carbohydrate (i.e., smoke markers levoglucosan, mannosan, and galactosan) analysis by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. Each fire location appeared to have a unique Δlevoglucosan/Δwater-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) ratio (RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05 = 0.163 ± 0.007 μg C μg-1 C, RF08 = 0.115 ± 0.011 μg C μg-1 C, RF09A = 0.072 ± 0.028 μg C μg-1 C, and RF09B = 0.042 ± 0.008 μg C μg-1 C, where RF means research flight). These ratios were comparable to those obtained from controlled laboratory burns and suggested that the emissions sampled during RF01/F02/RF03/RF05 were dominated by the burning of grasses, RF08 by leaves, RF09A by needles, and RF09B by marsh grasses. These findings were further supported by the Δgalactosan/Δlevoglucosan ratios (RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05 = 0.067 ± 0.004 μg μg-1, RF08 = 0.085 ± 0.009 μg μg-1, and RF09A = 0.101 ± 0.029 μg μg-1) obtained as well as by the ground-based fuel and filter sample analyses during RF01/RF02/RF03/RF05. Differences between Δpotassium/Δlevoglucosan ratios obtained for these prescribed fires vs. laboratory-scale measurements suggest that some laboratory burns may not accurately represent potassium emissions from prescribed burns. The Δlevoglucosan/ΔWSOC ratio had no clear dependence on smoke age or fire dynamics suggesting that this ratio is more dependent on the type of fuel being burned. Levoglucosan was stable over a timescale of at least 1.5 h and could be useful to help estimate the air quality impacts of biomass burning.

Integrated PET/MR breast cancer imaging: Attenuation correction and implementation of a 16-channel RF coil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oehmigen, Mark, E-mail: mark.oehmigen@uni-due.de

Purpose: This study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a 16-channel radiofrequency (RF) coil for integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging of breast cancer. The RF coil is designed for optimized MR imaging performance and PET transparency and attenuation correction (AC) is applied for accurate PET quantification. Methods: A 16-channel breast array RF coil was designed for integrated PET/MR hybrid imaging of breast cancer lesions. The RF coil features a lightweight rigid design and is positioned with a spacer at a defined position on the patient table of an integrated PET/MR system. Attenuation correction is performed by generating andmore » applying a dedicated 3D CT-based template attenuation map. Reposition accuracy of the RF coil on the system patient table while using the positioning frame was tested in repeated measurements using MR-visible markers. The MR, PET, and PET/MR imaging performances were systematically evaluated using modular breast phantoms. Attenuation correction of the RF coil was evaluated with difference measurements of the active breast phantoms filled with radiotracer in the PET detector with and without the RF coil in place, serving as a standard of reference measurement. The overall PET/MR imaging performance and PET quantification accuracy of the new 16-channel RF coil and its AC were then evaluated in first clinical examinations on ten patients with local breast cancer. Results: The RF breast array coil provides excellent signal-to-noise ratio and signal homogeneity across the volume of the breast phantoms in MR imaging and visualizes small structures in the phantoms down to 0.4 mm in plane. Difference measurements with PET revealed a global loss and thus attenuation of counts by 13% (mean value across the whole phantom volume) when the RF coil is placed in the PET detector. Local attenuation ranging from 0% in the middle of the phantoms up to 24% was detected in the peripheral regions of the phantoms at positions closer to attenuating hardware structures of the RF coil. The position accuracy of the RF coil on the patient table when using the positioning frame was determined well below 1 mm for all three spatial dimensions. This ensures perfect position match between the RF coil and its three-dimensional attenuation template during the PET data reconstruction process. When applying the CT-based AC of the RF coil, the global attenuation bias was mostly compensated to ±0.5% across the entire breast imaging volume. The patient study revealed high quality MR, PET, and combined PET/MR imaging of breast cancer. Quantitative activity measurements in all 11 breast cancer lesions of the ten patients resulted in increased mean difference values of SUV{sub max} 11.8% (minimum 3.2%; maximum 23.2%) between nonAC images and images when AC of the RF breast coil was applied. This supports the quantitative results of the phantom study as well as successful attenuation correction of the RF coil. Conclusions: A 16-channel breast RF coil was designed for optimized MR imaging performance and PET transparency and was successfully integrated with its dedicated attenuation correction template into a whole-body PET/MR system. Systematic PET/MR imaging evaluation with phantoms and an initial study on patients with breast cancer provided excellent MR and PET image quality and accurate PET quantification.« less

Investigation of the B1 field distribution and RF power deposition in a birdcage coil as functions of the number of coil legs at 4.7 T, 7.0 T, and 11.7 T

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Jeung-Hoon; Han, Sang-Doc; Kim, Kyoung-Nam

2015-06-01

The proper design of birdcage (BC) coils plays a very important role in the acquisition of highresolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of small animals such as rodents. In this context, we investigate multiple-leg (8-, 16-, 32-, 64-, and 128-leg) BC coils operating at ultra-high fields (UHF) of 7.0 T and 11.7 T and a high-field (HF) of 4.7 T for rodent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Primarily, Our study comparatively examines the parameters of the radiofrequency (RF) transmission (|B1 +|)-field, the magnetic flux (|B1|)-field, and RF power deposition (RF-PD) as functions of the number of BC-coil legs via finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations under realistic loading conditions with a biological phantom. In particular, the specific ratio |E/B1 +| is defined for predicting RF-PD values in different coil structures. Our results indicate that the optimal number of legs of the BC coil can be chosen for different resonance frequencies of 200 MHz, 300 MHz, and 500 MHz and that this choice can be lead to superior |B1 +|-field intensity and |B1|-field homogeneity and decreased RF-PD. We believe that our approach to determining the optimal number of legs for a BC coil can contribute to rodent MR imaging.

[Study of New Micropore RF system on Lesion Formation and Complications].

PubMed

Song, Yuwen; Xu, Xiulin; Cai, Yameng

2017-07-30

To study the safety and effectiveness of a new type of micropore ablation catheter in vitro ablation system, and to provide reference for clinical practice. To evaluate two kinds of catheter in cardiac tissue ablation depth, tissue temperature and thrombosis situation by the same RF system. The power set 25 W, There was no significant difference in ablation depth between the two groups, and no Pop and thrombosis occurred. When the power is more than 40 W, two groups occurred more Pop and thrombosis. When using high power for Cardiac RF ablation, doctors should pay more attention to complications and thrombosis.

Novel Escherichia coli RF1 mutants with decreased translation termination activity and increased sensitivity to the cytotoxic effect of the bacterial toxins Kid and RelE.

PubMed

Diago-Navarro, Elizabeth; Mora, Liliana; Buckingham, Richard H; Díaz-Orejas, Ramón; Lemonnier, Marc

2009-01-01

Novel mutations in prfA, the gene for the polypeptide release factor RF1 of Escherichia coli, were isolated using a positive genetic screen based on the parD (kis, kid) toxin-antitoxin system. This original approach allowed the direct selection of mutants with altered translational termination efficiency at UAG codons. The isolated prfA mutants displayed a approximately 10-fold decrease in UAG termination efficiency with no significant changes in RF1 stability in vivo. All three mutations, G121S, G301S and R303H, were situated close to the nonsense codon recognition site in RF1:ribosome complexes. The prfA mutants displayed increased sensitivity to the RelE toxin encoded by the relBE system of E. coli, thus providing in vivo support for the functional interaction between RF1 and RelE. The prfA mutants also showed increased sensitivity to the Kid toxin. Since this toxin can cleave RNA in a ribosome-independent manner, this result was not anticipated and provided first evidence for the involvement of RF1 in the pathway of Kid toxicity. The sensitivity of the prfA mutants to RelE and Kid was restored to normal levels upon overproduction of the wild-type RF1 protein. We discuss these results and their utility for the design of novel antibacterial strategies in the light of the recently reported structure of ribosome-bound RF1.

[Development of RF coil of permanent magnet mini-magnetic resonance imager and mouse imaging experiments].

PubMed

Hou, Shulian; Xie, Huantong; Chen, Wei; Wang, Guangxin; Zhao, Qiang; Li, Shiyu

2014-10-01

In the development of radio frequency (RF) coils for better quality of the mini-type permanent magnetic resonance imager for using in the small animal imaging, the solenoid RF coil has a special advantage for permanent magnetic system based on analyses of various types.of RF coils. However, it is not satisfied for imaging if the RF coils are directly used. By theoretical analyses of the magnetic field properties produced from the solenoid coil, the research direction was determined by careful studies to raise further the uniformity of the magnetic field coil, receiving coil sensitivity for signals and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The method had certain advantages and avoided some shortcomings of the other different coil types, such as, birdcage coil, saddle shaped coil and phased array coil by using the alloy materials (from our own patent). The RF coils were designed, developed and made for keeled applicable to permanent magnet-type magnetic resonance imager, multi-coil combination-type, single-channel overall RF receiving coil, and applied for a patent. Mounted on three instruments (25 mm aperture, with main magnetic field strength of 0.5 T or 1.5 T, and 50 mm aperture, with main magnetic field strength of 0.48 T), we performed experiments with mice, rats, and nude mice bearing tumors. The experimental results indicated that the RF receiving coil was fully applicable to the permanent magnet-type imaging system.

Application of random forests methods to diabetic retinopathy classification analyses.

PubMed

Casanova, Ramon; Saldana, Santiago; Chew, Emily Y; Danis, Ronald P; Greven, Craig M; Ambrosius, Walter T

2014-01-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States and world-wide. DR is a silent disease that may go unnoticed until it is too late for effective treatment. Therefore, early detection could improve the chances of therapeutic interventions that would alleviate its effects. Graded fundus photography and systemic data from 3443 ACCORD-Eye Study participants were used to estimate Random Forest (RF) and logistic regression classifiers. We studied the impact of sample size on classifier performance and the possibility of using RF generated class conditional probabilities as metrics describing DR risk. RF measures of variable importance are used to detect factors that affect classification performance. Both types of data were informative when discriminating participants with or without DR. RF based models produced much higher classification accuracy than those based on logistic regression. Combining both types of data did not increase accuracy but did increase statistical discrimination of healthy participants who subsequently did or did not have DR events during four years of follow-up. RF variable importance criteria revealed that microaneurysms counts in both eyes seemed to play the most important role in discrimination among the graded fundus variables, while the number of medicines and diabetes duration were the most relevant among the systemic variables. We have introduced RF methods to DR classification analyses based on fundus photography data. In addition, we propose an approach to DR risk assessment based on metrics derived from graded fundus photography and systemic data. Our results suggest that RF methods could be a valuable tool to diagnose DR diagnosis and evaluate its progression.

Architecture for a 1-GHz Digital RADAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mallik, Udayan

2011-01-01

An architecture for a Direct RF-digitization Type Digital Mode RADAR was developed at GSFC in 2008. Two variations of a basic architecture were developed for use on RADAR imaging missions using aircraft and spacecraft. Both systems can operate with a pulse repetition rate up to 10 MHz with 8 received RF samples per pulse repetition interval, or at up to 19 kHz with 4K received RF samples per pulse repetition interval. The first design describes a computer architecture for a Continuous Mode RADAR transceiver with a real-time signal processing and display architecture. The architecture can operate at a high pulse repetition rate without interruption for an infinite amount of time. The second design describes a smaller and less costly burst mode RADAR that can transceive high pulse repetition rate RF signals without interruption for up to 37 seconds. The burst-mode RADAR was designed to operate on an off-line signal processing paradigm. The temporal distribution of RF samples acquired and reported to the RADAR processor remains uniform and free of distortion in both proposed architectures. The majority of the RADAR's electronics is implemented in digital CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), and analog circuits are restricted to signal amplification operations and analog to digital conversion. An implementation of the proposed systems will create a 1-GHz, Direct RF-digitization Type, L-Band Digital RADAR--the highest band achievable for Nyquist Rate, Direct RF-digitization Systems that do not implement an electronic IF downsample stage (after the receiver signal amplification stage), using commercially available off-the-shelf integrated circuits.

Submillimeter-Wave Phasor Beam-Pattern Measurement Based on Two-Stage Heterodyne Mixing With Unitary Harmonic Difference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Yuh-Jing; Rao, Ramprasad; Christensen, Rob; Chen, Ming-Tang; Chu, Tah-Hsiung

2007-06-01

A near-field phasor beam measurement system is developed for the characterization of heterodyne receiver optics at submillimeter-wave frequencies. The system synthesizes a pair of submillimeter-wave signals as the RF and local oscillator (LO) sources from common reference sources. The synthesized harmonic numbers of the RF and LO sources are arranged with difference by one, which makes this a new configuration with a unitary harmonic difference. The coherent RF and LO signal are down-converted by the receiver under test, then mixed with the microwave-frequency common reference signal to generate the second-order IF signal around 100 MHz for amplitude and phase comparison. The amplitude and phase fluctuation of the measurement system at 683 GHz is within +-0.2 dB and +-4deg in a 1-h period, respectively. The system dynamic range at 683 and 250 GHz can be as high as 43 and 47 dB, respectively. The system is then used to measure the receiver beam patterns at 683 and 250 GHz with different RF transmitting probe antennas.

Novel Ultrahigh Vacuum System for Chip-Scale Trapped Ion Quantum Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shaw-Pin; Trapped Team

2011-05-01

This presentation reports the experimental results of an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) system as a scheme to implement scalable trapped-ion quantum computers that use micro-fabricated ion traps as fundamental building blocks. The novelty of this system resides in our design, material selection, mechanical liability, low complexity of assembly, and reduced signal interference between DC and RF electrodes. Our system utilizes RF isolation and onsite-filtering topologies to attenuate AC signals generated from the resonator. We use a UHV compatible printed circuit board (PCB) material to perform DC routing, while the RF high and RF ground received separated routing via wire-wrapping. The standard PCB fabrication process enabled us to implement ceramic-based filter components adjacent to the chip trap. The DC electrodes are connected to air-side electrical feed through using four 25D adaptors made with polyether ether ketone (PEEK). The assembly process of this system is straight forward and in-chamber structure is self-supporting. We report on initial testing of this concept with a linear chip trap fabricated by the Sandia National Labs.

Radiofrequency ablation of chondroblastoma using a multi-tined expandable electrode system: initial results.

PubMed

Tins, Bernhard; Cassar-Pullicino, Victor; McCall, Iain; Cool, Paul; Williams, David; Mangham, David

2006-04-01

The standard treatment for chondroblastoma is surgery, which can be difficult and disabling due to its apo- or epiphyseal location. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation potentially offers a minimally invasive alternative. The often large size of chondroblastomas can make treatment with plain electrode systems difficult or impossible. This article describes the preliminary experience of RF treatment of chondroblastomas with a multi-tined expandable RF electrode system. Four cases of CT guided RF treatment are described. The tumour was successfully treated in all cases. In two cases, complications occurred; infraction of a subarticular chondroblastoma in one case and cartilage and bone damage in the unaffected compartment of a knee joint in the other. Radiofrequency treatment near a joint surface threatens the integrity of cartilage and therefore long-term joint function. In weight-bearing areas, the lack of bone replacement in successfully treated lesions contributes to the risk of mechanical failure. Multi-tined expandable electrode systems allow the treatment of large chondroblastomas. In weight-bearing joints and lesions near to the articular cartilage, there is a risk of cartilage damage and mechanical weakening of the bone. In lesions without these caveats, RF ablation appears promising. The potential risks and benefits need to be evaluated for each case individually.

Random Forest-Based Approach for Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Systems Operating under Actual Environmental Conditions.

PubMed

Shareef, Hussain; Mutlag, Ammar Hussein; Mohamed, Azah

2017-01-01

Many maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms have been developed in recent years to maximize the produced PV energy. These algorithms are not sufficiently robust because of fast-changing environmental conditions, efficiency, accuracy at steady-state value, and dynamics of the tracking algorithm. Thus, this paper proposes a new random forest (RF) model to improve MPPT performance. The RF model has the ability to capture the nonlinear association of patterns between predictors, such as irradiance and temperature, to determine accurate maximum power point. A RF-based tracker is designed for 25 SolarTIFSTF-120P6 PV modules, with the capacity of 3 kW peak using two high-speed sensors. For this purpose, a complete PV system is modeled using 300,000 data samples and simulated using the MATLAB/SIMULINK package. The proposed RF-based MPPT is then tested under actual environmental conditions for 24 days to validate the accuracy and dynamic response. The response of the RF-based MPPT model is also compared with that of the artificial neural network and adaptive neurofuzzy inference system algorithms for further validation. The results show that the proposed MPPT technique gives significant improvement compared with that of other techniques. In addition, the RF model passes the Bland-Altman test, with more than 95 percent acceptability.

NMR measurement system including two synchronized ring buffers, with 128 rf coils for in situ water monitoring in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogawa, Kuniyasu; Haishi, Tomoyuki; Aoki, Masaru; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Morisaka, Shinichi; Hashimoto, Seitaro

2017-01-01

A small radio-frequency (rf) coil inserted into a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) can be used to acquire nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals from the water in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) or in oxygen gas channels in the PEFC. Measuring the spatial distribution of the water in a large PEFC requires using many rf probes, so an NMR measurement system which acquires NMR signals from 128 rf probes at intervals of 0.5 s was manufactured. The system has eight rf transceiver units with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for modulation of the excitation pulse and quadrature phase detection of the NMR signal, and one control unit with two ring buffers for data control. The sequence data required for the NMR measurement were written into one ring buffer. The acquired NMR signal data were then written temporarily into the other ring buffer and then were transmitted to a personal computer (PC). A total of 98 rf probes were inserted into the PEFC that had an electrical generation area of 16 cm × 14 cm, and the water generated in the PEFC was measured when the PEFC operated at 100 A. As a result, time-dependent changes in the spatial distribution of the water content in the MEA and the water in the oxygen gas channels were obtained.

Random Forest-Based Approach for Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Systems Operating under Actual Environmental Conditions

PubMed Central

Shareef, Hussain; Mohamed, Azah

2017-01-01

Many maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms have been developed in recent years to maximize the produced PV energy. These algorithms are not sufficiently robust because of fast-changing environmental conditions, efficiency, accuracy at steady-state value, and dynamics of the tracking algorithm. Thus, this paper proposes a new random forest (RF) model to improve MPPT performance. The RF model has the ability to capture the nonlinear association of patterns between predictors, such as irradiance and temperature, to determine accurate maximum power point. A RF-based tracker is designed for 25 SolarTIFSTF-120P6 PV modules, with the capacity of 3 kW peak using two high-speed sensors. For this purpose, a complete PV system is modeled using 300,000 data samples and simulated using the MATLAB/SIMULINK package. The proposed RF-based MPPT is then tested under actual environmental conditions for 24 days to validate the accuracy and dynamic response. The response of the RF-based MPPT model is also compared with that of the artificial neural network and adaptive neurofuzzy inference system algorithms for further validation. The results show that the proposed MPPT technique gives significant improvement compared with that of other techniques. In addition, the RF model passes the Bland–Altman test, with more than 95 percent acceptability. PMID:28702051

Development of a Low-Cost UAV Doppler Radar Data System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knuble, Joseph; Li, Lihua; Heymsfield, Gerry

2005-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the design of a low cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) doppler radar data system is presented. The topics include: 1) Science and Mission Background; 2) Radar Requirements and Specs; 3) Radar Realization: RF System; 4) Processing of RF Signal; 5) Data System Design Process; 6) Can We Remove the DSP? 7) Determining Approximate Speed Requirements; 8) Radar Realization: Data System; 9) Data System Operation; and 10) Results.

Design, modeling and simulations of a Cabinet Safe System for a linear particle accelerator of intermediate-low energy by optimization of the beam optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maidana, Carlos Omar

As part of an accelerator based Cargo Inspection System, studies were made to develop a Cabinet Safe System by Optimization of the Beam Optics of Microwave Linear Accelerators of the IAC-Varian series working on the S-band and standing wave pi/2 mode. Measurements, modeling and simulations of the main subsystems were done and a Multiple Solenoidal System was designed. This Cabinet Safe System based on a Multiple Solenoidal System minimizes the radiation field generated by the low efficiency of the microwave accelerators by optimizing the RF waveguide system and by also trapping secondaries generated in the accelerator head. These secondaries are generated mainly due to instabilities in the exit window region and particles backscattered from the target. The electron gun was also studied and software for its right mechanical design and for its optimization was developed as well. Besides the standard design method, an optimization of the injection process is accomplished by slightly modifying the gun configuration and by placing a solenoid on the waist position while avoiding threading the cathode with the magnetic flux generated. The Multiple Solenoidal System and the electron gun optimization are the backbone of a Cabinet Safe System that could be applied not only to the 25 MeV IAC-Varian microwave accelerators but, by extension, to machines of different manufacturers as well. Thus, they constitute the main topic of this dissertation.

Review of ion energy and angular distributions in capacitively coupled RF plasma reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kawamura, E.; Lieberman, M.A.; Birdsall, C.K.

1995-12-31

The authors present a historical review and discussion of previous works on ion energy and angular distributions (IED and IAD) arriving at the target in the collisionless regime. This regime is of great interest to experimentalists and modelers studying the new generation of high density sources in which the sheath is much thinner than in the conventional RIE systems. The purpose of the review is to asses what has been done so far, and to clarify some issues about sheaths in high density systems. Having determined the important parameters, the authors show some particle-in-cell simulation results of a dually excitedmore » capacitively coupled plasma in which the sheath ions roughly see the scaling as in high density sources. The results show that when {tau}{sub ion}/{tau}{sub rf} < 1, the oscillating voltage and width of the rf sheath significantly affect the IEDs, where {tau}{sub ion} is the ion transit-time and {tau}{sub rf} is rf period.« less

Multi-service highly sensitive rectifier for enhanced RF energy scavenging.

PubMed

Shariati, Negin; Rowe, Wayne S T; Scott, James R; Ghorbani, Kamran

2015-05-07

Due to the growing implications of energy costs and carbon footprints, the need to adopt inexpensive, green energy harvesting strategies are of paramount importance for the long-term conservation of the environment and the global economy. To address this, the feasibility of harvesting low power density ambient RF energy simultaneously from multiple sources is examined. A high efficiency multi-resonant rectifier is proposed, which operates at two frequency bands (478-496 and 852-869 MHz) and exhibits favorable impedance matching over a broad input power range (-40 to -10 dBm). Simulation and experimental results of input reflection coefficient and rectified output power are in excellent agreement, demonstrating the usefulness of this innovative low-power rectification technique. Measurement results indicate an effective efficiency of 54.3%, and an output DC voltage of 772.8 mV is achieved for a multi-tone input power of -10 dBm. Furthermore, the measured output DC power from harvesting RF energy from multiple services concurrently exhibits a 3.14 and 7.24 fold increase over single frequency rectification at 490 and 860 MHz respectively. Therefore, the proposed multi-service highly sensitive rectifier is a promising technique for providing a sustainable energy source for low power applications in urban environments.

Multi-Service Highly Sensitive Rectifier for Enhanced RF Energy Scavenging

PubMed Central

Shariati, Negin; Rowe, Wayne S. T.; Scott, James R.; Ghorbani, Kamran

2015-01-01

Due to the growing implications of energy costs and carbon footprints, the need to adopt inexpensive, green energy harvesting strategies are of paramount importance for the long-term conservation of the environment and the global economy. To address this, the feasibility of harvesting low power density ambient RF energy simultaneously from multiple sources is examined. A high efficiency multi-resonant rectifier is proposed, which operates at two frequency bands (478–496 and 852–869 MHz) and exhibits favorable impedance matching over a broad input power range (−40 to −10 dBm). Simulation and experimental results of input reflection coefficient and rectified output power are in excellent agreement, demonstrating the usefulness of this innovative low-power rectification technique. Measurement results indicate an effective efficiency of 54.3%, and an output DC voltage of 772.8 mV is achieved for a multi-tone input power of −10 dBm. Furthermore, the measured output DC power from harvesting RF energy from multiple services concurrently exhibits a 3.14 and 7.24 fold increase over single frequency rectification at 490 and 860 MHz respectively. Therefore, the proposed multi-service highly sensitive rectifier is a promising technique for providing a sustainable energy source for low power applications in urban environments. PMID:25951137

Design approach for the development of a cryomodule for compact crab cavities for Hi-Lumi LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattalwar, Shrikant; Jones, Thomas; Templeton, Niklas; Goudket, Philippe; McIntosh, Peter; Wheelhouse, Alan; Burt, Graeme; Hall, Ben; Wright, Loren; Peterson, Tom

2014-01-01

A prototype Superconducting RF (SRF) cryomodule, comprising multiple compact crab cavities is foreseen to realise a local crab crossing scheme for the "Hi-Lumi LHC", a project launched by CERN to increase the luminosity performance of LHC. A cryomodule with two cavities will be initially installed and tested on the SPS drive accelerator at CERN to evaluate performance with high-intensity proton beams. A series of boundary conditions influence the design of the cryomodule prototype, arising from; the complexity of the cavity design, the requirement for multiple RF couplers, the close proximity to the second LHC beam pipe and the tight space constraints in the SPS and LHC tunnels. As a result, the design of the helium vessel and the cryomodule has become extremely challenging. This paper assesses some of the critical cryogenic and engineering design requirements and describes an optimised cryomodule solution for the evaluation tests on SPS.

A broadband ASE light source-based full-duplex FTTX/ROF transport system.

PubMed

Chang, Ching-Hung; Lu, Hai-Han; Su, Heng-Sheng; Shih, Chien-Liang; Chen, Kai-Jen

2009-11-23

A full-duplex fiber-to-the-X (FTTX)/radio-over-fiber (ROF) transport system based on a broadband amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light source is proposed and demonstrated for rural wide-spread villages. Combining the concepts of long-transmission transmission and ring topology, a long-haul single-mode fiber (SMF) trunk is sharing with multiple rural villages. Externally modulated baseband (BB) (1.25 Gbps) and radio-frequency (RF) (622 Mbps/10 GHz) signals are successfully transmitted simultaneously. Good bit error rate (BER) performance was achieved to demonstrate the practice of providing wire/wireless connections for long-haul wide-spread rural villages. Since our proposed system uses only a broadband ASE light source to achieve multi-wavelengths transmissions, it also reveals an outstanding one with simpler and more economic advantages.

Comparison of approaches to rheumatic fever surveillance across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

PubMed

Oliver, Jane; Baker, Michael G; Pierse, Nevil; Carapetis, Jonathan

2015-11-01

Rheumatic fever (RF) prevention, control and surveillance are increasingly important priorities in New Zealand (NZ) and Australia. We compared RF surveillance across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries to assist in benchmarking and identifying useful approaches. A structured literature review was completed using Medline and PubMed databases, investigating RF incidence rates. Surveillance methods were noted. Health department websites were searched to assess whether addressing RF was a Government priority. Of 32 OECD member countries, nine reported RF incidence rates after 1999. Highest rates were seen in indigenous Australians, and NZ Māori and Pacific peoples. NZ and Australian surveillance systems are highly developed, with notification and register data compiled regularly. Only these two Governments appeared to prioritise RF surveillance and control. Other countries relied mainly on hospitalisation data. There is a lack of standardisation across incidence rate calculations. Israel and Italy may have relatively high RF rates among developed countries. RF lingers in specific populations in OECD member countries. At a minimum, RF registers are needed in higher incidence countries. Countries with low RF incidences should periodically review surveillance information to ensure rates are not increasing. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2015 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

CAT/RF Simulation Lessons Learned

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-06-11

IVSS-2003-MAS-7 CAT /RF Simulation Lessons Learned Christopher Mocnik Vetronics Technology Area, RDECOM TARDEC Tim Lee DCS Corporation...developed a re- configurable Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) simulation for the Crew integration and Automation Test bed ( CAT ) and Robotics Follower (RF...Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) experiments. This simulation was developed as a component of the Embedded Simulation System (ESS) of the CAT

Assessment of the potential noncancer health hazards of PCBs for inclusion on EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

EPA Science Inventory

At present, there are IRIS RfDs for two commercial PCB mixtures: Aroclor 1016 and Aroclor 1254. There is no IRIS RfD for complex PCB mixtures in general; and the RfDs for Aroclor 1016 and Aroclor 1254 were last updated in 1993 and 1994, respectively. The new assessment will integ...

Development of a prototype chest digital tomosynthesis R/F system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Sunghoon; Lee, Haenghwa; Lee, Donghoon; Choi, Seungyeon; Shin, Jungwook; Jang, Woojin; Seo, Chang-Woo; Kim, Hee-Joung

2017-03-01

Digital tomosynthesis has an advantage of low radiation dose compared to conventional computed tomography (CT) by utilizing small number of projections ( 80) acquired over a limited angular range. It can produce 3D volumetric data although they may have some artifacts due to incomplete sampling. Based upon these attractive merits, we developed a prototype digital tomosynthesis R/F system especially for the purpose of applications in chest imaging. Prototype chest digital tomosynthesis (CDT) R/F system contains an X-ray tube with high power R/F pulse generator, flat-panel detector, R/F table, electromechanical radiographic subsystems including precise motor controller, and a reconstruction server. For image reconstruction, users could select the reconstruction option between analytic and iterative methods. Reconstructed images of Catphan700 and LUNGMAN phantoms clearly and rapidly described the internal structures of the phantoms using graphics processing unit (GPU) programming. Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values of the CTP682 module was higher in images using the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) than those using filtered backprojection (FBP) for all materials by factors of 2.60, 3.78, 5.50, 2.30, 3.70, and 2.52 for air, lung foam, low density polyethylene (LDPE), Delrin (acetal homopolymer resin), bone 50% (hydroxyapatite), and Teflon, respectively. Total elapsed times for producing 3D volume were 2.92 sec and 86.29 sec on average for FBP and SART (20 iterations), respectively. The times required for reconstruction were clinically feasible. Moreover, the total radiation dose from the system (5.68 mGy) could demonstrate a significant lowered radiation dose compared to conventional chest CT scan. Consequently, our prototype tomosynthesis R/F system represents an important advance in digital tomosynthesis applications.

Development of a prototype chest digital tomosynthesis (CDT) R/F system with fast image reconstruction using graphics processing unit (GPU) programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Sunghoon; Lee, Seungwan; Lee, Haenghwa; Lee, Donghoon; Choi, Seungyeon; Shin, Jungwook; Seo, Chang-Woo; Kim, Hee-Joung

2017-03-01

Digital tomosynthesis offers the advantage of low radiation doses compared to conventional computed tomography (CT) by utilizing small numbers of projections ( 80) acquired over a limited angular range. It produces 3D volumetric data, although there are artifacts due to incomplete sampling. Based upon these characteristics, we developed a prototype digital tomosynthesis R/F system for applications in chest imaging. Our prototype chest digital tomosynthesis (CDT) R/F system contains an X-ray tube with high power R/F pulse generator, flat-panel detector, R/F table, electromechanical radiographic subsystems including a precise motor controller, and a reconstruction server. For image reconstruction, users select between analytic and iterative reconstruction methods. Our reconstructed images of Catphan700 and LUNGMAN phantoms clearly and rapidly described the internal structures of phantoms using graphics processing unit (GPU) programming. Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values of the CTP682 module of Catphan700 were higher in images using a simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) than in those using filtered back-projection (FBP) for all materials by factors of 2.60, 3.78, 5.50, 2.30, 3.70, and 2.52 for air, lung foam, low density polyethylene (LDPE), Delrin® (acetal homopolymer resin), bone 50% (hydroxyapatite), and Teflon, respectively. Total elapsed times for producing 3D volume were 2.92 s and 86.29 s on average for FBP and SART (20 iterations), respectively. The times required for reconstruction were clinically feasible. Moreover, the total radiation dose from our system (5.68 mGy) was lower than that of conventional chest CT scan. Consequently, our prototype tomosynthesis R/F system represents an important advance in digital tomosynthesis applications.

Studies and optimization of Pohang Light Source-II superconducting radio frequency system at stable top-up operation with beam current of 400 mA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joo, Youngdo, E-mail: Ydjoo77@postech.ac.kr; Yu, Inha; Park, Insoo

After three years of upgrading work, the Pohang Light Source-II (PLS-II) is now successfully operating. The final quantitative goal of PLS-II is a top-up user-service operation with beam current of 400 mA to be completed by the end of 2014. During the beam store test up to 400 mA in the storage ring (SR), it was observed that the vacuum pressure around the radio frequency (RF) window of the superconducting cavity rapidly increases over the interlock level limiting the availability of the maximum beam current storing. Although available beam current is enhanced by setting a higher RF accelerating voltage, it is bettermore » to keep the RF accelerating voltage as low as possible in the long time top-up operation. We investigated the cause of the window vacuum pressure increment by studying the changes in the electric field distribution at the superconducting cavity and waveguide according to the beam current. In our simulation, an equivalent physical modeling was developed using a finite-difference time-domain code. The simulation revealed that the electric field amplitude at the RF window is exponentially increased as the beam current increases, thus this high electric field amplitude causes a RF breakdown at the RF window, which comes with the rapid increase of window vacuum pressure. The RF accelerating voltage of PLS-II RF system was set to 4.95 MV, which was estimated using the maximum available beam current that works as a function of RF voltage, and the top-up operation test with the beam current of 400 mA was successfully carried out.« less

A NEW THERMIONIC RF ELECTRON GUN FOR SYNCHROTRON LIGHT SOURCES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kutsaev, Sergey; Agustsson, R.; Hartzell, J

A thermionic RF gun is a compact and efficient source of electrons used in many practical applications. RadiaBeam Systems and the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory collaborate in developing of a reliable and robust thermionic RF gun for synchrotron light sources which would offer substantial improvements over existing thermionic RF guns and allow stable operation with up to 1A of beam peak current at a 100 Hz pulse repetition rate and a 1.5 μs RF pulse length. In this paper, we discuss the electromagnetic and engineering design of the cavity and report the progress towards high power testsmore » of the cathode assembly of the new gun.« less

Recent research trends of radio-frequency biosensors for biomolecular detection.

PubMed

Lee, Hee-Jo; Yook, Jong-Gwan

2014-11-15

This article reviews radio-frequency (RF) biosensors based on passive and/or active devices and circuits. In particular, we focus on RF biosensors designed for detection of various biomolecules such as biotin-streptavidin, DNA hybridization, IgG, and glucose. The performance of these biosensors has been enhanced by the introduction of various sensing schemes with diverse nanomaterials (e.g., carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, magnetic and gold nanoparticles, etc.). In addition, the RF biosensing platforms that can be associated with an RF active system are discussed. Finally, the challenges of RF biosensors are presented and suggestions are made for their future direction and prospects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design and Optimization of AlN based RF MEMS Switches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan Ziko, Mehadi; Koel, Ants

2018-05-01

Radio frequency microelectromechanical system (RF MEMS) switch technology might have potential to replace the semiconductor technology in future communication systems as well as communication satellites, wireless and mobile phones. This study is to explore the possibilities of RF MEMS switch design and optimization with aluminium nitride (AlN) thin film as the piezoelectric actuation material. Achieving low actuation voltage and high contact force with optimal geometry using the principle of piezoelectric effect is the main motivation for this research. Analytical and numerical modelling of single beam type RF MEMS switch used to analyse the design parameters and optimize them for the minimum actuation voltage and high contact force. An analytical model using isotropic AlN material properties used to obtain the optimal parameters. The optimized geometry of the device length, width and thickness are 2000 µm, 500 µm and 0.6 µm respectively obtained for the single beam RF MEMS switch. Low actuation voltage and high contact force with optimal geometry are less than 2 Vand 100 µN obtained by analytical analysis. Additionally, the single beam RF MEMS switch are optimized and validated by comparing the analytical and finite element modelling (FEM) analysis.

Radio frequency radiation (RFR) from TV and radio transmitters at a pilot region in Turkey.

PubMed

Sirav, Bahriye; Seyhan, Nesrin

2009-09-01

For the last 30 y, the biological effects of non-ionising radiation (NIR: 0-300 GHz) have been a major topic in bioelectromagnetism. Since the number of radiofrequency (RF) systems operating in this frequency range has shown an incredible increase over the last few decades, the dangers of exposure to the fields generated thereby has become an important public health issue. In this study, the aim was to evaluate the level of RF electromagnetic radiation in Yenimahalle Sentepe Dededoruk Hill in Ankara, Turkey that is a multiple-transmitter site hosting 64 different TV and radio towers and one base station for mobile phone communication. The site has been of interest as it is nearby a residential community. Within the technical input data available on 31 of the radio and TV transmitters, the calculated radiation level in this particular region was found to be approximately four times higher than the permitted standards of Turkey, which are the same as the ICNIRP standards. Electromagnetic field measurement is needed in the site.

Electrostatic sensors for SPIDER experiment: Design, manufacture of prototypes, and first tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brombin, M.; Spolaore, M.; Serianni, G.; Barzon, A.; Franchin, L.; Pasqualotto, R.; Pomaro, N.; Schiesko, L.; Taliercio, C.; Trevisan, L.

2014-02-01

A system of electrostatic sensors has been designed for the SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) experiment, prototype RF source of the ITER NBI (neutral beam injection). A prototype of the sensor system was manufactured and tested at the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) facility, where the plasma environment is similar to that of SPIDER. Different aspects concerning the mechanical manufacturing and the signal conditioning are presented, among them the RF compensation adopted to reduce the RF effects which could lead to overestimated values of the electron temperature. The first commissioning tests provided ion saturation current values in the range assumed for the design, so the deduced plasma density estimate is consistent with the expected values.

Electrostatic sensors for SPIDER experiment: design, manufacture of prototypes, and first tests.

PubMed

Brombin, M; Spolaore, M; Serianni, G; Barzon, A; Franchin, L; Pasqualotto, R; Pomaro, N; Schiesko, L; Taliercio, C; Trevisan, L

2014-02-01

A system of electrostatic sensors has been designed for the SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) experiment, prototype RF source of the ITER NBI (neutral beam injection). A prototype of the sensor system was manufactured and tested at the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) facility, where the plasma environment is similar to that of SPIDER. Different aspects concerning the mechanical manufacturing and the signal conditioning are presented, among them the RF compensation adopted to reduce the RF effects which could lead to overestimated values of the electron temperature. The first commissioning tests provided ion saturation current values in the range assumed for the design, so the deduced plasma density estimate is consistent with the expected values.

Electrostatic sensors for SPIDER experiment: Design, manufacture of prototypes, and first tests

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brombin, M., E-mail: matteo.brombin@igi.cnr.it; Spolaore, M.; Serianni, G.

2014-02-15

A system of electrostatic sensors has been designed for the SPIDER (Source for the production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from RF plasma) experiment, prototype RF source of the ITER NBI (neutral beam injection). A prototype of the sensor system was manufactured and tested at the BATMAN (BAvarian Test MAchine for Negative ions) facility, where the plasma environment is similar to that of SPIDER. Different aspects concerning the mechanical manufacturing and the signal conditioning are presented, among them the RF compensation adopted to reduce the RF effects which could lead to overestimated values of the electron temperature. The first commissioningmore » tests provided ion saturation current values in the range assumed for the design, so the deduced plasma density estimate is consistent with the expected values.« less

Real-time cavity simulator-based low-level radio-frequency test bench and applications for accelerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Feng; Michizono, Shinichiro; Miura, Takako; Matsumoto, Toshihiro; Liu, Na; Wibowo, Sigit Basuki

2018-03-01

A Low-level radio-frequency (LLRF) control systems is required to regulate the rf field in the rf cavity used for beam acceleration. As the LLRF system is usually complex, testing of the basic functions or control algorithms of this system in real time and in advance of beam commissioning is strongly recommended. However, the equipment necessary to test the LLRF system, such as superconducting cavities and high-power rf sources, is very expensive; therefore, we have developed a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based cavity simulator as a substitute for real rf cavities. Digital models of the cavity and other rf systems are implemented in the FPGA. The main components include cavity baseband models for the fundamental and parasitic modes, a mechanical model of the Lorentz force detuning, and a model of the beam current. Furthermore, in our simulator, the disturbance model used to simulate the power-supply ripples and microphonics is also carefully considered. Based on the presented cavity simulator, we have established an LLRF system test bench that can be applied to different cavity operational conditions. The simulator performance has been verified by comparison with real cavities in KEK accelerators. In this paper, the development and implementation of this cavity simulator is presented first, and the LLRF test bench based on the presented simulator is constructed. The results are then compared with those for KEK accelerators. Finally, several LLRF applications of the cavity simulator are illustrated.

Using the ATL HDI 1000 to collect demodulated RF data for monitoring HIFU lesion formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anand, Ajay; Kaczkowski, Peter J.; Daigle, Ron E.; Huang, Lingyun; Paun, Marla; Beach, Kirk W.; Crum, Lawrence A.

2003-05-01

The ability to accurately track and monitor the progress of lesion formation during HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) therapy is important for the success of HIFU-based treatment protocols. To aid in the development of algorithms for accurately targeting and monitoring formation of HIFU induced lesions, we have developed a software system to perform RF data acquisition during HIFU therapy using a commercially available clinical ultrasound scanner (ATL HDI 1000, Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA). The HDI 1000 scanner functions on a software dominant architecture, permitting straightforward external control of its operation and relatively easy access to quadrature demodulated RF data. A PC running a custom developed program sends control signals to the HIFU module via GPIB and to the HDI 1000 via Telnet, alternately interleaving HIFU exposures and RF frame acquisitions. The system was tested during experiments in which HIFU lesions were created in excised animal tissue. No crosstalk between the HIFU beam and the ultrasound imager was detected, thus demonstrating synchronization. Newly developed acquisition modes allow greater user control in setting the image geometry and scanline density, and enables high frame rate acquisition. This system facilitates rapid development of signal-processing based HIFU therapy monitoring algorithms and their implementation in image-guided thermal therapy systems. In addition, the HDI 1000 system can be easily customized for use with other emerging imaging modalities that require access to the RF data such as elastographic methods and new Doppler-based imaging and tissue characterization techniques.

Matching network for RF plasma source

DOEpatents

Pickard, Daniel S.; Leung, Ka-Ngo

2007-11-20

A compact matching network couples an RF power supply to an RF antenna in a plasma generator. The simple and compact impedance matching network matches the plasma load to the impedance of a coaxial transmission line and the output impedance of an RF amplifier at radio frequencies. The matching network is formed of a resonantly tuned circuit formed of a variable capacitor and an inductor in a series resonance configuration, and a ferrite core transformer coupled to the resonantly tuned circuit. This matching network is compact enough to fit in existing compact focused ion beam systems.

Characteristics of a high-power RF source of negative hydrogen ions for neutral beam injection into controlled fusion devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdrashitov, G. F.; Belchenko, Yu. I.; Gusev, I. A.

An injector of hydrogen atoms with an energy of 0.5–1 MeV and equivalent current of up to 1.5 A for purposes of controlled fusion research is currently under design at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Within this project, a multiple-aperture RF surface-plasma source of negative hydrogen ions is designed. The source design and results of experiments on the generation of a negative ion beam with a current of >1 A in the long-pulse mode are presented.

Experimental Study of RF Sheath Formation on a Fast Wave Antenna and Limiter in the LAPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Michael; Gekelman, Walter; Pribyl, Patrick; van Compernolle, Bart; Carter, Troy

2015-11-01

Ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) will be an essential component of heating power in ITER. During ICRH, radio frequency (RF) sheaths may form both at the exciting antenna and further away, e.g. in the divertor region, and may cause wall material sputtering and decreased RF power coupling to the plasma. It is important to do detailed laboratory experiments that fully diagnose the sheaths and wave fields. This is not possible in fusion devices. A new RF system has recently been constructed for performing such studies in the LAPD plasma column (ne ~1012 -1013cm-3 , Te ~ 1 - 10 eV ,B0 ~ 400 - 2000 G , diameter ~ 60cm , length ~ 18 m) . The RF system is capable of pulsing at the 1 Hz rep. rate of the LAPD plasma and operating between 2-6 MHz (1st - 9th harmonic of fci in H) with a power output of 200 kW. First results of this system driving a single-strap fast wave antenna will be presented. Emissive and Langmuir probe measurements in the vicinity of both the antenna and a remote limiter and wave coupling measured by magnetic pickup loops will be presented.

Interactive computation of coverage regions for indoor wireless communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbott, A. Lynn; Bhat, Nitin; Rappaport, Theodore S.

1995-12-01

This paper describes a system which assists in the strategic placement of rf base stations within buildings. Known as the site modeling tool (SMT), this system allows the user to display graphical floor plans and to select base station transceiver parameters, including location and orientation, interactively. The system then computes and highlights estimated coverage regions for each transceiver, enabling the user to assess the total coverage within the building. For single-floor operation, the user can choose between distance-dependent and partition- dependent path-loss models. Similar path-loss models are also available for the case of multiple floors. This paper describes the method used by the system to estimate coverage for both directional and omnidirectional antennas. The site modeling tool is intended to be simple to use by individuals who are not experts at wireless communication system design, and is expected to be very useful in the specification of indoor wireless systems.

Center conductor diagnostic for multipactor detection in inaccessible geometries.

PubMed

Chaplin, Vernon H; Hubble, Aimee A; Clements, Kathryn A; Graves, Timothy P

2017-01-01

Electron collecting current probes are the most reliable diagnostic of multipactor and radiofrequency (RF) ionization breakdown; however, stand-alone probes can only be used in test setups where the breakdown region is physically accessible. This paper describes techniques for measuring multipactor current directly on the center conductor of a coaxial RF device (or more generally, on the signal line in any two-conductor RF system) enabling global multipactor detection with improved sensitivity compared to other common diagnostics such as phase null, third harmonic, and reflected power. The center conductor diagnostic may be AC coupled for use in systems with a low DC impedance between the center conductor and ground. The effect of DC bias on the breakdown threshold was studied: in coaxial geometry, the change in threshold was <1 dB for positive biases satisfying V DC /V RF0 <0.8, where V RF0 is the RF voltage amplitude at the unperturbed breakdown threshold. In parallel plate geometry, setting V DC /V RF0 <0.2 was necessary to avoid altering the threshold by more than 1 dB. In most cases, the center conductor diagnostic functions effectively with no bias at all-this is the preferred implementation, but biases in the range V DC =0-10V may be applied if necessary. The polarity of the detected current signal may be positive or negative depending on whether there is net electron collection or emission globally.

Electronic characterization of lithographically patterned microcoils for high sensitivity NMR detection.

PubMed

Demas, Vasiliki; Bernhardt, Anthony; Malba, Vince; Adams, Kristl L; Evans, Lee; Harvey, Christopher; Maxwell, Robert S; Herberg, Julie L

2009-09-01

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) offers a non-destructive, powerful, structure-specific analytical method for the identification of chemical and biological systems. The use of radio frequency (RF) microcoils has been shown to increase the sensitivity in mass-limited samples. Recent advances in micro-receiver technology have further demonstrated a substantial increase in mass sensitivity [D.L. Olson, T.L. Peck, A.G. Webb, R.L. Magin, J.V. Sweedler, High-resolution microcoil H-1-NMR for mass-limited, nanoliter-volume samples, Science 270 (5244) (1995) 1967-1970]. Lithographic methods for producing solenoid microcoils possess a level of flexibility and reproducibility that exceeds previous production methods, such as hand winding microcoils. This paper presents electrical characterizations of RF microcoils produced by a unique laser lithography system that can pattern three dimensional surfaces and compares calculated and experimental results to those for wire wound RF microcoils. We show that existing optimization conditions for RF coil design still hold true for RF microcoils produced by lithography. Current lithographic microcoils show somewhat inferior performance to wire wound RF microcoils due to limitations in the existing electroplating technique. In principle, however, when the pitch of the RF microcoil is less than 100mum lithographic coils should show comparable performance to wire wound coils. In the cases of larger pitch, wire cross sections can be significantly larger and resistances lower than microfabricated conductors.

Electron Heating Mode Transitions in Nitrogen (13.56 and 40.68) MHz RF-CCPs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erozbek Gungor, Ummugul; Bilikmen, Sinan Kadri; Akbar, Demiral

2015-09-01

Capacitively coupled radio frequency plasmas (RF-CCPs) are commonly used in plasma material processing. Parametrical structure of the plasma determines the demands of processing applications. For example; high density plasmas in gamma mode are mostly preferred for etching applications while stabile plasmas in gamma mode are usually used in sputtering applications. For this reason, characterization of the plasma is very essential before surface modification of the materials. In this work, analysis of electron heating mode transition in high frequency (40.68 MHz) RF-CCP was deeply investigated. The plasma was generated in a home-made (500 × 400 mm2) stainless steel cylindrical reactor in which two identical (200 mm in diameter) electrodes were placed with 40 mm interval. In addition, L-type automatic matching network system was connected to the 40.68 MHz RF generator to get high accuracy. Moreover, the pure (99.995 %) nitrogen was used as an activation gas on account of having an appreciable impression in plasma processing applications. Furthermore, diagnostic measurements of the plasma were done by using the Impedans Langmuir single and double probe systems. It was found that two transition points; α- γ (pressure dependent) and γ- α (RF power dependent) were observed in both medium and high RF-CCPs. As a result, the α- γ pressure transition increased, whereas the γ- α power transition remained constant by changing the RF frequency sources.

Equilibrium points and associated periodic orbits in the gravity of binary asteroid systems: (66391) 1999 KW4 as an example

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yu; Wang, Yue; Xu, Shijie

2018-04-01

The motion of a massless particle in the gravity of a binary asteroid system, referred as the restricted full three-body problem (RF3BP), is fundamental, not only for the evolution of the binary system, but also for the design of relevant space missions. In this paper, equilibrium points and associated periodic orbit families in the gravity of a binary system are investigated, with the binary (66391) 1999 KW4 as an example. The polyhedron shape model is used to describe irregular shapes and corresponding gravity fields of the primary and secondary of (66391) 1999 KW4, which is more accurate than the ellipsoid shape model in previous studies and provides a high-fidelity representation of the gravitational environment. Both of the synchronous and non-synchronous states of the binary system are considered. For the synchronous binary system, the equilibrium points and their stability are determined, and periodic orbit families emanating from each equilibrium point are generated by using the shooting (multiple shooting) method and the homotopy method, where the homotopy function connects the circular restricted three-body problem and RF3BP. In the non-synchronous binary system, trajectories of equivalent equilibrium points are calculated, and the associated periodic orbits are obtained by using the homotopy method, where the homotopy function connects the synchronous and non-synchronous systems. Although only the binary (66391) 1999 KW4 is considered, our methods will also be well applicable to other binary systems with polyhedron shape data. Our results on equilibrium points and associated periodic orbits provide general insights into the dynamical environment and orbital behaviors in proximity of small binary asteroids and enable the trajectory design and mission operations in future binary system explorations.

A high power, high density helicon discharge for the plasma wakefield accelerator experiment AWAKE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buttenschön, B.; Fahrenkamp, N.; Grulke, O.

2018-07-01

A plasma cell prototype for the plasma wakefield accelerator experiment AWAKE based on a helicon discharge is presented. In the 1 m long prototype module a multiple antenna helicon discharge with an rf power density of 100 MW m‑3 is established. Based on the helicon dispersion relation, a linear scaling of plasma density with magnetic field is observed for rf frequencies above the lower hybrid frequency, ω LH ≤ 0.8ω rf. Density profiles are highest on the device axis and show shallow radial gradients, thus providing a relatively constant plasma density in the center over a radial range of Δr ≈ 10 mm with less than 10% variation. Peak plasma densities up to 7 × 1020 m‑3 are transiently achieved with a reproducibility that is sufficient for AWAKE. The results are in good agreement with power balance calculations.

Dynamics of ultra-broadband terahertz quantum cascade lasers for comb operation.

PubMed

Li, Hua; Laffaille, Pierre; Gacemi, Djamal; Apfel, Marc; Sirtori, Carlo; Leonardon, Jeremie; Santarelli, Giorgio; Rösch, Markus; Scalari, Giacomo; Beck, Mattias; Faist, Jerome; Hänsel, Wolfgang; Holzwarth, Ronald; Barbieri, Stefano

2015-12-28

We present an experimental investigation of the multimode dynamics and the coherence of terahertz quantum cascade lasers emitting over a spectral bandwidth of ~1THz. The devices are studied in free-running and under direct RF modulation. Depending on the pump current we observe different regimes of operation, where RF spectra displaying single and multiple narrow beat-note signals alternate with spectra showing a single beat-note characterized by an intense phase-noise, extending over a bandwidth up to a few GHz. We investigate the relation between this phase-noise and the dynamics of the THz modes through the electro-optic sampling of the laser emission. We find that when the phase-noise is large, the laser operates in an unstable regime where the lasing modes are incoherent. Under RF modulation of the laser current such instability can be suppressed and the modes coherence recovered, while, simultaneously, generating a strong broadening of the THz emission spectrum.

Nonlinear optical modulation in a plasmonic Bi:YIG Mach-Zehnder interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firby, C. J.; Elezzabi, A. Y.

2017-02-01

In this work, we propose a magnetoplasmonic modulator for nonlinear radio-frequency (RF) modulation of an integrated optical signal. The modulator consists of a plasmonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), constructed of the ferrimagnetic garnet, bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi:YIG). The transverse component of the Bi:YIG magnetization induces a nonreciprocal phase shift (NRPS) onto the guided optical mode, which can be actively modulated through external magnetic fields. In an MZI, the modulated phase shift in turn modulates the output optical intensity. Due to the highly nonlinear evolution of the Bi:YIG magnetization, we show that the spectrum of the output modulated intensity signal can contain harmonics of the driving RF field, frequency splitting around the driving frequency, down-conversion, or mixing of multiple RF signals. This device provides a unique mechanism of simultaneously generating a number of modulation frequencies within a single device.

Screening and Monitoring Response to Treatment Using Subsecond Molecular Imaging and Hyperpolarized Contrast Agents

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

Magnetization transfer MRI in multiple sclerosis . J Neuroimaging. 2007;17 Suppl 1:S22–S26. 82. Filippi M, Rocca MA. Magnetization transfer magnetic resonance... multiple sclerosis . Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2009;19(1):27–36. 84. Lundbom N. Determination of magnetization transfer contrast in tissue: an MR... multiple RF coils intended for optimal direct and indirect detection of hyperpolarized contrast agents in vivo. 4.b. Y1Q3-Y1Q4. Low field MRI: pre

The protective effect of autophagy on mouse spermatocyte derived cells exposure to 1800MHz radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation.

PubMed

Liu, Kaijun; Zhang, Guowei; Wang, Zhi; Liu, Yong; Dong, Jianyun; Dong, Xiaomei; Liu, Jinyi; Cao, Jia; Ao, Lin; Zhang, Shaoxiang

2014-08-04

The increasing exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted from mobile phone use has raised public concern regarding the biological effects of RF exposure on the male reproductive system. Autophagy contributes to maintaining intracellular homeostasis under environmental stress. To clarify whether RF exposure could induce autophagy in the spermatocyte, mouse spermatocyte-derived cells (GC-2) were exposed to 1800MHz Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) signals in GSM-Talk mode at specific absorption rate (SAR) values of 1w/kg, 2w/kg or 4w/kg for 24h, respectively. The results indicated that the expression of LC3-II increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner with RF exposure, and showed a significant change at the SAR value of 4w/kg. The autophagosome formation and the occurrence of autophagy were further confirmed by GFP-LC3 transient transfection assay and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Furthermore, the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II was enhanced by co-treatment with Chloroquine (CQ), indicating autophagic flux could be enhanced by RF exposure. Intracellular ROS levels significantly increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner after cells were exposed to RF. Pretreatment with anti-oxidative NAC obviously decreased the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II and attenuated the degradation of p62 induced by RF exposure. Meanwhile, phosphorylated extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) significantly increased after RF exposure at the SAR value of 2w/kg and 4w/kg. Moreover, we observed that RF exposure did not increase the percentage of apoptotic cells, but inhibition of autophagy could increase the percentage of apoptotic cells. These findings suggested that autophagy flux could be enhanced by 1800MHz GSM exposure (4w/kg), which is mediated by ROS generation. Autophagy may play an important role in preventing cells from apoptotic cell death under RF exposure stress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wireless Orbiter Hang-Angle Inclinometer System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucena, Angel; Perotti, Jose; Green, Eric; Byon, Jonathan; Burns, Bradley; Mata, Carlos; Randazzo, John; Blalock, Norman

2011-01-01

A document describes a system to reliably gather the hang-angle inclination of the orbiter. The system comprises a wireless handheld master station (which contains the main station software) and a wireless remote station (which contains the inclinometer sensors, the RF transceivers, and the remote station software). The remote station is designed to provide redundancy to the system. It includes two RF transceivers, two power-management boards, and four inclinometer sensors.

Novel Escherichia coli RF1 mutants with decreased translation termination activity and increased sensitivity to the cytotoxic effect of the bacterial toxins Kid and RelE

PubMed Central

Diago-Navarro, Elizabeth; Mora, Liliana; Buckingham, Richard H; Díaz-Orejas, Ramón; Lemonnier, Marc

2008-01-01

Novel mutations in prfA, the gene for the polypeptide release factor RF1 of Escherichia coli, were isolated using a positive genetic screen based on the parD (kis, kid) toxin–antitoxin system. This original approach allowed the direct selection of mutants with altered translational termination efficiency at UAG codons. The isolated prfA mutants displayed a ∼10-fold decrease in UAG termination efficiency with no significant changes in RF1 stability in vivo. All three mutations, G121S, G301S and R303H, were situated close to the nonsense codon recognition site in RF1:ribosome complexes. The prfA mutants displayed increased sensitivity to the RelE toxin encoded by the relBE system of E. coli, thus providing in vivo support for the functional interaction between RF1 and RelE. The prfA mutants also showed increased sensitivity to the Kid toxin. Since this toxin can cleave RNA in a ribosome-independent manner, this result was not anticipated and provided first evidence for the involvement of RF1 in the pathway of Kid toxicity. The sensitivity of the prfA mutants to RelE and Kid was restored to normal levels upon overproduction of the wild-type RF1 protein. We discuss these results and their utility for the design of novel antibacterial strategies in the light of the recently reported structure of ribosome-bound RF1. PMID:19019162

Identifying possible non-thermal effects of radio frequency energy on inactivating food microorganisms.

PubMed

Kou, Xiaoxi; Li, Rui; Hou, Lixia; Zhang, Lihui; Wang, Shaojin

2018-03-23

Radio frequency (RF) heating has been successfully used for inactivating microorganisms in agricultural and food products. Athermal (non-thermal) effects of RF energy on microorganisms have been frequently proposed in the literature, resulting in difficulties for developing effective thermal treatment protocols. The purpose of this study was to identify if the athermal inactivation of microorganisms existed during RF treatments. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in apple juice and mashed potato were exposed to both RF and conventional thermal energies to compare their inactivation populations. A thermal death time (TDT) heating block system was used as conventional thermal energy source to simulate the same heating treatment conditions, involving heating temperature, heating rate and uniformity, of a RF treatment at a frequency of 27.12 MHz. Results showed that a similar and uniform temperature distribution in tested samples was achieved in both heating systems, so that the central sample temperature could be used as representative one for evaluating thermal inactivation of microorganisms. The survival patterns of two target microorganisms in two food samples were similar both for RF and heating block treatments since their absolute difference of survival populations was <1 log CFU/ml. The statistical analysis indicated no significant difference (P > 0.05) in inactivating bacteria between the RF and the heating block treatments at each set of temperatures. The solid temperature and microbial inactivation data demonstrated that only thermal effect of RF energy at 27.12 MHz was observed on inactivating microorganisms in foods. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrastructural evaluation of multiple pass low energy versus single pass high energy radio-frequency treatment.

PubMed

Kist, David; Burns, A Jay; Sanner, Roth; Counters, Jeff; Zelickson, Brian

2006-02-01

The radio-frequency (RF) device is a system capable of volumetric heating of the mid to deep dermis and selective heating of the fibrous septa strands and fascia layer. Clinically, these effects promote dermal collagen production, and tightening of these deep subcutaneous structures. A new technique of using multiple low energy passes has been described which results in lower patient discomfort and fewer side effects. This technique has also been anecdotally described as giving more reproducible and reliable clinical results of tissue tightening and contouring. This study will compare ultrastructural changes in collagen between a single pass high energy versus up to five passes of a multiple pass lower energy treatment. Three subjects were consented and treated in the preauricular region with the RF device using single or multiple passes (three or five) in the same 1.5 cm(2) treatment area with a slight delay between passes to allow tissue cooling. Biopsies from each treatment region and a control biopsy were taken immediately, 24 hours or 6 months post treatment for electron microscopic examination of the 0-1 mm and 1-2 mm levels. Sections of tissue 1 mm x 1 mm x 80 nm were examined with an RCA EMU-4 Transmission Electron Microscope. Twenty sections from 6 blocks from each 1 mm depth were examined by 2 blinded observers. The morphology and degree of collagen change in relation to area examined was compared to the control tissue, and estimated using a quantitative scale. Ultrastructural examination of tissue showed that an increased amount of collagen fibril changes with increasing passes at energies of 97 J (three passes) and 122 J (five passes), respectively. The changes seen after five multiple passes were similar to those detected after much more painful single pass high-energy treatments. This ultrastructural study shows changes in collagen fibril morphology with an increased effect demonstrated at greater depths of the skin with multiple low-fluence passes and at lesser depths with single pass higher fluence settings. Findings suggest that similar collagen fibril alteration can occur with multiple pass low-energy treatments and single pulse high-energy treatments. The lower fluence multiple pass approach is associated with less patient discomfort, less side effects, and more consistent clinical results. Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Application of Random Forests Methods to Diabetic Retinopathy Classification Analyses

PubMed Central

Casanova, Ramon; Saldana, Santiago; Chew, Emily Y.; Danis, Ronald P.; Greven, Craig M.; Ambrosius, Walter T.

2014-01-01

Background Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States and world-wide. DR is a silent disease that may go unnoticed until it is too late for effective treatment. Therefore, early detection could improve the chances of therapeutic interventions that would alleviate its effects. Methodology Graded fundus photography and systemic data from 3443 ACCORD-Eye Study participants were used to estimate Random Forest (RF) and logistic regression classifiers. We studied the impact of sample size on classifier performance and the possibility of using RF generated class conditional probabilities as metrics describing DR risk. RF measures of variable importance are used to detect factors that affect classification performance. Principal Findings Both types of data were informative when discriminating participants with or without DR. RF based models produced much higher classification accuracy than those based on logistic regression. Combining both types of data did not increase accuracy but did increase statistical discrimination of healthy participants who subsequently did or did not have DR events during four years of follow-up. RF variable importance criteria revealed that microaneurysms counts in both eyes seemed to play the most important role in discrimination among the graded fundus variables, while the number of medicines and diabetes duration were the most relevant among the systemic variables. Conclusions and Significance We have introduced RF methods to DR classification analyses based on fundus photography data. In addition, we propose an approach to DR risk assessment based on metrics derived from graded fundus photography and systemic data. Our results suggest that RF methods could be a valuable tool to diagnose DR diagnosis and evaluate its progression. PMID:24940623

Radiofrequency heating of metallic dental devices during 3.0 T MRI

PubMed Central

Hasegawa, M; Miyata, K; Abe, Y; Ishigami, T

2013-01-01

Objectives: To estimate the risk of injury from radiofrequency (RF) heating of metallic dental devices in use during 3.0 T MRI. Methods: The whole-body specific absorption rate (WB-SAR) was calculated on the basis of saline temperature elevation under the maximum RF irradiation for 15 min to determine the operation parameters for the heating test. The temperature changes of three types of three-unit bridges, a full-arch fixed dental prosthesis and an orthodontic appliance in use during MRI with a 3.0 T MR system (Magnetom® Verio; Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany) were then tested in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials F2182-09 standardized procedure under the maximum RF heating during 15 min RF irradiation. Results: The system console-predicted WB-SAR was approximately 1.4 W kg−1 and that measured with a saline phantom was 2.1 W kg−1. In the assessment of RF heating, the highest temperature increase was +1.80 °C in the bridges, +1.59 °C in the full-arch fixed dental prosthesis and +2.61 °C in the orthodontic appliance. Conclusions: The relatively minor RF heating of dental casting material-based prostheses in Magnetom Verio systems in the normal operating mode should not pose a risk to patients. However, orthodontic appliances may exhibit RF heating above the industrial standard (CENELEC standard prEN45502-2-3); therefore, the wire should be removed from the bracket or a spacer should be used between the appliance and the oral mucosa during MRI. PMID:23520391

MR-compatibility assessment of MADPET4: a study of interferences between an SiPM-based PET insert and a 7 T MRI system.

PubMed

Omidvari, Negar; Topping, Geoffrey; Cabello, Jorge; Paul, Stephan; Schwaiger, Markus; Ziegler, Sibylle I

2018-05-01

Compromises in the design of a positron emission tomography (PET) insert for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system should minimize the deterioration of image quality in both modalities, particularly when simultaneous demanding acquisitions are performed. In this work, the advantages of using individually read-out crystals with high-gain silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) were studied with a small animal PET insert for a 7 T MRI system, in which the SiPM charge was transferred to outside the MRI scanner using coaxial cables. The interferences between the two systems were studied with three radio-frequency (RF) coil configurations. The effects of PET on the static magnetic field, flip angle distribution, RF noise, and image quality of various MRI sequences (gradient echo, spin echo, and echo planar imaging (EPI) at 1 H frequency, and chemical shift imaging at 13 C frequency) were investigated. The effects of fast-switching gradient fields and RF pulses on PET count rate were studied, while the PET insert and the readout electronics were not shielded. Operating the insert inside a 1 H volume coil, used for RF transmission and reception, limited the MRI to T1-weighted imaging, due to coil detuning and RF attenuation, and resulted in significant PET count loss. Using a surface receive coil allowed all tested MR sequences to be used with the insert, with 45-59% signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) degradation, compared to without PET. With a 1 H/ 13 C volume coil inside the insert and shielded by a copper tube, the SNR degradation was limited to 23-30% with all tested sequences. The insert did not introduce any discernible distortions into images of two tested EPI sequences. Use of truncated sinc shaped RF excitation pulses and gradient field switching had negligible effects on PET count rate. However, PET count rate was substantially affected by high-power RF block pulses and temperature variations due to high gradient duty cycles.

RF MEMS devices for multifunctional integrated circuits and antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peroulis, Dimitrios

Micromachining and RF Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (RF MEMS) have been identified as two of the most significant enabling technologies in developing miniaturized low-cost communications systems and sensor networks. The key components in these MEMS-based architectures are the RF MEMS switches and varactors. The first part of this thesis focuses on three novel RF MEMS components with state-of-the-art performance. In particular, a broadband 6 V capacitive MEMS switch is presented with insertion loss of only 0.04 and 0.17 dB at 10 and 40 GHz respectively. Special consideration is given to particularly challenging issues, such as residual stress, planarity, power handling capability and switching speed. The need for switches operating below 1 GHz is also identified and a spring-loaded metal-to-metal contact switch is developed. The measured on-state contact resistance and off-state series capacitance are 0.5 O and 10 fF respectively for this switch. An analog millimeter-wave variable capacitor is the third MEMS component presented in this thesis. This variable capacitor shows an ultra high measured tuning range of nearly 4:1, which is the highest reported value for the millimeter-wave region. The second part of this thesis primarily concentrates on MEMS-based reconfigurable systems and their potential to revolutionize the design of future RF/microwave multifunctional systems. High-isolation switches and switch packets with isolation of more than 60 dB are designed and implemented. Furthermore, lowpass and bandpass tunable filters with 3:1 and 2:1 tuning ratios respectively are demonstrated. Similar methods have been also applied to the field of slot antennas and a novel design technique for compact reconfigurable antennas has been developed. The main advantage of these antennas is that they essentially preserve their impedance, radiation pattern, polarization, gain and efficiency for all operating frequencies. The thesis concludes by discussing the future challenges of RF MEMS, such as packaging and reliability.

Antiproton acceleration in the Fermilab Main Ring and Tevatron

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, P.; Dinkel, J.; Ducar, R.

1987-03-01

The operation of the Fermilab Main Ring and Tevatron rf systems for colliding beams physics is discussed. The changes in the rf feedback system required for the accelration of antiprotons, and the methods for achieving proper transfer of both protons and antiprotons are described. Data on acceleration and transfer efficiencies are presented.

RF MEMS and Their Applications in NASA's Space Communication Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, W. Daniel; Ponchak, George E.; Simons, Rainee N.; Zaman, Afroz; Kory, Carol; Wintucky, Edwin; Wilson, Jeffrey D.; Scardelletti, Maximilian; Lee, Richard; Nguyen, Hung

2001-01-01

Radio frequency (RF) and microwave communication systems rely on frequency, amplitude, and phase control circuits to efficiently use the available spectrum. Phase control circuits are required for electronically scanning phase array antennas that enable radiation pattern shaping, scanning, and hopping. Two types of phase shifters, which are the phase control circuits, are most often used. The first is comprised of two circuits with different phase characteristics such as two transmission lines of different lengths or a high pass and low pass filter and a switch that directs the RF power through one of the two circuits. Alternatively, a variable capacitor, or varactor, is used to change the effective electrical path length of a transmission line, which changes the phase characteristics. Filter banks are required for the diplexer at the front end of wide band communication satellites. These filters greatly increase the size and mass of the RF/microwave systems, but smaller diplexers may be made with a low loss varactor or a group of capacitors, a switch and an inductor.

Study of Electron Swarm in High Pressure Hydrogen Gas Filled RF Cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yonehara, K.; Chung, M.; Jansson, A.

2010-05-01

A high pressure hydrogen gas filled RF cavity has been proposed for use in the muon collection system for a muon collider. It allows for high electric field gradients in RF cavities located in strong magnetic fields, a condition frequently encountered in a muon cooling channel. In addition, an intense muon beam will generate an electron swarm via the ionization process in the cavity. A large amount of RF power will be consumed into the swarm. We show the results from our studies of the HV RF breakdown in a cavity without a beam and present some results on themore » resulting electron swarm dynamics. This is preliminary to actual beam tests which will take place late in 2010.« less

Slice-selective RF pulses for in vivo B1+ inhomogeneity mitigation at 7 tesla using parallel RF excitation with a 16-element coil.

PubMed

Setsompop, Kawin; Alagappan, Vijayanand; Gagoski, Borjan; Witzel, Thomas; Polimeni, Jonathan; Potthast, Andreas; Hebrank, Franz; Fontius, Ulrich; Schmitt, Franz; Wald, Lawrence L; Adalsteinsson, Elfar

2008-12-01

Slice-selective RF waveforms that mitigate severe B1+ inhomogeneity at 7 Tesla using parallel excitation were designed and validated in a water phantom and human studies on six subjects using a 16-element degenerate stripline array coil driven with a butler matrix to utilize the eight most favorable birdcage modes. The parallel RF waveform design applied magnitude least-squares (MLS) criteria with an optimized k-space excitation trajectory to significantly improve profile uniformity compared to conventional least-squares (LS) designs. Parallel excitation RF pulses designed to excite a uniform in-plane flip angle (FA) with slice selection in the z-direction were demonstrated and compared with conventional sinc-pulse excitation and RF shimming. In all cases, the parallel RF excitation significantly mitigated the effects of inhomogeneous B1+ on the excitation FA. The optimized parallel RF pulses for human B1+ mitigation were only 67% longer than a conventional sinc-based excitation, but significantly outperformed RF shimming. For example the standard deviations (SDs) of the in-plane FA (averaged over six human studies) were 16.7% for conventional sinc excitation, 13.3% for RF shimming, and 7.6% for parallel excitation. This work demonstrates that excitations with parallel RF systems can provide slice selection with spatially uniform FAs at high field strengths with only a small pulse-duration penalty. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Workgroup report: base stations and wireless networks-radiofrequency (RF) exposures and health consequences.

PubMed

Valberg, Peter A; van Deventer, T Emilie; Repacholi, Michael H

2007-03-01

Radiofrequency (RF) waves have long been used for different types of information exchange via the air waves--wireless Morse code, radio, television, and wireless telephone (i.e., construction and operation of telephones or telephone systems). Increasingly larger numbers of people rely on mobile telephone technology, and health concerns about the associated RF exposure have been raised, particularly because the mobile phone handset operates in close proximity to the human body, and also because large numbers of base station antennas are required to provide widespread availability of service to large populations. The World Health Organization convened an expert workshop to discuss the current state of cellular-telephone health issues, and this article brings together several of the key points that were addressed. The possibility of RF health effects has been investigated in epidemiology studies of cellular telephone users and workers in RF occupations, in experiments with animals exposed to cell-phone RF, and via biophysical consideration of cell-phone RF electric-field intensity and the effect of RF modulation schemes. As summarized here, these separate avenues of scientific investigation provide little support for adverse health effects arising from RF exposure at levels below current international standards. Moreover, radio and television broadcast waves have exposed populations to RF for > 50 years with little evidence of deleterious health consequences. Despite unavoidable uncertainty, current scientific data are consistent with the conclusion that public exposures to permissible RF levels from mobile telephone and base stations are not likely to adversely affect human health.

Workgroup Report: Base Stations and Wireless Networks—Radiofrequency (RF) Exposures and Health Consequences

PubMed Central

Valberg, Peter A.; van Deventer, T. Emilie; Repacholi, Michael H.

2007-01-01

Radiofrequency (RF) waves have long been used for different types of information exchange via the airwaves—wireless Morse code, radio, television, and wireless telephony (i.e., construction and operation of telephones or telephonic systems). Increasingly larger numbers of people rely on mobile telephone technology, and health concerns about the associated RF exposure have been raised, particularly because the mobile phone handset operates in close proximity to the human body, and also because large numbers of base station antennas are required to provide widespread availability of service to large populations. The World Health Organization convened an expert workshop to discuss the current state of cellular-telephone health issues, and this article brings together several of the key points that were addressed. The possibility of RF health effects has been investigated in epidemiology studies of cellular telephone users and workers in RF occupations, in experiments with animals exposed to cell-phone RF, and via biophysical consideration of cell-phone RF electric-field intensity and the effect of RF modulation schemes. As summarized here, these separate avenues of scientific investigation provide little support for adverse health effects arising from RF exposure at levels below current international standards. Moreover, radio and television broadcast waves have exposed populations to RF for > 50 years with little evidence of deleterious health consequences. Despite unavoidable uncertainty, current scientific data are consistent with the conclusion that public exposures to permissible RF levels from mobile telephony and base stations are not likely to adversely affect human health. PMID:17431492

Experimental hyperthyroidism in rats increases the expression of the ubiquitin ligases atrogin-1 and MuRF1 and stimulates multiple proteolytic pathways in skeletal muscle.

PubMed

O'Neal, Patrick; Alamdari, Nima; Smith, Ira; Poylin, Vitaliy; Menconi, Michael; Hasselgren, Per-Olof

2009-11-01

Muscle wasting is commonly seen in patients with hyperthyroidism and is mainly caused by stimulated muscle proteolysis. Loss of muscle mass in several catabolic conditions is associated with increased expression of the muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases atrogin-1 and MuRF1 but it is not known if atrogin-1 and MuRF1 are upregulated in hyperthyroidism. In addition, it is not known if thyroid hormone increases the activity of proteolytic mechanisms other than the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. We tested the hypotheses that experimental hyperthyroidism in rats, induced by daily intraperitoneal injections of 100 microg/100 g body weight of triiodothyronine (T3), upregulates the expression of atrogin-1 and MuRF1 in skeletal muscle and stimulates lysosomal, including cathepsin L, calpain-, and caspase-3-dependent protein breakdown in addition to proteasome-dependent protein breakdown. Treatment of rats with T3 for 3 days resulted in an approximately twofold increase in atrogin-1 and MuRF1 mRNA levels. The same treatment increased proteasome-, cathepsin L-, and calpain-dependent proteolytic rates by approximately 40% but did not influence caspase-3-dependent proteolysis. The expression of atrogin-1 and MuRF1 remained elevated during a more prolonged period (7 days) of T3 treatment. The results provide support for a role of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in muscle wasting during hyperthyroidism and suggest that other proteolytic pathways as well may be activated in the hyperthyroid state. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

RF-amide neuropeptides and their receptors in Mammals: Pharmacological properties, drug development and main physiological functions.

PubMed

Quillet, Raphaëlle; Ayachi, Safia; Bihel, Frédéric; Elhabazi, Khadija; Ilien, Brigitte; Simonin, Frédéric

2016-04-01

RF-amide neuropeptides, with their typical Arg-Phe-NH2 signature at their carboxyl C-termini, belong to a lineage of peptides that spans almost the entire life tree. Throughout evolution, RF-amide peptides and their receptors preserved fundamental roles in reproduction and feeding, both in Vertebrates and Invertebrates. The scope of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the RF-amide systems in Mammals from historical aspects to therapeutic opportunities. Taking advantage of the most recent findings in the field, special focus will be given on molecular and pharmacological properties of RF-amide peptides and their receptors as well as on their implication in the control of different physiological functions including feeding, reproduction and pain. Recent progress on the development of drugs that target RF-amide receptors will also be addressed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NQR detection of explosive simulants using RF atomic magnetometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monti, Mark C.; Alexson, Dimitri A.; Okamitsu, Jeffrey K.

2016-05-01

Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) is a highly selective spectroscopic method that can be used to detect and identify a number of chemicals of interest to the defense, national security, and law enforcement community. In the past, there have been several documented attempts to utilize NQR to detect nitrogen bearing explosives using induction sensors to detect the NQR RF signatures. We present here our work on the NQR detection of explosive simulants using optically pumped RF atomic magnetometers. RF atomic magnetometers can provide an order of magnitude (or more) improvement in sensitivity versus induction sensors and can enable mitigation of RF interference, which has classically has been a problem for conventional NQR using induction sensors. We present the theory of operation of optically pumped RF atomic magnetometers along with the result of laboratory work on the detection of explosive simulant material. An outline of ongoing work will also be presented along with a path for a fieldable detection system.

RF radiation from lightning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, D. M.

1978-01-01

Radiation from lightning in the RF band from 3-300 MHz were monitored. Radiation in this frequency range is of interest as a potential vehicle for monitoring severe storms and for studying the lightning itself. Simultaneous measurements were made of RF radiation and fast and slow field changes. Continuous analogue recordings with a system having 300 kHz of bandwidth were made together with digital records of selected events (principally return strokes) at greater temporal resolution. The data reveal patterns in the RF radiation for the entire flash which are characteristic of flash type and independent of the frequency of observation. Individual events within the flash also have characteristic RF patterns. Strong radiation occurs during the first return strokes, but delayed about 20 micron sec with respect to the begining of the return stroke; whereas, RF radiation from subsequent return strokes tends to be associated with cloud processes preceding the flash with comparatively little radiation occurring during the return stroke itself.

Instantaneous and efficient surface wave excitation of a low pressure gas or gases

DOEpatents

Levy, Donald J.; Berman, Samuel M.

1988-01-01

A system for instantaneously ionizing and continuously delivering energy in the form of surface waves to a low pressure gas or mixture of low pressure gases, comprising a source of rf energy, a discharge container, (such as a fluorescent lamp discharge tube), an rf shield, and a coupling device responsive to rf energy from the source to couple rf energy directly and efficiently to the gas or mixture of gases to ionize at least a portion of the gas or gases and to provide energy to the gas or gases in the form of surface waves. The majority of the rf power is transferred to the gas or gases near the inner surface of the discharge container to efficiently transfer rf energy as excitation energy for at least one of the gases. The most important use of the invention is to provide more efficient fluorescent and/or ultraviolet lamps.

On-Board Fiber-Optic Network Architectures for Radar and Avionics Signal Distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alam, Mohammad F.; Atiquzzaman, Mohammed; Duncan, Bradley B.; Nguyen, Hung; Kunath, Richard

2000-01-01

Continued progress in both civil and military avionics applications is overstressing the capabilities of existing radio-frequency (RF) communication networks based on coaxial cables on board modem aircrafts. Future avionics systems will require high-bandwidth on- board communication links that are lightweight, immune to electromagnetic interference, and highly reliable. Fiber optic communication technology can meet all these challenges in a cost-effective manner. Recently, digital fiber-optic communication systems, where a fiber-optic network acts like a local area network (LAN) for digital data communications, have become a topic of extensive research and development. Although a fiber-optic system can be designed to transport radio-frequency (RF) signals, the digital fiber-optic systems under development today are not capable of transporting microwave and millimeter-wave RF signals used in radar and avionics systems on board an aircraft. Recent advances in fiber optic technology, especially wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), has opened a number of possibilities for designing on-board fiber optic networks, including all-optical networks for radar and avionics RF signal distribution. In this paper, we investigate a number of different novel approaches for fiber-optic transmission of on-board VHF and UHF RF signals using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The relative merits and demerits of each architecture are discussed, and the suitability of each architecture for particular applications is pointed out. All-optical approaches show better performance than other traditional approaches in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, power consumption, and weight requirements.

Incidence of micronuclei in human peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed to modulated and unmodulated 2450 MHz radiofrequency fields.

PubMed

Vijayalaxmi; Reddy, Abhishek B; McKenzie, Raymond J; McIntosh, Robert L; Prihoda, Thomas J; Wood, Andrew W

2013-10-01

Peripheral blood samples from four healthy volunteers were collected and aliquots were exposed in vitro for 2 h to either (i) modulated (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) or unmodulated continuous wave (CW) 2450 MHz radiofrequency (RF) fields at an average specific absorption rate of 10.9 W/kg or (ii) sham-exposed. Aliquots of the same samples that were exposed in vitro to an acute dose of 1.5 Gy ionizing gamma-radiation (GR) were used as positive controls. Half of the aliquots were treated with melatonin (Mel) to investigate if such treatment offers protection to the cells from the genetic damage, if any, induced by RF and GR. The cells in all samples were cultured for 72 h and the lymphocytes were examined to determine the extent of genetic damage assessed from the incidence of micronuclei (MN). The results indicated the following: (i) the incidence of MN was similar in incubator controls, and those exposed to RF/sham and Mel alone; (ii) there were no significant differences between WCDMA and CW RF exposures; (iii) positive control cells exposed to GR alone exhibited significantly increased MN; and (iv) Mel treatment had no effect on cells exposed to RF and sham, while such treatment significantly reduced the frequency of MN in GR-exposed cells. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

On the performance of dual-hop mixed RF/FSO wireless communication system in urban area over aggregated exponentiated Weibull fading channels with pointing errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yue; Wang, Ping; Liu, Xiaoxia; Cao, Tian

2018-03-01

The performance of decode-and-forward dual-hop mixed radio frequency / free-space optical system in urban area is studied. The RF link is modeled by the Nakagami-m distribution and the FSO link is described by the composite exponentiated Weibull (EW) fading channels with nonzero boresight pointing errors (NBPE). For comparison, the ABER results without pointing errors (PE) and those with zero boresight pointing errors (ZBPE) are also provided. The closed-form expression for the average bit error rate (ABER) in RF link is derived with the help of hypergeometric function, and that in FSO link is obtained by Meijer's G and generalized Gauss-Laguerre quadrature functions. Then, the end-to-end ABERs with binary phase shift keying modulation are achieved on the basis of the computed ABER results of RF and FSO links. The end-to-end ABER performance is further analyzed with different Nakagami-m parameters, turbulence strengths, receiver aperture sizes and boresight displacements. The result shows that with ZBPE and NBPE considered, FSO link suffers a severe ABER degradation and becomes the dominant limitation of the mixed RF/FSO system in urban area. However, aperture averaging can bring significant ABER improvement of this system. Monte Carlo simulation is provided to confirm the validity of the analytical ABER expressions.

Beam energy tracking system on Optima XEx high energy ion implanter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David, Jonathan; Satoh, Shu; Wu Xiangyang

2012-11-06

The Axcelis Optima XEx high energy implanter is an RF linac-based implanter with 12 RF resonators for beam acceleration. Even though each acceleration field is an alternating, sinusoidal RF field, the well known phase-focusing principle produces a beam with a sharp quasi-monoenergetic energy spectrum. A magnetic energy filter after the linac further attenuates the low energy continuum in the energy spectrum often associated with RF acceleration. The final beam energy is a function of the phase and amplitude of the 12 resonators in the linac. When tuning a beam, the magnetic energy filter is set to the desired energy, andmore » each linac parameter is tuned to maximize the transmission through the filter. Once a beam is set up, all the parameters are stored in a recipe, which can be easily tuned and has proven to be quite repeatable. The magnetic field setting of the energy filter selects the beam energy from the RF Linac accelerator, and in-situ verification of beam energy in addition to the magnetic energy filter setting has long been desired. An independent energy tracking system was developed for this purpose, using the existing electrostatic beam scanner as a deflector to construct an in-situ electrostatic energy analyzer. This paper will describe the system and performance of the beam energy tracking system.« less

Theoretical study of a dual harmonic system and its application to the CSNS/RCS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yao-Shuo; Wang, Na; Xu, Shou-Yan; Yuan, Yue; Wang, Sheng

2015-12-01

Dual harmonic systems have been widely used in high intensity proton synchrotrons to suppress the space charge effect, as well as reduce the beam loss. To investigate the longitudinal beam dynamics in a dual rf system, the potential well, the sub-buckets in the bunch and the multi-solutions of the phase equation are studied theoretically in this paper. Based on these theoretical studies, optimization of bunching factor and rf voltage waveform are made for the dual harmonic rf system in the upgrade phase of the China Spallation Neutron Source Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (CSNS/RCS). In the optimization process, the simulation with space charge effect is done using a newly developed code, C-SCSIM. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11175193)

Methodological Preliminaries to the Development of an Expert System for Aerial Photo Interpretation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

Region prl.7.2 Colorado Plateaus Province prl.7.2.1 High Plateaus of Utah Region prl.7.2.2 Uinta Basin Region prl.7.2.3 Canyon Lands Region prI.7.2.4...have a flat to undulating basin --does it?). If a majority of the questions generate negative answers some other hypothesis is sought. % (13) All...rf2.2 Lineaments rf2.3 Troughs -f2.4 Joints f2.5 Escarpments rf2.6 Gorges rfZ.7 Folds Rock Forms 3 Domes Rock Forms 4 Canyons Rock Forms 5 Basins

Communication methods, systems, apparatus, and devices involving RF tag registration

DOEpatents

Burghard, Brion J [W. Richland, WA; Skorpik, James R [Kennewick, WA

2008-04-22

One technique of the present invention includes a number of Radio Frequency (RF) tags that each have a different identifier. Information is broadcast to the tags from an RF tag interrogator. This information corresponds to a maximum quantity of tag response time slots that are available. This maximum quantity may be less than the total number of tags. The tags each select one of the time slots as a function of the information and a random number provided by each respective tag. The different identifiers are transmitted to the interrogator from at least a subset of the RF tags.

Effects of tissue impedance on heat generation during RF delivery with the Thermage system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomkoria, Sara; Pope, Karl

2005-04-01

The Thermage ThermaCool TC system is a non-ablative RF device designed to promote tissue tightening and contouring. The system delivers RF energy to a target area under the skin, with volumetric tissue heating in that area. While the amount of energy delivered to a patient can be controlled by ThermaCool system settings, the distribution of energy to the treatment area and underlying layers is variable from individual to individual due to differences in body composition. The present study investigated how local tissue impedance affects the amount of discomfort experienced by patients during RF energy delivery. Discomfort results from heat generation in the treatment area. By using features of the ThermaCool TC System, local impedance (impedance of the treatment area), bulk impedance (impedance of the underlying tissue layers), and total impedance (the sum of local and bulk impedance) were measured for 35 patients. For each patient, impedance measurements were compared to discomfort levels expressed during treatment. Analysis of whole body, local, and bulk impedance values indicate that the percent of total body impedance in the local treatment area contributes to discomfort levels expressed by patients during treatment.

Neurobiological effects of repeated radiofrequency exposures in male senescent rats.

PubMed

Bouji, Marc; Lecomte, Anthony; Gamez, Christelle; Blazy, Kelly; Villégier, Anne-Sophie

2016-11-01

The increasing use of mobile phones by aging people raises issues about the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on the aging central nervous system. Here, we tested if mobile phone RF-EMF exposures could exacerbate senescence-typical neurobiological deficits. Thus, aged (22-24 months) and young (4-6 months) adult male rats were subjected to head RF-EMF exposures (900 MHz, specific absorption rate (SAR) of 6 W/kg, 45 min/day for 1 month in restraint rockets). To assess senescence-typical neurobiological deficits, spatial memory, emotional memory, anxiety-related behavior, locomotor activity, interleukins (IL)-1β and 6, glial fibrillary acidic protein and corticosterone were measured. Aged rats presented deficits in spatial learning, exploration, anxiety-related behaviors, and increased hippocampal ILs and cortical IL-1β. Results showed that senescence-typical neurobiological deficits were not modified by RF-EMF exposures. RF-EMF-exposed rats (young and aged adults pooled) had decreased anxiety-related behaviors in the elevated plus maze. This study which is the first to assess RF-EMF exposures during late aging did not support the hypothesis of a specific cerebral vulnerability to RF-EMF during senescence. More investigations using longer RF-EMF exposures should be performed to conclude regarding the inoffensiveness of RF-EMF exposures.

Real-time iterative monitoring of radiofrequency ablation tumor therapy with 15O-water PET imaging.

PubMed

Bao, Ande; Goins, Beth; Dodd, Gerald D; Soundararajan, Anuradha; Santoyo, Cristina; Otto, Randal A; Davis, Michael D; Phillips, William T

2008-10-01

A method that provides real-time image-based monitoring of solid tumor therapy to ensure complete tumor eradication during image-guided interventional therapy would be a valuable tool. The short, 2-min half-life of (15)O makes it possible to perform repeated PET imaging at 20-min intervals at multiple time points before and after image-guided therapy. In this study, (15)O-water PET was evaluated as a tool to provide real-time feedback and iterative image guidance to rapidly monitor the intratumoral coverage of radiofrequency (RF) ablation therapy. Tumor RF ablation therapy was performed on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) xenograft tumors (length, approximately 23 mm) in 6 nude rats. The tumor in each animal was ablated with RF (1-cm active size ablation catheter, 70 degrees C for 5 min) twice in 2 separate tumor regions with a 20-min separation. The (15)O-water PET images were acquired before RF ablation and after the first RF and second RF ablations using a small-animal PET scanner. In each PET session, approximately 100 MBq of (15)O-water in 1.0 mL of saline were injected intravenously into each animal. List-mode PET images were acquired for 7 min starting 20 s before injection. PET images were reconstructed by 2-dimensional ordered-subset expectation maximization into single-frame images and dynamic images at 10 s/frame. PET images were displayed and analyzed with software. Pre-RF ablation images demonstrate that (15)O-water accumulates in tumors with (15)O activity reaching peak levels immediately after administration. After RF ablation, the ablated region had almost zero activity, whereas the unablated tumor tissue continued to have a high (15)O-water accumulation. Using image feedback, the RF probe was repositioned to a tumor region with residual (15)O-water uptake and then ablated. The second RF ablation in this new region of the tumor resulted in additional ablation of the solid tumor, with a corresponding decrease in activity on the (15)O-water PET image. (15)O-water PET clearly demonstrated the ablated tumor region, whereas the unablated tumor continued to show high (15)O-water accumulation. (15)O-water imaging shows promise as a tool for on-site, real-time monitoring of image-guided interventional cancer therapy.

Acceleration of neutrons in a scheme of a tautochronous mathematical pendulum (physical principles)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rivlin, Lev A

We consider the physical principles of neutron acceleration through a multiple synchronous interaction with a gradient rf magnetic field in a scheme of a tautochronous mathematical pendulum. (laser applications and other aspects of quantum electronics)

RF Stealth (Or Low Observable) and Counter- RF Stealth Technologies: Implications of Counter- RF Stealth Solutions for Turkish Air Force

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

Robotics Coating Facility for Low Observable Material Applications...aircraft. After separation, it would fly to around 78,000 ft altitude and self navigate with its internal Doppler guidance system. If desired, it...lossy magnetic material, with 2 cm of soft rubber , were utilized for purposes of absorbing radar energy and reducing IR signature. Moreover, some tail

High-Fidelity Simulations of Electromagnetic Propagation and RF Communication Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

addition to high -fidelity RF propagation modeling, lower-fidelity mod- els, which are less computationally burdensome, are available via a C++ API...expensive to perform, requiring roughly one hour of computer time with 36 available cores and ray tracing per- formed by a single high -end GPU...ER D C TR -1 7- 2 Military Engineering Applied Research High -Fidelity Simulations of Electromagnetic Propagation and RF Communication

Thermo-Acoustic Ultrasound for Detection of RF-Induced Device Lead Heating in MRI.

PubMed

Dixit, Neerav; Stang, Pascal P; Pauly, John M; Scott, Greig C

2018-02-01

Patients who have implanted medical devices with long conductive leads are often restricted from receiving MRI scans due to the danger of RF-induced heating near the lead tips. Phantom studies have shown that this heating varies significantly on a case-by-case basis, indicating that many patients with implanted devices can receive clinically useful MRI scans without harm. However, the difficulty of predicting RF-induced lead tip heating prior to scanning prevents numerous implant recipients from being scanned. Here, we demonstrate that thermo-acoustic ultrasound (TAUS) has the potential to be utilized for a pre-scan procedure assessing the risk of RF-induced lead tip heating in MRI. A system was developed to detect TAUS signals by four different TAUS acquisition methods. We then integrated this system with an MRI scanner and detected a peak in RF power absorption near the tip of a model lead when transmitting from the scanner's body coil. We also developed and experimentally validated simulations to characterize the thermo-acoustic signal generated near lead tips. These results indicate that TAUS is a promising method for assessing RF implant safety, and with further development, a TAUS pre-scan could allow many more patients to have access to MRI scans of significant clinical value.

Effects Of Environmental And Operational Stresses On RF MEMS Switch Technologies For Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jah, Muzar; Simon, Eric; Sharma, Ashok

2003-01-01

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) have been heralded for their ability to provide tremendous advantages in electronic systems through increased electrical performance, reduced power consumption, and higher levels of device integration with a reduction of board real estate. RF MEMS switch technology offers advantages such as low insertion loss (0.1- 0.5 dB), wide bandwidth (1 GHz-100 GHz), and compatibility with many different process technologies (quartz, high resistivity Si, GaAs) which can replace the use of traditional electronic switches, such as GaAs FETS and PIN Diodes, in microwave systems for low signal power (x < 500 mW) applications. Although the electrical characteristics of RF MEMS switches far surpass any existing technologies, the unknown reliability, due to the lack of information concerning failure modes and mechanisms inherent to MEMS devices, create an obstacle to insertion of MEMS technology into high reliability applications. All MEMS devices are sensitive to moisture and contaminants, issues easily resolved by hermetic or near-hermetic packaging. Two well-known failure modes of RF MEMS switches are charging in the dielectric layer of capacitive membrane switches and contact interface stiction of metal-metal switches. Determining the integrity of MEMS devices when subjected to the shock, vibration, temperature extremes, and radiation of the space environment is necessary to facilitate integration into space systems. This paper will explore the effects of different environmental stresses, operational life cycling, temperature, mechanical shock, and vibration on the first commercially available RF MEMS switches to identify relevant failure modes and mechanisms inherent to these device and packaging schemes for space applications. This paper will also describe RF MEMS Switch technology under development at NASA GSFC.

Human auditory system response to pulsed radiofrequency energy in RF coils for magnetic resonance at 2.4 to 170 MHz.

PubMed

Röschmann, P

1991-10-01

The threshold conditions for an auditory perception of pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy absorption in the human head have been studied on six volunteers with RF coils for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. For homogeneous RF exposure with MR head coils in the 2.4- to 170-MHz range and pulse widths 3 microseconds less than or equal to Tp less than 100 microseconds, the auditory thresholds were observed at 16 +/- 4 mJ pulse energy. Localized RF exposure with optimized surface coils positioned flush with the ear lowers the auditory threshold to only 3 +/- 0.6 mJ. The hearing threshold of RF pulses with Tp greater than 200 microseconds occurs at more or less constant peak power levels of typically 150 +/- 50 W for head coils and as low as 20 W for surface coils. The results from this study confirm theoretical predictions from a thermoelastic expansion model and compare well with reported thresholds from near field antenna measurements at 425 to 3000 MHz. Details of the threshold dependence on RF pulse length reveal primary sites of RF to acoustic energy conversion at the mastoid and temporal bone region and the outer layer of the brain from where thermoelastically generated pressure transients excite audible pressure waves at the resonance modes of the skull around 1.7 kHz and of the brain around 11 kHz. If not masked by usually dominating noise from switched gradients, the conditions for hearing RF pulses, as applied to head coils in MR studies with flip angle alpha at main field B0, is given by Tp/ms less than or equal to 0.4 (alpha/pi)B0/[T]. At peak power levels up to 15 kW presently available in clinical MR systems, there is no evidence known for detrimental health effects arising from the RF auditory phenomenon which is a secondary cause associated with primary RF to thermal energy conversion in body tissues. To avoid the RF-evoked sound pressure levels in the head rising above the discomfort threshold at 110 dB SPL, an upper limit of 30 kW applied peak pulse power is suggested for head coils and 6 kW for surface coils.

Design development and testing of high voltage power supply with crowbar protection for IOT based RF amplifier system in VECC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thakur, S. K.; Kumar, Y.

2018-05-01

This paper described the detailed design, development and testing of high voltage power supply (‑30 kV, 3.2 A) and different power supplies for biasing electrodes of Inductive Output Tube (IOT) based high power Radio Frequency (RF) amplifier. This IOT based RF amplifier is further used for pursuing research and development activity in superconducting RF cavity project at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) Kolkata. The state-of-the-art technology of IOT-based high power RF amplifier is designed, developed, and tested at VECC which is the first of its kind in India. A high voltage power supply rated at negative polarity of 30 kV dc/3.2 A is required for biasing cathode of IOT with crowbar protection circuit. This power supply along with crowbar protection system is designed, developed and tested at VECC for testing the complete setup. The technical difficulties and challenges occured during the design of cathode power supply, its crowbar protection techniques along with other supported power supplies i.e. grid and ion pump power supplies are discussed in this paper.

Thermal mechanisms of interaction of radiofrequency energy with biological systems with relevance to exposure guidelines.

PubMed

Foster, Kenneth R; Glaser, Roland

2007-06-01

This article reviews thermal mechanisms of interaction between radiofrequency (RF) fields and biological systems, focusing on theoretical frameworks that are of potential use in setting guidelines for human exposure to RF energy. Several classes of thermal mechanisms are reviewed that depend on the temperature increase or rate of temperature increase and the relevant dosimetric considerations associated with these mechanisms. In addition, attention is drawn to possible molecular and physiological reactions that could be induced by temperature elevations below 0.1 degrees, which are normal physiological responses to heat, and to the so-called microwave auditory effect, which is a physiologically trivial effect resulting from thermally-induced acoustic stimuli. It is suggested that some reported "nonthermal" effects of RF energy may be thermal in nature; also that subtle thermal effects from RF energy exist but have no consequence to health or safety. It is proposed that future revisions of exposure guidelines make more explicit use of thermal models and empirical data on thermal effects in quantifying potential hazards of RF fields.

An analytical model for floating probes in AC plasma and its application to double probes for high density, high power RF discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caneses, Juan Francisco; Blackwell, Boyd; Plasma Research Laboratory Team

2013-10-01

In this work we provide an analytical model that allows one to quantitatively assess the RF compensation performance and suitability of the double probe technique for use in RF generated plasma. The model is based in the theory of the self-bias effect as described in Braithwaite's work, which we extend to include the time resolved behavior of floating probes. We provide experimental verification for this model and show that the theory of transient RF self-bias probes and harmonic current detection probes are limiting cases of this extended model. Furthermore, the model shows that the RF compensation is solely dependent on the sheath impedance, the probe's stray capacitance to ground and RF frequency. In addition, we use these results to implement a double probe system for use in high density helicon plasma where heat loads could potentially damage the intricate components in an RF compensating circuit. Finally we use this model to (1) recommend ways to extend the operational regime of double probes where the plasma conditions would render them unsuitable and to (2) comment on the use of this model to aid design of RF compensated Langmuir probes.

A test-retest dataset for assessing long-term reliability of brain morphology and resting-state brain activity.

PubMed

Huang, Lijie; Huang, Taicheng; Zhen, Zonglei; Liu, Jia

2016-03-15

We present a test-retest dataset for evaluation of long-term reliability of measures from structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI and rfMRI) scans. The repeated scan dataset was collected from 61 healthy adults in two sessions using highly similar imaging parameters at an interval of 103-189 days. However, as the imaging parameters were not completely identical, the reliability estimated from this dataset shall reflect the lower bounds of the true reliability of sMRI/rfMRI measures. Furthermore, in conjunction with other test-retest datasets, our dataset may help explore the impact of different imaging parameters on reliability of sMRI/rfMRI measures, which is especially critical for assessing datasets collected from multiple centers. In addition, intelligence quotient (IQ) was measured for each participant using Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. The data can thus be used for purposes other than assessing reliability of sMRI/rfMRI alone. For example, data from each single session could be used to associate structural and functional measures of the brain with the IQ metrics to explore brain-IQ association.

Front end for GPS receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Jr., Jess Brooks (Inventor)

1999-01-01

The front end in GPS receivers has the functions of amplifying, down-converting, filtering and sampling the received signals. In the preferred embodiment, only two operations, A/D conversion and a sum, bring the signal from RF to filtered quadrature baseband samples. After amplification and filtering at RF, the L1 and L2 signals are each sampled at RF at a high selected subharmonic rate. The subharmonic sample rates are approximately 900 MHz for L1 and 982 MHz for L2. With the selected subharmonic sampling, the A/D conversion effectively down-converts the signal from RF to quadrature components at baseband. The resulting sample streams for L1 and L2 are each reduced to a lower rate with a digital filter, which becomes a straight sum in the simplest embodiment. The frequency subsystem can be very simple, only requiring the generation of a single reference frequency (e.g. 20.46 MHz minus a small offset) and the simple multiplication of this reference up to the subharmonic sample rates for L1 and L2. The small offset in the reference frequency serves the dual purpose of providing an advantageous offset in the down-converted carrier frequency and in the final baseband sample rate.

A novel experimental animal model of arterial stenosis based on endovascular radiofrequency energy application.

PubMed

Lazoura, Olga; Zacharoulis, Dimitris; Kanavou, Theodora; Rountas, Christos; Katsimboulas, Michael; Tzovaras, George; Habib, Nagy

2011-01-01

To develop a new rabbit model of arterial stenosis using endovascular radiofrequency (RF) energy. Ten rabbits were used for multiple endovascular RF applications to the aorta and left common carotid artery through the Habib™ VesCoag™ catheter. Angiography and color Doppler ultrasound were used to assess vessel patency immediately following the procedure and six weeks later. One rabbit was sacrificed following the procedure for histopathologic analysis of the vessel wall. Two rabbits died of aortic and carotid rupture, respectively, immediately after the procedure. The remaining seven rabbits were sacrificed after six-week follow-up for histopathological analysis. Optimal RF generator settings to induce significant arterial stenosis (>50%) without complications were standardized at 24-26 watts (W) for 1.5 min for the aorta and 6 W for 1 min for the common carotid artery. The six-week follow-up showed permanent results in all surviving rabbits. Histopathology revealed intima and medial smooth muscle layer necrosis. We have developed a novel rabbit model of arterial stenosis using endovascular RF energy. Our model is fast, safe, inexpensive, and reproducible. It would be useful for experimental investigations and new therapeutic devices.

A Bunch Compression Method for Free Electron Lasers that Avoids Parasitic Compressions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Benson, Stephen V.; Douglas, David R.; Tennant, Christopher D.

2015-09-01

Virtually all existing high energy (>few MeV) linac-driven FELs compress the electron bunch length though the use of off-crest acceleration on the rising side of the RF waveform followed by transport through a magnetic chicane. This approach has at least three flaws: 1) it is difficult to correct aberrations--particularly RF curvature, 2) rising side acceleration exacerbates space charge-induced distortion of the longitudinal phase space, and 3) all achromatic "negative compaction" compressors create parasitic compression during the final compression process, increasing the CSR-induced emittance growth. One can avoid these deficiencies by using acceleration on the falling side of the RF waveformmore » and a compressor with M 56>0. This approach offers multiple advantages: 1) It is readily achieved in beam lines supporting simple schemes for aberration compensation, 2) Longitudinal space charge (LSC)-induced phase space distortion tends, on the falling side of the RF waveform, to enhance the chirp, and 3) Compressors with M 56>0 can be configured to avoid spurious over-compression. We will discuss this bunch compression scheme in detail and give results of a successful beam test in April 2012 using the JLab UV Demo FEL« less

Influence of radiofrequency-electromagnetic waves from 3rd-generation cellular phones on fertilization and embryo development in mice.

PubMed

Suzuki, Satoshi; Okutsu, Miho; Suganuma, Ryota; Komiya, Hiromi; Nakatani-Enomoto, Setsu; Kobayashi, Shunsuke; Ugawa, Yoshikazu; Tateno, Hiroyuki; Fujimori, Keiya

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 3rd-generation (3G) cellular phone radiofrequency-electromagnetic wave (RF-EMW) exposure on fertilization and embryogenesis in mice. Oocytes and spermatozoa were exposed to 3G cellular phone RF-EMWs, 1.95 GHz wideband code division multiple access, at a specific absorption rate of 2 mW/g for 60 min, or to sham exposure. After RF-EMW exposure, in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection were performed. Rates of fertilization, embryogenesis (8-cell embryo, blastocyst), and chromosome aberration were compared between the combined spermatozoa and oocyte groups: both exposed, both non-exposed, one exposed, and the other non-exposed. Rates of fertilization, embryogenesis, and blastocyst formation did not change significantly across the four groups. Considering that the degree of exposure in the present study was ≥100 times greater than daily exposure of human spermatozoa and even greater than daily exposure of oocytes, the present results indicate safety of RF-EMW exposure in humans. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:466-473, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Systemic Nicotine Increases Gain and Narrows Receptive Fields in A1 via Integrated Cortical and Subcortical Actions

PubMed Central

Intskirveli, Irakli

2017-01-01

Abstract Nicotine enhances sensory and cognitive processing via actions at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), yet the precise circuit- and systems-level mechanisms remain unclear. In sensory cortex, nicotinic modulation of receptive fields (RFs) provides a model to probe mechanisms by which nAChRs regulate cortical circuits. Here, we examine RF modulation in mouse primary auditory cortex (A1) using a novel electrophysiological approach: current-source density (CSD) analysis of responses to tone-in-notched-noise (TINN) acoustic stimuli. TINN stimuli consist of a tone at the characteristic frequency (CF) of the recording site embedded within a white noise stimulus filtered to create a spectral “notch” of variable width centered on CF. Systemic nicotine (2.1 mg/kg) enhanced responses to the CF tone and to narrow-notch stimuli, yet reduced the response to wider-notch stimuli, indicating increased response gain within a narrowed RF. Subsequent manipulations showed that modulation of cortical RFs by systemic nicotine reflected effects at several levels in the auditory pathway: nicotine suppressed responses in the auditory midbrain and thalamus, with suppression increasing with spectral distance from CF so that RFs became narrower, and facilitated responses in the thalamocortical pathway, while nicotinic actions within A1 further contributed to both suppression and facilitation. Thus, multiple effects of systemic nicotine integrate along the ascending auditory pathway. These actions at nAChRs in cortical and subcortical circuits, which mimic effects of auditory attention, likely contribute to nicotinic enhancement of sensory and cognitive processing. PMID:28660244

Systemic Nicotine Increases Gain and Narrows Receptive Fields in A1 via Integrated Cortical and Subcortical Actions.

PubMed

Askew, Caitlin; Intskirveli, Irakli; Metherate, Raju

2017-01-01

Nicotine enhances sensory and cognitive processing via actions at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), yet the precise circuit- and systems-level mechanisms remain unclear. In sensory cortex, nicotinic modulation of receptive fields (RFs) provides a model to probe mechanisms by which nAChRs regulate cortical circuits. Here, we examine RF modulation in mouse primary auditory cortex (A1) using a novel electrophysiological approach: current-source density (CSD) analysis of responses to tone-in-notched-noise (TINN) acoustic stimuli. TINN stimuli consist of a tone at the characteristic frequency (CF) of the recording site embedded within a white noise stimulus filtered to create a spectral "notch" of variable width centered on CF. Systemic nicotine (2.1 mg/kg) enhanced responses to the CF tone and to narrow-notch stimuli, yet reduced the response to wider-notch stimuli, indicating increased response gain within a narrowed RF. Subsequent manipulations showed that modulation of cortical RFs by systemic nicotine reflected effects at several levels in the auditory pathway: nicotine suppressed responses in the auditory midbrain and thalamus, with suppression increasing with spectral distance from CF so that RFs became narrower, and facilitated responses in the thalamocortical pathway, while nicotinic actions within A1 further contributed to both suppression and facilitation. Thus, multiple effects of systemic nicotine integrate along the ascending auditory pathway. These actions at nAChRs in cortical and subcortical circuits, which mimic effects of auditory attention, likely contribute to nicotinic enhancement of sensory and cognitive processing.

Reaction of the immune system to low-level RF/MW exposures.

PubMed

Szmigielski, Stanislaw

2013-06-01

Radiofrequency (RF) and microwave (MW) radiation have been used in the modern world for many years. The rapidly increasing use of cellular phones in recent years has seen increased interest in relation to the possible health effects of exposure to RF/MW radiation. In 2011 a group of international experts organized by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon) concluded that RF/MW radiations should be listed as a possible carcinogen (group 2B) for humans. The incomplete knowledge of RF/MW-related cancer risks has initiated searches for biological indicators sensitive enough to measure the "weak biological influence" of RF/MWs. One of the main candidates is the immune system, which is able to react in a measurable way to discrete environmental stimuli. In this review, the impacts of weak RF/MW fields, including cell phone radiation, on various immune functions, both in vitro and in vivo, are discussed. The bulk of available evidence clearly indicates that various shifts in the number and/or activity of immunocompetent cells are possible, however the results are inconsistent. For example, a number of lymphocyte functions have been found to be enhanced and weakened within single experiments based on exposure to similar intensities of MW radiation. Certain premises exist which indicate that, in general, short-term exposure to weak MW radiation may temporarily stimulate certain humoral or cellular immune functions, while prolonged irradiation inhibits the same functions. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A Deep Machine Learning Algorithm to Optimize the Forecast of Atmospherics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, A. M.; Alliss, R. J.; Felton, B. D.

Space-based applications from imaging to optical communications are significantly impacted by the atmosphere. Specifically, the occurrence of clouds and optical turbulence can determine whether a mission is a success or a failure. In the case of space-based imaging applications, clouds produce atmospheric transmission losses that can make it impossible for an electro-optical platform to image its target. Hence, accurate predictions of negative atmospheric effects are a high priority in order to facilitate the efficient scheduling of resources. This study seeks to revolutionize our understanding of and our ability to predict such atmospheric events through the mining of data from a high-resolution Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model. Specifically, output from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is mined using a Random Forest (RF) ensemble classification and regression approach in order to improve the prediction of low cloud cover over the Haleakala summit of the Hawaiian island of Maui. RF techniques have a number of advantages including the ability to capture non-linear associations between the predictors (in this case physical variables from WRF such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and pressure) and the predictand (clouds), which becomes critical when dealing with the complex non-linear occurrence of clouds. In addition, RF techniques are capable of representing complex spatial-temporal dynamics to some extent. Input predictors to the WRF-based RF model are strategically selected based on expert knowledge and a series of sensitivity tests. Ultimately, three types of WRF predictors are chosen: local surface predictors, regional 3D moisture predictors and regional inversion predictors. A suite of RF experiments is performed using these predictors in order to evaluate the performance of the hybrid RF-WRF technique. The RF model is trained and tuned on approximately half of the input dataset and evaluated on the other half. The RF approach is validated using in-situ observations of clouds. All of the hybrid RF-WRF experiments demonstrated here significantly outperform the base WRF local low cloud cover forecasts in terms of the probability of detection and the overall bias. In particular, RF experiments that use only regional three-dimensional moisture predictors from the WRF model produce the highest accuracy when compared to RF experiments that use local surface predictors only or regional inversion predictors only. Furthermore, adding multiple types of WRF predictors and additional WRF predictors to the RF algorithm does not necessarily add more value in the resulting forecasts, indicating that it is better to have a small set of meaningful predictors than to have a vast set of indiscriminately-chosen predictors. This work also reveals that the WRF-based RF approach is highly sensitive to the time period over which the algorithm is trained and evaluated. Future work will focus on developing a similar WRF-based RF model for high cloud prediction and expanding the algorithm to two-dimensions horizontally.

Radio frequency telemetry system for sensors and actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simons, Rainee N. (Inventor); Miranda, Felix A. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

The present invention discloses and teaches apparatus for combining Radio Frequency (RF) technology with novel micro-inductor antennas and signal processing circuits for RF telemetry of real time, measured data, from microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors, through electromagnetic coupling with a remote powering/receiving device. Such technology has many applications, but is especially useful in the biomedical area.

Radio Frequency Telemetry System for Sensors and Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simons, Rainee N. (Inventor); Miranda, Felix A. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

The present invention discloses and teaches apparatus for combining Radio Frequency (RF) technology with novel micro-inductor antennas and signal processing circuits for RF telemetry of real time, measured data, from microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors, through electromagnetic coupling with a remote poweringheceiving device. Such technology has many applications, but is especially useful in the biomedical area.