Apparatus and method using a gas discharge device for shielding an object andor person from electromagnetic radiation including radar, microwaves, X-rays, andor gamma rays. A method of manufacturing a specimen testing device is also disclosed. The girdle is also multi sided polygon. The method and the apparatus are suitable for LightScribe\u2122 applications. Certain aspects provide a method that generally includes obtaining measurements of downlink transmission from a base station of a second radio access technology, maintaining uplink transmission with a BS of a first RAT while obtaining the measurements, and performing network acquisition operations with the BS of the second RAT based on the measurements.