Integration of electro-optical mechanical systems and medicine: Where are we and where can we go?

Microfabricated chip technologies offer researchers novel types of analysis of human clinical samples. Current examples of such technology include DNA amplification and analysis,and fluorescent cell analysis by flow cytometry. Potential applications include the development of rapid techniques for examining large numbers of cells in tissue or blood. This paper will outline criteria that successful devices must satisfy

Sampling bias in systems with structural heterogeneity and limited internal diffusion

Complex systems research is becomingly increasingly data-driven, particularly in the social and biological domains. Many of the systems from which sample data are collected feature structural heterogeneity at the mesoscopic scale (i.e. communities) and limited inter-community diffusion. Here we show that the interplay between these two features can yield a significant bias in the global characteristics inferred from the data. We present a general framework to quantify this bias, and derive an explicit corrective factor for a wide class of systems. Applying our analysis to a recent high-profile survey of conflict mortality in Iraq suggests a significant overestimate of deaths

Impact of Climate and Disturbance on the Formation of Earlywood and Latewood in Douglas-fir at the Salal Fields Study Site

Wood density is controlled to a large extent by the relative widths of earlywood and latewood in the stem, but the mechanisms controlling these amounts are poorly understood in coastal Douglas-fir. To understand the role of climatic factors, one hundred and thirty-six increment cores were collected and measured from the Salal Fields study site located in Western Oregon. Increment cores were collected from the four following heights on 38 Douglas-fir trees representing differing social positions: 1.37, 2.44, 4.88, and 7.01 m. A master chronology was constructed using the median earlywood and latewood time series for all of the increment cores collected. Statistical models indicated that earlywood growth was impacted most by temperature, while latewood growth was impacted most by the amount of summer precipitation. The site experienced disturbance events, which impacted earlywood growth in 1980 and latewood growth in 1983. The majority of variation in the master chronologies of both earlywood and latewood for this site can be explained by changes in climate and the presence of disturbance events

Semiconductor microlasers with intracavity microfluidics for biomedical analyses

Recently demonstrated microfluidic chips have the potential to be useful bioanalytical tools for DNA, protein, and cellular studies. To realize this potential, means for introducing fluids, separating their components, and detection must be integrated onto the chip. The authors have investigated semiconductor laser microcavity spectroscopy as a means for ultrasensitive detection of various fluids, cells, and particulates. Two methods for implementing this laser device are illustrated. A scanning method for reading the light signals from a static fluid in the microcavity is presented. The device has a microfabricated flow structure formed between two surfaces, a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser and a glass dielectric mirror. The resonance frequencies of this Fabry-Perot microcavity are very sensitive to the dielectric properties of the fluids confined inside the cavity. Further, the resonance linewidth or cavity Q is sensitive to the optical length of the cavity, light absorption, and light scattering from the fluid and the surfaces forming the cavity. If cells or particulates are present in the fluid they confine light transverse to the cavity length and develop additional sub-frequencies between the Fabry-Perot frequencies. Thus, the spectrum of light emitted from or transmitted through the cavity comprises a wealth of information about the cavity contents

Inheritance of acid-soil tolerance in sorghum (\u3ci\u3eSorghum bicolor\u3c/i\u3e) grown on an Ultisol

Inheritance of acid-soil tolerance (generally considered AI-toxicity tolerance) i.n sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is not clear. Forty F1 sorghum hybrids and their 14 parents were grown two seasons in the field at relatively high (67 and 71%) and low (43 and 42%) Al saturations on an acid Ultisol in Colombia, South America to evaluate the effects of acid soil on agronomic component traits and to better understand inheritance of acid-soil tolerance of sorghum. For plants grown at the high Al saturation levels, hybrids from acid-soil tolerant [AS-T] x acid soil-sensitive [AS-S] crosses were as tolerant as hybrids from AS-T x AS-T crosses which were as tolerant as their AS-T parents. Hybrids from AS-S x AS-S crosses were all sensitive to the acid-soil stress conditions. General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were significant for acid-soil tolerance, and GCA effects were more important than SCA effects. Significant GCA and SCA effects were detected for grain yield and number of roots at the low Al saturation level. Additive genetic effects in these genotypes were important for acid-soil tolerance rating, grain yield, and number of roots at the high Al saturation level

Inheritance of acid-soil tolerance in sorghum (\u3ci\u3eSorghum bicolor\u3c/i\u3e) grown on an Ultisol

Inheritance of acid-soil tolerance (generally considered AI-toxicity tolerance) i.n sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is not clear. Forty F1 sorghum hybrids and their 14 parents were grown two seasons in the field at relatively high (67 and 71%) and low (43 and 42%) Al saturations on an acid Ultisol in Colombia, South America to evaluate the effects of acid soil on agronomic component traits and to better understand inheritance of acid-soil tolerance of sorghum. For plants grown at the high Al saturation levels, hybrids from acid-soil tolerant [AS-T] x acid soil-sensitive [AS-S] crosses were as tolerant as hybrids from AS-T x AS-T crosses which were as tolerant as their AS-T parents. Hybrids from AS-S x AS-S crosses were all sensitive to the acid-soil stress conditions. General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were significant for acid-soil tolerance, and GCA effects were more important than SCA effects. Significant GCA and SCA effects were detected for grain yield and number of roots at the low Al saturation level. Additive genetic effects in these genotypes were important for acid-soil tolerance rating, grain yield, and number of roots at the high Al saturation level

Re-evaluating Floor Space Allowance and Removal Strategy Effects on the Growth of Heavyweight Finishing Pigs

This study was performed to evaluate the impact of initial floor space allowance and various topping strategies (removal of the heaviest pigs in a pen prior to marketing the finishing group) on the growth performance of heavyweight finishing pigs. A total of 1,092 pigs (initially 80.1 lb) were allotted to one of 4 experimental treatments with 14 pens per treatment. The first treatment stocked pigs at 9.7 ft2 (15 pigs/pen) throughout the study. The other three treatments initially stocked pigs at 6.9 ft2. The second treatment (2:2:2) topped the two heaviest pigs on d 64 (203 lb), d 76 (227 lb), and d 95 (264 lb), which coincided with the time floor space allowance became limiting, as predicted by Gonyou et al. (2006). The third treatment (2:4) topped the 2 heaviest pigs and the 4 heaviest pigs at an average BW of 240 (d 76) and 280 lb (d 105), respectively. The fourth treatment (6) topped the 6 heaviest pigs at an average BW of 280 lb (d 105). All pigs remaining in pens after topping events were marketed on d 117 of the study. Overall (d 0 to 117), pigs in pens stocked at 9.7 ft2 had increased (P \u3c 0.05) ADG compared to pigs in pens on either the 2:4 or 6 topping strategies, but ADG was not different from pigs in pens on the 2:2:2 topping strategy. This suggests that prediction equations developed by Gonyou et al. (2006) for ADG are useful for predicting the effects of floor space on heavyweight pig ADG. Pigs in pens stocked at 9.7 ft2 had increased (P \u3c 0.05) ADFI compared to pigs in pens initially stocked at 6.9 ft2 regardless of topping strategy. Total weight gain per pen was greater (P \u3c 0.05) for pens initially stocked at 6.9 ft2 compared to pens stocked at 9.7 ft2; however, total weight gain per pig was greater for pigs in pens stocked at 9.7 ft2 compared to pigs in pens initially stocked at 6.9 ft2. Pigs in pens on the 2:2:2 topping strategy had less weight gain (P \u3c 0.05) than pigs in pens on the 6 topping strategy. Feed usage per pen was decreased for pens stocked at 9.7 ft2 compared to those initially stocked at 6.9 ft2; however, per pig feed usage was increased (P \u3c 0.05) for pigs in pens stocked at 9.7 ft2 compared to pigs in pens initially stocked at 6.9 ft2. Pens on the 2:2:2 topping strategy had less (P \u3c 0.05) feed usage, either on a pen or pig basis, than those on the 2:4 or the 6 topping strategy. Interestingly, there was a tendency (P \u3c 0.10) for pigs in pens on the 2:4 topping strategy to have less feed usage than pigs in pens on the 6 topping strategy. Income over feed and facility cost (IOFFC) was decreased (P \u3c 0.05), either on a pen or pig basis, for pens stocked at 9.7 ft2. Pigs in pens on the 2:2:2 topping strategy had numerically less IOFFC when revenue was high and feed cost was low compared to pigs in pens on the 2:4 or 6 topping strategy. In conclusion, increasing the floor space allowance or the time points at which pigs are removed from the pen improved the performance of pigs remaining in the pen; however, IOFFC may be reduced due to fewer pigs marketed from each pen (in the case of lower stocking density) or from reducing total weight produced (in pens where pigs are topped earlier at lighter weights)

Indigenous Australians and the National Disability Insurance Scheme

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the major policy innovations of the early 21st century in Australia, representing a new way of delivering services to people with a disability and those who care for them