A dc model for power switching transistors suitable for computer-aided design and analysis

A model for bipolar junction power switching transistors whose parameters can be readily obtained by the circuit design engineer, and which can be conveniently incorporated into standard computer-based circuit analysis programs is presented. This formulation results from measurements which may be made with standard laboratory equipment. Measurement procedures, as well as a comparison between actual and computed results, are presented

Elite male Flat jockeys display lower bone density and lower resting metabolic rate than their female counterparts: implications for athlete welfare

To test the hypothesis that daily weight-making is more problematic to health in male compared with female jockeys, we compared the bone-density and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in weight-matched male and female Flat-jockeys. RMR (kcal.kg-1 lean mass) was lower in males compared with females as well as lower bone-density Z-scores at the hip and lumbar spine. Data suggest the lifestyle of male jockeys’ compromise health more severely than females, possibly due to making-weight more frequently

The Scottish National Dictionary, Vols. I - III through Part III (Book Review)

published or submitted for publicatio

Socioeconomic indicators of heat-related health risk supplemented with remotely sensed data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extreme heat events are the number one cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States. The current system of alert for extreme heat events does not take into account intra-urban spatial variation in risk. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a potential method to improve spatial delineation of risk from extreme heat events in urban environments by integrating sociodemographic risk factors with estimates of land surface temperature derived from thermal remote sensing data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparison of logistic regression models indicates that supplementing known sociodemographic risk factors with remote sensing estimates of land surface temperature improves the delineation of intra-urban variations in risk from extreme heat events.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Thermal remote sensing data can be utilized to improve understanding of intra-urban variations in risk from extreme heat. The refinement of current risk assessment systems could increase the likelihood of survival during extreme heat events and assist emergency personnel in the delivery of vital resources during such disasters.</p

Water Withdrawals in Illinois, 2011

This report summarizes data collected by the Illinois Water Inventory Program for calendar year 2011. Water use data are presented for public water supply and self-supplied industry facilities within Illinois. The data are further categorized by county, township, Illinois priority planning areas, and within two major Illinois withdrawal areas: Chicago and central Illinois. Illinois water withdrawals during 2011 were 53,428.6 million gallons per day (mgd), of which groundwater supplied 513.4 mgd and surface water supplied 52,915.2 mgd. Public water supply (PWS) withdrew 1,508.3 mgd and self-supplied-industry (SSI) withdrew 51,920.3 mdg. Electric power generation is the largest water use in Illinois with 96.3 percent of the total water withdrawal. Excluding electric power withdrawals, 2011 groundwater use was 508.5 mgd, and surface water use was 1,489.8 mgd.Ope

Analytic Detection Thresholds for Measurements of Linearly Polarized Intensity Using Rotation Measure Synthesis

A fully analytic statistical formalism does not yet exist to describe radio-wavelength measurements of linearly polarized intensity that are produced using rotation measure synthesis. In this work we extend the analytic formalism for standard linear polarization, namely that describing measurements of the quadrature sum of Stokes Q and U intensities, to the rotation measure synthesis environment. We derive the probability density function and expectation value for Faraday-space polarization measurements for both the case where true underlying polarized emission is present within unresolved Faraday components, and for the limiting case where no such emission is present. We then derive relationships to quantify the statistical significance of linear polarization measurements in terms of standard Gaussian statistics. The formalism developed in this work will be useful for setting signal-to-noise ratio detection thresholds for measurements of linear polarization, for the analysis of polarized sources potentially exhibiting multiple Faraday components, and for the development of polarization debiasing schemes.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Controls of Litter Size—Do Conclusions Drawn from Institutional Research Herds Always Have Relevance to Commercial Swine Production?

Increasing litter size in pigs has been an ongoing concern of many producers because it has the greatest impact on profitability of the swine enterprise. To study the biology of conceptus growth and survival, many models have been used by researchers. It was determined that a major component in limiting litter size results from the impacts of limitations in uterine space (i.e. uterine capacity). Placental efficiency, which is the ratio of a fetus’s weight compared with that of its placenta, has been shown to impact litter size, and is heritable. Selection for breeding animals having a high placental efficiency at term, has been shown to increase litter size. Furthermore, although piglet weight was only slightly decreased in offspring of boars and gilts selected for increased placental efficiency, placental size was profoundly reduced. This reduction in placental size was coupled with an increase in vascularity, thus nutrient and oxygen uptake by the conceptus could be accomplished over a decreased surface area of attachment to the uterine wall. Reproductive data obtained to date have been gathered largely from university swine herds that may have little relevance to commercially used US pig breeds. In contrast to the constant evaluations of physiological changes associated with increased litter size at universities, swine seed stock producers have selected for many generations simply on increased litter size and have not bothered to evaluate the resulting physiological changes associated with increased fecundity. Therefore, it was the objective of this study to investigate the reproductive characteristics of a commercially relevant swine herd in Iowa (PIC Camborough Line) at selected gestational ages. Multiparous sows (ranging from 1 to 14 parities) were slaughtered on days 25, 36, and 44 of gestation, time periods corresponding to intervals which are before, during, and after the time when uterine capacity becomes limiting. At the laboratory, the uterine horns were measured and ovulation rate was determined. Conceptuses were removed and fetal and placental weights were determined. Uterine horn length and ovulation rate did not differ between the three gestational groups. Conceptus number decreased from 15.8 ± 0.6 on day 25 to 12.9 ± 0.5 and 12.1 ± 0.4 on day 36 and day 44 (litter size in this population averages ~11.5 liveborn piglets/litter). Conceptus survival to day 25 was 60.2 ± 0.1%, which then decreased to 50.1 ± 0.1% on day 36 and 46.3 ± 0.1% on day 44. There was a positive correlation between conceptus number and ovulation rate on day 25 but by day 36 this association was lost. Conceptus number was not associated with uterine length on day 25, but by day 36 there was a positive association that remained through day 44. On all three gestation days there was a negative association between conceptus number and placental weight, but no association between conceptus number and fetal weight was observed, indicating that larger litters are comprised of conceptuses having small placentae, but the same sized fetuses. These data indicate that, compared with commonly reported values for university herds (16-18 ovulations), ovulation rate in these mixed parity production animals is extremely high, whereas conceptus survival as estimated from the number of conceptuses divided by the number of ovulations was very low. Additionally, although conceptus number was related to the ovulation rate on day 25, by day 36 the limitations of uterine size began to reduce conceptus number irrespective of ovulation rate. These data suggest that ovulation rate is not a limiting factor in litter size in this line of commercially relevant pigs. In contrast, the higher than expected ovulation rate observed in these pigs resulted in significant embryo losses and early uterine crowding. The consequences of this early conceptus crowding may have detrimental impacts on prenatal and postnatal growth rate and survival

Exome-wide association study of pancreatic cancer risk

We conducted a case-control exome-wide association study to discover germline variants in coding regions that affect risk for pancreatic cancer, combining data from 5 studies. We analyzed exome and genome sequencing data from 437 patients with pancreatic cancer (cases) and 1922 individuals not known to have cancer (controls). In the primary analysis, BRCA2 had the strongest enrichment for rare inactivating variants (17/437 cases vs 3/1922 controls) (P=3.27x10(-6); exome-wide statistical significance threshold P&lt;2.5x10(-6)). Cases had more rare inactivating variants in DNA repair genes than controls, even after excluding 13 genes known to predispose to pancreatic cancer (adjusted odds ratio, 1.35, P=.045). At the suggestive threshold (P&lt;.001), 6 genes were enriched for rare damaging variants (UHMK1, AP1G2, DNTA, CHST6, FGFR3, and EPHA1) and 7 genes had associations with pancreatic cancer risk, based on the sequence-kernel association test. We confirmed variants in BRCA2 as the most common high-penetrant genetic factor associated with pancreatic cancer and we also identified candidate pancreatic cancer genes. Large collaborations and novel approaches are needed to overcome the genetic heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer predisposition

Characterization of Extragalactic 24micron Sources in the Spitzer First Look Survey

In this Letter, we present the initial characterization of extragalactic 24um sources in the Spitzer First Look Survey (FLS) by examining their counterparts at 8um and R-band. The color-color diagram of 24-to-8 vs. 24-to-0.7um is populated with 18,734 sources brighter than the 3sigma flux limit of 110uJy, over an area of 3.7sq.degrees. The 24-to-0.7um colors of these sources span almost 4 orders of magnitudes, while the 24-to-8um colors distribute at least over 2 orders of magnitudes. In addition to identifying ~30% of the total sample with infrared quiescent, mostly low redshift galaxies, we also found that: (1) 23% of the 24um sources (~1200/sq.degrees) have very red 24-to-8 and 24-to-0.7 colors and are probably infrared luminous starbursts with L(IR)>3x10^(11)Lsun at z>1. In particular, 13% of the sample (660/sq.degrees) are 24um detected only, with no detectable emission in either 8um or R-band. These sources are the candidates for being ULIRGs at z>2. (2) 2% of the sample (85/sq.degrees) have colors similar to dust reddened AGNs, like Mrk231 at z~0.6-3. (3) We anticipate that some of these sources with extremely red colors may be new types of sources, since they can not be modelled with any familiar type of spectral energy distribution. We find that 17% of the 24um sources have no detectable optical counterparts brighter than R limit of 25.5mag. Optical spectroscopy of these optical extremely faint 24um sources would be very difficult, and mid-infrared spectroscopy from the Spitzer would be critical for understanding their physical nature (Abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (Spitzer Special Issue