Magnetic tunnel junction magnetic field sensor design tool

A spreadsheet-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) sensor design tool is presented in this paper. The system is developed using Excel and Visual Basic Application. It allows users to optimize the various parameters of the sensor design with the goal of SQUID-like sensitivity. Users can input parameters of the design including magnetic properties, junction areas, and free layers thicknesses. The design tool will then calculate and display automatically various noise sources including Johnson noise, shot noise, 1/f noise, and thermal magnetic noise that must be considered when building MTJ magnetic field sensors. Graphs predicting the sensitivities, operating current and power of the finished sensors are shown and fine tuning of each design parameter is allowed using the scrollbars provided. Using this design tool, effects of changes made to any design parameter can be clearly observed and detailed noise analysis can be studied without manually repeating complex calculations. ©2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 3rd International Nanoelectronics Conference (INEC 2010), Hong Kong, China, 3-8 January 2010. In Proceedings of the 3rd INEC, 2010, p. 1149-115

Therapeutic effects of STAT3 decoy oligodeoxynucleotide on human lung cancer in xenograft mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is usually constitutively activated in a variety of malignancies. Therefore, STAT3 may be a promising target for treatment of tumor cells. To explore the possibility of a double-stranded decoy oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) targeted blocking STAT3 over-activated tumor cells, we, here, evaluate the efficacy of STAT3 decoy ODN on human lung cancer cells <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A STAT3 decoy ODN was transfected into A549 lung cancer cell line <it>in vitro </it>by using lipofectamine. The flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy were used to detect the transfection efficiency and the sub-cellular localization of STAT3 decoy ODN in A549 cells. Cell proliferation was determined by counting cell numbers and [³H]-thymidine uptake. Cell apoptosis was examined with Annexin V and propidum iodide by flow cytometry. The expression levels of STAT3 target genes were identified by RT-PCR and immunoblot. For <it>in vivo </it>experiment, A549 lung carcinoma-nude mice xenograft was used as a model to examine the effect of the STAT3 decoy by intratumoral injection. At the end of treatment, TUNEL and immunohistochemistry were used to examine the apoptosis and the expression levels of bcl-xl and cyclin D1 in tumor tissues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>STAT3 decoy ODN was effectively transfected into A549 lung cancer cells and mainly located in nucleus. STAT3-decoy ODN significantly induced apoptosis and reduced [³H]-thymidine incorporation of A549 cells as well as down-regulated STAT3-target genes <it>in vitro</it>. STAT3 decoy ODN also dramatically inhibited the lung tumor growth in xenografted nude mice and decreased gene expression of bcl-xl and cyclin D1.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>STAT3 decoy ODN significantly suppressed lung cancer cells <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>, indicating that STAT3 decoy ODN may be a potential therapeutic approach for treatment of lung cancer.</p

Factors contributing to attrition behavior in diabetes self-management programs: A mixed method approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetes self-management education is a critical component in diabetes care. Despite worldwide efforts to develop efficacious DSME programs, high attrition rates are often reported in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to examine factors that may contribute to attrition behavior in diabetes self-management programs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted telephone interviews with individuals who had Type 2 diabetes (n = 267) and attended a diabetes education centre. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with attrition behavior. Forty-four percent of participants (n = 118) withdrew prematurely from the program and were asked an open-ended question regarding their discontinuation of services. We used content analysis to code and generate themes, which were then organized under the Behavioral Model of Health Service Utilization.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Working full and part-time, being over 65 years of age, having a regular primary care physician or fewer diabetes symptoms were contributing factors to attrition behaviour in our multivariable logistic regression. The most common reasons given by participants for attrition from the program were conflict between their work schedules and the centre's hours of operation, patients' confidence in their own knowledge and ability when managing their diabetes, apathy towards diabetes education, distance to the centre, forgetfulness, regular physician consultation, low perceived seriousness of diabetes, and lack of familiarity with the centre and its services. There was considerable overlap between our quantitative and qualitative results.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reducing attrition behaviour requires a range of strategies targeted towards delivering convenient and accessible services, familiarizing individuals with these services, increasing communication between centres and their patients, and creating better partnerships between centres and primary care physicians.</p

Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase-Rescue of Dystrophin/Utrophin Double Knockout Mice does not Require nNOS Localization to the Cell Membrane

Survival of dystrophin/utrophin double-knockout (dko) mice was increased by muscle-specific expression of a neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) transgene. Dko mice expressing the transgene (nNOS TG+/dko) experienced delayed onset of mortality and increased life-span. The nNOS TG+/dko mice demonstrated a significant decrease in the concentration of CD163+, M2c macrophages that can express arginase and promote fibrosis. The decrease in M2c macrophages was associated with a significant reduction in fibrosis of heart, diaphragm and hindlimb muscles of nNOS TG+/dko mice. The nNOS transgene had no effect on the concentration of cytolytic, CD68+, M1 macrophages. Accordingly, we did not observe any change in the extent of muscle fiber lysis in the nNOS TG+/dko mice. These findings show that nNOS/NO (nitric oxide)-mediated decreases in M2c macrophages lead to a reduction in the muscle fibrosis that is associated with increased mortality in mice lacking dystrophin and utrophin. Interestingly, the dramatic and beneficial effects of the nNOS transgene were not attributable to localization of nNOS protein at the cell membrane. We did not detect any nNOS protein at the sarcolemma in nNOS TG+/dko muscles. This important observation shows that sarcolemmal localization is not necessary for nNOS to have beneficial effects in dystrophic tissue and the presence of nNOS in the cytosol of dystrophic muscle fibers can ameliorate the pathology and most importantly, significantly increase life-span

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Transverse Polarization Modes in the Gravitational-wave Background

\ua9 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Recently we found compelling evidence for a gravitational-wave background with Hellings and Downs (HD) correlations in our 15 yr data set. These correlations describe gravitational waves as predicted by general relativity, which has two transverse polarization modes. However, more general metric theories of gravity can have additional polarization modes, which produce different interpulsar correlations. In this work, we search the NANOGrav 15 yr data set for evidence of a gravitational-wave background with quadrupolar HD and scalar-transverse (ST) correlations. We find that HD correlations are the best fit to the data and no significant evidence in favor of ST correlations. While Bayes factors show strong evidence for a correlated signal, the data does not strongly prefer either correlation signature, with Bayes factors ∼2 when comparing HD to ST correlations, and ∼1 for HD plus ST correlations to HD correlations alone. However, when modeled alongside HD correlations, the amplitude and spectral index posteriors for ST correlations are uninformative, with the HD process accounting for the vast majority of the total signal. Using the optimal statistic, a frequentist technique that focuses on the pulsar-pair cross-correlations, we find median signal-to-noise ratios of 5.0 for HD and 4.6 for ST correlations when fit for separately, and median signal-to-noise ratios of 3.5 for HD and 3.0 for ST correlations when fit for simultaneously. While the signal-to-noise ratios for each of the correlations are comparable, the estimated amplitude and spectral index for HD are a significantly better fit to the total signal, in agreement with our Bayesian analysis

Comprehensive molecular characterization of the hippo signaling pathway in cancer

Hippo signaling has been recognized as a key tumor suppressor pathway. Here, we perform a comprehensive molecular characterization of 19 Hippo core genes in 9,125 tumor samples across 33 cancer types using multidimensional “omic” data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We identify somatic drivers among Hippo genes and the related microRNA (miRNA) regulators, and using functional genomic approaches, we experimentally characterize YAP and TAZ mutation effects and miR-590 and miR-200a regulation for TAZ. Hippo pathway activity is best characterized by a YAP/TAZ transcriptional target signature of 22 genes, which shows robust prognostic power across cancer types. Our elastic-net integrated modeling further reveals cancer-type-specific pathway regulators and associated cancer drivers. Our results highlight the importance of Hippo signaling in squamous cell cancers, characterized by frequent amplification of YAP/TAZ, high expression heterogeneity, and significant prognostic patterns. This study represents a systems-biology approach to characterizing key cancer signaling pathways in the post-genomic era