Traditional Cultural Districts: An Opportunity for Alaska Tribes to Protect Subsistence Rights and Traditional Lands

Alaska tribes have limited control over their traditional lands and waters. Tribes may increase their influence through a Traditional Cultural District designation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This designation does not stop development, but requires federal agencies to consult with tribes regarding potential development that may impact the district. The consultation right applies regardless of whether a tribe owns or has formally designated the district. In Alaska, where no Traditional Cultural Districts exist as of 2014, there is potential for designating large areas of land or water that correspond to the range of traditionally important species

Double quantum dot with tunable coupling in an enhancement-mode silicon metal-oxide semiconductor device with lateral geometry

We present transport measurements of a tunable silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor double quantum dot device with lateral geometry. Experimentally extracted gate-to-dot capacitances show that the device is largely symmetric under the gate voltages applied. Intriguingly, these gate voltages themselves are not symmetric. Comparison with numerical simulations indicates that the applied gate voltages serve to offset an intrinsic asymmetry in the physical device. We also show a transition from a large single dot to two well isolated coupled dots, where the central gate of the device is used to controllably tune the interdot coupling.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letter

Knowledge creation and management in the five LHC experiments at CERN: implications for technology innovation and transfer

The present study analyses knowledge creation, acquisition and transfer in the five LHC physics experiments at CERN: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb, and TOTEM. A questionnaire was provided during collaboration meetings and a total of 291 replies were obtained and analysed. The results of this research study provide evidence that the social process of participation in meetings, acquisition of skills in different areas, and the development of interests by interaction with colleagues are key elements of the learning process. Furthermore, the results indicate that knowledge acquisition in a multicultural environment plays a mediating role in the interaction between social capital constructs (social interaction, relationship quality, and network ties) and competitive advantage outcomes (invention development and technological distinctiveness). Social interaction, relationship quality, and network ties are connected to greater knowledge acquisition, and also contribute to innovation and transfer of the knowledge to industry. The fertile environment of the five LHC experiments building and managing multiple processes, involves a dynamic, interactive,and simultaneous exchange of knowledge both inside and outside their organization

Enhancement mode double top gated MOS nanostructures with tunable lateral geometry

We present measurements of silicon (Si) metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) nanostructures that are fabricated using a process that facilitates essentially arbitrary gate geometries. Stable Coulomb blockade behavior free from the effects of parasitic dot formation is exhibited in several MOS quantum dots with an open lateral quantum dot geometry. Decreases in mobility and increases in charge defect densities (i.e. interface traps and fixed oxide charge) are measured for critical process steps, and we correlate low disorder behavior with a quantitative defect density. This work provides quantitative guidance that has not been previously established about defect densities for which Si quantum dots do not exhibit parasitic dot formation. These devices make use of a double-layer gate stack in which many regions, including the critical gate oxide, were fabricated in a fully-qualified CMOS facility.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology in Sri Lanka: is cadmium a likely cause?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The rising prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and subsequent end stage renal failure necessitating renal replacement therapy has profound consequences for affected individuals and health care resources. This community based study was conducted to identify potential predictors of microalbuminuria in a randomly selected sample of adults from the North Central Province (NCP) of Sri Lanka, where the burden of CKD is pronounced and the underlying cause still unknown.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Exposures to possible risk factors were determined in randomly recruited subjects (425 females and 461 males) from selected areas of the NCP of Sri Lanka using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Sulphosalicylic acid and the Light Dependent Resister microalbumin gel filtration method was used for initial screening for microalbuminuria and reconfirmed by the <it>Micral </it>strip test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Microalbumnuria was detected in 6.1% of the females and 8.5% of the males. Smoking (p < 0.001), alcohol use (p = 0.003), hypertension (p < 0.001), diabetes (p < 0.001), urinary tract infection (UTI) (p = 0.034) and consumption of water from wells in the fields (p = 0.025) were associated with microalbuminuria. In the binary logistic regression analysis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, UTI, drinking well water in the fields, smoking and pesticide spraying were found to be significant predictors of microalbuminuria.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, UTI, and smoking are known risk factors for microalbuminuria. The association between microalbuminuria and consumption of well water suggests an environmental aetiology to CKD in NCP. The causative agent is yet to be identified. Investigations for cadmium as a potential causative agent needs to be initiated.</p

Non-invasive therapeutic brain stimulation for treatment of resistant focal epilepsy in a teenager

A 13-year-old boy with symptomatic focal epilepsy due to a right parietal dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNET) presented pre- and post-operatively fluctuating tinnitus and sensory symptoms which became persistent after incomplete tumor resection. He received low-frequency rTMS treatment and cathodal tDCS treatment.Case report with clinical details and pictures from rTMS and tDCS stimulation targets.The patient became symptom free with an initial low-frequency rTMS treatment series targeted to the EEG-verified epileptic zone followed by maintenance therapy at the same region with cathodal tDCS at home.Both rTMS and tDCS could be more often used in adolescents when drug treatment and surgery do not cease focal epilepsy, here with fluctuating tinnitus.\nAims\nMethods\nResults\nConclusions</div

Tracing winter temperatures over the last two millennia using a north-east Atlantic coastal record

We present 2500 years of reconstructed bottom water temperatures (BWT) using a fjord sediment archive from the north-east Atlantic region. The BWT represent winter conditions due to the fjord hydrography and the associated timing and frequency of bottom water renewals. The study is based on a ca. 8&thinsp;m long sediment core from Gullmar Fjord (Sweden), which was dated by 210Pb and AMS 14C and analysed for stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) measured on shallow infaunal benthic foraminiferal species Cassidulina laevigata d'Orbigny 1826. The BWT, calculated using the palaeotemperature equation from McCorkle et al. (1997), range between 2.7 and 7.8&thinsp;°C and are within the annual temperature variability that has been instrumentally recorded in the deep fjord basin since the 1890s. The record demonstrates a warming during the Roman Warm Period ( ∼ 350&thinsp;BCE–450&thinsp;CE), variable BWT during the Dark Ages ( ∼ 450–850&thinsp;CE), positive BWT anomalies during the Viking Age/Medieval Climate Anomaly ( ∼ 850–1350&thinsp;CE) and a long-term cooling with distinct multidecadal variability during the Little Ice Age ( ∼ 1350–1850&thinsp;CE). The fjord BWT record also picks up the contemporary warming of the 20th century (presented here until 1996), which does not stand out in the 2500-year perspective and is of the same magnitude as the Roman Warm Period and the Medieval Climate Anomaly.</p

The effects of high dose interferon-β1a on plasma microparticles: Correlation with MRI parameters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>We previously reported a correlation between levels of microparticles carrying CD31 (PMP ^CD31+) and disease activity in MS. However, the effects of long term (12 month) treatment with high dose, high frequency interferon-β1a (Rebif™) on plasma levels of PMP^CD31+, PMP^CD146+, and PMP^CD54+and MRI measures of disease activity have not yet been assessed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During this prospective 1-year study, we used flow cytometry to measure changes in plasma microparticles (PMP) bearing CD31 (PMP^CD31+), CD146 (PMP^CD146+), and CD54/ICAM-1 (PMP^CD54+) in 16 consecutive patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) before and after 3, 6, and 12 months of subcutaneous therapy with interferon-beta1a (44 micrograms, 3X weekly). At each visit, clinical exams and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) scores were recorded.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Plasma levels of PMP^CD31+, and PMP^CD54+were significantly reduced by treatment with IFN-β1a. PMP^CD146+appeared to decrease only at 3 months and did not persist at 6 and 12 months (p = 0.0511). In addition, the decrease in plasma levels of PMP^CD31+and PMP^CD54+levels at 12 months were associated with a significant decrease in the number and volume of contrast enhancing T1-weigthed lesions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest that serial measurement of plasma microparticles (PMP), particularly in the initial stages of MS (when neuro-inflammatory cascades are more intense), may serve as reliable and reproducible surrogate markers of response to IFN-β1a therapy for MS. In addition, the progressive decline in plasma levels of PMP^CD31+and PMP^CD54+further supports the concept that IFN-β1a exerts stabilizing effect on the cerebral endothelial cells during pathogenesis of MS.</p