A novel KIF11 mutation in a Turkish patient with microcephaly, lymphedema, and chorioretinal dysplasia from a consanguineous family.

Microcephaly–lymphedema–chorioretinal dysplasia (MLCRD) syndrome is a rare syndrome that was first described in 1992. Characteristic craniofacial features include severe microcephaly, upslanting palpebral fissures, prominent ears, a broad nose, and a long philtrum with a pointed chin. Recently, mutations in KIF11 have been demonstrated to cause dominantly inherited MLCRD syndrome. Herein, we present a patient with MLCRD syndrome whose parents were first cousins. The parents are unaffected, and thus a recessive mode of inheritance for the disorder was considered likely. However, the propositus carries a novel, de novo nonsense mutationinexon2 of KIF11. The patient also had midline cleft tongue which has not previously been described in this syndrome

Microwave-induced nonequilibrium temperature in a suspended carbon nanotube

Antenna-coupled suspended single carbon nanotubes exposed to 108 GHz microwave radiation are shown to be selectively heated with respect to their metal contacts. This leads to an increase in the conductance as well as to the development of a power-dependent DC voltage. The increased conductance stems from the temperature dependence of tunneling into a one-dimensional electron system. The DC voltage is interpreted as a thermovoltage, due to the increased temperature of the electron liquid compared to the equilibrium temperature in the leads

An Experimental Study on the Strengthening of RC Frames with Soft Storey Irregularities with Different Types of Steel Diagonals

When the loss of life and property is considered, it is clear that special precautions must be taken against the earthquakes among the natural disasters. Post-earthquake observations, especially those made in the developing countries, reveal that there are many reasons for the damage and loss of life, not just one. The formation of soft storey irregularity is one of the most important factors among them. In this study, it is aimed to propose an alternative strengthening method to eliminate the adverse effects of the formation of a soft storey irregularity. Four identical frames with two stories and single span were constructed and tested under reverse cyclic loading which simulates the earthquake. The first frame among them was prepared by bonding bricks as an infill wall on two stories and it was considered to be the reference frame. In the 2nd frame, the formation of soft storey irregularity was facilitated by removing the infill wall on the lower story and the behavioral differences were examined. The remaining two frames were strengthened by using steel elements in two different diagonal shapes on the lower story. As a result, the experimental study showed that the strengthening with steel diagonal elements increased the lateral load-carrying capacity of the frame with soft storey behavior by 250% and the energy dissipation by 120% and also provided better results than the reference frame

Scalar f0 and a0 mesons in radiative ϕ→K+K−γ decay

AbstractWe study the radiative ϕ→K+K−γ decay within a phenomenological framework by considering the contributions of the f0(980) and a0(980) scalar resonances. We consider the kaon-loop model and the no-structure model to evaluate these contributions and compare the results obtained in two models

Experimental evaluation on noise reduction performance of a motorcycle helmet

Motorcycle helmets are generally thought to be only protection of motorcycle drivers against head injuries as well as loud noise in traffic. While there have been several papers on noise elimination capabilities of motorcycle helmets, no controlled study has been reported to compare different types of test conditions in literature. The purpose of this study is to assess noise reduction capacities of a motorcycle helmet under different types of acoustical loadings as well as environments and to identify better test condition. Firstly, a Head & Torso simulator with and without the motorcycle helmet in a built acoustical cabinet was exposed to digitally generated sound to investigate insertion loss values. Besides, the Head & Torso simulator was fixed onto a motorcycle to simulate actual driving conditions. Sound pressure levels were captured at the ear level to obtain insertion loss values in case of motorcycle noise for different engine speeds. By comparing calculated insertion losses, it was revealed that considerable differences existed between tests for different conditions. Beneficial interpretations were deduced and thus, a practical solution was presented for accurate measurements acoustic performance of the motorcycle helmets in laboratory conditions

Smelling in Chemically Complex Environments: An Optofluidic Bragg Fiber Array for Differentiation of Methanol Adulterated Beverages

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A novel optoelectronic nose for analysis of alcohols (ethanol and methanol) in chemically complex environments is reported. The cross-responsive sensing unit of the optoelectronic nose is an array of three distinct hollow-core infrared transmitting photonic band gap fibers, which transmit a specific band of IR light depending on their Bragg mirror structures. The presence of alcohol molecules in the optofluidic core quenches the fiber transmissions if there is an absorption band of the analyte overlapping with the transmission band of the fiber; otherwise they remain unchanged. The cumulative response data of the fiber array enables rapid, reversible, and accurate discrimination of alcohols in chemically complex backgrounds such as beer and fruit juice. In addition, we observed that humidity of the environment has no effect on the response matrix of the optoelectronic nose, which is rarely achieved in gas sensing applications Consequently, it can be reliably used in virtually any environment without precalibration for humidity or drying the analytes. Besides the discussed application in counterfeit alcoholic beverages, with its superior sensor parameters, this novel concept proves to be a promising contender for many other applications including food quality control, environmental monitoring, and breath analysis for disease diagnostics

Effects of different cavity‑disinfectants and potassium titanyl phosphate laser on microtensile bond strength to primary dentin

Aim: The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the effects of different cavity‑disinfectants and potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser on microtensile bond strength to primary dentin. Chlorhexidine (CHX), propolis (PRO), ozonated water (OW), gaseous ozone (OG) and KTP laser were used for this purpose.Methodology: Twelve primary molar teeth were used in this study. One‑third of the teeth (from coronal portion) were removed to obtain flat surfaces. After applying the cavity‑disinfectants, an adhesive (prime and bond NT) was applied to dentin surfaces, and composite crowns were built up. One group received no pretreatment and was set as a control (CONT). Ten sticks were obtained from these samples and were stressed in tension until failure using a universal testing machine and the data were recorded.Results: The mean strength values (in MPa) of the sticks were OW (11.12) > KTP (9.58) > CHX (7.58) > PRO (7.42) > CONT (6.38) > OG (5.84) and OW showed significantly higher results than the other groups, except KTP group (P < 0.05).Conclusions: OW and KTP might be used safely without compromising the bond strength of restorative materials.Key words: Chlorhexidine gluconate, potassium titanyl phosphate lasers, microtensile bond strength, ozone, primary dentine, propoli

Photonic bandgap narrowing in conical hollow core Bragg fibers

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We report the photonic bandgap engineering of Bragg fibers by controlling the thickness profile of the fiber during the thermal drawing. Conical hollow core Bragg fibers were produced by thermal drawing under a rapidly alternating load, which was applied by introducing steep changes to the fiber drawing speed. In conventional cylindrical Bragg fibers, light is guided by omnidirectional reflections from interior dielectric mirrors with a single quarter wave stack period. In conical fibers, the diameter reduction introduced a gradient of the quarter wave stack period along the length of the fiber. Therefore, the light guided within the fiber encountered slightly smaller dielectric layer thicknesses at each reflection, resulting in a progressive blueshift of the reflectance spectrum. As the reflectance spectrum shifts, longer wavelengths of the initial bandgap cease to be omnidirectionally reflected and exit through the cladding, which narrows the photonic bandgap. A narrow transmission bandwidth is particularly desirable in hollow waveguide mid-infrared sensing schemes, where broadband light is coupled to the fiber and the analyte vapor is introduced into the hollow core to measure infrared absorption. We carried out sensing simulations using the absorption spectrum of isopropyl alcohol vapor to demonstrate the importance of narrow bandgap fibers in chemical sensing applications. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

Islamic banks, deposit insurance reform, and market discipline: evidence from a natural framework

Although it has been intensively claimed that Islamic banks are more subject to market discipline, the empirical literature is surprisingly mute on this topic. To fill this gap and to verify the conjecture that Islamic bank depositors are indeed able to monitor and discipline their banks, we use Turkey as a test setting. The theory of market discipline predicts that when excessive risk taking occurs, depositors will ask higher returns on their deposits or withdraw their funds. We look at the effect of the deposit insurance reform in which the dual deposit insurance was revised and all banks were put under the same deposit insurance company in December 2005. This gives us a natural experiment in which the effect of the reform can be compared for the treatment group (i.e., Islamic banks) and control group (i.e., conventional banks). We find that the deposit insurance reform has increased market discipline in the Turkish Islamic banking sector. This reform may have upset the sensitivities of the religiously inspired depositors, and perhaps more importantly it might have terminated the existing mutual supervision and support among Islamic banks

Robust Cassie State of Wetting in Transparent Superhydrophobic Coatings

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This paper investigates the stability of the Cassie state of wetting in transparent superhydrophobic coatings by comparing a single-layer microporous coating with a double-layer micro/nanoporous coating. Increasing pressure resistance of superhydrophobic coatings is of interest for practical use because high external pressures may be exerted on surfaces during operation. The Cassie state stability against the external pressure of coatings was investigated by squeezing droplets sitting on surfaces with a hydrophobic plate. Droplets on the single-layer coating transformed to the Wenzel state and pinned to the surface after squeezing, whereas droplets on the double-layer micro/nanoporous coating preserved the Cassie state and rolled off the surface easily. In addition, the contact angle and contact-line diameter of water droplets during evaporation from surfaces were in situ investigated to further understand the stability of coatings against Wenzel transition. A droplet on a microporous coating gradually transformed to the Wenzel state and lost its spherical shape as the droplet volume decreased (i.e., the internal pressure of the droplet increased). The contact line of the droplet during evaporation remained almost unchanged. In contrast, a water droplet on a double-layer surface preserved its spherical shape even at the last stages of the evaporation process, where pressure differences as high as a few thousand pascals were generated. For this case, the droplet contact line retracted during evaporation and the droplet recovered the initial water contact angle. The demonstrated method for the preparation of robust transparent superhydrophobic coatings is promising for outdoor applications such as self-cleaning cover glasses for solar cells and nonwetting windows