Microscopic calculations of Λ single-particle energies

A binding energy data for total baryon number A ≤ 208 and for Λ angular momenta ℓΛ ≤ 3 are analyzed in terms of phenomenological (but generally consistent with meson-exchange) ΛN and ΛNN potentials. The Fermi hypernetted chain technique is used to calculate the expectation values for the Λ binding to nuclear matter. Accurate effective ΛN and ΛNN potentials are obtained which are folded with the core-nucleus nucleon densities to calculate the Λ single-particle potential UΛ (r). We use a dispersive ANN potential but also include an explicit ρ dependence to allow for reduced repulsion in the surface, and the best fits have a large ρ dependence giving consistency with the variational Monte Carlo calculations for 5ΛHe. The exchange fraction of the ΛN space-exchange potential is found to be 0.2-0.3 corresponding to m*Λ ≃ (0.74 - 0.82)mΛ. Charge-symmetry breaking is found to be significant for heavy hypernuclei with a large neutron excess, with a strength consistent with that obtained from the A = 4 hypernuclei

Missense mutations at homologous positions in the fourth and fifth laminin A G-like domains of eyes shut homolog cause autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa

Purpose: To describe two novel mutations in the eyes shut homolog (EYS) gene in two families with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) from Pakistan and Indonesia. Methods: Genome-wide linkage and homozygosity mapping were performed using single nucleotide polymorphism microarray analysis in affected members of the two arRP families. Sequence analysis was performed to identify genetic changes in protein coding exons of EYS. Results: In the Indonesian and Pakistani families, homozygous regions encompassing the EYS gene at 6q12 were identified, with maximum LOD scores of 1.8 and 3.6, respectively. Novel missense variants in the EYS gene (p.D2767Y and p.D3028Y) were found in the Pakistani and Indonesian families, respectively, that co-segregate with the disease phenotype. Interestingly, the missense variants are located at the same homologous position within the fourth and fifth laminin A G-like domains of EYS. Conclusions: To date, mostly protein-truncating mutations have been described in EYS, while only few patients have been described with pathogenic compound heterozygous missense mutations. The mutations p.D2767Y and p.D3028Y described in this study affect highly conserved residues at homologous positions in laminin A G-like domains and support the notion that missense mutations in EYS can cause arRP

Integration of tools for binding archetypes to SNOMED CT

Background The Archetype formalism and the associated Archetype Definition Language have been proposed as an ISO standard for specifying models of components of electronic healthcare records as a means of achieving interoperability between clinical systems. This paper presents an archetype editor with support for manual or semi-automatic creation of bindings between archetypes and terminology systems. Methods Lexical and semantic methods are applied in order to obtain automatic mapping suggestions. Information visualisation methods are also used to assist the user in exploration and selection of mappings. Results An integrated tool for archetype authoring, semi-automatic SNOMED CT terminology binding assistance and terminology visualization was created and released as open source. Conclusion Finding the right terms to bind is a difficult task but the effort to achieve terminology bindings may be reduced with the help of the described approach. The methods and tools presented are general, but here only bindings between SNOMED CT and archetypes based on the openEHR reference model are presented in detail. Background The Archetype formalism and the associated Archetype Definition Language have been proposed as an ISO standard for specifying models of components of electronic healthcare records as a means of achieving interoperability between clinical systems. This paper presents an archetype editor with support for manual or semi-automatic creation of bindings between archetypes and terminology systems. Methods Lexical and semantic methods are applied in order to obtain automatic mapping suggestions. Information visualisation methods are also used to assist the user in exploration and selection of mappings. Results An integrated tool for archetype authoring, semi-automatic SNOMED CT terminology binding assistance and terminology visualization was created and released as open source. Conclusion Finding the right terms to bind is a difficult task but the effort to achieve terminology bindings may be reduced with the help of the described approach. The methods and tools presented are general, but here only bindings between SNOMED CT and archetypes based on the openEHR reference model are presented in detail.Original Publication: Erik Sundvall, Rahil Qamar, Mikael Nyström, Mattias Forss, Håkan Petersson, Hans Åhlfeldt and Alan Rector, Integration of Tools for Binding Archetypes to SNOMED CT, 2008, BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, (8), S7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-8-S1-S7 Licensee: BioMed Central http://www.biomedcentral.com/</p

Nano strain-amplifier: making ultra-sensitive piezoresistance in nanowires possible without the need of quantum and surface charge effects

This paper presents an innovative nano strain-amplifier employed to significantly enhance the sensitivity of piezoresistive strain sensors. Inspired from the dogbone structure, the nano strain-amplifier consists of a nano thin frame released from the substrate, where nanowires were formed at the centre of the frame. Analytical and numerical results indicated that a nano strain-amplifier significantly increases the strain induced into a free standing nanowire, resulting in a large change in their electrical conductance. The proposed structure was demonstrated in p-type cubic silicon carbide nanowires fabricated using a top down process. The experimental data showed that the nano strain-amplifier can enhance the sensitivity of SiC strain sensors at least 5.4 times larger than that of the conventional structures. This result indicates the potential of the proposed strain-amplifier for ultra-sensitive mechanical sensing applications.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Efficient Decoding With Steady-State Kalman Filter in Neural Interface Systems

The Kalman filter is commonly used in neural interface systems to decode neural activity and estimate the desired movement kinematics.We analyze a low-complexity Kalman filter implementation in which the filter gain is approximated by its steady-state form, computed offline before real-time decoding commences. We evaluate its performance using human motor cortical spike train data obtained from an intracortical recording array as part of an ongoing pilot clinical trial. We demonstrate that the standard Kalman filter gain converges to within 95% of the steady-state filter gain in 1.5[plus-over-minus sign]0.5 s (mean[plus-over-minus sign]s.d.) . The difference in the intended movement velocity decoded by the two filters vanishes within 5 s, with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 between the two decoded velocities over the session length. We also find that the steady-state Kalman filter reduces the computational load (algorithm execution time) for decoding the firing rates of 25[plus-over-minus sign]3 single units by a factor of 7.0[plus-over-minus sign]0.9. We expect that the gain in computational efficiency will be much higher in systems with larger neural ensembles. The steady-state filter can thus provide substantial runtime efficiency at little cost in terms of estimation accuracy. This far more efficient neural decoding approach will facilitate the practical implementation of future large-dimensional, multisignal neural interface systems.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 DC009899)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RC1 HD063931)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant N01 HD053403)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 5K01 NS057389)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant DP1-OD003646)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-EB006385)United States. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (Office of Research and Development, Rehabilitation R&D Service)Massachusetts General Hospital (Deane Institute for Integrated Research on Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke)Doris Duke Charitable FoundationSpaulding Rehabilitation Hospita

Phosphorus and potassium application improves fodder yield and quality of sorghum in Aridisol under diverse climatic conditions

Fodder yield and quality must be improved for sustainable livestock production. A lack of or low application of phosphorus (P) and potassium (P) are among the leading constraints of lower fodder yield and quality of sorghum [most cultivated fodder crop during kharif season (crop cultivation in summer and harvesting during winter] in Aridisol of Pakistan. Therefore, this two-year field study evaluated the role of different P and K levels on fodder yield and quality of sorghum cultivar ‘Ijar-2002’ planted in Multan and Okara districts, Punjab, Pakistan. Seven P-K (kg ha−1) levels, i.e., T1 (40–0), T2 (80–0), T3 (0–40), T4 (0–60), T5 (40–40), T6 (80–40), T7 (60–80) and an untreated T0 (control) were included in the study. Results indicated that individual effects of years, locations and P-K levels had a significant effect on fodder yield and quality. All treatments received an equal amount of nitrogen (i.e., 120 kg ha−1). Application of P-K in Aridisols at both locations significantly improved fodder yield, dry matter yield, and ether contents during both years. The T6 (80–40 kg ha−1) significantly improved yield and quality traits of sorghum fodder except for crude fiber (CF) and acid and neutral detergent fiber (ADF and NDF) at both locations during both years of study. Moreover, fodder harvested from Multan observed significantly higher CF, ADF, NDF, cellulose and hemicellulose contents than Okara. However, sorghum grown in Okara harvested more fodder yield due to more plant height and ether contents. In conclusion, planting sorghum in Aridisols, fertilized with 80–40 kg ha−1 P-K seemed a viable option to harvest more fodder yield of better quality

Influence of Tillage and Mulch on Soil Physical Properties and Wheat Yield in Rice-Wheat System

Zero tillage along with application of mulch is an important strategy for soil conservation which maintains sustainability of agricultural system. A randomized complete block design in a split plot arrangement was used with four tillage methods [conventional tillage, (CT); deep tillage, (DT); zero tillage with zone disc tiller, (ZDT); and happy seeder, (HS)] in main plots and five mulch materials [no mulch, (M0); rice straw, (MRice); wheat straw, (MWheat); plastic sheet, (MPlastic) at 4 t ha-1, and natural mulch, (MNatural)] in subplots during 2009-10 and 2010-11. Results showed that DT significantly decreased soil bulk density, penetration resistance, and volumetric moisture content when compared with CT, ZDT, and HS. However, wheat yield parameters such as germination count, fertile tillers, grain yield and water use efficiency were significantly higher in HS compared with other tillage treatments while root length and grain protein were higher in DT. Plant height remained non-significant during 2009-10, while in 2010-11 it differed significantly and was higher in HS than other tillage treatments. Wheat yield parameters were significantly higher in MPlastic at 4 t ha-1 than other mulch materials. Happy seeder and deep tillage along with plastic mulch have positive impact on soil physical properties, root growth, water use efficiency and yield parameters by creating a favorable soil environment