Wide range and tunable linear TMR sensor using two exchange pinned electrodes

A magnetic tunnel junction sensor is proposed, with both the detection and the reference layers pinned by IrMn. Using the differences in the blocking temperatures of the IrMn films with different thicknesses, crossed anisotropies can be induced between the detection and the reference electrodes. The pinning of the sensing electrode ensures a linear and reversible output. It also allows tuning both the sensitivity and the linear range of the sensor. The authors show that the sensitivity varies linearly with the ferromagnetic thickness of the detection electrode. It is demonstrated that an increased thickness leads to a rise of sensitivity and a reduction of the operating range

Mixed respiratory infections in turkeys, with emphasis on avian metapneumovirus, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, Escherichia coli and Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Mixed respiratory infections in turkeys, with emphasis on avian metapneumovirus, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, Escherichia coli and Mycoplasma gallisepticu

Drosophila olfactory receptors as classifiers for volatiles from disparate real world applications

Olfactory receptors evolved to provide animals with ecologically and behaviourally relevant information. The resulting extreme sensitivity and discrimination has proven useful to humans, who have therefore co-opted some animals' sense of smell. One aim of machine olfaction research is to replace the use of animal noses and one avenue of such research aims to incorporate olfactory receptors into artificial noses. Here, we investigate how well the olfactory receptors of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, perform in classifying volatile odourants that they would not normally encounter. We collected a large number of in vivo recordings from individual Drosophila olfactory receptor neurons in response to an ecologically relevant set of 36 chemicals related to wine ('wine set') and an ecologically irrelevant set of 35 chemicals related to chemical hazards ('industrial set'), each chemical at a single concentration. Resampled response sets were used to classify the chemicals against all others within each set, using a standard linear support vector machine classifier and a wrapper approach. Drosophila receptors appear highly capable of distinguishing chemicals that they have not evolved to process. In contrast to previous work with metal oxide sensors, Drosophila receptors achieved the best recognition accuracy if the outputs of all 20 receptor types were used

Vehicle-Level System Impact of Boundary Layer Ingestion for the NASA D8 Concept Aircraft

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the vehicle-level impact of a boundary layer ingestion (BLI) propulsion system on a commercial transport aircraft concept. The NASA D8 (ND8) aircraft was chosen as the BLI concept aircraft to be studied. A power balance methodology developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was adapted for use with the existing NASA sizing and performance tools to model the fuel consumption impact of BLI on the ND8. A key assumption for the BLI impact assessment was a 3.5% efficiency penalty associated with designing a fan for and operating in the distorted flow caused by BLI. The ND8 was compared to several other ND8-like aircraft that did not utilize BLI in order to determine the fuel consumption benefit attributable to BLI. Analytically turning off BLI on the ND8 without accounting for the physical requirements of redirecting the boundary layer or resizing the aircraft to meet the performance constraints resulted in a 2.8% increase in block fuel consumption to fly the design mission. When this non-physical aircraft was resized to meet the performance constraints, the block fuel consumption was 4.0% greater than the baseline ND8. The ND8 was also compared to an ND8-like aircraft with conventionally podded engines under the wing. This configuration had a 5.6% increase in block fuel consumption compared to the baseline ND8. This result is more reflective of the real world impact if BLI is not an available technology for the ND8 design. The BLI benefit results presented for this study should not be applied to other aircraft that have a propulsion-airframe integration design or BLI implementation different from the ND8

Alimentos ricos en selenio potencialmente útiles para controlar los niveles de mercurio entre afrocolombianos: Hacia una intervención intercultural

Introduction: Diet-based interventions may be a culturally acceptable option to decrease mercury exposure and thus prevent the effects that this metal can have on the health of the population. Selenium is an element that can act as a chelator, decreasing mercury levels in the body. Objective: explore the relationship between the consumption of selenium-rich foods and mercury exposure in the Afro-Colombian population. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 320 individuals from five municipalities of Chocó, Colombia. They were asked about the frequency of consumption of selenium-rich foods, and their association with mercury concentrations in hair was estimated. Results: Walnuts, whole wheat flour, and yeast extract were identified as foods to consider in future interventions. The median mercury in hair was 0.407 ug/g (Minimum: 0.006 - Maximum: 40.028). Conclusion: It is proposed that the banana juice, the pineapple colada, the borojó (Borojoa patinoi) sorbet, the cucas, the enyucado, and the sábida of ripe primitive banana are basic elements for a culturally acceptable intervention.Introducción: Las intervenciones basadas en la dieta pueden ser una opción culturalmente aceptable para disminuir la exposición al mercurio y prevenir así los efectos que este metal puede tener sobre la salud de la población. El selenio es un elemento que puede actuar como quelante, disminuyendo los niveles de mercurio en el organismo. Objetivo: explorar la relación entre el consumo de alimentos ricos en selenio y la exposición a mercurio en población afrocolombiana. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal con 320 individuos de cinco municipios del Chocó, Colombia. Se les preguntó sobre la frecuencia de consumo de alimentos ricos en selenio y se estimó su asociación con las concentraciones de mercurio en cabello. Resultados: Las nueces, la harina de trigo integral y el extracto de levadura fueron identificados como alimentos a considerar en futuras intervenciones. La mediana de mercurio en el pelo fue de 0,407 ug/g (Mínimo: 0,006 - Máximo: 40,028). Conclusiones: Se propone que el jugo de plátano, la piña colada, el sorbete de borojó (Borojoa patinoi), las cucas, el enyucado y la sábida de plátano primitivo maduro son elementos básicos para una intervención culturalmente aceptable

Communicative Competence for Researchers working with LGBTQ Communities

The ethical principles of respect and justice oblige the use of culturally sensitive approaches when engaging participants in research, however cultural competence training is lacking for researchers who work with LGBTQ populations. The purpose of this study was to explore how researchers can create a welcoming research environment for LGBTQ research participants in the context of historical distrust of medical research as a barrier to research participation among minority populations. Grounded by a framework of communicative competence, this study explored elements of preferred communication during recruitment and informed consent for research involving LGBTQ participants. Grammatical, sociolinguistic, strategic and discourse competence domains aided exploration of the preferences held by participants in LGBTQ sub-groups, as well as the perceived barriers to research. Thirty-six participants, who self-identified as part of the LGBTQ community and were recruited through our community partner, the Center for Health Impact, took part in either focus groups or individual interviews. Preliminary analysis reveals community engagement and building trust are key, particularly in an academic medical center where a patient\u27s clinical experiences may impact their willingness to become a research participant. Participants offered insight into each competence domain, covering: terminology to promote inclusivity, body language to avoid, reducing stigma by being up front and feedback on crafting a more LGBTQ-friendly basic demography questionnaire. These findings will aid in the refinement of an LGBTQ-focused version of our Simulation-based Community-engaged Research Intervention for Informed Consent Protocol Testing and Training (SCRIIPTT) to build communicative competence among clinical researchers

Accent attribution in speakers with Foreign Accent Syndrome

Purpose: The main aim of this experiment was to establish the extent to which the impression of foreignness in speakers with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) is in any way comparable to the impression of foreignness in speakers with a real foreign accent. Method: Three groups of listeners attributed accents to conversational speech samples of 5 FAS speakers which were embedded amongst those of 5 speakers with a real foreign accent and 5 native speaker controls. The listener groups differed in their familiarity with foreign accented speech and speech pathology. Results: The findings indicate that listeners’ perceptual reactions to the three groups of speakers are essentially different at all levels of analysis. The native speaker controls are unequivocally considered as native speakers of Dutch while the speakers with a real foreign accent are very reliably assessed as non-native speakers. The speakers with Foreign Accent Syndrome, however, are in some sense perceived as foreign and in some sense as native by listeners, but not as foreign as speakers with a real foreign accent nor as native as real native speakers. This result may be accounted for in terms of the trigger support model of foreign accent perception. Conclusions: The findings of the experiment is consistent with the idea that the very nature of the foreign accent in different in both groups of speakers, although it cannot be fully excluded that the perceived foreignness in the two groups is one of degree