Handheld ISFET Lab-on-Chip detection of TMPRSS2-ERG and AR mRNA for prostate cancer prognostics

Ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) in combination with unmodified complementary metal oxide semiconductors present a point-of-care platform for clinical diagnostics and prognostics. This work illustrates the sensitive and specific detection of two circulating mRNA markers for prostate cancer, the androgen receptor and the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion using a target-specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification method. TMPRSS2-ERG and androgen receptor RNA were detected down to 3x10 1 and 5x10 1 copies respectively in under 30 minutes. Administration of these assays onto the ISFET Lab-on-chip device was successful and the specificity of each marker was corroborated with mRNA extracted from prostate cancer cell lines

A multiphase seismic investigation of the shallow subduction zone, southern North Island, New Zealand

The shallow structure of the Hikurangi margin, in particular the interface between the Australian Plate and the subducting Pacific Plate, is investigated using the traveltimes of direct and converted seismic phases from local earthquakes. Mode conversions take place as upgoing energy from earthquakes in the subducted slab crosses the plate interface. These PS and SP converted arrivals are observed as intermediate phases between the direct P and S waves. They place an additional constraint on the depth of the interface and enable the topography of the subducted plate to be mapped across the region. 301 suitable earthquakes were recorded by the Leeds (Tararua) broad-band seismic array, a temporary line of three-component short-period stations, and the permanent stations of the New Zealand national network. This provided coverage across the land area of southern North Island, New Zealand, at a total of 17 stations. Rays are traced through a structure parametrized using layered B-splines and the traveltime residuals inverted, simultaneously, for hypocentre relocation, interface depth and seismic velocity. The results are consistent with sediment in the northeast of the study region and gentle topography on the subducting plate. This study and recent tectonic reconstructions of the southwest Pacific suggest that the subducting plate consists of captured, oceanic crust. The anomalous nature of this crust partly accounts for the unusual features of the Hikurangi margin, e.g. the shallow trench, in comparison with the subducting margin further north

Analysis of lead oxide (PbO) layers for direct conversion X-ray detection

Lead oxide (PbO) is a candidate direct conversion material for medical X-ray applications. We produced various samples and detectors with thick PbO layers. X-ray performance data such as dark current, charge generation yield and temporal behavior were evaluated on small samples. The influence of the metal contacts was studied in detail. We also covered large a-Si thin-film transistor (TFT)-plates with PbO. Imaging results from a large detector with an active area of 18 cm × 20 cm are presented. The detector has 960 × 1080 pixels with a pixel pitch of 184 ?m. The modulation transfer function at the Nyquist frequency of 2.72 linepairs/mm is 50%. Finally, a full size X-ray image is presented

Systematic review of communication technologies to promote access and engagement of young people with diabetes into healthcare

Background: Research has investigated whether communication technologies (e.g. mobile telephony, forums, email) can be used to transfer digital information between healthcare professionals and young people who live with diabetes. The systematic review evaluates the effectiveness and impact of these technologies on communication. Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched. Technologies were described and a narrative synthesis of all studies was undertaken. Results: Of 20,925 publications identified, 19 met the inclusion criteria, with 18 technologies assessed. Five categories of communication technologies were identified: video-and tele-conferencing (n = 2); mobile telephony (n = 3); telephone support (n = 3); novel electronic communication devices for transferring clinical information (n = 10); and web-based discussion boards (n = 1). Ten studies showed a positive improvement in HbA1c following the intervention with four studies reporting detrimental increases in HbA1c levels. In fifteen studies communication technologies increased the frequency of contact between patient and healthcare professional. Findings were inconsistent of an association between improvements in HbA1c and increased contact. Limited evidence was available concerning behavioural and care coordination outcomes, although improvement in quality of life, patientcaregiver interaction, self-care and metabolic transmission were reported for some communication technologies. Conclusions: The breadth of study design and types of technologies reported make the magnitude of benefit and their effects on health difficult to determine. While communication technologies may increase the frequency of contact between patient and health care professional, it remains unclear whether this results in improved outcomes and is often the basis of the intervention itself. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of increasing the use of communication technologies between young people and healthcare professionals

Satisfaction with democracy and voter turnout

Numerous studies conclude that countries in which citizens express higher levels of satisfaction with democracy also tend to display higher levels of voter turnout in national elections. Yet it is difficult to draw causal inferences from this positive cross-sectional relationship, because democracies feature many historical, cultural, and institutional differences that are not easily controlled for in cross-sectional comparisons. We apply an alternative, temporal approach to this issue by asking the question: Are over-time declines (increases) in aggregate levels of satisfaction within democracies associated with increases (declines) in levels of voter turnout within these democracies? Our temporal analysis of this relationship in 12 democracies over the period 1976–2011 reveals a pattern that is the opposite of that suggested by previous cross-sectional studies: namely, we find that over-time increases in citizens’ satisfaction with democracy are associated with significant decreases in voter turnout in national elections in these countries. </jats:p

Turnout across democracies

World democracies widely differ in legislative, executive and legal institutions. Different institutional environments induce different mappings from electoral outcomes to the distribution of power. We explore how these mappings affect voters’ participation to an election. We show that the effect of such institutional differences on turnout depends on the distribution of voters’ preferences. We uncover a novel contest effect: given the preferences distribution, turnout increases and then decreases when we move from a more proportional to a less proportional power sharing system; turnout is maximized for an intermediate degree of power sharing. Moreover, we generalize the competition effect, common to models of endogenous turnout: given the institutional environment, turnout increases in the ex-ante preferences evenness, and more so when the overall system has lower power sharing. These results are robust to a wide range of modeling approaches, including ethical voter models, voter mobilization models, and rational voter models

Legislator dissent as a valence signal

Existing research suggests that voters tend to respond positively to legislator independence due to two types of mechanism. First, dissent has an indirect effect, increasing a legislator’s media coverage and personal recognition among constituents (profile effects). Second, constituents react positively to dissent when this signals that the legislator has matching political or representational preferences (conditional evaluation). We argue for a third effect: dissent acts as a valence signal of integrity and trustworthiness. Consistent with the valence signalling mechanism, we use new observational and experimental evidence to show that British voters have a strong and largely unconditional preference for legislators who dissent. Our findings pose a dilemma for political systems which rely on strong and cohesive parties

The Company You Keep: How Voters Infer Party Positions on European Integration from Governing Coalition Arrangements

Recent studies document that voters infer parties’ left‐right positions from governing coalition arrangements. We show that citizens extend this coalition‐based heuristic to the European integration dimension and, furthermore, that citizens’ coalition‐based inferences on this issue conflict with alternative measures of party positions derived from election manifestos and expert placements. We also show that citizens’ perceptions of party positions on Europe matter, in that they drive substantial partisan sorting in the electorate. Our findings have implications for parties’ election strategies and for mass‐elite policy linkages