Neuronal Correlates of Tactile Working Memory in Prefrontal and Vibrissal Somatosensory Cortex

Tactile working memory engages a broad network of cortical regions in primates. To assess whether the conclusions drawn from primates apply to rodents, we examined the vibrissal primary somatosensory cortex (vS1) and the prelimbic cortex (PL) in a delayed comparison task. Rats compared the speeds of two vibrissal vibrations, stimulus1 and stimulus2, separated by a delay of 2 s. Neuronal firing rates in vS1 and PL encode both stimuli in real time. Across the delay, the stimulus1 representation declines more precipitously in vS1 than in PL. Theta-band local field potential (LFP) coherence between vS1 and PL peaks at trial onset and remains elevated during the interstimulus interval; simultaneously, vS1 spikes become phase locked to PL LFP. Phase locking is stronger on correct (versus error) trials. Tactile working memory in rats appears to be mediated by a posterior (vS1) to anterior (PL) flow of information, with performance facilitated through coherent LFP oscillation

The Design of a Smart Refrigerator Prototype

The technological development nowadays has enabled the use of smart appliances and machines almost everywhere. The refrigerator is considered one of the most important appliances that is being used in almost every place for the purpose of storing foods, drinks, and medicines at cold temperatures, and in a sealed place to avoid exposure. However, there are several  challenges encountered with refrigerators; like the expiration of some of the items inside the fridge, the need to know the exact count  and availability of the items, potential liquid leaks, and open fridge door. A smart refrigerator is proposed as a solution to the aforementioned problems. The proposed smart refrigerator uses a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, the Arduino Uno microcontroller, RFID tags for all items in the fridge, a user friendly application developed using Microsoft Visual Studio, MySQL main database developed by the suppliers to store the information related to each purchased item and Phidget Interface Kit board

Tularemia and Plague Survey in Rodents in Earthquake Zones in Southeastern Iran

OBJECTIVES: Earthquakes are one the most common natural disasters that lead to increased mortality and morbidity from transmissible diseases, partially because the rodents displaced by an earthquake can lead to an increased rate of disease transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of plague and tularemia in rodents in the earthquake zones in southeastern Iran. METHODS: In April 2013, a research team was dispatched to explore the possible presence of diseases in rodents displaced by a recent earthquake magnitude 7.7 around the cities of Khash and Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Rodents were trapped near and in the earthquake zone, in a location where an outbreak of tularemia was reported in 2007. Rodent serums were tested for a serological survey using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: In the 13 areas that were studied, nine rodents were caught over a total of 200 trap-days. Forty-eight fleas and 10 ticks were obtained from the rodents. The ticks were from the Hyalomma genus and the fleas were from the Xenopsylla genus. All the trapped rodents were Tatera indica. Serological results were negative for plague, but the serum agglutination test was positive for tularemia in one of the rodents. Tatera indica has never been previously documented to be involved in the transmission of tularemia. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence of the plague cycle was found in the rodents of the area, but evidence was found of tularemia infection in rodents, as demonstrated by a positive serological test for tularemia in one rodent

Iranian Dietary Patterns and Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Background: Role of diet on colorectal cancer (CRC) has been considered in terms of single foods and nutrients, but less frequently in terms of dietary patterns in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine the association between Iranian dietary patterns and CRC. Methods: This case-control study was conducted in four hospitals in Tabriz City of Iran including 414 participants aged 35-75 years: 207 cases with CRC confirmed by pathology and colonoscopy findings were selected and 207 controls free of neoplastic conditions and diet-related chronic diseases (from the same hospital at the same period for the cases). Dietary data were assessed using a 123-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Two dietary patterns were found by using of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method;"Healthy pattern" and "Iranian pattern". Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) for relationship between dietary patterns and colorectal cancer. Results: After adjusting for confounding factors, the Iranian dietary pattern was significantly associated with an increased odds of colorectal cancer (OR=1.46; 95 Confidenec Interval (CI)=1.05-2.19) while a reduced odds of colorectal cancer was observed with the Healthy dietary pattern (OR=0.18; 95 CI=0.091-0.47). Conclusion: Iranian dietary pattern (IDP) seems to increase the odds of colorectal cancer and protective effect of Healthy dietary pattern

The Formation of the Intermetallic-Containing Pd2Sn Alloy: The Creation of the Isolated Adsorption Sites

In the current study, tin-promoted Pd / MWNTs synthesized via polyol process were developed. TEM images evidences resulted in the formation of highly-dispersed Pd-Sn nanoparticles. The formation of Pd2Sn structural phase was confirmed by XRD and TPR techniques, composed mainly of intermetallic spe-cies, supported by XPS results. In this research, we applied intermetallic-containing tin-promoted catalysts for the selective hydrogenation reaction of acetylene as the case study. The presence of a discontinuity in the Arrhenius plots could come from the kinetic factor as a result of change in acetylene coverage on Pd metallic ensembles. The intermetallic-containing assembled catalysts led to the good management of cata-lytic performance due to the creation of isolated adsorption sites on the catalyst surface, resulting in the higher ethylene selectivity. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3521

The Role of Pore Structure of SMFs-based Pd Nanocatalysts in Deactivation Behavioral Pattern Upon Acetylene Hydrogenation Reaction

In this research, SMFs panels were applied for further deposition of CNFs, ZnO and Al2O3 to hydro-genate selectively acetylene to ethylene. To understand the role of different structures of the examined supports, the characterization methods of SEM, ASAP, NH3-TPD and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms were used. Following the characterization of green oil by FTIR, the presence of more unsaturated constitu-ents and then, more branched hydrocarbons formed upon the reaction over alumina-supported catalyst in comparison with the ones supported on CNFs and ZnO was confirmed, which in turn, could block the pores mouths. Besides the limited hydrogen transfer, the lowest pore diameters of Al2O3 / SMFs close to the sur-face, supported by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms could explain the fast deactivation of this catalyst, compared to the other ones. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3521

A case of May-Thurner syndrome

May-Thurner syndrome is a condition that results from narrowing of the left common iliac vein lumen due to pressure from the right common iliac artery as it crosses anterior to it. We describe a very rare case in which a previously asymptomatic patient presented with May-Thurner syndrome

Power Reduction Techniques in Clock Distribution Networks with Emphasis on LC Resonant Clocking

In this thesis we propose a set of independent techniques in the overall concept of LC resonant clocking where each technique reduces power consumption and improve system performance. Low-power design is becoming a crucial design objective due to the growing demand on portable applications and the increasing difficulties in cooling and heat removal. The clock distribution network delivers the clock signal which acts as a reference to all sequential elements in the synchronous system. The clock distribution network consumes a considerable amount of power in synchronous digital systems. Resonant clocking is an emerging promising technique to reduce the power of the clock network. The inductor used in resonant clocking enables the conversion of the electric energy stored on the clock capacitance to magnetic energy in the inductor and vice versa. In this thesis, the concept of the slack in the clock skew has been extended for an LC fully-resonant clock distribution network. This extra slack in comparison to standard clock distribution networks can be used to reduce routing complexity, achieve reduction in wire elongation, total wire length, and power consumption. Simulation results illustrate that by utilizing the proposed approach, an average reduction of 53% in the number of wire elongations and 11% reduction in total wire length can be achieved. A dual-edge clocking scheme introduced in the literature to enable the operation of the flip-flop at the rising- and falling edges of the clock has been modified. The interval by which the charging elements in the flip-flop are being switched-on was reduced causing a reduction in power consumption. Simulating the flip-flop in STMicroelectronics 90-nm technology shows correct functionality of the Sense Amplifier flip-flop with a resonant clock signal of 500 MHz and a throughput of 1 GHz under process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations. Modeling the resonant system with the proposed flip-flop illustrates that dual-edge compared to single-edge triggering can achieve up to 58% reduction in power consumption when the clock capacitance is the dominating factor. The application of low-swing clocking to LC resonant clock distribution network has been investigated on-chip. The proposed low-swing resonant clocking scheme operates with one voltage supply and does not require an additional supply voltage. The Differential Conditional Capturing flip-flop introduced in the literature was modified to operate with a low-swing sinusoidal clock. Low-swing resonant clocking achieved around 5.8% reduction in total power with 5.7% area overhead. Modeling the clock network with the proposed flip-flop illustrates that low-swing clocking can achieve up to 58% reduction in the power consumption of the resonant clock. An analytical approach was introduced to estimate the required driver strength in the clock generator. Using the proposed approach early in the design stage reduces area and power overhead by eliminating the need for programmable switches in the driving circuit

Comparison of the tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test in detecting latent tuberculosis in health care workers in Iran

OBJECTIVES: The tuberculin skin test (TST) and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (QFT) are used to identify latent tuberculosis infections (LTBIs). The aim of this study was to determine the agreement between these two tests among health care workers in Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 177 tuberculosis (TB) laboratory staff and 67 non-TB staff. TST indurations of 10 mm or more were considered positive. The Student's t-test and the chi-square test were used to compare the mean score and proportion of variables between the TB laboratory staff and the non-TB laboratory staff. Kappa statistics were used to evaluate the agreement between these tests, and logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors associated with positive results for each test. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBIs according to both the QFT and the TST was 17 (95 confidence interval CI, 12% to 21%) and 16% (95% CI, 11% to 21%), respectively. The agreement between the QFT and the TST was 77.46%, with a kappa of 0.19 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.34). CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of LTBI based on the QFT and the TST was not significantly different, the kappa statistic was low between these two tests for the detection of LTBIs

The Influence of Visual Provenance Representations on Strategies in a Collaborative Hand-off Data Analysis Scenario

Conducting data analysis tasks rarely occur in isolation. Especially in intelligence analysis scenarios where different experts contribute knowledge to a shared understanding, members must communicate how insights develop to establish common ground among collaborators. The use of provenance to communicate analytic sensemaking carries promise by describing the interactions and summarizing the steps taken to reach insights. Yet, no universal guidelines exist for communicating provenance in different settings. Our work focuses on the presentation of provenance information and the resulting conclusions reached and strategies used by new analysts. In an open-ended, 30-minute, textual exploration scenario, we qualitatively compare how adding different types of provenance information (specifically data coverage and interaction history) affects analysts' confidence in conclusions developed, propensity to repeat work, filtering of data, identification of relevant information, and typical investigation strategies. We see that data coverage (i.e., what was interacted with) provides provenance information without limiting individual investigation freedom. On the other hand, while interaction history (i.e., when something was interacted with) does not significantly encourage more mimicry, it does take more time to comfortably understand, as represented by less confident conclusions and less relevant information-gathering behaviors. Our results contribute empirical data towards understanding how provenance summarizations can influence analysis behaviors.Comment: to be published in IEEE Vis 202