Reducing Printed Circuit Board Emissions with Low-Noise Design Practices

This paper presents the results of an experiment designed to determine the effectiveness of adopting several low-noise printed circuit board (PCB) design practices. Two boards were designed and fabricated, each consisting of identical mixed signal circuitry. Several important differences were introduced between the board layouts: one board was constructed using recommended low-noise practices and the other constructed without such attention. The emissions from the two boards were then measured and compared, demonstrating an improvement in radiated emissions of up to 22 dB

Quality assessment of work recovery activities: Guidance for recovering from work-related demands

The proposed study is designed to test a revised work recovery process model and gather data to provide guidance for work recovery activities based on their recovery quality value. Using an integrated and modified model of the stress-recovery process, recovery quality will be measured in terms of potential for psychological detachment, mastery, and control, with relaxation serving as an outcome state associated with the proposed three core recovery mechanisms. Underlying theoretical frameworks such as the Conservation of Resources Theory, the Effort-Recovery Model, and the Job-Demands Resource model served as the foundation to describe the importance of recovering depleted resources. Past research suggests active forms of recovery in natural environments hold the greatest potential for work recovery, but research has been limited to broad activity category classifications. In this study we take a more holistic approach to identifying specific recovery activities and their associated recovery experience quality by asking participants to list, rank order, and provide quality-related details regarding their three most common recovery activities. A variety of analyses will be used to compare average ratings of recovery quality elements and identify common recovery themes

Tamoxifen Suppresses the Growth of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Cells.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but highly aggressive malignancy most often associated with exposure to asbestos. Recent evidence points to oestrogen receptor (ER)-β having a tumour-suppressor role in MPM progression, and this raises the question of whether selective modulators of ERs could play a role in augmenting MPM therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the action of tamoxifen in inhibiting the growth and modulating the cisplatin sensitivity of four MPM cell lines. RESULTS: Tamoxifen inhibited the growth of MPM cells and also modulated their sensitivity to cisplatin. The MPM cell lines expressed ERβ, but the actions of tamoxifen were not blocked by antagonism of nuclear ERs. Tamoxifen treatment repressed the expression of cyclins by MPM cells, resulting in cell-cycle arrest and caspase-3-coupled apoptosis signaling. CONCLUSION: The ER-independent actions of tamoxifen on MPM cell proliferation and cell-cycle progression may have clinical benefits for a subset of patients with MPM

A “Rosetta Stone” for Metazoan Zooplankton: DNA Barcode Analysis of Species Diversity of the Sargasso Sea (Northwest Atlantic Ocean)

Species diversity of the metazoan holozooplankton assemblage of the Sargasso Sea, Northwest Atlantic Ocean, was examined through coordinated morphological taxonomic identification of species and DNA sequencing of a ∼650 base-pair region of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) as a DNA barcode (i.e., short sequence for species recognition and discrimination). Zooplankton collections were made from the surface to 5,000 meters during April, 2006 on the R/V R.H. Brown. Samples were examined by a ship-board team of morphological taxonomists; DNA barcoding was carried out in both ship-board and land-based DNA sequencing laboratories. DNA barcodes were determined for a total of 297 individuals of 175 holozooplankton species in four phyla, including: Cnidaria (Hydromedusae, 4 species; Siphonophora, 47); Arthropoda (Amphipoda, 10; Copepoda, 34; Decapoda, 9; Euphausiacea, 10; Mysidacea, 1; Ostracoda, 27); and Mollusca (Cephalopoda, 8; Heteropoda, 6; Pteropoda, 15); and Chaetognatha (4). Thirty species of fish (Teleostei) were also barcoded. For all seven zooplankton groups for which sufficient data were available, Kimura-2-Parameter genetic distances were significantly lower between individuals of the same species (mean=0.0114; S.D. 0.0117) than between individuals of different species within the same group (mean=0.3166; S.D. 0.0378). This difference, known as the barcode gap, ensures that mtCOI sequences are reliable characters for species identification for the oceanic holozooplankton assemblage. In addition, DNA barcodes allow recognition of new or undescribed species, reveal cryptic species within known taxa, and inform phylogeographic and population genetic studies of geographic variation. The growing database of “gold standard” DNA barcodes serves as a Rosetta Stone for marine zooplankton, providing the key for decoding species diversity by linking species names, morphology, and DNA sequence variation. In light of the pivotal position of zooplankton in ocean food webs, their usefulness as rapid responders to environmental change, and the increasing scarcity of taxonomists, the use of DNA barcodes is an important and useful approach for rapid analysis of species diversity and distribution in the pelagic community

Extrasolar Planet Transits Observed at Kitt Peak National Observatory

We obtained J-, H- and JH-band photometry of known extrasolar planet transiting systems at the 2.1-m Kitt Peak National Observatory Telescope using the FLAMINGOS infrared camera between October 2008 and October 2011. From the derived lightcurves we have extracted the mid-transit times, transit depths and transit durations for these events. The precise mid-transit times obtained help improve the orbital periods and also constrain transit-time variations of the systems. For most cases the published system parameters successfully accounted for our observed lightcurves, but in some instances we derive improved planetary radii and orbital periods. We complemented our 2.1-m infrared observations using CCD z'-band and B-band photometry (plus two Hydrogen Alpha filter observations) obtained with the Kitt Peak Visitor's Center telescope, and with four H-band transits observed in October 2007 with the NSO's 1.6-m McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope. The principal highlights of our results are: 1) our ensemble of J-band planetary radii agree with optical radii, with the best-fit relation being: (Rp/R*)J = 0.0017 + 0.979 (Rp/R*)optical, 2) We observe star spot crossings during the transit of WASP-11/HAT-P-10, 3) we detect star spot crossings by HAT-P-11b (Kepler-3b), thus confirming that the magnetic evolution of the stellar active regions can be monitored even after the Kepler mission has ended, and 4) we confirm a grazing transit for HAT-P-27/WASP-40. In total we present 57 individual transits of 32 known exoplanet systems.Comment: 33 pages, 6 figures, accepted in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi

Malignant pleural mesothelioma incidence and survival in the Republic of Ireland 1994-2009.

OBJECTIVE: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare malignancy associated with exposure to asbestos. The protracted latent period of MPM means that its incidence has continued to rise across Europe after the introduction of restrictions on asbestos use. In order to obtain a clearer indication of trends in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), incidence and survival were assessed based on all MPM cases reported since the establishment of the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCR). METHODS: NCR recorded 337 MPM diagnoses in the ROI during 1994-2009. Survival was assessed for all cases diagnosed with adequate follow-up (n=330). Crude and European age-standardized incidence rates were calculated for all cases and for 4-year periods. A Cox model of observed (all-cause) survival was used to generate hazard ratios for the effect of: gender; age at diagnosis; diagnosis cohort; region of residence; histological type; and tumour stage. Single P-values for the variables indicated were calculated using either a stratified log-rank test or stratified trend test. RESULTS: Over the study period the age-standardized MPM incidence in the ROI rose from 4.98cases per million (cpm) to 7.24cpm. The 1-year survival rate for all MPM cases was 29.6% (CI 24.7-34.6%). Excess mortality risk was associated with age at diagnosis (75-89 yrs vs. 55-64 yrs, HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.35-2.63, P CONCLUSION: MPM incidence and mortality continued to rise in the ROI after the restrictions on asbestos use and the predictors of survival detected in this study are broadly consistent with those identified for other countries

BiblioBouts: A Scalable Online Social Game for the Development of Academic Research Skills

Researchers at the School of Information of the University of Michigan are designing, developing, and evaluating BiblioBouts, an online game that helps students learn academic research skills. Players practice using online library research tools while they work on an in-class assignment and produce a high-quality bibliography, at the same time as they are competing against each other to win the game! While librarians are experts at helping students who want to learn about academic research, most students are reluctant participants because they want just-in-time personal assistance that is tailored to their unique information needs, and faculty are reluctant to cede class time. The BiblioBouts project enlists games to teach undergraduate students information literacy skills and concepts in the classroom. Social gaming reinforces principles of good learning, including getting results by trial and error, self-discovery, following hunches and reinforcement through repetition. BiblioBouts also incorporates collaborative problem solving and participation in a community of learning. The project aims to explore how games can be utilized to achieve information literacy goals and to yield open-source game software that libraries could use immediately to enhance their information literacy programs. The LOEX presentation will incorporate a live interactive demo of the game, as well as videos demonstrating gameplay. We will discuss challenges in situating the game into the classroom and integrating it into existing course syllabi. The presentation will describe how we have adapted the game in response to feedback from students and instructors during the pilot process

Evaluation of the Bruker SMART X2S: crystallography for the nonspecialist?

An evaluation of the Bruker SMART X2S for the collection of crystallographic diffraction data, structure solution and refinement is carried out with a variety of materials with different electron densities, presenting some of the successes and challenges of automation in chemical crystallography

Sustained Expression of Steroid Receptor Coactivator SRC-2/TIF-2 is Associated with Better Prognosis in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

INTRODUCTION:: Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) overexpression by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) tumor cells correlates with enhanced patient survival. ER-regulated transcription is mediated by the p160 family of steroid receptor coactivators (SRCs), and SRC isoform overexpression is associated with worse prognosis in many steroid-related malignancies. The aim of this study was to establish whether SRC isoform expression varied between individual MPM tumors with positive or negative prognostic significance. METHODS:: Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor biopsies from 89 subjects with confirmed histological diagnosis of MPM and biopsies from 3 normal control subjects was performed to detect the expression of SRC-1, SRC-2 (TIF-2), SRC-3 (AIB-1), and ERβ. Allred scores for expression of ERβ and each of the SRCs were determined, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated to correlate biomarker expression, gender, and histology type with postdiagnosis survival. RESULTS:: ERβ and all the SRCs were expressed at high levels in normal pleural mesothelium, and expression of each biomarker was reduced or lost in a subset of the MPM subjects; however, postdiagnosis survival only significantly correlated with TIF-2 expression. Low or intermediate expression of TIF-2 correlated with reduced median postdiagnosis survival (9 months) compared with those subjects whose tumors highly expressed TIF-2 (20 months) (p = 0.036, log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS:: Maintained high expression of TIF-2 in tumor cells is a positive prognostic indicator for postdiagnosis survival in patients with confirmed MPM. This is the first clinical study to correlate high TIF-2 expression with improved patient prognosis in any malignancy